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Damn Jude was savage and pretty awesome. If it were not for her quick thinking and calculated mind I would definitely have given up on this one.
Not perfect, many things that annoyed me.
Full review to come.
Not perfect, many things that annoyed me.
Full review to come.
The Shadow of the Wind was a book I had literally never heard of until I got given it as a gift for my birthday. So I started the book with a vague interest that it would be something I could like but then put it down quite soon into the book and didn't read it for a while. Then I picked the book up again and have since experienced a real emotional roller-coaster.
One of my favourite elements about the book was the setting. The book takes place in Barcelona in the 1940s/50s, whilst Spain is recovering from the aftermath of the Civil War. This is an area of history I actually have very limited knowledge about and it made me want to learn so much more about this period. Zafon did a fantastic job of making me connect and understand this deeply divided and traumatised city. He brought to life the conflict that still existed in Barcelona and the persecution that took place. Although he didn't construct great visual descriptions of Barcelona, my own experience of going to Barcelona helped me to imagine the streets and the feel. It was a city I fell in love with when I visited and I was entirely drawn back there when I immersed myself in the pages of The Shadow in the Wind. Barcelona is such a beautiful, and rather magical city as well as having this dark, edgy and rather gothic feel to it. This sharp contrast came across really well in the novel and constantly kept you on the edge of your seat.
The element that I know a lot of people felt disappointed in were the characters, especially the female character. I felt that his characters really reflected this historical mood and angst in society. I wasn't disappointed at all in the female characters because this wasn't really a story about those women, and in the 1940s and 1950s they wouldn't have been viewed in the same way as today. This was a story told through Daniel and about Daniel. It was definitely an authentic reflection of how he constructed his relationships and the areas he left void in his relationships, especially with the female characters in this book. It showed of a boy disconnected from the female gender, from his mother and with a real difficult romance experience (which for plot reasons I won't go into, but his problematic romance had excellent parallels in the book). Daniel was a character that was drawing away from the world and Zafon really captured this lost boy. It was cleverly crafted and I think it needs to be recognised that not every book needs to have strong, visible female characters, like not every book about strong female women needs to have strong men. We can still be interested and inspired to look through another's viewpoint including those of a man.
I did really struggle in my mind to rate this book. There were elements where I hated it, it was painful and made me cry. There were moments where I felt joy and then terror. This is why I came to the decision that this book had many ups and downs, but overall it was a very good book because of how it made me feel and think. I would not say I necessarily enjoyed this book entirely, but I really experienced this book. It's one that maybe someday I would read again and fully recommend.
One of my favourite elements about the book was the setting. The book takes place in Barcelona in the 1940s/50s, whilst Spain is recovering from the aftermath of the Civil War. This is an area of history I actually have very limited knowledge about and it made me want to learn so much more about this period. Zafon did a fantastic job of making me connect and understand this deeply divided and traumatised city. He brought to life the conflict that still existed in Barcelona and the persecution that took place. Although he didn't construct great visual descriptions of Barcelona, my own experience of going to Barcelona helped me to imagine the streets and the feel. It was a city I fell in love with when I visited and I was entirely drawn back there when I immersed myself in the pages of The Shadow in the Wind. Barcelona is such a beautiful, and rather magical city as well as having this dark, edgy and rather gothic feel to it. This sharp contrast came across really well in the novel and constantly kept you on the edge of your seat.
The element that I know a lot of people felt disappointed in were the characters, especially the female character. I felt that his characters really reflected this historical mood and angst in society. I wasn't disappointed at all in the female characters because this wasn't really a story about those women, and in the 1940s and 1950s they wouldn't have been viewed in the same way as today. This was a story told through Daniel and about Daniel. It was definitely an authentic reflection of how he constructed his relationships and the areas he left void in his relationships, especially with the female characters in this book. It showed of a boy disconnected from the female gender, from his mother and with a real difficult romance experience (which for plot reasons I won't go into, but his problematic romance had excellent parallels in the book). Daniel was a character that was drawing away from the world and Zafon really captured this lost boy. It was cleverly crafted and I think it needs to be recognised that not every book needs to have strong, visible female characters, like not every book about strong female women needs to have strong men. We can still be interested and inspired to look through another's viewpoint including those of a man.
I did really struggle in my mind to rate this book. There were elements where I hated it, it was painful and made me cry. There were moments where I felt joy and then terror. This is why I came to the decision that this book had many ups and downs, but overall it was a very good book because of how it made me feel and think. I would not say I necessarily enjoyed this book entirely, but I really experienced this book. It's one that maybe someday I would read again and fully recommend.
2 books finished in two days, I might actually be breaking out of my reading slump where I have been incapable of finishing any book I started.
Also yay for the historians uprising.
This was enjoyable, but not mind-blowing, looking forward to seeing how it develops further.
Also yay for the historians uprising.
This was enjoyable, but not mind-blowing, looking forward to seeing how it develops further.
Lover Unleashed was a fun addition to the series, but it was definitely a filler book. It focused less on overall action plot-lines and far more on romance. Likely because of John Matthews' book which saw a series of plot climaxes and confrontations. So it seems Ward chose to focus more on people in this instalment. However, that disappointed me because this book actually seemed to become another V and Jane book and not a Payne and Manny book.
As for the characters, they felt a little flat too. Payne is a character I should love. She's a strong, warrior woman with fiery opinions and she's incredibly smart. Except, she fell flat on her face. I was so underwhelmed it hurt. She was not the feisty warrior; she was willing to give up in seconds. She needed a man to save her- which is not the kind of images we should reinforce- despite the fact she is daughter of a deity, bestowed with awesome powers and just all around warrior queen.
This book also seemed to draw out all the problems of V and Jane's book that just got totally glossed over. In doing so, I just don't think it helped me to like either of them any more, in fact I think I liked them a bit less. It just felt like a lot of forced drama and I'm not really sure I was a fan.
The other issue I had with this book were typos and text errors. When you're this successful you should have a good editor and I've noticed this in a few books now. It's just sloppy. I know people aren't perfect, but simple typos, and some weirdly and poorly structured sentence is not what I expect from a successful published author like Ward.
Overall, this was fun and I'm looking forward to finally getting into Tohrs book for the first time because that's the one I got stuck at last time. I'll still keep reading the series for sure, but I'm hoping the next couple of books are better.
As for the characters, they felt a little flat too. Payne is a character I should love. She's a strong, warrior woman with fiery opinions and she's incredibly smart. Except, she fell flat on her face. I was so underwhelmed it hurt. She was not the feisty warrior; she was willing to give up in seconds. She needed a man to save her- which is not the kind of images we should reinforce- despite the fact she is daughter of a deity, bestowed with awesome powers and just all around warrior queen.
This book also seemed to draw out all the problems of V and Jane's book that just got totally glossed over. In doing so, I just don't think it helped me to like either of them any more, in fact I think I liked them a bit less. It just felt like a lot of forced drama and I'm not really sure I was a fan.
The other issue I had with this book were typos and text errors. When you're this successful you should have a good editor and I've noticed this in a few books now. It's just sloppy. I know people aren't perfect, but simple typos, and some weirdly and poorly structured sentence is not what I expect from a successful published author like Ward.
Overall, this was fun and I'm looking forward to finally getting into Tohrs book for the first time because that's the one I got stuck at last time. I'll still keep reading the series for sure, but I'm hoping the next couple of books are better.
To Kill a Kingdom is a book that everyone seems to be reading at the moment and the book world is abuzz about it. It is very rare that I read a brand new release these days, however, after hearing such positive reviews of this book I was very, very intrigued. I have to say I was not disappointed! Especially because I do not read a lot of YA (Young Adult) literature anymore because lots of it becomes repetitive and disappointing, and I find some of it really lacks the depth and complexity I want from reading a book. The other major problem I have with YA literature is that it tends to be part of some epic 4-80 million part series and I just do not have time to commit to reading and remembering that many characters.
The one thing that initially drew my attention was the idea that To Kill a Kingdom was a retelling of The Little Mermaid, however, I would say this book is not at all a retelling. I would emphasise that it is a dark, original story that has a new approach to mermaids, sirens, and fantasy kingdoms. I really enjoyed how dark and sinister this was to begin with, and the mean main characters (MCs) were really different. The two MCs: Elian and Lira were not initially people that I liked, and I had no clue about how there would be any romance blossoming in this story. Nevertheless, despite my doubt, it was well-crafted, believable and very slow which I liked. I personally preferred Lira to Elian as I thought she was more fleshed out, tormented and had a better developed character arc. I think this was mostly because the story felt more like Lira's story than Elian's despite there being dual POVs (point-of-views). We learnt more about Lira's family history and younger life than we did Elian's. This was not necessarily a negative, but I did not feel as invested in Elian as I did Lira.
The only element that I wish could have been better was the development of secondary characters and world building about the kingdoms. Although, in 350 pages and as a young-adult book, I understand that depth is often omitted to lure in the target audience more. Unfortunately mermaids do not seem to be a creature employed in many epic-fantasy series which I think is a real loss. I really loved the sea world and wanted to know more about it, and the different sirens who were sadly just brushed aside as vicious creatures. In terms of the other background characters like Kye and Madrid I just felt like we did not get to know enough about their drives and their historical backgrounds. We learnt snippets, but none of how they really came to be part of Elian's crew and why they continued to serve with him. This would have really enhanced my reading experience as immersed me more in the world.
Overall, it was an easy, fun read that took a new approach to mermaids. The plot kept steadily pushing along and it was easy to keep reading. I would definitely read another novel by Alexandra Christo's and look forward to what else she may release. I would also recommend this book to any YA and fantasy fans. A great way to pass a rainy afternoon for sure.
The one thing that initially drew my attention was the idea that To Kill a Kingdom was a retelling of The Little Mermaid, however, I would say this book is not at all a retelling. I would emphasise that it is a dark, original story that has a new approach to mermaids, sirens, and fantasy kingdoms. I really enjoyed how dark and sinister this was to begin with, and the mean main characters (MCs) were really different. The two MCs: Elian and Lira were not initially people that I liked, and I had no clue about how there would be any romance blossoming in this story. Nevertheless, despite my doubt, it was well-crafted, believable and very slow which I liked. I personally preferred Lira to Elian as I thought she was more fleshed out, tormented and had a better developed character arc. I think this was mostly because the story felt more like Lira's story than Elian's despite there being dual POVs (point-of-views). We learnt more about Lira's family history and younger life than we did Elian's. This was not necessarily a negative, but I did not feel as invested in Elian as I did Lira.
The only element that I wish could have been better was the development of secondary characters and world building about the kingdoms. Although, in 350 pages and as a young-adult book, I understand that depth is often omitted to lure in the target audience more. Unfortunately mermaids do not seem to be a creature employed in many epic-fantasy series which I think is a real loss. I really loved the sea world and wanted to know more about it, and the different sirens who were sadly just brushed aside as vicious creatures. In terms of the other background characters like Kye and Madrid I just felt like we did not get to know enough about their drives and their historical backgrounds. We learnt snippets, but none of how they really came to be part of Elian's crew and why they continued to serve with him. This would have really enhanced my reading experience as immersed me more in the world.
Overall, it was an easy, fun read that took a new approach to mermaids. The plot kept steadily pushing along and it was easy to keep reading. I would definitely read another novel by Alexandra Christo's and look forward to what else she may release. I would also recommend this book to any YA and fantasy fans. A great way to pass a rainy afternoon for sure.
Really enjoyed the last two books in this series, feel like the series is going from strength to strength which is unusual by book number 9.
Sword of Destiny is a collection of short-stories about Geralt the Witcher that precede the novels of the series. The previous short story collection [b:The Last Wish|1128434|The Last Wish (The Witcher, #0.5)|Andrzej Sapkowski|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1181224890l/1128434._SX50_.jpg|2293675] I was very disappointed in. I did not really enjoy it and found that it jumped around too much; however, this one was much stronger. Each short story was its own individual story and I got much more into it. I also really liked that the characters Geralt, Dandelion, Yennefer and Ciri really developed across this installment, which I didn't really see in the previous installment. There were strengths and weaknesses of each story, but I think my two favourites were The Bounds of Reason with the Golden dragon, and The Sword of Destiny.
The golden dragon was also super sassy!
Ciri is also my new favourite character in this series, she was such a sassy little girl and I was really rooting for her throughout the last couple of short stories she was in. I cannot wait to see more of her.
Individual Ratings:
The Bounds of Reason - ★★★★
The Shard of Ice - ★★★
Eternal Flame ★★★★
The Sword of Destiny ★★★★★
Something More★★
'There's no such thing as a bloody golden dragon,' Gar pronounced and spat. 'I know what I'm talking about.'
'Then what's sitting on that hillcock?' Dandelion asked pointedly.
'It's some kind of trickery.'
The golden dragon was also super sassy!
In the silence that fell everybody heard the deep voice of the dragon Villentretenmerth.
'The doughty Eyck of Denesle may now be taken from the battlefield, for he is incapable of fighting any longer. Next, please.'
Ciri is also my new favourite character in this series, she was such a sassy little girl and I was really rooting for her throughout the last couple of short stories she was in. I cannot wait to see more of her.
Individual Ratings:
The Bounds of Reason - ★★★★
The Shard of Ice - ★★★
Eternal Flame ★★★★
The Sword of Destiny ★★★★★
Something More★★
Having not been very well for a couple of days and feeling very miserable, I decided to pick this book up as I thought reading Patricia Briggs would lighten my mood a lot and absolutely fell in love with the storyline. I whizzed through this before bed and then couldn't help but pick up [b:Cry Wolf|2355575|Cry Wolf (Alpha & Omega, #1)|Patricia Briggs|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1310494063s/2355575.jpg|2362332] straight away. I'm not usually a big fan of reading novellas, but this was a must read introduction to Charles and Anna's story.
What a great mini read!
What a great mini read!