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1.29k reviews by:
mabookyard
My Rating : 2
Thank you so much Edelweiss for the review copy. All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.
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The first thing that captured my attention was the cover art. I mean, just look at it and tell me it is not the most beautiful thing you have ever seen?! And especially with the storyline mentioned along with it, I was so intrigued to read what this story is going to bring to life.
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As we have already established, First, the artwork in this novel was extremely detailed, amazing and it gave a different experience altogether. Every character had their own personality in the way they were drawn, and it just made the whole reading experience so much better. Second, it was a really short book and I was skeptical about how the author can include so many history and details and make the appropriate connection within the given pages. From the blurb, you figure out that this had dual time perspective and you have a vague idea of what you can expect.
.
Now with that being said, we will come to the actual storyline and the characters. We solely focus on one character who is the long forgotten/mysterious/blood thirsty queen who is an immortal (And no we don't get to know why or how when you start reading). The way the dual time perspectives are introduced will confuse you. I spent 10 minutes re-reading a lot of pages just to understand what was happening. It starts out really smoothly, and gives you introduction to what we can expect. But after half the book is done, you skip years together and just get an update on the happenings. The inconsistency with that pacing threw me off balance.
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Now, we should definitely talk about the 'plot twist' they introduce at the end. There is nothing backing up the theory but only the ending, the sad backstory that follows certain dead queen is just not strong enough to support the behaviour that follows it, and our main character just has no purpose except to create mayhem and let people kill each other. Even at the ending, you give a huge plot twist, and then just like that it ends! It's not a cliffhanger but a half finished ending. Overall, the only thing I loved about this book was the artwork that was done.
Thank you so much Edelweiss for the review copy. All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.
.
The first thing that captured my attention was the cover art. I mean, just look at it and tell me it is not the most beautiful thing you have ever seen?! And especially with the storyline mentioned along with it, I was so intrigued to read what this story is going to bring to life.
.
As we have already established, First, the artwork in this novel was extremely detailed, amazing and it gave a different experience altogether. Every character had their own personality in the way they were drawn, and it just made the whole reading experience so much better. Second, it was a really short book and I was skeptical about how the author can include so many history and details and make the appropriate connection within the given pages. From the blurb, you figure out that this had dual time perspective and you have a vague idea of what you can expect.
.
Now with that being said, we will come to the actual storyline and the characters. We solely focus on one character who is the long forgotten/mysterious/blood thirsty queen who is an immortal (And no we don't get to know why or how when you start reading). The way the dual time perspectives are introduced will confuse you. I spent 10 minutes re-reading a lot of pages just to understand what was happening. It starts out really smoothly, and gives you introduction to what we can expect. But after half the book is done, you skip years together and just get an update on the happenings. The inconsistency with that pacing threw me off balance.
.
Now, we should definitely talk about the 'plot twist' they introduce at the end. There is nothing backing up the theory but only the ending, the sad backstory that follows certain dead queen is just not strong enough to support the behaviour that follows it, and our main character just has no purpose except to create mayhem and let people kill each other. Even at the ending, you give a huge plot twist, and then just like that it ends! It's not a cliffhanger but a half finished ending. Overall, the only thing I loved about this book was the artwork that was done.
My Rating : 4.5
Thankyou Hayley Gabrielle (Author) for the review copy. All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.
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This book is the second installment in the Essence chronicles series and continues immediately after where things are left off in the first book. We follow our main character Abbey Shader while she explores her new identity with the help of all the essences.
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First of all, can we just talk about how amazing the characterization of the essences are? I mean, yes they have the names as their character traits, and we already know what we can expect, but no!!! You find something new within each character that makes you just want to cuddle them. Second, this book deals with a lot o sensitive topics that takes place after an epic battle of sorts. Since this is the second book in a series, I can't discuss the details, but this book deals with topics of sexual abuse, family issues, sense of belonging and just everyday struggles of someone who basically came back from dead(according to the others). It's not explicit in details, but definitely addresses them in a good way which includes supportive family and friends.
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Now coming to the storyline and the character development. As I mentioned before, the characters were perfect to just cuddle up and enjoy a long sip of iced tea in a beach when it's raining fire. You see what I mean? It's both amazing to want to experience and dangerous as well. That distinct difference in the base character trait and the other character every essence exhibits. I am almost positive that there is going to be some twist in the third book when it comes to one particularly proud essence and Abbey! You get to experience the past as to how the previous Medler came into existence and their story as well. It has dual time perspective and it's pretty easy to shift back and forth because the ending of each chapter gives you a sense of completion and it makes it easier to shift the timelines in your mind. The pacing of the book was really good. The only thing I have about this book is the time we spend with Zac and Abbey. When you look back to think about the plotline with them, it's mostly the emotions and a lot of uncertain decisions with them. It was slightly dry to read about and I was tiny bit disappointed by that. Other than that, I was really happy with how this book ended! I mean you can't just say something like that as the last line and just end the book!! It's too cruel !
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Overall, this book might have a slight case of middle book syndrome, BUT I absolutely love how the storyline is progressing, and how the essences would come together! I can't wait for the next book to come out so that my confused heart can be fixed! I definitely recommend this book if you are looking for a light fantasy series with a lot of characters to love !
Thankyou Hayley Gabrielle (Author) for the review copy. All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.
.
This book is the second installment in the Essence chronicles series and continues immediately after where things are left off in the first book. We follow our main character Abbey Shader while she explores her new identity with the help of all the essences.
.
First of all, can we just talk about how amazing the characterization of the essences are? I mean, yes they have the names as their character traits, and we already know what we can expect, but no!!! You find something new within each character that makes you just want to cuddle them. Second, this book deals with a lot o sensitive topics that takes place after an epic battle of sorts. Since this is the second book in a series, I can't discuss the details, but this book deals with topics of sexual abuse, family issues, sense of belonging and just everyday struggles of someone who basically came back from dead(according to the others). It's not explicit in details, but definitely addresses them in a good way which includes supportive family and friends.
.
Now coming to the storyline and the character development. As I mentioned before, the characters were perfect to just cuddle up and enjoy a long sip of iced tea in a beach when it's raining fire. You see what I mean? It's both amazing to want to experience and dangerous as well. That distinct difference in the base character trait and the other character every essence exhibits. I am almost positive that there is going to be some twist in the third book when it comes to one particularly proud essence and Abbey! You get to experience the past as to how the previous Medler came into existence and their story as well. It has dual time perspective and it's pretty easy to shift back and forth because the ending of each chapter gives you a sense of completion and it makes it easier to shift the timelines in your mind. The pacing of the book was really good. The only thing I have about this book is the time we spend with Zac and Abbey. When you look back to think about the plotline with them, it's mostly the emotions and a lot of uncertain decisions with them. It was slightly dry to read about and I was tiny bit disappointed by that. Other than that, I was really happy with how this book ended! I mean you can't just say something like that as the last line and just end the book!! It's too cruel !
.
Overall, this book might have a slight case of middle book syndrome, BUT I absolutely love how the storyline is progressing, and how the essences would come together! I can't wait for the next book to come out so that my confused heart can be fixed! I definitely recommend this book if you are looking for a light fantasy series with a lot of characters to love !
My Rating : 4
Thank you so much Netgalley for the review copy. All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.
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First of all, the concept of students going to magic learning school and solving a mystery is just too good to give up. And with a main character of colour and the element of racial discriminations being a plot is just the cherry on top. The art work in this book was really simple, yer really beautiful and effective as well. The characters that were introduced had their own style.
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Second, the actual storyline was really interesting! The flow of the book reminds me of a mystery movie (In the sense, how a movie starts with a background information, then goes to the current plot, and reveals mystery one by one)
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The characters were absolutely wonderful and I really loved how they interacted with each other and especially the ending! It was not a plot based on romance, but focuses mainly of acceptance, friendship and self discovery. Overall, this book was such an amazing read an I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes graphic novels or books with no romance!
Thank you so much Netgalley for the review copy. All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.
.
First of all, the concept of students going to magic learning school and solving a mystery is just too good to give up. And with a main character of colour and the element of racial discriminations being a plot is just the cherry on top. The art work in this book was really simple, yer really beautiful and effective as well. The characters that were introduced had their own style.
.
Second, the actual storyline was really interesting! The flow of the book reminds me of a mystery movie (In the sense, how a movie starts with a background information, then goes to the current plot, and reveals mystery one by one)
.
The characters were absolutely wonderful and I really loved how they interacted with each other and especially the ending! It was not a plot based on romance, but focuses mainly of acceptance, friendship and self discovery. Overall, this book was such an amazing read an I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes graphic novels or books with no romance!
My Rating : 4
Usually when there is a billionaire male character and a self confident female character, there is always a big twist at the ending that usually involved a betrayal/male ego/some stupid thing that gets blows out of proportion. This book definitely surprised me in that aspect. The main characters were quite cool and it didn't seem like there was any power struggle. It was good (especially the smut), sensible and quite enjoyable!
Usually when there is a billionaire male character and a self confident female character, there is always a big twist at the ending that usually involved a betrayal/male ego/some stupid thing that gets blows out of proportion. This book definitely surprised me in that aspect. The main characters were quite cool and it didn't seem like there was any power struggle. It was good (especially the smut), sensible and quite enjoyable!
