Take a photo of a barcode or cover
479 reviews by:
readwithmesashamarie
You can see the full review on my blog: http://akamissfiercereviews.tumblr.com/post/151530078031/the-last-of-the-firedrakes-review
Initial Thoughts:
I was incredibly excited when I received this novel for the BookTube Tours in exchange for my honest review! It sounded like such a fun, action packed, adventurous, romantic, coming of age story. By the end of the first few chapters I realized that my early assumptions of this novel may have been only partially correct. As it turned out, I was in for a bit of a surprise with this one.
The Good:
Our main character is a teenage girl who has the determination to set things right. She wants to learn as much as she can so that she can fix any wrongs in, what she discovers is, her kingdom. This is the classic good versus evil story, with a little twist. The plot reminded me a lot of King Arthur retellings, Cinderella, Snow White, Maleficent, and Eragon. It was a melting pot of classic literature, and I really enjoyed it!
The world building was incredible. Farah Oomerbhoy is a master detailer! There was never a time while reading that I wondered what something looked like, smelled like, sounded like, or felt like. Everything was explained in such grand and precise details that it felt like I was watching a movie.
The characters are unique and well rounded. Each person has a purpose, personality, (and at times) necessary design flaw, that makes them feel more realistic. We were introduced to a myriad of characters throughout this novel that helped our main character develop and cultivate her world view.
There were mages and faes and demons, oh my! All the different categories of humans, mages, faes, demons, kings, queens, royal families, etc., were so incredibly fun and interesting! Learning how the magic worked in this world was a blast and really well done.
The Not So Good:
The marketed age group for this novel is young adults. While the cover art (absolutely stunning, by the way), descriptions, and even other reviews, continuously led me to believe this was a young adult novel, the writing told a very different story. I personally saw this novel as more of a middle grade reading level. I often had trouble reading for long periods of time because of how juvenile the writing, dialogue, or inner monologues came across. I felt disconnected from our main character because she appeared to be so immature and constantly oblivious. And can I just say, for the record, that I felt horrible about it! While I was trying to finish this book these thoughts kept attacking me, and I felt like I had turned into some snobby, old, out-of-touch book reviewer who outgrew children’s literature. It got to the point where I could not force myself to finish this novel. I didn’t want to become annoyed with the main character, who was only trying her best at her own level. It became apparent that this novel was not for me (at page 358…guys, I really tried) and I made the executive decision to stop reading.
Conclusion:
My biggest problem with his novel was the writing, simply because it left me more aggravated with the main character and less entertained by the story itself. I do think this novel will appeal to many younger readers out there. This novel promotes important values and life lessons that are poignant for readers of any age. Just because I didn’t finish this novel, doesn’t mean others won’t enjoy it, and even fall in love with it. If middle grade reading levels are your forte, please give this one a shot!
Initial Thoughts:
I was incredibly excited when I received this novel for the BookTube Tours in exchange for my honest review! It sounded like such a fun, action packed, adventurous, romantic, coming of age story. By the end of the first few chapters I realized that my early assumptions of this novel may have been only partially correct. As it turned out, I was in for a bit of a surprise with this one.
The Good:
Our main character is a teenage girl who has the determination to set things right. She wants to learn as much as she can so that she can fix any wrongs in, what she discovers is, her kingdom. This is the classic good versus evil story, with a little twist. The plot reminded me a lot of King Arthur retellings, Cinderella, Snow White, Maleficent, and Eragon. It was a melting pot of classic literature, and I really enjoyed it!
The world building was incredible. Farah Oomerbhoy is a master detailer! There was never a time while reading that I wondered what something looked like, smelled like, sounded like, or felt like. Everything was explained in such grand and precise details that it felt like I was watching a movie.
The characters are unique and well rounded. Each person has a purpose, personality, (and at times) necessary design flaw, that makes them feel more realistic. We were introduced to a myriad of characters throughout this novel that helped our main character develop and cultivate her world view.
There were mages and faes and demons, oh my! All the different categories of humans, mages, faes, demons, kings, queens, royal families, etc., were so incredibly fun and interesting! Learning how the magic worked in this world was a blast and really well done.
The Not So Good:
The marketed age group for this novel is young adults. While the cover art (absolutely stunning, by the way), descriptions, and even other reviews, continuously led me to believe this was a young adult novel, the writing told a very different story. I personally saw this novel as more of a middle grade reading level. I often had trouble reading for long periods of time because of how juvenile the writing, dialogue, or inner monologues came across. I felt disconnected from our main character because she appeared to be so immature and constantly oblivious. And can I just say, for the record, that I felt horrible about it! While I was trying to finish this book these thoughts kept attacking me, and I felt like I had turned into some snobby, old, out-of-touch book reviewer who outgrew children’s literature. It got to the point where I could not force myself to finish this novel. I didn’t want to become annoyed with the main character, who was only trying her best at her own level. It became apparent that this novel was not for me (at page 358…guys, I really tried) and I made the executive decision to stop reading.
Conclusion:
My biggest problem with his novel was the writing, simply because it left me more aggravated with the main character and less entertained by the story itself. I do think this novel will appeal to many younger readers out there. This novel promotes important values and life lessons that are poignant for readers of any age. Just because I didn’t finish this novel, doesn’t mean others won’t enjoy it, and even fall in love with it. If middle grade reading levels are your forte, please give this one a shot!
I'm giving this book 5 stars because I can't quite remember reading a character I connected with as much as I did to Melinda. It's nice and refreshing to find so much of yourself in a character; it makes me feel less alone, and I loved this book for that.
I wish I had a working computer so I could write a proper review of this! I really enjoyed the overall plot, the characters, and the moral of the story. However, I think it lacked a certain finesse when trying to knot events together. It felt a little jumpy and underdeveloped at times, but still worth the read. Overall I'd rate this one a solid 3.75!
I think my rating is more of a 3.75...? I felt like the writing, while having great moments, was extremely repetitive and confusing. The fight sequences, or even the lapses in time, were jarring and not sequential. They at times felt like lazy writing, but perhaps just highlighted an inefficiency at writing this specific style of action? I add the question marks because I'm still confused. This novel, while remaining true to the characters, felt like it was written by a completely different person. The first novel was long but so well paced, with new adventure around every corner. This novel was much longer and arduous. I'm excited to see if the next novel progresses in plot and writing style, and despite this seemingly lackluster review, I can't wait to read it!
I went into this book expecting, from incredible fanart, to fall immediately in love with Kaz. Instead, I fell in love with our female characters first, and slowly warmed up to their male companions. I'm very excited to see where this story takes them. SPOILER AHEAD! I was so scared a main character would die...and they didn't...so now I'm petrified to read the second book.
This review contains SPOILERS! I received an ecopy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Initial Thoughts:
I’ve always loved books that dealt with Greek Mythology, and was beyond thrilled when I got the opportunity to work with Raye Wagner and review her book, Curse of the Sphinx. Regan from PeruseProject mentioned this novel a few times on her channel and I was instantly intrigued. Not only is the cover gorgeous, but the premise of the book had my attention.
I didn’t know too much about the Sphinx before starting this novel, other than their physical shape and animalistic attributes. What captivated me most with this novel, was the idea that the protagonist was cursed, dealing with the death of her mother, learning how to live in a world where she was hunted for being who she was, and coped with all of this completely alone.
Spoilers!
The Prologue of this novel starts with a confusing bang! There’s so much going on, we witness Hope’s (the protagonist) mother get murdered, and we’re thrust into this world where everyone knows what’s going on, except us. It was a little jarring in the beginning, but looking back it worked to convey just how intricate this world is and how deep the politics of the Gods-Demigods-Skia-Monster-Human system really is.
The first couple of chapters are snapshots of Hope and her mother constantly moving. Although they were necessary to set up the rest of the story and their relationship, these chapters were a tad slow to get through. Once Hope’s mother is murdered and she’s thrust into the world on her own the pace of the novel began to pick up.
What I really liked about this universe is that mythology isn’t just a myth. In this novel, even the humans are taught about Gods and Demigods in school and study them the same way students in real life study U.S. History. It was hilarious to see this system being taught through Hope’s eyes. As a Sphinx, Hope is considered a monster, who has to remain hidden because the humans fear her and everyone else wants her dead.
Once Hope meets Athan, she begins to unravel and grows into herself. Unlike a lot of YA books on the market these days, Hope doesn’t suffer through insta-love. She instead, stays true to her character and refuses Athan for way longer than I anticipated. When she finally does give in to her feelings for him it feels genuine, they’ve built a friendship and a repertoire that is believable.
On the surface this novel is about throwing a real, living myth into high school and watching as she tries to stay undetected and alive. While that would probably be a decent read, this novel went beyond that. Curse of the Sphinx had a balance of death, grief, coping, inner growth, friendship, love, and war. War is possibly too strong of a word, but Hope does go through battles with Skia (children of Hades who hunt to kill Demigods). It was nice to see Hope standing on her own two feet (most of the time) without always needing to be rescued by the male lead. Hope does show moments of vulnerability by allowing Athan to help her on her own terms, when she’s ready and willing to accept his help. Towards the end of the novel I was definitely waiting for the other shoe to drop, and give us our cliff hanger. I had a few ideas of what that would be in mind, but Wagner provided something totally unexpected!
Conclusion:
If you’re a fan of Percy Jackson or the Sweet trilogy, you’ll enjoy this novel. The mythology is the underlying premise of the novel, while the forbidden love carries the plot through to fruition and leaves your heart pounding. I’m very excited to see where Hope and Athan take this story in the second novel, which comes out this April!
Initial Thoughts:
I’ve always loved books that dealt with Greek Mythology, and was beyond thrilled when I got the opportunity to work with Raye Wagner and review her book, Curse of the Sphinx. Regan from PeruseProject mentioned this novel a few times on her channel and I was instantly intrigued. Not only is the cover gorgeous, but the premise of the book had my attention.
I didn’t know too much about the Sphinx before starting this novel, other than their physical shape and animalistic attributes. What captivated me most with this novel, was the idea that the protagonist was cursed, dealing with the death of her mother, learning how to live in a world where she was hunted for being who she was, and coped with all of this completely alone.
Spoilers!
The Prologue of this novel starts with a confusing bang! There’s so much going on, we witness Hope’s (the protagonist) mother get murdered, and we’re thrust into this world where everyone knows what’s going on, except us. It was a little jarring in the beginning, but looking back it worked to convey just how intricate this world is and how deep the politics of the Gods-Demigods-Skia-Monster-Human system really is.
The first couple of chapters are snapshots of Hope and her mother constantly moving. Although they were necessary to set up the rest of the story and their relationship, these chapters were a tad slow to get through. Once Hope’s mother is murdered and she’s thrust into the world on her own the pace of the novel began to pick up.
What I really liked about this universe is that mythology isn’t just a myth. In this novel, even the humans are taught about Gods and Demigods in school and study them the same way students in real life study U.S. History. It was hilarious to see this system being taught through Hope’s eyes. As a Sphinx, Hope is considered a monster, who has to remain hidden because the humans fear her and everyone else wants her dead.
Once Hope meets Athan, she begins to unravel and grows into herself. Unlike a lot of YA books on the market these days, Hope doesn’t suffer through insta-love. She instead, stays true to her character and refuses Athan for way longer than I anticipated. When she finally does give in to her feelings for him it feels genuine, they’ve built a friendship and a repertoire that is believable.
On the surface this novel is about throwing a real, living myth into high school and watching as she tries to stay undetected and alive. While that would probably be a decent read, this novel went beyond that. Curse of the Sphinx had a balance of death, grief, coping, inner growth, friendship, love, and war. War is possibly too strong of a word, but Hope does go through battles with Skia (children of Hades who hunt to kill Demigods). It was nice to see Hope standing on her own two feet (most of the time) without always needing to be rescued by the male lead. Hope does show moments of vulnerability by allowing Athan to help her on her own terms, when she’s ready and willing to accept his help. Towards the end of the novel I was definitely waiting for the other shoe to drop, and give us our cliff hanger. I had a few ideas of what that would be in mind, but Wagner provided something totally unexpected!
Conclusion:
If you’re a fan of Percy Jackson or the Sweet trilogy, you’ll enjoy this novel. The mythology is the underlying premise of the novel, while the forbidden love carries the plot through to fruition and leaves your heart pounding. I’m very excited to see where Hope and Athan take this story in the second novel, which comes out this April!
3.5 stars for this one. I really enjoyed the variety of characters. I could empathize with what Lola was going through, but found her a little annoying at times.
3.5 out of 5. I almost put this book down. The overall plot is intriguing, and really The only reason I gave it another chance. The characters at times were too childish, and their individual thoughts or actions came off very immature. I had to remind myself that this is young adult literature, and for the target audience it's probably passable. However, there have been other novels of the same genre that translated just as well with adults as it did for younger audiences, so I was a bit disappointed.