savage_book_review's Reviews (328)

Following on from the first book in this series, 'Queens of the Conquest', which in my head I refer to as The Book of Matildas, henceforth this shall be known to me as The Book of Eleanors. Five Queens are featured, three of whom are called Eleanor or a variant thereof. So straight away, make sure you've got your concentration hat on! 

The reason for this series is to allow the early Queens of England to be written back into history and for their stories to be told in their own right. This is Weir doing what she does best; weaving the female narrative back through the history we already know about, giving the women their own agency and turning them back into three dimensional characters, but all the while maintaining the historical record. Although this book does still tell a lot of the overarching history from the view of the Kings, it reads like it does so purely to set the scene so we can understand the context of the Queens' actions, location and relationships. It's not perfect, but it's a well-balanced effort.

In one element, this book is much-improved when compared to 'Queens of the Conquest'; where that much more evidence survives for the lives of these women and so a clearer narrative can be drawn of the story of their lives. There is obviously still some elements of missing puzzle pieces, but the whole work feels much more flowing and less fragmented and speculative - this feels more definitive in terms of facts and the author's confidence in relaying them to the audience.

She also does a good job at trying to keep pur characters straight and making sure her readers can easily follow the timeline of events. It is written in a chronological narrative, so while there ate sections 'dedicated' to each Queen, everything follows the march of time and so for much of the book two or three Queens can be involved at the same time. The author has therefore taken the time to utilise different spellings of the same name (I.e. Eleanor, Aelinor, Eleanore) to ensure it is clear which person she's talking about. 

That being said, I did find the chronological way of writing a little frustrating at times precisely because multiple Queens were sharing the spotlight. While this layout makes a lot of sense, I'm not sure that it wouldn't have been easier for the reader to have clearly separated biographies of each Queen, even if that meant moving backwards and forwards in time. It's quite hard to get your head around when half the time you're reading about a Queen that isn't the 'headliners that particular section! 

I also spotted a few typos in the middle, particularly regarding dates I.e. quoting 2015 rather than 1215. This happens a few times within a couple of pages, so it really needs another run through with an editor. Similarly, I think there ate a couple of errors dates wise in the genealogy trees at the beginning of the book. 

I have already read the author's biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine and so I do understand why she didn't focus on her in so much detail. But at the same time, she still had the single biggest section in the book. When this series was first announced, I recall Weir saying that she would not include Eleanor in the books as she already had this biography in print. I wonder if her time might better have been spent reviewing and issuing an updated version of the biography, simply so she could then give the other Queens a little more page space and insight. 

I did enjoy reading it overall, but all it has really done is given me higher hopes for the next one.

This is the closest you'll find me getting to 'seasonal reading'. The easiest comparison is definitely 'The Addams Family' - it's lighthearted for spooky season, but comes with a side order of horror movie. 

The Savages are a fairly normal family. Mum overindulges in designer clothes; Dad works too hard; brother has a penchant for pranks and sister's going through her vegetarian phase. Which would be fine, except for the part where it's a family tradition to enjoy the odd feast of human flesh. So it's not great when a PI starts nosing around Dad's dodgy dealings... or when a prank goes slightly awry...

First of all, I love the fact that there is a proper set up to this premise; it's not just a plot point. The author has done a little bit of research into history and built his family accordingly. So while it's definitely a bit 'out there', the family tradition is explained in such a way that is actually believable. It's woven into the story really well too. 

Equally, it's a great exploration of what happens when someone wants to free themselves from tradition and find their own path. In this case, Sasha, the daughter, is simply trying to impress a boy at school, but in the process learns a few things about herself. Examining this through the lens of meat eating vs vegetarianism vs veganism is quite clever because it's such a simple thing that people choose, but in here every part of the spectrum is included, and indeed closes the loop! It speaks of the pressures teens are put under and put themselves under, and ultimately finding the strength to take your own stance.

The writing manages to strike a really good balance between character and plot. All of the characters are well fleshed out and pop off the page for their own reasons, and each serves the wider story well and takes a turn in the spotlight. I wouldn't say it's laugh out loud funny, but it is humorous, and while it's not gory or a full on bloodbath, it's not exactly a normal Sunday lunch they're preparing. But overall, unless you are a really sensitive reader this is a tale you can take with a pinch of seasoning and just tuck into and enjoy.

I think the only letdown for me is the ending. There are moments in the narrative that indicate the writer is speaking of events that have already occurred and do you do get an indication of the way things are heading, but it's not 100% clear until you get there. It does round off the story to a good clean conclusion, but I almost wanted more ambiguity, or a return to 'normal' after the story's crescendo. 

Overall an enjoyable read. And I know just the person to pass this book onto!

This jumped to the top of my TBR queue by accident. I watched the Netflix series a few weeks ago and quite enjoyed it, and then when I was scanning through my library's ebook catalogue I happened to spot this as available. Having looked into it, I understand that the book was commissioned as a companion piece to the series, rather than the series being based on the book.

I therefore find it incredibly odd that the book doesn't cover nearly so much ground as the series. The book barely gets you to the half way point, and the majority of the sub-plots are missing. Essentially, this is the most stripped back telling of the classic trope of a 'commoner' falling for a Prince, and suddenly being shocked at the changes to their life but putting up with it for love.  And if it doesn't compare well the series it's based on, it certainly isn't up there with the best of this type of tale. Most of the scenes from the book are recognisable if you've seen the series, but they lack the depth, emotion and narrative meaning that are conveyed in the visual form. I only really cared about what was going on because I've seen the show, and that influence means I can at least recommend this as a 'cliff notes' version of the series. While the uncomfortable moment of Elisabeth's 'innocence inspection' is certainly the most vivid part of the book, it still fails to garner the sympathy and horror that the acted scene conveys. 

The writing meanders from flat and lifeless to gushing and overly-romanticised, but in the opposite places to where you would expect. The scenes with Franz and Elisabeth getting closer, and starting to head towards intimacy are painfully wooden; he puts his hand here, she touches his chest there. There's no spark, flow or heat the draws you into the belief that they are desperate to be together. And yet small moments that are not capitalised upon (as perhaps they are in the series), such as Maxie talking to himself about how to explain his feelings to Elisabeth, have much more oomph behind them but are totally out of character and so feel wasted.

There is also a lot of telling, rather than showing. The biggest example of this; you are told the colour of EVERYTHING. The descriptions of rooms aren't necessarily long, but they're included in what feels like every scene and they're quite precise, so your mind is too busy trying to conjure up this incredibly detailed backdrop rather than focusing on the action. There's a similar issue with the outfits (particularly the dresses, but it happens with the men's uniforms too); the colour of every layer is noted more often than I can count. It just felt like useless information overload, and by the time I got a good way into the book, I just had to roll my eyes and try to drown it out.

The narrators did a good job with the material, but again it felt like a half-hearted effort by the producers, and a strange mish-mash of neither straight narration, nor graphic audio. Burgess would narrate the scenes told from Franz' point of view, and Boswell those told from Elisabeth's. But she would also then narrate the chapters told from Helena's perspective, and both would voice the opposite characters in their own chapters. It feels like they should have either hired a third actor to narrate Helena's POV to truly separate things out (even though there aren't a huge number of chapters for her), or gone more down the audio play route and had each person 'voice' their character throughout, with a narrator reading the description. There also a few pronunciation issues at various points which caused a small amount of annoyance. 

I know nothing about the real life Elisabeth and Franz, but I learned far more from the Netflix series than I did from this. While there are of course some historical inaccuracies (it is historical fiction after all), after doing a bit of Googling on the subject I think the show far more powerfully depicts at least a version of the truth. The simplicity of the book barely scratches the surface.

Seriously, go and watch the show. It's far better and a better use of your time.

Slightly outside my usual comfort zone of the sixteenth century, I saw this and was drawn to the fact that it's by one of the Queens of narrative history, and it's about a fascinating moment in time which I'd like to know more about.

In general terms, the book does impart some very interesting takes on the motives and background of the plot, as well as exposing the fact there is a debate between historians as to whether there was actually a plot at all. However, you really have to have your head on straight to concentrate and take in all of the information. I've read this book over a couple of days, but I'll be honest, for the most part I've totally forgotten about most of it. It is not a light read. I wasn't expecting it to be, but then I've read other books by this author and they at least felt like the flowed and there was a point to the text. 

In this case, the introduction suggests that she's going to set out the evidence and consider the Pro-Plot/No-Plot arguments, but this is very quickly forgotten for more of a straight narrative history. However, she spends about the first half of the book setting out the wider context of the country in 1603-1605, allowing the main conspirators to sneak in one by one. Guy Fawkes of course gets a little bit more focus, but then you're into the plot, discovery, trial and executions at breakneck speed. Then the last quarter of the book focuses on one particular Jesuit priest who wasn't directly involved in the plot at all  but knew about it because one of the plotters came to him in confession. I don't feel that I actually learned anything about the plot itself, the conspirators and/or their deeper motivations, which is really disappointing.

It seems that the author was more drawn to the background characters; the priests, wives and wider family of the plotters. This does make a certain amount of sense when you consider that the vast majority of the main 13 are related by blood or marriage (only Guy Fawkes and one other lack family ties). However, this shifts the focus away from the story you're here to read. I admit a couple of the women are fascinating, but it's not enough to justify prioritising them over the plotters.

She's also deeply invested in the architecture of the various properties, particularly in relation to the priest holes and hiding places built in. Again, very interesting, but there's just not enough detail, so once again it detracts from the narrative.

I understand that this book isn't new; first published in 1996, it is written in more of the old fashioned style of non-fiction (and before you shout, yes, I was born before this book was published!); a quite dry exploration of the period in question. I think it needed another pass with an editor (quite a lot of repeated little facts and phrases in here) and a tighter focus on the subject matter. If you're a newbie to this subject, then this book definitely isn't for you.

After a couple of very similar settings, we get something a bit different with this twisted telling of 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'. The fanatical priest with a sordid secret meets the struggling exotic dancer trying to dig her way out of the mess her mother left behind... Will his faith in the Almighty sustain him, or fall to the temptation of sweet sin?

So yeah, first and foremost this probably ticks a few more trigger/content warning boxes than the previous books in the series. It certainly felt darker than some of the others, particularly since the juxtaposition of Cade's day job compared to his nighttime activities is so stark. Although you do jump into the action very quickly, it is a little unsettling simply because your expectations of the characters based on stereotypes are the reverse of the other books - you'd expect the MMC to be the 'innocent' one here. As a result, I found Cade's struggle between his faith and his desire very engaging as it kept this feeling going even after it became clear that the author was sticking with her usual formula. 

The story also felt more grounded than the others. For once, neither of the main protagonists were filthy rich and their lives generally were more relatable. They're certainly no more 'normal' than any of the others, but they had more depth to them. Introducing Quinten as the younger brother with developmental disabilities was a beautiful touch, and he gives the reader a character to truly root for. Weirdly, the story acts as a great social commentary on how hard it must be to have a child with special needs when you simply can't afford all of the extra necessities, and makes you think about just what those necessities are. It also means that you feel as Amaya and Cade do when he is forgotten, which is a great way into their wider mindsets. Plus, the extended epilogue to this one really rounds his story out nicely.

As with the last book though, the added darkness to Cade's character didn't seem strictly necessary. He could still have been the stormy priest struggling with his inner demons and just as dark a character without him getting his hands dirty. Again, I think the author knows what works for her and is blindly sticking with it, rather than exploring alternative ways to tell the story she wants to tell. And while the morally upright to morally grey arc for Amaya works well in the main story, I'm not sold on the ambiguous ending where it's intimated that perhaps she's followed Cade down the darker path. It just doesn't fit her character in my opinion.

The "adult" content in this one give the story much more of a slow burn to it. And actually, while it's still a big part of the story, it came across as more of a physical expression of feelings (or repression thereof) rather than just being there for the 18 rating.

These books are good, don't get me wrong, but having read all five in a very short space of time I can confidently say that was a mistake. These are standalone books that you slot in between other reads, or to get you out of your own head when you're distracted, not a series to be binge-read. I'll definitely be reading them again in future, but probably not for a little while.

Diamonds are a girl's best friend... unless your Dad is the owner of the biggest diamond business on the planet and is planning to marry you off to a random rich tycoon just so that he doesn't have to worry about his business being run by a girl after he's gone. So when his dark, mysterious, slightly terrifying and incredibly handsome right-hand man discovers that you might have already given your heart away, he also spies an opportunity to grab hold of everything he's ever desired...

Once again, the author spins a well known fairy tale into something modern, dark and sexy, employing tropes that, by now, are becoming the hallmarks of her work; a big city, a character in a position of power in a business with a shady side, willing to murder to keep their place in the world and a female lead with Daddy issues. It's strange how these stories have very quickly become 'comfortable'; a familiar pattern and guaranteed resolution that makes them easy to read and end enjoy, even though the subject matter is often far from cozy. It's not really necessary to engage your brain too much while reading these stories; just chill and enjoy the ride!

This instalment did feel like it had a slightly different tone to it; there were a couple more sub-plots than usual, which gave the story a little more depth than the last. However, they weren't necessarily woven into the main narrative as well as they could have been; in a couple of places there may as well have been big neon arrows pointing to a phrase or action screaming 'important plot point here!' It's by no means bad writing, and it is definitely better than the last one, but it just feels a little 'safe', like the author has found her niche and is resolutely sticking with it rather than taking a risk and trying to stick with the theme but take a different approach. 

However, there were a couple of brief shining moments where I did get hooked into thinking she might go a different way. Part of me was expecting that this villain's happily ever after would be being king of his castle after dispatching all those in his way, which certainly would have been a twist! But while I can't say there are any out and out surprises, there are a few nice little moments that might not be quite what you were expecting. 

I didn't really warm to the character in the same way as the earlier books; both the leads feel like they have been a little forced into their roles to fit the narrative. For example, Julian didn't need his 'sideline' - he could have been just as sly, manipulative and villainous as a legitimate businessman. Except, although not central to the story, the glimpses at Julian's childhood give him a vulnerability that explain his personality somewhat and allow the reader to sympathise a little when he does turn to the darker aspects of his role. It's not enough to justify his actions (and therefore the author's choices in this regard), but it's that chink of light that good girls look for in bad boys!

Conversely, while I get Yasmin loves her father and would do anything to make him happy, her complete surrender to his will made me want to grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her right from the word go. There's nothing in her personality that redeems her as a character for me. 

The extended epilogue to this one is also very one-dimensional; there really is nothing to it save for an excuse for one more round of sexy-times. 

Overall, I had hoped for better, but am confident that this is an improvement on 'Wretched'.

It's the turn of 'The Wizard of Oz' to receive the Never After treatment. Now set in a city not far from Chicago, Evalina Westerly's family are Irish mob and their game is pushing a new drug variant, Flying Monkey. Exploited by her father, abandones by her mother and a with a suspicion thay one sister may have murdered another, when a new face appears that drives her barmy and yet draws her ever closer, she starts to question if there is really 'no place like home'?

This really feels like an amalgamation of the first two books in the series, with the parts of each book thst worked well being cherry picked and rewritten to fit the Wizard of Oz narrative. The trouble is, by now the pattern is becoming familiar and, in this case, the writing and characters aren't quite strong enough to carry it through. The storyline as a whole doesn't feel particularly original and the style feels quite amateur. Overall, the quality feels more like this is the writer's first attempt at the genre, rather than the third book in the series.  I admit that this feeling may be partially down to the fact that I'm binge-reading the series though.

I liked the idea of Nicholas, our MMC, but ultimately he comes across to me as a bundle of contradictions. He starts as a stereotypical playboy, but it's not carried through in any meaningful way. He's got a strong moral compass based on events from his past, and while his conflicting emotions are considered, it feels just a little outside the realms of believability that he can ignore or accept something that previously was a total anathema to him. And in the extended epilogue, there's a mention things may not have changed all that much, and yet he's perfectly contented. I just can't see it myself.

Even the smut seems a bit contrived. It definitely feels like it's going through the motions just to meet the readers' expectations rather than being anything anything particularly designed for the story. The placement of the first 'encounter' appears to me to be an attempt to mix things up a bit, and it works, but is then let down by the follow ups being, for the most part, more of the same rather that developing the relationship.

All that being said, it is just as good as the others for being a bit of escapism, a quick and enjoyable read and a very different take on a classic story.

All I knew about this one going in was that it was supposed to be a dark "retelling" of Hamlet. But I couldn't figure out how it would work, as no-one gets a happily ever after in the original! So I was drawn into this from page one.

Honestly, if I hadn't been given the heads up I would never have put two and two together. It's only when I'm thinking about it after the fact I can start to see the resemblance, and recognise that this version isn't being told from 'Hamlet's' point of view, which I think is what threw me off. Instead, our lead character, Tristan, takes the part of Claudius; the dark, embittered younger brother with designs on the Crown and all that comes with it. His character is mesmerising, and something straight out of bad boy central casting. He's not my usual visualisation for an MMC, but in this case from the first description of him I could only picture Tom Hiddleston playing him. Which meant that his older brother, King Michael, was of course 'played' by Chris Hemsworth...

The contrast between the FMC, Sara, in this and Wendy in 'Hooked' is quite stark. As mentioned in my review of that book, I found Wendy to be lacking in depth, but that's definitely not the case with Sara. Although ultimately under the influence of various men, she is strong enough to stand as equals amongst them, has her own agency and  brings her own ruthlessness to the story. There's no wondering how she can stand by someone with such a dark streak; she matches him perfectly. 

With the Never After series comes smut, and these scenes match the tone of the rest of the book. The 'action' is not for the faint-hearted, but sadly I don't think the writing is quite hard-hitting enough to properly convey the dynamics of this part of the relationship. It's not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but it's missing something that I can't quite identify that would take it from 'it's a bit warm in here...' to supernova. 

However, outside of that the writing and story is as engaging and clever as 'Hooked', if a little more restricted by the setting. Princesses and balls don't quite allow the same scope for exploration of space and character that the seedy underworld of a big city does. But there are some beautiful moments where the author really does weave a spell with her words; particularly in those quiet moments between two characters, whether it be our protagonists, father and son, Prince and pauper. That's where her real skill lies; she allows the chinks of light in a dark character burn bright, and by doing so gives them the humanity they need for the reader to root for them.

And once again there's an extra epilogue for those who subscribe to the author's mailing list! Again, it doesn't really add a whole lot, it's just an excuse for a bit more of the same and the author's way of showing that's she's kept her promise to give the villain his happily ever after, but there's nothing wrong with an extra freebie!

On to the next one!

Remy has been on the run for over a decade, hiding from a King out for red witch blood. A chance encounter leads to the chance to rebuild her lost home, find her lost family and rediscover herself in this fantasy fae tale.

As the title and description would suggest, this is a story that borrows heavily from the ACOTAR/TOG playbook. However, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. There is enough originality to keep things fresh and interesting, and yet a lot of the exposition you'd expect from the first book in a series is missing because, well, if you're reading it then chances are you already understand the basics of fae biology, lore and power, so why go over it again?! It allows the story to get going immediately - you're pulled into the action very quickly and with little preamble.

This continues throughout the narrative; a lot of the time the band of characters are trekking through woods or otherwise travelling, and so the author just allows there to be time jumps between chapters. It's just slipped into the prose so you do have to concentrate a little, otherwise things move very quickly indeed, but by doing this she has managed to keep the pace of the story going and effectively kept out any surplus that would weigh the story down. That being said, it does have a bitbof a negative impact on the relationship development between the characters - even with the time jump hints, in places everything feels like it's progressing just a bit too quickly. A moment to breathe every so often might just have given the story a bit more in the way of build up.

The characters as a group really do band together in your mind; they very much fulfil the 'found family' trope and it's easy and enjoyable to fall into their camaraderie and bonds. The downside is that, for the most part, the strength of each individual secondary character is somewhat lost - I would hope they will get their time to shine in later books in the series, but for now I'm left wanting more. The two main characters, Remy and Hale, are more clearly defined and obviously are given more pages to spread their wings (unfortunately not literally, as far as I can tell!), but even then they don't quite feel fully formed yet. However, they are absolutely engaging and, no matter how predictable, it's still great to watch their relationship change.

Everything is set out well so you can envisage the author's imagined world and how it works, but at the same time the worldbuilding isn't quite up to Maas standards. I can't really visualise a lot of the places the author talks about - in many cases I am just recycling images from ACOTAR or TOG to fill in the gaps. That being said, when the places have an emotional connection with the characters it becomes much easier - it feel like the author has a stronger grasp on these images and might even be describing versions of places with meaning to her. 

You go into this book knowing pretty much exactly what you're going to get, and yet the author still manages to throw in a couple of cheeky little twists to keep you guessing. The only disappointment is that on more than one occasion she chooses to 'resolve' a twist pretty much instantly, so again there's little chance for proper tension to build. I admit it's refreshing to not have a misunderstanding suck upnall the air for multiple chapters, but in this case it could have used a little stretching out to make us as readers squirm a bit!

Overall, quite an enjoyable read and I'm intrigued to see where the series goes from here.

The first in the 'Never After' series, this book opens with a warning from the author that this is NOT a fairy tale reimagining. And she's absolutely spot on. While the character names might be familiar to fans of Peter Pan, this is definitely not a children's story. James Barrie is a man out for vengeance, and he figures the best way to get it is to ruin Wendy, the daughter of his nemesis Peter Michaels. But is it possible she might just ruin him instead?

So let's just get this out of the way up front. If you can't handle spice, this book is not for you. There is a LOT of it, and it's quite hot. I wouldn't say all of it is strictly necessary to move the plot forward, but it does give insights into the development of the relationship and the power plays of the characters. Even though it's not the best writing I've ever read (it does border a bit on the 'bad fanfic' end of the spectrum in a couple of places), for the most part it does its job very well and maintains believability while also pulling the reader into fantasy land...

While we're talking content/trigger warnings, there are allusions to assault of a minor, overt (but not excessively graphic) descriptions of violence and murder, kidnapping, drug abuse and so on. So not a book for the faint of heart of the innocent of mind! 

Outside of the smut, the story is actually quite strong, if a little predictable. I enjoyed the mapping of the traditional Pan characters onto a modern criminal underworld setting and the twists and turns of the narrative. I did peg pretty early who you needed to be worried about, but even then there's a couple of nice little 'hooks' to surprise you. As a whole, the relationship does follow a very familiar pattern and so in that sense there's nothing that surprising, but the journey is still great to follow. If I had to be picky, I'd argue the 'misunderstanding' is a little thin and could do with a bit more depth of thought and feeling.

The author's depicting of James, aka Hook, provides everything you need to understand his motivation, why he is the way he is and the development of his character through the course of the story. His bad boy swagger and charm ooze off the page and I found him utterly captivating, especially in his moments of deepest darkness and complete vulnerability. While Wendy too has 'character', I found her far less developed. She's not completely two dimensional, but it does appear that most of the author's efforts went into shaping her male lead. I just couldn't get inside her head as much, despite half the chapters being written from her point of view. I just struggled to understand how someone previously so innocent and 'good' could look past what Hook does. It's not expressed that he suddenly changes his ways and stays on the right side of the law, so it puzzles me that his dark side and shady dealings don't seem to bother her at all.

As I read this on my Kindle, at the end of the boom I was invited to join the author's mailing list, upon which I could receive a free extended epilogue. Well that was a no-brainer! It is mostly an excuse for one more round of sexy-times, but it does give a nice little round off of the story. A little sappy, sure, but ultimately it is nice to see the villain get his happily ever after.

There are four more in this series to date, and I cannot wait to read them!