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585 reviews by:
thebookishlifeoflaura
3.5 stars
I liked it but found it to be kind of boring at times :/
I liked it but found it to be kind of boring at times :/
3.5 stars (maybe 3.75? Basically just not quite 4 stars)
To be honest I thought this book would be a lot... *more* based on all the hype around it. I did really like it, but I guess I let the hype give me too high of expectations and I was a little underwhelmed. I think my main issues with it was the pining, unrequited love (which will always drive me nuts in pretty much any novel), and the main character a little bit. I liked her for the most part but she was a little annoying at times
That 👏🏼 writing 👏🏼 style 👏🏼 though 👏🏼 ugh stunning
To be honest I thought this book would be a lot... *more* based on all the hype around it. I did really like it, but I guess I let the hype give me too high of expectations and I was a little underwhelmed. I think my main issues with it was the pining, unrequited love (which will always drive me nuts in pretty much any novel), and the main character a little bit. I liked her for the most part but she was a little annoying at times
That 👏🏼 writing 👏🏼 style 👏🏼 though 👏🏼 ugh stunning
Actual rating 3.75 stars
Ngl the first half of this was pretty boring, but then it got REALLY GOOD and made me tear up multiple times so... I am a fan
Ngl the first half of this was pretty boring, but then it got REALLY GOOD and made me tear up multiple times so... I am a fan
3.5 stars
I'll admit, I was relatively bored by Lord of Shadows for the majority of it. I would probably really like it if it weren't for Emma and Julien; their romance is just so angsty and annoying and tbh it completely ruined the book for me. I absolutely love Mark, Kieran, and Christina. Ty, Livvy, and Kit were pretty ok. Diana and Gwyn stole my heart <3 But then it switches to Julien or Emma and the whole chapter is just them pining after each other instead of focusing on all the dangerous shit that's happening around them and I get mad. I like them both as individual characters, especially Julien and his fierce love for his family, but the second he looks at Emma he completely loses me. So because of those two, this book went from a 4.5 to a 3.5 It would have been 3 but THAT ENDING THOUGH. WHAT. OH MY GOD ??? I'm really glad I ordered Lord of Shadows and Queen of Air and Darkness at the same time because I need to read the next book like right now
I'll admit, I was relatively bored by Lord of Shadows for the majority of it. I would probably really like it if it weren't for Emma and Julien; their romance is just so angsty and annoying and tbh it completely ruined the book for me. I absolutely love Mark, Kieran, and Christina. Ty, Livvy, and Kit were pretty ok. Diana and Gwyn stole my heart <3 But then it switches to Julien or Emma and the whole chapter is just them pining after each other instead of focusing on all the dangerous shit that's happening around them and I get mad. I like them both as individual characters, especially Julien and his fierce love for his family, but the second he looks at Emma he completely loses me. So because of those two, this book went from a 4.5 to a 3.5 It would have been 3 but THAT ENDING THOUGH. WHAT. OH MY GOD ??? I'm really glad I ordered Lord of Shadows and Queen of Air and Darkness at the same time because I need to read the next book like right now
Buddy read with Dragons and Tea Book Club (I don’t know how to do links on mobile oops) (yes I read ahead, we weren’t supposed to finish this until tomorrow but I couldn’t resist)
I was not expecting to like this so much. The description sounded decent but I didn’t anticipate getting as invested in the characters and story as I did. Ancrum did an amazing job of making you feel like you were part of the story, that you were just as much a part of Jack’s world as August. I feel like the super short short chapters really contributed to that somehow, it really really worked with the story. Every aspect of this book just worked in every way. I didn’t give it 5 stars because 5 stars are usually reserved for books that made me me sob, which this one did not, but for everything else it was absolutely perfect. I loved this book so much. I remember reading a couple reviews that said this book queer baited though, which I’m confused about, but anyways. Read this, you won’t regret it
I was not expecting to like this so much. The description sounded decent but I didn’t anticipate getting as invested in the characters and story as I did. Ancrum did an amazing job of making you feel like you were part of the story, that you were just as much a part of Jack’s world as August. I feel like the super short short chapters really contributed to that somehow, it really really worked with the story. Every aspect of this book just worked in every way. I didn’t give it 5 stars because 5 stars are usually reserved for books that made me me sob, which this one did not, but for everything else it was absolutely perfect. I loved this book so much. I remember reading a couple reviews that said this book queer baited though, which I’m confused about, but anyways. Read this, you won’t regret it
This is literally everything that I’ve ever wanted in a book and I’m so happy this exists! I really really hope we get a sequel!!
HELL
FUCKING
YES
THIS WAS SO GOOD! In all honesty I liked it SLIGHTLY less than Gentleman’s Guide (but let’s be real, no one could ever top Monty and Percy, they’re just phenomenal characters) but it was still ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!
What I love most about this book is that there is ZERO ROMANCE! N O N E! It’s purely based on friendship and maybe a slight crush but otherwise ?? JUST THREE WOMEN LEARNING HOW TO BE BAD ASS BITCHES TOGETHER AND TAKING THEIR LIVES INTO THEIR OWN HANDS
They are SUPPORTIVE
They are LOVING
They are INTELLIGENT
They are SENSITIVE
But also STRONG. AS. HELL!!!!
I also love how much Felicity’s character got developed!! We got a little bit of her in the first book, but obviously since it wasn’t her story she wasn’t the main focus. But by the end of Lady’s Guide I feel like Felicity is fully flushed out and she’s f a n t a s t i c. I really like that Lee didn’t just make her headstrong and sure of herself; she also made her vulnerable, and emotional, and she doubted herself SO OFTEN and I just really felt like her character was SO realistic. She’s a character that every woman can relate to, regardless of time period.
I ALSO really love Johanna and the complexity of her character! The dialogue of being a woman who can enjoy both science and silks is FANTASTIC, and honestly not something I’ve personally seen too often in feminist novels. I love love love her and Felicity’s relationship and their falling out; how they both saw each other as less of a woman in the past because of how the other behaved, but then worked it out and learned from each other throughout the course of the book. I love that Felicity, who from the very beginning of Gentleman’s Guide is seen as this super progressive feminist, which she is, but her relationship with Johanna proved that no matter how progressive you see yourself as, we all have room to grow and I think that’s a really important thing to talk about. It’s ok to be wrong in your views, as long as you’re willing to learn and listen when someone calls you out.
One last thing: G. A. Y.
I love all things queer and this was AMAZING in my opinion! I so rarely see Aro Ace representation, ESPECIALLY as the main character. And not only that, but the other character who I won’t name because of spoilers, turning out to be probably LGBTQ+ as well, which was completely unexpected and I’m so here for this. Give me all the LGBTQ+ women! I LOVE NORMALIZED QUEERNESS IN POPULAR MEDIA IM SO HAPPY!
READ THIS BOOK!!!!
FUCKING
YES
THIS WAS SO GOOD! In all honesty I liked it SLIGHTLY less than Gentleman’s Guide (but let’s be real, no one could ever top Monty and Percy, they’re just phenomenal characters) but it was still ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!
What I love most about this book is that there is ZERO ROMANCE! N O N E! It’s purely based on friendship and maybe a slight crush but otherwise ?? JUST THREE WOMEN LEARNING HOW TO BE BAD ASS BITCHES TOGETHER AND TAKING THEIR LIVES INTO THEIR OWN HANDS
They are SUPPORTIVE
They are LOVING
They are INTELLIGENT
They are SENSITIVE
But also STRONG. AS. HELL!!!!
I also love how much Felicity’s character got developed!! We got a little bit of her in the first book, but obviously since it wasn’t her story she wasn’t the main focus. But by the end of Lady’s Guide I feel like Felicity is fully flushed out and she’s f a n t a s t i c. I really like that Lee didn’t just make her headstrong and sure of herself; she also made her vulnerable, and emotional, and she doubted herself SO OFTEN and I just really felt like her character was SO realistic. She’s a character that every woman can relate to, regardless of time period.
I ALSO really love Johanna and the complexity of her character! The dialogue of being a woman who can enjoy both science and silks is FANTASTIC, and honestly not something I’ve personally seen too often in feminist novels. I love love love her and Felicity’s relationship and their falling out; how they both saw each other as less of a woman in the past because of how the other behaved, but then worked it out and learned from each other throughout the course of the book. I love that Felicity, who from the very beginning of Gentleman’s Guide is seen as this super progressive feminist, which she is, but her relationship with Johanna proved that no matter how progressive you see yourself as, we all have room to grow and I think that’s a really important thing to talk about. It’s ok to be wrong in your views, as long as you’re willing to learn and listen when someone calls you out.
One last thing: G. A. Y.
I love all things queer and this was AMAZING in my opinion! I so rarely see Aro Ace representation, ESPECIALLY as the main character. And not only that, but the other character who I won’t name because of spoilers, turning out to be probably LGBTQ+ as well, which was completely unexpected and I’m so here for this. Give me all the LGBTQ+ women! I LOVE NORMALIZED QUEERNESS IN POPULAR MEDIA IM SO HAPPY!
READ THIS BOOK!!!!
Actual rating 3.5 stars
It’s not that I disliked this book, I really did like it. For some reason I just couldn’t get into it as much as I did with The Bird and the Sword, even though Kjell was one of my favourite characters in that book. There isn’t any one thing I can pinpoint as to why I didn’t like it as much, I just neither liked or disliked it. Although I will admit to tearing up a few times, and Harmon writes romance really really well; it was like I could feel the pain Kjell was in whenever he was apart from her, that was fantastically done. Also the name of the last child made me tear up quite a bit, I’m not gonna lie LOL
It’s not that I disliked this book, I really did like it. For some reason I just couldn’t get into it as much as I did with The Bird and the Sword, even though Kjell was one of my favourite characters in that book. There isn’t any one thing I can pinpoint as to why I didn’t like it as much, I just neither liked or disliked it. Although I will admit to tearing up a few times, and Harmon writes romance really really well; it was like I could feel the pain Kjell was in whenever he was apart from her, that was fantastically done. Also the name of the last child made me tear up quite a bit, I’m not gonna lie LOL
Actual rating 3.5 stars
I really loved Whisper of the Tide, but unfortunately not nearly as much as Song of the Current. I think with this one, it kind of lost some of the magic that the first one had; in the first book, the thing that drew me in was Caro’s relationship with the gods and trying to figure that out, I adored that magical little mystery and getting to know her world. I kind of felt that magical element to the world was lacking in the sequel. I was also disappointed in Caro quite a bit? For a while in the middle there she seemed to be choosing to live her life for a man instead of for herself, which isn’t the Caro that I know at all. I understand the purpose of that was to demonstrate how she wasn’t sure of her place at the moment, and of course there wouldn’t really have been a plot if she had chosen otherwise lol, but still I wish she had chosen differently. I still loved it though! The characters and the writing style is fantastic, and it’s definitely worth the read if you liked the first book
I really loved Whisper of the Tide, but unfortunately not nearly as much as Song of the Current. I think with this one, it kind of lost some of the magic that the first one had; in the first book, the thing that drew me in was Caro’s relationship with the gods and trying to figure that out, I adored that magical little mystery and getting to know her world. I kind of felt that magical element to the world was lacking in the sequel. I was also disappointed in Caro quite a bit? For a while in the middle there she seemed to be choosing to live her life for a man instead of for herself, which isn’t the Caro that I know at all. I understand the purpose of that was to demonstrate how she wasn’t sure of her place at the moment, and of course there wouldn’t really have been a plot if she had chosen otherwise lol, but still I wish she had chosen differently. I still loved it though! The characters and the writing style is fantastic, and it’s definitely worth the read if you liked the first book
YALL
EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS BOOK IT’S SO GOOD HOLY SHIT
I loved every single thing about it!! I’m gonna write a proper review in the morning but just oh my god this was incredible !!!!
4 months of this book being on my RTC shelf later...
The above is basically all that needs to be said tbh. To Kill a Kingdom was just absolutely incredible and one of those books that I still think about months later. It was so so so so good, I don't think there was a single thing that I disliked about it. Just absolutely brilliant, one of the best books I ever read. I wish this would be a series so I could have more of the world, but at the same time it ended perfectly so I wouldn't want more. The struggle lmfao
EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS BOOK IT’S SO GOOD HOLY SHIT
I loved every single thing about it!! I’m gonna write a proper review in the morning but just oh my god this was incredible !!!!
4 months of this book being on my RTC shelf later...
The above is basically all that needs to be said tbh. To Kill a Kingdom was just absolutely incredible and one of those books that I still think about months later. It was so so so so good, I don't think there was a single thing that I disliked about it. Just absolutely brilliant, one of the best books I ever read. I wish this would be a series so I could have more of the world, but at the same time it ended perfectly so I wouldn't want more. The struggle lmfao