Gemma

The Cruel Prince ???????????????The Wicked King ???????????????The Queen of Nothing ???????????????

I won't go into specific plot points in this book, but I will talk about what I liked and disliked briefly.

I really enjoyed Cardan and Jude's relationship for the most part. It was complicated, there were issues and it just really worked for me. The whole faerie world and its lore also was really enjoyable. I haven't read a series about fae before and I loved the setting a lot, especially the cruelty the fae loved to inflict on others. I also enjoyed how many different aspects there were to the plot, and how you could easily forget about one aspect only to be surprised with it later on.

Otherwise, I felt like this book should have been double its length. A lot of essential plot points happened off screen, or in the time between books two and three. This made the experience a lot less immersive and feel a bit cheap.

How did 600 pages break and remake me 20 times? This book was a fantastic read.

The Way of Shadows is a re-read for me, although it does not show on goodreads. I originally read the entire trilogy when I was around 15 years old and I think I read it too fast as I didn't remember what happened right after finishing the books. This time around I consumed the book a lot slower and took the time to try and adsorb the plot as best as I could.

The book follows Azoth, a young boy from the slums who is given the opportunity to remake himself when he apprentices himself under the greatest wetboy in the city, Durzo Blint. The process is no gift and proves to change Azoth in more ways than one. The book follows his journey from a boy of 12 to a man over the age of 20 and his quest to become a wetboy worthy of the respect of his master.

This time around I enjoyed every aspect of the book and managed to understand the plot much better than I had before. I felt the characters and the plot were the strongest aspects of the book and both were done incredibly. I had no complaints there., and in fact found myself experiencing the full spectrum of human emotion by the time I had finished the book. In the effort to keep this review spoiler free, I won't go into any further detail. Suffice it to say, I wish all books had plots this fast paced and complex.

Additionally, the characters really compelled me. Azoth and Blint broke and remade my heart multiple times each, and at the heart of this book was their progress from master and apprentice relationship to one closer to a father/son. By no means was this a clean or healthy relationship but it felt all the more real for it.

I do wish the various countries and their rivalries had been established better before later aspects of the plot came into play as it was difficult but not impossible to understand the different rulers and their motivations. I adored the writing in this as it toed the line between poetic and the type of fast paced action writing I enjoy.

All in all, I would recommend this book and I can't wait to crack on with the second book in the series. I'm fairly certain I won't finish it without crying.

I found this book much harder to follow than the first one. It could be because I half watched the movie before I read the first book. In this one, we get a character study of Control as he starts his job as Acting-Director of Southern Reach. The writing style is full of unintelligible half questions, and dramatic poetic short paragraphs. When I managed to follow along it was an enjoyable concise storytelling method but most of the time I would drift in and out of the narrative.

A Gentleman in Moscow is possibly the greatest book I've picked up on a whim. I'm incredibly interested in the period of time immediately after the Russian revolution, so the setting of this particular book jumped out at me when I discovered it on goodreads.

I adored Towles' writing style. It felt easygoing and I flew through the pages when I picked it up. It was the first book that prompted me to use the highlight function on my kindle. The style really felt as though the Count was telling this tale to me with all his eccentricities. He is the best character this year to date for me. I loved him from the first page and keep thinking of him when I'm not reading the book.

Pick this book up!

I can't believe this book is so good! It was sitting on my shelf, waiting patiently, for when I'd finally pick it up. I knew I was going to enjoy the book from the blurb and the thousands of fantastic reviews here on Goodreads, but I was nervous it would be more YA than I prefer.

What a daft worry now I've thought about it. I don't like YA books and while Victoria Schwab writes YA, V. E. Schwab decidedly does not. I think the book is well designed and fits together perfectly. Each of the characters feel like full, interesting people that I enjoyed reading from the perspective of.

There's not a single part of this book I'd change, as far as I'm considered its a perfect book.

Updated September 2018, as of re-reading:
While I agree with my previous comments regarding how much I enjoyed this book and in particular the character of Kell, my feelings about the book overall have changed a bit. I personally feel like the world could have comfortably been up to 200 pages longer to flesh out the world and the characters established relationships and give the world a more three dimensional feel.

This was a really boring and disappointing book in the Series of Unfortunate Events. The previous book indicted the format of the book was about to change which was an exciting point for me. However, while the format changed the story slowed down and did not deliver the quick, fun stories I have enjoyed from this series.

The Graces was an unusual book. It's probably the best way I have to describe it, as I'm not sure I have a clue what I just read.

The book follows a teenage girl as she moves to a new school and becomes obsessed with a family called Grace, who she suspects to be witches. She is determined to become part of their inner circle, desperate for the brother to fall in love with her. In fact, I didn't feel like the main character and narrator of this book had any strong personality or direction. There didn't feel like there was any insight into her past (except brief mentions of her parents behavior which was never explained or examined). The character even remained nameless for the first portion of the book!

The Graces were interesting, but majority of them were not really given much depth. I think this book would have been a strong candidate if the characters had been fleshed out and given more aspects to make them feel 3D.

This was a fantastic start into reading more nonfiction. How will anything else compare?

Tim Marshall gives a solid overview of how various countries foreign policy, borders and difficulties were defined by their geography. While the scope of this book wasn't incredibly detailed, I learnt a lot and found myself with more areas of interest to read more about.

I would also like to highly recommend the audiobook for this one, I found it to be a great asset when trying to stare at maps and read at the same time.

I picked up Half a King from the library on a whim because I have heard the name Joe Abercrombie quite a lot. It was supposed to be a quick read to introduce me to the author.

PLOT ???????????????
The story centres around Yarvi, a crippled second son in a world where he isn???t expected to amount to much. He is considered ???half a king???, not worthy to inherit the throne. When his father and brother perish, Yarvi is suddenly forced into the forefront of a dangerous world he thought he would never have to confront.

WORLD-BUILDING ???????????????
I personally feel like this could have been a fantastic novel, if all aspects of it had been done in more detail. The cast of characters were not developed, or given histories or motivation past a sentence each midway through the book. The world the book depended on wasn't clearly explained at all. Every character spoke about the history and religion as if it was incredibly important, yet none of that was explored or set up at all.

CHARACTERS ???????????????
I particularly found the main character to be irritating and immature during the entirety of the book. This is understandable, and many books follow an immature character trying to grow up quickly to assume a responsibility they must bear, it simply was the case that I felt Yarvi had no features that endeared me to him. I felt that the characters felt like caricatures, and utterly unbelievable. A large portion of the dialogue felt forced and over the top.

OVERALL ???????????????
A lot of reviews I have seen on GR for this series feature the comment that Abercrombie???s other books are an improvement on this one. I won't continue with this series, but I might try another of Abercrombie's as I've heard his other books are better.

I loved the art style and I'd heard nothing but great things about this graphic novel series. It just didn't add up for me. I don't feel like I got a linear, understandable plot and I'm not even sure if I want to continue with the other volumes that I bought.

Am I missing something?

Not a super memorable book, but the plot was confusing enough that I never remember the ending. That bumped up the star rating for me because I'm always guaranteed to enjoy the unknown element.

Also I love the movie, so that helped. I know it shouldn't really count towards the book but my Goodreads, my rules.

I've had my eye on this book for a while, and actually almost picked it up in the bookshops near me a couple times. I'm so glad now I waited for my library hold to come through as it turns out I did not enjoy this book.

Firstly, I DNF'd at 30% and therefore I didn't finish the book. But I couldn't get into it at all and even skim reading it felt like a chore. The plot follows Fletcher an orphan in a small remote village. He is generally downtrodden and looked down on by others in the village. He has been raised by the blacksmith, and it's clearly expected that we sense or interpret a father-son bond between these two characters. However, they barely speak and don't exchange any meaningful conversations that explore the depth of their relationship so it felt very flat and uninteresting.

And that is really the main gripe I have with this book, all of it falls flat and feels really boring. The concept of the demons is interesting in itself but it ended up being ridiculously boring. At one point the character must leave his village on the run, and the entire run and escape was covered in a short period (I think over 2 or 3 chapters). Everything is told instead of shown and just in general did not engage me with the story. I think this is the reason I didn't care about the main character or anyone he meets, he reads like Harry Potter to me as a character and I didn't like him at all.

All in all, I do not recommend this book and can't understand that high ratings and gushes this book gets. Later in this book or the series it may get more interesting and better written, who knows.

The Emperor's Blades ???????????????The Providence of Fire ???????????????

Brian Staveley was a brand new author to me when I originally picked up The Emperor's Blades in 2018. With his first book, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Ever since that first book, I've been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to read the next book.

The second book focuses more on Adare than the first, and gives her the space to establish herself more in the story. In the first book, Adare was still in the capital playing a political game with the ministers surrounding her. In the second book, she has to leave the capital and finds herself trying to establish of her own. A lot of reviews are not impressed with Adare as she is frustrating, and makes stupid decisions. I don't really feel like this is a fair assessment of her arc in this book, she is operating with almost no information; of which probably a small amount is current. The reader knows more than Adare for a good chunk of the book! I feel like Adare made decisions as best she could with her lack of information, and made the best of a shitty situation.

I still thoroughly enjoyed the second book in this series, and would highly reccomend this series to anyone who reads. The complex, well paced plot that I adored in the first book slows down slightly in the second half of this book. The book never felt boring and I really enjoyed every second of it. I cannot wait to pick up the third book.

I feel quite betrayed by this final volume, and almost wish I hadn???t read it. It goes spot show how deeply I came to care for characters that their fate has properly upset me.

I might have reduced the star rating in revenge, but it was as enjoyable as all the previous books aside from where I disagree with the plot.

Annihilation is 200 pages of mind bending exploration through a wilderness that has been irrevocably changed by an unknown source. It is narrated by a woman who identifies herself only as “the biologist”, and flits between the story in Area X and her past.

The story is a captivating psychological thriller within a heavy science fiction setting and it really works. I went into this having half watched the film on Netflix and would like to say that while it was an enjoyable (if not engrossing) viewing experience, it doesn't accurately follow the plot. The book has a dreamlike quality that really makes the creepy atmosphere of the book flourish on the page.

I gave the book four stars, but I couldn't reasonably defend that rating. It is too good to be rated anything less than four but it didn't feel like an immediate favourite. It was something completely different for me and I could tell how well crafted the writing was but I also found myself unable to focus on the last 20-30 pages properly. It's well worth the read, and I will definitely carry on with
the trilogy.

I am re-reading the series of four Little Women books before the new movie comes out in December (even if the trailer actively annoyed me). I had my Mum's editions of the books and I am pretty sure I've read theses stories multiple times over the years. They hold a special place in my heart.

Little Women follows Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy as they begin the arduous process of growing up quickly as their father is away fighting in the American Civil War. I feel as close to these girls as I did when I was reading the books growing up, almost like no time has passed. I still relate to Jo and her tom-boyish ways.

I found the story to be charming and endearing, but a slight too heavy handed with moral lessons for my liking. I think for the most part the story still feels relevant and relatable, and the characters create a strong impression on your mind. I really love this series, and I can't wait to complete my re-read.

Little Women ????????????Good Wives ????????????

This is the second part of the story from Little Women, published sometimes in two volumes and sometimes published together in one. As I read the series originally thinking they were separate books I will continue on this way, and I do find each part is a full bodied story with its own arc.

In Good Wives, Meg has married and established a home of her own. She struggles with her love of material things and becoming a new mother. Beth has been ill for a long time, and feels as though her condition will keep her weak forever. Amy discovers life abroad, and Jo discovers her independence.

A couple of my favourite characters are introduced in this volume, and we are well set up for the next few books. It is those books that I remember being particularly special.

I enjoyed my re-read of Little Men, the third book in this series. Jo has grown up, married, and started a school for unruly boys. The Jo in this book is quite different to the Jo of the previous two, but you can see some hints in the stories she tells about her youth.

I enjoyed the characters in this one, but found it to be a tad too preachy for my taste. Otherwise it was a good book.

Update: I re-read this book over the past two days, and I really really enjoyed it. I think this series is a top YA series for me. And I still stand by my reasoning behind not giving a full five stars in my original review. Onto the next few books so I can pick up Bloodwitch!!

If I was the type to give half stars, this would be 4.5 stars.

Truthwitch is a fantastic tale of friendship between two young women as they face to save their own lives. And I adored it. I don't really read YA because it doesn't keep me guessing enough, but this book had enough going on that I loved every second.

I have only two complaints. Firstly, there wasn't enough world building for the world to feel clear. I had absolutely no clue what a thread witch was for the longest time or why they needed to keep emotionless. I think the story would be vastly improved if the different aspects of the world and it's history had been introduced more carefully.

Another complaint would be regarding the dramatic use of language. It was not a common occurrence, and I'm quite sensitive to melodrama in my media, so it was a forgivable sin in my case. However, what on earth does “stasis in my fingers and toes” mean? Because stasis means inactivity and unless the character is hoping for paralysis I have no clue what she means.

I watched the film 6 months ago, and I adored it. Matt Damon has been a favourite actor of mine for years and I love science fiction (particularly that which feels grounded in reality). Within 10 pages of the book I knew Matt Damon was the perfect choice to play Mark Watney.

Mark Watney is possibly the most likeable character I've ever read. I suppose he has to be, as he and he alone carries the book for at least 75% of the pages. He is funny and interesting, and I appreciated his discussion of the science and technology he was using (abusing) to achieve his goals. It was a highly entertaining read but it also sparked my interesting in the topics he was discussing.

There's not much else to discuss, because for me the character of Mark Watney is what made this book so special. The writing was fantastic, I enjoyed that each Sol entry was brief and packed full of interesting events. I felt like I was with Mark, or at least listening to him speak about his experiences. I expect an audiobook of this would be even better, particularly if it is read by Matt Damon.

Easy five stars.

A Darker Shade of Magic ???????????????A Gathering of Shadows ???????????????

You might see this rating and think I???m crazy. You might think I hated this book. That isn???t exactly the case, because I found the book incredibly readable and I thoroughly enjoyed every page.

This second book follows on four months from the first, and concerns the triwizard tournament of Red London (which is a basic description of the plot, and is missing the nuances, but will suffice for the review). Lila Bard, who is aboard a vessel with her new captain, travels back to London for the tournament.

Without going into spoilers my issue with this book is that there are no stakes or plot relevance until the last 20%. It all really goes down after the tournament ends. Which means the book could have been condensed and the series made into a duology without loosing plot. I can see why this was a book in and of itself as it builds some new relationships and shows the progression of time over the previous four months for one key character in particular. But that key character only had about 20% of the ???screen time??? and the relationships were not so complex or explained in such a detailed way that it required an entire 500 page book to discuss it.

Aside from the fact that this book felt like it was entirely filler though, I found the writing to be just as fantastic as last time. I adored every page and if I wasn???t expected a plot filled middle book in a trilogy, I would happily read 5000 pages of filler if it was written by V E Schwab. I gave it three stars because it wasn???t the book I felt it should be, but if I ignored my issues with the lack of plot it would easily be a four or five star book.

I read the first book in this series and loved it. An Ember in the Ashes received a five star review from me. In that review I highlighted my love for Elias' difficulties reconsiling his upbringing and his nature, but I wasn't overly impressed with Laia and I found the way Elias spoke about his two female friends boring and repetative.

In this book, a lot of the high stakes action lost its edge due to the many leagues between the characters and those who inspired the fear. Over the course of this book Elias and Laia are pursued by the Commandant and Helene separately, and in that they never seem close enough for us to really worry about. It leaves a lot more of the character interactions as the star of the show in the second book, and I find them lacking in both the first and second book. I even found Elias a bit dreary in this book.

While I flew through the book, it wasn't doing anything special for me. I feel like the plot of this book could have been condensed into 300 pages and added to another book in the series. All in all, a disappointing read after how much I enjoyed the first book and I'm not sure if I'm looking forward to the third book now.

The Knife of Never Letting Go ???????????????The Ask and the Answer ???????????????Monsters of Men ???????????????

I don't think I can say much for this third installment, but I do want to say it was by far and away my favourite in the series.

We get an additional point of view for the final installment, which is possibly the most surprising and compelling choice Ness could have made. 1017 opens up the story which was in the previous book a civil war between two human factions into a fierce defense of the indigenous species against a vicious invading force. The civil war is still being waged, but the real battle is just beginning.

The Knife of Never Letting Go ???????????????The Ask and the Answer ???????????????

In this second book of the trilogy, we are in new territory for me. When I originally received this trilogy as a gift I never made it past the first book.

The plot is distinctly separated into two halves, one for Viola and one for Todd. Todd is grappling with figuring out the truth and the overwhelming strength of the Mayor. His whole world view was turned upside down in the first book, and he wants to deeply to find out it was all a lie and accept an easy truth. Viola knows exactly where she stands in the civil war brewing in this second book. She has those beliefs challenged and has to quickly decide who she is going to believe and trust. Throughout it all, the unwavering connection between Todd and Viola was so incredibly compelling. I adored this series so far, and highly recommend it.

I never thought I would enjoy a Liane Moriarty novel, after I hated The Husband's Secret (?????? ?????????). In that a particular story, I found the reveal came too quickly and the writing wasn't strong enough to support the story. However, in this novel I really enjoyed the writing. The style of the book lends itself well to the writing, as it is all written through the speculation of 3 unreliable narrators. At the end of chapters there was a brief summary of the gossip going about.

The novel is a similar construction as to The Husband's Secret, where it follows 3 women who know each other because their children all attend the same school. Drama flies about the school after one child is accused of bullying; while the chapter titles count down to the school trivia night, where something horrible has occurred.

I feel like this was the novel The Husband's Secret was meant to be, but seeing as this came only a year after according to goodreads publication dates I'm surprised the quality improved so quickly. I highly recommend this one, and I'm delighted I've finished now and I can watch the tv show.