Gemma
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ???????????????The Restaurant at the End of the Universe ???????????????
Another solid book in one of my most anticipated series. I have always loved the movie of the first book, which remained a firm favourite in my social circle up. We referenced the film constantly. And now in adulthood, I'm reading the full series for the first time as audio books with my partner when we go on longer journeys.
The second book maintains the same whimsical style which the series is so well known for. Douglas Adams kept us both laughing throughout this witty book. I think the comedic style of this book is what keeps me coming back to the series; I think it is the best of British comedy.
As far as the plot? It was ridiculous and took multiple unexpected turns, much of what you'd expect this series to do. I absolutely loved Martin in this book and I think any part that focuses on him is hilarious.
The Raven Boys ???????????????The Dream Thieves ???????????????Blue Lily, Lily Blue ???????????????The Raven King ???????????????
What a fantastic conclusion to the series. I am genuinely so excited for the sequel trilogy and all that is left in this universe.
I need to re-read the series before going into Call Down the Hawk as I don't feel like I fully grasped the ending. It all feels like a blur.
Leviathan Wakes ???????????????Caliban's War ???????????????Abaddon's Gate ???????????????Cibola Burn ???????????????
Another solid installment in The Expanse series.
I really love the sensation of sinking into another one of these books, where I know that there is going to be 500 pages of well written, enjoyable science fiction following a main cast of characters I know and enjoy reading about. It's like putting on your favourite clothes again, or watching a favourite tv show. Obviously things change, and stakes are higher in the next book, but there are many constant qualities to the series that keep the engagement high.
In this book, a new world has been colonised by two opposing parties and Holden has been tasked with keeping the peace. As with each book, there are some guest POVs introduced that keep the story feeling fresh. The stakes in this book felt the highest, and the story the most intimate. The majority of the story was set on one planet with a cast of characters who were in much closer contact than ususal. Obviously being set across the expanse of space, in previous books a lot of our characters were interacting through video chat or sending messages. With the main conflict being on the surface of this planet, it really changed up how the characters interacted. And when stakes were raised for survival on the alien planet, it affected majority of the characters in the book. I really enjoyed reading this one, and I'm looking forward to the next one in the series.
The Raven Boys ???????????????
The Dream Thieves ???????????????
Blue Lily, Lily Blue ???????????????
The Raven King ???????????????
Opal ???????????????
I really passionately feel like the Raven Cycle cannot be read as individual books, as each book heavily relies on the other in the series to build a full picture of characters and plot. By the time I finished the first book I felt like I'd received an in depth explanation of the characters, but absolutely no idea about the plot besides we are hunting a dead Welsh king. The second book built up the basis of the plot, and then the third and fourth book delivered heavily in both plot and character. If you were to read part of the way through the series it would feel unsatisfying, but the climax of all four books is intense.
That said, Opal is a novella set after all four books in the series. Which means it both benefits and is hurt by the previous series. At the end of the series I felt like I had been given too little face time with my favourite characters (Adam, Ronan, Chainsaw and Opal) and this novella did a great job of giving me more of their relationships between each other.
I rated it lower than the full length novels and the series as a whole because it was lacking the emotional payoff that the whole series had given me. I wasn't really expecting it at the beginning of the book as the audiobook was so short, but found by the time I had finished I missed it a lot more than I expected. Obviously, Call Down the Hawk is coming out soon and is going to ruin my emotions in the best way possible.
The Cruel Prince ???????????????The Wicked King ???????????????
I read the sequel to The Cruel Prince immediately after finishing the first book in the series. I think that speaks volumes for how much I enjoyed this series as I finished both books within a few days of starting the series.
The Wicked King maintained the quality I found in the first book. The fae were still as tricky and cruel throughout the story, the plot kept on being complex and surprising, and I really enjoyed a lot of consequences from the first book coming to land in this one. Jude had gained power for herself over the course of the first book, and some of the trades she made to get herself this power helped her in the second one - but quite a few came back to bite her in the ass.
Another YA series I would highly reccomend, and the ending of the second book was fantastic!
The Cruel Prince took booktube by storm even before the official release date. I remember the buzz surrounding this book as various members of the community read the arc and began gushing about Holly Black, “the queen of fae fiction”. I'd never read anything about fae, or anything by Holly Black so while the hype had me interested it never convinced me to read it immediately.
Later, after the buzz died down I read some reviews that dimmed the hype surrounding the Cruel Prince. And it was after the publication of the second book and only a few months before the third book I decided to pick it up.
At eight, Jude has two sisters and a set of parents who love her. But with the arrival of the biological father of her eldest sister, she loses her parents and her connections to the mortal world in one fell swoop. The book picks back up around the age eighteen where Jude and her twin sister are the only mortal members of the gentry class in Faerieland. They are in uniquely dangerous positions as the most vulnerable members of society but they can change that by becoming permanant members of faerie courts. And this book really is about how Jude wants to prove herself and become a member of the court so she can live a safe and ‘normal' life amoung the Folk.
I really liked this book, and I think that was down to the characters protrayed in the story. It focuses on Jude, but probably most importantly on her connection to her twin sister and Cardan, one of the farie princes. There were quite a few moments over the course of this book where I expected the plot to do something, and it would completely upturn those expectations. I also really enjoyed that the faeries were exactly as cruel and brutal as the title suggests, and doesn't really hold back on those aspects. I had expected that due to the YA label, and that I had heard so much buzz about a particular romanitc relationship developing, the book would pull short of really making me believe how cruel the fae were. In reality, the fae were terrible characters with redeeming qualities that did not wash away their true nature. It made the characters who filled this world a lot more interesting and fleshed out.
This one is a surprising four stars from me, and I would reccomend it!
The conclusion to this trilogy was rather flat, bland and did not live up to my expectations of previous books by Canavan.
My review of the second book in this series mentioned how much it stagnated and suffered from middle book syndrome, and this book didn't seem to change pace from the second much at all. I feel like this series was written more as an indulgence out f love for the world rather than because there was a plot to be told. As such, it felt like the plot meandered along at a slow pace until it came time to wrap everything up.
I think this has something to do with my preference for grittier, more viseral stories in fantasy. Some authors prefer the more positive style of story telling, which means any unpleasentness gets glossed over as much as possible. This leaves me missing a fuller experience of the plot and characters, as we don't experience hardship and struggle the same way. I am hopeful that some of Canavan's other stories make a bigger impact in these areas.
I would skip this series if you aren't too interested, but it was quite a nice series for a little bit of nostalgia.
The Rogue, the second book in a secondary trilogy from Canavan, stagnates and thoroughly suffers from middle book syndrome. This second trilogy follows the next generation of characters from the Black Magician trilogy that I loved so much in my teenage years.
The reason I feel so neutral about this book is the fact that the plot stagnates a lot. We set up a lot of relationships and built up a lot more of the world that the story in either trilogy had not exposed the reader to before. Otherwise, the story in this second book isn't all that memorable. Canavan's writing is solid, and a pleasure to read. This second trilogy still has Sonea as a main character, which was one of my favourite aspects of the first trilogy. I will really miss reading her chapters at the end of this series.
Overall, I am beginning think this second trilogy isn't essential to your reading experience of the world of the Black Magician trilogy.
I picked up Americanah as part of my bookclub as one of the members had used it in their dissertation and was excited to share it with us. I'd heard a lot about this book through booktube, but I never thought I'd pick it up myself. I don't read a lot of literary fiction and I already own quite a few that I haven't got to yet. I listened to the audiobook, which I would highly recommend. I really liked the narrator's voice and it made the listening experience so lovely.
PLOT ???????????????
As with most literary fiction, we are going for a deep dive into Ifemelu's life and relationships. But I found the plot of Americanah to be much easier to read because there was an inciting incident that we remained firmly in the midst of throughout the book. Ifemelu decides after thirteen years in America that she misses her home, and moves back to Nigeria.
CHARACTERS ???????????????
I wasn't that interested in Ifemelu's relationship with Obinze, which was the main reason I couldn't connect to the story. I found so much of Ifemelu's life interesting that Obinze didn't really rank high enough on that list for me to care about. Ifemelu's blog posts added a more informal style of writing which was interspersed, and I really liked those breaks.
OVERALL ???????????????
All in all, this is a well crafted book that probably just isn't to my taste. I can't really say anything bad about it, I just didn't love it.
I first read this series when I was in secondary school, a couple of friends and myself read the first two books pretty quickly and loved them. I think my fourteenth birthday party was watching the movie with those friends (we almost universally hated it) and I never got round to finishing the third book. At this point, there are four books in the series and a set of short stories due to be published. It's been around ten years since I read the series and I never finsihed it, so I decided I would begin a re-read to finally catch up.
Wow, my memory was exaggerating how good this first book was. I want to stress that the author wrote this book around the age I was when I read it, and I do feel that his age should be taken into account. Eragon as a book has not been fleshed out, and a lot of the story felt bare. There where time skips to get to the next plot relevant moment, and a lack of development in the setting or characters. Another reviewer pointed out the heavy influnces of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, which I can definately agree with. I would also like to highlight the audiobook, which is how I read it. The audiobook probably ruined a large chunk of my enjoyment as the narrator gave Saphira an inexplicable voice and made a small portion of the characters Welsh?? I would not reccomenf the audiobook.
I think the series gets better in the later books, and I will report back with reviews as I intend on finally finishing this series.
DNF @ 45%.
I just can't do this to myself. I hear so many reviewers talk about this series so positively and I can't see where they're coming from at all. If someone mentioned they were thinking of reading the Lightbringer series in front of me I would have to strongly reccomend they pick up any other series instead.
I gave up on reviewing each individual book in this series as there are so many and they are so short. I really enjoyed re-reading the series; especially as I didn't remember the ending at all. I think they are fantastic books and I wish I had read more books like this as a kid.
The ending was a bit of a disappointment for me. The penultimate book was much stronger in my opinion; particularly as I felt the plot was more memorable.
Leviathan Wakes ???????????????Caliban's War ???????????????Abaddon's Gate ???????????????
The third book in the Expanse series establishes quite a few new point of view characters. It may have taken me a few books to catch on to the system of point of view characters in this series, but I have to admit it works well and I really enjoy it. Aside from the main cast of recurring characters, there are a few points of view in each book who are specific to that book. It allows the authors to widen to the scope of the plot while still keeping each aspect intimate and close to the reader. And these characters who we only see for one book feel just as real and firmly placed into the universe of the series as the others. There is only one other series I feel has managed multiple points of view this well before and at this scale, and that would be A Song of Ice and Fire.
This book was less action and more politics and plotting. Which is some of my favourite parts of any story.
I've finally read a Brandon Sanderson book, and it really does feel like this has been a long time coming. So many people whose videos I watch consider Sanderson to be one of the best authors currently publishing in the fantasy genre and I was so excited to read one of his books at last.
I had managed to avoid spoilers for his work, I barely knew how the magic worked and I had no idea what kind of plot to expect. I was honestly expecting a typical high fantasy plot that follows a young boy fighting back against an evil overlord as the chosen one. I feel oversaturated with this plot in fantasy, but I trusted Sanderson to do something new and original with it. If so many people loved his work, why wouldn't I?
Vin lives on the streets with her brother as low level members of a gang, trying to get by and avoid attachments. She is skittish, terrified and harbours a secret talent. She can use her ‘Luck' to get others to do what she wants. This skill is essential in a scheme for her gang to get rich, right up until it calls the full attention of the government down upon herself. Vin discovers her ‘Luck' is allomancy; the power to consume metals to power megical abilities and her life completely changes.
Sanderson's magic system and setting made this book stand out to me. The book felt like it should be set in a steampunk world and I certainly pictured it that way. The eight metals used in the magic system felt like they should have been daunting to keep track of, but the writing kept them very clear and explained the different aspects of the magic system individually. It was this aspect of the writing that I really enjoyed. Sanderson was clearly setting up a massive world in this first book, one that would be expanded upon in later installments, and yet it never felt like I struggled to keep up.
I thorougly enjoyed my first entry into Sanderson's expansive universe, but there was one thing I felt was missing. The Final Empire deal with some harsh realities that these characters experienced (slavery, poverty, death) and yet I felt like the book was missing a deeper look at these elements of the story. I think the book would have been five stars for me if it had shown a grittier take on the story. That's just a personal preference though, and the book was still great without those elements.
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.
Lirael is one of those books that has always stuck out in my mind throughout the years. When I came to re-read this series as an adult I could not remember much at all about the first book but Lirael was as clear to me as if I'd read it in the last couple years.
Lirael is set years past the end of Sabriel and focuses more on the younger generation. Lirael lives in the Clayr without the power of the Sight. She cannot progress within the Clayr until she gains the Sight, but that doesn't seem to be happening for her. Lirael in the beginning of the story is desperate to find her role within the Clayr, but she quickly learns to become independent as she gains her position in the Clayr's library. Its through this job in the library that she ~meets the Disreputable Dog (the best character in the series) and manages to learn more about the Charter and herself. Sameth, on the other hand, knows exactly who he is and who he is expected to be. The issue is that these two people aren't anything alike. As his parents are called away on important business, Prince Sameth must take up his mother's bells and become a necromancer proper.
This second novel gives a closer look at the magic and world of the Old Kingdom series. Lirael's chapters are incredibly interesting if you finished Sabriel wishing you understood more about the magic of the Charter. But its Lirael as a character who has always stood out to me. She felt so independent and strong throughout the book, even when she had no clue what the next step was or how to achieve it. I preferred Lirael as a character to Sabriel, partially as she loved books like I did but also because she went through a bigger change as a character.
This book also gives a bigger view to the non magical kingdom through Prince Sameth and his friends. Sameth goes to school in the non magical kingdom just as Sabriel did and therefore has a better knowledge of that country than his own. We also revisit old favourite characters such as Mog, and get to see them in brand new forms.
This book felt really short to me. It was a quick blast of ASOIAF that got me really hyped and back in love with this world. The points of view in this book might possibly be my favourite, the plot points were new (any that had appeared in in the show I had forgotten about) and the writing was great.
I obviously won't go into plot, but the ending of this book surprised me and I really did not expect this series to surprise me. I expected that after the show the internet would be so saturated with spoilers that I would see everything coming. How much I could not put it down really earned this book its five stars from me.
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 remember reading this series as a teenager and absolutely breaking my heart over the story. When I re-read it this time, I discovered a much more complicated and convoluted plot that was told too fast to do the story justice.
I will be completing the series as part of my goals to re-read old favourites from childhood and to read my physical TBR, but I don't think I would recommend this book. Possibly later books in the series might change my mind.
I picked up this book when I was around 14, and while I don't remember if I finished it at that age, I remember loving the first few chapters that I read. The premise of this book enthralled me so much that I have been thinking about it ever since. When I finally discovered the books were being released in new editions I decided it was a sign, and snapped them up.
This did not disappoint! The first book is a short tale, packed full of rich world building and a warm host of characters that really welcome you into the story. I devoured this book, despite worrying that I may have given it too much hype in my head over the years and it really did not disappoint. Not all books written for younger readers are enjoyable for me as I find some can be written with a pandering, over explanatory tone. This book avoids that tone entirely, and I loved it.
I think I can break down how I felt let down by this series into a few areas.
World building - This series was always pitched to me by a brief description of the magic in the world and I picked the series up based on that description. It always went something like this, “the magic in the world is based on the spectrum of visible light, and the Prism is the only man who can use the full spectrum”. That's enough for me to be interested, but not enough to read 1400 pages (across two books) and feel like I understand the world. The magic system in the first book was not explained clearly; and it really didn't help matters when the political system or ruling system was barely explained to boot. This left me feeling like I only knew the bare minimum to get by throughout this book.
Characters - Every character in this book feels like an over exaggerated caricature of some kind of trope or stereotype. I think that could be done well in books which are satirising the traditional epic fantasy tropes, but this series does not seem to be. Gavin is literally a religious icon, he is so gorgeous that every woman he encounters wants to shag/marry/have babies with him. He is smart, beloved and inspired loyalty in the empire that he possibly rules. I say possibly because, as I said in the world building section, the ruling system of this Empire really doesn't make sense. All the women are introduced by their relevance to Gavin's genitals.
Writing - The first book was the worst culprit for this, and the second made an improvement on the writing. However, although I had issues with the Night Angel trilogy, the writing in his debut trilogy was of a better quality than this series. My issues are mostly repetitive sentence structure, strange switches between 1st and 3rd POV and an odd balance between description and plot that didn't work for me.
All in all, a disappointment. I think I will complete the books I already own in this series and then move on from Brent Weeks as an author.
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.
Bloodwitch is the third instalment of the Witchlands series, my current favourite young adult series. It continues on from the second book with the same point of view characters and maintains the same quality the first two books displayed.
I loved this book and my previous reviews of the other books will give you a good idea why. I would like to emphasise in this review that I love how the romantic storylines in this series are going. All the potential couples you meet in the first book are really still getting to know each other at this point. The slow burn is really warming my heart. I can???t wait for the next book, and I???m looking forward to re-reading this one already.