Thursday 31 May 2018

Over Raging Tides

***
3/5



Thanks to Netgalley and Weapenry Co-Op for giving me this book to review

Over Raging Tides is an enjoyable pirate fantasy book. It had adventure, potential romance and betrayal. However, it felt like hardly anything happened in the book, when I felt like it was in the middle part of the book it was almost the end, which meant that the story and characters were underdeveloped. Grace was an interesting character who is willing to discover the truth about what happened to her mother. I couldn’t connect with Leo as I felt his loyalty to Grace were unrealistic, especially when he chose her over his brother. While this wasn’t as good as I had hoped I am looking forward to reading more about Grace’s story and I would recommend it to those who like YA pirate adventures.

Wednesday 30 May 2018

Furyborn

****
4/5



Furyborn is a really good new adult fantasy book which was unique because there is 1000 years different between the two protagonists. The opening chapter was amazing and really set the scene, which meant for one of the stories I was wondering why and how that chapter came about rather than what was going to happen next. However, it was predictable as only one thing in the book surprised me. The pacing wasn’t quite right as well, as the first half of the book felt rather slow, but it really picks up and I couldn’t put it down.

Rielle just wants to be loved and accepted for you she is, as she has spent all her life suppressing her emotions and is filled with guilt. Eliana is quite different to Rielle, as she is fierce, strong and very protective of those she loves and would do absolutely anything to keep them safe. I really liked the side characters from both time periods as they bought so much to the story. Audric is powerful and intelligent but also kind and caring, I loved Ludivine and her friendship with Rielle, and Corien is such a mystery but he is very manipulating and has his own agenda. Remy is such a sweetheart and adorable, and if anything happens to him I will never forgive Legrand, Simon is selfless and I feel we have only just scratched the surface of him and his story, Navi is loyal to her country but also very friendly and I get the feeling she is a bit lonely, and Harken is a character of great potential and I hope we haven’t seen the end of him, as I felt he balanced Eliana out well.

I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading the sequel. I would recommend Furyborn to fans of The Sin Eater’s Daughter and Thief’s Magic.

Tuesday 29 May 2018

Legendary

****
4/5



Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for giving me this book to review

Legendary is the excellent sequel to Caraval which was a real page turner and kept me guessing. Maybe because after reading the previous book and expecting the unexpected but I found this one a bit more predictable. I like that we got to see more of the world and life outside the Caraval and the perceptive of someone who I feels understands the game better than Scarlett. While I am not upset by this, I was expecting a bigger time gap between the books, but it took place the day after Caraval and some of the fallout from the book.

I completely misjudged Tella in the first book as, while she is still a bit self-centred, she is so much more complex than we got from Scarlett’s point of view, showing that while Scarlett is protective of her sister, she doesn’t think much of her really. I loved Tella as she is intelligent, cunning and knows what she wants, just what I like in a main character. Scarlett is also in this book and it appears that her story is also not complete, but I had little interest in her, as she was making decisions which left me wondering what she was thinking, and either she didn’t notice or care that her sister was in trouble as she didn’t pay much attention to her. Dante was an interesting character as I could tell if he was helping and protecting Tella because of his character in the game, he truly cared about her or for some other nefarious reasons, but he did keep me guessing. Jacks was similar as I knew his plans, but I couldn’t quite figure him out.

I thought this was a duology but was pleasantly surprised to find out there is at least one more book in this series and I can’t wait to read it. I would recommend Legendary to fans of the first book Caraval.

Monday 28 May 2018

Caraval

****
4/5



Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for giving me this book to review

Caraval is a twisty and turning fantasy book where everything is a game, and no one knows what to believe. Half of the time I had no idea who to trust and had no clue what would happen next. There was romance, action and magic, and a story I really enjoyed, but I wish there was more world building.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of Scarlett as she seemed a bit bland and there was nothing really unique about her as she was loyal and protective towards her sister Tella and just plain good. Tella I also didn’t like, even though she wasn’t in the story bit as she was so self-centred and didn’t seem to care about everything Scarlett does for her. I like Julian as he kept me guessing and he pretended not to care about anyone but himself, but he had hidden depth.

I enjoyed the ending and the teasing it had towards the next book Legendary which I will definitely be reading. I would recommend to fans of Daughter of the Burning City or other twisty YA fantasy books.

Saturday 26 May 2018

The Smoke Thieves

****
4/5



Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House UK for giving me this book to review

Smoke Thieves is a really good high fantasy novel with adventure, political intrigue and demons. I really like the five different point of views and how their stories started off as mostly separate but connected by the end. It was fast paced, and I felt like the world building was pretty solid as I understood the different cultures of the countries, especially Brigant and Pitoria.

Catherine is intelligent and driven to be accepted by create her own path and be her own person, not under the foot of her father or brother. Ambrose is loyal and honourable and very protective of Catherine and his family. March, I think was my least favourite as I felt like he didn’t question anything and was always a follower. Edyon was my favourite character as he is charming and a quick talker. Tash is nimble and sassy and while still a child she seemed mature for her age.

I enjoyed this book and I hope we don’t have long to wait for the next book. I would recommend to fans of the Darkhaven books and The Orphan Queen series.