The Treasure of Isian

****

4/5

Thanks to Serena Clarke for giving me this book to review.

The Treasure of Isian is a very fun and enjoyable romantic fantasy book which has a fairytale feel to the world. The story is full of adventure, magical creatures and good world building. While predictable it did not stop the story from being a really good read and I did not want to put the book down.

Elani is a lovely main character as she is kind and hardworking but at the beginning of the book she lacks confidence and self-worth but it was a nice progression her developing them during the story. I was not the biggest fan of Garin as he seemed too proud and lacked patience and empathy towards Elani. However, he did grow on me as I saw that most of this is a façade and that he is an adventurous and determined person who cares for his people. One character I really liked is Ander as he is caring and truly an all-round good guy and I hope we see more of him.

I really liked this book and I am looking forward to reading the next book The Alliance of Isian. I would recommend The Treasure of Isian to fans of the Stolen Royals by Kelsey Keating and the Nine Princesses novellas by Anita Valle.

Tempests and Slaughter

***

3/5

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for giving me this book to review.

Tempests and Slaughter is the enjoyable prequel to the Immortals series, about Numair/Arram and I loved learning about his background. However, the main problem I had with this book was that there seemed to be no plot or purpose, and only very brief hints of the bigger story at play. It almost read like Arram’s diary, which meant there is a lot of dull moments but it was well written and had great character depth.

Numair was always a favourite character of mine in the Immortals books and it was great to see him as this bright inquisitive boy with a thirst for knowledge and a person who is genuinely good. I found it hard to connect to Ozone, probably because I know who he is in later books and this coloured my opinion of him, he is quick to change emotions, going from kind, gentle and loyal, to moody, volatile and aggressive. However, I was pleasantly surprised by Varice on this book as, in Emperor Mage she came across as an air-head, but in this book, we get to see she is a lively and passionate person who is often overlooked because of her talents.

While I was a bit disappointed in this book I am still looking forward to reading the next book, The Exile’s Gift. I would recommend Tempests and Slaughter to fans of Tamora Pierce’s books, especially the Immortals Series.

Renegades

****

4/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for giving me this book to review.

Renegades is a very good and fast paced superhero book, which is very well written, as I have come to expect from Meyer. I liked that the morals in this book were not simple, as the good guys are nowhere near perfect and you could really understand the motives of the baddies. I also liked the developing star-crossed romance between Adrian and Nova. However, this book felt like it was just an introduction to the world rather than a normal book with a beginning, middle and end.

Nova is distant, emotionally scarred, and not surprisingly jaded, but she is also astute and perceptive. Adrian is brave, idealistic and compassionate but is also gullible and too trusting. While they are not as fleshed out as Nova and Adrian, I really liked the secondary characters from Honey and Ingrid to Max, Ruby and Oscar.

I really enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to reading the next book, Archenemies. I would recommend Renegades to fans of Marissa Meyer or those who enjoy reading Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson.

The Outcast

***

3/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Hachette Children’s Group for giving me this book to review.

The Outcast is an enjoyable prequel which is fast paced and a good addition to the Summoner series. However, there was no real jeopardy, even in tense situations, and it is annoying that practically all the adults from the main series featured in this book.

I like Arcturus as he is streetwise but also kind and courageous. I loved the growing friendship between Arcturus and Sacha, as they were very protective and caring of each other.

I enjoyed this book and being back the world of the Summoner. I would recommend The Outcast to fans of the main books in the series.

The Battlemage

***

3/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Hachette Children’s Group for giving me this book to review.

The Battlemage is the enjoyable third and final book in the Summoner series. It had lots of action with a battle between good and prejudice, domination and greed. I would highly recommend rereading the previous books before starting this one as for the first third of the novel I was very confused about what was happening.

Fletcher has become more responsible in this book as he is a natural leader who fights for what is right but will defer to those who have more knowledge. I like Othello, Sylva and Cress, and I really like the friendship between all of the friends, however, for a good third of the book they were not around and I felt it really impacted the story.

I enjoyed this book and I look forward to seeing what Taran Matharu does next. I would recommend Battlemage to fans of the first 2 books in the Summoner series.

The Reviled

***

3/5

Thanks to Cynthia A Morgan for giving me this book to review.

The Reviled is an enjoyable fantasy book which is very descriptively written story of good vs evil. It did feel too fast paced which meant I struggled a bit to connect with the story and characters. However, the relationships, both romantic and platonic, were cute.

Ayla is feeling like she is being watched, and she is compassionate and insecure. Gairynzvl I found is a more interesting character as he is emotionally scarred and is caught between two worlds.

I enjoyed The Reviled and would recommend it to fans of Faerie fantasy books.

Scouts of the Apocalypse

***

3/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Perfect Analogy Publishing for giving me this book to review.

Scouts of the Apocalypse is an enjoyable, fast paced zombie adventure. It was nice seeing how the skills learnt in scouting can be applied in different situations. However, the main thing that bugged me with this book was that, at least in the UK, scouts (and the leaders) are not perfect or goody two shoes, they are cheeky, normal realistic people who are more often than not eccentric and feel like outsiders.

Mike is an OK character but like with most of the people in this book, he was too perfect and good at everything, making me not worry at all that anything was going to happen to him or most of the boys.

All in all, Scouts of the Apocalypse is a decent read and if you like zombie apocalypse books then I would recommend it but if you are interested because of the scouts angle then don’t expect them to be very realistic.