This is a cute middle grade, I loved the friendship between Cassidy and her ghost best friend Jacob. Middle grades tend not to be my favourite (they'rThis is a cute middle grade, I loved the friendship between Cassidy and her ghost best friend Jacob. Middle grades tend not to be my favourite (they're not meant for me and I 100% get that) but I think I would have liked this a lot as a kid? Review to come...more
takes a deep breath: *SCREAMS FOR TEN THOUSAND YEARS*
me, finishing this book:
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I love ..... Marie Lu... so much? The good sis somehow gone atakes a deep breath: *SCREAMS FOR TEN THOUSAND YEARS*
me, finishing this book:
[image]
I love ..... Marie Lu... so much? The good sis somehow gone and DONE IT AGAIN. She's spectacular, brilliant, amazing, TRULY. We are blessed to have her, I am delighted by her constantly. What an inspiration.
We continue to stand there, unmoving, looking out at the electric glitter of Tokyo, my boots pointed away from the house and toward the city, my heart suspended somewhere between one choice and another, unsure where to go next
WARCROSS is an action packed, "my heart is in my throat and I can't breathe", wonderfully vivid sci-fi novel set in Tokyo. In a world revolutionised by interactive, immersive virtual reality called Warcross. Emika Chen - bounty hunter, hacker and rainbow haired badass - is hired by the creator or Warcross to go undercover and track down a mysterious person dubbed "Zero" who's putting Warcross in jeopardy.
This book has spies, slow-burn romance, hackers, dark web, illegal auctions, and WARCROSS. Warcross was one of my favourite aspects of this book. It's basically a game, sort of capture the flag, where two teams compete to capture an "artifact" from another team in a terrain thats completely altered from reality. Listen it's Pro-Bending from Legend of Korra with some Hunger Games with some Capture the Flag and it's BRILLIANT.
Warcross also features an incredibly diverse cast of characters - Emika is Chinese/American, Hideo is Japanese, there's a m/m side relationship, a character in a wheelchair, a black side character and a brown side character. Emika and Hideo, the most prominent characters, are well developed with rich backstories and complex motivations. I really liked Hideo's character as a mysterious yet intriguing type, and Emika was just so incredibly cool. I truly adored her. She's a girl who supports other girls around her, a girl who sticks to her morals, a girl who's just a little bit murky around the edges and a girl with rainbow hair and a tattoo sleeve ! Just check out this cool picture by Marie Lu herself.
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Emika Chen by Marie Lu (note: her name Emiko Sato was later changed to Emika Chen)
So yes, overall cast was strong, though I do wish the side characters had been more prominent, as I thought they were all interesting. Looking forward to seeing more from them in the sequels.
“They believe that objects have souls. The more love you put into one, the more beautiful it becomes.”
Warcross is definitely a book which grabs you by neck and takes you on a wild ride. The tables keep turning, the stakes keep rising and your blood is pumping. It's a thrilling book, with such incredible scenes and imagery and moments you are left in genuine awe. The dark underbelly of the book, mixed with the gaming action elements make it unique and exciting. There is definitely something for everyone here, and I loved this from Marie Lu. It feels more like Legend then The Young Elites, but then it feels like something unique and special on it's own too.
Marie Lu is a genius, and an innovator. Warcross is definitely something you can't miss and I guarantee everyone will be talking about it. The ending leaves me hungy for SO MUCH MORE. I NEEDED THE SEQUEL YESTERDAY. You have to pick this up when it releases, it's absolutely stellar and you will feel like it's all over too soon.
Thankyou to the publisher for sending me this arc. Quotes used in this review are subject to change upon release.
"From dragon-flame begun, from dragon-flame undone ... In the end, everything burns
THIS BOOK IS GOOD NEWS for any fans of dragons, sky pirates and
"From dragon-flame begun, from dragon-flame undone ... In the end, everything burns
THIS BOOK IS GOOD NEWS for any fans of dragons, sky pirates and warring fantasy worlds because Moroda, the first book in an upcoming six-book series has all three
Moroda is a high-fantasy novel set in Linaria - a world populated by various species of people, where dragons are revered as Gods and war is stirring.
It follows Moroda, a young girl who, along with her sister, is thrown into an unlikely alliance with a sky pirate called Amarah and a dragon-killer called Kohl after Moroda's city is attacked and destroyed by a dragon. Moroda sets out with her new friends to discover the truth behind dragons and to hopefully prevent the war being stirred up by Aciel - the leader of the Arillian people. She is joined by others - Itallan traders Anahrik and Palom, as well as Sapora - one of the dreaded and hated Varkain. Together this rag-tag team will travel across the world to try and protect the peace and save their people.
Moroda held her breath and it was suddenly on top of them -- a dragon of immense size. It had deep, silvery-blue scaled and black thorns, and it's wings blotted out the sky
Moroda is set firmly in the high-fantasy bracket. It definitely gave me some Eragon/The Inheritance Cycle vibes, mixed with a little Game of Thrones and Tolkien elements. The world is very expansive - with different 'races' of human-type people co-existing and battling for control. Itallans and Varkains are shape-shifters, who can turn themselves into animals at will. The Arillian's are a species with wings and the ability to perform magic.
The huge world, with so many different and fantastical characters and places was a massive highlight for me, and anyone who likes non-human type characters in their fantasy. The only drawback was that in parts I was confused over which species was which. I definitely think some sort of glossary like many high-fantasy books have could have been useful.
But the fantasy world was a really great place to read about and fall into when you pick this up. The inclusion of dragons - and the magic that comes from them, as well as phoenixes, sky ships and pirates.
THINGS I LIKED ABOUT MORODA
■ as mentioned, the world. I really liked Linaria as a fantasy setting and all the elements that came along with it. ■ the way magic and the dragons interacted. Dragons play a big role in this story and the history of the world and since I love dragons I loved that. Plus the sequel looks set to include much more about the dragons ■ Good mix of characters. I liked that each character had a unique voice and arc which they grow through. I really liked Moroda's arc, but loved Sapora's character most. ■ Inclusion of swearing! I don't know why but I love swearing in books ■ NO ROMANCE. Yes you read that right people, no annoying romantic sub-plot distracting everyone from the task at hand. Sooo refreshing. ■ The theming was well done and consistent throughout the story. I really think the ending fit in with the discussions being had throughout the book and I liked that the dragons are non-stereotypical in that the older ones are pacifist. ■ REALLY liked the action scenes, especially the first few ones and the ones at the end. You've got cities burning, air races, airship heists, battles for the crown and dragon riding to look forward to. I really loved the action sequences they were a big highlight when they came along.
THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE AS MUCH ■ As mentioned, the worldbuilding can be a little blurry at times - not so much because I think it's poorly written but just because I think the world is so expansive and outlandish it can get confusing. So you definitely have to be paying attention - a 'dense' read for people who aren't used to high fantasy. ■ The book was dialogue-heavy and I know some people really like that, but personally I like more prose so it was hard for me to get through at times. ■ The reasons behind the angst between different races of people was a little unclear at times. The reasons as to why people hate the Varkains so much or why the Arrillian are shunned was a little unclear to me. I would have liked more explanation here.
THINGS IM LOOKING FORWARD TO
I will definitely be continuing on with this series! I'm hooked on the world and characters and can't wait to see more of them when the second title - which I believe will be called Palom - is released.
I am definitely looking forward to more Sapora - he was my favourite character because I found him so interesting and where he's positioned now in the book has great potential for book 2. Also looking forward to see Moroda's arc continue and find out what her decisions mean for her. Hoping to see much more of Isa and Morgern
CONCLUSION
I went into Moroda with the expectation of Dragons and Pirates - I got that and much more to boot. Linaria is a fantastic high fantasy world, filled with exciting and unique creatures and characters who really burst from the page. Moroda takes a unique and fresh angle on many fantasy tropes, like dragons and war and creates them into something new and exciting. Great action sequences, a large rag-tag cast who are a lot of fun and complex worldbuiling I really think if you're a fan of high fantasy you'd enjoy Moroda!
A big THANKYOU to L.L McNeil for providing me with a free paperback version of Moroda in exchange for my review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Yet as long as I'm alive, I have to keep going. One step after another through this tunnel until I'm back in Grenwyr City to rejoin the battle, a l
Yet as long as I'm alive, I have to keep going. One step after another through this tunnel until I'm back in Grenwyr City to rejoin the battle, a little more broken than before. .. For my friends and the Dead and the helpless. For me. All I can do is keep fighting
FULL REVIEW NOW POSTED
Reign of the Fallen was one of my most highly anticipated 2018 releases and IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT. While it wasn't the perfect book, it had so so so many things I like - and set up the series in such a way I just KNOW I'm going to be so invested in the next books.
Reign of the Fallen is a high fantasy featuring necromancers, magic and a whole lot of living dead people. Basically, our main character Odessa is a necromancer - this means she can go into the Deadlands, find the souls of the deceased and bring them back to life. The catch? Anyone who's come back to life must never been looked at by a living person. If they are, they turn into a deadly and uncontrollable shade who can never be resurrected again.
The world of this book had some really interesting elements. The idea that change was considered a bad thing (hence the constant resurrection of the dead) was so interesting. I also liked how the magic worked, especially the magic. Seeing beast masters, weather mages, healers, necromancers and more all in one book was also really fun. I would love to see some of the worldbuilding elements expanded in book two though. I think sometimes the geography of the world was a little unclear and it was missing some atmospheric/descriptive work in the setting that made it hard for me to always picture the setting - especially in the final scenes in the heart of the city.
MY FAVOURITE PART OF THIS BOOK WAS THE CHARACTERS THOUGH I literally adored the characters !! You know books where you instantly get invested in all the characters and could just like, read an entire book of them hanging out doing nothing. Thats how I feel about this. The things that happened to these characters definitely managed to tug A LOT at my heart strings. I was so nervous about what would happen to them all and that constant stress over their wellbeing kept me reading.
Odessa is the main character and she is so incredibly cool and badass. She's based off of Korra from The Legend of Korra, so it makes sense. Odessa is highly capable and badass, but I also liked she was flawed and was shown to have a personality that existed outside of her capabilities. Some reviews say odessa is weak due to events in the middle of the book, but I think her strength to persevere despite setbacks truly highlights her capabilities and I LOVE HER. Also, she's black and bisexual is which THE BEST.
Evander, Jax and Simeon were such an awesome friend group and I loved their banter and dynamic with eachother. I literally love books with an ensemble cast so this made me so happy. I loved the scenes with them all together most and I really really would love more of those in book two. LIKE JUST GIVE ME THEM HAVING OUT BEING FRIENDS. I am so invested in all these characters. I also love that Simeon was gay and was dating Danial THEY WERE SO CUTE (view spoiler)[ at the end when they were gonna get married jfghkjsf (hide spoiler)]
Kasmira, Meredy and Valoria were all really interesting and I liked that they were there to weight out how many of the Necromancers were men. Valoria is a princess and inventor, which I thought was so cool. Definitely something we don't see much. Kasmira is a pirate who wasn't given as much page-time, but is set to appear more in the sequel. She's a weather mage, and also a black woman. I hope her magic is explored more. However, when she did appear her banter with Odessa was always fun and honestly flirty and if I didn't ship the actual canon ship I'd ship this. Meredy is Evander's sister and a beast master with a massive grizzly bear called Lysander and honestly? she's the best. I just wish she'd appeared earlier, because my slow burn loving ass wasn't fully invested in the Odessa/Meredy thing when it started happening. (DON'T GET ME WRONG, I LOVE THEM), I just wish it'd been ... more
Which is essentially my issue (?) with all these characters. I love them, but I wanted more from them. I would love to see every character and relationship explored more heavily. Danial didn't get much development beside being Simeon's boyfriend, Kasmira didn't appear enough, and Meredy needed more page time. I am hoping in the sequels we get to see much much more from everyone because I think thats what this book needs to really BUMP IT UP THE STAR
Romance and Representation
So as I've said earlier, Odessa is bisexual (which is ownvoices) and in this book dates a man, and then a woman. Although this isn't necessary for depicting bi people, I LIKED that Odessa was shown in a relationship with a man and a woman. It was really nice to see how explicit this book was in showing Odessa's attraction to multiple genders - I especially liked this line about Odessa: "Simeon only liked kissing boys, but I liked kissing both girls and boys"
So I loved the depiction of bisexuality, and it's amazing to get some ov bi rep in fantasy. Romance wise, I really enjoyed the romance between Evander and Odessa (mostly because I'm a sucker for the 'we've been friends forever and then started dating' trope.) But I would have liked the second romance to have been developed for a longer period of time, or to have had more page time. I think introducing the LI in the second half of the book was a bit of a waste because we lost lots of relationship development time. But I definitely still liked the ship and I can't wait to see more of it in book two
But one thing I did want to say is I love how sex positive this book is. Odessa sleeps with multiple people but it's a non-issue and I thought that was so freakin cool.
Other representation wise: this book features an ensemble cast of different ethnicities and sexualities. Daniel and Simeon are both gay, Odessa is bi. Kasmira is black and so is Odessa. Meredy is a lesbian and had a girlfriend.
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PLOT
Reign of the Fallen definitely does cover the necromancer, magic business we were promised. But a chunk in the middle is also about dealing with grief and focusses on addiction and loss. This aspect was unexpected and I can see why people were disappointed not knowing it'd be such a large focus. I actually really liked this part of the book. I think it was an issue this book actually handled really well, and it helped to show the development of Odessa's character.
I did guess the plot twist of this book loong before it came around, which was a shame, but also didn't ruin it. The plot twist isn't .. that twisty. It's not revealed as a massive shock, so it didn't feel like I'd missed out on something. Despite the reveal being clear to me, I still really enjoyed the progression of the reveal and how the characters reacted to the events.
Also, this book is written in first person point of view, which isn't my favourite for fantasy, but I think it really worked with this story, since so much of it focussed on Odessa's thoughts and struggles.
I knew living with the Dead was impossible. Death is an ending, not a new beginning.
To sum up: I really enjoyed Reign of the Fallen. It had an interesting premise and a cast of loveable characters that made me instantly invested in the outcome of the events. The characters really compelled me to finish this book because I HAD TO KNOW IF THEY'D BE OKAY, which, actually happens to me the most important aspect of a story for me. Most my favourites books are ones where the wellbeing of the characters was the most important thing to me.
This book was missing some elements and finesse that would have made it perfect - some more in depth worldbuilding, a more drawn out romance and more development of the side characters, but overall I really enjoyed everything in this book. AND I NEED THE NEXT ONE NOW. I can just tell this is going to be such a good, complex and well written series with the BEST characters and I'm so excited for this series to expand.
oh my god I literally loved this so much ?! It would have been five stars except I had a fewww minor issues (and most of them are related to personal preference) BUT OVERALL I LOVE THIS SO MUCH OH MY GOD
also a massive shout out to the author Sarah Glen Marsh for sending me some signed bookmarks and character cards I AM FOREVER APPRECIATIVE
ANYWAY, if you're looking to start an epic new fantasy series with incredible characters and magic and necromancers and a diverse cast and an f/f relationship START THIS
me thinking about Odessa, Jax, Simeon, Danial and Evander [image]...more
But she underestimated me. I played my cards, I laid in wait, I let myself be beaten and manipulated. If she keeps that promise she made to me, I’l
But she underestimated me. I played my cards, I laid in wait, I let myself be beaten and manipulated. If she keeps that promise she made to me, I’ll show her the truth I’ve learned on her boat. I don’t just raise monsters. I am one.
I can't even remember the last time I read a book this fast THAT is how much I absolutely adored this book. It literally has everything. Sea monsters, pirates, morally ambiguous characters, fantasy and lesbians in love. my gay ass is thriving
The Abyss Surrounds Us is about a future word where scientifically manufactured sea monsters called Reckoners are bred to protect ships in pirate infested waters. Cassandra Leung, the protagonist, has grown up training these monsters. On her first voyage across the sea, her monster Durga is killed and she is captured by pirates - who force her to hatch and train their own Reckoner they have acquired illegally.
I was impressed with every aspect of this book This is Emily Skrutskie's first novel, and it has to be one of the strongest debuts I've ever read. The writing was awesome, worldbuilding was strong and character development was GREAT. I really do have no complains about this book, I really loved it.
THE WORLD THE CHARACTERS were well written, complex and diverse. The main character Cas is Asian (I assume Chinese as at one point she mentions speaking Cantonese but it's never explicitly stated and she may not be Chinese) but ANYWAY, she's a sea monster trainer who starts off thinking she's very morally upstanding but soon starts to have her own beliefs unraveled. She's challenged continuously, questions her place and adapts accordingly and I absolutely adored her and her arc. Everyone loves Swift (same!) but for me, Cas was my favourite.
Swift is a pirate girl who's trying to work her way up to the position of captain. Lots of her backstory is spoilers, but I will say she's incredibly hard-working and such a badass. But also she's so soft and sweet omg ? And she treats Cas so well and aaaah bless. we love a legend.
Santa Elena is the pirate queen I've always needed. She's such a badass, Would Kill You Dead and doesn't give a fuck but I admire her SO MUCH. I also, she was such a strong strong woman who didn't reject her femininity. I LOVED she was a mother and that played into her strength, and even though she's the villain I ... love her so much. Like she ruthless as fuck but she's also super soft with her kid and the other kids on her ship I'm #SHOOK. Also she's black! Yes powerful women of colour!!
THE PLOT is super fast paced, you got sea battles and attempted murder and actual murder and pirate fights and questionable floating islands and SO MUCH MORE and I literally flew through this because I HAD TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED NEXT Also, the romance makes me Cry in the best way, they are so good together, and it's enemies to lovers but it's done SO WELL and their relationship recognises it's flaws and working through them I'm choking again I love them so much.
"We’re two trapped girls with nothing but each other on a ship of people who’d be better off with us dead, and somehow on top of that we’ve managed to do the one thing we shouldn’t be able to do.”
I COULD NOT recommend this book high enough. You got lesbian pirates, sea monsters, epic sea battles, enemies to lovers, great characters and it's soo fast paced you won't be able to stop I actually think I could inject crack cocaine into my eyeballs and wouldn't get as good a rush as I got from this book.
YOU ALL NEED TO READ THIS WTF right now ! I'm not joking right this very second. I am blessed, shook and WANTING MORE RIGHT NOW....more
TIMEKEEPER is set in an alternate victorian england where clock towers & time is essentially alive and people are subject to the whims of time. Clock TIMEKEEPER is set in an alternate victorian england where clock towers & time is essentially alive and people are subject to the whims of time. Clock mechanics are hired to maintain the clocks, otherwise they can become damaged and throw off time in towns - potentially even Stop towns so that time no longer moves.
Danny is a mechanic who is sent to Enfield to repair a clock, and when he does some really weird things start happening. Clocks are getting sabotaged and Danny is unsure who to trust. There is also a really cute m/m romance between Danny and another boy that I loved. It was so cute.
This book was so fun and unique. The way time worked was so interesting and I loved the thought that had gone into this book and it's worlbuilding. The mythology and lore around time was so well developed. At first this book is a bit confusing but once you get a grasp on how time works, it is fast paced and thrilling with an awesome mystery. I also loved that typography was used to visually depict how time was working, for example, lines would be flipped around or repeated as time became distorted in the world. And that was really fun
“First thing you learn wandering the long roads, kid. Everyone thinks they're the hero of their own story"
This is gonna be a messy incoherent long
“First thing you learn wandering the long roads, kid. Everyone thinks they're the hero of their own story"
This is gonna be a messy incoherent long kinds review containing untagged spoilers you've been warned
Well this was incredibly disappointing. I have limits to how many times I can feel annoyed in a book and this really surpassed my limits. I'm only giving it three stars because despite how aggravated I was for the second half, I did enjoy the worldbuilding in the first half.
HONESTLY I don't even freakin know what this book was trying to do. We get introduced to a world where there are Jan'Tep and Sha'Tep - Jan'Tep have magic and Sha'Tep don't, which means the Sha'Tep are poorly treated servants and oppressed. Kellen, our main character, doesn't have magic and this book sets up that he will con everyone into thinking he does. except kellen really isn't that tricky or clever? despite everyone constantly telling us he is he's pretty much useless in every single situation and basically constantly needs to be rescued by someone else with actual capabilities.
My buddy ol' pal Em once wisely said "do fifteen year old boys scrape their personalities off the dirty kitchen floor?" in her review of this book and honestly? thats my entire fucking mood on Kellen. I mean this idiot of a boy is about to die, has become disillusioned with his entire culture, has just found out some groundbreaking information, and, is about to die. and all he can talk about is how he's never kissed a girl ? um shut the fuck up
At one point in this book, we found out the oppressed Sha'Tep have decided to uprise against the Jan'Tep and then Kellen .... takes the Jan'Tep's side ? Listen, what the fuck. I can't side with the people who exile their own families for not having magic, are canonically a genocidal race, who use Sha'Tep as slaves and carelessly send them to their deaths for their benefit. Like, this would be like Katniss Everdeen turning around and saying "you know what?? President Snow has a point". I CANNOT SIDE WITH GENOCIDAL OPPRESSORS SO WHY DID THIS BOOK TRY AND MAKE ME ?? I really don't understand why Kellen helped defeat the uprising.
On top of that, I was faced with a genocide/imperialism plot line that was messy and just not explored well at all. Like there was way too many elements of this story and I wasn't even sure what it was supposed to be about until the end. I still don't even know
Then we have the side characters. Ferius was interesting and I liked her, but she wasn't in it enough and needed rescuing ALL THE TIME. which is not fun. Then we have Kellen's fellow mages. One of them is fat and the amount of time this book spent telling is how "fat" and "useless" he was because of it was ridiculous HOLY CRAP, we get it Sebastien De Castell you hate fat people. Seriously though, this kid was powerful and there was NO NEED for this book to so thoroughly make gross unnecessary fat jokes. I can't even remember the female love interests name because she was that one dimensional. She literally just existed for Kellen to fantasise over and talk about being in love with even though she appears twice. Holy crap, the amount i DONT CARE about boys getting girls in books for wish fulfilment purposes. Tennat was just the basic bully character with no depth or nuance. Shalla was the most interesting character and I wish she had been fleshed out more because she could have been great.
strong trigger warning for animal cruelty/abuse which was hard to read and again, why am I supposed to be rooting for the romance with the girl who helps torture animals ???
I mean the thing is even though this book annoyed me enormously at times it was kinda still overall entertaining? And there was some twists that got me. But it was just SO ANNOYING. I seriously don't know what this book was supposed to be and why it was trying to make me sympathise with so many clearly bad people. And the cover really is nice.
I know I just spent ages raging but even though I spent so long irritated I also had fun reading this and read it fairly fast so that counts for something. I also thought the worldbuilding was cool and the magic system was very interesting. There was elements of this book I liked but put it all together and its a big gloop of NOPE
Honestly, I don't think I'd recommend this book but then also I've seen people love it so I don't know ?? You might ?? but personally I'm still kinda out here wondering why this book wanted me to side with The Capitol over The Districts. Actual rating is 2.5...more
I've written a proper review of this book before. Honestly, at this point reviewing these seems kind of redundant. I mean we all been KNEW these booksI've written a proper review of this book before. Honestly, at this point reviewing these seems kind of redundant. I mean we all been KNEW these books are the best.
I was halfway through this book and put it down ages ago, but playing the damn Harry Potter APP gave me a big need to read one of the books so I decided to finish this off. I read the illustrated edition and omg, they're just so beautiful. Jim Kay did a really great job with them. But I didn't like the illustrations as much as the first one? There wasn't nearly as many, to be honest. Which was kind of disappointing.
But yeah it was great to read this again. I love I can just pick them up whenever at ay spot and read and know where I'm at. ...more
“Everyone, remain calm, I’m about to blow some shit up.” “Nay!” Vex shouted from the pilothouse. “We’ve a kid here now, all right?” “Sorry. I’m abou
“Everyone, remain calm, I’m about to blow some shit up.” “Nay!” Vex shouted from the pilothouse. “We’ve a kid here now, all right?” “Sorry. I’m about to chaotically rearrange some shit up.” “That wasn’t the problem—” Vex started to say.
uhhh. This just didn't work for me at all. And I strongly considered DNF'ing for large parts of it, but skimmed read to the end anyway.
These Rebel Waves is set in a fantasy world where magic has been declared heretic by the powerful Argridian council. Years ago, they invaded their neighbouring countries (importantly Grace Loray) to eliminate magic from the population. In the present day, Argrid and Grace Loray are going through peace talks, but they are thrown into jeopardy when a diplomat goes missing. Thus, the lives of our three main characters begin to intertwine:
“As long as we don't have magic, they will never treat us with respect. They need to know we can hit them back. If they burn our homes, we burn the
“As long as we don't have magic, they will never treat us with respect. They need to know we can hit them back. If they burn our homes, we burn theirs, too.”
oh my god Adeyemi has introduced me to one of my favourite fantasy worlds ever! this book has soo many things to love. it's got magic, such an awesome world, amazing characters and AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER VIBES. Seriously feeling giddy about the movie already because this book is gonna look AMAZING on screen.
I absolutely adored the world for this one. It's inspired by West African mythology and it was probably my favourite aspect. Magic is literally ALWAYS a yes from me and this book had so freakin much magic. Having ten different types of magic users was so interesting and I loved how well explained and interesting the magic system was. The entire world is just so rich and well developed if you LOVE fantasy worlds you're probably definitely gonna fall in love with this one.
The plot and pacing was RIGHT ON. The book was gripping and pound-pulsing, not a single second of this book was wasted which is soo important in a 500+ page book. But it didn't even feel long because something is literally always happening. I also loved the set up of the plot, if you love quest plots you'll like this. It feels ALOT like season one of Avatar and Avatar in general which gets me into ...
THE AVATAR VIBES listen I am the biggest Avatar: The Last Airbender fan and SO IT THE AUTHOR OF THIS BOOK and you can so tell. So many things gave me vibes, like the brother/sister pairing, the solstice deadline, the prince villain and having to band together to save the world.
In addition to all this, the author infuses this book with so many parallels between Orïsha and our own world, and it was so well incorporated. I really think this book had so much to SAY but was also just pure genuine entertainment and really well written fantasy.
“I teach you to be warriors in the garden so you will never be gardeners in the war.”
the characters were also such a delight. 🍃 Zelie our main character is fearless and brave and Down To Fight and I love her soo much, easily my favourite character. Her character growth is amazing and her chapters were my favourite. 🍃 Amari is a runaway princess dedicated to avenging her friend Binta. I loved watching Amari develop from naive and unsure to strong and brave and her friendship with Zelie is iconic (and gay) 🍃 Tzain is Zelie's brother and he is SO SWEEET I love him. He's such a good soft boy. I loved he and Zelie's sibling relationship and how it was so central to the story. 🍃 Inan was probably my least favourite character because I was unsure how to feel about him but I think his arc promises to be interesting in the future
“As it fades, I see the truth - in plain sight, yet hidden all along. We are all children of blood and bone. All instruments of vengeance and virtue."
The only thing I didn't like so much about this book is subjective - but it's the writing. There wasn't necessarily anything wrong with it, it just didn't always click with me. Sometimes the writing would take me out the story and the style was just weird for me to follow. I have this issue with many books written in this style which is more straightforward (???? don't know how else to explain it honestly) than lyrical.
unfortunately I also wasn't that sold on the romance ! It just didn't really reel me in or peak my interest but THERE ARE TWO OTHER ROMANCES I REALLY WANT TO HAPPEN. I think the main romance /was/ a bit insta-lovey though and I didn't really get the connection there.
“Children of Blood and Bone was written during a time where I kept turning on the news and seeing stories of unarmed black men, women, and children being shot by the police. I felt afraid and angry and helpless, but this book was the one thing that made me feel like I could do something about it. I told myself that if just one person could read it and have their hearts or minds changed, then I would've done something meaningful against a problem that often feels so much bigger than myself.”
OVERALL THIS BOOK IS GREAT AND YOU SHOULD READ IT if you're a fantasy fan it's a must read, honestly. the magic system is just so well written, and the diversity is so beautiful. This book will have you flipping the pages because it's all action, action action. I am so glad this book is getting hyped and Children of Virtue and Vengeance coming in 2019 is gonna blow everyones socks off I just KNOW IT...more
“There was a man who loved the moon, but whenever he tried to embrace her, she broke into a thousand pieces and left him drenched, with empty arms.
“There was a man who loved the moon, but whenever he tried to embrace her, she broke into a thousand pieces and left him drenched, with empty arms.”
Strange the Dreamer is a whimsy fantasy with syrupy sweet writing and a beautiful, vivid setting. Laini Taylor's fantasies are really like no other and I definitely enjoyed this more than Daughter of Smoke and Bone. The worlds she crafts are fascinating, and she fills them with interesting and beautiful characters that just bounce off the page. So, I loved reading this most of the time. But there was some issues as well which kept me from giving it a full five star rating.
The best thing about Laini Taylor's books is the writing her writing style is so beautiful and sweeps me up into the story so much. The flowery, heavily descriptive writing just adds to this fantastical magical feeling all her books have. Of all the fantasies I've read, I feel like none nail whimsical and dreamlike like Laini Taylor's do. The entirety of this book almost feels like a dream with it's liquid writing and although I've seen some reviewers say they think it was overdone, I didn't feel that at all. I adored the writing.
I also love how imagery heavy Laini Taylor's worlds are. From the fantastical descriptions of Weep, to the falling Godspawn, blue girls and moth ridden bedrooms, her descriptions and imagery make her worlds so vivid and tangible. Laini Taylor really does do an excellent job at creating this provoking depictions of various story elements that do so much to really bring her worlds and scenes to the next level.
I also think Laini Taylor does a great job at exploring her themes, but I really felt like it was a little bit been there, done that. the themes are quite similar to those explored in Daughter of Smoke and Bone, but I do like how it contributed to the multiverse worldbuilding element that we saw in DoSaB.
I also really enjoy Laini Taylor's characters. I like that her main male characters are always kind of dorky and sweet and her female characters are always super interesting. She also generally creates compelling side characters who get lots of character development, so I'm excited to see if she continues that trend in Muse of Nightmares. Feral, Ruby, Sparrow, Eril-Fane, Thyron and Calixte especially were interesting to me, but I'd like to see them have more development.
“You’re a storyteller. Dream up something wild and improbable. Something beautiful and full of monsters. All the best stories are.”
where this book really fell down for me was the plot. Laini Taylor in my opinion, really has some pacing issues. I felt like a lot of things were being said but nothing was going anywhere, and never giving the story a conclusive complication and set of plot points to raise tension makes this 500 page book feel like it's slowly meandering toward nothing.
I also disliked the romance. this insta-love didn't work for me and I dislike it each time she does it. I thought the relationship itself was fine but I just thought the romance was so dramatic and happened too quickly. I actually thought at the beginning this was going to be an m/m romance between Lazlo and Thyron and I feel cheated and maybe a tiny bit queerbaited? Anyway, Thyron and Lazlo should have interacted more because you can't just throw me that backstory and tell me HOW BEAUTIFUL AND AMAZING THYRON IS and then leave me hanging like that.
He had a trio of fears that sat in his gut like swallowed teeth, and when he was too quiet with his own thoughts, they’d grind together to gnaw at him from within. This was the first: that he would never see further proof of magic. The second: that he would never find out what had happened in Weep. The third: that he would always be as alone as he was now.
overall I really liked this book it was so easy to get lost in the beautiful world Laini Taylor created, and the writing style sucked me right in. It felt like I was reading a dream and that was really beautiful. Lazlo Strange was such a beautiful character and this book itself was so beautiful too I couldn't not love it.
But I'm kind of worried for the sequel. I feel like it's going to be about the romance more than the plot elements I found interesting and I am .. not excited for that. But we can only wait and see.
“I can feel his presence here in every stone he has touched, every person he has lifted up, every street and alley and city that he has changed in
“I can feel his presence here in every stone he has touched, every person he has lifted up, every street and alley and city that he has changed in the few years of his life, because he is the Republic, he is our light, and I love you, I love you, until the day we meet again I will hold you in my heart and protect you there, grieving what we never had, cherishing what we did. I wish you were here. I love you, always.”
Woah, woah woah woah wow. We're going to go from the end to the start because this book has one of the most satisfying ends of a series ever Like, I am SO picky about series ends but I absolutely ADORE how this one ended up.
Every issue I had in Prodigy got addressed and I'm so glad. I'm so glad that the problems and problematic aspects of these characters relationships got addressed and aaaah. Marie Lu, she is a genius and I love her.
“I scream for everything that has gone wrong. I scream for everything broken in our lives.”
For me, Champion was a different ballgame to Legend and Prodigy. The stakes were much, much higher but there was more politics then action. While the last 100 or so pages were crazy action, the rest was much more political and subdued and I kinda liked it,
I think here the worldbuilding really got to shine. In Legend, I was worried about the lack of worldbuilding but the expansion of the world in this series in incredible. Few dystopaisn I've read have such detailed worlds and institutions. The politics is played out not just in the country where the characters live, but also across the globe as a whole and manifests in the United Nations and other international organisations. The characters visit to Antartica was so cool, and I loved the different politics systems set up - from the Corporate states in the Colonies, to the point based moral democracy of Antartica, to the autocracy of the Republic - each government system was interesting and unique. If you like politics and worldbuilding in books, especially international I think you'd really like this. FR if you study international relations like me by any chance, this book is gonna make u so excited ok .
I just think everything was a massive step up from Prodigy. I was worried about how the relationship between June and Day would play out - I expressed I thought their relationship was problematic and built on alot of unsolved issues and the fact that 1: the characters recognised that and 2: did something about it #shook. I also just loved the mature growth of these characters, and getting to see them years into the future outside of their situation made it so much better. June especially has great character growth and I ended up really liking her and Day's relationship despite my original hesitance.
“There's a conflicted look in Day's eyes, a joy and a grief, that makes him so vulnerable. I realize how little defense he has against my words. He loves so wholly. It is his nature.”
I really don't have much to say negative about this book? Once again Marie Lu's abilities as an author shine. Her writing is great, but what I really love about her is I feel she has an intimate and meaningful understanding of her characters - and that she addresses the parts of them that are problematic. It feels alot like how Leigh Bardugo works with her characters. For me, thats so important because I love character driven stories
I wish the plot had just been a little more fact paced, the first third kind of dragged for me and thats disappointing, but aside from that, I honestly think this is a great book and such a good, solid and well thought out ending to the series.
Marie Lu has absolutely solidified herself in my list of "must read authors". I honestly thoroughly enjoy everything she writes, and I love that what she sets up in book 1 is developed and grown so far beyond that premise.
Her books are consistently diverse, and treat their characters well. Her books tackle important issues and don't rely on stereotypes and cliches to tell the story.
I honestly really liked this trilogy and even if it won't eclipse my love for THE YOUNG ELITES, it's just a really solid series and I'm glad.
“No matter what happens in the future, no matter where our paths take us, this moment will be ours.”
“All it takes is one generation to brainwash a population and convince them that reality doesn't exist.”
Coming into this sequel I had high expect
“All it takes is one generation to brainwash a population and convince them that reality doesn't exist.”
Coming into this sequel I had high expectations. I know Marie Lu can write a good sequel and I was very excited for this one.
In many ways, Prodigy is a step up from Legend. The stakes are higher, the books more fast paced and I think there is much more emphasis on consequence. In Legend things seemed pretty straight forward, in Prodigy, reality is twisted in a way that both me and the characters do not know who to trust. It is alot more psychologically challenging, and this probably should of had me liking it alot more then I did
I mean, this series has some GREAT ASPECTS: mixed race main characters, lgbt+ rep (not much but something), good supporting cast, well written strong female lead and a compassionate family orientated male lead which is actually kind of unusual, critical of many areas of society such as capitalism, propaganda and marketing. Actually goes outside of the dystopian setting to explain and explore what happened to the rest of the world, and focusses on exposing the ways in which dictators have traditionally gained power through military backing.
There's just one thing stopping me like this. It's like trump came into this book and constructed a wall which would bar me from entering over to the side of blissful entertainment and that wall is built with from bricks made of Day Wing's and June Iparis' relationship. Actually, all romantic interactions are part of this wall.
ROMANTIC THINGS THAT MADE ME CRY (in anger, not bc its cute) • First of all. Day + June is dumb. Sure it cOULD happen but I feel some things need to be discussed. I didn't like that the beginning of the book brushed over so much shit. Abuse/death/ect. Even when it was eventually addressed, it wasn't enough for me and it was too little too late. I am hoping book 3 remedies this more but I just find their relationship weird. There should be more animosity between them, and the brushing over the incidents in book 1 where June physically abused Day is not cool
• The love square WAS NOT COOL. Don't give me that what the fuck y'all know we don't want that
• June + Arden is fucking weird. She's 15 and he's 20 like wtf.
• Day + Tess is weird for some reason (I'm not 100% sure but isn't she like 9?)
• It just felt like all the relationships came out of nowhere. There wasn't enough build up or slow burn, it just felt like characters were thrown together but "he was a boy, she was a girl"
• the lgbt+ rep is iffy (plus, #buryyourgays anyone) I like that it was there, but it's also kind of annoying when authors do that thing when they just throw in a little rep offhandedly, it's lazy. Anyway, idk how I feel about it. Not the worst rep ever but still :///
BUT ANYWAY: I'm going to keep going on now. I've heard the end of this series is crushing though. I don't know, I think this is a brilliant series plot wise, while book 1 was a lil predictable and maybe not the most original ever, I do think this book really improved on the first in so many ways. The worldbuilding was much better and Prodigy had a thematic complexity Legend just didn't. The touching upon of the capitalist Colonies, with their heavy economic based militance, as well as the effect Global warming and technology has had upon the world were really interesting. I liked that Africa was a large player in this future world, as well as the concept of Antartica developing it's own national identity.
I noticed Australia wasn't mentioned when Day listed the continents on the world map soo ?? does this mean we dead. It happens to Australia ALL THE TIME in dystopian. Why are authors always killing us :(
I haven't mentioned characters but I will say I think both Day and June went through some good, important development and I am enjoying their characters very much. June's slow entanglement of her own thought from republic thought was a good character arc, and I also liked Day coming to terms with the role he may need to play in politics in order to stabilise the world they know. I think both Day and June are good MC's. June is an outstanding strong female character, especially since her strength is not solely defined by her fighting prowess, but also in her abiloty to control and manage a situation, to make difficult choices and to carry on in dire situations. Day is an unusual male character and I think he defies many male hero stereotypes which i am really loving. HIs character arc relies upon a reliance and love of family and friends, he's entirely relationship orientated and I like that he's not a physically domineering character. His strength is much more lowkey and sneaky and I like that much of his power as a character comes from his symbolic quality, from the words he's used and from his passive-resistance.
~~~~~~
I don't knoooow, there is alot to learn but I just wish the relationships weren't so exhausting and honestly, problematic in parts. Still a good book and series though.
“Kell isn't the only one you fail to understand. My bond with him didn't start with this curse. You wanted him to kill for me, die for me, protect
“Kell isn't the only one you fail to understand. My bond with him didn't start with this curse. You wanted him to kill for me, die for me, protect me at all costs. Well, Mother, you got your wish. You simple failed to realize that that kind of love, that bond, it goes both ways. I would kill for him, and I would die for him, and I will protect him however I am able, from Faro and Vesk, from White London, and Black London, and from you.”
listen no one is more surprised then me by the fact I gave this a FOUR STARS. When I saw it sitting on my bedside table ... staring at me ..... urging me to pick it up .... Well I genuinely thought I'd get 100/200 pages in and realise I wasn't that into this at all. Thats what happened to me with A Darker Shade of Magic and A Gathering of Shadows
Guess this book is a trick bitch because turns out I really, really, really enjoyed it.
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The thing immediately obvious that made this book better then it's predecessors is that is was much more action packed. While both ADSOM and AGOS felt like they were meandering along, A Conjuring of Light dives straight into the action. This was such a big positive for me, it actually felt like things were happening and I never felt bored like I did in A Darker Shade or Gathering of Shadows. The stakes are much higher, and the costs too. And that just makes it so much more exciting.
Immediately this book tugs at your heartstrings, you are exposed to these characters deepest experiences of suffering and pain and it is impossible not to feel attached to them after that. The character development throughout this book was phenomenal. Rhy and Alucard, especially, were lumped with extra character development. I am blown away by the difference between AGOS Rhy and ACOL Rhy. AGOS Rhy is a flirtatious, frolicking kind of guy who was super fun but wasn't really very complex or deep. ACOL Rhy is given an incredible amount of development, his character went from being a fairly flat side character to an incredible nuanced and interesting character. His development and entire story arc was definitely my favourite. I loved that so much of his plot points were resolved, I truly loved his character arc and everything it included. Also liked that it's bi/poc rep.
Holland also had lots of character development and I loved the new sort of role he played here. In previous books he was the villain everyone ran away from but I liked the new position he stepped into and how he fit in amongst the old character. I think it really altered how I felt about his character to see him in that role. His character arc was what I expected, but I still really enjoyed seeing it come to fruition. I liked that he played such a parallel to Lila - but I wish this aspect of his character had been explored me. This I will get into a little later !!
Alucard, Kell and Lila's character arcs continue along the same trajectory they were already set upon in previous books and I was fairly satisfied with their endings. Kell got the closure and acceptance I was really hoping he would, Alucard got forgiveness and respect. Lila can still choke, but I suppose I'm glad she got a fairly happy ending and I'm happy she's chilled out a little.
I think character-wise what made this really refreshing was the new dynamics played out between characters. Lila/Holland, Kell/Alucard and Rhy existing on his own without Kell being there. I liked the greater cast of characters and how they brushed against eachother.
My one issue character wise is the vilification of Holland and glorification of Lila. Throughout this series we are told how great and fun and edgy Lila is being she always have 12 knives on her and she kills people and she jokes about killing people and does weird shit like flashing her knives around in front of people she doesn't like. OKAY, we get it !!!!!! Lila is a """badass""" we get it. So what I don't get is why everyone in the book LOVES Lila for this while simultaneously hating Holland for killing people.
Now, we know Holland was abused/tortured and controlled by the Dane twins and that many of his actions are not really his and I feel that so wasn't addressed correctly. Constantly the characters complain about Holland killing people (even though! ! he was literally under a binding spell) and this is NEVER addressed. Why people vilified Holland and not the Dane twins is honestly,, beyond me. And WHY they talked about how cool and crazy edgy Lila was didn't make any sense.
When Holland told Lila to shut the fuck up (iconic) because she is exactly the same as him I was bloody cheering mate. I wish this thought had been carried on, I wish this thread had been explored more, I WIsh Holland had said it to the characters that weren't just Lilia. Because it's so true (and honestly he probably has more reasons to be a murderer then Lila) and YET it was never properly carried through and I'm upset.
Yes, Holland ultimately did get a redemption arc so you could argue it doesn't matter but STILL.
“Magic made everything feel so impermanent, it was easy to forget that some things, once changed, could never be undone. That not everything was either changeable or infinite. Some roads kept going, and others had an end.”
The plot I think was okay. I've said I liked it had much more action and that is true, I liked that it was set partly in Arnes and partly on the ship. I liked the places they visited (thAT MAGIC MARKET) and I liked how the Veskan/Faoran politics played into the story too. I think the Veskan plot was a little underdeveloped and thrown in out of nowhere, but it was okay and I could handle it. The plot with Ned Tuttle hearing Osaron was also kind of underdeveloped, as was why (view spoiler)[Maxim (hide spoiler)] had to die and how (view spoiler)[Ojka (hide spoiler)] was just brought back to life out of nowhere. The villain was just a bit much for me. His monologue's were just ridiculous and corny in my opinion and reminded me so much of AIDAN in Illuminae except when I say reminded me I mean Direct Rip Off Of (Am I not merciful?)
So thats why this got a 4 star from me, I want to say I really enjoyed this, which is a BIG THING from me considering I wasn't the biggest fan of the past two. I think the plot was perhaps a little loose in some parts and messed up but the character development pretty much made up for that.
Overall I found this so entertaining!! There really was alot for me to like here, and even though Lila Bard still annoyed the ever loving shit out of me I can still appreciate everything else going on here.
I laughed, screamed a little, came close to tears, smile cried and everything in between but if you felt everything thats generally a sign the book is good, right?
“Death comes for us all," said Holland evenly. "I would simply have mine mean something.”
"Our only enemy is within and once you conquer it ... you can overcome anything.
I have had this book in my kindle library pretty much since it re
"Our only enemy is within and once you conquer it ... you can overcome anything.
I have had this book in my kindle library pretty much since it released, because I was really highly anticipating it. When I used to watch a lot of Booktube Ben was one I watched a lot and I was really interested to see what his debut novel would be like. Also, the premise of this was so interesting to me. It's a high fantasy featuring elves and a central m/m relationship, which is ownvoices representation.
This book follows Zacriah, who is transported along with all the other elves who are eighteen to the capital to meet the king, though no one knows for what purpose. Zac is forced to join the kings new army of shapeshifters - but Zac cannot shape shift. He has another magic entirely, that he doesn't understand, but must keep a secret. But a war between the three elven continents is brewing, and Zacriah finds himself unwittingly thrown into the middle of it. Cloaked in Shadow is, to me, a mix of Throne of Glass, The Lord of the Rings and Avatar: The Last Airbender
I have many mixed feelings on this so lets break it down
+ positives
🌱 romance & representation For me the highlight of this book is definitely the romance. This book nailed angsty, slowburn romance. I was really rooting for the main romance and the build up was so good. This is also ownvoices gay representation which is something I always love and support in fantasy. It was nice to see a normalised m/m relationship and I just overall thought the gay rep was really great in this book.
🌱 plot the plot was super fast moving and a lot was happening. The first two thirds flew by (more on the last third later) and the book mixed drama with intrigue and politics really well. The mystery elements were compelling, and I really appreciated how fast moving this book was.
🌱 characters I thought the characters were overall a positive. Though I don't feel super strongly about them, they were well written and had logical character arcs. Zacriah had some character elements that reminded me of Aang from A:TLA which I loved because Aang is one of my favourite characters. I also LOVED Hadrian.
- negatives
🌱 the writing I ... really didn't love the writing in this one. Ben is a good writer but this really, really could have benefitted from some more editing. Some of the metaphors and phrases used were confusing, pointless or didn't actually say anything. The dialogue blended fantasy and modern speech in a way that didn't make sense and pulled me out of the story because it disrupted the narrative flow. Also, there were spelling and grammar mistakes throughout the book and pretty frequently. I am not such a *huge* stickler for grammar/spelling and usually let it pass, but it was A LOT here and the thoughtless editing was distracting from the story.
🌱 the last third The end of this story needlessly DRAGGED. The conflict climaxed and then .... the story kept going? The new story thrown in came out of nowhere and didn't have the necessary build up to keep me interested. I skimmed the entire last 20% of this book and nothing really happened, which was unfortunate since the rest of the book was well paced.
🌱 plot inconsistencies Some parts of the plot didn't add up. Conflicts were set up that weren't resolved, or which had confusing endings. Basically, it felt like the entire middle section didn't necessarily line up correctly with the beginning and endings. Again, I think this is an editing issue and it's a shame because it could have easily been resolved with more beta reading.
🌱 side characters This is not a strong negative but .. I didn't love the side characters? Most felt one dimensional and the portrayal of a lot of the female characters was .. sketchy. Not necessarily problematic or bad, but not great either? Like I said this isn't a super negative it just didn't sit right all the time.
Overall I do recommend this book it's a fun and fast paced fantasy with a well written m/m romance that really got me with the slowburn angst. I do plan on continuing this series, and I hope the next books are just edited a little bit better, to really tighten up the elements that let this book fall down.
This was my first read for UnsolvedAThon (read a book featuring mythical creatures) and Magical Readathon (Herbology - read a book with plants on the cover)...more
"Once upon a time, a girl had a father, a prince, a society of friends. Then they betrayed her, and she destroyed them all."
It's only taken me fiv
"Once upon a time, a girl had a father, a prince, a society of friends. Then they betrayed her, and she destroyed them all."
It's only taken me five months to review this! Everything is fine!
When I read this trilogy in January I instantly fell in love with it. I was shocked I'd heard so many negative reviews because I adored it - the tone, the characters, the plot, the complexity and the darkness of it. Six months on I still do feel as much passion and love for this series as I did then - and I really want to reread it even though I just finished it. So I think thats a testament of how much I truly do enjoy this series.
The Young Elites is a dark fantasy following Adelina Amoteru, a girl who finds out she has the power to create illusions. In this high fantasy world, a plague swept through the land years ago and deformed those who were afflicted, but it also gave some of the afflicted powers. Adelina, one of these so called "malfetto" joins a team of other powered teens called The Young Elites.
The Rose Society has a much darker tone then The Young Elites, and follows Adelina down a path of destruction and chaos - both her own destruction and those who have wronged her. Plagued by dark thoughts and fuelled by her own rage - Adelina completely destroys the naive girl she was in The Young Elites and develops into a leader and power of her own, she's most definitely a force to be reckoned with.
“Fear motivates, more than love or ambition or joy. Fear is more powerful than anything else in the world. I have spent so long yearning for things—for love, for acceptance—that I do not really need. I need nothing except the submission that comes with fear. I do not know why it took me so long to learn this.”
I absolutely adore this series for it's complex characters and subtle characterisation. The series focusses heavily on the characters morality and their relationships with eachother. This is an anti-hero story and journey, and some have even described it as a villain origin story. Those descriptions feel authentic to me, but it is more subtle then that. The portrayal of every character even the "good" ones as being morally ambiguous excited me - I liked that their characterization isn't in your face, and the inclusion of Adelina as an unreliable narrator made the lines on who you should trust and not trust a little blurry.
It's also a really diverse series Adelina and her sister are both dark-skinned woc and Adelina is vision impaired. There's a side relationship between two female characters, and Magiano - a new character introduced and Adelina's love interest is a black moc. Raffaele is a bisexual moc and there's also many other side characters who are poc. Lots of the characters also have physical disabilities caused by the plague. I love this kind of diversity, especially in fantasy.
The plot is exciting - we see Adelina going out and assembling a new crew to rival the one left behind. We also see some darker themes emerging - necromancy, war and destruction. I adore large cast stories, so the introduction of another group was a huge plus from me. There is plenty of emotion here too, scenes that made me genuinely upset or feel deeply for the affected characters. I am in awe of Marie Lu's ability to create such great scenes - whether they be action, romantic or emotional ones.
I also enjoy the subversion of tropes in The Young Elites. For example, the "coming for the throne" trope we always see -- a ragtag group of people are going to overthrow the oppressive regime and kingdom and take control of the government. This is completely subverted, with Adelina - an oppressive and cruel monarch coming to overthrow a legitimate government. I also really liked the parallels and commentary on the treatment of minorities in our own society and the consequences people experience personally from being oppressed, abused and mistreated.
Adelina is a unique and interesting main character, who's unapologetically nasty and knows it. She definitely struggles with herself a lot, but she's an incredibly powerful woman who has suffered and been mistreated but has come back for everything and I do think her character is really complex and often people don't see it that way which is such a shame. She's a great character.
I also love the side characters so much, especially Raffaele - who's honestly A BISEXUAL ICON But I love his character so much, and how he was introduced as the 'wise' and 'caring' adult figure of the group - but how his character is inverted and twisted and revealed for what he truly is - a little manipulative, ruthless and powerful in his own way.
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( one of my favourite pieces of fanart EVER by itsiparwing on tumblr)
I honestly adore this series it is like crack cocaine to me. Everything about it I find enjoyable and exciting and fresh.
Marie Lu masterfully creates worlds and people who surprise you and make you care for them even though you know they're not the best people ever. The Young Elites is an exciting and unique series in the ya genre, which portrays characters who constantly flicker - they're eternally ambiguous and just when you think you're looking at them the right way they do something to surprise you.
I have such an eternal love and appreciation for this series, and it saddens me that so many people dnf it since I don't understand that at all. I cannot wait to finally buy these books (need them in my life and line of sight) and to reread them probably over and over.
“Why feel guilty for something that isn't your fault? Because I loved him. And now he is gone.”
“Some say that, once upon a time, she had a prince, a father, a society of friends. Others say that she was once a wicked queen, a worker of illusi
“Some say that, once upon a time, she had a prince, a father, a society of friends. Others say that she was once a wicked queen, a worker of illusions, a girl who brought darkness across the lands. Still others say that she once had a sister, and that she loved her dearly. Perhaps all of these are true.”
I absolutely adore this entire series and for me, this was a fairly satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. I think Marie Lu is great at endings, she leaves them open-ended enough you can add to the world in your head beyond the story, but closed enough you have closure and aren't wondering what happened to all the characters. So I definitely appreciated the ending of this series, it wrapped up most of the story and the characters well, but my main disappointment is that I felt some characters stories were left a little hanging and the storyline took a weird direction which I didn't feel was foreshadowed enough.
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One of my first issues with this book was that the ending took a little turn towards a plot direction that seemed out of place to me. While the first two books focussed on the characters, and especially Adelina's quest for power, the third introduced a complication and fantasy element that wasn't explored much until this book. While it was foreshadowed a tiny bit at the end of The Rose Society, I still felt a little thrown off when this element came into play - and plot wise it did feel a little messy. It's easy to recover from, and it's not like it's so totally wild it ruined the story, but I did think it threw things off a little.
My other complaint was that I was a little dissatisfied with some of the charaters storylines - specifically Enzo's and Raffaele's and Mauve and Lucents. Raffaele and Enzo just deserved more closure and I wanted more about what happened to Raffaele after - and Mauve and Lucent weren't in it enough.
“You cannot harden your heart to the future just because of your past. You cannot use cruelty against yourself to justify cruelty to others.”
But beside all that I really liked the conclusion to this trilogy. The characters remained as diabolical and twisted as they were earlier in the series - Adelina's arc came to a conclusion in a way I was really satisfied with, and I also really liked the addition of Magiano and his role in this book.
I've always praised this book for it's ambiguous characters and morally grey situations and that trend definitely continues throughout this series. Characters make decisions and change their behaviours and it's definitely open to discussion as to who deserved their ending, who didn't and who is truly good or evil. I love that about this series, and I love that Marie Lu didn't give us definitive answers. The beautify of this series is it's ambiguity and how open-ended it is. I'm so glad Marie Lu maintained that to the end.
The ending of this book is very controversial, but I personally was okay with it and it left me satisfied. This entire series I hold so close to my heart, and I wish less people dnf'ed it right at the start before it really gets good.
This series is full of flawed, complex characters who aren't all trying to make the right decision. It subverts so many tropes and presents us with characters who are motivated by greed, anger, hate, jealousy and fear, but also love and want and a sharp desire for justice. Truly, I think this is one of the most original series in ya, with characters who don't fit into the typical YA tropes but exist for their own benefit and act in a way that purely is to satisfy their own needs. On top of that it has amazing representation, worldbuiding and plot which never got boring for me.
I know I am literally the LAST person to read this series, but if you still haven't you definitely should. It's one of my favourite series now and I couldn't recommend it highly enough.
“You are a light,” she replies gently. “And when you shine, you shine bright.”
I'm so so so glad I finally read this book, it's been something I've been meaning to do for ages and I really enjoyed it. Although dystopian has kind I'm so so so glad I finally read this book, it's been something I've been meaning to do for ages and I really enjoyed it. Although dystopian has kind of gone out of fashion, I thought this one was very well done. It is an Indigenous Australian #OwnVoices piece, and the incorporation of Indigenous Dreamtime stories and Indigenous culture was beautiful. Ashala Wolf was an amazing protagonist, I really enjoyed her arc. I wasn't totally sold on the romance though, I like it at first but then I felt it was too rushed at the end. There was also a bit of ableism.
Full review to come - read for #DiversityBingo and #TheReadingQuest...more
He brandished the book at her. "Was that a horse joke?" "Neigh." "Was that a horse joke?”
for me this book was just enjoyable it was definitely ligh
He brandished the book at her. "Was that a horse joke?" "Neigh." "Was that a horse joke?”
for me this book was just enjoyable it was definitely light and somewhat funny in parts, and the twist on history with the Edians was fun (even though it was a kind of awkward and unsubtle metaphor) but it wasn't AMAZING. I didn't really find it funny or clever enough to really really love it and honestly even though it's a historical comedy I kind of spent half the time wishing it was just a historical fiction. But there was definitely some scenes I really enjoyed (especially the ending chapters!) and it made me want to keep picking it up. I just feel like if I had found the humour or the silliness more funny I would have liked it more. So like I said: my opinion of this book essentially boils down to one point - it was enjoyable and easy reading, but it wasn't life changing or something I'd reread.
My Lady Jane is essentially a retelling of the events around Edwards Tudors death. Instead of Protestants and Catholics we're given Edians and Verities. Edian's are people who can transform into different animals and Verities are people who hate Edians. King Henry could turn into a lion, Jane's husband Gifford into a horse. And everyone else .. you gotta wait and see.
So yes this was definitely quirky and memorable because it was so unique. Which I definitely appreciated. I really liked the narration style and how the authors would occasionally butt in to interrupt the characters. Also, referencing some future things was funny - like Shakespeare, or the infamous "stretch to out your arms around a girl" tactic. I think this book had some really clever jokes which was cool and I liked all the hidden easter eggs.
Character wise, this book definitely did a good job at getting me invested in every single character. The main trio - Edward, Gifford and Jane, were all so loveable in their own ways. While they did each annoy me at times, it was all part of their GROWTH so it was okay. I also like how this book twisted the history around these characters a bit and changed things up, it kept me on my toes and unsure of if they would all be okay in the end. I think Edward was my favourite character just because he was such an awkward helpless bean and his character growth was great !!
“Because he was English and that’s what the English do under stress: they drink tea.”
Overall I did enjoy this book ! It was quirky and fun and had some clever jokes - it just wasn't AS FUNNY as I would have liked in a 500+ page book hence the 3 star rating. Three stars = "I liked it" you know. If you're unsure about this book, read the first few chapters. It sets up the tone and kind of humour you'll see throughout the whole book so you'll have a good understanding of what you're in for. Also, I will say the humour is Monty Python - esque if that helps situate you.
“Dedication:
For everyone who knows there was enough room for Leonardo DiCaprio on that door.
And for England. We’re really sorry for what we’re about to do to your history.”
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