BOOK REVIEW - Godsgrave

Title: Godsgrave
Author: Jay Kristoff

Published by: Harper Voyager UK
Publication date: September 7th 2017
Format: Kindle
Source: ARC (Netgalley)

"The heavens grant us only one life, but through books, we live a thousand."

I never thought anything could compare to my fierce love of Nevernight.
I have been proven wrong.
Very, very wrong.

This book was everything I hoped it would be and so much more!

It was brutal, beautiful, bloody, and brilliant!
There was so much more suspense, lashings more danger, mountains of violence, and whole bucket loads of sass and sarcasm!

Be prepared for blood, fights, betrayal, mystery, passion, death and darkness!

I was so sure that nothing would ever beat the setting of the first in this series; a dangerous school for assassins where nothing is as it seems.
Thankfully I was proven wrong again and this time around we get to follow Mia as she sells herself into slavery in order to compete in vicious battles to the death as a Gladiatti.

Throughout this book Mia manages to become an even more fascinating character (if that is even possible?)
She grows so much, having her strength of character, bravery and resolve tested constantly.
Mia has even more Darkin mysteries thrown at her in this installment, and even more questions about who and what she really is.
The other characters we meet along the way are all equally as fantastic.
We get to make friends, enemies and maybe even a lover or two?

The writing was just as stunningly beautiful as in Nevernight, though maybe with slightly less flounce and over-the-top descriptions.
There were definitely no weird and strange metaphors this time around, and the book is so much better because of this.

Just as in the first book, the pace of this book was pounding and perfect!
I literally could not stop reading as I was so desperate to find out what was going to happen next.
There were twists and turns on every page, keeping you hooked and immersed right until the very brutal end.

And that ending gentlefriends! 

THE ENDING 

All you need to know about that is - oh my god!

"That's the power of words: twenty-six little letters can paint a whole universe."

BOOK REVIEW - Odd & True

Title: Odd & TrueAuthor: Cat WintersPublished by: AbramsPublication date: September 12th 2017Format: KindleSource: ARC (Netgalley)

I wasn't expecting to enjoy this one quite as much as I did.But it was actually quite wonderful!

It's a tale about family bonds , myths & legends, the everyday struggles of life, and magic.

The story follows two very close sisters and each chapter alternates between each of their points of view. The chapters by Tru happen in the present and take us on an adventure across America where well face dangers, hunt monsters, and uncover family secrets.Od's chapters tell us about the past; how the two sisters grew up, the real truth about their family history and what happened to Od when she was sent away from home and her sister.

I was expecting more magic, myths and monsters in this book if I'm honest, but I'm actually not mad about how it turned out.There was just enough enchantment, folklore and mythical creatures to keep me interested, but the story was mainly about family, the love the two sisters share, overcoming adversity and being brave enough to carry on when life throws everything it has at you.

I really enjoyed learning about the girls' family history and the truth behind Od's tall tales.I loved both of the sisters fiercely! They were both so vastly different from each other, but equally strong and brave in their own way.

Tru suffered from Polio as a child and, as a result, one of her legs has withered and is unusable. She gets around with the help of a cane or wheelchair, but doesn't let this stop her from living her life and having adventures! She is delicate, quiet, smart, strong and brave.

Od, on the other hand, is a bit of a wild-child. She loves adventures, stomping around the woods following monster tracks, and looking after her sister. She suffers through quite a lot as she grows up, but her vivid imagination and thirst for magic always stays strong.

This is a fantastical adventure into dark family secrets, impossible stories and the unbreakable bond between sisters.

Could the magic actually be real after all?!

BOOK REVIEW - The Girl In The Tower

Title: The Girl In The Tower
Author: Katherine Arden
Published by: Del Rey
Publication date:  January 9th 2018
Format: Kindle
Source: ARC (Netgalley)

Sequel to The Bear And The Nightingale 

This sequel to The Bear And The Nightingale does not disappoint!

Though different in a few ways, this charming, magical story still holds the same enchantment as the first in the series.
In this installment, however, we get more adventure, more action, more daring, and much more bravery!

This time we get to follow Vasya as she leaves all that she knows behind and travels across the deadly frozen landscape of Russia. Running from the memory of her dead father and a village accusing her of being a witch, Vasya finds hope in her dream of freedom.
Refusing to be confined by marriage or a convent Vasya disguises herself as a boy and rides her horse off into the woods and towards adventure!

And there was so much adventure in this book!

We get to brave snowstorms, fight bandits, race horses, encounter even more spirits, meet The Grand Prince of Moscow, be reunited with lost family, and attempt to save the Kingdom from danger.

And of course there's plenty more of Morozko the winter demon/God too!

This is less of a cosy tale of family, snow and folklore such as The Bear And The Nightingale, and more of a grand, daring, frosty adventure.
It still contains plenty of magic, but has a healthy dose of danger too!

If you enjoyed the first book in this series then I think you'll be more than thrilled with The Girl In The Tower!
Get ready for magic, folklore, adventure, and lots of snow!

BOOK REVIEW: The Girl of Ink & Stars

Title: The Girl of Ink & Stars
Author: Kiran Millweed Hargrave
Published by: Chicken House
Publication date: May 5th 2016
Format: Paperback
Source: Own copy (Amazon)

I was so excited to read this one. 
I was hoping for magic and adventure, myths and legends, friendship and bravery. 
And while a did get all of that (ish), there just wasn't enough of it. 

Not enough magic by far. 

I understand that this was kind of a magical-realism novel, but apparently that genre is just not for me. 
They always leave me wanting so much more. 

The plot was intriguing but ended up being a bit dull unfortunately.
We follow Isabella as she embarks on a dangerous journey to find her friend. 
She travels through unknown territories, getting attacked by strange creatures and eventually finds out that the whole island is in danger of being destroyed. 
I LOVED the idea of an ancient fire demon living under the island and how the stories and myths that Isabella loved so much seemed to be coming true. 

But it fell flat. 
(I hate the 'realism' part of magical-realism!)

I did enjoy the friendship between Isabella and Lupe though. 
I thought it was sweet and fierce and they were just so lovely together!
And I'm glad there wasn't any romance featured in this story. I panicked that it would be for a second there, but it's all clear! *phew*

I also really enjoyed the cartography - the information given about it, the stories that were told, the design of the pages which featured beautiful cartography illustrations throughout, and both of the maps at the beginning and end of the book.
This book really is very pretty.
Cartography has always facinated me, so it was nice to see it featured in a book.

Unfortunately, I just felt like this book was lacking that special something. 
It didn't ever grab me.
Some parts dragged. 
It shouldn't have been as dull as it was. 

I wanted more!

BOOK REVIEW: The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All The Way Home

Title: The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All The Way Home
Author: Catherynne M. Valenta
Published by: Feiwel and Friends
Publication date: March 1st 2016
Format: Hardback
Source: Own copy (Amazon)

Oh Fairyland...
I shall be so sad to see you go!
I know you must, but it doesn't make saying goodbye any easier *sobs*

This whole series of books was so magical, whimsical, cosy and delightful!

"Let us take a great swaggering knife between us - it will take both our hands - and slice it open to see what we can see inside. For that is all a story is, my dears: a knife that cuts the world into pieces small enough to eat."

I'm so glad that this installment goes back to having September, Saturday, and Ell as the main characters. 
While I enjoyed the previous book (The Boy Who Lost Fairyland), it just didn't thrill me as much as the other books have. I much prefer to have September as my adventuring partner while I run and skip through Fairyland, thank you very much. 
Hawthorn and Tamburlaine do make great side-characters in this one though, if you loved them very much and are worried about missing them! So fear not!

This was probably my second favouite of the Fairyland series (with the first book coming in a solid first place long before the others have even started the race or even tied their shoes)
The plot was interesting and kept me glued to the page throughout.
I loved the idea of a race through Fairyland! It meant that we got to visit so many new places, meet wonderful new friends, and even meet up with old ones again for a spot of tea!
It was wonderful :) 

I won't spoil the ending for you, but I thought it was quite delightful.
I don't think I could have asked for the series to have been ended in a better way!
I makes saying goodbye to all these lovely friends, who I've spent so much time with, that little bit easier.

"A thing is hardly real if no one's written about it. It's the writing that makes a thing proper and solid and true in the first place."

And who knows, maybe one day we'll find our way back to Fairyland once more?

BOOK REVIEW: Mask Of Shadows

Title: Mask Of Shadows
Author: Linsey Miller
Published by: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication date: 5th September 2017
Format: KindleSource: Netgalley ARC

I have mixed emotions about this book. 

It's probably more of a 3.5 stars for me. 
I hovered over 4 stars for a while, but ultimately it was lacking a certain something that would have pushed it higher. 

It was interesting and gripping at times, yet also quite dull and confusing at others. 

These are our characters:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23. 

And:

Ruby, Emerald and Amethyst. 

Confused?
I was!

Characters 1 through 23 also wear masks over their faces, so we are given no recognisable physical features either. (Except for 23, who is our main character)
Throw in some background characters with long, similar names and my brain just gave up. 
I mostly skimmed over who was who, and who was doing what until I got further through the book and we had less characters to deal with. 
A tournament to the death will do that thankfully!

The plot was interesting though. 

The story focuses on an audition for the job of 'Opal' - one of the queens skilled, deadly protectors and assassins. 
23 people are trying to win this job and to do so they must attend lessons on fighting, poisons, healing, archery and such, all while trying to kill each other off and not get caught doing it. 
The rules kept being changed and new tasks were thrown into the mix constantly. This kept the story interesting and tense. 

The main character, 23, was also quite interesting. 
I enjoyed how the book dealt with and explained the characters gender fluidity:

"Most everyone else wanted me to pick one, make addressing me easier on them my denying myself. I was already dressing so they could get it right. The least they could do was try. I didn't see why I had to choose."

"Address me however I look." I was both. I was neither. I was everything, but that wasn't exactly a friendly conversation between strangers trying to kill each other."

I haven't come across this in a book before and it was refreshing and nicely done. 
(at least in my opinion, but I have no real-life experience of this so please correct me if I'm wrong)
Yet, I felt like it didn't really add anything at all to the story. It didn't effect anything or anyone in any way. 
It was simply mentioned a few times and then forgotten about. 

23 also came across as quite big-headed and arrogant to me. This may have been totally intended, but I didn't like this aspect of the character so much. 

"Emerald and Amethyst would fail. But I was more... I was a thief and a killer, trained by a childhood of fear and violence."

Yes... because you're obviously going to be more skilled and deadly than the two characters who have shown throughout the whole book that they are better at everything than you. 
The characters that have been training you. 
23 needs a reality check!

I didn't feel like there was much character growth for the main character throughout the book, which I would have liked to see. 
23 goes into the audition arrogant and overly sure of themselves, and they come out of it exactly the same way. 
And I would have liked the chance to get to know some of the other auditioners a bit better.
I wanted to know who they were, why they were there, what their motivations were. 
I understand this is probably hard when everyone is dying with masks on, but it would have been nice. 

I am kind of excited to see what will happen in the next book though, so I'll definitely be checking that out in the future. 
And hopefully it won't be full of numbered characters with sacks on their heads. 
*fingers crossed*

BOOK REVIEW: A Crown Of Wishes (#2)

Title: A Crown Of Wishes
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Published by: St. Martin Griffin
Publication date: 28th March 2017
Format: Kindle
Source: Netgalley ARC

Read my review of the first book in this series HERE

I'm so disappointed that I didn't like this book anymore than the first one.
I have no idea why I expected to? But I did.
It sounded like the story had so much promise, but it just failed to enchant me. It didn't whisk me away on a magical adventure that I could feel myself drowning in.
And that's what I wanted.

The story felt like one huge rush to me.
Things conveniently happened at the right time, and people went along with things without question.
I thought it was unrealistic and lacking a lot of character and world building.

The start of the story focuses on Gauri and Vikram making their way to 'The Otherworld' where they plan to take part in a magical tournament where the winner receives a wish.
These two characters are from enemy kingdoms yet must work together in order to survive.
Sounds great, no?!
It wasn't great.
The constant 'banter' between these two characters was grating and irritating, and their journey seemed rushed with little explanation.
Vikram secretly frees Gauri from the prison where she is being held so that they can enter the tournament and she goes along with it soooo easily. She originally thinks she's going to be killed, but instead she is informed that magic exists and that they're traveling to the mystical Kingdom of Treasures so they can try to win a wish from the King there who also happens to be married to a river.
Does she question this?
No, not really.
She's all "oh okay enemy Prince who I have no reason to trust. Let's go." And off they rush.
And rush, and rush, and rush.

Things do slow down a little once the tournament begins.
And we have some beautiful and interesting imagery through poetically written descriptions.
The folklore and creatures were interesting (when is folklore not interesting?), and the settings are rich and beautiful (if a little confusing).
Yet things are still a little silly, odd, and not questioned.

At one point this happens:

Gauri - "when should we arrive?"
Yakshini - "The floor will turn to fire, my lady. That will be your signal to leave the room."
Gauri - "And when does the tournament start?"

HOLD UP!!!
Why is no one questioning this floor turning to fire business?!
I would be freaking out!
Is this a normal occurrence?
Won't they burn to death?
Why can't they just ring a bell or something?
I have so many questions!

Admittedly the scary fire floor does turn out to be formed out of cool flames.
But no one knew that before fire sprung to life under their feet!
Yet they all act like it's completely normal and expected.
What?

I also found the romance extremely unbelievable.
The two characters go from enemies who can barely stand each other, to being madly in love and besotted with each other over just a few short days.
A week maybe?
Maybe just over a week?
I'm unsure as time kept being conveniently skipped and lost so that the story could progress.
But it definitely was not a believable amount of time.

My favourite part of this book was when Kamala turns up.
Yay Kamala the human eating, demon horse returns!
But she was only around for about 2 or 3 pages *sigh*
And I did enjoy briefly seeing Maya again too, and she seemed way less annoying and stupid this time around. Hurrah!
But again, that was only for a couple of pages.
And I did like Aasha. She was probably the best character in this one by far!

I really didn't enjoy the first book in this series either, so I have no idea why I expected things to change this time around.
At least we did have a bit more of a plot this's time around. And this instalment may have been a little less annoying perhaps? The characters weren't quite as stupid as I found Maya to be in The Star-Touched Queen. But I still didn't love them or really care about what was going to happen to them.

At least this book doesn't take very long to read?

Unpopular opinion #1 goes to me!