Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff

*Warning: this post contains spoilers for the first book in the series, Nevernight by Jay Kristoff*

Series: The Nevernight Chronicle, #2

Publication: September 5th 2017 by St. Martin's Press

Goodreads Description:

A ruthless young assassin continues her journey for revenge in this new epic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Jay Kristoff.

Assassin Mia Corvere has found her place among the Blades of Our Lady of Blessed Murder, but many in the Red Church ministry think she’s far from earned it. Plying her bloody trade in a backwater of the Republic, she’s no closer to ending Consul Scaeva and Cardinal Duomo, or avenging her familia. And after a deadly confrontation with an old enemy, Mia begins to suspect the motives of the Red Church itself.

When it’s announced that Scaeva and Duomo will be making a rare public appearance at the conclusion of the grand games in Godsgrave, Mia defies the Church and sells herself to a gladiatorial collegium for a chance to finally end them. Upon the sands of the arena, Mia finds new allies, bitter rivals, and more questions about her strange affinity for the shadows. But as conspiracies unfold within the collegium walls, and the body count rises, Mia will be forced to choose between loyalty and revenge, and uncover a secret that could change the very face of her world.

Set in the world of Nevernight, which Publishers Weekly called “absorbing in its complexity and bold in its bloodiness,” Godsgrave will continue to thrill and satisfy fantasy fans everywhere.

My thoughts:

Godsgrave is even more spectacular than Nevernight which I didn't think was possible. Jay Kristoff wrote a phenomenal sequel, no second book slump in this series for sure! I finished Godsgrave even more obsessed with this series and eagerly anticipating the third book! 

I love Mia. She has quickly become one of my all time favourite characters. She's just as ruthless and brutal as she was in Nevernight but she starting to question herself and others motives in Godsgrave. She has some beautiful character development that I loved reading. 

There is lots of new characters introduced in Godsgrave, some I really liked and some I didn't. The one character other than Mia who I am no obsessed with is Ash. Ash is an absolute queen and I would die for her along with Mia. The tension between the two was off the charts and I was here for it! I finished the book obsessed with the two of them!

Mr kindly and eclipse hang out a good deal in this book after Mia takes on Eclipse at the end of Nevernight and can I just say they are hilarious together. Anytime they were together I was laughing out loud.

The plot of Godsgrave is even more bloody and intense than Nevernight. Jay Kristoff packed in so many twists and turns and I loved every second of it!  All the action had me flicking the pages nonstop I was so stressed out reading. I loved the whole plot of Mia going to the gladiatorial collegium and the games/trials she had to take part in. 

There a lots more world building to add to what we learned in Nevernight. The world building is done through more footnotes- I skipped a lot of them because they were in the middle of action scenes and I couldn't stop reading but there was some really interesting stuff about the world and the politics and religion. 

The ending had me shook. I was absolutely gobsmacked reading the last chunk. Jay Kristoff is fantastic at reveals and endings! 

Godsgrave blew me away. I loved reading about Mia and Ash and all the bloody and intense action going down and I am eagerly anticipating the third book! 

Thanks for reading,

A :)

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

Series: The Nevernight Chronicles, #1

Publication:August 9th 2016 by St. Martin's Press

Goodreads Description:

In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.

Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.

Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she’ll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church’s halls, the bloody secrets of Mia’s past return to haunt her, and a plot to bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves.

Will she even survive to initiation, let alone have her revenge? 

My thoughts:

Nevernight is an incredible read and a new all time favourite for me. I had the best time reading this fantasy book and could not recommend it enough! I couldn't put it down it was so good. 

One of the biggest reasons why I loved this book was the main character, Mia. I loved how morally grey she was, she is an assassin in training and she does do some things and make some decisions that aren't what I'd consider right but I loved her for it. She's was also super badass with her her 'magic'- she has the ability to control shadows and it is so cool! I don't think I've ever read a character like that before and it was fascinating seeing how she used her ability to her advantage. She also has a shadowcat who follows her around and they have the best banter which is also a big reason I loved her; animal companions are my favourite thing! I was rooting for her from the moment I met her, I wanted her to become an assassin and kill the men who executed her family. She was such a fun character to read about!

The plot of Nevernight is one full of action and Chase scenes and suspense and mystery and I loved it! It does take a few chapters before the all gets rolling but I promise if you push through it's worth it! The beginning is a bit slow because the writing is a bit heavy on the world building.

The main setting of Nevernight is the school in which Mia is being trained to be an assassin. The school is very reminiscent of Hogwarts (of Hogwarts was a more dangerous and had ruthless teachers who didn't care about killing the pupils and more) which I loved! The school was so mysterious and had some really cool rooms and stuff.

Jay Kristoff managed to develop some lovely relationships between the characters which I loved. There was some amazing friendships built between Mia and her shadow cat and the other students at the school. There was so much banter and witty dialogue I was here for it!

I've never read a book solely by Jay Kristoff so going in I wasn't if the writing was for me but I loved it. He uses lots of flashbacks, but places them in such a way that they don't drag on and pull the reader out of the present day plot. I particularly loved the first chapter and how he used flashbacks and present day back to back. Along with these flashbacks there is footnotes. I loved the footnotes and thought they were a very clever way to build the world and the narrator was very snarky in them. In the beginning I thought reading them would take me out of the story but it didn't- if I was really into what was happening I'd just keep reading and then at the end of the chapter go back and read the footnotes. I found it's not always necessary to read them to understand what was going on which means you could probably skip them altogether. They were a very clever way to world build though.

I loved the narration style. The story is told in third person. We don't know who the narrator is (though I have theories) but they have such a strong voice and personality it makes the story so much fun to read. They are so snarky and even address the reader which is cool.

The world building is very cleverly done through footnotes. Through them we get information on religion, places, politicians, magic and more. It is a bit dense in the beginning but it drops off as the story gets going. 

*it is important to note that this is not a YA book like Jay Kristoffs other books like the Illuminae Files- Nevernight contains mature content so please be aware of that before going in. There is graphic violence and sex scenes as well as a lot of swear words*

I had a blast reading Nevernight and am dying to pick up Godsgrave after that ending the had me on the edge of my seat and left me with a million questions!

Thanks for reading,

A :)

Furyborn by Claire Legrand

Series: Empirium, #1

Publication: May 22nd 2018 by Sourcebooks Fire

Goodreads Description:

Follows two fiercely independent young women, centuries apart, who hold the power to save their world...or doom it.

When assassins ambush her best friend, the crown prince, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing her ability to perform all seven kinds of elemental magic. The only people who should possess this extraordinary power are a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light and salvation and a queen of blood and destruction. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven trials to test her magic. If she fails, she will be executed...unless the trials kill her first.

A thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a mere fairy tale to bounty hunter Eliana Ferracora. When the Undying Empire conquered her kingdom, she embraced violence to keep her family alive. Now, she believes herself untouchable--until her mother vanishes without a trace, along with countless other women in their city. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain on a dangerous mission and discovers that the evil at the heart of the empire is more terrible than she ever imagined.

As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world--and of each other. 

My thoughts: 

Furyborn was very hard for me to get through. I really had to push myself to finish it and considered DNFing it multiple times. I ended up skimming a lot of the second half of the book I was so uninterested. The premise of two young women separated by a 1000 years who are connect sounded so good and it had so much potential but it ended up falling very flat.

The story is told in dual POV with a thousand year time difference. I found myself preferring Rielle's chapters much more over Eliana's. I hadn't a clue what was happening a lot of the time in Eliana's story and really struggled through her chapters. Rielle's was much more interesting as the author really explored the world and magic system in her parts of the book. 

The plot was so boring to me. It wasn't even that nothing was happening, there was a good bit of action, but I just wasn't emotionally connected to the characters enough to care what happened them. There were no stakes, I knew so and so would do the right thing and that so and so would win. The lack of tension made it lack any excitement I usually get when reading.

The romance was also very dull. The two main male characters could not have been underdeveloped more. They were so flat and had zero personality.

There was also a lot of tropes which turned me off; such as the useless sibling, the chosen one, trials/tests and more.

The world was very confusing. There's elemental magic and angels and kingdoms at war and I was so confused. I felt like when anything was explained it was brushed over or the author went off on a tangent and I got lost. This left me with very little knowledge about how the magic and society worked in the world.

I also want to let reads know that while this book was being hyped for the past few months a number of authors promoting the book said it has bi rep and I am here to say it doesn't really. The only 'rep' in this book is Rielle implying in one sentence that she flirted with a friend of hers who was a girl and Eliana mentioning she had sex with a woman. There was no evidence in the book that either main character was attracted to both men and women, it was all about the boys for them. I felt like these two passing comments where just thrown in to make the book appeal to those looking for a more diverse read.

Furyborn was not the book for me, I did not enjoy my time read it and I definitely won't be continuing on with this series.

Thanks for reading,

A :)

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Maas

*Warning this post contains spoilers for all the previous book in the Throne of Glass series- including Tower of Dawn*

Series: Throne of Glass, #7

Publication: October 23rd 2018 by Bloomsbury YA

Goodreads Description:

Years in the making, Sarah J. Maas’s #1 New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series draws to an epic, unforgettable conclusion. Aelin Galathynius’s journey from slave to king’s assassin to the queen of a once-great kingdom reaches its heart-rending finale as war erupts across her world. . .

Aelin has risked everything to save her people―but at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. Aware that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, though her resolve begins to unravel with each passing day…

With Aelin captured, Aedion and Lysandra remain the last line of defense to protect Terrasen from utter destruction. Yet they soon realize that the many allies they’ve gathered to battle Erawan’s hordes might not be enough to save them. Scattered across the continent and racing against time, Chaol, Manon, and Dorian are forced to forge their own paths to meet their fates. Hanging in the balance is any hope of salvation―and a better world.

And across the sea, his companions unwavering beside him, Rowan hunts to find his captured wife and queen―before she is lost to him forever.

As the threads of fate weave together at last, all must fight, if they are to have a chance at a future. Some bonds will grow even deeper, while others will be severed forever in the explosive final chapter of the Throne of Glass series. 

My thoughts:

Wow what a finale! I finished KoA in awe of Sarah J Mass. I was apprehensive going in since ACOWAR wasn't my favourite but by god has Sarah learned how to write an ending. KoA is an absolutely breathtaking finale and was definitely worth the wait. I wasn't sure she could pull it off with the scope of this series being so grand but it was perfect. I couldn't have asked for a better way for one of my favourite series to end.

I was an emotional mess reading almost every other chapter and when I wasn't tearing up I was on the edge of me seat freaking out over all the intense battles and action sequences that Maas packed into this massive book. 

I love Aelin to pieces but following her in this book was extremely difficult for me. She goes through lots of ups and downs but mostly downs and I was so emotional reading all her chapters because I didn't want to say goodbye to this badass brave woman who I have looked up to for the past 5 years of my life.

Dorian got a lot of page time in KoA which I was so happy about. I feel like he has been a bit neglected in the past few books but Sarah gave him so much opportunities to shine in KoA. In this book he is struggling with his trauma and his humanity and he even explores new aspects of his magic. I missed my sassy charming prince from the early ToG days but I've also loved how layered and complex his character has become over the last few books.

Manon- her arc- in this book alone

I ended up caring about the cadre a lot more than I expected. I grew to love Fenrys in this book because he was with Aelin. I also really grew to like Gavriel, he's so different to the other males. I loved how kind and gentle he was with Elide on their search for Aelin.

There was a few new characters introduced- mostly witches, which was interesting but we don't get to know them that well which is understandable considering the size of the cast. 

It was so interesting how Sarah managed to weave all these storylines so that all these characters started converging. There was at least 10 points of view and I found myself invested in every single one of them. I was surprised that Sarah J Maas pulled off the multiple POVs. It could have been a lot but she managed to write them in a way that made sense for them to cross paths.

A number of things I predicted did happen but she did it in a way that surpassed my expectations. There was lots of twists and turns and I loved how she played with some tropes and turned them on their head.

A note on the romance. Everyone knows Sarah's latest books have been full of romance and steamy sex sex scenes and while some readers enjoy that it's not my cup of tea so I was over the moon excited to see that she toned it way down with the sex scenes in KoA and focused on the plot and other aspects of the characters relationships!

People are going to argue that the ending wasn't what they wanted but it was exactly what I wanted .

I have no words to describe what this series has meant to me over the years. It has been my rock in so many ways and I am very sad it's over but am glad with how it ended. I couldn't have asked for a more epic conclusion for this badass character I love with all my heart. I know this series has its problems but I will love it until the day I die. And I want to say thank you to Sarah for writing it.

Thanks for reading,

A :)

A Court of Frost and Starlight

*This post contains spoilers for the first three books in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series; A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and Ruin* 

Read my review of book 1, here!

Read my review of book 2, here!

Read my review of book 3, here!

Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Publication: May 1st 2018 by Bloomsbury YA

Goodreads Description:

Hope warms the coldest night.

Feyre, Rhys, and their close-knit circle of friends are still busy rebuilding the Night Court and the vastly-changed world beyond. But Winter Solstice is finally near, and with it, a hard-earned reprieve. 

Yet even the festive atmosphere can't keep the shadows of the past from looming. As Feyre navigates her first Winter Solstice as High Lady, she finds that those dearest to her have more wounds than she anticipated--scars that will have far-reaching impact on the future of their Court. 

My thoughts:

This novella/book is completely unnecessary to read. It is an alright read but it has nothing in it that will not be mentioned in the next book in the series so you definitely skip it. If you want to read it, give it a go but I'd recommend going in with low expectations and here's why: 

There is absolutely no plot. We follow Feyre going on multiple shopping trips and a few other characters just hanging out around Solstice/Christmas. It felt very reminiscent of fanfiction I have read about multiple series I love. It was fun at times but boring at others and felt repetitive. 

Feyre in ACOFAS is not the Feyre we know and love from ACOMAF/ACOWAR. I was constantly annoyed at her while reading this novella. I was/am very disappointed in how Sarah J Maas took this badass role model female character we all love and made her into a stereotypical house wife in this 200 page story. In ACOMAF and ACOWAR it is constantly brought up that Feyre is a High Lady and Rhys' equal but in A Court of Frost and Starlight he's the one out at meetings and running the Night Court and Feyre is out shopping and cleaning their house and cooking for him and the others.

The writing is a bit all over the place. The book is told in multiple POVs but Feyre and Rhys's were in first person but Mor and Cassian's were in third person which confused me, like just pick one and stick to it. There was also a good few repeated phrases here and there and lines from previous books reused.

AVOFAS is not a necessary read I will say it is a quick one; I read it in a few hours and when I wasn't annoyed at Feyre I did enjoy it. Also I'm still SJM trash so I'll read anything by her. 

ACOFAS was marketed as a novella that was supposed to set up the storyline for the next book which it does but literally in the last few pages. The content of which could easily have been a prologue in the next book. 

Will I  be picking up the next book? Definitely. Was this one a waste of my time? Kind of. 

Thanks for reading,

A :)

Stormcaster by Cinda Williams Chima

*This post contains spoilers for the first 2 books in the Shattered Realms series, Flamecaster and Shadowcaster*

Series: Shattered Realms, #3

Publication: April 3rd 2018 by HarperTeen

Goodreads Description:

The third book in the thrilling four-book Shattered Realms series from New York Times bestselling author Cinda Williams Chima

The empress in the east—the unspeakably cruel ruler whose power grew in Flamecaster and Shadowcaster—tightens her grip in this chilling third installment in the series.

Vagabond seafarer Evan Strangward can move the ocean and the wind, but his magical abilities seem paltry in comparison to Empress Celestine’s. As Celestine’s bloodsworn armies grow, Evan travels to the Fells to warn the queendom of her imminent invasion. If he can’t convince the Gray Wolf queen to take a stand, he knows that the Seven Realms will fall. Among the dead will be the one person Evan can’t stand to lose.

Meanwhile, the queen’s formidable daughter, Princess Alyssa ana’Raisa, is already a prisoner aboard the empress’s ship. Lyss may be the last remaining hope of bringing down the empress from within her own tightly controlled territory.

Multiple intricately interwoven storylines converge in this gripping novel about a brave, coordinated effort to undermine a horrific tyrant. 

My thoughts:

I had the best time reading Stormcaster! It was a phenomenal addition to the Shattered Realms series! I absolutely loved it and it is now tied for first place with shadowcaster as my favourite in the series. I loved it that much!

In Stormcaster all the storylines are weaving together into this bigger plot with higher stakes and I loved it. All our characters are working towards the same plotline by the end of the book. 

There are so many characters to keep track of now and I love every single one of them! There are a good few POVs so don't be worrying if you are 300 pages in and still haven't heard from some characters I promise they do get page time! The bad thing about all the POVs is that while I loved all the storylines i hated how I had to wait like 50-100 pages before going back to the ones I was obsessed with. I loved them all but was itching to get back to Ash and Evan in particular.

We were introduced to Evan in Flamecaster but weren't given much information about him until Stormcaster. In this one we get Evan's whole backstory about his childhood and how he met Destin. He quickly became one of my favourite characters. 

There are some great pay offs in this book we've been waiting for since book 1 which I loved and even more to come in the next book!

Raisa got a good bit of page time which I wasn't expecting but appreciated because who doesn't love that woman?

Storylines not crossing is something I get frustrated about, I am just such an impatient reader and want the characters to cross paths and interact with each other. But I know all the waiting will pay on when I read the final book! The ending of this one set the next one is very interestingly so I am very excited to see where it goes. I have lots of theories and questions so I am eagerly anticipating Deathcaster!

Thanks for reading,

A :)

Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

Series: Of Fire and Stars, #1

Publication: November 22nd 2016 by Balzer + Bray

Goodreads Description:

Betrothed since childhood to the prince of Mynaria, Princess Dennaleia has always known what her future holds. Her marriage will seal the alliance between Mynaria and her homeland, protecting her people from other hostile lands. But Denna has a secret. She possesses an Affinity for fire—a dangerous gift for the future queen of a kingdom where magic is forbidden.

Now, Denna must learn the ways of her new home while trying to hide her growing magic. To make matters worse, she must learn to ride Mynaria’s formidable warhorses—and her teacher is the person who intimidates her most, the prickly and unconventional Princess Amaranthine—called Mare—the sister of her betrothed.

When a shocking assassination leaves the kingdom reeling, Mare and Denna reluctantly join forces to search for the culprit. As the two become closer, Mare is surprised by Denna’s intelligence and bravery, while Denna is drawn to Mare’s independent streak. And soon their friendship is threatening to blossom into something more.

But with dangerous conflict brewing that makes the alliance more important than ever, acting on their feelings could be deadly. Forced to choose between their duty and their hearts, Mare and Denna must find a way to save their kingdoms—and each other. 

My thoughts:

Been reading a lot of mediocre books recently and this one was no different. Of Fire and Stars could have been great, I was so excited to pick up a book about two princesses falling in love, but it ended up being just average.

The plot was very slow and I had to push myself to keep reading in the beginning. There wasn't much happening and I wasn't interested in the characters so it only picked up for me when I got about half way through. 

Random thing that bothered me was everyone's names are so hard to pronounce- dennaleia, amaranthine, Thandillimon - there was just way too many syllables for my brain to comprehend.

It took me a while to warm up to the characters of Mare and Denna. They came across as very young and naive to me and I felt like I couldn't relate to either of them. They were fine but I wanted more backstory and I wanted to know who they were and why they were that way. They felt a bit flat. 

The romance is a classic hate to love story which I usually am a sucker for but I just didn't feel it enough to be shipping it. It was also never explained why it was forbidden- I felt like the author just threw that in there to make it more dramatic. It was an alright romance but nothing that I was obsessing over and rooting for. It was cool reading a romance between to girls in a fantasy novel for once but this one just didn't do it for me. If anyone knows any other YA fantasy with LGBT+ characters let me know as there seems to be a lack of them.

World building was very weak. We are given no history as to why Mynaria hates magic. Readers just have to go with it. I also had no idea how the magic worked at all really. I also didn't get a sense of culture from the kingdom. It felt like a very generic fantasy kingdom setting. 

There is going to be a second book which makes sense with how this one ended but I don't think I will be picking it. Not because I hated this book, I just didn't have any strong feelings for it. I am a bit disappointed because I really wanted to love this one.

Thanks for reading,

A :)

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Series: Legacy of Orïsha, #1

Publication: March 6th 2018 by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers

Goodreads Description:

They killed my mother.

They took our magic.

They tried to bury us.

Now we rise.

Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.

Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.

Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy.

My thoughts:

Children of Blood and Bone was an alright read for me but nothing spectacular. It just didn't live up to the hype for me unfortunately and left me underwhelmed.

I had a very hard time getting into the story in the beginning. My mind wandering and I just couldn't stay engaged with what was happening; I also kept getting confused with all the names and places which probably didn't help. 

The plot was very slow in the beginning and didn't really start to pick up until about 30% in. I also found that it was quite similar to other stuff I've read in the genre. It had a lot of elements from other YA fantasy books which made it very predictable for me. I also thought the book was too long, the author dragged out aspects of the story that could have easily been edited down. 

Zélie was likeable enough but she felt very much like a cookie cutter character. 

The only character I actually enjoyed reading about was Amari, the princess. She was so well developed I loved getting to know her and the layers of her character. Her arc was perfectly paced too. 

While I think Inan,the prince, was the most interesting because he's so confused about what to do, he did annoy me at times and I found myself getting bored of his drama.

I really enjoy the friendship between Zelie and Amari. I loved how they weren't best friends straight away and their relationship built over time.

The romance felt very forced and unnatural. It just didn't make sense to me why the characters suddenly liked each other, they had hardly any chemistry. 

I was not a fan of the first person POV narration. Every time I picked up the book it would take me a while to figure out whose head I was in. Their voices just weren't very distinct from each other. I this this story would have been better told in third person. 

While I wasn't a fan of the narration style I did enjoy the writing in general. There was some lovely passages in the book with vivid imagery and descriptions.

I do appreciate that this book has a full cast of POC characters which is something I never come across in my reading and am glad it's getting so much hype as we need more representation like this in genres other than contemporary.

Sounds like I really disliked this book but I didn't I just thought it was fine. I think I wasn't in the mood for high fantasy and the hype made my expectations too high. I'm not 100% sure if I'll read the next one. The ending left me interested in continuing but I only think I'll pick up book 2 if it gets amazing reviews.

Thanks for reading, 

A :)

Immortal Reign by Morgan Rhodes

*This post contains spoilers for the first 5 books in the Falling Kingdom series by Morgan Rhodes.*

Series: Falling Kingdoms, #6

Publication: February 6th 2018 by Razorbill

Goodreads Description:

As two lethal elemental gods set out to destroy Mytica, sworn enemies must become allies in the final fight to save the kingdoms.

Jonas continues to willfully defy his destiny, but the consequences of plotting his own course are drastic. As the fight for Mytica rages on, he must decide just how much more he's willing to sacrifice.

Lucia knows there's something special about her daughter and she'll do anything to protect her, even if that means facing Kyan alone.

Amara is called back home to Kraeshia. Grandma Cortas has her own plans for Mytica's future. She promises Amara power, revenge, and dominance if she agrees to be part of her scheme.

Magnus and Cleo's love will be put to the ultimate test. Dark magic is causing widespread destruction throughout the kingdom. Enemies across the sea are advancing. And unrest is stirring throughout the land. Is their love strong enough to withstand the outside forces tearing them apart? 

My thoughts: 

I cannot believe I have been reading this series for 4 years. This final novel was everything I wanted it to be. I have had such a fun time following Cleo and Magnus and Jonas and everyone else's stories!

Immortal Reign had so many oh-my-god moments. I saw a few twists coming but somehow Morgan Rhodes still managed to surprise me even after reading 5 other books from her.

The plot was fast paced like the pervious books. And the multiple POVs had me flicking the pages nonstop. There are some great action scenes along with some sweet character moments and I loved every minute of it!

I just have to say that Magnus and Cleo are life. Their interactions in Immortal Reign were definitely a highlight for me. I loved seeing how their relationship had changed over the course of the last few books.

Amara is a character that surprised me. I was captivated by her chapters. Her character development was well paced and written in a way that had me empathising and sympathising with her. I was surprised how much I enjoyed her POV.

Lucia's character development is astounding when you look back and thing about what she was like in book 1 compared to book 6. I've really enjoyed reading her character arc.

The ending was very satisfying. The series ends with some questions unanswered but most things are tied up. There could be more but I doubt Morgan Rhodes will write more since she already has the Spirit and Thieves series in the works.

I have had such a good time reading this series and highly recommend it to people looking for a long YA fantasy series to get into!

Thanks for reading,

A :)

Down Among the Sticks and Bones

Series: Wayward Children, #2

Publication: June 13th 2017 by Tor.com

Goodreads Description:

Twin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their way home and were packed off to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.

This is the story of what happened first…

Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter—polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline.

Jillian was her father’s perfect daughter—adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tom-boy. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you've got.

They were five when they learned that grown-ups can’t be trusted.

They were twelve when they walked down the impossible staircase and discovered that the pretense of love can never be enough to prepare you a life filled with magic in a land filled with mad scientists and death and choices.

My thoughts:

Down Among Sticks and Bones is just as amazing as Every Heart A Doorway. It's a prequel to Every Heart A Doorway but can easily be read as a standalone. I had such an enjoyable time reading it!

I found it so easy to fall into. I was reading for what felt like 5 minutes and I was already 20% into the book! It was such a quick read I read it in one sitting in a few hours.

I really appreciated how Seanan McGuire explored gender stereotypes and how parents can influence a child's identities. The girls make themselves fit into the mould parents made for them as babies and over the course of the story they challenge this. I loved the message of how there is no one right way to be a girl 

The setting of Down Among the Sticks and Bones is very different to Every Heart A Doorway. The twin's door is very different to Nancy's- so the setting of this one is dark and has a more paranormal feel to it, with the eerie moors and vampires and the like. 

The plot was not as mysterious and dark as Every Heart as it is more focused on the girls forming their identities and the difference between them.

I think the story was a perfect length at just under 200 pages but I think any longer it would have dragged out.

Highly recommend if you are looking for a quick fantasy read!

Thanks for reading,

A :)