The Burning Maze by Rick Riordan

*This post contains spoilers for the previous books in the Trials of Apollo series by Rick Riordan.*

Series: The Trials of Apollo, #3

Publication:  May 1st 2018 by Disney-Hyperion

Goodreads Description:

The formerly glorious god Apollo, cast down to earth in punishment by Zeus, is now an awkward mortal teenager named Lester Papadopoulos. In order to regain his place on Mount Olympus, Lester must restore five Oracles that have gone dark. But he has to achieve this impossible task without having any godly powers and while being duty-bound to a confounding young daughter of Demeter named Meg. Thanks a lot, Dad.

With the help of some demigod friends, Lester managed to survive his first two trials, one at Camp Half-Blood, and one in Indianapolis, where Meg received the Dark Prophecy. The words she uttered while seated on the Throne of Memory revealed that an evil triumvirate of Roman emperors plans to attack Camp Jupiter. While Leo flies ahead on Festus to warn the Roman camp, Lester and Meg must go through the Labyrinth to find the third emperor—and an Oracle who speaks in word puzzles—somewhere in the American Southwest. There is one glimmer of hope in the gloom-filled prophecy: The cloven guide alone the way does know. They will have a satyr companion, and Meg knows just who to call upon. . . . 

My thoughts:

The Burning Maze is my favourite book in the Trials of Apollo series. It  was so much fun to read, it also surprised me and it was also much more emotional than previous books. The stakes are a lot higher in this book and it made for a very enjoyable read.

Apollo's narrations is as hilarious as ever. He has grown a lot over the course of the books, and it is interesting seeing him starting to understand what it is to be mortal. Up until now Apollo has always been my least favourite RR main character but I really grew fond of him in this book. 

I was so happy to get to spend time with Grover! We haven't seen him in ages in the books and it was nice having him around.

Speaking of old characters, over the course of the book Apollo and the gang have to get in contact with some of the characters from Heroes of Olympus. Leo played a big role in ... and Jason and Piper are part of The Burning Maze. Piper in particular plays a big role which I loved. I love hanging out with Piper and it was so nice to see her being the badass girl she is in this book. 

Some old monsters also make an appearance 

The Burning Maze was a surprisingly emotional read for me. Rick Riordan took some risks other authors would shy away from in order to please fans and I liked it. I didn't think he'd have the guts to do what he did in this book but it really made the book stand out against his other demigod books.

It was fun going back into the labyrinth; because you never know what's around the corner I was always anticipating the worst which made it a suspenseful read at times.

The ending was mad. I cannot believe Rick Riordan did that! I need the next book ASAP! 

The Burning Maze was for sure the best book on the series so far and I can't wait for the final instalment of this series!

Thanks for reading,

A :)

Ship of the Dead by Rick Riordan

*This post contains spoilers for the first two books in the series: The Sword of Summer and The Hammer of Thor! You can read my review of book 1 here and book 2 here!

Series: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, #3

Publication:October 3rd 2017 by Disney-Hyperion

Goodreads Description:

Magnus Chase, a once-homeless teen, is a resident of the Hotel Valhalla and one of Odin's chosen warriors. As the son of Frey, the god of summer, fertility, and health, Magnus isn't naturally inclined to fighting. But he has strong and steadfast friends, including Hearthstone the elf, Blitzen the dwarf, and Samirah the Valkyrie, and together they have achieved brave deeds, such as defeating Fenris Wolf and battling giants for Thor's hammer, Mjolnir. Now Magnus and his crew must sail to the farthest borders of Jotunheim and Niflheim in pursuit of Asgard's greatest threat. Will they succeed in their perilous journey, or is Ragnarok lurking on the horizon?

My thoughts:

I had a lot of fun reading Ship of the Dead and was sad to come to the end of one of my favourite series. I think Ship of the Dead was my least favourite in the series but it was still great!

In Ship of the Dead Magnus is so different from the kid we meet in book 1; he has definitely grown up over the course of the trilogy. His narration was just as funny as the previous two books and had me laughing out loud. I loved how loyal he was to his friends and how kindhearted he is; he is such a Hufflepuff!

Of course I loved reading about Sam; she is one of my favourite Riordan characters. I really admire her determination and strength. I also loved how much her faith is discussed and how Ramadan was mentioned and how Sam was in the middle of it during the novel. I have never come across that kind of representation before and it's so important; especially in a series that has a younger fan base.

We get to spend a good chunk of time with Magnus' hall mates in Ship of the Dead so we get to know them better which was fun! I liked T.J. but had a few problems with Mallory; most readers won't pick up on the things that annoyed me as they are all to do with being Irish. In the beginning she is a very stereotypical Irish girl with red hair and temper. She also says Gaelic not Irish when talking about the language we speak- this is a common error most authors make who are not Irish and it annoys me so much; we speak Irish and it is sometimes called Gaeilge NOT gaelic! I did grow to tolerate her by the end because she does do some great things. 

Another Irish thing I want to note since I am talking about Mallory; I was surprised Rick Riordan knew about/ mentioned the Vikings in Dublin. I was so glad he did because that's a big part of our history curriculum in primary school! I was also very surprised there was talk about Bloody Friday (1972) and the Troubles because of how taboo it is to talk about it in Ireland. I've never really come across Irish history in my reading before so that was cool.

The plot was pretty standard Rick Riordan; people say his books are very formulaic with the prophecies and quests and they are but I always have fun reading the formula he uses for his plots so I didn't have a problem with it. I still say The Last Olympian is his perfect concluding novel, Ship of the Dead was good but not Oh My God Good.The ending was a bit anticlimactic but you kind of know it is going to be while you are reading, I was hoping it was going to take a twist and get action packed but nope; it was good but nothing amazing which was a bit disappointing.

I felt like Alex, who is my favourite character in the series, didn't have as much page time and s/he did in book 2 and I was a bit sad about that. Alex brings so much fun to the story and whenever we weren't with him/her I was flicking ahead to see when his/her name would pop up.

Note for Percy fans, as we know at the end of Hammer of Thor Annabeth says it is time for Magnus to meet Percy and straight off the bat we have Percy helping Magnus out in Ship of the Dead. There was some Percabeth that had me freaking out because they are adorable. Warning to fans that are expecting loads of Percy; don't expect that. Percy and Annabeth are only present for the first few chapters and while I wished they could have stayed longer it is important to note that this is Magnus' story not theirs.

I definitely think there are going to be more books; there was a tiny hint for a storyline that could be continued in the future. I am going to miss reading about Magnus and his friends, this series is definitely in one of my favourite Rick Riordan's work only after Percy Jackson.

Thanks for reading,

A :)

Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab

*warning this review contains spoilers for the first book in the Monsters of Verity duology, This Savage Song*

Read my review of This Savage Song here!

Series: Monsters of Verity, #2

Publication: June 13th 2017 by Greenwillow Books

Goodreads Description:

THE WORLD IS BREAKING. AND SO ARE THEY.

KATE HARKER isn't afraid of monsters. She hunts them. And she's good at it.

AUGUST FLYNN once yearned to be human. He has a part to play. And he will play it, no matter the cost.

THE WAR HAS BEGUN.

THE MONSTERS ARE WINNING.

Kate will have to return to Verity. August will have to let her back in. And a new monster is waiting—one that feeds on chaos and brings out its victims' inner demons.

Which will be harder to conquer: the monsters they face, or the monsters within?

My thoughts:

I really liked This Savage Song last year when I read it and I am a huge fan of Schwab's books so I had high expectations going into Our Dark Duet and unfortunately I was a bit disappointed. For me This Savage Song is the stronger book in the Monsters of Verity series, that's not to say Our Dark Duet was bad, it just wasn't as good as I was expecting it to be.

There was a handful of new characters introduced in the beginning but they just disappeared when Kate left and got no page time so they were very underdeveloped and I would have liked to see much more of them. Another new character that gets brought into the story is a 

new sunai called Soro. Soro is gender neutral which is something I've never come across in YA so they were cool to read about even if they didn't get as much page time as I would have liked.

We also get a new POV in Our Dark Duet- Sloan. I was meh about all his chapters, I only cared about Kate and August. His POV wasn't really that necessary and it didn't add much to the plot at all in my opinion.

I loved how Kate doesn't take anyone's shit and how strong  and capable August has become. Their character arcs in this book are a lot different than book 1.

I found the plot to be very slow until half way when the characters started interacting with each other. And I was struggling a bit which is a first for me with VE Schwab. It was okay though because halfway through it picked up and the last quarter was amazing. There was so much action and stuff going on; it got fast paced and compelling and I couldn't stop reading.

Our Dark Duet ended in an unexpected way but I can't imagine any other way it could have ended. Schwab did something I think a lot of authors wouldn't risk and it was perfect.

While ODD wasn't as good as TSS I still liked it and am a bit sad we won't get another book with these characters.

My rating: 4 stars

Thanks for reading,

A :)

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Series: Strange the Dreamer, #1

Publication: March 28th 2017 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Goodreads Description:

The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.

What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

Welcome to Weep.

My Thoughts:

One of my favourite reads this year, Strange the Dreamer is absolutely phenomenal. I loved everything about it. I went into it not knowing anything and I'd highly recommend doing that.

I knew Laini Taylor's writing style was fantastic as I read her other series, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, a few years ago but she has improved even more in the three years since her last publication. Her writing style is so pretty and flows really well. It reads like a fairytale and is absolutely stunning. I was blown away to say the least.

Strange the Dreamer is captivating and engaging from beginning to end; when I wasn't reading I was thinking about the story all the time. The plot was a bit slow but I didn't mind at all because I was so intrigued by whole set up I couldn't stop reading.

The main character, Lazlo, is not your typical YA male protagonist, he's a librarian! I really liked how he was into research and books and stuff. While he sounds like a ravenclaw he's actually more of a hufflepuff! I hardly even come across hufflepuff main characters so it was refreshing to read! It did take me a while to really warm up to him but by the end of the story I loved him just as much as some of the other characters that I fell head over heals in love with. These other characters are super complex and interesting and I loved one particular girl to pieces but I don't want to say more about her because it's way better for readers to get to know her as she unfolds on the page!

The world building is done really well. I felt so immersed in this mystical land Laini Taylor created and never felt like I was having information dumped on me in big chunks. She really created something unique and it was so interesting learning about it.

Strange the Dreamer brings up different themes such as race and war and also addresses the messages of how we are not defined by our ancestors actions and how people can change.

I was a little bit disappointed about how I guessed what was going to happen at the end. I think the execution of the ending could have been better but I still really enjoyed it.

Overall Strange the Dreamer is an incredible story with fantastic prose and complex characters and world that I would highly recommend. 

I am beyond excited for book 2, The Muse of Nightmares!!

My rating: 4.5 

Thanks for reading,

A :)

The Madman's Daughter Trilogy by Megan Shepherd

Series: The Madman's Daughter Trilogy

Book 1: The Madman'd Daughter

Book 2: Her Dark Curiosity

Book 3: A Cold Legacy

Goodreads Description of book 1, The Madman's Daughter:

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father’s gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father’s handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father’s madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island’s inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father’s genius—and madness—in her own blood.

Inspired by H. G. Wells’s classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman’s Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we’ll do anything to know and the truths we’ll go to any lengths to protect.

My thoughts (spoiler free):

The Madman's Daughter Trilogy is a solid YA trilogy. I found it to be good but nothing ground breaking.

My expectations were a bit too high. I was looking forward to a scary and creepy read but that's not what I got. Book 3 was the only one that had the creep/ eerie vibe I was looking for.

It was pretty standard YA. The characters were average and of course there was a love triangle. I really felt like I'd read it before. I wasn't a fan of the love triangle. It consisted of the usualy insta love and the childhood best friend and mysterious new guy. I didn't feel this 'love' Juliet was going on about feeling. I didn't have strong feeling for either of the love interests. I felt like there was no chemistry between the characters, even friendship wise I felt like they were all a bit detached from each other. There was also a lot of secret keeping between theses so called 'friends' and 'love interests' which drove me crazy.

The plot in the first two books was really predictable but there was a good few twists in book 3. The plot was also very slow in book 1- the last 20% saved it for me and made me want to pick up the second book. Book 2 was even slower; I only picked up book 3 because i hate leaving series unfinished if I pass the half way mark.There just wasn't a lot of action happening.

Overall it was an okay series. I think i is better suited for those who haven.t read much YA.

My ratings

The Madman's Daughter: 3.5

Her Dark Curiosity: 3

A Cold Legacy: 4

Thanks for reading,
A :)

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A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Publication:September 27th 2011 by Walker Books

Goodreads Description:
The monster showed up after midnight. As they do.

But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting. He’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming…

This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.

It wants the truth.

My thoughts:
Having read some of Patrick Ness's other books I can say that A Monster Calls is his best work. The story is such a beautiful and tragic one that although is only 200 pages long it leaves a big emotional impact.

I really liked Conor. He was difficult for me to connect with in the beginning because he was a very frustrating character but given the difficult situation he is in I could understand why he was acting the way he did. I really grew to like him and his interactions with the other characters. The other characters were not as fleshed out as I wanted them to be but I don't think that took away from the main storyline and given the lenght of the book it is understandable why the side character's backtories aren't explored.

A Monster Calls is classified as a Middle Grade novel but I 100% think that all ages should give it a read it. At times it felt more mature and I think Young Adult/ Adult readers should give it a go.

I loved how Patrick Ness dealt with the important topics that are at the heart of this story- grief, death and illness. He explored these themes in a realistic manner and never romantized them.

The illustrations are to die for. I think that they really add to the atmosphere f the story and would highly recommed you read the edition with the illustrations included as I think it makes the reading experience a bit different from conventional novels.

My only problem with A Monster Calls was that I wanted more at the end. The story ends in a way that leaves some things unresolved.

My rating: 5 stars
Thanks for reading,
A :)

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This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

Series: Monsters of Verity, #1

Publication:July 5th 2016 by Greenwillow Books 

Goodreads Description:
There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives. 

My Thoughts:
This Savage Song is a truly unique story that captivated me from the very first page. It is unlike anything story I have ever read before and I enjoyed reading it because it was so fresh and new.

Kate is a very intense character. She is hard to like because she so cut-throat and edgy. The only problem I had with her was she is a rebellious bitch who rebels for the attention in the beginning of the story. I did really grow to like her though. It was slow going but by the end of the novel I did like her.

August on the other hand, I loved straight away. He is the sweetest monster. I loved reading about how he just wants to be human. It was also cool reading his POV becuse he is really into music; so the way he describes things was so interesting.

Kate and August end up in an unlikely friendship and it doesn't hint have any hints of  romance which is so refreshing to read a YA like that. Usually the romance in YA can take away from other aspects of the story like plot but because there is no romance in This Savage Song this isn't a problem!

The world building is done really well. The story is set in a very dull war torn city with humans and monsters trying to live alongside each other. The different types of monsters is explained really well. I found the concept of monsters being the results of different negetive actions so interesting and fascinating.The Malchai are formed from murders, the Corsai are formed from violent act and the Sunai are formed when there is a major catastrophe such as bombs. 

The plot is a bit slow in the beginning but I didn't mind because I was so interested in learning about the world and characters. The plot really picks up when Kate and August meet. And the story gets really fast paced towards the end of the story.

The writing is amazing,as expected since it's Victoria Schwab! The duel points of view are easy to distinguish because Augusts' uses sound and music to describe a lot of things whereas Kate doesn't.

Overall This Savage Song is not my favourite Schwab book, but I still really enjoyed it. 

My rating: 4 stars

Thanks for reading,
A :)

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