All posts filed under: Reviews

Book Review: The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski

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This book is the first book in The Witcher series (it has also been made into a video game, which I’ve never played but now really want to). When I got this book, I thought it was a novel but it turned out to be a series of short shorties, which I usually hate, but in this case I absolutely loved. Andrzej Sapkowski is said to be Poland’s master of fantasy, and he’s created a world in this series which is truly epic. What it’s about: It’s a series of short stories about Geralt, a witcher, who is basically a ‘not-quite-human’ monster hunter who roams around the countryside killing monsters for money. Witchers, despite providing a very important service, are not particularly well thought of, as people tend to believe them to be thugs completely devoid of any humanity, but Geralt doesn’t really fit that description. What I thought: I was a bit disappointed when I realised it was short stories rather than an actual novel, but that disappointment faded quickly when I started to …

Book Review – Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence

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“Tell me, tutor,’ I said. ‘Is revenge a science, or an art?” This was recommended to me when I was whinging on Tumblr about wanting to read some really dark fantasy, and this one is definitely dark fantasy, and it’s definitely not for everyone. But I loved it. What it’s about: Um… so if Joffrey and Ramsay Bolton had a baby and that baby, it’s likely he’d end up like the protagonist, Jorg. Jorg joins a group of maundering thugs at the age of like 10, and then when he’s like 14 decides he wants to be the king, and everyone should be very afraid. What I thought: Okay, this is definitely not a book for everyone, and this is why: Jorg is about as awful as a person can get. He’s a murdering, torturing, raping, pillaging psychopath. He’s impossible to like. But this book isn’t about liking Jorg. It’s about understanding him, and that’s where this book really shines. Interspersed within the story of Jorg doing his awful things is the story of how …

Book Review: The Rook by Daniel O’Malley

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What’s it about: A high ranking bureaucrat in a government agency dealing with the paranormal wakes up with no memories of who she is, but a trail of letters outlining that someone else in the organisation is trying to kill her. What did I think? Oh my goodness. What a fantastic read. So, I’ve had this on my ereader for AGES, but never started it until I saw the trailer. Yep that’s right. A book trailer actually made me want to read a book. Curious? Why not give it a little look-see then: This book centers around Myfanwy Thomas, a bureaucrat in the Checquy, a secret government agency that deals with the paranormal. Although Myfanwy has some pretty serious superpowers, to the dismay of her superiors, she has a rather nervous disposition, making her unsuitable for field work. However, her ability to push papers almost rivals her supernatural powers and have allowed her to excel in the Checquy anyway, until someone takes away her memories. However, in true Myfanwy fashion, she is too organised to …

Book Review: The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle

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I heard about this book ages a go, and heard it was great, but with no ebook available, and it generally impossible to find anywhere, it did take me some time to get around to reading it. Seriously, make ebooks available people. You will make more money, and I wouldn’t have to die waiting for the next book to arrive. Anyway… What it’s about: A girl in an Amish community takes in an outsider during a vampire apocalypse against the advice of her elders. What I thought: Really freaking enjoyed it. The main character, Katie, is an Amish girl who wants nothing more than to go on her Rumspringa and see the outside world. Katie is generally considered a bit too headstrong for the Amish, but is essentially a very good person at heart. She’s sensible, she cares deeply about the welfare of others, and is the sort of person who will always do what she thinks is right, even if others disagree, and the consequences may be fairly severe. She’s also sensible and for …

Book Review: The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell

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“Stories can start revolutions.” What it’s about: A young wolf wilder (someone who takes in formerly domesticated wolves and tries to rehabilitate them so they can again survive in the wild), Feo, is perused by soldiers, and their insane captain, through the Russian wilderness as she attempts to save her mother from being falsely imprisoned, while trying to avoid being swept up in a revolution. What I thought: Well, firstly, this book surprised me in the fact that it is not a fantasy novel, as I had originally expected. At most Feo’s role as a Wolf Wilder could be described as slightly uncanny. But that shouldn’t really count against the book in any way because it is a beautiful little oddity of a book. “People say we can’t do anything about the way the world is; they say it’s set in stone. I say it looks like stone, but it’s mostly paint and cardboard.” This book isn’t one I would recommend to those who require a great deal of action in their novels. This book …

Book Review: The May Queen Murders by Sarah Jude

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I was going to wait until my hardcover of this arrived for pretty photography before posting this review, but I’ve become impatient and it seems it’s going to take a while to come as it’s on backorder. What it’s about: The residents of a commune in the Ozarks are terrorized by something coming from the forest at night to mutilate both animals and people. What I thought: First of all, I have to say that this book has a BEAUTIFUL cover, which is what initially drew me to it. I thought it would be a creepy mystery, but it actually had more of a horror vibe to it, and I do love my horror, so that was a bonus. I read this book in less than 24 hours. Once I started I was pretty hooked. Although I really enjoyed this book, it was, in my opinion missing something in that, while it was very readable, it didn’t really make me feel anything. I didn’t really care for any of the characters, as they were all pretty …

Book Review: You by Caroline Kepnes

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So many people have recommended this to me, and it took me a long time to get around to reading it. But once I picked it up I just couldn’t put it down. What’s it about: Narcissistic (yet hilarious and clever) boy stalks narcissistic (awful) girl. What I thought: Unlike most thrillers, this doesn’t revolve around a mystery, but is more of a character-driven story, and it’s all narrated by the stalker, Joe. And he is a great protagonist. I was sceptical when I had read other reviews of this book where people said that it’s difficult to not like Joe. I was like “how could you ever sympathise with the stalker? just no.” but despite the fact that he does awful, awful things, he’s also really funny with an excellent sense of humor and the social commentary is excellent. It also doesn’t hurt that the people he’s doing those awful things to are HORRIBLE. Beck, the stalkee, is just the worst, and it’s really difficult to feel sorry for her. There are so many awful characters in …

Book Review: A Court of Mist and Fury by The Queen, Sarah J. Maas

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Hey, everyone! I’m back from the dead! Life had been closely resembling the seventh layer of hell for a little while, and I was sort of dead inside, but not I have a new little puppy thawing out my frozen heart, so I’m back! Yay! Anyway, thank you very much to Bloomsbury for sending me a copy of A Court of Mist and Fury for review. As per my usual protocol, this being a sequel, I will not be mentioning spoilers for either book in the series, so this will probably be a rather short review. What is this series about? It’s a fantastic re-telling of Beauty and the Beast, but with faeries and super dark scary monsters, and an awesome artist/hunter heroine. If you want more information about the first book in the series, A Court of Thorns and Roses, you can see my review of that here. What did I think? Uh… I loved it, of course. It’s Sarah J. Maas and she has some kind of God-like storytelling powers that make me …

Book Review: Morning Star by Pierce Brown

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Morning Star is the third, and final, book in the Red Rising trilogy – if you want to check out my review of Red Rising, you can do so here, but this review wont contain any spoilers for any of the books. This review will not focus on any specifics, but be more general babbling about how much I love it, because I don’t want to give ANY THING away. What is it about: Well, Red Rising is kind of like The Hunger Games, only set on Mars (and in space!), and way better (that is my opinion and I will not apologise for it. The Hunger Games was good, but I believe this series is way better. It’s darker and a lot more clever). Firstly, we are dealing with a dystopian society where how much you are oppressed depends on your colour. Darrow is a Red (lowest of the low), and also a ‘Helldiver’ (super extreme miner). Things happen and he ends up joining a rebellion to take down the Golds (the most oppressive …

Book Review: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

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Let me start by saying, when this book came out, I had no intention of reading it. As far as I was concerned after the rubbish pit that was Siege and Storm, I didn’t even have any interest in finishing The Grisha Trilogy, despite owning Ruin and Rising. But, after seeing so many people rave about it on Tumblr. I finally decided to give it a go. And I’m pretty glad I did. What’s it about: A crew of loveable criminals attempt a seemingly impossible heist. And there’s magic! “A gambler, a convict, a wayward son, a lost Grisha, a Suli girl who had become a killer, a boy from the Barrel who had become something worse.” What I thought: I must say that it wildly exceeded my expectations. So much so that I am now considering reading Ruin and Rising. The lovable characters are definitely at the forefront of this novel, and each is given a nice amount of complexity and backstory as the novel changes perspective each chapter. And that brings me to the changing perspective. Not …