Gemma
Carefully planted seeds really did blossom in this final book. I get why everyone loves Sanderson now.
Carefully planted seeds really did blossom in this final book. I get why everyone loves Sanderson now.
The Raven Boys ???????????????The Dream Thieves ???????????????Blue Lily, Lily Blue ???????????????
I can't speak to the plot specifics of this book, as it is the third in a series, but I found it to be the most enthralling book in the series to date. Plot aspects ramped up and elevated the tension that felt more like an undercurrent in the first two books. A plot point which I had heard rumors of began to unfurl.
Also, Jesse Dittley and the Better Ant is the best scene and possibly the best band name I've ever heard of.
The Raven Boys ???????????????The Dream Thieves ???????????????Blue Lily, Lily Blue ???????????????
I can't speak to the plot specifics of this book, as it is the third in a series, but I found it to be the most enthralling book in the series to date. Plot aspects ramped up and elevated the tension that felt more like an undercurrent in the first two books. A plot point which I had heard rumors of began to unfurl.
Also, Jesse Dittley and the Better Ant is the best scene and possibly the best band name I've ever heard of.
The Raven Boys is a low fantasy young adult novel about four private schoolboys in Virginia and Blue, the psychic's daughter. I have heard about this series from probably everyone I know who reads and from half of the booktube community I follow. I decided to pick it up after being recommended it so many times over the years because I felt I needed to know finally if it was exactly as good as everyone said it was or if I'd find another over hyped YA novel.
And as with the trend this year, I immensely enjoyed the book. We begin focusing on Blue, the daughter of the local psychic in Henrietta, as she goes on the annual trip to the local churchyard to record the names of everyone in the town who will die in the next twelve months. The novel goes on to follow her as she meets the Aglionby boys and discovers their search for the Welsh king.
I found the plot of the book to be intriguing, however slow to start. For the first half of the book I didn't know when things would begin to happen. While this wasn't a negative experience as vital the backstory and characterisation was done in this half it did feel slow. In fact, at one point in my status updates I lamented that one of the male characters felt surplus to requirement as he had rarely been involved in the plot so far. This was quickly corrected as the second half of the novel ramped up the pace. The characters are actually where I think the book excels. The book is in the third person perspective, which I prefer, and it spends time in all of the main character's heads but focuses mainly on three. Of these three, Adam and Gansey were my favourite characters. The setting felt equally real, and I have no faults with the book there. My only complaint was that the author regularly used flowery writing to describe various things or feelings throughout the book that made absolutely no sense.
All in all, a pleasant surprise of a book.
The Raven Boys is a low fantasy young adult novel about four private schoolboys in Virginia and Blue, the psychic's daughter. I have heard about this series from probably everyone I know who reads and from half of the booktube community I follow. I decided to pick it up after being recommended it so many times over the years because I felt I needed to know finally if it was exactly as good as everyone said it was or if I'd find another over hyped YA novel.
And as with the trend this year, I immensely enjoyed the book. We begin focusing on Blue, the daughter of the local psychic in Henrietta, as she goes on the annual trip to the local churchyard to record the names of everyone in the town who will die in the next twelve months. The novel goes on to follow her as she meets the Aglionby boys and discovers their search for the Welsh king.
I found the plot of the book to be intriguing, however slow to start. For the first half of the book I didn't know when things would begin to happen. While this wasn't a negative experience as vital the backstory and characterisation was done in this half it did feel slow. In fact, at one point in my status updates I lamented that one of the male characters felt surplus to requirement as he had rarely been involved in the plot so far. This was quickly corrected as the second half of the novel ramped up the pace. The characters are actually where I think the book excels. The book is in the third person perspective, which I prefer, and it spends time in all of the main character's heads but focuses mainly on three. Of these three, Adam and Gansey were my favourite characters. The setting felt equally real, and I have no faults with the book there. My only complaint was that the author regularly used flowery writing to describe various things or feelings throughout the book that made absolutely no sense.
All in all, a pleasant surprise of a book.
How did 600 pages break and remake me 20 times? This book was a fantastic read.
The Way of Shadows is a re-read for me, although it does not show on goodreads. I originally read the entire trilogy when I was around 15 years old and I think I read it too fast as I didn't remember what happened right after finishing the books. This time around I consumed the book a lot slower and took the time to try and adsorb the plot as best as I could.
The book follows Azoth, a young boy from the slums who is given the opportunity to remake himself when he apprentices himself under the greatest wetboy in the city, Durzo Blint. The process is no gift and proves to change Azoth in more ways than one. The book follows his journey from a boy of 12 to a man over the age of 20 and his quest to become a wetboy worthy of the respect of his master.
This time around I enjoyed every aspect of the book and managed to understand the plot much better than I had before. I felt the characters and the plot were the strongest aspects of the book and both were done incredibly. I had no complaints there., and in fact found myself experiencing the full spectrum of human emotion by the time I had finished the book. In the effort to keep this review spoiler free, I won't go into any further detail. Suffice it to say, I wish all books had plots this fast paced and complex.
Additionally, the characters really compelled me. Azoth and Blint broke and remade my heart multiple times each, and at the heart of this book was their progress from master and apprentice relationship to one closer to a father/son. By no means was this a clean or healthy relationship but it felt all the more real for it.
I do wish the various countries and their rivalries had been established better before later aspects of the plot came into play as it was difficult but not impossible to understand the different rulers and their motivations. I adored the writing in this as it toed the line between poetic and the type of fast paced action writing I enjoy.
All in all, I would recommend this book and I can't wait to crack on with the second book in the series. I'm fairly certain I won't finish it without crying.
How did 600 pages break and remake me 20 times? This book was a fantastic read.
The Way of Shadows is a re-read for me, although it does not show on goodreads. I originally read the entire trilogy when I was around 15 years old and I think I read it too fast as I didn't remember what happened right after finishing the books. This time around I consumed the book a lot slower and took the time to try and adsorb the plot as best as I could.
The book follows Azoth, a young boy from the slums who is given the opportunity to remake himself when he apprentices himself under the greatest wetboy in the city, Durzo Blint. The process is no gift and proves to change Azoth in more ways than one. The book follows his journey from a boy of 12 to a man over the age of 20 and his quest to become a wetboy worthy of the respect of his master.
This time around I enjoyed every aspect of the book and managed to understand the plot much better than I had before. I felt the characters and the plot were the strongest aspects of the book and both were done incredibly. I had no complaints there., and in fact found myself experiencing the full spectrum of human emotion by the time I had finished the book. In the effort to keep this review spoiler free, I won't go into any further detail. Suffice it to say, I wish all books had plots this fast paced and complex.
Additionally, the characters really compelled me. Azoth and Blint broke and remade my heart multiple times each, and at the heart of this book was their progress from master and apprentice relationship to one closer to a father/son. By no means was this a clean or healthy relationship but it felt all the more real for it.
I do wish the various countries and their rivalries had been established better before later aspects of the plot came into play as it was difficult but not impossible to understand the different rulers and their motivations. I adored the writing in this as it toed the line between poetic and the type of fast paced action writing I enjoy.
All in all, I would recommend this book and I can't wait to crack on with the second book in the series. I'm fairly certain I won't finish it without crying.
The Emperor's Blades ???????????????The Providence of Fire ???????????????
Brian Staveley was a brand new author to me when I originally picked up The Emperor's Blades in 2018. With his first book, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Ever since that first book, I've been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to read the next book.
The second book focuses more on Adare than the first, and gives her the space to establish herself more in the story. In the first book, Adare was still in the capital playing a political game with the ministers surrounding her. In the second book, she has to leave the capital and finds herself trying to establish of her own. A lot of reviews are not impressed with Adare as she is frustrating, and makes stupid decisions. I don't really feel like this is a fair assessment of her arc in this book, she is operating with almost no information; of which probably a small amount is current. The reader knows more than Adare for a good chunk of the book! I feel like Adare made decisions as best she could with her lack of information, and made the best of a shitty situation.
I still thoroughly enjoyed the second book in this series, and would highly reccomend this series to anyone who reads. The complex, well paced plot that I adored in the first book slows down slightly in the second half of this book. The book never felt boring and I really enjoyed every second of it. I cannot wait to pick up the third book.
The Emperor's Blades ???????????????The Providence of Fire ???????????????
Brian Staveley was a brand new author to me when I originally picked up The Emperor's Blades in 2018. With his first book, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Ever since that first book, I've been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to read the next book.
The second book focuses more on Adare than the first, and gives her the space to establish herself more in the story. In the first book, Adare was still in the capital playing a political game with the ministers surrounding her. In the second book, she has to leave the capital and finds herself trying to establish of her own. A lot of reviews are not impressed with Adare as she is frustrating, and makes stupid decisions. I don't really feel like this is a fair assessment of her arc in this book, she is operating with almost no information; of which probably a small amount is current. The reader knows more than Adare for a good chunk of the book! I feel like Adare made decisions as best she could with her lack of information, and made the best of a shitty situation.
I still thoroughly enjoyed the second book in this series, and would highly reccomend this series to anyone who reads. The complex, well paced plot that I adored in the first book slows down slightly in the second half of this book. The book never felt boring and I really enjoyed every second of it. I cannot wait to pick up the third book.
