Kirstie / Roo

• 1st person POV from Apollo - he is a hilarious, pompous and narcissistic arse I found it impossible not to love.
• Introduces the character of Meg, who I really liked, especially the interactions between her and Apollo.
• More Nico DiAngelo development, hurrah!
• Lots of wit and snark throughout
• Cameos from Percy and lots of other old favourites
• Slow start but gains momentum
• Interesting watching Apollo interact with his kids while trapped in the guise of an awkward teen
• Really loved how each chapter starts with a poem composed by Apollo referencing the coming events
• All around fun read, with some good insights and character development.

“When one is a god, the world hangs on your every word. When one is sixteen... not so much. 

The story is told from the point of view of an alien who has been sent to Earth to inhabit the recently vacated body of Professor Andrew Martin in order to prevent the humankind gaining knowledge the aliens have decided they are not equipped to have. Our alien soon discovers that Professor Martin was quite unpleasant, grows attached to Professor Martin's friends and family, and discovers a love of poetry, all of which lead him to reconsider the mission he was sent to complete.

The narrator was very endearing and likeable, and the development & progression of his relationships and interactions with others are heartwarming and touching. The list for humans that completes the book is especially so. I read this book not long after a sudden and traumatic bereavement and found it a great comfort.

All in all, this book is funny, heartwarming, poignant, endearing and just beautiful. A definite recommendation.

 “Power does not transform you, it only reveals you.”
Synopsis
Since Ancient Greece, a handful of mortal bloodlines have participated in a game called the Agon. Every seven years, the gods and goddesses of Olympus become mortal for a week and if a mortal kills them, they will gain their power and godly status. At least until the next games. Lore was raised for this life and to compete in these games, but after her family was killed by a rival bloodline she swore to have nothing more to do with it. Now the Agon is on again and Lore is being pulled back in.

“Anger was like a disease to the soul and no aspect of it was more contagious than violence.”
Tropes & Themes
- Deadly competition
- Gods & Demigods
- Greek Mythology
- Vengeance

“I was born knowing how to do three things - how to breathe, how to dream, and how to love you.”
Content Warnings
- Descriptions of murder of children
- Violence

“The exceptional among mortals will always stand alone, for no one in the world was made for their task. Take confidence in that, and let it be poison to your fear.”
My Thoughts
- I found this book gripping from the intrigue of what happened in Lore's past, where the aegis, what happened to Castor and who could be trusted, even as the not-knowing sometimes frustrated me.
- Some of the flashback scenes were hard to read, especially those concerning the deaths of Lore's family.
- Overall the book is quite fast-paced, but although the flashbacks provided the necessary back story and exposition, they interrupted and slowed the pace of the narrative in a way I sometimes found frustrating.
- I enjoyed Cassian & Lore's past and evolving relationship. I appreciated how it wasn't a primary focus of the narrative and it didn't feel misplaced or emphasised over the main plot, which was focused on the Agon and the bloodlines.
- Miles and Van's attraction to each other was very clearly spelt out so I'm not sure why the other characters in the book were so surprised!

“An oath was, after all, a curse you placed on yourself.” 

 Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

“Wicked are the ways of women—and especially a witch. Their guile knows no bounds.”

Synopsis:

“ If she was destined to burn in Hell, I would burn with her.”

My Thoughts:

• The world-building was interesting but felt incomplete. There is a heavy French influence, which makes a change from the vaguely mediaeval England default of much fantasy, but it was hard to determine the differences between the setting of the story & historical France. The religious institution, which has a heavy presence in the story, appeared to be a direct copy of the Catholic church with the addition of the Chasseurs.
• The characters would often say something in French and then translate it, which struck me as odd, because why were they translating their native language to themselves, in their thoughts, or their fellow native speakers? 
• The main crux of the book is the enemies-to-lovers element between Lou & Reid, and the danger of Lou's situation. I would have preferred more build-up of the romance & more UST. They married, spent a few nights sniping & sleeping separately, then they were in love.
• The magic system seemed interesting - the Dammes Blanches see ‘patterns' they can manipulate. This is somehow different from what the Dammes Rouges do, who use blood. I wanted to know more about this but that's all we learn.
• I wasn't clear on why there was a persecution of the witches by the Church, aside from misogyny perhaps, how long this conflict had been in place & it if was the same the world over - there isn't a sense of the world outside of Cesarine & surrounding villages/towns.
• Overall, it was pleasant enough book but I didn't feel it lived up to it's potential.

“I knew who you were. I knew what you believed... and I fell in love with you anyway.”

I really wasn't sure how much I'd enjoy this book going in, as it seems a bit like Marmite - people either rave about the A Song of Ice and Fire series or pan it, in my experience. But I'd heard mostly good things, although it has been sitting on my fiance's bookshelf for years as a book he'd tried but could never get into, so picked it up as the ads for the TV series looked promising and I wanted to read the book before it aired.

I did find it really tough to begin with - the prologue was a bit of a struggle, but I hate giving up on books so I ploughed on ahead. To begin with I was quite confused because the prologue seemed to have little to no bearing on the rest of the story, and the switching from POV to POV was a bit jarring at first. However, I'm glad I stuck with it, because before I knew it I was hooked.

The perspective shifts each chapter, and at first this bothered me, as it seemed that as soon as I'd begun to get to know and feel comfortable with a character, I had to get to know another entirely. But once I'd gotten to know them all a bit more, I found that this is one of my favourite features of the novel. It's said that everyone's a hero in their own story, and it really is shown in this novel (and also the subsequent installments) - I may not agree with the character's actions or even particularly like them, but understand their motivations. I wound up rooting for characters who appeared to be on different sides. I definitely have favourites - I looked forward to Arya, Jon and Tyrion chapters especially, but all the POVs serve to illustrate the story from all sides, and advance the plot.

The pacing picked up quite a bit as the story progressed - it gets a bit bogged down in all the exposition and establishment of the setting, perhaps, but I enjoyed it regardless. But once things start kicking off, the pace really picks up with all the twists and turns and I just had to know what happened next.

It's not the sort of fantasy book that follows a hero's epic quest. Rather, it's an immense undertaking in world building, full of political intrigues, a drama more than an adventure story. If you hate cliff hangers or long reads, then this is definitely not the book for you. It can't really stand entirely on it's own, as when it ends you are left with the sense that it's all only just beginning, that all the drama of the novel was just a taster for something much larger. Now that I'm midway through book 3 of the series, it seems clear to me that A Song of Ice and Fire is not one of those series where each installment has it's own resolved story arc within the larger series arc (such as the Harry Potter books), but is more like one great big novel chopped down into more manageable chunks. There is no real resolution of the story at the end of A Game of Thrones because the end of the book isn't where the story ends - it's more like an intermission.

A note on the TV adaptation - if you're enjoying the show, then you should definitely pick up the book as it is a very well done and faithful depiction, and can only give you deeper insight into the motivations of the characters.