the summoner trilogy — taran matharu

I’m going to start this one off kicking myself for not picking up The Novice sooner. It was always on a featured spot at my local Barnes and Noble, and I remember picking it up about a year ago and just not being into it. I’m so glad a friend of mine convinced me to buy it this time. What a great trilogy!

The characters are great. Some you love, some you love to hate. I like that the villains in this series are villains because they think they’re so much better than anyone else and they don’t have a ‘redeeming’ moment like you see often in these kind of novels.

I burned through The Novice, The Inquisition, and The Battlemage in less than a week. I was on a road trip these past couple days, so I couldn’t finish the final novel as quickly as I wanted. I could not put these books down! There are well-written, and well-planned. They are a bit predictable, but that in no way is a bad thing! The trilogy ends at a sweet moment, and it just leaves me begging for more to Fletcher’s story. I did read there is going to be a fourth novel, but I believe it’s more of a prequel. I’m sure I’ll read it but I would love to see more of Fletcher and his mother, and some Fletcher and Sylva! ❤ But, it may just be up to the reader’s imagination to wonder how this one plays out. I hope to read more of Taran Matharu’s work. He’s a very talented author, and a lot younger than I thought! Just goes to show anyone who wants it enough can get a novel published and be a successful author.

Glad I picked this one up, and I hope to venture back to Hominum, and Raleighshire, again real soon!

 

Ratings:

The Novice — 4/5

The Inquisition – 4.5/5

The Battlemage —  3.5/5

a court of wings and ruin — sarah j. maas

Okay. As you know from reading my first post about A Court of Thorns and Roses and A Court of Mist and Fury, I was beyond excited for this book! However, I am sad to say I am a bit disappointed.

It’s not that I didn’t like this book, because I did, I just didn’t love it. There were lots of secrets that were kept, for no real reason. I understand you want to protect those you love, but I think there’s a line with the lying and going behind others backs. I though the plot was well-planned and well-excuted. The battles were great, and no one made it through totally unscarred. Maas just has a way with setting the stage with her world-building and her characters.

I believed the novel ended in a really good place. There was announcement that there is going to be another novel going to be out in 2018, but even if it ended as a trilogy it would have left me stated.

There was one glaring, irritating issue with this book. I’m not sure if it was because I had the Nook edition, but there were so grammatical errors that made my blood boil. It was one grammatical issue that kept repeating over and over, and that was questions were phrased as declarative sentences. There are times when this is used, as when you form a command as a question. It just drove me insane, there was one sentence that had two of the same errors. Just drove me a little nuts.

In my initial read I did overall like this book, not as much as the other two– through all the secrets, lies, deception and massive battles. I will definitely be rereading and I’ll most likely find things I missed, and that will make me enjoy the story even more. I’m sure the next installment will be as thrilling as the first three, and always leave you guessing.

 

RATING:

A Court of Wings and Ruin — 3.5/5

 

 

strange the dreamer — laini taylor

Wow. Laini Taylor does it again! She is such an amazing author that I honestly can’t think of enough praises for her. Laini has such a beautiful prose and way with words. Reading Strange the Dreamer was like walking through one of Lazlo’s dreams with her. Laini writes novels like poetry without it ever becoming too much. She uses descriptions that other authors wouldn’t even think to use. I vividly remember one scene where we are in Lazlo’s dream for the first time, and I had to read through it a couple times. I was absolutely blown away by her descriptions. You feel like we’re walking through the dreams with the characters. I don’t have enough great things to say about this book. I can’t wait to read the second novel in this duology, and I think I’ll even enjoy it more a second time around. Not only is the writing just beautiful, the plot doesn’t lack for it. There are so many twists and turns, and you just don’t want to put it down. All the characters have their own ticks, and you just can’t help but like all of them, even if there are not ‘good’. There are characters that you’re meant to dislike, but the way Laini wrote them, you understand why the way there are and feel sympathy.

I want to keep this spoiler-free, but I could take so many quotes from this book that are just beautifully written. They are gloriously-written without being too much, and too sugary. I would highly, highly recommend Strange the Dreamer, maybe even more so then the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy. Stepping into the pages of this novel is like stepping into the sweetest of dreams.

RATING:

5/5

vicious — v.e. schwab

After trying– and failing — to read The Bone Witch I was faced with the never-ending story  of which book to read next. I have a bunch of books coming out in the spring, but right now we’re in a release lull. After reading the Darker Shade of Magic series, I though to myself, why mess with a good thing? So, out of V.E. Schwab’s other two works, I decided to go with Vicious. I mean, who doesn’t love a good ‘superhero’ story.

I am just so in love with V.E.’s writing style, she really has a unique and intelligent way of penning her works. It’s intelligent without being condescending or too dense were you need to read a sentence five times before you start to vaguely understand the meaning. She really just has a way with words that I really adore.

The premise of the book itself delves into the realm of good versus evil, hero versus villain, or rather what is it that makes a person a hero or a villain. The book switching time frames, between ten years ago and more towards the present was a brilliant decision. By the middle of the novel, you’re caught up to date with minimal flashbacks.  V.E. doesn’t bombarded with cause and effect, you’re slowly eased into the characters and the world they live in. The plots is gorgeously crafted and leaves you wanting more. I tend to read chapters at a time, never stopping in the middle. I can’t even count how many times I told myself– just one more chapter. Vicious is a thrilling read from start to finish! A different tone than V.E.’s A Darker Shade of Magic, but just as compelling!

This quote from Vicious sums up the novel almost perfectly — “Plenty of humans were monstrous, and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human.”

RATING:

4.5/5