A World of Reviews

I am a huge fan of retellings so when I saw this book, where Robin Hood is actually a girl, I knew I had to read it. It was an interesting read that held my attention with a few plot twists that differed from the original story, while still keeping the traditional characters and story lines in the book. It did take me a while to read and I did have a few problems with it but, overall, I did enjoy it.

Cover

The cover isn’t amazing, but it shows what the story is about and it’s clear that it’s going to be a lot like a classic Robin Hood story. The title and the colours look good, although the author’s name in the corner doesn’t really match the rest of the cover. Having said that, I believe this book is only available as an ebook and so the cover isn’t going to make as much of a difference to whether someone would buy it or not.

Plot

This book had everything a typical Robin Hood retelling needs – archery, outlaws, a forest and an evil Sheriff. All the usual elements were there, although there were some things that were introduced in different manners, and I did enjoy seeing familiar characters and events in this book.

This book had a very happy and jovial feeling to it. It was really nice reading it because, as with most fairytales, when something bad is happening you know it’s going to end up alright. The plot was predictable at times, as is expected with a retelling of such a classic story, but there were some twists that I didn’t really expect. The story never slowed down too much and whenever I picked up it did hold my attention with whatever was happening. I wasn’t keen on the dialogue at the beginning of the book, but I grew used to it as the story went on and it soon stopped being a problem for me.

Characters

All the classic characters are in this book, like Little John, Marian and Will Scarlet, although there relationships with each other are a little different compared with the classic stories. Robin is the one who connects everyone and, although I enjoyed reading about her, she did seem to be a bit of a Mary Sue who excelled at pretty much everything. She did become more interesting towards the end of the book, but I felt her character could have been thought a bit more.

Similarly, the other characters were also a bit one-dimensional as I never seemed to get to know them properly. Some have more of a role than others in the story and they all have different personalities, but they were a little flat sometimes. However, I liked the interactions between the characters, and I was a fan of the twins (who, in my mind, looked a little like the Weasley twins).

The Little Things

I loved the descriptions in this book. They were so beautiful and vivid in my mind, and there were some that I had to reread just to experience them again.

The friendship between the merry men was perfect. I loved the way they’d have archery and cudgel competitions in the evenings, and they all seemed to get on so well with each other.

This book was definitely worth the read, although some characters could have been made more interesting with more of a personality. I won’t be rereading it, but it was a nice addition to the world of Robin Hood.

For more reviews like this, visit my blog.

You know sometimes how you start reading a book and it’s all a bit ‘meh’, and then suddenly you really get into it and it’s gripping and exciting? Well, that’s exactly how I felt reading Magic Study. To start with, I found it slow and not as interesting as Poison Study, but about half way through I changed my mind. The pace picked up, loads happened, and it was so much better than the first half. It left me feeling just as in love with this world as I was the when I read the first book.

Cover

The cover for this one is quite pretty, and I suppose the swirly purple/blue thing on the front sort of represents magic. It does have quite the mystical feel and, similarly to Poison Study, the cover has various words in the background that indicate parts of the plot (magic, healing, poison, story weaving and love). These words all play such a huge part in the book and I like the way they become part of the cover.

Plot

This book still focuses on Yelena, but she is now on her way to Sitia with Irys (a Master Magician) to meet her family. The Commander in Ixia has told her that if she were to return, she would be executed, and so she knows that her only choice is to enter a whole new world of magic. Yelena has to leave behind Valek and her friends and once she enters Sitia and meets her family, she finds herself in danger straight away.

I found that I couldn’t get into the book to start with and I was tempted to stop reading, but I’m glad I didn’t. Although the plot isn’t as interesting at the beginning of the book, it does get a bit better by the time she reaches the academy and a lot better when the Ixians arrive. After they arrived, things got exciting and the book really started to grip me. I couldn’t put it down as the tension increased and all the parts I loved most about the book happened towards the end.

Characters

I loved Yelena in the first book, and she didn’t disappoint in Magic Study. Her terrible past is brought up by many characters in this book, but she always gets past it and carries on with her life. Yelena is also a lot of fun and she always manages to get some banter into the book, especially once Ari and Janco arrive. Another thing I love about Yelena is the fact that she’ll go ahead and trust her instincts and do what she has to to save other people, without worrying about what might happen to her. I also like the fact that she’s ready to trust people, even though she never had anyone that she could trust in her childhood.

Valek didn’t appear in this book until halfway through, but he still made quite the impact. He was his usual self, and his scenes with Yelena were perfect, although I was a little disappointed with their reunion. It’s obvious that he still cares for her so much and that their time apart has made no difference to their feelings. One thing that did get on my nerves about Valek was the amount of times he called Yelena “love”. I just found it getting on my nerves because he seemed to use the word at the end of every single sentence.

The side characters were awesome as always. Irys grew on me a lot in this book, and I loved the way she would trust Yelena to follow her instincts most of the time. Ari and Janco were also just as awesome as ever and they still remain my favourite characters in this series. There was always banter between them and they made every scene that they were in a lot of fun. It’s a shame that they weren’t in this book more. In addition to the characters from the first book, there were some Sitian additions and one of the ones I loved most was Dax, one of Yelena’s fellow students. It felt as if he was a sort of stand-in for Ari and Janco to start with, but I grew to love him. I only wish that he. Ari and Janco had shared some scenes.

The Little Things

The magic is cool in this book, and I liked the way Yelena was always learning new things about her skills and abilities. I also liked discovering more about the abilities of other characters in the book.

The clans were cool, and I also liked the whole spying vibe in the book. Sadly, there wasn’t much mention of assassins and them being awesome, and I think that some of the suspension and tension of the first book was lost because Yelena wasn’t in danger of being poisoned all the time. Then again, she did seem to be in danger quite a bit.

Overall, Magic Study didn’t live up to my expectations after reading the first book, but I still fell in love with it eventually. I’ll definitely be reading the final book in the series, and I’d recommend it to fans of fantasy, romance and magic.

For more reviews like this, check out my blog.

I’ve been desperate to read this book ever since I finished Tidal back in June. My copy arrived a couple of days ago, and I devoured this book. It definitely lived up to my expectations and was a perfect ending to this series.

Cover
UK version

It’s so pretty and it matches Tidal very well, if not the first two book in the series. I love the dress and the floaty-ness of the cover, and the art and title really stand out against the dark background. The colour scheme works really well and I really like the cover as a whole.

Plot

In Elegy, Gemma is still trying to find a way to break the curse of being a siren with the help of her family and friends. With Penn having murdered Lexi, a new siren has joined Penn, Thea and Gemma, and she is totally out of control. Gemma desperately needs help and so the search begins for the goddess who can break the curse and free Gemma. In the meantime, Penn has set her sights on Daniel and wants him for herself, but Daniel really doesn’t want to have to give into Penn. However, he’s ready to do anything to protect the girl he loves.

A lot happens in this book. It starts off quite simple with small problems getting in the way of the characters’ lives, and then the pace suddenly picks up a lot and everything happens in quick succession. Having said that, I wouldn’t say that the plot is rushed at all as there is a lot of development at the beginning of the book. There are also a lot of questions set up at the beginning of the book, and they’re all nicely answered by the end.

There were so many things I loved in this book too. Obviously, sirens are the main focus of the story, and I love the mythology that Amanda Hocking has used to explain them. I also love a bit of Greek/Roman mythology, so it’s awesome seeing it in books. The romance is also a very big part of these books, and Amanda Hocking is very good at writing it. I fell in love with all the couples in this book, and I found myself hoping that everything would end happily for everyone. The friendships are a nice element in this book too, as the characters all get along most of the time. There’s some really nice banter, especially from Marcy, and it’s nice to see that they have proper relationships that aren’t to do with romance.

Characters

There are so many characters in this book that I am in love with. Gemma, as heroines go, is a pretty good one, who is always ready to protect everyone she cares about and can also get on and do things. She never sits around crying or anything because of her situation, but goes and tries to figure out how to get herself out of every situation. I also think that she and Alex are very well suited to each other. In the first couple of books, I wasn’t sure about their relationship and I wasn’t as keen on Gemma’s character. However, she grew on me and I liked her by the end of the series. I also love Alex and his character, because he is a total sweetie.

Although they are the main couple in the books, Gemma and Alex are definitely not my favourites. That position goes to Harper and Daniel, who broke my heart several times in this book. Harper is such a strong character because, even though she doesn’t have the same power that her younger sister has, she still tried to do everything she could for her younger sister. Similarly, although Daniel could have just given up on Harper and her family, he decided to stay and protect her in numerous ways because he loved her so much. The two of them care about each other so much, and they carry on trying to be together even though they’re so much bad stuff going on around them.

Another character that deserves a mention is Marcy. She is brilliant. She brings so much fun to the novel and she’s so ready to help Gemma and Harper out in her own way. And Marcy ends up going through so much in this book and yet still carries on. Thea is also a character I like a lot because she’s such a believable character. She doesn’t want to be involved in the all drama surrounding Gemma and Penn, and I think her character is very relatable because she wants to stay away from getting hurt herself and choosing between the people in her life.

The Little Things

One thing that I was unhappy about in the book was one unresolved question that I had about Gemma and Harper’s “connection”. I don’t remember it really being explained, and it always seemed awfully convenient for one to know when the other was in trouble.

I absolutely loved this book and it was the perfect conclusion to the series. I’d recommend it to anyone who’s read the previous books, who like mythology (especially sirens) or who like lots of cute, romantic scenes.

For more reviews like this, check out my blog.

Warning: This is the second book in a series and so there might be spoilers for the first book.

I was a big fan of the first book in the Throne of Glass series, and I was so excited for this book to come out. It did not disappoint and it was a great sequel to the first book. Every time I put the book down, I felt the need to pick it up again and carry on reading. I can’t wait for the next book in the series to come out.

Cover
UK cover

I do like the cover of this book, although I rather the US edition. I like the colour scheme and the flames behind Celaena are very cool and relevant to the story. Celaena looks awesome here with her swords and outfit, and this is pretty much how I imagined her through out the book. The font is really pretty and the general theme definitely matches the first book in the series.

Plot

The book revolves around Celaena Sardothien’s life as the King’s Champion, which is basically the posh name for the King’s assassin. She’s not comfortable with all the killing she has to do, and she doesn’t like the way Chaol or Dorian see her when they think of her as an assassin. As she struggles with the problems in her life, she uncovers plots and schemes to do with both the king and those who rebel against him, and plenty of questions are also raised about who Celaena really is.

The plot of this book never stops going and there is always something going on, whether it’s characters and relationship development or a huge plot twist. Talking of plot twists, there were so many of them. Towards the end of the book, there were plenty of surprises in store – most of which I had no idea about.

There was so much in the plot that I loved. For one thing, assassins. Celaena was awesome and deadly when she was doing her thing, and fights between assassins are really cool. The development of various relationships were great, and the climax of the book was very suprising. There were also lots of lovely scenes in the book, like the descriptions of the library and the greenhouse scene, which I loved.

Characters

Celaena, the main character, is awesome. She always tries to do the right thing, but she also has her faults – she isn’t ready to fight battles that she thinks are pointless and won’t help anyone. Celaena is also a very independent character, and she’s always ready to defend herself and seek out those who have done something against her. In the first book, she has two love interests (Dorian and Chaol) and I found it very hard to choose between the two, but the second book makes it clear who she’s likely to choose.

Chaol is a very strong character and he’s so protective of Celaena. He can’t bear the thought of her getting hurt, even though she pretty much has the most dangerous job in the kingdom. Chaol also has the best bromance with Dorian and, even though they don’t hang out as much together in this book, I still love their relationship. Dorian is also such a cute character. He’s so caring and lovely and I really love their character. He also has such a big love of books and it’s really nice the way he and Celaena occasionally bond over books. The other characters in this book, such as Nehemiah and Dorian’s cousin, were great too, although Dorian’s cousin (whose name escapes me right now) didn’t seem to appear much in the second half of the book.

The Little Things

One of things that did bug me in the book were some of things that Celaena was thinking, such as worrying about getting locked into a place which she’d just unlocked using Wyrdmarks. It seemed like needless worrying which made so sense. However, I was able to overlook these things and still enjoy the book.

The magic and the wyrdmarks did confuse me to start because they’re so different and the fact that magic works but wyrdmarks don’t. However, once I totally understood the stuff about magic, I thought the whole drawing runes thing was really cool and I liked the way that there were different types of magic.

I loved this book and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series. I’d recommend this to anyone who likes fantasy, romance, assassins or magic.

For more reviews like this, check out my blog.

This book was part of my Summer Reading for school, and so I didn’t have particularly high hopes for it. However, I was proven wrong by this book with it’s wonderful characters and a plot that slowly drew me in as I read more and more.

Cover

This is rather pretty with the footprints going along the beach and it definitely reflects the mood of this book. The footsteps make it more interesting and I just rather like it. It’s far simpler than most book covers these days.

Plot

This book is about 17 year old Sara Dafydd who feels like her life is empty and that nothing happens at all. Her parents don’t talk to each other much and she’s not at all close with her grandfather who hasn’t been spoken about since she was five years old. Sara decides that the answer to her “emotional problems” is to run off and visit said grandfather up in mid/north Wales without telling her parents a thing. The following plot is about discovering the problems from the past, the relationships of different characters and how the family’s story continues.

The beginning of the book is a little hard to get into, and it’s a bit confusing trying to figure out who’s who and how they all know each other. However, the relationships become clear as the book goes on and the stories of the different characters (Sara, Iwan, Jona) blend into each other nicely. It’s clear how the book ends, although there are some unanswered questions e.g. who is Moira and what happens to Pam? Most of the characters do get a proper ending and I did the like the final scene a lot.

Characters

Sara, the main character, is a very interesting character and is easy to relate too. She’s going through the same problems and issues as many other teenagers, although she has some extra ones too. Her reactions to the things going on around her are very believable and her character develops a lot during the book. In addition to Sara, Iwan is another example of a typical teenager in this book Personally, he was my favourite character in this book, although that may have been because his parts in the book are written in first person and so the reader gets to know Iwan better than some of the other characters. Iwan was also a very believable character, as were the families of both these characters.

Most of the characters had interesting plot lines in which they developed a lot because of the other characters and plot lines going on around them. However, I wasn’t at all keen on the plotl ine concerning Breioni and Breian (and those names are far too similar). I found Breioni to be quite a flat character who only did things for her own gain, and her personality seemed to only be spiteful and mean. Breioni does get some development in the book, but I think the main reason she was there was to make events happen that effected other characters far more than it did her (although the final event that she causes to happen is very effective).

The Little Things

One thing I noticed a lot in this book was the mention of the title, especially at the beginning of the book. I’m pretty sure that almost every character in this book managed to say the title at least one.

There were a lot of references to books, music and TV shows in this novel and I quite liked this element. I liked the way the different choices of music reflected the personalities of the different characters and the way the music of one character influenced other characters.

I did enjoy this book, and I found it very gripping towards the end. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who needs/wants a Welsh book to read.

For more reviews like this, check out my blog.

This has been on my to-read list for a while, and I really liked this book. Although I didn’t find it a I-can’t-put-this-down book, it was really good. There was always so much happening and the plot twists in this book were brilliant. I’ve seen many people getting excited about this magic system, and I now understand why. It is brilliant and original and I need to read more about this magic system.

The book itself is about Nicodemus Weal, who was once believed to be the Halcyon (or “the chosen one”), but is no longer believed to be this because of his cacography. However, other wizards/factions still believe that he has a part to play in the prophecy and some believe he may be the Storm Petrel (the chosen one of the “counter prophecy”).

Cover

This is the original UK cover of Spellwright.

I have a thing for people in cloaks on the cover of a fantasy book. I’m not sure why, but those covers always make me pick up a book. This one was no different. I love the mysterious-ness of it, and the way you can see the magic forming in his hands. Also, the spellwriting on his arms is very cool and this is going to end up turning into a rant about the magic system again. Anyway, this cover is so pretty. I love it.

Plot

I found that the plot at the beginning of the book was a bit jumpy as the narrative went from one character to another, but as I got into the book I started to really enjoy it. Basically, this book is about a wizard who might be the chosen one or who might be the counter-chosen one, or even not important at all. There’s lots of magic (obviously), fighting (with magic) and enemies. Lots of enemies. And people who might be enemies. And generally quite a few plot twists.

The plot keeps moving throughout the book and definitely holds the interest of the reader. There’s lots of explanation about the world of the book, as expected in a fantasy book like this, and a quite a bit of explanation about the magic system, but it’s all weaved into the book so that it doesn’t become an infodump.

Characters

There are plenty of characters in this book, and it’s hard to talk about the majority of them without spoiling parts of the plot. The main character, Nicodemus, is a cacographer who’s hoping to achieve a Lesser Wizard’s Hood. He’s an interesting protagonist who’s ready to fight for things and is always keen to learn. He has his moments of self-doubt and depression in the book, but there are also plenty of moments where we see the friendly, happy side of Nicodemus (especially when he’s with his friends). When he spends time with Devin and Simple John, a really sweet side of Nicodemus appears and I really liked the way his character developed throughout the book.

Nicodemus’ mentor is Shannon, and he’s a very talented wizard who does plenty to move the plot forward. Shannon helps calm Nicodemus down in the book and teaches him the important things that he should know. He’s also often the one explaining the world and the magic and the other characters. There were plenty of other characters in the book – Deirdre; Devin; Simple John and Kyran. They all contributed a lot to the plot and helped Nicodemus out a lot.

The Little Things

The descriptions in this book are awesome. I had to stop and reread some of them just to be able to savour them. For example, when Nicodemus enters the library at Starhaven, there is a wonderful paragraph dedicated to the library and another dedicated to one specific book (it is an important book, but it’s described so nicely). There are plenty of other descriptions too which just made me stop and reread them, and they really made me enjoy the book.

The magic system is awesome. It’s so original! In the book, the wizards use magic by creating words/runes on their arms and then literally throwing them at other people or objects. It’s brilliant. The way it’s described makes it so real and believable, and it’s probably one of my favourite magic systems ever

Overall, this book is great. So much happens and there are so many plot twist and magical things going on all the time. I’d definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys fantasy books.

For more reviews like this, check out my blog.

Warning: Possible spoilers ahead

Poison Study is the first book in the Study series by Maria V. Snyder.

I’m in love with this book. The characters, the plot, the world. There was a moment when I was reading this book that I just fell in love with the whole thing. Also, the magic and the way it worked in this world was pretty cool. The story in the book centers around Yelena and her choice to become food taster for Commander Ambrose.

Cover

I quite like the cover I have, and I love the mysterious flame thing. Also, although it’s hard to see in this picture, there are words on the black background (murderer, magic, secrets, my love) which suggest main parts of the plot. I really like that extra detail on the cover.

Plot

The plot of this book was awesome. It focuses on Yelena and her struggles as food taster. There was so much going on in the book – spies, assassins, magic, fighting, fire, assassins, friendship, romace and more assassins. You may be able to tell that I loved the whole assassins vibe in this book. All the different elements in the book pulled together to make this brilliant combination that was the plot. And there were also so many plot twists in this book! But they all worked really well, and I never would have guessed the one about Ambrose. I loved the face that the majority of my questions were answered (like the ‘which food isn’t poisoned test’) and nothing got on my nerves too much.

Characters

Yelena is a badass. She doesn’t stop to mope about her situation at all. Even though she’s been locked in a dungeon for a year and now faces possible death every day, she gets on with her life and finds ways to learn new skills (like self-defense and fighting.) She’s ready to put hard work into making her situation better and, even though she has this terrible past in which awful things happened to her, she doesn’t dwell on it. She doesn’t even let anyone know about it until near the end of the novel. Talking of her past, I felt so awful for Yelena. I really felt for her and her situation and how much it must have taken her to tell someone about everything that had happened. And even when she was going through that terrible time, she still tried to make her situation better by practicing acrobatics and aiming towards winning at the fire festival. She has so much strength in her, and she has easily joined my list of favourite heroines.

Valek is such a good match for Yelena. At the beginning of the novel, there was no way that I expected them to end up together, but I loved the way their relationship grew. It was slow and steady and they had to learn to trust each other before they could confide in each other. And Valek’s character was so lovely too. The moment when she discovers his sculptures is lovely and it showed a completely different side to Valek. And I really fell in love with Valek when he gave Yelena that necklace – that scene was so adorable. And the hay scene. I don’t blame Yelena for liking him.

Ari and Janco were the best secondary characters ever. They were brilliant. There was banter. There was a strong relationship between them. They were so brotherly and protective towards Yelena, and it just made me love them so much. The little things they’d say too were so in line with their character. Dilana was another great side character, although she didn’t appear very often. She was so motherly towards Yelena and just wanted to help all the time, I loved her.

The Little Things

Assassins. I didn’t realize how much I wanted to read a book about assassins.

Yelena and Valek’s conversations were brilliant. It just worked so well. I absolutely adore those two. The scene where they were talking about what they would in a world that was at peace was so nice. And the scene in the dungeons…

FIRE FESTIVAL! I want to go to a fire festival so much. The way it was described was so enchanting. The whole fire dancers and acrobatic thing going on definitely appealed to me. All the different competitions that people would enter sounded really interesting to me, and it just sounded like a whole lot of fun.

This book was stunning. I’d started reading it thinking it would be pretty good, but it was so much better than I was expecting. I’d recommend it to any fantasy lovers out there, people who don’t like love triangles and want a romantic relationship that develops over time and people who want brilliant side characters.

For more reviews like this, check out my blog.

This is a Welsh language book which I don’t believe has been translated into English. Possible spoilers ahead.


This was part of my summer reading for school, and I actually quite enjoyed the book. It was surprisingly good with a huge twist towards the end of the book. The book is about one couple (Glen and Dilys) meeting up with another couple (Heulwen and Dan) that they haven’t seen in years.

Cover

I’m not a big fan of this cover. It’s definitely relevant to the book with Eisteddfod pavilion, but there’s something I don’t like about it. On my copy, well, my schools’ copy, it all seems a bit fuzzy on the front and I’m not keen on it. However, the story itself is far better than the cover.

Plot

The plot was very strong and interesting in this book. To start with, I wasn’t all that interested in what was going on but as I read more, I started to enjoy the plot and understood what was going on. The main plot was very clear and direct, but I also liked the side plots too. The majority of the story is told from Glyn’s perspective – he often thinks back on his life and about Heulwen (for reasons that become clear in the book). Occasionally the narrative does switch to Heulwen’s point of view, which is also very interesting because it gives the reader a different take on the character’s world and how she views Dilys and Glyn, and also her life. Both Glyn and Heulwen think about how their lives have changed a lot, but they view those changes in different ways. Overall the plot was rather original – I hadn’t read anything similar – and the characters’ struggles with themselves and each other was very well written.

Characters

Glyn was the main character, and he developed throughout the book quite a bit. The reader learns a lot about his character – I mean a lot. Like, huge plot twist. I really hope that that doesn’t give it away. Anyway, he’s quite an interesting person, and his personality changes a lot depending on who he’s around – Dilys, Heulwen, Llion or Nigel & Twm. His characterization was very good, and you learn a lot about who he really is during the book. I wasn’t as keen on the way Dilys, otherwise known as Y Difa, was portrayed. She was very much the bad guy to start with – not in a villain sense but that the reader wasn’t meant to like her because she was bossy, she wasn’t compassionate and she preferred cerdd dant to anything else. She didn’t have much depth to her compared to Glen, and I felt that the author wanted us to compare her to Heulwen and see how she wasn’t as glamorous and special. Then again, by the end of the novel, we do see that Heulwen doesn’t like the person she’s become, so I suppose Dilys’ portrayal isn’t totally bad.

Heulwen is a complete contrast to Dilys. After certain, major events in the past, she changes from what she was (a mother and a housewife) into a glamorous Welsh celebrity who has a say on most things, especially the Eisteddfod. As the book progresses we discover a lot about her character and what she’s been through, and the ending of this book almost had me in tears. If you read, you’ll understand. Dan, Heulwen’s husband, was quite a minor character compared to the others and disappeared for a long chunk of the book, and so I never really felt I got to know Dan at all – having finished the book, this may be something the author did on purpose.

Overall, the book is quite good. It brought tears to my eyes at the end, and I did like the way the last part of the book was written as letters instead of third person PoV. I’d recommend this to anyone who needs a Welsh book to read, especially if they’re fans of the Eisteddfod.

For more reviews like this, check out my blog

This book lived up to so many expectations, and I enjoyed it so much. Even though the "A Song of Ice and Fire" books are very long, they keep you gripped from start to finish, and there were so many plot twists in there to keep me interested. The characters were just as brilliant as ever, although there was so no Dani or Jon (their story is told in the next book), and I loved how different each character was compared to the other. The characters had all developed since the previous book, so more than others, and it was obvious how some events had affected different characters in different ways. The settings, as always, were amazing - I especially loved the portrayal of Braavos and of the Eyrie in winter. A Feast for Crows is a great addition to the series.

It took only 24 hours for The Cuckoo's Calling to skyrocket to number one on the Amazon bestseller list after the Sunday Times revealed that author Robert Galbraith was actually a pseudonym for J.K. Rowling. The book is also #1 on the Barnes & Noble list, #20 on the Kindle list and is back ordered for up to 3 weeks at Amazon. 

 

When interviewed, Rowling said using the pseudonym was a "liberating experience" because it allowed her to get honest feedback on her writing without "hype or expectation." Certainly understandable as fame can be a burden, but there is likely a very long list of authors who would like to have the same problem. 

 

There were so many things I loved about this book, and I have no idea how to put those things into words, but I will try.Firstly, the plot was amazing. It didn't slow down at all, and it kept me guessing with everything. The amount of plot twists Michelle Hodkin managed to get in there was ridiculous, but pretty much all of them surprised me. Also, even though the plot kept going with its creepy moments and its crazy moments, there were also plenty of perfect and adorable scenes between Noah and Mara. Their relationship grows so much in this book, and it doesn't happen in the space of five minutes either. We see trust forming between them, and also how much they care for each other. I'm keeping this spoiler free so no examples, but there are plenty. The dialogue was also great - every time Mara said something to Noah or vice versa, I'm pretty sure I was close to crying.My review would be longer, but I have no time to write it and half the stuff I want to mention is spoilery, so I'll finish by saying that this is a brilliant book and it's definitely worth a read.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books in the Graceling series, and this one definitely did not disappoint. Everything about this book was brilliant - the characters, the plot, the mysteries, the world-building. I would highly recommend this (and the first two books) to anyone interested in fantasy worlds.One of my favourite things about this series are the characters. They're all so different and interesting, and I enjoyed meeting a new range of characters in this book. Teddy and Saf quickly became favourites with their antics, and they became even more interesting as their back-story became apparent. There were also many interesting characters in the castle, and they all had plenty of secrets to discover. Of course, there are returning characters and seeing them (and their relationship with the others) again was wonderful.In [b:Graceling|3236307|Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1)|Kristin Cashore|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1331548394s/3236307.jpg|3270810], we first to discover the world of Bitterblue and Katsa. In [b:Fire|14546775|Fire|Kristin Cashore|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1355866071s/14546775.jpg|6128277], we become a part of Fire's world, which is completely to different to Katsa's. What's nice about [b:Bitterblue|12680907|Bitterblue (Graceling Realm, #3)|Kristin Cashore|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1331532273s/12680907.jpg|6508730] is that instead of her traveling miles around the kingdoms, she stays in the one place for the whole story. Instead of briefly visiting various villages and people, we get to explore Bitterblue City in more detail with Bitterblue as she discovers the place for the first time. Reading about her visits to the story rooms and to Teddy and Saf's house made me smile.The plot itself was wonderful. I loved how the book followed Bitterblue trying to figure what her kingdom is like and what happened in the past during Leck's reign. The gradual reveal of an event or a secret followed by another mystery to solve intrigued me, and I loved how different characters got involved in different ways.Another part that deserves a mention was the way ciphers were used. I loved the use of the different ciphers and Bitterblue or Death (who quickly became yet another favourite character) explaining how they worked. The diagrams of the ciphers and other languages were also lovely.Finally, the small Who's Who at the end was lovely. I enjoyed reading the description of each character in Death's voice and his little comments about what he thought of various people. Also, the art in my copy was lovely, especially the pictures of the bridges and the drawings at the beginning of each part of the book. They added a nice feel to the book.Overall, I loved the book and I will be rereading the entire series soon to appreciate everything again.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books in the Graceling series, and this one definitely did not disappoint. Everything about this book was brilliant – the characters, the plot, the mysteries, the world-building. I would highly recommend this (and the first two books) to anyone interested in fantasy worlds.

Cover

This is the British cover of Bitterblue and I love it so much. It matches perfectly with the covers of Graceling and Fire, and it keeps the same feeling of mystery going. It’s really obvious from this that Bitterblue has grown up, that there’s something she needs to find out, and it definitely reflects the mood of the book. Also, there’s a bit of a subtle hint to one of the main characters in the book that I hadn’t noticed before.

Plot

I enjoyed the plot of Bitterblue a lot. It was very different to the both Graceling and Fire, seeing as it is all contained within one city rather than the characters having to trek across the majority of the country/kingdom/place. In Bitterblue, I got to discover more about how the city works and the political plotting and such, and I found ti really interesting. Also, there was a lot about what Leck’s reign had caused, and the majority of the book is based around Bitterblue trying to right the wrongs he has caused. It could be a little slow at times until a new plot point developed, but those slow sections were never too slow and there were lots of clever little twists and turns in the book.

Characters

One of my favourite things about this series are the characters. They’re all so different and interesting, and I enjoyed meeting a new range of characters in this book. Teddy and Saf quickly became favourites with their antics, and they became even more interesting as their back-story became apparent. Saf’s relationship with Bitterblue was wonderful, especially as they learnt things about each other and reacted appropriately. There were also many interesting characters in the castle, and they all had plenty of secrets to discover. One of my favourites by the end of the book had to be Death and his library, and all his little personality quirks. Learning more about him and his talents were a joy. Of course, there are returning characters in this book and I’ll all say is that the relationships between the ones who are in the book are brilliant.

Obviously, the main character of this book was Bitterblue, who readers first met as a ten year old in Graceling. Now that she’s older and wanting to discover more about herself and her kingdom, it was great getting to know her better. I loved the fact that she was ready to go and do things for herself instead of relying on her councillors. Bitterblue also had lovely relationships with the people she met in the city, like Saf and Teddy, and I loved how those relationships developed based on the personalities of the characters.

The Little Things

Sometimes things in books just stand out for me, and one of those things were the ciphers used in the book. Ever since I was young, I’ve loved code books and puzzles, so having these complicated ciphers in the book was brilliant and I got really excited when I saw the diagrams of the codes in the book.

The settings, as always, were breath-taking. I loved the idea of the bridges in the city, and the illustrations in the book really brought them to life. Also, Death’s Who’s Who at the end of the book was lovely, especially with the added comments about certain characters.

Over all, I loved this book and I already plan to reread the whole series. I would recommend these to anyone who likes fantasy, intrigue, good-looking Lienids, castles, amazing scenery and banter.

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I'm not really sure how to rate this book. I want to give it a good rating, as I enjoyed the first books a lot, especially Delirium. But, this book (especially the ending) was a bit of a let down to be honest. It just ended, and I feel like there should be something more at the end, even just an epilogue. There were parts that I did enjoy, like Hana's chapters, and I liked the relationships between various characters. The plot was good but I found it a bit slow, and I never really got into the whole book - I could easily put it down and do something else.Overall, I did enjoy parts of the book, but the way it's finished is very frustrating and I highly doubt that I will be rereading it anytime soon.

Requiem, by Lauren Oliver, is the third book in the Delirium series, where the main character lives in a dystopian world where they have found the cure for love. By the time we reach the third book, Lena has become part of the resistance and has found herself as part of a love triangle (a staple for most dystopian books.)

Personally, I was disappointed by this book. I had enjoyed Delirium a lot – the romance between Alex and Lena was wonderful, and Pandemonium wasn’t too bad. But Requiem didn’t give me enough of what I wanted. The storyline was pretty good, but slow at times, and Lena got on my nerves rather a lot as the main character. The ending is also very open, and I’m not a fan of that at all. It’s very unclear what really happens.

Cover (British Version)

This cover is pretty cool, and it’s very pretty. It all looks very peaceful and tranquil, and I assume that her reflecting on her life is going to be part of the book. The cover definitely appeals to me.

Story

Half the story is told from Lena’s PoV as she travels around with the resistance. The other half is told by Hana, who has been cured and is living a normal life in her home town. The PoV’s do vary a lot, and I found myself liking Hana’s story a lot more because there was more going on, even though she wasn’t actively trying to take down the government or anything. On the other hand, Lena’s PoV got a bit whiny sometimes, and a lot of it was her moping about Julian and Alex. She did need to make a decision about which boy she wanted, but I would have preferred to have a lot more action going on and information about their rebellion. To be honest, Raven could have been the main character of this whole series and she would have been far more interesting.

The biggest reason this book was a letdown for me was the ending. It was very up in the air. There was nothing that really ended the book – the love triangle wasn’t properly resolved, the resistance didn’t finish attacking the city, and who knows what happened afterwards. An epilogue would have worked well here to tie up any loose ends.

Characters

To me, characters are the most important part of the novel because they are the main focus point, and I tend to want to like the protagonist and to be able to root for them. This wasn’t the case with Lena. As I’ve mentioned, she did get on my nerves spending time either deciding who she liked more or hating on the fact that Alex and Coral get on well and are friends. Alex also annoyed me in this book, even though I loved him in [b:Delirium|11614718|Delirium (Delirium, #1)|Lauren Oliver|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327890411s/11614718.jpg|10342808]. He was horrid to Lena through the majority of the book (although there were some nice moments) and then there’s a sudden change of heart towards the end. Julian didn’t annoy me at all, and I like him a lot more than I did after reading [b:Pandemonium|9593911|Pandemonium (Delirium, #2)|Lauren Oliver|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1310371414s/9593911.jpg|14480923]. Although, that may have something to do with Alex being an idiot throughout the entire book. Hana, on the other hand, was easily one of my favourite characters. She provided an insight into life inside the town (which is usually ignored and forgotten once the main character joins a rebellion or a resistance of some kind in dystopian books.) Hana’s life was very interesting, and it also provided information about how the cured went about their life and how they were affected by the rebellion.

Raven and Tack get their own paragraph. They are perfect and adorable and their story is far more interesting than everything else going on. I know Raven has her own short story ebook, which I do need to get around to reading, but I personally find her far more interesting than Lena. Her relationship with Tack is really nice – the way it’s so understated and a side story, but still very sweet. I found their story far more emotional than Lena and Alex/Julian, and I’d have much preferred a series of books about them. Perhaps you’ve realized I love Raven.

All in all, it was an alright book but a very disappointing to the end of the series. It’s unlikely I’ll be rereading these books at all.

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So true. So far my tbr for vacation is over 20 books long. :D