Book Review: Skyhunter (Skyhunter #1)

 

Skyhunter

Marie Lu

4/5

I've read a couple of Marie Lu's series, but not since I was in high school. This one is different but still brings the same level of quality. Talin has been training to fight the Federation, a conquering nation that stole her homeland and voice, since she was twelve years old. When her partner is killed in battle, she feels lost. When she sees a mutinous soldier of the Federation being executed for the crime of silence, she can't help but protest. It sets up a chain of events that puts her on the true front lines of the fight. 

I got major Attack on Titan vibes from this, if that helps you make your decision. It's marketed as sci-fi but it feels kind of more fantasy-like, though it definitely could be dystopian and it's too soon to tell. I really enjoyed the build up and their separate character arcs. I have beef with side characters being killed for main character growth, but you know it happened before she tried to get us attached with a half-assed attempt at like banter or something. But yeah, characters battling with trauma and just her muteness are always great to see in YA because it adds another level of depth to the writing.

The only problem that I had with it would have had to be how straightforward a lot of the conflict was. People were racist people were ableist and that was that. I also really hope that her disability isn't explained through her own ability to conquer it. I don't think that anyone is looking for a character who has to grow to be worthy of her power. I don't want her to be fixed, I like the way she is and I'll be upset if that becomes part of her arc.

I'm excited though, I think that the world has a lot of potential and she set it up to be really cool in a lot of different ways. The ending especially, it opens a lot of possibilities up for the complexity of the sequel. I'm not all that surprised that Marie Lu is bringing another great book to the table but I'm happy to be a part of it yet again.  

 

Book Review: Daisy Jones & The Six

 

Daisy Jones & The Six

Taylor Jenkins Reid

5/5

A historical fiction written in kind of a documentary style, Daisy Jones & The Six follows the rise and fall of one of the biggest bands of the seventies. It was an era of rock and roll, things moved fast and if you couldn't keep up you get left behind.  

It's the kind of book that stresses you out because you're expecting chaos and you're expecting everything to fall apart. But it's so interesting, it really keeps your attention throughout the entirety and it's written in a way that's extremely easy to digest. The end is like simultaneously satisfying and heartbreaking, it's like an ending that needed to happen but all endings would have made me somewhat upset. I hate it when characters destroy their lives but this book perfectly balanced catastrophe and obligation. 

I've heard that the audiobook is even more impactful, but like reading it as it was still shook me. I can't wait to see the songs actually performed when its produced, it's all such a perfect construction of heartbreak and grief and impossible love.  

Book Review: The Dark Days Deceit (Lady Helen #3)

 

The Dark Days Deceit

Alison Goodman

3/5 

The third and final book in the Lady Helen trilogy, The Dark Days Deceit picks up about six months after the ending of the last one. Lady Helen is engaged to the Duke of Selburn, they are set to be married on the first day of the new year and it's going to be big. Everyone's congratulating her for making such a perfect match, but she's not very happy with it. For one thing, she's on track to fight the first Grand Deceiver in hundreds of years and that's a bit scarier than getting married. But also, she's kind of in love with someone else. 

I wanted to like this book a lot more than I actually liked this book to be quite honest. Like, it's literally everything I want in a plot- regency, demon hunting, special powers, romance. But it just fell kind of flat to what it could have been. The ultimate villain felt kind of predictable and all the deaths along the way were kind of predictable as well. I think I was probably in a bad headspace to read it though because it's my third book in a row where the happy-go-lucky sidekick was killed to advance the arc of the main protagonists. 

A lot of things at the end just felt so rushed and incomplete. We've been hyping these things up for the whole trilogy and then they were just done? It just didn't feel like the ending that these characters deserved. The chemistry between certain characters felt off the whole time and I don't think that was ever acknowledged. I'll still recommend this series to people because again, it checks all the boxes and was kind of enjoyable along the way. I just feel like it could've been more.

Book Review: A Torch Against the Night (An Ember in the Ashes #2)

 

A Torch Against the Night

Sabaa Tahir

3/5 

This is the sequel to An Ember in the Ashes and picks up immediately where the first book left off. Elias and Laia are fleeing from the Empire on a mission to save her brother while Helene is trying to save her family without destroying the boy who has always been her closest friend. They're all trying to balance their friends and families with doing what's right for entire nations of people. 

It was okay. I was like interested enough to keep reading but also a little bored with it at the same time. I didn't like how easy everything felt- killing side characters and vilifying certain characters completely. I'm more of a fan of morally grey rather than everyone makes the right or wrong choices. Helene is a good balance but her POVs were also a little boring because she was so wishy washy on her beliefs. I know that sounds contradicting, but I wanted a better balance of difficult choices mixed with a strong belief system. 

Laia was kind of ruined in my eyes. I think she can recover from it, but her being so subservient and doubtful of herself really rubbed me the wrong way. It's like, a random event was added in to traumatize her and shake up her arc and it just felt out of place. I liked her a lot more in the first book, but I guess it's hard being the center of a love triangle like that when I'm not a huge fan of love triangles. 

I think I'll probably read on, I'm just a little disappointed by the build up here. I know it's hard to write good middle books in series cause you're trying to answer just enough questions to keep the drama going, I just think this book didn't do the best job with it.

Book Review: A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic #3)

A Conjuring of Light

V.E. Schwab

5/5

This is so bittersweet because I feel like this book resolved everything pretty well and nicely but I kind of just want more. The book starts off where the last one ended like almost exactly but it's an extremely fast-paced novel, by the time I got to the end I felt as though I had read three. And though it was a little predictable at points, I completely understand the hype of this trilogy. 

Lila is such a unique protagonist. She's truly morally gray, but not so much that you can't find yourself rooting for her ARC. I think that she was raised in a certain way and that really rationalizes the way that she acts. I think she's especially unique for this, she's growing and by no means stagnant but she still stays true to the ideals which have been obviously ingrained in her. I love her and I love Kell and I love them together- even though I wish I had more interactions between them.

I also think that Rhy is a very well-written character who I felt like I understand a lot better after reading this book. I think that his arc, both in character growth and romantically, was more direct but still amazing. The line about a prince belong with his king? Had me in tears. Also him at the end on the balcony? I don't know why that just hit me so hard it was just all too much.

So it was a bit predictable, I knew exactly who was going to die and it went basically exactly how I thought it would. I don't think that necessarily took away from my enjoyment of the book, it was a little disappointing though. I also was a little upset that we didn't get more information into Kell and Lila's backstories, I know that this is more found family and the insistence that the past doesn't truly matter but you know I really wouldn't have minded knowing. 

Overall, an amazing trilogy. V.E. Schwab has such a talent for writing characters who really pop, characters who you're rooting for but who you can also understand the flaws of. I definitely recommend this trilogy if you've been holding out forever like I have.  

Book Review: Marked (The Coldest Fae #3)

Marked

Katerina Martinez

3/5

I would have totally missed the release of this book if I weren't on Katerina Martinez's email list, I don't know why Goodreads doesn't have it under the series like the other two but this is definitely the third book in the Coldest Fae. Dahlia is on the run from the fae government and she still doesn't understand why she's even there. She finds a secret society and the magic gets even crazier. 

I don't know I felt as though a couple things were just given to us in this book and I didn't like it as much. I didn't hate anything about it, I just felt like we were waiting a long time for certain things to happen and then they just kind of happened in this book. Like, the romance was building building building and was all the sudden resolved. The question of her parentage was a huge mystery and then it was just done? I think that the whole rival group plot line is interesting but I also think it needs to be fleshed out a little more before it's super unique.

I've liked this series, I also really like the covers and the way that they're progressing just slightly with the plot lines. I'll be looking forward to the release of the next one just cause I'm excited to see everything resolved.

Book Review: Children of Fallen Gods (The War of Lost Hearts #2)

Children of Fallen Gods

Carissa Broadbent

5/5

I'll start by saying that I was provided an ARC of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. I couldn't be more grateful because it was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it definitely did not disappoint. Children of Fallen Gods picks up very close to where Daughter of No Worlds left off, a boat full of refugees trying to find their way in a new nation. Tisaanah and Max quickly discover that new complications will make their journey even harder than they originally anticipated as they are pulled onto the battlefield yet again.  

Okay so I don't think I have ever comprehensively loved characters as much as I love Tisaanah and Max. I don't like reading perfect characters, I love characters in spite of their mistakes. Sometimes though, characters that I love make such obvious mistakes in their quest to avoid being classified as a perfect character. Tisaanah and Max run into roadblocks and failures, but they don't make decisions that conflict with the values that make them who they are. Their relationship is such a beautifully crafted dichotomy of their past experiences that make them such an effective and comprehensive unit. 

This book was so much better than the first, both in the emotional descriptions of the characters and the action. It's more high fantasy, more complex, and explores much deeper concepts. I loved every minute of it even though it dealt with some things that I don't typically like in novels. Like an additional POV, I'm usually kind of romance centered and don't want to read about someone else but the events are all so amazingly woven together. On that same note, romances where the protagonists are separated for extensive periods. This is a particular problem in the second books in trilogies because I feel like it's difficult to build a strong relationship the whole time through. Despite separations in this book, the relationship still grew so much and evolved into something better than I could have ever anticipated. 

So yeah, I'm recommending this book and this series very strongly. I love everything about it. If you're a fan of good romances, complex magic, and strong worldbuilding, this series will definitely check off all the boxes. I'm still shaken by just how well-written it all was and I know I'll be thinking about it quite a bit for the next few days.