Review: The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows

Summary; Wilhelmina has a hundred identities.

She is a princess. When the Indigo Kingdom conquered her homeland, Wilhelmina and other orphaned children of nobility were taken to Skyvale, the Indigo Kingdom’s capital. Ten years later, they are the Ospreys, experts at stealth and theft. With them, Wilhelmina means to take back her throne.

She is a spy. Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate Skyvale Palace to study their foes. They assume the identities of nobles from a wraith-fallen kingdom, but enemies fill the palace, and Melanie’s behavior grows suspicious. With Osprey missions becoming increasingly dangerous and their leader more unstable, Wil can’t trust anyone.

She is a threat. Wraith is the toxic by-product of magic, and for a century using magic has been forbidden. Still the wraith pours across the continent, reshaping the land and animals into fresh horrors. Soon it will reach the Indigo Kingdom. Wilhelmina’s magic might be the key to stopping the wraith, but if the vigilante Black Knife discovers Wil’s magic, she will vanish like all the others.

Jodi Meadows introduces a vivid new fantasy full of intrigue, romance, dangerous magic, and one girl’s battle to reclaim her place in the world.

My Thoughts; 

I'm still not completely sure how I feel about this book. At times, I felt like I was really enjoying it and really getting into it but then other times I would feel like I'm not liking at all where the story is going. 

This is a fantasy, set in the world of the Indigo Kingdom. It felt like a fantasy world with a twist of superhero/vigilante type vibe going on. It was very interesting and very different, definitely a surprise! In the Indigo Kingdom magic is banned and illegal because it creates a wraith and is quickly destroying all the kingdoms. 

Black Knife was a very interesting character, very mysterious and I loved the vigilante part from him. Unfortunately I figured out the plot twist of who he was pretty early on. I liked Wilhelmina's character as well, although I didn't connect to her very much. I liked that she was brave and determined to do whatever she could to get her kingdom and people back. I wasn't a huge fan of many of the secondary characters; Patrick had seemed sketchy and pushy from the beginning and Melanie, Wil's best friend, also seemed sketchy and very suspicious. 

Overall, I'd say if you're a fan of fantasy and strong female characters, I think you'd enjoy this! The pacing isn't fast but it's got a very compelling plot and a mysterious superhero/vigilante! 

Review; An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Summary; Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.
 
Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.
 
It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.
 
But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.
 
There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself. 

My Thoughts;

This book was pretty badass. Also, that cover? Totally gorgeous! So in love with it! There was a ton of hype surrounding this book before it had even been released, just from people who had received ARC copies so I was so stoked when I won a giveaway for an ARC copy, thank you Chapters Indigo for the giveaway!

Like I said, this book was pretty badass! It's told in a world inspired by ancient Rome called the Empire. The world is pretty brutal and harsh. Laia as a slave, she was subjected to so many harsh and cruel things, I really felt for her but I loved that it didn't break her, it only made her stronger and more determined to find her brother and get him out of wherever the hell he is. 

This book is told in dual perspectives, so we get to see the story told through both Laia and Elias! I really loved that we got to see this world from two sides, Elias as a solider to the Empire and Laia, a slave to the Empire, but both against it. I can't even say whose POV I enjoyed more because I really liked reading both! 

I absolutely loved Sabaa Tahir's writing. It was very beautiful and captivating. I wouldn't say this book was very fast paced, but the writing is just so beautiful it makes you want to read slower so you can fully immerse yourself into it and take it all in. The world she created was so fascinating and her writing just made it all the more real to me. 

One of the issues I had with this book was the complicated romance. I wasn't a huge fan of this love-square. I really don't like how many YA novels have love-triangles and the fact that this book had a love-square was slightly disappointing. I probably would have even been able to get past it if the romance hadn't been so overpowering. Plus, the kind of love-triangle in here is one of my absolute least favourites and it was the most overpowering so I really couldn't get past it and be fine with it. 

Overall Rating; 4.5/5

Review: Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin #2) by Robin LaFevers

Goodreads Synopsis; When Sybella arrived at the doorstep of St Mortain half mad with grief and despair the convent were only too happy to offer her refuge - but at a price. The sisters of this convent serve Death, and with Sybella naturally skilled in both the arts of death and seduction, she could become one of their most dangerous weapons.

But her assassin's skills are little comfort when the convent returns her to the life that nearly drove her mad. Her father's rage and brutality are terrifying, and her brother's love is equally monstrous. But when Sybella discovers an unexpected ally she discovers that a daughter of Death may find something other than vengeance to live for...

My Review

Loved it even more than the first! Another fantastic historical fantasy read! Sybella's story was just as awesome as Ismae's!

Sybella was definitely a much more complex main character than Isame. She's also had a very hard life and things have definitely not gone easy for her. Understandably, she doesn't trust people easily, but she does start to trust Beast once he's entered the picture. I absolutely loved Beast. I loved him in Grave Mercy and loved him even more in Dark Triumph. He's just as loveable. The romance between them was so sweet and I was rooting for them to have a happy end so bad! 

Again, like Grave Mercy the plot was a bit slow in this one because it's a very political time period, there's not a whole lot of action (but there is some!). There's a lot going on in the book, so if you try to read it took quickly, you could miss something important to the plot. My only disappointment of this book was the ending was pretty abrupt. It ended too soon in my opinion but it just makes me even more eager to read the 3rd book! 

Overall, Dark Triumph was a great companion sequel! I totally loved the characters, the romance, the setting, the plot! If you liked Grave Mercy, definitely give this one a shot!

Rating: 4.5/5

Graceling (Graceling Realm #1) by Kristin Cashore

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight - she's a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king's thug.

When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po's friend.

She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace - or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away..






My Thoughts:


This book took me by complete surprise. I didn't expect to love it even half as much as I did. I'm not a huge lover of fantasy because honestly, I've only ever read a few fantasy books, so I was a little skeptical about this book but I loved it. I enjoyed far more than I was expecting to!

I really enjoyed Katsa as a character. At first when she comes in she's kind of cold and doesn't have very many feelings because she's her uncles hitman, basically. Then she meets Po. Gosh, I love Po! He's warm, hilarious and just so adorable. I loved him so much! Him and Katsa were great together, they make an awesome team. I also enjoyed a lot of the side characters. I liked how strong and defiant Bitterblue was even though she was 10 and I loved Raffin!

I was just immediately sucked into this world and loved it so much. I read this book in one day and stayed up late to finish it. There were lots of plot twists and so many things happened, this book really was never a dull moment!

Overall, I loved Graceling so much! It really makes me want to read more fantasy and I've already picked up the sequel, Fire which doesn't follow Katsa and Po but I still can't wait to read it! I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy or is looking to start getting more into it!

Rating: 5/5 Stars