Book Review: The Way of Shadows (Night Angel Trilogy #1)

Title: The Way of Shadows (Night Angel Trilogy #1)
Author: Brent Weeks
Genre: high fantasy
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 645
Publication Date: October 1st, 2008

Plot (from goodreads):
From New York Times Bestselling author Brent Weeks...
For Durzo Blint, assassination is an art-and he is the city's most accomplished artist.

For Azoth, survival is precarious. Something you never take for granted. As a guild rat, he's grown up in the slums, and learned to judge people quickly - and to take risks. Risks like apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint.

But to be accepted, Azoth must turn his back on his old life and embrace a new identity and name. As Kylar Stern, he must learn to navigate the assassins' world of dangerous politics and strange magics - and cultivate a flair for death.

Review:
I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book. I'd just heard amazing things, and seen and been surprised by how good the goodreads ratings were. I didn't actually read the synopsis, at least I don't remember doing so, I just knew it was fantasy and apparently it was amazing.

And I was completely blown away.

Even at the beginning, there was something that just kind of struck me as different about it, about what was happening. Some people might find the beginning slow, but I didn't notice it until I thought about it after. I just found myself really enjoying it. And I think that slower pace at the beginning, and then a specific turning point and shift in that pace - is deliberate. And I loved it.

Alright, I'm going to try to not just squeal wordlessly at you about how amazing this book was. I took a bit, I tried to gather my thoughts. And they're kind of gathered, kind of. Basically - high fantasty, with assassins - excuse me, wetboys - and it hurts and it's fantastic.

I'm not sure I want to say more then that? Probably just because I enjoyed it so much going in blind, and I'm also sure this is definitely not a book for everyone. I liked the way Brent Weeks wrote, though, and the characters as we learned more about them, the politics was also interesting, the world.

To wrap it all up - I loved this book, if my inability to really talk about it without falling into it's so good, so good wasn't a big hint. I loved the characters, the writing, the world. And I was surprised, honestly surprised, at how much I did. And would recommend this book, but I'm sure others might not like it as much as I did. Saying that, I'm simultaneously itching to continue the series and don't want to because I don't want it to be over.

Series Review: The Grisha Series (by Leigh Bardugo)

Series: The Grisha Trilogy
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Genre: YA High Fantasy (Adventure, Romance)
Overall Series Rating: 5/5
Books:
Shadow and Bone (5/5)
Siege and Storm (5/5)
Ruin and Rising (5/5)

First Book Synopsis (Goodreads):
Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

Shadow and Bone is the first installment in Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy.

My Background (with the series):
I bought the first book when it very first came out, probably the week of, and the same with the second - and then didn't read either of them. And then just decided to wait until the third one came out. So I did, I preordered it, and it came in the mail - and then I read them all in a row. Three days, three books (June 17th - 19th. Started and finished book one on the 17th, and finished book three on the 19th).

And since I read them so quick I didn't have a lot of exposure to the fans/fandom of the series, or the discussion and such. And I was so confused and surprised (and confused) about why everyone was obsessed with The Darkling. Guys, I'm sorry to break it to you, but he was kind of evil (I mean, he was entertaining, but we didn't get to know him at all). And he hurts people, using them, and I just honestly don't get it because he doesn't have any redeeming qualities that I could find. I mean sometimes I adore villains because of how evil/insane/whatever they are - but seemed to have honestly wanted him and Alina to get together. Pretty sure that would of been bad.

I also don't understand why people seem to hate Mal. Okay hate might be strong word for some, but for others I don't think it is. I mean he wasn't my favorite, but he wasn't bad (Sturmhound, and I think the logical way was him, the "follow your heart" was Mal for her).

Review:
I don't know what it was that made me enjoy this series so much. It wasn't, like, overly fantastic in any way (the plot was okay, interesting, but not wow, original and the writing was just good), but for some reason I really loved this series. Now, rethinking it, I'm considering lowering the ratings on the books - but I'm not going to because I just feel like I should, and that's an awful to reason to do anything.

I did really enjoy these three books though, this series. And the romance aspects, oddly, never felt out of place or pushed into where they shouldn't be. I feel like that's a common problem when warlike things are happening or the worlds in danger - the romance can just feel not right, out of place, and/or ridiculous. But this book wasn't like that - the romance was there and that was that.

The world might of been my favorite part - the supernatural parts and the historical fantasy world being my main favorite parts. I loved how the supernatural parts were mixed in and how the worldbuilding didn't feel too much like info-dumping. I did like the writing, overall, her style was good, not too flowery, but also not too simple.

I think I'm in the majority, as well, for liking how the trilogy wrapped up (I mean, I didn't love it, but it was cute / I was fine with it).

Book and Audio Review: The Name of the Wind (Kindkiller Chronicles #1)

Title: The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicles #1)
Author: Patrick Rothfuss
Genre: High Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 722 (mass market)
Publication Date: March 27th, 2007

Synopsis (Goodreads):
Innkeeper Kote narrates most of his tale to the Chronicler. Kvothe, when his family troupe of traveling players is massacred, spends years starving, beaten beyond count, in a crime-ridden city, then daringly enters a legendary school of magic.

Review:
I started this book one day by randomly starting to listen to the audiobook and got completely sucked in. I have a lot of problems with audiobooks, normally I can't focus on them to save my life - but there are just certain narrators who suck me in. This one, Nick Podhel, was amazing, completely fantastic. His voice and Rothfuss' words were perfect together.

I half-read, half-listened (I think more towards physical), and I kind of wished I'd been able to listen to more of it, but I enjoyed it in both forms a lot. Even though it took me forever to finish - because I was enjoying it and it was really, really good, but it's dense and long. It's beautifully written, poetic and beautiful, but it makes it a slow read. Although, I don't think that's a bad thing because I enjoyed being able to take my time with this, not rush through it, just - enjoy it and relax.

The story itself is incredible - the characters, the plot, the storytelling - and I found myself not sure if I wanted Kvothe to keep telling his story or if I wanted to read about him and Bast and Chronicler in 'present times.'

Overall thoughts? Read this book. My physical copy has one of my favorite stories behind it* and it's a fantastic and fantastical book, and I don't think you should know more then that.

*we were in Portland, in Powells in 2013 (LeakyCon) and there was this guy trying to get a girl to buy Ready Player One. And, as we were walking by, I added (as did Haley) that it was a fantastic book and she should read it. And he immediately turned and went "have you read The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss?" and I told him no. And he told me to go and read it and I wouldn't regret it because it was phenomenal. So... I did, my copy has the Powells price sticker on the back. Thank you, random book recommending stranger.

Book Review: Sea of Shadows (Age of Legends #1)

Title: Sea of Shadows (Age of Legends #1)
Author: Kelly Armstrong
Genre: High Fantasy, Paranomal/Magic, Adventure, Romance (Young Adult)
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 416 (hardcover)
Publication Date: April 8th, 2014

Plot: (from Goodreads)
Twin sisters Moria and Ashyn were marked at birth to become the Keeper and the Seeker of Edgewood, beginning with their sixteenth birthday. Trained in fighting and in the secret rites of the spirits, they lead an annual trip into the Forest of the Dead. There, the veil between the living world and the beyond is thinnest, and the girls pay respect to the spirits who have passed.

But this year, their trip goes dreadfully wrong.

With all the heart-stopping romance and action that have made her a #1 New York Times bestselling author, and set in an unforgettably rich and dangerous world, this first epic book in the Age of Legends trilogy will appeal to Kelley Armstrong's legions of fans around the world and win her many new ones.

Review:
I've never read anything by Kelly Armstrong before, but I'm definitely going to end up picking up some more of her books in the future (if you've read hers - let me know which I should read next). This was a fantastic high fantasy, young adult novel that had duel points of view (POVs), which can be hit or miss with a lot of people. I felt like it really worked for this, you get these two girls, who are twins, and their points of view and I think the reason it works is because their voices were completely different.

This book had me sucked in, wanting to find out what happened next to these characters that I had already fallen in love with before page 50. I read it in one sitting and just loved it: the characters, the plots, the twists - and how everything unfolded. The romance aspect felt a little cheesy at points, but it wasn't really in a bad way, if that makes sense, I don't tend to mind cheesy if it's done well.

I'd definitely recommend this book, and to wrap up why: a fun, high fantasy, with adventure, strange creatures, and romance.

Waiting on Wednesday (5)

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted over at Breaking the Spine. And it's where people share their most anticipated reads that are to be released.

I've only got one book this week and it comes out July 8th of this year - Midnight Thief (Midnight Thief #1) by Livia Blackburne

This book sounds amazing and something I'll love. It's high/epic fantasy with, from what I can catch from the Goodread's page, a paranormal twist in the shape of shapeshifters and just read this synopsis from Goodreads:

Growing up on Forge’s streets has taught Kyra how to stretch a coin. And when that’s not enough, her uncanny ability to scale walls and bypass guards helps her take what she needs.

But when the leader of the Assassins Guild offers Kyra a lucrative job, she hesitates. She knows how to get by on her own, and she’s not sure she wants to play by his rules. But he’s persistent—and darkly attractive—and Kyra can’t quite resist his pull.

Tristam of Brancel is a young Palace knight on a mission. After his best friend is brutally murdered by Demon Riders, a clan of vicious warriors who ride bloodthirsty wildcats, Tristam vows to take them down. But as his investigation deepens, he finds his efforts thwarted by a talented thief, one who sneaks past Palace defenses with uncanny ease.

When a fateful raid throws Kyra and Tristam together, the two enemies realize that their best chance at survival—and vengeance—might be to join forces. And as their loyalties are tested to the breaking point, they learn a startling secret about Kyra’s past that threatens to reshape both their lives.

Assassins, thieves, vengeance - it sounds so good. So what are you excited for this week? And had you heard of this book before? Are you looking forward to it?

Book Review: A Wizard of Earthsea

Title: A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle #1)
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Genre: Fantasy (High/Epic Fantasy), Adventure
Rating: ?
Page Count: 266 (paperback)
Publication Date: January 1st, 1968

Plot: (from Goodreads)
Ged, the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, was called Sparrowhawk in his reckless youth.

Hungry for power and knowledge, Sparrowhawk tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.



Review:
You might notice this book doesn't have a star rating, and it's because I have very mix feelings about it. At the end - I liked it. I liked what could be learned from the book and the message of it, but - I'm also not sure I liked the actual book, actually at all. Maybe that I appreciated it, or something like that.

Mostly because I really didn't like this book at the beginning, I couldn't stand the main character and I almost wanted to just give up, even at page 30 and 40 and 100. I kept going, though, because some people I trust or respect had rated it high or talked about it highly or - something like that, and it's a classic for a reason. So I kept going.

Even, at the end, having liked how it ended and appreciated it over all, I still had a lot of problems with it. The writing wasn't bad, I liked it at times, but at other times I felt like I was reading notes for the scene, so the writer could go back and flesh it out more, it felt very like a screenplay almost, or just an outline. At other times I felt the short nature really fitted the story, and I think that it really did overall.

Basically I had very, very complicated feelings about this book. And it's been a very long time since I just didn't really know how I felt about a book, even writing this review quite a bit after I finished it, I'm still not really sure how I felt about it or if I want to continue with the series.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea to put this review up, because I'm not sure it's informative or helpful, but maybe it'll interest you enough to maybe check it out. If you have read A Wizard of Earthsea, then I'd love to hear what you thought, and if you plan to or something of that nature - when you do, I'd still love to hear (no matter how long after this is posted you do such a thing).

Book Review: Pathfinder (Pathfinder #1)

Title: Pathfinder (Pathfinder #1)
Author: Orson Scott Card
Genre: High Fantasy
Rating: 3/5 stars
Pages: 657
Publication Date: November 23rd, 2010

Story Notion: What? I - what? I'm not even really confused, I just don't know.

Plot: (from Goodreads)
A powerful secret. A dangerous path.
Rigg is well trained at keeping secrets. Only his father knows the truth about Rigg's strange talent for seeing the paths of people's pasts. But when his father dies, Rigg is stunned to learn just how many secrets Father had kept from him--secrets about Rigg's own past, his identity, and his destiny. And when Rigg discovers that he has the power not only to see the past, but also to change it, his future suddenly becomes anything but certain.

Rigg’s birthright sets him on a path that leaves him caught between two factions, one that wants him crowned and one that wants him dead. He will be forced to question everything he thinks he knows, choose who to trust, and push the limits of his talent…or forfeit control of his destiny.

Review:
I liked this book, overall, I just want to say this first. It was good, if not very long, and a little jumbly and some of the physics was like no, no stop.

Okay, it wasn't that long, it just felt like it would never end.

There was one huge problem I had with this book - besides the weird science - and it was the female characters. Well, kind of the lack of them but also them, too. Leaky was the best, but even then she felt very stereotypical. And then the only other female character, who is definitely a spoiler, but she's just kind of - eh. I liked her, mostly, but also just kind of eh.

So overall I did really like this book and I managed to get past my problems while reading, mostly. I did stop a few times, to wonder how many paradoxes he could create in one sentence without physics just killing him because I guess that's okay.

It wasn't groundbreaking, I guess it what I'm saying. It was interesting and I'm interested to learn more about the world, but also not enough to pick up the second book straight away, which was right next to me when I finished. But also, on that same note, I don't know if I want to learn more, just because of some of the main problems I had with the world. I've only ever read one other book or Orson Scott Card's, Ender's Game of course, and I liked it - another lack of female characters - but I guess I couldn't just let it go so much this time, for some reason.

I normally don't let the person affect how I read their books, but maybe I just can't let go how Card is kind of a... dick (kind of as in really, honestly, and it's also the word most used to describe him so I'm just going with it, no offense intended). I knew that going into Ender's Game, though, and it didn't affect how I felt about the book at all, so maybe I don't have biased caused by that, either was - this was a okay book, but not amazing or astounding or even really great.

Book Review: A Game of Thrones

Book: A Game of Thrones (Song of Ice and Fire #1)
Author: George R.R. Martin
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
Page Count:
Favorite Character: Uh, erm, uh... Tyrion, we're going with- Oh or Daenerys.

Plot: (From Goodreads)

In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes of the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom's protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

Review:
It took me a while to get through this book just because of the sheer amount of information you get while reading it. So much happens in this book and it's told perfectly, there is just so much plot all of time, it never gets lost because of a subplot, they're all main plots. And I loved that. George R.R. Martin doesn't give you any detail you don't need or want to know. He doesn't have this beautiful writing style, by any means, but his writing is perfect for a story of this size.

I think the reason I loved it so much is because of the different perspective we get. There are so many of them and the story really doesn't truly have one main character, just because they all get equal time, really.  I loved all of these characters, too, you can't help it. I think it's because they just seem so real. Anyway, to the point, characters were amazing and were more real then I expected.

The world building. Just, the world building. This doesn't feel like a world that starts when you open the book, I feel like it just keeps going even when you're not there. It's a very lived in world, I feel like is the best way to say it. It feels like these characters just could be off living in Winterfell or Kings Landing. So, to sum it up, I was extremely impressed with the world building and how lived in that world felt, I don't feel like I've ever experienced anything really like it.

Also, not everything in this book is black and white, it's very grey. It's not just good verse evil, it's much more then that, and sometimes you don't really know who is good and who is evil. And I love that. I love not really knowing if I should love this character or that character as much as I do, but still loving them anyway. It's a place that not a lot of book go, that grey area of good and evil. I think because it's grey and unknown, but it truly is a wonderful way to read about these characters.

Anyway, though, I really did enjoy this book and I can't wait to read the next one. To sum up what I thought: the plot was amazing and intricate, characters were amazing, and the world felt very lived in. I feel like this is a series that is just crazy, really, some of the plot lines that it follows are just creepy or amazing or both. However, I'd recommend this to anyone, unless you don't like fantasy, and don't be daunted too much by the sheer mass of this book, it's worth it.

Book Review: The Demon King

Book: The Demon King (Seven Realms #1)
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Genre: High Fantasy, Adventure, Romance (YA)
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 506 (Paperback)
Favorite Character: Raisa, I believe, I did love Han, though. (And secondary characters it would have to be Dancer and Amon, I think, just because they're awesome, but so are a lot of these characters).

Plot: (From Goodreads)

When 16-year-old Han Alister and his Clan friend Dancer encounter three underage wizards setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea, he has no idea that this event will precipitate a cascade of disasters that will threaten everything he cares about.

Han takes an amulet from one of the wizards, Micah Bayar, to prevent him from using it against them. Only later does he learn that it has an evil history—it once belonged to the Demon King, the wizard who nearly destroyed the world a millennium ago. And the Bayars will stop at nothing to get it back

Han’s life is complicated enough. He’s the former streetlord of the Raggers—a street gang in the city of Fellsmarch. His street name, Cuffs, comes from the mysterious silver bracelets he’s worn all his life—cuffs that are impossible to take off.

Now Han’s working odd jobs, helping to support his family, and doing his best to leave his old life behind. Events conspire against him, however. When members of a rival gang start dying, Han naturally gets the blame.

Meanwhile, Princess Raisa ana’Marianna has her own battles to fight. As heir to the Gray Wolf throne of the Fells, she’s just spent three years of relative freedom with her father’s family at Demonai Camp—riding, hunting, and working the famous Clan markets. Now court life in Fellsmarch pinches like a pair of too-small shoes.

Wars are raging to the south, and threaten to spread into the high country. After a long period of quiet, the power of the Wizard Council is once again growing. The people of the Fells are starving and close to rebellion. Now more than ever, there’s a need for a strong queen.

But Raisa’s mother Queen Marianna is weak and distracted by the handsome Gavan Bayar, High Wizard of the Fells. Raisa feels like a cage is closing around her—and an arranged marriage and eroded inheritance is the least of it.

Raisa wants to be more than an ornament in a glittering cage. She aspires to be like Hanalea—the legendary warrior queen who killed the Demon King and saved the world. With the help of her friend, the cadet Amon Byrne, she navigates the treacherous Gray Wolf Court, hoping she can unravel the conspiracy coalescing around her before it’s too late.


Review:
There are really mixed reviews on this book, that I kind of found surprising, but everyone has their own opinion. This book was a little slow to start out and you don't really know who you're suppose to believe and you're wondering, you know, 'what the hell is happening in this world,' but overall this book was amazing. And, really, it's not that slow for long and I love when they just kind of drop you in the world and then explain it along the way. Which is why I gave it a 5/5 rating.

I loved the writing in this book and how the two characters are written and how everyone is a little linked, but they don't even realize it. And this world is amazing, when there's a past that has something awful and it's over 500 years old, I am instantly interested in that. Mostly because I will always believe that the popular story isn't the most true one, isn't what really happened. And it's so interesting for the characters to still be living in the shadow of these people who loved so long ago, in this book it was about 1000 years, and it's just so intriguing.

And I also really enjoyed the world they're living in, not just the world in general, and how our two main characters see things so differently, even if they're seeing the same things. It's just so interesting for them to learn and grow through the book separately. I thought it was interesting that the two characters weren't together at the beginning, like they weren't best friends, and I really enjoyed that, because if they were, we wouldn't have been able to see the such different perspectives. I have just never read a book like this, with the two main characters so separate, but I think that might be one reason why I loved this book so much.

Overall, to sum up my kind of long review, I really loved this book. I found the characters really lovable, they both clicked with me really early, Raisa pretty much immediately. The characters, writing, world, and a lot more is amazing in this book. So if you're thinking the beginning is slow, then keep going, it's definitely worth it!