Tag: fantasy books

Book Review: Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive #4) by Brandon Sanderson

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: High/Epic Fantasy
Length: 1,232 pages
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: November 17th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The eagerly awaited sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling Oathbringer, from an epic fantasy writer at the top of his game.

After forming a coalition of human resistance against the enemy invasion, Dalinar Kholin and his Knights Radiant have spent a year fighting a protracted, brutal war. Neither side has gained an advantage.

Now, as new technological discoveries begin to change the face of the war, the enemy prepares a bold and dangerous operation. The arms race that follows will challenge the very core of the Radiant ideals, and potentially reveal the secrets of the ancient tower that was once the heart of their strength.

At the same time that Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips with his changing role within the Knights Radiant, his Windrunners face their own problem: As more and more deadly enemy Fused awaken to wage war, no more honorspren are willing to bond with humans to increase the number of Radiants. Adolin and Shallan must lead the coalition’s envoy to the honorspren stronghold of Lasting Integrity and either convince the spren to join the cause against the evil god Odium, or personally face the storm of failure.

READ IT.

How do you write a review for a book you basically consider perfect?

There aren’t words.

I loved this so much (and also highly recommend on audio, the narrators do a FANTASTIC job).

The incredible character development for every single person in this book was off the charts. The amount of emotion put into the words and scenes broke me down (no really, I almost cried a few times). I also found myself laughing, fist-pumping and preparing to pummel some characters too. There’s a clear raw, beautiful talent to Sanderson’s writing and you hardly notice you’ve spent 1,000 pages enraptured by the lives of these people.

I have more, lots more, but for fear of hinting at *any* spoilers I’m keeping it more brief. If you’re looking to try a fantasy or a big book, look no further. Read this series and come to be caught up in it all as the rest of us. It’s an amazing and stunning piece of literature.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: war depictions, swords, magic, battle scenes
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: depictions of grief and depression, suicidal ideation, a lot of discussion on mental health (struggling with it, coping, and finding help, etc.)

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: June 2021

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My reading was a bit all of the place this month. Started off super strong and I feel like downhill was the only place to go. That’s okay! Definitely a positive month overall.

Favorites: The Poplar Falls series (of which I binged in 3 days), KULTI!!!!!, Ugly Love if you’re looking for a good cry, Southern Sun Northern Star (for crying reasons as well), The War I Finally Won, and We Free the Stars

Least favorites: The Roommate Situation, and The Trustworthy Groom

  • Stone Hearts (Poplar Falls #2) by Amber Kelly – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • Wicked Hearts (Poplar Falls #3) by Amber Kelly – (☆☆☆☆)
  • Fragile Hearts (Poplar Falls #4) by Amber Kelly – (☆☆☆☆)
  • Crazy Hearts (Poplar Falls #5) by Amber Kelly – (☆☆☆☆)
  • The Lion’s Den by Katherine St. John – (☆☆☆☆)
  • Kulti by Mariana Zapata – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • In the Penalty Box by Lynn Rush and Kelly Anne Blount – (☆☆☆)
  • [ARC] A Feeling Like Home by Haleigh Wenger – (☆☆☆)
  • A Fate of Wrath & Flame (Fate & Flame #1) by K.A. Tucker – (☆☆☆)
  • Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • [Graphic] Heartstopper Vol. 1 by Alice Oseman – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • [Graphic] Heartstopper Vol 2. by Alice Oseman – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • [ARC] Between You, Me, and the Honeybees by Amelia Diane Coombs – (☆☆☆☆)
  • Foundryside (The Founders Trilogy #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett – (☆☆☆☆)
  • A Fall from Grace (Clavering Chronicles #1) by Jennie Goutet – (☆☆☆)
  • Southern Sun, Northern Star (Glass Alliance #3) by Joanna Hathaway – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • The War I Finally Won (The War That Saved My Life #2) by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • The Bone Thief (The Bone Charmer #2) by Breeana Shields – (☆☆☆☆)
  • At Love’s Command (Hanger’s Horseman #1) by Karen Witemeyer – (☆☆☆)
  • Pride and Premeditation (Jane Austen Murder Mystery #1) by Tirzah Price – (☆☆☆☆)
  • Eye of the Beholder (Stone Springs #1) by Gracie Ruth Mitchell – (☆☆☆)
  • [Reread] The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom #1) by Danielle L. Jensen – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • The Roommate Situation (Only in Atlanta #1) by Katie Bailey – (☆☆☆)
  • Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado – (☆☆☆☆)
  • Only When It’s Us (Bergman Brothers #1) by Chloe Liese – (☆☆☆☆)
  • [Graphic] Soppy by Philippa Rice – (☆☆☆)
  • The Trustworthy Groom (Texan Titans Romance) by Cami Checketts – (☆☆)
  • We Free the Stars (Sands of Arawiya #2) by Hafsah Faizal – (☆☆☆☆ 1/2)
  • Knitted Hearts (Poplar Falls #6) by Amber Kelly – (☆☆☆☆)
  • Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor #3) by Jessica Townsend – (☆☆☆☆)

How was your reading month? Lets talk in the comments!

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Book Review: Foundryside (The Founders Trilogy #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Adult Fantasy
Length: 505 pages
Author: Robert Jackson Bennett
Publisher: Crown
Release Date: August 21st, 2018
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In a city that runs on industrialized magic, a secret war will be fought to overwrite reality itself.

Sancia Grado is a thief, and a damn good one. And her latest target, a heavily guarded warehouse on Tevanne’s docks, is nothing her unique abilities can’t handle.

But unbeknownst to her, Sancia’s been sent to steal an artifact of unimaginable power, an object that could revolutionize the magical technology known as scriving. The Merchant Houses who control this magic–the art of using coded commands to imbue everyday objects with sentience–have already used it to transform Tevanne into a vast, remorseless capitalist machine. But if they can unlock the artifact’s secrets, they will rewrite the world itself to suit their aims.

Now someone in those Houses wants Sancia dead, and the artifact for themselves. And in the city of Tevanne, there’s nobody with the power to stop them.

To have a chance at surviving–and at stopping the deadly transformation that’s under way–Sancia will have to marshal unlikely allies, learn to harness the artifact’s power for herself, and undergo her own transformation, one that will turn her into something she could never have imagined. 

A GOOD START.

Somehow this fantasy has slipped past my radar! I read it based off a friends recommendation and I overall, really enjoyed this one. Definitely interested in the sequel sometime!

Foundryside is a very plot heavy book. Action scenes take up a lot of pages, as well as magic system breakdown scenes. I liked the idea of the magic system, but honestly, am still a bit confused by it all. Somethings became clearer over time and others are still murky. It is unique though and it never felt like info-dumping during discussions.

I liked the multi-POV set-up too! I love a few narrators during a long fantasy book and this one held up. Getting to see multiple sides to the story from vastly different characters was exactly what this book needed. My only real complaint for this read was that there wasn’t enough characterization for me. While I loved the mixed points of view, I didn’t feel super connected to anyone. Honestly, I can’t even tell you what anyone looks like. I wanted to understand the characters better. Now, this did get better on that front towards the end, so maybe book two helps as well?

The world-building was fascinating (if, like the magic system, confusing). I hope that is also expounded on in book two. I thought by the end I was starting to figure out all of the terminology, yet I’m pretty sure I’m lost on some fronts. This kept my attention though. It’s a slower read style fantasy that takes its time, but packs in the action at the right times.

Overall audience notes:

  • Adult fantasy
  • Language: some mild
  • Romance: kiss
  • Violence: physical altercations, murder, magic, explosions
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: fatmisia, hate slurs, slavery, sexual assault, domestic abuse, PTSD, medical experimentation, gun violence, child trafficking

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Book Review: Age of Empyre (The Legends of the First Empire #6) by Michael J. Sullivan

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Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Fantasy
Length: 395 pages
Author: Michael J. Sullivan
Publisher: Riyria Enterprises, LLC
Release Date: May 5th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A door opens. An army of dragons advance. And the fate of the living rests with the dead.

After obtaining the secret to creating dragons, the leader of the Fhrey has turned the tide of war once more—but gaining the advantage has come at a terrible price. While Imaly plots to overthrow the fane for transgressions against his people, a mystic and a keeper are the only hope for the Rhunes. Time is short, and the future of both races hangs in the balance. In this exciting conclusion to the Legends of the First Empire series, the Great War finally comes to a climactic end, and with it dawns a new era in the Age of Empyre.

From the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Michael J. Sullivan comes the concluding installment of his six-book epic fantasy. This series chronicles a pivotal point in Elan’s history when humans and those they once saw as gods warred until a new world order was born. Set three thousand years before the Riyria tales, Legends is a standalone fantasy series that is independent of the Riyria novels. But for those who do read both series, Legends will unmask lies and reveal the truth about Elan’s history and the men and women who shaped what the world became.

WELL, THAT’S IT.

I have mixed feelings over this series.

First three books (where it was originally supposed to end) stellar, loved them. These last three books? I’ve had a much harder time getting into them. Many things changed gear and direction that I struggled to catch on to.

Not to say that this story isn’t amazingly thought out, and written well. They’re a quicker fantasy that is still stuffed with an incredible amount of story.

I did enjoy these characters and loved the emphasis on forgiveness, letting go of the things you can’t control, love, compassion, and other qualities. They were all a continual theme throughout and I felt there were many highlight worthy quotes.

The ending did feel a bit rushed, or maybe not even that, just not as fulfilling as I hoped. There was some information about where characters ended up, but not for everyone. There were some storylines left open when I was hoping they’d be closed. I’m sitting here with too many questions about where everyone is and what they’re up to.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy
  • Language: very little, light
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: battles, war, dragons, swords/arrows, physical altercations, magic; fairly detailed but not overly gory

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