Category: Book Reviews

Book Reviews · re-read

Kingdom of Ash // Sarah J. Maas – Re-Read Fest

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“To whatever end,” he whispered. Silver lined her eyes. “To whatever end.”

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas is the final instalment in the loooong, looong, loong, long storyline of Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius and her band of pals all trying to get her on the throne. Basically. It was, in so many ways, the conclusion we all wanted. In other ways, it was not. This is an absolute mammoth of a book. It is so, so long. Now, I don’t mind that, usually. When I do mind it, is when a book could have been a bit shorter with a bit more critical editing. And as much as I love the world S. J. Maas has built and the narrative she has grown here, it needed that critical editing. For starters – there were definitely some typos in my copy of the book…

All that being said, I did cry multiple times reading this, had a wee giggle and numerous gazing out the windows trying to imagine certain conversations/dialogue/moments between the characters. Don’t trick yourself, we all do it. As with the other S J Maas books, this one lacked some major diversity and ‘shaking things up’ in the way of romantic interests. WHY is everyone getting married at 18/19/20/21?! WHY can anyone who is not portrayed as heterosexual only be bisexual, rather than homosexual? Weird.

But, again, all that being said, I don’t think this actually requires a long review. If you have started the Throne of Glass series, it is well worth persevering and reading the entire thing. And you wouldn’t be picking up this book unless you had already come that far. Every loose end is tied up within this. The pages are teeming with emotion, tensions are high and expectations both built and shattered. Every hinted story throughout the previous books has lead somewhere, and the majority of those ‘somewheres’ are very satisfying.

Aelin/Celaena is a fantastic heroine and arguably my favourite of all time (YES – even better than Feyre… if you know, you know). Her coined ‘motto’ of “will not yield” is really just all-encompassing of the characterisation, and as a now 24 year old, I wish wish WISH I had discovered her earlier so my younger self could have looked to her and used her as inspiration for how I should be living my life. Although, 24 year old Annabelle also learned a major thing or two and I will probably carry them with me forever. The other female characters within this also make a very worthy statement in terms of powerful protagonists and heroines, and for that, I would highly recommend this book to any young women, or men, who are looking to feel inspired, challenged and empowered by a series.

Also – this. This is the quote.

Aelin walked forward. Took Yrene Westfall by the hand to guide her to the front. Then Manon Blackbeak. Elide Lochan. Lysandra. Evangeline. Nesryn Faliq. Borte and Hasar and Ansel of Briarcliff. All the women who had fought by her side, or from afar. Who had bled and sacrificed and never given up hope that this day might come. “Walk with me,” Aelin said to them, the men and males falling into step behind. “My friends.”

Again, a wee PSA for you all though – this final book, and the past 3 probably are not YA anymore. No shockers there, this has a lot of romance in it and all the other parts of relationships that come with that. Tastefully done.

A definite 4 out of 5. The only thing that would have made this stronger is, yep. You guessed it! A near 1000 page book does not excuse bad editing!

Belle xo

Book Reviews · re-read

Empire of Storms // Sarah J. Maas – Re-Read Fest

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**PRE-REVIEW NOTE**

So I have fallen off the face of the earth for about 10 months. But. I am back! I had to take some time to myself to accomodate house moving, job commitments and family things. Alongside those, we also had the whole Covid-19 thing going on too….. Fun times. Love it. This is an extremely review of the 5th instalment in the ToG series. It was in my drafts and I don’t want it to go to waste! The final two book reviews will also be published and then we have some new content for you! Still Young Adult, still fantasy, still romance. With some other bits and bobs thrown into the mix too. Missed ya’s.

“It is not such a hard thing, is it – to die for your friends.” 

Review – Spoiler Free

With intricate world-building, character and relationship development, Empire of Storms follows on from the previous 4 books in the series and gives and gives and GIVES. Now, am I right in thinking when originally released this was set to be the penultimate book but then SJMaas threw a curve ball and released a Chaol perspective-led read before the finale? You can tell that. Many of the plot lines within this book start to round up in a way that suggests the answers will be coming soon (as this is a re-read we all know, that is NOT the case!).

We get to see more of Rowan’s perspective at the forefront within this and understand how his and Aelin’s partnership is growing. We also spend more time with some new characters and delve deeper into the backstory of those we have been introduced to before. Alliances form in areas that are unexpected. New and old fuse together to propel the story and begin the final stages of Aelin’s quest to be queen.

Every character within this has experienced and explores trauma in different ways. All are relevant to the story line and fuse to create a well-rounded ‘court’ for Aelin as she gets closer and closer to taking back the throne. Dorian, as I’m sure many of you will know and will be happy about, progresses as a man and as a protagonist, witnessing his own setbacks and trauma but this is poised n such a way that it will also help him achieve and successfully continue his role as King/his journey to become one!

I know there has always been much discussion surrounding SJMaas’ writing and whether it is New Adult or Young Adult. I would argue that ToG is her closest to YA series she has written, however there is a heavy slice of smut in this that you should be wary of if you are not after sex.

If you have stuck around this far for Maas’ novels, then this book is a must and crucial to the Throne of Glass journey. I would argue this is my favourite book in the series so far.

Let me know your thoughts!

Belle xo

Book Reviews

Imagine Me // Tahereh Mafi

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Imagine me
master of my own universe
I am everything I ever dreamed of

Well. This is it. The final instalment. The end of an era. I think it’s probably wise to tell you my relationship with the Shatter Me series by Tareheh Mafi before I go into the review for this; as it made this reading all the more poignant. This is a v quick review because, I’ll be honest, I don’t want to make this too spoiler-heavy nor do I have that much to actually say about it.

I put off starting Shatter Me and the subsequent books for a long, long time. I think I fell victim to the negative Goodreads reviews and didn’t want to put myself through reading it. But then I read it and wished I had picked it up sooner. To fully appreciate Imagine Me, please PLEASE read the other books in this series beforehand. They all feed into each other; they are all necessary to get this as a final piece of written work for Juliette; Warner; Kenji and so on. I was sad to end my time with these characters; and was equally as sad and disappointed with this final instalment. (Eek! Controversial).

I think Imagine Me was always going to struggle to deliver the same way, emotionally, as the other books. Such a momentum had been built in the run up to this with the events of Ignite Me and Defy Me, that I do appreciate that it would have been tricky to keep the interest peaked. But it definitely felt like this was the nicey-nice round-off that Juliette and Warner deserved; but as readers – did we NEED it?!

Warner was virtually non-existent in this book. Dealing with the loss of Juliette, Warner slips into a depressive state and is the nasty piece of work he was depicted as in the first couple books. He was having a hard time. Juliette was also present in this but only ever-so-slightly more than Warner, having been kidnapped and basically altered scientifically to do dirty work for her enemies.

Kenji was the definite star of the show here – and the majority of the book was from his perspective. He came into his own and I was sad when the book finished, because I felt like in all the other books we had been a bit cheated of Kenji and he didn’t have enough pages-time.

All in all, I will give Imagine Me 4 out of 5 stars, but I think at least one of those is just for nostalgic value and the emotions you feel when you realise you have officially closed the door on a set of characters that you have come to love. So it’s more likely a 3 star book. When the ending came, I was left feeling a bit – “That was it?!” It felt incredibly rushed and sort of as if not that much actually happened throughout the novel?

Warner and Juliette, as always, were pretty cutesy. But I wanted more PASSION.

Emmaline’s storyline made me cry.

Kenji is king.

Will definitely re-read this and wallow in Shatter Me memories though.

What did you lovely lot think?

A xo

Book Reviews

The Queen’s Wing // Jessica Thorne

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“Born to fly isn’t strictly true, of course. I’d been born, if anything, to be a very minor game piece in the interstellar games of houses and bloodlines, married to someone the Empire or my family deemed suitable or at least convenient. I’ve never been one for living under illusions. I can still hope however. My main hope is that I am just not that important.”

When I first began this book, I was elated and excited, I’ll confess. 99p on the Kindle store?! Royalty and a sci-fi vibe? An obvious romance and relationship development from the get go? A Powerful female protagonist? SIGN ME UP.

I devoured the first 50% of this book. It was fast-paced, engaging, and the world-building was magnificent. The characterisation left something to be desired, apart from Bel, I felt that the two main male love interests where a bit gappy and transparent – they held no real ‘content’?

I loved the transition of Bel’s character in line with the different settings she encountered. I LOVED the sci-fi element of this, and the notion of a warrior princess to be queen. She wants to be a soldier and won’t let anyone tell her no? YES?! This is the sort of female character I’m here for!!!
(I’ll admit that this is a frequent character cocktail for ya fantasy and sci-fi, but Jessica Thorne did well with her female character.)

The second half of this book, though? Meh. What happened, you ask? Not much. There was some semblance of conflict, rebellious occupation, but nothing that made my heart race or blood boil! I didn’t really care that there had been an overthrowing by their rival race. And I should have. With a good book, you always should. The ending was also a bit… for want of a better word.. half-arsed? It felt rushed and a bit cliche. I saw every plot-turn coming from about 50 pages away.

As it was so cheap and not an overly coveted fan-favourite as of yet – I won’t overly complain. I’ll definitely give it another chance and re-read it, because it was good, but it just wasn’t GREAT! The 2nd book in this series, The Stone’s Heart, is already out and I’ll pick it up when I feel ready to engage in this story again. If it is of the same nature then it’ll be a worthwhile read, but not my most anticipated…

Interested to hear what others thought of this?
A xo

Book Reviews

The Crown // Keira Cass

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Just a 5 minute review today, folks.

V fluffy. So cute. 3 stars. Out of the whole The Selection series, this was definitely the weakest. I dunno, I found Eadlyn hard to like and constantly getting on my nerves. I know they tried to do some character development with her but she was ultimately still a bit of a brat?

Certain points of this felt a bit rushed and I feel like Eadlyn’s selection and story could have also spanned 3 novels just like her mother and father’s did. There was definitely enough potential plot to beef that out. That’s a shortcoming for this, as I feel Keira Cass really missed an opportunity to get some more character development for both the Elite and Maxon and America.

Also – potential spin-off for Ahren and Camille? No? At the end of the day, I’ve been a huge fan of The Selection series since it came out and can’t believe it took me so long to read this finale! I will always, always hold this series as one of the first, OG successful dystopian concepts and trilogy (that then became a series). I love the world, I love the concept of The Selection process and a society where there is a monarchy and caste system etc. (Love in the sense that, I enjoy reading about it…)

The final twist of who Eadlyn ended up with was FAR TOO RUSHED and a bit of an insta-love, although any declarations of feelings from protagonists that had only had a 2 book lead up to describe and illustrate and entire competition that determines a victor to marry a princess/queen would be far too rushed. I like who ended up with Eadlyn though.

All in all, The Selection Series: The Selection, The Elite, The One, The Heir, and The Crown are all worth a read. Just don’t pick up the series for this book. You will probably feel a bit underwhelmed, at least with Eadlyn’s story, byt the end of it. America and Maxon are the true reason anybody invests their reading time here.

I mean – just look at them!!

https://colourofmagic.tumblr.com/post/189042588055/something-to-hold-on-to-for-the-king-maxon
Book Reviews

Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood // Sarah J. Maas

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Okay folks. It’s official. This is the best book of 2020. It was a close one between Crescent City HOEAB and Chain of Gold but I think this takes the ticket. First of all, that COVER. Stunning. It is easily the prettiest thing on my bookshelf right now.

There are a lot of things about this book that created its 5 star rating for me. AND I’ll try to make this review as spoiler free as possible as I’m aware this is still a new release! I will say this to note however, it is typical Sarah J. Maas style. What I mean by that is that, I love SJMaas. I think her writing is fantastic. It’s right up my street with the perfect balance of fiction series that are romantic, fantastical, humourous and dramatised. I’m aware that her writing isn’t for everyone, even though she does have a huge fanbase now. Although pitched as a new-adult book, I would say this is definitely on a par with ACOTAR. ToG is definitely a slightly lower level of maturity and developed writing, still fantastic storylines and plot but it doesn’t provide the same impression that I got from Crescent City and ACOTAR. I would therefore say that this novel is either still falling within the realms of YA fiction (definitely the more mature side) or that ACOTAR is in fact New-Adult also. What are your thoughts on this?

This book had so much going for it. SO MUCH! A well-developed, explained and heart-wrenching friendship duo. A brooding love interest with all the angst and baggage that makes him the perfect match for our equally angsty and bagged-laiden protagonist. Dual-perspectives from both love-interests to highlight their growing relationship from different angles and draw the reader in further. Fantasy world created (modernised) full of werewolves, mer people, fae, humans, demons and almost every creature you can think of. Who else hadn’t heard of a nokk before? Apparently it’s a real mythical creature! Also can I just put a shout-out to Maas for including humans AND fae in this – I love when real-life beings (us) are put into fantasy/sci-fi/dystopian novels.

Although I have rated this 5 stars, I have to admit that the beginning was a bit slow. There is a lot of world-building and it makes it so hard to stay engaged in the characters. If you are also experiencing this slow trawl through the first 100 pages – I beg of you to stick with it. Totally worth it – just for the absolute anarchy that is Chapter 80-81. WOAH. WOAH WOAH WOAH. If you’ve read it, you know.

The SJMaas cocktail strikes again and I can’t wait for the next installment in the series. Holy moly. I’m ready.

Book Reviews

Chain of Gold // Cassandra Clare

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The point of stories is not that they are objectively true, but that the soul of the story is truer than reality. Those who mock fiction do so because they fear the truth.

[POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD]

Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare (CC), the first instalment into her new The Last Hours series, is one of those books that will go down within my reading memory and history as a totally encapsulating, awe-inducing story. I loved it. I don’t know how to really put into words how much I loved it. 5 out of 5 x 100 times. Do not overlook this book and the chance to read it, grab it by the horns and fill your boots! It was a wild ride.

Built upon the foundations of Cassandra Clare’s The Infernal Devices stories; showcasing the Shadowhunters within Victorian London, this took it one step further. Not only did the main protagonists of TID feature heavily, AS PARENTS (!!!) but time had moved onto the Edwardian period of history, in London. Now, I am Scottish. I am from the UK. I’m well accustomed with the time period of Victorian/Edwardian London. My parents’ house is an Edwardian manse. It is as romantic and traditional in its historical teachings as CC portrayed, and so for that, I tip my hat to her. It can’t be ignored that she has taken liberties with certain elements, however this is to be expected since it is a fantasy book – and I think even with those she did it successfully. Her world-building, contributing to what she had presented within TID, was on the mark and fully immersive.

I’ve seen a lot of reviews on this already raising that they didn’t enjoy the over-explanation of Shadowhunters as a race; their meaning; purpose; relationships etc. I personally don’t feel that this was an issue?! Having recently re-read (for the umpteenth time) The Mortal Instruments which was CC’s first endeavour into the Shadowhunter universe, the explanations and fortifications of info was much heavier within those novels in comparison to TLH. If anything, I felt that the slight lacking of explanations of these things makes it slightly inaccessible to readers to the book who haven’t read anything of the various CC series beforehand. As someone who has read EVERY SINGLE BOOK by here ever, I had no issues. Anyone else?

The characters within this were fantastic: in-depth, well thought out, descriptive and unequivocally human. But, my god, there were A LOT. I felt exhausted half the time just trying to keep up with them. Although this book was large, I don’t think it was large enough for all of the perspectives being thrown at us. It’s fast-paced-ness also meant that I was frequently flicking back and forth between pages; trying to remember who was who to which characters and whose parents were who and whose relationships were forming or breaking down and built on what. Bear this in mind, content-wise this is not a difficult read, but complexity of characters-wise, it is a bit gruelling. You have to be very switched on. Herondales, Carstairs’, Lightwoods, Cartwrights, Blackthorns, Fairchilds…. A lot of big Shadowhunter names and a lot of cousins, brothers, sisters, mums, dads, aunts, uncles. Sometimes I was trying to make sure that there was nothing incestuous going on with the relationships…

The MAIN foursome protagonists (and the ones I was most interested in) were James, Lucie, Cordelia and Matthew. I loved them. James Herondale – new Shadowhunter poster boy – is my jam. Yes. Matthew is the typical best friend struggling with his inner demons, Lucie and Cordelia the heroines you don’t realise you need until you see them. James and Cordelia’s budding romance features the most heavily and I loved it, but I wanted MORE LUCIE AND MATTHEW. PLEASE. I can only hope they’ll have more front-and-centre time within the next novel. Cordelia was a force to be reckoned with, and if you have read CC’s other series, The Dark Artifices, then you will get series Emma Carstairs vibes. This was fine, because they are essentially within the same ancestral tree, however it is slight character regurgitation, no? Just to be watched.

My one area of particular annoyance was towards the end of the novel. There seems to be a potential love triangle surfacing… I do not want it. I can only hope that it’s to be short-lived, because I think that will put a real dampener on other elements of the series for me.

I was pleasantly surprised by how ANOTHER facet of the Shadowhunter world became apparent – in the form of James’ Shadow realm and ability to access the Demon World. Also – Tessa’s dad is a Prince of Hell?! PLOT TWIST. The cliff-hanger at the end clinched it for me to. I am very excited to see where the next installment of this goes.

Really, really good. If you are a fan of YA Fantasy – this is definitely one for your list. Although if you’re a YA Fantasy fan then I doubt you’ve not had this on your list already…

What are your thoughts on Cassandra Clare’s latest novel? Let me know!

A xo

Book Reviews

Heartless // Marissa Meyer

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I will beg you to think kindly on our wretched attempts to flatter one whose praises could only be spelled out in the poetry of ocean waves and the song of distant thunder.

Well, holy hell! My previous experience of Marissa Meyer was The Lunar Chronicles, which I just loved. I find that fairytale retellings are usually successful in my eyes and they end up being some of my favourite series; having been built upon an already known foundation it helps to appreciate a new interpretation and portrayal of the characters and storyline. I know Heartless is a couple of years old but I finally got round to reading this – and it was a 3 day wild ride! [spoilers ahead…]

Heartless by Marissa Meyer is a fairytale retelling of the Queen of Hearts from the internationally acclaimed and loved, Alice in Wonderland tales by Lewis Carroll. That was the first big tick for this book! The story offers a background to the Quene of Hearts, pre-Queen of Hearts, as Lady Catherine Pinkerton. Now, we all know the characterisation of the Queen of Hearts within Alice in Wonderland. She is a piece of work. This interpretation of her character gave me a totally new appreciation for her persona though, providing me with the opportunity of understanding how she became how she did.

I won’t lie – I found her character a bit annoying at first. 17 years old, nobility, EXTREMELY whiny and spoilt. But this was obviously an executive decision made by the author to give you a foundation to your understanding of her character development. Further into the book I found myself relating to her and almsot foreseeing what her next steps would be – in the sense that I had found the balance within the character profile and how her relationship with Jest, the main male love interest was progressing. That brings us to our next big character.

Ah, Jest. Absolute SWOON. I loved this character!!!!!! Total fave character. This was a perfectly rounded character and just, thank you Marissa Meyer for creating him. I wish I could have a romance with someone like the Joker. If you are having any doubts about reading this book, do it just for being introduced to a character like Jest.

Hatter also deserves a quick but notable mention – simply for the character-building shown by Meyer through the construction of his personality and idea. With a definite resemblence and basis off of the stereotypical Disney Mad Hatter that we have come to know and associate with Alice in Wonderland, Hatter presented a character in turmoil and desperation, trying to prevent what he viewed as his fate and a premonition bestowed on him through the knowledge of his familiy’s previous experiences and demises. I found his the hardest to read as it was so heartbreaking. He was sassy and cunning and definitely an anti-hero, but I felt myself caring for him all the same. Superb writing.

All in all, I would give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. It was magical and heart-wrenching, romantic and fantastical and I felt like I had been stabbed in the gut. I loved it. Definitely one for your To-Be-Read List, and and a reading experience not to be missed!

Book Reviews

Stepsister // Jennifer Donnelly

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Here are the things girls die of: hunger, disease, accidents, childbirth, and violence. It takes more than heartache to kill a girl. Girls are tough as rocks.

Well, well, well. What do we have here? A not so fairytale retelling? A slant on Cinderella that barely includes its namesake, Cinderella?

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly gets 3/5 stars from me. Inventive, heartbreaking, romantic – it was a joy to read! I’ll be honest, in the beginning this was slightly slow and tricky to immerse myself within. I’m going to put that down to the fact that I had two very BIG and very high-profile YA fantasy books being released imminently when I picked this up…. I think I was just watching my time to make sure I could read them when they came out.

When I actially began to let myself enjoy this I REALLY enjoyed it. The messages within this novel are so much more than meets the eye – Isabelle is a symbol of not only overcoming the pigeon-holing and categorising that society has deemed for you (fitting that this is being posted on International Women’s Day 2020…) but also showing that, it’s okay to dream and want to achieve more for yourself. Books provide me with an escape, as I’m sure they provide most readers with, and that’s why I am consistently picking them up and delving into their pages. But another reason why the underlying themes of this book resonated so deeply with me were because I saw my own desires reflected in Isabelle – desperate to be liked (shamefully), but wanting to also not just conform to that which is expected of me to BE liked and wanted. This story features Fate and Chance as secondary characters and I thought this was a really clever idea to personify elements of the human condition and experience that are fantastical and mystical within themselves. It also helped to assign blame to the right people when it was due.

I would say that this book is more fantasy than historical fiction, and I would used that term extremely liberally. The author has obviously taken what she wants and what she doesn’t from the world she has created to resemble known historical facts on society and nationality within France. Cinderella and her Prince (The King and Queen of France) feature very little within this. That was one of the things I enjoyed most. I loved this alternative telling of the Cinderella story with the frame shifted to focus on the ugly stepsisters, and an offering of redemption for them through highlighting WHY they are so ‘ugly’. It became clear that this ‘ugliness’ was a reflection of their personality, rather than their looks (a theme that is apparent within the Disney and Grimm tales but is often accomponied by physical features that some associate with being unattractive). Because really, who is to say what is and isn’t ugly/pretty?

I highly recommend anyone to read this with an open mind and heart towards the characters and to be willing to view the renowned fairytale from the villian’s POV. It is definitely worth it.

P.s. Anyone else who has read this – did you not want more of Tavi??! She is an ultimate force to be reckoned with. I would read a second installment of this just to get her individual story too.

Book Reviews

A Heart So Fierce and Broken // Brigid Kemmerer

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“I am crying because you are a prince,” I say softly. “And I …” I let out a breath. “I am not a princess.”

This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2020. I loved A Curse So Dark and Lonely (admittedly I was late to the party with reading it), but it was fantastic. I had extremely high hopes for this one. And to a degree, I am so chuffed to say that they were met! I hadn’t read anything about this book before I read it, not even the blurb, so I was going in blind with the impulse that I liked the 1st book, so why wouldn’t the sequel be just as good? I was excited to see where the story was going to go.

Firstly, I love the cover on this thing. I mean, it’s vivid, the title is in keeping with the previous, it’s melodic, there is so much shiny sparkle! A big 10.

It became apparent fairly early on that this novel was not going to go the way I expected. As I realised that Harper was getting very little book-time, I was gutted. She was my favourite character last time – why is she omitted to such a high level this time?! But then Lia Mara came onto the scene. WOW. A power-protagonist if ever I saw one. She is fierce. I love her as a female heroine and central member of this book team. Well sassy. Well strong. Girl power! The book jumped between 2 main perspectives, Grey and Lia Mara, which all in all was super sweet. Sometimes this makes the story hard to follow but Brigid Kemmerer is a natural at this. Really outstanding. As our two main protagonists who are new to one another, it really helped to understand their individual turmoils and monologues around their experiences and their discoveries of power, self-worth and independence. And it made it really cute to see how they both viewed one another and their peers.

Rhen is rubbish in this. I understand why Brigid did this; to begin the deeper exploration in Grey’s character arc and his storyline, reasons for fleeing, reasons for discovering is magical ability, blah blah. But it was poor show, no?! Rhen was a real life Prince Charming last book, and this time he was an ARSEHOLE. What the heck. Why is he acting like this??? Grey was the definite male lead within this instalment and I really connected with him. He is obviously facing an identity crisis after finding out he is the long lost heir and that his family were not who he thought they were. It’s heartbreaking and powerful at the same time. I really enjoyed his development and the fact that Brigid did not confine him to the frequent ‘macho male’ boundaries; he was incredibly sensitive and struggling when confronted with issues of the heart and mind.

A big portion of this book was spent roaming around forests. I’m all for this, it’s the best place for romances to bloom. But the world building was a bit lack lustre and when we did finally see a castle – it was assumed that the reader knew what a castle would be like. For the record, as someone who is Scottish and works within the tourism/heritage industry, I DO know what castles look like. It’s my number 1 hobby to look at castles. I get bought castle-based gifts. Despite all this, I think that when reading a book you should be provided with enough information about the characters’ surroundings to entice your imagination to form images in your head. I felt I wasn’t provided that with this.

The romance within this was lovely, however, and for that – THANK YOU! I love romance. I love fairytales. To be expected within a book series that began with a fairytale retelling, a budding romance became apparent within this. Although Rhen was acting proper weird and I still don’t understand why his character was depicted to be so horrible, I started to become concerned that Harper and Grey were going to get together. But alas, they are just besties. Phew. The real romance was between Grey and Lia Mara and I just adored it. It was not the ever-so-frequent instalove that occurs in novels but a romance that seemed incredibly organic and built on respect and admiration. There were indications of each finding the other attractive but this was not the basis of their attraction and romance. Really, truly well done.

Out of 5, I’m giving it a 4. I would recommend this for definite but with a solid push to others to read the 1st book in the Cursebreaker series first! 1) It will greater develop your understanding of the characters and their motivations but 2) you will get to see Rhen for actually being a nice guy, not as awful as he is depicted in this series (majorly).

I bought this and the previous books on Kindle but I will definitely be investing in hard copies for my bookcase. They are too pretty to not.

What did you think of A Heart So Fierce and Broken?