July 14, 2016

BLOG TOUR| Inherited


Inherited (The Curse of VIII #1)
Freedom Mathews

REVIEW

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Synopsis:
If saying 'I love you' meant death, would you still say it?
The Wilted Rose, of faery-tale and folklore, is a pirate ship filled with unfortunate souls-each forbidden to love. One such soul is Valencia 'Lennie' Roux. Raised in a brothel and an heir to a curse; Lennie never expected to pique the interest of any man. Yet with the arrival of vivid-eyed Nathaniel, she is torn between wanting to know him better and fearing what that knowledge would mean.
With Nathaniel bringing the crew's total to six, the Wilted Rose sets off in search of the remaining two heirs. They hope that in reuniting, they will convince the faery Sorceress responsible for the curse, to end it. However lurking beneath the water is a long standing enemy of the Wilted Rose; who is determined to thwart their quest and bring down its leaders.
Together the eight heirs fight for survival, friendship and love.
Excerpt

That surely wasn't me, looking back from the glass. I couldn't stop staring. Although I'd spent many nights in front of the mirror, before I'd been cursed there was no resemblance between the woman in the reflection I saw now, to the one I'd once known. My skin was flushed by nature, rather than powder or rouge and my mismatched eyes were bright with nerves and excitement. I caught Bess smiling behind me and returned it with shyness. Looking away from the reflection, I smoothed imaginary creases in the beautiful dress that curved my figure.

The fit was good, like it had been tailored just for me. The cut made me sit straighter with my head higher. I felt regal and refined- nothing like the girl in britches and braces.

"That dress was kept for Miss Kitty, but you wear it better than she ever would.

July 13, 2016

REVIEW| Inherited

Inherited (The Curse of VIII #1)
Freedom Mathews
⭐⭐⭐

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Publication: July 12th, 2016

DISCLAIMER: I received an early e-arc of Inherited from Oftomes publishing. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis:

If saying 'I love you' meant death, would you still say it?
The Wilted Rose, of faery-tale and folklore, is a pirate ship filled with unfortunate souls-each forbidden to love. One such soul is Valencia 'Lennie' Roux. Raised in a brothel and an heir to a curse; Lennie never expected to pique the interest of any man. Yet with the arrival of vivid-eyed Nathaniel, she is torn between wanting to know him better and fearing what that knowledge would mean.
With Nathaniel bringing the crew's total to six, the Wilted Rose sets off in search of the remaining two heirs. They hope that in reuniting, they will convince the faery Sorceress responsible for the curse, to end it. However lurking beneath the water is a long standing enemy of the Wilted Rose; who is determined to thwart their quest and bring down its leaders.
Together the eight heirs fight for survival, friendship and love.

Review:

If it is one thing that Oftomes does well it is a good book cover. I feel like more people should be buying the physical copies and support this micro publishing company. Kimy-- over at @WhoIsKimy on Twitter-- is better known as for her amazing photoshopped fanart that you probably have seen floating around the internet. It reminds me a lot of the covers for Truthwitch by Susan Dennard and we all know how much I luuuuuuuurv that book. Looks are forever deceiving.

Soo.... Uhh...

Hmm...

I was expecting something more. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy it for its thesis but, it's execution was just lacking. I read it's prequel novella and fell in love with Freedom Mathews writing- that "legend"-like style of narrative. Inherited starts out in just the same fashion but then the style gets looser as the story progresses, it lost its appeal as I went on because it just wasn't consistent. One thing that played on my mind was often Mathews would use modern phrases like "banter" that just ruined the mood of the story. Modernized it too much for an older historical setting. What pirates have "banter"? Maybe, it's just me.

I will give it to Freedom Mathews. She does know how to create a god-character arc and development. At first, I really disliked Lennie, she just didn't appeal to me as a reader. But I grew to like her as the story progressed. As with many of the other characters.

If you are looking for a fantasy story that isn't heavily involved in romance then this certainly won't be for you. The whole story revolves around the concept of love curses. This was a book that I had to be in the mood to pick and actually finish anyone.

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July 05, 2016

BOOK HAUL| June 2016

This month was my birthday month-- I even did a special


Mistborn Boxed Set
Brandon Sanderson

-- The Final Empire
-- The Well of Ascension
-- The Hero of Ages

Bought this as an early birthday present due to coming into a bit of money, more than I was anticipating. I've always said if that I were to have some money I would treat myself-- true to my word. Plus, I got them all for £15!!

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Sabriel (Abhorsen Trilogy #1)
Garth Nix


BIRTHDAY PRESSIES!!!! My mum had no idea what books that were actually on my book wishlist-- in fact, she is pretty worthless when she is needed to use a computer. No offence mum. I had to give an actual list that she took into Waterstones, she ended up picking out two that she knew I would like, seeing as I am still in a high fantasy kick.



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Northern Lights (His Dark Materials #1)
Philip Pullman

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Another one of mum's birthday presents. This one is that one book that you keep saying that you will get to but never actually do. Now that I own it, hopefully this might speed things along. If I remember I even put this on my target reading for this summer.

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This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1)

V.E. Schwab


So, I sort of bought myself a ticket to Victoria's book signing in August and now have the great task of buying in some physical editions of her books seeing as I tend to end up reading them in e-format. First of very many.


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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter #2)
J.K.Rowling

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My Nan gave me some money for my birthday due to not knowing what books I owned anymore seeing as I branch into so many different genres. I have never owned a full set of Harry Potter books so for the last two years I have been buying these editions in their hardcover forms.


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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter #3)
J.K.Rowling

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July 02, 2016

REVIEW| Shadow and Bone

Shadow and Bone (The Grisha Trilogy #1)
Leigh Bardugo

⭐⭐⭐

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Synopsis:


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.

Review:

My edition is the one that was published right back in 2012, when Idigo and Leigh changed the title for "The Gathering Dark" into what we know as "Shadow and Bone". And honestly my most favourite edition based on the soft matte grey cover. Now, I sort of regret it because it doesn't match up with the rest of the trilogy. But, that's me just being shallow.

I felt that this book lacked plot originality and was very formulaic. When something was brought up in the plot, I ended up guessing exactly what was going to happen at the end goal of the plot vice. And I just ended up loosing some enjoyment from that, it wasn't exciting to read because I knew what was going to happen. There was still an element of these books being like a guilty pleasure read and this was because of Leigh's characters. I knew I shouldn't have fallen in love with The Darkling but come on! Who hasn't? He was just such an intriguing character to read about. That dark and brooding past that just oooooooooozes power? I know that Alina will grow into a strong and prominent protagonist for this trilogy. If there is one thing Leigh can right is characters that leap of the page and have me interested in their story, even though the story itself was average and typical YA.


I'd recommend for those who are interested in reading fantasy YA and don't want to throw themselves into the deep end with something like Throne of Glass or Lord of the Rings. Leigh Bardugo's writing is easily accessible to readers who maybe aren't used to the poetic prose that often comes with the genre, mixing in mild Russian fairy tale in writing suited to a larger contemporary audience.


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 | AMAZON UK | AMAZON US | BOOK DEPO |