Category: Book Reviews

Book Reviews

Book Review: Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

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Happy Friday bookish people! Here we are, this is the big one isn’t it. I have been seeing everyone’s reviews and theories of this book since it came out at the end of January and finally I will share my opinion too, although I will be keeping it as spoiler free as I can.

Let me know in the comments what you thought of Onyx Storm!

Blurb/Synopsis:

After nearly eighteen months at Basgiath War College, Violet Sorrengail knows there’s no more time for lessons. No more time for uncertainty. Because the battle has truly begun, and with enemies closing in from outside their walls and within their ranks, it’s impossible to know who to trust.

Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre. The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves—her dragons, her family, her home, and him.

Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything. They need an army. They need power. They need magic. And they need the one thing only Violet can find—the truth. But a storm is coming…and not everyone can survive its wrath.

My review:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

This is the book we were all waiting for and in my opinion it was absolutely worth the hype, and the wait. First thing to say is the length was much better, still on the chunky side it didn’t feel like it was too long in the same way that Iron Flame did which was great. I loved the developing relationships in this book, as heartbreaking as some of them are and when I say heartbreaking I mean that ending ripped my heart out. How I am going to wait for book four I don’t know, I feel like I am still stuck in that world in my head even though I have read around ten books since I finished Onyx Storm. Violet has progressed in this series and I enjoyed seeing more of her background in this book thought I still think she has some growing to do in terms of decision making but also her character flaw is caring for too many people so I can see why she is the way she is. I liked where we ended up with the romance at the end of this book, and I felt it took a backseat in this one to the action and the plot and I did like that as it was a change to the first two books. I found the first 200 ish pages a little slow to get through, not that I didn’t enjoy them because I did but I don’t usually read series’ back to back so it was draining me a little but that took nothing away from my enjoyment of the story. All I can say is bring on book four because I cannot wait to see where this story goes next!

Book Reviews

Book Review: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

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Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today and that you’re ready to jump into a book review as today I am bringing you my review of Iron Flame by rebecca Yarros.

Blurb/Synopsis:

“The first year is when some of us lose our lives. The second year is when the rest of us lose our humanity.” —Xaden Riorson

Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College—Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky.

Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. It’s not just that it’s grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it’s designed to stretch the riders’ capacity for pain beyond endurance. It’s the new vice commandant, who’s made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is–unless she betrays the man she loves.

Although Violet’s body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, she still has her wits—and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules.

But a determination to survive won’t be enough this year.

Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College—and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.

My Review:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

This is the second book in the series so I will do my best to not spoil anything from this or the first book, Fourth Wing, in this review.
The first thing I will say is I gave this book five stars because of the way it made me feel. I loved being back with these characters and in this world, with the dragons. Honestly, I love the world so much I had dreams about being part of it and I bought clothing to dress as Violet when I go to Comic Con in London in July. Leather trousers, ME, in leather trousers. If you know me you would think pigs would fly before I’d wear something like that. So, that is why it was a five star. It made me feel at home. Now, technically, I would not rate it a five star. It was definitely longer than it needed to be by about 200 pages I would say, as much as I loved getting to explore places outside of Basgiath and getting more information on the politics and state of the world, the relationships between places and all the plot points expertly woven into the novel, it was too long, it felt long. I enjoyed that there were some parts that weren’t all action and let us have some downtime almost with the characters that was a nice change of pace and not something you get a lot in fantasy books, especially the second in a series. Also, it did feel a bit rushed in terms of plot like maybe the author wasn’t fully sure where she was going with it but let me say, the plot twists! They were good. They were so good I went straight into Onyx Storm. Review coming Friday…

Book Reviews

Book Review: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

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Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day.

Okay, so it is time. If you’ve seen any of my blogs since the beginning of 2025 you’ll have seen that I finally read the Fourth Wing series by Rebecca Yarros. I know I’m later to it than most people and I will explain. When this book first came out I thought it sounded okay but the idea of a war college kind of put me off, then there was all the hype around it so I swore I wouldn’t read it, it wasn’t for me blah blah blah. Then the more I saw about it I realised I actually did want to read it. Then Iron Flame came out so quickly afterwards and I put it off. Then finally, the paperbacks of the first two went on sale so I bought them and I wanted to make sure I read them before Onyx Storm came out so I could get the hardback of that. I ended up reading Fourth Wing a week before Onyx Storm came out.. and of course, I loved it. So, here is my review – and if you are wondering it will be as spoiler free as I can make it and my review of Iron Flame is coming on monday, and Onyx Storm review next friday so watch out for those if you are interested!

Let me know in the comments what you thought of Fourth Wing!

Blurb/Synopsis:

Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders…

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away…because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die

My Review:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I want to start by saying, yes finally to some representation of chronic pain. I hardly ever see that in a book and never have I seen it done this well, you can see Violet struggles with it but it doesn’t stop her, other characters making allowances – it’s just great. Now onto the actual substance of the book. It has dragons, it has deadly trials. It has a friendship group I’d sell my soul to be with. What else can I say?
Violet is the character you are in the perspective of. I like Violet, I think sometimes her thoughts and actions are a bit messy and perhaps a bit young for her age? But also I can give her grace because she’s a warrior and she was meant to be a scribe so suddenly having to train in a different quadrant with all its secrets will have upended her life and I can understand that would make a person a bit messy. In this first book my favourite character was a tie between Rhiannon, one of Violet’s friends, and Xaden the wingleader. (Actually I’m lying – it’s the dragons but I can’t choose between them so I’m keeping them as a seperate level of character). I loved the uniqueness of the magic system, not the actual magic abilities themselves they were some tried and true favourites so were great but the way characters accessed their magic and the limits it gave them I found very intriguing. This first novel didn’t feel like it was there just to set up the world and the characters, there was so much action I sat there and read the whole book in a day. I instantly moved onto the second book Iron Flame, review coming Monday.

Book Reviews

Book Review: Way of the Argosi by Sebastien De Castell

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Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all doing well. Today I am bringing you my book review for Way of the Argosi by Sebastien De Castell.

Have any of you read this series? Or the Spellslinger series? Let me know what you thought of it if you have. The Spellslinger series is one of my all time favourite series’.

Blurb/Synopsis:

A MERCILESS BAND OF MAGES MURDERED HER PARENTS, MASSACRED HER TRIBE AND BRANDED HER WITH MYSTICAL SIGILS THAT LEFT HER A REVILED OUTCAST. THEY SHOULD’VE KILLED HER INSTEAD.

Stealing, swindling, and gambling with her own life just to survive, Ferius will risk anything to avenge herself on the zealous young mage who haunts her
every waking hour.

But then she meets the incomparable Durral Brown, a wandering philosopher gifted in the arts of violence who instead overcomes his opponents with shrewdness and compassion. Does this charismatic and infuriating man hold the key to defeating her enemies, or will he lead her down a path that will destroy
her very soul?

Through this outstanding tale of swashbuckling action, magical intrigue, and dazzling wit, follow Ferius along the Way of the Argosi and enter a world of magic and mystery unlike any other.

My Review:

This book is a prequel novel to the Spellslinger series, following Ferrius Parfax when she was younger and what events made her the way she is. Usually I am not the biggest fan of a prequel but this one I loved.
To begin with I didn’t like young Ferrius, she was a bit silly and fueled by her anger, rightfully so in the circumstances. But I enjoyed getting to follow her on her journey to being a different person and all the people she met along the way.
One thing I really loved about this book was seeing the parallels between Ferrius and her relationship with Durell compared to Kellen and his relationship to Ferrius in the Spellslinger books. It was like a mirror image and it’s those kind of touches that made this book brilliant.

Book Reviews

Book Review: An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

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Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today. I am bringing you a book review today for one of the oldest books on my TBR. Honestly, it has been on my shelf for years and I finally read it. The book is An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Every enchantment has a price.

With a flick of her paintbrush, Isobel creates stunning portraits for a dangerous set of clients: the fair folk. These immortal creatures cannot bake bread or put a pen to paper without crumbling to dust. They crave human Craft with a terrible thirst, and they trade valuable enchantments for Isobel’s paintings. But when she receives her first royal patron—Rook, the autumn prince—Isobel makes a deadly mistake. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes, a weakness that could cost him his throne, and even his life.

Furious, Rook spirits Isobel away to his kingdom to stand trial for her crime. But something is seriously amiss in his world, and they are attacked from every side. With Isobel and Rook depending upon each other for survival, their alliance blossoms into trust, perhaps even love . . . a forbidden emotion that would violate the fair folks’ ruthless laws, rendering both their lives forfeit. What force could Isobel’s paintings conjure that is powerful enough to defy the ancient malice of the fairy courts?

Isobel and Rook journey along a knife-edge in a lush world where beauty masks corruption and the cost of survival might be more frightening than death itself.

My Review:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

An Enchantment of Ravens is a beautiful story following our main female character Isobel, a painter of the fair folk, who accidentally paints an emotion on the face of the Autumn Prince, Rook.

I enjoyed the way the world formed within this book, with seperate courts for spring, summer, autumn winter. I also particularly liked the character of Isobel. In the beginning she does not trust the fair folk and this does continue throughout the book which I liked, she had strong principles which was good to see. I have to see this is a short book and I felt like there were parts that could have been developed better, like Isobel’s sisters and her backstory is never gone into even though it is a standalone book and those things are what her character was created by. I also thought it was a bit insta love for my taste, I enjoyed it overall I just thought it could have been built up to better.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

Book Reviews

Book Review – A Lively Midwinter Murder by Katy Watson

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Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day today. Today I am bringing you my review for the christmas novel in the Three Dahlias mystery series by Katy Watson.

I was so happy I managed to get a copy of this book at the beginning of December, just in time to read it as part of my Christmas TBR. It is the fourth book in the series I believe, just to say you do need to read these books in order to fully understand the story.

Blurb/Synopsis:

FIRST COMES LOVE . . . THEN COMES MURDER

A high society Christmas Eve wedding at a remote Scottish castle sounds like the perfect winter getaway for the three Dahlias and their partners – until a snowstorm hits, cutting them off from the mainland, and civilisation. Which, of course, is when the dead body of one of the other guests turns up in the snow outside the family chapel. A dead body wearing a wedding dress and a stolen diamond necklace…

The Dahlias were ready for mulled wine, roaring fires, and romance this Christmas. Now, they’re on the hunt for another murderer. And if their suspicions are right, it looks like the wedding may be off …

My Review:

I love this series of books, three brilliant female lead sleuths of all different ages. it is quite refreshing to see them working together. I have to say that one thing I was undecided in this novel if I liked it or not is that the partners of the three main characters had bigger roles in this one, which was nice to see to a certain extent because they have been largely ignored so far, however, I felt it took away from the story and there was more of an emphasis on the couples and it took away from the main mystery. It was like being pulled out of the story when these scenes happened, they felt out of place most of the time.

Saying that, this was still a solid book in the series. It was nice to see more of Libby’s character though I wanted to see her have a bit more spine and take direction of her own life more which I didn’t see but I can forgive that. I thought the mystery aspect was good, it had plenty of twists to keep you guessing but I did find the ending a little predictable, I am still going to continue the series though.

Have you read this book? What did you think of this book?

Book Reviews

Book Review – Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan

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Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you are all doing good today. It is time for my first book review of 2025, okay, I read this book in December but still.

Today I am giving you my book review for Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan, I first heard of this book from it being in an Illumicrate Afterlight box I believe, I didn’t get the box, I actually bought the book second hand on Vinted for not that much at all, which it turns out was a good decision.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Sparks fly when an occult expert and a disgraced archeologist become enemies-with-benefits in this steamy romance.

Riley Rhodes finally has the chance to turn her family’s knack for the supernatural into a legitimate business when she’s hired to break the curse on an infamous Scottish castle. Used to working alone in her alienating occupation, she’s pleasantly surprised to meet a handsome stranger upon arrival—until he tries to get her fired.

Fresh off a professional scandal, Clark Edgeware can’t allow a self-proclaimed “curse breaker” to threaten his last chance for redemption. After he fails to get Riley kicked off his survey site, he vows to avoid her. Unfortunately for him, she vows to get even.

Riley expects the curse to do her dirty work by driving Clark away, but instead, they keep finding themselves in close proximity. Too close. Turns out, the only thing they do better than fight is fool around. If they’re not careful, by the end of all this, more than the castle will end up in ruins.

My Review:

Scottish, isolated castle – check. Enemies to lovers – check. Tales and occurrences of ghosts – check. This is the list that attracted me to this book. I thought the idea of a woman turning up at a castle to help break a curse being thwarted at every turn by a grumpy academic man sounded like a great premise. The execution was not what I was hoping for. I will try to say as much as I can without spoiling anything but we will start with, there is a lot of miscommunication in this book from pretty early on and I know for my own reading tastes this is not something I enjoy. It kind of set the book on a bad road from the beginning for me.

Was this book a quick read, absolutely. Lovely pacing, lovely writing, the banter between the characters was nice. I felt that the way things with the curse were progressing and wrapping up was not what I wanted, it was too easy in my opinion and the characters took too long to get there. There was background conflicts that I enjoyed, from the characters own personal lives, particularly the male main character’s family/personal life is explored with great depth and emotion but I was disappointed that the main female character was not explored in the same way, there was definitely more emphasis on the man which although interesting felt too one sided to work for me.

I think overall I am happy I gave this book a go but it wasn’t one I plan on reading again.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

Book Reviews

Book Review: Queen B by Juno Dawson

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Happy Monday bookish people! How are you all doing today? I hope you are all doing good.

Today I am bringing you my book review for Queen B by Juno Dawson, a novella prequel from the Her Majesty’s Royal Coven and The Shadow Cabinet world.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Blurb/Synopsis:

The next enchanting instalment of the sensational #1 SUNDAY TIMES bestselling HER MAJESTY’S ROYAL COVEN fantasy series takes us back to the reign of Henry VIII and the origins of Her Majesty’s Royal Coven under the beautiful, the bewitching, Anne Boleyn.

BOW DOWN WITCHES

It’s 1536 and the Queen has been beheaded.

Lady Grace Fairfax, witch, knows that something foul is at play – that someone had betrayed Anne Boleyn and her coven.

Wild with the loss of their leader – and her lover, a secret that if spilled could spell Grace’s own end – she will do anything in her power to track down the traitor.

But there’s more at stake than revenge: it was one of their own, a witch, that betrayed them, and Grace isn’t the only one looking for her. King Henry VIII has sent witchfinders after them, and they’re organized like they’ve never been before under his new advisor, the impassioned Sir Ambrose Fulke, a cold man blinded by his faith. His cruel reign could mean the end of witchkind itself.

If Grace wants to find her revenge and live, she will have to do more than disappear.

She will have to be reborn.

In this gripping, propulsive, sultry novella, Juno Dawson takes us back to the bloody beginnings of Her Majesty’s Royal Coven to show us the strength, steel and sacrifice it takes to make a sisterhood.

My Review:

I will be honest, I picked this book up for the simple fact that it had Anne Boleyn in it. I basically will read anything for Anne Boleyn.
I can’t say I didn’t like this book, because I did but because it was only a novella I didn’t feel like I got to know the characters well enough to care about them. I thought the story was well thought out to try and include historical fact and mix it with the fantasy elements but for me there wasn’t enough of the book for me to get into it and really enjoy it.

Book Reviews

Book Review: Powerless by Lauren Roberts

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Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day today. I am bringing you a book review today of Powerless by Lauren Roberts. If you have read this book, what did you think of it?

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Blurb/Synopsis:

She is the very thing he’s spent his whole life hunting.
He is the very thing she’s spent her whole life pretending to be.

Only the extraordinary belong in the kingdom of Ilya—the exceptional, the empowered, the Elites.

The powers these Elites have possessed for decades were graciously gifted to them by the Plague, though not all were fortunate enough to both survive the sickness and reap the reward. Those born Ordinary are just that—ordinary. And when the king decreed that all Ordinaries be banished in order to preserve his Elite society, lacking an ability suddenly became a crime—making Paedyn Gray a felon by fate and a thief by necessity.

Surviving in the slums as an Ordinary is no simple task, and Paedyn knows this better than most. Having been trained by her father to be overly observant since she was a child, Paedyn poses as a Psychic in the crowded city, blending in with the Elites as best she can in order to stay alive and out of trouble. Easier said than done.

When Paeydn unsuspectingly saves one of Ilyas princes, she finds herself thrown into the Purging Trials. The brutal competition exists to showcase the Elites’ powers—the very thing Paedyn lacks. If the Trials and the opponents within them don’t kill her, the prince she’s fighting feelings for certainly will if he discovers what she is—completely Ordinary.

My Review:

Let’s just start by saying I think this book was fantastic. I loved the premise of the kingdom turning against those who are ordinary and wanting everyone to have powers. Usually it is the other way around in the books I have read so this was quite refreshing. The main thing that I think I loved was the character dynamics, Paedyn was a great female lead character and the two princes with their own motivations and limitations and how they all interacted I found fascinating, I never quite knew where this book would go next. I will say, for the people who have read it, I did not like the character if Adana, when I was reading her I was reading her as a young child character but I later found out she was older and that did not work for me, I also think that she could have been utilized better as a character. I finished this a few days ago and I haven’t stopped thinking about it, I want to pick up the next one immediately.

Book Reviews

Book Review: The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman

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Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day!

Today, I am bringing you my book review for The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman, the fourth book in the Thursday Murder Club.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Shocking news reaches the Thursday Murder Club.

An old friend in the antiques business has been killed, and a dangerous package he was protecting has gone missing.

As the gang springs into action they encounter art forgers, online fraudsters and drug dealers, as well as heartache close to home.

With the body count rising, the package still missing and trouble firmly on their tail, has their luck finally run out? And who will be the last devil to die?

My Review:

Okay, so, this book is the fourth in a series and I have read them all. Quickly, I will say my opinions on the rest of the series: Book 1 I thought was okay, it wasn’t anything special but it was an okay read, the second book I did enjoy – I liked it a lot more, book 3 I did not enjoy because it felt unnecessarily complex and didn’t seem to understand where it was going itself and now we get to book four. I really disliked this book.

I will say there were two parts I liked, first that Joyce had a larger role as a leader rather than a follower I did like seeing that character progression and secondly, there is a character who struggles with dementia and that was explored a lot in this book – I would say it was explored too much, too much time was devoted to that part of the story and it brought the mood of the whole series down but it is always good to see real life themes appear in books.

I read someone else’s review to see if other people were feeling the same way as me, and they described this book as feeling like the author was bored with writing it and I definitely agree with that. It did feel bored and it felt like it didn’t understand what it was trying it say, the plot easily could have been condensed by about 200 pages, most of it felt like filler put in just for the sake of it. I did not enjoy it at all.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?