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A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas Book Review

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Happy Tuesday bookish people! It is time for another book review. I would usually put up book reviews on a Monday however yesterday was my Partner and I’s first anniversary so I spent the day with him. Today’s review is of a book that I have had on my shelf for forever, I have the whole series on my shelf but it took me so long to get around to it. Then finally I did and I loved it.

In this book review I will give star ratings for four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Plot:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The plot of this book intrigued me, I kept seeing it described as a Beauty and the Beast retelling, and after reading it I agree it does have some similar elements which I enjoyed. I read this book in one sitting because I couldn’t put the book down until I’d found out what happened next – and then until I found out how it ended. If I’d had to I would have stayed up all night to finish it.

Personally I felt that the first 100 pages of the book is slow and didn’t keep me that interested but after the pace begins to pick up my interest returned as well. I felt that the plot had enough substance that there was always something happening, no page felt out of place in the story. Where the beginning was slow, I also felt the ending was slightly rushed, the big event at the end of the book I personally feel would have been better had it been explored further. Saying this I still enjoyed it and I did not predict most of the things that happened throughout the book.

Characters:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

There are plenty of characters in this novel, some have larger parts than others however all are important to the story. Starting with the antagonist of the novel, it was unclear for most of the book who the real antagonist was as there were a few possible contenders. I think the villain was just the right amount of cruel and mysterious for this book while leaving space for one of those other contenders to become the antagonist in later books in the series.

The main protagonist, Feyre, is sharp-minded, fierce, and loyal. She is a character that I felt connected to because of how relatable she is. Feyre’s family is briefly mentioned however from what I know, they become more important throughout the series. The character of Tamlin, I did not like him at all to begin with in this book. I felt he was distant and cold and as a reader I had no connection to him but as the book went on little pieces of information about him and his backsotry were given and by the end of the book I liked him better than I did at the beginning. I will admit that because the series has been around for a while and is popular on booktwitter, booktube and bookstagram I have heard things about this character that has influenced my opinion on him throughout the firs book.

Finally, Rhysand, he is exactly the kind of character I always get drawn to, cheeky and witty, he isn’t in the first book that much however I already know I’m going to love him in the next books of the series.

Writing and dialogue:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The writing in this book is cleverly weaved with interesting dialogue. It is clear, fast-paced and easy to read. The dialogue is one of the main features that made me enjoy this novel as much as I did. It felt natural and completely fitted each of the characters.

Overall:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Overall I gave this book four stars because I enjoyed it and I am very excited to get the next book in the series onto a TBR as soon as I can.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Feyre’s survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price …

Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre’s presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.

That’s it for my book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!

Book Reviews

Book Review: Victoria Schwab’s Bridge of Souls

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Hello again bookish people! Wow, three posts today, I’m being very productive. I’m bringing you a book review for Bridge of Souls by Victoria Schwab. This is the third book in the Cassidy Blake series (City of Ghosts, Tunnel of Bones, Bridge of Souls). I was so excited to finally get this book. I read the first two in the series because I love Victoria Schwab’s other books – A Darker Shade of Magic and the Villians series particularly and I loved them so I could not wait to get my hands on the third book. I was not disappointed, it was just as good as the first two and I was fully immersed in the world of Cassidy and Jacob. In this book review I will give star ratings for four categories and I will write a little about each of these. I will try to keep it spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy reading my book review.

Everywhere you step, everywhere you stay, was once home to something – and someone – else.

Plot:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Following on from the first two books this book begins in a new city, this time it was New Orleans, I thought it was well researched and the plot was exciting and engaging. I felt every part of the story fit well together and didn’t feel forced. The plot of the first novel in the series was light hearted and each book after has had a darker tone, higher stakes at play, Bridge of Souls is no different and I felt the tension of the plot along with the characters which I think is one of the best things that an Author can manage to do.

Characters:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Already having been introduced to Cassidy and Jacob, the two main protagonists in the series, in the first two novels I felt like I knew them very well. I enjoy the relationship between the characters in this novel, the friendship between Cassidy and Jacob and the relationship each of those characters have with Cassidy’s parents. They are funny and interesting and I was very invested in the characters which caused me to feel sad for them when I needed to and relieved and worried and happy.

Dialogue and Writing:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The writing style is smooth and carries you along in the story, it is easy and clear to read. The dialogue is one of my favourite things about this series. It gives the characters likeable and interesting personalities and shows the relationship between Cassidy and Jacob. It is also a great tool to lighten the tone by having the conversations between the characters.

Overall:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

There’s not much more I can say here. I gave this book four stars overall because I really enjoyed reading this book and being back in the world of Cassidy and Jacob. I thought it was well-written and well researched. I cannot wait for the next book in this series (hopefully there will be more!).

Synopsis/Blurb

Where there are ghosts, Cassidy Blake follows … unless it’s the other way around?

Cass thinks she might have this ghost-hunting thing down. After all, she and her ghost best friend, Jacob, have survived two haunted cities while travelling for her parents’ TV show.

But nothing can prepare Cass for New Orleans, which wears all of its hauntings on its sleeve. In a city of ghost tours and tombs, raucous music and all kinds of magic, Cass could get lost in all the colourful, grisly local legends. And the city’s biggest surprise is a foe Cass never expected to face: a servant of Death itself.

Cass takes on her most dangerous challenge yet…

Book Reviews

Book Review: Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Boys

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Hello bookish people! Happy Mother’s Day to everyone! Today I’m bringing you a book review for The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, the first book in The Raven Boys four book series. I thought this book was okay, it was an enjoyable opening book to a series. In this book review I will give star ratings for four categories and I will write a little about each of these. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy reading my book review!

This is a well-written, enjoyable opening novel to the series. It introduces the characters and has a contained conflict as well as an overarching conflict for the rest of the series. It has a unique and interesting premise that made me want to pick up this book. It cuts between the POVs of multiple characters including that of Blue, the main protagonist, Gansey and Adam.

Blue has spent the majority of her sixteen years being told that if she kisses her true love, he will die.

Plot:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

This novel has an interesting plot. It is a well planned, well-written and intriguing plot that keeps you reading on until the end, and I felt the ending was satisfactory to complete the story for this book while still managing to set up an intriguing story for the second book in the series, particularly because of the final line.
However, I felt there were too many little stories happening at the same time which made them hard to follow, and they didn’t all get solved within this first book. Also, it felt like an opening novel rather than a novel with a very defined plot, it seemed to centre around introducing the characters and their relationships (which I don’t think is a bad thing), that’s why I can only give the plot three stars.

Characters:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I thought that the characters in this novel were brilliantly engaging. One of the high points for me was the dialogue between them, particularly between Blue and Gansey, it is interesting and well-written. It makes me like the characters. I find I am very much a character-based reader, I enjoy their interactions and the things that add to the plot I find are the things that are revealed through dialogue or the lack of it. The main characters in this novel (Noah, Blue, Gansey, Adam and Ronan) are all clear characters, each with their own conflict. I would have liked this novel to explore Noah and Ronan more than it did as I found their characters lacking compared to the others but overall I thought the characters were a highlight in this book.

Dialogue and Writing:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I don’t have much more to say about this, as I’ve mentioned it in the previous two categories but I could only give this category three stars because I felt that the writing in the beginning may have been a little slow to actually delve into the story and because of this the writing in the second half felt too rushed for my preferences.

Overall:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

So, overall I’m rating this book three stars. I enjoyed the book and I definitely plan on reading the second book in the series (I’ve heard that’s the best one? so I’m looking forward to it). I am invested in the characters and their relationships but I couldn’t give a higher star rating because I wasn’t all that invested in the plot but I was at the same time – that probably doesn’t make much sense. I enjoyed it, but I probably won’t reread it any time soon.

Synopsis/Blurb:

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

Book Reviews

Book Review: Peter Swanson’s Rules For Perfect Murders

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I have recently finished reading Rules for Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson and I really enjoyed it, in this book review I will give star ratings for four categories and write a little about each of these. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you all enjoy reading my book review!

This is a cleverly plotted, fast paced, whodunnit full of twists and secrets. It focuses on a man called Malcolm Kershaw who works at a bookstore that specializes in selling mystery/thriller books. Then he becomes involved in a murder investigation. This novel contains elements of the great Golden Age era of crime fiction like Agatha Christie yet still manages to make itself unique in both it’s premise and structure. The reader follows the POV of Malcolm, following both the present and the secrets of his past that slowly emerge throughout the novel.

Plot:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This novel is an entertaining plot that kept me guessing from the very beginning. It was well thought out and from the technical point of view every scene led into the next in a brilliant and clever way. The secrets were hinted at and clues were sprinkled throughout leading to a (in my opinion) satisfying ending. I am usually pretty good at managing to guess the ending before it happens but with this novel I had no chance, the story swept me up and so many theories were spinning around my head. That is one of the reasons I gave this novel 4 stars for plot.

Characters:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

As for characters there are a lot of them, but the main ones are Malcolm Kershaw, his two bookstore employees, FBI Agent Gwen Mulvoy, his old friend Marty Kingship and married couple Brian and Tess Murray. Although each of the characters had very defined personalities from each other for me it felt like they were lacking in some way. Malcolm, was not a very likeable character I didn’t particularly have strong feelings for or against him but I was still engaged in his story. The two bookstore employees I feel could have been developed further, they are distinct and personally I felt they were likeable – the only two characters who I felt were likeable in this novel – but they weren’t that interesting. I would have liked to have seen more of Agent Gwen Mulvey, she features more in the first half than the second half and I felt her character could have been explored better. The other three characters I didn’t find to be all that likeable either but again they were well thought out and had an impact on the story.

Dialogue and writing:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I became invested in the novel because of the dialogue in the very first scene. It helped to heighten tension when it was needed and it helped lighten the tone when the novel needed balance as well. The dialogue, or lack of from some characters, provided personality and created an image of the characters for me. The writing style was easy to navigate, it flowed well in my opinion and it didn’t feel forced in any way. That was one of the main reasons I enjoyed the novel, usually I am a fan of character driven novels rather than plot driven novels but because of Swanson’s writing style and the engaging dialogue I found myself enjoying the read.

Overall:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

So, overall I rated this novel four stars because even though I wasn’t invested in the characters I truly couldn’t put the book down, I had to know how it ended. If you enjoy novels where you aren’t sure who you can trust then I would recommend Rules For Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson. (One note I will make is that if you want to read The Red House Mystery by A A Milne, Malice Aforethought by Anthony Berkeley Cox, The A B C Murders by Agatha Christie, Double Indemnity by James M. Cain, Strangers On A Train by Patricia Highsmith, The Drowner by John D MacDonald, Deathtrap by Ira Levin or The Secret History by Donna Tartt I would recommend reading them first because Malcolm is fond of giving spoilers to these books).

Synopsis/Blurb:
Years ago Malcolm Kershaw wrote a list of his ‘Eight Favourite Murders’ for his Old Devils mystery bookshop blog. Among others it included those from Agatha Christie’s The A.B.C Murders, Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers On A Train and Donna Tartt’s The Secret History.
Now just before Christmas, Malcolm finds himself at the heart of an investigation – as an FBI Agent believes someone may be re-enacting each of the murders on his list.