amelianicholebooks's reviews
442 reviews

Anchor Knight by Nathan A.Thompson

5.0

Soul Shelter by Nathan A.Thompson

dark inspiring medium-paced

5.0

If I could give this series 10 stars, I would. The prose is invocative, the characters are inspiring and you want them to win so badly. 

First Orbit by Nathan A.Thompson

dark inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I was not expecting this novel to pull me in like it did. The covers were the first thing that caught my eye, but the personality of the author on social media is what made me read the books. He is a wonderful and caring person and you can see it come through in his novel.

If you enjoy adventurous stories set in space with heavy magic systems and world-building, this book is for you. The characters start from the very bottom and claw their way up to something amazing.

Enchantment by Camille Peters

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is the most refreshing take on a Beauty and the Beast retelling, with elements from Sleeping Beauty, that I have ever read. I really liked its focus on inner beauty.

I think my favorite character was the magical topiary hedgehog Hibiscus. Don't get me wrong, Prince Briar and Miss Maren are great characters that have top-notch character development. But I would adopt Hibiscus in a heartbeat. So cute and determined. 

The book description gives a pretty good summary of what happens, but I will try to think up something unique. Maren is a merchant's daughter who runs away from her emotionally abusive father, only to be "saved" by the royal family's enchanted garden. By plucking an enchanted rose, the garden tricks her into being stuck in the garden forever, unless she can sneak out or break the connection before the rose petals fall. The garden is the second-best character in the novel and very unique!

Prince Briar is the crown prince and acting king. Once a wandering traveling and collector of all things beautiful, for some mysterious reason, he hardly ever leaves the palace now. I absolutely loved the friendship that blossomed between the down-to-earth prince and the curious-as-a-cat, Maren. 

Her curiosity often gets her into trouble, but she's never let that stop her. She learns a hard lesson in this book and I think she is better off for it. Unlike some stories where the commoner falls in love with the prince, Maren tries to fight her feelings every step of the way because there is no way anything other than heartbreak will come of it.

I didn't realize this was the fifth book in the series, so I look forward to reading the other books that came before. 

Bright Hopes by Sarah K.L. Wilson

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

And the award for the least fitting title of this episodic series goes to.... Seriously, I didn't see any bright hopes here. They need them!

Amel has reached a new level of strength and character development. Book 1 her would never have done what she did here. I absolutely love her character and the journey she is on.

Amel is pretty sure that something happened to the Dominar in between falling to her death repeatedly. The man in the mask is acting weird, and she's pretty sure he is actual the traitor in disguise. But there is no way for her to prove it, except to break her promise and tell Hurbic that she has seen the Dominar without his mask, a death sentence level offense.

If only Top Rider of the purples hadn't been transported to the dragon lands, she would be able to prove it without revealing her secret.

Savette is dying, the Lightbringers are being hunted down and the real Dominar is missing. Herded into cages to be brought to "justice", things are looking pretty grim.

Don't want to spoil the whole thing, so I will just have to end there!

Prince of Dragons by Sarah K.L. Wilson

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

These books are not good for my sleep. I try to wind down at the end of the night with a short read, but these fast-paced adventures just suck you in. Before you know it, an hour or two has passed. Each episode raises the stakes, which almost seems impossible with each following adventure.

This one is a bit calmer, than some of the other installments, but it still has rising tension. Hubric is injured gravely, and I just knew something bad was going to happen to him. Amel is going to get into so much trouble without him. Please pull through mentor character!

I am not as much of a fan of the romance between Leng and Amel as I thought I would be, but the rest of the plot is so good it makes up for it. It may be that I'm getting a bit too old of YA style romance. Too much kissing and not enough substance, IMHO. Still, the romance is needed to brighten up and provide hope to the characters. I do like Savette's romance, I feel like there is more to her love than is showed.

Raolcan is my favorite character, honestly. Between his knowledgeable advice, his sassy come-backs and his very fragile vanity, he is a great addition to Amel's team.

Amel made it to the next stage of her training and well deserved indeed! The end of this one made it really hard to stop reading!

Dark Night by Sarah K.L. Wilson

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

The title delivers on the story. This is one of the toughest battles they have faced yet, and that is saying something. The tension leading up to the battle was superb.

With traitors at every side, Amel needs every ally she can get. Hurbic finally pulled through, but not before Amel did two more things that someone is going to be mad about. Maybe even enough to kill her. She needs adult supervision and Raolcan doesn't count.

I loved the scene where Iskaris was trying to get the messages from her, and she was all flabbergasted, then Raolcan reminded her the rules said no one but the recipient of the messages should read them. She doesn't care about the rules so much she forgot they are even a thing. xD

I absolutely love how Savette's magical powers work on truth. If you have recommendations for another series where the magic is powered by truth, please send them my way.

Savette is making a surprising in run on the favorite character list after this episode.

I noticed that the bad guy's name is similar to Icarus (it's Iskaris). Likely a coincidence, but I like to notice those kinds of things just in case.

Amel is now the one I have to be worried about. There is enough episodes left that I am fairly certain she isn't going to die, but how will she survive?

The Battle For WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi

adventurous emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

The Black Stallion by Walter Farley

4.0

Tital A.E. Junior Novelization by C.R. Daly

4.0