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amrsalehduat's reviews
149 reviews
The Crack at the Heart of Everything by Fiona Fenn
5.0
The Crack at the Heart of Everything is absolutely incredible beyond what a review can possibly show. Like for real, yesterday I finally got around to reading it and thought I would just read a chapter or two to test the waters. One day later, I’m seriously considering rereading this book. The thing I found most interesting is Fiona Fenn’s cool and unique idea to combine classical fantastical elements with what I felt like a futuristic wasteland setting. This might seem like a jarring combination at first glance but Fenn’s writing and storytelling talents turned this into a truly unique experience.
I can’t recommend The Crack at the Heart of Everything enough. Do yourself a favor and don’t finish 2024 before reading this incredible debut.
I can’t recommend The Crack at the Heart of Everything enough. Do yourself a favor and don’t finish 2024 before reading this incredible debut.
Monstrous Nights by Genoveva Dimova
5.0
I still remember finishing the first book and screaming „I want the second book ASAP!“
Well, I got my wish a lot sooner than I expected and I‘m so glad because this series has earned itself a special place on my shelf.
Monsterous Nights had to tackle the difficult task most duologies face: 1. Complete the story, 2. keep the high quality, and 3. give the reader something new.
I‘m happy to say Genoveva Dimova managed to deliver and then some. Monsterous Nights is a perfect conclusion to the duology and the satisfying sequel Foul Days deserves.
Well, I got my wish a lot sooner than I expected and I‘m so glad because this series has earned itself a special place on my shelf.
Monsterous Nights had to tackle the difficult task most duologies face: 1. Complete the story, 2. keep the high quality, and 3. give the reader something new.
I‘m happy to say Genoveva Dimova managed to deliver and then some. Monsterous Nights is a perfect conclusion to the duology and the satisfying sequel Foul Days deserves.
How to Summon a Fairy Godmother by Laura J. Mayo
5.0
This was amazing! I skipped the blurb and start reading (or rather listening) blind. The only thing I kind of vaguely knew about the plot was that it‘s a retelling of the Cinderella story. So, you can imagine my surprise when the book was like „yeah, forget about Cinderella, let‘s hang out with one of the step-sisters.“ Perfect. That‘s exactly my type of story. Take a well known fairytale and retell it with an interesting twist and you have my attention. And boy did Laura J. Mayo manage to keep my attention for the duration of the entire story.
I did love following Theo‘s story who I found to be a lot more interesting than Cinderella/Beatrice to be honest. I liked seeing her discover and come to terms with who she really is and how that affected her interactions with the other characters as the story went on. Also, there is that one scene where Theo tells a story from her childhood that will hunt me for a long time. If you read the book you probably know which scene I‘m talking about.
How to Summon a Fairy Godmother was simply put an incredible book with a very unique take on a beloved tale that will keep you under its magic till the last page and beyond.
Voyage of the Damned by Frances White
5.0
The only disappointment Voyage of the Damned caused me is how long I waited until I read what ended up being one of my favorite books of this year. I promise you that I’m not exaggerating when I say that I was totally blown away by this book. Everything about it, from the prose, to the fascinating world, to Dee. Oh my god, where should I even begin with Dee. I loved him so much. I think from the first times I heard him speak I was like “Yep, that’s my type of guy!” And as the story progressed I was like, “if anyone of you fu***** even touch him I’ll *#$!”
Speaking of the fu***** I really appreciated how vast and diverse the cast of characters where. They weren’t there just for the sake of it but everyone of them felt so unique that I knew who was talking without even needing a dialogue tag. They were all incredibly interesting in their own right and it was delightful peacing together their back stories.
The cover promised me murder and magic and Goddess it has delivered and then some. Voyage of the Damned is an incredible debut by Frances White and if that’s how she kicks off her career I can imagine where she’ll be in 10, 20, or 30 years from now.
Speaking of the fu***** I really appreciated how vast and diverse the cast of characters where. They weren’t there just for the sake of it but everyone of them felt so unique that I knew who was talking without even needing a dialogue tag. They were all incredibly interesting in their own right and it was delightful peacing together their back stories.
The cover promised me murder and magic and Goddess it has delivered and then some. Voyage of the Damned is an incredible debut by Frances White and if that’s how she kicks off her career I can imagine where she’ll be in 10, 20, or 30 years from now.
Prince of Fortune by Lisa Tirreno
5.0
Lisa Tirreno’s A Prince of Fortune is set in a world that is filled with the misery of war, political intrigue, and an incredibly unique magic system. Yet, somehow, the romance still managed to be the highlight of the story for me. It’s simply an incredibly wholesome and sweet love story that I couldn’t help but feel happy while reading because even in the times of war love is the only thing that keeps people marching forward toward peace. Something many people in the real world unfortunately seem to have forgotten.
And on the topic of romance, Edmund and Aubrey were such a cute couple. They are just so perfect for each other and their characters just fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. I loved reading about them falling in love, growing closer and trying not to miss up like any two teenagers would.
I personally think Tirreno did an incredible job at making me care about the couple and get invested in their love since I was screaming at the book during the debate of whether they should be allowed to get married or not. Not going to get into the specifics to avoid spoilers but I truly believe that the topic was done in a very unique and innovative way in the Prince of Fortune.
The best thing about the book, however, is that, despite all the romance and drama, there is still a fantasy epic happening around the young couple and somehow the two aspects of the story don’t feel separate. Without getting into spoilers, the progression of the war and the resulting political and societal ramifications do impact the couple and their own romantic plot which in turn impacts the war and its politics. Now if that isn’t the sign of an author who has a command on every aspect of storytelling I don’t know what is.
A Prince of Fortune is a delightful read that will leave you feeling fuzzy inside and I can’t recommend it enough.
Dearest by Jacquie Walters
5.0
Dearest by Jacquie Walters is probably my 2024 Page Turner of the Year! Well, metaphorical page turning since I listened to the audiobook only to discover that it was narrated by the author! Really, this explained why the audiobook felt so spot on with its adaptation of the book.
If I could describe Dearest with one word it would be “Intense.” Not just the absolute horror the plot evolves into as the story progresses but even the sections that are part of the real, non-fantastical world were quite intense. I’m talking of course about the experience of being a new mother which I don’t/won’t have experience with but the fact that I felt so trapped, overwhelmed, and anxious while reading this is a testament to the quality of the writing. This was crucial for the horror elements to work in my opinion because as the story shifts toward the supernatural the fears and struggle of being a new mother must land for the horror elements to work for all readers. Not just did Walters succeed but this was genuinely the most stressed I’ve been while reading a story for a long time and that’s the biggest compliment I can give to Dearest.
Dearest is an incredible horror debut by Jacquie Walters that I just can’t recommend enough to anyone who wants to experience a true horror story that lives up to its name.
The Conscious Style Guide by Karen Yin
5.0
As an author, I can say that Karen Yin‘s The Conscious Style Guide is going to be a book I will reread for a very long time. I know that languages evolve and by extension style guides needs to be updated to keep up but I truly believe that Yin‘s guide is going to age incredibly well. The reason being that the Yin doesn‘t tell the reader what to say or what not to say, instead she explains the methodology, reasoning, and logic behind conscious language in a contextualized way that will guide the reader to bring conscious language into their everyday life.
The book itself admits that it‘s not the ultimate resource on the topic (which would be a very bold and frankly unrealistic claim) that‘s why the author presents to the reader multiple resources for further research that, by the virtue of being online resources, can be updated. I really appreciated this aspect of the book and found myself lost in all the valuable resources I wasn‘t aware of previously.
Though I‘m looking forward to integrating everything I‘ve learned from this book in my own writing, I‘m also certain that it will have an impact on how I view language in my daily life. That‘s why I highly recommend Karen Yin‘s The Conscious Style Guide to both writers and non-writers.