jenniahw's reviews
19 reviews

adventurous emotional hopeful tense

4.0

I really enjoyed this book. It showed a world where a person is in the fold, but not really. Ross' mother immerses her in this family lifestyle, but you can tell from the beginning that she isn't giving her all the information and all the pieces. That coupled with the only part of her family that is around being her aunt and the way all contacts deny them aid it really has you questioning what's going on and why a woman who seems to be on the outs of potential allies and people you'd think would care for her, isn't seeing how her actions drive away her daughter. Seeing Ross get a better glimpse into their world of thieves compels you to keep reading, along with seeing how she'll save her mother and the answers that await her.

All the Dark Souls by A.M. Dunnewin

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

I have to start by saying that I really love that this books opens in a way that throws us right into the story without making things confusing. We meet our three main characters in the first few pages and get a glimpse of who Joss, Henrik, and Aric are as people. Of course each of their stories turn out to be much more and much darker than that peek, which you'd think would be hard when the first time we meet them it's finding a badly beaten Aric on the side of the road. But they've all been dealt a bad and the things that Joss in particular has gone through and continues to go through are just... wow.

In the first few chapters I had questions about how Joss, Aric, the man on the missing poster, and the dark eyed man Joss sees at the jail would tie together. And with this being a trilogy I worried we would only get some of the answers to those questions. I'm beyond happy that my wondering was put to rest and that I was right in my guesses. For some catching what could be considered a plot twist isn't good, but for me I love when I'm right because it shows that twists and turns aren't thrown in there just to shock. That they matter to the story and they most definitely did. And Joss finding everything out in the last few chapters was still as painful as it would have been if I didn't think up where the story could be going.

All in all I look forward to the next book. To how the journey to finding and saving the prince goes. To how Aric will make up for his betrayal. I also hope to get a few more answers. Will we find Joss' brother Oliver along the way? Will everyone survive? Will we see how the people in Joss and Henrik's town be punished for their part in such a treasonous attempt? And most importantly, will I be right about who the Mask it or at the very least about who he works for?

Content Warnings