olivyre's reviews
48 reviews

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Spoilers!

Isn’t orange a lovely colour? I love the front cover of this book. It compelled me to buy it. I was not disappointed. One might say I was appointed?

This was the first lesbian relationship I’ve ever read ever (or seen in general since I’ve never watched one either) so I was super enthusiastic about that. I dogeared all the cute moments of Ead and Sabran because I thought if this was going to be my favourite book, I have to read it properly and not care if the spine is broken etc.

I was quite literally wiggling my feet in happiness from the cuteness of Sabran and Ead. 

I very much liked the women as the main characters as normally epic fantasy is covered head to toe in men with the occasional really badass woman, but this one turned that on its head. 

And there were dragons and pirates and courts with nobles and queens and romance and an itty bit of spice and it was *chef’s kiss*. 

The world building as well. I swear they went to every place on those amazing looking maps and each place was its own. I loved referencing where they were in the map and especially liked that Ead circled around places rather than journeying straight through and never returning anywhere. It made the story come together.

And when Niclays’ perspective linked with Ead’s through Sulyard and then Tané linked with Niclays and everything came together – it was so satisfying.

I just loved this book.

Actually there was something I didn’t like: the huge build up to the Nameless One and they were defeated so fast and we never learnt why it was bad other than vague stuff about the Grief of Ages. Maybe that’s in the prequel.

And I think this should have been a series. It was a lot to fit in one book so some things were sacrificed (Tané and Susa, Ead and Chassar, the ladies of the bedroom, idk what Aralaq was, how they realised Crest was the cupbearer, how they defeated her so fast, I’d have lived more background stuff with Ead in the Priory). Yeah this would have been one epic series. A series would’ve been perfecto.

‘‘I think you a self-righteous fool whose head is harder than a rock. And I would not change you for the world.’

Sabran finally looked at her.

‘Tell me, Eadaz uq-Nāra,’ she said softly, ‘am I a greater fool to want you still?’

Ead crossed the space between them. ‘No more a fool than I,’ she said, ‘to love you as I do.’’

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Spoilers!

I did not expect this. 

It started off well and I liked the characters, but halfway through it changed tone completely and the stakes increased tenfold. 

I think it was at Golyn Niis that I was really entranced. The whole thing seems like an epic villain arc now. I don’t think Rin qualifies as a hero anymore. Oh my goodness five stars – it’s so very morally grey.

‘How dare you,’ he said. His voice was overly loud, distorted through her thundering ears. ‘You misunderstand the nature of our relationship. I am not your friend. I am not your brother, though kin we may be. I am your commander. You do not argue with my orders. You follow them without question. You obey me, or you leave this militia.’

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Spoilers!

This book was so freaking good. One of my favourite series? Probably. I’d say so.

I’m so muddled in who I should be rooting for that it’s brilliant. Everybody has great ideologies – the Dragon Republic, the Nikara Empire and apparently the Mugenese too – yet none are realistic, and nobody will follow through and everyone is vying for power. They’re all so evil but they’re all right in their own ways. Morally grey, I love it.

I adore Kitay and Rin’s budding platonic relationship – I know they’ve been best friends since Sineguard but we hadn’t really seen their friendship in action much until now. And Venkha also: she’s becoming quite cool.

Nezha’s betrayal hit me right in the ‘What the Fffff’ I did not see it coming. At all. Enemies to lovers to enemies again? I bet they’ll become lovers again in the next book.

The oncoming battle will be epic.

‘Or maybe, she thought, with stars this bright, if you believed that above you lay the cosmos, then you had to construct a yurt to provide some temporary feeling of materiality. Otherwise, under the weight of swirling divinity, you might feel you had no significance at all.’

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Spoilers!

My favourite character is Nina, especially her dialogue with Matthias (apparently, I’m pronouncing his name wrong). She’s pretty badass. The book didn’t say whether she died in the end or not though. I think Matthias and Nina are going to have a tragic love story rather than a happy one judging by their past experiences, but this book had a great enemies to lovers arc.

I did get lost a couple times in the midst of the heist trying to comprehend the layout of the Ice Court, but I have a reasonably clear picture in my head of how I imagine it now. It’s probably completely different from how it was supposed ot come across but that’s the magic of books over movies I suppose.

But this was a great book, it hooked me with the first chapter and only got better. I’d like to know more about the Grisha magic system.

‘She’d laughed, and if he could have bottled the sound and gotten drunk on it every night, he would have.’

Breach of Peace by Daniel B. Greene

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Spoilers!

This was actually really good. I don’t have the book, so I listened to the audiobook, which probably impacted the experience for me as I find it harder to concentrate on audiobooks fully for extended periods of time than physical books.

So, I’m bordering on 3-4 stars, but three for my personal experience with the audiobook. It’d probably be four with the physical version.

I lost my way in the middle sometimes but that was due to distractions rather than being the book’s fault. I only missed a couple details which I refreshed myself on by watching a summary video afterwards.
 
But the beginning was absolutely superb and so gripping – probably one of the best beginning chapters I’ve ever read.  The ending also was great – from Samuel’s death onwards it had my full attention.

I appreciated the epilogue also from a bystander’s perspective. I assume they will be the main character for Daniel Greene’s next book – getting revenge for their brother.

I’d have liked a three person perspective from Khlid, Samuel and Chapman as I really enjoyed the one chapter from Chapman’s perspective, but it felt a little out of place, the rest being Khlid.  Overall, way better than I expected.

‘’Take Smits with you.’

‘Who?’ Chapman had come to a full stop and was again staring at her. She could never predict what would catch his attention.

‘Officer Smits. He was at the manor this morning. I believe he got back just before you.’

‘Ah! Smits. Not Shits.’’

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Spoilers!

Nope. I gave it a chance and I read 400+ pages of ugh. There was a basic outline, and it was followed in a linear progression with zero extra threads and no suspense or tension.

I get the author was trying to be feminist, but she kept talking about the inequality despite the reader being given no actual experience of the difference other than Deka just repeatedly expressing that she couldn’t imagine women being capable of such things.

Deka also randomly said halfway through the book that she was killed nine times over when her blood ran gold and it was a terrible trauma, but the time she speaks about was glossed over completely. When she was discovered, her dad killed her and then she woke up because apparently demons are immortal, then there is no mention of anything else until she is taken to a school. No ‘nine killings’ referenced at all. How does Forna expect me to be empathetic if I didn’t even know it happened? It just made me vaguely confused. 

And there was no relationship building at all. There was some poor little romance between Deka and Keita but they barely even talked to each other they were suddenly both into each other with no warning. And the relationships between her classmates and her consisted of her giving a weird motivational togetherness talk and suddenly they were all best buddies. No strife anywhere in any relationships but no growth either. 

And all her own character growth was was her realising that she could actually do stuff herself. Like that hasn’t been done a thousand times before a thousand times better.

I picked it up for its cover - don’t judge this book by its cover.

‘‘We who are dead salute you!’’

The Burning God by R.F. Kuang

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Spoilers!

I don’t know what to feel. I’m definitely crying but from what I don’t know. It was unlike anything I’ve ever read before and I both love the characters and feel like they really should all die (which they mostly all did). 

That scene right before the ending when Nezha shows up and there’s just a moment where Kitay, Rin and Nezha could just be like the kids they were before the mess of a war, that made me cry the hardest. More than the ending. I feel a bit empty. Nezha was left with no one in the end. 

AND VENKHA’S BETRAYAL AND SACRIFICE! THAT WAS SHOCKING! 

I was so upset that Daji died I loved her from the start.

Was this the best of the series? Did it beat Dragon Republic? It made me cry so yes. I stayed up till midnight after reading 7 hours straight to finish it so yes. Sheesh.

‘They’d called her a mud-skinned commoner so often that the insult felt now like a call to arms. Let them think of us as dirt, Rin thought. She was dirt. Her army was dirt. But dirt was common, ubiquitous, patient, and necessary. The soil gave life to the country. And the earth always reclaimed what it was owed.’

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Spoilers!

I am very sad that this book is over. I’d like a third book please.

My favourite thing about this book was the build-up of Jesper and Wylan. Especially Wylan’s blushing, that was very cute. I drew them together when Wylan looked like Kiwi (Kuwei).

I loved the twists and turns this book took more than the last. I guess I’m more used to not knowing 100% what’s going on all the time, and each success felt well-earned though the overall aim was a little unclear other than get the money back.

The side plot with Kaz vs Pekka Rollins was so good though and so satisfying if not slightly horrifying at the end.

And I Iove all the characters, and the plots are so well thought out, Leigh Bardugo is an absolute genius with the plans she made Kaz think up. I’m actually a little surprised that no one other than Matthias died having watched Game of Thrones. I was most sad for Nina when that happened. And by a Fjerdan he was trying to help as well.

And learning Wylan’s backstory made him my favourite character.

Sorry Nina.

‘’Yes, this is what I want,’ said Jesper. Wylan looped his satchel over his shoulder, and without thinking, Jesper reached out and untwisted the strap. He didn’t let go. ‘But it’s not all that I want.’’