sophialtomes_'s reviews
53 reviews

Seven Faceless Saints by M.K. Lobb

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad fast-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

Ocean's Echo by Everina Maxwell

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful 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

Frontier by Grace Curtis

adventurous funny hopeful tense 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? No

4.0

Steal the Sky by Megan E. O'Keefe
Did not finish book. Stopped at 32%.

was promised a steampunk heist. what utter bollucks. 

A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.

I got so bored i’m not gonna lie. Helene’s character was so insufferable and, sure, something terrible happened to her but her entire personality and just… being vanished and was replaced with this boring as fuck character to read. 

As for Laia and Elias, i cba. Their romance or friendship or whatever the fuck it is is so confusing and i can’t be bothered to carry on until the end of the last book to find out if they finally get over themselves and fuck each other. 

A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

So this sequel was a little disappointing, considering i gave book one 5⭐️ but before i get into the things i DIDNT like, here are the positives: 
- It picked up right where book one ended, which was great. 
- Laia’s character development grew even more as this story progressed. 
- I was unsure of Helene’s pov at first, but grew to enjoy it. 
- The plot twist about

Keenan being the Nightbringer

was so clever and I could not have predicted it even if i tried. 

Now for the negatives…
- The pacing slowed down significantly towards the middle, then the ending felt very rushed and abrupt. 
- Laia’s

invisibility

seemed way too convenient especially for something so tricky like

breaking her brother out of Kauf prison without barely a scratch

 
- *that* event that Elias went through as well towards the end seemed all very convenient too, as though the author

was too scared to kill off any of her characters so she threatens death but actually gives them all plot armour

- The fact that

Izzi’s death was so abrupt and then Laia never really mentioned anything about her again???

But yeah, this book was 100% considerably worse than the first, which i’ve heard so many people say is the opposite for them. Still giving it 3.75⭐️ though, purely cuz i bought the rest of the series and wanna know what happens😭

The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense 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

5.0

I AM CRYING 
chapter 46 ripped out my heart and trampled it into the ground but it was mostly happy tears ngl…
the plot, the world building, the high stakes, the CHARACTERS… i loved every goddamn second of it and god was it such a way to end a series. 
everything just fell into place and simultaneously left me sobbing. 

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I can’t say how stupid i feel for not reading this masterpiece sooner. There’s just something about own-voice fantasy stories that grips my heart and pulls me straight into their world. 

Laia and Elias don’t follow the typical dynamic, and i genuinely love how Elias tries to keep hold of his morality throughout the story, despite the things he’s forced to do. 

Though this book carries a lot of dark themes such as slavery, rape, and mass murder, and i wouldn’t recommend for anyone under the age of 16. 

The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.5

god, did i love this book. the writing is absolutely stunning, so cleverly woven together i felt entranced and fully immersed in the world. the characters, too, were so real and relatable. Nahri is such a strong young woman especially when she’s faced with such awful people and she’s forced to make such difficult decisions, but i love her for her pure strength and stubbornness. 

And after that ending? i can’t wait to know what happens in the sequel.