Everafter by Elizabeth Chandler Review 2/5

Overall Impression:  A disappointing end to an otherwise enjoyable series.

(To read my review of the previous book in the Kissed by an Angel series, Everlasting click here.)

I’m so sad that this book series has finally come to an end. *Sniff, sniff.* I’ve been following along with each installment for a while now – pretty much since I started this blog 3+ years ago and so many things have changed since then that I can’t help feeling a little bit nostalgic! I’ve always cited this series as my guilty pleasure, but unfortunately, book six the final novel in the series was a real disappointment for me. And thinking about it, I think it links back to how much I’ve changed since I started reading this series. My reading tastes are different, I’ve read a lot more widely and I’ve grown up. Sadly, this has made the faults of this book excruciatingly clear.

This review is spoiler free if you’ve read the previous books in the series!

Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick Review 1/5

Overall Impression: 464 pages of wasted time!

(To read my review of the previous book from the Hush Hush series, Silence click here.)

It’s safe to say my relationship with this series has not been smooth sailing. Hush Hush had me simultaneously ripping by hair out at the central abusive romantic relationship while secretly crushing on the smoldering love interest. Crescendo made me furious at the inconsistencies in the storyline but admiring the author’s flair for setting a dark, eerie mood. Silence gave me a level of respite with some fun romance and brilliant dialogue but I was frustrated by the lack of progress in the storyline. As for Finale? Oh boy. I teetered close to the edge with this one. I was hoping for some decent action since this was the last book in the series but what I got couldn’t have been further from it.This book is a culprit of the worst crime against fiction: It was boring.

Please note: For those of you that haven’t read the previous books in the Hush Hush series this review will contain spoilers about previous plots and characters from those novels. This review will not however contains any spoilers for Finale.

Thief’s Magic by Trudi Canavan Review 4/5

Overall Impression: Intelligent world building and complex storytelling at its best.

I don’t normally like this phrase, but at this point I think it’s safe to say that I am one of Trudi Canavan’s ‘biggest fans’. I was first exposed to her work aged 15 Since, I have bought all of her books, visited her at an author signing and followed her general online updates with a bucket of over enthusiasm. Naturally, I was looking forward to the release of Thief’s Magic in May with a sort of excited and impatient hysteria. A new book AND a brand new series? I couldn’t wait to see what Canavan would do with a new fantasy world.
So of course I was in a state of shock when the Little, Brown Book Group offered me an ARC of Thief’s Magic, the first book in the Millennium’s Rule Trilogy in exchange for an honest review. Holding back shouts of ‘Gimme, gimme!’ I accepted, and a pretty brown package turned up the next day. I raced though the pages of Thief’s Magic quickly, once again Trudi Canavan did not disappoint!

In a world where an industrial revolution is powered by magic, Tyen, a student of archaeology, unearths a sentient book called Vella. Once a young sorcerer-bookbinder, Vella was transformed into a useful tool by one of the greatest sorcerers of history. Since then she has been collecting information, including a vital clue to the disaster Tyen’s world faces.
Elsewhere, in a land ruled by the priests, Rielle the dyer’s daughter has been taught that to use magic is to steal from the Angels. Yet she knows she has a talent for it, and that there is a corrupter in the city willing to teach her how to use it – should she dare to risk the Angels’ wrath.
But not everything is as Tyen and Rielle have been raised to believe. Not the nature of magic, nor the laws of their lands. Not even the people they trust.

Everlasting by Elizabeth Chandler Review 4/5

Overall Impression: A lighthearted YA read with an intriguing mystery.

(To read my review of the previous book in the Kissed by an Angel series, Evercrossed, click here.)

The Kissed by an Angel series is a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine, and I don’t have many. I am less patient when it comes to the paranormal-romance genre these days and far more scathing, but this series even three years after I first started it still manages to tug at my heart-strings.
Everlasting is definitely one of those books where people look at the cover and frown thinking ‘Really?’
Yes members of the public, really.
Something about this author keeps me coming back for more. Everlasting is the fifth and penultimate novel in the Kissed by an Angel series, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Please note: For those of you that haven’t read the previous books in the Kissed by an Angel series, this review will contain spoilers about previous plots and characters from those books. However, this review will not contain any spoilers for Everlasting.

For Ivy, miracle’s are real. After all, it was a miracle this summer when she survived a near fatal car crash. And it was a miracle that Tristan, her boyfriend who died a year ago, returned to earth as an angel. But Ivy knows better than anyone that miracles come at a price. Even though Tristan has come back to Ivy, life is far from perfect. He’s a fallen angel – and he’s trapped in the body of a wanted murderer. With Tristan on the run from the police, Ivy’s not sure she’ll ever get her happy ending.
And when it becomes clear that darker forces are at work, it seems there’s more at stake than either Tristan or Ivy realise. Will they ever be safe together? Or has Ivy finally run out of miracles?

I love Chandler’s writing style, she is remarkably natural with her storytelling. Even though it had been a year 

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick Review 3/5

Overall Impression: A disorganized mess which against all odds was the most entertaining installment of the series so far.

(To read my review of the previous book from the Hush Hush series, Crescendo click here.)

Well, these books are nothing if not consistent. Ohh how I wish I could write a raving review of how tremendous this third installment of Fitzpatrick’s world was, how it captivated me and tugged at my heart strings…but twas not to be. While I liked that a few of my favourite elements from Hush Hush came back into play, I mostly enjoyed this book for all the wrong reasons, the hilarity and insanity of it all. You know when something is so bad that you can’t look away? Yeah, that. My high hopes for this series have officially fallen in a cascade of black and red feathers.

Please note: For those of you that haven’t read the previous books, skip the blurb and first paragraph as it contains spoilers about previous plots and characters from those books. This review will not however contains any spoilers for Silence.

Day 22: Least Favourite Plot Device.

Hey guys, today we’re going to be talking about…….LOVE TRIANGLES. Doesn’t that sound fun?

Today’s topic is your ‘least favourite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise’ but I shortened the title because hey, WORDY.

So we all know that love triangles are a painfully consistent trend in YA at the moment, and and it doesn’t seem like it will be changing any time soon. I feel that there are a few reasons for this. Firstly, love triangles are

DAY 5: Your “Comfort” Book.

Hmm, the dilemma with this question is that the book series I consider my comfort reads fit better with the day six question. So, instead I am going to use this wording in the broader sense, looking at it less as books I return to again and again for comfort and more ones that give me those warm fuzzy feeling of content when reading! 🙂

There is one series that I think suits this description, one I originally wasn’t even sure if I would enjoy. It includes young romance, grief and angels (I was very hesitant about the angel part).