Mini Reviews

Basically, I wanted to review Siege and Storm but I didn't have much to say about Siege and Storm so I'm writing a whole post so I can talk about Siege and Storm.

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo - This took me a really long time to read and I'm not proud of it, mostly because of how much I was enjoying the book. Shadow and Bone was incredible and Siege and Storm was Shadow and Bone but twice as intense and twice as epic and twice as everything with the added bonus of Nikolai. There were a few minor things that annoyed me about this book and one of them I didn't even realise was annoying me until I'd finished it and that is Alina and Mal. Mal, in general, grinds my gears. I can't stand him. I'm pretty sure the only reason he's in the books at all is to provide an angsty relationship, complain about Alina being Grisha and have her make a helluva lot of descisions based on whether he's going to die or not. My solution: Have the Darkling blow him into smithereens, it just saves a lot of time for everyone. Alina is the one I didn't know was annoying me until I'd finished the book and it's mostly because I can't deal with how wishy-washy she is about some things. Don't get me wrong, I love her. But one minute she's all 'Mal and I can't be together as long as I get more powerful' and the next she's hell bent on finding the firebird which, get this, will only enhance her power. I don't know if that's just me being nit-picky of if it's a real, solid problem that people have with her but there you have my two cents. Tolya and Tamar are incredible characters and I hope that they're in Ruin and Rising a bit more and I hope to GOD that Nikolai is in the next book as well. Til' next time my sweet prince (He'd kill me for saying that). 4.5/5 Stars.

Ascend by Amanda Hocking - The final installment in the Trylle trilogy was underwhelming for lack of a better word. I enjoyed reading the first two books and for me the third book just didn't live up to expectations. I didn't find that there had been a whole lot of character development, other than characters finally being able to admit things that they hadn't wanted to in books one and two and I also found that the book as a whole was too heavily focused on the romance aspects of the story and it was a romance that didn't do very much, except annoy the living heck out of me. The whole book and the whole trilogy in a way had been boiling up to this huge war against the Vittra and that was the part that really let the book down in my eyes. The entire war lasted maybe 10 pages or even less with zero to few casualties and although their opponent had been shaped up to seem like this impenetrable force, it was all over in what felt like it was probably 5 minutes. I wish I could give Ascend a higher rating, there is nothing I want more than an incredible ending to Wendy's story but it all felt like Amanda Hocking was writing with the hopes of a Happily Ever After instead of a well written fantasy story that inspires people to go out and tell all of their friends to read this damn trilogy. 2/5 Stars.

Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas - Well butter my rump and call me toast. (Yes I did just quote Zoey 101. No, I'm not ashamed). This book is brilliant. I don't usually read YA Mystery or any Mystery so I don't have much to compare it too but Dangerous Girls has me reeling. I don't know what to think, what to feel, I don't know what or who to trust, I don't know how I could've missed such big signs. All I know is that I was wrong about some things (WAY wrong) and predicted some others right from the start. Abigail Haas has created a thrilling, beautifully written, suspenseful and downright shocking at some points mystery novel and I am in awe. I can't even begin to fathom how much talent it must have taken to write a book like Dangerous Girls, having me rooting for characters and hating them at the same time, making me think that I knew what was going to happen, I even read this on the bus on the way to my friends house despite the fact that I knew I was going to get motion-sickness and that's just how darn good this book is. If you haven't read it yet, you need to. I will stop at nothing to get everyone to read this fine piece of writing. 5/5 Stars.

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder - I can't even put this into words. All the feels. ALL THE FEELS. Yelena is incredible and she underwent serious character development through this book. In the first few chapters I wasn't sure how to feel about her, she seemed a bit too weak and dependent on others to come and save her but as the story progressed and as Yelena's story progressed I knew that I had severely underestimated her. One thing I really loved about this book was that the romance wasn't a big part of the story at all. The plot of Poison Study is so unique and interesting, when I first read the summary I knew that I had to read it and then after hearing so many people talk about how overlooked it is I knew even more that I had to read it. If you're looking for a fantasy that deals with magic, crime, redemption and a lot of deeper issues with a small side order of sneaky romance plots then this is the book for you. Also Valek is just SWOON. Agh, I still can't get over how utterly perfect this book is. 5/5 Stars.