Picked this book up as it is adored by a lot of book reviewers.
Essentially, we follow the story of Vasilisa, the daughter of a Russian noble who lives in the forzen North of Russian. She is a wild child and loves to hang around in the forest. She then discovered that she is able to communicate with spirits or creatures from fairy tales. With such a peculiar ability, she struggles to deal with her stepmother, the perception of the villagers and was forced to face the Bear (an evil entity) which is in the verge of being unleashed to harm her town.
The story is set in a Russian setting. I was introduced to a lot of Russian traditions and folklore which to me is something creative and special. There's also something special in @arden_katherine 's writing and the way she describes the setting of the story. Arden is able to draw you into the world and embrace the beauty and coldness of winter. Issues such as Christianity/religion, the social status of a women as well as the importance of tradition are highlighted throughout the story.
However, I had a few problems with the first part of the story. The character arcs of some characters left me quite puzzled. I was wondering why Vasillisa's brother is suddenly so determined in becoming a monk without any indication of such interest. The progress and decision of Vasillisa's father in marrying her stepmother is also very rushed. The political intention and plot behind marrying Vasillisa's sister to the cousin of the Grand Prince also happened in a very sudden manner.
The second half of the book just changed my mind towards this book. It is so magical when creatures from the Russian folklore were summoned to join the battle against the Bear. That moment is so epic and I cant help but to give it a 4/5 star rating. Had Arden delved into an in-depth characterization and developments the characters, it would definitely be one of my best read for the year. Nevertheless, I am intrigued and can't wait to pick up the second book of the series!
#bookreview #delreybooks
#katherinearden #winternighttrilogy
#thebearandthenightingale #bookstagram #bookoholic #beautifulbooks #bookcollector #booknerd #booklover #sunset
Re-read (or rather, re-listening) this masterpiece via @librofm (thanks to @librofm and @hachettebooks for the audio book listening copy!) before the final book in this series is out on 22.10.2019. Simon Vance did a great job in narrating this book! Well done!
I remember having some problems with Brent Weeks's writing style when i first read the Black Prism. After getting used to his writing style and re-reading this book, I have to say, the world building, magic system as well as the characterization sets a very high bar for other fantasy authors to reach. The idea of using colours as the source of magic shows the creativity and authenticity of Brent Weeks as a fantasy author.
This is also a highly character driven series. The emotions, mental state, inner struggle of all the major characters were very well fleshed out throughout this book. All the chapters in this book are short chapters but that does not sacrifice the characterization and world building of this series.
After re-reading the Black Prism, I think it deserves a strong 4/5 star rating. Have to quickly catch up with the other books before the final installment comes out! #bookstagram #brentweeks #lightbringer #theblackprism #fantasy #reread #librofm #hachettebooks #audiobooks #bookstagrammer #igread #bookgeek #booksofinstagram #bookoholic #beautifulbooks #bookcollector #booknerd #booklover #bookaddict #reading #bookreviews #kjreadsfantasy #goodread #orbitbooks #bookshelf #narrator #simonvance
I received a digital ARC copy of Blood Tally (Book 2 of the Valkyrie Collections) from @brian.mcclellan and @fanfiaddict before the release date of the book (which I think is on 11.02.2020) in exchange for an honest review.
I'm so happy that Brian decided to continue with this series! Its so good to follow once again the adventures of Alek Fitz, the reaper (a collection agent who works for the paranormal elements of the world) and his best friend Maggie, a djinn (who is trapped in a ring by a powerful sorcerer, Matthias). This time, Alek is caught up with a job which involves vampires and thralls (humans who sold their souls to vampires and willingly agree to be their slaves in exchange for immortality). In the midst of completing this job, Alek discovered the plot of a vampire (Boris Novak) who breaks the Rules as well as the plot of a Vampire Lord (Lord Ruthven) who intends to increase his power. Its good to see Brian incorporatoing the usual vampire tropes (i.e. fear of garlic and sunlight) with his own creative twist. The concept of thralls linked with groups of unwanted youths is something new and I loved it a lot!
Alek and Maggie is further caught up with the events that follow from the first book (Uncanny Collateral). Apparently, Matthias is still hunting for Maggie. Alek and Maggie decided to team up with Nick the Necromancer (one of the antagonists in the first book) to solve this problem.
Brian's characterization skills is further demonstrated in the developments between Alek and a few characters: Alek and Ada (a mother figure to Alek and also Alek's master/employer) which is complicated; Alek and Olivia (a coven-less amateur witch) whom he fell in love with; Alek and Eddie (a sphinx and herald of Sekhmet, an Egyptian goddess) who became Alek's "pet". I'm sure Olivia and Eddie will be involved in Alek's future jobs and i hope to see more interactions between them!
All in all, this is an amazing read and a strong continuation of the first book in this series! A definite 5/5 star rating! For those who are interested, you can order Blood Tally from https://www.brianmcclellan.com/bookstore/ once its released! #bookreviews #bookstagram
"We all have ghosts who walk in our shadows, Ran. Just happens some are louder than others." Thanks to the author @aliciawanstallburke for the ARC of Blood of Heirs (via @fanfiaddict) in exchange for an honest review. Receiving a copy of this debut fantasy novel did not influence my thoughts or opinions.
We follow 2 main characters in this story: Lidan and Ran. Lidan is the First Daughter of a clan chief who is eager to prove to his father that she is worthy and suitable to be his heir, despite the fact that she is a daughter and not a son. Ran, on the other hand, is the son of a Duke who is also eager to prove his worth to his father but then accidentally acquired some magical powers which turns him into an outcast. Both Lidan and Ran face different challenges in proving themselves and their characterization is so well done by Wanstall-Burke! Their emotions and mental state were so intense I literally could feel them. Wanstall-Burke perfectly demonstrates how to write a character driven fantasy series.
The worldbuilding is also perfectly done. Both Lidan and Ran are in different parts of the world: Lidan's point of view took place in the South whereby there are different clans controlling different parts of the Southern lands. Ran's point of view on the other hand took place in the North (The Disputed Territory) whereby his country, Orthia, was tasked to defend the territory from the Woaden Empire. The social structure and culture of both the Southern and Northern lands are duly explained in this story. Simple sentences were used by Wanstall-Burke and thus it is very easy to imagine and get into the world of both characters.
This book is definitely a page turner. Its a little bit dark, its easy to follow and most important of all, its not predictable. The cliffhanger at the epilogue just instantly made me picked up and started reading the second book in the series. No doubt, a strong 4.5/5 star rating!
The official release date for Blood of Heirs is 27.10.2019. You can get a copy of the same from Amazon and you will not regret it! #fantasy #bloodofheirs #aliciawanstallburke #bookstagram #bookreview #bookstagrammer #igread #bookgeek #bookgeek
Brave New World examines a futuristic society, called the World State. In this world, children are created from test tubes to increase the population of mankind. Emotions and individuality were conditioned out from the children. Children are further conditioned genetically to create a perfect caste system ranging from the highest Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and the lowest Epsilon. Alphas are bred to be leaders whereas Epsilons are bred to be menial labourers. To strengthen the caste system, prejudicial statements against other castes were indoctrinated in the minds of the society via hypnopaedia (sleep learning). Propogandas are also indoctrinated in the society via hypnopaedia. To ensure that the society is always happy, an antidepressant and hallucinogenic drug called soma is distributed to the society. Casual sex is highly encouraged and the concepts of monogamy and family are frowned upon by the society as they cause unhappiness to the society.
Aldous Huxley created a perfect Utopia (with an element of soft totalitarianism). Who does not want to live in this happy society just by giving up emotions, freedom of thought, individuality, art, religion, science? Several issues were highlighted by Huxley in this story: industrialization, Fordism, racism, genetic engineering. I would say that the character arcs of some characters in this story (especially Bernard, Lenina, Linda and John) shows that they are the victims of this utopian society.
Without a doubt, this classic deserves a strong 4.8/5 star rating. The only major con is the language. The sentences are long and convoluted. Other than that I think Huxley wrote a beautiful piece of work. Some propogandas are so catchy and I just can't get them out of my mind: "Civilization is sterilisation", "ending is better than mending", "when individual feels, the community reels"... Whether this world is a utopia or a dystopia, its up to you to decide.
#bookreview #vintagebooks #penguinclassics #aldoushuxley #bravenewworld #dystopian #bookstagram #bookcovers #bookaddict #bookoholic #beautifulbooks #bookstagrammer #bookgeek #booksofinstagram #igread #bookshelf #bookworm #bookish #reading #bookquotes #utopia
This is the first Stephen King book that I have completed. I have picked up his Pet Sematary last year but I just cant finish it as I can't get the feel of it. But The Institute changed my perspective towards King's works.
In short, this is a story about the Institute who kidnaps children with psychic abilities (telekinesis and telepathy). These kids are then subject to several tests and experiments as well as the brutal treatment of the personnel of the Institute. They are eventually weaponized to achieve the aims of some government conspiracy, mostly involving murdering someone in some parts of the world. Luke, the protagonist of the story managed to escape the Institute and together with his gang of friends in the Institute and some other characters at a small town of DuPray, to overthrow the Institute.
This story gives me the vibes of Stranger Things and X Men but with King's own personal touch. There are some gut churning moments where I was left wondered on how adults can be so heartless and brutally abuse children. And I have to say, there are a few humorous moments between the interactions between Luke and his friends (Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris and Avery) and although some may say that the jokes are outdated but it works fine for me. I feel that King managed to tap into the mental state of the abusers, victims of abusers and prisoners very well. The ending and major showdown between the kids against the personnel of the Institute immediately spike up my initially 4 star rating to 4.5/5 star rating. This quote from the end of the story really is a food for thought: - “Seventy years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki were obliterated by atomic bombs, the world is still here even though many nations have atomic weapons, even though primitive human emotions still hold sway over rational thought and superstition masquerading as religion still guides the course of human politics.” After reading the Institute, I think I will keep an eye of King's works and maybe re-read Pet Sematary. There is indeed a reason why he is the most successful American author to date #stephenking #theinstitute #bookstagram #bookreview #igread #bookgeek #bookaddict
