Briar Crawford

NOTE: What I've written below are just my opinions. Please do not let me sway you from reading this book. I gave it three stars simply out of my own feelings, so your own experience with this book might be different(I am notoriously picky).

Pros:
-The world building
-Interesting characters
-THE WORLD BUILDING!
-Fascinating mythology
-Interesting plot

Cons:
-Ceda had five (or more?) men in love with her or crushing on her at some point.
-Sex. I thought the sex scenes were unnecessary, but others might like them.
-There were a few parts where the results of the mystery were pretty obvious, and it dragged on a bit waiting for Ceda to catch on as we were dumped with myths or flashbacks.

Warnings:
-Sex
-Violence

If you are craving a classic style action book, than this is the book for you!

Now, let me say, if you want a tragic novel that puts Game of Thrones to shame, than choose another book, because this book is intended to be fun and action-packed. Yes, I will admit that this novel has certain cheesy moments, but in my opinion, it actually added to the story. Picture classics like Jurassic Park and The Mummy; mixing comedy with action, and that is where this book sits.

Steelheart seamlessly mixes action and humour in a way that makes it read like a movie, and I must say, some of the past reviewers were complaining about flat characters, but I saw no such problem. Megan, on of the main characters, was constantly reminding me of Black Widow(Avengers), and the main character? He was a positive go-getter with a great sense of humour. In fact, I saw all the characters clear as day, so I am not sure what the problem is for other people.

All in all, I thought it was a fun and thrilling read that deserves a spot on my bookshelf.

Book Basics:
Third person limited point-of-view, female MC, adult grim-dark fantasy, large cast of characters

Book Trigger Warnings:
Self harm, sexual assault(described by another character), graphic violence and gore(including children and babies), drug use, abuse, toxic relationships

Non-Spoiler Review:
Three stars from my rating system means “it's ok.” If I could, I would rate it 3.5 . When I was about half way into this book, I was positive this was going to be a solid five stars, then it slowly dropped two stars as the story went on.

This book does not hold back on the horrors of war, though that is not why it dropped in stars for me. For me, the narration became a bit repetitive and did a lot of telling rather than showing. This includes the fight scenes which lacked detail to my preference.

I think it is VERY important for people picking this up to know that this is not a story about an anti-hero, or even a morally good hero. It is a story about how war (and toxic relationships) can twist people. For me personally, her emotions felt a little all over the place after about half way in the book. One moment she's happy, a line later she's crying her eyes out only to be ok another line later. One moment she hates a character, the next she's fawning over them. Sometimes how she feels about a side character is so vague, it's hard to tell if she hates or likes any of them.

I will agree that the writer is talented, well-read in history(its very much based on real-world history) and mythology, and writes a unique story that most people will love.

I will be reading the next book

I had never read a book by Rick Riordan before, so I thought I would give his books a try when I saw this Norse mythology themed one.

This book was full of humour. From fart jokes to witty sarcasm, it has it all. The book also has action, unique characters, and a hilarious modern take on Norse mythology.

I suppose the only reason why this book didn't get full ratings from me is that it seemed to be missing a needed moment of pause for more character building. I understand this was a race against time, but I wish that there was just a tiny bit more character-to-character dialogue that didn't include talking about backstory. This is likely just a personal thing, but I would have liked to have seen a little more friendship building through dialogue.

I also wish Magnus showed a little bit more weakness since he was a little on the perfect side.

spoiler below
Since at the start of the book he cringed every time he even saw a fake wolf, I would have liked to have felt that fear more in the final fight. Perhaps him frozen with fear for a few moments.

All in all, though, it was still a very fun read and I am glad I picked it up.

Pros:
-Funny
-Interesting characters
-Norse Mythology
-Interesting plot
-It was a fun read


Cons:
-Too perfect of a MC
-Slightly too little character building

Six of Crows is by far now one of my favorite books. It is very fun and exciting, and the characters were very different from other current YA books out there. A major character, Kaz, walks with a limp, and the rest of the cast is very diverse. I wont spoil anything, but I really suggest reading this heist book.

Pros:
-Diverse Cast
-Great World Building
-Amazing Writing Style
-Characters Seem Real
-The story is exciting and fun.

Cons:
-Slightly cheesy romance(likely just me-I am not one for romance anyhow)

SMALL SPOILERS

-Slightly cheesy cliffhanger.