Mairin

I expected a lot more going into this book. I wanted revenge, Arthurs story hold from morgaras POV and while this is Morgan's story its more of her life before she turned evil (though love her for it).

You could take the magic from this book and nothing would change. Why is it their in the first place? There was no explanation on the magic either which is fire, but I would have liked to see Morgan learn how to use is on page other than she simply can.

Uther is a large part of the story and yet the conflict between him and Morgan don't appear much. I felt a bit let down at how that part of the story ended.

Here was a few decisions Morgan makes that didn't seem like she would as a character. The love story aspect of the book was dropped and then she agrees to something she's adamant she will never do as Uther says and yet she does. it doesn't mesh with her character.

I found il strange to set the story in England when I expected Wales. Each time London was mentioned it pulled me from the story.


Originally when I heard this book was about moorland I thought it would be like Morgan from the show Merlin. I loved Morgan in the show but in the book we don't see that part of Morgana until the end. That was the only part I loved about this book

Perhaps I am thinking too much about the show as I loved it, and that could be clouding what I expected from this book.
But it was a disappointment from what I expected this book to be especially when I thought it was a standalone when its not.

I dnfed this.

it started off strong, but the main character grew dumber as the story went. for such an interesting concept, it flopped. it felt more like a YA than adult which isn't my thing.

the only character I liked was the perceived villain. the others characters didn't adapt to their situation, especially since the main character is meant to have grown up on the streets, she lacks some street smarts.
it got to the point where I was having to force myself to read, so I decided to put it down.

this would be perfect for someone who loves YA and romance.

the concept was good, the story could have gone in a really interesting way if I was pulled along by the characters but they were lacking. the concept was spooky, creepy, and death magic, everything I should have loved in a book, but I didn't.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. The devil makes three vibes are strong.

Characters.

I loved the characters in this. Preston especially. Effy annoyed me in places but as the story continued, she grew on me. But Preston will forever have my heart.

Everyone keeps saying his is the best book of the year and I can see why hey love it so much but while enjoyed it, it had some issues.

Mainly the ending. I loved the last chapter, how Effy grew from the start of the book. But the ending before that, the fight for survival, the boss battle if you will. it felt cheep. it ended too quickly for my taste and I would have loved to see more of a struggle with the antagonist since they have been plaugines Effy from the start.

My other issue is with the fantasy element. The Fae king. I believe the book would have been stronger if it was clear from the start that the fae king was real. Only Effy believes in the fae king and it left doubt is he was real. I had a feeling reading that it was going to toy with the is it real or inside Effy's head. Not until the end did we get the answer.

Now I loved the romance. it deep deep and meaningful.
I loved the vibe. The vibe of this book nails.


Overall I had a good time reading this.

Merged review:

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. The devil makes three vibes are strong.

Characters.

I loved the characters in this. Preston especially. Effy annoyed me in places but as the story continued, she grew on me. But Preston will forever have my heart.

Everyone keeps saying his is the best book of the year and I can see why hey love it so much but while enjoyed it, it had some issues.

Mainly the ending. I loved the last chapter, how Effy grew from the start of the book. But the ending before that, the fight for survival, the boss battle if you will. it felt cheep. it ended too quickly for my taste and I would have loved to see more of a struggle with the antagonist since they have been plaugines Effy from the start.

My other issue is with the fantasy element. The Fae king. I believe the book would have been stronger if it was clear from the start that the fae king was real. Only Effy believes in the fae king and it left doubt is he was real. I had a feeling reading that it was going to toy with the is it real or inside Effy's head. Not until the end did we get the answer.

Now I loved the romance. it deep deep and meaningful.
I loved the vibe. The vibe of this book nails.


Overall I had a good time reading this.

It started off well. And if you can look past the strange sex scenes (cervix really?) Which were laughable. But the novel fell flat towards the midpoint where the conflict occurred. Conflict that could have been avoided

Mark was an abhorrent character. Passion was a bit bland but had more depth.

Then the ending

It was wrong in so many ways. Each to their own but the epilogue was not for me.

I'm disappointed as the book had enough potential to be a grand story of love and loss and it fell flat, with forced conflict and no true depth to the story. The last half was rushed.
I almost DNFed but as this was a group read I powered through. I wished I hasn't.

This type of book is not for me.

DNF at 21%

As a child I loved zoro I thought I would love this. Alas, not the case.

My main issue is with the writing. It's bland, none engaging and info dumpy at times. I'm often left wondering about where the characters are, it feels as if the characters are in a white room. And the pacing. it jumps a little too sudden to scenes with no natural flow. There's little moments for the mc to process and to convey her motivations instead, we jump to another scene where the questions I had before weren't answered when I expected them to be.

Lenora. As a character she is bland and boring. I get the impression that's she's the typical ‘not like other girls.' there is no depth to her character or any of the characters really.

I was most interested in the world. Granted, I didn't get far into the book, but I found the world lacking, especially in explanations. And what I was given was info dumped in a massive wall of text. How do they have magic? What are the limits of said magic? There was little answers. it felt weak as a result, not to mention the one point its mentioned that Lenora can hear at great distance yet this came on quite sudden and I would have thought it would have been mentioned or shown before hand.


This book does have the feel of a fantasy romance and I don't like that genre. Which is strange as this is meant to be historical fantasy and there was little of the historical, the one thing I was really looking forward to.

Overall this story, from what I read was week and boring. Some one else may find enjoyment in this tale but it is not me..

As a woman, I am ANGRY.
This isn't an author who can't write women, but OMG the Rpe in this book!!! I will preface if you like this book, that is absolutely fine, but you have to acknowledge that the Rpe in this book isn't the best, and should ideally be taken out.

Let's talk about this. This book came out years ago, and SA was known to be in a lot of older fantasy books, but never ever have I seen it this bad. I got through 50% of this book before i dnfed, and I was enjoying the story until the SA. Sa can be written into books if taken with enough care, and not just because of a trauma point, but Brett failed.

Brett did this in the first book. R*pe was there for no reason but i let it slide, thinking that as it was a debut he would grow and learn. The fuck was I wrong.

I was listening to this book at work, and for the hour I listened I was almost sick with how many times/long the scene was. It never went into detail, but as someone who isn't squamish, I was sickened. SICKENED. How the hell did the editors let this be published? I have no idea.
I'm not going to go into detail, but the scene in question about SA with the father, and the other sisters were telling the victim to put up with it, because they had to. Um F NO. that does not happen. Not to mention the character shows no abusive attributes. And after, she isn't traumatised but quite happy to sleep with a guy she fancies THE NEXT FING DAY

Sa is flooded through this book, not just from the women's side. A man is SAed as well. But Brett takes no time to process these instances, to give a voice on it and to show the victims feelings. It's just there. For no reason at all, and that is what sickens me.

I hate this book with all my being because of it. The SA could be torn from the book and it would change nothing. The plot is fine, the characters are okay and I was enjoying the series until this point. Demons? Give me.

As a woman I am so fed up of reading books where women are put down, SAed, treated as nothing. This book is like that, and even the other women treat other women like they are nothing. No solidarity, no advice on how to live in a man's world.

I really wish authors would do better. As a woman, I've had enough.

It was okay.

I did struggle a little with the MC there wasn't enough depth to make me want to follow her. I could have put this book down and forgotten about it

The mystery around grace Ward was interesting but wasn't compelling enough.
I expected more from the world of lack of GOV.

The worldbuilding is where Roth excels. It was the same with Divergent the way she writes the oppressive GOV in a form of trying to help but actually it indoctrinating the masses. It was well done and I could see this happening irl but hopefully won't.

There were parts where the story lagged. I wasn't compelled to keep reading and more often that not was meh about the whole thing. I wanted more with Emily Knox she was a compelling character.

Overall an okay read. Meh. The book don't draw much emotion from me as a reader

Anything with a sentient forest and I'm SOLD

I do believe I would have enjoyed this more if I had physically read it, but it was my mood and tired brain that effected my audiobook experience.

That said it was such a good book.

I loved all of the characters even those we are meant to hate. The small character moments were so sweet and loved reading about them. But it is the magic system and the world that sold me on this book. it was so interesting to read about that I kept wanting more.

Also, the sentient forest!
Think trees so tall you can't see the top and still the tree will be taller than you think.

The book itself took some time to get into but once I got into it, I couldn't put it down. The ending was well worth the time it took me to get into this book.

R J Barker has a way with words. Highly recommend this book.

A story of the empire of the mongols with a tiny slither of fantasy

I'm not a massive historial reader. I like some books and the history but I find the books that stick too close to the history I find are slow meandering and at times boring

This was and wasn't the case

There wasn't much distinctive character differences between the 3 main characters but it didn't stop my enjoyment

Arryan didn't pull punches. This story is brutal.
Oh how I hate Hulagu. So much.

The prose was a bit meh. I found it okay with no real engagement or drive to pull me into the story. However I was determined to stick it out and I'm glad I did

The story picked up around the 60% mark. This isn't to say there wasn't a story or Hook before but the story really stood on its legs by that point. Characters were doing things and I was interested to read more.
I do wish that feeling was with me through the whole book and some of the scenes and character arcs could have been brought forward in the story. Temujin storyline for instance. While the most interesting I would have liked to see more of his arc earlier on.

There was also an issue with the pacing. It jumped a lot, some scenes were rushed and there was little room for character moments. It felt as if the author was trying to cram so much into only so little word count.

I'm glad I read this. The ending struck it for me And as a historical fantasy (the fantasy being very little) it was enjoyable and I was never lost. I know little about this particular history

What a sequel!

I was hooked from the first page of this book.

The characters leapt from the page and while told in first person, there was no doubt to who's head I was in. I love both Gormflaith and Foedla. Gormflaith feeling trapped and caged by the men in her life, was so fun to read about. How she grows and starts to do things for herself and not others. The relationships she has... I was glued to the page.

Gormflaith is a character I knew I would love but Foedla took my heart. Kind and sweet characters are not who I find myself liking and yet I love her.

Both characters are complex, and opposites of each other in more ways than their personalities.it makes for a great story. I love reading about different persepectives. Not to mention the plot and politics!

The worldbuilding was effortless. The writing flowed but the characters are the strongest part of this story.

This is by no means a fast book, but the moments between the characters, the hints at what is to come pulled me through the book in the best way.

The ending chapter has me salivating for book 3 as my suspicions of what could happen could come to pass and I just know I'll have the best time reading.

A huge step up from book one. Highly recommend.

I had the best time reading this.

I was loving this book right up to the ending.
I love the world H M Long creates. The winter seas the magic I felt as if I had been transported there.

I have seen some reviews say there is a romance plot in this and I don't think there is. Maybe for future books but not for this one.

The plot was engaging. I loved the idea and the villan was well fleshed out. However. The ending. it felt rushed and almost too easy for the main characters to defeat said villain. It felt that instead of the characters using their wits to defeat the villan it was written to that point and came across to easy and rigid.

Otherwise I was really enjoying the book! The writing is easy and loved the characters.

As soon as I started reading this book I knew I was going to love it. And it was amazing.
The Dark Lord trope is used as backstory and I loved it! With a DND vide I was sold on this classical feel of the story. Oh, and the talking sword.

I enjoyed the characters and where the story went. I do wish that the female lead while well written wouldn't come across as damsel in distress. I Would have enjoyed her storyline more otherwise. I want more murderous mummy!
I will add the other side female characters were well written and strong, even is they didn't get a lot of page time.

The deeper into the story I went the sense of a wider world and plot encountered in the best way. I wanted to know more about the gang who destroyed the Dark Lord years ago.

A really enjoyable tale with an expansive world.
I Highly recommend if you like First Law but at not as grimdark and the kings of the wild with a splash of DND.

I've been reading this for months now and I haven't even gotten to page 100.

This feels like it was published a tad too early. The writing is super clunky and telling there's no emotional connection and I have no care about the characters or the world. The pacing is super off scenes often rushed which makes them clunky.
I feel super bad as I got an arc from the author and I want to support indie authors but this just didn't work for me.

If you can get past the writing I feel the story could really be good.

DNF.

I got bored. So bored. I was 30% in and nothing had happened?
The characters were not compelling they were cardboard cutouts of people I should care about but don't. They had no depth. The multi POV was too much. One or two POVs would have been enough for this story not 5.

I skimmed most of it. I kept waiting for a big bang to happen like something big and revealing that will move the plot forward but it didn't happen.

The premise sounded so good and it fell so flat. It failed in what it promised to give. The worldbuilding was lacking a lot. I expected more Norse and just got... hardly anything.

Wish I'd never read it.

What to say about this book. It's beloved but didn't hit for me.

I loved the start (though I wished it would hurry along a tad. Took too many pages to get to the school) and I ADORE the neurodivergent rep in this. The characters leapt from the page but that's where my enjoyed of this ended.

There is a tension that is missing throughout the narrative if this book. A threat of the MC loosing her dragon if she fails and yet it's mentioned once with no tension after or fear. Things happened in this book but they failed to connect in a cohesive plot. Little to no character development. It was boring.


I wanted more from the book. More exploration on the school and frankly more dragons. For a dragon book there is very little dragons in it.

Seeing the life native Americans lived through the lense of the MC was a lovely insight. I enjoyed the culture and their ways immensely.

It's a shame this book failed for me I started off loving it.

I loved this book but i can see why not everyone would like it.
Wels doesn't hold your hand as she takes you through the story of Kai, following The demon Prince from past to present.
The story doesn't start to make sense until about the 50 % mark. This wouldn't be for everyone, but as a massive fan of Gideon the 9th, I knew this book was for me
Kai lept from the page. I loved his relationship with Zedie, how ruthless he can be, but also kind,
The magic system is interesting , hard, but soft with little to No explanation given to the reader.

The worldbuilding is dense and you are expected to go along for the ride or swin. There is hardly any explanation given to the reader via narration, theres no filler no useless scenes. Everthing had a point and a purpose.

The story is eloquanty woven to connect the dots from past to present. Very well done
And bashasa, on how I love him. We don't get to see much of him , but I love his relationship With Kai. If i coukd ask for anything, it would be more stories about them.

A beautiful story, that left me wanting more.

This is not a type of story to consume via audiobook. You'll be left feeling lost and confused where the text leaves you no doubt

This way of storytelling won't be for everyone but I really enjoyed it.

This was a warm hug with a little bit of tension and I loved it.
I originally read the self published version and I have to say I enjoyed it more than I did before. The narration was excellent

I enjoyed the world so much. And the characters. Though I struggled to see the connected between the two love interests (though one of the last scenes showed this) I still enjoyed them. And a bookshop? What is not to like.

However the antagonist felt a bit shoved down my throat. Same with the resolution. Personally I wished a bit more thought had gone into it as it seemed it relied too much on the antagonist believing what I could see was a foolish lie. But this could leave it open for another book so I'm not too bothered.

And dragons. DRAGONS. I loved this part of the story the most (well second to the training a bandit)

This was such an enjoyable story and is perfect if you're looking for something lighter or are struggling in life.

this was a fun read!

engaging characters, incredible world I want to know more off and the gods– i was laughing on occasions.

the characters all leapt off the page, and I love the disability rep in this. even the characters I didn't particularly like I ended up liking by the end.

the more I think about this book, the more I like it.

it was a straightforward story, one I had fun reading.