Quick Review: The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

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Once upon a time, Alice’s Grandma wrote a book of creepy fairy tales and then build a house in the woods and shut herself off the world. That alone sounds like the beginning of a fairy tale, right? That was purpose because in a lot of ways this is just an elaborate fairy tale dressed up as a novel. Alice and her mother for years moved from place to place, trying to outrun their bad luck that always seemed to follow them because of course they would be cursed. Then they finally settled down and well Alice’s mom got kidnapped and now Alice has to find her but she needs help from classmate and super fan of her grandmother, Ellery Finch to find her. Her mom’s disappearance has something to do with her Grandmother’s stories but Alice has never read them and they are hard to find. I won’t’ say more as to not spoil it but this was fun and kind of creepy. Like a good fairy tale should be because lets be honest. A lot of fairy tales were creepy before they Disney got a hold of them. So yeah, solid book. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel.

Quick Review: Blade Breaker by Victoria Aveyard

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The mistake I might have made was read this right after The Priory of the Orange Tree because it’s not that it was bad or anything but the The Priory was such a well written, tightly constructed fantasy that I couldn’t help but compare them. I like this series. I think it’s fun and do love the expanding on the world building but there were times I felt it dragged. I’ve also started to be more drawn to Queen Erida more than Corayne. Corayne is still the brave kinda naive girl she was in the first. In a lot of ways she is a lot like Erida. They are both women who are living in a man’s world and have to prove themselves. While Corayne has choosen the path that will save the world and others, Erida has choosen the path of glory for herself. Her methods may be questionable but I can’t really fault her reasonings. If she was a King instead of a Queen. No one would question her ambitions or her claim to the throne. It would just be accepted. As wrong as she may be, I can’t help be drawn to her and a little sad that her story takes place so far away from the other main characters that her time is limited. A solid middle novel. It will be interesting to see where it goes next.

Quick Review: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

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This was delightful. I like a good entertaining fantasy novel. It’s told through the narration of 4 different characters. Ead, a handmaiden from the Priory of the Orange Tree, Tane a dragonrider from the East, Dr. Roos, an alchemist from the West exiled in the east by Queen Sabran and Loth, a Lord from Queen Sabran’s court. They all tell the story of how their known world is set to fight the threat of the Nameless One. A powerful dragon that 1,000 years ago terrorized the world a but was thought to be defeated by a king but was actually defeated by 2 woman. This was a good book. All the narrators were interesting and brought a different world view to what is going on. The one thing that I did find overwhelming was the love story. I had read before starting that it was a sapphic love story, which it is but it’s not the main focal point. I guess when you only have 700 pages to tell your story and 4 narrators, romance has to wait. For fans of fantasy novels like Game of Thrones or the Lord of the Rings. This is right up you alley but better since it’s all one book so no waiting years between novels. That being said, I just read that Samantha Shannon is going to release a prequel early next year. So yes this was great book. You should read it.

What I’m Listening to Now: The Sandman by Neil Gaiman

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I don’t normally listen to audio books. I’m not even sure this counts since it’s more of a radio production then anything else but I’ve been interested in this book for a while and with the Netflix series coming out soon. No time like the present to get on it.