A Darker Shade Of Magic Review

So, I just finished reading A Darker Shade of Magic by Victoria Schwab this past Sunday. You can find a synopsis here. I liked the book. It seems to be a combination of The Lord of the Rings, with a One Ring type of object, Doctor Who, with having fixed places and times, and Harry Potter, with magic. My only issue with the book is that I found the translations for Antari words to be useful in the beginning, but it eventually became annoying after a while.

The Queen Of The Tearling Review

So, I recently finished reading The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen, and all I can is that it reminds me of Deborah Harkness’ A Discovery of Witches. The reason The Queen of the Tearling reminds me of A Discovery of Witches is that I found both books a bit hard to get through and both also had interesting premises that left so many questions unanswered. By the way, I will list my questions and issues after this. Anyway, I feel like the author didn’t put much work into building a backstory and filling out the characters in a consistent manner. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend reading the book, and I definitely am not planning on reading any sequels.

When is this story set? Because it makes references to current things, such as computers and modern science, but yet the world seems to be set in medieval times.

Does this world have magic or not? If it does, what kind of magic is it? Can magic be wielded by everybody, or by a select few?

How does the world, as Kelsea knows it, come to be? Is it something along the lines of The Hunger Games and the Divergent series, where it is a dystopian post-apocalyptic society? If not, then how?

Why was Kelsea hidden away in the forest under the guardianship of Barty and Callin? Was it to get Kelsea away from the political intrigues of courtly life? And why Barty and Callin? Why choose them to raise Kelsea?

How is it that most of the Queen’s Guards were loyal to Kelsea’s mother and knew her secrets, are loyal to Kelsea (about 20 years later), and be in their forties, and still be active guards? Because I would think that in order for the Queen’s Guards to build that loyalty to Kelsea’s mother, they would have to have served under her for years, thus pushing their ages to be in their really late forties to early fifties on the young end.

Why were Barty, Callin, and the Queen’s Guards sworn to secrecy about Kelsea’s mother’s reign as Queen? Was there a reason why Kelsea’s mother didn’t want Kelsea to know about her reign, besides the treaty between Tearling and Mort?

Who is the Fetch? Is he supposed to be a Robin Hood/Man in Black type of character? Why does he test Kelsea? Is he trying to make sure that history doesn’t repeat itself?

What is the significance of the jewels? I can understand the one that Kelsea had from birth; it would help prove her identity. But what is the significance of the second jewel? And why do both jewels work better together, rather than apart?

How does the passing of the throne work? Is this world in which the throne passes through the mother, because the mother is certain?

Why is Kelsea’s paternity so important and so secret? Because it seems that the throne passes through the mother, and not the father.

The Collectors’ Society and The Hidden Library Reviews

So, for this review, I’m doing two books in one review. I’m doing that because for the most part, my review for the second book is the same as the first book. Anyway, you can find a synopsis for both books here. For The Collectors’ Society, there are three things that I wish were different about the book. The first thing is that I wished that the whole getting to Wonderland plotline had progressed a lot faster that it had. I mean, I get that the author had to set the beginning of the story in order for the rest of the story to make sense, such as Alice learning about 21st Century technology, but it wasn’t until the story was about half way to two-thirds done that we, as the audience, get to Wonderland. The second thing that I would change is Alice and Finn’s relationship. I thought that their relationship had been rushed. It’s not that because their relationship wasn’t well developed. It’s just that it felt like it went from 0 to 160 in no time. The third thing that I wish was different was the sex scenes. Now, keep in mind that I am not opposed to sex scenes in books, given the right context. What I mean by that is I expect sex scenes to be either implied, or in romance novels or books like Fifty Shades of Grey. I definitely did not expect the sex scenes to be described as it is to be in a book like The Collectors’ Society. Anyway, as The Hidden Library, I found it to be very interesting. It makes me want to read the next book.

Dissonance Review

So, I read Dissonance by Erica O’Rourke within the last month. You can find a synopsis here. Personally, I liked the book. But there’s one thing that I didn’t like about it. I thought that the relationship between Del and Simon was rushed. To me, it seemed like the author didn’t really put much effort into Del and Simon’s relationship. Anyway, a little side note: the Freewalkers in Dissonance kinda remind me of Divergents in Victoria Roth’s Divergent series.

Sorceress Review

Well, I finished reading Sorceress by Claudia Grey within the last month. Personally, I liked the book as well as the series. I would recommend the book as well as the series. However, there are two things that I would have changed. The first thing would be the big battle towards the end of the book was a little bit more epic. To me, the battle was a little bit wimpy. Especially the battle between Nadia and the One Beneath. I think it would have been better if it was a little bit more like the last battle in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings: Return of the King meets the fight between Gandalf and the Balrog in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Maybe not on the same scale as either battle, but more than what was written. Anyway, the second thing that I would have changed is how the epilogue is set up. I would have liked to have known things like what happened between Mr. Caldini and the guidance councilor. Oh, and what are the new rules that deal with the Craft? Especially now that males can become witches and Steadfasts.