March 2021 | What I’ve been reading
After finishing A Court of Silver Flames in February I was hit with a pretty big reading hangover, that lead to a reading slump. The only downside to really great books is finding another really great read to live up to it. Thankfully my buddy read with Kat @familyof5life helped keep me afloat and eventually bring back the love of reading even if I suspected not much could touch ACOSF.
I have found Kindle reading harder this month, though found the love again toward the end of the month. I started about five kindle books but only finished three of them. I’m hoping to go back to them in April.
1 | Queen of Shadows | Sarah J Maas
5/5 stars | I loved this book as much as I did the first time, and with my foggy memory and so much happening in this plot, there were still a few surprises. I adore the character development in this book across the likes of Chaol, Aelin and Manon. The introduction of more characters like the badass Lysandra is fab and the backstories of Aedion, and Asterin bring the characters to life.
The complex plot is engaging and thrilling. SJM weaves twists and turns throughout, rather than everything at the end. I really did just want to keep reading with this book.
2 | The Invisible Library | Genevieve Cogman
3.5/5 stars | I’ve seen this book around for a while, and it’s been quite well hyped, but unfortunately for me, it fell a little flat. Perhaps in part due to the other books I’m reading, I’m not sure. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it, I just didn’t find it as unputdownable as I would have expected.
The book follows Irene, a Librarian for the Invisible Library which is linked to alternate worlds to collect unique books. Irene, along with Kai, is tasked to find a specific book. Their mission brings them in contact with a detective, vampire, fae and animatronic magical creatures. I enjoyed the premise and the plot quite a lot, although I feel like it was a tad jumpy in places.
I found the characters nice enough with a bit of intrigue, but just didn’t engage with them enough and found them a bit lacking which is why the star rating is relatively low for me. I enjoyed the general book but I just didn’t love the characters which would have made the book.
3 | Empire of Storms | Sarah J Maas
5/5 stars | I definitely forgot how much I thoroughly loved this book. Because it’s before Kingdom of Ash which is my favourite book, it gets a bit lost. In fact a had entirely forgotten some pretty big plot points. SJM’s writing had me tense and not able to put the book down even when I knew it would carry out. I love the camaraderie between the characters and the development of the relationships between them all. The plot is brilliant and so clever, but the characters are truly what makes this book so special. The conversations had me beaming ear to ear, whilst their actions and stories had me near tears.
I especially loved the witches and Manon’s continued development as a character. The ending of the book will leave you desperate ti continue with the story.
4 | The Sister’s Grimm | Meena Van Praag
3.5/5 stars | I really loved the premise and concept of this book but it fell a little flat on execution. The idea of four sisters with magical abilities visiting a Dreamland really intrigued me, and that on their 18th birthday they would have to fight to the death a soldier designed to kill them. But in the real world, they don’t know about their powers, or even their sisters.
The concept was good. And the descriptions of Everwhere are beautiful. But I just didn’t love it like I thought I would. The mix of perspectives was at times confusing, and I’m not sure I liked the past and present chapter changes and would have preferred it as flashbacks within the same chapters. I didn’t engage with any of the characters so much, but did quite like the relationship developments between Goldie and Leo. I really didn’t think Liyana’s story was particularly realistic.
I thought the ending was decent with a couple of surprises and a few inevitable plot devices. I’m not sure I loved it though.
5 | Tower of Dawn | Sarah J Maas
5/5 stars | The penultimate book of the Throne of Glass series. I know this book is harder to get into in the beginning as it leaves behind Aelin, Rowan and Co from Empire of Storms, and follows Chaol and Nesryn as they head out on their own adventure to seek allies for Erilea. We also meet healer Yrene.
This books is far more diverse than the others, bringing in new ideologies and monarchy system, as well as new Gods.
Yrene is a brilliant character, and Chaol’s development as a person is perfect. I’m not such a huge fan of Nesryn, but liked her story well enough.
As much as I missed Aelin and Rowan, this is a story worth reading and sets up Kingdom of Ash in a way that means it is a vital part of the series.
6 | Kingdom of the Wicked | Kerri Maniscalco
4/5 stars | This book is hugely popular across bookstagram so when it came up on Kindle Deals for 99p I had to get it.
I really enjoyed the premise and overall plot to this book, following Emilia, a witch, whose sister is mysteriously murdered, as she deals with her grief and investigates why her sister was killed. She comes across the Wicked in her home town, the demon Princes of Hell who are being summoned, included Wrath.
I liked the plot, with lots of intrigue and twists. It’s a gripping read. The folktales and witch stories mixed with the plot add a fairytale vibe that I really enjoyed, and the character development of both Emilia and Wrath is so good. Set in Palermo, I particularly liked the food references, adding a real authentic feel to the characters and world they live in.
My only disappointment was the ending. Admittedly I thought this was a stand alone book, and it isn’t. The sequel is due in October 2021. This means there are quite a lot of loose ends still to be resolved which left me a little unresolved too. I’d have liked a better ending for Emilia and Wrath, though I can’t deny the set up for the next book is good.
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Read my previous 2021 book reviews below: