Review: Tokyo Ever After

Tokyo Ever After

Rating: 5/5

Buy or Borrow: Definitely buy! 

Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

Izumi Tanaka has lived an uneventful seventeen years in her small town, keenly aware of all the ways in which her family is different from most of her classmates’. But then Izumi discovers a clue to her previously unknown father’s identity . . . and he’s none other than the Crown Prince of Japan.

Soon she’s traveling overseas to meet the father she never knew and discover the country she's only dreamed of. But being a princess isn’t all ball gowns and tiaras. There are conniving cousins, a hungry press, a scowling but handsome bodyguard who just might be her soulmate, and thousands of years of tradition and customs to learn practically overnight. Izzy soon finds herself caught between worlds, and between versions of herself—back home, she was never “American” enough, and in Japan, she must prove she’s "Japanese" enough. Will Izumi crumble under the weight of the crown, or will she live out her fairytale, happily ever after?

Hello everyone, I'm here to introduce you to one of my favourite books of the year! I can't begin to describe to you all how much I loved this book. I loved the sound of the synopsis and I was expecting it to be a fun read, which it was by the way, I just wasn't expecting to become quite so obsessed with this book! I grew up reading The Princess Diaries and I got such big Princess Diaries vibes from this book, but more than that...it was just so entertaining and really took me out of my own head for the entire time I was reading it. Every time I reluctantly had to put it down I couldn't wait to settle down and get back to it because yes, it had emotional moments, but it also just really made me happy when I was reading! Tokyo Ever After is a feel-good, mood lifting kind of read and ugh, it was brilliant! I'd also like to take a moment to thank this book for introducing me to the word 'mantrum'! 

I was smiling from the start of this book, I absolutely loved Izumi's narrative voice with the tone and the snark. Izumi was just a brilliant MC, like she had the snark, she was funny, she was easy to relate to, root for and empathise with. I really felt everything right there with her, both good and bad. I genuinely got so upset on her behalf whenever things would go wrong and it wasn't entirely her fault because that's the thing. Izumi finds out she's a Princess which is awesome, but it's not all sunshine and rainbows. She's been raised in the US and as such, she's not familiar with the culture and customs in Japan or what the protocol and expectations are for a Royal. So she has to navigate and learn an entirely new culture and of course she makes mistakes and doesn't always get it right, especially with her twin cousins trying to sabotage her and I really felt for her more than once. I was angry and upset on her behalf, and as Izumi's learning all about this amazing new culture, you're learning it right there with her. It also makes for some emotional moments as she feels like she doesn't fit in anywhere but she's trying so hard to, and I loved her journey to discovering just where it is she belongs and who she is with this new identity she has. I'm going to be honest, Izumi has more balls than me because she sticks out for a lot longer than I would have and it takes a lot of courage for her return at the end! 

 

Another thing that made this book for me was the cast of supporting characters. I LOVED Izumi's friendship group and the dynamic between them all. It was a solid friendship, they all had each other's backs and they were fully there for Izumi, plus I loved the banter! There's so many great lines in this book from Izumi and her friends that had me snorting with laughter. I really liked Yoshi, I thought he was funny and it warmed my heart that he was the first to accept her and provided some much needed chill time for her to kind of let loose and relax. Reina...I'd love to see more of Reina because I loved what we did see and she made me giggle with some of her lines! I also really loved Mariko and watching the friendship slowly grow between the two of them with Mariko opening up a little and having her back when Izumi needed it! 

Then we have Akio. I loved Akio, I loved the dynamic between them from the start when Izumi was drawing little devil horns on his  picture and fully hating him to the way that slowly shifted and changed as she started to catch feelings. There was just so much angst because of his position, but he was actually really very sweet and I loved the romance. They wrote love poems to each other, what more can I say!? 

I just really loved reading this book, it brought a never-ending smile to my face and is the kind of feel-good read that's perfect for summer! There's angst, there's drama, there's heartwarming moments and more emotional moments. Izumi's just...she always remains generous and warm no matter what people do or say to her, she's courageous because I'd have run away if I was her and watching her slowly become closer to her father as they get to know each other was beautiful too. 

I spent so much of this book either laughing out loud, gasping out loud, yelling at the book and just generally being riveted to it because as I said...the drama. There was one particular twist at the end that I didn't see coming, maybe I should have but I was having too much fun to be honest! Or maybe I was just wilfully ignoring it because of how much I loved the character and I knew it was going to hurt not only Izumi, but also me! Either way, I thought I'd figured out where this was going and if there's another book I figured this character would get more of a focus...but this twist threw that completely out of the window! The ending though...that was utterly perfect, and I'm really hoping it's not over! 

Tokyo Ever After is a brilliant, wonderful book that will have you smiling throughout! It's impossible not to cheer for Izumi, commiserate with her, gasp out loud at the twists and the drama and get a little bit emotional at the angst. It's angst with a happy ending, mind you but still...there is angst! I was fully invested in this book, I never wanted it to end and I'm so stoked to find out that it seems to be a series! Izumi's narrative voice and the brilliant cast of entertaining support characters made this book for me, along with Izumi's slow growing relationship with her father, friendship with Mariko and the sweet romance blossoming with Akio! It's funny, but also kind of packed with feels and heart, not to mention the abundance of Japanese culture to discover right alongside her! 

I need for this series to be like ten books long or never end, basically! This is definitely a favourite of mine that will be revisited many a time when I'm in need of some sunshine and smiles! 

Review: From Little Tokyo With Love

From Little Tokyo With Love 

Rating: 4/5

Buy or Borrow: Buy! 

Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

Celebrated author Sarah Kuhn reinvents the modern fairy tale in this intensely personal yet hilarious novel of a girl whose search for a storybook ending takes her to unexpected places in both her beloved LA neighborhood and her own guarded heart.

If Rika's life seems like the beginning of a familiar fairy tale--being an orphan with two bossy cousins and working away in her aunts' business--she would be the first to reject that foolish notion. After all, she loves her family (even if her cousins were named after Disney characters), and with her biracial background, amazing judo skills and red-hot temper, she doesn't quite fit the princess mold. 

All that changes the instant she locks eyes with Grace Kimura, America's reigning rom-com sweetheart, during the Nikkei Week Festival. From there, Rika embarks on a madcap adventure of hope and happiness--searching for clues that Grace is her long-lost mother, exploring Little Tokyo's hidden treasures with cute actor Hank Chen, and maybe...finally finding a sense of belonging.

But fairy tales are fiction and the real world isn't so kind. Rika knows she's setting herself up for disappointment, because happy endings don't happen to girls like her. Should she walk away before she gets in even deeper, or let herself be swept away? 

Okaaay I went through it reading this book! Yes it was fun, yes it had romance and a quest of sorts but wow did I see my younger self in Rika and her anger and how it felt to her, as well as how she felt that she didn't deserve a happy ending. Not to be brutally personal there, but Rika had me feeling quite emotional a time or two! 

As such, I immediately loved Rika, like I read the first chapter and fell in love with her narrative voice, then I got punched in the heart by how the chapter ended. I just really connected with her character, I was rooting for her, empathised with her and was just generally Team Rika throughout! I really loved her sisters Rory and Belle and the relationship between the three of them. Their interactions had me chuckling a time or two! There's so many great characters in this book, and I truly felt like Henry was the perfect match for Rika. Everyone else saw Rika as angry and problematic, always causing disruptions but Henry just see's her as passionate. They both encourage each other in their own individual missions and I actually thought it was really refreshing to have a movie star character like Henry struggling with panic attacks rather than painting him to be perfect. 

I easily binged through this, Rika and Henry go on a treasure hunt of sorts in the quest to find Rika's mother, following all the clues they come across. But while this has humour and some sweet, swoony romance moments, there's also these very emotional moments that tug at the heart. Rika struggles with fitting in and feeling like she belongs because of not only her anger and the trouble she thinks she causes, but because of her identity as biracial and when I tell you I want to climb inside the book and punch Craig repeatedly for making her life a misery and spewing hatred at her...I'm not kidding. If I could have done it I would have. Gladly. 

There's a lot of heart to this story, it's a quest to find Rika's mother, but it's also a journey of Rika's own self discovery. She learns that while she might struggle with her anger, which is an issue I haven't seen in a YA book before, she learns to stop equating that with her being difficult or disruptive. Rika also goes on a journey to realise that she does deserve a happy ending and it just has so much heart to it alongside a strong theme of not belonging. 

I should mention a quick content/trigger warning because there is distinct racism in this book and slurs are used by one character to another. There's also homophobia and panic attacks. In terms of rep, we've got some wlw side characters in the form of Rika's two mums and one of her sisters is pansexual! Rika is biracial as is Henry though Rika is Japanese American and Henry is Filipino Chinese and as a result different issues and struggles are touched upon by each of them relating to being biracial. 

All in all, this is a book full of heart, with some important issues addressed as well as some interesting ones such as Rika's anger issues. The romance is sweet and Rika's journey of self discovery is one that resonates!

Review: Queen of Coin and Whispers

Queen of Coin and Whispers 

Rating: 2.5/5

Buy or Borrow: Borrow 

Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review 

When teenage queen Lia inherits her corrupt uncle’s bankrupt kingdom, she brings a new spymaster into the fold ... Xania, who takes the job to avenge her murdered father.

Faced with dangerous plots and hidden enemies, can Lia and Xania learn to rely on each another, as they discover that all is not fair in love and treason?

In a world where the throne means both power and duty, they must decide what to sacrifice for their country – and for each other … 

I really wanted to rate this higher because I was so here for the f/f romance and all the LGBTQ+ representation the book provides but while I did enjoy myself somewhat reading this, it ultimately fell a little flat for me. 

It does jump straight in with the plot and things move forward quickly, the book is fast paced which I appreciated and there was a huge amount of political intrigue and plotting and so on. There are really smooth and seamless transitions through time throughout and as for our main character Lia, she was very determined. She has a lot to contend with and there's a lot of political treachery that she has to find a way around and she wants to be better than her Uncle and make things better but as she discovers it's not too easy to do so. 

Our other POV is Xania, she's quite the badass and she becomes more and more adept at her job as Whispers over time throughout the book. She and Lia are quite ruthless, or at least they're supposed to be which was quite refreshing I just didn't particularly feel any true danger or high stakes throughout the book. I also appreciate side character Matthias. I loved his entire attitude and I spent a good chunk of the book really hoping he wasn't going to turn out to be shady. 

Unfortunately, I can't do a review anywhere near the length that I usually would as that's really all the positives I can say about this book. It was just...okay. I read this book in two sittings although it took me a little while to work up to reading the other half, I put the book down and I didn't feel that burning need to pick it back up and finish it I'm afraid. 

On the negative side of things, I feel like while the pace is fast and we move through time quickly, it's at the cost of developing the characters. I don't feel like they were fleshed out enough and that also affects the romance as well. I personally felt the romance to be quite sudden, I was looking forward to watching it develop and having some slow burn to squeal over but it was just suddenly there. I feel like some time could have been taken to fully develop the characters and the romance, and it was a little unconvincing how adept Xania became at being Whispers with no previous training doing such things. You do see her get more adept at it over the course of the book but the time skips do allow for it to be glossed over. There were just a lot of things about Xania that didn't really make much sense, she could just suddenly do this, or she'd learned this and so on. 

The world building was okay, it could have had more depth to it and I didn't really have a true image in my mind of the setting. I found it difficult to be bothered about the characters when they weren't that fleshed out so while there's plenty of blood and action and politics I was kind of breezing through the book without feeling too invested. The writing style was also a bit bland and there wasn't really that much of a difference between Lia's narrative and Xania's. The writing didn't draw me in at all and I felt like when it came to Xania the author was trying too hard to make her seem dangerous and edgy with her inner monologue and some of the imagery used. 

Overall, Queen of Coin and Whispers is a quick, fast read and it's an okay book. It's not truly bad, but it could have been improved a little, like it could quite easily have been a duology and more time could have been taken to develop the characters, the romance and the world. There were too many things about this that were a little hard to believe, and Xania wasn't entirely convincing a lot of the time. The romance lacked chemistry and development, and the characters weren't fleshed out enough for me to truly care about them and what happened to them. The setting could have been any generic fantasy setting with one little original twist and the writing didn't work to draw you into the story. I found myself making myself finish this once I'd put it down and I was overall very disappointed because I'd been so excited for the f/f romance that's in this!

Review: Aurora Burning

Aurora Burning 
Rating: 4/5 
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

First, the bad news: an ancient evil—you know, your standard consume-all-life-in-the-galaxy deal—is about to be unleashed. The good news? Squad 312 is standing by to save the day. They’ve just got to take care of a few small distractions first.

Like the clan of gremps who’d like to rearrange their favorite faces.

And the cadre of illegit GIA agents with creepy flowers where their eyes used to be, who’ll stop at nothing to get their hands on Auri.

Then there’s Kal’s long-lost sister, who’s not exactly happy to see her baby brother, and has a Syldrathi army at her back. With half the known galaxy on their tails, Squad 312 has never felt so wanted.

When they learn the Hadfield has been found, it’s time to come out of hiding. Two centuries ago, the colony ship vanished, leaving Auri as its sole survivor. Now, its black box might be what saves them. But time is short, and if Auri can’t learn to master her powers as a Trigger, the squad and all their admirers are going to be deader than the Great Ultrasaur of Abraaxis IV.

Shocking revelations, bank heists, mysterious gifts, inappropriately tight bodysuits, and an epic firefight will determine the fate of the Aurora Legion’s most unforgettable heroes—and maybe the rest of the galaxy as well. 

Aurora Rising was a nice little surprise for me, I'd been sent an ARC by the publisher and even though Sci-Fi isn't my usual thing I fancied picking it up and giving it a shot. I ended up really enjoying myself reading it and highly anticipating the sequel, Aurora Burning. In fact I was kind of procrastinating from reading Aurora Burning because I was so excited for it and knew I'd binge through it in no time! 

Aurora Burning follows much the same kind of formula as the first book. There's a nice action packed opening before the whole Kuzco 'yeah that's me' kind of thing like I mentioned in my review of Aurora Rising. I do love how it's addressed and acknowledged in the narrative so I'll give it a pass for being kind of, exactly the same. There's also the multiple POV's, the slices of information on the world although from what I could tell a lot of them were the same as from the previous book but don't quote me on that because I'm not 100% sure as I didn't have time for a re-read! I just got that eery sense that I'd already read them. The humour and snark of the previous book is also present in abundance throughout Aurora Burning, as is the action scenes, fast pace and slight ridiculousness that sometimes pops up. 

However, this time around I feel like we get a lot more emotion than there was in the previous book, to go with the new characters that we're introduced to and we finally get some more background and insight into the characters. Zila in particular was much appreciated by me as I kind of always forgot she was there in the previous book and I felt like out of all the characters we got to know her the least. With the absence of one character, Zila certainly takes the spotlight a lot more in this book. Not only do we come to understand her thanks to a very cleverly written chapter, but she also has a lot more to do in this book! Before she kind of felt like an additional crew member to bulk out numbers and I couldn't quite figure out what her purpose was so I was excited to see her take on more of a role and learn more about her. It was also nice to see her relaxing and becoming more comfortable with the others! 

As you'd expect from the cover of Aurora Burning, our cover man Kal takes more of a focus in this book. I felt like we saw a lot less of Tyler than we did in the previous book and all eyes were on Kal as we went deeper into his character's background and there were some brilliant twists with him that I usually figured out about 2 seconds before the reveal! I also loved getting a deeper look at the Syldrathi and the split between them with the Unbroken opposing pretty much everyone. 

Aurora Burning picks up smoothly from where we left off with a burst of action to pull you in as we get to grips with the current situation our crew have found themselves in. Once again, I liked that we didn't hang around and jumped straight into things. Quickly being introduced to the 8476343 problems they have to face. One of which is new character Saedii who's badass, a little bit scary and yet still kind of awesome. 

I have to say, Finian further cemented his place as my favourite character in this entire series! I love he and his narrative and I loved getting to see one of my ships develop further in this book. I feel like Finian had more depth in this book, as did Scarlett actually! The two of them really remind me of my Teen Wolf OTP Stydia! Speaking of OTP's, I feel like Saedii and Tyler are going to become a thing next book and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that. I've been holding out hope for Cat and that hope hasn't entirely died so I'm not sure if I can get behind Tyler X Saedii. 

I have to say, Kal was my biggest disappointment in this book. He was super intriguing in the first book with his 'enemy within' and that internal struggle and then we get plenty more intriguing information about him in this book...but somehow he ended up just being relegated to being the love interest. He stopped being a character all of his own and really just became like one entity with Aurora and I felt like the entire point of him this book was to be Aurora's love interest. It was really disappointing and I felt like his potential was never really explored which made the ending all the more frustrating. 

On the subject of Aurora and Kal, I never fully got on board with their romance in the first book, it seemed very insta-love and didn't have much depth to it but I figured it would be expanded upon in this book. However, there's a little plot device in this book that allows months to pass for the two of them in the blink of an eye and I was side-eyeing it immensely. It sped up the romance but I still didn't fully buy it because we didn't get to see a lot of it and it seemed like it was there to make things more wrenching and emotional towards the end but it just...fell a little flat to be honest. 

There are still some plot twists that are pulled out to surprise you that leave you gasping and ramp up towards the end fantastically. I also particularly thought that the final chapter was clever as we snap quickly between POVs and it added to the building rhythm of the finale, keeping you speeding towards the end and amping up the tension before the absolutely horrific cliffhanger ending. Was that really necessary!? 

I can't say whether I enjoyed this more than Aurora Rising, I think I might have enjoyed the previous book a little bit more. Aurora Burning is much like Aurora Rising in that it isn't entirely perfect, there are a few things that niggled at me, but it was still a fast and enjoyable read that you could have fun reading! I look forward to having that cliffhanger resolved in the next book and I'm once again, probably foolishly, holding out hope for a certain character! Although I think I've now finally lost hope for Cat.  

Review: Bone Crier's Moon

Bone Crier's Moon
Rating: 3/5
Buy or Borrow: Borrow 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

Bone ​Criers have a sacred duty. They alone can keep the dead from preying on the living. But their power to ferry the spirits of the dead into goddess Elara’s Night Heavens or Tyrus’s Underworld comes from sacrifice. The gods demand a promise of dedication. And that promise comes at the cost of the Bone Criers’ one true love.

Ailesse has been prepared since birth to become the matriarch of the Bone Criers, a mysterious famille of women who use strengths drawn from animal bones to ferry dead souls. But first she must complete her rite of passage and kill the boy she’s also destined to love.

Bastien’s father was slain by a Bone Crier and he’s been seeking revenge ever since. Yet when he finally captures one, his vengeance will have to wait. Ailesse’s ritual has begun and now their fates are entwined—in life and in death.

Sabine has never had the stomach for the Bone Criers’ work. But when her best friend Ailesse is taken captive, Sabine will do whatever it takes to save her, even if it means defying their traditions—and their matriarch—to break the bond between Ailesse and Bastien. Before they all die.  

Bone Crier's Moon has been one of my anticipated reads for a while so I was eager to dive in, unfortunately it didn't quite live up to my expectations and often fell a little bit flat. While the world was intriguing and I was incredibly fascinated by the Bone Crier's and the lore surrounding them, the negatives outweigh the positives for me. 

I'll start off this review with what I did like about this book. As I said, the world is intriguing and so is the lore that surrounds the Bone Crier's, I actually thought it was quite original. I was excited to dive in and learn more about them and how everything worked. The opening of the book was misty and evocative and the atmosphere for the book was very well done throughout and was, in my opinion, one of the best parts of the book. It was atmospheric throughout and it was this atmosphere that helped pull you into the book and bring the settings to life. It just added a little extra something to the scenes and provided certain feelings depending on the scene and location. I was really able to get a strong feel for the aesthetic of the book as I was reading which I particularly enjoyed. 

There's some nicely placed ominous hints throughout the book about what's really going on with one of the characters and serves to provide a sense of intrigue to keep you reading. However, I think the biggest plus about this book is how badass all of the female characters are. They're strong, they can take care of their selves and they aren't afraid to fight back when they need to. Even Sabine who doesn't really enjoy violence all that much! Each of the Bone Crier's really had each other's backs and I loved the strong, deep female friendship depicted between Sabine and Ailesse though I would have loved to see a bit more of it! I'm a sucker for strong female friendships in books and this one certainly provided! 

However, there was quite a bit about this book that let it down for me and made me rate it three stars. While I did love the world and was intrigued by it, I felt like the world building was really lacking. There was enough detail for the magic system and so on, and the lore of the Bone Crier's, but when it came to the actual world and setting a feel like it wasn't followed through on enough. I assume it's a French inspired fantasy world judging from some of the words that were used, and there's the catacombs that are built from bones, but other than that I don't really have much of a feel or picture of the place. The Bone Crier's, the catacombs and the small area that Bastien inhabits are all expounded upon to a decent extent in most cases but other than that small corner there's not much known about the world. Some royalty are then thrown in at the end with not much detail. There's also a mention of some distant war but that's about it and we don't see much of the world. So much is poured into the mythology and magic system that I feel like the world building fell to the side a little. 

The same could be said for the characters and their backstory. They seem quite two dimensional and flat and all we really know about them are their basic motivators. Revenge, completing a ritual and rescuing a friend, there's not really that much more to them than that. In fact I wasn't even aware that Ailesse was the main character when I started reading, I thought it was Sabine and I think I might have actually preferred Sabine as the MC because I did feel like out of all of the characters, we got to know her the most and see her develop unlike the others. 

I also really wasn't feeling the romance, I have to be honest. It was straight up insta-love and I really wasn't a fan of it. All signs seemed to point towards Bastien and his female BFF who's name escapes me, but all of a sudden he's in love with Ailesse and I didn't...really...see why? All I gleaned from the book was that it was 'just because'. So I really didn't enjoy the romance, there was no chemistry between the two and it felt really lacklustre and then to make it even worse another guy is thrown in right at the end and again...it's insta-love. Hell, he hasn't even met her and he's falling all over himself because of her and I'm not entirely sure how a love triangle full of insta-love is going to pan out in the next book because I'm not particularly rooting for either couple. Honestly I was expecting a really intense/deep romance and this was...not it. 

After the initial excitement over the world and the mythology, my interest waned pretty quickly. While it does have a fast start and a fast pace, I just ended up not being that hooked? To the point I could quite easily skim read to get through it. The insta-love had my attention straying but also the very repetitive plot. Ailesse is constantly running away and getting caught and then running away again over and over, while Sabine is looking for her and there's shady goings on. There's huge time skips that I honestly didn't feel worked because the plot still went nowhere? And I would have  preferred to spend more time with Sabine as she developed and had to do the one thing she didn't really enjoy all to save her friend instead of reading the same sequence of events over and over. I ended up being pretty bored, and once I'd finished the book and was reflecting on it I realised that not a lot really happened, honestly. Which brings me to my next point.... 

For the majority of the book not a lot happens, as I said, and it's super repetitive but in what felt like the eleventh hour there was a plot twist that literally came out of nowhere. There were no hints to it or anything, at least not that I detected, and it really seemed like it was thrown in for shock value or to add something to make people keep reading and anticipate the next book. It really didn't seem to have the most solid basis to me, which wasn't helped by the lack of world building to be honest. 

Despite a promising start and premise, Bone Crier's Moon ultimately ended up falling for flat for me and being more than a little bit disappointing. Perhaps my expectations were too high as I know a lot of people actually really loved this book, but for me there were too many negatives and aspects that I wasn't too big a fan of! I haven't quite decided if I'll check out the sequel to see how it all ends or not yet! 

Blog Tour: The Caged Queen

The Caged Queen
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Once there were two sisters born with a bond so strong that it forged them together forever. When they were angry, mirrors shattered, and when they were happy, flowers bloomed. It was a magic they cherished - until the day a terrible accident took Essie's life and trapped her soul in this world.

Dax - the heir to Firgaard's throne - was responsible for the accident. Roa swore to hate him forever. But eight years later he returned, begging for her help. He was determined to dethrone his cruel father, under whose oppressive reign Roa's people had suffered. Roa made him a deal: she'd give him the army he needed if he made her queen.

Together with Dax and his sister, Asha, Roa and her people waged war and deposed a tyrant. But now Asha is on the run, hiding from the price on her head. And Roa is an outlander queen, far from home and married to her enemy. Worst of all: Dax's promises go unfulfilled. Roa's people continue to suffer.

Then a chance to right every wrong arises - an opportunity for Roa to rid herself of this enemy king and rescue her beloved sister. During the Relinquishing, when the spirits of the dead are said to return, Roa can reclaim her sister for good.

All she has to do is kill the king. 

I freaking loved The Last Namsara and this sequel is one of my most anticipated reads of 2018! I was mildly confused at first because I was told it wasn't a sequel, but it turns out you can read this trilogy in any order, but obviously if you read this book first...it's gonna spoil the previous book! 

Roa intrigued me in the previous book, so I was excited to get her POV this time round. I understood where she was coming from throughout the book, and why she felt frustrated and angry with Dax. He did seem like a bit of a prat! I mean he's off with this girl and that girl, he's not kept any of his promises and he thought he knew the Sand Sea better than Roa and refused to listen. I fully got why she felt the way she did, but I appreciated that as we got towards the end of the book and her actions become more and more questionable (even if you could see where she was coming from you could still see what she couldn't), I appreciated that she knew going through with it was going to change her. She was still a badass, and had some excellent moments though! 

As much as Dax was coming off like a prat, it became pretty obvious how he felt about Roa so I didn't really buy his act. I was sure there was more going on and nothing was as it seemed, plus plenty of hints where dropped. So at one point I really wanted to smack Roa one like, come on! Use your eyes! Dax is quite sweet and adorable when he wants to be as well! 

The thing I love about the story telling, is that much like the first book, we have some legends from the world of thebook, some history and some flashbacks to relevant past events scattered throughout the book! They're in between each chapter, kind of like little interludes and I love this method of weaving in relevant information to the plot! It means the narrative isn't overloaded with tonnes of information, and you can learn relevant pieces of information when you need them! It helps to build up a picture of what's going on, not just with Roa but with other characters, and to build up the story. For example it's one of the ways you knew Dax's feelings long before Roa found out the truth about him. Then there's the little details in the flashbacks like the wrist tapping that was mentioned in one chapter, is explained in one flashback and you're like "OOOOOOHHHHH" and things clicked in to place. It gives you more information than our narrator has, so it builds up an entirely different picture. 

We get to see some familiar faces which made me really happy! Safire, and briefly Asha and Torwin! Plus the dragons, although I'm sad there weren't more dragons in this one! This one features a lot of politics and palace intrigue, and there's secret plots and treachery too! The Caged Queen has a fast pace, and a decent amount of action and intrigue. Then there was the romance, which I thought was quite sweet! While I'm sad we didn't get to see Asha and Torwin again, we do get to hear about them, and it was nice continuing the story and getting to know Roa and Dax better! Plus it allows us to see different sides of the other support characters when viewed through Roa's eyes as opposed to Asha's.  It's certainly an interesting sequel! 

Review: Tempests and Slaughter

Tempests and Slaughter 
Rating: 3/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

In the ancient halls of the Imperial University of Carthak, a young man has begun his journey to becoming one of most powerful mages the realm has ever known. Arram Draper is the youngest student in his class and has the Gift of unlimited potential for greatness . . . and of attracting danger.

At his side are his two best friends: clever Varice, a girl with too often-overlooked, and Ozorne, the `leftover prince' with secret ambitions. Together, these three forge a bond that will one day shape kingdoms.

But as Ozorne inches closer to the throne and Varice grows closer to Arram's heart, Arram realizes that one day - soon - he will have to decide where his loyalties truly lie.

In the Numair Chronicles, fans of Tamora Pierce will be rewarded with the never-before-told story of how Numair Salmalin came to Tortall. Newcomers will discover an unforgettable fantasy adventure where a kingdom's future rests on the shoulders of a boy with unimaginable gifts and a talent for making deadly enemies. 

I really, really wanted to love this book, unfortunately I just ended up thinking it was okay. Don't get me wrong, it's cinematic from the start, it's not like it's hard or stuffy to read either. I loved the magic and the magic system, and I got some very strong Harry Potter vibes throughout, like....I feel like the main three characters are Harry, Hermione and Ron...those kind of vibes although I did like Arram, I Varice and Ozorne. They where interesting and fun characters, plus I felt the world was built up nicely as where the settings and the background information on everything and everyone. Plus I liked the Gladiator games that we got to see, and I'm anticipating Pierce doing interesting things with the slavery angle in the next book.

The main drawback for me was that I spent a big chunk of the book just...bored, because nothing was really happening. There was no direction and nothing really happens until the end of the book when things are presumably set up for the next book which I would imagine has more going on in it. We literally spend most of the book following Arram's every day life at school, and yes a few things happen to spice it up a bit...but it wasn't really enough. I couldn't even tell you half of what happened because it was so unremarkable. 

I couldn't see where the story was going, it felt like there was no plot for most of the book. It got to a point when we where learning things about Arram that frankly I didn't want to know, and didn't see how it had any bearing on the story...when there appeared to be no plot at all, when I was seriously tempted to DNF the book. It was a struggle for me to get through to the end because nothing was happening and I just didn't see what the plot was? Following Arram as he hits puberty? There's clearly a lot of building up going on...but it's not for the climax of this book. Obviously we're setting things up for the next book, but I wish it hadn't taken however many hundreds of pages to do it, because I really do feel like a couple hundred pages of this book where kind of unnecessary. 

Full honesty? I resorted to skim reading just to get through it, as it meandered about. The only bright point is that the next book should have better pacing and should have a lot more going on. I just feel this could have been a lot shorter than it actually was. Plus I'm really disappointed because I'd been looking forward to this one, and I eagerly dived in only to find myself struggling to make it through.