high fantasy – Workaday Reads

Review: Midnight Thief

Oct 202015

Meh. This book left me feeling meh. It’s not so much that I disliked it, I just didn’t feel much for it at all. Kyra was very mousy and naive for someone who grew up on the street. She seemed rather bland and one dimensional. I just never came to care for her much. I did enjoy Tristan’s character, although he was rather stereotypical. He did have a little depth to him, which made him my favourite of the bunch, but there honestly wasn’t much to choose from. I found the story really slow to start. It seemed to take […]

Review: Beyond the Shadows

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Nov 182014

The final book in any trilogy usually has a lot it needs to accomplish, and this book was no different. I’m very happy that not only did it wrap everything up in a satisfying and believable way, but there was a depth to the story that I was not expecting. I mentioned in reviews for previous installments that this series has a lovable protagonist, and that the series overall is supposed to have a balance of light and dark. Where the first book was really dark, this finale was really light. I was very surprised at how prevalent the theme […]

Review: Poison Dance

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Aug 292014

A standalone prequel, this is an exciting introduction to the world and setting used in Midnight Thief. I was impressed at how much history and set up were included, especially since there was no dreaded info dumping. I got to learn quite a bit about the Guild and how it works, and met some very interesting characters. As a way to make me interested in the actual first book, this prequel did its job. I’ve heard there are discrepancies in feel and tone between this prequel and the first book, and that makes me sad as this prequel was quite […]

Genevieve Reviews: The Kiss of Deception

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Aug 282014

Genevieve Reviews: The Kiss of Deception

The Kiss of Deception has a really corny title and it doesn’t exactly break new ground as far as fantasy novels go, but it was still a solid read. The writing is enjoyable and it’s easy to get sucked into the story. For the first seventy percent of this book I really couldn’t put it down. The best thing this plot has going for it is a pretty big twist I really didn’t see coming that made me go back and see the story in a whole new light. Normally I’m not a big fan of love triangles, but I […]

Review: Shadow and Bone

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Aug 142014

This is another book that I feel like I’m late to the party with, especially since Genevieve reviewed book 3 last month. But better late than never, and I’m really glad I got to this book as I totally loved it. There was so much going on in this book, that I’m not even sure where to start. Do I start with the characters and how much I adored Alina? Her character went through a lot of trials and had amazing growth. Mal was someone I wasn’t sold on, although he did start to grow on me by the end. […]

Genevieve Reviews: Midnight Thief

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Jul 252014

I’d been looking forward to reading this book for a long time and I was counting down the days until it came out, but I ended underwhelmed. The plot is actually pretty interesting and as I was reading it I was thinking, I should be engrossed by this, I should be on the edge of my seat, but I never got there. The writing in this book is very simplistic, and I didn’t get a real sense of personality or voice from it. There weren’t any clever turns of phrase, no attitude in the narration at all. When I’m reading […]

Genevieve Reviews: Ruin and Rising

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Jul 112014

The third book in a series always has a lot to do. Plot threads need to be wrapped up, the bad guy needs to be dealt with, romances need to be resolved. Maybe that’s why I always feel a little let down by final instalments in a series. There so much the book need to cover, it rarely gives completely satisfying closure. That’s why this book really surprised me. It did a great job of wrapping up everything with the primary characters. There wasn’t a ton of action in the book, but I still enjoyed the story. Actually, I was […]

Review: Rebel Spring

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Mar 102014

This second book was a mix of unexpected deaths, multiple viewpoints and exciting developments. The death toll in this book was similar to the first, in that there are quite a few deaths, especially for a YA story. Some of the deaths were totally unexpected, which made for interesting reading. I love when authors aren’t afraid to kill beloved characters, and this series certainly fits that bill. This book focused on four main characters, and they all had chapters from their viewpoints. I think this multiple narrative had a few too many narrators. I found the constant narrator changes to […]

Review: Shadow’s Edge

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Oct 292013

It sounds funny to say, but I find Kylar to be a very lovable assassin. He is very human, and struggles constantly with the various aspects of his life, and how they fit together. His love for Elena and Uly are pure, and he is always trying to do the best by them. The world building in this story is very detailed. It built on the foundation set up in the first book, and while it briefly summarized what was already provided, it didn’t feel repetitive. The more I read of this world, the more I want to know. This […]

Review: Graceling

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Oct 212013

I feel like I’m one of the last people to read Graceling, but now that I have, I can see what all the fuss is about. Katsa and Po are so adorable. They give me warm fuzzy feelings. So entertaining together, I wanted more scenes with their bickering and fighting. I loved that they didn’t hold anything back in their fights, trusting each others skills and abilities. Katsa’s grace was quite useful and interesting. Everything seemed so effortless to her, even though she really had to work at understanding her skills. Her humility was quite refreshing, and her growth throughout […]

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