Hey Beautiful Booklovers š!! I know I didnāt post my April tbr last month and thatās because 1 – baby and 2 – Iāve been doing the whole āmood readerā thing recently. That being said, I still have a few books that I plan to read this month, and so thought Iād let you know what they are!
1 – Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers
This is book number 3 in His Fair Assassins trilogy, and I am super excited to see where this story leads. I had planned to read this in April but other things got in the way, so canāt wait to continue this month!
2 – Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik
Book number 2 in the temeraire series. I own the first 6 books, and am having some serious dragon withdrawal so need books with dragons this month lol!
3 – Fire and Blood by George R R Martin
Same as the above…Iām having dragon withdrawal š! I am up to date with my Game of Thrones episodes and man I need some dragons!! I was contemplating re-reading the entire GoT series but thought that would be fairly time consuming, and Iāve already re-read books recently, so I should focus on reading new ones instead!
4 – Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman
So, you should know…Iām trash for Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman! I adore their stuff, and just canāt wait for this book! I am so excited, and read the first chapter sneak peak, and Iām too excited!!!! I need it NOW!
Once I have worked my way through these books I plan to do some polls (either on my Instagram story or my Twitter) to get you all to help me pick which books to read next. I have so many on my shelves I want to read and may need your assistance picking the rest of my May reads!
Have you read any of the above books? Are any on your tbr? What books are on your May tbr? Let me know in the comments below!
Today is my review of the beautiful and highly anticipated The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, which is a chunky and fantastic fantasy novel with dragons!
Sorry I didn’t post this yesterday (I was meant to) but unfortunately being on a deadline for Uni took precedence! I’m here now! And as promised my review of The Priory of the Orange Tree is finally here for you to feast your eyes upon!
Aside from the beautiful cover with foil detail, and a bloody dragon I really enjoyed this book. Anything with dragons is pretty much going to go straight to the top of my tbr so this was obviously one of those cases!
Title: The Priory of the Orange Tree
Author: Samantha Shannon
Hardcover:Ā 848 pages
Publisher:Ā Bloomsbury Circus (26 Feb. 2019)
Genre: Fantasy
ISBN-10:Ā 1408883465
ISBN-13:Ā 978-1408883464
My Rating:ššššš
Synopsis – From Amazon
A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens.
The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction – but assassins are getting closer to her door.
Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.
Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep
My Review (non-spoiler)
There is a lot to say about this book, yet a lot to give away, and I really don’t want to spoil this for anyone, especially given that this is still a new release. The Priory of the Orange Tree is a chunky slab of a book, and damn I enjoyed every page of it.
One of the reasons I love fantasy in general is the split POV’s. I love flitting from one character to the next, and having that suspenseful wait in between. Samantha Shannon definitely delivers that within this book. We are introduced to the different perspective of characters, and interestingly they are in different locations of the world too. You may be wondering why I would find that so interesting, but Samantha Shannon has the ability to tell the story of two sides of the coin this way. A land that cherishes and worships dragons, and a land that hates them all.
The beauty of this book isn’t just the action, fierce characters, diverse relationships, and fantasy ridden world. It is also that within it all Samantha Shannon shows the coming together of two opposing religions, which I really adored. This book was full of things I loved; Fierce females, dragons, shocking turns, and the ability to leave you wondering what the hell was going to happen next.
Although this book is a chunky 848 pages long it definitely doesn’t feel like that reading it. Things progress quickly, and in my opinion that type of pacing works really well for a novel like this. Creating a stand alone fantasy of this size is a tough order to meet, but I think Samantha Shannon does it admirably.
Were there things I disliked? Not particularly, to begin with I did question if I would like it or not, but that was very early doors, and it quickly became addictive. The only thing I would say is that the resolve seemed too sweet to me, but that would be my only irk. Generally speaking it did not hinder my enjoyment, and therefore I saw no reason to reduce my rating because of it.
Overall, this book was a really great read, and considering I had built it up in my mind so much, I found that I was not disappointed (which can often be the case with me). It was fun, action packed, suspense filled, and addictive! It is definitely a recommended read for those who like dragons, and fantasy or even if you just like the sound of it!
Let me know if you have read this, and want someone to gush about it with. I would be more than happy to talk spoilers etc, but would rather not ruin anyone else’s reading experience so if you want spoilery talk then be sure to DM me on twitter or instagram. For non-spoiler talk, the comments below are absolutely fine.
Today is the release day of Justin Call’s debut dark fantasy novel Master of Sorrows – The Silent Gods #1. Are you excited? I am! I had the privilege of reading this as an arc, and oh my gosh Booklovers it gripped me something fierce! I am in love with this book, and honestly can’t wait for the rest of the community to get their mitts on it!
Isn’t this cover amazing? I love it, it’s so beautiful. I know…we shouldn’t judge a book by the cover, but c’mon this makes you want to pick it up, and trust me the inside is just a amazing!
Anyway, I’m gushing, but let’s get on with the review!
Title: Master of Sorrows
Author: Justin Call
Hardcover: 592 pages
Publisher: Gollancz (21 Feb. 2019
Genre: Fantasy
ISBN-10: 1473222869
ISBN-13: 978-1473222861
My Rating: ššššš
Synopsis – from Amazon
The Academy of Chaenbalu has stood against magic for centuries.
Hidden from the world, acting from the shadows, it trains its students to detect and retrieve magic artifacts, which it jealously guards from the misuse of others. Because magic is dangerous: something that heals can also harm, and a power that aids one person may destroy another.
Of the Academy’s many students, only the most skilled can become Avatars – warrior thieves, capable of infiltrating the most heavily guarded vaults – and only the most determined can be trusted to resist the lure of magic.
More than anything, Annev de Breth wants to become one of them.
My Review (non-spoiler)
I know the synopsis doesn’t give much away, that’s kind of the point, but trust me it’s better that you don’t know much going into this (which is why I’m keeping this review vague and short). This book brings you in from the very first chapter! You are introduced to a new world, and it’s religious practices from the get go. I instantly fell in love with the world, and it’s history. Justin Call has managed to create such a beautiful and complex world with it’s own religious systems and Gods.
But this book isn’t just a bunch of world building and religion; there is action, there is monsters, and there is brutality to keep you on the edge of your seat. Annev, our main character, is navigating the world along with us, as he knows only what he has been taught, and is finding out there is much more than he could have ever suspected. More than anyone is letting on.
We follow Annev as he struggles to find the right path, and makes hard decisions. We experience every emotion with him, and I honestly loved reading his inner turmoil, and outward battles. This book had me guessing all the way, and was fantastic.
Master of Sorrows is definitely a fantasy not to be missed.
![Mortal Heart (His Fair Assassin Book 3) by [LaFevers, Robin]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51qPyOutjRL.jpg)
![Throne of Jade (The Temeraire Series, Book 2) by [Novik, Naomi]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51WdkPtBnQL.jpg)
![Fire and Blood: 300 Years Before A Game of Thrones (A Targaryen History) (A Song of Ice and Fire) by [Martin, George R.R.]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51BiGzX-YdL.jpg)
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