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Kyera (8 KP) rated One Dark Throne in Books
Feb 1, 2018
As this is the second book in a series, there may be spoilers in this review for the first book. Please be aware and read the first book (or my first review) before delving into this. I found One Dark Throne to be a little slow to start, but that may have just been because I didn't reread Three Dark Crowns before jumping back into the world. It would have been better to be reacquainted with the world and all of the minor characters (that can get confusing) before I started the second book. Once I was engrossed in the world again, I was completely drawn into the story and enjoyed myself.
The three sisters continue their fight for the crown and there is more plotting in this book. Mirabella is no longer the chosen queen after her sisters' strong showings in the first book. Katharine is willing to do whatever it takes to win her crown. Arsinoe doesn't want to kill, even to save her own life. Mirabella is hurt and betrayed and realizes that she might not be willing to cross the line to be queen. The three queens develop and grow over the course of the novel.
While there is character growth in this novel, I do wish there was more development. It was nice to see glimpses into the relationship between Natalia and Katharine, as it is deeper than either generally let on. But Nicholas, Pietyr and Genieve felt more like flat characters than ones I could feel were well fleshed out. This problem extends to other characters both in Arsinoe's home and Mirabella's. There are so many minor characters that most of them don't have the "screen time" to become fully developed characters that contribute to the story. (And some a very similar names to others, which can be very confusing if each person doesn't feel like a unique creation.)
Personally, I really like Arsinoe and Mirabella (sorry Katharine supporters) so I have a tough time determining how I would like the series to play out. That being said, the series continues to surprise and confuse me. It is not formulaic and I really enjoy the plot. The world building and magic system are fascinating, which is what keeps me wanting more from the series.
I would definitely recommend this book (after you've read or reread the first, of course) and cannot wait to see how this story continues in future books.
The three sisters continue their fight for the crown and there is more plotting in this book. Mirabella is no longer the chosen queen after her sisters' strong showings in the first book. Katharine is willing to do whatever it takes to win her crown. Arsinoe doesn't want to kill, even to save her own life. Mirabella is hurt and betrayed and realizes that she might not be willing to cross the line to be queen. The three queens develop and grow over the course of the novel.
While there is character growth in this novel, I do wish there was more development. It was nice to see glimpses into the relationship between Natalia and Katharine, as it is deeper than either generally let on. But Nicholas, Pietyr and Genieve felt more like flat characters than ones I could feel were well fleshed out. This problem extends to other characters both in Arsinoe's home and Mirabella's. There are so many minor characters that most of them don't have the "screen time" to become fully developed characters that contribute to the story. (And some a very similar names to others, which can be very confusing if each person doesn't feel like a unique creation.)
Personally, I really like Arsinoe and Mirabella (sorry Katharine supporters) so I have a tough time determining how I would like the series to play out. That being said, the series continues to surprise and confuse me. It is not formulaic and I really enjoy the plot. The world building and magic system are fascinating, which is what keeps me wanting more from the series.
I would definitely recommend this book (after you've read or reread the first, of course) and cannot wait to see how this story continues in future books.
Kate (493 KP) rated Truth Be Told (Morecambe Bay Trilogy #3) in Books
Oct 19, 2020
This was the last book in the Morcambe Bay trilogy. As the last book ended in the middle of the action, the third book continued straight on. When I started the book I couldn't see how it was going to go on for a whole book. We were already in quite a fair bit so I thought I may get bored and the book was just going to drag on but I was pleasantly surprised when it didn't.
This book was definitely more action packed than the last two. I was reading it as if I was watching an action film. I couldn't put the book down I really wanted to see what happened and how they got out of all this. The last fee scenes in the docks I could really see in my minds eye. I felt like I was actually there watching the drama unfold.
Charlotte grew in this book as well as she really had to trust her gut instinct and also other people. She had to put a lot of trust in other people.
I had a whole scenario in my head on how the book was going to end and I was am so glad I was incorrect. I couldn't of been more wrong. For minute towards the end I was worried I was not going to enjoy the ending but I did.
The author has another book in the Morcambe series. Again it has some of the same characters and as much as I enjoyed reading the initial book I decided to take a break and reading something else.
This book was definitely more action packed than the last two. I was reading it as if I was watching an action film. I couldn't put the book down I really wanted to see what happened and how they got out of all this. The last fee scenes in the docks I could really see in my minds eye. I felt like I was actually there watching the drama unfold.
Charlotte grew in this book as well as she really had to trust her gut instinct and also other people. She had to put a lot of trust in other people.
I had a whole scenario in my head on how the book was going to end and I was am so glad I was incorrect. I couldn't of been more wrong. For minute towards the end I was worried I was not going to enjoy the ending but I did.
The author has another book in the Morcambe series. Again it has some of the same characters and as much as I enjoyed reading the initial book I decided to take a break and reading something else.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Passionaries (The Blessed, #2) in Books
Jun 7, 2018
(This review can also be found on my blog <a href="http://themisadventuresofatwentysomething.blogspot.com/">The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl</a>).
I loved the first book in this series! Precious Blood was a fantastic read. However, Passionaries was a bit mediocre in my opinion.
I like the title, and I believe it is quite fitting for the book. A minor character in the book defines what passionaries are. They are some kind of books related to the Catholic religion. I don't know if that's fictitious or not (I did try searching for it and found nothing).
The cover is very gorgeous as are all of the covers of Tonya Hurley's books. The cover fits the book especially with the guitars and the sword.
The world building was a bit hit and miss. There were times when it seemed like something like this could happen. I mean, who says we can't have modern day saints? However, there were also times when it seemed a bit too unreal such as when people were getting murdered. For example, in one scene, the girls get attacked so they end up killing their attackers. They don't get arrested because there's no evidence. Surely they would've caught them on CCTV or someone would've seen the girls with blood all over them. Plus, there'd be so much forensic evidence. I also felt that sometimes there was sometimes some fight scenes just for the sake of having a fight scene.
The pacing started off slow but eventually find a decent pace. The pacing isn't as good as the first book in the series, but it still held my attention.
As for the plot, I don't really know what's going on. At least in the first book, it was the girls finding out they were saints. However, after reading this book, I don't know what's going on! I realize the girls are saints and there are some people that don't want the world to know that, but what I don't know is the why. Why do these people not want the world to know these girls are saints? I felt that the answer is just not very clear. Passionaries did have a plot twist that I never saw coming. There's also a big cliff hanger at the end of the story as to make way for the third book in the series.
The characters were all fabulously written. The girls are stronger in this book, and their saintly personalities show through. Saying that, Cecelia is more hardcore in this book then in the first one. At least I thought so. Dr. Frey is still very cunning as ever in Passionaries. One thing that did irk me was that Hurley brought in the character of Finn. To me, Finn is a totally pointless character. I really didn't see the relevance in bringing him into the story.
There were times when the dialogue did seem a bit awkward although this was mostly in the beginning of the book. I felt that the meeting between Dr. Frey and some of his associates at the beginning of the book had painful dialogue. It just didn't seem to flow naturally. Luckily, the problem is quickly solved. There is some swearing in Passionaries as well as graphic violence.
All in all, Passionaries fell short of my expectations. It was a little bit too confusing, and the world building just didn't seem all that realistic. I do want to read the next book in the series because I've invested so much time in this series. However, the expected publication is some time in 2015, so I may give it a miss since I tend to forget things that happened in books after so long.
I'd recommend this book to those aged 17+ who want to know more about Lucy, Cecelia, and Agnes.
I loved the first book in this series! Precious Blood was a fantastic read. However, Passionaries was a bit mediocre in my opinion.
I like the title, and I believe it is quite fitting for the book. A minor character in the book defines what passionaries are. They are some kind of books related to the Catholic religion. I don't know if that's fictitious or not (I did try searching for it and found nothing).
The cover is very gorgeous as are all of the covers of Tonya Hurley's books. The cover fits the book especially with the guitars and the sword.
The world building was a bit hit and miss. There were times when it seemed like something like this could happen. I mean, who says we can't have modern day saints? However, there were also times when it seemed a bit too unreal such as when people were getting murdered. For example, in one scene, the girls get attacked so they end up killing their attackers. They don't get arrested because there's no evidence. Surely they would've caught them on CCTV or someone would've seen the girls with blood all over them. Plus, there'd be so much forensic evidence. I also felt that sometimes there was sometimes some fight scenes just for the sake of having a fight scene.
The pacing started off slow but eventually find a decent pace. The pacing isn't as good as the first book in the series, but it still held my attention.
As for the plot, I don't really know what's going on. At least in the first book, it was the girls finding out they were saints. However, after reading this book, I don't know what's going on! I realize the girls are saints and there are some people that don't want the world to know that, but what I don't know is the why. Why do these people not want the world to know these girls are saints? I felt that the answer is just not very clear. Passionaries did have a plot twist that I never saw coming. There's also a big cliff hanger at the end of the story as to make way for the third book in the series.
The characters were all fabulously written. The girls are stronger in this book, and their saintly personalities show through. Saying that, Cecelia is more hardcore in this book then in the first one. At least I thought so. Dr. Frey is still very cunning as ever in Passionaries. One thing that did irk me was that Hurley brought in the character of Finn. To me, Finn is a totally pointless character. I really didn't see the relevance in bringing him into the story.
There were times when the dialogue did seem a bit awkward although this was mostly in the beginning of the book. I felt that the meeting between Dr. Frey and some of his associates at the beginning of the book had painful dialogue. It just didn't seem to flow naturally. Luckily, the problem is quickly solved. There is some swearing in Passionaries as well as graphic violence.
All in all, Passionaries fell short of my expectations. It was a little bit too confusing, and the world building just didn't seem all that realistic. I do want to read the next book in the series because I've invested so much time in this series. However, the expected publication is some time in 2015, so I may give it a miss since I tend to forget things that happened in books after so long.
I'd recommend this book to those aged 17+ who want to know more about Lucy, Cecelia, and Agnes.
Auburn (57 KP) rated The Summer Marked (The Winter People, #2) in Books
Apr 10, 2019
If you are looking for a happy sequel to the first book then turn away now. There is no light at the end of the tunnel here. Instead everything that can go wrong goes worse than expected. There is more, blood, torture, and loss of love.
Maybe the third will be better and close out the series with a bow. But I doubt it.
Maybe the third will be better and close out the series with a bow. But I doubt it.
AT (1676 KP) rated The Girl from the Other Side, Siuil, a Run: Vol. 2 in Books
Apr 13, 2019
I didn't love volume 2 of the series as much as I liked the first volume. I feel like most of the time was spent in a mystery that would not be solved within the timeframe of this book. Not an intriguing mystery, though. It just felt a bit disjointed and like it was drawn out for no reason. I'm still going to read on, though.
Obsessed book reviews (49 KP) rated Getting Rough (Monkey Business Trio, #2) in Books
May 7, 2019
this was a good read but I wish I would have read the first one in the series. this book is fantastically written and will take you on a emotional roller coaster, laughing one minute to an emotional wreck the next. I loved the characters which were very well written and worked really well together.
highly recommended
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highly recommended
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Obsessed book reviews (49 KP) rated Bachelor Auction (Preston Brothers, #2) in Books
May 7, 2019
what a fab read, really enjoyed the story line, the characters were well written and the story flowed brilliantly. I must say I was left wanting more at the end, just because it was such a good read. this is the first book I've read in the series and I am defiantly looking forward to more.
highly recommended
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highly recommended
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Obsessed book reviews (49 KP) rated Someone Like You (The Harrisons, #2) in Books
May 7, 2019
this is a good read, the story has romance, emotional and sweet, which will keep you reading long into the night. this book is part of a series but can defiantly be read as a stand alone. ill defiantly be reading more. I loved the characters and the story was well written. defiantly one to read.
highly recommended
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highly recommended
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Obsessed book reviews (49 KP) rated Untamed (Thoughtless, #4) in Books
May 7, 2019
I have read the others in the set, this book is set after the third in the series. wow is all I can say, what a roller coaster. the author has an amazing talent to draw you in and keep you hooked sending you on a emotional ride. fantastic characters and fantastic story
absolutely fantastic
highly recommended
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absolutely fantastic
highly recommended
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Obsessed book reviews (49 KP) rated Out of the Shadows (Tangled Ivy, #3) in Books
May 7, 2019
i haven't read the first books in this series but I still found this to be a very good read. the story flowed effortlessly I just became hooked. the characters and story line were well written. this book is a romantic suspense read which you'll defiantly want to read. will defiantly be reading the first two books
highly recommended
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highly recommended
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