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Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Brazen (Gilded, #3) in Books
Jan 23, 2020
<b><i>I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>
I love <i><a title="Gilded review" href="http://www.bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-gilded-by-christina-farley"; target="_blank" rel="noopener tag">Gilded</a></i> and all (<i>Silvern</i> is my least favorite), but <i>Brazen</i> is either a tie or my favorite of the entire series.
The third and final book in the <i>Gilded</i> series takes off shortly after <i>Silvern</i> when Jae Hwa signs a contract with Kud, Lord of Darkness and Chaos, to leave behind her family and past life in exchange to save Marc's life. Under Kud's control, Jae Hwa finds ways to save Korea and possibly the world from Kud's potential rule.
There is never a dull moment in <i>Brazen</i> the book is more action-packed and exciting than the first two books combined (those were exciting in and of themselves, but <i>Brazen</i> is so much more). Jae Hwa's seriously kick butt side also appears as Jae Hwa runs against time to find the Black Turtle orb and returning it to the Heavenly Chest before she loses her humanity or Kud finds the orb for himself. With the contract between Kud branded on her arm, Jae Hwa basically has no one on her side the Guardians want her head on a platter, Marc is cold and indifferent towards her as expected from the Guardians, and Kud holds the constant threat of harming her loved ones on her head.
But even though almost everyone is against her, Jae Hwa is slowly losing her humanity, and Kud seems to be onto her act sometimes, Jae Hwa still manages to evade revealing her true intentions to the lord of Darkness.
Farley also introduces readers to a little bit of Chinese mythology and history on Jae Hwa's search for the final orb, with plenty of life-threatening trials and obstacles that consist of mercury, tombs, and skeletons (plus, drowning). It also promptly demanded me to suggest that Christina pull a Rick Riordan and collide Chinese and Korean mythology together in a spin-off series (I just read the Percy Jackson/Kane Chronicles crossover at the time...). Fangirl me squealed when Christina said she loved the idea. (Now I'm really going to start counting my lucky book stars for that to happen.)
In reality, the idea is partially for a selfish reason and I honestly don't want to be done with the entire series. Even though I had a few bumpy occurrences with the characters a few times in Gilded and <i><a title="Silvern review" href="http://www.bookwyrmingthoughts.com/arc-review-silvern-by-christina-farley"; target="_blank" rel="noopener tag">Silvern</a></i>, I've actually grown to like Jae Hwa and company. All of them have grown so much in the three books that it's really hard to let them all go and carry on with their happily fictional lives.
I also envy anyone who hasn't reached the final book yet. >_< (But I wouldn't have been able to "shove" the book in a friend's face if I didn't get introduced to the series.)
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/arc-review-brazen-by-christina-farley/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
I love <i><a title="Gilded review" href="http://www.bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-gilded-by-christina-farley"; target="_blank" rel="noopener tag">Gilded</a></i> and all (<i>Silvern</i> is my least favorite), but <i>Brazen</i> is either a tie or my favorite of the entire series.
The third and final book in the <i>Gilded</i> series takes off shortly after <i>Silvern</i> when Jae Hwa signs a contract with Kud, Lord of Darkness and Chaos, to leave behind her family and past life in exchange to save Marc's life. Under Kud's control, Jae Hwa finds ways to save Korea and possibly the world from Kud's potential rule.
There is never a dull moment in <i>Brazen</i> the book is more action-packed and exciting than the first two books combined (those were exciting in and of themselves, but <i>Brazen</i> is so much more). Jae Hwa's seriously kick butt side also appears as Jae Hwa runs against time to find the Black Turtle orb and returning it to the Heavenly Chest before she loses her humanity or Kud finds the orb for himself. With the contract between Kud branded on her arm, Jae Hwa basically has no one on her side the Guardians want her head on a platter, Marc is cold and indifferent towards her as expected from the Guardians, and Kud holds the constant threat of harming her loved ones on her head.
But even though almost everyone is against her, Jae Hwa is slowly losing her humanity, and Kud seems to be onto her act sometimes, Jae Hwa still manages to evade revealing her true intentions to the lord of Darkness.
Farley also introduces readers to a little bit of Chinese mythology and history on Jae Hwa's search for the final orb, with plenty of life-threatening trials and obstacles that consist of mercury, tombs, and skeletons (plus, drowning). It also promptly demanded me to suggest that Christina pull a Rick Riordan and collide Chinese and Korean mythology together in a spin-off series (I just read the Percy Jackson/Kane Chronicles crossover at the time...). Fangirl me squealed when Christina said she loved the idea. (Now I'm really going to start counting my lucky book stars for that to happen.)
In reality, the idea is partially for a selfish reason and I honestly don't want to be done with the entire series. Even though I had a few bumpy occurrences with the characters a few times in Gilded and <i><a title="Silvern review" href="http://www.bookwyrmingthoughts.com/arc-review-silvern-by-christina-farley"; target="_blank" rel="noopener tag">Silvern</a></i>, I've actually grown to like Jae Hwa and company. All of them have grown so much in the three books that it's really hard to let them all go and carry on with their happily fictional lives.
I also envy anyone who hasn't reached the final book yet. >_< (But I wouldn't have been able to "shove" the book in a friend's face if I didn't get introduced to the series.)
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/arc-review-brazen-by-christina-farley/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Inky Books (3 KP) rated Eon: Dragoneye Reborn (Eon, #1) in Books
Jun 21, 2018
When I was young and impressionable (well, not really impressionable, I’ve actually always been the stubborn and fiery redhead I am now, just a little more shy) I read a book about a sixteen year old girl, in a man’s world, pretending to be a twelve year old boy. In this same book there were also dragons, no not the ones you hunt to steal their treasure, but the kind that you bond with and can gain amazing powers from.
Of course it has dragons; how could I resist? Ever since reading Eargon I’ve had a thing for books with dragons in them, though it is rather hard to find some where it isn’t all about dragon hunting. Anyone have any suggestions?
Anyway, so this book was one of my favorites as a teenager because of the world building as well as the secrets and powers that the characters have. And I really do like it, though I’m probably going to say more bad things than I will good for a reason I will explain later.
So, the good things:
Main character, Eona. I guess I feel like she is similar to me in a way. She can be stubborn but also knows when to hold herself back when she needs to. She can be rather forceful and hostile while also having a nicer, sweeter side. She struggles with much through the book and it gives the book a more realistic feeling.
The world of the Dragoneyes. It’s ancient Chinese mythology, and mythology is something I like to read and learn about. It is very interesting to read about, and the author did her research on the subject.
And the bad things:
The book moved rather slowly. Yes, there was a lot that happened, but there was also a large amount of the politics of the world that got involved to. Politics isn’t something I like, it’s actually something I am starting to hate in recent years. So this doesn’t appeal to me. When I got closer to the end I skimmed, half because I knew what was happening for the most part, half because I was getting so bored with the back and forth of the characters.
The characters. Most of the characters had a fake feeling to them. They seemed one sided and all kind of reacted in similar ways when faced with these situations. They were almost flat and didn’t seem real.
Eona. Yes I know she is in the good things too, but I really dislike her fatal flaw. It took her most of the book to figure out (even though she wasn’t even the one who figured it out in the end) what the secret was to her power. It was rather annoying and I wish the author would have allowed Eona to figure it out a bit soon and have some more of the awesome power in there.
The good aspects of this book do outweigh the bad ones, but it still caused me to think hard about the rating I would give it.
Of course it has dragons; how could I resist? Ever since reading Eargon I’ve had a thing for books with dragons in them, though it is rather hard to find some where it isn’t all about dragon hunting. Anyone have any suggestions?
Anyway, so this book was one of my favorites as a teenager because of the world building as well as the secrets and powers that the characters have. And I really do like it, though I’m probably going to say more bad things than I will good for a reason I will explain later.
So, the good things:
Main character, Eona. I guess I feel like she is similar to me in a way. She can be stubborn but also knows when to hold herself back when she needs to. She can be rather forceful and hostile while also having a nicer, sweeter side. She struggles with much through the book and it gives the book a more realistic feeling.
The world of the Dragoneyes. It’s ancient Chinese mythology, and mythology is something I like to read and learn about. It is very interesting to read about, and the author did her research on the subject.
And the bad things:
The book moved rather slowly. Yes, there was a lot that happened, but there was also a large amount of the politics of the world that got involved to. Politics isn’t something I like, it’s actually something I am starting to hate in recent years. So this doesn’t appeal to me. When I got closer to the end I skimmed, half because I knew what was happening for the most part, half because I was getting so bored with the back and forth of the characters.
The characters. Most of the characters had a fake feeling to them. They seemed one sided and all kind of reacted in similar ways when faced with these situations. They were almost flat and didn’t seem real.
Eona. Yes I know she is in the good things too, but I really dislike her fatal flaw. It took her most of the book to figure out (even though she wasn’t even the one who figured it out in the end) what the secret was to her power. It was rather annoying and I wish the author would have allowed Eona to figure it out a bit soon and have some more of the awesome power in there.
The good aspects of this book do outweigh the bad ones, but it still caused me to think hard about the rating I would give it.
The Phoenix: An Unnatural Biography of a Mythical Beast
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Arising triumphantly from the ashes of its predecessor, the phoenix has been an enduring symbol of...