Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (4542)

Content

Amy Norman (1048 KP) rated The Cruel Prince in Books

Apr 1, 2020

The Cruel Prince

Holly Black | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, Romance, Young Adult (YA)

8.4

(36 Ratings)

Book Rating

I picked this up as a recommendation from my local library, and wasn't disappointed!
I have been lucky enough to pick up the follow up books one after the other, I think having to wait for the next parts would have been far too frustrating.

Holly weaves a fantastical world with perfectly imperfect characters, that you can't help but gravitate towards.

This was a great starter book but the next two in the series were even better.

If you enjoy fantasy lands that intersect with our own, combined with weird and wonderful creatures. Assassin's in training, and the beginnings of many schemes to go awry then this will be perfect for you.

There is also magic in this land but it is not showy, and doesn't become the be all and end all focus, as so many books with magic potential do, and often fall flat because of it.

There is great character development, and you will be torn over whether you should be rooting for 'heroes' or 'villains', and there is a lot of grey area around that.

Please do go and read this series, Holly is a fantastic writer and you can really feel the care and love she has put into building this world, you won't regret picking it up.

Kudos

Sarah (7800 KP) rated His Bloody Project in Books

Apr 21, 2020

His Bloody Project

Graeme Macrae Burnet | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry

8.6

(5 Ratings)

Book Rating

Intriguingly realistic

I saw this advertised on my library service and I'm a sucker for an interesting looking cover so thought I'd give it a go and it was a rather pleasant surprise.

This is a very realistic and intriguing tale - so realistic that I had to double check to see if I was reading a non-fiction rather than a fiction. But it's definitely not true, and it goes to show how well written and laid out this is that it makes you feel like it's a true story. The structure works very well and despite being set in olden times with slightly old fashioned language, it never comes across as particularly difficult or tedious to read. It's an engaging crime story and keeps you entertained right to the end to find out the full story. Even Roddy Macrae is a likeable protagonist despite his crimes.

My only issue is that the ending is a bit of a letdown. This story turns out exactly the way you'd expect and I think I may have been expecting some sort of twist or surprise. Despite this, it's still a very entertaining and enjoyable read and a different way to tell a story.