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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated The Last Sanctuary (The Last Sanctuary, #1) in Books
Jun 7, 2018
This review is also on my blog <a href="http://themisadventuresofatwentysomething.blogspot.co.uk/">The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl</a>
The Last Sanctuary is such a sweet story! I enjoyed it very much. It also has faeries in it which I'm obsessed with =D
The Last Sanctuary by P.S. Mokha is a middle grade fantasy story. It's about three twelve year old girls, (Lily, Olivia, and Rose) who have been orphaned and their adventures trying to find the Hidden Room. On the way, they learn a lot about themselves and get themselves into many dangerous predicaments as well as finding out that they're part of a prophecy "Three will arrive. One to give...One to die...One to Live."
My favourite character was Lily. I could relate a lot to her. She seemed to be the most empathetic. I like the way she's cautious about everything and worried about getting into trouble. She's also aware of everyone's feelings. Rose was great as well. She is the brains behind the group, always working out problems and finding a way out of them. She's the one with a good head on her shoulders. Olivia is the one who's always more worried about her stomach than anything else. Of this, I can relate with her. She's always wanting to eat something and is always snacking. She, to me, seems to be the more funnier one.
I thought the world building was fantastic! The school is set in London but is hidden from the outside world. It sounds ridiculous, but the author made it believable in this book. The description of London is perfect. You can definitely tell the author lived in London. The world of Amassaya was also built beautifully. It actually sounded like a place I'd love to visit. It sounds so magical as it's supposed to.
I found the pacing to be just right for a middle grade book. It's just the right pace to keep the reader interested.
The dialogue was easy to understand. However, there were a few words, and when I say few, I mean about 5 or less, that would probably be a bit difficult for middle graders to understand. Most could be understood using context clues though.
Now I have to talk about the cover - How cool does that cover look!?! I love the faery that's on fire on the cover!!! I don't want to give too much away, but the cover shows some of the main elements of the book. The title of the book also fits the plot as well.
This book left me with a magical feeling. It had perfect comic timing but knew when to be serious. This book definitely made me feel warm =)
I'd definitely recommend this book to all those that are fans of middle grade or YA fantasy.
The Last Sanctuary is such a sweet story! I enjoyed it very much. It also has faeries in it which I'm obsessed with =D
The Last Sanctuary by P.S. Mokha is a middle grade fantasy story. It's about three twelve year old girls, (Lily, Olivia, and Rose) who have been orphaned and their adventures trying to find the Hidden Room. On the way, they learn a lot about themselves and get themselves into many dangerous predicaments as well as finding out that they're part of a prophecy "Three will arrive. One to give...One to die...One to Live."
My favourite character was Lily. I could relate a lot to her. She seemed to be the most empathetic. I like the way she's cautious about everything and worried about getting into trouble. She's also aware of everyone's feelings. Rose was great as well. She is the brains behind the group, always working out problems and finding a way out of them. She's the one with a good head on her shoulders. Olivia is the one who's always more worried about her stomach than anything else. Of this, I can relate with her. She's always wanting to eat something and is always snacking. She, to me, seems to be the more funnier one.
I thought the world building was fantastic! The school is set in London but is hidden from the outside world. It sounds ridiculous, but the author made it believable in this book. The description of London is perfect. You can definitely tell the author lived in London. The world of Amassaya was also built beautifully. It actually sounded like a place I'd love to visit. It sounds so magical as it's supposed to.
I found the pacing to be just right for a middle grade book. It's just the right pace to keep the reader interested.
The dialogue was easy to understand. However, there were a few words, and when I say few, I mean about 5 or less, that would probably be a bit difficult for middle graders to understand. Most could be understood using context clues though.
Now I have to talk about the cover - How cool does that cover look!?! I love the faery that's on fire on the cover!!! I don't want to give too much away, but the cover shows some of the main elements of the book. The title of the book also fits the plot as well.
This book left me with a magical feeling. It had perfect comic timing but knew when to be serious. This book definitely made me feel warm =)
I'd definitely recommend this book to all those that are fans of middle grade or YA fantasy.
Ross (3284 KP) rated The Eleven in Books
Apr 23, 2020
Fantastic characters and original story
* I received an advance reader copy from the author and netgalley in exchange for an honest review *
Quite simply: this is a fantastic book.
The characters involved are all well-crafted and unique. They have their own back-stories that we learn over time, appreciating who they are, what they have been through and why they are how they are.
The main character is Keira, a human who spent a large part of her late childhood imprisoned, tortured and raped by the upper echelons of the government. She escapes and seeks revenge on her abusers, but needs Courage to achieve this. We first meet her as she begins her attack on the first such abuser.
She teams up with Rowan, an assassin, though the circumstances of their meeting don't become clear until later, and travels to a magical realm to track down more of her tormentors. The details of Rowan's current assignment are somewhat mysterious and only revealed later.
They eventually meet Dess, who we have started to get to know, an elf-like magical scholar who has had his own issues in adolescence and is seeking revenge on the people involved in the murder of the love of his life.
And finally we have Sirris, a funny little slave creature who seeks escape from his life of misery, abuse and servitude.
Those back-stories are gradually woven together over the course of the book in a very ambitious, and flawlessly executed, series of split timelines. Fans of Mark Lawrence's knack for splitting a story into separate timelines will love the way Gaskill has done this and more here. We have the "present" story, told from a number of different viewpoints and places, as well as each of the main characters' backstories. Over time we learn to understand how people met, what tensions there are (or could be lurking under the surface) and what each is trying to achieve. These interactions, conflicts and tensions are masterfully written and revealed.
The action throughout the book is fairly gruesome and gritty, and some of the sexual scenes of torture and rape are a little hard to take. Rather than being gratuitous on the whole though they do serve to give the reader a better appreciation for the terrors the characters have been through.
Over the course of the book we see Keira ticking the names off her list of the eleven, albeit out of sync due to the split timelines.
This really was a wonderful book that got me out of something of a slump, keeping me engaged and guessing the next revelation all the way through.
I sincerely hope Gaskill writes the hinted at follow-up book, as there certainly is scope for it in the world he has masterfully created and the cast of (surviving) characters.
Quite simply: this is a fantastic book.
The characters involved are all well-crafted and unique. They have their own back-stories that we learn over time, appreciating who they are, what they have been through and why they are how they are.
The main character is Keira, a human who spent a large part of her late childhood imprisoned, tortured and raped by the upper echelons of the government. She escapes and seeks revenge on her abusers, but needs Courage to achieve this. We first meet her as she begins her attack on the first such abuser.
She teams up with Rowan, an assassin, though the circumstances of their meeting don't become clear until later, and travels to a magical realm to track down more of her tormentors. The details of Rowan's current assignment are somewhat mysterious and only revealed later.
They eventually meet Dess, who we have started to get to know, an elf-like magical scholar who has had his own issues in adolescence and is seeking revenge on the people involved in the murder of the love of his life.
And finally we have Sirris, a funny little slave creature who seeks escape from his life of misery, abuse and servitude.
Those back-stories are gradually woven together over the course of the book in a very ambitious, and flawlessly executed, series of split timelines. Fans of Mark Lawrence's knack for splitting a story into separate timelines will love the way Gaskill has done this and more here. We have the "present" story, told from a number of different viewpoints and places, as well as each of the main characters' backstories. Over time we learn to understand how people met, what tensions there are (or could be lurking under the surface) and what each is trying to achieve. These interactions, conflicts and tensions are masterfully written and revealed.
The action throughout the book is fairly gruesome and gritty, and some of the sexual scenes of torture and rape are a little hard to take. Rather than being gratuitous on the whole though they do serve to give the reader a better appreciation for the terrors the characters have been through.
Over the course of the book we see Keira ticking the names off her list of the eleven, albeit out of sync due to the split timelines.
This really was a wonderful book that got me out of something of a slump, keeping me engaged and guessing the next revelation all the way through.
I sincerely hope Gaskill writes the hinted at follow-up book, as there certainly is scope for it in the world he has masterfully created and the cast of (surviving) characters.
Tim Booth recommended The Boatman's Call by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds in Music (curated)
BookInspector (124 KP) rated The Wizards of Once in Books
Sep 24, 2020
This novel is told by a third person, the “Unknown Narrator”, who is one of the characters, but I couldn’t figure out who it was. 😀 The main characters are Xar (a wizard) and Wish (a warrior), they belong to two separate tribes, who are at war with each other, and both of these characters are a very naughty thirteen-year-olds. 🙂 I really liked Wish in this book, I think she is quite smart, and I really liked her strangeness. She is not like everybody else, and I think it really suited her. I really didn’t like Xar, I think he is rude, ignorant, absolutely horrible, self-centred brat, and he is a very bad example for kids. :/ I understand that author chose him for a reason and to prove some points to the young generation, but still, I couldn’t stand him. I really liked all the magical creatures, which the author created for this book. They were super fun and gave this “Harry Potter” vibe, which I really liked.
The narrative of this book is filled with plenty of magic and very fun adventures, which I really enjoyed. I liked the way the author was trying to surprise the reader with unexpected twists and turns and an interesting outcome from particular actions.
I kind of liked the writing style of this book, it feels very little edited and quite raw. (Like, when you tell an actual story, and u need to clarify some of the things you say) However, the same thing dragged out the story a little, making the chapters feel quite long sometimes. My most favourite thing about this book was the illustrations. It helped me to understand how all the characters and magical creatures looked like, and in general, they were absolutely stunning. I also liked that the author included quite a few of them in every chapter, it was fun to read and it gave a different texture to the whole story.
The language used in this book was easy to understand and pretty fun, and as I mentioned before, the chapters were quite long, but the illustrations kept the reading experience entertaining and not boring. The ending of this story was quite unexpected and the author creatively hinted about another book to follow. So, to conclude, it is a fun and adventurous story, filled with magic and magnificent creatures. Now, for the recommendation, I think adults should read it first and then decide if they want their kids to dig in. Xar’s attitude might have a negative impact on some of the kids, but I will leave that for the parents to decide. Enjoy! 🙂
The narrative of this book is filled with plenty of magic and very fun adventures, which I really enjoyed. I liked the way the author was trying to surprise the reader with unexpected twists and turns and an interesting outcome from particular actions.
I kind of liked the writing style of this book, it feels very little edited and quite raw. (Like, when you tell an actual story, and u need to clarify some of the things you say) However, the same thing dragged out the story a little, making the chapters feel quite long sometimes. My most favourite thing about this book was the illustrations. It helped me to understand how all the characters and magical creatures looked like, and in general, they were absolutely stunning. I also liked that the author included quite a few of them in every chapter, it was fun to read and it gave a different texture to the whole story.
The language used in this book was easy to understand and pretty fun, and as I mentioned before, the chapters were quite long, but the illustrations kept the reading experience entertaining and not boring. The ending of this story was quite unexpected and the author creatively hinted about another book to follow. So, to conclude, it is a fun and adventurous story, filled with magic and magnificent creatures. Now, for the recommendation, I think adults should read it first and then decide if they want their kids to dig in. Xar’s attitude might have a negative impact on some of the kids, but I will leave that for the parents to decide. Enjoy! 🙂
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Gritty narrative (1 more)
Twisting turning plot
Fantastic dystopian fantasy
This book came highly rated by people on the fantasy faction facebook group and goodreads, so I had high expectations when I started reading. The reader is thrown straight into the thick of this strange post-apocalyptic magical world and the terms and creatures therein.
The story follows Ryhalt Galharrow, a captain in the Blackwing, a group of soldiers and enforcers working for the supreme magician Crowfoot. They are charged with keeping order along the Range and tracking down dissenters and run-aways.
Galharrow quickly finds himself embroiled in a plot and a battle to save the republic from itself and the evil Deep Kings and their hordes of mutated zombies.
The narrative is extremely gritty and at times you can almost smell the filth and second-hand brandy.
While you are thrown into it without warning and without preamble, this is to McDonald's credit, as the reader pieces things together quite quickly, or can make up their own mind about how things look and work.
To sum this up, I would say it was like Mark Lawrence or Joe Abercrombie ghost-writing a Brandon Sanderson plot - with the best aspects of both sides (the gritty dialogue from the grimdark authors with the intricately designed magic system and urban landscape of the plotter).
A superbly crafted story with excellent flowing prose.
The story follows Ryhalt Galharrow, a captain in the Blackwing, a group of soldiers and enforcers working for the supreme magician Crowfoot. They are charged with keeping order along the Range and tracking down dissenters and run-aways.
Galharrow quickly finds himself embroiled in a plot and a battle to save the republic from itself and the evil Deep Kings and their hordes of mutated zombies.
The narrative is extremely gritty and at times you can almost smell the filth and second-hand brandy.
While you are thrown into it without warning and without preamble, this is to McDonald's credit, as the reader pieces things together quite quickly, or can make up their own mind about how things look and work.
To sum this up, I would say it was like Mark Lawrence or Joe Abercrombie ghost-writing a Brandon Sanderson plot - with the best aspects of both sides (the gritty dialogue from the grimdark authors with the intricately designed magic system and urban landscape of the plotter).
A superbly crafted story with excellent flowing prose.
graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Disappearing Nightly (Esther Diamond, #1) in Books
Feb 15, 2019
First off, while this could technically be called an urban fantasy, it doesn't really have the atmosphere of one and I'd be more likely to call it a magical mystery. <u>Disappearing Nightly</u> is a charming, wonderfully intriguing tale featuring the logical off-Broadway actress Esther Diamond, who through no fault of her own stumbles into the world of magic, and the path of Dr. Maximillian Zadok.
The author crafted a well-done, swiftly plotted yarn that left me pleased as punch. The characters went beyond caricatures, which could have so easily happened with the amount of personalities featured, and each of their respective professions, in the more colorful world of NYC. Through a comedy of errors, rapid fire dialogue, which the author has a gift for, and hilarious interactions, this motley crew of an investigative team gets to the bottom of the mysterious disappearances that are happening in the community. I had no trouble visualizing events as they unfolded, with amusing results, and could easily see this as a television series. The romance was nicely weaved into the story without becoming overpowering, and surprise of all surprises, there was no bed-hopping! What a nice change of pace. Altogether, this was fine little read that I flew right through and am glad I have the sequel handy! So far, this just may be my favorite read of the year.
The author crafted a well-done, swiftly plotted yarn that left me pleased as punch. The characters went beyond caricatures, which could have so easily happened with the amount of personalities featured, and each of their respective professions, in the more colorful world of NYC. Through a comedy of errors, rapid fire dialogue, which the author has a gift for, and hilarious interactions, this motley crew of an investigative team gets to the bottom of the mysterious disappearances that are happening in the community. I had no trouble visualizing events as they unfolded, with amusing results, and could easily see this as a television series. The romance was nicely weaved into the story without becoming overpowering, and surprise of all surprises, there was no bed-hopping! What a nice change of pace. Altogether, this was fine little read that I flew right through and am glad I have the sequel handy! So far, this just may be my favorite read of the year.