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The Priory of the Orange Tree
The Priory of the Orange Tree
Samantha Shannon | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
8.3 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Strong female characters (2 more)
No filler
Deep history and lore
Battles could of been stronger (0 more)
Compelling Fantasy
Wanting to try and branch out from just reading mainly thrillers this year I decided to get back on the fantasy track and picked this up at the library. I’m really glad I did it’s a great fantasy adventure set in a lore and history-rich world. I did have to get the ebook as well, as my wrists couldn’t cope with long reading sessions of the hardback copy and I didn’t want to put it down…..

It’s not an overly complicated fantasy tale and despite its 800+ pages, I found I was breezing through it at pace. It easily kept my interest and didn’t get too bogged down at any point. We have a tale of ancient evil rising, and a divided world will need to find a way to work together to defeat it.

Brimmed full of strong female characters we meet Ead hiding in the royal household of Inys under the guise of a maid-in-waiting but really is a kick-ass slayer/mage type, trying to protect the Queen. Meanwhile, on the other side of the great Abyss (big continent dividing ocean), we have Tane who has spent most of her life training to be a fearless dragon-riding warrior. The story is told from 4 different POVs but those two are the most engaging.

We have some romance (sigh lovey-dovey stuff - gross) but we don’t get bogged down in it and it feels entirely part of the story (not just tits and arse for the sake of it).

None of this book felt like unnecessary filler, despite epic journey's, we didn't have to read about every breakfast and lunch eaten (cough...). If anything some of the coincidences in characters meeting felt like it could of had more embellishment but I’m not really complaining it kept the story moving at a good clip. I felt the world that was built deserved a bit more of a complicated/nuanced tale but appreciate not having to slog through many years of sequels to get a conclusion. I didn’t feel the battles lived up to the overall size of the story but that may just be me watching too much TV...

Overall just what I needed to get me to want to keep branching out and reading a more diverse selection of genres - Go libraries!!!.
  
Casanova and the Faceless Woman (Inspector of Strange and Unexplained Deaths, #1)
Casanova and the Faceless Woman (Inspector of Strange and Unexplained Deaths, #1)
Olivier Barde-Cabuçon | 2012 | History & Politics, Mystery, Thriller
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The story is told from multiple perspectives, mainly by Volnay – The Inspector of strange and unexpected death, and Casanova – the seducer of everyone with a vagina. The main character I think is Volnay, and most of the time he shares his findings, uncovered with the help of his companion, the Monk. Casanova is just there, and his story was not very interesting to me, he was more of an obstacle rather than an intriguing participant. The characters are very sophisticated, refined, and most of the time very rich. The atmosphere in this book is quite grand, pompous and fancy, however, there are parts of filthiness and prostitution from time to time as well. My favourite character in this book has to be the Monk, he is the smartest and most intriguing of all of them, and Volnay would be nothing without him.

This book was quite a slow burner for me. First of all, there is not much progress happening towards the murders, and secondly, it is a very political book. There is a lot of scientific talks about alchemy, potions and other science-related things, that sound interesting, but at the same time doesn’t make sense to me at all. :/ The topics discussed in this book were paedophilia (the king was a paedophile), prostitution, scientific inventions, alchemy, French political affairs, etc. There were not many things happening in this book, and I missed the twists and turns to speed up this book.

The writing style of this book is very rich and sophisticated, the author has to be a true intellectual, who is into philosophy and science. It is a translation from French, that’s why it is filled with French expressions and place names. The chapters were too long for my liking and felt quite draggy sometimes. The ending was quite interesting but didn’t leave me fully satisfied. So, to conclude, it is a very complex novel, filled with refined characters, and very layered and political plot. This book is very beautifully written and I believe that the author is very gifted, to be able to write a book like this, but the reader has to be an intellectual as well, to appreciate and enjoy it. So if you are into 18th century France, and enjoy books about politics and science, this historical thriller will be for you.
  
13 Reasons Why  - Season 1
13 Reasons Why - Season 1
2017 | Drama
Deep personal story, gripping drama
On the surface this series looks to be all angsty teen drama. However from fairly early on, we see how a few instances of a nice sensitive person being slighted by the wrong people, or by those she trusts, can start to snowball.
Some of the "reasons" may seem fairly small and on their own not a reason for someone to take their own life. However, as the series tries to say, we never know what someone else is thinking or feeling. Without knowing that, and without true care over our own actions and interactions, small things can easily build up.
Small actions can have larger consequences and can make other people do things they wouldn't otherwise have done.
The cast are superb with all the main sterotypes of school personae covered (the rich kid, the poor but gifted kid, the nerd, the bookish girl, the talented jock etc). However, these aren't cartoon versions of those and are portrayed in a more human way than I've seen before. They all have their failings and in one way or another let someone down and resulted in them killing themselves.
  
The Death of Mrs Westaway
The Death of Mrs Westaway
Ruth Ware | 2018 | Mystery, Thriller
9
7.0 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
You'll be on the edge of your seat!
Suspenseful. This is my first Ruth Ware novel, and it was definitely suspenseful. It reminded me a lot of the Agatha Christie films - a family shut away in a big old house with a mystery to solve. But this has a very modern edge to it. The house is still spooky though: I expected it to go full on James Herbert (it didn't)!
Hal gets a letter to tell her that she has come in to some money, after the death of a rich grandmother she has never known about. Up to this point, she has been living hand to mouth with loan sharks after her. She reads tarot cards on Brighton pier (not the good one). She goes to her grandmothers funeral and decides that she is going to try and 'blag' the money out of the will. She can't possibly be related to these people! This is where it gets very interesting and all twisty-turny.
Great characters and a great story. I didn't see the end coming at all!
Thanks to The Pigeonhole and the author for my copy of this book.