Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo | I don’t know how to feel about this book!

I don’t necessarily call myself a Leigh Bardugo fan. I read the Grisha trilogy last year and while it wasn’t the most mindblowing YA fantasy out there, it definitely had some elements that I enjoyed. I still need to read her «Six of Crows» duology, which I hope to like better than the original Grisha trilogy. 

However,  I had very high hopes for «Ninth House». Last year it was one of the most anticipated releases of all bookish community, but then it received a lot of negative reviews – I think people hyped it up more than necessary and were [unpleasanlty] surprised when it turned out to be very different from Leigh Bardugo’s previous work. 

Even after finishing this 459 pages monster and sitting on my thoughts for a week, I still can’t decide whether I liked it or not.

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The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow | Sadly, Alix E. Harrow’s writing style is not for me!

I think I have to admit defeat and NOT request any future books written by Alix E. Harrow. As much as I want to love her books, and as much as I love the concepts, ideas, characters she creates, the writing style ruins everything for me. Which is so frustrating! 

It would be understandable if I wasn’t a fan of lyrical writing, but I am! In my reviews of The Bear and the Nightingale series by Katherine Arden (which is the BEST series ever!), many people mentioned how beautiful and lyrical her writing was but they couldn’t get engaged in the story, mostly because of the writing. Apparently, I have the same issue with Alix E. Harrow…

The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy, #1) by S.A. Chakraborty | 18th century Cairo, Djinns, and lots of political plays!

I had too high hopes for this book, so when I didn’t love it as much as I hoped to, I felt slightly disappointed. That being said, it’s still an amazing Adult fantasy book with a very unique premise and settings, and I for sure will be continuing and reading the rest of the trilogy as soon as possible. 

It’s difficult to say if my low enjoyment was due to the reading slump I kinda have been experiencing, or everything that is going on in the world that constantly occupies my mind, or the fact that I read it in Russian instead of English. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I think that reading this book in translation was a mistake, and I will be buying the other two books in English. I might even re-read the English version before I continue (?) [who am I kidding here… when was the last time I re-read anything?! 😀 ]

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart | A fantastic beginning to a new epic series!

Whenever I start slowing my reading pace and prioritizing other tasks over reading, I really should remind myself how truly great books make me feel. Picking up «The Bone Shard Daughter», while slumping through the other two books, felt like a breath of fresh air. I didn’t know what to expect from Andrea Stewart, but I can say that I was very pleasantly surprised by how quickly it drew me into the story and how incredible each Point of View was!

Traveling in time to Ancient Greece | The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

As I was reading «The Song of Achilles» I couldn’t help myself but compare this book to «Circe» also by Madeline Miller. Both of them follow a famous figure from Greek mythology, both a very heavy influenced by Ancient Greece, and both are told in a very beautiful way. While «The Song of Achilles» was a fairly quick read (in comparison to «Circe» which took me over a month), I feel like I will forget it just as quickly.

It might be due to the fact that this was an epic love story, or maybe because none of the characters in this book sparked love or even admiration in me. «Circe», on the other hand, is the book that will stay with me for a long time. I read it in July of last year and I still remember how it made me feel, I still think about it from time to time.

The Age of Witches by Louisa Morgan | Beautiful writing but disappointing slow-burn romance!

As many of you know, some books are very difficult to review. I definitely struggled with «The Age of Witches» by Louisa Morgan, considering that I finished it at the beginning of May and only sitting down to finally put my thought on paper [well… on screen] on June 10th, almost one month later. 

There were many weekends when I thought “This is it! I’m writing this review!” and then not actually doing it because I couldn’t find the right words to describe how I felt about «The Age of Witches». 

The Rage of Dragons(The Burning, #1) by Evan Winter | Can’t wait for the next installment!

«The Rage of Dragons» by Evan Winter, the first book in the epic African-inspired fantasy, was one of the most intimidating books on my TBR last month. [Well… together with «A Time of Courage» by John Gwynne.] After reading one African-inspired fantasy last year that I didn’t love and had to DNF half-way through, I was rather apprehensive to try again. Besides, the first book is always the most challenging to dive in – there is a new world to get accustomed with, new words, new social and magic systems.

Who would have thought that I’d be able to finish an epic fantasy book with more than 500 pages in just 2 days?! I didn’t!

5 Reasons why you need to read the «Winternight Trilogy» by Katherine Arden!

I’m starting a new type of posts of my blogs! [and I’m very excited to finally share this first one with all of you!] I always struggled to write reviews for sequels – not many people are interested in reading a review for a 2nd, 3rd or 10th book in the series when they haven’t even started the series yet or aren’t caught up to the point where they can freely read the review and not being afraid of spoilers. 

Besides, how much information is enough to convey my thoughts and not spoil the previous books? 

Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the Fallen #1) by Steven Erikson | Will I continue reading this series?

The books in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series tend to be glamoured by this supernatural complexity that justifies all the negative thoughts and reviews the books get. I read some reviews on Goodreads of the first book – «Gardens of the Moon» just to see the most common adjectives thrown at it by the community, here is what I found:

1. complex;
2. unique;
3. confusing;
4. intimidating;
5. rich; and
6. demanding. 

This is what readers say about the masterpiece of Epic Fantasy. But do I agree with them?

Elevation by Stephen King | One of the best short books!

I’m slowly dipping my toes into Stephen King’s works. Last year I tried his dystopian novel «Cell» and this year I decided to start with one of the shorter books – «Elevation». I’m still avoiding his horror books, even though «Elevation» is classified as Horror and even won Goodreads awards in the horror category (shocking!) you’re safe to read it because it’s nothing more than a Fiction book with elements of fantasy? sci-fi? something out of the ordinary. 

This was an outstanding story and it instantly made it to my “favorites of 2020” list!

5 Reasons why you should read «Circe» by Madeline Miller!

My first meeting with Circe, the enchantress or the goddess of magic, was at school when we had to read Homer’s Odyssey. The story of his visit to the Isle of Aiaia was one of our discussion topics and we saw how the powerful goddess Circe fell victim of Oddysey’s (and gods’) treacherous plan. 

Since then I haven’t read anything else about Circe, until Madeleine Miller’s book. And I’m so glad that I purchased her book! Madeleine Miller has a true gift, and it’s not just the beautiful seamless writing, but the ability to bring the well-known character to life again and in a different light, give Circe the truly powerful story of a goddess but also a woman who loved, who fought and who lived.

The Astral Traveler’s Daughter (School for Psychics, #2) by K.C. Archer | Superpowers, cold cases & political intrigue at Whitfield Institute

In this continuation of «School for Psychics» series, Teddy, Dora, Janine and Pyro go back to Whitfield Institute for their 2nd year. This time, their return is shadowed by the suspicious disappearance of their friend, and betrayal of someone they trusted.

The second year also requires more from Whitfield students. Soon, they will need to be sorted to various military forces or secret agencies, and it’s up to them to perform to their highest standards.

Concerned about her friend, her parents, and suspicious activity of Whitfield superiors, Teddy and her crew end up in the middle of the mysterious events that might solve their problem, or make an even bigger mess!

A Time of Blood by John Gwynne | Which “Of Blood and Bone” Character are You? QUIZ!

«A Time of Blood» – the second book Of Blood and Bone series by John Gwynne is coming out tomorrow, April 18th!

For everyone who doesn’t know or heard of this book, this is the second installment in Of Blood and Bone Fantasy series by John Gwynne, set in Banished Lands over 100 years after the events of The Faithful and the Fallen.

Do you need to read the first series?

Personally, I haven’t read The Faithful and the Fallen, but I definitely would love to pick it up at some point, even though I’m more attached to the current characters than the world itself.

But there might be some perks to reading the other series first. For example, this series definitely contains some spoilers to the first one, as it references a lot of historical events and past accomplishments. Also, it would be easier to jump into this series if you are already familiar with the world. (Although, I didn’t find it difficult or complicated to get into). And you might pick up more “hidden” references than a new reader.

The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons | The First Disappointment of 2019

Usually, when a new release is compared to Brandon Sanderson, John Gwynne, and Patrick Rothfuss, you’d expect it to be good, right? Or at least decent.

I was promised this: Uniting the worldbuilding of a Brandon Sanderson with the storytelling verve of a Patrick Rothfuss, debut author Jenn Lyons delivers an entirely new and captivating fantasy epic. Prepare to meet the genre’s next star.

Instead, I got the worst book I’ve read in a long time. I have 10 pages of highlights from 60% of the book and most of them are BAD!, so let’s get started!

The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale | The most magical story I’ve ever had a pleasure to read

No matter how many books I devour every year, it is incredible to see that there are still books out there that are able to amaze me with beautiful, emotional writing, magical settings, and touching events.

This was my first book by Robert Dinsdale and it definitely won’t be the last one! I am still battling with my inner self whether I should add this book to my 2018 favorites list or not. If I would have a “2018 most memorable reads” shelf, it would automatically earn its place there.