Wow what an underwhelming conclusion to the story. Way too long and waffly and all the action happens at the end of the book. It is disappointing becaWow what an underwhelming conclusion to the story. Way too long and waffly and all the action happens at the end of the book. It is disappointing because it takes away the shine from the first two books. Overall it was an okay series but not Kemmerer at her best! ...more
A slower book in comparison to the first. I loved the addition of Fox and Violet and Rian and the events with the ship. Especially when they climb theA slower book in comparison to the first. I loved the addition of Fox and Violet and Rian and the events with the ship. Especially when they climb the ropes. Does get fast paced towards the ending. 3.85*
Quotes/
'Everyone had a different idea of what was right. Sometimes what's right isn't debatable, or a matter of opinion.'
'It's hard to take from people who feel like they have nothing to lose.'
'Choices never seem like choices when the world only offers us bad ones.'
'Relief is a powerful motivator. So is fear.'...more
'Speak your name and tell me, who shall cry over your headless body?' 'You will not last long enough to benefit from knowing my name. But if you must k'Speak your name and tell me, who shall cry over your headless body?' 'You will not last long enough to benefit from knowing my name. But if you must know, my mother named me 'Your Death.' - Abolghasem Ferdowsi, Shahnameh.
This! This is what I have been WAITING for! This is so cleverly crafted. It is layered with exquisite tension and heart-stopping romance explosive and I am here for it! I loved that we got Cyrus's back story perhaps my favourite part of the book, especially his story as a diviner. It adds layers to his character and the developing romance between Alizeh and Cyrus is so intimate and tangible I mean Mafi writes romance like no other. The slow burn and leaving the crumbs for book 4 (I mean who's complaining- although I need them to be RELEASED now). Where is Cyrus's brother, what was his father's real deal? Is his mother going to forgive him and love him again. Will he become a diviner again? SO MANY QUESTIONS. Also Hazan...more to him right? And are Alizeh's parent 'really, really' dead?. I'd rather have these books 800 pages long rather than 300 because I don't think I can wait long enough for book 4 but I can't wait to see Alizeh and Cyrus in their Queen and King era. Mafi strikes again leaving me obsessed with this and now another book hangover. Her writing, the characters, the romance, the angst, the kingdom's Chef's Kiss. 4.5* rounded up!
Quotes/ 'I've been waiting,' said Cyrus, 'for this to be over.' A spark of approval animated Rostam's eyes. 'And where have you waited, little one?' Quietly, he said, 'In the future.' 'Three hours of your life, lost.'
'You must not resist life when it becomes inconvenient to live. You cannot outrun fear. You should not ignore pain. You will not outlive death... But life cannot be experienced one emotion at a time. It is a tapestry of sensation, a braided rope of feeling. We must allow for reflection even when we suffer. We must reach for compassion even when we triump. If we spend your days waiting for your sorrows to end so that you might finally live... you will die an impatient man.'
'Master yourself so that you will never be mastered. Know yourself so that you might live with conviction. Live with conviction so that your steps never falter.' ... The master of self means never fear in the consequences of doing what is right.'.. When you suffer you can choose to endure, or you can choose to overcome.' Here even in the midst of your discomfort, there existed elements of relief, if only you had bothered to search.'
'Let us hope for the day when we might all remove our masks, and live in the light without fear.'
'He wanted to press his face against her neck, wanted to breathe in the fragrance of her skin, the perfume of the flowers he'd grown himself. He wanted to make her laugh. He wanted to hold her hand. He wanted to make her tea and walk with her through the seasons. He wanted to watch her conquer the earth.' ...more
Maybe, I shouldn't have read this before Maybe Someday...but then again it can be read as a stand-alone, maybe I shouldn't of picked this up at all. BMaybe, I shouldn't have read this before Maybe Someday...but then again it can be read as a stand-alone, maybe I shouldn't of picked this up at all. Because this was absolute trash! There that is my review. ...more
Hmm...I couldn't get into this one...I feel like out of all her books this is the one I least enjoyed.Hmm...I couldn't get into this one...I feel like out of all her books this is the one I least enjoyed....more
Wow, wow, wow. When I thought The Priory couldn't get any better Shannon delivers us with A Day of Fallen Night! I am going to say it: I enjoyed this so much more than Priory. This is the prequel to The Priory (can be read as a stand-alone) and it is set five century's before The Priory. Compared to The Priory it was so much more fast paced and the stories from each p.o.v was so gripping that I just wanted to keep reading without stopping. This is a 800+ book but it didn't even feel like it because it is so readable. I am getting into reading longer fantasy lately and since The Priory Shannon has become my go-to. Her world-building, the storytelling, the intricate and interweaving plotline is masterful and such a delight to read.
Night follows a multiple p.o.v, in specific three women (did i also mention how Shannon writes the most amazing, strong, empowered women characters) where the dreadmount has erupted and it brings an age of terror and violence. Each women along with their own region must protect their regions and humankind from a damaging threat.
The regions are split into North, South, East and West and each of these have their own religious and political beliefs and to top it of they are all at odds with each other.
If I had to pick my fave p.o.v would probably be between Tuva and Dumai. I love Glorian and I think the best character arc should go to her. I loved each of their own stories. I mean some parts were predictable like Canthe for Tuva, Nikeya for Dumai and Wulf for Glorian but it was just done beautifully. Starting with Tuva and her dedication to the Priory was so wholesome. Her relationship with Esbar and Siyu and the pain she carries with her because of what happend felt so real. Motherhood was a theme that was explored so poignantly in Night and Tuva depicted it so good. I loved Dumai's story and Unora's story. The becoming a princess and her time in the Court I LIVED for and her becoming a dragonrider and Kanifa and yeah I could go on but I loved it so much. I really loved Sabran and Bardholt such a strong character and literally carried the Kingdom also ship them so much. But their death was such a let down because I either wanted it to be more explosive because they are both fighters or more emotional I feel like out of all the characters I didn't want their storyline cut short. Also can we just shout out our Shield heart who gave birth and literally went to war #Queen. I loved Wulf's story and his evolution the ending was super cute.
I can't wait for more in The Roots of Chaos series because if Night was just a prequel and it delivered to such a high standard imagine the sequel to The Priory. (Also the ending and how it echoes how The Priory is set out and the meaning of the title was magnificent). Highly, highly recommend thus sweeping, intricate and masterful book.
So much love, so much passion and emotion full of politics and action. Plot twists galore and strong female characters who slay both physically and figuratively. Such a moving and incredible story that I know I won't be able to get over for some time. Also in the acknowledgments Shannon writes it took three years to write whilst a pandemic was going on and she was battling with endometriosis. So much love and respect for her. Also appreciate the lists of the storytellers, the glossary and the timeline.
Link to my socials-https://linktr.ee/EPST (subscribe to my newsletter literary updates weekly).
Quotes/
'You knew how much of the wine to taste. You knew to leave some in the cup. But some Tunuva - some woukd drink of the sweet wine until they drowned'.
'Erasing the past won't make us saints'
'In Hróth, they say the oldest stories have the deepest roots.'
'To know many tongues is to rule many hearts.'
'This is a world of many contrasts. Night and day. Fire and water. Sky and earth - that is, what is above and, what beneath. Alchemists study the earth. Astronomers look to the sky.'
'What is in this world, Dumai asked her, but a fleeting dream, from which we will all one day wake?'
'We will all be stories one day, and I'd want someone to believe we existed. Wouldn't you?'.
'Someone will remember us I say even in another time' - Sappho
'A flower in a world of ash is proof that life endures.' ...more
A nice conclusion to Wren and Oak's story but can't help but feel a bit disappointed because of how much the first book delivered in terms of plot twiA nice conclusion to Wren and Oak's story but can't help but feel a bit disappointed because of how much the first book delivered in terms of plot twists and gripping story. Maybe should have stuck to Wren's p.o.v instead of Oak's. Also love Jude and Carden's cameo and do I hint another spin of featuring them because of what Carden said. And I guess I was right when I predicted that Wren and Oak would end up together.
I first read Oranges 2 or 3 years ago and it just left such an impression on me that without re-reading I remembered some chapters so vividly and I was left hypnotised by Winterson’s writing, physically hurt because of all the things the main character goes through and so jealous because this is how I wished I could write. I also read her novel ‘Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal’ last year and it was…I couldn’t put in words how much I thoroughly enjoyed loved, devoured, and how broke and healed, I felt after I read it. This year I read her novel Frankisstein a reimagining of the classic novel ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelly and needless to say but I ended up loving it and has become one of my favourite books. (Links to both books and my review are down below.) I have to say how much I loved Oranges the first time around I thought I would go into my re-read to find I would love it that much more, but I was surprised to find that I just loved it but not as much as I read it on my first read. The one thing I forgot whilst reading this book was the use of fairy tales and the story of Sir Gawain and his Green Knights. I can’t remember it being in the book but it was so good and I actually feel it adds more to the story as a whole the fairy tales on their own were so gripping and compelling that I loved reading them.
Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit is a novel that follows Jeanette, who has been adopted by a woman who thinks she is the chosen one from God the story follows Jeanette and her mother from a young child to adulthood, with the background of a working-class family this is a story of Jeanette who follows her Mother and the journey she has set out for her. In a way it is a coming-of-age and as Winterson states it is and isn’t an autobiography. I recently watched the BBC adaptation of this and I loved how the actors portrayed the characters because no matter all that goes down you really can feel the love (albeit a different version) Jeanette’s mother has for her. She is adopted and brought up in this working-class Pentecostal family where religion presides over everything. She doesn’t treat Jeanette like a child but instead as a young adult. It’s a kind of ‘us’ and ‘them’ situation where if you are not a Christian you’re a heathen and therefore damned to go to hell, it’s actually comedic and humorous in places, especially with the neighbours who are ‘fornicating’ in the adaptation it is even funnier. She doesn’t feel the need to send Jeanette to school but when she has to it is against her own wishes. I love in all of Winterson’s novels have strong female protagonists, yes they have flaws, but it is empowering to see strong female characters. In school, Jeanette develops feeling for another girl which forces her mother to expose her in church and they exorcise the girls to ‘eliminate the demons that possess them.
The ’oranges’ of course are a metaphor that is used throughout the novel and of course, is the title of the novel. The orange is first introduced in the bathroom when her mother gives it to her to eat. The gift of orange is really a source of comfort that offers emotional support because in a way it’s meant like a dummy or a pacifier, but it takes on a different meaning when Jeanette is in hospital and it almost haunts her and appears as a demon- the orange appears as a demon when problems arise but of course, it being a metaphor is the underlying meaning telling us we are always going to have problems but it’s how we deal with them that matters. She also gives her mother and the pastor an orange confusing her mother because normally it is the other way around. Jeanette being ostracised because of her sexuality leaves and forms her own path away from her mother she takes a job at the undertaker's and drives an ice-cream van. Touching and heartbreaking scenes that will stay with me forever are the funeral scenes of Elsie and when she serves ice cream to her mother, and when she re-visits her hometown when she is an adult to find Melanie married, to find the memories of her dog, when she sits on that hill and overlooks her hometown it is such a bittersweet moment that really breaks you. The ending scene of her mother with the radio and her sitting in front of her presents left me crying my eyes out.
Winterson’s prose really is so beautiful and lyrical that making her novels so compelling to read. The novel is only short yet she crams everything into it. It is confident and the contrast between the realism and the fantastical shows how great she is at what she does. This genre-defying novel is probably one of the best things I have ever read. It pushes boundaries, it is controversial, it is powerful, and the storytelling is masterful. You have to remember this is a fictionalised version of Jeanette’s actual reality and that is what makes the novel so special and so clever in using a tool such as fairy tales to counterbalance the realism but also reinforce the main character's story, to almost picture Jeanette in these fairy tales, it is genius. The feminist fairy tales reject the ‘damsel in distress. They also work as coping mechanisms which allow the reader an insight into how Jeanette has accepted her life, the constraints of religion, her sexuality, and the norms society has created she forgets about all of this, she leaves all of this when she opens a fiction book and/or writes and this is where her storytelling comes from. She comments on social, emotional, and physical, and criticizes society, she sets this in a working-class society.
I love Oranges and think everyone should absolutely read it and should be a set text in high school. I love her writing absolutely obsessed with it; I just love her. It is a must-read and I can’t stress how much I recommend this to everyone. I will leave this paragraph that Winterson wrote in the introduction of the book.
‘Oranges has broken down many more barriers than it has reinforced {…} she’s poor she’s working class, but she has to deal with the big questions that cut across class and culture. In oranges, this quest is one of sexuality as well as individuality. Orange deals absolutely with emotions and confrontations that none of us can avoid, first love, loss, grief, rage, and above all courage, these are the engines that drive the narrative through the peculiar confines of the story. Oranges are comforting not because it offers any easy answers but because it tackles difficult questions. Oranges have given a voice to many people’s unspoken burdens. And when you have found your voice, you can be heard. Is Oranges an autobiographical novel? No not at all and yes of course. ~ Jeanette Winterson's introduction to Oranges
‘Oranges are not the only fruit’- Nell Gwynn
There are no quotes because I would have to write every single paragraph instead, I have taken pictures of just 5%of my favourite quotes. I hope this has inspired you to pick up this amazing novel if it has let me know in the comments below or if you have previously read it.
Links to my Goodreads and review for the other two novels:
The Stolen Heir is everything I could have wanted and more. I honestly thought we would have got Oak’s p.o.v considering what happened in The Folk of The Stolen Heir is everything I could have wanted and more. I honestly thought we would have got Oak’s p.o.v considering what happened in The Folk of Air series but alas we got Suren’s p.o.v and I am here for it. A runaway queen. A reluctant prince. And a quest that may destroy them both.
I loved how this started and how the mortal world was given more time in the book. By that I mean Wren’s upbringing and her love for the mortal world and her adoptive family but when she is snatched away the horrifying feeling of her family when they are glamoured and see Wren for who she is. When she lives on the run her attachment to the family and how she finds herself keep going back and doing things like washing for them or taking things. It breaks me because she clearly doesn’t want to be a queen.
I felt this was a lot more grittier and darker and I have to say also a slow start but it develops beautifully. When she is chased by the storm hag Bogdana none other than Oak comes to her rescue and saves Wren, and from then the quest begins to save Madoc. I love Wren and can see the similarities with Jude (I mean after all they are both queens) but somehow, I didn’t jel with Oak as I would have liked to. I mean his description (the hooves) I am sorry but I am not digging. The charming personality is to an extent a little annoying, I love the love he has for Jude and co but I can’t help but feel he is in the shadow of them. Which Black may be portraying but (and I don’t know if it is because this book was in Wren’s p.o.v).
I didn’t care enough for Oak as I did in The Folk of the Air series. Holly Black has to be queen of plot twists because that ending just did things to me. Like it has to be the most obvious, yet I must be the must dumb person to not see it. Everything makes sense and I am sorry, but Bogdana loves Wren also did anyone else not get Maleficent vibes from this. That was such an iconic, Holly Black, ending especially Oak saying I wasn’t going to leave without Wren anyway (I am dead) and Wren coming into her own yet battling with her own demons at the same time. I feel like when they reach the Citadal it is just so fast paced, and I mean that ‘pretend with me’ had me melting. I loved when she frees Hyacinthe and the other two prisoners, the riddles that she solved like they were nothing, also the bus scene had me so tense how is Oak that cunning and how did I think Wren could get away from it so easily. Also, the phone calls to her ‘unmother’ and Rebecca. Uugh this was so good. Now I just have that agonising wait the for the sequel also early predictions but this being a duology the ending will probs have Oak and Wren together, right? Holly Black I am ready for more plot twists and to have my mind blows surprise me with book 2 please.
Also I was reading lots of reviews and I just want to say can people stop comparing this or judging it against the Folk of the Air series. Like I get it is a continuation into the world of Elfhame and we get an extension of Jude through Oak but I am sorry they are two different stories. I think because The Folk of the Air series delivered to such a high standard we want and hold this to that standard but it can be quite damaging to your expectations. Because let me tell you this book is a lot slower than The Cruel Prince but that is okay because this is not a rewritten version of it. I get the similarities and we want Oak and Wren to be like Jude and Carden but the are not. So for anyone looking for an exact copy of The Folk of the Air trilogy I am sorry to disappoint you but you won’t find it here, instead you will find a story that is just as good and with that ending I don’t know why you would be disappointed.
Love, love, loved this ‘pretend with me’ that your patiently awaiting book 2.
Quotes/ ‘You cannot outrun fate’.
‘Sometimes life gives us the terrible gift of our own wishes come true.’
‘Fear is not love, but it can appear much the same. So too, power.’...more
Good ending to the series. Popsugar reading challenge- a book with a palindromic title.
When I finished this book, it was kind of a bittersweet feeling. Over the course of the three novels, you are familiar with this world and the quirky characters but also you can’t help but think about what’s next, these questions are quite overwhelming.
I think I am used to Atwood’s writing by now after reading quite a lot written by her, but she never fails to move me and scare me with her writing. Her speculative fictions novel are all, but fiction and they feel all too real. A man-made plague sweeps the earth- sound all too familiar. Honestly, I think I disliked this book the most out of the trilogy but I think it could partly be because I read the other two last year so I should have really re-read them but also because I just felt a bit too crazy.
You have to read the book to understand what I am saying but I was really let down with Jimmy literally being in a coma for the majority of the book and I guess I wanted to see more of him as the first book all started with him. The ending was probably the strongest out of all the three but then I guess because it fully ended is why it was the strongest. I loved the observations and commentary- Atwood is another one of the authors where I would read anything that she has written- I loved the build-up of the novels and the endless optimism it has taught me a lot and a successful novel- in my opinion- is one that teaches you and this certainly does.
It is clever and imaginative, and I remember a zoom I had with Atwood where she talks about Oryx and Crake and reading this just made the novels come alive for me. She makes you think and question with every paragraph and I absolutely devoured it, I will for sure be revisiting this and re-reading time and time again. If you want a speculative fiction recommendation this trilogy you won’t want to miss. I loved it. I can’t wait until I re-read this again. ...more
The Ember quartet is one of the first series that got me into the genre of fantasy. With a few other books/series. An Ember in the Ashes is the first The Ember quartet is one of the first series that got me into the genre of fantasy. With a few other books/series. An Ember in the Ashes is the first book, that got me enthralled in the world of fantasy. Sabaa Tahir’s world-building is exceptional, I remember the first time reading it absolutely captured me as I was picturing Blackcliff’s oppressive building, the hustle and bustle of the Serran markets and the characters who felt so familiar and in ways, I could relate to. This takes me to my first point. Representation! Picking up this book knowing an American/Pakistani wrote this made me so proud. This was a time of firsts because not only was this my entrance to the fantasy genre but also it was my first time seeing a person with a similar background to me writing in the fantasy genre. When I was growing up and of course reflecting back it is depressing to see the books I read were not diverse and certainly not written by BIPOC authors and growing up this slowly changed. I learned this was not just ‘my’ case, but it was a major issue and thankfully we are slowly starting to acknowledge this and are beginning to make much-needed changes.
I just have one question though, I really didn’t get the setting because it is set in ancient Rome, but wouldn’t have it been better to set it in a Middle Eastern or South Asian country with all the references and the inclusion of the Jinn’s etc?
I just loved and devoured this series, and I can’t wait to read a contemporary YA ‘All the Rage’ by Sabaa Tahir which is coming out in March, and I know I will for sure be re-visiting Ember time and time again. The thing I loved most was the love and hope that was threaded between the lines of this series for page one in Ember there was hope and fierce love that ended as the series did. I highly recommend this series and I am actually sad that it's over but so happy that I read a series that I love, and I grew with, and this is something that will stay with me forever.
Favourite quotes-from A Sky Beyond the Storm
‘We are, all of us, just visitors in each other’s lives’ (isn’t this a Rumi quote too I am sure it is.)
‘Fear is your only enemy if you allow it to be’.
‘Love and Hate […] they are two sides of the same coin’.
‘You are broken. But it is the broken things that are the most sharpest. The deadliest. It is the broken things that are the most unexpected, and the most underestimated.’ (My queen and her king.)
‘Love can be more powerful in a battle than planning or strategy. Love keeps us fighting. Love drives us to survive.’ (Musa and his wise words)
‘Where there is life, there is hope’ (a favourite of mine’)
‘I wish I could live a thousand lives so I could fall in love with you a thousand times’ (another Rumi quote, right?!)
-------------------------------------- All the stars in the world go to this book! Oh my gosh where do I even begin with this book. I can't believe it's over, I am going to miss this so much! I feel like I have been on a journey with this series. A more coherent review to come! No reviews will encapsulate what I feel for this book. But one can only try. ...more
I am a mess! A sobbing mess! That ending broke me. This book was not what I was expecting. P.s this is Insta-Love done well!!! 4.5 Full review to come.I am a mess! A sobbing mess! That ending broke me. This book was not what I was expecting. P.s this is Insta-Love done well!!! 4.5 Full review to come. Popsugar reading challenge- a book about a band or musical group. ...more
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