Hello there guys!!
I'm somewhat tentatively back! I needed a break before and after my trip to Star Wars Celebration in London and I really needed a break because work and life make blogging a bit more complicated!
So here I am back now with two ARC mini reviews for this week's Mark These Books Monday, trying to start August right! These two totally work towards my Netgalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge too!
Splinter by Sarah Fine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read Reliquary and really enjoyed it, although our main character Mattie sometimes got on my nerves and I wanted to shake her more than once, but I decided to cut her some slack, because given how her life is thrown upside down... Gods know how I'll handle something of that magnitude!
I'm really happy to report that I loved how Mattie did grow as a character, not only on her powers and her knowledge of the world she is now part of, but also in what she really wants or who she really is. She starts the book in a bad place, both physically and emotionally, even if she had got what she had fought so hard to get back.
I had chosen a ship quite clearly during book 1, even if I wasn't entirely happy about the relationship seemed to be forming at the time, but once again, decided to give it space and see what might come of it, and I'm quite glad to see that although the progress seems to be very slow all through the book, it is what I'd call the right kind of progress!
Splinter is the second book in the trilogy, but it does NOT suffer from middle book syndrome or sequel slump at all! The stakes got really higher, more slightly unexpected betrayal (I was not expecting it entirely, I knew he was not exactly reliable but goodness!) and more enemies coming together to make life difficult (thankfully also more allies) and it also left me wondering about the original relics and how much more we'll learn about them in the bigger picture on Mosaic!
A very much deserved 4 to 4.5 stars to this one! A half star probably because of Asa and Gracie and how much I love when canines are okay! Thank you for that Sarah!!
Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed the first book in the series because it touched on something that had long fascinated me, the Alexandria Library, and created an alternative future where not only it had not burnt but one where it controlled the world. And it is a rather less wonderful world than I would have expected.
On Paper & Fire stakes get higher, betrayals happen unexpectedly and the action is absolutely non-stop! From the training and the fear of discovery in the beginning, to the plotting and sniffing around to mount a rescue, to trying to be ahead of the Library from then on to make sure the rescue doesn't turn into a massacre of all of those involved... we barely get any respite!
Jess has to deal with so much in this book! Not only in terms of being hunted and fighting for his life and figuring out how not to die while facing the Library's automata, but also on the more emotional side of things. He has to figure out his feelings and loyalties towards his family and his friends, and also how to navigate the mess that his feelings and relationship with Morgan are.
Rachel Caine managed to make me even more scared for my poor dear books, sometimes I'd just stop reading the book and go pet my poor darlings in my library room and tell them "You're okay, I would never let any evil Library take you away or any crazy people burn you!!". We get quite a few more unsettling revelations, go through very traumatic events and with quite a few unexpected twists here and there that culminate in one hell of an unexpected cliffhanger!!
Very well deserved 4 to 4.5 stars! I just cannot wait till I can get my hands on the third and final book!! *bites nails*
View all my reviews
I'm somewhat tentatively back! I needed a break before and after my trip to Star Wars Celebration in London and I really needed a break because work and life make blogging a bit more complicated!
So here I am back now with two ARC mini reviews for this week's Mark These Books Monday, trying to start August right! These two totally work towards my Netgalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge too!
Splinter by Sarah FineMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read Reliquary and really enjoyed it, although our main character Mattie sometimes got on my nerves and I wanted to shake her more than once, but I decided to cut her some slack, because given how her life is thrown upside down... Gods know how I'll handle something of that magnitude!
I'm really happy to report that I loved how Mattie did grow as a character, not only on her powers and her knowledge of the world she is now part of, but also in what she really wants or who she really is. She starts the book in a bad place, both physically and emotionally, even if she had got what she had fought so hard to get back.
I had chosen a ship quite clearly during book 1, even if I wasn't entirely happy about the relationship seemed to be forming at the time, but once again, decided to give it space and see what might come of it, and I'm quite glad to see that although the progress seems to be very slow all through the book, it is what I'd call the right kind of progress!
Splinter is the second book in the trilogy, but it does NOT suffer from middle book syndrome or sequel slump at all! The stakes got really higher, more slightly unexpected betrayal (I was not expecting it entirely, I knew he was not exactly reliable but goodness!) and more enemies coming together to make life difficult (thankfully also more allies) and it also left me wondering about the original relics and how much more we'll learn about them in the bigger picture on Mosaic!
A very much deserved 4 to 4.5 stars to this one! A half star probably because of Asa and Gracie and how much I love when canines are okay! Thank you for that Sarah!!
Paper and Fire by Rachel CaineMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed the first book in the series because it touched on something that had long fascinated me, the Alexandria Library, and created an alternative future where not only it had not burnt but one where it controlled the world. And it is a rather less wonderful world than I would have expected.
On Paper & Fire stakes get higher, betrayals happen unexpectedly and the action is absolutely non-stop! From the training and the fear of discovery in the beginning, to the plotting and sniffing around to mount a rescue, to trying to be ahead of the Library from then on to make sure the rescue doesn't turn into a massacre of all of those involved... we barely get any respite!
Jess has to deal with so much in this book! Not only in terms of being hunted and fighting for his life and figuring out how not to die while facing the Library's automata, but also on the more emotional side of things. He has to figure out his feelings and loyalties towards his family and his friends, and also how to navigate the mess that his feelings and relationship with Morgan are.
Rachel Caine managed to make me even more scared for my poor dear books, sometimes I'd just stop reading the book and go pet my poor darlings in my library room and tell them "You're okay, I would never let any evil Library take you away or any crazy people burn you!!". We get quite a few more unsettling revelations, go through very traumatic events and with quite a few unexpected twists here and there that culminate in one hell of an unexpected cliffhanger!!
Very well deserved 4 to 4.5 stars! I just cannot wait till I can get my hands on the third and final book!! *bites nails*
View all my reviews
I only found out a couple of weeks ago that Paper and Fire was the sequel to Ink and Bone. I kept seeing reviews and I finally read one. Ha ha. I have been wanting to read Ink and Bone and I will get around to it!
ReplyDeleteIt's a very cool series so far, I hope you'll love it!!
DeleteYAY for enjoying both of these :D Gorgeous reviews sweet girl. <3 I'm not really sure if I want to read any of them, haha :) But they do look awesome. Thank you for sharing your lovely thoughts about them :)
ReplyDelete