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Book Review: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Amber 9 Comments
Book Review: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne CollinsThe Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Series: The Hunger Games #0
Genre: Dystopia
Release Date: 19th May 2020
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Source: Bought
Add it: Goodreads
Rating: two-stars

It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the 10th annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to out charm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.

The odds are against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined - every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute... and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.

I wasn’t originally going to pick up The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes as I didn’t really have any interest in President Snow’s backstory, and I thought that without Katniss Everdeen, the Hunger Games wouldn’t be all that interesting. I was correct.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes felt, to me, entirely pointless. I struggled from the beginning to connect with Snow’s younger self. It seems strange to me that Collins chose to write the story from Snow’s point of view, as presumably everyone reading this book will know what he is to become. I read books to connect with the characters, but I couldn’t do that with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes because I simply could not see the two Snows as two different people. I knew who he was.

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Review: Sea Witch by Sarah Henning

Amber 4 Comments
Review: Sea Witch by Sarah HenningSea Witch by Sarah Henning
Series: Sea Witch #1
Genre: Fantasy
Release Date: 31st July 2018
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Source: Bought
Add it: Goodreads
Rating: three-stars

Everyone knows what happens in the end. A mermaid, a prince, a true love’s kiss. But before that young siren’s tale, there were three friends. One feared, one royal, and one already dead.

Ever since her best friend, Anna, drowned, Evie has been an outcast in her small fishing town. A freak. A curse. A witch. 

A girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appears offshore and, though the girl denies it, Evie is convinced that her best friend actually survived. That her own magic wasn’t so powerless after all. And, as the two girls catch the eyes—and hearts—of two charming princes, Evie believes that she might finally have a chance at her own happily ever after.

But her new friend has secrets of her own. She can’t stay in Havnestad, or on two legs, unless Evie finds a way to help her. Now Evie will do anything to save her friend’s humanity, along with her prince’s heart—harnessing the power of her magic, her ocean, and her love until she discovers, too late, the truth of her bargain.

Sea Witch had a lot of potential, and I think with some fine-tuning it could have been really good. Unfortunately, I was all hyped up for a dark Ursula origin story, but this book turned out to be more of a romance that really dragged in the beginning.

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The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

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The Silent Patient by Alex MichaelidesThe Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Genre: Thriller
Release Date: 5th February 2019
Publisher: Orion
Source: Bought
Add it: Goodreads
Rating: four-stars

Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him...

I read this book as a buddy read with Amy and Steffi, and we all ended up powering through it in record time (and completely ignoring any deadlines we’d set ourselves), so I think that says a lot about what The Silent Patient is like.

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Vengeful by V. E. Schwab

Amber 2 Comments

Vengeful by V. E. SchwabVengeful by V. E. Schwab
Series: Villains #2
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release Date: 25th September 2018
Publisher: Tor
Source: Bought
Add it: Goodreads
Rating: four-stars

Sydney once had Serena—beloved sister, betrayed enemy, powerful ally. But now she is alone, except for her thrice-dead dog, Dol, and then there's Victor, who thinks Sydney doesn't know about his most recent act of vengeance.

Victor himself is under the radar these days—being buried and re-animated can strike concern even if one has superhuman powers. But despite his own worries, his anger remains. And Eli Ever still has yet to pay for the evil he has done.

I’ve been waiting years for Vengeful along with everyone else and I am so happy to say that it was a hit for me. I love books about people with powers, and books about horrible people (who are supposed to be horrible, anyway) so Vicious was one of my favourite books back in the day. I’d been cautiously anticipating Vengeful because I wasn’t sure if it would be as good as the first book (it wasn’t) but it was actually pretty freakin’ good.

Now, I’m sure you all have some important and pressing questions about this highly anticipated sequel, so I’m here to answer them.

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One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake

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One Dark Throne by Kendare BlakeOne Dark Throne by Kendare Blake
Series: Three Dark Crowns
Genre: Fantasy
Release Date: 21st September 2017
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Source: Bought
Add it: Goodreads
Rating: three-half-stars

The battle for the crown has begun, but which of the three sisters will prevail?

With the unforgettable events of the Quickening behind them and the Ascension Year underway, all bets are off. Katharine, once the weak and feeble sister, is stronger than ever before. Arsinoe, after discovering the truth about her powers, must figure out how to make her secret talent work in her favor without anyone finding out. And Mirabella, the elemental sister once thought to be the certain Queen Crowned, faces attacks like never before—ones that put those around her in danger she can’t seem to prevent.

Fennbirn’s deadliest queens must confront the one thing standing in their way of the crown: each other.

So I didn’t like One Dark Throne as much as Three Dark Crowns, but it was a really fun read. I think compared to the first book there is more action and less world building, which is a shame because I want to know more about this world. I’m crossing my fingers in the hope that we’ll get more of that in the third book.

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