To all of those who kept recommending Sanderson's books to me. I should have listened to you sooner.
I decided that Warbreaker would be a great start tTo all of those who kept recommending Sanderson's books to me. I should have listened to you sooner.
I decided that Warbreaker would be a great start to Sanderson after it was recommended to me by several people, and I liked that it could be considered a standalone even if it's getting a sequel which it really needs!
I had no idea what to expect from this, and I was pleasantly surprised. I won't say that I love everything about this book because that was not the case. But even being unhappy about certain things was so much fun that I did not care.
I do not have much to say about the story, so, I will only write a bit about the characters.
Vasher, definitely my favourite POV, I wish there was more of those. And honestly, part of the reason why I enjoyed that so much was Nightblood. The whole best "character" in the entire book! I could read the whole book from Nightblood's POV.
Siri is still a bit of an enigma for me. I love her then I dislike her then I'm unsure about her then I'm annoyed by her and then all above. She was introduced as a free-spirited girl, but that aspect was very soon lost. She was so obedient. I expected her to flip and scream at the next person who calls her "Vessel". Like, come on! How was she okay with that? But then she got into the "scheming", and it was so much fun. I had fingers crossed for a showdown between her and Blushweaver.
Vivenna. It's very surprising at; first I thought that I would prefer her to Siri, but in the end, I just wanted her to keep quiet and get lost. I have to say that sometimes when I turned the page and saw that the next POV was her's, I felt a bit sad, and I hoped for Vasher's instead. Denth and Tonk Fah were mostly the only reason why I could get through her chapters. This duo is so much fun, and I would not be angry to get more of these two! Denth and Tonk reminded me a bit about Mr Croup and Mr Vandemar, which made me so happy and wanting more of them. Together with Nightblood, the best parts of the book. I wondered if they were meant to be only a comic aspect to the book or something to carry Vivenna's chapters, but I quickly decided against that and started listening to what Denth was saying and doing! (view spoiler)[I very quickly realised that what they were pushing Vivenna to do was more likely to cause the war than anything else. And I was sure that it was what they were trying to do. I'm really surprised that Vivenna did not think about that. (hide spoiler)] It's also why I'm so annoyed with Vivenna; she was all about how she was prepared for Hallandren that they taught her everything but then she has a meltdown when she sees a Lifeless. What preparation. She's constantly bragging about not judging people but judges everyone all the time. "Poor Jewels, she is a Drab." Then. "Poor, Stupid Jewels, she does not realise how poor she is that she's Drab." "Poor Siri who loves colours she must be terrified in that horrible city. I must save her." "Siri is not ready for this! I'm I was so prepared for this." "I must be really careful in the city, but I will only dress in such a way that I do not compromise how I would dress at home, spending money left and right! But I will also judge "my friend" who's doing a better job to blend in, and I will subtly call him stupid."
Somewhere halfway through the book, I wished that those poor statues, which she could not stop badmouthing (how people dare to have a different customs in how to honour/remember something/someone that she does?!), to step down and slap her stupid. (view spoiler)[And when they turned out to be the secret army I had a really good laugh! (hide spoiler)]
Wow, finally done. I really, really dislike Vivenna if you did not get the message.
Susebron is probably one of the purest characters I read about in a very long time. I kept wishing that he had a POV, but in the end, I was happy that he did not have a one because it was not really that important. Because even without one, it was really easy to get his view on the story, he was that much of an open book. (view spoiler)[But I have to say that I still find it hilarious that the priest kept pushing Siri to sleep with him when he had no idea what to do. One would expect them to give him some... pointers? (hide spoiler)]
And now, Lightsong. Another character who was up and down for me. He was hilarious! But sometimes it crossed the line and the funny aspect of his acting got lost, and it was very forceful and just asking for an eye roll. But then I enjoyed when he got stuck in politics, so much fun. And the end? PERFECT.
So, the end? Yeah, it was a bit rushed. Suddenly so much happened a bit out of nowhere and I wanted a bit more time spend on it. I wanted more on those priests and Bluefinger.
I may be complaining a bit... a lot, but overall I really enjoyed this book. Even Vivenna's chapters which were horrible could be so much fun because of Denth and Tonk Fah. So, even if I was unhappy about something, other aspects could outweigh it very quickly.
And the important question now is which book from Sanderson I should read next? Or does any of you have a good reading order for his books?...more
The first book of 2020 and... I liked it? Even if this review may focus a bit more on the things, I did not like (why is it so much easier to write a The first book of 2020 and... I liked it? Even if this review may focus a bit more on the things, I did not like (why is it so much easier to write a review pointing out the things I did not enjoy that those I did?). However, I have to say that this review is very far from perfect, I had a tough time writing it, and I'm not 100% happy with the result. And in the end, I had to cut parts of it because I've run out of characters.
Okay, I liked it a lot, I enjoyed reading it, and while it's not perfect and I'll have a lot to talk about, I still consider it a very good book. And I cannot wait to read the next one. So, when is that one coming out?
In terms of a retelling, this is more of "inspired by" and very loosely. Anastacya is clearly Anastasia; however, she only has a brother and no other siblings. Cyrilia is inspired by Russia, same with language (more on that later), then you get bits of Russian Civil War with Red Cloaks vs White Cloaks, but that will probably play a bigger role in next books. But otherwise, the author took these things and set them into a fantasy setting.
The writing was really good, and I have a hard time believing that this is a debut! Well done and I sincerely hope that we will get more books from this author beyond this trilogy. The thing that was sometimes dragging it down was an overuse of cliché sentences which were unnecessary to the story especially since it feels like the author has the means to write the story well without relying on those. But I'm really happy that the story started with action and it did not seem that the action really ever stopped. All the time something was going on, and I do not think I ever felt like something was there just to *fill* space.
The flow of the story was great; I was always eager to turn the next page to see where this is heading. But, I cannot say that this was an unpredictable book; in many instances, it seemed very predictable. But, since it was so well-written, I did not mind that. What I did mind (sometimes) were unnecessary flash-backs. Some of them were fine, but when they came in a middle of (view spoiler)[torture (hide spoiler)], it was torture for me to have to read a flash-back which I was not interested in to know what's currently happening. I felt like the author did a great job at building up the characters; I did not feel like she needed all of those flash-backs to do so. (Yes, some were necessary but not all.)
So, then the characters. I liked Ana. She is the "lost" princess who was accused of murdering her father. It's been a year since she fled the palace, and it surprised me how naive she still was about the reality of her Empire. She's clearly seen how those with Affinity are treated there, but she needed Ramson to drag her through it to finally understand. It was interesting to see her slowly grasp the whole horror of the situation, and while she had a pretty bad time with her Affinity(view spoiler)[ her father gave her to a guy to poison her and basically torture in hopes to heal her from the Affinity. (hide spoiler)], Ana was still not ready to accept that her Empire was rotten. I had my issues with Ana, mainly that I had no idea how any of her plans could end up any other way than with a failure. That's the naivety once again. But I have high hopes for her in the future, and I sincerely hope the author does not turn her into an invincible superhero.
“Don’t die,” he said. “Don’t get kidnapped,” she replied.
Ramson. I also liked him, but for a wicked con man, he did not seem like one. For someone who spends months in jail, he was surprisingly fit. He also had some hilarious banter with everyone which works as a bit of lightening up the mood. But he could ease up on the "darlings", I did not feel like that suited his character.
You focused on the battle and lost sight of the war.
Then little May, she’s hands down the fiercest character in this book. I thought she would tear Ramson to bite-sized pieces. (view spoiler)[And I hope that Ana will manage to find her mother. (hide spoiler)]
Plus I sincerely hope that we will see more of Linn, she seemed like a fun character!
I honestly did not feel much of a romantic vibe between Ana and Ramson, and thankfully, it was very much on the background of the story, and it’s not distracting. However, the couple I’m shipping the most is Linn and the Yaeger she fought against at the end of the book. There is no romance between them, but I want it. (view spoiler)[However, I sincerely hope that there will be no love triangle between Ana, Ramson and Yuri. I cannot stand any more love triangles. Plus Yuri feels like every "childhood friend" who will suddenly show love interest and will be threatened by the girl thinking about someone else. So, please, do not do that! (hide spoiler)]
Those with Affinity in Cyrilia are hated for it, pushed aside, seen as less than human. More like machines sold to work. Other nations mentioned in the book do not see them in the same way, but Cyrilia does. The criminals even try to lure Affinites from other countries to Cyrilia and then force them to sign a working "contract" where they are then treated basically as slaves.
There are different types of Affinity. Some can make fire; others can control earth and grow flowers or chuck huge stones on their enemies; others can fly. And then there are the more complicated. (view spoiler)[Ana is Blood Affinite and can control people by their blood; she can bleed them to death or use their blood to "push" them. Then there are flesh ones which can control people's mind or provoke fear. And then there are Yaeger which can control other's Affinity. (hide spoiler)]There are many types of Affinity from what I can say. It actually reminds me a bit of Shatter Me series. However, so far, I lack some explanation to why some have Affinity, and other's don't. Ana seems (so far) to be the only one in her family with Affinity. I sincerely hope that the author is going to address this in the second or third book. I do not mind that there is no explanation for Affinity in this book, but I would be disappointed that there were none in the whole series.
Also for Ana's Affinity, she first learned that she had it when she was rather young (view spoiler)[ I believe around 8? And by accident, she killed a bunch of people (hide spoiler)], and she was conditioned to view herself as a monster which she continues to do so even during this book, and a change comes only at the end of the book. I'm very curious to see what she'll be able to do when she trains.
The main villain. Who is it even? There are at least two villains who (view spoiler)[seemingly work together even if their goals seemed to complete opposites. I just don’t think that Kerlan would just stop his “trade” with Affinites just because of a deal with Morganya. That’s a lot of money he would be losing. I can certainly see some backstabbing between those two. As for Morganya. I’m really confused by her. She wants to destroy anyone who treated Affinites as less, but in doing so, she does not hesitate to destroy Affinites in her way or ally with those who traffic them? Not gonna work plus me think that lady is hypocritical. Back to Kerlan. I know it’s wrong and that he won’t have a redeeming arc. But I certainly enjoy this guy on-page. (hide spoiler)]
I have to say that my favourite moment appeared almost at the end of the book. I thought "oh, that ended well" only to be slapped in my face. What was I thinking! Of course, that's not how it's going to end.
As I mentioned above the inspiration by Russia is clear. Even the “language” or the way some things are called are clearly inspired by Russian. But even before this book was published, I had an issue that in Russian Ana would be MikhailovA, not Mikhailov. And I kept wondering this was disregarded by the author who did not know or she simply decided to do it differently. But since Anastasia was rewritten to Anastacya, I decided to believe that all that was done on purpose by the author. And despite the clear influence of Russian, I won’t use the author-butchering-foreign-language shelf I would normally use. The only reason why I decided against it is the fact that this is clearly fantasy fiction. It does not call the country Russia, the map is not remotely similar to Russia, and it’s neighbours. I’m going to view it as a pure fiction with some inspiration drawn from Russia and the Russian language.
*note: I did not want to make this review about the whole drama; it should be about the book itself. So, here is just this short statement what I think about it after reading the book. I purposedly left the whole "rant" as a separate review because I do not feel like the drama was caused by this book but rather by someone with malicious intentions.* As to the controversy, I still find it completely unfounded; however, when it was announced that there was another round of editing after the drama, I was a bit anxious whether I should or should not read it. It felt like the author was forced into self-censorship. Then I realised that I would be the biggest hypocrite if I did not read it since I had so much to say when the book was attacked. Someone already wrote to me that they will be doing a comparison review which I cannot wait to read. And if anyone else is writing one as well, please, let me know! I suspected that certain things were changed while reading and after looking at some of the first reviews for the "first" edition, it seems that I was right. And I'm not sure how I feel about that....more
Okay, after seeing a bazillion of raving reviews for this one (and the sequel) I caved.
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This would be an easy answer. The more complicated and Okay, after seeing a bazillion of raving reviews for this one (and the sequel) I caved.
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This would be an easy answer. The more complicated and the true one is that I like it BUT.
So, let's have a look at the but. (No typo here 😊) And a fair warning might be a bit spoilerish.
- The first thing I have to say is that this might be a bit of my fault because through seeing a bazillion of reviews I did not manage to hide from some spoilers. So, I knew a bit what to expect.
- A thing I was dying to say: their school/lessons/lectures/whateveryouwanttocallit make no sense! Hear me out. It is for the Gentry children, but Jude and Taryn get to go as well. Supposedly Vivi should be there as well. And here is the first thing, is it mandatory? Or is it not? Because it seems like no one really cares if the kids are there. Vivi does not go. Taryn skipped classes once. Jude skipped them as well. Valerian skipped them. The teachers do not really pay attention to what's happening in their classes. They even change the topic of the classes when a Prince does not like it. Come on, I would guess that the King was the one who formed this "school" and the teachers should answer to him and not to the whims of his youngest son. I don't have a problem with the bullying (being in the book not that I think it's a normal thing. It's not). But I have a huge problem with the fact that it once took place in a class where the teacher clearly saw it and did nothing. Probably beside leaving. Like, what the...? All the kids in these class are somehow important. Their parents clearly are. And even if a Prince were to truly hurt a Generals daughter, there would be consequences. Maybe not for said Prince but I would bet that the tutor would be the one to face the consequences. It makes no sense! If they did all of it out of classes then okay but like this? Do not tell me that none of the kids talked about what they did to the General's daughter. And that none of their parents thought: "The young Prince has NO power, but the General is connected to the future King! Well, there is something to gain in telling him that his daughter is being mistreated."
- Am I the only one who got a massive City of Bones feel at the beginning? You know the whole (view spoiler)[ Jude's mum, and Jocelyn both faked their death by setting their houses on fire and then hid away for years. With their husband's child. Until said husband found them. (hide spoiler)]
- So, of course, I have to talk about the HYPE. Do I think it deserves the hype? Maybe. Did I succumb to the hype? Not yet. Not yet? Yes. And here's why. The beginning of the Cruel Prince was a bit slow. Somehow cliché. Only around the half, it started to really move. However, if the second book will follow in the same manner as the second half of the Cruel Prince than you can bet that I will sign on the dotted line for the Hype.
So, enough for the but and let's move on.
- And of course, I have to talk about Cardan's tail! 🐩 I'm sorry, I cannot help myself. I have so many questions. Like does he wiggle his tail when he's happy? When he kisses someone? Sleeps with someone? And when he's afraid does he tuck his tail between his leg? (No double meaning here! 🤣) I'm so sorry, but I just need to know more about his tail!
- I'm sort of conflicted about Jude. I like her. Like half of her. I like the bloodthirsty side of her, the one that wants revenge and wants power and is very good at scheming! The Slytherin part of her. 🐍 However, I do not like that part of her that is impulsive good-doer.
I am an idiot. An impulsive idiot. 🦁
- I do not like Taryn. Not because she is a (view spoiler)[backstabber who thinks only about herself (hide spoiler)] But because she is no good at it. Because she will get herself hurt very bad with this approach and then she is going to blame others for it. But I'm willing to bet on one thing; she will have a moment before this book ends: (view spoiler)[She held the crown, she had the power. If she went and gave the crown to Balekin, she could have possible gain something. However, she let Jude take it from her and Jude is still angry so Taryn will be getting nothing. Taryn will be angry; she will believe she deserves a reward and then she'll do something stupid to backstab Jude. (hide spoiler)]
- And since I went down the road, talking about both twins. Now is the time to have a look at Locke. And you may be surprised what I'm going to tell you. I liked him. I want more of him. I'm not mad at him for what he did. Because no matter what for that particular play, he needed someone to dance with him. He had no obligation to anyone. No one should have expected better of him. And honestly, he even gave a fair warning at the beginning! He likes drama; if there is none he will create it! But all of it was based only on one thing. Taryn's silence. I hope there will be more of his schemes in the next books. And honestly? He might be a fabulous member of the Court of Shadows.
- And when I'm talking about twins who are not at the best terms together I have to wonder. The Ghost mistook them for each other. I say that he is a terrible spy! Come one, he knows about the fact that Jude has a twin. He saw Jude previously. He knows what she's wearing. Don't tell me that that it was a stressful situation! He should have been aware of the fact that it was Taryn and not Jude! However, that brings me to the next thing. Are we going to see one of the twins pretending to be the other? Will Taryn get her revenge by pretending that she's Jude?
“You’re scheming.” I am so tired of her suspicion, so very tired. “You always think that,” I say. “It’s just that for once you’re right.” Leaving her to worry what that might mean.
- I knew it was not all. I'm actually surprised that Jude was able to best Madoc. (view spoiler)[I would expect that King's General would be taking poisons to built up his resistance. But it seems that he did not do it, otherwise he would consider Jude and Taryn doing the same if it would give them a fighting chance. But I'm still surprised that a General would not be trying his best to be resistant to anything and everything! (hide spoiler)]
What I liked the most is the fact that the book is full of pain. There is no holding back. There is torture. They try to kill Jude. Jude purposely hurts herself to make herself stronger. It is full of stabbing, killing, murder, torture, more backstabbing and treason. There is murder by treason, and there is treason by murder. This book is a very Slytherin kind of a book. And I really hope that it won't change in the next book. I need more Slytherin books! I love stabbity stab kind of books!
I could not wait for this book to drop. And the moment it was there I was actually afraid to start it!
SPOILERS for the previous books included.[image]
I could not wait for this book to drop. And the moment it was there I was actually afraid to start it!
SPOILERS for the previous books included. Spoilers for this book will be hidden under the spoiler tag.
EDIT: I have no real idea what just happened. I liked the book while reading but now? I’m very angry about it. (I had to change my rating to 3 ⭐ but it feels a bit too generous if you ask me but since I rated COV 2 ⭐, I cannot go lower with this one.) I hated it when I first read the COV, and I was very happy that she died. And I was excited for Calliope and Gigi. And while I like Calliope way more than Ivy, my excitement is mostly gone.
The majority of this book is one huge flashback, rewriting things that mainly happened in the first and third book of this series. What we thought had happened, did not. We were lied to, even in chapters from Ethan’s POV. And here my problems start. And while my evil side liked what was happening, my reader part was a bit annoyed because it seems like the author tried to rewrite what she wrote in the previous books. (And I saw several people calling the first book pointless right now. And honestly? I understand where you are coming from.)
When I started reading this, I was very excited to see what will happen, but now I feel like the author picked up the worst possible solution. (view spoiler)[Ethan knew all along that he has a daughter, he was supposed to be in love with Calliope, making plans with her and Ivy was getting on his last nerve and he could not wait for her to die. Yeah, and he knew all along that his parents are alive, and he wants revenge or whatever. Also, Ethan sleeping with Ivy and everyone else was part of the plan he made with Calliope. And apparently, Calliope has some plan to destroy the Callahans. But who knows. (hide spoiler)] <-- This is the whole book in a nutshell.
Looking back, it seems as if the author took the first book and went on rewriting it and tried to give a new perspective to everything. But it does not work since we got Ethan’s POV in the first book. If it were only Ivy’s POV, I would be okay with this. But the whole “Ethan was lying to the readers does not work for me. I hated Ivy, but I always felt like the author meant for her to by the endgame for Ethan. And I have no idea if she succumbed to the hate against Ivy or if she got the idea for Calliope and decided to go with it. The Children of Vice were announced as a trilogy, it was written as a trilogy and no matter what no one will ever persuade me that this was pre-planned.
In my first review, I called this book slightly as Deus Ex Machina but honestly? It’s more like Calliope Ex Machina, she just somehow did everything. She pointed her phone at something, and she hacked into it. (I know that there is someone on the other side doing the hacking for her. But… little explanation? Not leaving everything to the last part would be nice.) Also, she reminded me a bit of Tinker Bell, but instead of a magical powder, she was sprinkling poison everywhere.
I don’t know… I liked it while reading, but now I’m very annoyed by this book. The main problem for me with this book is that it feels a bit like fan fiction or as if the author wanted to change her work, but it’s hard to rewrite something that was already published.
I would just say, read her Ruthless series which is wonderful. Children of Vice were over-all just mediocre, and if she’s trying to save it, then she’s failing.
Also, it was mentioned in my now scratched review, but I have to mention it again, the editing of this series is getting worse or what?! Errors and typos were always in all series by this author (along with continuity errors – like the age of the characters, what someone was wearing in the same scene etc.) but this book? I even had to re-read sentences to make sure if I understood them correctly. And, this is not on the author since her work is edited, the editor dropped the bomb and the author should ask for money back.
And the first chapter already came with a huge twist! Which I loved! Which I hoped for! "YES! I KNEW IT!"
And I already loved where the book was going.
However, the "past" part was a bit too long and dragged out, and I sort of wished it would end finally. Vicious Minds were supposed to be one book, but because of the length, the author split it in two. And I have to wonder. Did the book suffer because of it? (I'm not even thinking about the terrible wait we have in front of us!) What I mean is that if the book was whole, I believe that a chunk of the "past" part would be cut out of the story and maybe that would help with the fluency of the story.
When I started reading the Children of Vice series, I hated the first one. I rated it 2* mainly because Ivy was just a waste of space and Ethan was not living up to my expectations. And since Ivy is now gone and we are getting a new perspective on the events from the first book, I'm happier, and it makes more sense. However, at the same time, I have to say that it is obvious that the author did not plan on this book from the beginning because it's an absolute turn from the beginning and now the actions are interpreted differently but not always it works. But seeing how much I hated Ivy, I don't care. She's gone, that's all I needed. (view spoiler)
Calliope is a fantastic character! Well, it's not hard to be better than Ivy, but still, she is wonderful. (view spoiler)
I wish there was a bit more on the present story, but I guess we will get that in the next book.
I'm sad that there was not a bit more of Gigi.
However, this book was full of twists, and I have no idea what's going to happen next! (view spoiler)
Sometimes Calliope seemed a bit like Deus ex machina. So, I hope this will be explained as well in the next book.
I cannot not mention the several typos I found in the book.
All in all, this is somewhere between three and four ⭐but since Ivy is gone, I'll go with four. ...more
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