Song of the Crimson Flower (Rise of the Empress, book 2.5)

By Julie C. Dao

Blurb: 
From the acclaimed author of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns comes a fantastical new tale of darkness and love, in which magical bonds are stronger than blood.

Will love break the spell? After cruelly rejecting Bao, the poor physician's apprentice who loves her, Lan, a wealthy nobleman's daughter, regrets her actions. So when she finds Bao's prized flute floating in his boat near her house, she takes it into her care, not knowing that his soul has been trapped inside it by an evil witch, who cursed Bao, telling him that only love will set him free. Though Bao now despises her, Lan vows to make amends and help break the spell.

Together, the two travel across the continent, finding themselves in the presence of greatness in the forms of the Great Forest's Empress Jade and Commander Wei. They journey with Wei, getting tangled in the webs of war, blood magic, and romance along the way. Will Lan and Bao begin to break the spell that's been placed upon them? Or will they be doomed to live out their lives with black magic running through their veins?

Review: 
So I thought this was book 3 in the series and you know what I'm quite pleased it isn't. Because otherwise the books would have been ranked; good, awesome, is this really the same author? Yes! You heard me correctly. I'm pleased this is a side story but then at the same time it still isn't really good to increase my rating of it. So apologies in advance for this review is quite harsh but it is my honest feelings and again my opinion. What is my taste might not be yours and so on...

So this book started off with another two characters, this time they were in the grasslands of Feng Lu. Lan and "Tam" they were such a sweet couple and were planning to get married but Tam kept denying the date and kept giving poor reasons. Then Lan's father wanted to have a meeting to discuss a set date in person as he wanted her married. Lan is a princess and Tam was of a high valued family. 

Lan came from quite a large family with lots of brothers and a caring grandmother. They use to all play together along with Tam and a young boy called Boa, who was an orphan. But then they grew up and had jobs to do so it was very rare that they actually seen each other often.

Lan and "Tam's" love story is quite sweet really, he comes to her every night on the right outside of her room and plays his flute. He creates a song for her but it has no words until one day she discovers the lyrics hidden in the tree she use to climb.

Her grandmother has recently passed away so she is in the grieving stage when she finds out about Tam and takes all her anger out on poor Boa who is only the messenger. She obviously didn't follow the saying don't shoot the messenger.

Boa then goes on a trip to find the river witch to change his life and then discovers his past. Ge then bumps into Land while trying to find his mother and they go on an adventure together because she feels quite guilty for what she has said.

So basically that's the full story... so predictable. Eurgh! This book should have been so much shorter for the amount of adventure and action that happened in this book. The journey to find his mother was just dragged on for far too long. The same stuff happened constantly Boa faded Lan, revived him, they get kidnapped and carried on their adventure with the kidnappers to find his mother. He finds his mother and she is a two faced lying b**ch. Boa says it not me. 

Obviously it's more of a romance story then it is a fantasy story. You have Lan and Tam/Boa romance and then Wei and Lady Yen. The only thing that I did like about this story was that we got to meet some of the old characters who were in the major part of the books these were Wren and Wei. It was nice to see how they had developed in their new roles since the Great War when Xifeng died. That was the only link there was to this book which is a shame really but then that's the whole point of a side story. I just don't see how this was really necessary for the main series to carry on. What happened in this book could have taken one chapter out of the next book to describe. So I'm actually a bit annoyed I've spent the time reading this book.

It was well wrote and I still felt it flowed but I just felt like on a whole it could have been shorter, it lacked action, it was quite different from the other books in the series and just not worth my time at all. But hey ho! it's read now.

I also feel like the characters in this story didn't really develop much throughout either, Lan was just quite childish about her heart being broken and it just annoys me how she treated other people. Especially when she was on the adventure with a Boa to find his mother you could obviously feel there was a romance building up but she kept on denying it every time. 

If you enjoyed the first 2 books of this series and debating whether to actually read this book, it's entirely up to you but I know that I wouldn't read it again.

Favourite Character: Lady Yen

Read: 16/11/19 - 26/11/19

3.5 stars out of 5

Written by Sammie

Song of the Crimson Flower (Rise of the Empress, book 2.5)

By Julie C. Dao

Blurb: 
From the acclaimed author of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns comes a fantastical new tale of darkness and love, in which magical bonds are stronger than blood.

Will love break the spell? After cruelly rejecting Bao, the poor physician's apprentice who loves her, Lan, a wealthy nobleman's daughter, regrets her actions. So when she finds Bao's prized flute floating in his boat near her house, she takes it into her care, not knowing that his soul has been trapped inside it by an evil witch, who cursed Bao, telling him that only love will set him free. Though Bao now despises her, Lan vows to make amends and help break the spell.

Together, the two travel across the continent, finding themselves in the presence of greatness in the forms of the Great Forest's Empress Jade and Commander Wei. They journey with Wei, getting tangled in the webs of war, blood magic, and romance along the way. Will Lan and Bao begin to break the spell that's been placed upon them? Or will they be doomed to live out their lives with black magic running through their veins?

Review: 
So I thought this was book 3 in the series and you know what I'm quite pleased it isn't. Because otherwise the books would have been ranked; good, awesome, is this really the same author? Yes! You heard me correctly. I'm pleased this is a side story but then at the same time it still isn't really good to increase my rating of it. So apologies in advance for this review is quite harsh but it is my honest feelings and again my opinion. What is my taste might not be yours and so on...

So this book started off with another two characters, this time they were in the grasslands of Feng Lu. Lan and "Tam" they were such a sweet couple and were planning to get married but Tam kept denying the date and kept giving poor reasons. Then Lan's father wanted to have a meeting to discuss a set date in person as he wanted her married. Lan is a princess and Tam was of a high valued family. 

Lan came from quite a large family with lots of brothers and a caring grandmother. They use to all play together along with Tam and a young boy called Boa, who was an orphan. But then they grew up and had jobs to do so it was very rare that they actually seen each other often.

Lan and "Tam's" love story is quite sweet really, he comes to her every night on the right outside of her room and plays his flute. He creates a song for her but it has no words until one day she discovers the lyrics hidden in the tree she use to climb.

Her grandmother has recently passed away so she is in the grieving stage when she finds out about Tam and takes all her anger out on poor Boa who is only the messenger. She obviously didn't follow the saying don't shoot the messenger.

Boa then goes on a trip to find the river witch to change his life and then discovers his past. Ge then bumps into Land while trying to find his mother and they go on an adventure together because she feels quite guilty for what she has said.

So basically that's the full story... so predictable. Eurgh! This book should have been so much shorter for the amount of adventure and action that happened in this book. The journey to find his mother was just dragged on for far too long. The same stuff happened constantly Boa faded Lan, revived him, they get kidnapped and carried on their adventure with the kidnappers to find his mother. He finds his mother and she is a two faced lying b**ch. Boa says it not me. 

Obviously it's more of a romance story then it is a fantasy story. You have Lan and Tam/Boa romance and then Wei and Lady Yen. The only thing that I did like about this story was that we got to meet some of the old characters who were in the major part of the books these were Wren and Wei. It was nice to see how they had developed in their new roles since the Great War when Xifeng died. That was the only link there was to this book which is a shame really but then that's the whole point of a side story. I just don't see how this was really necessary for the main series to carry on. What happened in this book could have taken one chapter out of the next book to describe. So I'm actually a bit annoyed I've spent the time reading this book.

It was well wrote and I still felt it flowed but I just felt like on a whole it could have been shorter, it lacked action, it was quite different from the other books in the series and just not worth my time at all. But hey ho! it's read now.

I also feel like the characters in this story didn't really develop much throughout either, Lan was just quite childish about her heart being broken and it just annoys me how she treated other people. Especially when she was on the adventure with a Boa to find his mother you could obviously feel there was a romance building up but she kept on denying it every time. 

If you enjoyed the first 2 books of this series and debating whether to actually read this book, it's entirely up to you but I know that I wouldn't read it again.

Favourite Character: Lady Yen

Read: 16/11/19 - 26/11/19

3.5 stars out of 5

Written by Sammie

Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix (Rise of the Empress, book 2)

By Julie C. Dao

Blurb: 
This fairy tale retelling lives in a mystical world inspired by the Far East, where the Dragon Lord and the Serpent God battle for control of the earthly realm; it is here that the flawed heroine of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns finally meets her match. An epic fantasy finale to the Rise of the Empress novels.

Princess Jade has grown up in exile, hidden away in a monastery while her stepmother, the ruthless Xifeng, rules as empress of Feng Lu. But the empire is in distress and its people are sinking into poverty and despair. Even though Jade doesn't want the crown, she knows she is the only one who can dethrone the empress and set the world right. Ready to reclaim her place as rightful heir, Jade embarks on a quest to raise the Dragon Lords and defeat Xifeng and the Serpent God once and for all. But will the same darkness that took Xifeng take Jade, too? Or will she find the strength within to save herself, her friends, and her empire?

Set in an East Asian-inspired fantasy world filled with breathtaking pain and beauty, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix is filled with dazzling magic, powerful prose, and characters readers won't soon forget.

Review: 
So I thought a Forest of a Thousand Lanterns was a strong 5, but then I met this book! I am so pleased that I rediscovered this trilogy because this book was a whole new level. It just felt so perfect, I honestly wouldn't change a thing.

This is the second book in the trilogy and it follows Jade's perspective. She is the true princess of the kingdom and of the dragon god, daughter of Lihuia. It is just before her 18th birthday when it starts and she gets invited back to the kingdom so she can learn the ways so she can become "Empress" one day. I have Empress in inverted commas for a reason because Xifeng has discovered that Jade is actually her joker and wants her dead.

When Jade arrives at the kingdom, she discovers her father Emperor Jun is unwell, she believes he has been poisoned and asks the asks the medic if he has tried certain methods. Obviously, Kang is listening and Xifeng finds out. Jade then receives her mother's comb from Xifeng that she must wear on her 18th birthday. It is placed in her once given and that night Jade discovers more about her step mother and let's Amah and Wren know her discovery and that's when the plan of running away starts.

So this whole book is about Jade running away, but then she discovers if she collects all the relics from the God's she can overcome her step mother. Then she is following fables and learning their true meanings which allows the relics to be collected.

On her adventures she chooses some old characters and new ones that she creates special friendships with. I loved meeting back with the old characters and seeing them develop. I also loved how we met "Ming" in this book, I thought that was just something special and then what he did at the end of the book was just so heart warming, you could have literally melted.

I loved how we discovered Fu and his background with Ming and then we discover the true person. It's just all so special and it is lovely that we have met these characters again and get to follow on the story through them. It was really well thought out and I think this is what makes the book that extra special that there are meanings behind the characters we meet.

The whole story was quite predictable in a way but I still felt like it was very fitting and I wouldn't actually change anything from it. The ending was the only bit that was not predictable, so I am so pleased with that.

There is one thing that confused me, she ran away on her 18th birthday and then it mentions that she's been travelling for several years but then returns and she is still 18. I don't understand how that can happen. But oh well, I can just forget about that. It still meets my 5 star criteria and it is honestly perfect in my eyes.

Favourite Character: Jade

Read: 05/11/19 - 15/11/19

5 stars out of 5

Written by Sammie

Check out Sammie's review of Book 2.5: Song of the Crimson Flower

Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix (Rise of the Empress, book 2)

By Julie C. Dao

Blurb: 
This fairy tale retelling lives in a mystical world inspired by the Far East, where the Dragon Lord and the Serpent God battle for control of the earthly realm; it is here that the flawed heroine of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns finally meets her match. An epic fantasy finale to the Rise of the Empress novels.

Princess Jade has grown up in exile, hidden away in a monastery while her stepmother, the ruthless Xifeng, rules as empress of Feng Lu. But the empire is in distress and its people are sinking into poverty and despair. Even though Jade doesn't want the crown, she knows she is the only one who can dethrone the empress and set the world right. Ready to reclaim her place as rightful heir, Jade embarks on a quest to raise the Dragon Lords and defeat Xifeng and the Serpent God once and for all. But will the same darkness that took Xifeng take Jade, too? Or will she find the strength within to save herself, her friends, and her empire?

Set in an East Asian-inspired fantasy world filled with breathtaking pain and beauty, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix is filled with dazzling magic, powerful prose, and characters readers won't soon forget.

Review: 
So I thought a Forest of a Thousand Lanterns was a strong 5, but then I met this book! I am so pleased that I rediscovered this trilogy because this book was a whole new level. It just felt so perfect, I honestly wouldn't change a thing.

This is the second book in the trilogy and it follows Jade's perspective. She is the true princess of the kingdom and of the dragon god, daughter of Lihuia. It is just before her 18th birthday when it starts and she gets invited back to the kingdom so she can learn the ways so she can become "Empress" one day. I have Empress in inverted commas for a reason because Xifeng has discovered that Jade is actually her joker and wants her dead.

When Jade arrives at the kingdom, she discovers her father Emperor Jun is unwell, she believes he has been poisoned and asks the asks the medic if he has tried certain methods. Obviously, Kang is listening and Xifeng finds out. Jade then receives her mother's comb from Xifeng that she must wear on her 18th birthday. It is placed in her once given and that night Jade discovers more about her step mother and let's Amah and Wren know her discovery and that's when the plan of running away starts.

So this whole book is about Jade running away, but then she discovers if she collects all the relics from the God's she can overcome her step mother. Then she is following fables and learning their true meanings which allows the relics to be collected.

On her adventures she chooses some old characters and new ones that she creates special friendships with. I loved meeting back with the old characters and seeing them develop. I also loved how we met "Ming" in this book, I thought that was just something special and then what he did at the end of the book was just so heart warming, you could have literally melted.

I loved how we discovered Fu and his background with Ming and then we discover the true person. It's just all so special and it is lovely that we have met these characters again and get to follow on the story through them. It was really well thought out and I think this is what makes the book that extra special that there are meanings behind the characters we meet.

The whole story was quite predictable in a way but I still felt like it was very fitting and I wouldn't actually change anything from it. The ending was the only bit that was not predictable, so I am so pleased with that.

There is one thing that confused me, she ran away on her 18th birthday and then it mentions that she's been travelling for several years but then returns and she is still 18. I don't understand how that can happen. But oh well, I can just forget about that. It still meets my 5 star criteria and it is honestly perfect in my eyes.

Favourite Character: Jade

Read: 05/11/19 - 15/11/19

5 stars out of 5

Written by Sammie

Check out Sammie's review of Book 2.5: Song of the Crimson Flower

Skin Trials (Skin Trials Series, book 1)

By S.Y. Humphrey

Blurb: 
Seren is one of the most powerful young women on Earth.

Little does she know her parents’ new government, Perfect Society, harbors a terrible genetic secret. By the year 2042, the nation has managed to survive the floods and flesh-eating outbreak of the 2020's. Perfect Society has corrected the devastating losses and restored peace to all citizens. Or has it?

The terrorist group Anthistemi shatters the world with the genetically-modified truth. The government, led by Seren's father, carried out gruesome torture and decimation in the Skin Trials. Antistemi reveals the truth Seren never knew about herself.

Citizens rage, demanding answers about their missing loved ones. Once again, Old America clashes with New America. Old wounds lead to new bloodshed. The fallout reaches apocalyptic fighting. There is one scientist who can end the rebellion and destruction.

Now that Seren knows, she must choose - the genetic lie that empowers her, or the deadly terrorists who stand ready to destroy it all.

Review: 
I read the novella for this series before the book, which I loved but then the first of this series was a bit different.

The story on a while was great, it's about a girl who is changed genetically and is planning a mission to go to space. It start off where she is doing a presentation about the work her and her team have done to allow this mission to happen when there is sort of an imposter that has been allowed in which asks personal questions and knows stuff about her as they've got hold of her medical records. She gets defensive of this and reacts badly.

Her boyfriend Lyndon is about to propose too when more information is leaked but then his offer is withdrawn. I find this a bit heartbreaking to be honest and I honestly don't know why she forgives him, if I was in her position I would never accept him back because he only withdrew it because she wasn't perfect so she couldn't be part of the perfect society anymore.

But anyways, she is kidnapped in this book which is the main part of the story by an anti genetic group, can't think of the proper name. But basically they are off the radar and have never scanned in with the vscan so aren't on the system to be treated for medical conditions, they fight their way through life to survive and they live of trades with secret agents within the different tiers.

Seren slowly learns more about herself after being kidnapped and I feel her personality actually starts to change. I feel like I can start to relate to her more the further in the book I read. She is quite a stuck up character though and it takes her a while to discover what her father is actually doing to the world and how he is supposed to be helping people when in fact he is making their lives more difficult. 

Throughout her journey I feel she makes quite a few friends which are valuable to her development. I feel at times that these relationships are forced and that there is barely any trust. But I can understand that they are her kidnappers and why would you want to trust the information they are telling her. Things change though, like I've said throughout the review, as she starts to see more of the world.

The storyline feels like it wasn't fully developed to an extent, nothing really happened in my opinion there was no real side lines. I feel like this book could have been at least 100 pages shorter but that is my opinion and this review is honest. I do admit towards the end I did start to enjoy it more as there was a lot more action and there was a few twists throughout and pieces starting to join together. 

I sadly don't think it meets my 4 star criteria because of the lack of action within a large chunk of the book. I also feel that I didn't want to carry on reading it at times and to me a 4 star book I should not want to put it down because the story is enticing me.

Favourite Character: Seren

Read: 05/11/19 - 14/11/19

3 stars out of 5

written by Sammie

Skin Trials (Skin Trials Series, book 1)

By S.Y. Humphrey

Blurb: 
Seren is one of the most powerful young women on Earth.

Little does she know her parents’ new government, Perfect Society, harbors a terrible genetic secret. By the year 2042, the nation has managed to survive the floods and flesh-eating outbreak of the 2020's. Perfect Society has corrected the devastating losses and restored peace to all citizens. Or has it?

The terrorist group Anthistemi shatters the world with the genetically-modified truth. The government, led by Seren's father, carried out gruesome torture and decimation in the Skin Trials. Antistemi reveals the truth Seren never knew about herself.

Citizens rage, demanding answers about their missing loved ones. Once again, Old America clashes with New America. Old wounds lead to new bloodshed. The fallout reaches apocalyptic fighting. There is one scientist who can end the rebellion and destruction.

Now that Seren knows, she must choose - the genetic lie that empowers her, or the deadly terrorists who stand ready to destroy it all.

Review: 
I read the novella for this series before the book, which I loved but then the first of this series was a bit different.

The story on a while was great, it's about a girl who is changed genetically and is planning a mission to go to space. It start off where she is doing a presentation about the work her and her team have done to allow this mission to happen when there is sort of an imposter that has been allowed in which asks personal questions and knows stuff about her as they've got hold of her medical records. She gets defensive of this and reacts badly.

Her boyfriend Lyndon is about to propose too when more information is leaked but then his offer is withdrawn. I find this a bit heartbreaking to be honest and I honestly don't know why she forgives him, if I was in her position I would never accept him back because he only withdrew it because she wasn't perfect so she couldn't be part of the perfect society anymore.

But anyways, she is kidnapped in this book which is the main part of the story by an anti genetic group, can't think of the proper name. But basically they are off the radar and have never scanned in with the vscan so aren't on the system to be treated for medical conditions, they fight their way through life to survive and they live of trades with secret agents within the different tiers.

Seren slowly learns more about herself after being kidnapped and I feel her personality actually starts to change. I feel like I can start to relate to her more the further in the book I read. She is quite a stuck up character though and it takes her a while to discover what her father is actually doing to the world and how he is supposed to be helping people when in fact he is making their lives more difficult. 

Throughout her journey I feel she makes quite a few friends which are valuable to her development. I feel at times that these relationships are forced and that there is barely any trust. But I can understand that they are her kidnappers and why would you want to trust the information they are telling her. Things change though, like I've said throughout the review, as she starts to see more of the world.

The storyline feels like it wasn't fully developed to an extent, nothing really happened in my opinion there was no real side lines. I feel like this book could have been at least 100 pages shorter but that is my opinion and this review is honest. I do admit towards the end I did start to enjoy it more as there was a lot more action and there was a few twists throughout and pieces starting to join together. 

I sadly don't think it meets my 4 star criteria because of the lack of action within a large chunk of the book. I also feel that I didn't want to carry on reading it at times and to me a 4 star book I should not want to put it down because the story is enticing me.

Favourite Character: Seren

Read: 05/11/19 - 14/11/19

3 stars out of 5

written by Sammie

The Ruthless (Deathless Series, book 2)

By Peter Newman

Blurb: 
THE REBEL.

For years, Vasin Sapphire has been waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Now, as other Deathless families come under constant assault from the monsters that roam the Wild, that time has come.

THE RUTHLESS.
In the floating castle of Rochant Sapphire, loyal subjects await the ceremony to return their rule to his rightful place. But the child raised to give up his body to Lord Rochant is no ordinary servant. Strange ad savage, he will stop at nothing to escape his gilded prison.

AND THE RETURNED...
Far below, another child yearns to see the human world. Raised by a creature of the Wild, he knows its secrets better than any other. As he enters into the struggle between the Deathless houses, he may be the key to protecting their power or destroying it completely.

THE WILD HAS BEGUN TO RISE.

Review: 
This is the second book of the Deathless series. A series I thought was a duology but with the way the book ended it must be a trilogy. There is just nothing out there about the third book.

I will start this review by saying I liked this book better but I still feel like the series is being forcefully stretched and if done right, it could have been 2 books. I did find it better though and I’m hoping the final book also gets better. 

The begins with Pari’s rebirth. So a lot of time has moved on, about 17 years or so. This means Sa-at and Satyendra are now 17 years old, so I don’t hate their perspectives anymore. It makes sense for them to have one now. The spit Satyendra means the two are very different. Satyendra is living in the castle preparing to be Rochant’s vessel but he has a secret dark side. Whereas, Sa-at is living in the Wild and is very friendly. I like these characters.

Sticking with positives, I was glad to see more action in this book. Actual fighting took place, from fighting demons to fighting other deathless. 

Now for a negative. I’m not sure if I’ve overlooked stuff in the first book but I barely have any idea of what the characters look like. They rarely get described and I like having a full understanding on what the characters look like so I can visualise the book better. So this really disappoints me. 

Overall, like I said at the beginning I did like this book better than the first. However not by much. I decided this one is worth 3 stars because I just can’t seem to connect with the series and really get into it. There’s definitely scenes I’ve enjoyed which I’ll discuss below but the overall plot has potential to be good but for some reason it isn’t to me.

*SPOILERS*

A storyline I really liked and wished there was more of was Sa-at trying to save Rochant. Sa-at is unaware at the beginning that he is the actual vessel for Rochant, whereas it suggests Rochant knows all along and sort of reveals it at the end. I enjoyed seeing Rochant give Sa-at valuable lessons and telling stories. We didn’t see much of Rochant in the last book, just knew that he did something bad. But now we understand why he did the things he did and it’s made me appreciate his character.

Satyendra is the clear villain in this book. He portrays this smart thinking character who’d only aim is to live as he doesn’t want to die so Rochant can take his body. So you can see why he might be a bit mad. 

Satyendra tries to escape but because of his dark thoughts his urges take over and he attempts to kill Pik (a boy he doesn’t like). He ends up getting caught by his mother and she sends him to the rebirth chamber. However, since they’re unaware that Rochant is still alive the rebirth fails. Satyendra pretends to be Rochant. I enjoyed this part too.

We discover though that Satyendra isn’t as strong as he looks. He cries like a little baby when Vasin gets his hands on him, as he failed to fool all of the deathless. Vasin uses his pretending in order to become High Lord. 

A scene I didn’t enjoy was the joint suicie of Varg and Chandni. Chandni is told by Satyendra (while he is pretending to be Rochant) to sacrifice herself in the wild for her crimes committed. Varg finds out and knows he has no chance of persuading Chandni to not do it, so instead does it with her. To make matters worse, her real son Sa-at was there and saw it unaware of who she was. But he knew inside that he knew her. I think because of Chandni’s character development, it would make more sense for her to runaway with Varg instead. I’m normally a fan of main character deaths but I don’t like this one.

Overall, I’m glad I continued reading as the second book was better but this series is definitely not one of my favourites. I will continue to read it through, when we eventually hear about the third book. I refuse to accept this is a duology is the ending was so incomplete.

Rating: 3 runes out of 5

written by Lauren

The Ruthless (Deathless Series, book 2)

By Peter Newman

Blurb: 
THE REBEL.

For years, Vasin Sapphire has been waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Now, as other Deathless families come under constant assault from the monsters that roam the Wild, that time has come.

THE RUTHLESS.
In the floating castle of Rochant Sapphire, loyal subjects await the ceremony to return their rule to his rightful place. But the child raised to give up his body to Lord Rochant is no ordinary servant. Strange ad savage, he will stop at nothing to escape his gilded prison.

AND THE RETURNED...
Far below, another child yearns to see the human world. Raised by a creature of the Wild, he knows its secrets better than any other. As he enters into the struggle between the Deathless houses, he may be the key to protecting their power or destroying it completely.

THE WILD HAS BEGUN TO RISE.

Review: 
This is the second book of the Deathless series. A series I thought was a duology but with the way the book ended it must be a trilogy. There is just nothing out there about the third book.

I will start this review by saying I liked this book better but I still feel like the series is being forcefully stretched and if done right, it could have been 2 books. I did find it better though and I’m hoping the final book also gets better. 

The begins with Pari’s rebirth. So a lot of time has moved on, about 17 years or so. This means Sa-at and Satyendra are now 17 years old, so I don’t hate their perspectives anymore. It makes sense for them to have one now. The spit Satyendra means the two are very different. Satyendra is living in the castle preparing to be Rochant’s vessel but he has a secret dark side. Whereas, Sa-at is living in the Wild and is very friendly. I like these characters.

Sticking with positives, I was glad to see more action in this book. Actual fighting took place, from fighting demons to fighting other deathless. 

Now for a negative. I’m not sure if I’ve overlooked stuff in the first book but I barely have any idea of what the characters look like. They rarely get described and I like having a full understanding on what the characters look like so I can visualise the book better. So this really disappoints me. 

Overall, like I said at the beginning I did like this book better than the first. However not by much. I decided this one is worth 3 stars because I just can’t seem to connect with the series and really get into it. There’s definitely scenes I’ve enjoyed which I’ll discuss below but the overall plot has potential to be good but for some reason it isn’t to me.

*SPOILERS*

A storyline I really liked and wished there was more of was Sa-at trying to save Rochant. Sa-at is unaware at the beginning that he is the actual vessel for Rochant, whereas it suggests Rochant knows all along and sort of reveals it at the end. I enjoyed seeing Rochant give Sa-at valuable lessons and telling stories. We didn’t see much of Rochant in the last book, just knew that he did something bad. But now we understand why he did the things he did and it’s made me appreciate his character.

Satyendra is the clear villain in this book. He portrays this smart thinking character who’d only aim is to live as he doesn’t want to die so Rochant can take his body. So you can see why he might be a bit mad. 

Satyendra tries to escape but because of his dark thoughts his urges take over and he attempts to kill Pik (a boy he doesn’t like). He ends up getting caught by his mother and she sends him to the rebirth chamber. However, since they’re unaware that Rochant is still alive the rebirth fails. Satyendra pretends to be Rochant. I enjoyed this part too.

We discover though that Satyendra isn’t as strong as he looks. He cries like a little baby when Vasin gets his hands on him, as he failed to fool all of the deathless. Vasin uses his pretending in order to become High Lord. 

A scene I didn’t enjoy was the joint suicie of Varg and Chandni. Chandni is told by Satyendra (while he is pretending to be Rochant) to sacrifice herself in the wild for her crimes committed. Varg finds out and knows he has no chance of persuading Chandni to not do it, so instead does it with her. To make matters worse, her real son Sa-at was there and saw it unaware of who she was. But he knew inside that he knew her. I think because of Chandni’s character development, it would make more sense for her to runaway with Varg instead. I’m normally a fan of main character deaths but I don’t like this one.

Overall, I’m glad I continued reading as the second book was better but this series is definitely not one of my favourites. I will continue to read it through, when we eventually hear about the third book. I refuse to accept this is a duology is the ending was so incomplete.

Rating: 3 runes out of 5

written by Lauren

A Dance with Dragons 2: After the Feast (A Song of Ice and Fire, book 5B)

By George R. R. Martin

Blurb: 
The fifth volume, part two of A Song of Ice and Fire, the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. Now a major Sky Atlantic TV series from HBO, featuring a stellar cast.

The future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance.

In King’s Landing the Queen Regent, Cersei Lannister, awaits trial, abandoned by all those she trusted; while in the eastern city of Yunkai her brother Tyrion has been sold as a slave. From the Wall, having left his wife and the Red Priestess Melisandre under the protection of Jon Snow, Stannis Baratheon marches south to confront the Boltons at Winterfell. But beyond the Wall the wildling armies are massing for an assault…

On all sides bitter conflicts are reigniting, played out by a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves. The tides of destiny will inevitably lead to the greatest dance of all.

Review: 
It’s hard to review this, as it’s hard to include new opinions towards the book that I haven’t already said in previous reviews. Therefore, this review will be very short.

One thing that I thought was done quite heavily in this book compared to the rest of the series is how the chapter names change on how the character perceives themselves. For example, Blind Girl for Arya and Ghost of Winterfell for Theon. It’s just something quite unique and gives a bit of mystery when starting the chapter when you can’t quite guess who it is yet. 

The rest of my opinions can be seen in the previous reviews found here: A Dance with Dragons part 1 and A Feast for Crows. Overall, I enjoyed the book and think it is worth the same as part 1, 4 stars.

*SPOILERS*

There are some things to note about the content in the book that I didn’t expect.

One storyline that stood out to me was Brienne. Brienne was believed to be dead in A Feast For Crows. However, it suggests (doesn’t quite confirm fully) that Brienne didn’t die. Jaime bumps into a woman with a bit of cheek missing, and I believe that is Brienne. I’m not sure how she managed to live or if it is her or if it took place before she was killed. I think it is more likely the case that it took place before her death as A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons is meant to have split perspectives from around the same time. But again I’m quite confused as Jaime chapters were also in Feast for Crows. If anyone could clear this up for me, it would be much appreciated.

Another interesting thing in the book was that Daenerys got married. This is a different storyline to the TV series. However, as I suspected her husband didn’t last long, Hence why he was left out of the storyline. Her husband had been arrested by Sir Barristan Selmy while she was away. 

There’s not much else to say. Except I look forward to the eventual release of Winds of Winter. I want to see how these extra plot lines to the TV series turn out.

Rating: 4 runes out of 5

written by Lauren