Caraval

By Stephanie Garber

4/5

“Scarlett and Tella have never left the tiny isle of Trisda, pining from afar for the wonder of Caraval, a once-a-year week-long performance where the audience participates in the show. Caraval is Magic. Mystery. Adventure. When the sisters’ long-awaited invitations finally arrive, it seems their dreams have come true. But no sooner have they arrived than Tella vanishes, kidnapped by the show’s mastermind organiser, Legend. Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is an elaborate performance. But she quickly becomes entangled in a dangerous game of love, magic and heartbreak. And real or not, she must find Tella before the game is over, and her sister disappears forever.”

This one of my most anticipated reads for this year. It sounded a lot like The Night Circus which is one my favourite books so I was really excited to get stuck in and it did not disappoint. The idea of Caraval is really unique – I got a Wonderland vibe from the setting, especially at the beginning when Scarlett and Julian first arrive on the island. I think this would make a really vibrant and interesting film.

I didn’t find this book as magical as The Night Circus but I did still really enjoy it. The writing was excellent and the characters were vibrant – I really liked Julian (despite never really knowing who he was) and Scarlett grew on me as a character. It was interesting to see their relationship develop and blossom, as well as Scarlett’s relationship with Tella and how this changes throughout the book. This book constantly surprised me and I could never guess what would happen next.

Unfortunately, I found it a little difficult to imagine the world that Stephanie Garber created. The magic wasn’t as spectacular as I thought it was going to be and the abuse the sisters’ face from their father made me a little uncomfortable, especially when he turned up at Caraval.. I understand that the abuse is an incentive for the sisters to leave Trisda but it did make me a little uncomfortable, especially when the father gives Scarlett to the count and basically tells him to "take what is his".
I do recommend this book for fans of The Night Circus and fantasy in general (although do be warned that some of the themes may be uncomfortable for some readers). I would love to read a sequel to this book and I will definitely read more from Stephanie Garber in the future.(Also, the UK hardback cover is absolutely stunning!)

Six of Crows

By Leigh Bardugo

5/5

“Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams. But to claim it, he’ll have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist: break into the notorious Ice Court (a military stronghold that has never been breached), retrieve a hostage (who could unleash magical havoc on the world), survive long enough to collect his reward (and spend it). Kaz needs a crew desperate enough to take on this suicide mission and dangerous enough to get the job done – and he knows exactly who: six of the deadliest outcasts the city has to offer. Together, they just might be unstoppable – if they don’t kill each other first.”

Oh my goodness, I am in awe at this masterpiece. I wasn’t sure I was going to like this book as it really didn’t seem like the kind of story I would be interested in but I’d seen and heard so many positive reviews that I decided to give it a chance and I am so glad I did. This book was incredible from start to finish. It was filled with suspense that kept me on my toes and I was constantly surprised from beginning to end – I never knew what was coming!

The story is written in third person but each chapter is from the point of view of one of the six main characters; Kaz, Inej, Nina, Matthias, Jesper and Wylan. I loved every single one of the characters – there was never a chapter where I though “oh I don’t want to read this because I hate this character.” Each character was complex and we learned so much about them. I think my favourite character is Jesper but this may change as Six of Crows is the first book in a duology and I am about to start the second book, Crooked Kingdom, and as I love of the characters equally, my favourite is likely to change. This book is wonderfully diverse which also makes it incredibly special.

I cannot recommend this book enough and I can’t wait to see what happens in Crooked Kingdom. I’m also really excited to read more of Leigh Bardugo’s work as I am really intrigued by the Grisha world she has created and I love her writing style. If you love fantasy, you will love this book!

Uprooted

By Naomi Novik

3/5

“A dark enchantment blights the land. Agnieszka loves her village, set deep in a peaceful valley. But the nearby enchanted forest cast a shadow over her home. Many have been lost to the Wood and none return unchanged. The villagers depend on an ageless wizard, the Dragon, to protect them from the forest’s dark magic. However, his help comes at a terrible price. A young village woman must serve him for ten years, leaving all she values behind. Agnieszka fears her dearest friend Kasia will be picked at the next choosing, for she’s everything Agnieszka is not – beautiful, graceful and brave. Yet when the Dragon comes, it’s not Kasia he takes.”

Prior to reading, I had heard great things about this book but sadly, I was disappointed. A loose-retelling of Beauty and the Beast sounded right up my street and I was sensing some major acotar / acomaf vibes that sadly didn’t come through.

Don’t get me wrong, this book is utterly magical - the world created is breath-taking and how Novik creates a character in the Wood is amazing. However, I don’t know if I just wasn’t in the mood for a fantasy novel when I read this but I found it really difficult to read and multiple times I wanted to just give up and pick up another book. I couldn’t really connect with any of the characters and none of them really stood out for me; I thought Agnieszka was rather irritating and the Dragon was too broody and really didn’t impress me. I was expecting a little more romance which I didn’t get as this book mainly focussed on war and the battle with the Wood which, while it was incredible in itself, got rather repetitive after a while and I was just waiting for the end for it to be over with.

Perhaps I’ll pick this book up again when I’m really in the mood for a fantasy novel and enjoy it but sadly this time round, it really didn’t impress me. However, if you’re a fan of high fantasy I am sure that you will love this book and I do recommend it for the world Novik created. 

The Scorpio Races

By Maggie Stiefvater

4/5

As many of you may know, Maggie Stiefvater is my favourite author and The Scorpio Races was the one book of hers that I hadn’t read due to it being quite difficult to get a hold of in the UK. After a few failed attempts at trying to get it from Waterstones, I made an Amazon order and I finally had it in my hands.

This book is so incredibly magical and I honestly wonder sometimes where Maggie comes up with her ideas for books because they are so unique. The story is written from the dual narrative of Puck and Sean, who have both entered ‘The Scorpio Races’ for different reasons but find themselves drawn together so of course, there is a little bit of romance. The ‘water horses’ fascinated  me greatly and even by the end of the book I still do not truly know what they are but that is the beauty of this book. I adored most of the characters; Finn, Puck’s little brother, was utterly adorable but it was also heart-breaking at times to read about him; George Holly was an interesting character and I liked seeing how someone so wealthy and so business orientated could find a little peace and pleasure on a small island run by wild horses. I of course loved Puck and Sean and their dynamic, I think they complimented each other really well. The end of the book was semi-predictable but not enough so that you knew what would happen; there was also going to be a disaster just waiting to happen.

The only reason I gave this book a 4/5 is because I didn’t like it as much as The Raven Cycle or my absolute favourite book, Shiver. However, I feel that if I had read this book a few years ago when I was a horse rider myself and a little obsessed, it definitely would have gained a 5/5.

On The Other Side

By Carrie Hope Fletcher

2.5/5

I really struggled to get my thoughts together after I’d finished this book. I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style, I thought the story was utterly bizarre in places but I also did have a good cry at certain parts and usually when a book makes me cry, it instantly becomes one of my favourites. This wasn’t the case with On The Other Side.

If you have read any of my reviews before, you will know that I am not a fan of a third person narrative; I don’t think you can truly connect with the characters. This was the case with On The Other Side; I feel like we learnt very little about the protagonist Evie or any of the other characters. This book was nothing like I was expecting and not in a good way.

I did cry at certain parts of this book but honestly that could have been down to me just feeling emotional on the day I read it. The key thing I really didn’t like about this book was the bits of ‘magic.’ I think if this book was just a story about an old lady who had died who was going back to the real world through dreams to get closure with her family I would have enjoyed it a lot more. But there was scenes of ‘magic’ in this book that I really didn’t understand their relevance. For example, the bird who let Evie and Vincent write on his wings who wanted their love to last forever, I thought was totally bizarre but I persevered with the book and found myself enjoying it a little more. This was until near the end of the book when Evie takes out her heart and plants it in the ground because she doesn’t want to give her heart away to anyone other than Vincent and her heart grows into a tree and oh my goodness, this was the final straw for me and I only carried on reading the book just so I could say I finished it.

I will definitely not be reading this book again and I honestly wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. However I do understand that some people will love this book and I can see how they would but unfortunately, it just really wasn’t for me.

The Raven Cycle

(The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves, Blue Lily, Lily Blue, and The Raven King)

By Maggie Stiefvater

5/5

As I have mentioned in a previous post, Maggie Steifvater is one of, if not, my favourite author. Her books are incredibly poetic and despite being fantasy novels, are so realistic that you believe that magic and the supernatural is possible, if not the norm. I began reading this series around this time last year and I purchased the final book in the series, The Raven King, as it came out and this past week I have been re-reading this first three in preparation for the final book which I read today.

This series is incredible and so unlike anything I have ever read before. I love every single character and my favourite Raven Boy changes with each book (my heart currently belongs to Ronan Lynch). Every single couple in this book is perfect but I love a certain couple that little bit more (not to give too much away but the pairing does involve my love, Ronan).  I honestly don’t know how to review these books without just gushing about how brilliant they are. The characters are vibrant and alive, the story is unique and imaginative and the setting is magical and mysterious. There is a third person narrative throughout which I don’t usually like but each chapter tends to focus on a particular character or characters so you get to understand and really know them as individuals. I think my favourite of the four books is Blue Lily, Lily Blue as I believe the characters go through the most development and we really get to know them in this book.

I don’t have anything negative to say about this series and so I recommend for everyone to read it, no matter what genre of book you’re usually interested in.

Carry On

By Rainbow Rowell

3.5/5

This book was thoroughly enjoyable. I found it to be a really easy read and the story gripped me from page one. I’m not usually a fan of fantasy novels but I really enjoyed reading this book. I adore Simon and Baz and have done since their story began in Fangirl, another novel by Rainbow Rowell. I also think I enjoyed it so much because it was set in the UK and all of the places mentioned were familiar to me; most books I read are set in the US and I feel it is sometimes difficult to connect to the story and the characters because I’m unfamiliar with the areas mentioned and the lingo used.

However, my reason for rating this book so low is the many different chapter point of views that made the story difficult to follow at times. I think I counted around 7 or 8 different POVs which I believe is a bit excessive. I am also not the biggest fan of Rainbow Rowell. I have read four of her novels so far and all of them have fallen a bit flat for me. That isn’t to say she isn’t a brilliant writer, perhaps her novels just really aren’t for me.

Despite this, I would probably read Carry On again, as it was a really fun read and something a bit different to what I usually pick up.

The Night Circus

By Erin Morgenstern

5/5

Enchanting. Magical. Breathtaking. These are some of the adjectives used to describe this book and I completely agree. This book is everything I imagined and more. Beautifully descriptive with an uplifting, yet sometimes heartbreaking story of love, loss and friendship. The characters are vibrant and alive, ensnaring the reader into the mystical world of the circus. The love between Celia and Marcus is passionate though heart wrenching, whilst the friendship between Poppet and Bailey is endearing. I can definitely see myself picking up this book up again over the summer and again after that. It is a story that will never get tired and has become a close contender for my favourite book.

The only thing I did not like is the time jump between chapters; one minute you’re in 1886 and the next you’re in 1902 and it can get a little complicated making sense of what is happening and what has already happened. However, this does not distract from the magic of the book and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone, no matter what genre of book you like.