Book Review: Ami by S. Jae-Jones

 Ami by S. Jae-Jones

Thank you to Titan Books and Netgalley for the advance reader copy of this book for an honest review.

Ami is the second book in the Guardians of the Dawn series by S. Jae Jones.

I read and enjoyed the first title but did feel that I wasn't necessarily the age demographic for these books. However I was still will to give the sequel a go out of interest for the story and for the Sailor Moon vibes.

Ami has always been on the outside whether that be in friendships or in family. She has devoted her life to books and knowledge as they are easier to read than people. She is taking care of her mentally ill father in the morning realms though this proves challenging when he is arrested for stealing a sacred branch and she must offer up her scrivener services to the castle to someone named Beast to translate a forbidden mythical text to find a cure for the blight that is affecting the land.

Meanwhile Jin Zhara our main character for the first book is travelling across the land to find Amis father Li Eur Shan to help find one of the missing passages of the sacred text and defeat the mother of demons. However she needs the Guardian of Wood to do so. Could Ami's strange powers hold more of a purpose?

I really enjoyed this book once I got into the story it was fun, had a lot more action than the first book and we got perspectives from multiple new characters which was interesting and added to the plot.

I enjoyed the dynamic between Beast and Ami in this book though I found Zhara and Han's dynamic lacking. It seemed almost like they took the chemistry out of the first book and his character possibly being asexual was a twist that I wouldn't have seen from the first story.

I did however enjoy that the good looking giggles was mentioned less this irked me in the first story so much.

Ami's character was really interesting and she had lots of growth throughout the story I was glad we got to see her story through as well as her growth.

The world building I this book was interesting and added so much to the story. The boom is clearly aimed at YA readers however this one had more draw to me than the first one. Maybe it's the sailor moon parallels I did really enjoy seeing those throughout the story.

Overall a fun book for YA readers and sailor moon fans!

Thanks For Reading! 

Book Review: Middle of the Night by Riley Sager

 Middle of the Night by Riley Sager

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder Books for the advance reader copy of Middle of the Night for an honest review.

In July 1994 ten year old Ethan and his best friend Billy went to sleep in a tent in Ethan's back yard on their weekly camp out.

The next morning there is only one of them left in the tent, Ethan wakes up alone in the tent and there is a large knife slash in the side. Billy is missing and would never be seen again.

Thirty years later and Ethan has moved back home to his parents house, still facing trauma and insomnia from the unanswered questions from the past of what happened to Billy.

Overtime he starts to notice strange occurrences happening along the street. Security lights coming on consecutively late at night, baseball being thrown into his yard etc.

Is the person who took Billy still out there?

Overall I enjoyed the story for what it was it was a slow build thriller/mystery and suspense was built throughout the story with the plot lines going back and forwards in time.

This was easy to follow and the cliff hangers left you wanting more information.

However while I enjoy a slow burn usually the book did have a slower pace than I would have liked in revealing aspects of the story and what happened.

While I enjoyed the story and the ending there was one plot hole for me. When it is revealed Billy was hit by a car on the road it was indicated there were no traces mentioned of an accident at all. We are told the police had tracked Billy to that road with scent dogs and that they speculated he had been taken in a car. However any accident or potentially injuries I can't recall were mentioned.

I struggled to suspend my belief for this which means my review had to be 3 stars. This would have been higher had there been any explanation for this or confirmation evidence had been found.

Other than that I had really enjoyed the story, the main character was likeable and I found myself rooting for him to uncover the mystery that had plagued him for so long.

Also in usual Sager fashion we had multiple twists and turns throughout the plot which were well done and enjoyable.

Overall worth a read despite that one aspect that I felt was abit of a plot hole left unexplained. 

Thanks for Reading! 

Book Review: When Among Crows by Veronica Roth

 When Among Crows by Veronica Roth

Thanks to Titan Books and Netgalley for the advance reader copy for an honest review.

When Among Crows follows Dymitr who's family is one in a long line of hunters. He is tasked with the deadly mission to find Baba Jaga and to find her he has to ally with those he is sworn to kill. Enter Ala a fear eating Zmora who carries a curse in her families lineage. She has little left to lose and when she is offered the cure from Dymitr she takes up the offer to find Baba Jaga.

Together they make their way through the underworld to find her location but Dymitrs secrets and true intentions start to get in the way.

Overall a short interesting read. However depesite only being 100 odd pages I struggled to get into the story initially.

I was however a fan of the twist at the end of the story.

The character building was good for the length of the book however I think overall the title wasn't completely for me.

Thanks for Reading! 

Book Review: The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

 The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, Harper Fiction and Netgalley for the advance reader copy of this book for an honest review.

The Midnight Feast follows the opening of The Manor a luxury health and wellbeing resort with no expense spared for the guests staying. However the town itself has a history and old friends and enemies are returning to the manor previously an estate owned by a former local family where the forest is full of secrets.

The Sunday morning of the opening weekend and the police have been called there's been a fire, something is up with the guests and a body has been found.

Lucy Foley knows how to craft an excellent murder mystery and this story is no exception.

Told from multiple perspectives this keeps you guessing at the upcoming twists and turns throughout and just when you think you've figured out one element of the plot there are two more that come through completely unexpected.

I ended up finishing this book within a day of starting it. It definitely got me out of my reading slump.

Quick and fast based with short chapters based on a variety of characters, despite this multiple POV the characters were all easy to follow and the story all wrapped together well answering any and all questions.

Another fantastic Thriller from Lucy Foley and I already can't wait for whatever is next. 

Thanks for Reading! 

Book Review: Murder Road by Simone St James

Murder Road by Simone St James

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the advance reader copy for an honest review.

Murder Road follows a young couple April and Eddie who are heading out on their honeymoon when they come across a girl on the side of the road who has been hurt. They rush her to the hospital but it is too late and they find themselves the suspects of this case.

It seems the road they were on the Atticus Line is known locally as the murder road and many hitchhikers have been picked up there and killed over the years.

Now they find themselves stuck in this town and embroiled in a mystery that is years old. To clear their name they decide to start investigating and find that there is more going on in the town than meets the eye with a lot of unexplained supernatural occurrences. Can they solve the mystery of these murders and prevent anyone else from being the next victim?

Overall this was a fun supernatural horror that gave me the same nostalgic feeling as the teen point horror books only this title is definitely aimed at adult readers.

It took me a while to get into the story initially with abit of a slow start but once the investigation began I was hooked and wanted to get to the end of the book.

The characters definitely grew on me the more the story went on after their backstories were developed abit further. However the twist I felt was quite an easy guess.

Overall a fun paranormal horror story to read.

Thanks for Reading! 

Book Review: The Hemlock Queen by Hannah Whitten

 The Hemlock Queen by Hannah Whitten

Thank you to Little Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for the advance copy of The Hemlock Queen to read for an honest review.

The Hemlock Queen is the sequel to The Foxglove King. Following King August's death Prince Bastian has taken over the thrown with Lore as his right hand side they hope to help the people of Dellaire but there is a lot of dissent and unease in the court and challenges from other empires. Bastian is changing due to this becoming more calloused, cold and reckless.

And Lore has a voice whispering in her ear dark and haunting saying maybe there is more to this story than she knows.

The coronation is fast approaching and Lore must work out how to protect herself, Bastian and the kingdom before it is too late.

A strong sequel to book one which goes abit more in depth into the magic system and answers questions left over from the first book.

It feels like the romance with Gabe took abit more of a backseat for the plot and to build up the bond between Lore and Bastian further. However there was a lot of building up of the love triangle started in book one as foreshadowing for the next book potentially.

I particularly am a fan of gothic fiction and interesting magic systems so this series has been a joy to read and after such a cliff hanger ending I can't wait to see what the third book will have in store for the characters. 

Thanks for Reading!