Title: Skyward
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Original title: Skyward
First published: 2018
Genre: Science fiction, YA
Series: Skyward #1
Publisher: Gollancz
Format: Paperback
Pages: 510
Finished: 10/05/2020
Summary: Defeated, crushed, and driven almost to extinction, the remnants of the human race are trapped on a planet that is constantly attacked by mysterious alien starfighters. Spensa, a teenage girl living among them, longs to be a pilot. When she discovers the wreckage of an ancient ship, she realizes this dream might be possible—assuming she can repair the ship, navigate flight school, and (perhaps most importantly) persuade the strange machine to help her. Because this ship, uniquely, appears to have a soul.
My thoughts: I had a lot of fun reading this with two of my friends! I was excited to finally read "Skyward" after all the hype taking place on booktube and Goodreads. I'd previously read Sanderson's other young adult series, "The Reckoners", which I enjoyed quite a bit, and I was interested to see how he'd tackle this new series in the sci-fi genre.
"Skyward" has some similarities to "Steelheart", in that the protagonist lost their father to an evil force at an early age, and since they've idolised their father and their life goal revolves around his fate. They both set out to join the army/rebel group set on defeating said evil. They both use slightly silly swearwords.
I so far like "Skyward" more than "The Reckoners" series. I think Spensa was a stronger written character than David was; she's fierce, determined, and passionate. She also has a humorous streak and a flare for dramatic wording, which I found really endearing. She's a rebel amongst rebel, an outlaw of outcasts, and she won't let anything stand in her way. I loved her character development through the story, and I'm curious to see where Sanderson will lead her character next.
The world building and social + military systems were easy to fall into, and the language it's written in is simple and flowing. I could perhaps have done with a few more flowery lines (we attempted to collect quotes for every book talk), but that's not exactly what I expect from Sanderson anyway. The side characters were also well written. One flaw I can mention there is that an amount of characters are introduced in the first half of the book that were a bit hard to distinguish from one another and who practically disappeared in the second half of the novel. My effort to remember their names and roles were certainly to no use. Another flaw was the hint to a possible romance, but which was quickly snuffed out and therefore seemed rather unnecessary to the story. I will say that a character I liked a lot was M-bot, who put a smile to my lips and made any scene amazing.
The plot was well paced, and as expected the finale was epic and thrilling. It left a few loose threads that will surely be picked up in the sequel. We could do with some expanding on the world and look more beyond the atmosphere. Overall, a greatly entertaining and well written novel.
Rating: 4,5/5
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Title: The Indigo Spell
Author: Richelle Mead
Original title: The Indigo Spell
First published: 2013
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Series: Bloodlines #3
Publisher: Penguin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 401
Finished: 20/05/2020
Summary: Spoiler alert! Sydney Sage is an Alchemist. She protects vampire secrets - and human lives. In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she is struggling to decide between following her Alchemist teachings - or her heart.
Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch, a former Alchemist who is now on the run. As Marcus pushes her to rebel, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought.
There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as Sydney searches for the person attacking powerful young witches, she realizes that she must embrace her magical blood - or else she will be next.
My thoughts: Small spoiler alert! I'm lucky this just passes the 400 page mark, or else I wouldn't know what to do with myself.
Oh boy, this series is addicting. Richelle Mead is a master at capturing my attention and holding on to it. Whenever I'm not reading these books, I'm thinking about them almost constantly. What's gonna happen next? Will Sydney and Adrian be able to be together? When will things unravel? It's no secret now that I am loving this series, and even more so than I did with "Vampire Academy". While it's not the most beautifully written or crafted story, I find great value in the way it manages to entertain me and amuse me. I do wish, though, that the story would 'zoom out' a little on the world building and show more of what's going on elsewhere than in Sydney's life. Maybe that's something we'll see more of in the second half of the series. I also think we should've seen more of Jill in this book. We've done that in the past, so why leave her character in the shadows in this book? She's rather important to the story, after all.
The romantic tension between Sydney and Adrian grew significantly with this novel, and I have to say that I appreciate the slow burn that Mead provides us with. This isn't a story where the two lovebirds are willing to die for each other within the span of one book. It actually takes them several books to gain feelings for one another, which is rather more realistic, if you ask me.
I liked this book and lot, and it might be my favourite in the series so far. Looking forward to the next one soon.
Rating: 4,25/5
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Title: A Gathering of Shadows
Author: V.E. Schwab
Original title: A Gathering of Shadows
First published: 2016
Genre: Adult, Fantasy
Series: Shades of Magic #2
Publisher: Tor
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 509
Finished: 31/05/2020
Summary: Spoiler alert! Kell is plagued by his guilt. Restless, and having given up smuggling, he is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila. As Red London prepares for the Element Games – an extravagant international competition of magic – a certain pirate ship draws closer. But another London is coming back to life, a shadow that was gone in the night reappears in the morning. Black London has risen again – and so to keep magic's balance, another London must fall.
My thoughts: I picked this book to read in May thanks to the monthly reading theme, which was to read a book with something white on the cover. This cover appears a little beige on this image, but I'd say it definitely counts!
I seem to go into Schwab's books with lower and lower expectations for each that I read. Still, I had high hopes for this one. It's one of her newer adult works, and the sequel to a book that I actually really enjoyed two years back. I just assumed I'd love this. And I did really like parts of it. Schwab has an incredible way with words that I found myself marvelling at throughout this book. Her metaphors are beautifully crafted, and I can tell there's a lot of thought put into her writing. She's also great at crafting morally grey characters, which is why "Vicious" is one of my favourite books ever. This book also showcases that talent of hers, with superb a character like Delilah Bard. They're wonderfully human and flawed.
I want to love everything about this book. But I didn't, and it saddens me a lot. I used to consider V.E. Schwab as one of my absolute favourite authors, and now I'm not at all sure anymore. But why did this book fall flat to me?
Well, despite a strong first scene, this book never manage to quite catch my attention. I dragged my feet behind myself while reading it. I did think some scenes were very suspenseful and well written, but I wish I'd felt hooked since page one. Spoiler alert! I regrettably felt little to no interest for the main plot point of the story; the magical version of the Olympic Games. I wish Schwab would've either focused completely on the competition, or let it be left out completely. I wanted to know more and feel invested, but I never got to that point. I didn't care what the outcome was, nor did I root for anyone. Another thing that bothered me a lot actually was character motivation. I didn't understand why Lila went out of her way to enter the competition. I almost get why Kell felt urged to enter, but even then I was doubting. Neither character seemed to actually really want to enter, but did it anyway, despite how bad things would go if they were found out. I became quite annoyed at this. Blatantly stupid decisions need better motivations. I also think Lila is a little too conveniently powerful. I wish she'd be badass without super magical powers.
There were a few too many cursive emphasised words (mostly adjectives and verbs) at the end of sentences to show how amazing and surprising some things were. I felt the emphasised words became a tad too many, often with up to two on each page. It's a personal preference for me, I realize, but something that bothered me a little all the same.
Other small things I noticed: The made up language 'Arnesian' sounds ridiculous. I'm sorry, but I think exactly that whenever it's written on a page. Characters are all very moody and broody, maybe too extreme. I get that this is a Slytherin novel, though.
My favourite characters in this book were Alucard, (Spoiler alert: Holland), and Lila.
Rating: 3,75/5
