Heart says

I have to admit, when I read the book's description I was a bit unsure about it, but I read it for the Fantasy Fanatics group read for May. I have to say though, I really thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm so glad I read it.

The Age of Kings is dead... And I have killed it.
Field Marshal Tamas has just successfully pulled off a coup against the King of Adro and the nobility, sending these aristocrats to the guillotine whilst giving food to the poor. But now he must deal with Royalists who seek to restore the monarchy, his fellow co-conspirators who are all out for themselves and stop the other Nine nations from invading in order to create the Adro he wants. Tamas recruits a retired investigator Adamat to investigate the dying words of the King's Cabal of powerful mages: "You can't break Kresimir's Promise". Tamas must also rely on his estranged son, the skilled powder mage and soldier Taniel "Two-Shot" in the months following the coup, to hunt a Priviledged mage who escaped after the coup. But there is more at work than even Tamas can anticipate, and the coup was just the beginning...

Like I said at the beginning, I wasn't really sure what to expect from this book when I started but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The book starts off where most books end, with Tamas's coup against the monarchy, and that alone I found really interesting as its an area most stories don't really cover.

I thought the magic system, particularly the powder mages magic, was really interesting and wasn't something I'd really read about before or considered much. I did feel though that parts of the magic system weren't fully explained by the author and so it confused me at times, and I wish McClellan had found a way to explain it a bit more.

Speaking of, McClellan's way of story telling was quite immersive, as he didn't stop to explain every single detail or aspect of the world and let the reader figure a lot of it out on their own which I liked, but there were times I wish he had explained things a little more.

The characters were really good and well rounded which I liked, although I did find it difficult to relate or really like the characters themselves initially. Tamas particularly I found it hard to like initially, although I could understand why he was doing what he was doing and he was the main catalyst for a lot of the drama and action that occured in the book, but I did find myself liking him a lot more from about halfway through the novel. Adamat I found it really hard to relate to throughout, and whilst his storyline was quite revelatory and important I did find myself a bit bored by his sections. Taniel on the other hand is the main 'hero' of the novel in my eyes, and I found him the most likeable of the characters, along with his 'sidekick' Ka-Poel. I also really liked Tamas's bodyguard Olem who is introduced fairly early on and has quite a dry sense of humour, Bo who is an old friend of Taniel's who meet a lot later on, and Mihali who is a skilled Chef with a mysterious past. They were all quite varied and well rounded characters.

Overall, I thought this was a really great book and will definately be one of my favourites this year. The action just continues to pick up and escalate throughout the novel and now I just cannot wait to read the next book! I just hope I don't have to wait too long!

I really enjoyed this book, maybe not quite as much as the first but I enjoyed it none the less. Short review btw! Really, I wanted to rate this 3.5 stars.

The Iron Daughter continues the story of Meghan Chase, as she fulfills her deal with Prince Ash from the previous book and goes with him to the Winter Court and Queen Mab. Meghan struggles to cope there, but finds herself even more drawn to Ash, despite the fact Summer and Winter are forbidden to love each other. But after the Scepter of Seasons is stolen by the Iron fey (under a new Iron King) and Summer is blamed, Meghan has to race to find it and stop the Iron fey before the Nevernever is engulfed in war and destroyed...

I liked this book again. It was a good continuation of the previous one, featuring all the favourite characters from the first book and adding a few more. The story evolved and grew more and was interesting, even if it did stall a bit in the middle. Although I'm a bit unsure about the whole Meghan and Iron glamour thing... and I'm curious to see how it will all be explained in the next book. I'm guessing Meghan is somehow the next Iron Queen, but it's the why that I want explained. I also found the main story and action to be a bit less gripping and intriguing than the first book.

I kinda found Meghan a bit more annoying in this book than in the previous one to be honest. She seemed to be a lot more pine-y for Ash than she was in the first book and at times a bit more dumb, like, early on Ash tried to distance himself from her while they were in the Winter Court, and Meghan just moped that he had 'used her and played with her' and stuff, whilst it was quite obvious that he was doing it to protect her... I also kinda felt that Ash and Meghan's love seemed to grow and accelerate ridiculously quickly in this novel which annoyed me a bit. In the previous book I didn't get the Puck x Meghan relationship thing, and whilst I did see it a bit more this book I still don't really see it. Also, I didn't really see why the prom scene near the end was added in, other than to cause more teen-love-triangle drama.

But yeah, overall a good book. The main story was interesting, although not as interesting and gripping as the first, and Meghan seems a lot more immature and annoying this time around.

I read this for the group read for the Fantasy Fanatics group.

Elantris focuses around the future of the magical city of Elantris, once home to men who were blessed and turned into god-like beings, until 10 years ago when it changed into a curse, and now men turn into undead creatures whose hearts don't beat and injuries don't heal but slowly drive the person insane. The story is told from the POV of 3 people - Raoden, prince of Arelon (where Elantris is located), who wakes up one morning to discover that he has turned into an Elantrian and so is locked in the city. His transformation is concealed by his father and everyone is told Raoden has died. Then there's Sarene, Raoden's fiance from neighbouring Teod who arrives in Arelon for the wedding to be told Raoden is dead and she is now considered his widow, and struggles to adapt and find her place in this strange new city. And finally there's Hrathen, a gyorn (a high, powerful priest of the Derethi religion) who has arrived in Arelon to convert it to the Derethi religion in 3 months, otherwise the emperor Wyrn will come and convert it by force.

I actually really enjoyed this book, a lot more than I was expecting to be honest. The book starts off at a break neck speed, throwing you straight into the action, and the pace barely lets up. There are a lot of twists throughout the book, some of them were somewhat expected but there were many I did not expect at all. I was gripped throughout the book, and for the last like quarter of the book so much happened that I seriously couldn't put the book down!

Sanderson had obviously thought out the world thoroughly, and it showed in his world building and plot, which I liked. But at the same time, he had a tendency to just introduce terms and ideas without really explaining them. Whilst this did feel a bit immersive and realistic (because we don't explain every term we use), but at the same time it was a bit confusing.

The characters were a big plus for me. I loved the main 3 characters and their storylines. I liked Raoden's optimism and determination to make Elantris a better place, and I liked how he gradually uncovered the reason why Elantris fell and fixed the Aons etc, even if it did feel a bit easy at the end when he needed it. Also I felt his recruiting of all the other Elantrians and elimination of any threats was a bit easy too. Sarene was a good, strong and intelligent woman, who was basically a bit of a detective trying to suss out everything that's going on in the Arelon court and trying to save the monarchy, but at the same time, Sarene's pride annoyed me a bit in the way she would keep going on about how she was so much more intelligent than everyone else and stuff. Hrathen was also an interesting character, one that I expected to hate in the beginning but who grew on me throughout the course of the book, and I liked how Hrathen slowly doubted his mission and his religion and stuff, but was still intelligent and cunning. One thing that did annoy me a bit about all the main characters was the sort of implication that they were the only ones intelligent enough to see and understand most of what was going on in the novel.

Most of the novel was taken up with debates about religion etc., and full of political intrigue which I loved but I know won't be for everyone. There isn't much action at all in the novel until the end. I also felt that, while the ending was gripping, it did all happen fairly quickly and there was a bit of unexplained deus ex machina going on to fix everything and give everyone a happy ending. There were some things left unexplained as well, or people who's endings we didn't really get to discover which I found kind of annoying but I can forgive. Especially since Sanderson is apparently working on a sequel (even if it won't be available for a few years yet). 7

Overall, I thought the book was really enjoyable and interesting, even if it wasn't perfect, and it could be quite confusing at times with all the different names and terms just thrown in.

I was looking for something quite quick and easy to read on train journeys when I went away for a few days, before starting a group read the day I would be getting back. I was able to download a .pdf file of this book months ago and it's been sitting on my kindle waiting to be read since and so I decided now was a good time. I wasn't quite sure what to expect of it but I have to say I was wonderfully surprised by the book.

The Iron King tells the story of Meghan Chase, who is just approaching her 16th birthday. She lives on a farm with her mother, step-father Luke and 4 year old half-brother Ethan. Meghan has never felt particularly popular or wanted, and vainly hopes that turning sweet 16 will change that. It does, but not in the way she expected. On her 16th birthday, Ethan starts acting wierdly, and Meghan discovers that he has been replaced by a magical creature called a Changeling, and Ethan has been kidnapped and taken to the Faeryland, known as the Nevernever. Meghan then must embark on a journey to find and rescue Ethan, aided by long time friend Robbie who already knew that Faeries existed, and she learns a lot more about herself than she ever suspected...

I have to say, I haven't really read many books about Faeries, so a lot of the story and the world felt quite fresh to me, while at the same time obvious thanks to what I have read and know about traditional fey lore. The whole world felt so real and was just so well thought out. I liked they used the common idea of gaining strength from the publics belief in the characters and how that strengthens or weakens the fey. And I liked how this played into the creation of the Iron fey, and how they were born from the dreams of future technology and stuff, as it wasn't an idea I'd ever really thought about before.

What I really loved about the book were the characters. I thought Meghan was a good main character. She acted like a fairly typical 16 year old girl, but I liked how she grew stronger and smarter and how she adapted to the Fey world over the course of the book, and as it is narrated from her POV you do really learn about her and her personality. Robin was a great 'sidekick' type character. He's just a perfect, funny, witty sidekick type character who always looking for a bit more fun. He was just great, and while it was very obvious early on that he was some kind of Faery creature/person, I did not expect him to be revealed as Robin Goodfellow, aka. Puck! I liked this kind of portrayal of Puck, but I remember Puck being kinda different to how he is here... Grimalkin was also great, your typical quiet but intelligent guide and teacher character, and essentially the Cheshire Cat.

Ash was a good love interest character, and you could see why Meghan liked him, which was refreshing when a lot of YA Literature these days can be quite lazy as to the relationship building between the love interests, since the audience knows they'll just end up together. But you could feel the attraction between them. I didn't really like the love triangle part between Meghan, Ash and Puck, as I thought the Puck x Meghan thing was a bit weird and I just thought they would be better as friends or have a more brother-sister relationship. It was obvious that Puck kinda had feelings for Meghan but it did just annoy me and it felt a bit tacked on to create tension and drama and slow down the developing relationship between Meghan and Ash.

Overall, I thought this was a really good and interesting book, and it felt quite fresh whilst using and building upon basic faery lore and stuff. It was a lot better than I was expecting and I look forward to reading the next books in the series.

This book was great, and so much better than Legend.

Prodigy continues the story of June and Day after their narrow escape from the Republic at the end of the last book. They've reached Vegas and they quickly find the Patriots, lead by a man called Razor. They're welcomed with open arms and immediately thrown into the Patriot's latest scheme - the old Elector has died, a new, younger one has just been elected... and the Patriots want June and Day to assassinate him. But it's not going to be easy and will test June and Day's relationship to the max, and not everything is quite what it seems to be...

In the last book, I complained that there were things about the world building that I thought weren't fully explained, such as why the Colonies and the Republic were at war, and it was nice that Lu went into such detail with this and explained it all. I also liked the realism of some of it as well, and that it wasn't all good v. bad - I liked that the Colonies weren't the perfect people that Day etc. thought they were, it was realistic. I'd be annoyed if it was the perfect Utopia.


It was a very fast paced book, and the pages just flew by. There was a lot of action and whilst I did wonder at how believable some of June's storyline was during the first half, I had completely gotten swept up and didn't actually mind too much by the end.

I liked how June and Day evolved in this book. They're very similar to how they were last book, but they're both trying to adjust to their new surroundings and situation and stuff, and it's nice to see them trying to learn from their mistakes, particularly June. Day was a bit annoying at times but I'll forgive him for it cos he realised by the end. I liked that Lu challenged their relationship as well, which was something I'd criticised for the last book as well. In Legend, it seemed as if they fell in love straight away and it was all a bit cliched. In this book though, they struggle, as they realise they come from completely different backgrounds and upbringings, and even though they've known each other just a short time they already have stuff in their shared past that will be hard to get past. I also kind of liked the little love triangle/square going on as well - I have to admit I was split for a good portion of the book as to whether I wanted June to be with Day or Anden, as Anden does seem really nice and charming (and I really hope Lu doesn't turn him into a total villian in the 3rd book!). I liked the conflict presented by the Day x Tess thing, but I hated that actual bit, as I think they're a terrible match and are much more like brother and sister. Tess was incredibly annoying in this book actually!

I also liked that June and Day were on a much more equal footing this time around as well. In the previous book, June seemed to be much more the powerhouse behind the duo, although Day was still pretty cool. But I liked that this time it was switched up a bit, highlighted by the section of June supporting Day in Vegas at the beginning, and then Day supporting June near the end. It was nice to see this switch, and that they need each other.

Also, the ending! Lu! What have you done!? I thought the ending was great, such a twist that I didn't really see coming until it was happening pretty much and quite heartbreaking. A great way to keep readers hooked and excited for book 3! Also opens up a lot of opportunities for further character development and developing June and Day's relationship.

Overall, I thought it was a superb book, fast paced and it built up and improved upon the first book. Great book, and I look forward to book 3!

I'd heard good things about this book and decided it was about time to read it. Plus I wanted a break from some of the more slog-fest Fantasy I tend to read. I did enjoy this book but I've struggled in rating this one (once again, I wish we could do half stars on here!), so my official rating would be 3.5 stars.

Legend tells the stories of two teenagers in a dystopian future version of Los Angeles, where America has split and the two sides are at war with each other. The first main character is June Iparis. She grew up in the elite part of town with her brother Metias, and is a prodigy, set for big and bright things in the Republic's army. The other main character, Day, on the other hand, grew up in the poorer sectors, where plague continually infects the people living there. He's also the Republic's most wanted criminal. They are already on different sides of the war/fence/life. But then one night, Day tries to steal some plague medicine for his family and encounters June's brother Metias and narrowly escapes. The next morning, June is told her brother is dead and Day is suspect number 1. June has to now try and hunt down the elusive Day to get revenge for her brother. But Metias' death might not be as straightforward as it seems.

I did really enjoy this book. I quite liked the world and it was really well thought out and I felt quite immersed straight away, maybe because it is very similar to our own, unlike some dystopian/future-earth literature where the world can be incredibly foreign and different. There were a lot of things though that weren't fully explained, such as the nature of the war between the Republic and the Colonies and why precisely they're fighting, although as this is just the first book in the trilogy/series I imagine more will be explained in the next books.

I did feel though that the book was very similar to some other dystopian literature etc. that I've read before, as well as other media. The overall idea was somewhat unoriginal, as were some of the plot twists - Oh my! The army is testing a plague on the poor! And then they're gonna use it as a weapon in the war! I've never heard of that one before! ... (that was sarcasm by the way). Having said that, it was still an enjoyable story and setting.

I felt a lot of the characters were somewhat flat too and a little stereotypical. Thomas and Jameson were the worst culprits in my opinion for being quite flat characters and stereotypical, with no obvious motivaition or real depth to them, and Kaede suffered from this a bit too. Metias the pure, protective older brother was kinda flat but not as bad as some of the others, but we didn't really see much of him so it's harder to judge him.

The best characters, and what really shone through in the novel for me, were June and Day themselves. They were both great characters and they had obvious depth and fairly well rounded personalities, but again I do feel like they could be a bit more polished but this might come through more in later books. What I did not like though, was the quick and fairly immediate love between the two characters. I can understand being attracted to someone straight away, but they both seemed to just fall in love with the other really quickly and it just felt rushed and a bit lazy. I just didn't get it. There was no real reason for why they loved each other. It's as if Lu just knew we knew they'd end up together and just skipped straight to it.

I also felt the pacing and the length of the different 'acts' as it were as a bit off. June spends very little time actually hunting Day and a considerable part of the book is then spent on the aftermath stuff, although there was a lot of revelatory stuff that happened then. What I would have liked to have seen more of was June spending time in the poorer sectors hunting Day, maybe spending more time with him and learning about what the poor sectors are really like and slowly falling in love with Day. It just would have made a bit more sense to me really, although it then probably would have been a longer book.

Overall though, I thought it was a pretty good book, a good start off for the series although it was fairly predictable. I'm interested to see what happens to June and Day in the next book, and would like to see the world expanded more and more time spent on character development really.

So, I got this for Christmas from my grandmother and chose as my next book to read on my breaks from work. I hadn't read any of the Michael Bennett books before so I was quite sure what to expect, although I have read a lot of other James Patterson books.

I, Michael Bennett follows NYPD Detective Michael Bennett as he leads a team to capture notorious and dangerous drug cartel leader Manuel Perrine when he briefly returns to the US. They succeed in arresting him, but Bennett's close friend Hughie McDonough is killed in the process. In prison, Perrine vows revenge against Bennett and his right hand woman Marietta (who is still at large) will be there to carry it out. Bennett tries to escape to the country with his ten children to escape the chaos, but that might not be as easy as it sounds...

I thought the premise sounded interesting, and the opening was good and gripping. But as the book went on not much really seemed to happen until the end. It was obviously supposed to set up another book(s) but I do really wish it had been a longer book and had carried on. It was just all a bit dull to be honest and not the mystery and thriller and chase that I thought was going to happen which would have made for a more interesting book. I thought the ending was just a bit weak and an obvious ploy to set up a next book to make readers want to buy that as well.

As I said in the beginning, I haven't read any of the other Michael Bennett books (I hadn't even heard of this series before getting this book) so I was obviously missing some details relating to Bennett's past and his family, and particularly his relationship to his nanny Mary Catherine, as there was obviously something going on there but I didn't really understand what. I thought the characters were fairly flat and unremarkable.

So yes, overall, I thought it was an okay book but somewhat uneventful and I felt that I just missed some stuff related to the characters. This didn't read like a James Patterson book that I was used to, and seemed like something you would expect from a more novice writer than experienced veteran author. Disappointing.

I remember hearing about this book when it first came out and liking the premise, and so I was glad to finally getting around to reading it. I was a bit wary, knowing that it centers around Angels and the apocalypse, in case it was a bit overtly religious or anything, but I'm glad that my fears were pretty much unfounded.

The story is told from the POV of Penryn Young, a teenage girl in California who is trying to protect her crippled 7 year old sister and mentally unstable mother 6 weeks after the apocalypse. 6 weeks ago, Angels appeared on Earth, and after the angel Gabriel was shot dead, a war ensued which resulted in the death of many humans and leaving the rest scavenging and fighting to survive. Penryn and her family soon encounter a group of angels fighting among themselves, and in the aftermath her sister Paige is abducted. Penryn realises she must work with the angel Raffe, who was left behind and stripped of his wings, if she wants to get her sister back. And Raffe has to work with her if he wants to get his wings back.

I thought the story was really good and interesting, and the narrating from Penryn's POV made the whole world seem vivid and real. It was exciting as well, with new twists and bits of drama happening all the time and kept me wanting to keep reading. I like that Ee didn't shy away from some of the more macabre parts of what a post-apocalyptic world would be like, and it did help to add a sense of fear.

Penryn was a good, likeable main character and narrator. She's strong but also caring and devoted and there is a sense of vulnerability underneath. She knows that she has to protect her family at almost any cost. Raffe is also a likeable main character as well. He's strong in a different way and unlike many love interest characters in YA fiction these days, you can see why Penryn is attracted to him and he isn't an arsehole. I like that Ee doesn't go on at length in fancy language about why Raffe is amazing and why Penryn is falling for him, which just makes the whole thing more enjoyable. I liked the relationship between them was uneasy, as they are enemies working together, but that a realistic form of respect and trust did eventually build between them.

I was intrigued by Penryn's mother as well, as I liked the concept of a mentally unstable woman in an apocalypse and what they would. The fact that her mother claims to talk to demons as well was interesting, and I do think there's a lot more to this story that will tie in to the overall story and is yet to be revealed which I'm looking forward to in the future books.

I liked the concept of the angels and the apocalypse, and I liked the idea that they're more human than you might think. I'm glad Ee didn't go too religious and get bogged down in biblical stories and stuff to do with the angels which is nice because it made it more accessible and helped to make sure it wouldn't segregate some readers. There is some stuff still that I would like to know about the angels and stuff, but as this is the first of a series obviously there is some stuff yet to come.

This book is incredibly similar to the previous two books.

It picks up the story shortly after where the previous left off. Apart from a few close friends, the world thinks Fitz is dead, including love of his life Molly. But he was saved by Burrich and Chade, after hiding within the mind of his wolf companion Nighteyes. Returned to his body, Fitz struggles to readapt to his human body. But the Six Duchies are still in danger, both from the invading Red Ship Raiders as well as the incompetence of self-proclaimed King Regal. But Fitz wants revenge against Regal, regardless of the danger and sets out to get this revenge. But Verity is still lost in the mountains as well, and finding him is necessary for the survivaly of the Six Duchies...

I liked the change of pace in this book as opposed to the previous two. The previous two were focused almost entirely in Buckkeep castle and were very similar. But since everyone thinks Fitz is dead and he's off questing to stop Regal and find Verity, so it's very different in that sense and I quite liked the change as I thought the previous formula was getting quite stale towards the end.

Having said that though, like the previous books (particularly the one immediately before this one) I felt that the narrative was quite slow and did drag a bit. And not much seemed to happen. Fitz spends the whole like first half of the book recovering from the mind share and then going after Regal, and spends the entire second half or so of the book travelling to find Verity and the Elderlings in order to save the Six Duchies, and whilst there were moments of excitement, overall it was just a long description of Fitz walking from one place to another.

I liked the first few chapters of the book, where Fitz was very changed from his time living within the mind of Nighteyes and found it difficult to readjust to being a human. I thought it was such an interesting concept and well executed.

On the one hand, I liked the sort of bittersweet-ness to the ending. Everyone doesn't get everything they want and live happily ever after, particularly for Fitz as obviously everyone believes him dead and Molly and Burrich fall in love, but even though not everyone gets what they want they still end up fairly happy which was nice. I liked that aspect, it felt a bit more realistic than a slightly more cliche everything works out amazingly for everyone. At the same time though... it did feel a bit rushed and the Elderlings felt like a bit of Deus Ex Machina since they're dragons and just go and destroy all the raiders. I felt things were quite rushed with some of the tying up of the loose ends and some things were just explained with a throw away comment - such as why the Red Ships were raiding the Duchies and what Forging was and stuff. I didn't really like Regal's transformation due to Fitz of becoming a good Prince and stuff, although it was a nice bit of Karma I guess.. I would have liked Hobb to have spent more time investigating Forging and the Raiders and stuff, a more final battle against the Raiders who are stated as being the big threat to the Duchies but are barely mentioned outside of the intro bit of history at the start of each chapter.

Also like in previous books, I felt some things were really obvious to me and the reader, in terms of plot twists but it would take a long time for Fitz and the other main characters to realise them, for example it was obvious to me at the end of the previous book that Molly was pregnant with Fitz's child and that Burrich was taking care of them but Fitz doesn't realise for AGES. Also, it was quite obvious to me later on in the book when Regal and the coterie temporarily possessed the Fool in order to find out where Molly, Burrich and the baby were, it was obvious to me but Fitz didn't realise it again until Verity points it out. It just annoys me, and I can't decide if it's intentional or if Hobb is not expecting us to be able to realise what's going on.

Overall though, a good book and apart from the dragging-ness of it and the rushed ending it was a good conclusion to the trilogy. I just found out there's a second trilogy focusing on Fitz in his later years which I'm interested in reading as well I think, but I think I'll wait a bit first before I do.

It was kinda hard to rate this book, as I had different opinions on it depending on where in the book I was. The first half just seemed to basically repeat the previous book, and on the whole was rather boring and dragged on. The second half or so though was a lot more tense and full of action and was really good.

Royal Assassin continues the story of FitzChivalry, aka Fitz, where the first book left off. Fitz has barely managed to survive an assassination attempt by his uncle, Prince Regal, and has made his way back to Buckkeep. He finds out that his grandfather, King Shrewd, is dying. His other, kinder uncle, Prince Verity, continues to exhaust himself using the Skill to try and stop the Red Ship Raiders who still attack the coast and 'Forge' the people they capture. Prince Verity decides he then must leave on a quest, to seek out the Elderlings who have helped the Farseer line against coastal raiders in the past, or so the myths say. But Verity's absence provides Regal with the opportunity to try and ascend to ultimate power, and the throne... unless Fitz can stop him.

As I said before, I felt the first half dragged. Apart from some obvious changes it just felt like a continuation of the first book and not much of consequence seemed to happen. There was a lot of focus on Fitz using the Wit to befriend a wolf he names Nighteyes, and I started to wonder if the Wit was actually going to have any benefit or be important to the story, which it later proves it is. Once Verity leaves however, the story begins to pick up and begins to become very tense and dramatic very quickly. Once I reached this point it soon became hard to put down and I absolutely adored the second half. It was just a shame to me that it took so long to get there.

Fitz continues to grow and is still a likeable protagonist, for the most part anyway, although sometimes some of the plot twists or information would seem really obvious to me again whilst it took Fitz a long time to see it himself. The same with Verity and a lesser extent Burrich.

Regal is a good antagonist, although sometimes the way he gets away with everything and no one can stand up to him seems a little unbelievable but it all plays into the story so I didn't really care that much.

Also, considering the book is entitled Royal Assassin, Fitz doesn't really spend that much time assassinated anyone or doing anything related to that. Much of his time is just spent conversing and interacting with other main characters, and so it's a little... off-putting? that that's the title of this book. Surely there was a slightly better title? Although Fitz's royal blood does become increasingly important as the story continues.

There a lot of promise for book 3 as well. It'll be interesting to see the Fitz-Molly storyline wrap up, as I have a feeling about whats going on there. Book 3 also promises to be a different set up with the way it ended, so it'll be interesting to see how Hobb sets it in motion from there and how Fitz manages.

Overall, a good middle book for this trilogy, although I felt the plot and drama suffered a little, at least initially, as it does pick up massively towards the end.

I did quite enjoy this book, although I did think it was a bit slow to get going and not much happened for the first half of the novel or so, or though I wasn't as bothered by this as some other reviewers seem to have been.

Assassin's Apprentice tells the story of Fitz, the young bastard of the Crown Prince Chivalry, who is suddenly taken to the Royal keep to be raised by the Royal family. At first Fitz struggles to fit in, but finds comfort in his special gift, the Wit, which allows him to bond and communicate with animals. But Fitz is soon whisked into court life and is asked by King Shrewd to train as an assassin and serve him that way. But there's more going on at court and in the Kingdom that will test Fitz...

I did like the development of Fitz, as he does grow throughout the novel and it did feel really natural. I quite liked Chade but I felt that we didn't really see or learn enough about him.

And I liked the way Hobb begins each chapter with a small piece of prose providing more detail about a certain aspect of the world or certain characters, to expand the world and story without bogging down the main prose too much.

I was at times really infuriated with some of the characters and Fitz, as sometimes it would be incredibly obvious to me what was going on or whatever and no one would realise for ages (or at all) - for example, it was pretty obvious to me that Regal was going to be up to no good from the beginning and it kind of annoyed me that no one else realised it until the end but I suppose he was a prince and no one would expect that of a prince. It was also obvious what Galen did to Fitz regarding the Skill training and I found it annoying that no one else realized.

I did also feel rather unsatisfied at the end. I mean, at the very end there was lots of drama and that was resolved in a good way, but overall I wasn't anticipating the end when it came really. I mean, a lot of things weren't really resolved regarding Regal and the Red Ship Raiders, although obviously that is setting things up ready for the rest of the trilogy.

So overall, I did enjoy this book, although I did feel it took awhile to get going and I was a little infuriated at times and felt rather unsatisfied by the end but I am looking forward to reading the next installment of the series.

I really wanted to fall in love with this book as much as I did the first one, The Lies of Locke Lamora. Unfortunately however, that wasn't quite the case in the end. Don't get me wrong, I did really enjoy this book and it was nice to continue the adventures of Locke and Jean in an entirely new environment. But this book just wasn't up to quite the same standard as the first one.

After a quick flash-forward en-media-res prologue, we reunite with Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen 2 years after the events of the first book. They're now living in an entirely new city, Tal Verrar, and they're up to the usual tricks. They are in the middle of their latest con and everything is going to plan. Except all of a sudden it isn't and once again Locke and Jean have to think fast and try to find a way out of it with their lives. The first third of the novel is also punctuated with brief 'reminisinces', detailing what happened in the two years between the novels and fallout of what happened in Camorr.

I loved the first quarter-ish of the book. I loved reuniting with Locke and Jean in the middle of a con and seeing them doing what they do best, while at the same time learning about what happened to them immediately after leaving Camorr at the end of the last book. Tel Verrar was interesting and it was nice to see a new place, but it was lacking something at the same time. In the previous book I completely fell in love with Camorr. It was just so fully realised and well thought out and it just leapt out of the pages and came alive. But Tel Verrar didn't. It didn't have the same depth. Maybe that was intentional but it just felt like bad or lazy writing to me. And when Locke and Jean returned to Tel Verrar in the last tenth of the book I found it hard to remember specifics of the environment or culture of the place.

Which brings me to my next point. The large middle two-thirds of the book. For the first quarter of the book it was quite Oceans Eleven-esque, like the first book was. But then it was like Lynch suddenly changed his mind and decided he wanted to write something Pirates of the Caribbean-y and twisted things in the story to fit so Locke and Jean could go be Pirates for a while. At first this change of pace and direction was really confusing. I'll admit though that as this section went on (and particurlarly after the arrival of the Poison Orchid and the introduction of Zamira and Ezri) that I started to love this. But it was still a jarring change and when Locke and Jean returned to Tel Verrar at the end to conclude the business introduced in the first third of the book I found it hard to care or remember all the details about it. It was just a jarring change of pace and I wish that Lynch had chosen one idea and stuck to it and then focused on the other in another book. Or that the two sections flowed better and meshed and melded rather than it being one then the other.

It was nice to Locke and Jean continue to grow in this book however. Whilst it was easy to pick them up again and see that they are still essentially the same people from the first book and Lynchs writing of them makes them read like the same people. But as the book went on it was obvious that they were changed. The events of the first book has emotionally scarred them and left a bit of a rift in their relationship, which continually impacts what's going on in the present. This book introduces a whole host of new characters and whilst many of these new minor characters are fairly two-dimensional I did fall in love with some of the new major characters, especially Ezri and Zamira. And when Ezri dies towards the end of the book... it was just like Calo and Galdo and Bug all over again. I was heartbroken. I mean, I saw it coming but still...

Overall, it was a good book, but not as good as the first. There were more dilemmas and less action this time around, which while not necessarily a bad thing itself didn't help when it was just difficult to keep track of all the various plot twists and problems. Many of the twists (particularly at the end) just didn't really seem to make much sense either and I'm not entirely sure what one or two them mean at all. Also the change of plot from what was essentially Oceans Eleven to Pirates of the Caribbean was jarring and confusing. Having said that, I look forward to the release of book 3 and more adventures with the Gentlmen Bastards and seeing how Locke and Jean escape their next and ongoing problems!

I had quite a few issues with this book. It was good and enjoyable but it was quite hard to get into and a little confusing and infuriating at times. I don't know how much of this was because it took me like 6 months to read (I only really read it occasionally on my breaks at work and I would have like 10 minutes max to do so) or whether it's the book itself.

So basically, the story follows a young man/boy called Cale, who's an orphan in a this post-apocalypticy (I assume anyway, it's never really made clear) world in a place called the Sanctuary, which is run by militant asshole priests called Redeemers who really abuse these boys in their care. Cale is pretty badass himself, for reasons which are finally revealed about halfway through the book - basically, he had a bit of brain trauma or something when he was young and now he can kinda foresee what his opponent is going to do in battle and so is pretty damn awesome in a fight . One day, he and friends Kleist and Vague Henri see something they shouldn't in one of the forbidden areas of the Sanctuary and decide they have to runaway and escape, which they do. And from there the main plot begins as they encounter this new world and try to survive and make the most of it.

Cale was an alright protagonist. He's a bit of an ass at times and I found it kinda hard to really relate to him, but at the same time I could kinda sympathise with him and I liked how his character grew and developed over the course of the novel. Kleist and Vague Henri were nice secondary heroes, fairly typical, in that one is smart but more quiet and follower-y while the other is a bit of a smartass-y type guy. Hoffman introduces a wide variety of characters and it does kinda become hard to keep track of all of them an their motives, although that may be because of how long it took me to read.

From the writing style and stuff it felt like Hoffman was trying to be a bit like Stephen King or Justin Cronin with the covering of multiple perspectives and stuff but it just kinda fell flat.

The world itself was interesting but a little confusing as well, and I would have appreciated a few ore details about it and stuff.

Overall, it was a good book, and I liked it, but I felt that Hoffman didn't really fully explain it all and the reasons people did various things and the ending was just a bit rubbish and silly. Basically, I'm not desperate to start reading the sequel.

As other reviewers have mentioned, this book is quite Ocean's Eleven-esque, mixed with a bit of the Godfather and set in a fantasy city similar to Venice (in that its full of canals) and also full of sharks. Whilst describing it in that way may make it seem a bit strange and might put you off, it shouldn't. This book is absolutely AMAZING. It's seriously one of my new favourite books.

Locke Lamora became an orphan in the aforementioned city (called Camorr) at a young age and bought by a man called the Thiefmaker, who turns orphaned children into his own little gang of thieves before then selling them into the bigger gangs of the city once they've grown up a bit. Locke however, has already been doing some thieving and despite his young age is full of attitude and doesn't fully foresee the conclusions to his actions. He's quickly then sold to a man known as Chains, who runs and trains a small gang of false-facers known as the Gentlemen Bastards - basically, they're con artists. That was the past. In the present, Locke and his friends are trying to pull off one of their biggest cons yet. But what they don't know is there are bigger things going on in the city, and Locke and his friends are soon going to be drawn into the heart of it all.

I just loved this book. Firstly, the world Lynch has created is just so detailed and obviously well thought out. He's obviously thought a lot about the different areas of the city, the culture, the government, and all the different people and gangs and how they all operate, as well as the wider world as a whole. And this detail just permeates throughout the whole of the novel and you even get a feel for the culture and nature of the world without Lynch necessarily having to spell it all out for you.

The book is nicely set out as well. The chapter alternates between 'present' chapters as it were, following the main action of the plot as Locke and co. begin their latest con and all the drama the subsequently unfolds afterwards. These are then punctuated with Interludes, providing other relevant details and stories related to the world and the plot. At first these mostly relate to the past of main characters such as Locke and Jean, but later these Interludes also include other brief stories relating parts of the history of Camorr, helping to flesh out the world and provide other information that directly or indirectly relates to the plot in a way that is quite natural and doesn't detract from the rest of the story or halt the plot. At first it was hard to get used to the world and the characters but I soon found myself immersed and caught up.

The characters though, are what I loved most. Locke is charismatic, intelligent and arrogant, and the best false-facer of the gang and their leader. He has many of the typical qualities of a protagonist. But he also fells increadily real. He isn't perfect. For a start, he isn't overly strong and is a terrible fighter, often relying on his friends (particularly Jean Tannen) to help him in any physical conflict. He's obviously grown significantly, particularly from the past segments to the present, but he continues to grow. The aforementioned Jean Tannen is Locke's right hand man and his perfect partner - he possesses all the qualities Locke lacks and acts the muscle for the gang in many instances. But Jean obviously has a big heart as well and is more than just a bruiser. Next are the Sanza twins, Calo and Galdo. They're just so lovable and funny and mischievious. They're sort of Lynch's version of the Weasley twins from the Harry Potter series. I fell in love with them instantly. Finally there's the apprentice of the gang Bug, who obviously has a big heart and wants to fit in and sometimes tries too hard but you can't help but like anyway. They're all just such great main characters and I found myself loving them all and rooting for them all the way through, even as things became increasingly difficult and dangerous for them. I must admit as well, I was truly heartbroken when Calo and Galdo were killed off as they were my favourites up to that point. And then I was heartbroken further by the death of Bug. Why Lynch, why!?

Readers should be warned that this book involves a LOT of swearing etc, but it does feel natural. It doesn't feel like Lynch is just throwing it in for the sake of it like it does in some books. And it can be gory in places too, but it's not that bad.

I knew when I started reading this that there was a sequel book, and when I was reading it I assumed it would be the first in a trilogy. Some googling prior to writing this review tells me that Lynch has planned out 7 novels in this series, which interests me and I can't wait to see what happens next and obviously stuff is set up to be followed up in the next book(s). At the same time though, the story in this book is self contained, and you could easily not read any other books in the series but have a feeling of closure regarding the characters.

Overall, this book is just amazing. It grabs hold of you early on and just doesn't let you go. You become drawn into the world and the characters and the drama that quickly unfolds and escalates. The book is brilliantly written and the world beautifully developed and realised. I cannot recommend this book highly enough and I can't wait to stuck into book 2!

So, The Wise Man's Fear continues the story of Kvothe, also known as Kvothe the Bloodless, Kvothe the Arcane, Maedre, The Flame, and so on and so forth. You may have heard of him.

So, this book shakes up the setting a bit from the previous book, which is good. Initially Kvothe starts out still at the University where he spent the majority of the previous book, and it starts out with much more of the same. Kvothe struggling to make ends meet at the University and pay his tuition. Then before too long, things are shaken up a bit and Kvothe must leave the University for a while and he ends up travelling to Vintas to the court of a powerful nobleman, and from there his journey takes him to unexpected and amazing places.

I was glad that Rothfuss changed the setting up a bit as I was getting a little tired of the fact that Kvothe's adventures at the University, while interesting in the first book, were pretty much unchanged from that book ad featured a penniless Kvothe. It was nice to see some different places, including Severan, Ademre and (!) the Fae! All of these places were exciting and interesting, but at the same time I felt that while Kvothe was obviously learning and training during these adventures, not much was really happening and I was hoping to hear some more of the exciting stories, such as how he became Kvothe Kingkiller, something which will obviously be revealed in the next book. Nothing much happened with the Chandrian either, and since Rothfuss will hopefully build them up to some kind of final confrontation, time is running short for that too. But at the same time, Rothfuss doesn't necessarily follow the cliche path of storytelling and it may be that Kvothe won't really stop them or whatever. Although Rothfuss did include places with strange traditions and languages that Kvothe has to learn and overcome which is somewhat cliched for fantasy...

It was nice to see his relationship with Denna advance further and continue to develop, and since they've made no mention of Denna in the 'present' I'm interested in how this will end. It was also nice to see Kvothe building some relationships with other people, I particularly liked Tempi and Dedan.

Things are continuing to progress in the 'present' too as well as the 'past' and I'm interested to see how this will be tied up in the third book. Bast continues to be an interesting and mysterious character and I can't wait to learn more about him and his motivations.

It's also nice that at one point Kvothe and Bast make up a story to some of the locals at the Waystone about a legendary called Chronicler to make a point to the real Chronicler about how stories can be exaggerated and get carried away. It was amusing and an important segway.

Overall, it's a good book, but I felt that not much really happened in it and it seemed to lack some of the excitement of the first book. Whilst Kvothe's journeying and training etc. was obviously important it did mean this book lacked something from the first. Hopefully the third book will return to the fine form of the first with some of the more exciting stories to come!

This was a really good book. It was released to tie in to Zelda's 25th anniversary in 2012 and to tie in to the latest Zelda game also released in 2012: Skyward Sword. As a result the first 3rd of the book focuses on Skyward Sword, before then going into a detailed discussion of the history of Hyrule, including an official timeline and order for the games (which I'm sure will please any Zelda fan). This is then followed by a large concept art section and finally there's a sample of the Skyward Sword manga.

The Skyward Sword section was nice and interesting, and it was interesting to see all the different designs for various characters, including Zelda, Fi, Link etc. but this also included the different locations and the minor characters as well, such as the Surface races and the people who inhabit Skyloft. It was nice to see all of this but I do wonder if it was all necessary and the pages could have been used for something else.

Next, the timeline section of Hyrule Historia was undoubtedly interesting and useful. It finally provides fans of the series with a definitive timeline for the games and then goes details what happened in each game and how it all relates to each other and the history of Hyrule, complete with pictures from the games and other tidbits of information.

The concept art section was delightful as well. It was nice seeing some of the concept art for all the different games, and I only wish this section was bigger and there was more art for each of the games, particularly the 'bigger' games such as Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker etc. And if maybe there was more general secrets or background information too.

And the preview of the skyward sword manga was a nice addition, but I don't think it's something that will necessarily appeal to all fans.

Overall, it's a good and interesting book, I just wish that there was a bit more background information and more art etc. from other games rather than just the focus on Skyward Sword, although I understand why there is a focus on that game.