Author: Kat Candyfloss

a court of thorns and roses, affectionately shortened to acotar within the bookstagram folks is a ya fantasy fiction book by sarah j maas. i first listened to this on audible and have since become obsessed with the entire series. i’ve started a buddy read with my friend who is experiencing the book for the first time. i can’t wait for her to read a court of mist and fury because, well, if you know, you know.

a court of thorns and roses is an inspired retelling of beauty and the beast. it tells the story of feyra, the youngest of three sisters that lives in a border village by the wall that seperates the southern mortal realms from pyrthia, the faerie realms. years ago a treaty was formed by the high fae and six mortal queens to stop a war and the fae using human’s as slaves.

despite feyre being the youngest she is the provider for the family as her father is crippled due to a dangerous debt collector and her sisters just seem to pass the buck a little and expect everything from feyre. i didn’t have a lot of sympathy for her sisters and father at the start and the way they treated feyre especially as she took it upon herself to ensure everyone was well despite their poverty.

feyre is easy to like and as the book continues, she’s easy to love. she is by far by favourite female protagonist in a book i’ve read so far. she is fierce but really balanced, mature beyond her years and incredibly kind. a real feminine hero in this story. the conflict happens early on in chapter four where it is revealed that the wolf feyre killed was fae and therefore must either accept death or live out her days across the wall in prythia as she has breached the treaty.

feyre begins living within the spring court and is untrusting of her, as she see’s it, captive, who does afford her a little freedom whilst she is there. this is where the real beauty and the best retelling kind of comes into it really as tamlin doesn’t really come across as the best host at first. the dynamic and banter between lucien and feyre is interesting throughout. however, throughout the entire book is a whisper of she, someone bigger, in control of the blight and honestly, that’s where the unexpected came for me.

the series currently continues with two further books (a cout of mist and fury being my favourite, because, well, if you know you know. i’ll review it at a later date!) and a novella which is really cute and is i believe bridging the gap between this triology and the next, which is debuting next year.

affiliate link to purchase a court of thorns and roses:

One of my goals for 2020 is to read 52 books or around one a week. Some might be new, some are ones I’ve had for a while or been meaning to read, some I haven’t quite finished yet and some will be recommendations from others. You can see all the books I’ve read so far on my Good Reads 2020 Reading Challenge.

havenfall by sara holland is a ya fantasty fiction book. my copy came through from my illumicrate march ‘world’s collide’ box and is a beautiful copy with blue sprayed edges, signed bookplate and ribbon bookmark. here’s the synopsis:

“maddie morrow knows that havenfall is more than it seems. beneath the beautiful sprawling inn lie the hidden gateways to three ancient realms. byrn, fjordenkill and solaria. maddie’s destiny is here, rooted in her family’s promise to protect the fragile alliance between the worlds. but when a brutal murder shatters the peace and someone she loves stands accudsed maddie must step forward to protect the place – and the people – she cares for the most. her safe haven will never be the same again.”

affiliate link to purchase the book below

first impressions of havenfall by sara holland

i’ve seen this book all over bookstagram and i absolutely love the cover, it’s gorgeous. the book is pretty small for a hardback and just over 300 pages long. for me this is a great sized read and one i can tackle in just a few days i’m sure. the synopsis sounds really intriguing. i’ve read other work by sara holland before and enjoy her writing so my first impressions are positive.

the first few chapters

these were really full of detail in the writing and you already know a lot about maddie, where and why she’s going, a bit of a secret she’s carrying and that she’s kind of not supposed to be doing what she’s doing. she comes across as pretty introverted yet someone that has found and knows her place and just wants to be there. i completely empathise with her rebellious reasoning. the first couple of chapters introduce havenfall really well too and had a feeling of anticipation for what was waiting for maddie at the inn. even though it’s in a realm without magic, it felt magic, as maddie says.

havenfall book review (may contain spoilers)

Frustratingly, I ended up giving this book about three stars. It started off so well but throughout the middle I was just getting so frustrated with Maddie. She comes across as so naive and indecisive, the kind of person in real life that would really frustrating. I get that she’s only 17 and not every 17 year old knows exactly what they want to do with their life. I know they have moments of being distracted or not seeing the big picture. I also know I wasn’t like that at 17 and so it really frustrates me reading about something I actually can’t really empathise with. I just can’t get into the story as much or in the head of the character. Maybe that’s because I’m older? I don’t know. I know this frustration was shared.

I found some of the plot points really predictable too and quite obvious. When the reader finds things obvious ages before the protagonist I just find it’s not good planning really. Sometimes it felt like the book was trying to go into another direction but because of Maddie’s character I just ended up getting annoyed and frustrated with her not seeing what was truly obvious. I think my partner suggested I DNF (do not finish) the book at one point but I’d already invested my time into the first half and hoped it redeemed itself.

The book does redeem itself but not in the all compassing way I found, for example, Crescent City did, which I ended up giving a five star review because of how it pulled through and blew up in my face. Haven Fall just didn’t do that for me. There were a couple of little surprises and turn of events that weren’t completely predictable but it just didn’t lift the plot as much as I wanted it to.

In the end I didn’t hate the book but it isn’t one I’ll be rereading any time soon. The writing itself is really well done and interesting. The concept is brilliant and some of the side chracters are really compelling. I would like to know more about the world, a few more of the whys and perhaps a more confident Maddie or even another character taking the helm.

One of my goals for 2020 is to read 52 books or around one a week. Some might be new, some are ones I’ve had for a while or been meaning to read, some I haven’t quite finished yet and some will be recommendations from others. You can see all the books I’ve read so far on my Good Reads 2020 Reading Challenge.

hold back the tide by melinda salisbury was included in the book box club mythical monsters april box. it’s a book reminisent of the industrial past in the highlands of scotland. i read the book within a couple of days and it was book 22 on my 52 books reading challenge this year. i rated it 5 stars on good reads. you can purchase the book using my affiliate link on amazon below.

i really did love this book, it was gripping and chilling and had such a creepy atmosphere throughout. i would describe the book as subtle horror. it’s done in such a way that it’s not just the threat that keeps you reading but the mystery because you want to know the truth and the secondary antagonist is an excellent driving force too. at just over 300 pages this book is written well, it’s interesting and the feeling of sheer dread is intertwined with every sub plot. one thing i really appreciate is that the author doesn’t cop out at all for the sake of the readers feelings. she tells the story in it’s complete which i really liked.

alva, the main protagonist of the book is a really interesting character. the fact that it starts with her guide to living with a murderer is really interesting. you do see her as a little cold throughout the book, very isolated and alone, but ultimately you understand why she’s the way she is from the very first page. she’s mature beyond her years for this but it’s clear to tell she has a good heart and wants to be useful and helpful.

i found the feeling of isolation quite poignant with everything going on in the real world right now. it’s a struggle being and feeling isolated in a town with access to all of the things but being in the situation alva is in, a cut off village in the highlands, particularly right now, must be incredibly hard. thankfully, i don’t think anyone is dealing with what alva had to do. the description of the village, the mountain and the loch is done really well and i could imagine the setting throughout really clearly.

affiliate link for hold back the tide