Tag: ACOTAR

Review: The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

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The paperback book stands on a gold book cart next to a White Pumpkin scented candle

Alexis:

I kept hearing about The Serpent and the Wings of Night, and then one of my best friends gifted it to me for my birthday a few months ago. 

It’s been pitched by other reviewers as the next A Court of Thorns and Roses, and I can definitely see why! This book was like ACOTAR, Throne of Glass, From Blood and Ash, and The Hunger Games all mixed together.

Synopsis (adapted from Goodreads):

This fantasy romance follows Oraya, the adopted human daughter of the Nightborn vampire king. Oraya carved her place in a world designed to kill her, but her only chance to become something more than prey is entering the Kejari: a legendary tournament held by the goddess of death herself. But winning won’t be easy amongst the most vicious warriors from all three vampire houses. To survive, Oraya is forced to make an alliance with a mysterious rival—a vampire named Raihn. 

But war for the House of Night brews, shattering everything that Oraya thought she knew about her home. And Raihn may understand her more than anyone—but their blossoming attraction could be her downfall, in a kingdom where nothing is more deadly than love.

Review:

What I really appreciate about this book is how well Broadbent balances action with character. The plot of this book is very Throne of Glass and The Hunger Games: beat these trials and become the only winner, except this winner gets a gift granted by the goddess of death herself. The trials themselves are bloody and deadly, and I was impressed by how Broadbent didn’t shy away from showing the brutality of the trials.

The romance itself is a slow burn one, and Oraya and Raihn actually get to spend a lot of time getting to know each other before they become friends and allies, yet alone lovers. While Oraya was slow to open up, her position in society is a unique one, and I enjoyed getting to know her. Raihn is very much a Sarah Maas-like love interest. He’s sassy yet serious, powerful yet emotionally vulnerable. And, of course, he has wings.

Overall, I sped through this book! While it has character-driven scenes, it never slows down or drags, despite the fact that it’s over 500 pages long. As some other reviews pointed out, it’s certainly not an original story, but Broadbent does a fantastic job of putting her own spin on it. It’s one of those books that gives you a book hangover, and with the twist at the end, I’m thankful that the second in the series comes out soon. 

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Review: Hall of the Hopeless by Haley D. Brown

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On a wooden railing, a bottle of mango kombucha rests next to a Kindle in front of green grass

Alexis:

Hall of the Hopeless follows Thea, a Fae who lives with her adopted human family…until they’re abducted by slave traders.

Thea’s search for her family leads her to Gar, an assassin who tells Thea that her family’s abductor is Hrokr, the cold and cruel Lord of the northern Hall. Gar has plans both to liberate Hrokr’s slaves—and destroy his entire kingdom.

But Thea is harboring a secret that could change everything: she is Thea Starsea, the missing Heir of the fallen Hall of Aphaedia.

The story starts off with a bang! Right away, we learn Thea’s backstory and motivation. The beginning is action-packed and heart wrenching, and I really felt for Thea. Moments of the story and Thea’s character gave me Throne of Glass vibes, which I was here for.

I found her to be a great and balanced main character. Yes, she’s a fighter and a badass, but Brown doesn’t shy away from revealing her feelings, innermost fears, anxiety, and rage.

I especially enjoyed reading Brown’s fighting scenes. And the ending! Prepare for plot twists. I’m definitely looking forward to finding out what happens next and to learn even more about the secondary characters and their motivations. 

Thanks so much to Haley D. Brown for sending me an e-ARC for review.

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Expected publication date: December 1, 2022

Review: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas

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Alexis:

“Through love, all is possible.”

Maas has a way of writing worlds that suck you in and make you want to keep reading. While this world is pretty similar to the one in ACOTAR, I loved how the world in Crescent City blends modern technology with magic; we don’t get enough fantasy with modern technology, and it was really interesting and fun to see the characters use both cell phones and magic. It was also loosely based off of Ancient Rome, which was cool.

I really enjoyed all of the characters. I liked reading from both Bryce and Hunt’s perspective. They both have a great mix of admirable traits and flaws. And, as usual, Maas is great at writing characters who have suffered from trauma with care.

The first half of this book did a great job setting up the world, the characters’ backstories, and establishing the main plot, while the second half was more fast paced and action packed. While a lot of readers find Maas’ build up slow, I enjoy how she spends time establishing the world and letting us know the characters before diving deeper into the plot. And I thought the plot of this book was intricate. Honestly, even though this book is so heavy on the details and it took me a while the get all the worldbuilding details straight, it was just so much fun to read!

My cons are pretty small. First, let me just say that if you don’t like Maas’ writing style, just don’t pick up the book? A lot of people seem to be giving this book bad reviews without even reading it because they aren’t fans of Maas’ writing.

I will say, thankfully, this book has considerably less drawn out sex scenes; it still has a decent amount of people flipping each other people off, and a lot of f-bombs, which didn’t bother me. I’m still not a fan of her character name choices (Bryce and Hunt? And I never got over Tamlin’s name from ACOTAR) but honestly, that’s such a small bone to pick, and it boils down to personal preference.

Even though I loved reading the ACOTAR series, I thought this book was far better written. I still don’t think her writing is the absolute best, but what she IS good at is writing characters you will want to root for, and writing worlds that you will become obsessed with. And despite the fact that this book is over 800 pages long, I barely wanted to take any breaks from reading it.

Bottom line: this was so much to fun to read! And considering the fact that the plot centers around a murder mystery, apparently murder mysteries are my new definition of “fun.”

VERDICT: 📚📚📚📚📚