Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton

I can’t believe it’s done! I finished the series and I need to read more from Alwyn Hamilton already. (Check out my review of book one here)I ADORED the writing and the characters and the world building and just everything about this series. I had to read all three of these books slowly and take my time because I just wanted to be fully engrossed within the world.

There were some amazing moments within this book, which I won’t go into specifics about to avoid spoiling you if you’re yet to read it, however, they’re awesome and well written and fit the plot so beautifully! It reminds me of the Godkissed Continent series by A.B. Endacott (review of the first book here) which is also a gorgeous fantasy world.

The relationships developed within this story, both romantic and not, are done with so much depth and investment. I really felt as though I knew each relationship intimately and therefore felt what the characters felt deep within me. I cried quite a bit at the end of this book, bittersweetly.

One of my favourite ever trilogies, five stars to all three books obviously, and I look forward to reading literally everything Alwyn Hamilton writes that I can get my hands on!

Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton, a review

Book 2 of this series is keeping up the massively high standards set by book one! (Check out my review of Rebel of the Sands here) Yet again I took my time going through this book, but it’s definitely not me slogging through, it’s more that I need to take time to absorb every single one of Alywn Hamilton’s words, each word she writes seems to be there with intent and meaning. Her writing is just so beautiful and I truly have the desire to read absolutely everything she has ever published and ever will publish.

I really enjoyed the time we spent in the palace within this book, it added another dimension to the events of the world and really gives the reader more of an insight as to why people act the way they do. The dynamics of this group inside of the Sultan’s walls was so different from that outside and really added great perspective.

The political side of this war was also more developed in this book, and it meshed so well with the world building and how Alwyn Hamilton showed us the groups of people outside of who we had interacted with in the first book. It gave more insight as to why people were acting in certain ways, and to how the Sultan was looking to manipulate others to achieve his aims.

Overall this is yet another gorgeous book within this series and is something that I one million percent recommend to anybody wanting to read a great fantasy book. Again the writing is absolutely beautiful and it leaves me in awe.

Please tell me you’ve started this series? Do you agree about the beautiful prose that the story is written in? Let me know!

November Wrap Up| 2018

November was the month of Non-Fiction, and so I set myself a heady tbr of 13 books, some from friends, some from NetGalley and some I just have with me at uni. I ended up with a total read number of 9, but this wasn’t all of the books I put on my tbr at the begining of the month. I knew I was likely not going to get to all of them, as depending on how it’s written, non-fiction can be really slow going for me. However, I also picked up 2 non-fic books in a charity shop just before starting the challenge and this meant that I ended up reading them! But at least they’re read now! So let’s get into what I actually got around to this month.

Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton -> 5/5*

I finished this series off in the first few days of November and absolutely adored it. My heart was torn out, sewn up and then torn out again! This is one of my favourite series ever and I need to buy them all! (I got them all out of my libraries)

Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig -> 3.5/5*

This was a difficult book for me to read. I have depression, and hearing it talked about in this manner triggered it frequently throughout my time reading. However, it was also interesting hearing about his story. Just tread carefully if you struggle with mental health issues.

Nature’s Home by the RSPB -> 4/5*

This is the seasonal magazine that the RSPB send around to their members. It was surprisingly enjoyable and I am definitely going to read the ones I get in the future. I learnt a lot which I wasn’t expecting to and it was simply a nice read.

The Secret Barrister -> 4/5*

I really enjoyed this, a book I had seen promoted on Portal in the Pages channel (click to see her YouTube page) so when I spotted it in the charity shop I just had to pick it up. It was incredibly interesting to learn about the structural failures and corruption issues present within the UK law system from someone who has no reason to hide anything other than their name (the author is annonymous). This was a great read.

Weird War Two by Richard Denham -> 3/5*

Of course I was going to get to at least one WWII book in my selection. This one talks about weird tactics, rumours spread on purpose and weird beliefs of those on both sides. I knew a few of the facts within already, but it was also great to add more factoids to my knowledge!

Love and Kisses From my Padded Cell by Dr Ellie Henkind Katz -> 3/5*

Dr Katz interviewed around 12 people who have came out the other side of the 12 step process of overcoming (a variety of) addictions. Some of them have been successful, some have not. And it also exposes their pasts and how they got to where they were. As someone who is interested in psychology this was interesting and a very quick read.

The Path to Change by Pope Francis -> 2.5/5*

An interview with the current Pope, this was incredibly interesting, however, also very hard to read. It was not written in an engaging way but I was interested in the content. Too much repetition meant it got dropped down, but I am still really glad I read it.

Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall -> 4.5/5*

This was such an incredibly interesting book. I learnt about how the past and the present have been hugely influenced by geology and geography and also how this is likely to continue into the future. It was also relevant with Russia’s current Ukraine situation so that was a nice added bonus.

What If? by Randall Munroe -> 5/5*

If you want scientific, thought out answers to absurd and stupid questions then this is your book! It satisfied the nerdy scientist in me and was also really funny to boot! Definitely one to pick up if you’re even vaguely interested in science!

And that’s that! A really fun selection and some absolutely great reads this month! Next month I should hopefully stick to my tbr a little bit more, but I’m still very happy with what I read this month. Have you read any of these? Or are you going to? Let me know in the comments!

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton, a review

Where to even start?! This book is amazing and I urge everyone who loves fantasy to read it. Click here to see the Goodreads page and the synopsis of the book.

First things first, this is not a book that I personally could rush through. I knew as soon as I had read the first few chapters that I was going to take my sweet time with this book and enjoy every second of it! I picked it up in the first place as I found out that Alwyn Hamilton was coming to the NYALitFest that was held at the beginning of 2018 in Preston. I had wanted to read this series and this news was a bit of a kick up the arse to get on with it! I didn’t actually finish it before the event, as like I said, I didn’t want to rush it. But I’m glad that I took my time and really enjoyed the book.

Amani is a badass female character who I loved seeing come into her own as the book progressed and different plot points were revealed. The relationship between her and Jin develops very naturally, starting out as suspicious of a stranger in her small desert town, and slowly starting to trust each other and have each other’s backs. The nuances are intricate and seem to be setting up for further events in the rest of the trilogy.

I can’t wait to carry on with this series and be engrossed in this world again. I really do recommend picking this one up, and I hope you fall in love as much as I have.

My October TBR!| 2018

After such a busy start to Masters life, I attempted to cut down my tbr for this month… I failed. But let’s have a look at what I couldn’t stop myself from adding to my list! I have done a video version of this on my YouTube channel, click here to go watch that! (It’s also my first video with Closed Captions, which I intend to add to every video I upload from now on. Making my content available to even more people!)

This Mortal Coil by Emily Suvada

I was lucky enough to win a physical ARC of the second book in this series in a Twitter giveaway, but I’ve yet to read book #1! So this is definitely first up for this months tbr!

 

Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton

Book 3 in the Rebel of the Sands trilogy, I am so excited to finally get around to the final of the series!! This is also a book I’ve borrowed from the library and it has to be back by the 15th October… so this is a must!

 

A Promise Stitched in Time by Colleen Rowan Kosinski

If you’ve followed me for any time at all you know I love WWII literature. This cover seems to indicate this, and therefore I expect to really enjoy it! I hope this ends up being the case

 

This Cruel Design by Emily Suvada

Time for book 2! I put other books of different genres in between the reading of this series as I tend to meld books all into each other if I read a series in one big go. So I want to be able to differentiate whilst also reading before the publication date! That’s the plan, at least.

Weird War 2 by Richard Denham

This seems to be a book that talks about the funny and interesting aspects of WWII that aren’t very well know. I anticipate this being a quick and fun read

 

Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

I don’t actually aim to finish off this book this month, I just want to get another 100 pages in. Of course, I’d love to finish it but I’m still attempting to be realistic! But, who knows.

 

And that’s it! I don’t know if I’ll manage to get around to it all but I really hope so as this is a really interesting selection of books that promises to be a good reading month!!

Have you guys read any of these? And are you excited for This Cruel Design? I’m so excited to get to this series and I hope I love it!