"The Red Knight" by Miles Cameron

I desperately wanted to like this book. It sounded like a more gruesome, more battle heavy version of "Uprooted' by Naomi Novik, which I read back in 2015 and absolutely loved. Man versus wild and the creatures within who are encroaching upon their land.

For various reasons I have decided to not finish this massive 766 paged book at the 215 page mark. The writing was terrific, and the battle scenes were just epic. For those reasons alone I almost felt like continuing on with it. Almost. The biggest reason why I just couldn't get into it was the large cast of characters. They were all introduced into the story fairly early on, the points of view switching between all of them every few pages. This made it very easy to forget who was who, and what that certain characters role in the book was. I eventually became familiar with certain characters, but I am still lost on a large majority of them. And new characters were steadily being added as the book progressed. I have read books that contained a large cast of characters, as well as having multiple points of view, and I was never as lost as I am now. Some characters begin to become fleshed out as the book progressed, but for the most part a lot of the characters just fell flat. There just wasn't enough focus on each character. My other issue with this book was the magic system. There was never any explanation of how the magic system worked, it was just there. Random people just had random abilities, and even then the abilities aren't even explored ... stuff just happens. I heard that the magic system is better explained in the second book, but where I am currently, it just isn't working for me.

My Rating: 3 Stars - Did not finish

"The Final Empire" by Brandon Sanderson

This is my first venture into Brandon Sanderson's domain, and I must say that I now see why he is regarded so highly in the fantasy genre. Brandon Sanderson truly does have the ability to create some of the most unique magical elements. The consumption of metals to harness abilities is a perspective that I have never seen before, and one that was so very interesting. The rest of the story was just as finely crafted. The dark lord conquering, the mists that raise up every night to envelop the realm, the ash that falls from the sky like snow to coat the land and cities. It was all so fantastic. Sanderson, you have created a loyal fan in me who will be devouring all of your books.

My Rating: 5 Stars

February TBR | 2015 - Starting Those Series

I may be over achieving here, as I realized after snapping the above picture that I will be receiving two new releases in the mail this month that I would also like to read upon arrival ("Morning Star" by Pierce Brown, and "Glass Sword" by Victoria Aveyard. And at the end of the month "A Gathering of Shadows" by V.E. Schwabs). So we shall see if this months TBR actually happens.

This months theme is starting new Fantasy series by never before read authors.

First is "The Final Empire" by Brandon Sanderson, book one in the Mistborn trilogy. Then I will be reading "Theft of Swords" by Michael J. Sullivan, book one in the Riyria Revelations. And finally "The Red Knight" by Miles Cameron, book one in The Traitor Son Cycle.

January Wrap Up | 2016

I read two books during the month of January. Yep, just two books. And I didn't even technically do that since I just finished "A Game of Thrones" earlier today, but I decided to put it in the wrap up since the majority was read during January. Some would call it a disappointing month of reading, but honestly I vastly enjoyed both of the books that I read, so there is nothing disappointing about it.

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A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin - Book Review

Golden Son by Pierce Brown - Book Review

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Unfinished Books

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor - Book Review

"A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

Winter is coming

It has been a while since I have become this immersed within a book. George R.R. Martin weaves a fantastical tale of brilliant world building, character development, and story telling.


I have watched the television series previously to reading the actual books, but he still managed to rip out my heart and stomp on it with his very well known habit of killing off his characters. Not often am I made to feel enough about a character to feel saddened by their deaths.

My Rating: 5 Stars