#67 The Priory of the Orange Tree

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

This was my most anticipated book of 2019 and oh boy it didn't let me down! It took me 12 days to read (which im really proud of considering it was 804 pages) i was a bit nervous going into this one as its been hyped so much so i had high expectations but luckily it really lived up to the hype.

So the book is basically about 2 divided sides, East and West:

The West storyline focuses on Queen Sabran who must produce a female heir to become queen and keep 'the nameless one' in exile. The nameless one is decribed as a beastly creature that almost took over the world one thousand years prior to our current storyline but was exiled. Queen Sabran is guided along her way by Ead Duryan who is sent by the priory in the south to look after and protect the queen. She uses her magic and skills to keep Queen Sabran safe from the constant threat of assassination. 

In the East we follow the story of Tane who has been nurtured and trained since birth to be a dragon rider but one night she is forced to make an impossible choice when she finds a man washed up on the shore the night before her ceremony to become a dragon rider when she is meant to be in seclusion. She cannot decide whether to turn the man into the authorities whilst simultaneously outing
herself for breaking seclusion and jeopardising her chances of becoming a dragon rider. Tane at the beginning goes through trials to be selected as a dragon rider which makes for really good reading.

The characters from East & West must come together to face the threat of the nameless one together, if they do not civilisation will be under his rule.

Things i liked:

This was a stand.alone.adult.fantasy :O need i say more?

I love dragons in fantasy books, there isnt enough dragons in my opinion. What i loved about this book is that dragons where explored in a new way, there was the element of water dragons as well as the standard fire dragons which was really interesting to read about. I havent read a good dragon book since Game of Thrones.

I flew through this and i was so committed to the characters and each of their story arcs. Its not often that you feel a connection to every single character and you root for them so deeply. Each character is in a completely different situation that is so interesting to follow, they are so flawed and real and i really appreciated how relevant each characters storyline was to the overall story. My favourite character i think was Ead, she was a really well thought out character.

I adored the LGBT elements as we had 2 main characters in same sex relationships. One of the romances was very slow burn and actually surprised me when it happened as it is super abrupt and there wasnt very many hints before then that they even liked each other, i think this could have been done a lot better.

The world building was so well done, its very intricate and detailed and you get a good sense of the differences and the politics on both sides of the Queendom. The book is so interesting and engaging and each chapter is so relevant, i expected for 800+ pages that some of it would be a bit filler but nope! every single thing is relevant to the overall story. I can honestly say that at no point was i bored.

This book has made me want to read everything that Samantha Shannon has wrote and is yet to write! I would put this on a par with Sanderson.

Things i didn't like:

i really disliked Niclays as a character, he pissed me off to no end. At one point he maims a dragon and i wanted him dead for it. I did understand how he was relevant to the story and just how important his input was but i still hated him

The ending was very very rushed, i felt that the pacing was well done throughout until the end. The last 50 pages or so were so sudden and quick. I liked the ending itself but it was abrupt as hell.

The East and the South felt very undeveloped, there wasnt too much of their history, culture or politics. I thought the West was done fantastically well, it felt so well written and researched.

Overall i gave this 5 stars, amazing book.

#66 Aurora Rising

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

'They are not the heroes we deserve, they are just the ones we could find' 

Aurora Rising is the beginning of a new sci-fi series by the dynamic duo that is Kaufman & Kristoff. I was really glad when picking this one up that it followed a more traditional format instead of the mixed media they do in their Illuminae Files, which i also enjoyed but my fear was that the mixed media would have felt over done if they had carried it into their new series.

Aurora Rising follows a fleet of misfits from the Aurora Academy in the year 2380. The book opens with the star pupil of the Aurora Academy Tyler, on his way to the draft in which he gets to pick his fleet, he has the first pick but has to rescue a survivor from an abandoned ship in which the passengers have been cryrogenically frozen and have been floating in the 'fold' for two thousand years but a scan of the ship shows one survivor who Tyler rescues and brings back to the academy also missing the draft and leaving him with the pupils that no one else picked.

I fell in love with the characters pretty quickly especially Zila, i found her character to be well developed and the most complex. It felt a little like Guardians of the Galaxy mixed with Six of Crows as they were a bunch of ragtags thrown together for an adventure. The world building is very subtly placed throughout the story and can be found at the end of most chapters and gives the reader an insight into the background of the society and the civilisation.

The main players in this story are:

• Tyler Jones- The star pupil/golden boy of Aurora Academy and the alpha of the fleet
• Scarlett Jones- The twin sister of Tyler who is in charge of diplomacy and negiotiation and fierce af
• Cat- The pilot who may or may not be in love with Tyler
• Finnian- the sciencey guy who is hilarious yet impulsive and very dry, possible bisexual rep? 
• Zila- The misunderstood tech hacker girl who is dubbed the smartest 
• Kal- the fearless alien warrior of the bunch 
• Auri- The girl who was found by Tyler floating in space

This story was heavy on the sci-fi and not so heavy on the romance which i heavily appreciated, there are a few hints of romance here and there but nothing that will make you roll your eyes. I found this story in the beginning to be quite similar to Skyward by Brandon Sanderson as it starts out in a space school type setting but it really found its own after this first quarter. Parts were very thrilling and edge of your seat which made for a very fun read. I read this physically but have heard amazing reviews of the audiobook as its read by a full cast. I really enjoyed this story and ultimately gave it 4 stars. 

My hopes for the next book in the series are more character development and a bit of back story for each specifically Fin, i need to know the full story behind the exo suit. A back story for Zila would be great too. 

#65 Red, White & Royal Blue

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martins press for this arc that came out on May 14th, i really had planned to read and review this before release date but life got in the way :(

'I dont know, man. I was in high school, and i touched a boob. It wasnt very profound. Nobody's gonna write an Off-Broadway play about it'

Before i begin im just going to point out that i dont read contemporary, i dont like contemporary and i havent reviewed a contemporary here in a really long time. Having said that- this was bloody fantastic!

This book follows the story of Alex who is the first son of the USA, his mum is president and Henry who is the prince of England. They fall in love (in short) and its beautiful and exactly what i needed to read without knowing it. Alex is involved in politics and is a bit of a loner, he hangs out with his sister June and the VP's granddaughter Nora, he dreams of getting involved in politics and following in his mothers footsteps. He is mixed race and his parents are divorced so he comes from a blended family which seems so unlikely in 2019 that this would happen in America but it NEEDS to (especially a female president)! Henry is the grandson of the queen, his dad was a movie star and passed away when Henry was younger, his mum isnt overly involved as she is swallowed by her grief. Henry is close with his younger sister Bea but not so much his older brother Philip.

Alex really dislikes Henry and after a PR disaster it is agreed in the interest of both nations that they appear to be friends at events and on social media, as they are pushed together they begin to realise that they do have feelings for each other. Henry has always known that he is gay but struggles with what that means in terms of the monarchy and him not fulfilling his duties. Alex has always believed he was straight until he starts reflecting on past events that lead him to the realisation that he is bisexual.

What i enjoyed most about this book is that its not one of those tropey annoying reads that they meet, fall in love, break up and then ultimately get back together as those stories have been done time and time again! This was fresh and interesting, a new take on what it means to be in a same sex relationship whilst being in a power position. The topics discussed were so important, the role the tabloids play in these peoples lives and social media and how harmful it can be but also the pure side of two people being so utterly obsessed with each other whilst not only being long distance but it also being forbidden. Gahhhh it was just everything.

i am in absolute awe that this is a debut novel, it reads so refined and it really well put together. Typically this isnt a book i would enjoy, i dont enjoy romance or anything about royalty, i dont like 'fake friendships or relationships' but i LOVED this! It made me laugh constantly, made me angry and weepy. Honestly it was a rollercoaster of emotions but ultimately so so good.

My only issues with this were that some characters were a bit flat. I like a strong friendship group in a book but this was mainly focused on Alex & Henry. The development of their relationship wasnt as slow burn for me, it wasnt insta love either somewhere in between but i think i would have liked it to take a bit longer. The transition from enemies to lovers was so so fast for me.

#64 Red Sister

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence 

This book follows the story of Nona Grey, a young girl who from the first chapter is sentenced to death by hanging, she has the noose around her neck when an abbess from a nearby convent comes to her rescue and steals her away from her fatal fate. The abbess takes her to The Convent of Sweet Mercy and its there that the story unfolds.

Nona becomes a novice in the red class of the convent. The convent is training the novices to be bad ass magical fighting nuns. There's a range of classes that teach them things from blade training to spiritual magic in the form of paths.

I adored Nona as a character, i love her mysterious past and how she does everything she can to hide it from everyone around her. Nona lies several times about her past so its left to the reader to try and piece things together which i very much enjoyed. I loved how angry Nona was and how this fuelled the majority of her decisions.

A few other notable characters are: The abbess, shes such a sass queen and a bad ass female character. Shes logical and takes no shit, i love that. Clera, Clera becomes Nonas first friend at the convent and is the main reason that Nona starts to open up and let her many walls down. Ara, Ara is one of my favourite side characters she is brought into the convent as 'the chosen one' and is exceptionally skilled at path magic. Sister Apple, although shes not a very integral character i thought she was amazing, she was so shady and was known as 'the poisoner' as she has a knack for poisoning the new students.

Another thing i loved was the world building, it is so amazing and well done. You really feel like you are there as everything is described so well. Parts of this book are really slow burn and you feel as if you haven't a clue what is happening but if anything i think that really adds to its charm!

The magic system is so interesting too. There are 4 main 'tribes' that the magic came from, the gerant who are said to be the strongest, the hunska whose magic makes them really fast as they can slow time around them, the marjal who mainly use shadow magic and the quantal people who use path magic. Nona is believed to be from the hunska tribe as she is very quick in her fighting style and is able to anticipate the blows and block them.

Something i usually dont care for in books generally is 'the chosen one' trope (obviously HP is not included in this :P) but in this book i really enjoyed it. There are many characters that could be 'the chosen one' and you are constantly guessing who it could be. This was a solid 4 star read for me and im really keen to pick up the next books. (ive already requested them at my local library #keen)

#63 Daisy Jones & The Six

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I read Evelyn Hugo last year when it took the world by storm and i loved it, one of my favourite books on 2018 so naturally i was both excited and nervous for her new book Daisy Jones & The Six. I received it as a Mothers Day Present from my little cherub. I heard from my delightful friends on Discord that this was loosely based on Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac who i absolutely adore so it immediately made me very excited to pick this one up. 

The story is made up entirely of interviews and starts off with Daisy Jones as a young teenager, neglected by her rich parents that pay little to no attention to her. Daisy begins sneaking out and singing in clubs and bars, she soon becomes a regular on the club scene and becomes influenced by alcohol and drugs. Daisy writes her own music and dreams of performing her own songs but she struggles as she cant seem to find anyone to take her seriously as a song writer.

The other main story line is how The Six came to be. The Six started with brothers Billy and Graham Dunne who learned how to play the guitar as young kids and started a band as teenagers. Billy quickly settles down with Camila and works hard to be a family man but he too like Daisy becomes caught up in drugs and alcohol and slowly spirals.

When Daisy is signed to the same record company as The Six the record company suggest that Daisy features on one of The Six' song. The song quickly becomes the bands biggest hit and Daisy becomes the bands opening act when they go on tour. When one night Daisy gets into a fight with her manager he leaves the tour and takes her backing band with him. Daisy then becomes a fully fledged member of The Six.

The story is so intricate and as you are reading you really cannot believe that this is fiction and that none of the characters even exist! This book reminded me of one of my favourite films 'Almost Famous' which made me only love it more. In true TJR style the ending really packed a bunch and was gut wrenching in parts.

Although i loved Evelyn Hugo more i still think this was a great read in its own right.

5 stars

#62 The Cruel Prince

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Right, no idea where to start with this. Ive read a few Holly Black books, shes a well loved author in the YA community. So far she hasnt been for me so when i saw this book being released early last year i didnt bother picking it up. The hype took over though and it was pretty cheap for kindle so i picked it up. 

The story follows Jude, a mortal girl whose mother and father are murdered (literally happens on the first page, not a spoiler!) she is then taken by her parents murderer Madoc to the fairy world. Jude finds out that Madoc is her older sisters real father so they live with and are raised by him along with her twin sister Taryn. 

The fairy world is ruled by a king who is coming to the end of his reign and will be passing the throne to one of his children. One of his youngest children is Prince Cardan who is 'the cruel prince'. Cardan goes to school lessons with both Jude and Taryn and he tortues them for being mortals as he thinks they are not equal to the fey people. 

As the story progresses there are many twists and turns as we follow Jude try to navigate her way through fairy land as shes constantly viewed upon as weak, shes bullied and has to watch over her shoulder the entire story as she cant trust any of the fey people. Many characters try to kill her as they view it as fun. Throughout all this torture Jude longs to be one of them, she wants to be respected and loved within this society. Jude is amidst a difficult relationship with her siblings, her older sister Vivi refuses to let go to her links to the mortal world even though she is half fey and everything that Judes wants and Taryn is so content to keep her head down and not bother the fey even when they kick dirt into their lunch and berate them constantly she believes its better to ignore them. Jude is unable to do so as she is strong willed and wishes to fight back against Cardan and his troupe. 

The fairy world and books about fairies has never been something that ive been into. I tried so hard to get into The Iron Fey series but couldnt :( but this was different, it was a very dark take on a YA fairy story and the characters are written to be unlikable which is so unusual that it really added to the overall effect. I really enjoyed the politics behind the story, the writing was very lyrical and the descriptions were spot on. As a reader you really root for Jude as she is so badass but you also enjoy the love to hate relationship with Cardan, i hated him so much. I enjoyed Judes narrative of loving Madoc but also hating him for ruining her life, it was interesting watching her internal struggle with despising the world so much but also doing anything possible to fit in. 

i really disliked Taryn as a character as she was so weak compared to Jude and she didnt stand by her sister at all. I thought the writing was quite clever in the fact that she faced the same internal struggles as Jude but she dealt with it in the complete opposite way to Jude. She was more than happy to put her head down and get on with it. She wants to fall in love and marry a fey boy whereas Jude wants to become a knight and yield and sword and learn more about strategy and defence. The sibling rivalry was written so well and was so believable. 

The plot was fantastic, the fey are so unpredictable and it was so hard to predict what Cardan would do next. Jude is so strong willed and admirable as a character but shes also a hot mess who has no idea what shes doing the majority of the time. Her struggles with decision making was so interesting to read about and she really does make some poor choices at times. The plot is jammed back with the political side of the fey world and who will be the next king which was really interesting throughout. I loved the fact that the next in line to the throne wasnt the eldest as is traditional in these types of stories and also throughout history. That made it slightly easier to have my own theories of how it would be. I did figure it out as the second book just came out before i read this and i could figure out the ending from the title of the second and last book in this duology but oh well.   

I will be reading the second book for sure!

4/5 stars 

#61 An Anonymous Girl

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

So last year i read 'The Wife Between Us' it was one of most anticipated books of the year and after i saw it was nominated in the Goodreads choice awards i picked it up straight away. Alas i was SO disappointed by it, dont get me wrong it was an ok read but nowhere near the 5 star read that i was anticipating. Saying that i was a little nervous to pick this one up but im glad i did, it was such a thrilling read.

The story begins with Jess a young makeup artist living in New York, she inadvertently finds herself amidst a morality and ethics anonymous study held by a renowned professor Dr Shields. The study offers substantial financial reward which is very appealing to Jess as she is struggling to pay her rent monthly and worries about her family back in Philadelphia.

Jess arrives at the study and faces some questions on a laptop in an empty clinical style room. The questions are not what Jess was expecting, questions that make her admit doing things that she has regretted. Jess continues with the study as shes being paid $500+ for each session. When Dr Shields gets in touch with Jess to see if she is interested in continuing the study and meeting for face to face sessions Jess agrees. Boyyyy does she not know what shes getting herself into. In the weeks that follow Dr Shields manipulates scenarios for Jess to 'accidentally' bump into her husband Thomas, to see if he will cheat on his wife. As Jess gets closer to Thomas she immediately realises the link that he is married to Dr Shields but she is unaware of the danger she is in.

Dr Shields continues to manipulate Jess into going along with her plot to see if her husband is cheating but supplying her with unlimited money and gifts picked out specifically for her. What ensues is an absolute shit show, i couldnt stop reading, it was so cleverly written. When Jess tries to pull back from the study and Dr Shields and Thomas' life Dr Shie
lds begins to interfere in every aspect of Jess' life.

The characters were so believable and the back stories were well constructed which is sometimes a down fall with these types of books.

My favourite thriller of 2019 so far! I dont want to say too much more about the plot of side characters as i dont want to give anything else away. I love domestic thrillers over the last 2 years they have become my favourite book genres. I get so obsessed with the stories and cant put them down and this was so exception. I will be more willing to pick up their next book now for sure!