high – The Book Chick

29774026 | GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: A world divided.
A queendom without an heir.
An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction—but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

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My thoughts:

“This was certainly an epic journey and overall I really enjoyed it.”

Wow. It feels like someone have stolen my breath away and taken a piece of my body and soul. This was certainly an epic journey and overall I really enjoyed it. The world is so complex, extremely rich, colourful and truly a work of art. Then we have the characters. And they are many, who together weaves a story of love, hate, good and evil. Thanks Shannon for the character overview in the end of the book. Without it I would have had even bigger challenges with keeping track over who was who and who did what. Even with the help it was quite overwhelming at times and that is one of my two negative feelings toward the book. Thankfully there is mostly four point of views you are following which makes it easier.

The other negative thought I have about the book is that it is too damn long. I wouldn’t say it bored me per say, but it made me indifferent. At sometimes I read it mostly automatically because I knew if I stopped, I would have it hard to pick it up again. At other times I devoured it and could not put it down. It was somewhat inconsistent and that made me somewhat detached.

In the end I am happy. I would probably not reread it anytime soon, but I may read it again sometime in the distant future. And I do agree with the hype around the book. It is worth reading for everyone who wants or need an epic journey through the lands in this epic adult fantasy.

| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Fitz has survived his first hazardous mission as king’s assassin, but is left little more than a cripple. Battered and bitter, he vows to abandon his oath to King Shrewd, remaining in the distant mountains. But love and events of terrible urgency draw him back to the court at Buckkeep, and into the deadly intrigues of the royal family.

Renewing their vicious attacks on the coast, the Red-Ship Raiders leave burned-out villages and demented victims in their wake. The kingdom is also under assault from within, as treachery threatens the throne of the ailing king. In this time of great danger, the fate of the kingdom may rest in Fitz’s hands—and his role in its salvation may require the ultimate sacrifice.

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My thoughts: Oh my! Fitz does really feel sorry for himself. That was probably my biggest problem with the book. Yes it is easy to forget how young Fitz is supposed to be and yet it was so annoying that I didn’t even want to read on. It makes me so conflicted. I loved the beginning and the end but all that stuff in the middle is just mud. Nothing major or big really happens and it is such a character driven story that 50 pages can have been read but nothing substantially had happen. However that is what in the end make it so great so overall I do like the book.

I did struggle more with this one than I did with the first. A lot because of the writing. This is high/epic fantasy for adults and it is such a slow burn that when you read page after page without any action and no breaks between the sections, it is hard on the head. Well at least for me. Hobb certainly has an unique way of writing. Hard but still great writing that gets you involved regardless of the challenges it contains. It is powerful, deeply imaginative and beautifully constructed. A real work of art. You get emotional invested and when all that stuff is happening and Fitz stands in the middle of it you can’t stop thinking about the book.

It certainly is a great story with a highly imaginative and deeply written plot where characters became friends and enemies. It ended unexpectedly and I do believe that the third book will be a great ride in this roller coaster called Fitz Life.

Tag: high

The priory of the orange tree – Samantha Shannon

Royal Assassin – Robin Hobb