Victoria Limbert's Blog

It has been a long time since I updated my blog and most of that has been due to a drop in confidence, a battle with my own self-esteem, that I think many of us can understand and relate to. Some has been attributed to my reading slump and disappointing book choices but there have been a few fantastic novels that have helped me through the year. Strong characters, brave women and creative fictional worlds to escape into.

The previous year was very difficult but I would like to share with you the books that kept me going. I adored them!
Holly Black has really captured my heart with this series. Jude, the heroine, is strong and brave and uses her fear to drive herself forward, towards her great ambition of wanting power in a world where she is seen as weak and useless and is taunted for being a human mortal. She faces many challenges, one of them love, one she shouldn't feel but can't help. This series, I think, is right up there with my favourite books next to Cassandra Clare and Sarah. J. Maas. It is a simple writing style, but with a twisted plot and  jam packed with precious moments I wish I could read for the first time again. Jude shows vulnerability and strength, she makes mistakes and tries to right her wrongs, she is ruthless yet loyal and cares deeply for her family and the few friends she has. I understand a few people struggled with the violence and raw descriptions in this book, but if we don't highlight real world cruelty in novels, where can we do it? It is important to not only have nice, fluffy stories about charming heroes and brave girls but to talk about brutal realities of war, uncomfortable situations and tackle taboos.

The Poppy War encounters these situations. This is a harsh time set in a fantasy world that has struggled to survive several previous wars. It has created a dark and ruthless place to live where people turn a blind eye to abuse and awful treatment of girls that are usually married off for money and power. The only way out of this terrible lifestyle is to study for a school that takes only the best for martial arts training and may perhaps show promise in a certain magical ability that many fear.

This lifestyle is equally brutal and unforgiving and the war we are thrown into is dark and awful and, at moments, sickening. Ultimately, The Poppy War is an amazing book and I couldn't stop reading it. I don't often read Sci-fi as it's not my preferred genre and I haven't always had the patience to read many books by Brandon Sanderson even though I know he is greatly talened. But I gave this one a go and wow! The Skyward series is fantastic. I have already read it's sequel and I equally adored it.

Spensa is a well developed character that I would love to be best friends with. I can't wait to unravel the mysteries surrounding her and the abilities she is learning to control and the larger threat that is looming over the human race....of what is left of the human race anyway. What I loved more than anything is that it wasn't full of all the technical jargon that usually puts me off this genre. It wasn't hard to understand and M-Bot, the delightful AI robot with the sassy attitude, helps to keep things light in moments of tension. Everyone needs an M-Bot and i need book three to come out now. Below are a couple of books I thoroughly enjoyed, ones that kept my chin high between the reading slumps and the disappointing choices I made last year. Have you read any of these books? Did you enjoy them? What were your favourite reads of 2019?

Title- The Wicked King

Series- Folk of the Air #2

Genre- Fantasy, Young Adult

Synopsis

You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.

The first lesson is to make yourself strong.

After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her younger brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.

When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.

My Review  

Why why why why oh my god why!

That was simply one of the best books I've ever read. I didn't see a single plot twist happening, couldn't predict a single thing and my god I should not have forgotten the title of this book and everything it insinuates! I was fooled. As fooled as our amazing Jude, who by the way, I think is one of the best written characters I have ever had the delight to read. Jude is everything I want to be! Everything I would wish to be had I been raised in her world. Perfectly imperfect. Strong, morally conflicted, powerful, flawed, still utterly human in a world of fae but knows mostly how to play their games. She is an island who must believe all around her are enemies, even those she cares about, even those who she has come to love or forgive or fights for. All are tricksters, all are playing a long game that led to an ending and cliffhanger that simply blew me away.

Holly Black is a master of deception, the long con, the unseen plots beneath plots beneath plots. They tangle and twist until boom you are smacked with a shocker between the eyes.

I will hold out hope for Jude, she is good for faerie, they just haven't learned that yet. And Carden? What a wicked, clever king he is... I hate him as much as I love him and hold out hope for him too. Holly Black tortures us and its beautiful!

I can't say this is 5 stars, 5 isn't enough. I give it 100000000 stars!

Title- Ride

Series- The Wild Sequence #1

Genre- Adult Romance, Contemporary, Sports, Erotic (though mild)

Synopsis- No one rides like Chase Austin.

Bad boy. Player. Adrenaline junkie. Snowboarder Chase Austin has a reputation—and not just for being the world’s best extreme athlete. He’s as cold as the mountains he rides, loyal only to his crew . . . and panties drop wherever he goes.

Photographer Brooke Larson knows better than to let him get through her emotional Kevlar. So what if she used to have his poster on her bedroom wall? She’s not a teenager with a crush anymore. Chase Austin is her key to the big time, and she’s getting his photo no matter what.

Too bad the only place Chase wants her is in his bed.

Men leave. Success is forever. Brooke knows the drill, and she’s not letting anyone get in the way of her career—or into her heart.
​
But whether it’s on the slopes or between the sheets, riding with the best means risking it all.

My Review- It's always a pleasure when you begin the New Year with a good book. Towards the end of last year, I had had so many disappointments that I found myself in a long reading slump. I picked up what I thought would be a simple romance book for an easy start to the year and found myself reading until the early hours of the morning, devouring Brooke and Chase's push and pull relationship (a believable push/pull story for once) Both are ambitious, talented people who know what they what from life, on the surface, but who have a good few issues beneath the surface.

I loved the writing style and really cared about everyone in Ride, the supporting cast just as much as the main two. Each had their own personalities, lives, issues and connections that worked well together. This book has made me hopeful that my choices for 2019 might bring me out of the slump.

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black, Kingdom of Ash (A Throne of Glass #7) by Sarah. J. Maas and A Torch Against the Night (Ember in the Ashes #2) by Sabaa Tahir are by far my most favourite reads of 2018.

I am always blown away by Sarah J Maas and her books. Her stories are fun, funny, raw, full of emotion and twists and turns that leave you wondering what will happen next. Most books in the YA genre (though perhaps New Adult genre with some of the raunchy scenes) are predictable and, while some parts of Throne of Glass can be, most of the story is a fun surprise and full of depth. Besides, predictability can be forgiven when the story is written fantastically and you are emotionally invested in the characters.

The main character of Torch Against the Night just keeps me in love with this series. Laia of Serra is a brave girl with the weight of the future resting on her shoulders and, while there is romance throughout the series, a deeper story remains most important. It's not shallow. It moves beyond matters of the heart to the injustices of the world Sabaa has created.

And then there is The Cruel Prince. I know this book has garnered some mixed reactions but I love it. I love the heroine and her fierce bravery and willingness to do what she must to get what she wants in an unfair world. After all she is just a regular girl in a fae land trying to survive. The hero is, well, anything but. He is what is advertised, cruel. He is young and childish and wicked, but perhaps not to the core. The relationship between the two main characters makes for great reading and I can't wait to see what is in store for them. I adored Strange the Dreamer, enough so that I want to read it a few more times. The main character is so different to what I am used to reading. Not particulary handsome to most with roguish, harsh features but has a personality you could get lost in for a thousand years. Laini Taylor created a guy with an inner beauty that shone throughout the dark times. A man who couldn't understand the cruelty of the world because he had swept himself up in enchanted tales and myths, especially one myth that he felt had to be true. True enough to set out on an adventure to prove it...and found much more than he ever bargained for. I am angry at myself for it, but must admit I put off reading Tower of Dawn for a long time. Set within the A Throne of Glass series, it follows one of the supporting characters, Chaol, and what happens to him after a certain injury wrecks him. He is sent to another land to find a healer who can 'fix' him and to find help to fight the war that is slowly building through the series. I was so loyal to Aelin, the heroine of the main story, that the thought of reading an entire book without her sass and humor and wicked plans made me shy away. However, the moment I cracked open the first pages, I couldn't stop reading. Tower of Dawn is stunning, perhaps even more so than the other books. I was destoryed by the emotion, the story, the angst, the pain and the bravery woven in to every chapter. I couldn't put this beauty down. Above are my favourite reads of 2018 but below are a few very likable books and ones that you should check out if you have room on your lengthy TBR pile. My pile for 2019 is stacked but I can't wait to jump in to it...probably literally!

Title- Strange the Dreamer

Series- Strange the Dreamer #1

Genre- Young Adult, Fantasy

Synopsis- The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.

What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

My Review- I have never been so thrilled and thoroughly enchanted at the same time as being torn apart and destroyed and devastated by a book this way. 

Strange the Dreamer begins with a death, the death of a blue girl who fell from the sky. A Goddess. Then moves to Lazlo Strange, an orphan boy raised strictly and almost abusively by monks. But he is wild within his imagination and feeds off the magical stories of a senile and grumpy monk about a city known as Weep. It is both a real place and a place that, over time, has been cut off from the world and, while not forgotten, has become a fantasy, a fairytale in the minds of people. Eventually, those who believe in the place and all the majestic stories that come with it are scorned and laughed at. Only Lazlo doesn't care what others think about it or think about him, he is entirely selfless and kind and in love with a world of fairies and gods and dragons and mysteries he searches the answers for. He is, after all, a dreamer. 

And then, one day, they are visited by citizens of Weep which have become little more than a fable after many, many years and they are searching for scholars and people with great talents to help them with a problem within Weep. Somehow, through acts of desperation, Lazlo finds himself on a great journey to the place that kept his dreams alive since childhood. And once there he dreams of a blue-skinned, beautiful girl whose existence ties in to Weep and its histories intricately. And that brings us to the stunningly brave and strong blue-skinned girl called Sarai. Quite possibly one of my favourite heroines, rivalling my love of Feyre from ACoTaR easily. She is understanding, forgiving, and brimming with emotions. She is mature and yet naive and innocent. She is full of as much love as she has the capacity to hate and above all these things, she can look at her enemies with a depth of empathy and understanding. Sarai, is beautifully written and I loved her POV as much as Lazlo's.

The writing, the words and the descriptions in Strange the Dreamer is just overwhelmingly beautiful. It conjured up vivid images in my head of the world, the city of Weep and all the magical places we visit along the way. I could see and feel everything. The book is 'wordy' but it is poetic, necessary. Laini Taylor's descriptions are tangible!

The style of the storytelling consumes you until the characters emotions become yours and not just the hero or heroine's, but all of them. Because in this book both hero and villain are flawed, the moral of good people being capable of bad deeds and vice versa are strong throughout. And the ending, perhaps on the cusp of our characters changing their morals and viewpoints, was heartwrenching. 

Lazlo and Sarai and Laini Taylor have turned me into an emotional wreck with this book and I fully intend, once I have recovered a little, to read the second book and hope to be wrecked that little bit more.

Title- Blackwing

Series- Raven's Mark #1

Genres- Fantasy, Dystopian, Post Apocalyptic

Synopsis-  The republic faces annihilation, despite the vigilance of Galharrow's Blackwings. When a raven tattoo rips itself from his arm to deliver a desperate message, Galharrow and a mysterious noblewoman must investigate a long dead sorcerer's legacy. But there is a conspiracy within the citadel: traitors, flesh-eaters and the ghosts of the wastelands seek to destroy them, but if they cannot solve the ancient wizard's paradox, the Deep Kings will walk the earth again, and all will be lost.
​    The war with the Eastern Empire ended in stalemate some eighty years ago, thanks to Nall's 'Engine', a wizard-crafted weapon so powerful even the Deep Kings feared it. The strike of the Engine created the Misery - a wasteland full of ghosts and corrupted magic that now forms a No Mans Land along the frontier. But when Galharrow investigates a frontier fortress, he discovers complacency bordering on treason: then the walls are stormed, and the Engine fails to launch. Galharrow only escapes because of the preternatural magical power of the noblewoman he was supposed to be protecting. Together, they race to the capital to unmask the traitors and restore the republic's defences. Far across the Misery a vast army is on the move, as the Empire prepares to call the republic's bluff.

My Review- This book is, by far, my favourite read of the year.

Ryhalt Galharrow is a gritting, battle-hardened character that lives his life hunting down criminals in the Misery. The Misery is a sort of No Man's Land, full of strange half-formed creatures and a torn up sky, between man and the magically twisted army of an enemy called The Deep Kings, beings with unfathomable power. They are held back only by a weapon made by one of the Nameless, wizards who are seemingly on the side of man in the war, called Nall's Engine. Only a woman Ryhalt once loved has discovered that the weapon no longer works.

Blackwing is full of dark twists and turns, distrust and political corruption. The writing is phenomenal. World building perfect and it has some of the best descriptions of violence I've read in a very long time. Ed McDonald doesn't write prettily. We are hit hard with the day to day life of this post-war (and still ongoing) lifestyle. There is a rotten underbelly and a rotten government and anyone in between either shut up and live the lives they are dealt or succumb to a terrible ending. Quite a few of those ending come at Ryhalt's hand.

Ryhalt is a fantastically written character. Upon meeting him we learn he isn't a particularly nice man, unforgiving and full of bitterness and hardness. He has lived a terrible life and the more you learn about him, the more you come to care for him. He is courageous and strong, cunning and loyal to only a few in his life. 

I can't wait to pick up the next book in the series and see more twists and shocks the author throws at me. Each one keeps the pages turning and cheering on a man who would probably turn a blade on you if it helped him reach his goals.

Title- Tower of Dawn

Series- A Throne of Glass #6

Genre- Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, New Adult

Synopsis- Chaol Westfall has always defined himself by his unwavering loyalty, his strength, and his position as the Captain of the Guard. But all of that has changed since the glass castle shattered, since his men were slaughtered, since the King of Adarlan spared him from a killing blow, but left his body broken.

His only shot at recovery lies with the legendary healers of the Torre Cesme in Antica—the stronghold of the southern continent's mighty empire. And with war looming over Dorian and Aelin back home, their survival might lie with Chaol and Nesryn convincing its rulers to ally with them.

But what they discover in Antica will change them both—and be more vital to saving Erilea than they could have imagined.

My Review- Once again Sarah J Maas writes a magical, perfectly paced book in the Throne of Glass series. Tower of Dawn follows our ever moody Chaol, the healer Yrene and the famous Archer Nesryn, along with a whole host of new characters and royals as well as a few old enemies appearing.

Tower of Dawn was just beautiful to read. The whole way was a battering of emotions both good and bad from the scheming royals to the Healers of the Torre and the ever present Valg who search to destroy all that there is in this world. It was heart wrenching. Every single second of it. The discoveries made in this book about the previous wars and the Valg are huge and will play an important in the next book. Some very twisted discoveries that didn't even cross my mind! However, ultimately Tower of Dawn was about self discovery, pushing the limits and being willing to see beyond what we believe to be true. It was about forgiveness and facing the darknesses and weaknesses within ourselves. For finding the strength to forgive others.

Chaol was left with a magical and physical injury to his spine and could not walk. Yrene could heal him, but first, she had to find the strength to move past that he was from a kingdom that killed her family, who hunted them and executed them. Who left her homeless and wondering the shadier towns where she herself could have been hurt or killed. Watching them both move past their issues was beautiful. Watching Chaol understand why Aelin did the things she did in previous books, the schemes and revenge, the killing and moving through the world seemingly without a care. 

Simply put, Tower of Dawn is a beautiful read and probably one of my favourite TOG books in the whole series. The love is raw and meaningful. Realistic for a pure fantasy. This one will not be leaving my mind for a very long time....at least until the next book... 

Title- The Monstrous Child

Series- Mortal Gods #3

Genre- Young Adult, Fantasy

Synopsis-  A stunning, operatic, epic drama, like no other. Meet Hel, an ordinary teenager - and goddess of the Underworld. Why is life so unfair? Hel tries to make the best of it, creating gleaming halls in her dark kingdom and welcoming the dead who she is forced to host for eternity. Until eternity itself is threatened.

My Review-  While not exactly deep in plot or action The Monstrous Child was fun to read and was full of morals that I think children will pick up on.

Hel is the Daughter of a Giantess and the God Loki. Unfortunately, Loki's spawn seem to come out misshapen, wrong and fated to do terrible things. Except, while Hel is described as having corpse legs the Fates have no future reading for her. She is not destined to harm anyone....and yet she remains hated for her deformity. She is called ugly, she is unwanted, barely tolerated by the High God Odin who banishes her to the Underworld to rule all that is Dead. 

Within the story, there are morals throughout: For example, you can not force another to love you, that you should not see yourself how others see you or treat you. Hel thought herself ugly due to her treatment in Asgard and by her parents until a human offered her a mirror to see herself truthfully. She lost time thinking dark thoughts, losing herself in hate and vengeance until she realised how useless that time had been. She could have made the best of endless immortality but chose to hide away. The story shows an element of karma for those who treat you terrible, the world will offer up justice in its own way.

So while The Monstrous Child might not be overly captivating for adults, I think children should read this to relate to Hel on many levels other than the Norse Myths and Gods and Goddesses. I enjoyed it, though I had hoped for a more fleshed out ending, I understood the reason for its abruptness.

Title- Postmortem

Series- Kay Scarpetta #1

Genre- Crime/Thriller

Synopsis- Under cover of night in Richmond, Virginia, a human monster strikes, leaving a gruesome trail of stranglings that has paralyzed the city. Medical examiner Kay Scarpetta suspects the worst: a deliberate campaign by a brilliant serial killer whose signature offers precious few clues. With an unerring eye, she calls on the latest advances in forensic research to unmask the madman. But this investigation will test Kay like no other, because it's being sabotaged from within—and someone wants her dead.

My Review- I read half of this series a long time ago and decided to read them again before delving into the more recent books to refresh myself...and I wasn't disappointed.

I enjoyed it as much as the first time. I love seeing Scarpetta, who is such a strong career driven woman of high intelligence and skill, face her vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Such as her ability to worry that she has made a mistake no matter how careful and good at her job she is, she acknowledges that she is ultimately a human who can become exhausted and overlook things. Like her struggles with dealing with her 10 year old niece who is almost as intelligent as herself or perhaps mislabel evidence...

In Postmortem a serial rapist/murderer is roaming free in Richmond and it has the entire city on the edge of panic. The politicians are getting scared and already looking for a scapegoat to cover their own mistakes and the most vulnerable place they can hit is Scarpetta's medical office. The murderer leaves very little evidence of use, he is virtually invisible and has the characters pointing at each other. The atmosphere is dark, tense and gritty. And Scarpetta is feeling the heat from those above her. In a desperate effort to catch the killer she puts herself further in the fire, risking her career or another murder happening.

I love the pacing, the characters, everything. The development is fantastic. I remember disliking Marino early on but as his story builds he seriously grows on you, becomes almost...adorable? He isn't stupid, but he has seen enough darkness in his career to go about things less delicately. 

I am going to enjoy reading these books again.

Title- A Torch Against the Night

Series- An Ember in the Ashes #2

Genre- Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis- A TORCH AGAINST THE NIGHT takes readers into the heart of the Empire as Laia and Elias fight their way north to liberate Laia’s brother from the horrors of Kauf Prison. Hunted by Empire soldiers, manipulated by the Commandant, and haunted by their pasts, Laia and Elias must outfox their enemies and confront the treacherousness of their own hearts.

In the city of Serra, Helene Aquilla finds herself bound to the will of the Empire’s twisted new leader, Marcus. When her loyalty is questioned, Helene finds herself taking on a mission to prove herself—a mission that might destroy her, instead.

My Review- It is so very hard for me to review this book. I absolutely loved An Ember in the Ashes and fell in love with Elias and Laia within a couple of chapters. The higher powers surrounding them who already knew of the future sending them on a complicated path of self-discovery, torture and worse.

Then this book comes along and made me excited, worried, then a little bored in the middle there, but then I was torn apart and heartbroken. A Torch Against the Night follows three POVs; Laia, Elias and Helene. Laia a talented Scholar girl who has such strength and bravery in her heart that Elias, The Mask, can't help but care for her and admire her...perhaps love her a little. Helene, A Mask and now the Emporer's Blood Shrike told a heartbreaking story of hunting down the man she loves deeply to kill him to save her family and gain respect from the entire Empire. 

Elias swore to Laia they would travel to Kauf prison and break her brother free after discovering that her brother holds a secret that could save the Scholars from genocide at the hands of the Empire. They are hated for their weaknesses, but have a deep strength none of the Empire understand. They travel together, care for each other and offer each other strength. They compliment each other perfectly. Then there is Keenan, a Resistance fighter who Laia cares for, maybe loves a little but his love weakens her, makes her feel silly and foolish. His protectiveness hides her away from the strength that Elias gave her. Two different loves, one strong the other suffocating.

But love, or the love stories here, never really has a time and place in this book, as with the last one. It is hinted at, it is used to offer strengths in times of hardships...or to further a plot point. But there is always so much more going on for it to be the focus. The characters face horrors, tortures, death, the manipulation of creatures far more powerful than themselves. They discover a loss of control on their personal destinies. 

My reasoning for not giving it a glowing 5 stars is this: I admit to skim reading a little in the middle. I adore the characters but they can sometimes remain within their own heads a little too much. My personal opinion is that the characters can not seem to settle on their feelings. I openly ship Elias and Laia so her hesitations with Keenan bugged me. Elias is such a strong character but far too hesitant with Laia and that bugged me (especially knowing what he knew about himself and her accepting it was going to happen and still wanted to remain close to him) I am unsure how Elias' new 'occupation' will allow for a growing love story between him and Laia so I feel I have lost a little hope and heart there. Though I will try to trust the author with this one. I understand a fantasy is not always about the romance but these two speak so loudly to me. I have my fingers crossed something will work.

Overall its a great book with fantastically well rounded characters that develop within themselves as the story progresses. The villains are fantastic. The Heroes are worth caring about. I look forward to book 3.