Bright Copy Book Review: 2017

December 28, 2017

2017 Favorite Reads

More like favorite first time reads since I did quite a few re-reads of the ultimate favorites

The Wrath and the Dawn

Renee Ahdieh

I didn't like this one as much as I expected. So far, both of the thousand nights retellings that I've read have been a little too similar.

The Winner's Curse

Marie Rutkoski

4.5 stars and I really don't have much that's bad to say about this. I read it in 3 sittings of about 100 pages each and couldn't put it down!

*minor spoilers below*

The Bat

Jo Nesbo

I've heard this series gets much better, so I'm sticking through and hoping that's the case.

*SPOILERS BELOW*

Ever since I started my fantasy kick, I've been searching out the best of the best and have gotten quite a lot of recommendations. Along with Sanderson, people had great things to say about Abercrombie. I find that they have a lot in common.

Red Rising

Pierce Brown

Not going to lie, I was really into this. There were a few things that bothered me a bit and I hope that they're resolved in the next book but I felt like this was something that took a really old concept and turned it into a really interesting plot.

**SPOILERS BELOW**

Caraval

Stephanie Garber

*SPOILERS BELOW*

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this one. I think that the concept was interesting, but part of it was a bit extra and another part was underdone.

In the Woods

Tana French

I think this is a great example of a psychological thriller.

A Shadow Bright and Burning

Jessica Cluess

(3.5)

This was a pretty good one, but I felt like it's ideas were conflicted.

The Hero of Ages

Brandon Sanderson

The ending made this whole series worth it.

Best wrap up of a trilogy I've read, honestly. There are no questions left un-answered.

An Enchantment of Ravens

Margaret Rogerson

I honestly feel bad for the author. If this came out and/or if I read this before A Court of Thorns and Roses, I would have liked it a lot more. Unfortunately, it felt like reading ACoTaR all over again with little differences. One thing I will say is that the writing was beautiful.

Nest

Terry Goodkind

*Thank you to the publisher for a chance to read the book in exchange for an honest review*

Two stars for creativity of the premise, that's about the only good thing about this.

Shadow and Bone

Leigh Bardugo

I finally got around to reading a Leigh Bardugo book to see what all the fuss was about... I was pleasantly surprised.

Red Seas Under Red Skies

Scott Lynch

I'm not sure exactly what it is about this series, but I just can't seem to get into it. I have the third book so I'll continue but that might be the end of it for me depending on whether it's better than this one or not.

The Ninth Circle

C. A. Harland

*This review is based on an advanced reading copy. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read the book in exchange for an honest review*

There were one or two things I liked about this book, but I just didn't feel anything while reading it and there were a few discrepancies within the book that I couldn't look past.

The Well of Ascension

Brandon Sanderson

I feel a bit mixed about this one. I know a lot of people loved it, and it was great writing, but I found myself wishing I would just be done with it.

Tower of Dawn

Sarah J. Maas

* SPOILERS BELOW*

I really wish that this had been kept as a novella

The Rules of Magic

Alice Hoffman

*This review is based on an advanced reading copy. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read the book in exchange for an honest review*

I never read Practical Magic, nor have a seen the movie so I'm not exactly sure how this relates or compares. The only experience I have with Hoffman is that I previously read an advanced copy of her book Faithful from Netgalley and absolutely loved it.

I see a trend in her writing (although I haven't read much from her). Both books I have were almost coming of age stories. With that being said, I've been into a lot of fantasy lately so I may just be expecting a bit too much, especially considering this book is about witches. I wish it was less character-driven and more about the magic, but it is what it is.

Air Awakens

Elise Kova

(3.5)

Finally, they're adding some decent books to prime! Amazon is my life so I'm really excited about the prime ebooks.

This one was pretty entertaining, but I was missing a few details that I hope the rest of the series will cover.

An Ember in the Ashes

Sabaa Tahir

(4.5)

I tried not to get too hyped about this one because everyone seemed to love it and that usually means I get overexcited and expect too much, but I think this one deserves the praise it gets. Go into this blind if you can.

The Lies of Locke Lamora

Scott Lynch

(3.5)

Maybe I was expecting more out of this? It was a great read and I absolutely loved about 75% of the book, but the ending just kind of ruined it for me and there was no awesome cliffhanger to make you keep going with the series.

Mistborn: The Final Empire

Brandon Sanderson

(4.5)

Oh man, that ending was good. I really think that this series will be worth the hype it gets after reading this and hearing that the other books are even better.

Snow Like Ashes

Sara Raasch

(more like 3.5)

Another book where I really only enjoyed half. The ending redeemed the story for me, other than that it was pretty much the same as any other YA fantasy with magic. I felt like it was a mix between Sarah Maas and The Selection, which didn't really do it for me (details below)

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