Review of Beyond The Shadows by Brent Weeks

Welcome Book Lovers! I hope all is well, and that summer is treating you all dandy!
Do any of you have summer plans or planned summer reads? I have a couple of each this summer, and I'm feeling quite adventurous, now that I've finished the third and final novel in the Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks

I want to start off by saying Beyond The Shadows was an outstanding conclusion to a high fantasy trilogy. It was outstanding, and although it wasn't my favorite of all time, I still really loved watching the subplots tie together and finish out.

I started the Night Angel trilogy last summer of 2015, and I think it was one of the greatest reading decisions of my life. Reading books one and two were a fly by, then life got in the way and I spent some time away from the series. As I returned and finished the last book, I found that a great deal had changed in the world of Kylar.

Another thing I want to point out: this trilogy is one of the first adult high fantasy novels I've ever read. It isn't particularly a genre I read and enjoy often, so I don't have any credentials in the area, but it seems that this was an ideal series to go for.


The first two novels in the trilogy really kept you hooked. The Way of Shadows was written in a way that felt like you were thrown into someones life, which was completely enthralling. You get the opportunity to view several perspectives, but mainly Durzo's and Azoth's. Because Durzo and Azoth are so much alike, they create a very concrete foundation for second and third book, although they don't know  quite how similar they are. To see through the eyes of an experienced, older wetboy, as well as a amateur apprentice bring a typical but not necessarily overdone style to the books.


Then in Shadow's Edge we follow the perspective of Azoth, or Kylar. (The name he goes by in his late teens to early twenties). I enjoyed Shadow's Edge as much as I enjoyed The Way Of Shadows, and in it, we see Kylar's character develop in the most intriguing of ways.We also see him go through the twists and turns becoming a man, and having family responsibilities with his girlfriend Elene. However, this aspect actually bothered me the most throughout the second novel. Kylar and Elene are in an intimate relationship, but their differences in beliefs are apparent, and Kylar's character becomes annoyingly whiney as his relationship is falling apart. Now I enjoy burning romance as much as anyone, but Weeks seems to add too much for my taste.

I have to say that's the only thing that completely irked me from the second book. I mean there were a few minor things that also bothered me, but nothing that I would necessarily complain about.
All in all, book two in the Night Angel trilogy was quite enjoyable.



Now book three in the Night Angel Trilogy literally blew my mind away, it wasn't at all what I expected. It wasn't horrible and it wasn't at all what I expected the ending of an epic high fantasy novel to be. From how the first two novels in the series were, I figured that the finale would be somewhat similar. So we start off with Azoth learning to be a wet boy at a young age in book 1. In book two, we see Azoth who is now Kylar, figure out who he really is, and fight with his inner demons. But in book three, he basically conquers the entire world, and does the impossible, which is great right? Except that I've seen that so often, and it feels like Kylar wasn't really meant to be a leader or in a position of power. It seemed that his character was really unbalanced and indecisive. Kylar didn't know right from wrong, and as he took control of so much, knowing that he wouldn't really be an ideal person to do so made reading it became unnerving and tiring. It almost seems like since this was a high fantasy series, Weeks felt called upon to make sure the main character was the great victor, but Kylar still has so far to go when the story ends.


But that's just my personal opinion of "Beyond The Shadows", in the "Night Angel Trilogy".
I thoroughly enjoyed this trilogy, and getting the opportunity to watch the characters within the story grow.


I can say that I am extremely excited to delve into Brent Week's other new series, called "The Lightbringer series". If you've read his "Night Angel Trilogy" or his "Lightbringer series" then please comment below, telling me what you thought of his novels!


Thank you so much for reading my review and overview of the "Night Angel Trilogy", I hoped you liked it and until next time,

Love Jade

Spooktober 2016 Wrap-Up

Hello Book Lovers! Happy Belated Halloween! Did any of you dress up as a bookish character? Even if you didn't celebrate Halloween, did you at least read any Spooky books?
How many books did you read during the month of October?


I read four books for October, two more than last month, so I'm pretty proud go that...





So starting in order, my October list begins with:

1) The Girl on The Train by Paula Hawkins  4/5 Stars


The Girl on The Train was an amazing novel. I don't read adult mysteries/ thrillers often, but I found this read to be extremely intriguing and enjoyable.
Our female protagonist, Rachel is probably my absolute favorite character from this month's set. I loved seeing the depth of her character and her thought process.

To full review, please click here.






2) Because of Low by Abbi Glines 3.5/5 Stars

Because of Low is the second installment in the "Seabreeze series" by Abbi Glines and we follow Marcus's and Low's POV in this novel. First off I'd like to say that I really enjoy how the first novel in the series goes smoothly into the second novel. Since we follow a strictly female POV in the 1st book I really liked how Abbi switched it up and added double points of view. Reading about Marcus and Low's relationship was super enjoyable and cute; however, the story line didn't really stick with me as well as the characters. I can say that I enjoyed the 1st novel Breathe more than the 2nd novel.

(Full review to come soon)








3) Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff  4.5/5 stars



Illuminae was by far the best book I read for the month of October. It has the perfect balance of eerie and spookiness to keep you on your toes. I loved the whole Sci-Fi aspect that surrounded the novel. The main characters were amazing, and there was quite a lot of spookiness going on throughout the novel. For one, being up in space and not having control over your own survival is rather frightening; not being able to come back down to earth or even leave certain areas of the space station is paranoia-inducing. AIDAN is also scary, and so is the deadly pathogen that lurks within the spaceships that our main characters live in. The formatting was absolutely mind blowing!

(Full review to come soon)




4) The Alchemists of Loom by Elise Kova


So I have not yet given this novel a rating, only because I'm not done with reading AoL. But from what I have read, it is amazing! The steampunk aspects are absolutely stunning and on point. I have full confidence to say that I know this book will be another 5 star review, and since I haven't finished the novel yet. I will be carrying it to my November TBR.

I'm also buddy reading this book with @madforbooksluv and @novelstosong
so if you'd like to follow them and our updates. I'll leave the links on their names.






Anyways I really hope that you enjoyed my Spooktober 2016 Wrap-Up.
I hope you read some lovely books for the month of October!

Until next time booklovers,
Love Jade

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins Review

Hello Book Lovers!

Today I'm going to be talking about The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. As you may know, there is a movie made based on the novel, and as the book became popular to the extreme, I decided it needed a read. Another thing you may know is that I normally do not read thriller/mystery novels, especially adult ones, but I decided that since the movie was coming out I should read the novel before watching the movie.




Synopsis of The Girl on the Train



EVERY DAY THE SAME
Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

UNTIL TODAY
And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?







Review 4/5 stars 


     Our protagonist Rachel has basically gone so far down into the rabbit hole she can't climb back out: she's a drunk, she's obsessed with her ex, and she blacks on a steady basis. Now you could say she's completely unfixable and down right crazy, but in my eyes Rachel's character had every right to be in that state. As she watched her relationship burn away, she viewed alcohol as her savior from her own emotions, as many do in such a situation.

As she went through the twists and turns of being distraught and confused, we see that she does care for herself and her wellbeing, but lacks the ability to accept her own emotions. It's almost like I don't have to study phycology, because when I read this book I was already enrolled.


I don't want to give away too much, but the one thing about Rachel's character that I didn't care for  was that she stalked, and she stalked a lot. I'll just leave it at that, but I just feel that she should've left that whole situation alone.


Secondly, there's one other aspect I didn't care for in "The Girl On The Train", which was Anna's POV. Anna is the mistress who ruined Rachel's marriage. I honestly wish that Paula Hawkins would've just left Anna's POV out of the whole equation. It really wasn't necessary, and it didn't add any new embellishments to the story. Also, Anna's character is despicable; her character thinks it's perfectly fine to walk over someones relationship. Out of the whole novel, I only read two chapters of Anna's POV because her way of thinking sickened me, but other than that I didn't loose any of the plot.


Even though there were aspects I did not enjoy, overall I felt that this novel was fantastic, I loved seeing Rachel grow into her emotions and become who she really is. The development of the story was gradual and spooky but just enough to keep you wanting more. A lot of people refer this book to being similar to "Gone Girl", I've personally never read it before although I've heard the plot is sightly similar, so if you enjoy thrillers or anything similar to Gone Girl, then I'm sure you'll enjoy reading "The Girl On The Train".

And just remember... it's never who you think it is.





I hope you enjoyed the review! If you've read "The Girl On The Train", what was your opinion on the novel?