diary_of_a_hobbit's reviews
25 reviews

[I recieved an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.] 

My journey with Klara and her friends has come to an end and while I am eager to see where my next bookish adventures will take me, I can't help but feel sad about saying goodbye to these characters. 

This book was a rollercoaster of a ride –full of twists and turns. 

The only thing that I was kind of unsatisfied with was the ending as I felt that it was a bit rushed. 

CW: violence 

[I received an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.] 

This book was so good! I got completely engrossed in the story and eagerly devoured every page. 

The plot was very well done and the characters didn't disappoint either. I loved seeing the bond between Klara and Lottie develop further as it was one of my favourite things in the first book. 

There was this one quote that I particularly liked: "Tragedy should breed compassion, not more tragedy". I think that the message it relays is relevant, especially in current times. 

The book ended with a cliffhanger and I am very excited to find out what happens next! 

Content Warnings: violence & torture

For whatever reason, I've expected that I will like this book less than the first one, but I severely underestimated how much worse it would be. 

The world-building was very messy. The pacing was too slow most of the time. There was only one character who's storyline I actually care about. 

All in all, it was very underwhelming. 

CW: violence 

I got to say, this book really surprised me. I totally did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did, though I still have some issues with it that I will discuss later on in this review. 

The plot is very fast-paced, engaging and keeps you on your toes pretty much through out the whole book. Some of it was a bit predictable but still good. 

To be honest, I did not like Alina, the protagonist, at the start because I found her annoying but as the story progressed I grew more attached to her. 

With all that being said, I found the world-building lacking mainly because it seems like the author didn't do her research well. It was clear for me from the very beginning of the story that the setting is heavily inspired by Russian/Slavic culture, ranging from names of the characters to descriptions of their clothing. 

I felt that because the author wasn't well informed on the subject, the details were off course here and there and that made the foundation shaky and hollow. 

All in all, I did find this book enjoyable and will be continuing on with the series.

 

CW: violence, torture, death of an animal

[I received an e-ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.] 

This was a fun read but unfortunately didn't quite meet my expectations. 

I found the concept of the story very intriguing and full of potential. However, there wasn't enough world-building in my opinion, though to be fair this is the first installment of the series so there is a high chance that the world of Malum, Hell, Kalos and beyond will be further explored in the sequels. 

What I liked the most was the part where the main character, Klara, set off on a dangerous journey with her companions. It was interesting to see them gradually grow close and start working as a team in order to reach their destination. 

The ending was unsatisfactory and just did not click with me at all. Generally, I like plot-twists and there were many of them in this novel. Most were pretty good but the ones at the end felt overdone. The battle scene was underwhelming as well. Honestly, the last 100 or so pages felt very rushed. 

Overall, I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading the sequel. 

If you are into YA Dark Fantasy and are looking for an easy and engrossing read, I recommend checking this book out. 

[I would also like to thank the author, Kate, for giving me this incredible opportunity to read and review her work.] 

Content Warnings: violence, child neglect & abuse, implied cannibalism, torture.