Book Review: State of Sorrow (Sorrow #1) by Melinda Salisbury

Book: State of Sorrow
Series: Sorrow book 1 
Author: Melinda Salisbury
Genre: YA fantasy

Sorrow all but rules the Court of Tears, in a land gripped by perpetual grief, forever mourning her brother who died just days before Sorrow was born. By day she governs in place of her father, by night she seeks secret solace in the arms of the boy she's loved since childhood. But when her brother is seemingly found alive, and intent on taking control, Sorrow has to choose whether to step aside for a stranger who might not be who he claims to be, or embark on a power struggle for a position she never really wanted.

My Rating: 4 STARS

My Review:

I really liked State of Sorrow and thought it was a captivating fantasy.

I was quickly drawn into the story by the prologue.  It provides an intriguing backdrop to the history of the world in this book and really sets the tone for the overall plot.

I liked the descriptions of the lands in State of Sorrow especially the two main ones, Rhannon and Rhylla.  I liked the contrast of them, Rhylla is described as being full of life while Rhannon being described as a place of dreariness and sadness.

The thing that I loved most about State of Sorrow was how much the book focused on the political side of things, I didn't expect it to be that centred on the politics of ruling a kingdom but I loved that it did.  I felt the political points of the story provided so much to the overall story because it set a lot of things into motion like the motivations of the characters and also the surprising twists and turns of the story.

I liked Sorrow and thought her story was very interesting as she had to navigate the complexities of trying to lead Rhannon while having to learn all the courtly schemes and politics.  I thought all the characters were written really well and I loved reading about Sorrow's friendship with Irris and I also liked Luvian's character a lot.

Overall I thought State of Sorrow was a great fantasy book and I liked the focus on the politics.  The characters were complex and I thought the plot was very intriguing and full of interesting twists.

Top Ten Tuesday- Books I LOVED with Fewer than 2000 Ratings on Goodreads

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.  This week's topic is: Books I LOVED with Fewer than 2,000 Ratings on Goodreads. 

• A Sky Painted Gold by Laura Wood - I loved the descriptions of the summer parties in the 1920s in this book and I loved the sister relationship in it.

• The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Steven - The main character is this book is probably one of my favourites, she is so funny and I love the themes and important topics tackled in this book.

• Shades of Treason (Anomaly book 1) by Sandy Williams - The Anomaly series is such a fun action packed sci-fi series with the perfect blend of romance in it.

• Shades of Honor (Anomaly book 2) by Sandy Williams  

• Proof of Forever by Lexa Hillyer - This book is about friendships and time travel and those are two of my favourite things to read about so I really liked the combination of both in this book.

• Ice Massacre (Mermaids of Eriana Kwai book 1) by Tiana Warner - I loved how female centric this story was and I really liked reading about the conflicts of the war between humans and mermaids. 

• Reign of Mist (The Oremere Chronicles book 2) by Helen Scheuerer - This is the second book in the Oremere Chronicles and I loved the first just as much as the second.  This is one of my favourite fantasy series.

• State of Sorrow (Sorrow book 1) by Melinda Salisbury - I'm rereading this book now and I'm liking it just as much as the first time I read it.  It's a great YA fantasy with political intrigue.

I've loved all of these books and I'm so surprised that they don't have more ratings.  What are some books you loved that don't have many ratings?

Top Ten Tuesday- Favourite Couples in Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.  This week's topic is: Favourite Couples in Books.

Kate and Curran (Kate Daniels by Ilona Andrews)

Mercy and Adam (Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs)

Katniss and Peeta (The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins) 

Aria and Perry (Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi)

Will and Tessa (The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare)

Rose and Dimitri (Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead)

Jamie and Claire (Outlander by Diana Gabaldon)

Meghan and Ash (The Iron Fey by Julie Kagawa)

Cat and Bones (Night Huntress by Jeaniene Frost)

Jace and Clary (The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare)

I have a lot of favourite book couples so it was hard to narrow it down to just ten.  Who are some of your favourite book couples?

Book Review: Enchantée by Gita Trelease

Book: Enchantée
Author: Gita Trelease
Genre: YA historical fantasy
Edition: ARC/uncorrected proof
Published: 21st February 2019

{I was sent an ARC/Proof of this book by the publisher but all thoughts and opinions are my own}

Paris in 1789 is a labyrinth of twisted streets, filled with beggars, thieves, revolutionaries – and magicians . . . 

When smallpox kills her parents, seventeen-year-old Camille is left to provide for her frail sister and her volatile brother. In desperation, she survives by using the petty magic she learnt from her mother. But when her brother disappears Camille decides to pursue a richer, more dangerous mark: the glittering court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. 

Using dark magic Camille transforms herself into the ‘Baroness de la Fontaine‘ and presents herself at the court of Versaille, where she soon finds herself swept up in a dizzying life of riches, finery and suitors. But Camille’s resentment of the rich is at odds with the allure of their glamour and excess, and she soon discovers that she’s not the only one leading a double life . . .

My Rating: 4 STARS

My Review:

Enchantée is a wonderful magical historical and I really enjoyed reading it.  The descriptions of the time period, from the scenery and places to the fashion and makeup, were so mesmerising to read and the writing made it so easy to imagine 1789 Paris.

I thought the characters were interesting and I especially liked the friendships that Camille made throughout the book.  I liked reading about her group of friends and wanted to read more about them.  I loved Chandon's character the most and loved reading about their friendship together.

The way the magic was described and how it worked was very exciting and I liked how Camille began to find out more about magic and the history of it as the book went on and I liked how the book entwined the magical elements with events in history.

One of the main themes of Enchantée is about the differences between common people and aristocrats and I really liked that part of the story and found myself fascinated by Camille's double life she was leading as she struggled to find where she fit in amongst both crowds and how torn she felt between the two.  I did sometimes find Camille to be very naive in her decision making but I liked how she took care of her sister.

Card games and gambling were another theme in this book and a lot of the storyline was referenced like a part of a game and I thought that made the story even more intriguing.

Overall I really liked Enchantée.  The descriptions of the time period and setting really stand out and the storyline kept me hooked.  The characters and themes of the book were very interesting to read.  It's a wonderfully described magical historical and I was definitely enchanted by Enchantée.

Top Ten Tuesday- Upcoming Releases I'm On the Fence About

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.  This week's topic is: Upcoming Releases I’m On the Fence About.

The books on this list are ones that sound amazing but I don't really know that much about them so I don't know if I should put them on my to-read list yet. 

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy

Spectacle by Jodie Lynn Zdrok

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh

What are you thoughts on these books? 

Should I read them when they're released?

January Wrap Up 2019

What I Read:

Queen of Air and Darkness (The Dark Artifices book 3) by Cassandra Clare - 5 STARS

I love the Shadowhunter world and I really enjoyed reading this book.  The ending made me feel so nostalgic so now I really want to reread the series. 

Enchantée by Gita Trelease - 4 STARS 

{I received an ARC of this book from the publisher but all thoughts and opinions are my own}

I was so pleasantly surprised by this book.  The time period and setting of this book was described beautifully and I thought the characters and plot were very interesting to read. 

Vengeful (Villains book 2) by V.E. Schwab - 3 STARS

I liked Vicious a lot but was disappointed in this book.  The complex characters and their relationships felt almost pushed to the side in this one in favour of other new characters who just weren't very interesting.  

Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard - 4 STARS

This was a reread for me this month and I really enjoyed it just as much as the first time I read it.  This is such a great YA contemporary centred on strong female friendships. You can find my full review of it here. 

  

Fierce Fragile Hearts (Beautiful Broken Things book 2) by Sara Barnard - 3 STARS 

{I received an ARC of this book from the publisher but all thoughts and opinions are my own}

I really hoped Fierce Fragile Hearts would've kept to the same strong themes of the first book but I was disappointed that it didn't.  You can read my full review of it here.

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa - 3 STARS

I was really looking forward to reading this book but it wasn't what I was hoping for.  I loved Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey and Blood of Eden series but I didn't like the Talon series and Shadow of the Fox really reminded me of Talon.  I found the characters and the overall storyline to be a bit bland. 

Archangel's Prophecy (Guild Hunter book 11) by Nalini Singh - 4 STARS

I enjoyed this instalment in the Guild Hunter series but the cliffhanger ending is making me really wish I had've waited until the next book was out to read it, I can't wait to see what happens next.

My January Bookstagram pictures (xo_reader_kyla):

  

What books did you read in January?