jadiejane's reviews
34 reviews

Besides personally not liking the direction the storyline took at its climax, I loved the overall atmosphere created in 'Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries'. Wendell is a wonderfully unique character, with funny dialogue and endless charm. This book also brought back nostalgic childhood daydreams I had of having fae friends of my very own, which made me jealous of Emily's friendship with Poe. 

I've read two other works by Ava Reid, which I consider to be some of my favourite books of all time. I couldn't wait to read 'A Study in Drowning' and found myself being spellbound by the concepts and different aspects within this book. However, the writing style was significantly contrasting to me compared to previous works. And although I loved the narrative, I found myself not particularly liking this book overall. I enjoyed the descriptions and story surrounding the Faerie King, the bottom hundred, the question of "what if your favourite author was a fraud?" and the story's magical elements, relationships and underlying themes. But I did find it hard to follow at times and often reread pages to re-grasp the visuals/atmosphere of the story. Effy's character is different from Evike (from 'The Wolf and the Woodsman') and Marlinchen (from 'Juniper and Thorn'), which was refreshing, but I did find the character to be slightly irritating and lacking what those protagonists had. This work was still very entertaining, and I'm excited to read the second instalment and upcoming novels by Ava. 

This could’ve been so much and more.

I cannot fully express the utter enjoyment I had reading 'A Natural History of Dragons.' Isabella was such a fun character to follow. I adored her personality and the way she was written. This book series is the kind where you just know it continuously gets better and more well-written with each read. Which is why I can't wait to continue following Lady Trent on her adventures studying dragons.

The first 30 pages of this book I really liked, and the mystery that surrounded Aunt Yukino. Until I just didn’t care for the storyline because of the direction it took. 

I enjoyed the switches in setting between France and Spain. As well as learning about the characters as we jumped from the past, present, and future of their lives. George was a fun character to follow through Blanca's eyes, and I loved the exploration of a woman doing what she wants in the 18th century. However, this is quite a forgettable book for me.

So I guess this is my ‘only reads fantasy books girlie’ origin story! Was this series perfect? No, not at all. But did I enjoy reading it? Yes, yes I did! <3

Is this my ‘only reads fantasy books girlie’ origin story?

The last five chapters of this book rotted my brain away, the writing got so unbearable to read and unbelievably bad I wanted to stop. I don’t understand why certain characters did what they did and said what they said. It didn’t make any impact on the storyline, the characters themselves and Natsuko. I adored part one of this book, loved part two all the same up until chapter twelve ’MERRY CHRISTMAS’. I felt dissatisfied and all the same displeased finishing this book, especially since I was enjoying it so. Not a feeling I want on a lovely sunny day.