mermaird's reviews
325 reviews

It took me a single day to finish reading this book, and after being in a reading-slump for a few months, that really says something. I'm glad I went into the story without making any notes from the blurb (honestly, I've already forgotten why I chose to review this book when Pansing contacted me) because the moment it was revealed that the nobles in this kingdom are able to transform into birds that represent their bloodline (not a spoiler, it's obviously in the synopsis), I was immediately hooked. Unfortunately for our main character Aderyn, she had a reason for being unable to transform into a bird like she's supposed to.

I would say that Aderyn is one of the best main characters that I've encountered in books. I believe that the authors successfully made her personality realistic, despite the fact that this book is set in a high fantasy world. I rarely ever hate main characters, but I've stumbled upon a few that are just too fictional to be true: either too ambitiously nice or too cold due to past incidents. But Aderyn is a beautiful character; she might have been left in ignorance over royalty matters because of her father, but she was smart enough to fend for herself. She's independent, loving, selfless yet also selfish when needed—and she's definitely a badass lady as well. She might not fit to lead at first, but her character development is so good that I can't wait to know more about her in the sequel (how do I survive until then?).

Even though I consider Aderyn to be independent, realistically, she definitely needs good support around her, no matter how small they might be. She has a good friend, Letya, who is not a noble and flightless, but is truly loyal to Aderyn and I appreciated her so much for that. Letya may just be a side character, but I believe that her role in the story is big enough for Aderyn's character to grow more. I appreciated Aderyn's cousins, Odette and Aron as well. Their characters are complex enough despite not being main characters, and I don't find it hard to put my faith in them from the start till the end.

Then there's Lucien, Lord Rookwood. His title may just be Aderyn's clerk, but his role is much larger than that. I believe that his first appearance in the story was one of the best parts of the book. He would appear to be patronising at first (oh I truly enjoyed the bickers and snarky comments made between Aderyn and Lucien) but his prideful personality does have a good reasoning behind it. Of course, love would be inevitable when they kept working (and arguing) with each other, but I love the fact that the story was not focused too much on the romance. Certain stories focused too much on building the romance that they somehow overshadowed the important elements that should be the main part of the story.

When I read a fantasy, I want those fights between the royals or kingdoms, the rebellions, the revenges and the ruled rising up against the rulers—with a touch of romance, and that is exactly what A Throne of Swans is about. Or at least it feels that way in my opinion. The slow burn romance was what made the ending of the first part of this duology more impactful (I don't want to spoil anything but Lucien's condition at the end broke me to pieces).

Although it was quite hard for me to grasp where the story is leading towards to in the first few chapters, I would gladly say that the whole plot and world-building are definitely well built. I admit that I do enjoy more on fantasy plots where the ones that were ruled rise against their rulers, and even though Aderyn is fighting with the kingdom for her dominion and people, the inequality is still obvious. There seemed to be nothing for the flightless to do to fight back, but I'm putting high hopes that somehow this point would be focused in the sequel.

A bonus: I find that the true villains of this story reminded me of an element from Crimson Peak. If you've watched the movie, you'll find out what I meant once you read A Throne of Swans. It definitely blew my mind.

Overall, I'm very much in love with A Throne of Swans. It is a wonderfully written book, and I cannot wait for it to be released for the whole world to read!

A thousand thank yous to Pansing for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've read The Theft of Sunlight before reading this (and loved it so much!), so I'm much familiar with the characters in this short story, especially Rae.

Rae is fierce and protective towards her sisters, and it's obvious that her family's bond is very strong. They have so much love between them, although sometimes Rae seems to forget it, putting herself beneath her sisters instinctively.

In this story, Rae's father gave a shelter to Stonemane, a faerie, although it was forbidden to do so in the kingdom. Rae, as smart as she is, seems to dislike the faerie a great deal, mostly because of his beauty and grace, something so unattainable to her thanks to her clubfoot. The story ended with Rae helping Stonemane escape, and him giving her a gift: a bone knife.

Although this story showcases the fierce love and care that Rae has towards her family, I don't think I'll ever be able to forget Stonemane's words for her: "You should on occasion be kinder to yourself".

It's a beautiful advice, one that we all need

This book easily became one of my most favourite books

Literally have no words–just a lot of tears and love for this adorable and wholesome manga

I couldn't stop reading this– I LOVE EVERY SINGLE PART OF IT. I'M SO EXCITED FOR THIS TO BE RELEASED!

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Amok follows the story of Putera Mikal, the prince of Maha, the first city-state of Terang. All Putera Mikal wanted was for his faith to be acknowledged by Kudus, the God of Terang, and finally gain access to the Amok Strength that all royals are supposed to possess when they come of age. Yet no matter how Mikal kept his vows to Kudus, he was still weak, while his father who defied Kudus continued to flaunt his Amok Strength.

When Maha was suddenly invaded and destroyed by their enemy, Mikal was thrown into sufferings and humiliation—especially when his best friend, Yosua, who used to be his servant, was suddenly revealed to be the enemy's Raja Muda (Crown Prince). And Mikal was forced to bow and turned into Yosua's servant. And no matter how much Mikal prayed, Kudus continuously denied the Amok Strength from him.

I just want to take a short moment to express my appreciation towards the elements of Malay traditions and cultures that were included in Amok. Reading so many Malay words and things like silat (a Malay art of self-defence), our clothings like baju kebaya and samping, titles/positions like Baginda Paduka, Bendahara, Laksamana, etc.—they all felt so close to my heart. They made me enjoy reading the book, and feel proud at the same time to finally see my traditions in a fantasy book.

Amok is quite a fast-paced read and I could not put it down as I kept wanting more of it. One moment, Putera Mikal was only whining because he could not gain the Amok Strength and the rest were at peace, but the next moment, he was betrayed by his very own best friend. It was easy to like Mikal; despite never having enough confidence in himself, he always tried his best for the sake of his people. There were times where he could be seen as a brat, but who can blame him? He was turned from a prince into a servant overnight, and to made it worse, he had to be his best friend's servant.

I loved Yosua from the moment he first appeared in the story. Unlike Mikal who was reckless and rough around the edges, Yosua is softer and much more patient than his prince. Just like Mikal, his position was changed overnight too, from being a servant, to being his best friend's Tuan (Master). Their friendship was put to a terrible test, because unlike in Maha, Yosua's people were more savage and cruel to their servants. In order to keep Mikal safe, Yosua has to play the role as a cruel Tuan. His fierce loyalty towards Mikal rather surprised me, but it still did not change the fact that he had betrayed Mikal.

Apart from Mikal's growth throughout the story, Amok also focused on the bond between Mikal and Yosua. I think there was nothing more heartbreaking than Mikal being abused by someone that used to be his confidant, someone that he used to consider as a brother. Mikal was broken to the point he lost all hope that left him as an empty shell, and at the same time, Yosua was torn apart because it was the only way to protect Mikal. It was agonising to see these two boys, forced to suffer the consequences of the actions made by adults. The amount of violence and abuse can be rather traumatising, and I find myself gasping and shaking when reading these parts.

I believe that the religion in this story was inspired by certain elements in the teachings of Islam and Christianity, perhaps even including bits of other religion. But I am glad to say that the author wrote it well without disrespecting any of the mentioned religions. The source of power for the Maha royalty's Amok Strength and the fate of Mikal's father were also similar to the story of Samson—who appears in the Old Testament of the Bible—an exceptionally strong hero of the Israelites of the ancient Near East. (More on that here: http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Pr-Sa/Samson.html)

Amok is a story of questionable faith, unending loyalty and hopeless rebellion in a war, all caused by the greed of someone with huge power. The writing style is impeccable, and I honestly loved every single part of the story with my whole heart. Although there were a lot of pain, the story was concluded very well. If you enjoy reading fantasy that focuses on the growth of the main character, friendship that are put to test in a terrible condition, powerless princes and changed positions (which is now my favourite trope), then Amok is perfect for you!

Wait, you know what? Whatever your reading preferences is, I am definitely recommending this book to you. This is a book that no one should miss!

Many thanks to the author, Anna Tan, and Teaspoon Publishing for the e-ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

[This review is also posted on https://www.mermaird.com/2021/05/cover-reveal-book-review-amok-by-anna.html]

Full review can be read on my blog!

Orestin's Own is a character-driven dark fantasy that follows the journey of an aging knight, an inexperienced priestess and a mysterious necromancer to obtain an ancient artifact. It's a story that I associate a lot with bleakness, but made interesting because of the fantastic world building and characters that I'm curious about.

While the knight and necromancer had a history of a war between them and they loathed each other, Caelesta, the priestess were stuck in the middle, trying her best not to fear both the knight and necromancer. I love her soft yet strong character, but at the same time it was confusing to know what exactly she wants for herself, or from the two men.

I also enjoyed this book immensely due to the fact that I could hardly guess what would come next, whether more undead creatures would attack them or they would end up abandoning each other due to distrust and hatred. The ending was painful to bear, and if there was a chance that this book is getting a sequel, I desperately need it.

I gave this book 4

I'm not rating this book as I end up DNF-ing it. (DNF = Do Not Finish)

Bell Hammers is not the kind of book that I often read, so it was no surprise that I end up unable to finish it. It is a little bit of a shame though, because while I quite liked the main character, Remmy, I probably could not get myself familiar with the writing style.

It is not exactly a bad writing style, but it has a touch of country-ish sound to it, and the satyr and sarcasm included in most parts went over my head. A lot of historical parts were mentioned too, and as I am not familiar with the country and place the events took place, I was not able to get them either. There were multiple times where I had to continuously reread the pages or chapters, because I did not understand what was going on.

In terms of the characters, they are quite likeable. The story started when Remmy is a young boy, and reading about him growing up made me able to warm up to him, and I like how respectful he is towards his father and grandfather. He was up to mischief most of the time, but it was fun to read about his pranks. Occasionally, I found myself laughing along to the jokes he made. I enjoyed his banters with Beth too—the girl that used to ignore him and ended up marrying him later.

Overall, I like the characters, but I could not get the story. Although this may not be my cup of tea, if you enjoy reading books with humour and country people, this may be a good book to check out.

Many thanks to the author for sending me a copy of Bell Hammers in exchange for my honest review.