REVIEW- Rule of Wolves (Leigh Bardugo)

Book #2 of the KING OF SCARS
by Leigh Bardugo

***WARNING- This review contains MAJOR SPOILERS***

To set things right, this series is a continuation of Shadow & Bone trilogy and it takes place some time after the events of Six of Crows duology. We are back we Ravka mainly, following the uneasy rule of Ravka's new king Nikolai Lantsov (who struggles to bring Ravka back from the consequences of the Darkling's civil war). We also have the perspective of General Zoya Nazyalensky, Ravka' most powerful squeller and one of the Grisha leaders. Then there is Nina Zenik, who is on her own quest as the king's spy in Fjerda's heart, the Ice Court, and she now has the bold Grisha Hanne Brum at her side; together they seek the way to stop a war between Ravka and Fjerda and to give Ravka a chance to win. Rumours that the birthright on Ravka's throne lays with another than Nikolai are getting stronger and Nina is trying to help Nikolai. Meanwhile, Nikolai are Zoya have to deal with the Darkling after he tricked them in the Fold and they have to save Ravka from the invasion of Fjerda and Shu Han (given the questioning of Nikolai's bloodline, it is not so easy). There are also few chapters from the Darkling's POV.

This is the second and last book of the King of Scars series. The first one was also very good, I love Nikolai so I was really excited to read it. But I didn't write a review because it wasn't so significant as the second book (also, why did they killed Isaac? He was so young and sweet and loyal. I liked him so much and this was bad). But as it turned out- there were more heartbreaks coming 💔

As I said I liked all of the series very much, Grishaverse is one of my favourite fantasy worlds and I love Leigh's worldbuilding so I am always glad to come back. This book was so packed with action, there was always something going on and it was faster than King of Scars (that was sometimes a bit slow pacing).
I love different POVs, it's always refreshing and more exciting to switch between more people. But sometimes I got the uneasy feeling of being torn out of the storyline to be suddenly entirely elsewhere and it took a long time before we got back to the point of the previous person. Then I always had to remember what exactly was happening in that perspective.

There were several plots in this book and everytime one was finished and cleared, another twist came and I liked that, it means the book wasn't boring but sometimes I didn't have enough time to recover between the plots. Maybe I am weird but I am used to think aboout the conclusions and this one didn't give me a chance 😅

There is no need to talk about the characters- easygoing and funny Nikolai is my forever love and negative, sarcastic (their common trait) Zoya has my heart in this duology (I confess I pretty much disliked her in both previous series). Than we have smart and reckless Nina who I always loved for her great comments about food and her skills as a Heartrender. Nina is slowly recovering from the loss of Matthias (I am never ever going to forgive that to Leigh) mostly thanks to her friend (something else later) Hanne Brum of Fjerda. Also lots of known and adored characters take appearance here which was so amazing- Mal and Alina, genious and ruthless Kaz, sarcastic and gorgeous Jesper (another forever love), Wylan, even Inej for a bit in the end (love her too) and of course the Darkling.

I expected some great blow to my heart here, since the duology is supposed to end with a grand battle and I braced myself slowly for who it might be. But I am not gonna lie, the blow came earlier and totally unexpected (somewhere in the middle of the book out of the blue sky) and I think nobody could forsee that coming. This incident broke my heart (even more to think of the occassion- the wedding! Poor Genya). 💔 It was totally unfair from Leigh to do that to me while I was still recovering from Isaak's death and for the rest of the book I was so affraid what else she might have prepared. And rightly of course.

In this series, we get to look to almost every country of Grishaverse- mainly we are in Ravka and Fjerda, which we now get to know a bit better, than we have a trip to Ketterdam to visit our great group of thieves and finally, we also see some parts of Shu Han which is new. I loved this connection of all the main countries and really enjoyed this aspect.

All the book I knew that Zoyalai was coming and couldn't wait for it (I was dying for them to be together for the whole series 💕), but I honestly didn't expect Nikolai to give up his throne and pass the crown to her! For me, he would always be Nikolai Lantsov, the King of Ravka! Sorry for the spoiler, I just couldn't help it and I warned you...

And in the end, there is the only one really big minus for me. It effects the overall feeling about this book. In the last 150 pages I got the feeling that Leigh thought the book is starting to get too big and long so she squeezed a lot of important incidents and twists to the final small chapters and made a quick end. Like the visit to the monastery (which was one of the main goals of the book after all and it took only few pages) or the whole Darkling's return thing (I expected it would be a bigger deal and that they all would actually be a bit more concerned?)

I still think it is a great book, but it could have easily been a trilogy and the whole series falls one step behind SIX OF CROWS duology. Finally, did Leigh really intended to give the feeling like there might be a sequel to the SoC?!?!

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The copy of this book presented in the pictures is from Knihy Dobrovský- the picture is featuring the main series of the review- The Rule of Wolves and the King of Scars and also the other Grishaverse books- Shadow & Bone, Siege & Storm, Ruin & Rising, Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom. You can find the picture on my instagram account @michelles_bookshelves

Thinking about... reading progress

 Nice Sunday!

I am preparing my annual article about the books I read this year. And in addition to that I have decided to share my new discovery with you. New year often means new ways and resolutions. Mine is to read more books which made me think about reading via audiobooks.

Last year was a hard one for me in many ways, my goal was 20 books and I haven't read that many. I managed only 12 books and that is very few even for me. The main reason was my work that really consumed a lot of my time (more than it should). Such is the risk of working as the head of the work team. As you might have noticed earlier in my articles, I am a store manager and my saleswomen had a bad year (some injuries, some covid and other illnesses) so I had to change the schedule constantly, often changing my own shifts, working overtime and thinking about how we would best go through it all.

That also meant I was often to tired to read and I even didn't have the mood for it with all the stress in my mind.

So at Chrismas I have decided to try audiobooks. I didn't have the best experience with them, I tried some during my time at university but I found out I can't remember anything. So I came up with different approach. I play an audiobook and read a physical book as well at the sime time. After a few days I got quite used to it and I tried to listen only to the audio. But again, that is not my strong side. 

I learned, though, that I could get myself focused on the audiobook if I follow some simple rules

1. I don't do things that attract to much attention while listening (like scrolling instagram and writing text messages)
2. If I can, I read the physical book too as I said- surprisingly, I find that quite useful because sometimes at night, when I get home tired from work, I don't have the energy to fully concentrate on reading so seeing it white also listening helps a lot
3. And if I can't take a book (for example I like listening to audiobooks while doing chores and cleaning), I play the book to headphones, so all I can hear is the narration and nothing distracts me. If I can't here anything aside from the storytelling, I find it easier to focus now

I have never thought I would ever actually come to like and enjoy audibooks. That began to change when I started to see the results. Last year, it would sometimes take me a month to read a book (if the book was 500+ pages). Now I see the amount of pages I am able to "read" in the time I have to do other things. Doing weekly home cleaning takes me about 3-4 hours every weekend and now it means about 150 pages read in that time, which is amazing for me! And that also means that in one month I could read 4 books, which I haven't been able to read in years!

I always search a lot of websites for the best version, because sometimes the narration really makes a big difference whether I like it or not. Most of the webpages are for a monthly fee but you can find a lot of free websites with a good quality and good narrator, you just have to search.

I wrote this article as an advice for everyone who struggle with reading and haven't yet try listening to audiobooks. It helped me a good deal and these are the effective ways for me. In fact, I have to admit that I got this idea to give it a chance from bookstagrammers. Daily I see so many post and reels about how listening to audiobooks helped them read quicker. They convinced me in the end and here I am, enjoying audiobooks!

If you have some other tips that help you read more books and you would like to share them, drop them in the comments below. I would feel better if I knew I am not the only one struggling with reading.

So what about you? Which form of reading do you prefer- audiobooks, ebooks or physical books? Any tips here? 😉

Have a nice evening!💖

REVIEW- The Clockwork Angel (Cassandra Clare)

Book #1 of THE INFERNAL DEVICES 
by Cassandra Clare

***WARNING This review contains major spoilers***

It was pretty hard for me to rate this book, I somehow didn't know what to make of it. I would give 3,5☆ only because I love Shadowhunter books and Cassie's writing style is fine with me (comfortable, easy reading). 

Don't think I didn't like this book, I really did but I had higher expectations from it. I have read the whole Mortal Instruments series, then Tales of the Shadowhunter Academy and the whole Dark Artifices series before the Infernal Devices- and that was the BIG mistake. I was so excited to read it but now I have too many Cassie's books to compare with and TID don't reach to the aspects of the following books- TMI characters, TDA actions, character building, storylines (and mostly the complexity of the twists and turns). It is so clear that this was one of the earlier books Cassandra had writen. And yes I know that the first three books of TMI are older than this but still, this just feels like a first time.

But again- I DID LIKE IT, it was great but you must not read it after the other series if you want to enjoy it fully.

I liked the story, though the setting of Victorian London was a bit hard for me since I am used to more modern world. I rarely read a historical fiction so I don't really get the violation of rules they all fuss about like women's trousers and fighting (Tessa's horror about this was kinda funny to me) and I don't care much about that, just no big deal- in fact I am a little (but just a little bit) offended because I see myself as a modern independant and capable woman and I hate those old principles about what a woman/ man should be like, should do or say.

I expected to "see" more of London, as Tessa is suppossed to build a new life here but we get only like two brief visits of the city of London? (Hyde park and the Blackfriars Bridge) and besides that only the endless labyrinth of the Institute corridors and the Dark House in the beginning.

Sorry, I know I have already been comparing a lot but I have to say it- I can't help the feeling that the main characters here are just pretty much copies to TMI

• Tessa is practically Clary, new to this world and completely oblivious of her true self and she is falling in love with one of the Institute's residents (so far). She is shy, kind and trying to save the only member left of her family. Doesn't she sound pretty much like Clary?
• Will is a worse version of Jace with his gorgeous Herondale looks and sarcastic selfish comments, but unlike Jace he is really mean and unkind toward others safe Jem. I very much started to dislike him in this book which was a surprise since I have read a bit about him in the Tales of Shadowhunter Academy and he seemed like a totally different person. So I hope he will put himself together in the second book and that we will get some explanation of this manner...
• Jem feels like a combo of Alec and Simon to me- like Alec for his protectiveness of his parabatai and seemingly to be the only one unmoved by Will's behaviour and like Simon for his light and joky answers and there is also the fact of being in love with a girl who (at the point) loves somebody else.
• I don't much like Jessamine, she is selfish and bigheaded and ungrateful but her confidence in herself reminds me of Isabelle sometimes (though I must emfasize that I love Isabelle, she is the queen unlike Jessamine who is just insufferable).
• Then again we have the evil brother Nathaniel Gray (had Jonathan Morgestern not been enough?) who breaks the heart of protective and hopeful Tessa. I must admit though that his betrayal was a surprise to me, I did not see it coming.
• Thank God for at least the brief presence of my darling Magnus Bane (the way he states that black hair and blue eyes are his favourite? OMG I was dying and thought instantly "Oh Alec, where are you?"). I hope to see more of his presence in the next books. He is just one of my forever favourites.

I would say there are more of the minor similarities to TMI as well (like the Institute being lead by a married couple for example or the parabatai being the silent  steady one and the often self-destructive one) but I will stop at that.

What concerns me is that I absolutely despise Will now so I really hope he will get better. At the start he seemed just as selfish, reckless, rude and sarcastic as was Jace (what is why I loved Jace in the City of Bones btw) but then it tipped to cruelty, real selfishness, not caring and hurting feelings. It is startling to me since I have read the Tales of the Shadowhunter Academy and in that part he wasn't like that at all (still joky and sarcastic, but loving and full of fierce protectiveness). I can sense that the problem is evidentlly some important life-changing boom and that his manner have some reason. I am frustrated that we didn't got any explanation for Will's behaviour and if I didn't read the short story I wouldn't think it is something deeper- I just would have said he is a real jerk, ungrateful and not caring about other.

It was a quick read, filled with action and I have to admit I was genuinely surprised with "the Magister's revelation and Nathaniel's betrayal" scene- I really wasn't expecting this (a very good twist) and till that moment I wouldn't have guessed the Magister's true identity.

I know this is going to be a trilogy and that Cassie probably didn't want to cram it all into the first book but I just feel that many important details are missing here. I wasn't spoiled for the storyline of the books, just from their refferences in other Shadowhunter books I came to know some really important things:

• I know Tessa is half Shadowhunter/ half warlock (pretty much the whole core of this book is her wondering what the hell is she)- it just feels incomplete not to find out on the end of the first book (only a hint at the total end that Jem will help her discover her origin). But we get no real answer to it here as I expected.
• Than there is the matter that Will can see ghosts- a pretty cool and unsual ability among Shadowhunters but is not shown or at least spoken of here. In fact we know nothing of Will at all aside that he is a really horrible person here.
• At least we learn the cause of James' illness- otherwise it would feel like there is nothing about the characters.
• What really concerns me, is the parabatai thing- the descriptions of both the Alec/ Jace and Julian/ Emma parabatai bonds in the other series gave me the impression that it is something special and valuable, some precious connection between two people. In TMI and TDA the bond is a big deal, the characters are constantly talking about what it means to them and what would they do for each other. But in here it is always mentioned only marginally and to be honest, I learned only at the end of the book that Will and Jem are parabatai (to this point it seemed like they would be in some time but not already). Yes I can see how they care for each other, but there are just not enough of these moments, they don't share the "parabatai talks" and don't mention it often enough. It may be my observation only but it is really visible for me.

In fact they all are far from the characters I know from the shortstory of the Tales of the Shadowhunter Academy about them and little James Herondale and his schoolmates. So I am really curious that will happen in the next books that they changed so much.

This book is not much about the character development, as I said before it is my strong believe that the characters are not Cassandra's best written. I hope I will see more details and feelings and thoughts of theirs in the next books. 

I know I have said a lot of negatives about the Clockwork Angel and I am sure I am so aware of them only becuase I have already read so many of Cassandra's later books. And many of them are simply the matter of my taste. It was so much different from the modern Shadowhunters- the characters, the setting, their habits and behavior. But I must again stress that I really liked and enjoyed the story and it just confirmed that I love the Shadowhunters' world and all the books included.

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The copy of this book presented in the pictures is from bookdepository.com- the picture is featuring The Clockwork Angel, The Clockwork Prince and The Clockwork Princess. You can find the pictures on my instagram account @michelles_bookshelves

You can also find this review on Goodreads

REVIEW- The Queen of Nothing (Holly Black)

Book #3 of THE FOLK OF THE AIR 
By Holly Black

This book was so amazing! I love this series so much eventhough fairies are not my favourite topic (I like them but there are just fantasy worlds and topics I like better).

So I was a little reluctant to read this series and I have to admit the first book didn't impress me so much. There were so many great reviews and everybody loved it so maybe I have expected a little more to it. But I decided to take my chances with the second book which was soooo much better, leaving me to feel like "Whaat? Why? " so I had to read the last part and it was great!

I was afraid of the shortage, the book has only 300 pages so I feared it might not be enough and that it would be brief and hurried. But it wasn't! We get every important information and needed details, everything is well explained and I was even suprised how many things happened in this book given its extent (still it didn't seem overfull or crowded).

I like Holly's writing style, it is simple yet effective, no complicated sentences and long paragraphs. The reading was quick and I really enjoyed it.

CHARACTERS

Jude Duarte- she is a little more softy here because of her feelings for Cardan but I still love her (maybe even more for this reason) and I have to admire the respect she earns from faeries who think so little of humans. Sometimes she is reckless and selfish and cruel, other times fearless, strong and loyal- she is just no shallow character and she is the true queen. On top of that, I just love her stubbornness and the "I always have to have the final word" attitude (I recognize myself quite a lot).

Cardan Greenbriar- just add him to my fictional crush list, I love him so much. I felt so betrayed with the final exile scene of the second book and I prayed that would be somehow explained and that he really loves Jude (wow how relieved I am now!). He is arrogant, reckless, sarcastic but also smart, cunning and caring- and I just can't resist such a character!! And the way he instantly recognized Jude? I almost screamed with delight!

Taryn Duarte- seriously, I can't stand this girl and I just hate her. The way she stabs Jude in the back at every possible opportunity and even doesn't feel bad about it- she is just twisting everything to seem like she is the victim. Also, I think she is just stupid and too obedient and makes everything for her own good (and she acts like she has no brain of her own, just bending her head and doing what she is told to do). If I were Jude, I would push her from the top of Locke's tower. Thinking about that, killing Locke was the only good thing she did (but it seemed unprobable for this simple girl who willingly chose this suffering life, to commit such a thing). I hated Locke too of course and he doesn't even deserve his own paragraph in this review, but everything in this book concerning him felt a little unfinished and not enough detailed (his murder and especially his dealings with the Ghost- he told us Locke was practically behind the biggest plots but that was it. Nobody seemed to care much.)

Madoc- as for this one, he can go jump of the tower with Taryn. I hate the way he talks about family but then he would kill them instantly (seems like Taryn could be his real daughter after all? With her back stabbing fondness). After his first betrayal he should be glad to be pardoned and stay low and quite but nooo, he is just bloodthirsty and hungry for power again. But he is just the right type of villain for me- one I don't like and don't feel sorry for and I think he got everything he deserved (and Oriana along with him since she prefers Taryn over Jude).

Grima Mog- the best Great General, she is so loyal and professional, she keeps her word and follows what she believes in at all costs.

The spy trio- the Bomb, the Roach and the Ghost (now I like him again). No comment needed here, I would be the surest queen with them always watching my back.

Vivienne- Vivi is the cool older sister, eventhough she is selfish and doesn't care enough about some things. I didn't like her oblivious behavior toward Heather in the second book (during their stay in Fairie, I wanted to scream at her to mind Heather more) and eventhough she knew how important was Fairie to Jude, she wasn't much of a help. But she improves a bit in the QoN by standing up for Jude against Madoc and staying by her side then.

So as I said, I love this. Great deal of the series I have read have the same unfortnate inclination- the first book is great, the second is weaker (a filling) and last one is either a bit weaker than the first but still great or bad- but in general the first book use to be the best in the series. Not in this case though- each next book is better than the previous one and that is rare for me.

So with every single page through all the three books, I was falling in love more and more (mostly with Cardan obviously and then with the rest of the content) and now I can easily say that the Folk of the Air is one of my favourite seris ever! I still have difficulty picturing the personalities of fairies (weird creatures) and the principles by which they live in Fairie. It is because I don't have much experience with the fairy themed fantasy world. I am more familliar with vampires, werewolfs, witches and warlocks/ wizards or fantasy fictive worlds based on some mythogy (preferably Greek) and historical empires.

I would say that my closest encounter with fairies is through the Shadowhunter books (at first the Mortal instruments and then more vividly the Dark Artifices) which I loved so much. So in the end this series didn't disappoined me and for that I am really really glad. Now I am ready and excited to read How the king of Elfhame learned to hate stories!

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The copy of this book presented in the picture is from bookdepository.com - the picture is featuring The Queen of Nothing and The Cruel Prince (opened at the page with a map of Elfhame). You can find the picture on my instagram account @michelles_bookshelves

You can also find this review on Goodreads

Thinking about... FITNESS & READING

 Krásný den!

Tak jaké jste si dali na nadcházející rok předsevzetí? Já jich pár určitě mám. Mimo to, že chci trávit více času se svou rodinou a trochu méně řešit pracovní záležitosti, mám jednu důležitou událost, kterou letos chystám a tou je SVATBA 🎔.

A samozřejmě každá dívka sní o tom, jak si bude moct za 30 let prohlížet své svatební fotografie a vzpomínat na krásnou svatbu. Takže jsem si řekla, že se musím dát do svatby trochu dohromady, abych si za těch 30 let neťukala na čelo, jak strašně jsem v těch svatebních šatech vypadala (nemluvě o fotkách v plavkách ze svatební cesty). Přiznávám, že mi určitě neuškodí pár kilo shodit a trochu zpevnit a vypracovat postavu.

Rozhodla jsem se tedy pro změnu jídelníčku a celkově životosprávy, zařazení cvičení a více pohybu. Zjistila jsem totiž, jak skvěle se dá při cvičení i číst! Nejsem zrovna fanoušek audioknih, protože jsem typ člověka, který když něco nevidí, tak se na to pořádně nesoustředí. Takže jen poslouchat knihy mi nestačí, v polovině totiž už nevím, o čem vlastně je. Jsou ale různé aktivity, u kterých se dají číst i normální knihy. Nejdříve jsem si myslela, že se nebudu moct pořádně soustředit na čtení a zároveň vykonávat nějakou činnost, ale kupodivu to jde. Připadá mi, že když tělo při cvičení uvolňuje energii, tak se pak na čtení lépe soustředím a i to cvičení mi uteče mnohem rychleji. 

Takže mojí novou nejoblíbenější formou cvičení je jízda na rotopedu nebo chůze na pásu. U toho se čte vážně skvěle!

A co vy? Také rádi čtete během cvičení? Preferujete klasické knihy nebo raději audioknihy?

Největším koníčkem mého snoubence je právě fitness. Miluje cvičení ve fitness centrech i na workoutových hřištích, všechny možné druhy sportů a k tomu samozřejmě patří i fitness výživa. Mimo různé suplementy a doplňky stravy jsme si také zvykli nakupovat zdravou obdobu věcí jako jsou těstoviny, sirupy na polití vaflí či palačinek, nutely apod. Dají se z toho vařit vážně fantastické zdravé recepty a obdoby těch kalorických bomb, které všichni milujeme.

A dnes tu pro vás jednu takovou mám. Byla jsem z toho tak nadšená, že se o to s vámi musím podělit. Jedná se o zdravější obdobu lívanců bohatou na bílkoviny a zdravé tuky vhodnou například ke snídani. Většina ingrediencí je objednána z fitness e-shopu Gymbeam.cz

Tak tady to máme:

PROTEINOVÉ FITNESS LÍVANEČKY 

Ingredience na 1 porci (4 ks lívanců):

• 10g arašídové máslo Peanut butter smooth Gymbeam
• 100 ml plnotučného mléka (3,5% tuku)
• 8-10g Nuts mix Gymbeam (mix ořechů)
• 20g Proteinela milky white Gymbeam (proteinová nutela)
• 50g protein pancake mix Chocolate Gymbeam (mix na palačinky a vafle)
• 50 ml zero calories syrup chocolate Gymbeam (sirup na polití)

Postup přípravy:

Arašídové máslo, plnotučné mléko a mix na palačinky důkladně rozmícháme (nejlépe např. pomocí shakeru na protein či mixeru), poté si rozmixujeme ořechy a připravíme na posypání. Pánev na lívance postříkáme olejem (nejlépe kokosovým olejem ve spreji Coconut cooking sprej 201g), aby se nám těsto nepřipalovalo. Těsto rozlijeme na pánev, vychází na 4 kusy lívanečků a upečeme. Hotové lívanečky skládáme na talíř na sebe a mezi ně vždy namažeme vrstvičku Proteinely (můžeme si vybrat z různých příchutí zde na eshopu), já volím příchuť bílé čokolády. Nakonec na vrchní lívanec naskládáme na kolečka nakrájené banány, posypeme rozmixovanými ořechy a polijeme čokoládovým sirupem Zero calories (tento sirup je bezkalorický, můžete si ho tam tedy dát, kolik chcete)- samozřejmě opět je možnost více příchutí (k výběru zde- sirupy a různé omáčky). 

Toto je jedna porce a člověka bohatě zasytí. Nutriční hodnoty takovéto jedné porce jsou:

• 502 kcal
• 33g bílkovin
• 49g sacharidů
• 23g tuků
• 4,5g vlákniny

Taková snídaně je po ránu ideální, je zdravá a dodá vám energii na několik hodin. Různé sirupy a pomazánky si samozřejmě můžete podle chuti ubrat či přidat, pokud chcete jídlo sladší, přidejte více sirupu navrch.

Napište mi, jak vám budou proteinové lívanečky chutnat, brzy vám určitě napíšu nějaký další recept.

Dobrou chuť!

REVIEW: Six of Crows (Leigh Bardugo)

Happy  wednesday!

How are you all? Today is 28th October, which is a national day here in Czech republic- Czechoslovak Independace Day. Eventhough in the current situation we can't talk about freedom much (or democracy or freedom of movement). I had another reason to left home today and join my family for a little family celebration. My future brother-in-law (in case you missed it on my Instagram, I am going to get married in July 😍😁!!!). Anyway my future brother-in-law just turned 30 today. So I cooked a lunch and my future mother-in-law made a quick homemade cake. It was a nice family afternoon and when I got home, I finally had a time to finish my current read- SIX OF CROWS by Leigh Bardugo.

I have to say that this book was on my TBR for so long that I am really ashamed I haven't read it earlier. I really don't know why it took me so long to read it. I loved the first Grisha trilogy (Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, Ruin and rising), I loved the whole setting and the characters of the Grishaverse and I was so eager to start the second duology. I took me very long but I am really happy I finally got to read it.

This book was amazing! As I said, it is the first part of a second Grishaverse series by Leigh Bardugo and eventhough I loved the first series very much, I think that this one was even better. But don't get me wrong. When I say better, now I just mean better written (I am not talking about the plot right now). It seams the author gets better and more experienced with every book and it is visible in her writing style. She is very good at describing the surroundings, the detailed plans of buildings and cities and the description of nature. I always appreciate it because I love to picture the world in my head as I read. It is even better if there is a map in the book too (voilá! There are even two of them 😍!). 

I was glad to see also other background than only Ravka as in the first trilogy. In Six of Crows we move from Ravka across the True sea to a smaller island named Kerch, there is a detailed description of the city of Ketterdam, its layout and the city's rules. The second part of the book takes place in Fjerda, we follow the frozen northern nature and very detailed plan of the Ice Court. 

Aside from different setting, there is also a diversity of characters and I loved that very much. Among the six main characters we can see almost all nationalities (Kerch, Zemeni, Ravkan, Suli, Fjerdan) and in the end even Shu. It added a kind of variety to the story, because every one nation has its own traditions, Saints and qualities they value. It gave me a chance to understand the characters a little more (their behaviours, natures and reasons for doing things). I also always enjoy books with multiple points of view which was a plus here. We could follow the story through the eyes of six different people so we often got a different POV on the same event or we could follow two people doing different jobs at the same time. 

All POVs are told in the third person (not by the character itself) and the narrator is omniscient, that means that the narrator knows everything about the characters. Since I have studied literature I always thought that the omniscient narrator was the hardest (for the readers to get to know the character). It is so much easier to empathize with a character who tells the story himself (first-person narration), if you can follow their feelings, moods, emotions and inner world. So according to me, not each author can achieve this through a third-person narration. But Leigh made it and that I really call a Writer with a capital W! When I read it, I felt like I knew those people, I knew their fears, their qualities, their limits and their emotions. 

I hate it when I can't emphatize with the characters, the story feels incomplete, shallow and I really can't enjoy the reading. But this definitely was not that case!

The theme of criminals was very interesting to me because basically they are bad people but I saw them as the good ones (eventhough they were killers and thieves, selfish and cruel). I usually read about good people so this was a refreshing change. I have to say that some parts were hard for me, I am a sensitive person (I admit I often cry while reading 😁) so it is hard for me to read about the cruel conditions the children have to endure (such as Kaz when he is thinking back about his arrival in Ketterdam) or the girls being forced to slavery. It always makes me sad to see the contrast between poor people fighting to survive every day and the rich who often don't deserve it. A book that reflects those conditions is always a strong experience for me (even if it's fictional).

WARNING- POSSIBLE SPOILER!

I think that there is only one minus that I have to point out- and that is the Grisha. I loved the topic of powerful gifted people in the first trilogy, how they used their power and all the incredible things they were capable of. But in this book, there was only one Grisha that could do something. All the others who were mentioned in the book were pictured as weak slaves under the effects of some addictive drug so it kind of ruined my image about the powerful and dreaded Grisha army. And because of that I will take a half star down. I expected more Grisha power as in the first trilogy but this book is mostly about "ordinary" people who are skilled but not in the supernatural way.

The beginning was a bit slower and it was hard for me to catch on what was going on. Partly it was because the English was a little bit more difficult than I am used to. But when I adapted, it was thrilling and I just kept reading.

In the end, it was a very well-written book full of interesting characters, dangerous and thrilling twists during this impossible quest. 

I highly recommend!

MY RATING 4,5⭐/5⭐

TBR ŘÍJEN 2020

A máme tu podzim!

Zdravím vás všechny. Těšili jste se na podzim? Já osobně podzim moc nemusím, jsem milovník tepla a léta, takže pravidelně od října do května mrznu. Klepu se zimou už při 15°C 😁 Na druhou stranu ale miluji ty barevné podzimní odstíny, dokud jsou dny ještě trochu slunečné a stromy září barvami. To si pak ráda vyjdu na procházku do lesa a nechám pejsky vyblbnout ve spadaném listí. Jakmile ale začne být moc hnědo, deštivo a blátivo, tím pro mě krásný podzim končí a nastává útrpná zima. To jsou pro mě dlouhé, depresivní a studené měsíce, kdy opět nedočkavě čekám na teplé počasí.

Zato je ale podzim dokonalým časem ke čtení. Když mám volno, mohu se v klidu uvelebit na gauči v teplé dece a konvicí čaje a číst si bez výčitek, že bych měla být raději venku. V létě totiž přesně takové výčitky mívám. Vždy si totiž říkám, že v tak pěkném a teplém počasí přece nemůžu dřepět zavřená doma, že bych měla jít ven a vzít pejsky na procházku nebo jet někam na výlet a podobně. Proto čtu v létě méně a většinou jen po večerech. Léto je ale definitivně (alespoň podle kalendáře) pryč, takže mohu ze skříně vytáhnout svou oblíbenou měkkou deku, natáhnout teploučké ponožky, nakoupit zásobu zeleného čaje (bez něj nedám ani ránu) a pustit se do čtení. Letos jsem si totiž nakoupila spoustu veselých barevných ponožek, ve kterých se mi bude krásně číst. Všechny jsou z naší letošní kolekce Baťa crazy socks, jsou měkoučké, neškrtí a ty vzory jsou boží 😍 (ty kterým jsem neodolala můžete vidět na fotce).

Do konce roku zbývají tři měsíce a mě se celkem zaplnil TBR list, takže doufám, že to vše stihnu přečíst. Raději si to tedy pečlivě rozděluji do TBR na každý měsíc, založila jsem si k tomu konečně už i sešit. I když stejně vím, že nakonec se tímto seznamem držet nebudu, protože většinou čtu podle nálady 😁

Tak uvidíme!

TBR ŘÍJEN 2020

• v plánu je rereading Harry Potter and the philosopher's stone (do Vánoc bych chtěla stihnout tři díly)
• Třetí stříbrná kniha snů (Kerstin Gier)
• City of heavenly fire (Cassandra Clare)
• Six of Crows (Leigh Bardugo)