#fantasyreview

"Nothing extraordinary is ever done out of reason or logic, but because it’s the only way for your soul to breathe.” *** The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea by Axie Oh is a YA fantasy book that is also a myth retelling. The book was published in February 2022. I will be honest with you. I picked up this book because of its cover. While reading it though I came to love it. It is an Asian mythology retelling and I really liked the author's writing style and interpretation of the myth. It is a whimsical story that reads like a fairytale. I lived the characters and the setting / world building. The dynamics between the characters was really good. There are some satisfying plot twists that made me gasp but they answered many questions. The fated love and the chosen one tropes are in the story. So , if you like these tropes as well as retelling you will like this book too. Rating: 5 Stars *** Check out my post on my blog Book Notes by Athina for more information *** Many thanks to the publisher and @netgalley for my copy. *** The Mug topper is from Whimsy Mug Topsies. Use my code BOOKNOTES10 to save on your order. *** #thrgirlwhofellbeneaththesea #axieoh #netgalley #review #fantasyreview #fantasy #5starread #bookblog #allthebooks #bookblogger #booksbooksbooks #bookstagramit #booklove #readingismagic #toberead #bookstagramcommunity #booksaremagic #greekbookstagram #instavivlio #vivlio #diavazo #eucitesc #mybookfeatures #booknotes_athina #ipreview (at Bucharest, Romania) https://www.instagram.com/p/CapXohXg7gw/?utm_medium=tumblr

“Fear is a deadly thing, Heloise. It can drain a person of all their strength, make them weak before their enemies.” The Armored Saint is a grimmdark fantasy that hits hard and fast. Now i say fantasy in the loosest sense beacuse even though this takes place in a different world and has magic in it. It really follows heloise and the people of this village trying to survive. I found myself growing really attached to the characters and hoping they would make it through this cluster fuck. And when the bad things happened my heart cracked a little. I was hoping for more magic in this one. I think i may see more in the next two. But like i said this is a loose fantasy beacuse over all it's more of a character exploration. It contains lessons about facing fear and letting love win even when others want to destroy it. Honestly i wasn't expecting that. So i think if you are wanting to go into this book please know that. “That love is worth it. It is worth any hardship, it is worth illness. It is worth injury. It is worth isolation. It is even worth death. For life without love is only a shadow of life.” Myke Cole did an great job at setting the scene of the village and crafting the beginning of a world that i could easily seeing being turned into a larger book series with bigger books. I hope that happens *fingers crossed* He also did a good job at crafting characters. Our main character heloise made a lot of mistakes which got on my nerves a few times. I understand though if she didn't we wouldn't have the story we have. Heloise is a courageous young woman who believes in fighting for what is right and wants a life more than is expected of her. She also happened to be part of the LGBTQ+ community. I think myke cole did a good job. The other characters we got to know thorough heloise's pov. I liked most of them. Lastly i wanted to mention a few of the complaints i have with this book. I wish it was longer and i wish we knew and got to see more of this magic. I know if this book had been at least 350 pages i would of given it 5 out of 5 stars. If you decide to pick this book up let me know how you like it. :) Stars: ★★★★

View On WordPress

I thought this started out pretty slow (after the first chapter) and I was considering quitting it, but it picked up and was nearly as good as the first. I see a lot of complaints about this book is because Kirra has an affair with a married man. That didn't really bother me. I think it's nice to see a heroine who isn't perfect all the time and it's nice to see a romance in a book that doesn't end "happily ever after".

PS - remember - we here at BellaGeek do not judge a book by the cover!

I didn’t write a review for this one when I read it.  It’s just a standard fantasy novel.  It was a fun, fast, enjoyable read, but nothing special.

This novella takes place after the first three Tao books. The protagonist of this book is the son of Roen from The Lives of Tao. I don't think it's necessary to have read the other books first, it certainly would help in understanding everything that was going on (I've only read the first book, but I plan to read the rest of the trilogy). Plus, Lives of Tao is a fantastic book. It's funny, fast paced, well written - completely enjoyable (as was this novella). This story focuses on the outbreak of the war between the Prophus and Genjix who are factions in a war of Quasings (alien beings that are nearly immortal) that inhabit a host body in a symbiotic way (it always makes think of the Goa'uld in Stargate SG1). Cameron Tan is a Prophus agent-in-training, and is the only person available to help with the evacuation of a valuable asset as war breaks out. Things get complicated when some of his classmates end up coming along to escape the growing violence. It's an entertaining novella, and I only have one complaint really - there are some issues that don’t get tied up and I suspect there’s new Tao books coming. I think if you've read and liked Altered Carbon or Heroes Die, you'll like this novella and if you haven't read it, you should try The Lives of Tao. They're all action packed books that in some way involve changing bodies, or sharing consciousness with someone else. They're also all books that are favorites of mine. I got an advanced copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for a review PS - LOVE this cover

I liked the first two books (starts with The Bone Doll’s Twin), but I had to force myself to read this one. I thought it was boring. Very little happens, and when things actually do happen it's utterly predictable. There's literally zero surprises. Everything you think that will happen, does happen. Disappointed on this one.