ARC Review: The Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana

Despite being short on time due to work and school, I have been on a serious reading kick for the last week or so. I thought I would slow down after the disappointment that was The Apprentice Witch by James Nicol because I usually hit a kind of a slump after disliking a book so much. That didn't happen though. So I almost immediately picked up The Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana, which was also sent to me by the wonderful Emma of Miss Print. I actually finished reading this book on July 2nd and had the review scheduled to post on July 3rd, well in advance of the book's July 18th release date, but technical difficulties interfered.

This lush fantasy has got to be one of my favorite reads so far this year! The vividness that Aditi Khorana uses to immerse readers in the world of her story has got to be it's main selling point. Costumes, settings, customs, tastes, sounds, and smells are all described with a meticulousness that made it seem like I was actually in the story alongside Amrita. The pacing was slow at times, but picked up at all the right places, and the plot was very captivating.

Amrita and Thala, the two main characters, were kind of lackluster. Both of their personalities were very flat overall. Despite moments of minor conflict between the two, neither of these characters faced any real hindrance to their goal, their successes seemed too easy for the obstacles they were facing, and they experienced very little growth. Regardless, the secondary characters of this story really pulled it all together and made the story more than worth continuing with. I especially loved Varun and, for the most part, Arjun,

I did have one problem with a major part of the story; I didn't think the romance between Arjun and Amrita was necessary. In fact, I think their romance took a lot away from the fluidity of the plot. I feel like the story, and Amrita's fullness as a character, would have been better served with Arjun being a best-friend or brother type character with no hint of romance whatsoever.

In the end, I gave The Library of Fates 4 out of 5 stars. Despite not loving one of the main plot points of the story, I think this book is really great. I would love to see more stories set in this universe. I would especially like to see more of Maya's story and more stories set in her version of Macedonia!

ARC Review: The Apprentice Witch by James Nicol

Hi friends! Long time no see! This last month has been kind of slow reading wise, but I thought it was about time I got started on the ARCs that the wonderful Emma of Miss Print sent me. The first one I picked up was The Apprentice Witch by James Nicol, a Middle-Grade fantasy book being published on July 25, 2017.

I had a hard time even getting in to this book. I was immediately bored with the story because I felt like I had read it before. It didn't take long for me to realize that the plot follows the same tropes as most magical-girl/witch-girl anime and several other young witch stories published. I kept with the story, hoping that the author would have some kind of fresh take or surprising twist to add, but he never did.

Beyond the tried take on an old story line, the characters and dialogue of the story were kind of boring as well. Most of the characters in the book were two-dimensional with little to no real growth over the course of the story. Arianwyn had some development, but her initial characterization was boring (I would really like a character to have a flaw that isn't being clumsy for once). The dialogue is awkward and there is much too much telling and not nearly enough showing.

I would have given this book a 2 out of 5 stars if it weren't for the overwhelming similarity this book has to too many other stories. As such, I have to give this book 1 out of 5 stars. There really wasn't much beyond the beautiful cover to recommend this book.