The Heir Chronicles, Book Two - The Wizard Heir

By Cinda Williams Chima

[Seph McCauley has spent three years getting
kicked out of one exclusive private school after
another. And it's not his attitude that's the
problem: it's the trail of magical accidents -
lately, disasters - that follow in his wake. Seph
is a wizard, orphaned and untrained, and his
powers are escalating out of control.

Worse, as the magical accidents that plague him grow
in intensity, Seph makes a discovery: the stories he's
been told about his parents' deaths are fabrications.
The people he trusts most have been lying to him.

Seph is sent to the Havens, a secluded boy's school
whose headmaster promises to train him in magic.
Maybe here he will find a community he can trust?
But he soon learns that the training comes at a steep
cost and everyone around him is keeping secrets.
Where can he turn, when he finds himself at the
centre of a war he may well not survive?]

Oooh, I was wondering how they would continue on from The Warrior Heir, whether the characters would crossover or whether this one would be completely separate but be placed in the same world.

I'm glad that it crossed over to be honest. I enjoyed Jack's character so much in the first one that Seph couldn't really compare in this one (although Jack came across a little cold and grouchy in this one which put me off him).

I did like the story though. It had an intriguing concept and a good mysterious element to it. Unfortunately, I did find it a little predictable in that I guessed who both of his parents were and it wasn't that big of a reveal as to who the Dragon was either.

Not to worry though because it was a solid story and I can see how it could possibly unfold in the others to come.

I don't think I enjoyed this one as much as the first one though because it lacked the medieval element that it had and I love medieval plots.

One scene that particularly stood out to me, which I think was fantastic, was the scene where Madison and Seph go off together for a picnic by a scenic river. This scene doesn't have any importance to the story or any impact at all on anything really, I just thought it was so beautiful and could picture every detail described.

Am looking forward to seeing what the others have in store!



📖

The Miniaturist

By Jessie Burton.

[There is 

nothing hidden 

that will not be revealed...

On an autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old 

Nella Oortman knocks at the door of a grand 

house in the wealthiest quarter of Amsterdam. 

She has come from the country to begin a 

new life as the wife of illustrious merchant 

trader Johannes Brandt, but instead she is met 

by his sharp-tongued sister, Marin. Only later 

does Johannes appear and present her with 

an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized 

replica of their home. It is to be furnished by 

an elusive miniaturist, whose tiny creations 

mirror their real-life counterparts in 

unexpected ways...

Nella is at first mystified by the closed world of 

the Brandt household, but as she uncovers its 

secrets she realises the escalating dangers that 

await them all. Does the miniaturist hold their 

fate in her hands? And will she be the key to their 

salvation or the architect of their downfall?

Beautiful, intoxicating and filled with 

heart-pounding suspense, The Miniaturist is 

a magnificent story of love and obsession, 

betrayal and retribution, appearance 

and truth.]

I was really rather confused by this whole book.

Not confused as in I didn't know what was going on, because I did. 

But confused because the title is The Miniaturist, and, yes, a miniaturist did feature in the book but not nearly as much as I thought she would do. 

I kind of didn't see the point in her even being in the book, she had no impact whatsoever really and it was all left in the air as to what or who she really was. 

In fact, she had completely disappeared by the end, crucial moments of the plot, so I'm baffled.

I enjoyed the setting. Amsterdam sounds like such a beautiful and enchanting place and the style this was written in was perfect.

I loved Burton's character development as well. She really knows how to show all of their underlying flaws even among their more boisterous traits.

I was a little unhappy overall about the plot. It didn't seem to go anywhere at all for quite a while and then everything suddenly happened at once and it all seemed quite random.

The ending also left me feeling a little deflated and lost with two of the characters being killed off so suddenly (one more so than the other). 

I don't know why, but I presumed at least one of those two characters would survive, that the other characters would find a way to save them, but maybe that would be me hoping for a happy-ever-after ending when you don't always get them!

Another comment I would like to make, unrelated to the plot or characters, is about the actual bound print of this book. It is absolutely stunning. A friend bought me it as a present and I love the whole blue lining of each page and the floral endpapers. It's beautiful.

I wish I could have enjoyed this a bit more to be honest.



✌︎