Nagasravika's Book Reviews Blog

 The Last Wish  (The Witcher #0.5) By Andrzej Sapkowski  Published Year: 1993 Page Count: 280 pages Medium Used: Paperback  Genre: Classics, Horror, Fantasy, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Vampires, Sorcery and Magic, Dark Fantasy, Anthology, Short Stories, 2026-read. Rating : 5/5 😎 😎 😎 😎 😎  This book is a collection of stories about the encounters of the witcher - who is a sorcerer and magician that kills demons for money - with different, troubling, evil characters and demonstrates how he tackles them - in some cases, he reverses the spells that made them monsters, in some he kills them and in others, renders them impotent of their mischief. The writing is gorgeous. The world created is spectacular and dark in every way. It's like being transported to a different time and space. I wondered if the author even inhabits our dimension(earth) in his mind's eye! The names of people and places signal the breadth of his imagination  because they don't sound rea...

 The Demon Star  By Jesse Aragon  Published Year: 2026 Page Count: 400 pages  Medium Used: Oneplus, Moon Reader  Genre: Science Fiction, Horror, High Fantasy, Dark Fantasy,  Fake Gods,Magic, Young Adult, LGBTq, 2026-read.  Rating: 3/5  This is a debut novel and I think the author made a bold attempt. She definitely has a command over english language but not enough on story telling or world building. The logic that holds together a brilliant plot felt handicapped here. The writing felt boring and confusing at times. The world building could have been better. This is not part of a series(as far as I know) and I am disappointed and dissatisfied with the ending. There are no breath hitching twists except for the one or two which are frankly passable. In some scenes, I didn't grasp what was happening. The author couldn't impress me with a shocker element even when she has had me in a thrall. Pity!  Coming to the story, there are three main charac...

 All of us Villains  (All of Us Villans #1) By Amanda Foody, C.L.Herman  Published Year: 2021 Page Count: 384 pages  Medium Used: Paperback  Genre: Magic, Games, Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Betrayals and Alliances, Young Adult, Horror, 2026-read.  Rating : 4/5 😎 😄 😄 😄  First of all, the world and character building are good. All though all the characters stick to their true selves, the problem is none of them are likeable/good. Like the title reads, they are all villains in some form. There are seven main contestants to the game of Blood Veil and each has been groomed since birth for the prize. Participating in the game is generational for the seven families. Grieve family has never won - not even once in the last eight centuries with the game played every twenty years. Lowe family has won the most and has been possessor of the high magick which becomes theirs as the winner's family. The stakes for the participants - who are mere kids - is so high. Only...

 Prince of Thorns  (Broken Empire #1) By Mark Lawrence  Published Year: 2011 Page Count: 375 pages  Medium Used: Paperback  Genre: High Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Mages, Magic, Gore, Psychological Thriller, 2026-read.  Rating : 5/5 A boy of 10, bent on revenge for the murder of his mother and brother, gathers a band of thugs and marches forth. But his path is magically modified and we get to read his escapades and adventures for the next four years in first person narrative.  A young prince of nine years old, Jorg witnesses his mother and younger brother being brutally murdered by the troops of Count Renar. The prince survived the attack because he is thrown into the briar bush with thorns and either fear or absence of bravery keeps him silent and rooted to his spot. The thorns embed under his skin, causing fevers that last for weeks. After he recovers, he collects a band of outlaws/misfits/thugs and goes on a ride for vengeance. Something suspicious happe...

 The Iron Trial  (The Magisterium #1) By Cassandra Clare, Holly Black  Published Year: 2014  Page Count: 276 pages  Medium Used: Kindle Scribe  Genre : Fantasy, Magic, Sorcery, Dark Fantasy, High Fantasy, 2026-read.  Rating : 5/5 😀😀😀😀😀 At the beginning, the plot felt a lot like reading from the Harry Potter series. I would definitely say that the authors have taken inspiration from it. But only just an inspiration. A basic outline. The rest is their own brain material. The main character cast consists of two boys and a girl. They are in their first year of training at a school for magical kids. There is a dark lord called the Enemy of Death who happens to be an ex-student of the school. But that's where the similarities end. There are wild creatures that are ingested with chaos - the Enemy of death has put chaos into their souls and made them his spies. There are creatures which have given up their souls to the elements of nature like Earth, Fire,...