Assassin’s creed: The secret crusade

Assassin’s Creed: The Secret Crusade

10048834

Author: Oliver Bowden
Genre: Historical Fiction, Adventure
Category: Series [ 9 Books]
Number of pages: 453

Started: 06/09/2018 – Finished: 16/09/2018
Rating: ****½/5

Description [Goodreads]:
NICCOLO POLO, FATHER OF MARCO, WILL FINALLY REVEAL THE STORY HE HAS KEPT SECRET ALL HIS LIFE – THE STORY OF ALTAIR, ONE OF THE BROTHERHOOD’S MOST EXTRAORDINARY ASSASSINS.

Altair embarks on a formidable mission – one that takes him throughout the Holy Land and shows him the true meaning of the Assassin’s Creed. To demonstrate his commitment, Altair must defeat nine deadly enemies, including Templar leader, Robert de Sable.
Altair’s life story is told here for the first time: a journey that will change the course of history; his ongoing battle with the Templar conspiracy; a family life that is as tragic as it is shocking; and the ultimate betrayal of an old friend.

Review:
This book is based on the first Assassin’s creed game that tells the story of the master assassin Altair Ibn la Ahad.
Altair is send on an important mission to retrieve an artifact, joined by two other assassins. Due to his arrogance he fails the mission, not only loosing the artifact but also getting one of his comrades killed and causing the other to lose an arm. Because of his actions he is stripped of his rank and title and forced to reclaim them by successfully assassinating 9 targets. On his journey he mends his relationships with members of the creed, discovers a betrayal by a close friend and realizes what it truly means to be an assassin.
I am a huge fan of the assassin’s creed games. The plot has always been a driving factor; I love the story of the creed and I love the story of each individual assassin. Altair is the first assassin you could play with and a lot of people [including me] consider him a favorite. The journey of him going from arrogant brat to master assassin is quite an interesting one and the story always managed to keep me on my toes , waiting for what’s going to happen next.
Now i’ve seen people talk about how the cover says ‘The untold story..’ but in reality everything that happens in the book ,happens in the game as well. I do agree with that. Pretty much everything is the same from the dialogs to the way he assassinates his victims but for me that wasn’t that big of an issue. I enjoyed reliving his story.
Even if chronologically this should be the first book you should read, there are two books that were released prior to this one. And in my opinion you should read them first. At the time I was reading this one I felt that if I hadn’t played the games I wouldn’t have understood a lot of stuff. So maybe reading the two books – Renaissance and Brotherhood – will help you understand things better.

These two tell the story of a different assassin, years after Altair’s story, but they do a good job at explaining the actions of the creed.
10/10 would recommend this book. I’m not a big fan of historical/historical fiction novels but hands down this series and the games are amazing.

Favorite quote:
” I wish I could say I’m sorry. But I tend to get what I want.”

Have you read the books or played the games? What did you think?

Yours:
A Traveler

Current Reads!!

The first book doesn’t need an introduction 😀
I have seen multiple people starting to re-read the Harry Potter series as a little celebration of the 20th Anniversary and I am happily joining in on the fun.
Harry Potter is a huge part of my childhood and is definitely my favorite series of all time. Same as others I have dreamed of studying in Hogwarts, I have done countless quizzes to find my Hogwarts house, my patronus, my wand and what not.
The world of Harry Potter will always be my favorite and re-reading the series will always feel like going back home!

“No story lives unless someone wants to listen. The stories we love best do live in us forever. So whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.”

― J.K. Rowling

The second book is Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian. The reason I picked up this book is because I quite liked the cover. When I read the back description I was sure I wanted to read it. The description makes it sound similar to Throne of glass but when starting the book , the plot reminds me a lot more of Red queen. Even so the book has its own story and its own plot and I got half way through it in a day because of how much I am enjoying it. There will definitely be a review once I have finished it! 🙂

What are your current reads?

Yours
A Traveler

Red Queen Series

Red Queen

Author: Victoria Aveyard
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Young-Adult
Category: Series [4 Books]
Number of pages[of each book]: 383/444/528/662

Started: -/06/2018 — Finished -/07/2018
Rating: *****/5

Description(Book 1)[Goodreads]:

This is a world divided by blood – red or silver. The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.

That is until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power. Fearful of Mare’s potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.

But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance – Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart.

Review:

This series could win the award for blowing my mind with that plot twist in the last book.

As the descriptions says: the world is divided by two kinds of blood; one with superpowers and one without them. The Reds are treated like lowlifes and are basically forced to fight in the Silvers war the day they reach the age of 18; unless they are an apprentice of some kind.

The lead character Mare Barrow is a 17 year old Red girl who knows that as soon as her 18th birthday comes, she will have to leave her family, her friend Kilorn however is an apprentice fisherman and would get to live his life as such. That is until his mentor dies.
Kilorn was orphaned at a young age and with no family or home he would have starved if it wasn’t for Mare, who fed and nurtured him. Even though at that time he constantly picked fight with her ,they befriended each other.
At the news of her friends mentor dying, Mare tries to free both of them from war duty by contacting the Red Guard [ a Red military resistance group]. In order to get their help she needs a big amount of money. With help from her sister she starts work in a Silvers palace, where she realizes that despite the color of her blood she too has powers. And that’s were things get complicated. The silvers try to hide her, she tries to bring them down from the inside by helping the Red Guard.

I truly enjoyed this plot. I enjoyed reading about Mare trying to figure out why she was different or if she was the only Red with Silver powers and her journey helping the Red Guard. I liked the fact that she was not perfect. She made mistakes, she took rash decisions and I LOVED it. I enjoyed every characters personality. I liked the multiple POV’s. And of course..THE BETRAYAL, there is so much of it and whenever a new character was introduced you’re first thought is “should I trust you…probably not” [the same goes with characters you’re already familiar with , you just can’t trust anyone]. I am very happy to have picked up these books. I got so into them I read the whole series in a few weeks.

There is something I don’t really enjoy in this book – a love triangle. I’m not a fan of them. Even so, if there is one I do what most people do – I choose one of the love interests and stay on that team but in this case I just couldn’t decide..and that’s never happened to me 😀 …I liked it.[ I did stay on one in the end]. The triangle exists, it’s essential for the storyline, but it’s not overwhelming ,like most are ,which is why it didn’t bother me.

The world however didn’t feel complete to me. The locations ,like cities and such, did, but the world overall.. I just felt like there could have been more.

Even so I would absolutely recommend the series. It completely deserves the title Best seller. I will keep following the fandom and if Victoria Aveyard comes out with any new novels I will be sure to read them.

Favorite quote:
“Flame and shadow. One cannot exist without the other.”

[I’m still not over that plot twist]

Review by:
A Traveler

Nevernight

There’s a first for everything!

As this is my first review I would like to start with a recent favorite of mine.

Nevernight

nevernight

Author: Jay Kristoff
Genre: Fantasy, Young-adult
Category: Trilogy [Book 1 of 3]
Number of pages: 630

Started 21/07/2018 – Finished 30/07/2018
Rating: *****/5

Description(Goodreads):
In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.

Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.

Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she’ll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church’s halls, the bloody secrets of Mia’s past return to haunt her, and a plot to bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves.

Will she even survive to initiation, let alone have her revenge?

Review:
Where do I start omg, I LOVED It!
This book was an absolute page-turner for me.
BUT
To be honest the first 2-3 chapters were kinda slow, I wasn’t that excited to know what happens next ,so if you had asked me if I liked it while i was on those chapters, I would have probably said meh 😀
BUT
That changed so fast when Mia’s journey began. I got so into it and couldn’t put it down to the point my eyes started hurting. Have you ever liked a book so much you didn’t care you were going blind??

So the main protagonist is Mia Corvere who wants to avenge her fathers death after he was betrayed by his comrades. To be able to do that she has to learn to be an assassin. So she goes to a ‘school for assassins'[or blades as they are called in the book] called The Red Church. And…it’s basically Hogwarts with a twist ahahaha. The school provides training in hand to hand combat, poison making, the art of seduction, stealing and whatnot. But that’s not the ‘twist’ I was talking about. The twist is that some tests are..softly said brutal. Not everyone survives this book so don’t pick favorite characters [I made that mistake]. The school is full of hidden secrets which made me want to study there just to discover them all. It also has a giant, moving library so what’s not to love???
Mia isn’t your normal girl . She is a Darkin – ‘one who controls the darkness itself’. She has a companion cat named Mister Kindly who drinks her fears for which she is essentially fearless [And has a spectrum of cool powers]. She is an absolute bad ass and I enjoyed her personality and her story sooo much.
10/10 would live in this world.
It’s been awhile since I’ve read a book with such an interesting world; from the three suns to the city Mia lives in. While reading the book I realized how much time the author spent just building the history of the place and I love that.
I feel like there are a hundred other things I could mention but I don’t wish to spoil readers any further. I loved everything about it so if you ever come across it please try it out. If you’re a fan of fantasy reads I promise you will not be disappointed.

Favorite quote:

“The books we love, they love us back. And just as we mark our places in the pages, those pages leave their marks on us. I can see it in you, sure as I see it in me. You’re a daughter of the words. A girl with a story to tell.”

Review by:
A Traveler

Greetings!

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Welcome to my blog where I will share my journey through the numerous books I wish to read.

I am an aspiring reader who wants to share her love for books and meet other passionate readers.

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With love,

A Traveler