2 Stars

Review: Queen of Shadows

09:17

Queen of Shadows
By Sarah J. Maas

 Source: Personal purchase, paperback
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, 

Goodreads Synopsis:

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past . . .

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen's triumphant return.

Celaena’s epic journey has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. This fourth volume will hold readers rapt as Celaena’s story builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.

 My Review:

I had such high hopes for this book. I loved the rest of the series, so this was easily my most anticipated read of this year. I even paid extra money to get it to ship quicker, and cancelled a previous order! Looking back, I think my hopes for this book were too high, because I was so disappointed.

The book got off to a good start. I was enjoying the direction the book was going in, and I found it to be addictive and fast paced. Although there was no clear direction for the book, I hoped that the only reason for this was because I hadn’t read much. I kept telling myself that it’s really long, so there’s plenty of time for something to happen. I honestly don’t really know where it went wrong for me.

There was nothing that specifically stood out as something that I disliked, though I think my main problem was the pacing. About a quarter of the way in, nothing had happened. Although there were small action scenes, and little plot twists here and there, there was nothing major that stood out to me as exciting. All of Maas’ books are slow to start with, so I really hoped that it was going to get better.
By a fair amount of the book (at least over half way), nothing had happened. We’d had a few speeches about how great Aelin was (which was really starting to get tiresome), but really nothing drastic or noteworthy. The plot was going nowhere, and looking back, I really can’t tell you things that happened. I was just so bored.
I was also disappointed with the way all the characters have changed. Although character development is to be expected, I didn’t like the way Aelin now hated Chaol (it’s as if Crown of Midnight didn’t exist) - in my opinion, I feel Maas just changed her mind halfway through the series.

The romance was just really unpleasant to read about. I didn’t like the people involved together, so for me, I would have preferred if it was left out. Although there really wasn’t much romance, it didn’t add anything to the story, and I was just skimming over the scenes. The next books in the series promise steamy romance, and I can’t say I’m looking forward to it.

I didn’t enjoy this book, but nothing really stuck out as terrible. There were some exciting parts, but much more excruciatingly slow chapters. I will be reading the rest in the series - somewhat because I’ve invested too much already to just give up on it - as I still hope that it can claw its way back again, and that I can enjoy the rest. I know some fans will really enjoy this, just not me.

Rating:

Asking for It

Top Five Friday #11: Yet to be Released Books I'm Most Excited For

16:00


Top Five Friday is a meme hosted at Katieemay which lists our top 5 choices based on a bookish theme of my choice.

*****

There always seem to be so many books that aren’t released yet that I’m super excited for, so this topic just makes me even more excited for these books! My most anticipated are always in my calendar, so I’ll have to flick through that and see which ones I’m super hyped for!

1. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Expected Publication Date: October 6th 2015
I think I’m with most people reading this post: Fangirl was amazing! Obviously I’m super excited for the spin-off book. I also love Rainbow Rowell’s writing, so I practically know that I’m going to adore this book when it comes out!

Goodreads Synopsis:
Simon Snow just wants to relax and savor his last year at the Watford School of Magicks, but no one will let him. His girlfriend broke up with him, his best friend is a pest, and his mentor keeps trying to hide him away in the mountains where maybe he’ll be safe. Simon can’t even enjoy the fact that his roommate and longtime nemesis is missing, because he can’t stop worrying about the evil git. Plus there are ghosts. And vampires. And actual evil things trying to shut Simon down. When you’re the most powerful magician the world has ever known, you never get to relax and savor anything.

2. Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

Expected Publication Date: March 8th 2016
I am a massive fan of all Cassandra Clare’s books, so when I heard that she’d be releasing another Shadowhunter series, I could not contain my excitement! This is going to be pre-ordered as soon as I can - this is going to be another amazing series by her. Why did it have to be moved to 2016?!

Goodreads Synopsis:
Los Angeles. It’s been five years since the events of the Mortal Instruments when Nephilim stood poised on the brink of oblivion and Shadowhunter Emma Carstairs lost her parents. After the blood and violence she witnessed as a child, Emma has dedicated her life to to discovering exactly what it was that killed her parents and getting her revenge.

Raised in the Los Angeles Institute with the Blackthorn family, Emma is paired as a parabatai with her best friend, Julian Blackthorn. A series of murders in the city catch her attention — they seem to have the same characteristics as the deaths of her parents. Could the murderer be the same person? And her attention isn’t the only one caught: someone has been murdering Downworlders as well. The Fair Folk make a deal with the Institute: if the Blackthorns and Emma will investigate the killings, they’ll return Mark Blackthorn to his home. The catch: they have only two weeks to find the killers. Otherwise it’s open war between faeries and Nephilim.

The Shadowhunters of the Institute must race against time to catch the killers, even as they begin to suspect the involvement of those closest to them. At the same time, Emma is falling in love with the one person in the world she’s absolutely forbidden by Shadowhunter Law to love. Set against the glittering backdrop of present-day Los Angeles, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches from the warlock-run nightclubs of the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica.

3. Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick

Expected Publication Date: November 10th 2015
All of Becca Fitzpatrick’s books are such guilty pleasures for me... I know I really shouldn’t like them, but I end up loving all of them. I definitely will be buying this book as soon as possible, because although the plots always seem a bit on the iffy-anti-feminist side, I always end up really enjoying Fitzpatrick’s work.

Goodreads Synopsis:
Stella Gordon is not her real name. Thunder Basin, Nebraska, is not her real home. This is not her real life.

After witnessing a lethal crime, Stella Gordon is sent to the middle of nowhere for her own safety before she testifies against the man she saw kill her mother’s drug dealer.

But Stella was about to start her senior year with the boyfriend she loves. How can she be pulled away from the only life she knows and expected to start a new one in Nebraska? Stella chafes at her protection and is rude to everyone she meets. She’s not planning on staying long, so why be friendly? Then she meets Chet Falconer and it becomes harder to keep her guard up, even as her guilt about having to lie to him grows.

As Stella starts to feel safer, the real threat to her life increases—because her enemies are actually closer than she thinks…

4. Asking for It by Louise O'Neill

Expected Publication Date: September 3rd 2015
I really loved Louise O'Neill’s other book Only Ever Yours, so I’m anticipating loving this one just as much. Again, it’s on a really hard-hitting and important topic, so obviously I’m going to read it. A feminist book by one of my new favourite authors? Yes please!

Goodreads Synopsis:
It's the beginning of the summer in a small town in Ireland. Emma O'Donovan is eighteen years old, beautiful, happy, confident. One night, there's a party. Everyone is there. All eyes are on Emma. The next morning, she wakes on the front porch of her house. She can't remember what happened, she doesn't know how she got there. She doesn't know why she's in pain. But everyone else does. Photographs taken at the party show, in explicit detail, what happened to Emma that night. But sometimes people don't want to believe what is right in front of them, especially when the truth concerns the town's heroes...

5. Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

Expected Publication Date: September 1st 2015
It wouldn’t be a real most-anticipated list without Queen of Shadows. Ever since I finished Heir of Fire at the start of March, I’ve been dying to get my hands on this book. I adore Sarah J. Maas’s writing style, and I’m in love with the Throne of Glass series, so I just know that I’m going to love this book.

Goodreads Synopsis:
Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past . . .

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen's triumphant return.

Celaena’s epic journey has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. This fourth volume will hold readers rapt as Celaena’s story builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.

What are the books that are yet to be released that you are most excited for? Let me know below!

4.5 stars

Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses

16:00

A Court of Thorns and Roses
By Sarah J. Maas

 Source: Gift, e-book
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Retellings

 Goodreads Synopsis:
When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.
As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever. 


When I found out that Sarah J. Maas was writing a new book, I knew I had to buy it instantly. This book has only made me even surer that I will read anything she ever writes. She’s so talented - I am always so involved in all her plots, all the characters have so much depth, and are so unique. I enjoyed A Court of Thorns and Roses immensely, and am now waiting patiently (ha!) for the next book in the series.


This book had everything I look for and enjoy in a book. There was vivid world building that wasn’t boring at all; a deadly disease; a badass heroine, and some slow burning romance. Although I would have preferred it to be darker and more gritty (like Maas said it would be), I still think that this book barely had anything to improve on.
Feyre was one of my favourite aspects. She was really strong-minded and brave, and didn’t make any stupid decisions. She definitely made the story stand out from all the other fantasy retellings, because without her I wouldn’t have enjoyed the book as much. There were no slow parts like in Throne of Glass, and I was really hooked for the whole book.
The other characters were truly wonderful too because they had such original backstories and depth. There was many elements from Beauty and the Beast so it was a loyal retelling, yet it was completely different at the same time. At points I could see the similarities, yet at others the story had so many twists and I had no idea what was happening next.
Another thing that I liked was the ending. It was a sensible place to stop - most things had been resolved in their own time, so it didn’t feel rushed. It wasn’t a massive cliff-hanger, but I was still left wanting more, so I will definitely be pre-ordering the sequel. There is massive potential for the series to go anywhere, making me wonder even more where it will go.

Overall, this was a really great book. I was expecting it to be darker, and have more high-fantasy elements, but I still really enjoyed it. I recommend this book to any fans of fantasy because it has has everything I like in a fantasy.

Me while reading this book:

My rating:


5 Stars

The Assassin's Blade (Throne of Glass #0.1-0.5) Review

14:00

The Assassin's Blade
By Sarah J. Maas

 Source: Personal purchase, paperback
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, 

 Goodreads Synopsis:
Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan's most feared assassin. As part of the Assassin's Guild, her allegiance is to her master, Arobynn Hamel, yet Celaena listens to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam. In these action-packed novellas - together in one edition for the first time - Celaena embarks on five daring missions. They take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, where she fights to liberate slaves and seeks to avenge the tyrannous. But she is acting against Arobynn's orders and could suffer an unimaginable punishment for such treachery. Will Celaena ever be truly free? Explore the dark underworld of this kick-ass heroine to find out.


Wow. My breathing is still so uneven after this book. Sarah J Maas’ writing is so vivid, it really hits me so hard. My emotions are really wild after this book, and - to be honest - only Queen of Shadows can fill the Celaena shaped hole in my heart. I just know I am going to have a massive book hangover after this!


Because it’s split up into 5 novellas/ short stories, I thought I wasn’t going to enjoy this as much as I enjoyed the others, but in actual fact, I enjoyed it much more than Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight. The individual stories followed so well together, it didn’t feel at all disjointed. It was really smooth, and was just like reading one long book, not 5 short ones.


The Assassin and the Pirate Lord - 5/5 ~ This was a great way to open the book. I loved all the action, and it was amazing to see Celaena be as badass as usual. I also really enjoyed seeing Celaena and Sam’s relationship change. We saw much more development in this book, and I really enjoyed it.
The Assassin and the Healer - 4/5 ~ This novella was much more slow-moving at the start, so I didn’t begin to enjoy it as much. Though, it did soon pick up, and once it did, Celaena was being as great as usual. It was a lot shorter than all of the others, so I read it quite quickly. It didn’t really make a difference to the overall story, but I still enjoyed it a lot.
The Assassin and the Desert - 4.5/5 ~ I really enjoyed this story. We saw a different side to Celaena - which I loved - and it was really exciting and fast paced too. It had lots of plot twists which I didn’t see coming, and I was hooked throughout.


The Assassin and the Underworld - 5/5 ~ This one was so cute! In this novella, we saw much more of Sam (which I loved!), and how his relationship with Celaena developed. They’re so cute together, I need all the Sam + Celaena (what’s their ship name?) I can get! It was really fun to read
The Assassin and the Empire - 5/5 ~ I loved the romance in this one (Team Sam forever!), along with everything else in it. One of my favourite aspects was that the sad part wasn’t dragged out. I knew what was coming from reading Throne of Glass before hand, so it would have just annoyed me if it was just trying to make us cry. Also, Celaena was still really badass, even though she was dealing with a lot, and I really liked that aspect.
Overall, this was an amazing book. I love the series so much more now, which I didn’t even know was possible! If you’re thinking of starting the Throne of Glass series, I would recommend reading this first - I think you will definitely enjoy the others more if you do. I just need Queen of Shadows now!

My reaction:


My rating:



3.5 stars

Review: Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2)

16:31

Crown of Midnight
By Sarah J. Maas

 Source: Physical copy, paperback
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, 

 Goodreads Synopsis:

"A line that should never be crossed is about to be breached.

It puts this entire castle in jeopardy—and the life of your friend."

From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.

Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.

Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie...and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.

 My Review:

 Gosh this book was amazing! It was really fast-paced, the plot was consistently amazing, and everything linked together so cleverly at the end. I enjoyed it so much - Sarah J. Maas is such an amazing author, I don't think she's actually capable of writing a bad book.

 Celaena is such an amazing heroine - she is so strong minded and tough, seemingly perfect, but she is flawed, making me care about her even more. She's the perfect example of a female protagonist - pushes around all the idiot men, and saves the day! She manages to save everyone, herself, and even her dog (which is just a great addition to the book - who doesn't love a cute dog?), yet is still really powerful and badass.

 My only complaint about this book (yeah, I know, I can't write an entirely good review for a book...) is that in some places it dragged. Most of the time, I was completely hooked, but sometimes I got a bit bored, and the story seemed to be taking too long. Was that just me? It might have been because people were interrupting me, but at times it felt too heavy, and I just had to put the book down. It took me a while to read because of this, but that didn't really matter because it meant I could savour it. 

 The ending to this book was just... it really blew me away! I literally finished this book with my mouth open, it left me on such a cliff-hanger, and I really needed to know what happened next. I can't believe Sarah J. Maas ending it like that! But, luckily, I bought the book the next day (today as I'm writing this), so I can't wait to start it. The general ending was fantastic - everything linked together, and most of my questions were answered (though not enough to stop me from buying the next book even though I have around 10 books to read!), so it was rounded off well.

 Rating:

3.5 stars

Review: Throne of Glass

16:05


Throne of Glass
By Sarah J Maas

Source: Physical copy
Page count: 404
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, 

Goodreads Synopsis:

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom. 

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilarating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best. 
Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. 
Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

 My Review:

 My initial thoughts on this book were harsher than my opinion at the end. On the one hand, this book started off terribly, and was really boring; although, by the ending of this book I was loving it!

 First of all, it's beautifully written. All the description made this book a truly magical read for me:
"Celeana lay in the bed, staring at a pool of moonlight on the floor. It filled in the dusty gaps between the stone tiles, and turned everything a bluish silver that made her feel as if she was frozen in an everlasting moment." 
This quote is just beautiful. The amazing description really enhanced the book for me!

 I also really liked the main character: Celeana Sardothien. She was feisty, strong-minded, intelligent - a really great character! I really liked reading about her, and - for once - she wasn't a weak protagonist! This made the book really great for me. 

One thing I really hated about the book was Dorian. He was outrageously disgusting, and really sexist! One thing that was actually described about him was: "he couldn't deny that he was aching to learn what her bare skin smelled like, how she'd react to the touch of his finger along his body"
I find this despicable. The fact that he could think that just made me want to vomit!

Though, I did really enjoy this book, and towards the end it really made me want to read on, even if it was a very slow start. 

Rating: 


Recommendation: If you enjoyed The Mortal Instruments