Book Review | Shadow Sun by Lani Lenore

Shadow Sun by Lani Lenore
Published:  November 3, 2015
Format: Kindle eReader
Synopsis from Goodreads: The final book in the Nevermor trilogy, a dark fantasy based on the legend of Peter Pan.

As it began, so shall it end.

Time has passed since the Rifter went into the sun, and while Wren has missed him terribly, she does not doubt that he will come back. She has tried to shadow her grief as she travels across Nevermor with what is left of the Wolf Pack, attempting to heal the land and restore it to its former state. But that task is made more difficult by plummeting temperatures, and the fact that the sun seems to be slipping farther away.

When a different sort of darkness comes over the land, Wren discovers that not only may she be looking to preserve the world for Rifter’s return, but she may have to save it from him as well.

Shadow Sun is the epic finale to the Nevermor trilogy, a dark fantasy based on Peter Pan.
My Rating:

First off, thank you time a hundred to Lani Lenore for providing me with an eARC of her book in exchange for an honest review. I feel like I've been waiting for this book for the longest time. Forsaken Dreamscape was one of the first books I reviewed after I started my blog so I was so excited to have gotten an early look as the final book!

 

Shadow Sun starts off where Forsaken Dreamscape ended - the demon has been killed and Rifter went into the sun. Wren and the Wolf Pack are going from place to place using Wren's powers to try to heal the land. Even though the healing seemed to be working at first, now it's barely staying through the night. Though Wren still has full belief in Rifter's return, the Pack is torn between love of their world and varying degrees of contempt for what Rifter has let it become. The beautiful Nevermor that the trilogy began with is no more. It's no longer a sanctuary for dreamers with fairies and mermaids and magic. The land has been corrupted and nightmares have taken over in the demon's wake. Nevermor is changing without the Rifter to guide it and it slowly becomes colder and colder. Meanwhile, though it's true that Rifter survived going into the sun, he has to piece together his memory of who is he and how he got there. But, without Whisper to protect him from the pain of his past, Rifter has to survive reliving it alone. 

 

The book is written in third person but it shifts view points a few times. Mostly, the writing follows Wren and is written from her perspective. Every few chapters follows Rifter as he travels through the Shadow Downs trying to regain his memory. Towards the middle of the book, every member of the Wolf Pack gets a couple of chapters that detail their particular emotions and how they're handling the changes in their world. Just as with any book that skips around with points of view, I was interested in some of them much more than the others. But the writing itself is so descriptive and engaging that even the parts that were less interesting were actually really interesting.

"The snow would not speak, content to cover her up and send her to death without a word."

Really, guys, that is a freaking beautiful sentence. Don't even try to argue against it. 

The plot and the writing and the world building were completely on point in this book just as they have been in the past two books. However, I felt like there was less focus on the characters this time around which is weird because practically every character got a chapter dedicated to them. One of the things I enjoyed most about the first two books is the way the characters interacted with each other. I remember Finn being hilariously charming and Toss being all kinds of adorable. In my review for Forsaken Dreamscape I mentioned that each character had a very distinct personality and the banter between them all was my favorite part. This time around, I feel like a little of that was lost in favor of everything that needed to happen to get to the conclusion. At the same time, given everything that had happened, it makes sense that they'd be a little less chatty - I just sort of missed that part.

Without getting spoilery, Wren and the Rifter were the characters that had the most character development. We got to learn Rifter's backstory before he came to Nevermor and it was heartbreaking. Like, oh man though - those feels. They were not okay. No wonder Whisper kept them from his all this time. Wren's development was the most surprising though. Though she still loves Rifter and still believes in him, she had to face what her world had become and learn to accept it. I also loved that she stopped being so much of a damsel in distress and learned to fight for herself.

Obviously as this is the final book, SOOO many things happened that were crazy but obviously spoilers. Don't click unless you've finished Shadow Sun:

- Oh my gosh... Wren can't have children? She's Wendy! The mother of the Lost Boys! Learning that was so sad and her jealousy and anger at Calico when she found out Calico was pregnant made it ever worse. Also, WREN HAS POWERS?! I had a feeling something like that was going to happen but for her to be able to control the land almost just as powerfully as Rifter could was maybe the coolest thing that happened.

- I'm not going to lie, I'm sort of confused about the thing that fell from the sky. What was it? It wasn't Rifter like they thought unless it was Rifter falling from the sun and into the Shadow Downs but I don't think that was it. 

- Rifter's memories... oh my gosh. We already knew that the Scourge was the Rifter's nightmare incarnated but to learn that the nightmare came from his horrible father who killed him was heartbreaking. Also, discovering that he believed he failed Wren just like he failed to save Cait from his father was horrible - especially since Wren was there beside him to watch it all with him but because she was a dream walker in the Shadow Downs, he couldn't see her. 

- Max comes back! All through the second book, I was wondering what became of Max after Wren said goodbye to him to be adopted. But he comes back and he's finally able to protect Wren the way he wanted to in the first book. After he saves Wren from the ghost of the fallen, I hope he continues to remember his sister and his life before being adopted.

- After Rifter pulled out his heart and returned to Nevermor to actually become the Scourge, I still believed Wren would be able to save him. I was really, really, really hoping Wren would be able to save him and they'd be able to have some kind of happy life together. Not the one Wren saw in the fountain, but something just happy together. But no because Lani Lenore stories always mess with my emotions! The ending though was really interesting. It was sort of like an it-was-all-a-dream kind of ending but at the same time it wasn't because Nevermor is made of dreams and is for dreamers so it was all still true but at the same time it hadn't happened yet.

Seriously, guys, if you haven't read anything yet by Lani Lenore, you have to check her out. She's a wonderful indie author. She's been around for a long time now as a writer on sites like FictionPress.com, FanFiction.net, and more recently Wattpad. She's come such a long way since I first read her writing on those sites. Many of her books are available to download or purchase in paperback. You can read more about her and her Nevermor trilogy on her blog, Project Nevermor.

"Every boy must grow up to be a man, but what sort he will become is not entirely up to him."

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Published:  May 5, 2015
Format: Purchased Hardcover
Synopsis from Goodreads: A thrilling, seductive new series from New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas, blending Beauty and the Beast with faerie lore.

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.

Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!
My Rating:

I'm trying out a new reviewing style here. It might change a bit over the course of my next few reviews but I'm pretty sure I like it this way. However, let me know if any of the stickers are hard to read for you. I haven't done my own picture editing in a while now. Gotta dust off the skills. 

 

A Court of Thorns and Roses starts off with, the main character Feyre (Fay-ruh) out on a hunt. Her family was prosperous in the past but after their father gambled all of their money into an investment that went bad, they have fallen into poverty. Feyre's hunts are their main source of food and income. During this particular hunt, Feyre finds a small doe and a larger than normal wolf. When the wolf lunges for the doe, Feyre shoots it with an ash arrow - the only known weapon that could kill a fae. Days later, Feyre's suspicions about the wolf were proved true when a beast comes barging into their small cottage looking for the person who murdered his friend. It is then that Feyre is taken from her family and over the wall into the lands of the fae. 

ACOTAR is a re-imagining of the classic story of Beauty and the Beast (the original version, not the Disney version though there are some nods to both). SJM does such a fabulous job of weaving her story around the original story but at the same time, she makes so definitely her own that I forgot that this was a retelling at all.

 

The whole book is written in first person in Feyre's POV. This worked especially well because as readers, we are able to see how Feyre's mind works. In the beginning, we are able to feel and understand the prejudices Feyre has against the Fae but as the story moves on, we see her opinions changing little by little as she learns more about them first hand. 

Really, the only reason why I didn't give this book five stars (like I'm prone to do with all SJM books) is because the pacing was a bit strange. It started off rather slow with not much happening except Feyre being taken by Tamlin to the Spring Court. But then about three-fourths of the way through, there's just so much action all of a sudden that it's almost like you're reading a different book entirely. For most of the book, Amarantha didn't even feel like a reasonable threat not when things like the Naga or the Bogge where roaming about. Reading this sort of felt like watching one of those movies where halfway in you think it's going to end but then something else happens and it keeps going then an hour later, you think the end is coming again but something happens again. Not that I'm complaining really about it not ending whenever I thought it would because I'd live in Sarah J. Maas' writing if I could. It's just the pacing felt a little strange to me.

SLM created an amazingly intricate world for this story. Just like with Throne of Glass, her world is filled with political intrigue, different lands, mortals and immortals, and so many kinds of magic and magical creatures that - ugh, it's just amazing. This first book takes place in the country (can it really be called a country?) of Prythian. Centuries ago, after a huge war between the humans and the Fae, a wall (very much like in Stardust by Neil Gaiman) was built to separate the different realms. The humans and Fae agreed long ago on a detailed treaty that outlined the reasons and outcomes that a human would crossover into the Faerie Realm or vice versa. Once over the wall, Prythian is divided into several courts, each ruled over by a High Fae. Each court has it's own unique kind of magic and then the magic varies in strength depending on if the character is a High Fae or a lesser Fae. Plus, there are magical creatures running amok creating havoc between the courts like the Naga or the Attor. SJM definitely covered all her bases when it came to writing this world. Everything it so detailed and vivid that it almost feels like the way Feyre feels when she sees colors and art that she wants to paint. 

During the panel at BookCon that SJM was a part of, she mentioned that one of the most common critiques she gets of Feyre is that she's a push over. I can see why some might think that but I wholeheartedly disagree. Feyre isn't as obviously kickass as Celaena but she's definitely strong in her own way. She took on basically the entire burden of supporting her family just because her dying mother asked her to. None of her sisters tried to help and their father blamed his bad leg for not being able to. After that, she is thrown into the Faery Realm where she is literally the weakest being there and almost everything can kill her with one look. But, she still uses whatever skills she has to survive much to the surprise of Tamlin and Lucien and later Amarantha and the rest of the faeries Under the Mountain. I also love that she loves to paint and that colors and art basically come alive for her. I also love that she can't read. That's just not a common trait you see in protagonists but it's interesting how it comes into play at varying times. Like when Tamlin found her list of words and made limericks out of them or later during her tasks.

Considering Tamlin is Feyre's main love interest, he was sort of the least interesting character to me. He's definitely got the powerful and handsome part going for him and he's definitely passionate and cares deeply about the welfare of his court regardless of the fact that he wasn't supposed to rule it. But I felt like he was almost too perfect. I definitely don't fault Feyre for falling in love with him though - good lord, it couldn't have been all that hard to. He kind of reminded me of Wolverine whenever he got angry and his claws came out.

Lucien and Rhysand were easily my favorite characters. Lucien is wonderfully sarcastic and sassy sometimes but he's also extremely loyal to Tamlin. Rhysand is possibly the most intriguing character in this whole book. The more you learn about him, the more questions you have. Not to mention the fact that he might have the coolest powers ever. he can blend into the darkness and travel through it. (Hah, a lot like Nico from the Percy Jackson series.) And he has awesome wings - which I definitely pictured like Castiel's.

Guess what? There is no love triangle in this book!! Refreshing for a YA novel, isn't it? I have a feeling though that it might not stay that way. For all of about two seconds, I thought maybe Lucien might make a triangle but I think he's way too loyal to Tamlin to even contemplate that. Plus, he knows all the details of Tamlin's curse. Feyre definitely falls pretty hard for Tamlin though it's a bit Stockholm-y. I know Tamlin doesn't actually imprison her nor does he treat her in any way that's remotely similar to being imprisoned but he knew she was his last hope of breaking his oh-so-specific curse. It kind of felt a bit like he did everything just so in order to make her fall in love with him. Alis even said that the girl had to meet all the prior criteria of the curse before she could be brought back to be "courted." But putting all of that aside, theirs was still a very steamy romance. I wasn't expecting it to get nearly as steamy as it did. Not that I'm complaining at all. All of it fit perfectly with the tone of the book. I'm pretty sure this is as close as you can get to bordering the YA vs New Adult line.

- I'm getting the vibe that Rhysand is a lot like Aedion. Although he's called Amarantha's Whore (just like Aedion was called Adarlan's Whore) he certainly proved he was never loyal to her. Clearly he has an agenda of his own. He knows things that he's keeping secret. Like when he killed the Summer faerie after he was caught trying to escape. He definitely did that because he learned something in the faerie's mind that was important to the Summer High Lord that Amarantha couldn't know. The question is, what is his plan?

- I'm going to say this now just to clear the air: I have nothing against Tamlin. BUTTTT I really, really ship Feyre and Rhysand. Why? For one thing, he kept her alive even before her trials then went out of his way during and between the her trials to keep her alive and healthy. He also opens up to Feyre a few times in ways that Tamlin never did. Granted, Tamlin couldn't because of his curse but even after Amarantha was dead, Tamlin still let Feyre fall to the back while he took care of his court duties. Rhysand is also literally linked to Feyre to the point where their link is probably the only reason Feyre is still alive. He's also the only one who asked her how she felt about suddenly becoming a Hgih Fae. Plus, they totally had a Chaol/Celaena "Get up" moment when Rhysand was in her head and told her to stand and face Amarantha.  

- SJM didn't say much about book 2 during BookCon but she did mention that it would be a Hades and Persephone kind of retelling. I can totally see how that's going to work. 

- As soon as Feyre was taken to the Spring Court and began to feel at home there, I totally knew that she would somehow become a Fae. Possibly because her name is remarkably close to 'Fae, duh'. At first, I thought that it might have something to do with her mother - like maybe he mother was part Fae since we don't really know much about her. But in the end I really liked how all the High Fae came together to save her.

- Speaking of endings, holy crap, Tamlin most definitely killed Amarantha - like pinned to the wall by a sword through the skull is no joke. She is done.

- Kat from Katytastic on booktube had an interesting idea about what happened at the very end with Rhys looking at Feyre in shock then vanishing. Tamlin mentioned earlier that though some Fae fall in love with each other, some rare others mate. Kat thought that maybe Rhys mated with Feyre in that moment. As a Rhys/Feyre shipper, I'm definitely on board with this theory.

All in all, if you haven't yet, you definitely need to get yourself a copy of A Court of Thorns and Roses. It's an amazing fantasy read with a wonderfully detailed world and of course, it's Sarah J. Maas so the writing and descriptions are beyond gorgeous. It's a great start to her new series and I definitely can't wait for book two to come out next year.

For those of you who have read this already, I need to know:

Who do you ship? And what do you think happened to Rhys in the end??

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
Published:  February 5, 2013
Synopsis from Goodreads: Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison--even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

I'm taking a forced break from Cress to finally write this review. And when I say "forced" I mean, if I don't write this now, this review is never going to get written because all the things just happened and I need to keep reading.

Scarlet takes place right where Cinder left off except with the addition of new characters and a split point of view. The book alternates between being in Scarlet's perspective then going back to Cinder. Scarlet is one of the many new characters that we get in this sequel.To be perfectly honest, though I really liked Scarlet, I definitely liked Cinder more. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that after a whole book of reading just about Cinder, I was much more interested in her story rather than needing to start fresh with Scarlet's. Though Scarlet is pretty interesting herself and if you're intuitive enough, it becomes clear, fairly quickly why she's important. (I was not intuitive enough and didn't catch the hint in the beginning. I blame that entirely on reading too quickly.)

The book begins in Scarlet's point of view. Her grandmother has gone missing and though the French police have stopped searching for her, Scarlet doesn't believe her grandmother would just leave unexpectedly. One thing that wasn't very explained is why the people of Rieux, the town where Scarlet and her grandmother lived, believed her grandmother was crazy. She was an ex-military pilot who now ran a farming business. There doesn't really seem to be much off about that but the townspeople believed she was crazy and therefore told the police thus ending the search. We then meet Wolf who is a fighter in an illegal fight ring but who knows more about Scarlet's grandmother's disappearance than he first puts off. Generally speaking, I really like Scarlet. She's a feisty little redhead who pairs nicely with Wolf's generally quiet and held back demeanor.

 

(Every time Thorne wanted to be called "Captain," this is all I pictured.)

We don't get back to Cinder until chapter four just as she's escaping prison. She literally falls into the cell of "Captain" Carswell Thorne who has easily become my absolute favorite character of the series. If you crossed Jack Sparrow, Starlord, and Flynn Rider, you would end up with Thorne and his hilarious amazingness. Together Thorne and Cinder escape from the prison of the Eastern Commonwealth and become the most wanted criminals in the Earthen Union. They steal back Thorne's already stolen ship and instead of following the advice Dr. Erland gave Cinder at the end of book one, they go on a hunt to dig up more clues about Cinder's lost past. Meanwhile, back in the Commonwealth, Kai is dealing with the repercussions of losing Cinder and needing to appease Queen Levana.

Several spoiler-y things that I enjoyed:

- I thought the Red Riding Hood story was incorporated excellently. Especially, with the Lunar glamor and using it to trick Scarlet into thinking she was talking to her grandmother. Honestly, I was so invested in what was happening that I didn't even catch the whole "my grandma, what big teeth you have" moment until after it happened and I was like mindblown. Marissa Meyer just did such a good job with everything that I forgot that I was reading a retelling.

- Iko's the Rampion!! Aww I was so sad when Adri destroyed Iko in the first book but I am so so happy she's back and adorably hating that she's huge ship. But then again, Thorne is there to flatter her and I love how the lights brighten or the temperature rising when Iko blushes.

- Wolf is so cute. I love how awkward he is. But then at the same time, he can be pretty terrifying. I really thought that he really considered rejoining the Order again once he was under Jael's influence.

- I loved learning about Cinder's past and how Michelle Benoit kept her in stasis for so long in the barn. Just how all the puzzle pieces of Cinder's past started to come together was fun to read about. Though, I get this feeling that Lihn Garan is alive somewhere. Like, somehow, he needs to be alive so that he can mass produce his invention and give the Earthens a fighting chance at winning against Levana.

One thing that did bother me a bit about this book is that it took a long time for Scarlet and Cinder's storylines to meet up. I honestly thought that it would happen much much sooner rather than almost three-fourths of the way into the book. But at the same time, the storylines individually were interesting and action-y enough for me to not get annoyed with skipping back and forth like I usually do with dual point of views. All in all, this was an excellent follow up to Cinder and already, I really, really, really need November to roll around quickly so I can get my hands on Winter.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Published:  January 3, 2012
Synopsis from Goodreads: Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

My initial thought upon finishing:
WHY DIDN'T I READ THIS SOONER????
This book has been sitting on my shelf for almost a year now. I bought it when I first discovered the glory that is BookOutlet then I continued to push it further and further back on my TBR. And now, I can't think of any reason why I thought that would be a good idea. Afterall: Cinderella + Fairytale Retelling + Cyborgs = Freaking Amazing Story.

For anyone out there who might be thinking, 'Well, sci-fi isn't really my thing', let me just say that it's not really mine either. I'm not even really into Star Wars even though I've seen all the movies. But, Marissa Meyer has crafted such a fascinating world with creative characters that are all blended seamlessly into the classic Cinderella story that it's easy to forget that you're not all that into sci-fi. Unlike Throne of Glass, which is just loosely inspired by Cinderella, Cinder has ALL the elements from the original story including a wicked stepmother, step sisters, Prince Charming, a ball, and a glass slipper (or cyborg foot, rather). However, it's not just a reiteration of the same storyline, Marissa Meyer takes all the original elements and weaves them into a story much bigger than the original tale could have ever achieved.

Cinder takes place 126 years after World War IV and all the countries of Earth have banned together in an alliance against the Lunars and their queen, Levana. A plague has weakened the Earthen's economy and has left them weakened against the everlasting threat of war that the Lunars present. The story itself takes place in New Beijing - something that is amazing all in itself. When like 98% of YA novels take place strictly in America, it's refreshing and fascinating to read a book that is set in a different country. I loved the little cultural aspects that Meyer included in her writing. Though I'm not Chinese (I'm Filipino), it was fun to read about the little tidbits of Asian influence that I recognized from my own culture or learn about whenever I looked up something I didn't understand. For example, I had to look up "Lihn" - I thought it was a title or term of respect but I found out that a person's family name is sometimes spoken first in China rather than after their first name like I'm used to. Also, I looked up the suffixes that are used a lot and discovered that they're comparable to the honorifics used in Filipino dialects.

I absolutely loved the characters in this book. I loved how Cinder's cyborg-ness was easily included in her narration. (I know it's written in third person but it was basically through Cinder's POV.) I thought it would have been distracting but it was actually kind of cool. I also liked how she wasn't a typical girly girl. She's constantly dirty from her job as a mechanic and she wasn't fangirling over Kai like it seemed was common among teenage girls. Kai was a cool and charming as well though he's not the most swoon-worthy love interest I've read about. (Sorry, I'm still stuck on Chaol... that's a topic for another conversation though.) Peony and Iko are by far the most adorable characters ever and I want to hug them. Adri is as horrifying as an wicked stepmother should be. Queen Levana, though, is an amazing villain and I cannot wait to read Fairest.

I'm currently in the middle of reading Scarlet and I'm already hooked. So if you haven't picked up this series yet, it's really a must read. It's a fast-paced, I-can't-stop-reading kind of book and you definitely won't regret it.

The Haunting of Sunshine Girl by Paige McKenzie

 

The Haunting of a Sunshine Girl by Paige McKenzie
Published:  March 24, 2015
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Based on the wildly popular YouTube channel, The Haunting of Sunshine Girl has been described as “ Gilmore Girls meets Paranormal Activity for the new media age.” YA fans new and old will learn the secrets behind Sunshine—the adorkable girl living in a haunted house—a story that is much bigger, and runs much deeper, than even the most devoted viewer can imagine…

Since the Goodreads synopsis doesn't really tell you anything, here's the book trailer which gives you a much better gist of the storyline:



This book was so so fun to read!! It was just quick and entertaining and I couldn't put down. It's set in Ridgemont, Washington where sixteen year old Sunshine has just moved when her mother Kat got a new job. Sunshine was always different - from being adopted to having a taste for vintage clothes and her taxidermied owl. Her new home isn't at all like the warm, sunny city of Austin, Texas where she had lived all her life. Rather, Ridgemont is constantly rainy or foggy and her new house is the epitome of creepy - with lights that are never bright enough, old mildewy smells, and of course, a resident ghosts. Along with Nolan - a nerdy but cute boy from her visual arts class - it's up to Sunshine to find out what the ghosts want from her before they become too much of a danger to her mom and herself.

Before I read this book, I had never heard of Paige McKenzie's YouTube webseries. The only reason I foudn out about it was because it was a featured article on the bookseller insiders page at my job. But as soon as I read about it, I knew I had to get my hands on it. Plus, I just fell in love with the cover. Like I would buy this book just  because I love the cover. Normally, I'm not into ghosts and scary things. I absolutely hate scary movies. But every once in a while, I get in the mood for a scary-ish book to read and this exactly fit my mood. The creep-factor isn't too high though. Actually, considering this is a YA book, it's pretty mild. It's sort of reminiscent of R. L. Stine's Goosebumps at first but it goes a little beyond that. I can definitely see middle-grade readers enjoying this. There's basically no romance though it's hinted at for future books. My only problem with this book is Sunshine has a really strange habit of saying things like "good golly" and "Jesus Louiseezus." I kid you not, she said Jesus Louiseezus. It was just so jarring to read such old fashioned phrases. Considering I think Paige McKenzie is still a teen herself, I don't think any modern teenager would ever say either of those things. It was just so strange. I mean, the book gives a reason for why Sunshine likes old fashioned things but really now, "Jesus Louiseezus"???

All in all, I definitely liked this book. It's not a book that's going to really wow you with amazing writing and unexpected plot twists but it's definitely entertaining and I'm rating it 4 out of 5 just because it was entertaining. If you're looking for a quick, fun read definitely check it out. So far, a second book is due to come out October 2015 and there may be more after that!

In the mean time, what are some of your favorite scary reads? 

Have you ever seen a ghost? Do you live in a haunted house? 

Tell me your stories - or rather don't because they'll probably just freak me out.  

Except, I really want to know if you do because I'm contradicting like that.

Also, have you ever uttered the phrase "Jesus Louiseezus"?

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Published:  October 18, 2011
Synopsis from Goodreads: It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line.

Some riders live.
Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn't given her much of a choice. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.


Ugh, MAGGIE STIEFVATER... 

Maggie Stiefvater said this was her favorite book of hers that she's written. I wanted to love it so so badly like I did with all The Raven Boys books but I didn't and I feel terrible about it. Don't get me wrong though, Maggie's writing is still beautiful and the way she uses her words still amazes me. I don't dog-ear pages but I do stick little tabs in where my favorite quotes in books are. There are so many tabs in this book because as always, Maggie Stiefvater knows how to use all the words to their best potential.

It's the first day of November and so, today, someone will die.

- Sean, page 1

The book is set on the fairly secluded island of Thisby. Every year in October riders sign up to join in on the deadly Scorpio Races where they will ride a water horse that will either get them to the finish line or lead them to a very gruesome death. One of the things that I liked about The Raven Boys that also applies to The Scorpio Races is that even though the books are written very factually - almost as if they were contemporary or historical novels - there's an undercurrent of magic that eventually makes itself known to the reader. In The Scorpio Races, it's never flat out explained what the water horses or capaill uisce are. Rather, it's left for the reader to infer as they progress through the novel. At first, this was one of the things that confused me. All I knew was that they were water horses who generally killed those they came across. It wasn't until I actually Googled it that I realized they were basically a kelpie.

Even though I'm only giving this book 3.5 stars, there were actually quite a few things that I liked about it. First, Thisby itself. Nowhere in the book does it give you a time period for when the novel is set which actually adds to the magic and mystery that is Thisby. But, they way I read it, Thisby felt like it was a Scottish countryside in the early 1900s-1920s. (I only say Scottish because when I Googled, "each uisce" was the term for water horses in Scottish folklore.) Even though Thisby is a fairly dangerous place to live, it actually sounded quite beautiful. The pages are filled with Thisby's salt breezes and riotous storms and hills covered with sheep and cliffs overlooking the water. As you're reading, you can almost smell the cinnamon scents from Palsson's bakery and the horse and dirt scent of the Malvern stables. I can understand Puck's sentiment when she says, "It's like my heart or something" when she's trying to explain how she feels about the island.

The characters were also pretty amazing. Aside from our main characters of Puck and Sean, every person that we encounter in this book is unique. That's something that Maggie Stiefvater is great at creating. There's no way at all that you can confuse one character for another in her books because their personalities are just so diverse and well-formed. If you've ever watched the show Gilmore Girls, you'd have a basic idea of what the characters were like in this book. They ranged from everything from quirky to terrible. Dory Maud had to be one of my favorite townsfolk. Together with her sister, Elizabeth, they ran a quirky little antiques shop that Puck says smelled always of butter in a pan. George Holly, a Gatsby-ish buyer from America who had come to Thisby for the races and to purchase horses, was another great character just because he understood the way Sean loved and cared for horses almost more than he did for people. Even the Malverns who were despicable at best were great to read just because they were written so well that hating them seemed logical. And, of course, there's Puck and Sean - both outsiders in the eyes of the town and both racing to save something that they love dearly.

"It's about wanting," I say after some considering. "The tourists always seem to want something. On Thisby, it's less about wanting, and more about being."

-Puck, Page 213

Now, the reason that I didn't like this book is because while the writing and the characters were great, it just took so sooooo long for anything to happen. So long that, for me, even the greatness of the characters weren't really even holding my interest anymore. I understand that the book isn't really even about the Scorpio Races; it's about wanting and how getting what you want comes at certain costs and not always in the way you'd expect. But, because it took so long for anything to happen, the moral didn't impact me the way it probably should have. There was just so much build up and not enough relevant action in between. For the most part, the characters wander in and out of the pages, have conversations, then leave. It also didn't help that Sean and Puck had alternating viewpoints that sounded similar enough that the only reason I could tell them apart was from who they were talking to. I just felt emotionally detached for the greater part of reading this. I didn't even feel anything when Puck stood up for herself in front of the town and vowed to race even though women never raced before. In fact, the only time I really felt something was when I thought Puffin the cat died and Puffin was only mentioned for maybe all of three and a half out of more than four hundred pages.

Maybe I'll read this again at some point. I feel like if I reread it when I'm in a mind frame to be a little more analytical about what I'm reading rather than just reading for fun, I'd get more out of it. I'm sticking to my rating for now though. However, I do really feel the need to bake a November cake. There's a recipe at the back of my copy and it sounds delicious.

Have you read The Scorpio Races? If so, do tell me your thoughts and if you liked it or not. 

There's talk about turning this into a movie too - yay or neigh? Pun intended. 

Also, have you tried baking a November cake??

Beastkeeper by Cat Hellisen

Beastkeeper by Cat Hellisen

Published:  September 2, 2014
Synopsis from Goodreads: Sarah has always been on the move. Her mother hates the cold, so every few months her parents pack their bags and drag her off after the sun. She’s grown up lonely and longing for magic. She doesn’t know that it’s magic her parents are running from. When Sarah’s mother walks out on their family, all the strange old magic they have tried to hide from comes rising into their mundane world. Her father begins to change into something wild and beastly, but before his transformation is complete, he takes Sarah to her grandparents—people she has never met, didn’t even know were still alive. Deep in the forest, in a crumbling ruin of a castle, Sarah begins to untangle the layers of curses affecting her family bloodlines, until she discovers that the curse has carried over to her, too. The day she falls in love for the first time, Sarah will transform into a beast . . . unless she can figure out a way to break the curse forever.

This was a strange book and I'm pretty sure I didn't like it. But at the same time, some of the writing was really wonderful. I'm not even entirely sure why I didn't like it. For the most part it just left me confused. Let me try to explain:

First, let's go through what I liked about the book. For starters, the cover art is amazing. I love the peachy sunset background with the silhouettes like paper cutouts. It's really unique and unlike any other cover I've seen. That's initially what drew me towards the book. Next, Cat Hellisen's writing really is good. The way she describes things is perfect for the fairytale setting. It's whimsical at times and dark at other times. 

"And that is where the storytellers write their own sugary versions of the truth. A pack of lies until they read 'The End.' But no story ever comes to an end, at least not one so neat. There are voices silenced, characters erased at the storyteller's whim. They do not tell you what happens when the children have eaten their way through the witch's treasures and face another starveling winter, when the glass slipper no longer fits the crone's swollen foot, when the beauty doesn't fall in love with her beastly prince."

- Raven, pg 85

But, unfortunately, that's just about where my liking for this book ended. For a book that's only 197 pages, a lot happened and I think that's sort of where this book fell short. Nothing was really as developed as it should have been. Particularly the characters. I never really connected with the main character, Sarah, even though the book was written in first person from her point of view. I didn't really find her likeable but I think part of that has to do with the fact that for a while, I had no idea how old she was supposed to be. If I knew she was only twelve from the beginning instead of figuring that out about a eighty pages in, I might have been more okay with her childishness.

The first thing that really threw me off with this book was the way it was represented. I bought it out of the teen department of Barnes and Noble and everywhere I read before I actually purchased it presented it as a YA novel. With that in mind, I was expecting to read a young adult novel. However, it didn't read that way at all. In fact, most of the time, it reminded me of way Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu - a middle grade retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen" - was written except that I enjoyed Breadcrumbs way, way more than I enjoyed this. But even if I mentally switched to pretending Beastkeeper was actually a middle grade book, some of the themes and descriptions just got so dark that they probably wouldn't sit well with the average middle grade reader. At the same time, I feel like the average young adult reader - readers of John Green, Sarah J. Maas, Jodi Lynn Andersen, etc. - wouldn't get much out of it either. So what, that just leaves adults? Probably not. It's like the book just couldn't make up its mind about what it wanted to be and who its target audience was. And that bugged me the entire time I was reading.

The whole story is meant to be a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, one of my favorite fairy tales and I don't mean just the Disney version. This is why I wanted to read it to begin with. Obviously, there has to be a love story worked in there somewhere. Now, the whole 'beast' aspect has to do with a curse on Sarah's family - and it is a sincerely detailed curse with side effects that have side effects. Mainly, according to the curse, the day Sarah falls in love, she'll turn into a beast. (That's not a spoiler - it says that on the dust jacket.) I already mentioned Sarah was twelve (middle grade!) though she might have turned thirteen, I don't quite remember. So, when she falls in love with Alan who is an enchanted boy who might be hundreds of years old and drinks whiskey (YA!), it didn't really sit well with me. Particularly because even though Sarah had met him a few times, her falling in love with him almost literally happened like a light switch. One moment not in love, next moment in love. Not my cup of tea. Also, there was no clear antagonist. Actually, you can argue that there were two but they weren't really bad, they just made mistakes - although that might have been the author's point. However, if Helisen's point was that people make mistakes sometimes and sometimes those mistakes have dire consequences, then the characters should have been more fleshed out to evoke more emotion in readers. I couldn't find it in myself to forgive either of the two semi-antagonists-who-aren't-really-antagonists even when they repented because I just thought what they did was dumb. As for the ending, I didn't like it. I might have liked it if the details of the curse were more straight forward and if I actually liked any of the characters, but I didn't so the ending was 'meh' for me at best.

All in all, I really didn't enjoy this book. I'm giving it a rating of 3 out of 5 just because Cat Helisen really is a great user of the words, this just wasn't a great representation of what she could do. Has anyone else read this? Do let me know your thoughts if you did.

Heir of Fire Review

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
Published:  September 2, 2014
Synopsis from Goodreads: Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy.

While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love?
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Warning: This review contains minor spoilers Heir of Fire. If you haven't read it yet, proceed with caution.

Heir of Fire... To be perfectly honest, it took me a while to really get into this one. After Crown of Midnight - which blew my mind into itsy bitsy pieces so much that I still just can't even a full week later - I was so ready to be blown away again by this third book. But I wasn't really, which makes me kind of sad. It's not that I didn't like the book because I did - a lot, it's just that so much happened, so many new characters were introduced, new plot lines, new places, etc. etc. There was a lot of just NEW that it resorted to info dumping at times. It didn't stop me from enjoying the book, there was just so much going on that I got lost a few times and forgot details of certain things and who people were that I spent a lot of time flipping back and forth to try to remember it all. 

Fireheart, why do you cry?

"Because I am lost," she whispered onto the earth. "And I do not know the way."

 - Evalin and Celaena, pg 281

One thing that separates this book from the other two is that it's separated into three storylines following Manon - witch of the Blackbeak Clan, Chaol and Dorian in Rifthold, and Celaena in Wendlyn. Just about every two chapters rotated between the storylines. I generally don't like when books are arranged this way. That's a personal preference though. It gives me anxiety (not really anxiety but I couldn't think of a better word) especially when you really start getting into one particular storyline then the chapter ends in a cliffhanger and you have to wait another four or five chapters to continue it.

Let's start with the Manon storyline. (I just found out her name is pronounced ma-NON. I was pronouncing it like Shannon - oops.) Manon is the heir of the Blackbeak Clan of Ironteen Witches. The three clans have gathered together at the Ferian Gap after accepting the king of Adarlan's offer to become his aerial troops and learn to fly on the wyverns he's been breeding. Manon's storyline doesn't intersect at all with the other two storylines. I feel like she was her own novella scattered within the book. At least the Rifthold plot and Celaena's plot were obviously connected. Though I liked her, her chapters were my least favorite just because they seemed so separate from the other two plots and I was more interested in those. I can definitely see the markings of how her story will fit into future books though. As for her as a character, her kick-ass-ery fits in well with the kick-ass-eriness of the rest of the characters up until now. She's like the polar opposite of Nehemia. Where Nehemia was all heart and sacrifice, Manon is darkness and literally doesn't have a heart - though that's subject to change.

My favorite part of Manon's storyline was getting to know Abraxos, her wyvern. He was always the underdog. He was initially a bait dragon and was never intended to be used in combat. I really want a wyvern now because of him. He's so cute what with liking flowers and protecting Manon from the cold. It's because of him and his bond to Manon that I think Manon's story will not end in her being a true villain. I really think that the king's idea to use witches is going to backfire entirely in his face. At least, with Manon as Wing Leader and her loyal Thirteen following her, they'll be a force to compete with just by themselves if they decide to rebel. I can't wait to discover the how and when her story will overlap with Celaenas's. I also hope we find out why the humans in the Ferian Gap tasted rotten. Maybe they were touched by the Vlag somehow?

The second storyline involved what Dorian and Chaol are up to while Celaena's in Wendlyn - which is basically two semi-separate plots because Chaol and Dorian are on the outs with each other. It's in here that we're introduced to Aedion Ashryver - the king's most esteemed general nicknamed Adarlan's Whore but also Celaena's cousin. It turns out that Aedion is not as loyal to the crown as he makes himself seem to be. He has basically taken over Archer's place as head of the rebels in Rifthold. I actually really liked Aedion. He started out as a complete ass but as the book progressed and we learned more about his character, we saw just how intensely loyal he is to Aelin and Terrasen. It's amazing that after all he's been through because of the king, he still has it in him to love Aelin and all she stands for as a symbol of hope for a better world. Although, what with all the flashbacks and stuff, I can't see Aelin/Aedion as a thing. I feel like they have too much of a brother-sister type of relationship.

Chaol quickly discovers what the rebels are up to when Aedion's parties begin to disrupt his guards' duty. *le sigh* Oh Chaol... let's talk about Chaol for a moment. Now, if you read my Crown of Midnight review, you'd know that I hardcore ship Celaena/Chaol. But - UGH - Chaol was soooooo frustrating in this book! Dorian was absolutely in the right when he told Chaol that he can't choose which parts of Celaena to love. Chaol kept flip-flopping between being loyal to the king and loyal to Celaena and obviously, he can't be both! It wasn't until the very end that he finally made a decision as to who's side he is on. It was without a doubt a beautiful moment for his friendship with Dorian when he finally declared a side but really, Chaol, dude, it shouldn't have been that difficult. Side with Dorian and the woman you love or continue to follow the orders of the crazy, psychotic, murdering king and the father who disowned you? I understand that his loyalty to the crown and his morals keep him where he is but he's seen so much that proves that the king is an awful, awful person but he still chose to turn a blind eye. I don't understand, Chaol. I still love you but I don't understand...

"As for Celaena," he said again, "you do not have the right to wish she were not what she is. The only thing you have a right to do is decide whether you are her enemy or her friend."

- Dorian, pg 344

Dorian on the other hand has always known where he stood in terms of his responsibilities as crown prince and his struggle to uphold those responsibilities as well as his own beliefs versus his father's. His storyline mainly involves his learning how to control his magic. As it's strongly attached to his emotions, his magic becomes unstable whenever he gets angry or scared and he knows his father won't hesitate to execute him if he discovers his son has magic. Solution: Sorscha - the healer who had been quietly attending to his, Celaena, and Chaol's wounds and keeping their activities secret. I wish we had more time with Sorcha. She was heading towards the path to becoming a major plot changing character. In a way, she was but we barely got to know her. I liked her for the fact that she made Dorian happy but we got so little time with her that I wasn't overly attached to her. I'm glad Dorian got a few moments of happiness before everything went to hell for him. I really need Dorian to be okay by the end of the next book. It just won't be cool with my feels if he's not.

Finally, we get to Celaena's storyline. When we meet Celaena again, she's basically honing her inner Jack Sparrow and wondering where the wine has gone while lounging in the sun on rooftops in Wendlyn. However, we quickly meet Rowan, a prince of the Fae, who takes her to Mistward to meet Maeve. Maeve is the Queen of the Fae and the only person who may know how to replace the Wyrdkeys on the gate. There is a catch though: Maeve will only give Celaena the answers she's looking for once she has proven that she can handle her powers and is deemed worthy enough to enter Doranelle.  And so training with Rowan begins.

It took me a long time to begin to like Rowan. If Aedion came off like an ass in the beginning, Rowan came off as an even bigger ass. What's worse is that he was an ass for the greater portion of the book. For the most part, he was mean and horrible towards Celaena and he almost got her killed twice during training because of things that he hadn't thought through. Really now, don't you think you should check for ancient giant monsters living under the ice in the dark cave before chaining an innocent boy in the middle and telling Celaena - who hadn't yet mastered her powers completely - to go save him? After centuries of living, you'd think that would be common sense by now. But Rowan redeems himself towards the end when he opens up to Celaena and they realize their past heartaches aren't so much different after all. Also, he kicks some major butt in the end.

As for Celaena, she went through so so much in this book and just adds to her overall amazing-ness. Not only did she meet all of Rowan's meanness with wonderful sarcasm and snark but she continually fought to prove to him that he was wrong about her. She began the book as so entirely broken over Nehemia's death and Chaol's betrayal that she could barely function. Over the course of the book, she battled against every death and heartbreak that kept her from accepting who she really is and conquered her fear of her power. She ended the book as this incredibly powerful, fire-wielding, half-Fae queen who's ready to reclaim her throne and fight against the King of Adarlan. Basically, she reaffirmed why she is basically the greatest heroine I've ever read. I will be a little mad at her though if she chooses Rowan over Chaol and it seems like it might head in that direction.

So even though this was my least favorite of the three books so far, I still enjoyed it and I seriously canNOT wait for Queen of Shadows this fall.

She was as much a queen as Maeve. She was the sovereign of a strong people and a mighty kingdom. 

She was the heir of ash and fire, and she would bow to know one.

- about Aelin, pg 499

Crown of Midnight Review

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
Published:  August 27, 2013
Synopsis from Goodreads: Celaena Sardothien is the king's Champion—yet she is far from loyal to the crown, for the man she serves is bent on evil. But working against her master in secret is no easy task. As Celaena tries to untangle the mysteries buried within the glass castle, she can trust no one, not even her supposed allies Crown Prince Dorian, Captain of the Guard Chaol, and foreign princess Nehemia.

Then, an unspeakable tragedy shatters Celaena's world. She must decide once and for all where her loyalties lie . . . and whom she will fight for.
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars but can 10 out of 5 stars and option?

This book Broke. My. Feels.

ALL of them. The good feels, the bad feels, the WTF just happened kind of feels.

THEY. ARE. ALL. BROKEN.

Let's start from the beginning shall we? Crown of Midnight picks up right where Throne of Glass ends. Celaena has won the title of King's Champion and is now slave to the King's wishes. However, she is nowhere near as loyal as she pretends to be. And so begins a 418 page journey of heart wrenching, nonstop adventure complete with blood, love, magic, death, plot twists, and so much more. 

In my review for Throne of Glass, I said that saying I immensely enjoyed it was an understatement. This time around though, when I say that Crown of Midnight BLEW Throne of Glass out of the water, that is a massive understatement. The first book was a really good beginning that perfectly set the stage for what was a crazy epic second book. Sarah J. Maas certainly did not fall prey to the second book lull that some authors do where their sequels are just standard in-between happenings between one book and the next. No, Ms. Maas created an amazing adventure that put her first book almost to shame (not really though because the first book is still amazing.)

One thing I forgot to talk about in my first review is how well Maas uses the third person point of view. Sometimes third person makes me feel disconnected with the characters especially when the author jumps around from talking from one character's perspective to the next. However, Maas uses third person so flawlessly that hopping from one character to the next (sometimes mid-scene) only enhanced the imagery and broke my feels even more. Did I mention yet that my feels are broken? Because they are - shattered. 

Another thing I forgot to mention is the WORDS. Not since reading Harry Potter have I found an author whose words are so important. A major lesson I learned while reading Crown of Midnight was to pay attention to the particular words that Sarah J. Maas chooses because she is the queen of the absolute most subtlest form of foreshadowing. You don't even realize that she's using foreshadowing until an epic plot twist happens and all the words fall into place and you find yourself flipping back through book one just to make sure you're remembering everything correctly.*

*Just as I was writing this, it happened again. I just remembered a scene from practically the third chapter of Throne of Glass that makes so much sense now that I just finished Crown of Midnight.**

And so concludes the spoiler free portion of this review. If you haven't yet read Crown of Midnight, run away now because spoilers in the minor and major sense are coming. 

Spoilers in 

You were warned.

CELAENA AND CHAOL!!!!! My OTP of this series finally became cannon!! Okay so things left off rocky for them in the end but UGH they were so adorable together in the first half!! Maybe adorable isn't the right word for them but I just love them together! I can't imagine them not working out eventually. They need to - it must happen. Why? Because he will always care what happens to her. Because she feels safest when she's with him. Because he knows when she needs chocolate cake. Because she threw him a perfect birthday party with all his favorite food. Because he would disappear with her. Because she took out an entire room of armed men to save her Chaol. Because he jumped into a demon portal to save her puppy. Because she signed everything she owns to him in her will. Celaena and Chaol forever!!

“Why are you crying?"
"Because," she whispered, her voice shaking, "you remind me of what the world ought to be. What the world can be.”

- Chaol and Celaena, pg 187

I will say that one thing that I didn't like about them was how easily they fell apart over a misunderstanding. I mean really, she knew that he was loyal to the crown and that his position as captain and serving his country meant everything to him. It was part of what made her love him so much - that he had it in him to be so loyal. Somewhere, she must have known that if the king gave him an order, he'd follow it. Granted, he should also have known that to not tell Celaena that Nehemia was in danger was pretty stupid. He should have known that she above anyone else would keep her safe. I don't blame him for sending her away to Wendlyn. He was trying to protect her the only way he knew how. At the same time, Nehemia lied to her too - a lot actually. THat princess had a lot of secrets and Celaena didn't blow up about that. I thought the whole misunderstanding thing was just strange all together from every angle but the end still gives me hope that all will be okay with them. 

There were two things that I really didn't see coming at all. The first of which was Dorian has magic. That revelation just blew my mind. It was just not at all something that I was expecting to happen. If there was foreshadowing for it at all, I definitely missed it and I can't remember anything that would have even hinted at that being a possibility. Also, Nehemia!!! That hurt. A lot. I loved her character! And I was actually sort of hoping that she and Dorian might become a thing eventually. But... that one hurt. And Fleetfoot still waits for her which made it hurt even more. 

One thing that I really, really loved was seeing Celaena's assassin side. My favorite scenes were when she burst through the window to save Chaol and when she crashed a council meeting to deliver Grave's head to the king. When she said that dramatic entrances were her art form, she wasn't kidding. There was just so much epicness.

** I won't spell it out exactly here just in case someone isn't listening to my spoiler warning. But reread Chapter 5 in Throne of Glass. I had forgotten all about that scene. But that's some seriously random scene disguising massive foreshadowing there for you. It's just so impressive how well thought out these books are and I've only read two of them. Same thing goes for when Nehemia renamed Celaena. The way she said it, I have a feeling she knew. 

I'm pretty sure this is the longest review I've ever written and every time I think I've said everything I meant to say, there's something else. I literally think that I can sit and flail about this book for hours. But I won't because Heir of Fire is sitting on my desk demanding to be read and when a book makes such demands, one must listen. 

If you've read Crown of Midnight, do let me know what you thought of it. Did you like more than the first? Most importantly, do you think Chaol and Celaena will be okay?? Because they need to be. For the sake of my feels. 

But death was her curse and her gift, and death had been her good friend these long, long years.

 - pg 241

Throne of Glass Review

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Published:  January 1, 2012
Synopsis from Goodreads: 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 rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Okay. I'm halfway through Crown of Midnight  right now and - Shit. Just. Went. Down. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to coherently write this review if I continue reading anymore. Holy crap beans though...

To say that I immensely enjoyed Throne of Glass would be a massive understatement. It's like a fantasy Hunger Games shmooshed together with Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness Quartet. There are a lot of elements in Throne of Glass that were really reminiscent of both book series. Normally this would have bothered me a lot but Sarah J. Maas put enough of her own spin to the storyline that it just wasn't a big deal at all. Admittedly though, I had a bit of trouble getting into the story in the beginning but I'm pretty sure that's just because I wasn't giving myself enough reading time. Reading only on my half hour lunch breaks is no way to start a book but once I actually sat down long enough to read properly, it was pretty hard to stop.

Sarah J. Maas created a wonderfully elaborate fantasy world of Erilea. I haven't read a high fantasy book in a while and this book just reminded me of how much I truly love it when it's done right. It's easy to make a fantasy world sound boring  and cliche but there was just so much detail in Maas' world that it never even came close to that. Her world building is simply amazing. Not only do we get bits about the history of Adarlan - the country where the story takes place - but we get pieces of history of the world itself. We learn about Terrasen and Ellywe and the ancient Fae and how magic was banned but once flourished. Every character gets a full back story on top of the history of their home country. Even the other champions, most of whom were minor characters, got back stories. There was talk of politics and religion. There was just so much depth to everything without ever resorting to massive info-dumps. The only thing I had a problem with was I kept forgetting what characters looked like for some reason but that was probably just me.

Let's talk about Celaena. At only eighteen years old, she's become Adarlan's most feared assassin - a great feat considering her age and the fact the she's a girl. She's the only girl in the competition to become the King's Champion and because of that, most of the competitors brushed her off at first. She also survived a year in Endovier - a death camp created by the King of Adarlan where the average life expectancy is only a month. She's endured love and heartbreak and betrayal. But on top of all of that, she kept her sense of humor and her ability to laugh. She can best anyone with swords or with wit. She plays the piano beautifully and emotionally. She reads like a true book nerd. She loves food and eats candy (and chocolate!!) with the happiness of a child. And PUPPIES - double points for loving puppies! In short, she's the epitome of a kick ass female character.

There is a love triangle here but it's the kind of love triangle that I'm okay with - more than okay actually because of how well written it is. Dorian Havilliard is the crown price of Adarlan - son of the ruthless tyrant king who basically destroyed all that was good in the world. But despite all of that, he's intelligent and kind and can easily match Celaena's wit. He's no where near the spoiled brat prince you'd expect. His ten year old brother is apparently but we don't meet him in this book. However, even though Dorian is great, I found myself really, really hoping Celaena would choose Chaol. Chaol Westfall is the Captain of the Royal Guard and Dorian's best and oldest friend. He's loyal, kind, honorable, and really sweet even though he puts on a good tough guy act at first. He takes his job as protector of the royal family seriously. He somewhat reluctantly becomes friends with Celaena over the course of the book but eventually it becomes pretty clear that the feelings go deeper than that. His sense of morals is so strong though that he is willing to step aside to allow his best friend to be happy instead. Both characters are extremely well written and it's obviously why Celaena has feelings for both but  - I'm Team Chaol all the way - most definitely.

[Side note: One thing I'm particularly glad of in my copy of the book is the pronunciation guide in the back. For a while, I could not for the life of me figure out how to pronounce Chaol. I went from CHA-oll to Chaowl to something that sounded way too much like Kal-El. Chaol is not Superman obviously because Batman is cooler. I think I was almost halfway into the book before I realized there was a pronunciation guide which like a blessing in itself.]

There were so many other amazing characters as well. Nehemia is a kickass female character all by herself and she's a princess. Nox was bascially the Finnick of the competitors and I loved him - and I'm hoping to see more of him in later books too, maybe? Duke Perrington and the king were each wonderfully horribly despicable in their own ways as was Lady Kaltain but specifically in a I-really-want-to-slap you kind of way.

If you haven't read this book, you need to. Like you needed to yesterday but now that's it's today you really, really, REALLY need to. If you loved Tamora Pierce when you were ten like I did, then you'll definitely like this but regardless, I'd recommend this to anyone who loves a good fantasy filled with endless adventure. But just be prepared for massive feels and nonstop reading. When I say nonstop I mean this book made me find creative ways to keep reading while multitasking.

But seriously - you HAVE to read this. It's necessary.

If you have read this and the rest of this series, tell me how you liked it! And also, after Crown of Midnight should I go directly to Heir of Fire or should I read Assassin's Blade first?

"You could rattle the stars," she whispered. "You could do anything, if you only dared. And deep down, you know it, too. That's what scares you most."

- Elena, pg 399 

[ February 2, 2015 edit - I'm counting this towards my 2015 Fairytale Retelling Challenge. I joined the challenge after I read the book and wrote this review but considering both the author and the publisher consider this a retelling of Cinderella, I'm making it count. =) ]