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."

Walk on Earth a Stranger Release Day Celebration Tour

I am so excited that WALK ON EARTH A STRANGER by Rae Carson releases today and that I get to share the news, along with an awesome giveaway!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful new series by Rae Carson, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for a set of the GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS series (in paperback format). US only. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

About The Book:

Title: WALK ON EARTH A STRANGER

Author: Rae Carson

Pub. Date: September 22, 2015

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Pages: 448

Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Goodreads

The first book in a new trilogy from acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Rae Carson. A young woman with the magical ability to sense the presence of gold must flee her home, taking her on a sweeping and dangerous journey across Gold Rush–era America.

Lee Westfall has a secret. She can sense the presence of gold in the world around her. Veins deep beneath the earth, pebbles in the river, nuggets dug up from the forest floor. The buzz of gold means warmth and life and home—until everything is ripped away by a man who wants to control her. Left with nothing, Lee disguises herself as a boy and takes to the trail across the country. Gold was discovered in California, and where else could such a magical girl find herself, find safety? Rae Carson, author of the acclaimed Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy, dazzles with this new fantasy that subverts both our own history and familiar fantasy tropes.

Walk on Earth a Stranger, the first book in this new trilogy, introduces—as only Rae Carson can—a strong heroine, a perilous road, a fantastical twist, and a slow-burning romance. Includes a map and author’s note on historical research. 

Read chapter 1 of WALK ON EARTH A STRANGER annotated by Rae Carson HERE!

About Rae:

Rae Carson is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the acclaimed Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy. Her next book, Walk On Earth A Stranger, will be available September 22, 2015. She lives in Arizona with her husband.

Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a set of the 3 GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS series (in paperback format). US Only.

Ends on September 30th at Midnight EST!

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Queen of Shadows Book Tour Recap

Last week on September 8th, I got the amazing chance to go to one of the stops on Sarah J. Maas' Queen of Shadows Book Tour. I know the year isn't quite up yet but this has definitely been the year of Throne of Glass for me. Throne of Glass was the first book I read in January and I have been OBSESSED with the series and Sarah J. Mass' writing ever since. Seriously, my Throne of Glass Pinterest board is almost as big as my Harry Potter one. When one of my managers told me that SJM was going to do a signing at a nearby Barnes and Noble (not the one I work at, unfortunately, but that would have been EPIC if it had been. In the mean time, I'll continue to obsessively make sure any and all Sarah J. Maas titles are beautifully displayed on the shelves), I did everything I could to make sure I was off that day and it was so worth it.

Not having anyone as obsessed with the series as I am, I dragged my boyfriend to the event with me even though he hasn't finished Throne of Glass yet even though I told him to. It wasn't a huge event, but this particular BN had its own event room on the second floor so it was a nice little setting for it. There were maybe about 40ish people by the time we arrived at almost exactly 6pm (because rush hour and because traffic). We got a good spot towards the center where SJM and Claire Legrand (the moderating author for the talk) were going to sit.

Claire Legrand did a great job moderating the talk. She asked SJM about her writing process and a how the ToG series came to be. SJM was hilarious with her talk of her "Gollum" stage aka the stage of her writing where she holes up for days in her office at home just working on writing barely giving herself time to even shower and her little anecdote about how she's become the creepy neighbor peering out of her blinds. She even mentioned how one time, she got a little crazy and put a note in a ziplock bag under the windshield wiper of her neighbor's car because it was incorrectly parked for weeks near her house. My favorite part about the talk was when SJM talked about her choosing to be a writer. She said writing was literally the only thing she liked doing as a teenager and she knew that that's what she wanted to do as her career. She shared a story that she said almost always makes her cry and I could definitely understand why. She said her parents always wanted her to get a "real" job and didn't believe much in her making it as a writer. Never once did she accuse her parents of being bad parents - she knew they were just being parents looking out for the well being of their daughter in an economy that just crashed. But, she said when  Crown of Midnight hit the New York Times Bestsellers list, her mom pulled her aside and apologized for ever doubting her. I swear that story hit me in the feels just as much her actual books do.

After the talk, SJM and Claire Legrand played a few rounds of an SJM/Throne of Glass themed Headsup before opening the floor for audience questions. Some of her answers included her claim as a student of the "Rowling School of Writing" aka the details and characters that seemed minor when you first read about them will come back in big ways but at the same time, she promised she would not pull a Hedwig in her books and Fleetfoot would survive until the end. I felt a ridiculous amount of relief at that statement so I really hope it stays true. She also promised that Ansel and Yrene Towers from The Assassin's Blade would be coming back before the series ends and that we'd learn more about Nehemia and what exactly her secrets were. She also confirmed that Nehemia definitely knew who Celaena actually was which I sort of already assumed but it was never confirmed in the books.

We waited about an hour to get our books signed. Sarah was so so nice and she paused to talk to each of her fans. When we finally got to her, she recognized my ToG tote and asked me where I got it from. When I told her it was from Bookcon, she said that Bookcon was super overwhelming and joked that we were the normal ones for not waking up before dawn to line up for her morning signing. She said not even she had been up that early and sleep is a good thing.

All in all, it was an amazing event and it was so great to hear SJM talk about her characters and her writing. She is a beautiful person and truly an inspiration to aspiring young writers. If you ever have a chance to meet her, I highly suggest that you drop everything and jump at that opportunity to go. She is so sweet and I promise you won't regret it.

 

Queen of Shadows Release Day Blitz + GIVEAWAY!!!

I am so excited that QUEEN OF SHADOWS by Sarah J. Maas releases today and that I get to share the news, along with an awesome giveaway!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful series by Sarah J. Maas, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for a set of the first 3 books in the series (in paperback format). US only. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

About The book:

Title: QUEEN OF SHADOWS

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Pub. Date: September 1, 2015

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Pages: 656

Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Goodreads

Sarah J. Maas's New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series reaches new heights in this sweeping fourth volume.

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.

Read Chapters 1-5 of QUEEN OF SHADOWS HERE!

Sarah J. Maas is the author of the New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling Throne of Glass series–Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, and Heir of Fire, and the series’ prequel, The Assassin’s Blade–as well as the New York Times and USA Today bestselling A Court of Thorns and Roses. She wrote the first incarnation of the Throne of Glass series when she was just sixteen, and it has now sold in twenty-three languages. Queen of Shadows, the fourth book in the Throne of Glass series, will release worldwide on September 1st, 2015.

A New York native, Sarah currently lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and dog. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Hamilton College in 2008 with a degree in Creative Writing and a minor in Religious Studies. 

Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr | Pinterest | Instagram| Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive the first 3 books (in paperback) in the THRONE OF GLASS Series. US Only.

Ends on September 11th at Midnight EST!

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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone reread + Giveaway!!!

"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense."  - Chapter 1, page 1

Like I mentioned in my last post, it's been a long time since I reread Harry Potter - particularly the Sorcerer's Stone which might actually be the book I've reread the least. I actually forgot just how short this particular book was. Reading it again was like looking back at photo albums of when I was little. Harry, Ron, and Hermione (and Neville) are freaking adorable in their first year. By the way, did you ever notice that whenever Harry could he gave chocolate to people who were upset? He did this for Neville and Hagrid and this is pre-Professor Lupin and it's adorable.

(Side note which basically has nothing to do with anything: My copy of the Sorcerer's Stone - the same one I've had since I was eight - smells really good. That's weird, I know, and I'm not usually a book sniffer but for some unknown reason it smells like libraries with a hint of vanilla and coffee.)

Reading along with Pottermore was surprisingly more fun that I thought it would be. At first, the site basically confused me. I had no idea how to fill the progress bar at the bottom of every chapter and I could never find all the little hidden notes and clues in the pictures. They are seriously well hidden sometimes! Particularly in library scenes. But about a third of the way in, I got the hang of it and it became a lot of fun. I've earned a total or 74 house points for Ravenclaw just by following along and I collected a bunch of fun chocolate frog cards. I also learned a lot of random things about the series and characters that I didn't know before like the Sorting Hat originally belonged to Godric Gryffindor and is skilled at Legilimency (which makes sense, I just never put that together). Also, did you know that one of Professor Quirrell's hobbies (before he had Voldemort on the back of his head, of course) was pressing wild flowers? Like, what?! That was so random, it literally made me laugh out loud when I read it. Professor McGonagall's backstory was also really interesting to read about - sad, but really interesting. If you're an HP fan, I definitely suggest you fiddle around on Pottermore at some point. It's fun I promise.

 Now onto the fun stuff... like I promised in my last post:

I'm doing a giveaway!!

I'll be giving away one boxset of The Hogwarts Library Collection. It's the new(ish) boxset that includes the pretty, hardcover versions of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages and also The Tales of Beetle the Bard. So if you haven't had the chance to add these to your Harry Potter collection, now's your chance at doing so.

Unfortunately, I don't have the funds to cover international shipping so the giveaway is for US only. 

Good luck everyone!


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Happy Birthday to the Boy Who Lived!! + Pottermore Read-Along

 

Just like almost every other avid reader out there my age, Harry Potter is my favorite book series basically ever. I remember when I was about eight and my mom bought me Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. She bought it on a whim one day at our local Barnes and Noble just because she had heard some good things about it. I also remember not really wanting to read it but at the time it was a thing my mom and I did that she would read me a chapter out of a book every night until we finished it. We basically flew through books one and two and I remember going up to a bookseller and being wholly disappointed when she told me book three wasn't out yet. That was the start of my love for the world of Harry Potter. 

I've just come back from vacation at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida. If you're a Potter fan and you haven't been there, I highly recommend it. It was my first time going and it was so much fun to be able to walk into Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. It literally felt like walking onto the movie set. We had lunch at The Leaky Cauldron on the first day and then at The Three Broomsticks the next. (Butterbeer is amazing, by the way.) Both the Escape from Gringotts and the Forbidden Journey rides are amazing and so so much fun. One of my favorite random tidbits was definitely when (as one generally has to do) I was in the bathroom in Hogsmeade and Moaning Myrtle's voice started talking over the stalls asking if anyone had seen Harry Potter.

After being back for a week, I'm still 100% on a Harry Potter kick. Not even the weekend long marathon on ABC Family satisfied me. Nor has practically doubling my Harry Potter related Pinterest boards. So for the month of August (starting as soon as I finish the book I'm currently reading) I'm going to be rereading all seven books. I've been wanting to reread the books for about a year now but I keep putting it off in favor of all the new books I've yet to read. I haven't reread the series since right before the last movie came out when I decided I needed to prepare myself for the last time ever and reread the entire series. But this time, I'm going to be doing it a little differently. I plan on reading each book side by side with the Pottermore extras. I never really took the time to thoroughly read through all the extra things J.K. Rowling has added to the books through Pottermore and I figure during a reread is the perfect time.

There's no set time frame for how I'm reading the books. I just plan on rereading them all through August. So, if you're in the mood for a Harry Potter reread even if it's just one or two of the books, feel free to join me in my Pottermore Read-along. Or if you don't have time to do a reread and you have a Pottermore account, add me on Pottermore. I sincerely have no idea what I'm doing there. I've been sorted into Ravenclaw (obviously. If I wasn't, Pottermore and I were going to have problems) and I recently won 5 house points by dueling. That is the full extent of what I know how to do. My mouthful of a randomly generated screen name is MoonstoneStorm31177.

I'm also considering doing a Harry Potter related giveaway but I haven't decided on what I want to giveaway just yet so more information on that to come soon. I hope some of you can join me in my long awaited reread but if not, I hope to see you on Pottermore and, of course:

Happy 35th Birthday to Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived.

Our little Harry is all grown up.

Mini June Wrap Up + Two Week Wizarding World Hiatus

 I am apparently in a massive reading slump. I've only read one book YET AGAIN this month! I fail at life obviously but I'm totally going to put the blame on the overwhelming amount of books I got during BookCon. Yup I blame that. Not really I just fail sometimes.

Anywho, this month I read Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen. It's pretty good but really slow at first. It took a long time for me to get into it and even then, there are a lot of long passages of back story back aren't too too interesting but at the same time essential to the main story. But even with all the back story, there are a lot of questions left unanswered. Mainly, what on earth happened that this is set in a future medieval-type dystopian world where Harry Potter exists and electronics are known but none of these things are around anymore. Like, I need to know what happened to have made the world regress so far. I still have about 50 pages to go until I actually finish the book but with the way things are going, I highly doubt that's going to be one of the questions that gets resolved by the end. Hopefully, in the sequel Invasion of the Tearling we'll get more answers. I won't lie - I totally wanted to read this strictly because Emma Watson is attached as playing Kelsea in the upcoming movie adaptation. She doesn't really look the part because she's gorgeous and there's constant emphasis on Kelsea's plainness but still, it's Emma Watson. She's amazing no matter what she's in.

Speaking of Emma Watson, I'm going on a two week hiatus starting tomorrow. Why? Because my family and I are going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!!

 

Harry Potter is my childhood!! I'm so excited!! I've never been there but I've been wanting to go ever since I heard that they were building it. I want to drink butterbeer and go to Ollivander's and Weasley Wizard Wheezes and just do all the Harry Potter things all while trying very hard not to go broke of which I'm sure there is a very high possibility. I'm not spending two full weeks in Florida but I'm leaving tomorrow (at the terrible hour of 3 am) for a week in North Carolina to visit relatives then we're driving down to Orlando for three days in Universal Studios and the Wizarding World and one day at Disney. We haven't bought the Disney tickets yet but I'm really feeling the need to visit the Magic Kingdom again. I haven't been there since I was little. So so excited!!

*Cue epic road trip music*