Review: A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

 

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐

For the size of this book, it was very lacking. After reading A Court of Mist and Fury, I was so excited to read this book, though I was confused as to why there was so much hype around that book, but not this one. Now I know why.

 

My annoyances first. The number of ellipses infuriated me. There were sometimes three to a page and I understand that they’re used to show pause for thought, but for most, a good old comma would do. It became so bad that every time I saw that ‘…’ I considered skipping the paragraph, which is not what you want when reading any book. Secondly, the end was sort of predictable. I guessed how a lot of the battle would play out before the book came and the things that I didn’t predict did seem a little too convenient, even for saviours in battles.  As bad as it sounds, I would have preferred it if more main characters had died as well; it would at least make it seem more realistic.

 

Overall, though, I did enjoy the general plot and it was exciting to see the world expanded upon even more. The progression of the three books definitely got that right by building upon the world little by little in each book. Rhys and Feyre’s relationship was also really nicely done and felt real. They spent enough time apart that the book didn’t strictly turn into a romance but their moments together still made me really happy.

 

I know there are now more books planned to be released related to this series, but I’m no longer as enthused to read them as I might once have been.

[Goodreads parallel]

Review: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

 

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Looking back to when I first read this book, I can’t believe I only gave it three stars. Now it definitely sits at a five and the worst thing? I didn’t write a review the first time I read it so I don’t known why I wasn’t the biggest fan of it.

 

On this read though, I really, really enjoyed it. The decisions of the characters made sense and their actions were justifiable. I think in my first read I might not have understood the sudden change in Tamlin’s behaviour but, having read this book right after reading A Court of Thorns and Roses (unlike the last time when I’d had a year’s break between the two), it makes more sense to me now. I understand that after three/four months Under the Mountain, Feyre and Tamlin would have been suffering massively as a result of that trauma and hence their actions might not seem logical without that prior knowledge of their suffering.

 

I also loved getting to see some action sequences with Feyre now as a High Fae, including the use of her magical abilities. Although the final showdown with Hybern was a bit disappointing in terms of the action, the other parts of this book in which it was explored make up for it.

 

The development of friendships and relationships in this book was also done well. I was convinced that the members of the Inner Circle of the Night Court were friends and I was definitely convinced of the developing relationship between Rhys and Feyre.

 

I think it says a lot about how much I liked this book that I was upset that I couldn’t get my hands on the next one in the series and am discontented at having to make do with only three sample chapters until I can get a copy.

[Goodreads parallel]

Review: Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐

This book succeeded in being intriguing and it was definitely a story that I wanted to follow through to the end. To say that it was 800 pages, it didn’t feel that long, but I do remember getting to page 200 and thinking that I was going to be in for a long ride. Deciding how I feel about this book has been difficult, in part I think due to its length because over so many pages, a lot happened. But, overall, there were aspects of this book that I didn’t like and certainly dampened my enjoyment of the story.

Firstly, and because it plays such a key role within the story, I didn’t like the relationship between Hunt and Bryce. I felt like them eventually getting together was too obvious even though they started off their relationship as ‘enemies’. As their relationship developed, it didn’t make me feel anything more for them, both as individuals and as a pair. Maybe it’s because, in typical Sarah J. Maas style, I assume they won’t remain together in the next book and that expectation has made me wary of wanting them to be together.

Secondly, whilst I enjoyed the final fight for Crescent City and found the fight scenes enjoyable to read, I didn’t like how Bryce’s firstlight fixed the city, repairing buildings and healing the injured. Whilst I’m glad the dead stayed dead, it felt like too much of a happy ending after this book trying to be more gritty and real by having main characters killed off and accepting the darker sides of life. Personally, I would have enjoyed it more if Hunt had died, especially as he was literally described as having been almost blown apart. Maybe that’s because I don’t like the relationship between Hunt and Bryce that much, but still.

As well as that, I thought Hunt’s betrayal and the whole storyline with the synth deal on the ship was poorly done. Throughout the book we had Hunt’s perspective and from that, I didn’t get the indication that he would want to start another rebellion, especially after how the last one had gone. It seemed to appear out of nowhere and be for the sore purpose of separating Hunt from Bryce for the final showdown.

So, why didn’t I give this book a lower rating? Because the story still kept me engaged throughout the bits that I didn’t like, because I wanted to have an answer to some of the mysteries and because of Ruhn. To me, he was one of the best characters in the book and I was hoping to see a lot more from him than we actually did. In the initial stages of the investigation, we got some chapters from his perspective and I thought that would be a continuing theme, but then they seemed to drop off until the end of the book. Still, I held out hope that we would hear more from him because even though he was treated badly by Bryce, I cared about him and what would happen to him.

[Goodreads parallel]

My Favourite Books of 2015

This year has been one of my best reading years in a long, long time. I've made an effort to try new genres and have been greatly rewarded for that choice. Here are my top twelve books of the year, along with their descriptions and my reasons for having them on my list. They are listed chronologically as putting them in an order of favourites would just be too stressful.

Blue Lily, Lily Blue - There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up. 
Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs. 
The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost. 
Friends can betray. 
Mothers can disappear. 
Visions can mislead. 
Certainties can unravel.

This book has to be one of my favourites because I cannot get enough of it and the world its set in. Each book in the Raven Cycle series is more exciting than the last and with the final book coming out soon, it's really worth getting your hands on the first three beforehand.

Shadow and Bone - Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

.

This amazing series is full of action, romance and magic. With characters you can't help but hate to love and plot twists waiting round every corner, I would really recommend this book if you are a lover of fantasy.

Half Bad - Wanted by no one. Hunted by everyone.
Sixteen-year-old Nathan lives in a cage: beaten, shackled, trained to kill. In a modern-day England where two warring factions of witches live amongst humans, Nathan is an abomination, the illegitimate son of the world's most terrifying and violent witch, Marcus. Nathan's only hope for survival is to escape his captors, track down Marcus, and receive the three gifts that will bring him into his own magical powers—before it's too late. But how can Nathan find his father when there is no one safe to trust, not even family, not even the girl he loves?

I'm annoyed that it took so long for me to pick this book up off my shelf and read it. This novel is a sad, yet hopeful tale that deals with prejudice, trust and love. Also, it's set in England, which almost no YA novels are, so bonus points need to be awarded.

Cinder -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 centre 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.

This novel is a perfect mix of fantasy, sci-fi and dystopian YA fiction. Definitely do not be put off by the mention of the word 'cyborg' as I first was and go into this with an open mind (though be prepared to have it blown and your heart broken at certain points). As 'The Lunar Chronicles' are now complete, I truly recommend marathoning them all because this is a fantastic series that every lover of YA fiction should definitely experience.

Since You've been Gone - It was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before what should have been the most epic summer, Sloane just…disappears. All she leaves behind is a to-do list.
On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that Emily would normally never try. But what if they could bring her best friend back?
Apple picking at night? Okay, easy enough.
Dance until dawn? Sure. Why not?
Kiss a stranger? Um... 
Go skinny-dipping? Wait...what?

When I first saw this book my mind was screaming at me so put it down and run away because it seemed just like another contemporary sloppy love story, but I am really glad I got it. This is anything but just another 'contemporary sloppy love story'. It's about friendship, family and doing what's best for you. Also, someone please make me a list...

I'll Give You The Sun - Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.

If you only read one book from this list, make it this one. This story made me laugh and made me cry (and if you know me, you know how hard that is to do). 'I'll Give You The Sun' will turn you into an emotional wreck with a greater appreciation for life and following your dreams. It is the most stunning and beautiful book I have ever had the luck of reading.

A Swift Pure Cry - After Shell's mother dies, her obsessively religious father descends into alcoholic mourning and Shell is left to care for her younger brother and sister. Her only release from the harshness of everyday life comes from her budding spiritual friendship with a naive young priest, and most importantly, her developing relationship with childhood friend, Declan, charming, eloquent and persuasive. But when Declan suddenly leaves Ireland to seek his fortune in America, Shell finds herself pregnant and the centre of a scandal that rocks the small community in which she lives, with repercussions across the whole country. The lives of those immediately around her will never be the same again.

This is a heartbreaking tale of loss and love. Real life stories are often the most eye-opening and scarring and this was certainly that. It makes you truly feel for the plight of others and be thankful for the life you have.

The Winner's Curse - Winning what you want may cost you everything you love... 
As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. 

Though this tale is one that is completely different to those I am used to, it is utterly brilliant. Drawing on ideas from Ancient Greece and Rome, it demonstrates that love can overcome prejudices and mistakes can cost you everything.

A Court of Thorns and Roses -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.

An epic high fantasy novel that leads the way for an amazing series. This book will draw you completely in Feyre's world and make you wish that, despite the constant threats and levels of danger, you could live in the majestic world of the fae. If you are looking for stunning fantasy writing, this is the book for you.

The Year of the Rat - To Pearl, there's nothing sweet about her premature half-sister, Rose. It was Rose that caused her mother's death and Rose that turned her world upside down.
To Pearl, Rose is The Rat.

This novel is another eye-opening tale. It has the power to make you feel pity and sadness, but also hope and joy. It is one of those books that I think everyone should have the chance to experience.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer - Mara Dyer believes life can't get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
It can. 
She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed. 
There is.
She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love. 
She's wrong.

An intoxicating start to a dark series filled with fear and romance. The 'Mara Dyer' trilogy has to be my favourite series of the year. You can fly through these books in one sitting and feel like you haven't been there for more than ten minutes. Noah Shaw is a definite perk as well.

Emma - Beautiful, clever, rich - and single - Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protégée Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected.

This book was not what I expected at all. I would never have believed you if you had said to me that I would laugh at a classic and use the word 'man-slut' when talking to my friends about a novel by Jane Austen. If you have yet to start reading classics, I would highly recommend this as you first pick.

Here's to a great year of reading! I wish you all the best in 2016.

-E

Review: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

This book is an action-packed adventure full of tension, romance and fear. I found myself never wanting to close the pages and every moment that I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. The characters developed significantly and I started to care about them, worrying about what may happen to them. Though this book is enormous, it never dragged and everything was done with a purpose. After reading this book, I couldn't recommend it highly enough; it is a series every lover of fantasy should read.

(Goodreads parallel)

Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

The blurb of this book tells me that it is the 'first in an epic new fantasy trilogy' and I have to say that I couldn't agree more. This book introduces us to an unexplainably complex fantasy with description so intense that I felt like I could have lived there my entire life. Despite how horrible some of the characters could be and the evil that I knew to be present there, I couldn't help but fall in love with this world and all it had to offer. The plot was very cleverly and carefully revealed, leaving me always wanting more at the end of each chapter. Character development happened gradually and realistically, assisted greatly by Maas' incredible writing. This book sets a high standard amongst fantasy novels and I can't wait for the next instalment in this series, though I will comment that after the ending of this book, I hope a storyline that is just as good or better than the one in this book will be found as I do not just want the second and third books to focus on romance; I would prefer for there to be something for the characters to face off against.

(Goodreads parallel)