Thursday, April 23, 2015

Throne of Glass

Throne of Glass 

By Sarah J. Maas

Synopsis: 

In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien. The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass--and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

My Thoughts:

Throne of Glass, the first in a series of six, introduces us to the world of Celaena Sardothien. A world that once sucked in, readers will not be easily let go.  Our main character, Celaena, is so many things. She is strong, cunning, ruthless and selfless while at the same time she's vindictive, self-centered and maybe a little immature. In other words, while she may be considered the worlds greatest assassin, she is also completely human and ruled by her emotions and her past. And her past is a bit of  a doozy. After being betrayed and forced to spend a year in slave labor, Celaena is chosen to participate in a contest against 23 other criminals for a chance at a full pardon and freedom. As if being pitted against ruthless killers wasn't enough, something in the castle proves that those 23 contestants may just be the least of her worries. 

This book was incredibly fast paced, unpredictable and I was unable to put it down from the start. Each book following Throne of Glass just gets better and better. You can see Maas grow as a writer and if you compare book 1 and book 3 it's hard to believe that it was written by the same person because her writing grew so much.



If you love fantasy then believe me when I say, you do not what to miss this series! 


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           Prequel Novella's          Book two                  Book three       Book four- releases 9/1

Thursday, April 16, 2015

The Winner's Curse

The Winner's Curse

by Marie Rutkoski

Synopsis:

They were never meant to be together. As a general's daughter, seventeen-year-old Kestrel enjoys an extravagant and privileged life. Arin has nothing but the clothes on his back. Then Kestrel makes an impulsive decision that binds Arin to her. Though they try to fight it, they can't help but fall in love. In order to be together, they must betray their people . . . but to be loyal to their country, they must betray each other.Set in a new world,The Winner's Curse is a story of rebellion, duels, ballroom dances, wicked rumors, dirty secrets, and games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

My thoughts:

I think lately we have forgotten that a strong female character doesn't just mean that she can physically kick a lot of ass. We have a tendency to paste a label of 'damsel' on any woman who can't fight and kill men 3X their size. We forget that intellect, being true to yourself, knowing your limitations and making difficult choices in difficult situations is also incredibly strong.I loved Kestrel for all these reasons. In a world where you must enlist or you wed, Kestrel is a general’s daughter who lacks skill in combat. She prefers music and intellectual games, music which is deemed for slaves not for any high born. She is a master in planning and can easily plan how to win a battle but the battle itself is just not for her. I cannot stress how much I love this. I love diverse characters but especially diverse women. Men have owned stories for a lifetime and it is now that women get to really shine. Kestrel was beautifully written with a realism to her that made me connect. She was never written in a light of perfection, she knows her flaws but she also knows her own strengths. I think most of my love for this book comes from Kestrel's character (not saying the rest wasn't any good but she shined and I wanted more and more and more of her). Arin was a Herrani slave bought by Kestrel in a moment of weakness to his defiant eyes. He has a mysterious background that I hope we learn more of in the forthcoming books, we got a bit but I want it all. I have back and forth feelings for Arin, on the one hand I completely understand his actions and his hatred is completely valid but on the other hand, he endangers Kestrel and dude, not cool. Overall, I really adored 'The Winner's Curse'. I was really nervous going into it because it's gotten SUCH rave reviews but to me it really lived up to them. The writing and story were unique and so beautiful and I can't wait to see how the story ends!

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Sea of Shadows

Sea of Shadows

by Kelley Armstrong

Synopsis:

In the Forest of the Dead, where the empire''s worst criminals are exiled, twin sisters Moria and Ashyn are charged with a dangerous task. For they are the Keeper and the Seeker, and each year they must quiet the enraged souls of the damned.


Only this year, the souls will not be quieted.

Ambushed and separated by an ancient evil, the sisters'' journey to find each other sends them far from the only home they've ever known. Accompanied by a stubborn imperial guard and a dashing condemned thief, the girls cross a once-empty wasteland, now filled with reawakened monsters of legend, as they travel to warn the emperor. But a terrible secret awaits them at court--one that will alter the balance of their world forever.


My thoughts:


Twin sisters Ashyn and Moria were born to be the Seeker and the Keeper of Edgewood.  Their duty is to protect the village and obey the spirits that live there but once a year the Seeker must perform a Seeking, entering the Forest to bury the dead and put their spirits at rest while the Keeper protects the village from any malicious spirits that try to flee. With their sixteenth birthday passed the girls perform the Seeking by themselves for the first time and when Ashyn enters the forest the monsters she finds there are creatures right out of Moria's legends.  When most of the village is massacred, the girls are separated and flee the village in search of the each other. As they cross the Waste, with the help of their bonded animals and two very different boys, they must battle more legendary creatures and wonder if they will ever see their twin again.  In Sea of Shadows, Armstrong has switch from her usually genre of paranormal to fantasy with surprising skill though of course there is still the romantic drama one expects from Armstrong.  Ashyn and Moria are both very well written characters with strong personalities that aren't afraid to take the harder (or more difficult moral) path to set wrongs right. Full of action, romantic drama that was already mentioned, and a few monsters, Sea of Shadows is a fantastic opener it what is bound to be an amazing trilogy.