Book Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorns

Title: The Girl of Fire and Thorns
Author: Rae Carson
Rating: 2/5 Stars
Series: Fire and Thorns (Book 1)


* Means there is a spoiler at the bottom. Don't want to see the spoiler? Don't scroll to the very bottom.

Color me confused.

This book was 423 pages long. I understood maybe 210 pages? If I was lucky. There just seemed to be so many twists and turns and plot holes and, most of all, just this general sense of meh. It wasn't necessarily a bad book, but there was nothing about it that screamed "good book" either. It was just...okay. Which normally would earn it 3 stars, except for the ending which was, in my opinion, a little ridiculous. Like I read it a couple times and it still seemed kinda weird to me but I was scrolling through other reviews on Goodreads and maybe it's just me because so far I've only found one other person who has mentioned it... I just thought it was really strange and one of those things that people would mention but...

Anyway, Elisa is the bearer of the Godstone, which (little iffy on this because I didn't quite get how this worked but I read this after a run, I was a little tired so could have just been my mush brain) she received when a shaft of sunlight shined on her navel (?) and she is now responsible for a "great act of service" in which she might (and probably will, if past records are any indication) die. But first, she gets married to a king who promptly asks her to pretend that they are... not married? So that he can use it to his political advantage? And then gets kidnapped and that's about where I a) became officially confused and b) lost interest and wandered off to write essays. Me deciding to write essays instead of reading is a bad sign. I hate essays. Because once she gets kidnapped her personality kinda changes and not necessarily in a good way?

I think the hard part for me was that (and other people have mentioned this too) as soon as she started losing weight all of a sudden her Godstone had all these new properties, and she turned into this completely different person, which (I think) sent the opposite message that Carson might have been going for when she introduced Elisa as someone who loved to eat and was overweight. The message that seemed to come across was if you lose weight all of your problems would be magically solved, and I think it should have been more along the lines of acceptance and empowerment and stuff like that.*

LIKES:
+ I didn't necessarily have to drag myself through this book, I just didn't necessarily like it.
+ Elisa was actually a pretty strong character. There were some moments that seemed out-of-character for her where she seemed to complain more but other than that...
+ My favorite character was the prince, who showed up for like .5 seconds. I wish he had been in there more.

DISLIKES:
- The ending.**
- The message it sent about weight and losing weight.
- The title takes a second to figure out. Like it doesn't make any sense until you think about the whole thorn ritual that she goes through and then it kinda makes sense.
- There was way less magic than I thought. Like way less (as in almost none).

I'm not finishing the series... I just don't like it enough to make the time worth it.

See this review on Goodreads.







SPOILER SECTION:
* Also, the fact that her own husband all of a sudden didn't recognize her when she weighed less and acted more attracted to her really bothered me. His son recognized her right away, but he treated her like he'd never met her.
** I'm imagining this as like a pinwheel/fidgit-spinner thing on her bellybutton. She saved the day with a pinwheel on her bellybutton?! I'm... not convinced.

Book Review: Flame in the Mist

Title: Flame in the Mist
Author: Renée Ahdieh
Rating: 2/5 Stars
Series: Flame in the Mist (Book 1)

Well that was disappointing. I honestly should have given up after the first 20 pages but I had been waiting so long to read this book that I figured I would give it another shot... and another one... until I finished the book and just felt let down.

This was probably one of the most boring books that I've read in a while, and a lot of other people really liked it so I'm not sure what went wrong with me when I was reading it... I just couldn't make myself be interested in Mariko's story at all. I felt like I was dragging myself through the book, I wasn't excited to read it at all, and actually decided to edit my essays instead of reading (which I guess I needed to do since I had put them off while reading The End of the Day but still). I also spent way more time on my phone than I normally do, just to avoid picking the book up.

It basically follows Mariko, the future bride of the son of the emperor, as she gets attacked, joins a group of bandits called the Black Clan, and realizes that her life has been wonderful at the expense of others. She also learns how to fend for herself, and just how sheltered she has been. We also get some glimpses into the lives of her brother and the emperor/his wife/his consort, but those were really rare. My issue isn't necessarily with the plot, but just the execution. It seemed to drag on and on and I just lost interest 20 pages in.

Besides the whole instalove thing and slow plot there wasn't really anything I could put my finger on and go "this is why I didn't like the book," I just can't find a reason to like it, if that makes sense.

LIKES:
+ The premise of the book was quite interesting, and with the blurb I really wanted to read it. I almost felt like the blurb was more exciting than the actual book though...
+ When Mariko wasn't complaining she could actually be kinda tough. And she was super inventive, which was nice!
+ Semi-suprising plot twist at the end

DISLIKES:
- Mariko complained A LOT. About everything.
- Instalove
- Really slow plot, and Mariko was really hard to connect to/care about
- It was impossible (for me) to keep track of the characters. I didn't know who was who half of the time.

Now I just have to decide if I am reading Ahdieh's other series... It is supposed to be good, but then again so was this book.

See this review on Goodreads.

Book Review: The Song Rising

Title: The Song Rising
Author: Samantha Shannon
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Series: The Bone Season (Book 3)

Spoilers for the Divergent Trilogy ahead!!


While this book was slightly more interesting than the previous installment, it didn't really necessarily speak to me or capture my attention or anything like that. I almost felt like the story got stuck in a rut, or like that movie with Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt that I can't remember the name of... (Edge of Tomorrow. It's Edge of Tomorrow. Thanks Google.) You had this really interesting series of events that just kept getting repeated over and over again until, news flash, it wasn't interesting anymore. Plus, as I've mentioned in my past two reviews, my brain is a bag of mush right now so I kept getting confused, like hasn't this happened already...?

I feel like the second half was much more interesting than the first half, but both were pretty repetitive. In the first half it was all "Paige is Underqueen, now here are a million reasons why she might not be Underqueen for very long..." and that just didn't work for me. You can have a protagonist be interesting without constantly reinforcing how hard the journey ahead of her is going to be, her struggles, etc. I understood it the first couple times it was said! And then the second half of the book went all Mission Impossible on me, and if anyone has EVER talked to me about the Mission Impossible movies then they know that I have a grudge against those. A very big one. Also James Bond. Those guys are dead! You can't wack your head against the side of a building that hard and be totally okay afterwards. Sorry. And some of the stuff Paige did reminded me of that. Which made me really mad.

I'm going to be completely honest here--you really gotta know your orders for the last half of this book. And if you have, say, no idea as to what order is what then the whole suspense part of it is ruined because you are too lost to understand what is going on. And that's not kinda-sorta lost, it's majorly lost. And there's a chart and all in the back of the book but flipping back and forth all the time is just a pain. Major pain.

LIKES:
+ Yay for backstories! Nothing makes me happier than secondary character backstories, and you've got that here! Even though I had no clue as to who some of these people were (still iffy on who Tom was. I feel like I should know him and where he was from but again, brain = mush) I still got to learn their stories and that was cool
+ Jaxon backstory and story reveal and HOW DID I NOT SEE THAT COMING?!? Paige is putting it all together and I'm like pshhh how did she not know that and then I'm sitting there like aiflfdujhsf well you didn't either.... (as you can see, did not see that coming. At all. Good job me.
+ Paige is finally using her gift more and although there was still a large amount of can'tdoitcan'tdoit that went on I feel like we actually got to see the dreamwalker, ya know, dreamwalk a decent amount.
+ The fact that she kinda pulled a Tris, but in a good way. You'll see.

DISLIKES:
- You know the outcome of her pulling a Tris, because there are 4 MORE BOOKS in the series.
- There seemed to be a lot of her acting like she was dying/dead but then she's not every time and just repetition...
- See rant about repetition above ^^
- I was really lost at certain points during this story. Like really lost, and I don't think I ever found my way again.

It wasn't awful, I just wasn't in love... I'm not sure if it was the repetition or slow build or what was going on, but it just didn't click for me, which was really disappointing. I still haven't decided if I'm reading the rest of the series when it comes out...

See this review on Goodreads.

Book Review: The Mime Order [Mild Spoilers]

Title: The Mime Order
Author: Samantha Shannon
Rating: 2/5 Stars
Series: The Bone Season (Book 2)

Warning: Mild-ish spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.

I finished this yesterday but my brain is apparently a big bag of mush and I cannot retain anything so apologies in advance for yet another rambling and disorganized review. One day I will be completely on top of things, probably the same day that I can look at my TBR without getting short of breath.

I feel like this book was, in a way, pretty forgettable. I mean, I read The Bone Season 11 days ago and remember the events of that much better than I remember the events of this book, which should really tell you something. I feel like the last couple chapters of this book should have turned into the first couple chapters of the third book and then this book should have just...not existed...

Basically it picks up where the last book left off, and the first like 40% of the book is Paige deciding if she should go back to Jaxon or not. For some reason I imagine this as Paige pacing back and forth wearing a track in the ground but that's not what happened there was some other stuff thrown in there as well but it obviously wasn't interesting enough for me to remember... and then the last 60% is Warden-filled but also probably the most interesting part of the book. Not the Warden part. But the action part because betrayal, tension, mystery, all that jazz.

LIKES:
+ The last part of the book was awesome. Lots of action, mystery, etc. as well as some betrayal and subversive plots because why not chuck that in there too? I loved it, it reminded me of why I decided to continue reading the series even though the first one made me a puddle of uncertain mush. (I have issues when reading a series. As in, once I read the first one I feel obligated to read all of the others even if they were supremely terrible. Because you can't just abandon a series, who does that?! I have gotten better as my TBR has grown though, because no one has time to read an awful series with that monstrous pile staring straight at you...)
+ Excluding the first 40% of the book, I felt like the book moved the plot along quite nicely. There was actually a reason for everything/what was going on, I was drawn into the story, AND I chose to read it instead of studying for my tests because what is studying. All I know how to do is put it off and read books because... TBR lists...
+ I really liked how we got to know some of the secondary characters better, as well as their backstories. Because if there's one thing I hate (besides romance, love triangles, etc.) it's flat secondary characters

DISLIKES:
- The first 40% of the book because what was that even. I'm an indecisive person (MAJORLY indecisive) and even I was getting frustrated. PICK PAIGE, PICK.
- Warden because why does he have to get involved in EVERYTHING.
- Romance
-Some of the events at the end were confusing, and maybe it's just because my brain = mush but I got lost.
- Still upset with the slang. And the whole order-tree although there was a helpful guide in the back of this one probably because a lot of people didn't understand the slang in the first one!

I know a couple people who really liked this book, it just wasn't my cup of coffee (not tea because I hate tea). I feel like the first part of it was just way too slow for me to get interested, and the second part had to work overtime to make it up.

See this review on Goodreads.

Book Review: The Bone Season

Title: The Bone Season
Author: Samantha Shannon
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Series: The Bone Season (Book 1)

Quick disclaimer, I finished this book ages ago (and by ages I mean 11 days ago but my memory is not that good) so my review might be a little sparse/sketchy because I made the mistake of reading the second and part of the third book before I wrote this review and I don't want to spoil anything so... yeah.

First of all, the blurb for the book really got me excited because it said it was about crime, and there were people with gifts and it just sounded like my kind of book! You know, the kind with lots of action and crime and all that jazz and little to no romance. Boy was I wrong... this was really not my kind of book. It wasn't awful or anything, hence the 3 stars instead of 2 or 1, but I was kinda disappointed. In hindsight I really should have realized that Warden taking up like half the blurb signaled some elements that I wouldn't like but I was just too excited...

I almost feel like I enjoyed the book more before Paige got captured by Scion, because after that it was all Warden all the time and I just wanted to punch a brick wall and I would have, but then I would have probably broken something because I'm talented like that and one bone was enough, thank you very much. It was all "Warden-does-this" and "Warden-does-that" and "what is Warden up to" and by the end I really just wanted to chuck the book but couldn't because it's considered rude to ruin borrowed books even if you are super frustrated. Long story short, waaaay to much Warden.

LIKES:
+ The premise itself was up my alley. Gifted protagonist (who happens to be part of a crime syndicate type thing) in dystopian-type society gets captured by otherworldly group that is secretly super powerful and tries to escape. That's totally my type of book, especially if there are some action/fighting scenes involved.
+ I didn't hate Paige (until the whole Warden thing) and she was actually kinda cool. She wasn't whiny like some certain other female protagonist that I won't mention (but secretly hold a grudge against), she was tough, and honestly I admired the way she dealt with a lot of things like I'd just be a melted puddle of stress on the ground.
+ The Rephaim were really brutal and nasty and all that jazz but their powers were actually really cool. Like normal powers on steroids?

DISLIKES:
- The slang/language/whatever-the-heck that was. It was practically written in another language, and half the time I was lost because I didn't know what the heck they were talking about. You practically need a dictionary just to translate.
- The whole order thing because I'm pretty sure there was a chart but that was confusing as heck.
- Warden. See previous rants above.
- The whole captor-captive relationship thing Warden and Paige had going on. No thanks, and also I wouldn't be nearly as nice to him as Paige was because I don't care how "nice" he is... he still made Paige go through a ton of crappy stuff.
- My phone had a tendency to win out over this book, which is a pretty big indicator of how interested I was at some parts.
- This is one book out of seven. Seven! And I feel like if some fluff had been cut out you probably wouldn't need seven.

All in all this really wasn't a bad book--except for the Warden scenes, which really killed my happiness and ruined my view of the book. I'm still reading the rest of the series (for now) but I don't think I'm going to read all seven...

See this review on Goodreads.

Book Review: This Monstrous Thing

Title: This Monstrous Thing
Author: Mackenzi Lee
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Series: N/A

Just to be clear, when I fail my required reading assignment I am totally blaming it on this book. Because I was supposed to be reading Lord of the Flies and read this instead (even though yes, I should have read my required reading a long time ago, I'll get to it eventually, it's fine). This was one of those books where I wasn't exactly sure why I was happy, and I can't exactly point and go "THIS is what made me love it," but the whole package just made me a very happy and very sleep-deprived little bookworm because why sleep when you can read an extra 100 pages? What is sleep?

This is basically another Frankenstein retelling/remake kinda deal, but I'd have to say that it's my favorite out of all the ones that I've read so far. It's probably one of my favorite retellings, which is saying something because I read A LOT of retellings since they are awesome and because why not. However, this version focuses almost less on the actual monster part of the story and more about the fact that just because other people are different doesn't mean that they should be treated as "lesser than." This conflict was able to go hand-in-hand with the main conflict of the story, and helped explain some of the later-on events and also helped portray a universal-type conflict. Obviously the whole bringing-people-back-to-life thing played a role in the story, but coupled with the Shadow Boys and those with clockwork and I think it really improved the book because it was thought-provoking as well as entertaining.

On a totally unrelated note, I also loved the fact that there was only the teensiest bit of romance because if you have read any of my other reviews you know that romance is not my thing. Underlined for emphasis in case you missed the bold type. But in this book Alasdair doesn't run around falling in love with every single person he meets which is really nice AND it turned out that this story wasn't focused around two people fighting over the same person because that gets old really quick.

LIKES:
+ Clemence because I just loved her character and while I would have liked to learn a smidge more about her backstory I really loved her friendship with Alasdair and her personality and all that. At first I was kinda ehh towards her but then I started to really like her and I looked forward to the parts she was in.
+ Only a little romance! This was one of those books that didn't use a gallon when a cup would do and it was wonderful. The little romance there was actually helped explain/justify parts of the story so I couldn't get angry that it was there. I think that any more romance would have spoiled the tone of the book so I'm glad that there wasn't a ton.
+ The story. I was drawn into the world that Alasdair lived in and the struggles he faced and I loved it! I cared about the characters and what happened to them, I was on the edge of my seat, AND I sacrificed sleep to read more and seeing as I'm currently sick that's a big deal for me. I couldn't put it down and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.
+ The fact that a universal conflict was tied in there and it made sense and didn't feel forced at all, which I sometimes have a problem with
+ Scott Westerfeld wrote a nice quote on the front. As a fan of Afterworlds that's a plus for me. (And it's true! It was a "compelling and brave retelling," just like promised)

DISLIKES:
- I would have like to learn more about Clemence and her story, because she was super interesting but sometimes parts of her story were brushed over?
- I wish some of the flashbacks had been slightly clearer because I did get confused sometimes.

I really, really, really liked this book. I'd recommend it to anyone, especially if they like retellings.

I also just realized that Mackenzi Lee wrote The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue which is a book I wanted to read before and I REALLY want to read now.

See this review on Goodreads.

Book Review: The Valiant

Title: The Valiant
Author: Lesley Livingston
Rating: 2.5/5 Stars
Series: The Valiant (Book 1)

This book was kind of like a roller coaster. It starts kinda slow and you are thinking about maybe getting off but then all of a sudden the action starts and you are super into it only for it to slow back down and then you wonder why you were excited... long story short I don't know how to feel about this book.

After the first 12 pages or so I was ready to bang my head against a wall and/or chuck the book at said wall simultaneously. A couple pages in and there was already some slightly random romance going on and I didn't know who any of the characters were or what they were doing but they were in love. And then some other stuff happened and then Fallon gets captured like the blurb promised and then it was ehh again (you can tell how interesting this part was for me, I remember so much). I think it only started to get interesting around page 120-150 or so?

But when it got interesting, it got interesting! Fallon's time at gladiator school was a really good spot for character development, and there were a couple of nice plot twists thrown in there. I felt like the writing got so much better around this point, I was drawn into the story and I actually cared! And when I start off not liking a book it's really hard to get me to care I just kinda wind up wandering off and then I realize that I just read 50 pages and don't remember who so-and-so is and what they are doing there.

And then... the end happened and it was like the middle never existed. It was a let-down, to be honest.  I found myself not caring again and just skimming the last couple of chapters to see if it would get interesting again or not (it didn't). Even the end, which was supposed to be super action-packed and engaging and all that jazz fell flat for me. It was like being promised an big ice-cream sandwich and getting one that you could eat in one bite. Not that I'm bitter or anything. There is a sequel coming out in 2018(?) but with the end of this book it could have easily been a standalone. There was no cliffhanger, everything was tied in this really pretty bow. So there wasn't anything to hook me in for the next one.

LIKES:
+ Gladiators. Because who doesn't like reading about fight-scenes all the time?!
+ The Roman Empire because it was one of my favorite things to learn about in class and I also liked reading about it in this book because sword and chariots and now I'm on a tangent.
+ The middle of this book was amazing. I couldn't put it down and may have put off writing an essay or two but it's cool procrastination is wonderful and, for the middle of this book, worth it. It took a while to get there but once all the action got started I felt like I was in the arena with Fallon but also glad I wasn't because coordination is not my strong suit and I would not have made it
+ Fallon's character development, because she turned from someone I really didn't like to someone that I thought was actually pretty cool! She was kinda irritating at the beginning but then turned into this strong, determined warrior who had a plan. Plans are good.

DISLIKES:
- Ack the romance. I didn't even get 10 pages before I was bombarded with the random romance and then Cai and I didn't like either of them. I felt like it was either an instalove type deal or that I didn't have all the answers because I was confused as heck.
- The beginning and end of the book. Because frankly they were kinda boring and I was disappointed because the premise was so good but I was not a fan of the execution.
- I don't feel obligated in any way to pick up the sequel because it was all wrapped up nice and pretty for readers at the end. No cliffhanger, no nothing. Like I said, it really could have been a standalone and I wouldn't have known the difference.
- The plot twist in the middle did not make sense. I mean it kind of did, but at the same time not? The pieces just didn't line up for me.

I wouldn't really recommend this to anyone, it wasn't my kind of book. It had the potential to be, but didn't live up to my expectations.

See this review on Goodreads.

Book Review: The Crimson Crown

Title: The Crimson Crown
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Series: Seven Realms (Book 4)

This book made me happy. Very, very happy. The Grey Wolf Throne was a disappointment due to pacing issues and the fact that the last 12 chapters of the book were just... eh. I was kinda nervous to pick this one up because it was 600 pages long and 37 chapters and I didn't want to have to drag myself through the last half of the book (or all of the book) just because I felt like I had to hear the series out. Luckily, this one felt like a flashback (in a good way) to The Demon King!

 I was super into the story, I liked Han's chapters a lot better than in the previous book, and still liked Raisa's chapters as well! I felt like there was the appropriate amount of action in the right amount of time, and there was no drag or super boring parts where I lost interest. All in all, I felt like this series really redeemed itself with the final installment!

LIKES:
+ Han's chapters were much more interesting than in the last book! They focused less on being super obsessed and in love and all that and more on the actual plot and interesting details and stuff like that. Although he did get kinda gushy again in the last 7 chapters or so but we will just pretend that never happened.
+ Betrayal. Twists. Turns. Suspense. I was on the edge of my seat! (I wasn't actually, because there wasn't enough space, but if I could have been I would have!)
+ There was a lot more action in this book than the last one, but the pacing was slower, so it was pretty much perfect.
+ There was still more character development, which made me super happy. I hate it when characters become stagnant halfway through the series, and then just get super flat.

DISLIKES:
- Micah Bayar. If I had to describe him throughout the entire series it would consist of shortest paragraph ever. He said the same couple things over and over again and I was hoping there was some super deep reason to his evilness but it never got fully explained?
- I am secretly kinda evil and was hoping that at the end a certain character would die because it would be somewhat out there but they survived... (I haven't figured out a way to hide spoilers on this yet so bear with me as I work this out)
- Poor Han just cannot catch a break. I'm just saying
- The series ended. Which made me sad. Also the last 3 chapters really confused me, although it may have just been the sleep deprivation.
- I really didn't like that some characters were really rigid and unwilling to change, but then all of a sudden were still good friends with Raisa? They would have these diabolical plans and then Raise was totally cool with them still hanging around.

Overall I really liked this book and I felt like it pulled the series back together! I am definitely going to read Chima's other books, and hopefully they will be just as good! I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in fantasy and looking for a good read! Just plow through the third book and you will be good to go.

See this review on Goodreads. (Spoilers are hidden but included in my Goodreads review)

Book Review: The Grey Wolf Throne

Title: The Grey Wolf Throne
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Series: Seven Realms (Book 3)

I'm not going to lie, this book seriously disappointed me. The pacing problems that irritated me at the end of The Exiled Queen were prevalent and kind of ruined the story for me. I felt like there was way too much action crammed into this tiny stretch of time, and all the twists and turns were way too much for me. I felt like if the book had progressed at half the speed it actually did that it would have been much better. My hope is that in the next book these pacing issues are resolved and that it slows down to a safer speed.

I also really didn't like the fact that, despite all the action, nothing seemed to really happen in the book. People debated one action for 20 chapters, then made a certain decision. Then they debated another issue for 17 chapters and just kind of left it there to be addressed in the next book. I didn't feel nearly as drawn into the story as I did with the previous two installments. All in all, it felt like the pacing was too fast with not a lot of actual change or content.

LIKES:
+ Despite all the issues I had with it, I still felt attracted to the story. I still cared about what happened to the characters, and I still want to finish the series. Most of the time when I have similar issues with books I want to abandon the series altogether, but not with this one.
+ I liked Raisa's chapters a lot more in this book! I felt like I got to know her better as a character and got to see her develop more, and, besides the last couple of chapters, there was more emphasis on her feelings towards things other than guys.
+ I just liked Raisa more in this book in general. A lot more. I actually like her as a character now, versus being unsure about it earlier in the series. She seemed stronger, and more sure of herself and the actions she wanted to take. I also really liked her actions in the very end of the book.
+ The epilogue. Because it redeemed at least part of the book because in those very short 4 pages the writing seemed more like the first book (which, so far, has been my favorite). I also hated the ending of the book (it was super anticlimactic) but then the epilogue came and everything was kind of okay again.

DISLIKES:
- Han's chapters. After the "big reveal" that Rebecca is Raisa (which was kind of spoiled in the blurb?) he puts his blinders on and wallows in his anger/other negative emotions and it made me not like him as much. Hence why I preferred Raisa's chapters to his.
- The pacing of the book. I already touched on this, but I felt like it was much too fast, but not a lot actually happened in the action-packed chapters.
- The last 12 chapters of the book. Because this is when Raisa being obsessed with all the boys and Han being (kinda?) obsessed with all the girls comes back in full force and I wilted a little inside because I'm really not a fan.
- The cliffhanger because WHY. (I don't know if this is a valid dislike or not because it was part of the epilogue that I loved but...)

So, despite being seriously disappointed, I'm going to continue with the series and really hope that it returns to the awesomeness level of the first and second books. Because I checked out books 1-3 of The Heir Chronicles with my precious limited checkouts from Hoopla so...

See this review on Goodreads.

Book Review: The Exiled Queen

Title: The Exiled Queen
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Series: Seven Realms (Book 2)

While I didn't like this as much as The Demon King, it was still a pretty good book and definitely an enjoyable read. I read 20 out of the 36 chapters before I finally convinced myself that I should do what I promised myself and actually study. I don't think studying the events of this book are going to help me pass my exams, but you never know. Maybe a question about the series will pop up on my science exam, it's possible (not).

This book basically takes up where The Demon King left off, but I think it really gives the reader a deeper insight into the characters of Han and Raisa. We get to learn about their experiences at this really awesome school that I want to go to (the classes sound so much more interesting than the curriculum at my school) and the struggles that both of them have balancing their past lives with their current ones. My favorite character is still Han, but I feel like I got to know Raisa a lot better in this book because her chapters were (somewhat) less boy-focused than in the previous installment and they focused more on her developing as a person and less as a princess (although because she is a princess I guess she is still developing as one but you get my drift).

I also really liked that we got to know some secondary characters better as well (Dancer, Amon, and a couple others) because it meant that their stories didn't get lost in the whole huge shuffle of things. I'm not going to lie, this series has a lot of action (at least so far) and it would be really easy to just throw away everyone but the main characters, but China does a great job of making sure to develop the secondary characters as well and even introduce some new ones that help Han and Raise develop as characters/people.

LIKES:
+ Less boy-craziness on Raisa's part and more of a focus on her getting to know the conditions in which other people live and how she can apply what she learns in school to ruling
+ The school, because if it was a real place I would totally go there because the classes sound super interesting or at least more fun than the ones that I am in right now...
+ Still dual narrators! I'm really glad that didn't go away and I hope it continues into the next book, especially because I love Han's POV more than Raisa's and if his went away...
+ Han is a wizard now. Who doesn't like wizards? Plus MAGIC.
+ Character development & more secondary characters! I feel like I got to know everybody's motives better and the story made way more sense
+ Action & plot-twists because those are (almost) always awesome

DISLIKES:
- The last couple chapters of the book. I felt like they were super rushed and it made me feel kinda panicked inside even though I had no reason to be. It was like the rest of the book was going at a reasonable 60 mph on a fun-curvy road and then decided to go 100 mph on this super confusing twisty windy road like what was with all the plot twists at the end? I feel like it would have been better if the book had kept that pace and maybe been a bit longer versus just speeding through the end.
- Love triangles. I'm just going to leave this one here.

So while I liked this book slightly less than the first one (I think mostly because of the ending and how it left me feeling rushed) I still loved it and am definitely going to continue the series! I'm so glad that I found another fantasy author to read and that the series is actually a decent length because nothing bothers me more than awesome series that end too soon. I'd definitely recommend this to basically anyone!

See this review on Goodreads.

Book Review: Dreams of Gods & Monsters

Title: Dreams of Gods & Monsters

Author: Laini Taylor

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Series: Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Book 3)

This was my second time reading this series and I bumped basically every book up a star because I love it so much. The worlds that Laini Taylor are just so out there that I wish that I could see them in real life because they seem awesome. I love the characters (even if I’m probably pronouncing all of their names wrong in my head), the setting, the plot, just everything about this book. A lot of trilogies get worse as they go along but not this one! Dreams of Gods & Monsters was just as good as the previous two, if not better. One of my only major complaints is that my favorite character is missing but that’s just something that I had to deal with and attempt to get over.

LIKES:

+ The introduction of a new focus character. Eliza was, in my opinion, awesome. I really loved her backstory and how it all tied together in the end

+ Mik and Zuzana didn’t get tossed to the side as most best friend/side characters normally do as a series developed. I liked that we still got to see their characters develop and that they continued to be a part of the series versus gradually fading out.

+ More explanations/connections. This book explains A LOT of the events/people/worlds that were previously mentioned in the other two books and it helps provide context for a lot of the things that happened. You get to understand why a lot of the characters act the way that they do, and the events that led up to the big finale.

+ Betrayal and deception… need I say more?

+ Liraz gets some pretty major page time in this one, which is great because a) I’ve always liked Liraz and b) watching her character develop was awesome

+ Just a lot a lot of new character introductions/getting to know old characters better that made me really happy because everybody felt more 3D after this book versus just names and I-kinda-remember-yous

DISLIKES:

- I’m not a fan of romance so I wasn’t happy that the tensions between Akiva and Karou seemed to overshadow some important parts of the book. It almost felt like it was one of the more major conflicts versus one that should have been more minor.

- The end of the book (not the very end, but the part slightly before that) confused the heck out of me. I had to read it 2 or 3 times and I’m still pretty sure I missed something.

I (still) love this book, and I’d recommend it to pretty much anybody. It’s got action, beautiful worlds, awesome character development, and romance (if you like that kind of thing) but not so much that it makes me squeamish to read it.

See this review on Goodreads.