Review: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

Queen of Shadows
(Throne of Glass #4)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Release Date: September 1, 2015
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Source: Personal Copy
Review by: Jenn and Nahomi

Her destiny awaits. But first, vengeance…

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 for her to regain her throne. 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.

Jenn's rating: 5 stars out of 5 stars

Nahomi's rating: 5 stars out of 5 stars

Our Overall Rating: 5 stars out of 5 stars

Jenn:
Queen of Shadows was everything I was expecting in a Sarah J Maas' book. It was filled with a vivid world, some amazing and complex characters, and writing that captures a reader's attention and doesn't let go until the last page. It a book that left me satisfied as well as drained with how the story unraveled. This book was perfection.

By the end of Heir of Fire, Celaena's has embraced her true identity and destiny. She knows she needs to return to Rifthold and face her past. When she returns to Rifthold in Queen of Shadows, Chaol has news to share with her and with it, set a crazy and risky plan in motion. What follows is Celaena/Aelin's usual badassery of taking charge of whatever situation.

Throughout the entirety of this book, I was one big ball of emotions. One page I was shaking my head at whatever Aelin had concocted, the next I was almost in tears and in fear for Dorian, then the following page I was worried about what Manon was getting herself into. The story telling in this series just amaze me with every book. The plot, the characters, their stories, they're so fascinating and mind blowing. Sarah manages to keep me surprised with how the plot plays out but every now and then, I learn something that had already been hinted at in a previous book. How Maas manage to keep all the plot points so intricately woven between each book, I'll never know. However, I love reading something and then seeing it come up later on and see how it comes into play in the bigger story arc.

This series hold some of my favorite characters and what I love about each and every one of them is how much growth and development they have all gone through. We meet Celaena in Throne of Glass and I found her to be selfish and scary but a badass. In Queen of Shadows, Aelin is still all those things but we've seen her grow up, be vulnerable, and learned her history. The same with Dorian, Chaol, Rowan, Manon, and Aedion. We are reintroduced to Lysandra and meet new characters like Nesryn and Elide. Each characters, we learn of their motivations and their secrets (some of them at least). Maas does character development so unbelievably well and in turn makes the reader all the more invested into the story.

Queen of Shadows was well worth stalking my mailman as well as ignoring the outside world while I read all 656 pages of its glory. Sarah J. Maas is queen and I will patiently await book five to be release.

Nahomi:
Let me begin by saying that Queen of Shadows spoke to me on so many different levels. The writing is superb and the plotting is unreal. I was speechless because Sarah J. Maas is a master of intricately weaving even the most minute detail into the storyline. I was completely immersed in this world and totally invested in all of the characters lives. By far this is definitely my favorite book of the series and overall one of my favorite books in general.

Ninety percent of the book is highlighted on my Kindle app because I love all of it! I don't want to get into details, but I will say that Queen of Shadows is incredibly fast paced. During certain parts of the story I was literally holding my breath because it was so suspenseful! Sarah J. Maas isn't afraid to put her characters through hell.  This in turn creates an honest portrayal of pain, angst, perseverance, and hope that is inspiring. I experienced the full range of emotions as I read the book and feel I came out the other side changed. I absolutely adore this book, series and its characters. I can't wait to see what Sarah J. Maas has in store for us next!

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

A Court of Thorns and Roses
(A Court of Thorns and Roses #1)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Release Date: May 5, 2015
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children
Source: NetGalley/ARC from ALA
Review by: Jenn

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.

5 stars out of 5 stars (But in reality, alllllllll the stars)

*I received an eARC of this title from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. However, that does not influence this review in any way.*

I'm not sure how to properly talk about this book without flailing so just bear with me if I tend to go off in a fangirl, rambling mess. But just know that it is because I absolutely LOVED this book. A Court of Thorns and Roses has been a such a hyped up read for me because Sarah J. Maas is the queen of fantasy for me. After falling in love with her Throne of Glass series, I knew that this book would be nothing less of completely captivating world, well-written characters and I'm very glad to report that it did live up to my high expectations.

A Court of Thorns and Roses follow Feyre, a young woman who has had to take care of her family by hunting and doing many dangerous things to survive. After killing a wolf during one of her hunting trips, she is tracked home by a creature that she's been warned about. She is taken as punishment by the creature and what follows is nothing what Feyre is prepared for.

This story, you guys. OHMYGOD THIS BOOK. It is SO good and I just loved every page of it. I love being in Feyre's head. Tamlin, oh my. I just loved him and all of his beast-like self. He is just a perfect mix of strong/sweet/capable/caring man/fae. Lucien is the best character because he is not only the comedic relief, he is the best of friend to Tamlin but also to Feyre as well. All the characters, even the one I hated, were so well done and developed. I'm not sure how Sarah does it, but I become attached to all of her characters and the world she writes. The world she a wrote for us is so vivid and full of back story that it feels like a real world.

The book left me feeling happy and satisfied but intrigued for the next book in the series. I can't wait to see how the story continue to develop and where Sarah takes these beloved characters of mine. However, I trust that whatever Sarah J. Maas does, her books will be good regardless.

Review: The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

The Darkest Part of the Forest
Author: Holly Black
Release Date: January 13, 2015
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: BEA 2014
Review by: Jenn

Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for.

Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once.

At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking.

Until one day, he does…

As the world turns upside down, Hazel tries to remember her years pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough?

3 stars out of 5 stars

The Darkest Part of the Forest was a really interesting read for me. I don't typically read stories that deal with faeries but I was so sucked into the story and into the writing that my reading experience went by fairly quickly. As my first Holly Black novel, I can say that her writing was very captivating and eloquent and I look forward to reading more of her books.

At the beginning of the book, I felt like the plot moved a little slow for my taste but after a while, it picked up and I couldn't put the book down. I had to know what Ben and Hazel were getting themselves into and how the boy with horns was going to play into their dynamic.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It not my favorite subject, what with the faeries and their backstory. I did enjoy it for what it was, which is a great written book, and interesting characters.

Review: Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning

Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning
Released Date: January 18, 2011
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

From Goodreads: "MacKayla Lane was just a child when she and her sister, Alina, were given up for adoption and banished from Ireland forever.

Twenty years later, Alina is dead and Mac has returned to the country that expelled them to hunt her sister's murderer. But after discovering that she descends from a bloodline both gifted and cursed, Mac is plunged into a secret history: an ancient conflict between humans and immortals who have lived concealed among us for thousands of years.

What follows is a shocking chain of events with devastating consequences, and now Mac struggles to cope with grief while continuing her mission to acquire and control the Sinsar Dubh - a book of dark, forbidden magic scribed by the mythical Unseelie King, containing the power to create and destroy worlds.

In an epic battle between humans and Fae, the hunter becomes the hunted when the Sinsar Dubh turn on Mac and begins mowing a deadly path through those she loves.

Who can she turn to? Who can she trust? Who is the woman haunting her dreams? More important, who is Mac herself and what is the destiny she glimpses in the black and crimson designs of an ancient tarot card?

From the luxury of the Lord Master's penthouse to the sordid depths of an Unseelie nightclub, from the erotic bed of her lover to the terrifying bed of the Unseelie King, Mac's journey will force her to face the truth of her exile, and to make a choice that will either save the world...or destroy it."

     Well, it took 5 books but I finally got the majority of my questions answered. And boy, it was one hell of a ride. I was right up to the last 10% of the book and I was still worried about what was happening and what the outcome was going to be. Not every questions was answered, but the ending was open to all sort of possibilitiies that left the reader, at least me, satisfied and in giving each character their own ending.

     Now, I like to maintain a spoiler-free zone in this blog so I won't say anything that will give too much away (but I will later on) but HOLY CRAP I WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT. You know, that part towards the end? In the abbey? Yea. HOLY CRAP. I was so surprised, heck I'm still surprised and I finished the book over a week ago. But yes. WOW.

     I wanted to bookmark some of the passages from the novel on my Nook that I really enjoyed and to share it with you guys but I basically ended up highlighting and bookmarking the whole book. Ok, that a slight exaggeration (a little).

*So for those who wish not to be spoiled, beware. Spoilers ahead*

Currently Reading - Shadowfever

     So, I'll finally be reading the last book of the Fever series, Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning. Now, I'm super excited about this series and I'll be doing a review later on once I finish. I'm definitely ready to get some answers from all those questions we had to endure through the previous four books. I'll be here reading, trying not to rip out my hair because of the nerves. Gah! Who was the person at the end of Dreamfever?! Where the hell is Barrons?? Eeep!

What are you currently reading?