Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Source: Library

Summary: After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom. Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best. Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

My review:

Lured in by the beautiful cover and the promising summary, I have yet again been the victim of THE HYPE.

What we have here is a true case of a reader(with limited resources), desperately searching for a book, contemplating on buying it because it has such amazing ratings on Goodreads.com and making a great decision by telling herself to not be an idiot and check it out in the library first. 

Unfortunately, That was not the case for this reader with other overly-hyped books, but we'll get to that in a later post.

The HYPE forgot to mention some issues that were brought to my attention concerning our main character, Adarlan's Assassin Celaena Sardothien. Described as a skilled assassin from page one; I am not even sure I was reading about the same girl as we got further along in the book. As the story progresses, she never showed hint of her oh-so-powerful skills mentioned from the start. She might written to be strong and capable but she only showed the skills of an amateur criminal with luck. She was more enticed with pretty dresses, jewels, and finding suitors. I don't think a trained assassin, especially someone who has trained since infancy, would be distracted by things like that. Celaena is smart, beautiful, and athletic. And our main character never let us forget it. The reader was constantly reminded of her many attributes by either Celaena or her many admirers.

Chaol, the captain of the guard, was the most likable character but he didn't show true potential until the end of the story.
I do believe he might be one of the few reasons I might continue to read the series. Hopefully his involvement within the story evolves and improves. As well as our dear assassin's, who seemed to be more interested in batting her eyelashes and partying than actually saving anyone.

I did not like Prince Dorian character even the slightest. His vain attempts at teasing and flirting were cringe worthy and I found myself rolling my eyes every time his name was mentioned. Though I admit he was kind, I hope he might develop into a likable character in the future.

The one female character I did not find irritating was Nehemia, who was a princess of a seemingly enemy kingdom. She was smart and resourceful, she was more careful about who to trust than the actual main character was. She cared for her people and focused on doing everything she could to help them. In the end, it seemed to me Nehemia was the hero of the story. Which seemed to be Celaena's job, at least, according to the description. THE WHOLE LAND FEARS HER. ONLY SHE CAN SAVE THEM ALL. Yeah, okay.

Nox was also a likable character who, again, is not given much chance of development in the story. He was a criminal who became allied with Celanea (not a major spoiler, promise). I was excited at this development but was quickly disappointed when he just became an object of jealousy. He had so much character potential and I hope that he comes back in the sequel.

The descriptive writing and beautiful world building made this story worthwhile, but I could not sympathize with the main character at all. I did not relate to her and I found myself frustrated with her bubbly thoughts and her short attention span. Most of the time I found myself thinking, I know you are eighteen years old, but you're a trained assassin for crying out loud, act like it! I did not want her killing left and right, but when it came to matters of the heart I would have thought she would be clever enough to put that aside and focus on the BIG PROBLEM THAT SHE WAS WARNED ABOUT.

All in all, I liked the different POVs offered in each chapter. Though at times confusing, I found it refreshing to be in each of the character's heads. The action in this book was lacking, but to be fair there was a lot of world building on the author's part and it would have been worse if it would have had a lot of action and vague descriptions of Celanea's world.

I hope I can continue reading the rest of the books and maybe our assassin would will do less dancing and more defending in the near future.

GIVEAWAY OF Stolen Nights by Rebecca Maizel

GIVEAWAY TIME!

I know you guys don't want me babbling about, so I won't. This time. I know this book comes out in a couple of days but I wanted to give it to one of my followers (new or old) to show how much I love you guys for putting up with my lack of reviews and stuff.

Up for grabs:

ARC of Stolen Nights ( Vampire Queen #2)

Plus swag (that's a given) and maybe a surprise (already released ARC) that I got at ALA last year. 

Don't know which one for now but I might give the winner a list to chose from. 

Rules are: 

*I will pick a winner using Random.Org.

*You must be 13 years or older to enter.

*You do not have to be a follower but I would really appreciate it.

*You have 48 hours to respond to e-mail if you are the winner.

*Giveaway NOT international (sorry guys).

If you have someone that lives in the US that lives in the US that is okay too

That's it guys, no commenting or tweeting. One entry per person! I mean you can comment but it won't be an entry . FORM HERE. ***EDIT*** NOW I HAVE LINKED THE ACTUAL FORM NOT THE SPREADSHEET LINK OOPS. 

Winner announced February 10th.

Books that have changed my life (in a remarkable way) ever since I last talked to you (Part # 1)

I AM ALIVE! I have no excuse for not posting anymore reviews other than college applications have been driving me nuts. I am a senior in high school now, and people who told Senior year in high school was going to be easy THEY LIED. It is the hardest year yet, but I will get through it.


I missed blogging so much, but I had to stop otherwise I would have never gotten anything done. But I was able to read some amazing books these past few months. I had my fair share of books I didn't even finish, but there were three remarkable books that I will always remember because WOW, they have changed my life.

This book, ladies and gentlemen, if you have not yet read it, (it is only my very humble yet honest opinion that) OH MY GOD YOU GO READ IT RIGHT NOW PLEASE. I will not summarize if for you, because honestly you can read the synopsis on your own. If you must know, there is no way that a summary, even written by John Green himself, will wholly epitomize the awesomeness that is The Fault in Our Stars.
It is probably the book that has brought me right here to this place at this moment, desperate and excited, to tell those people who keep putting it off to just read it now, go to the bookstore or borrow it from a friend and read it.

Or even those who don't read and by some rare chance stumble upon my blog and haven't fallen in love with reading yet, this is the book. This is the book that will allow you to feel every emotion know to human, which might be a very slight exaggeration, but to me, it definitely brought both tears of laughter and pure dismay in a matter of chapters.

I was going through a long time reading funk, I had stopped blogging and became a Netflix addict during my free time. It seemed I had no time for reading anymore, and honestly, it did not bother me a bit. I was sad for my lost interest, scared my love for reading would be forever gone.
Eventually, over a three day weekend, I had this book that I had borrowed from the library. I had read one other John Green books: Looking for Alaska . I loved it, and from then on I went on a John Green craze. By far this was my favorite book of them all, each holds a special place in my heart but this one will forever be in my top favorites.

How did it change my life? I am going trough a medical condition, not life-threatening or as grave as Hazel or Augusts or any of the lovable characters in TFiOS, but it will require hospitalization and surgery. I am so scared and this book is a great reference to the good that can come out of an awful situation. Anytime I feel the least bit nervous or I am in pain, I always pick up my trusty copy (signed! In Purple!) and read my favorite parts!

It will make you laugh it will make you cry, The Fault in Our Stars by the brilliant John Green is going to be one of those books that I will remember and keep with me even in my old age.

BOOK #2 TO BE POSTED SOON!

Thanks for sticking with my followers, after my LONG HIATUS.

I will make up for it PROMISE.

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Release Date: April 3rd 2013

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Age Rec: There are some terms not suitable for all ages, and there was also an attempted rape scene at the beginning, not very graphic. 
Summary: 

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?
Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.
Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

My thoughts:

For those of us who read more light-weight books, this book might seem a little bit intimidating. It is a very thick 500 or so page book. I found it at the NEW BOOK shelves, I had my eye on it for a little while so I was so excited when I saw it.

I have read a few thirteen-century set books, but nothing of this caliber. Robin LaFevers introduces the main character, Ismae, with a very secretive past. Some sort of mysterious birthmark and a curse. The story captivated you to turn the next page and the next, until you have no choice but to finish. With such authentic plot and dialogue that you will enjoy every single page.

When she is taken away from her abusive husband, she is introduced to a world that she could have never imagined. After a couple years of training she becomes a seductive deadly assassin, she must do the will of the God of Death. She must do Mortain's will and kill those with his mark. She must do anything and everything in her power to fulfill his will. 

There is where all of her adventures begin, she meets different characters, some remarkable some not and she must decide who she trusts. The characters, I admit, were a little hard to keep track of. There were a couple of times I was a little confused. But that was my mistake, I would recommend a little notebook to keep track of characters. 


The action and suspense were ultimate during this whole book, but there was a romance sub-plot through the story. The sort of romance that slowly builds up. 


Ismae will definitely be added to my list of kick ass heroines that I admire and love. 

I will most definitely be looking forward to what Mrs.LaFevers releases in the future. 


Thanks for reading! =)

IDENTICAL by Ellen Hopkins REPOST

Well I found this review of mind that I though I HAD lost in my old laptop, but I checked on Goodreads and there it was. So I want to re-post it here as a library homage post since I had gotten it from my school library.

Release Date: August 26, 2008
Source: School Library
Age recs: Definitely for more older teens. Drugs, sex, some rape scenes included.
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Summary from Goodreads.com: 

Do twins begin in the womb?Or in a better place? Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical down to the dimple. As daughters of a district-court judge father and a politician mother, they are an all-American family -- on the surface. Behind the facade each sister has her own dark secret, and that's where their differences begin. For Kaeleigh, she's the misplaced focus of Daddy's love, intended for a mother whose presence on the campaign trail means absence at home. All that Raeanne sees is Daddy playing a game of favorites -- and she is losing. If she has to lose, she will do it on her own terms, so she chooses drugs, alcohol, and sex. Secrets like the ones the twins are harboring are not meant to be kept -- from each other or anyone else. Pretty soon it's obvious that neither sister can handle it alone, and one sister must step up to save the other, but the question is -- who?

My review: 


I knew what I was signing up for when I started reading Identical, since there was some strong content on CRANK, well that was an understatement. This book is real, raw, disturbing, and everything else in between. It had me squirming in discomfort on some scenes, being the squirmy type, but I knew that even though this was not based on a true story, it was based on the million of stories just like that. In fact, I had just watched a episode on Oprah where two twin sisters talked about being raped and molested by their father and two brothers with their mother completely knowing everything.

So I read on, and through this single book I went through a roller coaster of emotions. Disgust (and exclamation for Justice) at the seriously disturbed father, frustration because Kaeleight and her twin sister wouldn't report the abuse (as I would imagine I would in their situation). But thought those emotions I began to understand the fear of both sisters if they ever told on their father. I mean, even I was afraid of that monster. Their mother was also a big part of my frustration, only caring about appearances not the welfare of her children. I wanted to pop right into that book and slap that lady silly and make her realize what she was taking part of.

The impact this book had on me, and I imagine the rest of the people who have already read it, was very great. The turn of events was like nothing I have even experienced when reading books, and I have to admit I has to read some parts multiple times to understand (mostly at the end of the story). Mrs. Hopkins is not the type to censor feelings or events and she isn't afraid of being bold. She created two very alive characters, whose interpretation of love was so twisted and wrong that they wouldn't let anybody that truly cared about them in.

And the ending, wow, the ending is something I never expected. I love those kind of hard-to-predict books that have me guessing at the last second.
I want to keep this review as spoiler free as possible so I will leave you with those few words of many that I can use to express the serious awesomeness this book is. I would like to repeat that this book is among on of the strongest (content wise) book I have read. It requires a very high amount of matureness and understanding.
If you are comfortable with reading books with strong content, it is a must read!