[Review] The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas

The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas
Throne of Glass #0.1-0.5
Published March 4th, 2014
Bloomsbury Childrens
Young Adult Fantasy

Premise:

Contains all five novellas.

Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan's most feared assassin. As part of the Assassin's Guild, her allegiance is to her master, Arobynn Hamel, yet Celaena listens to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam. In these action-packed novellas - together in one edition for the first time - Celaena embarks on five daring missions. They take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, where she fights to liberate slaves and seeks to avenge the tyrannous. But she is acting against Arobynn's orders and could suffer an unimaginable punishment for such treachery. Will Celaena ever be truly free? Explore the dark underworld of this kick-ass heroine to find out.

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Review

My thoughts:

If you ever want to know more about Sam and the way his relationship with Celaena started, this is the book you'll want to pick up. There's five stories in chronological order, so it's seems like a whole prequel book and not just bits and pieces. In these stories we follow Celaena's adventures before she got captured and shipped to Endovier, we get to see her falling in love with Sam and making her first attempts at friendship while still being a bad-ass assassin. 

If you are following the Throne of Glass series but haven't read this book, I strongly recommend for you to do so before getting into Queen of Shadows, because there are a lot of references and characters that pop-up in both books and it'll give you a better understanding of Celaena's feelings and action in the fourth book of this series.

Now, I'll be getting into a brief account of my feelings and impressions of each of the five stories:

The Assassin and the Pirate Lord

In this story we get to see the beginning of the relationship between Celaena and Sam. They had met long before this adventure took place, but they start to see each other in a different light during the events in this story. They are both sent by Arobynn to see the Pirate Lord, thinking they're trying to avenge a fellow assassin, but as always, Arobynn is playing games with them and turns out they're there for completely different reasons. 

I loved the banter between Celaena and Sam. Celaena was pretty bratty at sixteen but still funny and sassy and snarky and Sam didn't know what to do with her. It reminded me a lot of the early days in Celaena's relationship with Chaol, with the whole "I'm going to kill you in your sleep, but not really" thing they got going on. I'll admit it wasn't what I was expecting between those two, because of the way Celaena always talked about Sam... I don't know it's hard to imagine them being even less than friends at some point, but I guess they had to start somewhere. 

The Celaena we get in this stories, especially this one and the next is noticeably younger or at least more immature, but she still has that quality to her which won't let her turn a blind eye on the cruelty and awfulness of others. Still the same bad-ass with a heart of gold. 

The Assassin and the Healer

Here's a bit of the aftermath of what happened in the previous story. Celaena is on her way to the Red Dessert and she's royally pissed off when she stumbles upon a tavern in the middle of nowhere, where she stays while waiting for the ship that will take her to her final destination. You could tell she was just looking for an excuse to cause trouble and she gets it. 

In this story we get Celaena's POV and also Yrene's POV. Yrene is kind of a maid (?) I don't know how to describe her but she works at this tavern and her boss is an asshole. She was supposed to be a healer before the King of Adarlan banished magic from the continent and her mother got caught when they were looking for magic wielders, leaving her an orphan. 

The brief relationship between Yrene and Celaena is unlike any other that I've seen in this whole series. The way Celaena tried to empower Yrene so she could finally do what she always wanted was pretty great to witness. It shows that even if she's cocky and bratty and an assassin she hasn't lost herself as much as she think she has. 

I think maybe Yrene is the healer that was mentioned at the end of Queen of Shadows, it would make sense that her story is mentioned here if she was going to appear later on the series... But we'll see. 

The Assassin and the Desert

This was me when finishing this story: "Shut up, Sarah J. Maas. Just SHUT IT! Why do you have to break my heart in every one of your books, EVERY SINGLE ONE! You manage to toy with my emotions even in short stories. I should hate you... but you're so brilliant..." 

In this story Celaena is finally arriving to the Red Desert to train with the Silent Assassins and it's all really intimidating at first, but after a while it seems like everything was really different than what Celaena was expecting. She even meets a girl, Ansel, who she tries to befriend and it's actually kind of funny seeing Celaena trying to get along for a change. 

While being at the Red Desert, Celaena meets a couple of characters I would like to see again in the next books in this series. Like the master's son and the master himself, and maybe even that guy from the market with the spider silk. 

But then came the heartbreak and the pain and with that I got the answers to many questions I had about Celaena's past. For example, I always wondered how Celaena managed to pay her debt to Arobynn. I guess now I know... 

The Assassin and the Underworld

My first thought: That's where the strange deadly suit is from! 

My second thought: If you thought your heart was broken in the previous story, you're in for a treat. 

Celaena is back in Rifthold and Arobynn is showering her with presents trying to get her to forgive him for some really messed up stuff he did to her before. And those presents include a high profile contract to assassinate two men and get some really important documents. But you know Arobynn... he doesn't do anything if it's not completely calculated and everything is part of his sick twisted game of power. I despise that worthless bastard! If I didn't get it before, I mean how deeply the evilness went with Arobynn, now I have no doubt that he could be the most awful character ever. Because... Holy shit! My heart broke in so many little pieces for Celaena. This story makes it unbelievably hard to understand some of the decisions Celaena made on Queen of Shadows, although not in a bad way. Let me try to explain it: Arobynn is much worse than I'd ever imagined, he deserved far worse than what he got. If I were Celaena I think I wouldn't have been able to help myself. I would have killed him, slowly and in the most painful way possible and then  I would have danced over his grave with unfathomable joy until I couldn't move my legs anymore. I don't know how Celaena managed to be kind of the "better person" after everything this man did to her. 

But... not everything was so terrible. Sam and Celaena are working together again and they're flirting and romance and it's really adorable and heartbreaking between those two, which only made me dread the last story more, because we all know what happens with Sam...

If you haven't read Throne of Glass, get out of here right this second because what's coming will spoil you. 

The Assassin and the Empire

This is the story of how Celaena got thrown into Endovier. Knowing how it all ends doesn't help one bit. I could feel my heart shattering bit by bit through the horrors that Celaena and Sam had to endure. The dread at every step of the way was unreal... I was at odds with myself. Why in the hell am I dreading what I already know it's going to happen? But my heart kept beating harder and harder and I had to force myself to keep reading because clearly I was being irrational, but oh... the betrayal hurt as if I hadn't known about it beforehand and I was screaming: "No, Celaena, don't go! It's a fucking trap!" Even though it makes no sense, because if that hadn't happened there would be no Throne of Glass or any of the others books. But I just couldn't help it. 

I just love this series, I don't know what am I going to do with myself until the next book is out. Specially since this one left me with so much sadness in my heart... 

I think I'm going to re-read the whole series soon. 

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About the author

Sarah J. Maas is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Throne of Glass series (Queen of Shadows, Book 4, will be out in September 2015), as well as the A Court of Thorns and Roses series (out 5/5/15).

Sarah lives in Bucks County, PA, and over the years, she has developed an unhealthy appreciation for Disney movies and bad pop music. She adores fairy tales and ballet, drinks too much tea, and watches an ungodly amount of TV. When she's not busy writing, she can be found exploring the historic and beautiful Pennsylvania countryside with her husband and canine companion.

[Review] Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
Throne of Glass #4
Published September 1st, 2015
Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Young Adult Fantasy

Premise: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 just to see her again. 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.

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Review

My thoughts:

This review contains spoilers from the previous books in this series, so if you haven't read them yet and don't want to be spoiled, I strongly advice you to stop reading. 

Also: This review is brought to you by Tumblr and its amazing New Girl's gifs.

OMG! I just absolutely loved this book. It was freaking glorious! 

I've been counting the days for Queen of Shadows to come out since I finished Heir of Fire. I know I was really late to the party and I just caught up with the series last month, but I fell so deeply in love with this world and these characters that even those few days were agonizing. I don't know how have you managed to wait so long if you've been following the series since the first book came out. Seriously? What am I going to do now?! I need the next book like YESTERDAY!

I finished the book two days ago and I haven't been able to read anything since. I couldn't even get my thoughts in order to write a decent review right after I finished it, so I had to let it simmer a bit but I think now I'm ready. Here we go!

Queen of Shadows starts off with a heartbreaking scene of Dorian after being enslaved by the collar the King put on him at the end of Heir of Fire. And from this point on, every scene from Dorian's point of view had me tearing up at how awful things were for him. I had been questioning my love for him throughout the series, but it took picturing him like that, in all that darkness to make me realize just how much I love his character and how much I want him to be happy. 

Then we jump straight to Aelin's point of view with her arriving at Rifthold and finding out what happened while she was in Wendlyn and surprise surprise! Everything went to hell while she was away as we all know, so she gets bad news after bad news and then terrible surprise after terrible surprise. We see her planning Arobynn's downfall while trying to get back the third Wyrdkey he took from her ten years ago, while trying to figure out a way to free Aedion and Dorian from the King of Adarlan and fighting with Chaol every step of the way. And she manages to keep on trucking like it's just another day in the life, and looks freaking bad-ass while at it. If she were anyone else, she would have let the pressure scare her into doing nothing, but good God, when she means business (and she most definitely does in this book), she will let no one bring her down. Breaking Aedion out of the castle? Sure, no problem. Slaying a few dozens Valg guards? Fine, she'll get her hands dirty if she has to. Facing the monster who turned her into an assassin and killed the boy she loved? Come at me, bitch!... I'm so unbelievably proud of her, like I've never been of any other character before. Seriously, Aelin might be my favorite female character of all time. 

On the other hand, we have Chaol, who's at his very worst in this book. He drove me insane!! I stopped liking him in Heir of Fire, but in this book I just couldn't stand him, I hated him with all my heart and I truly admired Aelin for putting up with so much of his crap. He was so judgmental of her when he had no right to be! He would go on and on about how bad a person she was and how untrustworthy and selfish she was, when all this time she's been fighting with all she has in her, risking her own life, to keep everyone she cares about safe, including him, for God's sake! He came across as a jealous child... It was completely okay that she was an assassin when she was sleeping with him, so much so that he was willing to run away with her, but now that she's not into him anymore, she's a terrible danger who never should've been let out of her cage, because she will kill them all... As if she wouldn't have been able to kill you before if she really wanted to... REALLY, CHAOL?! REALLY???

In this book I didn't actually struggle that much with Manon's POV as I did in Heir of Fire. Maybe because this time, it was intermingled with Elide's POV and the way their paths crossed made the witch much more relatable and easier to like. I think I just learned to appreciate that side of the story now that the stakes are higher than ever and that I actually understand why that side is so important. Now I'm actually pulling for her and as for the next book, I'm just hoping that she takes a stand and confronts her grandmother about the horrible things that are being inflicted upon some of the covens. Show them who's boss, Manon!

I really loved getting to know Aedion in this book. I admire his loyalty to Aelin and how he's willing to do anything for her. I really liked the fact that this relationship is not romantic, I know they're cousins, but somewhere in the series there was a line that said that they weren't that closely related so they could very well be a couple. I'm glad that is not the case, because I truly think Aelin needs someone like him, who loves her unconditionally and not because he's into her. I also think his character brought a lot of the much needed humor to the table, his lines of dialogue were incredibly funny even in the most dire situations and I loved him for that.

Now... let's talk Rowan for a second... In Heir of Fire, I did not appreciate the way he treated Aelin and I stand by that. I don't care if he lost the one person who meant everything to him, that does not give him the right to be an asshole. But I grew to really care about him in this book. He showed that he is truly committed to Aelin and that he will be there for her no matter what... But more than that, I just realized how much Aelin cares about him, and I've decided that I'm not in any of the boy's teams. I'm team Aelin all the way, and if I were the god in her universe, the only rule I'd make would be: "whatever she wants, she gets, it's fine by me, as long as she's happy". 

There are a few new characters in this book too. And I loved every single one. Lissandra and Nesryn and Elide, bringing up the much needed female population in this book. I really liked them all and I'm hoping we get to see a lot more from them in the next book. 

The thing with this series that just takes my breath away is the world. It just blows me away every time. It's like it keeps expanding and every new bit is as well thought out as the the one before it. Everything clicks right into place and everything has a purpose. It's just fantastic. I'm in awe of the amazing talent that is Sarah J. Maas. 

Overall, this is my favorite book of the series so far. It gave me a lot of perspective and made me understand the characters a lot better. But even if it was the book that set everything into place, it was the most action-packed book, I think. It had a ridiculous amount of plot twists that made my mind explode, the stakes were so high and everything was always about to to spin out of control. This book was just glorious, it was the only thing I could think about, it had me at the edge of seat the whole time. I couldn't put it down... who needs sleep anyway? 

I haven't been able to read anything since I finished this book because I just keep going back to this world and these characters. Honestly, I think I'm going to go insane waiting for the next one, but I'm happy to do that if I get rewarded with more of this awesomeness.

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About the author

Sarah J. Maas is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Throne of Glass series (Queen of Shadows, Book 4, will be out in September 2015), as well as the A Court of Thorns and Roses series (out 5/5/15).

Sarah lives in Bucks County, PA, and over the years, she has developed an unhealthy appreciation for Disney movies and bad pop music. She adores fairy tales and ballet, drinks too much tea, and watches an ungodly amount of TV. When she's not busy writing, she can be found exploring the historic and beautiful Pennsylvania countryside with her husband and canine companion.

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

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses #1
Published May 5th, 2015
Bloomsbury Children's
Young Adult/New Adult Fantasy

Premise:
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.Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!

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Review

My thoughts:

This might be the best book I've ever read. If not, at least it is my new favorite book. It was so freaking fantastic! How good? I was ready to rate it 5/5 when I was less than half-way through it and when I finished it I wished I could have given it 1000/5 and that I could flip it over and start reading it again right away. That good. 

Sarah J. Maas writing style is superb. The way she can create a world so out of the ordinary, so fantastic and yet so believable is astounding. Her worlds and characters have me thinking about them, even dreaming about them long after I've finished her books. 

This particular world, is the best fairy-related world I've ever encountered in literature. It was really vivid and detailed without making me feel like I was reading lots and lots of descriptions. It's full of amazing creatures; some of them seem to have been pulled out of my most beautiful dreams and others out of my most terrifying nightmares. 

This book is narrated in first person, which is a change from the Throne of Glass series, and I get why this is important. You'll get why this is important when you read the book. I'll only say that the plot twists that blew my mind in this book, wouldn't have been a big deal if it were written in third person and from multiple perspectives as Sarah's previous series.  And I loved those plot twists. I was liking the book before them, but holy crap! They took it to a whole another level of awesomeness I wasn't expecting. 

Let's get back on track. As I was saying, first person narrator; meet Feyra, our protagonist and narrator. She's the youngest of three sisters and oddly enough, the one that provides for them and their father after their family became poor due to their father lack of common sense (that's my take on it, but you'll find out soon enough if you read the book). 

Feyra's family has been struggling to get by ever since they lost their fortune, and by struggling I mean nearly starving to death. But Feyra made a promise to her mother on her deathbed to take care of her sisters. So, she learns to hunt, she starts providing for their entire family. Think Katniss, from The Hunger Games, only worse. Because at least, Katniss had an adorable little sister who appreciated everything she did for their family. Feyra's sisters were the most ungrateful bitches you can imagine. Always complaining about not having enough money, or clothes or whatever, sitting on their asses all day while Feyra had to go risk her life in the woods, nearly freezing to death, trying to hunt the food that kept them alive. I was so freaking mad at them, I don't think I've ever wanted to strangle a character more than I wanted to strangle them. They were such spoiled brats that if I were as resourceful as Feyra I would've left them to starve and go live by myself somewhere else, because they never did anything for her, never even thanked her for what she did. Aggh! I could go on and on about how much they infuriated me but we'll be here forever, so moving on!

One fateful day, while hunting, Feyra encounters a huge wolf stalking the same doe she was intending to hunt, so she kills it, kills the doe and returns home with her prize. The next day an enraged Fae-beast blasts through their door looking for the killer of the wolf, who turned out to be a Fae too and now Feyra has to face the consequences of having killed one of them. Tamlin, the Fae-beast, explains that the Treaty signed many years ago, between Fae and humans states that the killer of a Fae must pay with her/his life. A life for a life. But Tamlin is willing to take advantage of a loophole, allowing Feyra to live her life in Prythian, the land of Fae in replacement for the life she took. 

Prythian is an intricate, breathtaking world run by the politics and magic of powerful immortal creatures. This world has been enclosed by a wall to separate Fae and humans after a war that almost ended the human race. In those ancient times, the Fae would take humans as slaves and that originated many of the legends and superstitions that humans has learned of throughout generations, and that's the reason why most humans fear and hate the Fae people, including Feyra at the beginning of this book.

Sarah J. Maas has a way of creating whole casts of fascinating, multi-dimensional and relevant characters that I haven't seen since J.K. Rowling. The cast in ACOTAR is freaking huge! But I still remember each and every name and love all characters to bits.

I really felt for Feyra and found her to be a really especial character. I know she's supposed to be Sarah's version of Bella from Beauty and the Beast, and she indeed is for the sake of the plot a lot like her. But also, she's different, she has different hobbies, to say the least. So she is most definitely not just a pretty girl. She's really brave and loyal and more resourceful that most people give her credit for. I absolutely loved her as a main character. 

I really liked Tamlin too. He was sweet and tried really hard to get Feyra to like him. I loved those awkward moments at the beginning of their relationship and how they turned into a beautiful thing later on. I also love his roughness around the edges and his protectiveness over Feyra even though sometimes I didn't agree with his decisions. 

Then we have Ryhs who might be the most interesting character in this whole book, especially since we get very little of him in comparison with other characters. He seems like he's so much more than what meets the eye and I can't wait to find out more about the Night Court and him in the next book.

The one that absolutely stole my heart though, was Lucian. He was genius. I love his lines of dialogue over anyone else's and how rounded a character he was. All rough and snarky but with a heart of gold and completely loyal to Tamlin. I just couldn't get enough of him. I hope we get more of him in the next few books, because I love him to pieces. 

The pace of this book was really particular. We get a powerful beginning with a lot of changes for our protagonist, since we follow Feyra entering this new world of Fae creatures and leaving behind the only world she's ever known.  Then, the middle of the book is really slow paced and normally that would've bother the hell of out me, but I was so enthralled with  the world-building and learning about the politics of the courts and the rites and the gorgeous characters and the sweet slow-building romance that I read it all as if it were fast-paced action, I didn't want to put down the book. And then finally, the whole book explodes into full action and big moments, huge revelations and mind-blowing plot twists I didn't see coming despite some of them being very obviously foreshadowed. I kept getting more and more nervous with every page nearing the end; for one I didn't want the book to end because I was loving it so much that I was dreading having to part ways with the characters. And also, Good Lord! Those lasts scenes had me talking to myself, praying for the characters and biting my nails like nobody's business. 

Overall, I don't think I could've loved this book more than I did. It was like it was written just for me. The world, the characters, the writing, it was all mesmerizing and I can't wait for the next one... I can't believe it doesn't come out until next year, I need it right now. From this moment on, I hereby swear to buy and read every single book written by Sarah J. Maas because she's the best. 

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About the author

Sarah J. Maas is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Throne of Glass series (Queen of Shadows, Book 4, will be out in September 2015), as well as the A Court of Thorns and Roses series (out 5/5/15).

Sarah lives in Bucks County, PA, and over the years, she has developed an unhealthy appreciation for Disney movies and bad pop music. She adores fairy tales and ballet, drinks too much tea, and watches an ungodly amount of TV. When she's not busy writing, she can be found exploring the historic and beautiful Pennsylvania countryside with her husband and canine companion.

[Review] Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
Throne of Fire #3
Published September 2nd, 2014
Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Young Adult Fantasy

Premise:
She was the heir of ash and fire, and she would bow to no one.
Celaena Sardothien has survived deadly contests and shattering heartbreak—but at an unspeakable cost. Now she must travel to a new land to confront her darkest truth...a truth about her heritage that could change her life—and her future—forever.
Meanwhile, brutal and monstrous forces are gathering on the horizon, intent on enslaving her world. To defeat them, Celaena must find the strength to not only fight her inner demons but to battle the evil that is about to be unleashed.
The king's assassin takes on an even greater destiny and burns brighter than ever before in this follow-up to the New York Times bestselling Crown of Midnight.

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Review

My thoughts:

I'm so sad that this book wasn't what I was expecting. I've been loving this series and I was really hoping it would get better and better as a lot of reviewers had said. But unfortunately, I didn't think this book was better than the other two before it. For me it didn't even compare to them. 

The book was really long, for starters. That always intimidates me a little, but I was fine with it when I started reading it, because I was expecting it to be more of the good stuff, so "the more the merrier" I said. The thing is, this book could've been a lot shorter and it would've been a lot better in my opinion.

There were so many perspectives in the narration and that worked in Crown of Midnight, but not here, I don't think. I didn't care about what was going on in Adarlan's castle or with the witches. I felt like all of that information could have been quickly relayed to Celaena when she returned from Wendelyn or shown through flashback sometime later and it was unnecessary to spend so much time shifting back and forth. It made me want to scream that this story was about Celaena and the other character should wait in line for their own spin-offs to come if they will, for the people who care about them to read. 

I don't know if Manon side of the story will be relevant in the next books, I suppose it will or it wouldn't have been told in this one. But relevant or not it was my least favorite part of this book. I kept rolling my eyes every time a chapter from her perspective interrupted the story I really cared about. Interrupted Celaena's side of the story. 

I didn't even care much for what Chaol was doing. I resented him so much through this book, for being so mild, for not being willing to take a stand for so long. For being afraid of magic even in the hands of her bestfriend and the woman he said he loved. My respect for Dorian grew a lot though. He was fiercely loyal to Celaena throughout this book, even when he found someone else to love and it broke my heart that he was so alone in dealing with his new powers.

As for Celaena... She was what kept me reading. Her whole story finally came out. And it broke my heart in pieces with every little bit of her that I learned. I was sobbing uncontrollably during the final big reveal of the night her parents were murdered. I felt all of her hopelessness all of her rage and terrible sadness. I related to her more than I ever thought I could and felt deeply for her. 

Rowan I didn't like much. He was such a brute and terribly mean to Celaena for no real reason during the first part of the book. I do not get why so many characters in literature are this way, so awful to others and they get away with it because we're supposed to accept that they are this way just because they've had awful things done to them. The fact that you've been hurt in the past shouldn't be an acceptable excuse for inflicting unnecessary pain and suffering on others. I don't care if in the end he wasn't all that bad, I don't care if Celaena forgave him, I did not. 

Since Celaena spent all of her time away from Chaol and Dorian, and Rowan being the asshole that he was, there was no real romance in this book. And surprisingly, that didn't bother me all that much. As I said, I stopped caring for Chaol somewhere along the way, and even though I would've like for something to happen between her and Dorian, it was not the time and most definitely not the place since they were in two different continents. 

Overall, this book was a disappointment for me. I was really expecting it to be better and I know it could have, but it felt rather dull and boring with lots of waiting around and doing nothing. What I liked about it was that I was able to connect with Celaena in a deeper level and got to know her full story. For that reason I'm still waiting eagerly for Queen of Shadows, because no matter how many boring details and perspectives I have to go through to find out what happens to Celaena, I'll read 1,000 pages out of pure love for that character. 

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About the author

Sarah J. Maas is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Throne of Glass series (Queen of Shadows, Book 4, will be out in September 2015), as well as the A Court of Thorns and Roses series (out 5/5/15).

Sarah lives in Bucks County, PA, and over the years, she has developed an unhealthy appreciation for Disney movies and bad pop music. She adores fairy tales and ballet, drinks too much tea, and watches an ungodly amount of TV. When she's not busy writing, she can be found exploring the historic and beautiful Pennsylvania countryside with her husband and canine companion.

[Review] Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
Thorne of Glass #2
Published August 27th, 2013.
Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Young Adult Fantasy

Premise:
"A line that should never be crossed is about to be breached.It puts this entire castle in jeopardy—and the life of your friend."
From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.
Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.
Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie... and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.

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Review

My thoughts:

This book was freaking fantastic! It was like a slap across the face for all of those sequels that suffer from the "second installment syndrome". It was even better than Throne of Glass and I really loved that book to begin with. It had lots of action, magical mysteries, huge revelations and plot twists, heart-breaking moments and beautiful romance. 

In this book we finally get a glimpse at just how unbelievable deadly Celaena can be. I mean, don't get me wrong, I knew she was bad-ass from the first book, but then she would mostly talk about what she had done... In this book she gets her hands dirty and bloody and we actually get to see it happen with all the gore and guts. But even now, when she's finally embracing the deathly assassin within her again, we get moments when we get to see her completely vulnerable and deeply hurt. I love all the sides to Celaena. She's such a multi-dimensional character! She feels real to me and that's really amazing coming from a high fantasy series.

In this book we learn a lot about Chaol too, we finally get a glimpse at the well-guarded mind of the Captain and it's amazing. He's a tough guy but also fiercely loyal and capable of such deep feelings of love and protectiveness that would do anything for the sake of the ones he loves. During the first half of the book I though I was walking straight into Team Chaol and never looking back. He was so adorable and understanding towards Celaena that I couldn't help but fall for him. There were scenes between those two that had me in tears both from sheer happiness and devastating sadness. 

But then Dorian... He's dealing with the most unexpected kind of stuff in this book. The first half of the book (while I was loving Chaol), Dorian was being kind of brat, with his passive-aggressive attitude towards Celaena. But then, when the shit hit the fan for like the umpteenth time, I felt like Dorian could be my real true love, I just wanted to reach out and hug him and tell him everything was going to be okay. 

And then at the very end, I struggled going back and forth between them with my heart broken in million pieces. In fewer words: I freaking love this love triangle! It's amazingly well done.

In regards to the plot, the best way to describe it is: out of this world! There is so much going on! There a lot of huge revelations in this book and with each one the plot thickens a bit more and everything begins to fall into its rightful place. In this book many of the threads that were left kind of loose in the first installment, came together, creating a web of intrigue and secrets so well guarded that is threatening to destroy the world as our characters know it.

We learn about the whole underground revolution that is brewing in Rifthold and we  also get to know a bit about some new characters, like Archer, the courtesan who Celeana is ordered to kill in the name of the King. Nehemia plays a huge role in this installment and all of her secrets and real intentions are revealed by the end of the book. Some of them I was expecting, some of them blew my mind. 

Overall, this book was one of the best sequels I've read in a long time. It had everything most of the other YA sequels are missing; the plot move along at a pace that was just right for the story, the characters grew into themselves and we were given game-changing information.  This was most definitely not a filler book. The ending provided some utterly heart-breaking closure, but still left plenty of mysteries for the next book and I'm really excited to find out what's going to happen next. 

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About the author

Sarah J. Maas is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Throne of Glass series (Queen of Shadows, Book 4, will be out in September 2015), as well as the A Court of Thorns and Roses series (out 5/5/15).

Sarah lives in Bucks County, PA, and over the years, she has developed an unhealthy appreciation for Disney movies and bad pop music. She adores fairy tales and ballet, drinks too much tea, and watches an ungodly amount of TV. When she's not busy writing, she can be found exploring the historic and beautiful Pennsylvania countryside with her husband and canine companion.

Waiting on Wednesday [19]: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

 Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming books we are looking forward to being released.

This week pick is:

Queen of Shadows

by Sarah J. Maas
Throne of Glass #4
Expected Pub. Date: September 1st, 2015

Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Young Adult High Fantasy

Premise:

Sarah J. Maas's New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series reaches new heights in this sweeping fourth volume.

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 just to see her again. 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.

Why am I waiting?

I'm currently half-way through Crown of Midnight and I'm planning on reading Heir Of Fire as soon as I finish that one. I'm loving the series and I can't wait to finally catch up. I haven't even read the synopsis for Queen of Shadows so I can avoid spoiling myself, but I already sense it's going to be great! Seriously Sarah J. Maas is becoming one of my favorite authors and this month I'm reading everything she's ever published. 

What do you think about this one?

I'd love to read your thoughts.

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