Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4) by Sarah J. Maas Review!

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. 

(If you haven’t read the Throne of Glass series yet, do NOT read the first five paragraphs of this review. While there aren’t any spoilers for Queen of Shadows, there are minor spoilers for those who have not read the books before Queen of Shadows. However, if you want to know my thoughts on the book without any specifics, just skip to the last paragraph. Cheers!)

                Buckle up, kids, because you are in for a long spoiler free ride. Most of you may know that I am a HUGE SJM fan, so it is no surprise that I pre-ordered Queen of Shadows as soon as it was available. Then as soon as I got it I finished it in less than 24 hours. I was ravenous for more Aelin/Celaena and kickass journeys, and I got what I wanted and more out of Queen of Shadows. I thought that the previous books in the Throne of Glass series were unbeatable, but Queen of Shadows set the bar for the best book in the series yet. I don’t know how Maas does it, but she seems to know what I want and look for in a book and then provides it.

                One thing that Maas provided in spades was a ton of action and badassery (It’s a word). In Heir of Fire, the action came towards the end of the book, but in Queen of Shadows the action started in the beginning and didn’t end until the book did. Aelin was on a mission to destroy the King of Adarlan, and when she sets her mind to something, you better believe that she is getting it done. We have everything from demon hunts, secret meetings, and plots to kill people to fights between the unlikeliest of people, fight scenes that will have you clutching your heart and your seat, and so much more. I couldn’t have been happier with the action in this book because it had my stomach in knots the whole time.

                Then we have the characters of this wicked story. Aelin finally assumed the responsibility as the Queen of Terrasen and in this book, she allowed herself to let go of her Celaena persona. Beforehand, she was focused on revenge and playing her role as Celaena the deadly assassin, but in Queen of Shadows, she assumes her role as Aelin the deadly assassin queen. She began thinking of the kingdom she would soon rule and the people she was responsible too. Of course, Aelin was still focused on revenge, but that was not her only motive. I can’t explain it that well, but Aelin seemed a lot older in Queen of Shadows. She seemed way older than her 19 years. She was still mature, but she also had her moments in Queen of Shadows where she was joking around and just having fun. Those were the moments that I loved the most because we needed a little break from the high tension that Queen of Shadows brought. She was also so freaking clever in this book that she kept surprising me at every turn. The schemes and plots she came up with made my jaw drop. She was so cunning and sneaky that she even surprised Rowan and Chaol. I shouldn’t have been surprised. She never failed to keep me on my toes because she was always one step ahead of everyone. It was great.

                Aelin isn’t the only character that I fawned over in Queen of Shadows. I also loved Rowan and Aedion in this magical book. I am telling you that they were good for my heart. Rowan’s POV in the book made my heart skip a beat more than once. The way he and Aelin interacted really tugged at my heart strings, and they definitely made me fangirl a time or ten thousand. Plus, the fact that he was a protective fae bastard (Aelin’s words, not mine) also had me laughing because he was so protective of Aelin, and she didn’t know what to do with him. Ah, how I love Rowan.

                Aedion and Aelin’s relationship in Queen of Shadows was adorable too. The scenes between just the two of them were some of my favorite because Aelin just wanted to be around him, and it made me happy that Aelin finally had her cousin back. Plus, Aedion’s reactions to some of Aelin’s antics had me laughing. Of course, Manon was a badass in the book too. She quickly became one of my favorite characters simply because she terrified most people, but in this book, we get to know her a little more and get inside her head, which was really cool. She was definitely an amazing character. Chaol was an ass in the beginning, but I forgave him in the end. That is all I can say about him without spoiling something.

                I tried to express how much I love this book, but words can’t really do it justice. The action, romance, characters, and plot are one of a kind and they really set this book apart from other fantasy books. The Throne of Glass series is a series that supplies a badass heroine who is an assassin and a queen. You won’t find anything cooler than that, and if you do, you need to let me know ASAP. Aelin/Celaena is a character that you instantly fall in love with because she is strong mentally and physically, smart and cunning, and loyal until her dying breath and probably even after that, but she is also a 19 year old girl who has suffered through a LOT and she has emotions that overcome her just like anyone’s would. Aelin is a girl that you cheer for no matter what, and I love that about this series. Maas is the queen of fantasy right now, and I cannot thank her enough for giving me a story like Aelin’s to cling to. This book is easily one of my favorite books of the year, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to get into the fantasy world or just looking for a great book with a badass heroine. I would give Queen of Shadows the whole galaxy of stars, but five out of five will have to do.

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas Review!

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Genre: YA/New Adult Fantasy

Date Published: May 3rd, 2016

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Page Number: 624

Synopsis: 

 Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.

 

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.

 

With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.

 

Review:

     A Court of Mist and Fury is a fantasy book that will blow you away. If you were hesitant to read this book after A Court of Thorns and Roses, then rest assured that this book will leave you full of emotions and stunned at the magical world that is A Court of Mist and Fury. The first book in any series is always touch and go due to the need for in depth descriptions and heavy world building. This often results in a lull of action and adventure, but it is necessary. You may have experienced that in ACOTAR, but in ACOMAF, there is no lack of action, emotion, or adventure. Below you will witness my ramblings about my love for this book, how crazy it made me, and basically me fangirling over everything about this book.

     There really is no way for me to express how much I loved this book. This book.... man. Where do I start? This book wrecked me in the best way possible. It left me gasping for air and wishing I had just a hundred more pages left with Feyre and Rhysand. You know that feeling when a book consumes you so completely that once you finish it you are just numb? That was me after I finished this book. I have said it once and I will say it again, Sarah J Maas has a gift from the gods when it comes to writing. She can spin the most beautiful tales and the most terrifying scenes. She can take a fictional character and make her/him feel like a tangible person that could easily leap off of the page and become real. Sarah doesn't sugar coat her books. She writes it like it is, and that raw power that she has so graciously woven into her books makes them that much more magical. When you read a SJM book, you are able to feel what the characters are feeling and experience every moment of their journey as if it were your own. When you read a SJM book, you will know that the magical world of books is a powerful one.

     I started out reading ACOMAF not knowing how devastatingly beautiful it would be or the emotional journey it would take me on. In the first book, we just scratch the surface of the possible devastation that can befall our beloved characters. In ACOMAF, we finally see that not everything is what it seems and the people who are seen as monsters are the ones who are actually salvation. Feyre is put through so much in this book, and she gives so much that her generosity and strength never failed to amaze me. She survived the horrors under the mountain, barely, and she finally got a glimpse at the future she so rightly deserves only to have it taken away at the wave of a hand. The moment all of that was taken away from her I felt a rage come over me that only a SJM book can conjure.  I didn't know whether to cry or scream or both. This book had a way of capturing my emotions and playing them like a fiddle. I read this book in one day, and in that one day, I was sucked into the world of Prythian and taken on an emotional journey that I didn't think my heart would be able to withstand.

     One of the many things that I loved about ACOMAF is that it made me feel things so strongly that I forgot the feelings were driven by fictional characters in a book. This book made me feel so strongly that I forgot the physical world around me and was devoured by the fictional world. I knew ACOMAF wouldn't be an easy book to read, but I had no idea my heart would hurt so much for Feyre or how much I would hate characters I had come to love in ACOTAR. Maas has a way of twisting my heartstrings (pulling them is too docile for her) and tangling them up into a ball of emotions that range from sadness, rage, terror, and occasionally happiness. But this book had me raging from the start because Maas has a way of writing characters and stories that can piss you off so easily that it is an art form.

     Another thing that I admire about Maas and her writing in this book is her ability to address issues of abuse in such a gentle yet compelling way. In ACOTAR, we are introduced to a character that both physically and emotionally abused those around her, but we never got to see the aftermath. In ACOMAF, we get to see the fall out and how the abuse of one character can damage so many lives. This book addresses what it is like for the victims of physical and emotional abuse and how that abuse can affect them. PTSD, horrible nightmares, becoming an abuser themselves, low self-esteem, and many more topics are addressed in this book and it was eye opening to see such dark topics discussed in this book. However, the book does not focus on those topics heavily. I would suggest that if any of those topics are a serious trigger for you, then you might want to read this book with caution because even as a person who hasn’t really experienced any of those things, it was a lot to take in and it made me very emotional.

     That being said, I cannot tell you how much I loved Feyre. She is not the perfect heroine that is too often portrayed in books these days. She didn’t get things instantaneously, she had her struggles with many things including reading, and she was living in a world she didn’t understand with people who had been hiding things from her since she got there. However, despite all of that, despite the horrors she went through under the mountain, she SURVIVED. She dealt with her shortcomings and her terrible past and used it to make herself stronger. THAT is the kind of character young girls and boys should be reading about. Feyre is the kind of character that was an underdog at first, but because she refused to give up, she became stronger throughout the whole book.

     I don't want to reveal much because this is a book that needs to be discovered itself and not simply told about. Just know that as someone who has read over 2,000 books, this book is among my top ten favorites of all time. This book was full of action, romance (my God, the romance is not for the young or faint of heart), adventures, schemes, revelations, and funny moments thrown in. This book is one that you cannot and should not miss out on. Maas has outdone herself again, and while I wait for the third book in the series, I will be trying to pick myself up from this book. Is it any surprise that I give this book the five stars it deserves?

(P.S. In Night Court fashion, all I can say is that I hope that Feyre and Rhysand's enemies blood will flow like a river in the next book, and I cannot wait to see them on their knees begging for mercy where Feyre finally has her revenge.)

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

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.

I started this book knowing that Maas was going to blow me away with this series just as she had with the Throne of Glass series. I had so much fun reading ACOTAR. It took me to another world full of shape shifting high faes, big bad creatures, and characters that put the bad in badass. I always have fun reading Maas' books and ACOTAR is no exception. This book is definitely one that is going on my favorites list.

The first chapter in this book was just so poetic and beautiful that it just captivated me and it lulled me into the story. It also helped that I loved how Feyre was introduced to us. She is such a strong character that it's hard NOT to love her. I can see aspects of myself in her, which I love, and it helps put myself in the story. She is dedicated to helping her family survive no matter the cost, without a second thought of herself and it's really admirable. I love characters like that. Also, as I read through ACOTAR my heart continued to break for Feyre. The things she missed out on, the things she was forced to do to survive, and the loneliness she had to endure was just heartbreaking. It really made me connect with her on a personal level because we get deeper than just the surface of her feelings.

Speaking of captivating moments in this book, that first scene when Feyre leaves her home was intense and so cool. I immediately knew I would be interested in Tamlin right off the bat especially the way he barged into Feyre’s house like that. Tamlin and Lucien are just a pair of fictional characters that I immediately added to my boyfriend list. Tamlin is quiet, reserved, allusive, and dangerous. However, he is protective and determined to get to know Feyre. As the story progresses, we get to see Tamlin loosen up and actually start going out of his way to make her comfortable. Whereas, Lucien is the funny one. He is always looking for a laugh and flirting. However, as the story goes on we delve into his brutal past which makes us see him in a totally different light. Both are types that I adore greatly. It also doesn't hurt that they are gorgeous. Maas is the queen of gorgeous and ethereal men. She also knows how to create all of her characters so that they are full of complexities and it shows in her work. Feyre, Tamlin, Lucien, Rhys, and Amarantha are characters that are complicated and full of history. They all contribute so much to the story and never for a moment do they seem out of place. All of these characters seem so well written that it's hard to remember that they are fictional.

On another note, the world building and sheer genius that went into this book is what also helps make this book great. Once I started reading I practically fell into Feyre and Tamlin's world, and I had trouble coming back to reality when I finished. Even when I put the book down I still thought about it.  Even after finishing this book, I felt inspired to write my books and conquer the world. Books like ACOTAR leave readers inspired to do the impossible just like Feyre did.

For those wondering if this book is similar to Maas’ other works, I am here to tell you that ACOTAR is so different from the Throne of Glass series. Feyre and Celaena are different but they both struggle with being saddled with troubling pasts and uncertain futures. I love how different these books are, but they still contain the features that makes it a Maas work of art like strong and fierce heroines, gorgeous heroes that will have you melting, and action filled journeys full of mystery and adventure. I mean, that scene of the summer solstice was just *fangirls* amazing. God, I love this book.

Then, just when I thought the action of this book was over, I was hit with even more and better adventures and action. This book takes the reader through such a captivating and all-encompassing journey that it is hard to imagine that in the end, the book you started out with was the same book you ended with. So much happens in this book, and so many feelings are summoned that you cannot help be feel entranced by it.  I can't put into words how much I loved this book and how much it means to me. It had my emotions in its grasp and my intention all the same. There was never a moment that I was bored, and it’s obvious that Maas knows how to keep readers on the edge.

This book is filled with lessons, mystery, the promise of an exciting future, intrigue, and so much more, and I couldn't have been happier with how this book turned out. There were a few times a teared up just because some scenes tore at my heart strings. It's rare that books affect me so much, but Maas has a way of working her way to my heart through amazing characters and even better story lines. This is a book that everyone has to read. If you haven't thought about picking this book up then do it now because you couldn't possibly be prepared for the journey you will experience in ACOTAR. It is very safe to say that this book easily gained five out of five stars.