Reading The Riot Act: celaena

Showing posts with label celaena. Show all posts

Tuesday, 6 October 2015

My Book Kryptonite

There are some books, you think you're above. You snort at "tweens" reading twilight or roll your eyes dramatically at the thought of Shakespeare, but then there are those other books. Those books that you have a weakness for. If your reading ability was Superman, these books are your Kryptonite. You are defenseless against them and as soon as a book presents itself in that way, it is immediately in your basket.

For me, it Fairy tale re-tellings. I want to pretend I'm above it, silly little genre with barely any originality - but I don't. Fairy tale re-tellings are some of the most outstanding literature I have read. They are so original and it is so interesting to have people take the same story and twist and manipulate it into something completely new. So to honour my book kryptonite, here is a list of my favourites, and if that's not enough, you can find more of the genre here.

1. Angela Carter

Angela Carter was an English Novelist. She wrote Angela Carter's Book of Fairy tale and The Bloody Chamber and other stories. These are by far her most popular books and they aren't like regular re-tellings. Often seen as feminist literature, Carter's writing is violent and terrifying and really takes a good look at the female position within fairy tales and society. She looks at the impact of fairy tales on our society and flips them on their head. I would highly recommend any of her literature to any human person ever.

2. Leigh Bardugo

If you have not read Leigh Bardugo - do it now. Don't even bother with finishing this article. Just go. For a little context Bardugo's fairy tale stories are all companion novellas to the Grisha Series:
The Witch of Duva
Little Knife
The Too Clever Fox
Little Knife is my favourite and all of them are so mystical and amazing. The world she builds in these tiny little stories are just stunning.

3. Marissa Meyer

Cyborg Cinderella? Moon-person Rapunzel? NUFF SAID! Lunar Chronicles are amazing.

4. Sarah J Maas

Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses, do seem far away from a fairy tale, but in fact TOG was originally based on Cinderella and ACOTAR is based on Beauty and the Beast. These series are both amazing representations of the ways authors interpret different stories. It is one of my favourite aspects of this genre. One of my all time favourites.

5. ONCE UPON A TIME

I'm afraid I am about to be a cheater. This series is not a book, but it is still a masterpiece of fairy-tale makeovers. ABC'S Once Upon a Time is one of the most enjoyable shows I have watched. I adore the series and Emma and the way it uses contemporary life and society in order to highlight the characters past lives. Evil Peter Pan? Whhaaaatt? I love it. I love it so much, it has snuck it's way into my book blog. DAMN YOU EMMA SWAN!

So that's it, a few of my favourite book kryptonite. I sincerely hope you enjoyed this quick little bit and I urge you to let me know in the comments, what your kryptonite is.

Happy Reading

Friday, 2 October 2015

throne of glass

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas

Louise Wilkes 01:00:00 2

Warning: Spoilers! (duh.)

The Queen has returned

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 has embraced her identity as Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. But before she can reclaim her throne, she must fight. She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die for her. 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. The fourth volume in the New York Times bestselling series continues Celaena's epic journey and builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.

Welcome all Fire Breathing Bitch Queens! It's that time again, that time I wait all year for.

IT'S THRONE OF GLASS FOUR Y'ALL!

This is where you cheer, I know, it's exciting. So I'm just going to get on with it, because we have alot to discuss. Now, for those of you who don't know, Throne of Glass is in essence the story of a Notorious Assassin who happens to be a Lost Queen of a country at war. It is by far cooler than it sounds. I wrote a review of the previous book, so go here for that:

CLICK ME FOR HEIR OF FIRE

Okay, so where do I even begin? A bit of time has passed between Heir of Fire and Queen of Shadows. We skipped the journey back to Adarlan and even the first few weeks of Celaena *cough* I mean Aelin - this is gonna be tough. So we miss Aelin getting settled in, and I thought that it would be awhile before we saw Arobynn Hamel. I was wrong, first chapter, Celaena has a new name, new hair and has tracked down Arobynn in the Vaults. It was great to just get into it, just to kick off with what I was waiting for once she realised she was going to see Arobynn again.

Now In The Assassin's Blade, I wasn't sure what to make of Arobynn, he was sadistic and violent and almost kind of like an abusive boyfriend. I never got to feeling there was anything sexual going on between them other than his need to be dominant over everyone else but in this book he was super creepy. I think he was initially shocked to see her and his guard was dropping a little because things weren't fully under his control. He had sent Aelin to Endovier, waiting for her t learn her lesson so he could save her as and when he pleased. It was way twisted, but I'll get to that.

We start this book and Celaena Sardothien is "gone". After all the awful things she has done Aelin decides to cast off her name and become Aelin instead. I can't imagine this will be permanent. She says hroughout the book that Celaena is gone but she isn't. There are moments, when she's joking with Lysandra (who is rad is this book) and with Rowan that are still Celaena. As fan theories go I believe Celaena's journey now is going to be accepting that she is Celaena and she is also Aelin. She has to accept the life that was before she can move on. That means accepting Nehemia's death, all the death she caused and Sam's death. She cannot just remove that grief by tattooing her back and changing her name. So I have a feeling this is going to take part over the last two books.

Aelin is just as bad-ass as Celaena. She's like demon Buffy the Vampire Slayer just slashing around being awesome. After seeing Arobynn the first time, we kick off with Aedion's rescue. I loved this section of the book, Aelin keeps all her plans a secret from the reader, so as it all happens it is so shocking and keeps you on the edge of your seat, The thing with the roses and the dancers and Dorian. Oh Gods, Dorian. I feel for Dorian in this book and generally he just annoys me. I never really understood his relationship with Sorscha. It felt very forced to me, whether that was Dorian forcing it to get over Celaena or Sarah J Maas herself. Demon Dorian is kind of terrifying and I honestly worried he would die. During the rescue, when he's grinning at Aelin and she's about to mercy kill him. Then she pauses, begging for him to remember, giving him a minute. This book made my heart race.

Then, there's Chaol. I have always been a Celaena and Chaol ship. My ship is sunk, though I still retain hope. Gods when he sees her and he is such and arsehole through the entire first half of the book. It's not until they have the talk on the rooftop that I finally realised, he was waiting for her. He'd heard the rumours of her and Rowan and then she showed up this different person. I had so much hope for them after her speech at the docks before she left in Crown of Midnight, and now I realise that's what Chaol felt. He was waiting for her and was so blind sided when she came back. Even as she first saw him, she started talking about how her heart has healed and without him in their. Despite the holes in my ship, I do still hold up hope. As long as she doesn't end up with Dorian I am happy. I was really surprised to love Rowan in this book. He was okay in Heir of Fire, a bit dark and broody for my taste. Rowan in this book is a lot more fun, the back and forth between the pair is so funny. And the thing with the almond oil and Arobynn made me laugh for a good twenty minutes. Gods it was so funny. On the subject of new ships, I like Nesryn, I think her and Chaol are an excellent match. If Aelin and Chaol are off the cards, then Nesryn is awesome enough to be with Chaol. She's basically medieval Katniss.

My ultimate favorite scene in this book, my favorite scene of the whole series was Manon VS Aelin SMACKDOWN! I thought it would be a while before Aelin and Manon met but Maas surprised me again. This entire scene was perfection. These two amazing fighters just whooping each others butts was the ultimate in awesome, and then when Aelin saved Manon from the temple they had knocked down with their fighting was great. Then the life debt came into play and it was so cool. This entire series is not only impeccably written, so well written that as a writer it makes me feel awful every time I read it. It is edited to perfection. I would love to see a first draft and see how it compares. Maybe that would make me feel better. This book is not just well written and funny, it is cool. There is so much cool going on, like the best action film with the best romance and characters you could ever imagine. Each book gets better and better.

Now here's a ship I can get behind. MANON & DORIAN! I can get behind that, the little moment they had. Not to mention that Manon is vaguely Celaena-like, maybe explaining his attraction to Celaena in the first and second book. They just immediately had chemistry, and when she flies past his window and they both catch each others eyes despite being miles in the air. It was so romantic. I liked Rowan and Aelin, they have banter and I knew as soon as Rowan showed up in Adarlan that it was going to happen. It felt very natural, really liked them together.

Lysandra was a lovely little flower in this book. If you remember her from The Assassin's Blade, I hated her in that. Then it turns out she was playing the game, and that she is a shapeshifter. Way cool. I love how easy their friendship is. Girl friendships are always portrayed with a little jealousy and snideness between them but even after years of being manipulated into hating each other, it is as simple as saying they are now friends. Loved it. And now she's joining us in Terrasen, so I can't wait to see what will happen.

Fan Theory Time: What do you think will happen in the last two books? (That is very sad to say)

Personally, I think Rowan will die. I don't want him to, but there is no way they could break up and Aelin end up with someone else and in two books a lot can happen. I think he will die and it is gonna suck but I will be surprised if Rowan is endgame. He will also die before they "bang". There has been too much emphasis on them wanting to do it and not having ht time or privacy which if you recall the prequels, is a very Sam situation.

Manon and Dorian are total endgame, as are Aedion and Lysandra but she is gonna make him work for it.

I have said since the first book that Sam isn't dead. My theory keeps being pulled apart each book, but I am still waiting for him to like walk in and be all 'Hi guys, not dead. My bad.'

I think Aelin will learn to accept her past and Celaena will come back in atleast some form.

Obviously at some point we will finds this Valg King and have to kill or trap him or something, but we literally just learned about this so it feels like the beginning of a whole new series.

I am way behind Manon to be in Aelin's court. I love it. I could even ship them. What a twist that would be. It would be like Korra and Asami all over again and I was way happy about that.

I am hoping Elide will make it to Aelin. I felt so bad when she had to walk to Terrasen, she can barely walk upstairs and now she's going on a cross country hike. It was sad but also the imagine was kind of hilarious.

Anyway, thank you so much for reading. I utterly love this series and I hope you do too. Give me your fan theories. Slag off the Aelin name switch or just say how cool it was.

I will go down with this ship! CHAOL & CELAENA FOR LIFE!
Happy Reading.

Tuesday, 12 August 2014

sarah j maas

Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas!

Louise Wilkes 03:29:00 0

ARC ALERT!
Warning: Spoilers! (duh.) seriously like so many spoilers!

Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy.

While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love?

I mean look at it, it's beautiful. I was fortunate enough to get an ARC of Heir of Fire and my god is it incredible, like seriously it's gonna blow you away. Sarah J Maas is the queen of shock endings and characters development.

We find Celaena far away from Rifthold in the land of her ancestors and family. To say that she is struggling with the events of the last book is a complete understatement. It was really hard to read her being so lost and without hope. She had literally given up on everything and it was a very hard thing to read about.

The story gets split into about three/four parts. We follow Celaena as she is basically kidnapped by her evil Aunt and forced to learn to control her Fae powers (which gives such an awesome ending) We follow Chaol as he joins the rebel forces and Dorian as he falls in love again. But most amazingly we follow Manon Blackbeak as she learns to rides Wyverns and serve the king.

Let me just say it Manon Blackbeak was nothing like I expected from excerpt we were given a few months ago, her entire narrative was heartwarming and very How To Train Your Dragon. But I liked her, which Celaena being broken and not herself for the first half of the book, Maas knew we needed that badass character who takes no prisoners and is arrogant as hell. And not only did Manon do that, she also didn't just become a carbon copy of Celaena. We really learn alot about the Witches and it's really written ingeniously because I feel like anything even slightly mentioned in the previous books is attended to in other books. Nothing is throwaway information and that's incredible.

Chaol meets Aedion, Princess Aelin's (Celaena) cousin and apparent traitor as he is a general to the King of Adarlan. Of course this all turns out to be fake and the two begin working together for the rebels. I still adore Chaol and I want him and Celaena together so bad, like I just loved them. But we start to get a lot of their couple flaws in this book and it's heartbreaking to understand that Chaol is actually kind of scared of Celaena. He's scared of her power and the blood lust that comes from her Fae side and he can't pick and choose what parts of her to love. He joins the rebels and yet not until the end does he finally draw a line of where his allegiance lies. He spends so much time bouncing between teams, working for the king, protecting Dorian and yet plotting for Aelin. As they say you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything and Chaol finally makes his choice in this book.

I will admit I was worried that Chaol would be forgotten by Celaena when we met Rowan, they definitely had a connection and there were moments where I thought something might happen but I'm glad it didn't. Celaena is clearly not ready for anything like that, I mean if something had happened it would've felt like the entire series was about finding her a lover. We also finally get the choice of what she plans to do about who she is and when she uttered the phrase "Then we will rattle the stars."I was basically happy dancing in bed. PRINCESS AELIN IS ALIVE!

Now to Dorian, I really wasn't that invested in his story, he basically dated this healer who turned out to be a spy and got beheaded. I don't know why I just wasn't sold on her, she was meek and kind of boring. I couldn't see what he was seeing in her. It felt like he loved her because he wanted to. I don't know maybe she was exactly what he needed at the time. When the king finds out about his power, a very interesting thing happened, he put a mind control magic collar on him and then it ended, like the next book is gonna be so awesome.

I don't know what more I can say, how much more I can plug this book more. This entire series is one for the ages. It can capture every part of you until you can't think of anything else. The book hangover from this is gonna be real bad. READ THIS SERIES! DEVOUR THESE BOOKS! DO IT NOW!

If I could give it 100 stars I would!