Showing posts with label fangirl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fangirl. Show all posts

Monday, 7 August 2017

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas

03:13:00 0
Warning: Spoilers! (duh.)

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s maneuverings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit—and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well. As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords—and hunt for allies in unexpected places. 
Reading the Riot Act
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas
Published May 2nd 2017 by Bloomsbury
Paperback 699 Pages

Despite my best efforts, this series has slowly wormed it's way into my heart. When A Court of Thorns and Roses was released, I was ride or die with Throne of Glass. Then, Celaena died and Feyre was born. Aelin, was second to Feyre - and in the place of my beloved Chaol, was Rhysand. I know, I know, how disloyal of me. But A Court of Mist and Fury was one of the best books I have ever read. So, as you can imagine, I waited for this conclusion with bated breath. 

This book, was a wild ride. We start slow, building like a roller-coaster and Feyre - honey, I gotta say - is acting like a bit of an idiot. She's undercover in the Spring Court and every two minutes she's like...'Guys, how good a spy am I?' Not a great one Feyre. She's having mysterious headaches and her powers weakening but she notices none of it, she's too busy patting herself on the back for a job she hasn't even finished yet. There are 100 Rhysand-less pages and when everything finally kicks off, it is worth the wait. 

Hyberns men attack, Feyre EFFS up Ianthe (totally justified) and Lucien is along for the ride. Turns out Feyre was being poisoned the whole time and she had no clue. (Nice one, babe.) They flee into Autumn Court, on foot, and low and behold. More shit goes down. BAM. FIGHT. ICE. MOUNTAINS. AHHHH! It's so dramatic. I'm on the edge of my seat. We're only 150 pages in and could this be the end? Of course not! Sexy Illyrians fall from the sky, smashing into ice with bat-wings and chiseled jaws. The Court of Dreams. Whoosh, swept up, back to Velaris and our beloved friends. 

I've never been so happy to return to a setting before. Now with Lucien and Feyre's sisters and our darling, darling Rhysand. It's like I was coming home, and I didn't expect to miss Mor and Amren as much as I did. Suddenly the pace is different. It feels fast but so much is happening. Raunchy love scenes, sister drama, training. It's all so detailed but my mind is gone. I'm not reading the words, I'm there, trying to grow Illyrian wings and readying myself for battle. 

Though it's good to be back, there's still Hybern to deal with. The gang organise a meeting, getting the leaders together and try to unite Prythian against Captain Crunch. Sorry, The King of Hybern. I loved how political this book was, it was like Game of Thrones, where wars aren't just won on battlefields. There is diplomacy, working together and it is so interesting to watch it all come together or unravel. 

Hybern attacks Velaris and the meeting is pulled forwards. Nesta, who's been acting like a straight-up biatch is having a change of heart. I mean, we get what her problem is because Elain is acting nuts. Everything she says is sinister and random. Nesta, in her worry, basically becomes a meaner Amren. (I know, who thought that was possible!) The meeting with the High-Lords is pulled up, it has to be now and they are not happy about having a High-Lady in the midst. Neither are the High-Lords wives - Feyre seems to be giving them ideas. Everything is tense but working out and then boom! The moment we have all being waiting for...in walks Tamlin. 

Tamlin is ruthless. For some reason, I love it. He's catty, talking about Feyre's climaxing noise and just bating Rhysand, begging for a punch. Then, Rhysand takes away his ability tio speak. As someone who didn't even like Tamlin in book one, this is extremely satisfying. I preferred this scene of the numerous Rhys/Feyre sexy times. After this, although a lot of stuff happens, the war seems to come at you fast. Before I know it, Elain is a seer, we've been winnowing the humans to safety and the battle is on us. 

I was sure there was going to be death. Lots of death, and with Feyre rallying the Bone Carver, The Weaver and whatever the hell was in the bottom of the library, the odds seemed good. Until we saw Hyrberns army. The gang don't stand a chance. Lucien has gone to rally the human queens and as it turns out - Tamlin and Jurian are good guys. But, it's not enough. I know it, and the characters know it. They are saying goodbye and it all feels horrible. 

I start to dread the ending, dread knowing the finale is coming for Throne of Glass too, knowing this will only be the beginning of my sorrow. Nesta feels it, having taken something from the Cauldron. She knows when it is about to attack, and it obliterates.

They have to nullify it, Amren says she knows how, the Suriel told her where to look. But Elain is mad and Nesta is down. Cassian at her side. More Goodbyes. They need to get Hybern away from the Cauldron, so Amren and Feyre have a chance of nullifying it. Ships appear and there is Feyre's father. Lucien didn't bring the human queen, their father did. With ships named after the daughters, he fights for. I won't pretend I didn't cry. 

Damn. This review is long. 

We flip between Nesta and Feyre, the latter with her hand on the Cauldron and Amren apologising for lying. They aren't;t there to stop the Cauldron, they are there to release Amren. Feyre is pulled into the Cauldron, watching Hybern battle Nesta and Cassian. He's killing them, both of them. Feyre screams. She can't do anything to stop it. 

Then, Elain, with a knife in Hybern's throat. Nesta is on it, twisting the dagger in his throat, pay back for killing their father. The armies don't know Hybern has fallen. They keep fighting and Amren is released, laying waste to the fighters below. The Cauldron is destroyed, the beast inside Amren released. The very fabric of their world is shattered, and it needs to be fixed. 

Made and Unmade. Rhys appears. They all know the world will end if the Cauldron is not remade. Feyre does it, but everyone is depleted. Rhys offers his limited power, insists on it. She takes and takes, healing the cracks and saving them all, until she turns, and has killed Rhys. 



I know. I know, I crapped my pants. 
I had forgotten about Feyre. About how Rhys had held onto her and the High-Lords had brought her back. Spoiler Alert! It happens again. 

Then, the war is over. Time passes quickly and everything is such a shock. Amren is back and no one is dead. There is a happy ending. And it feels...disappointing. The final 50 pages are like lightning. I can barely comprehend where we are until we are there, at the end. And it feels like there should be more. 

I gave A Court of Wings and Ruin a solid 4 stars. 



Despite the slow beginning and the too fast ending - the journey in between was stunning. It was crazy and wild and one hell of an adventure. Besides, it's the journey that counts, not the destination. You can find me on TwitterInstagramGoodreads and Facebook. Until then...Happy Reading.

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Saturday, 7 June 2014

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han.

05:11:00 0
Warning: Spoilers (duh.)

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer--they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along

Image from Yako Books

The Summer I Turned Pretty was recommended by a friend. I didn't hold out much hope as it seemed initially like a "fluff" book. And it was, it totally was, but I loved it. It was cute and really solidifed those feelings as a teenage girl and that moment, just before someone is about to kiss you. It was well written but the characters could be very annoying. Belly (stupid name) is very spoilt and self centered and she was a bit bratty. She was also insightful, delightful and fun. Conrad was to be honest sexy but an asshole. He was such a dick to Belly at the party and super aggressive. He was the older brother and he acted like a selfish brat so him and Belly deserve each other. Jeremiah was adorable and just so fun to read.


I actually really enjoyed this book and I didn't expect to. The only thing was, I feel like I was mis-sold this book. It's sold as a love triangle between two brothers, and maybe as the series progresses it will be, but currently it isn't. Currently it's Belly dating a guy called Cameron, kissing Conrad once and having a somewhat awkward moment with Jeremiah. The romance really wasn't there at all. I mean Cameron was sweet enough but he made no impression. This book really should have been the first half of 1 book not the first in a series. I will continue with it and find out what happens but yeah, it's a tad annoying.


The cancer story line was really what hit me most. I adored Susannah, she was awesome and fun and I actually cried when we learned she was dying. I've read an excerpt of the second book so I know she survives until next summer but I really loved her and I feel like I know her and that is incredibly sad. I hate Taylor, she drives me insane and yet I think character-wise that's probably who I'd most be like. Loud and annoying! The girl needed a slap (does that mean I do?) 


Overall it was a good, fun, summer read. It wasn't too taxing but it was emotional enough to hook me in and keep me reading. I gave it 4 stars!




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Monday, 2 June 2014

The One by Kiera Cass

04:33:00 2
Warning: Spoilers! (duh.)

The Selection changed America Singer's life in ways she never could have imagined. Since she entered the competition to become the next princess of Illéa, America has struggled with her feelings for her first love, Aspen--and her growing attraction to Prince Maxon. Now she's made her choice . . . and she's prepared to fight for the future she wants.

 This is the third and final book in The Selection series by Kiera Cass. Previously America Singer (The most annoying, bad decision, anti-feminist  protagonist of all time) was dating Aspen, got into The selection (basically The Bachelor but she can marry the prince at the end) She promptly falls for Prince Maxon (who's an ass) then they fall in love and out of love and in love and Aspen shows up and it should all be very exciting...but it isn't.

Admittedly I loved the first book, America was so different from all the other girls, she was a tomboy and did what she liked but that suddenly became annoying as she starting pining over Maxon and being completely unreasonable. In the second book, they literally agree to announce their engagement, then they have a slight fight so Maxon runs off and macks on Celeste. Then says it's her fault for being mean to him. Seems like the definite person you want to spend the rest of your life with. Fucking idiot. 

Okay, so onto The One. Maxon and America are something, I don't really remember but we start and she tries to seduce him which is honestly the funniest sequence I've ever read in my life. When she talks about going to war and then he just laughs at her trying to be sexy #awkies. Then we have many many pages of her and Maxon arguing. I blocked most of that out.


 We have this beautiful kissing in the rain scene when she finally realises that despite everything, she loves him and it was lovely and I just wanted her to tell him. Maxon had previously said that if she tells him she loves then that's it, they would be together. But America is a procrastinator so she's all "nah I'll tell him later" (I'm paraphrasing) which adds to why she infuriates me.

We have the redemption of Celeste in this book and I loved Celeste anyway. I thought she was so cool and badass and an absolute bitch - but in a very entertaining way. So we have her redemption and now she's fierce and strong and friendly (basically Beyonce') and then she dies! SHE FUCKING DIES! LIKE WHYYY! And so does The Queen! I mean my two most beloved characters and she just kills them off and then skips time so we don't have to deal with their deaths. They are now on my list of fictional characters it wasn't okay to kill, Right underneath Tris and Dobby and Finnick.


America goes through more terrible decisions gets shot and her and Maxon fall out so much. I should go into detail but it is honestly so dull, you wouldn't care anyway. But literally at one point, America has her hand on Aspen's chest and Maxon calls of the wedding. 'THAT'S IT! I'M MARRYING KRISS! FUCK YOU BITCH!' (Still paraphrasing) and then he gets shot and realises he, just like America is an idiot. They honestly deserve each other.

The problem with this series, is that even all of this infuriates me. I enjoyed reading it, it was really quick and I felt satisfied and like I'd had a good read afterwards. The point of a book is escapism and it definitely succeeds. I would say it was a terrible book and I hated it, but I loved it aswell. I have a Maxon/America relationship with this series. I love it but I don't want to because it's so stupid. 

That collage scene was super cute as well! And her dad's death! DEM FEELS!

I can't even fully describe this book, I would recommend because you will enjoy it, it will also drive you insane.
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