KEEP CALM AND LOVE BOOKS: witches

Pages: 404

Publication Date: October 7th 2003

Publisher: Berkley Sensation

ISBN: 0425226883 (ISBN13: 9780425226889)

On the night of her twenty-fifth birthday, alone in her apartment, Air Force Sergeant Christine Canady wished for one thing: a little magic in her life. After drinking way too much champagne, she performed, of all crazy things, a goddess-summoning ritual, hoping that it would somehow make her life a little less ordinary...but she never believed the spell would actually work.

When her military plane crashes into the ocean, CC's mission overseas takes an unexpected turn. She awakens to find herself in a legendary time and place where magic rules the land—occupying the body of the mythic mermaid Undine. But there is danger in the waters and the goddess Gaea turns this modern, military gal into a beautiful damsel so that she can seek shelter on land.

CC is soon rescued (literally) by a knight in shining armor. She should be falling in love with this dream-come-true, but instead she aches for the sea and Dylan, the sexy merman who has stolen her heart.

Now, What I Thought:

WOW. WOW. WOW. WOW. I was so not expecting to like this book. I couldn't believe how hooked I got!! Immediately I thought our protagonist, CC, was weird and that I was not going to like her at all. Yep. As you guessed it, I was 100% wrong. It took a couple chapters (maybe up to 4) for me to really start to realize how great this story was. It's not a regular, stereotypical siren/mermaid love tail (no pun intended) but instead, the love was magical and CC's transformation between a strong, Air Force and independent women to this love filled, desperate mermaid was incredible!! There are 7 books in this series and when I saw that, I was immediately confused. The novel ended beautifully and I couldn't imagine continuing CC and Dylan's story anymore but then I realized they're all different plots!!! Every book in P.C. Cast's series has different settings, plots, God's and characters. I can definitely say I will be reading more of her works because she is a fantastic writer. Now, just for reader's discretion, this should be labeled Rated R considering there is sexual content in this. I've definitely read worse but some people might find the sex scenes in here a little too much. I truly didn't mind it at all, I found it fitting because it showcased Dylan and CC's love perfectly! I will admit I did not get how Dylan and CC had sex. Sorry, I'm just going to put it out there... It didn't make sense to me but oh well.

CC was incredible. She was brave, strong, independent and hello! An Air Force Sergeant!!! I love anything with a strong female lead, especially one in the army, so this was perfect. She really knew when to stand her ground and make herself known to the empowering men. CC goes into a realm and world where on land, women are looked down upon and beauty is considered a sin and evil, especially a women's beauty. So of course, CC in this beautiful body of Undine, demands attention by her very existence. The abbot running the monastery where she resides, does not take to her and instantly hates her. Lot's of drama transpires but I managed to stay so impressed with CC and her strong will and not giving up even though the situations were SO degrading to women, I wanted to scream.

"I did so enjoy learning the Poultry Dance," Gwenyth said, waving a hand in front of her heated face.

"Chicken Dance," CC corrected with a giggle.

"Chicken Dance," Gwenyth repeated. The old woman's eyes sparkled."

Dylan was just sooooooo fine. He was perfect. From the moment we met him to the very end was amazing. He was such a good match for CC and I loved that he made sure to mention from the beginning that he loved CC for CC, not Undine's body. He really, truly loved her and it was love at first sight. I liked that we got his P.O.V sometimes because it allowed us to see his true intentions and make us fall in love with him even more! Gaea was so sweet. She was just so lovely to read about! I loved her immediate love and protection for CC, even though her own daughter was away from her. She really was a great mother and Goddess. I liked when we met Lir in the end. Lir was definitely not what I was expecting though! Usually with Greek mythology novels, I detest when an author makes God's and Goddess's nice and sweet, because in myth and legend, they were brutes that loved to kill and have sex. Cast really held that balance with Gaea and Lir, whom is Poseidon by the way, and we really saw that they were capable of in the last couple chapters. Let's not forget Lynelle. I knew from the beginning they would be close friends. Lynelle really shown through on her trust and support for CC even after she found out what she was. I liked that Cast gave Lynelle character growth as well!

“True love is not a potion one person can swallow and another refuse to drink. It happens only when the souls of two join together to form one."

There were a lot of moments in this book where I wanted to scream at the abbot, Andres, Sarpedon and many more characters but that was just the thrill to see the judgment get passed onto THEM in the end. Really guys, this was a wonderful book and I assure you I will be reading the others in this series because I can't get enough of Cast's writing!

P.S. Yes, the original cover was just so boring I had to use the 2008 paperback edition one because it's clearly more interesting. The ISBN is of that edition, just to be clear.

air force - 2:22:00 AM

Goddess of the Sea (Goddess Summoning #1) by P.C. Cast | Review

Pages: 404 Publication Date: October 7th 2003 Publisher: Berkley Sensation ISBN: 0425226883 (ISBN13: 9780425226889 ) On t...

Pages: 280 pages

Publication Date: August 1st 2013

Publisher: Escape Publishing

ISBN13: 9780857990679

King Hall — where the Mysticals go to learn their craft, get their degrees, and transition into adulthood. And where four new Rulers will rise and meet their destinies.

Lily Ruckler is adept at one thing: survival. Born a Mystical hybrid, her mere existence is forbidden, but her nightmare is only about to start. Fluke, happenstance, and a deep personal loss finds Lily deeply entrenched with those who would destroy her simply for existing — The Mystical Kings. Being named future Queen of the Shifters shoves Lily into the spotlight, making her one of the most visible Mysticals in the world. But with risk comes a certain solace — her burgeoning friendships with the other three Prodigies: a wicked Vampire, a wild-child Mage, and a playboy Elemental. Backed by their faith and trust, Lily begins to relax into her new life.

Then chaos erupts as the fragile peace between Commoners and Mysticals is broken, and suddenly Lily realises the greatest threat was never from within, and her fear takes on a new name: the revolution.

Now, What I Thought:

This was actually really good! Surprisingly, I was not expecting to like this as much as I did. It had a weird type of fantasy world, which just felt too far fetched but I really liked how the words and events just flowed smoothly and how the introduction to the characters were. In the beginning we get Lily, she's supposed to be a regular, lucky enough to be mated to the King's son, shifter. But dun dun dun, instead she's really this mystical hybrid between a shifter and a vampire -gasp-. As weird as their world was and just how Dawn came up with stuff to add, I really did enjoy it and it was funny at a lot of parts!

Again, Lily is dating the Shifter King's son and those two are inseparable. Everyone either hates Lily or wants to be her, and Lily is totally good hearted and doesn't seem to care or notice too much. Then, Lily finds herself being named the future Queen of Shifters in only a couple days. Still in shock from loads of events that came spiralling at her, she doesn't quite understand the huge responsibility. This is when we get to fully understand the characters seeing as they are all the heirs to their throne: Ezra the Vampire, Jack the Elemental, Pearl the Mage and finally Lily the Shifter.

My favourite character out of everyone in this book had to be Ezra! Not only because he's this sexy, dark and dangerous vampire but because he actually saw sense and was the smartest one. He seemed to know what to do no matter what happened to the group and he always protected them. It was a fun book to read and really had the elements and magic involved which I liked. Instead of it being strictly one thing, Dawn put all of the fantasy, paranormal genre's together into one book. You guys should definitely read this if you want cute mate scenes, sexy vampire scenes and action induced magic scenes!

Mysticals - 4:58:00 PM

King Hall (Forever Evermore #1) by Scarlett Dawn | Review

Pages: 280 pages Publication Date: August 1st 2013 Publisher: Escape Publishing ISBN13: 9780857990679 King Hall — where ...

Publication Date: July 25th 2006

Publisher: Tor Books

Pages: 541

ISBN: 076531178X (ISBN13: 9780765311788)

In a world where ash falls from the sky, and mist dominates the night, an evil cloaks the land and stifles all life. The future of the empire rests on the shoulders of a troublemaker and his young apprentice. Together, can they fill the world with color once more?

In Brandon Sanderson's intriguing tale of love, loss, despair and hope, a new kind of magic enters the stage — Allomancy, a magic of the metals.

Now, What I Thought:

This was really good!!! It was super long but considering how fast-paced it was, it was almost perfect. So the world we're set in is a fantasy dystopia. The sun has turned into a red giant and instead of clear skies, ash rains down almost indefinitely. The story follows this bad-ass 16 year old girl, Vin, and 35 year old, another hugely bad-ass, Kelsier. So there are two classes basically, the Skaa and the Nobles. The Skaa, which Vin is classed in are serving people, they are the 'poor' in this world. The Nobles on the other hand sometimes have access to magic in this world known as, Allomancy. Magic in this world is fuelled by elemental and alloyed metals. This magic can enhance abilities like super strength for example and the abilities differ from different metals the nobles ingest. This whole book is basically a heist for Kelsier and Vin's thieving gang to overthrow the Lord Ruler of the land.

It was really exciting to read and the way we got introduced to the characters was such a brutal and honest way! This whole world is just a wasteland, it's almost like this could happen to us, in real life, in about a couple billion years. We all know our sun is going to burn out sometime and become a red giant like all of the other stars have, it's just a matter of time. I really really really enjoyed this book, and I do wish I had read it sooner! During the book we obviously get a couple attempts by the gang to overthrow the Lord Ruler. Lets just say the first try did not go well. We really get to see why the Inquisitors, unbeatable and unstoppable powerful guards, are so feared of and holy crap that was intense.

There were a lot of moments when I literally thought Sanderson was going to kill the main characters because taking on that big of a heist was bound to have many, if not, all casualties.

WARNING: This is not a happy book. This is a sad, intense, thrilling adventure but not happy. The world Sanderson built and made is living in poverty and a literal wasteland with ash to cover their grounds, do not expect a happy ending. Kelsier was definitely one of my favourite characters, maybe tied with Vin. He was so bad-ass and a complete Dumbledore-like character that his words were so strong and wise. He really was a legend to people.

“That’s where he got those scars, you know,” Disten said. “The ones on his arms. He got them at the Pits, from the rocks on a sheer wall he had to climb to escape.”

Harmon snorted. “That’s not how he got them. He killed an Inquisitor while escaping—that’s where he got the scars.”

“I heard he got them fighting one of the monsters that guard the Pits,” Ulef said. “He reached into its mouth and strangled it from the inside. The teeth scraped his arms.”

Disten frowned. “How do you strangle someone from the inside?"

The only word I can think about for this novel is, intricate. It was so finely wound and woven into this thick, deep and thoughtful plot line and story in general. The whole book was so believable and possible because of the actual realness in the setting and the background behind the people and not to mention the actual world, and what happened for it to get to this point. Again, I really did like this and I'm very happy I finally read it! The characters are simply amazing and so memorable that I absolutely loved everything in this entire novel. This is such a raved about book that it deserves all of the hype it's getting!

Allomancy - 12:42:00 AM

Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson | Review

Publication Date: July 25th 2006 Publisher: Tor Books Pages: 541 ISBN: 076531178X (ISBN13: 9780765311788) In a world where...

Pages: 420 pages

Publication Date: November 19th 2013 (first published January 1st 2013)

Publisher: Penguin Group

ISBN: 1595143203 (ISBN13: 9781595143204)

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the wolds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives.

In The Indigo Spell, Sydney was torn between the Alchemist way of life and what her heart and gut were telling her to do. And in one breathtaking moment that Richelle Mead fans will never forget, she made a decision that shocked even her...

But the struggle isn't over for Sydney. As she navigates the aftermath of her life-changing decision, she still finds herself pulled in too many directions at once. Her sister Zoe has arrived, and while Sydney longs to grow closer to her, there's still so much she must keep secret. Working with Marcus has changed the way she views the Alchemists, and Sydney must tread a careful path as she harnesses her profound magical ability to undermine the way of life she was raised to defend. Consumed by passion and vengeance, Sydney struggles to keep her secret life under wraps as the threat of exposure — and re-education — looms larger than ever.

Now, What I Thought:

This was different from all of the other books! We have 2 P.O.V's in this, which was cool because we finally get to read about Adrian's thought process. So, Zoe is annoying. Simple as that, and this is me being nice. I really hate her, I can't put it straight enough! She bugged me so much, she always seemed to be on her sister's side yet at the first chance, she rats her out to her father and guess what? Sydney is in trouble now and all I want to do is slice Zoe's throat.

I feel like Sydney and Adrian were a little dull in this book, meaning that they just weren't themselves. They were careless and got too comfortable. Sydney wasn't smart enough to realize when something was wrong and we didn't see the normal, very analytic thinking person I really liked from the first book and Vampire Academy.

Adrian was almost exactly like that. It felt like he, too, wasn't himself because he was way too overly in love with Sydney and his mistakes, along with hers, threaten now all of their lives and not to mention the only reason they're there, Jill. It was just so frustrating how stupid they could be and just not think with their heads in this book! I felt like screaming at them a lot of the times just to talk some sense into their brains and shout out the obvious.

I really liked how we got to go to the Royal Court, and we see everyone! That was probably my favourite scene in the whole book. There was so much drama that happened it was just so juicy! We get so many fights and a huge battle which was total Vampire Academy like. I loved it! It was so cute to see how Sydney and Adrian were trying to hide their relationship from their friends because we all saw how that worked out for Rose and Dimitri.

I really did like this book, but it was not my favourite. I didn't like the ending, something bad happens and I totally know I'm going to get so frustrated in next book. So, all in all, it was a good instalment in the series and while I am frustrated and mad how the series turned, I am excited to see how Adrian and the gang can save Sydney from this drama.

alchemists - 3:02:00 PM

The Fiery Heart (Bloodlines #4) by Richelle Mead | Review

Pages: 420 pages Publication Date: November 19th 2013 (first published January 1st 2013) Publisher: Penguin Group ISBN: 159514...

Pages: 338 pages

Publication Date: October 2nd 2012

Publisher: HarperCollins

ISBN: 0062085506 (ISBN13: 9780062085504)

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Now, What I Thought:

The writing style really intrigued me to keep on going with this book. It was almost like Juliette's mind was a diary and we were reading her scribbled notes and new ideas and aspirations. It was very cool and different from most novels, so that was one thing that really struck out to me. Tahereh Mafi definitely knows how to rip your heart out and shove back in while telling her story because this was absolutely touching and heartbreaking and the text really did connect with with me. As you could expect, Juliette starts off the book in a very dank and sad place mentally and physically. This dystopia world was cool to learn about considering humans are basically at the end of their leashes and are finally running out of earth's recourses, which many have actually predicted would happen. It almost had a 'realness' (?) to it and the text made it seem possible that this is what the world could come to... you know, except with magic bit.

Again, like I said before, you really do feel for Juliette because what happens physically to her affects her mentally and it's not easy living in a killer body, legit. Basically, all human contact with Juliette will kill the other person, as simple as it sounds. She's been in isolation and captivity from an unknown source for so long that she almost forgets about the other living humans on the outside. I loved the romance in this book. Mafi literally took the impossible and made it possible! She totally went into a different and twisted way with the romance and it was very much unexpected! Talk about a shock. When I was starting to figure out what exactly Mafi was doing with these characters I almost couldn't believe it because it was such a risky move to create that type of love. Yet, Mafi pulled it off and made me fall in love with some characters I didn't think I would in this first book.

This book was very well-written and mature that it didn't even feel like a YA paranormal dystopia romance you know? I was really impressed by this book and this series, in fact. It will be on my favourites for a while because the story about Juliette is just breathtaking and heartbreaking all at the same time!

captivity - 3:21:00 AM

Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Tahereh Mafi | Review

Pages: 338 pages Publication Date: October 2nd 2012 Publisher: HarperCollins ISBN: 0062085506 (ISBN13: 9780062085504 ) ...

Pages: 446 pages

Publication Date: October 21st 2014

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

ISBN: 0373211341 (ISBN13: 9780373211340)

Every touch has its price

Layla Shaw is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life—no easy task for a seventeen-year-old who’s pretty sure things can’t get worse. Her impossibly gorgeous best friend, Zayne, is forever off-limits thanks to the mysterious powers of her soul-stealing kiss. The Warden clan that has always protected her is suddenly keeping dangerous secrets. And she can barely think about Roth, the wickedly hot demon prince who understood her in ways no one else could.

But sometimes rock bottom is only the beginning. Because suddenly Layla’s powers begin to evolve, and she’s offered a tantalizing taste of what has always been forbidden. Then, when she least expects it, Roth returns, bringing news that could change her world forever. She’s finally getting what she always wanted, but with hell literally breaking loose and the body count adding up, the price may be higher than Layla is willing to pay…

Now, What I Thought:

I definitely wouldn't go as far as saying this book was better than the first, White Hot Kiss, but it was pretty good and yet also frustrating. This, like the first, were light and easy to read and you get into it really fas. So seems like Roth is pretty much with Layla at this point. Obviously at the beginning of the book the two have their problems considering what happened in the last book. There was a huge sacrifice Roth had to make which ultimately Zayne swoops in, saving Layla's broken heart. There were some pretty funny moments right at the beginning when Roth came to the institution and they all had a discussion about Layla like she wasn't standing right there. Some pretty awkward things happened and I loved reading it.

So the Lilin are here and they're wild and also slowly taking over. In this book there are witches, which is cool and I liked that Armentrout incorporated that into the plot. Bambi was amazing of course as she now is on Layla practically permanently. A huge plot twist happens to one of Layla's friends and it was crazy towards the end of the book because I have no idea what Layla is going to do in the next book! As for the romance, Armentrout actually put out a post that basically said, she'll be hosting a poll while she's writing her last book of the series, Every Last Breath, for the the fans to vote who they want Layla to end up with, Roth or Zayne. That is so freaking cool as an author! I was so impressed by that and just respect her so much more now because she is literally incorporating her fan's opinions and ships into the story. It's pretty much no surprise who won but I'm not going to say for obvious spoiler reasons.

There's a funny scene, it's really not funny in the context but I found it pretty stupid that I had to laugh. While Layla went to the movie theatre, a man goes up to her that seems scarcely familiar with a water bottle of clear liquid... HMMMM LAYLA I wonder what that is. Oh wait, if an old man resembling the church guy comes up to you in public with clear liquid while saying "I can expose you" I wonder what's going to happen next. Any guesses? Yep, you bet it's holy water and can we all just remember that Layla can't actually touch it? Well any guesses as to what the guy did? Yep, threw it on her. In public. God (no pun intended) sometimes I just wanted to punch Layla and Roth and even Zayne sometimes.

Anyways, the book was great and it was pretty easy to read. Again, for just a light read and sometimes humorous, this was pretty good. I had a lot of fun reading this and we end it on a high-note of sorts, at least for me.

angels - 12:05:00 AM

Stone Cold Touch (The Dark Elements #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout | Review

Pages: 446 pages Publication Date: October 21st 2014 Publisher: Harlequin Teen ISBN: 0 373211341 (ISBN13: 9780373211340 ) ...

Pages: 214 pages

Publication Date: June 11th 2011

Publisher: Createspace

ISBN: 1461082064 (ISBN13: 9781461082064)

Being empathic is the least of Davy's problems. She wants to go to college and live a normal life until someone gives her something she doesn't want. Now she has to deal with the supernatural and a prophecy that no one knows about.

Now, What I Thought:

I honestly don't know how many reviews I can do until I prove to everyone in the world that Tijan is an amazing author! I can go on and on about her books for a while but for the sake of this review, I'll just leave it with, read her books!!! Davy Harwood is in university just living her life, trying to live stress-free and vampire-free. Davy is an empath, so she's not new to the world of magic and such, especially vampires. You see, Davy is a bit of a known vampire killer, so to speak. She had a rough run in with a vamp once and he soon became obsessed with her... until she killed him withe her fire magic that is. Basically everyone knew not to fuck with Davy and Davy was fine with that. Until the day a girl jumps to her death off of Davy's work roof. Davy, having caught her just before she jumped, was basically all sorts of confused as to what this mystery girl was ranting on about. Leaving Davy with just a couple of words, she jumped off and ended her life. Yep, the book starts off like that. She's also been noticing a lot of weirdness about the vampires, they're always around, too much for comfort sometimes but there seems to be about 10 x the amount than normal.

Davy then runs into Roan, the mysterious new kid, or as Davy points out right away, to his face might I add, that he is a vampire and a strong one at that.

"He'd been staring right at me the whole time. This was not good, not at all. He knew that I knew. I knew that he knew I knew...He'd seen. I smiled smugly and whispered, "I know what you are." His face didn't move. His eyes didn't react, but I knew I'd made him angry."

NICE GOING DAVY. Piss off the new and strong vampire. And from that point on Roan had shown up at every possible time in Davy's life. Literally everywhere, with her friends, in her common room and even at clubs. It was an exciting book to read because Roan was so dangerous and smart that Davy and myself were just so entranced by him. It's no secret that Davy was attracted to Roan the moment she saw him but little does she know that he felt the exact same way. In this book we have vampires, werewolf's, and magic wielding folk. It was an epic ride and I enjoyed practically all of the book except for some points when Roan was being a jack-ass as main love interests usually are.

The ending was pretty spot on and left us wondering a lot, like what the hell was Tijan going to write in the next book! So far there are 3 books out and I don't think Tijan is writing a 4th one so stay tuned for those reviews!!

Magic - 11:38:00 PM

Davy Harwood (The Immortal Prophecy #1) by Tijan | Review

Pages: 214 pages Publication Date: June 11th 2011 Publisher: Createspace ISBN: 1461082064 (ISBN13: 9781461082064) Being e...

Pages: 648 pages

Publication Date: September 1st 2015

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

ISBN: 1619636042 (ISBN13: 9781619636040)

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.

Now, What I Thought:

This book felt so long! It was action packed and I couldn't even describe how amazing it was! SO much crap went down in this novel and it was incredible!!! Celaena is now Aelin and I love it!!! We finally get to meet Arobynn and he was very different from what I imagined. I couldn't quite tell if he loved Aelin as a brother, father or lover? I honestly couldn't say for sure because of all the mixed signals and hinted words. BASICALLY that scene was just very uncomfortable for Aelin and me included. Yikes. I can 100% say that Maas has turned us all around on the whole Aelin and Chaol ship and it has officially sunk! He has someone else and she may have someone else, it just wasn't bound to happen so SORRY Team Chaol people out there. But now we can talk about Rowan! He finally appears in the book later on -too late for my liking- and the instant connection is everything!!!! You could feel it yourself as a reader that the time spent apart between the two had changed them. You could literally feel the sexual attention and how much they missed each other and it even surprised them that they could feel this strongly when they didn't before!

Just as I suspected, Manon and Aelin did have a face off and it. was. epic. Definitely one of the most memorable scenes in the whole series. We get a lot of reunions that are way over due, Aelin and Chaol for example... Damn, and especially reading it from Chaol's P.O.V was tough because they used to be so close but now the threat that Aelin has is she's going to have to kill Dorian, who is Chaol's best friend still. It is no secret that Chaol will die trying to stop that. Who knows if he does or doesn't, but there was definitely a shocker AGAIN that Maas threw at us. I could probably rant on and on about how petty Chaol was being towards Aelin about Rowan, her 'fae prince' as he put it. I honestly thought Aelin was either going to maim or kill him. Both would've been fine HAHA.

Dorian is now grown up a lot and is under some trance at court with the king :( It was seriously sad that the usually strong Dorian was actually weak in this book and he didn't really get to contribute till the ending, which really made up for it because it was the battle of the century!

There are so many things to talk about with what happened concerning Rowan, Aelin, Aedion, Arobynn especially but all I'm dying to do is rant about the big final battle! IT WAS AMAZING! I find myself even now just re-reading the end because it was so descriptive and detailed I missed a lot of stuff the first time reading just out of excitement. Lots of things happen and lots of changes are going to happen for Terrasen and the whole kingdom. A huge change happens to one of the characters and a huge sacrifice is made but I think in the next book we'll have to be on the journey to fix 'it'. I honestly can't spoil anything and therefore I can't really talk about the epicness in the final battle. EXCEPT I will say, just to read this amazing freaking book! It was amazing and you should take the time to enjoy and spend the time to actually read it and understand what is happening. When I first read it I literally couldn't put it down and I read it so fast that I then had to RE-read it just to comprehend what was happening.

READ IT, IT WAS AMAZING AND SO WORTH IT!!!

assassin - 5:22:00 PM

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

Pages: 648 pages Publication Date: September 1st 2015 Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens ISBN: 1619636042 (ISBN13: 978161...

Pages: 562 pages

Publication Date: September 2nd 2014

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

ISBN: 1619630656 (ISBN13: 9781619630659)

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 Timesbestselling Crown of Midnight.

Now, What I Thought:

This book was crazy wicked!!! Magic is finally used and Chaol now knows that Celaena is not only a fae and has active magic BUT NOW is the rightful Queen Aelin, of the fae! We get introduced to so many characters!! We also get different P.O.V chapters!! We get Manon, Dorian, Chaol and of course, Celaena! If you thought that you guys knew Celaena before, well you're wrong! She did a total 180 on us, and it seems like when she finally took her rightful name, Aelin, she really showed her true ruthless ways, even more so than before...Which is saying something.

It's clear that the other big bad-ass female in this novel is Manon. She is definitely going to meet Celaena at one point in this series and it is going to be awesome! I hope they fight it out and I hope Celaena wins just so she can grow Manon's respect because she's starting to actually grow on me now! Also, dragons are evident in this novel... um EXCUSE ME MAAS!! You brought dragons into this! This book couldn't get any better!

Now, lets talk about Rowan. I've always said that I have no ship or team for Celaena's romance. Well that changed. I adore Rowan! I think he is amazing and yes he is a huge jackass and just makes Aelin look and feel so weak but that soon changes don't you guys worry ;). We get the two best friends of Celaena and Rowan by the end of the book and there is a huge face-off between Celaena and Rowan against Queen Maeve. It was pretty epic and some shit does go down!

I felt like this whole book was just all the male characters getting over Celaena and finding their own path instead of following hers. Dorian comes through some huge changes now that his magic is manifesting on it's own! Chaol has to deal with his rotten father and try to get over the fact that Celaena is the Queen of fae and could potentially kill them all. Aedion Ashryver, Celaena's cousin and childhood best friend, seemed to be a huge asshole at first with all of these smirks and deadly smiles but soon we find out that's not all he really is. He plays a huge role in helping Celaena win back her crown and take over! We get a lot of flashbacks and memories and they are all so sad, I really felt bad for Celaena and what she went through with her dead parents and Arobynn taking her.

The end was amazing! The huge battle in Celaena's chapters were huge!!!! Rowan really showed his intimacy and caring for Celaena when they are together fighting side by side with even Rowan's friends who are like 1000 years old. It was intense and it made a great segway into the next book. This book in general was probably my favourite out of all of them that are out! It was fantastic and amazing well-written!

assassin - 3:02:00 PM

Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) by Sarah J. Maas | Review

Pages: 562 pages Publication Date: September 2nd 2014 Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens ISBN: 1619630656 (ISBN13: 97816196...

thriller - 7:54:00 PM

Hollow Pike by James Dawson | Review

Pages: 416 pages Publication Date: February 2nd 2012 by Orion Children's Books ISBN: 1444004816 (ISBN13: 9781444004816 ) S...

Pages: 333 pages

Publication Date: September 10th 2013 by Tor Teen

ISBN: 0765334437 (ISBN13: 9780765334435)

The Goddess War begins in Antigoddess, the first installment of the new series by acclaimed author of Anna Dressed in Blood, Kendare Blake.

Old Gods never die…
Or so Athena thought. But then the feathers started sprouting beneath her skin, invading her lungs like a strange cancer, and Hermes showed up with a fever eating away his flesh. So much for living a quiet eternity in perpetual health.
Desperately seeking the cause of their slow, miserable deaths, Athena and Hermes travel the world, gathering allies and discovering enemies both new and old. Their search leads them to Cassandra—an ordinary girl who was once an extraordinary prophetess, protected and loved by a god.

These days, Cassandra doesn’t involve herself in the business of gods—in fact, she doesn’t even know they exist. But she could be the key in a war that is only just beginning.
Because Hera, the queen of the gods, has aligned herself with other of the ancient Olympians, who are killing off rivals in an attempt to prolong their own lives. But these anti-gods have become corrupted in their desperation to survive, horrific caricatures of their former glory. Athena will need every advantage she can get, because immortals don’t just flicker out.
Every one of them dies in their own way. Some choke on feathers. Others become monsters. All of them rage against their last breath.

The Goddess War is about to begin.

Now, What I Thought:

I loved this depiction of Greek Mythology! For those who know me personally, you'll know that I love mythology, and it's always been a tie between Norse and Greek. So you can imagine my excitement when this book came out by the same author as Anna Dressed in Blood. I'm very excited to say that this novel was amazing, Blake has a way of writing that is so descriptive. I can just remember the first couple of pages and how I knew right away that this was going to be a great book.

This novel is about the fight that the Gods and Goddesses never thought they'd be fighting- losing their immortality. The thing is that you'll probably need some pre-knowledge for this book, I will say. For example, you should brush up on your facts about the Trojan War, Odyssey, and Troy. Those are talked about in this book, and obviously in their own fictional depiction but still Blake uses a startling amount of accuracy. There are moments in the novel where you'll have to think back to High school english or College English and remember the relations these Gods and Goddesses have, and what their most known for. For example, Athena, our main protagonist, is the 'virgin' Goddess and cherishes Owls. Just stuff like that and you should be fine with fully comprehending and understand what is happening or rather, why it's happening. Blake does do a great job at explaining past events and the characters, which I do appreciate.

Get ready for graphic descriptions haha. I mean, Athena is pulling blood- covered feathers out of her own throat so... It is so much fun to read about the feud between Athena and Hera, her father's wife. It's pretty crazy what these Ancient Olympians will do to prolong their lives. Poseidon probably surprised me the most with his feral actions.

Anyways, this book is pretty interesting and I definitely loved the Greek Mythology knowledge we got from it. Definitely a staple in someones reading collection that loves mythology and just learning about it. Blake did a great job with this novel and her depiction of myths and legends.