A Court Of Mist And Fury | Book Review | SPOILER FREE

I've been waiting so so long for this book and it finally arrived! A Court Of Thorns And Roses used to be me favourite book but A Court Of Mist And Fury absolutely blew it out of the park! Like Gaaagh it was so freaking good I want to read it over and over again! Sarah J Maas remains my favourite author!

We get to see Feyre coming to terms with her new immortal body and all the things that come along with it. We find her and Tamlin trying to get back to a normal life after the death of Amarantha but lest we forget Feyre made a certain deal with the High Lord of the Night Court... my favourite book boyfriend RHYSAND!

What I really enjoyed about this book was that we got to see a lot more of the world, we see a lot of the Night court and also the Summer court. We also get to here more about Rhys's back story. The storyline also focuses a lot on the looming threat of war with Hybern and the repercussions of what all the characters went through under the mountain and how it has affected them as people/fae.

This book introduces quite a few new characters who I promise you will come to love! Such great side characters who all have interesting back stories we get to learn.

Haven't even mentioned yet how STEAMY ACOMAF is... and I loved it!

The amzingness of this book is almost too much for me to put in to words, waiting for book 3 will be torturous!
Obviously 5/5 from me... well realistically like 1 billion/5.

Obsidian Book Talk

Just finished reading Obsidian by Jennifer L Armentrout and I was not disappointed. Other than he 5th Wave series I haven't really read many alien fiction and I wasn't sure if it would be my thing or not, luckily I decided to give it a go and found another series I can fangirl and geek out over. 

Obsidian follows the story of Katy, she and her Mum recently moved after the death of Katy's father, little does she know that she moves in next door to two aliens. Hot and arrogant Daemon and his sister Dee. When Daemon saves Katy's life he marks her, with the Arum trying to steal Daemons abilities and this mark lighting her up, the only way to keep her safe is if she sticks close by to him.

Let me start off by saying I have never related to a character more than I did with Katy, she has been through some difficult times after losing her Dad which thankfully I can't begin to relate to and I mean appearance wise we are polar opposites, but throughout the book I couldn't help but recognise so many other similarities. 

1) For one she is a book blogger that loves geeking out over fantasy stories! duh. 

2) And she hates and finds embarrassing, the thought of anyone from her real life reading her blog.  

3) Telling yourself that you don't like someone but end up not being able to stay away, no matter how hard you try. Like Katy says lust and love really must be different things.

4) Hitting that point in life where you realise you don't have to take sh*t from anyone.

However unlike Katy I've never met any aliens...that I'm aware of.

Character wise I love our main character Katy and this book also has some lovable side characters like Dee, Daemons twin sister. When it comes to Daemon I have the same feelings as Katy. I'm not sure about him, one minute you think he's suddenly turned a corner and stopped acting like a douche and then BAM he goes back to extreme cockiness, but like Katy I don't want to like him but deep down I do. I also loved the 'baddies' in this book and I did find them very creepy to picture.

I enjoyed reading about all the cool alien powers the Luxen have, even if I am struggling to picture them in their actual form of just light. I really like how they actually included some science behind the Luxen and how they could do things like stop time and manipulate light. 

Obsidian was a fun, exciting, tension filled story, 5/5 on goodreads from me. Looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

Glass Sword | Book Talk | Spoiler Free

So I recently finished reading Glass Sword, the second book in the Red Queen series, by the amazing Victoria Aveyard, honestly this woman is such a talented writer. Here are some of my thoughts on the book.

First off I loved Red Queen, so when I tell you I enjoyed Glass Sword even more! I really am saying something.

After the jaw dropping plot twist in Red Queen I didn't know how Victoria could top it, but then WHAM, she reeeeaally knows how to leave you hanging and in a state of emotional distress.

Glass Sword starts right where it left off and kicks off with an action packed bang. In this book we really see the aftermath of book 1, resulting in Mare possessing some understandable trust issues. Trust is a running theme throughout the book and I was just as paranoid as Mare when it came to deciding whether or not I thought a character could be trusted. 

I absolutely adore Shade, Mare's brother, throughout Glass Sword. His newblood ability combined with his unbelievably caring and protective personality made him one of my favourite characters in this book. I also loved Cal in this book, even in Red Queen I was a so called 'Team Cal' advocate, I can't decide if I just want him for myself or if I actually think him and Mare would make a good couple. I have my fingers crossed and hope for the best and we certainly see their relationship develop in certain ways in book 2. For now though i'll stay firmly as Team Mare.

Another thing I really enjoyed about Glass Sword is that we get to see and learn about more red abilities and meet a whole new range of characters. There's action, jaw dropping moments, and a whole lot of badassery!

Don't know how I can possibly wait a whole year to see how the current situation will turn out! Just 2 more books to go in this series and I can't wait to see where this story goes and how it will end. 

5/5 from me!

White Hot Kiss | Book Talk | SPOILER FREE

This book came out in 2014 and I can't believe I didn't read it sooner! This book by Jennifer L Armentrout is a fantasy romance novel that I immediately added to my favourites list.

This is a fantasy novel that follows Layla, a half demon half warden 17 yr old. Wardens are gargoyles but don't let that word put you off, wardens have a human form and its usually a pretty good one *wink wink*. Wardens kill demons and protect humans from them (slight Shadowhunter resemblance there). Layla was adopted and now lives with a warden family despite being half demon which makes her life somewhat difficult. For starters she has a major crush on her older adopted brother Zayne but is not a suitable match given her half demon side. She helps the wardens by marking demons so that they are easily found and killed however Layla also has the power to suck out souls, something which happens when she kisses a person. Enter hot demon Roth who coincidentally doesn't have a soul given his demon nature. Layla's world suddenly stops being so black and white and although she knows she should stay away from Roth, his charm and claims to know her secrets just keep pulling her in.

This book has so many twists, turns and revelations that will leave your jaw dropped and not to mention some very very swoon-worthy guys, what more could you want!? I wasn't expecting to be so sucked into this book but I read within 24 hours and my fingers are itching to get into the next book in the series.

I 100% recommend this book, it is my new obsession, 5 stars from me!
Have you read it, what did you think?

The Kiss of Deception | Book Talk | Spoiler Free

The Kiss of Deception is a YA fantasy story by Mary E Pearson. I was apprehensive with this read at first, despite overall ratings being relatively high for the book I found that it was a Marmite book and people either loved or hated it.

The story follows Lia, a Princess who flees on her wedding day from an arranged marriage to a prince from another kingdom. She settles in a small village and is shortly gifted with the arrival of two handsome young men, however these men know exactly who she is. Not to mention that one man is the prince she was intended to marry and the other an assassin from a rebel group who has been sent to kill her. Both men take affection to her but who will she choose?, will she be killed?, will she discover their true identities? 

What I found particularly interesting about this book is that although we get chapters from the perspective of the prince and the assassin, as the reader we don't know which of the men Lia meets (named Rafe and Kaden) is which. I personally loved trying to work out who was who and admittedly I guessed wrong!

When it comes to shipping in this book I honestly switched between the two guys, I thought I liked one and then after it is finally revealed who is the prince and who is the assassin I decided I liked the other more... I have since read the sequel to this book The Heart of Betrayal and I still ship the guy I liked second with Lia, however i'm sadly not sure that they are the endgame couple.

Overall I think this is an interesting read that i'd give a 3.5/5. It may start slow but the last half/third of the book is great. If you love a good love triangle or trying to puzzle out which character is which this is definitely the book for you. Not forgetting that this book has such a beautiful cover.

Red Queen | Book Talk | Spoiler Free

Red Queen has been such a hyped book for 2015 and being a hardcore YA fan I naturally had to pick up this series and start reading!

Red Queen is a dystopian/fantasy novel written by Victoria Aveyard and follows the story of Mare. The story takes place in a split society; the Silvers are the elite and literally have silver blood, as well as possessing insanely awesome special powers eg power over metal and mind control, then there are the Reds who are the bottom of society, they are essentially servants to the silvers and live in slums. The set up of the book is that Mare becomes a servant for the royal silvers and discovers that she has the power of electricity... but she is a Red and Reds don’t have powers. She must then hide her Red blood and is forced by the King to pose as a silver and get engaged to his youngest son Maven. Then of course throw in some hot guys, a mini love triangle and a dash of betrayal, and you’ve got yourself a killer story.

Character wise we have Mare, she is the main character within the story, she's ballsy and isn't afraid to speak her mind. Then we have the oh so handsome princes Maven and Cal. Cal being the elder of the two is heir to the silver palace and appears the ideal candidate to take over, he is a skilled soldier and loyal to the silvers. Maven is the younger prince and less valued in the eyes of his father, unlike Cal he doesn't know whether the current class system should be as it is. At the beginning of this book I was for sure team Cal, I wont tell what I felt at the end in case its a potential spoiler. There are some great 'baddies' within the story, for one the Queen, she is fierce, intimidating, and also has the power to read minds, which makes keeping secrets hard.    

I love everything about this book, the characters, the world, the powers. I was so immersed in this world, it was filled with romance, some action, tension, and a great big PLOT TWIST... which Oh my wow! This is another must read especially for any fans of dystopian stories.

As ever I highly highly recommend, this book lives up to its hype and won't disappoint. I give it a 8.5/10. 

Queen of Shadows | Book Talk

So I have been reading non stop this entire summer and discovered one of my favourite if not the favourite of my top authors, who you ask... The answer is the amazing Sarah J Maas!

I have just read Queen of Shadows, book number 4 in the Throne of Glass series. Throne of Glass is one of my favourite fantasy series and QoS is my new favourite of the series so far, and that is saying a LOT.

There will be SPOILERS in this post, so if you haven't read QoS go and read it now, like RIGHT NOW, because this book is so so so good that words can't describe.

Everything happened in this book, Aelin/Aedion reunion, Aelin/Rowan reunion, even an Aelin/Manon showdown!
This book may have completely shattered the hearts of any Chaolaena shippers out there (Of which I was one) but I'm kinda sorta okay with it considering i'm now sailing happy and proud on the ship that is Rowaelin! I mean they are seriously one HOT couple and whilst I still adore Chaol, well... you know ROWAN.
I liked the line I read somewhere saying how Chaol and Celaena are meant for eachother and so are Aelin and Rowan, because Celaena and Aelin are different people.

There were so many hilarious Rowaelin moments, like the bucket of cold water, the lack of underwear at Arobynns, not to mention the nightgowns. The tension as well when Rowan let slip about the blood oath and Aedion was, well unhappy to say the least, was just great. I loved seeing everyone's reactions to Rowan and Aelin's relationship throughout, they just have such an amazing bond, in fact its a literal bond and they are Caranam! I wonder if they'll develop any other kind of faerie bond, if you know what I mean.  

We got introduced to some wonderful new characters, Lysandra who is a shapeshifter and i'm so glad Aelin has a girlfriend to talk to again, Elide who is now looking for Celaena and I can't wait for that encounter, Nesryn who is apparently Chaol's new love interest but I'm not hugely in favor of that ship, we got to see more of Lorcan who I thoroughly dislike, and aslo we got a lot of Arobynn who's demise was also satisfying to watch.

Thank God we finally got to save Dorian and Manon isn't taking shit from anybody. I sense a possible spark between those two... am I right? and the King is dead! I don't buy what he said about the Valg King being in the Duke though, there is definitely something fishy going on with that. I also thoroughly enjoyed Kaltain finally getting her revenge and redemption and totally kicking butt.

Then there was that intense action packed ending in which I was convinced Chaol or Aedion was going to die. I didn't actually believe Chaol was dead when he supposedly died but when he wakes up later and can't move his legs, my heart literally shattered for him! I mean I want him to walk again but I didn't want him to leave Dorian or Aelin, why have they all split up! No good will come of this I can tell.

Overall I give this book 9.75/10 only because i'm sure the next book in the series will top this one and I can't give an 11. Throne of Glass is a series everyone who loves fantasy must read and as of right now this is my favourite book in the series, definitely making it in my top 10 books.
What are your thoughts on QoS? what shocked and disappointed you?

City of Heavenly Fire | Book Review

Finally finished City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare! I'm SO sad that its over! At least i've got TID to keep me topped up on a shadowhunter high.

Will contain SPOILERS...

So many great things happened in this book and it was a great end to the phenomenal series. First off CoHF introduced Emma, Jules, and the rest of the blackthorns in an action packed prologue. I can't wait for The Dark Artifices cos you know there's gonna be hella parabatai forbidden love tension with Emma and Jules. There were also a whole load TID references which I couldn't fully appreciate as I am yet to read the series, but now i'm really excited to get started on them.  

I really loved that Clary and Jace were finally together like a semi- normal couple and for once there was nothing standing between them! This book was just full of amazing OTP interactions, so much Sizzy, Malec, and Clace. All the scenes in the cave in Edom were amazing, overflowing with bonding and relationship developments, Alec and Jace had a heart to heart and Sizzy had some really cute moments. I mean we finally got some Clace action, after SIX books, SIX! In all seriousness though it was such a cute scene and I just love that Jace remembered to pack a condom, even for a trip into Hell.

Lets talk deaths though. First off was Jordan, now I really did not see this one coming, I
mean I know he wasn't a major character but I just wasn't expecting his death when it happened. I felt so bad for Maia and she had the added guilt that she wasn't able to have been honest with him just before he died and it was too late... although that was probably better for Jordan, being dumped and dieing in the same day would've been rough. Secondly we had Raphael, again it was a surprise exit but once again I wasn't that bothered because I never liked him all that much, I know other people did but I always though he was only ever in it for his own gain. I'm sure if I get any back story on him from The Bane Chronicles or something my opinion will change. Lastly, finally, and most satisfyingly was Sebastian AKA Jonathan. I had worked out that the heavenly fire was in Clary's sword and was so pleased she got to be the one to deliver the final blow after all the horrid things he did to her. It was really nice to see him as the boy he would have been though, just before he finally drifted away. It was such a sad scene and reminded you that it wasn't his fault that he was the way he was, whilst he was evil it was all down to Valentine's twisted experiments.  

I found the ending so intense and so many things started going through my mind, firstly Magnus is going to sacrifice himself and I was like 'noooo', and then Simon offers because he's still just 16 and I was like 'phew', and then Asmodeus wants to take Simon's memory and I was back to 'noooo!'. But when we saw Simon's band's poster called The Mortal Instruments I got such feels and chills, it was so cute. The only thing is that by that point I had come to terms with the whole Simon thing and I do kind of like a bitter sweet and somewhat tragic ending to books sometimes, but then I was really glad for Izzy. And THANK GOD Malec finally reunited and told eachother what they were feeling and got back together, I was so worried that the book would end with Alec having died and leaving poor Magnus distraught and alone, but no, Malec lives on.

I loved how happy everyone was at then end, all of them coupled together around the lake and Jace taking the Herondale name. I felt so happy for them that they'd finally come out the other end after so much war and heartbreak. As always I recommend CoHF and obviously the entire series. So glad I decided to join this fandom. 

City of Glass | Book Review

I know I'm insanely late to the TMI fandom but with all this Shadowhunter TV show hype I recently decided to jump on the band wagon and read the book series. I will do an overall review of the series soon as I am almost finished, but for now I thought I'd review City of Glass as it is one of my favourites within the number 1 best selling book series The Mortal Instruments.

Will contain SPOILERS...

In City of Glass we finally get to see Idris and really delve into Clary and Jace's unique gifts. We start off with bucket loads of tension still between Clary and Jace... Just the way I like it. For real though only Cassandra Clare could make you both whole heartedly ship incest (Clary&Jace) and then find it revolting (Clary&Sebastian) within the same book. However we do finally find out that thankfully Clary and Jace are in fact not related and can finally stop hiding their feelings in front everyone they know. The story builds up to the immanent war that Valentine starts and Clary manages to stop by joining shadowhunters and downworlders and gets a little help for a certain angel named Raziel.


So lets talk characters, there are a few new secondary characters and then there is the introduction of Sebastian! has to be one of the most hated characters in history but perhaps i'm getting ahead of myself in terms of his role in this book. Sebastian is revealed to be the real Jonathan Morgenstern who has been infused with demon blood and is literally the most aggravating and cruel human being... if you can even call him human. But he does die at then end... *Cough* *Cough*
We also say a very sad farewell to Max in this book.

But hey lets talk CLACE! It sounds so wrong but I honestly love how much tension the whole brother sister thing causes! I mean that seen in the Seelie Court in CoA! in CoG though I think my favourite exchanges between them are when Clary first finds Jace in Idris and they have a somewhat heated argument. Then when they get the whitebook from Jace's childhood home and almost cross the incest line so to speak. Thankfully though they aren't related so I don't have to be ashamed of myself for shipping incest! I honestly don't think I would have coped at the end when Jace, shall we say temporarily dies, had I not know that there were another 3 books to go.

And ofcourse I can't not mention the amazing Malec scenes we get CoG. When they Alec saves Magnus in Idris and all he can think about is the fact that Magnus didn't call him back! so cute.

For me City of Glass definitely achieves a 10/10, as I mentioned already it is one of, if not my favourite in the whole series. I f you are even slightly interested in the fantasy genre then you WILL love this series and you should certainly go out and buy it. 
What did you think of CoG, which book is your favourite? 

  

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer | REVIEW

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is a young adult fantasy book by Michelle Hodkin. The book definitely has a paranormal feel to it and is slightly darker than your average fantasy tween novel.

I fell in love with this story and once I finished volume 1 I bought the next two books in the series as fast as I could. I love the characters in this book and they really help suck you into the world of Mara Dyer. Cassandra Clare herself described the book as 'Haunting and dreamlike'.

Mara has had to move schools after being in a fatal accident that killed her best friend, her boyfriend, and her boyfriends sister, leaving her unharmed and with no recollection of the incident. Their deaths haunt her but aside from that slight detail Mara is a relatable character as far as struggling with school and not fitting in with the popular preppy crowd. Whilst at her new school Mara manages to make one friend and eventually finds a little more with the mysterious Noah Shaw. Noah is your typical fantasy fiction heart throb, fit with a British accent and sloppy unkempt look.
As the story progresses Mara begins to see her dead boyfriend amidst a number of other strange events, however as a reader you have to decide if you think what she is seeing is real or if, like her mother suspects, suffering from PTSD. Mara also believes she is seeing other people deaths before they happen, the reason behind this is one of many mysteries within the book. Mara also discovers that Noah is also not your average run of the mill teenage boy.

I rate this book an 8/10.
I highly recommend this book to those who are fans of the fantasy genre and love a bit of romance to be strongly woven into the mix, also to those who enjoyed the Shatter Me series.

The Scorch Trials Book Review

The Scorch Trials is the second book in The Maze Runner series and written by James Dashner. Contains some SPOILERS.....

I personally loved the second installment in this series, the last book left us wondering what was going on and slightly confused as to who you could trust. If you read The Maze Runner you will know that a handful of gladers escaped the maze meaning The Scorch Trials is set in a completely different environment and explores into a whole new concept that is more action packed than the previous book if that is even possible.

This book has a very zombie like feel to it, so it comes as no surprise that I am obsessed with it.
It starts off exactly where The Maze Runner ended and the group thinks they are finally safe but one morning discover that their rescuers have vanished. The glader's are then informed that the trials are not over and that the world they have been returned too is suffering from a virus called The Flare, which turns its victims into cranks; people who become increasingly crazy and violent and end up as zombie like beings. They are instructed that they must cross the city inhabited by cranks in order to receive the cure for the flare, this is where they run into two new characters, Brenda and Jorge, they decide to help the glader's in return for the possibility of receiving a cure.

The book introduces a few new characters including members from group B who are all girls aside from Aris, they went through an identical maze trial to the gladers (group A). Also joining the character list are two people infected with the flare, Brenda and Jorge.

The introduction of Brenda introduces a love triangle type scenario with Thomas and Teresa, and Brenda and Thomas's relationship is also strengthened by the plot twist of Teresa's supposed betrayal.
I really enjoyed how this book has you questioning who too trust and even when characters claim to be telling the truth you always have a sense of doubt niggling in the back of your head.
I think Teresa's character has the biggest story arch in this book and she will have a very Marmite
affect on you; you will either love her or hate her.

There are a number of WTF moments and James Dashner's imagination is just genius, I'm really looking forward to the film interpretation of the final battle between the survivors and the monsters created by WICKED as the picture Dashner created sounds terrifying but creates such excitement
as a reader. I hope they don't stray too far form the book but given the differences in the first film I am suspicious they will.

What I really love about this series is the mystery element and you're always trying to work out whats real and what is just a creation of WICKED. I highly recommend this book and the entire Maze runner series, I would have give the first book an 8/10 and for The Scorch Trials I give it an 9/10.