Book review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

I adore Sarah J. Maas' Throne of Glass series, which features a complex, kick-arse heroine, lots of action and smart writing.

Her new series, which kicks off with A Court of Thorns and Roses, contains many of the same good points, but wrapped up in a new, original fantasy story.

When Feyre kills a wolf in the woods one day, she thinks nothing of it, glad instead to have killed what she thinks is a threat to her family. But the wolf she killed was no ordinary wolf, he was a faerie, and one of his friends, Tamlin, is determined to punish Feyre for her transgression. Tamlin takes her to his enchanted court, where she is free to roam but where threats lie around every corner. And as Feyre gets to know Tamlin better, she discovers he is no threat to her, but that his life and hers are in grave danger.

Feyre is the kind of heroine I like - noble, flawed, brave, headstrong, with plenty of faults. Maas writes her as capable and self-sufficient, but she's not able to do everything and not willing to accept help without protest, which makes her realistic. That realism is important in a book that otherwise is almost pure fantasy - that the characters have believable characteristics and are relatable and likeable means I'm far more connected to the book.

Top 10 Tuesday (#16) - best books I read in 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish, where the writers, like me, are particularly fond of lists. 

This week's topic is...top 10 books I read in 2013. This is a tough one, since I read a lot of great books, and this list will probably change right after I compile it!

Reviews:

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
The Siege, Three Days of Terror Inside the Taj by Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Noble Conflict by Malorie Blackman
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Fortunately, the Milk... by Neil Gaiman
Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
Lean In - Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I'd love to do a honourable mentions list, but it would get ridiculously long, so I'll leave it with my top 10. What were your favourite reads of 2013?

A to Z bookish survey

Author you’ve read the most books from:
I read an absolute tonne of Baby-Sitters Club books when I was younger, and the same with Sweet Valley High, so either Ann M Martin or Francine Pascal. Probably the latter, since I read a lot of the Fearless series too.

Best sequel ever:
Ever? Ask me this in a week and I'll probably have a different answer, but for now I'll say Crown of Midnight (review here) by Sarah J. Maas.

Currently reading: 

The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer, Iran Awakening by Shirin Ebadi and Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich.

Drink of choice while reading:
Water, although I'm usually too caught up reading to drink anything.

E-reader or physical book?
Physical book, hands down.

Fictional character you probably would have actually dated in high school:
Difficult one, but probably Peeta from The Hunger Games.

Glad you gave this book a chance:
Gone Girl (review here) by Gillian Flynn. It sat on my shelf for ages and I didn't want to read it, despite the positive reviews, but I'm so glad I got over myself.

Hidden gem book:

Gentleman and Players by Joanne Harris.

Important moment in your reading life:
Discovering that book blogging is something I love doing, whether anyone's reading what I write or not.

Just finished:
The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale (review here).

Kinds of books you won’t read:
Nothing really. I'll give everything a try. Maybe zombie fiction, since I read one earlier this year and didn't like it.

Longest book you’ve read:
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, which clocks in at 944 pages.

Major book hangover because of:
A toss up between My Sister's Keeper by Jodie Picoult, which left me broken, and Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, which left me stunned.

Number of bookcases you own:
Just the one massive one.

One book you have read multiple times:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Back to where it all began.

Preferred place to read:
My bed.

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you’ve read: 

"Once upon a time" - four little words that signify hope and magic to come.

Reading regret:
Not exploring the online world of book bloggers sooner.

Series you started and need to finish(all books are out in series):
Fearless by Francine Pascal.

Three of your all-time favorite books:
Just three? We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (review here) and Matilda by Roald Dahl

Unapologetic fangirl for:
Nora Roberts. My go-to for comfort fiction.

Very excited for this release more than all the others:
Resist by Sarah Crossan, the sequel to Breathe (review here).

Worst bookish habit:
Buying/borrowing too many books.

X marks the spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.

Your latest book purchase: 

The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer.

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late):
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

If you've done this survey, let me know in the comments.

My week in books (#4)

My week in books is a feature where I share things I've found interesting from the past week that concern books, literature and all things book blogging.

There's not long to go until Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas is released (you can read my review here). In the meantime, Maas has written a couple of novellas which are being exclusively published by bloggers. First up is The Assassin and The Princess, set between Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, and 12. The second one, The Assassin and The Captain, starts here.

You have no idea how much I love a good infographic, and this week Ruby over at Feed Me Books Now combined my love of infographics and books by creating an amazing infographic about dystopian novels. (Could I have used the word infographic more in the previous sentence?) Here's the original post, and here's the large version of the infographic, which you can zoom in on. Go look, and leave her some praise in the comments.

This week I discovered that the estate of Roald Dahl has a Twitter account - @roald_dahl. They publish lots of cool quotes and tidbits from the novels, as well as news and information, and plenty of illustrations by the amazing Quentin Blake.

Also on Twitter is @BooksOnTheBBC, a campaign to get a regular book programme/slot on to one of the BBC's television channels.

Daniel D'Addario wrote a piece in Salon this week (here) about what makes a novel literary as opposed to chick-lit. It's an interesting read.

The Independent on Sunday announced this week that it will launch a new arts and books section on September 8, concentrating on features, interviews, essays, previews and comment rather than reviews. In a time when many publications are cutting back on arts and books coverage, it's good to see a newspaper trying to do something different rather than just shutting something down.

And finally, some pretty pictures. I popped in to Waterstone's the other day, and spotted some gorgeous Harry Potter covers I'd not seen before (they didn't have all the books)...

Have you spotted anything this week you want to share? Let me know in the comments below.

Book of the month - June 2013

The best book I read in June was...

 

Sarah J. Maas's Crown of Midnight, the sequel to Throne of Glass, is one of my most highly anticipated releases of the year, and I was lucky enough to get my hands on a copy of it early. Click here to see what I thought.

Book review: Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

WARNING: SOME SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THRONE OF GLASS

When I picked up Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, I certainly wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did, so I didn't forsee that I'd be eagerly awaiting its sequel, Crown of Midnight. That's exactly what I was doing though.

Having triumphed and been appointed the King of Adarlan's personal champion, former assassin Celaena Sardothien is now biding her time, bending to the King's will and waiting for the day she can be free.

Only it's not that simple. At great personal risk, Celaena hasn't been killing the men the King has been ordering her to. Instead, she's been faking their deaths.

When she returns from her latest mission and is given the name of her latest target, Celaena finds herself caught up in an increasingly dangerous situation, where she doesn't know friend from enemy, and where the danger is not just human.

Throne of Glass's focus was Celaena's battle to become the King's Champion, and therefore, beyond initial scenes in the mines of Endovier, it barely left the glass palace Celaena lives in.

Crown of Midnight, by contrast, opens up a whole new world, and was all the more compelling a book for it. We meet a host of new characters, discover more about the place where Celaena lives, her past and how the King of Adarlan became so powerful, and we find out more about the political struggles of the world in Crown of Midnight.

Maas is adept at world building, so all the new places we are introduced to are well described, and easy to picture. Her new characters, similarly, add a new dimension to the series and retain a sense of mystery. Like Celaena, I couldn't work Archer Finn out, and despite the fact that he's a doorknob (an actual doorknob, that's not an insult), Mort was one of my favourite characters in the novel.

But what of the characters we know and love, or hate, from Throne of Glass? Even though we found out more about the King of Adarlan, it only made him more frightening, not less. And there were a couple of minor characters from Throne of Glass, one in particular, who grew even more fascinating in Crown of Midnight. And of course, Nehemia continues to be a favourite of mine - she's just so kick arse.

And then there's Dorian and Chaol. I confess, of the two men in Celaena's life, Chaol was by far my favourite in Throne of Glass. While he retains his status in Crown of Midnight, this book really gave me the chance to get to know Dorian, and I liked what I saw.

The development of Dorian from handsome prince to someone genuinely conflicted is intriguing to read about, and I felt he had much more depth in Crown of Midnight. And that depth was something I really loved. 

We also got to find out a lot more about Chaol in this book, and really see him interact with Celaena. He became both a happier character and a sadder one, and both sides were fascinating to see.

As Maas continues to build layers onto her characters, I find myself really buying into them.

And Celaena. Well, she really goes through the mill in Crown of Midnight, and I can't say I always like the way she behaves, although I can always see why she's acting the way she is. Celaena often displays a high level of selfishness in this book, and has a way of completely failing to see things from another person's point of view at times. She can also be hypocritical, despising qualities in others which she herself displays.

But all her faults make Celaena a far more likeable character than if she was perfect, because it's her faults that also bring out the best in her, that make her loyal and always ready to fight for her friends (even though there are points in the book where she almost gives in).

I don't want to give too much away, which is why my description of the plot has been kind of vague, but Maas really takes the series to another level in Crown of Midnight, making the world we know bigger, the battles Celaena faces tougher, the enemies all around scarier, and the stakes much, much higher. It all ends with a bombshell that you could probably guess was coming, but is still a shock all the same.

•Crown of Midnight is released on August 15 in the UK.

How I got this book: From the publisher.

Teaser Tuesday (#7)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. 

Here are the rules:  
•Open your current read 
•Open to a random page 
•Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page 
•Be careful not to include spoilers! 
•Share the title and author too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their to be read list if they like your teaser.

From Crown of Midnight, the sequel to Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas, chapter eight:

The once beautiful lady was curled against the wall, her dress soiled and dark hair unbound and matted. She had buried her face in her arms, but Celaena could still see that her skin gleamed with sweat and had a slightly grayish hue.







What are you reading?

Book review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Sarah J. Maas started writing in the Throne of Glass world when she was just 16, and she published work online at www.fictionpress.com. Having now read Throne of Glass, I can easily see why it was picked up by Bloomsbury.

The novel follows Celaena Sardothien, an 18-year-old girl who has been sentenced to work in the salt mines of Endovier after being caught. Her crime? She is the best assassin in the kingdom of Adarlan.

As we join her, Celaena is about to be offered a deal - fight for Dorian Havilliard (the Crown Prince of Adarlan) in a competition the King has organised to find a champion, win, and after four years as the King's personal assassin, she'll be freed.

Celaena is far from a fool, and although the thought of working for the King of Adarlan sickens her, the thought of being free (rather than dying in the mines) wins out. Because of her reputation, Celaena must assume another identity - only the Crown Prince, his friend and Celaena's trainer Captain Westfall, and a servant know her true identity.

And so we're whisked into another world, where the royal family lives in a palace of glass, where Celaena must learn to become a fighter on the outside again (she never stopped being a fighter on the inside), and where duty and honour collide. And, as Celaena battles step by step to become the King's Champion, she must also battle something more sinister - her fellow competitors are being torn apart one by one by something that doesn't seem entirely human.

The world of Adarlan is intricately woven by Maas, although by the end of the novel there was still lots I felt I didn't know. The action is confined to the glass palace, and so everything you hear about Adarlan is the stuff that's said there. So we know that the King is determined to take over just about everywhere, and we know that there are rebel movements around the country. But that's it. We don't really know what the people down on the ground think, how they act, what they feel. Perhaps Maas has done this deliberately - either because that information is being kept for a sequel, or because widening beyond Celaena and her immediate circle would dilute their stories.

There are four main characters we come to know, and three secondary ones with significant parts to play.

Celaena is young, and you might think it's difficult to believe that she's a feared assassin, but she shows both her intelligence and her fighting mind with sentences of the book beginning. I was quickly convinced about how tough she is, which then made it difficult for me to believe in her fear of the King (who is up to no good). He is the only person Celaena is afraid of, and although we know that he was the one who sentenced her to work in the salt mines, we don't know much beyond that - how she was caught, what she did, what the King knows or said to her. I'm hoping that will come out in later books.

Then there is Captain Westfall (Chaol), who is Celaena's trainer, guard and protector. I really, really like him, even though I think Maas has barely scratched the surface of his character in Throne of Glass. He's brave, and honourable, but he's also affected deeply by what goes on around him, and he rarely takes action without thinking it through. He's an independent guy, and although he can sometimes be rude, he has a lot of endearing qualities.

The other main male character is Dorian, who is slightly younger than Chaol, and who I found to be a tiny bit spoilt. Okay, he's a lot spoilt at the beginning, and for a while we only see his cocky, princely side, which is attractive but only in a you-know-this-guy-isn't-any-good kind of way. As the book progresses Dorian matures, in fact, he probably does the most growing out of any character we meet. He's a different character at the end of the book than at the beginning. While I like him, Chaol is my favourite.

The final of the main four is Nehemia, a princess from Eyllwe, a place the King of Adarlan wants to acquire. She's the princess every girl wants to be - puts her people first, clever, a bit of a rebel, not afraid of danger, beautiful and kick ass. No wonder Celaena wants to be her friend, I want to be her friend. I want to be her.

Other characters we meet along the way are the conniving Duke Perrington, his man-mountain of a champion Cain, and his not-quite-girlfriend Kaltain, who wants to ensnare Dorian and is a devious bitch.

It's not just the characters that are myriad. Throne of Glass is at times a romance novel (I'm not in love with the romance here, because I think it's the wrong couple), a ghost story, a fight novel and a commentary on war and greed.

It's an interesting novel, one that had me gripped. I thought Celaena's story was well executed, and although the supernatural/ghost element was a bit disappointing, I understood why it was included and felt it fit well in the novel. 

The story of Celaena, Chaol, Dorian and Nehemia is set to continue in Crown of Midnight, and I look forward to joining them again in the world of Adarlan.