Review: Kingdom of Ash

Title: Kingdom of Ash

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Date of Publication: October 23rd, 2018

Goodreads Summary:

Aelin has risked everything to save her people―but at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. Aware that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, though her resolve begins to unravel with each passing day…

With Aelin captured, Aedion and Lysandra remain the last line of defense to protect Terrasen from utter destruction. Yet they soon realize that the many allies they’ve gathered to battle Erawan’s hordes might not be enough to save them. Scattered across the continent and racing against time, Chaol, Manon, and Dorian are forced to forge their own paths to meet their fates. Hanging in the balance is any hope of salvation―and a better world.

And across the sea, his companions unwavering beside him, Rowan hunts to find his captured wife and queen―before she is lost to him forever.

As the threads of fate weave together at last, all must fight, if they are to have a chance at a future. Some bonds will grow even deeper, while others will be severed forever in the explosive final chapter of the Throne of Glass series.

My Review:

This has been a journey. One with emotion, one with lots and lots of emotions! And I’ll have to say that this was pretty great conclusion to the series!

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There are a lot of POVs here! And I love so many of the characters that I can’t really choose a favorite. The only POVs I could have probably done without were Aedion’s and Lysandra’s. The others just had so much more going on within them. Manon and her witches had to be my favorite! Lorcan! Loved him! My baby Dorian! Rowan is swoon! Yrene is courageous! Nesryn is fierce! Fenrys I want to pet his face! Chaol we’re cool now after the last book! Elide you’re brave! Lysandra you can do some cool tricks! Aedion you’re dependable!

Aelin has been through so dang much, and I feel like she’s such a strong character. She’s not selfish—she fights for her country, her people. We need heroes like that in the real world!

The writing was superb, and seriously, Mass deserves 5 stars just for writing such a huge book and series! Wow, the editing rounds for that scares me to think about! But seriously, I give it a 5 because it rocked! I will say that I need an epilogue of a certain character…

Have you started this series?

Review: Tower of Dawn

Title: Tower of Dawn

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Date of Publication: September 5th, 2017

Goodreads Summary:

Chaol Westfall has always defined himself by his unwavering loyalty, his strength, and his position as the Captain of the Guard. But all of that has changed since the glass castle shattered, since his men were slaughtered, since the King of Adarlan spared him from a killing blow, but left his body broken.

His only shot at recovery lies with the legendary healers of the Torre Cesme in Antica—the stronghold of the southern continent’s mighty empire. And with war looming over Dorian and Aelin back home, their survival might lie with Chaol and Nesryn convincing its rulers to ally with them.

But what they discover in Antica will change them both—and be more vital to saving Erilea than they could have imagined.

My Review:

I have never been a fan of Chaol since day one. However, I did love the friendship bond between him and Celaena in the first book. But, I already knew up front I would love Sarah’s writing because I always do—I just wasn’t sure if I would be able to fall in love with this character since I hadn’t yet. But… I did!

Chaol’s journey had ups and downs, and there were dark reminders of his past that still tortured him. But that’s the thing… we sometimes make mistakes or make choices that you don’t know how it’s going to affect the people around you, even if you thought the choice was right to begin with.

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The struggle with Chaol after his accident and trying to walk again was haunting to read, because it felt real. Maas did an excellent job of depicting disability in this book, of a person’s struggle inside there own head trying to walk again or with the idea of it may not happening.

I fell in love with the other characters, Yrene, Nezryn, and Sartaq, as well as some of the other side characters. There were some parts in this book where some serious stuff went down, and I actually got pretty worried during some of the action scenes. A lot of this book didn’t go the way I assumed it would, and in fact it went in an even better direction. I can’t believe I have to wait a whole year for the next book!

Have you started this series?

Tower of Dawn: Cover Rant

So, I am beyond annoyed. We are still talking about a book cover? A freaking book cover? I normally see a book cover and am like that’s cool or like it could have been better. But people have been hateful and ridiculous over this. First, someone spent a lot of time into designing the cover, and whoever chose it whether it was Bloomsbury or Sarah J. Maas or her people or what… that’s what they wanted. Get over it, move on, and shut that door.

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Also, for the people that are like noooo the covers won’t match. Is that what you are really concerned about in life??? Is matching book covers???? The font matches perfectly for when they are displayed on a bookshelf! Even if it would have been Chaol’s face on the spine, would that really have even matched??? Try being a Type 1 diabetic with RA like my husband, or one of my good friends who has suffered from Chrohns since she was a child, my freaking nephew who is 5 and has had diabetes since he was two and takes multiple shots a day, or my daughter who had her first seizure at six months. There are so many more important things in the world to worry about than this!

People have been straight up vile and malicious over a cover for an author that they “claim” to love or adore instead of show support. This life needs to be more about the positive and the support of one another, not bashing. This rant could have been longer, but I am done.

 

 

Review: Empire of Storms

Title: Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5)

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Date of Publication: September 6th, 2016

Goodreads Summary:

The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those don’t.

As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

Aelin’s journey from assassin to queen has entranced millions across the globe, and this fifth installment will leave fans breathless. Will Aelin succeed in keeping her world from splintering, or will it all come crashing down?

My Review:

Okay so this book was everything. EVERYTHING! This series just knows how to get the emotions flowing. Everyone is back in this book except Chaol, and he is absent this book because he is healing after what happened in the last book. I was never a Chaol fan, but I did sort of still miss him.

Aelin – She is everything that I would like to be in the way that she puts everyone first, and you may think she is being reckless along the way, but she is always two steps ahead.

Rowan – Beautiful and lovely Rowan! He is a fighter, and the romance between him and Aelin is healthy and that forever kind of love.

Manon – She is strong and loyal to her thirteen, and the things we learn in this book about Manon were heartbreaking!

Dorian – He is still trying to find himself after everything terrible that had happened from the previous books, but my favorite part was actually the friendship formed between him and Rowan.

Aedion – We learn a very interesting detail from Aedion that was also played out as no big deal in the book which was awesome. Sometimes he just needed to calm down, and he really should be a little nicer to his father.

Lysandra – Love this strong shape shifter and her loyalty to Aelin. Their bond is unbreakable.

Elide – She may not have magical power, but she is strong and smart, and the scenes with her and Lorcan were my favorite! The shirt scene!

Lorcan – My new favorite male character!!! He just needs a lot of love in his life.

There were several scenes where I was like oh yes! The scenes with Manon and her grandmother were absolutely amazing. As I mentioned above the scenes with Lorcan and Elide were my favorite, and I wasn’t sure at first, but after I read the first chapter with them I wanted more.

The action was so good, and the romances were spot on. I know a lot of people have been complaining about the romance scenes which yes they should be for mature audiences, but they aren’t that bad, but I still wouldn’t consider it YA… definitely upper YA.  All these characters are 19 and older, so it is to be expected. Also yes Sarah is doing a lot of pairing up which I normally hate, but the couples that she pairs up are just so darn good!

The ending! The amazing ending! For a whole year I am not going to have one single clue what to do with myself because it is a cliffhanger! On a side note I definitely recommend reading The Assassin’s Blade before this one because the novellas connect with this book!

Have you started this series yet?

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books With A Fantasy Setting

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
This week’s topic is Top Ten Books With a Fantasy Setting

I really love a fantasy setting because I can escape from the current world into a new type of world where magic really does exist!

What type of setting do you guys like?

Waiting on Wednesday: Empire of Storms

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly post hosted by Breaking the Spine, that discusses upcoming releases that we are super excited about!

Date of Publication: September 6th, 2016

Goodreads Summary:

The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those don’t.

As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

Aelin’s journey from assassin to queen has entranced millions across the globe, and this fifth installment will leave fans breathless. Will Aelin succeed in keeping her world from splintering, or will it all come crashing down?

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This is one of the most addicting series I have read, and it is pure agony having to wait a year in between this books, but I am ready! Oh how I miss my Rowan!

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Have you started this series yet?