Hello again guys!
For the first Friday Reads since quite a while I'm bringing not one but two reviews, because even if I haven't been blogging, I haven't entirely stop reading, not at all! Maybe not as much as I would have wished, but I do have a few reviews that I want to share with you guys!
And I'm finally adding some books to my 105 Challenge, because although both are fantasy books that released on 2015, I'm counting one towards my fantasy category and the other towards my 2015 release category, as well as counting The Girl At Midnight towards my 2015 Debut Author Challenge!
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
An absolutely fascinating book that made me want to keep reading! Sarah J Maas writing is as captivating as always, and I loved the way she mixed Fae and Beauty and Beast and made it her own story.
I loved the characters and I loved what a fantastic main character Feyre was! So human, so flawed and so strong! She's her family's provider and she resents them for it, but it's been what has defined her for so long, that she doesn't know how to do something else, how not to be the one having to take care of them every time.
At first seems like her sisters both seem to be a bit of a stereotype, the sweet and oblivious one and the mean and uncaring one. But as the story progress both the reader and Feyre discover that there's more to her sisters than we thought as first, particularly Nesta "the mean" one.
As far as the Fae... I felt like everything was woven so well and the world building of the different courts and their differences and the politics of the Fae and the lies and the curse and all the monsters in the many shapes that they're presented! Feyre is introduced to the Fae through a rather nice Court with fairly decent Fae, with snarky Lucian and strong and brooding Tamlin. But then she finds herself Under the Mountain, and oh boy... all hell breaks loose in there. Everything about Fae trickery and their crazy games and politcs come true here, with Rhys reminding me a lil of The Darkling, dangerous, alluring but ultimately not to be trusted.
Tamlin also has his own allure and oh boy... the chemistry is off the charts when it comes to our slightly beastly Fae! I must confess the bite scene made me fan myself! If you've read it, you probably agree with me, and if you haven't... you'll know what I mean when you do!
For some reason I just didn't feel like the transition from distrust and fear to companionship and then love was done smoothly enough, or I simply didn't connect too well with it, so that's my reason to not give this one a higher rating, somehow it rattled me, but once she was Under The Mountain, despite her bad choices, I felt like the connection was so strong and worth moving mountains, no pun intended!
Really looking forward to the next book, even if I fear what's to come next!! Very much deserved 4 stars to this one!
The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This one had a certain feel of similarities with other books I've read and loved but they were combined in such a way that was its own and never felt like something I had read before, if that makes sense!
I loved Echo and I loved her thieving ways and how much she loved books and I adored how she always had the aproppriate word for everything! She can be a bit prickly and closed up on occasion but I loved how she defied authority and had a fierce loyalty to those she loves, the family she found and made for herself.
The fantasy world was built up in a wonderful way, very visual and very grounded in the real world at the same time! I loved how we kept travelling from one city to another, and how through the writing and descriptions we got to feel like we were there, each one of them with their own unique flavour and flare!
Both the Avicen and the Drakharis have their own cultural differences fleshed out although we lack in-depth history about them and their war, which I suspect we'll learn more about in the next books in the series, that I cannot wait to read about!
Great main and secondary characters, with wonderful friendships and complicated relationships, including diversity in more ways than one!
Echo and her best friend had a wonderful relationship and banter, and I love how even though some of the events shape them both in very different ways, they find a way to remain friends and get through things together, their friendship helping them throughout.
Casius and Dorian also have a friendship that span centuries, even if it's not entirely as equal as it is for Echo and Ivy, but it feels stronger once Dorian stops being in denial and opens up to what might be out there.
Jasper is an interesting character, a scoundrel and not to be trusted easily, with a flair for the dramatic and beauty, that ends up surprising even himself with his capacity for selflessness!
The plot moved rather fast, with plenty of tension even in the moments our characters are trying to regroup and heal, and I was quite surprised when the climax resolved in the way it did! Quite the game changer and now I'm not sure how it's gonna play in the sequel!
All in all, most well deserved 4 stars to this one! Can I get the next one now?
View all my reviews
For the first Friday Reads since quite a while I'm bringing not one but two reviews, because even if I haven't been blogging, I haven't entirely stop reading, not at all! Maybe not as much as I would have wished, but I do have a few reviews that I want to share with you guys!
And I'm finally adding some books to my 105 Challenge, because although both are fantasy books that released on 2015, I'm counting one towards my fantasy category and the other towards my 2015 release category, as well as counting The Girl At Midnight towards my 2015 Debut Author Challenge!
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. MaasMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
An absolutely fascinating book that made me want to keep reading! Sarah J Maas writing is as captivating as always, and I loved the way she mixed Fae and Beauty and Beast and made it her own story.
I loved the characters and I loved what a fantastic main character Feyre was! So human, so flawed and so strong! She's her family's provider and she resents them for it, but it's been what has defined her for so long, that she doesn't know how to do something else, how not to be the one having to take care of them every time.
At first seems like her sisters both seem to be a bit of a stereotype, the sweet and oblivious one and the mean and uncaring one. But as the story progress both the reader and Feyre discover that there's more to her sisters than we thought as first, particularly Nesta "the mean" one.
As far as the Fae... I felt like everything was woven so well and the world building of the different courts and their differences and the politics of the Fae and the lies and the curse and all the monsters in the many shapes that they're presented! Feyre is introduced to the Fae through a rather nice Court with fairly decent Fae, with snarky Lucian and strong and brooding Tamlin. But then she finds herself Under the Mountain, and oh boy... all hell breaks loose in there. Everything about Fae trickery and their crazy games and politcs come true here, with Rhys reminding me a lil of The Darkling, dangerous, alluring but ultimately not to be trusted.
Tamlin also has his own allure and oh boy... the chemistry is off the charts when it comes to our slightly beastly Fae! I must confess the bite scene made me fan myself! If you've read it, you probably agree with me, and if you haven't... you'll know what I mean when you do!
For some reason I just didn't feel like the transition from distrust and fear to companionship and then love was done smoothly enough, or I simply didn't connect too well with it, so that's my reason to not give this one a higher rating, somehow it rattled me, but once she was Under The Mountain, despite her bad choices, I felt like the connection was so strong and worth moving mountains, no pun intended!
Really looking forward to the next book, even if I fear what's to come next!! Very much deserved 4 stars to this one!
The Girl at Midnight by Melissa GreyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This one had a certain feel of similarities with other books I've read and loved but they were combined in such a way that was its own and never felt like something I had read before, if that makes sense!
I loved Echo and I loved her thieving ways and how much she loved books and I adored how she always had the aproppriate word for everything! She can be a bit prickly and closed up on occasion but I loved how she defied authority and had a fierce loyalty to those she loves, the family she found and made for herself.
The fantasy world was built up in a wonderful way, very visual and very grounded in the real world at the same time! I loved how we kept travelling from one city to another, and how through the writing and descriptions we got to feel like we were there, each one of them with their own unique flavour and flare!
Both the Avicen and the Drakharis have their own cultural differences fleshed out although we lack in-depth history about them and their war, which I suspect we'll learn more about in the next books in the series, that I cannot wait to read about!
Great main and secondary characters, with wonderful friendships and complicated relationships, including diversity in more ways than one!
Echo and her best friend had a wonderful relationship and banter, and I love how even though some of the events shape them both in very different ways, they find a way to remain friends and get through things together, their friendship helping them throughout.
Casius and Dorian also have a friendship that span centuries, even if it's not entirely as equal as it is for Echo and Ivy, but it feels stronger once Dorian stops being in denial and opens up to what might be out there.
Jasper is an interesting character, a scoundrel and not to be trusted easily, with a flair for the dramatic and beauty, that ends up surprising even himself with his capacity for selflessness!
The plot moved rather fast, with plenty of tension even in the moments our characters are trying to regroup and heal, and I was quite surprised when the climax resolved in the way it did! Quite the game changer and now I'm not sure how it's gonna play in the sequel!
All in all, most well deserved 4 stars to this one! Can I get the next one now?
View all my reviews
I have both of these to read over the summer Pili. And I can't wait. I'm just waiting for that period of hype to pass me by so I can read them without so much expectation from what I've read. But to be honest Sarah's work is just always delightful to read. Lovely reviews! :)
ReplyDeleteThey're very much deserving of the hype and I'm sure you'll enjoy both immensely Emma!
DeleteTHE UNDER THE MOUNTAIN SCENES IN ACOTAR PILI!!! *falls down dead* I couldn't set the book down after that point, I was holding my breath the whole time. I can't wait to see what Sarah has in store for Feyre and Tamlin next. And I completely agree - I'm so glad Feyre's sister turned out to be more than the stereotypical nasty sister.
ReplyDeleteYay for The Girl at Midnight too! I really enjoyed both of these:)
Yeah, the tension was so high in those chapters!! Cannot wait for the next book!!
DeleteI had no idea that ACOTAR had anything to do with Beauty and the Beast! I have had my head up my arse all this time. Lol. :P
ReplyDeleteIt's a loose retelling, yeah!
DeletePILI!! Are you back to blogging? I've missed your posts. I really loved ACOTAR. I thought it was such a page turner after those first 100 pages. I can't wait to read the next book. And GaM was really well done too. I'm excited about the sequel to that as well. So many awesome books this year :-)
ReplyDeleteYES!! I think I'm gonna be easing back out of my hiatus with a pair of post per week until I'm completely settled in the new place, but I'm back to blogging!
DeleteAwesome reviews, Pili! I love all the things you mentioned about ACOTAR. :) I adored how Feyre was both heroic and also very realistic. Also Feylin = sizzling hot and swoony. ;) I've not read The Girl at Midnight yet, but I definitely love the sound of the friendship! <3
ReplyDeleteAimee @ Deadly Darlings
Feylin together = awesome indeed! Thank you Aimee!
DeleteI swear I'm the only one who was upset about Rhysand in ACOTAR. Upset as in viciously angry LOL. And I'm not even talking about the love triangle. Still, the book was pretty good. I LOVED THE GIRL AT MIDNIGHT! Quite possibly in my top ten for the year. Excellent reviews, Pili!
ReplyDeleteAlyssa @ The Eater of Books!
Thank you Alyssa!
DeleteAnd Rhy reminded me of the Darkling, so I guess that's why he didn't make me TOO angry, even if I was rather pissed at how he manipulated AND treated Feyre...
Aw I also adored ACOTAR. There were some quirks about it though, a few rough patches. I did find myself wondering when she fell so head over heels in love with Tamlin to go to Under the Mountain for him. Either way, really excited for the sequels.
ReplyDelete-Mari
Yeah, I felt like the relationship progression was a bit odd, but I still really liked the book!
Delete2 books that were 4 stars each? I'm not sure about you but that is such a great streak! Although 4 stars is a good rating, I do understand why you didn't connect with Feyre that much especially if you thought their development went a little too fast. the last 30% really was the best for me, too! SO HEART-PUMPING!
ReplyDeleteFaye at The Social Potato
I had a really awesome streak of 4 and 5 stars but then I went and read a two star... Oh well!! It had to happen eventually!
DeleteAnd yeah, the last 30% was a "can't-stop-turning-the-pages-and-biting-my-nails"!!
Yay I'm so glad you enjoyed these two!! I loved the fae world and how well the development was. I'm glad the sisters deviated from the norm a bit. :) Lovely review<3
ReplyDeleteThank you Rachel! And yes, the Fae was quite interesting!!
DeleteGorgeous reviews Pili. <3 YAY for enjoying both books so much :D The Girl at Midnight was four stars for me too. <3 I really, really liked it. But aw, ACOTAR. I don't think I ever want to read it. Heard such bad things. And that Rhys is a total asshole and not a likeable person at all :p but then again, so many seems to love him, and ugh. Not a book for me, hah :D Which is depressing, because I wanted to love it too. Sigh. Maybe I will :) Anyway. I'm glad you liked it so much sweetie. <3
ReplyDeleteThank you so much sweetie! I didn't like Rhys much but he wasn't the reason I didn't give this one just four stars either, maybe you could give it a try!
DeleteYesss I'm glad to hear that you loved ACOTAR, despite your small issue with it! It gave me a massive book hangover and yes, the world building was excellent.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you enjoyed Girl at Midnight too, I couldn't quite connect with it but I did find the 2 races interesting.
Lovely reviews Pili!
I really loved ACOTAR and I'm super excited for the next book and same with Girl at Midnight!
DeleteThank you Jeann!
Wooo! I LOVED ACOTAR so much! I'm really glad you liked it too! I am such a Tam fangirl and my heart will be beyond devastation if she screws with that! LOL.
ReplyDeleteI recently got The Girl at Midnight from the library and now your review makes me want to read it even more!
I think Feyre & Tamlin are a sailing ship, even it there might be some bumps along the way!
DeleteAnd I do hope you'll love The Girl At Midnight!
These are both books that I want to try at some point! I love the idea of the retelling in ACOTAR, especially as I am all about them lately. And the Girl at Midnight sounds like quite the suspenseful read.
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll give them both a try soon and enjoy them Olivia!!
Delete