Re-reading for August: #ReadThroneOfGlass and #TLCReadAlong!!

Hello there guys!

Today I don't have a regularly scheduled Saturday Pages review but I'm gonna be babbling about books anyhow because that's what us bookwyrms do when given half a chance!

Before I fell into the rabbit hole of Goodreads and eventually book blogging I still read and devoured books as much as I do now, but since my TBR pile wasn't as life threatening, I used to re-read my favourite books for comfort. There are some books that I must have read over 20 times, like The Eight or Miguel Strogoff...

But since I started discovering so many new books and series and authors I haven't really given myself time to re-read books, and I decided I needed to change that this year.

I've decided to give myself permision to re-read and not worry about the ever growing TBR pile or the ARCs that I get approved for on NG or anything else! Re-reading books that I loved is a joy that I need to allow myself to enjoy more often!

And to nudge myself into it, I decided to join two re-readalongs! #ReadThroneOfGlass and #TLCReadAlong!

The #ReadThroneOfGlass is a readalong or re-readalong to prepare ourselves for the release of Queen of Shadows on September 1st.

I must say, I couldn't be happier that I have joined the readalong!

I finally read my hardcover of Assassin's Blade because I had read the Kindle versions of some of the novellas only, and reading them all one after the other, inlcuding the new one was fantastic! Highly recommended for anyone wanting to start the Throne of Glass series: READ THE NOVELLAS FIRST! They give a much better understanding of Celaena and her character and her career as an assassin and her complex relationship with Arobynn. And we meet some characters that we'll be meeting again in upcoming books, Queen of Shadows onwards!

I read Throne of Glass first and the novellas later, and at first it took me a while to understand Celaena and cheer for her. And then I read the novellas, and I understood her so much better!

Re-reading Throne of Glass was such a different experience, with so many little details that I had not noticed or had forgotten about and that will have such a relevance in the upcoming books! And some definite foreshadowing and hints that I missed on the first read! I loved reading about the interactions between Chaol and Dorian and Celaena and her meeting and growing friendship with Nehemia, her hate for the King and her intense fear of the man... So many things that make sense from the very first moment in a way that the didn't the first time!

The same thing happened with Crown of Midnight, I was so shocked to realize how many important things I might have missed and how I had forgotten about some of the things that happened! Of course that the revelations aren't as shocking, at least not the big ones, but there are plenty of things you read hoping to find more clues that you might have missed the first time, and some are really ominous knowing what we do know now! But even knowing what will happen doesn't lessen the heartache or the pain of the bad things when they happen, and the one thing is that at least I know that Fleetfoot WILL be okay!

Now I am re-reading Heir of Fire and I'm hoping to finish it this weekend so I can have it fresh in my mind when I read Queen of Shadows next week!

The #TLCReadAlong is hosted by Britt from Book Addicts Guide!

To prepare myself to reading Winter when it releases, I decided to join this low pressure read along because I have a month to read each of the books, so I'll manage to squeeze them in between whatever other books from the TBR pile and ARCs I plan to read without worrying about "I should be reading this or that instead of re-reading"!

Cinder was a surprise the first time I read it because a retelling of Cinderella with a cyborg and in a futuristic science fiction dystopia? But this time I already knew what kind of book it was gonna be, so I had less trepidation that let me enjoy the book more. And of course I also managed to notice the lil details here and there that didn't seem as relevant at the time of reading and maybe forgotten when reading the next books.

Some of the obscure mentions make a lot more sense and the first time we meet Cress? My poor adorable Cress! Cinder didn't know what to make of her! And of course the big reveal is not surprising any more, but I think it's fun to see the clues you might have missed at first!

And of course it was simply a joy to read again all the interactions between Cinder and Prince Kai and of course my fave lines had to be the ones by Iko! I still giggle when I think of "Do you think she's seen him in the nude?", her crush on Kai is so delightful!

Now I cannot wait to re-read Scarlet starting next month!! =D

Mark This Book Monday: Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas!!!!

Hello everyone!!

A new week is starting and with it comes a new Mark This Book Monday entry! This book has been yet another leaving me with a mad book hangover and I was thoroughly tempted to re-read it as soon as I was done with it!

As it is a sequel, book 3 to be precise in an on-going series, I'm gonna be counting it towards my September is for Sequels challenge, even if it wasn't in the original goal pile!

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This has been my most awaited sequel of the year, not final book, no debut but as sequel in an ongoing series? This WAS IT! So much that waiting for my preorder to arrive and take its sweet old time has been torture! Given the ending of the previous book even more!

Now, I had avoided most reviews before reading this book, trying not only to avoid spoilers but also because I wanted to experience the book with as little information as possible and I think I skimmed-read a few reviews, and only read Kim's at Midnight Garden, which was vague enough to make me want to read the book even more with very little concrete info, exactly what I wanted.

My review won't be as vague and although it won't contain any spoilers per se, if you want to experience the book as I did, maybe just stop reading. Just know that this is a brilliant book, and amazing sequel and one book that I wanted to be longer the more I read!

Celaena is really broken in pieces at the beginning of this book, and who would blame her, after everything that happened in Crown of Midnight. But the worst thing is that Celaena is depressed, is hiding and is trying to ignore everything that is breaking her into even more tiny pieces from the inside out. She hates herself, is scared of her own nature and cannot find the will or strenght to piece herself together and do what must be done.

But this book is not only about Celaena and Adarlan, this book expands the world in such a fantastic way. We're introduced to new characters and new regions and we dig deeper into the power of Adarlan's king and all his schemes and his long play for power. We find answers to many questions about magic and its absence, Celaena's past and powers, and once again we also get quite a few more questions thrown at us.

Rowan, Manon and Aedion are the main new characters we are introducted to for the first time proper in this book, and for two of them the connection with Celaena is very clear, one in the past and one in the present, but for the third one it's quite not so clear and I'm extremely curious to see how the connections will develop in the upcoming books.

We get quite a few different POVs in this book and it quite says something about the talent of Sarah J Maas that I never felt bored with any of them, not from well known and loved characters as Celaena, Chaol (!!) or Dorian, but also the ones from Aedion, Rowan or Manon. To be perfectly honest, from all the new characters, Manon's POV chapters were my favourite, even if they seemed the most disconnected from the overall plot so far. That actually made me even more intrigued to see how Manon and her Thirteen will come across Celaena and/or the rest of the characters.

Rowan is a Fae warrior, bound to Maeve and sent to get Celaena and train her. He doesn't like her at all, judging her by appearances, but he ends up being not only a tough teacher but a true friend that helps Celaena start the process of healing and learning to accept herself as a half Fae & half human, and in the process he also undergoes quite a few changes. Their banter and interactions were quite fantastic, and the way they became real allies and friends was done great and was tough but great to read. As fascinating as I found him as a character from the very beginning, it really took me a while to warm up to Rowan, but that's very much fitting with his Ice Prince & Fae Warrior extraordinare persona.

Aedion is Aelin's cousin and his assigned protector, but after the conquest of Terrasen, he's now part of the King of Adarlan's army and moreover, a celebrated general. He is the one that interacts the most with Chaol and Dorian and as with Rowan, it took me a while to warm up to him, even if I found him a fascinating character. His flashbacks of memory and the one's that Celaena as Aelin had were fantastic to read, even more for me that I tend to want to know everything!

And then we reach Manon... oh how I loved reading Manon's POV! I didn't think I would at first, cause after reading the first introduction to Manon, I wasn't very keen on her as a character but then... I simply fell in love with her, the Ironteeth Witches, her Thirteen and Abraxos! Even if we are left without knowing what exactly the part they'll play in the bigger game, I just loved learning more about them and the path that Manon starts by picking her wyvern.

Chaol and Dorian don't seem to be as central to the story now that they're apart from Celaena, except that they still are. They're at Adarlan, closest to the king and in the most direct of dangers. Chaol is still fighting between honour, loyalty and doing what's right. Fighting with the revelations he isn't really facing, and quite a broken man because of his choices and his will of iron in trying to keep his word. Dorian... Dorian has grown so much as a character in this book, he won't simply hide or back down and he keeps on trying to find a way to do what's right, for his kingdom, his people and Celaena.

The ending of this book was not as heartbreaking for me as the one for Crown of Midnight, but that doesn't mean that reading the final chapters was not hard as hell and had me bitting my nails, scared to see what would happen! And yeah, the ending is cruel and awesome and I need book 4 like NOW!!

P.S.: For those like me who are animal lovers, rest assured Sarah J Maas keeps on being awesome and Fleetfoot is safe and sound!

Amazing book, this series keeps on getting better and better with each book! Very much deserved 5 stars and some more!!



View all my reviews

First Chapter, First Paragraph #10: Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas!!

First Chapter, First Paragraph is one of the two memes that I will be alternating on Thursdays in place of my Ink & Batter posts during the summer, when I won't be baking due to the heat!

I discovered this meme via the ladies of My Shelf Confessions, and it is hosted on Tuesdays by Bibliophile by the Sea. But since I already have my blog tours posts and Tell Me Tuesdays, I thought that it'd work best on Thursdays for me!

The idea of this meme/feature is quite self-explanatory from its name, we share the first paragraph of the first chapter of our current read! Quite a good teaser for others to read and see if they'd be intrigued!

Finally, finally I'm getting to read Heir of Fire this week and in case there's someone that hasn't got to read the book and need a push on the right direction or someone that needs to be smacked for not having started the series yet... here it is!!

 Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas

"Gods, it was boiling in this useless excuse for a kingdom."


What, do you want a bit more? Okay, okay...


"Or maybe it felt that way cause Celaena Sardothien had been lounging on the lip of the terra-cotta roof since midmorning, an arom flung over her eyes, slowly baking in the sun like the loaves of flatbread the city's poorest citizens left on their windowsills because they couldn't afford brick ovens."





What do you think? Would you want to know more?
What are you reading right now?

Tell Me Tuesdays #11!!

Tell Me Tuesdays is a meme/feature created by the awesome ladies of Please Feed The Bookworm and La La In The Library where we can share how we choose the book we are currently reading from our TBR pile!

I'm always curious about that, cause as much as I tend to make myself a rough schedule for books to read and the like, I'm quite a mood reader and sometimes I just HAVE to ignore my schedule and read something else!

 Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas

Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy.

While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love?




Well, I have been waiting for this book all last week hoping that it will arrive soon but it finally FINALLY arrived yesterday, so I got to start it already even if I barely had time to read! Anything else that ought to be on my reading list, ARC or whatever, has totally been pushed back until I'm done with this beauty!

  So what are you all guys reading and how and why did you decide to pick up that book? Shiny new ARC? Comfort read? Scheduled for review? Must have new release? Tell me!!

Waiting On Wednesday #57!!

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted at Breaking The Spine  that spotlights those can't-wait-to-get-my-hands-on-them books that we are eagerly awaiting!

This week I'm absolutely dying and I will be stalking the postman like there's no tomorrow for my preordered copy of Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas! I'm SO DAMNED excited for this book I preordered the US hardback since it releases on Sept 2nd so I don't have to wait till my Kindle preorder downloads on Sept 11th!! Not happy that Amazon ES decided to go with UK dates on this one!

 Goodreads Summary:

"Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy.

While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love?"


Why am I eagerly awaiting Heir of Fire? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? How can I not when Crown of Midnight gave me the biggest book hangover of last year?? And that ending?? CRUELEST OF CRUELS cliffhangers!! And every book is this series has been better than the previous, so that's quite saying something!!

What are you all (im)patiently awaiting this week?