Monday, 30 May 2016

A Court of Mist and Fury Book Talk

A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2)
A Court of Mist and Fury
by Sarah J Maas

Spoiler Alert

Summary:


Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.


With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.

My Thoughts:

I gave this book 5 stars. That doesn't even cover it. This book was phenomenal.

So right at the start of the book I could sense that there was tension between Feyre and Tamlin. Tamil wouldn't let Feyre do anything, he would barely let her leave the house. Seriously, all she does is plan their wedding and sometimes paint. Plus, she has these terrible night terrors, he basically ignores them and doesn't even try to comfort her. Shitty boyfriend much. Then when he has night terrors and she wants to comfort him, he totally just pushes her away. It pissed me off. He has such a clouded vision of her. I mean he still thinks that she loves all the gifts he gives her, he thinks that she loves those pouffy fancy dresses he has made for her. Totally oblivious. I mean, she didn't even feel like she could tell him when it was her birthday.

Now for the whole "I knew she would be with Rhys" Argument. Okay so the moment she escapes her wedding, she goes to the night court and one of her first thoughts is that it is the most beautiful place she has ever been. Also, she thinks that Rhys is the most beautiful man she has ever seen before. Plus, he made this deal with her so that she would have to spend a week with him every month, since they are mates, she would slowly realize she had feelings for him and would fall in love with him, which is pretty much what happened. He seemed to want something in the beginning. Something "Unknown" aka her. Plus Tamlin was treating her like fine china while Rhys was setting her free to do whatever she wanted or needed to do. Rhys is also being so sweet and charming, I initially didn't really like him, I didn't know him that well and he seemed pretty skeazy. As I got to know him in this book, I fell in love.

He studied my face. "There are a great many things that I wish to do, and don't get to."

Then Tamlin goes and locks her up in his house. Big no no. 
Feyre is like a bird. At first she was a bird in a cage, the way they aren't supposed to be, but then Rhys came and opened the cage and now she is flying around outside the way a bird is supposed to be. 

Then finally Feyre is starting to show her distaste to the new Tamlin, or the old Tamlin that she is now seeing from a different light.

"Yes. He'd given me everything I needed to become myself, to feel safe. And when he got what he wanted... He'd stopped. Had tried, but not really. He'd let himself remain blind to what I needed after Amarantha."

You know how I guessed the whole Rhys and Feyre mate bond thing? You wanna know? Well all you Rhys lovers out there are not subtle, like, at all. I mean, before the book, a smaller margin of people liked Rhys. Then after reading this almost everyone seemed to love him, which meant only one thing. Rhys was Feyre's mate, not Tamlin. Plus, the sexual tension between them was killing me, like, the entire book. I honestly don't think I've felt this way about a ship since Will and Tessa. New OTP coming through.

The plot was by no means original. I mean, one person rises above all to beat a powerful tyrant? Sound familiar? It should. But the way Sarah J Maas wrote it, made up for any lack of original plot. The way it was carried out was earth shattering. I had my fair share of moments when I thought "Wow, that was fantastic, Feyre has come so far." The character development, guys, the character development. 

Once we were introduced to all of the human queens, I was prepared to hate all of them, they seemed like bitter old hags, and moronic dunces. I have to admit that the "Golden Queen" was a very good actress. I hated her at first, but then I felt love for her. It was like that one episode of friends where Ross is really unstable and he finds out about Chandler and Monica's relationship and one second he is so mad he is about to punch Chandler's face in and the next, he like instantly goes to happily crooning, "My best friend and my sister." That's how I felt. Do you know what I'm talking about? You should.

Quotes:

"When you spend so long trapped in darkness, Lucien, you find that the darkness begins to stare back."
"I want you to know, that I am broken and healing, but every piece of my heart belongs to you. And I am honoured-- honoured to be your mate."
"You set boundaries if they cross a line, but you are their friend-- and my mate. They will protect you on instinct. If you kick their asses out of the house, they'll just sit on the roof."
"Love--love was a balm as much as it was a poison." 

Saturday, 28 May 2016

Fictional Boyfriend Tag

1. Most romantic boyfriend


Aiden St. Delphi, it's just his personality. He is just such a good guy, sweet honest caring, but he would also fight to the death for you. He knows where it's at.

2. Dark and moody bad boy with a good side



Derek from the Summoning. The guy is so grumpy and maybe he isn't the best looking, but I have a weakness for him. No matter how moody he is.

3. Paranormal boyfriend



Kaidan Rowe, he is the embodiment of lust. Do I even need to say anymore?

4. Boyfriend you want to tame



I wouldn't really like to tame anyone. We should just go do crazy shit together. The only aspect I would tame anyone in is the love aspect. So I guess that would be Travis Maddox. He is always ready for a fight and I love that, but he is also very dedicated and sweet when need be.

5. Boy you friend zoned


Simon Lewis. I would never actually want to date Simon, because he is like my nerdy soul mate. If there is such thing as a friend soul mate, that would be Simon.

6. Your soul mate



Will Herondale, why else would I be completely obsessed with him? He loves books, he is so tortured, he never fails to make me laugh. He is good even if he can't see it at times. When he loves someone he goes all in. There are never any doubts with him.

7. Boyfriend you want to elope with



Finnick Odair. I would marry this man any day of the week.

8. Boyfriend you'd venture anywhere with



Noah Shaw, if I went traveling with him, my gods, he would give me a show. He is so sarcastic and funny, he makes the best out of situations, he seems to know so much about the world. The things he could show me.

9. Boyfriend you'd want to be stranded on a desert island with



Daemon Black, since he's luxen, he is hella fast. Since he is hella fast, that probably means that he can run on water. So, we could spend a while on that island together for some alone time, but then he could get us back when we really need to.


10. Most badass boyfriend



Dimitri Belikov, he is so badass I don't think I could even explain this to you. He could take down anyone he wants. He could take down groups of highly trained assassins, because he is Dimitri Belikov.

Wednesday, 25 May 2016

Hollow City Book Talk

Hollow City (Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children, #2)

Hollow City
by Ransom Riggs



Spoilers

Summary:

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children was the surprise best seller of 2011—an unprecedented mix of YA fantasy and vintage photography that enthralled readers and critics alike. Publishers Weekly called it “an enjoyable, eccentric read, distinguished by well-developed characters, a believable Welsh setting, and some very creepy monsters.”

This second novel begins in 1940, immediately after the first book ended. Having escaped Miss Peregrine’s island by the skin of their teeth, Jacob and his new friends must journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. Along the way, they encounter new allies, a menagerie of peculiar animals, and other unexpected surprises.

Complete with dozens of newly discovered (and thoroughly mesmerizing) vintage photographs, this new adventure will delight readers of all ages.

My Thoughts:

I gave this book 5 stars. Unpopular opinion: I was not the biggest fan of the first book. I don't know what it was, maybe I wasn't that engaged, maybe I didn't relate to the main character all the much. I have no clue. This book however, was infinitely better than the first one. I loved this.



Jacob and Emma are so cute together. He's kind of awkward and unsure of himself while Emma is so hot tempered.



Speaking of Emma, I felt a lot more connected to her during this book. She shed some light on her past and the shitty way her parents had treated her. I could only imagine. It makes me sad that she may never see her sister again. In the one sentence that she mentioned her sister I really liked her.



So I got the box set of this series which came with pictures of random peculiars. I find that it's a fun game to play, when I'm reading the book and I find out about one of the peculiars in the picture I have. Like "ohhhhh, that's how they fit into the story." It kept me engaged.

I feel like I got to know more about all of the Peculiars. In the first book it was a bit hard to keep track of them all because being introduced to a whole group of characters at once is a bit much to take in. In this book I learned about who had what gift, and what their personalities were like. It was much easier to follow along with them in this book.


The plot twist at the end with Miss Peregrine's brother made me so angry. I myself have a sibling and we may disagree at times, but the thought of totally betraying my sibling for power is just such a ridiculous notion. I really hate her brother. The fire is fueled for the next book.



This book took me a while to read because it wasn't the highest on my priority list. I don't know when I will get the time to finally read the third book, but I will do that this year. I promise.

Quotes:
"Strange, I thought, how you can be living your dreams and your nightmares at the very same time." 
"Some truths are expressed best in the form of myth." 
"But you can't feel bad every second, I wanted to tell her. Laughing doesn’t make bad things worse any more than crying makes them better. It doesn't mean you don't care, or that you've forgotten. It just means you're human." 
"Do you ever find yourself climbing into an open grave during a bombing raid..and wish you'd just stayed in bed?"

Waiting on Wednesday

The Bronze Key
by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare




Since this book finally has a cover, I decided to do this one this week because this is one of my most anticipated books of the year. I'm so excited the first two books in the magisterium series were fantastic and I read them back to back, therefore I need this now. The end of August is too far away. I'm crying.

Tuesday, 24 May 2016

Top 10 Fantasy Books

I almost forgot to do one today cause I forgot that it was in fact Tuesday. Thank the gods that I didn't because it's a good one today. I'm counting series', because it's hard enough narrowing it down to the series'.


10. The Heroes of Olympus




I haven't quite finished the series yet. Okay I've only read two books, but I devoured those first two books, but since I've only read two, they are only 10 on this list. I still got them on here, okay? Fabulous books.

9. The Little Prince/Le Petit Prince




This book hit me right in that place in my chest that constricts when you feel deep emotion. You know that place, where it does the thing. Like that tight feeling in your chest when you really feel like crying. You know what I'm talking about. It's a children's book with an underlying message and it's beautiful. I think everyone should read this story at least once in their lives.

8. The Shadowhunter Chronicles



Also I found this gem. Gender bent from The Mortal Instruments.




Did you see the loophole? I found it and it is mine. I couldn't decide which series I should put on my list, the Mortal Instruments, the Infernal Devices, or the Dark Artifices. So I chose them all. I regret nothing because all of these books are in the same world and I love them all. I own every single one of the books in the series's.

7. Peter Pan




This is another book on the topic of growing up *cough cough* Little Prince. This one had no underlying message though. It's fairly straight forward. It's a fun and heartbreaking story. Some might not see it that way, but that was the way I felt. Peter didn't want to grow up, so he got left behind by everyone. Despite this sad ending, it was a real adventure. Few can partake in the joys that of young children.

6. Under Different Stars




One of my favourites, I loved everything in this series from the characters to the plot to the setting. it was magical. I can't really say anything that I haven't already said about this series.

5. A Court of Thorns and Roses




I haven't read A Court of Mist and Fury yet, but it's next up. So I guess that can be included. Anyway I love anything written by Sarah J. Maas. She could probably write a story sympathizing with Hitler and I would probably read it and love it. Actually no I wouldn't, but you get my point. So the moment I found out he had started a series other than Throne of Glass, I had to read this. It wasn't even a question and I'm glad I read it because it's amazing.

4. Six of Crows




I wasn't actually expecting to like this book. I honestly wasn't. I didn't hate the Grisha Trilogy, but it was far from my favourite. So tickle me surprised when I couldn't seem to put this book down. It went in a good direction and was an extension of the Grisha trilogy world that I enjoyed immensely.

3. Throne of Glass




Where do I even start with this series? I was apprehensive when starting this. I didn't think I was going to like it. It just didn't seem up my alley, or so I thought. I read the first two in a matter of days. it took me a bit longer to read the third, but that's just cause it was so much bigger than the first two. Then the fourth. Oh the fourth. I read that book in four days. That was me dragging it out. I savoured every page. There was not a single point in the book where I was bored.

2. The Name of the Wind




This book was amazing. Blew my itty bitty little mind to smithereens. It was so well thought out. I usually don't do so well when the protagonist is a guy. I don't know I have a harder time relating to what he is doing, well that kind of happened in this book because I decided that I shipped Kvothe with Ambrose and I know for a fact that that will never be cannon. I still ship it though. I loved everything else about the book though. The world building was exceptional. Probably one of the best aspects of the book.

1. Harry Potter




There is no choosing one book. I don't care about what you tell me, for all I know Harry Potter is just one big long book. I grew up with Harry. I went to school with Harry. I suffered and succeeded with Harry. There was no doubt what would be number one on this list. And if there was doubt, where is your mind at? Like, what? Harry Potter, number 7 on the quid ditch pitch. Number 1 in our hearts.


Well that got intense... I hope you enjoyed that?