Review: Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) by Sarah J. Maas

Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) by Sarah J. Maas

RATING: 3.5/5 SWORDS

She was the heir of ash and fire, and she would bow to no one.

Celaena Sardothien has survived deadly contests and shattering heartbreak—but at an unspeakable cost. Now she must travel to a new land to confront her darkest truth...a truth about her heritage that could change her life—and her future—forever. 

Meanwhile, brutal and monstrous forces are gathering on the horizon, intent on enslaving her world. To defeat them, Celaena must find the strength to not only fight her inner demons but to battle the evil that is about to be unleashed. 
The king's assassin takes on an even greater destiny and burns brighter than ever before in this follow-up to the New York Times bestselling Crown of Midnight.

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 Well, I'm a little confused about this book. After Crown of Midnight I was all about this series. I was exctied to read the third book. I WAS READY...and then I was disappointed. It isn't that this book is bad. It's not. It's decently entertaining. It expanded on the universe which is something I felt the series needed. However, I still felt like Celanea was very isolated AGAIN. She's primarily confined to one location throughout the entire book. Her training seems to drag on forever.  AND this book made Chaol such a bore. Without Celaena around he definitely loses his appeal. Don't get me started on Dorian. I honestly don't understand why he would want to keep his magic contained. He obviously needs the power to help defeat his father. If anything I would think he'd want to gain control of it and then learn how to grow in strength. I understand that he's scared people will find out because it's illegal to have magic, but just practice in secret.

 Chaol and Dorian's part of the books honestly don't get interesting until the very end when there is a big OMG moment. That was an OMG moment!! So at least there's that, right? Another aspect of the book that I don't think needed as much attention is the whole Minon Blackbeak and witches clan. I honestly didn't need to know so much about her training her beast. Just get on with it.

I know it sounds like I'm harping on the book. I just feel like a lot of the story didn't help move the plot along. It felt stagnant. However, I DID enjoy quite a few things. I loved meeting the other demi-fey. They were all pretty adorable. I enjoyed learning more about Celaena's tragic childhood. Annnd that's about it. I'm still looking forward to the next book which just came out. I have some other things I want to read before I start it though. 

Review: Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Maas

RATING: 3.75 Swords

Summary

In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien. 
The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass--and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

Like many book readers, I've seen the cover of this book at Barnes and Noble and online everywhere. It looked interesting to me, but for some reason I avoided it like the plague. I'm glad I gave it a chance though.

As the protagonist of the story, Celanea is strong, funny at times, and definitely sassy. I know this book is a somewhat retelling of the Cinderella story, but she reminded me of Black Widow more than Cinderella. She's the best assassin in all of  Adarlan. She started training as an assassin at a very young age and there's a lot of mystery about her upbringing. She was a slave in the salt mines for a year and then chosen by Prince Dorian to compete in a tournament to be the King's Champion - the very man who conquered her land and lead to the death of her parents. (Yes, he's a big jerk). But if she wins she would have her freedom in four years. But that means being the king's minion and doing whatever he says for four years...0_o

The book starts off strong. I love the back and forth between Dorian and Celaena. However, I must say that I am team Chaol Westfall (Captain of the Guard). Maas does a great job with Celaena's personality. She doesn't seem like someone you would want to mess with. However, she does have a vulnerable side which you get to see later in the book. For some reason, I just can't imagine her as an assassin though. I think it's because there isn't enough detail about her training as an assassin or about her time before she was a slave. I need more detail. You say she's a great assassin - don't just tell me. Show me! I need flashbacks...legends...anything! There isn't much worldbuilding. As a huge fantasy fan, I expect a certain amount of worldbuilding. I know, it's a young adult novel, but I still expect more! There is a good amount of religion (I'm assuming based off of the roman/greek gods) and magic. I want to know more about them! This is probably my main complaint.

I think this series has a lot of potential. I enjoyed reading it and would definitely recommend it for readers who aren't into super detailed and long fantasy books. Plus, there's the love triangle teens are sure to love! Add a little more history to the world and I'll be extremely happy. I enjoyed the first book enough that I have already started on the second. Hopefully it'll be just as good if not better!


Favorite Quote:

"You could be different," Elena said quietly. "You could be great. Greater than me--than any of us."
Celaena opened her mouth, but no words came out.
Elena took a step toward her. "You could rattle the stars," she whispered. "You could do anything, if you only dared. And deep down, you know it, too. That's what scares you most."

Review: Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3) by Suzanne Collins

RATING: 4/5 Mockingjays

Well, it's over you guys. I have finished this bestselling series. So, what do I think? Complete crap? Genius? More like somewhere in between. Mockingjay started off slow. After the heart pounding action of Catching Fire I was ready to see this rebellion take off. It didn't. Katniss spent most of her time sulking and worrying about Peeta.  It's not that there wasn't enough action in the beginning. It just felt like the plot was moving too slowly. Everything felt a litte more dull and I'm sure it's because Katniss's emotions were so bipolar. She was erratic at times, but mostly numb. I understand she's been through a lot, but this much back and forth between emotions was a little draining on me as a reader. It also made the storyline feel a little unfocused as well.

I almost thought this book was going to be a dud. I was starting to lose interest fast. Then they went to the Capitol. That's when I really started to get into it. I thought the last part of the book was great...filled with action and emotion. It saved the book in my opinion. I enjoyed the new setting in the Capitol as well as the new traps. I wasn't sure who was going to make it out alive and appreciated that some of them didn't. One of the main ideas about Mockingjay that I loved is the idea that no matter what side of the way you're on there's always going to be someone thirsty for power. President Coin is an extremist. She does whatever she thinks is necessary to keep herself in power. As the story unfolds, you really see how little she cares for Katniss...and how manipulative people in power can be.  I know some readers disliked the ending, but I thought it was appropriate. It's the best future you could hope for for 

Peeta and Katniss

. On a side note, I realized that never once was gender an issue in this book. Nobody complained about Katniss being a soldier because she was a woman or Prim training to be a doctor. It was refreshing.

I enjoyed this series overall. It's the first teen series that I've actually finished since becoming an adult. I give this book and 4/5 stars as well as the entire series. It's definitely something I wouldn't mind my children reading.

The trailer for Mockingjay Part 2 just came out. Looks MUCH better than the first part. Check it out if you haven't seen it yet!

Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

So I have started a new thing. At work and on my way home I listen to an audiobook and at night I read a book. I totally love this. It's allowed me to absorb so much material and I'm surprised how easy it is for me to jump between two worlds. I started this for a few reasons. First, I need to start reading more YA novels. I'm in my last year of my master's and soon I'll be a school librarian. I need to know what the kids are reading. There's no way around it. Most of these books I don't want in my library and I don't want to take the time out of my regular reading schedule to read them so I've decided to try the audiobooks. Luckily, if you buy the kindle ebook the narration is MUCH cheaper than if you buy the actual audiobook. That shit is expensive!!! Secondly, the A Song of Ice and Fire series takes a long time to read and I'm impatient.  Most of the books I read are huge and it's annoying, but it cannot be helped. I'm a sucker for epic fantasy and most of those books are 1000 pages. Anyways, I'm going to give this blog another try. I've missed it. I'm doing things differently this time around. I burned out before because it felt like a job. I already work full time and go to grad school - this is supposed to be fun! So I'm going to make it fun.

Thoughts on Catching Fire: 

Rating: 4/ 5 Mockingjays

This book was actually a lot of fun. I moderately liked the first installment. I read it a few years ago and just never felt the need to go on. But I saw the series on Kindle Unlimited and decided to give it another chance. I'm glad I did! It's hard for a sequel to live up to the first installment and I thought this one surpassed The Hunger Games. 

I enjoyed the games a lot in this book. I thought the clock idea was pretty creative. It was a good combination of physical and psychological challenges (or should I say torture).  I thought the supporting characters like Finnick, Johanna, and Beetee were well developed. I especially liked Betee. I was cheering for him the whole time. Of course, I still found Katniss and Peeta a little annoying. I enjoyed the other characters more than I enjoyed their little attempts at keeping one another alive. 

This story feels deeper almost. You can feel the districts rebellion beginning to boil. The whispers Katniss hears about other districts helps this feeling. I wish we could have seen a little glimpse into the other districts, but it's not their story. I also would have enjoyed a little more interaction with President Snow. He's such a good villain! 

One of the main things I enjoy about this book is that there are casualties. This is a country at war and on the brink of rebellion. Collins doesn't sugar coat that for her younger audience. It's not graphic, but it still hits home knowing that nobody is safe. These characters will probably all be dead soon but that's the price of war . I like that about this series. I also like that even though Katniss loves both Peeta and Gale, she states that she isn't interested in children or really marriage. I think that is completely reasonable for her situation. I know I wouldn't want to bring a child into that awful world. She's not a romantic - sure she's very emotional, but you can't say she's romantic. There's no room for romance in Panem. There's only room for survival. I think that's what sets her apart from all the other female protagonists in other teen books. Go Katniss! Ain't nobody got time for babies during a rebellion. 

Overall, I found this book to be a great addition to the series. The narration was wonderfully done and it's a fairly quick listen. Now I'm on to Mockinjay!