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young adult

reviews October 24, 2014

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

MaasCrown of Midnight (Throne of Glass 2) by Sarah J. Maas

A line that should never be crossed is about to be breached.
It puts this entire castle in jeopardy—and the life of your friend.

From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.

Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.

Then, one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena’s world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie…and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for. (back cover)

While this wasn’t bad, I didn’t like this as much as book 1. And surprisingly the action parts were the most boring ones in the book… Those were also the most ridiculous ones because she’s supposed to be this badass assassin, and in reality she’s too soft hearted and gets caught most often than not.

In the last book I thought Dorian was annoying and too superficial but he did grow up in this book. I don’t remember if we had his POV in the last book but at least in this one it worked well.

Even though I like Chaol, I can’t but wonder his stupidity at times. I think he trusts the king way too much and he should doubt more about what the king tells him. I’d like Chaol to be little more hardened especially since he’s the Captain of the Guard. But he’s still my favourite character.

3/5

Published: Bloomsbury USA Childrens (2013)
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 420
Source: library

reviews October 22, 2014

Until I Die by Amy Plum

Until-I-DieUntil I Die (Revenants 2) by Amy Plum

Kate has chosen to leave the comfort and safety of her human world in order to join Vincent in the dangerous supernatural world he inhabits. For his part, he has sworn to go against his very nature and resist the repeated deaths that are his fate as a revenant—even though it will bring him immeasurable suffering.

Desperate to help him, Kate’s search for answers takes her from the glamorous streets of Paris to the city’s squalid underbelly. But when she stumbles across a secret that could help to overthrow their enemies for ever, Kate unwittingly puts everyone she loves at risk.
And puts herself in the midst of an ancient and deadly war, not as a bystander…but as a target. (back cover)

It’s clearly been too long since I read book 1. I was having trouble to remember what had happened and who was who…
This was easy, quick read and I liked it. I like that it’s situated in Paris, France, which is a nice change.

There was less Vincent in this book, which was a shame. I would have liked to see his POV once in a while and to have two sides of the story and that’s my main issue with the book. I like Kate and it’s nice to see that she’s not head over heels even though she loves him. But I don’t see what the big issue is with Vincent dying because he’ll come back anyway. I think he’s suffering for nothing but maybe that’s just me.

There are hints about love triangle and I’m curious to see if he will act on it.

3,5/5

Published:Atom (2012)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 357
Source: my own

reviews October 23, 2013

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass 1) by Sarah J. Maas

Meet Celaena Sardothien.
Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness.

In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake. She got caught.

Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament – fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted? (back cover)

Celaena is an assassin who has been in prison at Endovier for a year. She’s being dragged from the prison and given a choice to become the king’s champion for 4 years and then get her freedom. But first she has to win the competition against other criminals to win the price.

I’ve read lot of great reviews about this and I’m so glad it lived up to those!

I loved the fact that Celaena was an assassin and not some damsel in distress. What’s not to like in a girl who speaks her mind? The book starts after she was captured so we don’t see her killing people or anything like that. She manages to become friends with princess Nehemia and she’s lot more friendly and likeable with her.

And of course there is a love triangle. This is YA book after all. I have to say I’m all for Chaol, the Captain of the Guards. Dorian, the crown prince, didn’t do anything for me and I didn’t really believe in their romance. It felt awkward and they fell for it way too easily. But yeah, I’m rooting for Chaol.

4/5

Published: Bloomsbury (2012)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 420
Source: library

reviews August 11, 2013

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

Falling Kingdoms (Falling Kingdoms 1) by Morgan Rhodes

In a land where magic has been forgotten but peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest is simmering. Three kingdoms grapple for power—brutally transforming their subjects’ lives in the process. Amidst betrayals, bargains, and battles, four young people find their fates forever intertwined:

Cleo: A princess raised in luxury must embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of a magic long thought extinct.

Jonas: Enraged at injustice, a rebel lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country impoverished—and finds himself the leader of a people’s revolution centuries in the making.

Lucia: A girl adopted at birth into a royal family discovers the truth about her past—and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield.

Magnus: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, a firstborn son begins to realize that the heart can be more lethal than the sword…

The only outcome that’s certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed? (Goodreads)

The story is about 3 kingdoms that were once united: Auranos, Limeros, and Paelsia. There’s been peace between the countries for centuries but then a wine-maker’s son was killed by Auranian noble from the princess’s entourage. The victim’s brother vows revenge and sets in motion a war that’s been long brewing.

Cleo is Auranian princess, spoiled, stubborn and childish. She was probably my least favourite character. She does grow as a person towards the end but unfortunately it comes after so much has happened. She’s also carrying this secret and let me tell you, that was the lamest secret. Ever.

I liked Magnus before he turned this bloodthirsty idiot and turns into his father who he despises. And he’s in love with his (adoptive) sister.

Jonas is a pheasant who harbors hatred for all things royal and when his brother is killed in princess Cleo’s presence he basically wants to start a war. And he seemed to blame Cleo more for the murder than Aron who actually killed him, just because she was royal.

I haven’t read much YA fantasy and this wasn’t in no way bad but I thought it lacked that something. Maybe things pick up in the next book.

3,5/5
Published: Razorbill (2013)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 432
Source: library

reviews August 11, 2013

The Dead Girls’ Dance by Rachel Caine

The Dead Girls’ Dance (The Morganville Vampires 2) by Rachel Caine

Claire Danvers has her share of challenges—like being a genius in a school that favors beauty over brains, dealing with the homicidal girls in her dorm, and above all, finding out that her college town is overrun with vampires. On the up side, she has a great roommate (who tends to disappear at sunup) and a new boyfriend named Shane, whose vampire-hunting dad has called in backup: cycle punks who like the idea of killing just about anything.

Now a fraternity is throwing its annual Dead Girls’ Dance and—surprise!—Claire and her equally outcast best friend, Eve, have been invited. When they find out why, all hell is going to break loose. Because this time both the living and the dead are coming out—and everybody’s hungry for blood. (Goodreads)

Starting right after where Glass Houses ended, Shane’s dad is back with his friends intending to kill every vampire they can get their hands on. Then Shane gets himself implicated in a vampire killing and Claire finds herself in trouble trying to help him, while Michael makes drastic decisions to help his friend.

I didn’t remember that Glass Houses ended in a cliffhanger and of course this one started right from it. Good thing my friend has the 1 book so I could read the last chapter.

I think Claire grows little during this book and comes to herself more but I found her more annoying than in book 1. She’s supposed to be this genius who skipped few grades but makes few idiotic choices. Like when in dark alley where more than one person has told you not to go, then what do you do? Well go in there of course because that’s the sensible thing to do. Or when she’s told to stay at home in safe she insist going to school. To a class she’s already read the books and spends the entire time daydreaming about her boyfriend. Intelligent behavior?

Also what is such a big deal with the age difference between Claire and Shane? I don’t remember for sure but if Michael is 19 I assume Shane is the same or close and Claire is 17. This was bugging me in the first book also but then it was with Claire and Michael. And now it’s between Claire and Shane. See how fast these things changes?

While I liked the first book more this wasn’t bad either even if there was some stupid things mentioned before. Guess I have to read the next book to see if it gets better than this since the first was better too.

3/5
Published: NAL (2007)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 248
Source: my own