I know, you're all sick of hearing (or reading) these words-- I'm so sorry for not posting regularly. Junior year was especially busy with a lot of pressure... But here I am! I also didn't actually read that many books due to a negative amount of free time, so I didn't actually have that many books to review, but I did read a few, and I am ashamed to say I am disgustingly behind on reviews. So behind that I don't think it would actually be worthwhile to write full on reviews of these books-- it's been too long since I've read them. Here I'll just give the synopsis, my general feel of the book and if I recommend it or not. Alright, here we go.
Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
Wow. There was so much hype about this book, and I was falling for none of it. The synopsis just didn't interest me enough to actually buy the book and read it, that is, until my friend asked me if I'd read it and said it was on her reading list. That, of course, piqued my interest-- if it was a good book and my friend read it, I couldn't miss out! Plus if we both liked it we could have some great in depth talks about it. So I immediately ordered it and read it as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, the reading experience was not as I'd hoped it would be. To be blunt, the book was dull for me. There was never a moment whilst reading it when I didn't feel like I could simply put the book down and never think about it again. I'd heard that it was like that, but there was a turning point, so I waited. And waited. There was no turning point. The entire book just felt dull and boring. There wasn't really any good buildup with the relationships, suddenly there was just love in some circumstances. Really, you can't expect me to fall for that. For those of you who know me-- I hate instalove plots. Even if one of the romances was not insta, I still didn't have any emotional connection to it. There was hardly any buildup, there was some, but not enough for me to even care at all. (Y'all probably know which one I'm talking about, if you read the novel.) Any relationship in general in this book ranging from romance to friendships just wasn't anything I connected with therefore anything I cared about.
I know I'm in the minority and a ton of people are in love with these novels, but I'm sorry. I tried to like this book, I really did, but I just couldn't. The only time I was even slightly interested and not feeling bored to death was in the last few lines of the entire novel. And it most certainly is not enough interest for me to carry into reading the next book.
The concept of the series is great, but the writing structure and just how the general plot was played out just didn't work for me. The series is about an island divided into three factions: the Naturalists, Elementals and the Poisoners. The Naturalists are good with anything to do with nature, they all have "familiars" which are animals bonded to them. The Elementals can control the elements. The Poisoners can ingest any amount of poison and still be fine. The island is ruled by a queen, and becoming queen is a dirty process. Each reigning queen bears triplets, and each triplet is one of the three types of powers. These girls are separated at youth, and trained to hone their powers. At the age of 16 they have to duke it out, and the surviving sister is crowned queen.
In this novel, each sister has a bit of an issue. Mirabella, the elemental, is very strong, and it's predicted that she will win the competition, ending the Poisoner faction's reign. Her issue? She doesn't want to kill her sisters. The other two, Arsinoe and Katharine, are having trouble even getting in touch with their powers... If they don't have any powers to fight with, how could either ever become queen? This novel is not the actual competition to becoming queen, only the events leading up to it (which is disappointing, maybe the actual competition would be more interesting? I guess I'll never know.)
Here's the real synopsis:
Every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.
But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose … it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins. The last queen standing gets the crown.
If only it was that simple. Katharine is unable to tolerate the weakest poison, and Arsinoe, no matter how hard she tries, can’t make even a weed grow. The two queens have been shamefully faking their powers, taking care to keep each other, the island, and their powerful sister Mirabella none the wiser. But with alliances being formed, betrayals taking shape, and ruthless revenge haunting the queens’ every move, one thing is certain: the last queen standing might not be the strongest … but she may be the darkest.
If you're intrigued, by all means, pick up the novel. I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority of not enjoying the book, hopefully you'll be in the majority. I'd give Three Dark Crowns 3-4/10 stars. I'm sorry, I just didn't enjoy the novel.
Wow. There was so much hype about this book, and I was falling for none of it. The synopsis just didn't interest me enough to actually buy the book and read it, that is, until my friend asked me if I'd read it and said it was on her reading list. That, of course, piqued my interest-- if it was a good book and my friend read it, I couldn't miss out! Plus if we both liked it we could have some great in depth talks about it. So I immediately ordered it and read it as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, the reading experience was not as I'd hoped it would be. To be blunt, the book was dull for me. There was never a moment whilst reading it when I didn't feel like I could simply put the book down and never think about it again. I'd heard that it was like that, but there was a turning point, so I waited. And waited. There was no turning point. The entire book just felt dull and boring. There wasn't really any good buildup with the relationships, suddenly there was just love in some circumstances. Really, you can't expect me to fall for that. For those of you who know me-- I hate instalove plots. Even if one of the romances was not insta, I still didn't have any emotional connection to it. There was hardly any buildup, there was some, but not enough for me to even care at all. (Y'all probably know which one I'm talking about, if you read the novel.) Any relationship in general in this book ranging from romance to friendships just wasn't anything I connected with therefore anything I cared about.
I know I'm in the minority and a ton of people are in love with these novels, but I'm sorry. I tried to like this book, I really did, but I just couldn't. The only time I was even slightly interested and not feeling bored to death was in the last few lines of the entire novel. And it most certainly is not enough interest for me to carry into reading the next book.
The concept of the series is great, but the writing structure and just how the general plot was played out just didn't work for me. The series is about an island divided into three factions: the Naturalists, Elementals and the Poisoners. The Naturalists are good with anything to do with nature, they all have "familiars" which are animals bonded to them. The Elementals can control the elements. The Poisoners can ingest any amount of poison and still be fine. The island is ruled by a queen, and becoming queen is a dirty process. Each reigning queen bears triplets, and each triplet is one of the three types of powers. These girls are separated at youth, and trained to hone their powers. At the age of 16 they have to duke it out, and the surviving sister is crowned queen.
In this novel, each sister has a bit of an issue. Mirabella, the elemental, is very strong, and it's predicted that she will win the competition, ending the Poisoner faction's reign. Her issue? She doesn't want to kill her sisters. The other two, Arsinoe and Katharine, are having trouble even getting in touch with their powers... If they don't have any powers to fight with, how could either ever become queen? This novel is not the actual competition to becoming queen, only the events leading up to it (which is disappointing, maybe the actual competition would be more interesting? I guess I'll never know.)
Here's the real synopsis:
Every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.
But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose … it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins. The last queen standing gets the crown.
If only it was that simple. Katharine is unable to tolerate the weakest poison, and Arsinoe, no matter how hard she tries, can’t make even a weed grow. The two queens have been shamefully faking their powers, taking care to keep each other, the island, and their powerful sister Mirabella none the wiser. But with alliances being formed, betrayals taking shape, and ruthless revenge haunting the queens’ every move, one thing is certain: the last queen standing might not be the strongest … but she may be the darkest.
If you're intrigued, by all means, pick up the novel. I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority of not enjoying the book, hopefully you'll be in the majority. I'd give Three Dark Crowns 3-4/10 stars. I'm sorry, I just didn't enjoy the novel.
Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman
After reading Scythe, I was pretty excited about this novel. And I was not at all disappointed, if anything, my expectations were exceeded. I'm not really sure how that was possible, but it happened. This had none of the world building the fist book did, which made it launch straight into the action. AH. I can't express how much I loved this book, and how much it pains me to wait for the next one. 8.5/10 stars. It was the best.
I don't have much to say other than if you read and enjoyed Scythe, you HAVE to read Thunderhead, it's even better than the first. I really just can't wait for the next book. I think I might've screamed a little when it ended, HOW CAN A NOVEL END LIKE THAT?! It was both beautiful and heartbreaking, that's all I'm going to say other than READ IT.
Synopsis:
Rowan and Citra take opposite stances on the morality of the Scythedom, putting them at odds, in the second novel of the chilling New York Times bestselling series from Neal Shusterman, author of the Unwind dystology.
Rowan has gone rogue, and has taken it upon himself to put the Scythedom through a trial by fire. Literally. In the year since Winter Conclave, he has gone off-grid, and has been striking out against corrupt scythes—not only in MidMerica, but across the entire continent. He is a dark folk hero now—“Scythe Lucifer”—a vigilante taking down corrupt scythes in flames.
Citra, now a junior scythe under Scythe Curie, sees the corruption and wants to help change it from the inside out, but is thwarted at every turn, and threatened by the “new order” scythes. Realizing she cannot do this alone—or even with the help of Scythe Curie and Faraday, she does the unthinkable, and risks being “deadish” so she can communicate with the Thunderhead—the only being on earth wise enough to solve the dire problems of a perfect world. But will it help solve those problems, or simply watch as perfection goes into decline?
After reading Scythe, I was pretty excited about this novel. And I was not at all disappointed, if anything, my expectations were exceeded. I'm not really sure how that was possible, but it happened. This had none of the world building the fist book did, which made it launch straight into the action. AH. I can't express how much I loved this book, and how much it pains me to wait for the next one. 8.5/10 stars. It was the best.
I don't have much to say other than if you read and enjoyed Scythe, you HAVE to read Thunderhead, it's even better than the first. I really just can't wait for the next book. I think I might've screamed a little when it ended, HOW CAN A NOVEL END LIKE THAT?! It was both beautiful and heartbreaking, that's all I'm going to say other than READ IT.
Synopsis:
Rowan and Citra take opposite stances on the morality of the Scythedom, putting them at odds, in the second novel of the chilling New York Times bestselling series from Neal Shusterman, author of the Unwind dystology.
Rowan has gone rogue, and has taken it upon himself to put the Scythedom through a trial by fire. Literally. In the year since Winter Conclave, he has gone off-grid, and has been striking out against corrupt scythes—not only in MidMerica, but across the entire continent. He is a dark folk hero now—“Scythe Lucifer”—a vigilante taking down corrupt scythes in flames.
Citra, now a junior scythe under Scythe Curie, sees the corruption and wants to help change it from the inside out, but is thwarted at every turn, and threatened by the “new order” scythes. Realizing she cannot do this alone—or even with the help of Scythe Curie and Faraday, she does the unthinkable, and risks being “deadish” so she can communicate with the Thunderhead—the only being on earth wise enough to solve the dire problems of a perfect world. But will it help solve those problems, or simply watch as perfection goes into decline?
A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
I have mixed feelings about this book. Whilst reading it, I, for the most part, was loving it. Getting to return to my favorite characters was amazing, I loved seeing Rhys and Feyre together again. It restored my faith in Sarah to write these characters perfectly again. Looking back, though, there were some issues with this book, such as some random add ins that were clearly just set ups for more stories. For instance, there's a random chapter from Mor in the book that literally has no relevance to anything other than to just show there's something darker... I did enjoy the tensions set up in the novel, but if you're looking for a book with a carried out plot, this one isn't for you. This book isn't a book, it's just a window into the lives of the leaders of the Night Court.
6-7/10 stars, I loved the experience of reading it, but it had quite a few flaws. The end view into the next book series has me hype, though. I'm hoping the Nesta x Cassian series will be similar to ACOMAF in the way that Cassian helps Nesta journey through to overcoming her mental battles. I can't wait.
Hope warms the coldest night.
Feyre, Rhys, and their close-knit circle of friends are still busy rebuilding the Night Court and the vastly-changed world beyond. But Winter Solstice is finally near, and with it, a hard-earned reprieve.
Yet even the festive atmosphere can't keep the shadows of the past from looming. As Feyre navigates her first Winter Solstice as High Lady, she finds that those dearest to her have more wounds than she anticipated--scars that will have far-reaching impact on the future of their Court.
Thanks for reading!
-Anj
I have mixed feelings about this book. Whilst reading it, I, for the most part, was loving it. Getting to return to my favorite characters was amazing, I loved seeing Rhys and Feyre together again. It restored my faith in Sarah to write these characters perfectly again. Looking back, though, there were some issues with this book, such as some random add ins that were clearly just set ups for more stories. For instance, there's a random chapter from Mor in the book that literally has no relevance to anything other than to just show there's something darker... I did enjoy the tensions set up in the novel, but if you're looking for a book with a carried out plot, this one isn't for you. This book isn't a book, it's just a window into the lives of the leaders of the Night Court.
6-7/10 stars, I loved the experience of reading it, but it had quite a few flaws. The end view into the next book series has me hype, though. I'm hoping the Nesta x Cassian series will be similar to ACOMAF in the way that Cassian helps Nesta journey through to overcoming her mental battles. I can't wait.
Hope warms the coldest night.
Feyre, Rhys, and their close-knit circle of friends are still busy rebuilding the Night Court and the vastly-changed world beyond. But Winter Solstice is finally near, and with it, a hard-earned reprieve.
Yet even the festive atmosphere can't keep the shadows of the past from looming. As Feyre navigates her first Winter Solstice as High Lady, she finds that those dearest to her have more wounds than she anticipated--scars that will have far-reaching impact on the future of their Court.
Thanks for reading!
-Anj
RSS Feed
