Reread Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

Synopsis:
After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king’s council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she’ll serve the kingdom for four years and then be granted her freedom. Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilarating. But she’s bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her … but it’s the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead … quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

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Plot:
I am actually so surprised at how much of the plot I had forgotten. The best part of rereading is rediscovering the parts you have forgotten and loved the first time around.
In terms of the rest of the series, this is definitely my least favourite of them all. I see now this one is the slowest, it took me a while to get back into the story.
Its plot is nothing super original, in my opinion; the later books are better. I think the first time around my favourite was Queen of Shadows followed by Empire of Storms, I’m interested to see whether I’ll still feel the same.

This was a typical YA Fantasy, full of tropes – a love triangle starts but it is a bit of fun and I can’t hate it, despite its flaws. SJM’s writing definitely improves with every book, this is probably one of the weakest but it still isn’t bad.

I do feel the plot was a bit dragged out, it took too long to get to the competition – which is what the whole thing is about and then the competition was over in a chapter or so. I didn’t really care for the side plots, other than Dorian, the characters were pretty bland in this one.
I also realised I never liked Chaol. He’s just an ass and always has been? Can’t relate to the people who ship Chaol with Celaena at all.

Characters:
Celaena: I like Celaena, I don’t love her – in this series I am far more attached to certain side characters.
Dorian: I LOVE DORIAN. He is such a babe. He’s so charming, swoon-worthy and lovely!! He’s adorable and I am so sad he and Celaena weren’t a think, like who picks Chaol over Dorian??!
Chaol: I have never liked Chaol. I have always found him so annoying, literally, don’t see what anyone ever saw in him. He had a few good moments and his friendship with Dorian is nice.

Rating: Still 4 Stars

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Classics I Wish Had Modern Adaptations | Top 5 Wednesday

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme, GoodReads group here with all the topics + discussion!
This weeks topic is; Classics I Wish Had Modern Adaptations

This was a bit of a tricky subject for me! It took me a while to think of some to include, I am not the biggest classic reader and tend to dislike the ones I have read.

1) 1984 by George Orwell

Not going to lie, I didn’t like 1984 at all. The themes and the underlying message are important but Orwell’s writing is an actual snoozefest. SO BORING. I will never reread 1984, I only read it for college and I didn’t expect to be so dull. I think the story would work so much better in a film, I know there is an older film but it would be nice to see a modern take on it.

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2) The Chronicles of Narnia
Obviously, there is a modern adaptation of Narnia, however, there is only 3. Unpopular opinion: I love the Narnia films. I wish they’d continued to make them. I want more! Would definitely love to see more modern stories of it!

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3) Jane Eyre

Okay, so I absolutely love the 2011 adaptation with Michael Fassbender as Mr Rochester (swoon), but they did cut out a lot of the book. I think it would’ve worked even better as a mini-series like the BBC did with Pride and Prejudice (1995).

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4) The Secret Garden

I haven’t read this, yet but I plan to. I absolutely adored the 1993 film as a kid, it was one of my favourites I would rewatch over and over. I would love to see a modern remake of it, they seem to be remaking every classic at the moment, so why not The Secret Garden!?

 

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5) His Dark Materials

This is more of a modern classic but it is one of my favourites. The 2007 film The Golden Compass is the worst adaptation, it does the books no justice at all. Thankfully, my wish has been granted and the BBC are making a TV show. I am praying it goes right this time and does the amazing books justice!

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Top 5 Books I Read This Summer!

All the books I have read over the summer are discussed in my wrap-ups:
June Wrap Up
July Wrap Up
August Wrap Up

Usually, with this type of post, I would usually pick from my 4.5-5 Star reads. I realised when going back through my Goodreads to find books for this list, that the only 4.5-5 Star reads I had this summer were rereads! *insert shocked face emoji*
I don’t include rereads in seasonally favourites as I already knew I would love them – hence the reread. All of the books on this list are picked from the books I gave 4 Stars.

 

1) Catwoman Soulstealer by Sarah J Mass

I went into this book not knowing whether I’d like it or not. I’m not the biggest DC Comics fan (Definitely more of a Marvel girl) and I didn’t know anything about Catwoman but it was SJM so obviously I picked it up. It really surprised me, I really enjoyed it and I devoured it.
Full Review Here!

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2) Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

I wasn’t the biggest fan of Uprooted by the same author, so I was hesitant about going in. The premise sounded really interesting, I was offered it for review and couldn’t say no. I ended up really liking it, it was slower than what I would normally go for but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I adored the world and the magic, I thought it was a really interesting read! I also think it’d be better to read in the winter since it is set during the winter and it’s snowy.
Full Review Here!

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3) Brightly Burning by Alexa Donne

I absolutely loved Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, so when I heard a Sci-Fi retelling was being published how could I not pick it up!? Two of my favourite things but it sounds like a strange combination. This definitely exceeded all my expectations completely. It was such a fun, interesting read.

Full Review Here!

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4) Still Me by Jojo Moyes

This is probably the most surprising book on the list. I love Me Before You, it’s one of my favourite books, the sequel, After You, not so much. After hating that book I really wasn’t hopeful for another sequel but I was wrong. This was dramatically better than After You and I really enjoyed it. Do I think Me Before You needed sequels? No. But this was an enjoyable story.
Full Review Here!

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5) The Gilded King by Josie Jaffrey

I was offered this for review by the author, I didn’t really know much about it going in and didn’t have any expectations. The premise sounded interesting, it was dystopian/paranormal so I thought why not. It turned out to be a vampire book, which I would never normally read but it was really good! Had such an interesting plot and world and I cannot wait for the sequel!
Full Review Here!

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Comment the best book(s) you read this summer! I’d love to know 🙂

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Mini Review: The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J Maas

 

Synopsis:
Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan’s most feared assassin. As part of the Assassin’s Guild, her allegiance is to her master, Arobynn Hamel, yet Celaena listens to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam. In these action-packed novellas – together in one edition for the first time – Celaena embarks on five daring missions. They take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, where she fights to liberate slaves and seeks to avenge the tyrannous. But she is acting against Arobynn’s orders and could suffer an unimaginable punishment for such treachery. Will Celaena ever be truly free?

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Plot:
Firstly, this is the last Throne of Glass I read, when I initially read the whole series last year, I somehow missed this. Completely forgot?? Like a moron. However, I don’t think it took any enjoyment or understanding away. I’m not hugely fond of short stories and only read it because it’s SJM. They actually were entertaining.

It’s hard to explain the ‘plot’ when it’s a compilation of novellas.
It’s basically set before Celaena is sent to Endovier, it’s the lead up to how she ended up there and her life as an assassin. This was a fun, quick read and I really liked each story, my favourite being The Assassin and the Desert, that was so cool!

As with every other SJM book, it was a quick read and I absolutely devoured it. I read something like 75% of it in one go, it was fun and engaging from start until finish. It is probably the best place to start if you’re new to Throne of Glass but I don’t think it is necessary to start here.

Characters:
Celaena: This was the Celaena I expected in ToG, badass, merciless killer. I like her a whole lot better here. I mean she’s still the headstrong, snarky girl we love but it’s cool to see her as a proper assassin. When I first read ToG I assumed it was going to be all about an assassin and that kind of life but obviously, it wasn’t and took a different turn.

Sam: I fully expected to love Sam because everyone loves him and cries over him. But he was just okay? I personally, don’t see all the fuss. What happened to him was awful and he didn’t deserve it at all. I was a tad upset but mostly for Celaena.

Individual Ratings:
The Assassin and the Pirate Lord: 4 Stars
The Assassin and the Healer: 4 Stars
The Assassin and the Desert: 5 Stars
The Assassin and the Underworld: 4 Stars
The Assassin and the Empire: 4 Stars

Overall Rating: 4 Stars

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Books For My Younger Self | Top 5 Wednesday

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme, GoodReads group here with all the topics + discussion!
This weeks topic is; Books for my younger self

This is definitely an interesting topic for me, as I didn’t read AT ALL until about the age of 13! I definitely think I was given the wrong books as a child, maybe I would’ve been a reader as a kid, had they given me books that held my attention. I was never given fantasy or sci-fi as an option, my school were terrible for books – they were all crap!

1) The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

I loved the films as a kid, didn’t know they were books back then – why did no one try me with these?! Currently, I have only read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe but I definitely want to read the whole series!

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2) Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan keeps coming up in my T5W posts but I can’t help it! His books are so good, I cannot rave about them enough. Younger me definitely would’ve loved these books! I love them now as an adult and I will forever love Rick Riordan’s amazing writing.

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3) The Raven Boys

Teenage me would’ve probably loved Blue and the Raven Boys, this would be the definition of friendship goals for me. The magic realism and psychic stuff would’ve also interested me.

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4) Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

As I stated, I wasn’t a reader when I was younger but I feel with the formatting and layout of Illuminae this would be such a good starting place to get into Sci-fi! It’s so easy and fun to read, it’s not like reading a normal book.

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5) Nevermoor

I wasn’t blown away by this when I read it a few months ago but I definitely think younger me would’ve enjoyed it. It is a middle grade, which I’m usually a fan of but I feel it was a bit young for me. Which is why I think it’d be perfect for the younger me!

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Better Than The Book!? | Thoughts on BBC Pride and Prejudice

1) Faithful Adaptation

Like with all book adaptations they had to cut some of the book’s story out. With this, I feel it stuck to the book really well but cut out the unnecessary and boring parts – which made it more enjoyable for me, personally. There were many parts of the book I found myself getting fed up with reading, I ended up liking the adaptation much more!

2) Visually Pleasing

Aka aesthetic. I’m not a historian, I don’t know exactly what things would’ve looked like in this time period. The thing I struggle with, with classics (and historical fiction) is visualising how it’s supposed to look. Which brings me onto the next point…

3) It’s Historically Accurate

Again, I’m no historian but I did watch the 2005 Pride and Prejudice adaptation after this and couldn’t help noticing how different the costumes were. I did a bit of research and found the costumes in the mini-series were inspired by actual fashion from the time the book was written. I found on Frock Flicks they showed the inspiration behind the costuming, it’s a really interesting read if you’re like me and love the costumes in period dramas.

4) It was actually gripping

I ended up binge-watching the first 4 episodes, I would’ve watched them all if it hadn’t have been late! I really wanted to keep watching, I struggled to focus whilst reading the book and it was easy to put down for long periods of time.

5) AMAZING Casting

I think every character was perfectly cast and did a great job of bringing the characters to life. Everyone just fitted their part so well, it was really well done and I wouldn’t change any of them.
Obviously, Colin Firth steals the show, I mean look at him!?
*swoons*

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Review: The Gilded King by Josie Jaffrey (Spoiler Free)

Synopsis:
In the Blue, the world’s last city, all is not well.

Julia is stuck within its walls. She serves the nobility from a distance until she meets Lucas, a boy who believes in fairytales that Julia’s world can’t accommodate. The Blue is her prison, not her castle, and she’d escape into the trees if she didn’t know that contamination and death awaited humanity outside.

But not everyone in the Blue is human, and not everyone can be contained.

Beyond the city’s boundaries, in the wild forests of the Red, Cameron has precious little humanity left to lose. As he searches for a lost queen, he finds an enemy rising that he thought long dead. An enemy that the humans have forgotten how to fight.

One way or another, the walls of the Blue are coming down. The only question is what side you’ll be on when they do.

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Plot:
I never read vampire books, they’re not my paranormal creature of choice but I actually really enjoy this book! Well, firstly, I didn’t realise it was a vampire book, I was offered this for review by the author and it sounded like an interesting dystopian. It is dystopian but with a paranormal twist! As I didn’t read too much into the story because I like going in blind, everything was a surprise for me.

The dual POV means you get to see the world and story from the view of a human and a Silver (vampire) – which helps you understand the story from both sides, which was interesting.

The plot was interesting but slow (not in a bad way). It was interesting but not super gripping but enough to make you want to continue on. There were some plot twists, that I didn’t see coming and which quickened up the pace on the second half.
THAT ENDING! I definitely can’t wait to read the next book!

Characters:
Julia: I really enjoyed Julia’s POV chapters! I definitely favoured her and I couldn’t wait to get back to her and Lucas. I really enjoyed her interaction with Lucas and her friendship with Claudia.

Cameron: It took longer for me to get into Camerons’ side of the story but I ended finding it really interesting. I really liked the growing relationship between Cameron and Felix, Cameron reluctantly agrees to team up with Felix but their relationship blossoms.

Lucas: WHAT A SWEETHEART. He’s seriously adorable and different to most of the Silver. I loved him and Julia, their time together was my favourite parts of the book. I love that both Lucas and Julia are both (kinda) outcasts in the communities and can relate to each other.

Felix: I really liked Felix, it was interesting to see where his character ended up. There was definitely a few surprises with this character! I can’t wait to see how his character develops in the next book!

Where to buy: Only £1.99 on Kindle / Paperback

Rating: 4 Stars!
*Thank you to Josie for providing me with a copy for review!

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