Tales from an Avid Reader: September 2013

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Top Ten Best Sequels Ever

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week I'm talking about my top ten best sequels ever!

1. Siege and Storm (The Grisha #2) by Leigh Bardugo

I devoured this book in five hours. SO GOOD!

My review

2. Crown of Midngiht (Throne of Glass #2) by Sarah J. Maas

So much love for this.

My review.

3. Origin (Lux #4) by Jenifer L. Armentrout

This. Book.

My review.

4. Prodigy (Legend #2) by Marie Lu

So many feelings. So many.

My review.

5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

How can this not be on my list?

6. Clockwork Princess (Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare

I sobbed throughout this whole book. I loved it so much.

7. Catching Fire (Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins

My favorite out of the trilogy.

8. Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth

I need Allegiant. NOW.

9. Unwholly (Unwind #2) by Neal Shusterman

So creepy and disturbing. Hardly a day goes by without me thinking about it.

10. The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

It's Lord of the Rings. 'Nuff said.

What is your Top Ten?

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight by Saah J. Maas: Dual review

RATING: 10/5
(Yeah, they were that good)

SUMMARY (Throne of Glass):

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 three years and then be granted her freedom.

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. 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.

REVIEW:

I went into this series with no expectations. I had bought THRONE OF GLASS when it first came out, but it sat on my shelf until the beginning of August. I picked it up on a whim, and I am so glad I did.

I absolutely loved it. Like, so much. It had such a nice fantasy feel to it, and it was very well developed. I LOVE IT SO MUCH!

Caleana was especially awesome. She was so arrogant, but her arrogance made her lovable. She was so strong, and she would not take crap from anyone.

The supporting characters were great as well. Dorian was so sweet, but it was Chaol that stole my heart. Oh, Chaol. You don't see much of him in book one, but book two makes up for it. He and Calaena are so cute together. I definitely ship them.

For the world, I have only two words:

So beautifully crafted and well put together.

The only complaint I have is with the second half of CROWN OF MIDNIGHT:

WHY?!

Sarah J. Maas, you ripped my heart out and stomped on it. How could you do this? To Me? To the characters?? I thought you loved us!!

I have so many feelings. So many.

Overall, THRONE OF GLASS and CROWN OF MIDNIGHT are not ones to miss. I highly recommend them!!

CONTENT: (ToG) Kissing, mild swearing, and lots of violence between the assassins. (CoM): Implied sex scenes, kissing, mild swearing, and lots more violence.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Origin (Lux #4) by Jennifer L. Armentrout: Review

RATING: 5/5

SUMMARY:

Daemon will do anything to get Katy back.

After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. Taking out anyone who stands in his way? Done. Burning down the whole world to save her? Gladly. Exposing his alien race to the world? With pleasure.

All Katy can do is survive.

Surrounded by enemies, the only way she can come out of this is to adapt. After all, there are sides of Daedalus that don’t seem entirely crazy, but the group’s goals are frightening and the truths they speak even more disturbing. Who are the real bad guys? Daedalus? Mankind? Or the Luxen?

Together, they can face anything.

But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on?

And will they even be together?

REVIEW:

I haven't yet reviewed Onyx and Opal, which were amazing, but I don't think I'm going to because both of those books seem harmless compared to this one.

Oh, I am so pissed.