REVIEW: Queen of Shadows (MINOR SPOILERS)

No words at the moment.


All I know is that I love this series with all my heart and this fourth book did not disappoint. It left me completely satisfied and I just LOVED IT. 


I can't get over how good this book was. I CAN'T.


I'LL WARN YOU NOW. There will probably be some minor spoilers in here. So read the book. And if you haven't read the series yet, WHAT ARE YOU DOING RIGHT NOW? Drop everything and go read this series. 


"Let's go rattle the stars." 


Ok! I have a lot of thoughts on this book so bear with me. QOS picks up right were HOF left off, Aelin has come back to Rifthold and her goals are to get Aedion out of the glass castle and to destroy the King of Adarlan once and for all. As per usual, Aelin is KICK-ASS. Celaena was kick-ass too but Aelin IS NEXT LEVEL. Because she acknowledges her identity now she uses that to motivate her. Aelin knows who she is and what she must do to take back Terrasen and try to fix this world. However, in no way will Aelin and her court will be able to take back the kingdom peacefully. A LOT has to happen, including a lot of bloody battles and killings. 


"I don't care how long it takes, or how far you go: I'll burn and your gods-damned kingdom to ash. Then you'll learn how much of a monster I can be."


Chaol Westfall. Oh Chaol....Let me tell you something, I LOVED Chaol in the first two books. I mistakenly thought he was endgame for Aelin as most of us did. It wasn't until HOF that I realized he wasn't the perfect man I thought he was. He still needed to grow and learn a couple of things. However, in the beginning of QOS I absolutely despised Chaol. The way he was blaming Aelin for everything and not understanding the position that Dorian in was getting really frustrating. BUT THEN WE SEE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. Sarah J. Maas is a pro when it comes to character development. It's so gradual and wonderful to read about. Chaol has an internal struggle throughout the book and that has to do with what's going to happen to Dorian. Is he really evil now? Or is there a way that the magic can be reserved and the prince can return to his true self? This is something Chaol struggles to answer throughout the book. Another struggle he has is trusting Aelin because she had lied to him so much. How can he trust that with her magic she won't imprison and torture the citizens of Adaraln just like the king? Chaol has always hated magic but by the end of the book he has learned to accept it. He also learns to accept himself the good and the bad.


"'Maybe I don't want to be that person anymore,' he said. That person-that stupidly loyal, useless person- had lost everything. His friend, the woman he love, his position, his honor. Lost everything, with only himself to blame."


LYSANDRA. Ok Lysandra has been one of my favorite characters ever since I read The Assassin's Blade. And I know that sounds strange because we only encountered her for a little but I have always been interested in her and her life. I had a feeling there was something more to her and I'm so glad I was right. She's still one of my favorite characters especially now that we know she  (view spoiler). And what she did Evangeline? HEROIC. LYSANDRA IS A HERO. And if anyone who thinks differently can fight me. Also I totally ship her and Aedion together. NO SHAME.


ELIDE. Elide Lochan. Another strong female character that I think we will develop more and more in the next two books. I can sense she has an important role and I can't wait to see her grow as a character. I hope she finds Aelin and her crew and they help stop Perrionton and Vernon. 
Manon Blackbeack was also a major part because of her role as the Wind Leader. I loved how we learned a bit more about Asterin and her background. Manon is finally starting to figure out that her grandmother is evil. I hope that she'll find a way to unite with Aelin and they can take down Perrington together. I loved the scene between Manon and Elide when they were talking about Elide's hope and her connection to Terrasen. We again see a different side of Manon and her ability to feel something more than the bloodlust that her grandmother has poured into her.


"The Wing Leader said from behind her, 'Do you believe monsters are born, or made?'
From what she'd seen today, she would say some creatures were very much born evil. But what Manon was asking...'I'm not the one who needs to answer that question,' Elide said." 


Can I talk about Rowan and Aelin now?! I don't want to get too into it but all I have to say is....YESSSSSS. Sarah J. Maas totally tricked me in HOF. I thought Rowan and Aelin were building this awesome friendship, which they did. I totally thought nothing else could come from it, I hoped and PRAYED that something more would come but by the end of the book I accepted that they were only going to be friends rather than lovers. BUT BOY OH BOY AM I SO GLAD I WAS WRONG. Their relationship is just awesome and it's everything that I would want in relationship. Except I'm in not a fantasy world full of fae and magic and just AWESOMENESS. Sigh. Anyway, I loved their relationship and I can't wait to see more in the next book.


I have so many thoughts but they're all so jumbled. I just loved it. That's all you really need to know. The battles are epic, the characters are witty and just so strong, and the plot feels like a film playing in your head. I love it. I love Sarah J. Maas. She's so talented. So read this book and read her entire series!!


"'What if we go on,' he said, 'only to more pain and despair? What if we go on, only to find a horrible end waiting for us?'
Aelin looked northward, as if she could see all the way to Terrasen. 'Then it is not the end.'" 

REVIEW: The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly (no spoilers)

This was an amazing book. Honestly.

I've never read a book that has to do with cults but I've seen information about them on the news and such. Although this book is fiction I can't help but think there is a certain amount of truth to this novel. I'd really recommend this book to anyone from young adults to adults.

"It's a small kind weapon, this story. I stab someone with it and they hurt, every time."

I don't even know how to begin writing this review. It was just so good that I can't put it into words. However, I have to try and write something! Anyway, our narrator, Minnow Bly, is a 17-year-old girl that has recently escaped a cult called "the Community." When we first meet her she is standing trial for a crime she did in fact commit. She is sent to a juvenile dentition center and must stay there until her 18th birthday. While Minnow is locked away she meets Dr. Wilson and with him we see her story unravel and how her life has led up to this moment.

"'You did nothing wrong,' is what Angel says on the occasions I talk like this, but I know it wasn't normal or right what I did, and I question how it all could have happened. Not just for me, but everyone in the Community. How each of our hands went from farming and praying to hurting and killing."

You can't help but feel bad for Minnow. She's lost her hands, her family, and her love. It was interesting to read a book about a cult like this. At moments it was very graphic so if you're not used to that, beware. But for me those graphic details of Minnow losing her hands or Minnow's attack on the man in the park is what made the story so real and intense. With this story you just want to keep reading and reading so that you can piece together the puzzle of why Minnow is in jail. In a way the reader's role is the same as Dr. Wilson's who believes talking to criminals is like piecing together a puzzle. However, it takes awhile for Minnow to reveal to us and the Doctor what her story is. She vows in the beginning of the book that she will never tell the truth but by the end of the novel we see Minnow develop into a much stronger character because she has to come face her past.

"Even after months of healing, it doesn't take much to make me bleed."

While I really enjoyed learning Minnow's story and how she came to be involved in the Community, I also really enjoyed reading about Minnow's time in prison. One of my favorite characters has to be Angel, Minnow's roommate, because she is so honest and also so wise. Minnow was really able to grow as person because of Angel and her support for her. I loved their relationship.

And then there's Jude. I thought everything that happened with Jude was so sad, he broke my heart. I'm also wondering about a certain part of the book where Minnow sees him again. I don't want to spoil anyone but I don't think this is really a spoiler. I think what happened in the orchard was all in Minnow's imagination. I do not believe that Jude lived after what the Prophet and the Community did to him. Anyone else? I found that part in the orchard to be a bit confusing. Anyway, I also really liked Jude and Minnow's relationship as well but it was also heartbreaking to read about. When Jude started singing their song after what the Prophet did to him, I cried. IT WAS JUST SO SAD.

"Jude taught me what love was: to be willing to hold on to another person''s pain. That's it."

I just really loved this book. THERE'S SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT. And there's so many questions that the book leaves you wondering. The big one being the nature God and if there is God why does he let these things happen. I really enjoyed Angel's explanation of God. She believes that God is kind of like a deadbeat dad that never shows up for anything. I think she's trying to say that God created all this stuff in the word but now he's left it. He's left his creation so that we as human beings can figure it out for ourselves. I could discuss this all day because I just find it so interesting. The author did a great job of making the reader think and question certain things.

This is just an amazing book. Definitely different from most of the YA out there right now. It's a such a real story with real characters. I honestly would recommend this to everyone. When I was working at the beach this past weekend I was reading this and an older man who comes to the beach every weekend wanted to know what I was reading. And I showed him and explained to him the book and he was so interested in it. He said as soon as I returned it to the library he was going to check it out! So seriously, young or old you should read this book.

REVIEW: Saint Anything (no spoilers)

 I really enjoyed this book! Sarah Dessen has always been one of my favorite YA authors. I remember reading my first book by her way back in the 7th grade...I believe it was The Truth About Forever (great book by the way). Anyway, this recent book of hers did not disappoint! Compared to some of Dessen's other books I thought the subject matter in this one was a bit more serious and I found it really interesting to read about. I'd definitely recommend it to fans of Sarah Dessen or to anyone interested in a YA contemporary! 

"I was used to being invisible. People rarely saw me, and if they did, they never looked close. I wasn't shiny and charming like brother, stunning and graceful like my mother, or smart and dynamic like my friends. That's the thing though. You always think you want to be be noticed. Until you are." 




For Sydney's whole life her older brother, Peyton, has had their parent's attention all to himself because of his legal problems and bad behavior. The beginning of the story opens with Peyton being sentenced to prison after hitting a young boy on a bicycle while driving under the influence. Even though Sydney's brother has been sent to prison her mother's focus is still on him, which leaves Sydney alone and still invisible. Until she meets the Layla and the rest of the Chathams, especially Mac. For the first time in her life Sydney doesn't feel so invisible but she still wishes that her parents would notice her. 




"I'd done the right thing. I always did. It just would have been nice if someone had noticed." 




I connected with this book. I could really relate to Sydney and her struggle of being invisible and wanting to have some attention from her parents. I think at times we have a feeling of being invisible whether that's when we're with our parents or with friends, it's something everyone can relate to. But once Sydney jumps out of her comfort zone and connects with Layla and Mac we see her become a happier and more vibrant character. Everything that has been weighing her down with her parents, her brother, and creepy Ames starts to disappear. 




"We moved quickly, then faster still, the night and woods big and wide all around us. It was one of those moments that, even while it was happening, I knew I would remember forever, even before the ring came into view and my grasp. I didn't reach for it, though; I didn't need to. I felt like I'd already won." 




I don't think I'll be able to get through this review without mentioning creepy Ames. HOW DID HER PARENTS NOT NOTICE??? I mean I know her parents are pretty oblivious but still. Her parents really annoyed me. I think in every Sarah Dessen book I read the parents annoy me! But that's a good thing because it shows how realistic these characters are. And by the end of the book Sydney was able to understand her parents a bit more, especially her mother. Her parents love her and Peyton but they also have to deal with the fact that their son almost killed someone and they have to live with that for the rest of their lives. Although the books ends on a happy note, not everything's perfect and Sydney knows this. There's still things to work through with her brother and parents that will all come with time. 




"That was just it. You never know what lay ahead; the future was one thing that could never be broken, because it had not yet had the chance to be anything. One minute you're walking through a dark woods, alone, and then the landscape shifts, and you see it. Something wondrous and unexpected, almost magical, that you never would have found had you not kept going. Like a new friend who feels like an old one, or a memory you'll never forget. Maybe even a carousel." 




I really enjoyed this book. There hasn't been one book by Sarah Dessen that I haven't loved so if you haven't read any of her books, pick one up! Compared to her other books I thought this one dealt with a more serious issue and she wrote about it in a way that was really eye-opening. Give it a read!