Backyard Bookworm

This blog is dedicated to the sharing of my thoughts and experiencing as I hunt and devour new books, and I invite you all to join me on the prowl.

[backyardbookworm]

Something Crooked This Way Comes

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT

      I’m back! After a short summer hiatus to spend time with my family and recover from being sick (an unfortunate consequence of working in an urgent care) I would like to share my review of amazing series that I read while away. The Six of Crows series was written by Leigh Bardugo and is composed of two rather lengthy installments. Six of Crows, the first book of the series, introduces us to the island city of Ketterdam and the Dregs, one of the most infamous gangs from the sleazy side of town. The leader of the Dregs is Per Haskell but the gang is truly run by Haskell’s right hand, Kaz Brekker. Kaz is hired by a merchant operating on behalf of the Kerch government to recover a man by the name of Bo Yul-Bayur from one of the most secure locations in the world, the Fjerdan Ice Court. Kaz pulls together a group to pull off the kidnapping which includes himself as mastermind and lock picker, Inej Ghafa as acrobat and spy, Wylan van Eck as demolition expert and leverage, Matthias Helvar as intelligence and Fjerdan cultural expert, Nina Zenik as healer and diversion master, and Jesper Fahey as sharpshooter and comic relief. With money and freedom on the line this unusual group embarks together to attempt the heist of the century.

      The first book, Six of Crows, follows their scheme in the Ice Court and the many, many obstacles that they encounter. Without giving everything away, and believe me this book has a few surprises hidden inside, the crew emerge from the Ice Court broken and bloodied with Bo Yul-Bayur’s son, Kuwei Yul-Bo as their only prize. They are swindled out of their reward and left reeling and trapped in their own city of Ketterdam by the end of the first book.

      The second book, Crooked Kingdom, picks up almost immediately where the first left off. After being tricked by Jan van Eck, Kaz is stuck in Ketterdam as a wanted man with no income and his elite group in shambles. Through a series of elaborate schemes and heists, Kaz and his team attempt to save Inej from a fate almost worse than death, smuggle Kuwei out of the city, and be paid handsomely for their trouble.

      I am being intentionally vauge in my description of these books because, honestly, I just want you to read them for yourselves. The plot in both books is incredibly complex and adapts at various points throughout, plans never go as expected and Kaz always has another trick up his sleeve. The characters are equally complex and very well developed. Each member of the crew has their own side story that adds rich depth and growth to the characters and the story as a whole. The people in these books are not your average protagonists; they are murderers, thieves, trickster, and rabble-rousers, they make no apologies for the work that they do and that is why I enjoyed them so much. It was refreshing to read a series that is intelligent, funny, surprising, and heart wrenching while still seeming lifelike, as though it could really happen. I loved reading these books and I would highly recommend giving them a chance!

[backyardbookworm]

Someone needs to start feeding me sweet rolls immediately.

I might have to make this my new motto.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (p.265).

[backyardbookworm]

Battle of the Bastards

                              WARNING: SPOILER ALERT

      I bought Royal Bastards as a pre-release because I was captivated by the unique plotline. The protagonist, Tilla, is the bastard daughter of the one of the lords of the land. She is raised in the palace but with few of the privileges that are afforded to her two legitimate half-sisters. The princess of their kingdom, Lyriana, comes for a diplomatic visit and chooses to sit at the bastard table with Tilla and her friends instead of with the lord and his family. Their new friendship is tested when Lyriana’s uncle is murdered by Tilla’s father and they overhear his intentions to kill the princess next.

      They escape from the castle via underground tunnels and are accompanied by Miles, the bastard son of a neighboring lord; Jax, Tilla’s non-royal half-brother; and Zell, a Zitochi warrior and a member of the land’s native tribes. Together the five of them flee from the only home Tilla has ever known in hopes of escorting Princess Lyriana home safely and preventing an all-out war. Along the way they face a number of trials, including being sold-out by childhood friends and the princess being poisoned by a giant tunnel spider. The unconventional group finally reaches the home of a lord who is still loyal to the crown and he benevolently takes them in.

      Finally safe, Tilla and Zell utilize their respite to explore their relationship. Miles, who has been secretly betrothed to Tilla, sees the two of them together and abandons his friends and sells them out to Tilla’s father. With inside information from Miles, the villains are able to infiltrate the fortress and imprison Zell, Tilla, Jax, Lyriana, and the lord of the castle, Galen. While imprisoned, Razz, Zell’s brother, visits the group to antagonize them. When Razz threatens Lyriana’ virtue Jax escapes from his bonds and knocks Razz unconscious. During the scuffle Jax is mortally wounded and dies soon after in Lyriana’s arms. Enraged by Jax’s death, Lyriana uses her powers of magic to kill Razz and the rest of the group is able to escape from the prison. During their escape, they stop to free the other mages being held captive in the castle and are confronted by Zell’s father, Tilla’s father, and Miles and his mother. Zell combats his own father and, while he is able to paralyze his father, Zell is also wounded during the exchange is and taken away by the healers. Suddenly Tilla is left on her own to face her father and in a twist of fate she uses his own weapons against him and blows the castle to bits. In the end, Tilla and Zell are saved from the destruction, healed of their wounds, and promised a safe and prosperous life with Lyriana in her kingdom for their service of returning her home safely.

        As you can see, the overall plot of the story is very creative and compelling. The author of Royal Bastards, Andrew Shvarts, is an undoubtedly intellectual individual and his intelligence is evident throughout his writing. His ingenuity shines through best in the ideas and thoughts of his characters and the harebrained plans that they concoct. I thoroughly enjoyed these surprisingly clever moments but my favorite scene from the book ended up also being the saddest. The moment when our heroes are in prison and Jax is stabbed and dies during his struggle with Razz is simultaneously painful and beautiful. The way that Shvart’s describes Jax’s death and the emotions and thoughts that Tilla has in those moments are incredibly moving. I respect the fact that Shvarts was willing to sacrifice one of his main characters for the sake of the authenticity of the story and, in this specific instance, he hit the nail on the head and captured the emotional power of the moment perfectly.

      Aside from this one highly emotional scene, the rest of the book seems lacking in emotional maturity. The interpersonal interactions between the characters seem cheesy and forced at times. He doesn’t always explain where the characters are in relation to one another or what they are doing so then a character might suddenly be kissing another one or be killing an enemy with no explanation of why or how they got to be there. It’s a small flaw, really, but it threw me off a few times in the book and generally made for confusing interactions.

      All in all, it is a very exciting and innovative story which is, unfortunately, often interrupted by awkward social interactions. I think that Shvarts has the ability to write beautiful emotional scenes between his characters and that if he had spent more time on this book that it could have been truly amazing. As it is, Royal Bastards is an exciting adventure story but not very compelling. I would recommend it to people looking for a slower paced adventure type of read instead of a captivating page turner.

[backyardbookworm]

“Alone in the hall, I fought back my tears and choked down my fear. I balled my hands into fists. I needed anger now. I needed grit,” (p.318).

Royal Bastards by Andrew Shvarts (May 2017).

[backyardbookworm]

On the Road

                                      WARNING: SPOILER ALERT

          Rock Hard Beautiful is a series written by C.M. Stunich which features three books Groupie, Roadie, and Moxie. Instead of writing a separate review for each book I decided to review all three at once so that I can move on to new books sooner. Stunich’s story is about six individuals who have endured unusual trials in their young lives and understand what it means to have pain as an integral part of their identities. Lilith Goode is the main character in the series, a girl who grew up in New York and lost both parents to cancer and whose sister was murdered. At the beginning of the book she is dealing with the loss of her family when she learns that her boyfriend has been cheating on her and that she has an STD due to his unfaithfulness. She goes to a concert called Beauty in Lies hoping to sell her tickets and earn money to go home for her father’s funeral. While there her car is broken into and destroyed and the five members of the band see her in trouble and take her in. The band members, Paxton “Pax” Blackwell, Michael “Mikey” Luxe, Derek “Muse” Muser, Ransom “Ran” Riggs, and Copeland “Cope” Park have all experienced their own traumas and are drawn to Lilith’s kindred spirit. At first she joins them on their tour as a way for her to travel to her father’s funeral in New York but soon she forms connections with each of the guys and throughout the series their relationship transforms from a sexy fling to a serious romance.

          Book one, Groupie, was probably my least favorite of the three. I tend to stay away from books with characters who are presented with a hard background. Trauma is not something that I take lightly and, when written by someone who hasn’t experienced hardship themselves, can come across as being superfluous or as though  the trauma is glamorous. While I did get that impression a little bit from this series, especially in the first book, the way that the characters each dealt with their traumas in different ways made the story seem more authentic. The primary focus of the first book was to get all of the band members on board with all dating Lilith at the same time. Michael was the last to join the group because of being in a committed relationship with his girlfriend, Vanessa. However, after he discovers that Vanessa had been cheating on him with his brother he dumps Vanessa for Lilith and doesn’t look back. I’ll admit that the concept of one girl being in a relationship with five guys was difficult for me to wrap my head around but, in the context of a steamy romance book, it was workable. Honestly, my biggest frustration with this book was the sheer magnitude of errors.

          From font size to grammar and just honest to god typos, Groupie was a mess. The second and third books in the series were much better by comparison but they too could have benefited from closer editing. Typos might not seem like a big deal but when I read a piece of published literature and come errors it is extremely distracting and diminishes my perception of the integrity of the piece. To give an example, on page 202 of Groupie Stunich uses the word “by” instead of “my;” “Why don’t you just tell her how you fucked by girlfriend to get back at me for something I didn’t do?” On page 126 of the same book, the last line is a distinctly smaller font size than the rest of the text. I am assuming that Stunich didn’t want to pay for a whole new page for one line of text but things like that make the book seem very unprofessional. In all fairness the book was self-published so that may have played into the lack of editing, however I think that self-publishing is a great way for authors to get their work out to the public and unedited books like this tend to give readers a bad impression of what self-publishing is like.

           The other two books, Roadie and Moxie were only available in eBook form but seemed to have been edited more. Roadie was my favorite of the three books because during this book is when the group’s relationship shifts from a fling to a serious relationship. Even some of the boys within the group become romantically involved, adding another dimension to the story. Moxie follows the band on their international tour and focuses primarily on Lilith and the boys confessing their love for one another and discussing what the future might hold for them. The story finishes with Lilith getting her own house in Seattle, the same place where the band members live. They all take turns visiting each others’ houses and are committed to being one making one family together and ensuring that their unusual arrangement works long-term.

          Overall, the story concept doesn’t make much sense to me. I certainly couldn’t share myself with five different guys for the rest of my life an feel like I was giving each of them the love and devotion that I would want to provide for my spouse or life partner. Likewise, I would never be ok with being one of five girls to share one man for the rest of my life; I was raised as an only child and my sharing skills haven’t leveled-up that far yet. Despite my struggle with these broader concepts, I enjoyed the books more than I expected to. Some of the characters’ stories touched my heart and endeared me to each of them them getting their Happily Ever After. Ransom specifically stole my heart. If he was a real person, my husband might have some light competition. If you aren’t afraid of graphic romance, have modest expectations for quality of writing, and enjoy the idea of multiple guys with one girl and sometimes guy-on-guy action then I would say that this series is worth a shot.

[backyardbookworm]

King of Jesters

                                  WARNING: SPOILER ALERT

         I won’t beat around the bush, I loved this book. Trick was published in November of 2015 and written by Natalia Jaster. To my understanding, she has only had two books published so far with a third due to release later this year. Considering the fact that she is a relatively unexperienced author I was floored by how much I enjoyed her work. Her writing style is poetic and captivating and her storyline is original and moving. Altogether, it is a stunningly beautiful work of literature.

           Trick’s heroine, Princess Briar, is visiting the Spring court with her mother, Queen Avalea of the Autumn court, to participate in a peace talk. While there, the Princess is taunted by the court’s infamous jester, Poet. Assuming him up to no good, Briar follows Poet out of the castle one night and into the nearby forest. Once deep within the forest, they are attacked by a wildcat and the Princess acquires a risky laceration on her leg. With no other option, Poet carries the Princess to his secret destination, his childhood home. There, not only are the secrets of his own childhood concealed, but also those of another child, Poet’s son. Nicu was born with a mental illness and was abandoned by his mother at birth, leaving only Poet and Poet’s adoptive mother, Old Jinny, to care for him. As Briar spends time with Poet and his family she begins to fall in love with the hidden facets of Poet that begin to come to light.

          Upon returning to the castle, Poet and Briar continue to meet in secret and continue their budding romance. A portion of their time together is spent plotting to contest a law that lists all individuals with mental illness, or born fools as they are called in the book, as property of the crown and therefore employable for labor, scientific experiment, and unsavory forms of entertainment. Fearing for Nicu’s future, they take a stand before the four kingdoms and attempt to have the law abolished. After negotiations during the debate fall through Poet blames Briar for their failure and in retaliation Briar mocks Nicu’s disabilities. Neither of them having meant their harsh words but not knowing how to repair their relationship, they both move on from their romance and separate.

          Soon a festival is held to celebrate the culmination of the peace talks and Nicu, upon seeing its splendor and going to investigate, and is captured. Princess Briar uses every skill that she has to keep Nicu safe while imprisoned and then barters to have him relocated to Autumn so that he can be a citizen under her mother’s gentle dominion. As a part of the trade for Nicu, Briar also tricks the royals into letting Poet transfer to the Autumn court as well, therefore safely relocating them and keeping them safe. After Briar’s hard work and sacrifice Poet forgives her for her transgressions and they are able to forge a new life together with Nicu in Autumn.

           I was apprehensive when I started the book because of the unusual use of language. It is set in a medieval fantasy world and therefore features wording reminiscent of an Old English language which would have been present in such a time period. I’ll be honest and say that there were a couple of parts that I had to read and then reread to be sure that I captrued the full essence of what Jaster was trying to convey. In addition, her writing had a very poetic flow to it which mirrored the Princess’s and the jester’s speech throughout the book. While it is possible that this style of writing might detract from the story for some readers, once I got into the meat of the story it became clear that this form of writing was not only appropriate but also carried the story in a way that let if flow seamlessly from page to page. That might sound like nonsense but trust me and read it and you’ll see what I mean, it’s beautiful.

           I also want to call out the fact that the main conflict in this story is the treatment of the born fools in their world, in our world referred to as those who suffer from mental illnesses. The majority of my college education was spent studying mental illness and how society interacts with individuals who suffer from mental illnesses. I was surprised and deeply touched, therefore,  to find myself reading a book where mental illness was not only a relevant issue but that also directly affected the main characters and was a major factor throughout the story. Some powerful statements were made regarding mental illness throughout the book, including my favorite when Poet first talks to Briar about protecting Nicu from being captured by the crown:

I couldn’t mean this more, Your Highness. I won’t let anyone take my son from me. Let no one say he’s damaged, inferior, or unworthy because his mind bends in a different way. He doesn’t deserve to be owned and ridiculed (p. 144).

          This quote sits very strongly with me because, although we do not treat individuals with mental or genetic illness with the same abhorrence which they are in the book, there are still many individuals in our society today who are ridiculed, bullied, taken advantage of, and outright imprisoned due to an illness or genetic disorder over which they have no control. As a society, we still have a long way to go to offer fair treatment and healthy living conditions for these individuals but I applaud Jaster for taking a step towards that future by highlighting the subject of mental illness in her book, a topic that most people would sweep under the rug.

           I’ll end my review by saying that this book, like every book, will not be for everyone but I would strongly encourage any mature readers to give it a try and allow themselves to be immersed in the language and message of Jaster’s book and enjoy the beautiful love story that is found within.

[backyardbookworm]

Trick by Natalia Jaster (2015) may be one of my new favorite books! Review soon to follow!

[backyardbookworm]

“Let no one say he’s damaged, inferior, or unworthy because his mind bends in a different way.”

-Natalia Jaster, Trick

[backyardbookworm]

Gift of the Goddess 2

                                       WARNING:SPOILERS

           A jumbled mess of quirks, Willa Knight is back in the second installment of Jaymin Eve and Jane Washington’s hot series, Curse of the Gods. The second book, Persuasion, is so named for the power that Yael, the second youngest Abcurse brother, possesses. It opens shortly after Willa’s soul is split into the five brothers and they are trying to teach her to control which thoughts she broadcasts to them and which she keeps private. After little success with that or being able to access her random super powers, they group is called to the arena at Blesswood for an impromptu competition before the gods.

           In the first round of challenges, Willa and Siret are called forward to race through a maze filled with traps. After completing the challenge with no less than a dozen bite marks they wait while Rome and Coen complete a similar course. After the maze runs are completed the victors are called to attend a ball in their honor where round two of the competition begins. At this ball Rau unleashes his chaos and uses it as a diversion to steal Willa away. Rau then uses Cyrus, the neutral god, to disconnect Willa’s life force and connect it to himself. During the shuffle, there is a hitch and Willa becomes attached to Cyrus and the Abcurses use the opportunity to reconnect Willa to the five of them.

          The six then return to Blesswood to find that the Dwellers are rebelling against the Sols and while attempting to intervene Willa and Emmy are both seriously injured. Willa’s healing is unusually rapid and it is then that they discover that when Rau hit her with his god bolt he made Willa into his Beta. This means that although Willa is currently a Dweller, once she dies she will become god of Chaos.

             This series continues to surprise me by how much I enjoy it. After just finishing A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas, Persuasion seemed comparatively simplistic. However, it was the light spirited banter between the characters and Willa’s cheesy internal monologues that made the book so entertaining. I often found myself smirking if not outright laughing as I read through and was craving more by the time I reached the end. I don’t know that this second book is any funnier than the first but for a light, cheesy ready both books are phenomenal.

           A with the first book of the series, Trickery, my greatest critique is regarding the overwhelming sexual tension. We are now two books into a five book series and the main characters are comprised of five super-hot male gods and one beautiful girl whose soul compels her to be in physical contact with at least one of the brothers at any given time. Considering all of that, it is baffling and so frustrating that she hasn’t slept with any of them yet. She has made out with most of them at least once, they have seen her naked, and she sleeps in their beds with them but she has yet to have actual sex with any of them and it’s killing me. I feel like the last two books have been one giant tease. So far it’s all been foreplay and I am dying to finally see some real action between Willa and one of the guys, or all of them, I’m really not picky. I understand that the guys made a pact not to engage sexually with Willa with the concern that it would upset the groups dynamic. However, at some point something has to give. If they go the whole series and don’t have an orgy at some point I am going to be severely disappointed.

           With that being said, I have hope for the future books in this series, both that they will continue to be funny and entertaining and that at some point Willa will become involved with the brothers romantically. Until the next book comes out I will wait in eager anticipation and spend my time guessing which guy Willa is most likely to end up with, so far my money is on Aros, Coen, or Siret.  

[backyardbookworm]

I can’t stop laughing while reading Persuasion by Jaymin Eve & Jane Washinton (May 2017).

[backyardbookworm]

All’s Fair in Love and War

                                  WARNING:SPOILERS

      A Court of Wings and Ruin continues to follow Feyre and Rhysand as they search for a way to disable the Cauldron and win the war against the King of Hybern. It begins with Feyre covertly manipulating the Spring Court as Tamlin’s redeemed bride. From within, she manages to win the hearts of the Spring Court, glean information about Hybern’s army, and take out two of Hybern’s key players: his niece and nephew. When Feyre returns to the Night Court Lucien, Tamlin’s former right hand, accompanies her, effectively dismantling Tamlin’s inner court.  

      After leaving the Spring Court in chaos, Feyre works hard to prepare herself for combat. She attempts to learn to fly and strikes bargains with couple of sordid monsters whom she hopes to employ during the impending battles. Meanwhile, Lucien becomes a member of the Night Court and travels to the human lands on the continent to search for the one human queen who has not sided with Hybern. Nesta trains with Armren and learns to harness powers which she stole from the Caulron while Elain learns that she is a seer and offers insight on who the key players in the war will be. Rhys, meanwhile, gains the aid of the Darkbringers, the warriors of the Court of Nightmares, and arranges a meeting between all of the High Lords in which a feeble alliance is formed.

       There are three main battles that take place: one in the Summer Court, one on the border of the Spring and Summer courts, and the final battle in the Mortal Lands. Amidst the battles, Elain is stolen away by the Cauldron and Azriel and Feyre go into the heart of Hybern’s camp to retrieve her. During this rescue attempt and other skirmishes Azriel and Cassian are both severely injured and in subpar form for the last battle.

      In the final conflict, aid comes in the form of Rhy’s long-lost friends Miryam and Drakon, the human queen Vassa, and Feyre’s own father who leads a human armada. Despite these last minute allies, their losses in the battle are great and Amren forces Feyre to unleash her true form, turning the tide of the battle. It is in that moment that the Cauldron is broken but as its very existence is tied to their world it forms a pit that begins to consume them. Feyre and Rhys join together to remake the Cauldron and in the process Rhys’s powers are spent and he dies.

       Just as Feyre was resurrected in the first book, the High Lords join together to bring Rhys back to life, with Feyre offering the final piece as High Lady of the Night Court. After the war is won and talks of a new treaty have begun, Rhys, Feyre, and the members of their court return home and enjoy the calm after the storm.

          As you can see from my overlong summary, the third book in this series by Maas was exceptionally long, just shy of 700 pages. While the book was engaging and kept my focus with its consistent action and subterfuge I was exhausted by the end. The seven book series with each book averaging at 650 pages quickly became overwhelming for me. Maas is an excellent writer. She is thoughtful and intuitive but sometimes I think that she has too many ideas and not enough spaces to execute them properly. So far only the first three books of the series have been released but in just those books she had one plot in the first book, Feyre fighting Amarantha for Tamlin’s heart, and a completely separate plot in the second and third books, Feyre and Rhys fighting the King of Hybern for the freedom of Prythian. I was honestly shocked when Kaas squeezed all of the battles into the last two-thirds of A Court of Wings and Ruin and completed the war by the end of the book. I am getting the sense that this series is not so much a series but a compilation of shorter one and two book stories all featuring the same characters and setting. That is not to say that I dislike the series but the magnitude of writing combined with the choppy storyline made me feel ready for a break by the end of the third book. I am not sure where the next part of the series will take us but I think that by the time that the next book comes out I will be ready to pick up the series again.

       While I honestly did enjoy the book, I have one other criticism that has been bothering me. As aforementioned, Azriel and Cassian were both gravely injured, and I do mean gravely, “Your guts were hanging out, you stupid prick” (p.545), but were both healed within a matter of days. Rhys drained his powers during the last battle and died but then, just like with Feyre, was resurrected by the High Lords.  I love Azriel and Cassian and especially Rhys but no one from the inner circle of characters dies and stays dead after the war. Even Amren, who scarified herself knowing that she would die, was resurrected with Rhys. I do not wish ill on any of the characters, but it makes it hard to take an all-out war seriously when the most important character who dies hasn’t even been seen since the first book, Feyre’s father. I am of the opinion that a good writer knows when to sacrifice his or her characters and a war would definitely have been an appropriate time. The lack of any significant deaths combined with the fact that they were only able to win the battle because three ally forces suddenly appeared out of nowhere, just in the nick of time, made the war seem extremely gimmicky. I think that Maas has shown that she is capable of writing amazing things and this book, especially the last battle, fell a little flat for me.

      I still look forward to the next installment as there were parts of this book that I did love, like the fact that Feyre recruited monsters for her army and the incredibly emotional scene when Rhys dies. I truly hope that Maas puts more of that type of her writing into the rest of the series.

[bookeworm94-deactivated20200223]

My advice? Bring a book. Bring a book when you have meetings, bring a book when you go walking in the park. Bring a book to a first date. You don’t have to read it, that isn’t the point. Just having it with you is enough.

Everyone needs a backup plan (via bookeworm94)

[backyardbookworm]

Tea, jewels, and a good book make me feel like High Lady of the Night Court!

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas (May 2017).

[backyardbookworm]

The Peace of Darkness

        In the second installment of Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses Series, A Court of Mist and Fury, our heroine is still reeling from her trials Under the Mountain. Feyre finds herself fractured into a new person and struggling to return to normalcy in the Spring Court where Tamlin has locked her up in his mansion and she fades away day by day. Her suffering grows such a degree that on her and Tamlin’s wedding day, instead of being married, she begs for someone to come save her. Her savior comes in the unexpected form of Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court. He spirits her away to his hidden kingdom where she is able to recover and discover the new being that she has become. Feyre beings to see Rhysand in a different light and joins his court where she is trained to be one of his elite members. With the other members of Rhys’s inner circle, Amren, Mor, Cassian, and Azriel, Rhys and Feyre race to stave off an oncoming war with the King of Hybern. The king possesses the Cauldron from which all was made and can be unmade. Feyre and Rhys collect two pieces of the Book of Breathings, one half from the Summer Court and the other from the human queens, which hold instructions for the use of the Cauldron. After recovering the pieces of the book, Amren is able to decode a phrase that will destroy the Cauldron and render its power useless. Together with their troupe, Rhysand and Feyre steal into the King of Hybern’s castle to destroy the Cauldron but are lured into a trap and captured. It then comes to light that Tamlin has been conspiring with the king and offered him assistance in exchange for Feyre’s return to the Spring Court. In order to save her friends and her sisters, who the king turned into High Fae, Feyre pretends that Rhysand had been controlling her mind the whole time and she breaks free and returns herself to Tamlin, giving everyone else the opportunity to escape. Feyre and Rhysand, who are mated, are able to communicate over long distances through their bond and the second book ends with Feyre preparing herself to act as an undercover spy for Rhys in the Spring Court.

        I really enjoyed this book; I loved the knock-your-socks-off surprises throughout and I especially loved the dramatic ending. The first two thirds of the book focus on Feyre’s character shift. She changes love interests, from Tamlin to Rhys, and court allegiances, from Spring to Night, and her personality shifts as well, from needing a protector and safety to longing to be treated as an equal and becoming someone who will be a key asset in the coming war. The two most critical changes that Feyre undergoes is the development of her powers and the shift in her relationship with Rhys.

        Feyre possesses traits of each of the high lords who resurrected her in the second book. She hones these new skills to accomplish a number of amazing feats including protecting the hidden city of Velaris from an attack from the King of Hybern. During this battle, Feyre begins by creating wolves out of water which then transform into water eagles and mount an aerial counterattack before finally turning to ice around the invaders and freezing them to death. The entire battle scene was phenomenal and captured Maas’s ability to create vivid images with her writing.

        The second major development, Feyre’s romance with Rhys, was slow at times to the point of being painful. I honest to god started liking Rhys more than Tamlin in the end of A Court of Thorns and Roses. In that book it was Rhys who healed her when she was injured and fought for her when she was dying, not Tamlin. Throw in the fact that he was handsome, funny, and clever and I was a goner. Therefore, the fact that Feyre spends more than half of the book struggling to get over Tamlin before allowing herself to be romantic with Rhys, while respectable, was agonizing. Maas made up for the delayed romance by then writing an entire chapter of sex scenes featuring the couple after Feyre agrees to be Rhy’s mate, that’s chapter 55 for anyone who is interested. In all seriousness though, I adore Feyre and Rhys together and think that they are the perfect match. They are both clever, funny, powerful, and absolutely dedicated to the ones that they love. With Rhys and Feyre now separated I am wonder if the romantic aspect will be lacking in book three of this series, A Court of Wings and Ruin. I suppose I’ll just have to read it and let you know.

         If I had to give one true critique about this book it would be its size. Coming in at 626 pages and 2” thick, yes I really did measure it, this book is gargantuan. I personally don’t mind long books but the sheer size of it seemed daunting at times and the fact that I couldn’t fit it in my purse was a real-life struggle. I will note that the next book in the series has 699 pages but is somehow thinner. I think that this has something to do with the page material but I’ll leave you to solve that mystery for yourselves.

         Overall, I very much enjoyed this book and especially liked the characters in this second installment more than in the first. I would have appreciated if there was more romance and action throughout the book, not just in the last third or so, but I would still count this book as a success and encourage mature, young adult fiction readers to give it a try. Obviously read book one first, you heathens.

[backyardbookworm]

Just finishing A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas; the new characters in the Night Court have stolen my heart.

[tayintheknight]

I really love books with maps because you know shit is about to go down if there’s a map.

[backyardbookworm]

Tale as Old as Time

          Some of my favorite books are inventive retellings of classic fairytales. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, for instance, is based off of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White and absolutely stole my heart the first time that I read it. Similarly, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas borrows inspiration from a classic, Beauty and the Beast, and takes the story to a whole new level. The protagonist, Feyre, kills an oversized wolf while hunting in the forest near her home one evening and sets into motion a series of events that will alter the world. Unbeknownst to her, the wolf was a faerie traveling in disguise and soon another faerie appears and confronts Feyre and demands reparation for the murder. Feyre chooses to live out her life as a prisoner to the avenging faerie, Tamlin, and live with him in the faerie realm. Despite their differences, Feyre and Tamlin grow accustomed to each other and soon a romance develops. After realizing that his world is too dangerous for the woman that he loves, Tamlin sends Feyre back to the mortal realms. After trying to return to life as a human, Feyre recognizes that her place is with Tamlin and she goes back to the faerie realm to be with him. Upon returning there, she discovers that Tamlin and his people where taken captive by the high queen, Amarantha. Feyre travels to Amarantha’s fortress and strikes a bargain with the queen in which Feyre must either complete three challenges of Amarantha’s choosing or solve a riddle in order to free Tamlin and his court. Each new trial that Feyre faces leaves her permanently altered and at the end she learns that winning may not have meant what she thought it did.

           This book blew my socks off! The first couple of chapters seemed a little choppy and awkward but once the characters were established Maas found her groove and delivered an absolutely beautiful, well written story. There were only a couple of parts that were predictable and therefore disappointing, like the answer to Amarantha’s riddle. The rest of the book was very well developed and engaging. In addition to overall being an exciting and thoughtful book, there were a couple of parts that really took it above and beyond and made it spectacular. For example, I have never been a huge fan of the term “mating,” it seems to have a very primal and animalistic quality about it that makes it seem forced. I much prefer a consensual and informed idea of love where both parties are aware of their connection and don’t feel bound to each other only because of some physiological or magical power. Maas showed me a different interpretation of the term, she writes the mating bond as being romantic and an even more emotional and profound experience than a conventional marriage.

“High Fae mostly marry,” he said, his golden kin flushing a bit. “But if they’re blessed, they’ll find their mate—their equal, their match in every way. High Fae wed without the mating bond, but if you find your mate the bond is so deep that marriage is…insignificant in comparison,” (175-176).

          A Court of Thorns and Roses is filled with beautiful little moments like this: moments where the author shows the reader a new point of view or where the she answers a question that she intuitively knows the reader has in their mind. She balances poetic writing with intelligent storyline and creates a story that sticks to your heart and leaves you wanting more. I would highly recommend this book to any reader above the age of thirteen who loves fiction. It is a beautiful blend of comedy, adventure, romance, and magic; a story that I am sure I will read again and again in the coming years.