Book Review: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas

***Review contains spoilers. Read at own risk.*** 

book review: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas 

Rating: 4.5 stars 

Summary: 

The Queen has returned. 

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she’s at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past . . . 

She has embraced her identity as Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. But before she can reclaim her throne, she must fight.

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die for her. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen’s triumphant return.

Review: 

Wow. So what can I say about Queen of Shadows? For starters, this book was fricking huge. It took me almost an entire week to finish reading it (and considering how fast I read the first 3 books, that was something). 

I will admit that those first 20 or so chapters were a little bit rough. Everyone felt a bit out of character for me. It was like Ms. Maas had taken too much time off from her world, and getting back into it was a bit rocky. By the end of Part One, everyone felt mostly back in character (plus, Rowan returned so that made everything so much better. Go Rowaelin!) 

This is a mammoth of a book. It’s pretty hard to break it down without going spoiler-y. But I will try for the sake of a decent review...

So the beginning has Aelin returning to Adarlan, without Rowan (insert sad face here), and meeting Chaol, Arobynn Hamel, Aelin's former Master, and Nesryn Faliq (Nesryn is amaze-balls btw). Chaol is very asshole-ish towards her in the first few opening chapters, so you’re not going to like that very much if you’re on Team Westfall. But he gets his head out of his ass soon enough (thank GOD). 

Anyway, so Dorian, my baby and light of my life, has an awful demon prince living inside of him, and Dorian's chapters are mostly about 2 pages long and show how he is trying to fight the creature but can't. Dorian's chapters were really sad and it broke my heart. Meanwhile, Aedion is imprisoned and awaiting execution, but Aelin, Chaol and basically all of Team Fireheart are planning to get him out. 

The Ironteeth witches (Manon is so awesome, btw. Totes my fave character here; say one bad word about Manon Blackbeak and I will cut you) are in some mountains called Morath dealing with Dick Perrington (sorry, Duke Perrington. My bad). Perrington is evil as usual and Manon starts to question her duties. She doesn’t like being questioned by her Thirteen, though so when Asterin, her second, starts to talk back she replaces her with Sorrel. Manon meets Elide, who’s the daughter of that lady (Marion?) who saved little Aelin’s life ten years ago, and she thinks Elide is a spy but it turns out that Elide is actually a Blackbeak somehow and so Manon claims her as one of her own and so that happens. Elide is a really cool character, too.

Other new characters include Nesryn, Lysandra and Evangeline, who are totally wicked by the way. Nesryn is super badass and doesn’t take anyone’s shit (you go Nes!) and Lysandra is a prostitute but she’s still a really cool character and sacrificed her own freedom for Evangeline, who’s a child (Lysandra also has a secret but I’m not going to reveal that until later.) 

Arobynn Hamel is a complete fucking dick and I wanted to punch something every time he came on page. But aye, whatever. Dude gets what’s coming to him eventually.

Rowan finally returns about half-way through part 1 and I literally did a happy dance because it no longer feels like the Throne of Glass series without him. Although he’s pretending to be human and it really sucks for him so it’s funny to watch him suffer a little (although it’s also like really sad because how can Maas let my baby suffer?!). 

So anyway, Team Fireheart does some Sh*t and some things blow up. Manon and Aelin eventually meet (YAY!!) and nearly kill each other (NOT YAY) but decide they could be helpful to each other and blah blah. (I totally loved Manon’s internal monologue during this scene btw it was hilarious.) 

Team Fireheart ends up in Rifthold (although Rowan gets injured so they have to wait for him to heal a bit, and my poor baby... Maas why you so evil? What did Rowan do to deserve being beat the Sh*t out of? Is this payback for the first couple training sessions with Aelin in Heir of Fire? That is so not fair, man) to try and rescue Dorian, although at this point Aelin is almost positive that the only way they will “rescue” Dorian is to kill him, not that she’s not going to try and actually save him.

Anyway the whole book ends on a pretty good note and I’m really excited to see how book 5 plays out. It’s going to be one hell of a ride, that’s for sure. I am especially excited to see more Rowaelin scenes ;) 

I thought the book was action-packed with a few steamy scenes. I really liked the scene just before they go to Rifthold and Aelin says to Rowan “Let’s go rattle the stars”, as a tribute to Dorian even though Rowan doesn’t get (I dont think) the hidden meaning behind the words.

I am certainly looking forward to more of Sarah Maas' work, and I will be eagerly anticipating book 5. 

#TeamFireheart4theWin 

 

Book Review: The Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons

Date Read: April 2015 

Book Description:

(The Handmaid’s Tale meets Blood Red Road in Glass Arrow, the story of Aya, who lives with a small group of women on the run from the men who hunt them, men who want to auction of their breeding rights to the highest bidder. 

In a world where females are scarce and hunted, then bought and sold at a market for their breeding rights, 15-year-old Aya has learned how to hide. With a ragtag buncho of other women and girls, she has successfully avoided capture and eked out a nomadic but free existence in the mountains. But when Aya’s luck runs out and she’s caught by a group of businessmen on a hunting expedition, fighting to survive takes on a whole new meaning.

My Rating: 3 stars

Thoughts: 

“The Glass Arrow” was fairly good, if a little slow at times. I liked Aya. She was very different from many other dystopian heroines, and was able to hold her own. Most heroines are really played up, and yet when the time comes for kickassery, they fall short and prove not to be badassses after all. I didn’t find that with Aya, and it was refreshing. 

The love-interest is named Kiran. What I liked about this book is that romance is not a main part in it, except maybe in the last quarter or so. Aya’s relationship with Kiran is about their connection to each other, and it is a connection that goes way beyond the cliche “omg he’s gorgeous, let’s make out even though we barely know each other and we have more important things to worry about then how fast we can take our clothes off”. Again, very refreshing. 

Kiran doesn’t speak for the first half of the book, which sort of annnoyed me at first, because there would be pages and pages where Aya would just keep talking and talking, and there would be no reply from Kiran and it just felt like there was too much time spent having Aya talk to herself. It bothered me, but I got used to it eventually.

The one thing that I did like about the book was that the setup was very medieval-y. It was interesting, and different from other dystopian worlds. 

I also LOVED Brax, Aya’s dog/wolf companion. I will admit that I did shed a few tears when Brax’s soul moved on.

Overall, “The Glass Arrow” was an interesting read. I read it on my Kobo, and if I remember correctly, it took me about two or three days to get from start-to-finish. Which is not bad, since this book is packed with lots of interesting things. At first, I was surprised that there was not a sequel, but it made sense as the book is SOO long. The book left off at a decent place. I would kind of like to know what happens to Aya and Kiran later (Perhaps an epilogue novella will be written?) but the ending was alright and didn’t leave me with major questions. Everything was mostly resolved at least, which was good. So many books without sequels just end with huge questions and no resolve. Another refreshing thing about The Glass Arrow. 

Anyway, it was interesting and a nice change from the usual dystopia. 

Library Haul: 07/24/15

It’s been a long time since I posted, and I apologize. I’ve been really busy these last few months and to be totally honest, I didn’t see a point in posting. Sometimes, it feels like my posts aren’t being seen at all so it felt like a waste of time for me, 

I am back, however, from my temporary hiatus with a new book-related post! I went to the library on Friday afternoon in desperate need of a new book (or six) to read. I found several books that had been on my TBR list for quite a while but I had not been able to find them anywhere and didn’t feel like spending they money on them at the time. 

So, without further ado, here is my July library book haul: 

(Library haul stack) 

Mortal Heart (His Fair Assassin Book 3) by Robin LaFevers, is the book open on the top. As you can see, I’m already half-way through that one. 

The Falconer by Elizabeth May is right below it. I have a cousin-in-law with the same name, but it’s definitely not her. This one’s been on my TBR list for a few months now, since I first heard about it. 

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey is wildly popular, and is being made into a movie, I believe. I wanted to read the book before that happened, but hopefully it’s as good as people say. There must be something good about it if people are gushing so much, but I often find that I don’t like the books that are so crazy popular. 

Dissonance by Erica O’Rourke has also been on my TBR list since I first heard about it on Goodreads. It’s Sci-Fi-ish, which is not my cup of tea, but I’m interested in seeing what it’s about because it’s supposed to be “unique”. Last summer I read Elusion, which was supposed to be unique and great and I ended up hating it, so I’m hoping it’s not another one of those. 

Waterfall (Teardrop, Book 2) by Lauren Kate. Don’t let the authors past novels fool you into thinking this book sucks. Kate’s writing has much improved, though it still needs maturing a bit. Still, Waterfall is a sequel and while Teardrop was interesting, I’m hoping Kate is able to keep me interested with the second book.

Elegy (Watersong, Book 4) by Amanda Hocking. This is the final book of the Watersong series, and I’ve held off reading this for fear that it will disappoint me. I feel Amanda’s writing is often too rushed, but I hope she doesn’t rush the end of this series. The Watersong series has been really unique and interesting, and is a great summer read for those looking for an interesting and still sweet book to read at the beach. 

So, there you have it! My July library book haul! :)

Currently Reading: Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers, Page 263. 

Recently Finished: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling, & The Stars Never Rise by Rachel Vincent 

 

Travel Tips for Teens

Summer is on its way, and that means you might end up spending long hours in a car or on a plane if you’re heading to any special destinations this summer. As a teenager with younger siblings I know it can get rather uncomfortable and boring when you’re stuck in the back of a van for 3+ hours. Here’s some of my helpful tips.

1. Do not loose patience. It is very easy to get annoyed when you are stuck in a car for several hours, especially if you have younger siblings. But try to keep your cool and remember that you will get there when you get there. 

2. Make sure you use the bathroom before you leave and at any oppurtunity you get while on the road, even if you don’t need to go. The last thing you need is to be driving down a busy highway and all of a sudden you need to pee. Also try to use the bathroom when you’re in towns where there are fast-food places, etc. It is the absolute worst when you’re driving through a pretty dead area and there are no gas stations or fast-food restaraunts to use the bathroom. My number one rule is USE THE BATHROOM. And for girls, when you’re on your period and traveling, you might want to wear the extra-thick pads or a tampon so that you don’t leak through (Traveling on your period SUCKS; also remember to take any pills for cramps BEFORE you leave so that they’re working while you’re in the car).

3. Take a drink. Do not leave this behind, because you will regret it. Luckily my Mom takes our drinks so I usually don’t have to worry about not having one, but definitely MAKE SURE you have one. It’s also handy to have a few snacks in your own carry-on bag that way you can grab as needed. 

4. Make sure all of your devices are fully charged. If you plan on being on your phone 99% of the trip you definitely need to make sure it’s charged. Also have extra chargers handy. I have an extra-long cord for my Iphone/Ipad that will be extremely helpful this summer, and I’m planning on getting one of those portable chargers so that I can still charge my device when someone is using the other plug. 

5. Bring headphones. Even if you don’t listen to music, these are GREAT for blocking out noise if you plan on catching a few ZZZ’s on the go. 

6. If you are planning on catching a few ZZZ’s, bring a pillow. If you’re only traveling for a day-trip and won’t need your pillow, or you’re going to a hotel where pillows are available, bring a small throw-pillow if you don’t want to drag your larger one along. If you don’t have access to one of these, bring a sweatshirt to roll up and lay on. I also recommend bringing a neck pillow so you don’t get a kink in your neck if you have to sit in the passenger seat or can’t fit your pillow, etc.  

7. Pack a small carry-on bag with whatever you want to bring along so you don’t get bored. Books, iPad/tablet, Ereader, iPod, etc. Will list my essential items after this list is completed. 

8. Do NOT overdress. If you plan on driving in the summer and it’s likely going to be hot, especially if you’re driving mid-morning/afternoon, don’t put on too many layers. For cooler days I recommend capris and a T-shirt, with a light-sweater. You can bring a small blanket to cover your legs/arms if you get cold, or wear a sweatshirt, etc. It is definitely warm when you’re sitting in a car for 3+ hours and you’re all cramped up, so don’t over dress. On days it’s hot, wear a T-shirt/tank top and shorts/skirt. 

9. Make sure you have deodorant. As I said, it will be hot in the car, so you will sweat, and that is yucky. Bring a small deodorant in your carry-on and apply when necessary. 

10. Bring wet wipes or a wet wash cloth. If it’s really hot and you start feeling sick, a cold cloth against your forehead always helps cool things down.

Tip 8—don’t overdress: my ideal outfit for travelling 

Things To Pack In Your Carry-On (Teen Girls)

1. Electronic devices (phone, ipod/mp3 player, ipad/tablet, e-reader, camera, etc.) 

2. Extra charger/batteries for camera, etc.

3. Book/magazines to read

4. Small binder/journal and pencil case w/pencils or markers to doodle in (I also use the binder/journal as a surface for typing on my

Ipad)

5. Refillable water bottle with favourite drink. I recommend bringing 2 water bottles. One with just plain water (you can bring packets of water flavour if you like) and one with soda etc. 

6. Snacks 

—Granola bars

—Ziploc Baggie of Favourite Chips and/or cookies, etc. 

—Fruit (apples and oranges)

—Carrots/red or green peppers/cucumbers/celery sticks, etc. with small container of dip (dip can be stored in a cooler if you have one available, or you can leave the dip behind)

—Ziploc Baggie of Popcorn 

7. Pads/Tampons (even if you’re not on you’re period, you should always have these things just in case) 

8. Extra pair of underwear (I usually don’t need them, but sometimes you can sweat down there and when you arrive at your destination it’s nice to change into a pair of non-sweaty, clean underwear) 

9. Hand sanitizer & deodorant (explained above)

10. Brush and hair elastics—if you tend to have flyway hair, you may want to brush it when you get to wherever you’re going, or even brushing it if you’ve got bedhead from sleeping in the car

11. Chapstick & handcream—these come in handy on hot summer days especially if you’ve got dry skin like I do

12. Kleenex (YOU MUST HAVE THESE)

13. Wallet (to carry any spending money and your debit card, ID, etc.)

14. Sunglasses 

Well, that’s all for now!! Here’s to a summer full of adventure!!

Ps. Special thanks to the Polyvore app, which I used to create the above photos. 

 

DIY: Paint Strip Bookmarks

Last week, I spotted these really cute paint strip card bookmarks on Pinterest. They were so adorable, unique, and I had so many of those paint thingies that you pick up at Home Depot & Walmart in the paint section that I just HAD to try it! 

Unfortunately there is no link to the original version, but here is what it looked like: 

The Original Version

What You Will Need

-Hole Puncher

-Ribbon

-Paint Strip Cards in any colour

-Stencils in your favourite design (or you can draw your design, like I did)

What To Do:

If you like, cut your paint strip card in half so that the name of the paint does not show and discard the other side. Once you have your strip ready, punch a hole in the centre of the top. 

After you punch the hole, pull a piece of ribbon (preferably a small piece, just long enough that the ribbon shows at the top of whatever book you put it in) through the hole and then tie it. Remember it doesn’t have to look perfect! 

Next, if you have the stencil you want to create on your bookmarks, follow the instructions on the stencil (I’ve never done anything like that before so I can’t tell you how to use it! Sorry!) and then copy it onto your bookmark/strip card. If you prefer you can draw on your strip with a Sharpie or coloured pens using your own design or you could just leave it plain. 

And there you have it! A simple easy craft that puts to use those cards you get whenever you’re looking for new paint colours (or, if you’re like me, you just grab the colours you like because you know, for later). Plus, you save a lot of money not having to buy $4 bookmarkers with these, which is always a good thing! 

Here is what mine looked like 

I'm no artist, but I tried my best!! If you can’t read it properly, the green one on the end by the pink says “Jesus Loves Me”. I made a bunch of them so I just showed my favourites. :D 

Stay tuned for more DIY projects. Next time I am thinking I might try something just a little more complicated! 

DIY: Cute Medicine Box

Because I have Tetrology of Fallot (a heart condition) and Fibromyalgia, I have to take a lot of pills just to get through the day. Up until now, I was keeping my various pill bottles in a simple plastic container that fit perfectly on my bookshelf, but I decided that it needed a bit of sprucing up, shall we say. So I found a square sheet of scrapbook paper in a pattern that I liked, measured it and then cut it until it fit perfectly. 

Here are some pics 

scrapbooked up box (did not take “Before” picture! sorry!?)

Side view of box (Look how pretty it is!)

Box finished, with cute jars to store pills

The Finished Product :)

So as you can see I used the leftover scrapbook paper to make labels for the cute jars that I put my pills in. The biggest jar is a small mason jar, and the “label” is around the middle of the lid so you can’t really see it. The black and red jars that are on either side of it are what I think are called spice jars, and the other is just a very small box with white lid (meant to hold dice, etc.). All of the jars were bought from the dollar store, including the container they sit in. Ignore the  small white bottle.

Anyway, this was just meant to make my pills a little bit more “Fun” rather than just boring and ugly. I really enjoy the finished product and can’t wait to do more in the future!! :D Hope you also enjoyed it, and stay tuned because there is plenty more where that came from (I blame Pinterest, really!)

 

Book Review: The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan & Maureen Johnson

Book Summary: 

It’s not easy being Magnus Bane. As a warlock, he’s often called upon to fix the problems of others. His life has been long, and his loves have been many. And Magnus has a way of making sure he’s at the right place—or perhaps wrong—time. The French Revolution, Prohibition, the great blackout of New York City, the first great battle between Valentine and the New York Institute. . . Magnus was there, and usually in the middle of it. But smuggling Marie Antoinette out of France is nothing compared to loving a vampire like Camille Belcourt—or having a first date with Alec Lightwood. 

Though Magnus’s tale is far from over, these stories shed a little light on his often instructable character. What happens when an immortal warlock goes mad? Are all Herondales as problematic as Will? (Answer: Yes). What exactly happened at the Hotel Dumort? How did Raphael Santiago become a vampire? What do you buy for your Shadowhunter boyfriend when you’re not officially dating? And why was Magnus banned from Peru? 

Magnus will never be able to tell all of his tales. No one would believe him. But here are eleven stories that fill in some of the blanks—stories he probably wishes had never gotten out.

My Rating: 4 stars 

My Review: 

“The Bane Chronicles” was whimsical, funny and definintely intriguing—just like the main character itself, Magnus Bane. If you’ve read the Mortal Instruments and/or The Infernal Devices, then the stories in this book will help you to understand him a bit more. Magnus is... well, magnificent (pun totally intended). He’s charming, funny, often insane, usually over-dramatic, and well... what else can I say? He’s my absolute favourite character in both Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices. The things he gets himself into had me shaking my head at several points. 

I really enjoyed learning more about the background of my favourite character. Even if he wasn’t my favourite, I probably would’ve loved this book anyway. I found that “What Really Happened in Peru” (the story that opens the book) sort of dragged at first, but it was fun. I really enjoyed “Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale” (which tells the story of Will’s father). But by FAR my favourite stories in this book were “Saving Raphael Santiago” (made me even tear up at several points), and “The Course of True Love [And First Dates]” and, “What To Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything (And Who You’re not ofiically dating anyway). 

Magnus’s history is so very vast, it would need several different books like this to even come close to telling all of Magnus’s tales. I would really like to know what it was like for Magnus in the first several years after the events of his childhood, though I can’t imagine they were pleasant. I really liked the relationships between him, Ragnor and Catarina. I also enjoyed seeing Tessa & Will in “The Midnight Hier”, as well as again in “The Last Stand of the New York Institute” (Also loved little Clary and Tessa moment in here as well.) I believe this might be why Tessa seems familiar to Clary when she first sees her in City of Glass. Also, the mention of Jem “I know a Silent Brother who will keep any secret, if I ask him to” kind of made me break inside all over again. My heart always breaks whenever Jem is mentioned. Seeing him in “The MIdnight Heir” just made me cry. 

There is so much of Magnus to know, and these stories only barely touch the surface. “The Bane Chronicles” is deliciously wonderful, though. I want more Magnus! (I’m really hoping to see him the Dark Artifces, and I can’t wait to see him in Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy). I love Magnus, and I miss him already even though I just finished this book. 

All in all, The Bane Chronicles is definitely a must-add to your growing Shadowhunter collection. I would say that while they are each stand-alone stories and do not have to be read in order, it is definitely necesary to have read The Infernal Devices FIRST, before beginning the Bane Chronicles. There is a lot of stuff from that time period that you will not understand unless you read The Infernal Devices, the mentions of Jem, Will & Tessa, etc. You could possibly get by reading it without having read The Mortal Instruments, though the bits with the Circle & everything to do with Alec will end up being confusing, though you could probably follow along. I still recommend reading both series first before you go reading The Bane Chronicles, else you will end up extremely confused and you just won’t appreciate the deliciousness that is Magnus Bane. (Not that Magnus is something to eat, I’m just referring to his sexiness when I say “delicious”.) 

Magnifcent. Suberb. Wonderful. Absolutely delightful. A MUST READ. 

Side note: I am very pleased to say that I have completely finished ALL of Cassandra Clare’s works that are available to date, including the Shadowhunter’s Codex. This is one of my highest accomplishments. I have finished (devoured might be a better word for it) The Infernal Devices, The Mortal Instruments, The Shadowhunter’s Codex, & The Bane Chronicles, and now I have nothing left of Cassie’s to read. Alas, I must retire to Fanfiction.net, where I must be satisfied with occasionally decent stories featuring the Shadowhunters. I have not succumbed to writing my own, though I have been tempted (especially during that torturously long way between City of Lost Souls, Clockwork Princess, and City of Heavenly Fire). 

This little Shadowhunter is off to bed, where she may dream about being as fabulously dressed as the Magnificent Bane.