Review: Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5) by Sarah J. Maas

Firstly, thanks to Bloosmbury Australia for this review copy <3



Date Read: August 30 - September 2 2016
Date Released: September 6 2016
Publisher: Bloomsbury Australia
Source: Review copy via publisher
Genre: Fantasy
My Rating: (not enough stars, Aelin rattled them all *sobs*)

Note: this review contains NO spoilers for Empire of Storms but may contain spoilers for earlier books in the series. If leaving a comment please DO NOT post any EoS spoilers, this ruins the experience for others and these comments will be deleted.

Synopsis:

"The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those don't.
As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

Aelin's journey from assassin to queen has entranced millions across the globe, and this fifth installment will leave fans breathless. Will Aelin succeed in keeping her world from splintering, or will it all come crashing down?"

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Never has a book broken me so much. Made me cry not just at one point, but made me sob incessantly at MANY parts throughout. Over the years and the amount of books I’ve read, my heart has definitely hardened so for Maas to continuously evoke such feelings and reactions from me is a feat unto itself. For Maas to continuously surprise me despite my many predictions coming to fruition? Well then.

I’m not going to waste your time telling you how much I love my Queen Aelin. Y’all have heard it a thousand and one times (and then some). BUT HOLY GODS what she did in EoS. She’s a queen in title only as we’ve seen in the past few books. She’s been an assassin most of her life, had no training to rule. And yet. AND YET. Her scheming, her planning, her sacrifices excuse me while I go cry at how she’s been forced into all of this way too young. This woman has been shoved into something she didn’t ask for, born into a bloodline and gift that isolated her, but she still manages to love so fiercely, to protect, to be loyal. How the hell can this world ask so much of her? And how does she keep giving and giving? I have no words. I just cried and cried.

This was a book about the ladies. Elide. Manon. Lysandra. So much girl power and strength. I loved all my girls so much. I AM SO PROUD OF THEM. Elide’s resolve, Manon’s loyalty, Lysandra’s willingness to do anything for her queen. Aasdlkjsfsljfsdfldshsdf *flails* each girl gets her moment in this book – many moments actually. There is this one bit where Lysandra did this thing that had me flailing all over the place and screaming and on the edge of my seat and *pants* I was just like damn you Sarah for writing such wonderful battle scenes. So the Thirteen. One particular member had me bawling my eyes out in QoS. YOU KNOW WHO. YOU KNOW WHICH SCENE. Welps it happened all over again. Yeh I’m just crying all over the shop here. All the ladies. All the love.

Okayyyy la romance. I’ll never ship it. Never can. For reasons. Buuuuuut doesn’t mean I didn’t like it. Doesn’t mean I didn’t appreciate it. I could definitely feel the love between Aelin and her significant other. Moving on because this series stopped being about the romance for me since like book 3. THERE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS PEOPLE. Like a queen battling an age old evil.

The plot thickens. If you thought SJM couldn’t possibly drop anymore bombshells (I thought I was so smart because I’ve known the direction this series would head since book 1) well… I was like WTF throughout. I may have known where the general plot was heading but then all the little pieces fell into place after what felt like SJM backhanding me I was so shocked and in so much pain. THINGS are revealed in this book. Very important things. Game changers. Events and revelations that had me reeling and crying (wow no surprise there) and going nope NOPE NOPE I REFUSE MAKE IT STOP *sobs* of course I want more. I always want more. I’m a sadist when it comes to Sarah’s books.

More blood, more feels, more battle scenes. Damn does Maas know how to write a brilliant fantasy that has her readers engrossed. I’ve loved the battle scenes that Sarah’s written throughout the series. They’re always epic. Empire of Storms though – the naval battles, the armadas, the armies that are raised – blew me away with the detail and the way the action built up and went on for pages. Had me gasping and screaming at the characters. So good. So sooooooooo good. Hatchets, knives, daggers, swords, arrows, claws, Ironteeth, jaws, and magic. Lots and lots of wonderful magic dredged up and exhausted after they’ve laid ruins at their feet.

Then the ending happened and I didn’t think I could cry anymore but NOPE SJM pulled up my tears like she had Aelin pull up those flames and I. Didn’t. Stop. Crying. For ages.

Here’s a queen who would do anything for her people. For those she loves. For her kingdom. Here’s a real queen who thinks on her feet, who considers all the possibilities. Who, because she was born into it, has been preparing all her life even at the most unlikely times, making the most out of every single damn opportunity and situation she’s thrown into. Here’s the true Queen of Terrasen who ensures that her people and her kingdom will always be safe and live on regardless. Here’s Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, the heir of ash and fire, the queen of flame and shadows, the fire-breathing bitch queen, queen of the wildfire, Fireheart, who is a force to be reckoned with. Those who try to break her don’t know her true strength and what they’re dealing with. *Flails and cries and screams and hugs Aelin and everyone*

Review: Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley

Firstly, thanks to Pan Macmillan Australian for this review copy <3



Date Read: August 15 - 20 2016
Date Released: August 30 2016
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia
Source: Review copy via publisher
Genre: Contemporary
My Rating:

Synopsis:

"This is a love story.
It's the story of Howling Books, where readers write letters to strangers, to lovers, to poets.
It's the story of Henry Jones and Rachel Sweetie. They were best friends once, before Rachel moved to the sea.
Now, she's back, working at the bookstore, grieving for her brother Cal and looking for the future in the books people love, and the words they leave behind."

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I’m not even going to deny that I’m very behind with reading YA by Australian authors. Hell I know heaps of readers overseas who have read more Australian YA than me. I’d never read a Cath Crowley book before this, but her name is one I hear often. When I heard about the concept of WiDB I knew I immediately had to have it in my life. I was also a teensy bit worried that I wouldn’t like it because Cath is so well loved. PRESSURE’S ON. I’m officially a Cath Crowley fan now. Much koala tea.

Set against the backdrop of a Melbourne second-hand bookstore where visitors can leave letters to each other in books, WiDB had such a dream-like quality. I don’t mean it was not realistic, far from it actually. But imagine stepping into a bookshop on a rainy day and there’s a fireplace inside and it’s all warm and cozy (Howling Books does not, in fact, have a fireplace – it does however, have many other awesome aspects). It’s got that glow you know? The glow of stepping into another world, another reality.

Told from dual-perspectives the book opens with our female MC Rachel as she returns to the city nearly a year after the death of her brother Cal. She can’t stand living on the coast anymore as it’s a reminder of everything she’s lost. I connected really well with Rachel. She is struggling in her grief; nearly a year after Cal’s death she questions whether she should have started to move on but at the same time how could she do that to Cal’s memory? And this is essentially what the majority of the book is about from Rachel’s POV. It affects the way she connects with people. I liked her slow and gradual growth throughout the book.

Henry though… man this guy was a piece of work. I love that he reads and he’s got a sense of humour. He’s a nice guy but my gosh his obsession with Amy was too much. She’s like on his mind 90% of the time. I wanted to slap him so many times like omg what did he see in her? So she might not be the worst being on earth but she’s not winning any girlfriend awards anytime soon. Other than her looks I couldn’t figure out what was the connection between the two. Apart from that, his appreciation of the written word is inspiring. He will read just about anything and he actually evaluates the book’s messages – perks of growing up in a family who owns a bookstore.

The secondary characters were fantastic. The exploration of familial bonds and relationships was on point. Rachel’s love for Cal was obvious in the memories she has of him. Henry’s loving relationship with his sister and parents also shone through. It’s not all rainbows and unicorns, but it’s the underlying ties that bind. There are kind and loving ex’s who still care. There are great friendships too – the friends from school but also the friendships formed from years and decades of visiting the same bookstore and connecting over a love of words. Crowley broke so many stereotypes and yes there is drama but reality is not always a soap opera.

My absolute favourite part of this book though, are the letters. THE FEELS. Crowley has interspersed WiDB with letters from the Letter Library. It’s not just leaving letters in classics and poetry (though there’s that too) – it’s underlining favourite passages in TFIOS and Anna and the French Kiss, looking for meaning in life after death in Cloud Atlas, expressing love through Great Expectations. There’s letters from basically all the characters in the book which add to the current plot, but also paints a picture of other timelines, other stories. In fact, there are a set of letters that are part of the main plot, but have a story of their own AND THEY BROKE MY HEART. I was silently tearing up in the beginning but then by the end I was outright sobbing. Beware the feels. These letters were the perfect touch and I can’t get over the perfect execution.

Words in a Deep Blue is a celebration of the written word. A tribute to the lives and memories of those we’ve lost but continue to love. Crowley’s writing is stunning in the way she uses imagery and detail to bring to life the present, but also the past, through the achingly beautiful letters that restless hearts leave for each other. When I first picked this up I was hopeful but unsure of the outcome. Turning the last page of this book I felt a great satisfaction. It’s like serendipity. I’ve also added a great amount of books to my TBR and bought a number of modern classics as a result.

Review: London Belongs to Us by Sarra Manning

Firstly, thanks to Allen & Unwin for this review copy <3



Date Read: July 25 - 30 2016
Date Released: June 2nd 2016
Publisher: Allen & Unwin/Hot Key Books
Source: Review copy via publisher
Genre: Contemporary
My Rating:

Synopsis:

"Seventeen-year-old Sunny's always been a little bit of a pushover. But when she's sent a picture of her boyfriend kissing another girl, she knows she's got to act. What follows is a mad, twelve-hour dash around London - starting at 8pm in Crystal Palace (so far away from civilisation you can't even get the Tube there) then sweeping through Camden, Shoreditch, Soho, Kensington, Notting Hill . . . and ending up at 8am in Alexandra Palace.

Along the way Sunny meets a whole host of characters she never dreamed she'd have anything in common with - least of all the devilishly handsome (and somewhat vain) French 'twins' (they're really cousins) Jean Luc and Vic. But as this love-letter to London shows, a city is only a sum of its parts, and really it's the people living there who make up its life and soul. And, as Sunny discovers, everyone - from friends, apparent-enemies, famous bands and even rickshaw drivers - is willing to help a girl on a mission to get her romantic retribution."

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Not gonna lie guys, when I read the full synopsis of London Belongs to Us I was sceptical of how Sunny would spend a whole night chasing down Mark as the blurb details – I mean how hard is one person to find when you know them and can contact them? I can 100% confirm that this book delivered as promised and it was exciting, fun, realistic and damn awesome. It's also so much more.

The book opens with our self-conscious, confidence-lacking, main character Sunny getting a photo of her (supposedly hunk) boyfriend locking lips with another girl. Poor girl is in absolute denial in the beginning then her hurt progressively grows into anger. I loved the realistic way her emotions slowly turn and the way they shape her actions in the book. Her development and growth is astonishing and I was cheering her on the whole way through. Some may think she’s being stubborn and relentless at parts, but what’s a girl to do when your whole life you’ve been trodden on like a doormat and this is the last straw? You show them what you’re made of and not to be messed with! I really admired Sunny’s determination and the way the events of the book help build her confidence.

On her adventures she’s accompanied by her best friend Emmeline, but mainly these two French boys known as the Goddards – Vic and Jean-Luc. One is a playboy, and the other seems to only know sour expressions. But like sidekicks, they follow her around London, providing comic-relief, advice and segues into more hilarious moments. There’s actually a whole cast of diverse characters that Sunny meets during her traipse through London – from drag queens, to superhero like girls, to famous band members. And yet because of the hour, the way things happen, it’s all entirely believable. I loved that each character had their purpose, had some light to shed on the situation and offer help or advice.

I adored the way Manning gives us a real local’s perspective of London nightlife. It’s not the tourist walk through Westminster, going on the London Eye and visiting Buckingham Palace. It’s the ‘burbs; London trains at night with track work, out of the way clubs, hot wings at midnight. It’s London like I would’ve never experienced on my own and Sunny certainly wouldn’t have either at that hour without her vendetta.

Romance isn’t the biggest factor in the book which I’m really grateful for. Qurrlll ain’t got time for any boys when she on her quest to kick some cheating arse! I liked the way bits of Mark’s true character are slowly revealed as the night goes on – in the beginning she thinks he’s the most amazing person on earth and that she can’t possibly deserve someone so wonderful. But as the night progresses and he never says he’s where he is, Sunny notices his flaws. Each stop along the night draws out a memory, an aspect of Mark that has Sunny reassess her earlier feelings. It was refreshing to see her head slowly come out of the clouds.

The best thing about this book is the girl power. It’s not just about one girl’s quest for revenge. It’s about her taking a stand, other girls helping her out, girls banding together in the face of pos (‘piece of shit’ for those of you who don’t know, I recently learnt the term) guys who think girls can easily be duped and are just for hook-ups.

All this, in one night. From north London to south London (and back). London Belongs to Us is an appreciation of the city and its diverse people – the way they can help a girl on a mission to right a wrong.