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emthinks · 8 years ago

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A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Honestly speaking, I feel like I expected too much from this book. I don’t say this to be mean. Far from it: I think it was 100% my fault. I’d just finished Empire of Storms and was desperate to get more of Sarah (especially after having binged all of the currently published ToG in like three weeks) and I’d put all my hopes and dreams onACoTaR. And while this book delivered for the most part, it’s still Book One and I’m not used to a new heroine.

Rating: 9/10

Warning: Throne of Glass spoilers up to (and including) Queen of Shadows

My notes (as condensed from my iPad)

Feyre’s family is shit. They just let her go out to hunt by herself all day and provide for them and chop wood and do all the dirty work and don’t even care about her dirty clothes or worn shoes. You gotta leave girl. They ain’t worth your time

Ooh. Warnings about faeries from mercenary. Not good

Damn Feyre. You skinned this guy’s friend. No wonder he’s pissed

Okay. Live in faerie world. Prythian. You can do that. At least you’ll survive

The Spring Court. Nice. Empty, but nice. Ish.

Hey! Lucien reminds me of Mad Eyed Moody. One eye that swivels around and all.

Okay, Feyre, you need to get one thing into your thick skull: stop trying to plead your case to Tamlin. I hate how she’s so one-track minded and so focused on getting back to her shittyass family. Yes, you made a vow to your mom, but how hard are you going to try to keep it? They’re fine. Stop asking Lucien. Stop.

Oh, are you still not listening? The puca was going to fucking devour you because you wanted to see your father. Jfc. I can’t deal with this right now, Feyre.

And then she goes and catches a Suriel to demand answers. Yay, you’re strong, but seriously, Lucien? You’re just going to let her do this?

And this is why. The gods damned naga are here.

And Tamlin had to save you. Feyre, you’re so useless

Ooh, finally, a lighthearted bit: Tamlin writing limericks to Feyre’s words. Hysterical

And then, in the middle of the night, a faerie comes stumbling in. Torn of his wings. Damn

To counteract that, the next chapter, we go on a picnic with Tamlin and Lucien. And this scene spawns my favorite quote: “He also said you like being brushed, and if I’m a clever girl I might train you with treats.”

And we also go swimming in starlight. Which is always a nice plus

And then it’s Calanmai. Fire Night. Feyre, why don’t you listen for once? There’s a reason Lucien and Tamlin insisted you lock yourself up. Yes, Mr. McHotty saved you (which I totally think is going to come into play later) but seriously. Tamlin was a fucking savage animal

The next party is the Summer Solstice. Which Feyre is apparently allowed to attend

And this just snowballs into a Tamlin/Feyre romance, mushy gooey-eyed shit

Oh wait. No more fluff. Apparently, Mr. McHotty is named Rhysand. And he’s the High Lord of the Night Court. Oh shit

And Tamlin sends her away. What. Feyre, why are you agreeing to this? Feyre, stand up for yourself. Feyre!

Feyre goes back to the mortal world. Where her family is now living in a manor and Elain and her father are happy as happy can be. But Nesta. Nesta remembers. Nesta was the worst, yet Nesta remembers. Nesta is automatically my favorite now

Thankfully, Feyre doesn’t stay long. Clare Beddor. Her family was murdered. Feyre goes back.

And learns the truth: that the blight is not so much a blight as a faerie. The general Amarantha to the King of Hybern. She’s been ruling Prythian for over forty-nine years and has subjected all the High Lords. She wants Tamlin, though, and made a bargain. For all these years, Tamlin has sent his sentries and friends out to get slaughtered by a human girl so she can then fall in love with him. Wow. Sadistic.

So Feyre goes to find this Amarantha. Because it’s all her damn fault that she didn’t say I love you.

Under the Mountain is shit. She’s given three tasks and a riddle. The tasks nearly kill her each time. (Is it just me, or is this very Harry Potter-esque?)

Lucien can’t heal her after the giant worm debacle, so she makes a bargain with Rhysand for her beloved. Thank God, because she can’t read and would’ve been severely fucked for the second task if not for Rhysand’s bond.

The third task broke me. She has to kill three faeries. She gets through one and two – barely – by holding onto the thread of hope that this was for the greater good. And to free Tamlin. And then number three is Tamlin. Because the Tamlin beside Amarantha is the Attor in disguise. Fuck.

Fortunately, Feyre figures out the riddle: Love.

Unfortunately, Feyre is fucked anyways because while Tamlin and the Spring Court are released of their bonds, in the ensuing fight, Feyre – get this – dies

She is then resurrected as Fae by the Seven High Lords. Which. Okay good, because otherwise the story can’t continue

And then they all go home. Happy ever after?

I don’t think so.

“But I gave myself again to that fire, threw myself into it, into him, and let myself burn.” – Feyre

The Characters:

Feyre. Feyre, I must admire. Feyre, unlike most of Sarah’s characters, is not a warrior, but she can hold her own and she will go down swinging. I think Feyre’s strongest skill set is her determination and strength, how she doesn’t back down from a challenge. Unfortunately, this admiration of mine does not stop me from continuously comparing her with Aelin. Which is bad. Because even if they are both the main characters to Sarah’s books, their situations are vastly different. First off, Feyre is a mere peasant and mortal, while Aelin is half-Fae and the rightful Queen of Terrasen. Like, their situations are so far off, and yet, sometimes, I think I forgot that. I forget that Feyre, despite knowing how to hunt, was not trained in the deadly arts of assassination and politics. I forget that Feyre does not know how to charm and scheme her way out of things. And this temporary lapse of confusion, I must admit, is especially common when Feyre was struggling or near death. I was always expecting her to suddenly come up with a plan (especially with the first task and the worm, which actually only served to reinforce that expectation) that during her second task I was wondering how she was going to do this. That’s another thing: Feyre is (basically) illiterate. And Aelin is, obviously, not. And while I love Feyre’s paintings, I kept on waiting for her to learn to read. I nearly wanted to hit her upside the head when she refused Tamlin’s offer to teach her.

Speaking of Tamlin, what do we think of him? All the members of the Spring Court wore masks for the most of the book, so we couldn’t get a good gauge on his appearances. Still, he was pretty enough and he seemed seriously nice. Like, awkwardly nice. It was adorable how Tamlin is like “you look…better than before” and Feyre is wondering if that was a compliment. Lol.

If you could read all my notes/commentary throughout the book about Rhysand, it would literally just be (in chronological order): “ooooh hottie”, “oh wait what he’s a High Lord? Damn. Like Tamlin”, “oh hell no he ain’t like Tamilin at all what a bastard”, “wait he’s fucking Aedion, whore and all. Maybe he’s actually good?”; “wait he actually is! He’s just hiding it really well. Like Aedion”; “and he has a tragic backstory too”; “he’s doing all of this for his people”; “and he actually helped Feyre”; “Rhysand is our friend!”

Alis is another character who reminds me of someone in ToG: Celaena’s servant. Philippa, I think was her name. One of my favorite quotes is for her: “Dead chickens, my sagging ass. All you needed to do was offer it a nice robe.”

Lucien was an asshole. Until he wasn’t. I don’t remember the particular moment he became my favorite character, but it definitely happened at some point. Perhaps around the same time Feyre and Tamlin kept on making gooey eyes at each other and Lucien just couldn’t stand it anymore. Granted, neither could I so I totally feel you bro. He’s like muttering to the Cauldron to spare him and saying he’s trying to eat and just being a great annoying best friend who’s cockblocking you.

Is it just me or does Amarantha remind you a hell lot of the King of Adarlan? Now here is s parallel I can draw to ToG with no regrets. Okay, a lot, but at least she’s dead in book one instead of book four. It could’ve been a lot worse. But seriously. The whole attempting to take over the continent but in reality is just doing it because of some twisted reasoning that actually kinda makes sense is so last year. Also, picking a “champion” to complete tasks is just not cool anymore.

Lucien’s fam is shit. Especially his brothers. Omg. I hate them with a passion, even before I actually met them. Lucien’s life was shit. I’m so sorry bro. And then I met them. And my opinion didn’t waver in the least. His father didn’t even really bother to make an appearance. His mother though. His mother at least tried.

“Don’t feel bad for one moment about doing what brings you joy.” – Tamlin

Questions:

So Feyre is now a Fae. A High Fae? Does that mean she has powers? Like fire like Aelin?

Because that would be super cool. Like, really badass. And while I love Feyre (and trust me: I do) I can’t really stand her being basically powerless, especially when she’s surrounded by such über-powerful people. Feyre, imo, doesn’t need others to save her ass. She shouldn’t need others. But she does because the power discrepancy is too great. So now that she isn’t a mortal, I hope to gods she can actually defend and fight for herself now.

So, um, are we ever gonna acknowledge the actual looming problem in the not-so-far distance?

The High King of the other gods damned continent wants to invade Prythian and kill all the mortals. I feel like we should get on that. Chop chop?

What was that shit that Rhysand realized just before he flew off?

Like, Sarah described it as his eyes had widened and he had looked so stunned and flew away as soon as Feyre tried to question him. Like, what? Wait. WAIT A SECOND. HOLD UP A GODDAMN SECOND. Are they…is it possible…could it really be…..they’re MATES???!!! Cuz we’ve learned from ToG that the first (few) love interests are not necessarily endgame. And. And. Oh poor Tamlin! Oh I hope this isn’t what happened but now I can’t get the idea out of my head. JFC. Tamlin better still be friends. Like Dorian and Chaol. Amicable exes and all.

“I felt as unburdened as a price of dandelion fluff, and he was that wind that stirred me about the world.” – Feyre

Hopes/Predictions for the future

Um, I don’t have much, really. We weren’t given much to work with

The King of Hybern is invading. I think? We should probably fix that.

I actually do want to see Feyre visit the Night Court to fulfill her bargain. Because we haven’t been outside the Spring Court and Tamlin is hella nice and peaceful. We need something to stop making us think all Fae (besides bitch queen Amarantha) are semi-decent

Rhysand being (more) nicer. Continuously. Rhysand being a friend! Feyre should start accumulating friends. Friends are good. Aelin has many. Then again, Aelin needs a court. Maybe Feyre will need one, too?

“Be glad of your human heart, Feyre. Pity those who don’t feel anything at all.” – Rhysand

#emthinks #emthinks books #acotar #a court of thorns and roses #sarah j maas

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korovamlecznybar · 2 years ago

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killing myself fr im afraid

#i dont emthink i have it in myself to even cry at this point

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babyawacs · 4 years ago

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lawyers ifmykids werent born in certain timeframes they were primed itis simple ifthen primed by the criminal realms that dothese things sim ple ifthen make sure these mosnters dont tossem intoharms rescue my kids always itisnottheirfault brief em interconnect em make emthink le temcompare and ask critically sayhomersimpsoy trickery prooves what rela tion spoilthe g e r m a n s effort not on what iwould act like because iha ve no information whilethem wouldtry tofake ihate your fatass and your ell bows too theydontmakeme a aeh aeh a good boner enough if ellbowing my aeh

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emthinks · 8 years ago

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Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

Before: Book #4 of the Throne of Glass six-book series. Now, I had already been forewarned (is it forewarned?) that this book was intense. Intensely fantastic. And I have heard the praise being sung from the towers and heavens above, so I thought I knew what I was prepared for. Boy, was I wrong.

After: I don’t. I can’t. I mustn’t. I. I. Well. Eventually, I will be coherent enough to write a semi-intelligent review. In the meantime, I will go scream some more into my pillow.

Okay. I’m good. I’m...I’m really good, actually. A lot better than I thought I would be, all things considered. <Deep breath> Shall we begin, then?

Rating: 9.9/10

An overview (of the plot):

Fuck. Fuckity fuck fuck. We start off with a Dorian chapter. My heart’s already breaking.

Aelin (Aelin, Aelin, Aelin, yes we finally decided on a name) and Chaol meet up pretty early on. It’s not a pretty meeting. I thought they would at least be civil, cordial, if not friendly. No, they basically tore each other to shreds. Fucking Chaol is like “I know how to free magic but I won’t tell you nah nah nah nah nah” like some taunting schoolgirl and he calls Aelin a monster because he doesn’t know how to confront magic, because it’s an unknown variable that he can’t control. I agree with Aelin, Chaol: when you can pull your head out of your ass, then come talk to us.

We also meet Arobynn early on. And holy shit did I want to kill him. He was described as good-looking for a middle aged man, but he sounded like a complete ass to me. I mean, I haven’t read The Assassin’s Blade yet, so I don’t know the whole backstory and I wasn’t prepared for his assholery. But we make the deal with him anyways. Because we need his help.

Because, finally, finally, the moment we were all waiting for happens: the Aedion prison break. And it was as amazing as we all hoped it would be. It was absolutely, mind-shatteringly wonderful. Every single moment. I especially loved the bit when the roses all shattered and smoke erupted. See, the thing about this series is that, most of the time, we don’t know their plans. When we know a plan, we know it’s going to go wrong. But when we don’t know the plans…well, we don’t know when something is going wrong and when something is going right. So it was thrilling and it was horrible reading the whole Aedion prison break because I just wondered wtf was supposed to be happening. My favorite line during that scene, that I think summed up the whole situation pretty nicely was this: “Behind them, across the hall, the dancers shattered their roses on the floor, and Aedion grinned at his queen as the entire world went to hell.”

We also get a nice (depending on perspective, I guess) confrontation with Dorian. Aelin tries to kill him. (And it takes me until like five thousand chapters later do I realize that Aelin didn’t kill Dorian. Could she have? Does that mean he’s her mate?!) Nesryn stops her. They run.

Thankfully, we do the Aedion prison break pretty early on in the book, and so we get the (long awaited) Aedion/Aelin reunion and Aedion can help us with everything now. Yay!

Also early in the first third of the book, we meet up with Rowan?! Like, wtf. I thought we’d left him. Oh, no. He’s here. And wow, the tension between him and Aedion is through the fucking roof. Alpha males indeed.

Speaking of which, Aelin, you fucking idiot, I can’t believe you didn’t tell Aedion of the blood oath immediately after he mentioned it. I can’t believe. I mean, I don’t fault you for bonding with Rowan (not really), but come on that move was totally going to come back to bite you in the ass someday. And that someday came pretty soon, because Rowan then showed up and didn’t even blink as he revealed it.

Eventually though, they come to terms with it and it’s not as tense. Everyone is chill, Aedion and Rowan aren’t at each other’s throats constantly and Aelin and Aedion have reconnected. And then Rowan reveals why he’s here: Lorcan. Screw Lorcan. Lorcan, the king, the Valg, the key, Dorian, the clock tower. I agree with Aelin: can I just eat my sorrows away?

I’m not going to discuss that Arobynn dinner. Fuck Aelin and her inability to share us her plans so we don’t know if it’s going right or wrong. I’m so glad it was only a page later that she removed that damn ring.

God, I was so fucking worried for Lysandra and all repercussions of her killing Arobynn. God, I was so worried he’d woken up. Like, we end that chapter with Lysandra slitting his throat, but we don’t get full confirmation that he’s well and truly dead until later on, so I worried so hard that she had been caught.

When Aelin revealed her whole scheme: how she had switched out Arobynn’s will to fund Terrasen’s army. Rowan and Aedion had said that this side of her had scared them, but I only thought it was just Aelin being badass once again. So fucking badass. Like yes, of course, she was going to manipulate things to go her own way. She wore the mask that was Celaena Sardothien so damn well, I was impressed.

Jfc, almost forgot about Lorcan. I should’ve known. I should’ve known that Maeve wasn’t that sentimental and that ring had powers. I knew that they gave him the fake though, because as soon as they got the Amulet of Orynth and Aelin hid it and put a fake one out, I knew it would be used. A fake is always used.

Okay, I was so excited for them to finally act on that plan to destroy the stupid clock tower that ugh. I mean, I love Lysandra so I’m glad we went to save her, but jfc we were so close to blowing up that fucking clock tower and we had to wait more. Jfc. Thankfully, we get Lysandra out easy peasy lemon squeezy. The king is still in the carriage talking to the Blackbeak Matron and it’s time to leave…where’s Chaol?

The whole time, I was chanting, “he cannot be this stupid he cannot be this stupid he cannot be this stupid.” Oh he was definitely that stupid. And more. Chaol, the fucking idiot, runs after the king only to run into the wrong clearing and end up with the fucking witches, of all people. Jfc. I understand you’re kinda pissed at yourself and good on you for finally realizing you’d fled and left Dorian to defend himself that day but now is not the time! Why is your time always this shit? Yes, I understand it sucks to see Dorian like this, but now is not the time!

At least, we finally get to see the Manon and Aelin encounter. Now, we don’t get to see from Manon’s PoV, but I’m pretty sure Manon, feeling generous, starting to have feels, was actually going to let them go. And then stupid Aelin had to make that comment about Baba Yellowlegs. And that fight was epic. In the end, Aelin rescuhat tes her, so now Manon owes her a life debt. Damn, that’s gonna be a nice alliance some day.

Okay, so the plan is to have Aedion and Rowan walk in with the hellfire and send the whole clock tower into ruins. But now we know the plan. So what happens? The plan goes awry. Lorcan, we learn, didn’t actually kill the other seven Wyrdhounds, but instead had led them – led them all to Rowan’s scent. We’re fucked.

Meanwhile, I find it completely ridiculous and the dumbest move ever to walk in with the Captain of the Guard as Celaena Sardothien. There’s no way – no way – the king doesn’t know who you are at this point.

Also, can we discuss how dumb our protagonists are for a second: like, there’s a reason why none of your messages to your guards in the palace have gone through, Chaol. They’re all dead. It was obvious.

So they were walking into a trap. Good job.

Anyways, the fight goes down in two places. Lorcan shows up to help Aedion and Rowan and fucking Lysandra then charges in like a bamf and devours them all as a ghost leopard. Hell yeah, Lysandra. Go Lysandra go!

Meanwhile, above, Chaol decides to sacrifice himself to give Aelin a chance to free Dorian. Chaol fights the king. Aelin is chased by Valg prince/Dorian. She puts the ring on Dorian. Fuck yeah, we saved Dorian! And then their powers melded together and they blast the glass palace down to ruin and it was beautiful.

“She was fire, and light, and ash, and embers. She was Aelin Fireheart, and she bowed for no one and nothing, save the crown that was hers by blood and survival and triumph.”

Favorite moments

That random fluffy bit when Aelin gives Rowan a tour of the city. It was such a nice break between all the death and destruction and horrors

Speaking of which, when they talk about music and art and how it’s necessary for a culture to survive and I remembered Fione or whoever the dance instructor was and I just hope she can come back to Terrasen and bring art and music back at the end-end

When we find out that the stupid almond oil scent Arobynn forced Aelin to rub all over herself is not just coming from her, but from Rowan too. God, this guy. “Thank you for the oil. My skin was a little dry.” Like. Bruh. Mad respect.

That random brotherly moment when Rowan was like, “Thank you, Aedion” and Aedion was like, “anytime, brother”. They’re brothers from anotha motha

The whole fight with the king. It was just…it wasn’t a move-by-move replay, but a more artistic description of the magic swelling up and erupting and it just made it so much easier to visualize

That bit at the end where Aedion comes running in and is like “let’s go let’s go let’s go back homeeeeeee!” wanting to go back to Terrasen and Lysandra chases him out only for him to come back with a bucket of water. That was fun. And such a nice bit of fluff

When Dorian appoints Chaol Hand of the King because he’s like “if I have to be stuck being king, then you get to be stuck right next to me”

Most Heartbreaking/Heart-stopping Moments

I’m so conflicted. On the one hand, I’m glad we get Dorian PoVs at all, that we get to know he’s still there, somewhere, breathing, existing, even if the Valg has basically taken over all of him by now. On the other hand, the fact that we get to see internal suffering from Dorian like that. Dorian, who has never truly suffered, not like Aelin has. That hurts. Every damn time. I’m just glad they were so short

The ring and Arobynn. Fucking bastard. I’m glad he’s dead

That whole Arobynn dinner, but especially when Arobynn put that stupid ring on Aelin’s finger. I slammed the book shut and almost chucked it across the floor. Literally, that line: “he slid the Wyrdstone ring onto her finger”. And I was fucking gone.

Asterin’s backstory. That hurt. A lot

Aedion stepping up in front of Rowan to shield him from the Valg, to declare that they were truly brothers of the court

“This witch had been crafted from the darkness between the stars.”

The Characters (some old, some new):

Lysandra is probably my favorite new character we meet. Like, she and Aelin hated each other in the past, but now they’re bffs and all the guys are just so happy she has a female friend (Chaol especially, after Nehemia) and we learn Lysandra is far, far from being a wimpy little sidekick either. Like, she’s already risking so much to sneak information to Aelin under Arobynn’s very nose and then. And then Rowan just casually strolls up and is like “sup, shapeshifter”. Like we should already know that. Fucking Rowan and his fucking nose/enhanced smelling. But omg that explains so much and how she was able to keep on popping up in the apartment like that without them noticing. Shape-shifting just adds to Lysandra’s continuously growing list of why she’s such a bamf. And when she was the one to slit Arobynn’s throat? Prime.

Hey, we have our Katniss of the series: Nesryn Faliq. Yes, Nesryn uses a bow and that really helps cement the image, but even so, her cold demeanor really lends itself to Katniss’s personality.

Chaol. Why’s it always Chaol? Fucking Chaol wouldn’t tell Aelin how to bring magic back. Eventually, he starts to understand, but still. Why does it always take Chaol forever? Chaol’s paralyzed now. For a while, at least. I wonder how that’s going to affect his trip down to the Southern Continent and how that’s going to affect Dorian and whether or not he can actually be healed.

Evangeline. Now this girl is fucking eight (or something). A child. Yet she is so brave, risks herself to inform Aelin about Lysandra’s capture, knowing that Lysandra had risked herself to save her. I hope she has some badass powers too. She sounds like she’ll grow up just fine under Lysandra.

We also finally get some background on the other witches, besides Manon. We learn about Asterin’s backstory and how she fell in love with a human and she was pregnant, only to give birth to a stillborn. My heart ached for Asterin. Like, she was the only one who could really feel, and all she wanted to do was get Manon to see the light too.

Lorcan. I have no idea wtf to make of Lorcan. He hunts down Aelin and the others because he wants to find the Wyrdkeys too, but to destroy them, not to use them. He’s here apparently on some deranged mission in hopes to save Maeve from going crazy with power overload. And he tries to bargain with them. And then sends Aedion and Rowan to the sewers and their death…only to save them. Simply because Aedion is Gavriel’s son. I don’t get it. He doesn’t seem to care all that much about his blood brothers, yet this happens? Lorcan is a loose cannonball and I just wish, like Aelin wishes, that he can go to Morath and wreak enough havoc to maybe halt whatever progress is going on down there.

Speaking of that, can we discuss Aedion for a second here? Aedion is demi-Fae? I mean, I thought he only had the small drops of Fae blood passed through the Ashryver line, but nooooo, apparently he’s technically more than half because his father is fucking Gavriel and his mother had Fae blood already too. Well. An interesting development. But seriously? Wait, will we get a Gavriel/Aedion moment at some point too then? What will this do to our story? Also, Aedion is great, and I picture him as this golden-haired Herculean dude with big bulging muscles. But also, Aedion cannot bite his tongue. Like, that dinner with Arobynn where he didn’t know when to just let go was just. No. You are in enemy territory and you probably shouldn’t debate with Rowan right now.

Manon. You give a heartless witch a puppy and you crack her walls. You give that same witch a little sister, and it’s like a battering ram breaks through all her fucking defenses.

Okay. I admit: it’s taken me forever to realize that Elide is Marion’s daughter. And I’m pretty sure Marion mentioned in HoF “tell my Elide I love her” or something and we knew their last names. Wow, I’m slow. Anyways, I want to see Elide and all her witchly power and what she can do. I want to see her discover her inner Blackbeak because I know it’s in there and I know she will be fucking badass and she will fight right alongside her queen as one of her court. I know it.

Arobynn Hamel, nicely speaking, is an ass. A complete, and utter ass. From the moment we meet him, I’m on guard. He thinks he still possesses Aelin, that he can still control her, that she still falls for his words. And he wants her to rub his scent all over herself? God, I found that so fucking disgusting.

Kaltain really redeemed herself in this book. We learn that Kaltain has always had this fire magic inside her, and it’s manifested now as shadowfire and we learn that Kaltain, through whatever shadowfire powers she has, has managed to kill the demon that had enslaved her and is just biding her time. Like, she is willing to let people do whatever they want to her mortal shell for that once chance to ravage them. And damn, did she bide her time well. She takes down half of Morath with her as she goes down in flame and stone and bone.

The King of Adarlan is dead. Which. I had not thought they would kill the king because, well, we all thought (I thought, at least) that the king was our main antagonist. Apparently…not? Apparently, it’s fucking Perrington and the Valg king Erawan behind all this and they’re the real antagonists. And the king was…just a puppet? Do we even believe him? Should we even believe him? But it makes sense, his story, I suppose. That he tried to save Dorian, protect him, shield him by building those towers to cancel out all magic so the Valg won’t smell it out of him. But still. God, I don’t even know how to feel about him anymore. I mean, he’s a fucking idiot for having like opened the tomb in the first place, but in the end, he was just another pawn in the game.

“But perhaps the monsters needed to look out for each other every now and then.”

The Ships (and how they’ve been flipped upside down and inside out)

Chaolena (Chaol/Celaena): I think, finally, this ship has sunk. And while I admit that Celorian has holes (large, motherfucking ones), Chaolena is the Titanic by now. “What Chaol had done, whome he had chosen, had forever cleaved what was between them. It was the one thing she could not forget, could not forgive.” Also, even more damning: “her heart was healed – still fractured in spots, but healed – and he…he was not in it.”

Celorian (Dorian/Celaena): I have hope, still. Not much, but some. We’ve added more players, and more possibilities. But still. This ship hasn’t sunk. Not yet. We’re teetering on the edge though. I mean, Aelin and Dorian held hands and meld their magic to fight the king. Unfortunately, we have other contenders for both their hearts (see below).

Rowaelin (Rowan/Aelin): I have no idea where this ship is going. It sounds like they’re pretty invested already. However, they’re carradem or whatever the fuck parabatai is in Fae. So if – if – they do break it off…will that affect them? Also, the thing is – the thing is, Rowan had a mate. She’s dead. Lyra. Lyria? Something like that. Aelin hasn’t found her mate yet. Or maybe it’s Rowan. We’ve never really delved very deep into that mate issue. Can they have multiple mates? I suppose I’ll just have to read EoS to figure that one out.

Dorian/Manon: Manon was the name Dorian held onto, during that short minute when he had control of himself again. And then there was that weird bit where Manon landed Abraxos and waved and Dorian waved back. Is this going to be a thing?!

Chaol/Nysren: I do think these guys will go to the end. Because, like I mentioned above, I think the Chaolena ship is Titanic at this point.

Rowan/Aedion: Oh no. Not as romantic, but as the most stubborn, bullheaded brotp ever. They are ridiculous. I think Aelin hit the hammer on the nail when she said they were all alpha males. Because they were. I mean, just listen to this quote: “Fae warriors: invaluable in a fight – and raging pains in her ass at all other times.”

“She was fury, she was wrath, she was vengeance.”

Questions:

How the fuck did Kaltain end up with a Wyrdkey buried inside her?

I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m super glad she gave it to Elide and I hope she makes it to Terrasen safely and gets it to Aelin, but jfc. Like, was Kaltain just a vessel? A temporary holder for the key? Or did she somehow manage to steal it from the right under the duke’s nose? Damn, if it’s the latter, then I gotta give that girl some more credit man.

Then again, I’m not a huge fan of the Wyrdkeys anymore. The Amulet of Orynth didn’t sound too friendly in the short time Aelin wore it, as it pulsed against her. Sounded like a Horcrux to me.

How did Arobynn tip off the king about Lysandra? And Aelin (I’m assuming?)

Because Aelin destroyed his original will. Like, burned it? What other trigger did he have?

Wait. I just thought Aelin and Rowan could reach each other’s facial expressions really well. Do they actually have telepathy or something?

Because that bit at Arobynn’s dinner, where Rowan fucking bangs his knee on the table because Aelin is silently like “17-year-old Rowan wouldn’t know what to do with 17-year-old Celaena if he found out she doesn’t wear undergarments most of the time.” Like, there is no way you can communicate that through a few eyebrow raises and subtle muscle twitches.

What’s that tugging sensation or whatever the hell Aelin (and Manon) felt?

Like, there was some sort of connection between each other? It was a very brief mention, but it was there and I want to know what it is, because I’m hoping it’ll be a benefit for our gang, but one can only hope that’s the case with these series

More random one: How do you pronounce these names?

I mean, some of them we get. Chaol = Kale. And if you can’t pronounce Dorian, then. Well. But, like, Aelin. I always read it as Ay-lynn. Because Aedion was Ae-dee-uhn. But some say Eye-leen for Aelin. And Manon? She was always Man-uhn in my head, but apparently it’s actually pronounced Muh-non.

“She would find that love again – one day. And it would be deep and unrelenting and unexpected, the beginning and end and eternity, the kind that would change history, change the world.”

Predictions/hopes for the future:

I honestly don’t have many

Mostly because we have no idea what Terrasen is like

So we can’t predict much

I suppose…Aelin establishing her court? And her kingdom? How does one go about establishing a kingdom after it’s been razed to ruins?

Um…Dorian making friends! Besides Chaol! Because Chaol is gone

Speaking of which: Chaol getting healed. That would be nice

Befriending Manon! They really need to team up together

Because that shit Manon’s grandma and the duke are brewing is going to go down fast so they need to figure out how to stop it together

Speaking of which: that mirror-weapon shit that the Matron created to amplify shadowfire? Terrifying as hell. Like, it can just annihilate the whole world. That’s ridiculous.

We need to destroy that weapon. Can we do that please in EoS?

Elide being all witch-y and awesome

Speaking of which: magic is back again. Yay!

Magic should be hailed as awesome and useful and I want to see how we discover all its uses and all the poor, poor people who had to endure all the shit before get treated so much better

Also, I want an alliance with the Ashryvers in Wendlyn. I worry about Maeve

An alliance with the Southern Continent would be nice, too. After all, Aelin just declared Chaol ambassador for Terrasen and we really need some aid, especially if Eyllwe can’t help us

“They were infinite. They were the beginning and the ending: they were eternity.”

#emthinks #emthinks books #tog #throne of glass #queen of shadows

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emthinks · 8 years ago

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The Trials of Apollo #1: The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

Now, I’d like to preface this review by stating that the reading of this series without prior knowledge of previous books in this universe, while possible, would be difficult. So while I recommend everyone to read Rick Riordan’s mythology books (they’re gold and they teach you a lot of shit about the ancient civilizations), for ToA, you really need to read Percy Jackson & The Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus first. And then get around to this. Because this book is good.

Here, we get to read first person POV (which I really do think is Rick’s strong suit) about Apollo (yes, the Greek God) being turned into this skinny ass mortal with flab and acne and - the coup de grace really - stuck with the name Lester Papadopoulos. Which. Honestly. How could you pass up on that? And Apollo, while I do admit was kind of an ass sometimes and really annoying (are all Greek gods that egotistical? Wait. Don’t answer that question) was really entertaining the rest of the time.

Rating: 8.8/10

An Overview:

That whole bit in the beginning, where Apollo met Meg the Dumpster Girl and then had to traipse through the city to find Percy was my least favorite part. Probably why I actually paused and put the book down. I know right? Shocker.

But then we got to Camp Half-Blood and things picked up a lot. Apollo trying to greet his kids (his cabinmates? His friends? What does he call them?!) was priceless. Hearing about Meg’s exploits in the meantime was a nice touch (good job, Crotchkicker).

But then we learn about Rachel. And the Oracle. (Well, I guess I learn, because I’d apparently forgotten that Apollo had been punished back in HoO? Well, nevermind.) We learn campers are disappearing. We learn shit is bad. Apollo has these weird-ass dreams (which, uh, usually I have a decent background on Greek mythology, but these two were just weird).

It was a little odd for me for them to not be thrown into a quest and leave camp so early on. I was always waiting for a quest...and then forgot that the Oracle (aka. Rachel) wasn’t exactly working. So no quest. The Catch-88 or whatever Apollo called it.

And then there’s the three-legged race. That was...interesting. Mostly because it was kind of adorable how everyone just wanted to please this little Hephaestus kid. Apollo and Meg were, naturally, bound together. And then thrown into the labyrinth. Which. Whoa. Did not see that coming. Who knew Daedalus’s labyrinth would be such a throwback? So we traipse around a bit in a really dark maze. And then, of course, we end up in Delphi. Where we meet the Beast and the Python. And then we learn shit is about to go down.

So we travel into the woods. We meet the geyser dude (ah, there’s Rick’s nice weirdly-modernized touch). And then Meg gets captured. By....giant ants? Apollo is saved by Rhea. Which. Did not see that coming.

He goes back to camp. Heals. Decides, oh fuck it, and takes the bow and arrows. He already broke half of his promise on the Styx anyways (which, idiot, why would you swear that?) and delves right back into the woods. The ant hive. Those couple minutes of him shooting every ant was great. He rescues Meg (eventually, after some trouble). Apollo naming the queen ant-thing Mama was just a nice touch. (Which, thank God he did, because we needed her help later on.) And then they were out into the clearing. The entrance to Dodona. And we meet the first of three Triumvirates.

Nero. Now, I have no idea who Nero is. But. He kind of sounds like an ass. And he’s Meg’s stepfather? Now, I can’t say I didn’t see it coming, because I did have this half-suspicion formed in the back of my mind, but really, Meg? That’s just a bit ridiculous. But thankfully, Meg comes around, eventually, although she totally still leaves. (Which. Apollo is bound to her still. So how’s that gonna work?) We get some prophecies from Dodona. Yay. Then we go back to camp and all is well, right?

Nope. There’s Giant Naked Apollo strolling up the beach. Ah. There’s that potential problem Nero mentioned. They’re all a mess. It’s kind of bad. (But kinda cute when Apollo’s kids still were so eager to help, even after the mess they just went through. I guess it just goes to show. Demigods are sturdy af.)

Still, was I glad to see Percy at the end. That was nice. “The weekend had arrived.” The cavalry, more like it. Thank God. Oh, and good job causing hay fever in Giant You, Apollo. And then we get that lovely fluff bit at the end with Leo and Calypso? Adorable. The line that was formed so everyone could punch Leo was great, and Apollo realizing Calypso had willingly left her island and given up her immortality for this elfish boy was pure gold.

The Characters:

Can we talk about Nico and Will for a second? (Do they have a ship name? Solangelo? Lol. God their names are hard to combine.) To be honest, I totally forgot they existed. No, not that they as characters existed, but like, they existed. So when Apollo first saw them together, I was like “whaaaaa?” Because I totally remember in House of Hades where Jason (the fucking idiot, really) thought Nico was in love with Annabeth and we had to jump through those hoops, but it obviously never registered to me that Will and Nico were together-together until, well, now. And boy, must I say they are great. They’re so entertaining. Like, the bickering is adorable. And how Nico is all “I have to sit with my boyfriend because I have a doctor’s note given to me by my boyfriend...who is also my doctor”. Like, they are cute af.

Now. The heart of the problem: Meg. Meg was....well. Meg was ratty and dumpster girl and rebellious (and obviously Demeter’s daughter as soon as we saw her throw fruit and summon a grain spirit, but hey, some people can be dumb) and she was fun. She was Crotchkicker and Eyebruiser on Day One and she was great. She was also, for all her hemming and hawing, obviously a spy. Well, she was obviously the spy as soon as we overheard the Beast mentioning there was a spy. She skirted around talks of her stepfather and obviously froze up with the mentioning of the Beast (at the sound of his voice?). But she’s Meg. She’s resilient. And, well, she’s still tied to Apollo, so they’ve gotta figure something out there. Maybe they’ll have to go find her (save her?) in one of their quests? Or they just run into her again? Idk.

And what about Apollo, our lovely protagonist. A god. Who knew? Reading first person POV from Apollo was weird. Enlightening, but weird. Yes, I was annoyed - especially in the beginning - with how he ranted about how great and awesome he was and how everyone should bow at his feet and how if he only had his godly powers, he could totally smite them all. It definitely took me a while to accept the fact that he couldn’t accept he was mortal. Not completely. Eventually, he improved his outlook on humans, but in the beginning, God I was pissed. However, the fact that it was never really forgotten that he was mortal - that he couldn’t do all this magic that he was used to with the snap of a finger - was nice. He wasn’t omnipotent. He had to rely on others. And I do think he became a better person-god from it. He learned from his kids. These kids, whom he barely acknowledged when he was a god, still risked their lives to help him. Wasn’t that admirable? The one thing I really hope is that, in the end of his whole journey (trials, whatever) he doesn’t forget them and, after he’s a god again, he actually still spends time with them and cares a little more. That would be a nice bit of character development.

Questions:

Do you think the Labyrinth will come into play again?

Eventually, yes. I think, in general, a lot of the things we’ve encountered in the past two series will come into play, because there are only so many Greek/Roman myths we can poke around in. It’s not like Riordan can conjure up more. Also, the Labyrinth has, supposedly, spread throughout the world, so it can basically bring anyone anywhere. And isn’t that terrifying.

What do you think will happen next?

Well, the bit we got from the Dedona trees mentioned Indiana, right? And they sit the Triumvirate had split up North America into thirds...Indiana is in the middle of America, right? (Yes, great job Emilie. Much thought it took to come up with that idea.) I just hope Festus can be helpful the whole journey this time, instead of breaking down halfway. I loved that dragon in HoO.

So that’s that really. When does the second book come out? What’s it called? The Dark Prophecy. Huh. Well, that bodes well.

#toa #trials of apollo #percy jackson #pj #rick riordan #emthinks #emthinks books

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emthinks · 8 years ago

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Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

And I had thought my first re-read was fast. I finished this in under twenty-four hours, and that’s a pretty good record for a book I haven’t read yet. So seriously, props to you, Sarah. I was about halfway through when something really intense happened, and then I didn’t stop. It was 2am when I started. It was 6am when I finished.

Rating: 9.7/10

An Overview

Holy. Fucking. Shit. That’s all I could think. I had thought I’d forgotten Throne of Glass, but I had practically erased Crown of Midnight from my memory apparently. I only remembered two things: Celaena was the lost queen of Terrasen and Nehemia died. Everything else? Complete surprise. How Nehemia died? Forgot that. Who killed Nehemia? Forgot that. Chaol’s capture? Forgot that. Archer’s betrayal? Forgot that. Celaena absolutely loathing Chaol? Forgot that. Dorian’s magic? Forgot that. The whole Wyrdkeys and Wyrdgates? Forgot that. That whole scene where they portaled into another realm and Celaena turned Fae? Forgot that. Forgot nearly everything, and while I’d usually berate myself, I can’t help but enjoy my lapse in memory, because it really threw me into the story. I felt invested 120%, like this was my first time reading it. And really, in a way, it was.

The thing that I’m really pissed with myself is the fact that I had forgotten all about the King’s plan with Wyrdkeys and Wyrdgates. All of it. That whole time Celaena was exploring in the library’s catacombs, I was just as curious to what was happening. I was just as terrified when that creature/humanoid came charging at her, screaming (silently, it was like 4am come on) for Dorian to come and save her with magic. I can’t believe I’d forgotten the whole driving point of the series. I really do think that it will take six books (four now, I guess) for Celaena to find the other to keys. Oh, and maybe amass some sort of an army in the meantime. Y’know. Just in case there’s a fight. Or something.

“The best lies were always mixed with truth.”

Okay. So let’s start off with Celaena. I can’t help but think she’s being kind of dumb this whole book. Like, fine, she doesn’t kill her assigned targets. Okay. I can get that. But then she trusts Archer Finn? Like, completely? No. He’s a courtesan. Please, please don’t trust him.

I was wary of Archer Finn from the start, and I can’t tell if it was because I’d already read the book and knew what was going to happen and just forgot the details, or just because I didn’t remember and yet still couldn’t trust him. Like, he basically spins lies for a living, Celaena. Of course, the whole Nehemia death thing throws everything into pieces and it takes a while, but thank God she gutted the guy. Murdering Nehemia, regardless of whether or not she planned it or not, is not okay.

Speaking of which. Nehemia. Now what the fuck do we think about that play? Of course, it’s obvious she orchestrated her own death, because we actually get a chapter of her talking to Elena (how, why, we don’t, unfortunately) and they discuss whether it will be Dorian or Celaena to break first. Dorian, with his just-discovered magic, was more eager to looking for ways to put a lid on it than trying to harness it, so of course it had to be Celaena. Of course it had to be her that broke first. Again. So yes, while I understand Nehemia’s plans and why this needed to happen, I really can’t condone it. Nehemia, by all means, was a great friend still, a solid support, but she lied. She lied so much in ToG, and even more here, and she had her own motivations, of course, with the Wyrdkey and the king and all, but still. She had lied again. And still decides to use Celaena. Celaena, who has already suffered through so much, and like Nehemia, I wondered who would be there to pull her back this time. So while I definitely can’t put Nehemia on “worst people ever” list, I can’t put her on my favorites list, either. She’s kind of in limbo. She tore apart Celaena so completely, it took multiple chapters and different PoVs to even see any kind of healing. Yes, you could argue it was for the ultimate good, but still. Celaena.

Now. What do we think of Roland? He’s Dorian’s cousin (or something) so we should immediately dislike him...right? I mean, his first impression was shit and Chaol hates him, and Chaol’s usually a decent judge of character. However (and here’s the big one), we learn that Roland is getting headaches too. Like Kaltain. And we know how well that turned out. So Roland, while he might be under the King’s thumb, could not be as loyal as they all believe him to be. If he’s as ruthless as the King and Perrington, he wouldn’t be subjected to the same farce as Kaltain. Now, the question is this: Are we going to see him (and Kaltain) back in the storyline? They had been shipped off to...Morath? Or something? But their headaches. I want to know if the King is planning on using them to create more of that disgusting humanoid thing they’d found down in the catacombs of the library. If so, Wyrd help them. (Or not. Definitely not if the King has all three keys.)

I suppose we could also discuss Dorian and Chaol. But I don’t particularly want to. Nothing really interesting happens. Dorian has finally let go of Celaena (mostly). And has discovered he has magic. Oh shit. Chaol, on the other hand, has ended up with Celaena. And loses her completely. So. Good job, Chaol. Chaol just goes round and round in circles while Dorian at least took a step forward.

“But death was her curse and her gift, and death had been her good friend these long, long years.”

Questions:

Am I still Team Dorian?

Honestly, I remember I was staunchly Team Dorian the first time I read this book. Now? Perhaps not so much. Not because I don’t like Dorian (because trust me, I still find him more entertaining and better suited than Chaol) but because I don’t see how Celaeana, in the next four books, can possibly avoid being Aelin Galathynius. She might not want to be, but I do believe that, eventually, she will take up her mantle as the rightful Queen of Terrasen. And when that happens...well. Dorian’s in line for his own crown, and I doubt the series will end with Adarlan still ruling over Terrasen. So unless Celaena finds another heir to throne...

What the fuck is going to happen now?

Dorian has magic. How’s he going to control that? Celaena is going to Wendlyn, to hopefully: a) not kill her cousins and b) get some allies instead. Maybe learn some magic. Chaol? I have no idea what the fuck Chaol is going to be doing. And the king? Well, I doubt we’ve even scratched the surface of the depths of horror the king is planning on unleashing on the poor, poor continent of Erilea.

“You remind me of what the world ought to be. What the world can be.” – Celaena Sardothien

#emthinks #throne of glass #tog #crown of midnight #emthinks books

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emthinks · 8 years ago

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Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Note: Okay, so I just realized like a good solid month and more later that I never posted my review for this book. Or maybe I did and I never tagged it. Or maybe I did tag it but it got lost in the endless sea that is the Internet (and also Tumblr). I don’t know. The point is that it’s not in my records and I need it to exist here because I love Sarah and I love this series and I’ve written reviews for all the other books so this can’t not exist. So. Here it is. The following is what I wrote after while marathoning ToG, so this is before I touched QoS and EoS. I have not edited anything: this is literally a copy & paste from my word doc. Enjoy.

If you could hear me right now. God. I sound like a dying whale. A dying, beached whale that has no hope but is still screaming for one. I wish I have a punching bag in my room. Would get a lot of use out of it right about now. I think I just kicked nearly everything off my bed. This book is ridiculous. I was not prepared.

This is not YA. YA is…nicer. Gentler. This is. I mean, Throne of Glass was bad. Crown of Midnight was…equally as bad. Heir of Fire? Heir of Fire didn’t hold anything back. Heir of Fire was hell. It was heart wrenching, heart pounding, heart aching hell.

Rating: 9.6/10

An Overview:

Unfortunately, I didn’t take notes on everything, which sucks, but hey. What can you do. I did not some more essential bits though.

Dorian and Chaol. Dorian and Chaol are a fucking mess. Dorian and Chaol. I don’t know what’s going to happen to Dorian and Chaol.

Moving on. Celaena ends up tagging along with Rowan to meet Maeve, who decrees Rowan is train her to shift and wield magic before she can enter Doranelle. Celaena becomes a kitchen maid. Hey, at least there’s food.

Meanwhile, Dorian is…hitting on a healer? I’m not sure what Dorian is doing. We don’t get much from Dorian.

Monan, on the other hand, we get a lot of time with. And it’s a bit of a slog, perhaps. But then she gets Abraxos. And she goes to fight the fucking giant arachnids for their silk and steals it (which I really wonder if that’s gonna bite her in the ass later on). And Abraxos. If she’s on Abraxos, things got a lot better. Especially that bit at the end, with the War Games and how she saves the Blueblood heir? Yeah. That was good. That was nice. Hey, our little heartless witch grew a heart!

And then there’s Chaol. And then there’s Chaol. Chaol, for some reason (I forget) decides that he needs to get information out of Aedion (to even the ground? I think Aedion knows something about Chaol? I don’t remember the specifics). Of course, Chaol’s a fucking idiot and disregards the fact that he’s tailing the Wolf of the North (or whatever fancy title they gave Aedion) and that, maybe, Aedion would notice he’s tailing him. Thankfully, all’s well that ends well, because Chaol manages to become allies with Aedion. Aelin is alive. One can only hope it remains that way.

When Celaena walked into Rowan’s room while he was tattooing Gavriel (albeit uninvited), and Rowan said all those things to her, I knew what was coming. That next morning, when Celaena saw the blade Emrys got from Mikalai, the Eyllwe blade, and she snapped, my heart broke. I could feel all her pain. It was horrible. And for Emrys to lecture Rowan, when he finally (finally) came to fetch her, God I wished he’d torn him apart.

Well, at least they’re bonding now. Right? Nope. Rowan fucking throws poor, innocent Luca (with the promise of food, of all things!) into the middle of the ice and demands she rescue him. She does (of course she does) but then there’s that creepy ass one-eyed fish monster. Of fucking course the lake wasn’t empty, I thought. When would the lake ever be empty? They’re not that lucky.

Eventually, on one of those journeys to see the killed demi-Fae, we run across a problem. A major problem. Well, a problem and an answer, I guess, if you want to be particular about it. An answer to who (or what, I suppose) is sucking the life out of all those demi-Fae. And the problem? Well. The problem is those hundreds of soldiers and not-human dark things used to attack demi-Fae and use them as hosts. Of course. Fucking hell. But what could our heroes do but hurry back to prepare the fortress? And it was absolutely beautiful how everyone had just banded together, not argument, no fear. And I had thought Wendlyn was an ass for not sending reinforcements. Nope. They were just being attacked, too. They would’ve helped, had they had the ability to. But they just had to prioritize. It sucked, but at least they had a valid excuse.

And then the Valg came. And Celaena, brave, brave, wonderful warrior Celaena steps out and says she will protect them. And her fire burns and burns and burns. For so long, she burns. But not long enough. Because then they envelop her. They don’t consume her, she’s too great of a vessel, but they take sips. Sips of her deepest, darkest memories. All her secrets spilled out, and she doesn’t do anything – nothing. God, it was one of the most horrifying things to read, to imagine, to feel. I could see everything as if it was happening right in front of me, to me. The darkness, the sheer terror, the complete loss, the hopelessness. Everything. We saw what truly happened that night, where she crawled into her parents’ bed and they were already dead and Lady Marion sacrifices herself and that just makes what Nehemia did that much worse and I just. I couldn’t. I’m not a huge fan of horror, of scary shit, and I definitely don’t seek them out in books, so that was some of the darkest pages I’ve read. Ever. It was horrifying. And I plowed through them like a woman on a mission not because I enjoyed them (I really, really didn’t) but because I needed to see the end to this misery. And, thankfully, there was an end. Our heroine emerges from the ashes, wielding fire the likes we’ve never seen before and embracing her titles. She does not hide under the shadow of Celaena Sardothien anymore. She is, finally, Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen, and ready to take back her throne, her people, her land.

In the meantime, across the sea, we have Chaol and Dorian and Aedion who figured out how the fuck the king cancelled out all magic. The pillars. The triangle. Now, if we could only just knock out the clock tower, that would be great. And I think we really need to get on that. Maybe Dorian could just, I don’t know, accidentally throw some of his ice magic at it. Just a little bit. And then poke it so it would shatter in a million pieces? Ooh! Maybe Celaena can burn it. Or not. It’s obsidian. One giant pillar of obsidian. Sigh.

Also, I find it absolutely ridiculous that we spend all this time – all this fucking time trying to get into Doranelle, to talk to Maeve and find out what she knows, and then we’re in there for one chapter. Of the whole entire fucking book. And it is a large ass book. And it was one hell of a chapter. Maeve is an absolute bitch. We knew she was shit from the get-go – we knew Celaena’s mom (Evalin?) had run across the sea and hid her for a reason. But still. Celaena asks her questions. And Maeve knows nothing. Yes, we learn some things about the Vlag (blergh) and how the king, with three Wyrdkeys, could summon an endless army (jfc we need to fix that soon) but we don’t learn anything of use about they keys or the gates. Instead, we learn – or rather, Celaena reveals she learned that Maeve was the one who wanted to use the keys, and that’s why Brannon took them across the sea. To see Rowan obeying and his so-called “friends” just not even trying to resist…that was painful. Thank God Celaena has mastered her power enough to fucking set the whole palace on fire. That was beautiful. And she bargains – beautifully – with Maeve. The ring, for Rowan. A severed bloodoath, only to forge a new one immediately afterwards. Well, at least Celaena has somebody to watch her back, right?

Nope. Fucking idiot. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous that Celaena left Rowan behind. Yes, he might not be as powerful thanks to the “all magic has been destroyed” thing in Adarlan, but he isn’t useless. She better go find him soon. He better come back in Queen of Shadows. That’s all I’m saying.

And oh no, that’s not all that happened. That’s only on one continent. On the continent with even more problems, we have the (slight) issue of the king kind of kidnapping Chaol. And Aedion. And Dorian and Sorscha. So Sorscha was Ren’s informant, huh? At least he’s not as much of a wimp as I thought. Still, God that was horrible to read. First, Aedion reveals himself. Which. Fine. It sucks, but it’s necessary. He’s taken away. Then. Then. Sorscha. God, Dorian was a disaster. But still salvageable. But Chaol – fucking, idiotic Chaol. Stupid, stupid, stupid. So stupid. Why was he so stupid? Stupid Chaol decides that “oh, now is the time for me to reveal that I’m traitorous to the crown”. Like, now is so not the time, Chaol. Aedion has already sacrificed himself, knowing that you would be more important to Aelin than he is, in the long run, and Sorscha is already fucking dead and now is really not the time. You realize he could you?! You’re not his son. You’re not the crown prince. So one thing leads to another, and Dorian reveals his magic. Great timing, Chaol. You just made everything a hundred times worse. You get to escape, which, hurrah, don’t have to go to Anielle. Your friend, on the other hand. Well. Poor Dorian is fucking screwed. He’s got a Wyrd collar on his neck now, and gods know what that will do to him. How it will warp him. I can only hope that Celaena can come back and somehow manage to remove that fucking collar.

Oh, I can’t wait to tear that guy into tiny little pieces. No mercy, man. No mercy. Not for the kind of shit he’s done.

And it’s only a matter of time, because Aelin, across the sea, on a different fucking continent, has made her stand. It was her declaration, in front of the Valg. That battle was where she announces to the whole fucking world that she’s back, and she’s better than ever. Aedion knows, finally, that his cousin is alive for real. Chaol knows he didn’t just send her off to death. Dorian knows. The king knows. Everyone knows. And I can only hope that the people of Terrasen are ready. And the people of Adarlan, because when she comes, she comes for blood, she comes for revenge, she comes for the king’s head mounted on a pike and no one can stop her.

“You didn’t need a weapon at all when you were born one.”

Likes: What I really liked in this book was that we got to see from different POVs. Well, maybe I should amend that: We got to see from multiple POVs, with buildup. Like, before, we only saw from like, say, Kaltain or the King’s POVs when the really needed to push along the plot. Or reveal something we, the reader, had already half-suspected. Like with the headaches or the Wyrdkeys. We didn’t use them until they were truly necessary. Like, every time we saw from Kaltain’s POV, she was whining about headaches (in ToG). In HoF, it’s different. We see from Celaena and Dorian and Chaol, ofc, but then there’s Monan and Sorscha and their stories take a while too unfold as well, to interweave themselves into the overarching plot. Sarah, imo, has really gotten better at weaving. And I really, really like this weaving.

Dislikes: While I said I like the multiple PoVs, there were times when they became a burden as well. Especially with the Monan ones. I just found them to be such a drag sometimes, particularly when there was something a lot more exciting going on with Celaena and Rowan or Dorian and Chaol.

“They had survived, when so many had not. And no one else could understand what it was like to bear it, unless they had lost as much.”

The Characters:

For me, in this book, I didn’t particularly like this Celaena. I mean, she was going through a lot, so I understand. But I just. It’s hard to watch someone you know, someone you love, go through all this hardship and break. It’s just really, really hard to see such a tough character crumble so easily like that, and we see that happen to her multiple times in this book. It’s a reality check, I guess. But still. Like, with the Valg princes, I just. I couldn’t. So while I love all of Celaena, the Celaena we see most in this book is a mess. She eventually comes back into herself, mastering her magic, training by herself at dawn and being a complete badass, but it takes a long, long while. Hopefully, we get to see her be more confident and sure as she takes on the mantle that is Aelin Ashryver Galathynius.

Okay, I’m going to be completely honest: I thought Aedion Ashryver was such a pompous asshole when I first met him. But even worse, because he has Ashryver blood. He’s cousins to Aelin. He’s...he’s supposed to be good. But then Chaol started tailing him, and we learn he’s been disappearing form his own parties. Ah. So he’s loyal after all. And as we read on, we learn he is very loyal. He would’ve become bound to Aelin by blood, bound to her like Rowan now is and stayed by her side for eternity. He would’ve done anything for her. And I think that really shows, especially at the end. He sacrifices himself, not for Chaol, but for the hope that is Aelin, knowing that Chaol will help Aelin, and perhaps be of more help than he is to her. He would’ve loved to see her one last time, but instead, he gives himself up. Damn, that Ashryver blood is nice.

Now. Let’s talk about Rowan Whitethorn. Random fact: I totally thought it was white-horn for the longest time. Oops. Anyways. Rowan. Fucking ass, I thought. Doesn’t talk to Celaena at all. Completely ruins her. Drags her down. Isn’t helpful at all. Any inkling of bonding moment they have, he breaks it off immediately afterwards. Thankfully though, Emrys (good ol’ Emrys) slaps some sense into him and he and Celaena aren’t on such a rocky edge anymore. Walking a tight rope instead of tight thread. They banter more, are more comfortable with each other. And then the soldiers of Adarlan come, Norrak and the Valg princes. And then things really shift. They are bound together for life, now. And Rowan, in Maeve’s palace, taking that whipping just. No. Celaena might not have wanted him to swear that bloodoath to her, but he needed to. An anchor, so to speak.

Now for another new character we meet: Sorscha. Now, I had no idea what to think of Sorscha. We learn of her infatuation with Dorian early on, and immediately I know it’s going to be acted upon because why else would we read from her PoV unless it’s truly important? But I’m glad Sorscha existed. Because Sorscha pulled Dorian out of whatever wallowing misery he was in and helped him hone his magic. Without Chaol, Sorscha was the only one he could kind of lean on. So to have that happen to her, at the end. We all were a mess, no doubt. Fucking distraught. Ruined. Hell.

And oh. Dorian. Poor, poor Dorian. Dorian for me really grows in this book. At first, I absolutely detested him. Like, I wanted to like him in the beginning, I really did. But then he found Aedion and Chaol talking and immediately thought of betrayal and consorting with the enemy. And he doesn’t even try to work with them. Doesn’t try to understand, to understand why Chaol kept the secrets. To think that, maybe, he could work with Celaena. Work with Aelin, to overthrow his father, so then they can all be better off. Nope. Doesn’t do that. Thankfully, he meets Sorscha. Sorscha is his one beacon of hope and light, especially after he kicks Chaol away to the curb. Sorscha helps him master his magic, and I think that’s really where Dorian’s turning point is. Dorian isn’t trying to suppress his powers anymore, but instead is learning how to control it, how to harness them. He is embracing who is, and I think that’s really important for him. Dorian, who has had basically no control over what he is and what he does for his entire life, finally has control over something. Very nice growth, Dorian. I’m proud. I can only hope that growth helps you survive whatever horrors your father will make you suffer through in QoS.

Now for Chaol. God, I didn’t think I liked Chaol. But Chaol is sacrificing so much. He sacrificed his dignity by going to his father for help. He sacrificed his friendship with Dorian to protect him. And he sacrificed his love for Celaena to protect her. Chaol is like the ultimate shadow-guard. Unfortunately, on the other hand, Chaol is also, like Dorian said, the only one who hasn’t let go yet. Celaena is breaking herself apart every single day in Wendlyn, training with Rowan, finally embracing her heritage. Dorian is...well. Dorian is stifling his magic, yes, but with good reason. Chaol, though, could do so much more, and he doesn’t. Yes, he works with Aedion and eventually comes up with something. But then that all goes to shits and pieces at the end. Everything they did, even that little bit he patched up with Dorian…all goes down the fucking drain with one summon from the king. Jfc, I could murder Chaol right now for his idiocy. Definitely not my favorite character in this book.

On the other hand, Emrys. Emrys I could totally get behind. Emrys is that really old uncle that no one knows how old he is and has all the cool stories and is just this useful presence. Doesn’t poke or prod, but is there when Celaena or Rowan needed a jab. Any of you watch Merlin? Because I don’t if it’s just the BBC show, if the real (real? was he real?) Merlin was actually called Emrys but I freaked when I read that name. Just a little. Internally.

Now, I mentioned above that the varying PoVs were a double-edged sword for me. Monan Blackbeak, we learn early on, is a witch. A deadly, cruel, fierce witch. And, at first, I just could not get through her chapters. But then we continued on. And we grew more attached to her. We learn she may not be as harsh as the rest of her compatriots, as cruel as the Yellowlegs heir. We actually sympathize with her, feel with her, even though she is being trained to ride her wyvern for the king. We actually (or, at least, I) begin to understand her, which is interesting. She chooses a bait beast for her wyvern. Abraxos. God, I love Abraxos. Abraxos sniffing those flowers when she tries to feed him a goat leg? That was hilarious. And I especially loved how HoF was basically watching Monan grow a heart. Like, she bonded with Abraxos and she saved Petrah and she hesitated with killing the Crochan witch. Still though, while I feel for her, she’s still Wing Leader, flying a squadron for the king and against our favorite characters. Can you imagine if she and Celaena came head-to-head? My hope is that Monan will one day see the light and meet up with our main gang and burn that glass palace to ruin.

“It would not take a monster to destroy a monster – but light, light to drive out darkness.”

My Questions

What does that Wyrd collar do?

We’ve seen the rings in action. We’ve seen them manipulate and hurt. But the collar. Does the collar mean that Dorian has no self-control whatsoever? He’s a puppet to his father? Or does it mean that it manipulates him into thinking he does have control, but in reality he doesn’t? How do we get it off? I want it off of Dorian! Now!

What the fuck is Celaena going to do about the fact that she hasn’t killed the royal family of Wendlyn? What the fuck is the king going to do to her?

Uh, I’m still holding out the hope that the Ashryvers will suddenly want to help their cousin.

What about the whole Dorian/Celaena/Chaol love triangle?

Um. Huh. Good question. I was nearly convinced it would be Chaol. But then. Well. Then there’s Rowan there. And Dorian has the same ice and wind power to extinguish Celaena’s fire like Rowan does, so that’s a nice match. And – the real deal breaker here, I think – was the part where Celaena questioned Rowan about mates and how she had attacked Chaol that one time and Rowan kind of avoided answering. That really made me question it. But still. There’s a major problem of the fact that they are heirs of two different kingdoms. What the fuck are they going to do about that? Can Celaena put Aedion on the throne? I suppose she could do that. Maybe she’ll do that. Celorian?

"She was the heir of ash and fire, and she would bow to no one.”

#emthinks #emthinks books #sjm #sarah j maas #tog #throne of glass #hof #heir of fire

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emthinks · 8 years ago

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A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

No. No. What? No.

I don’t have thoughts. I do not comprehend. Give me a few moments (days, weeks) to gather the broken pieces of my brain. I shall be back.

Fair warning: Someone told me ACoMaF is like wrapping you in a warm, fluffy blanket and not letting go while EoS is stabbing you a thousand times with needles. I’d like to point out right now that that statement is false. ACoMaF can be a warm fuzzy blanket at first, sure, but one that slowly falls apart so just when you think you’re safe and okay, it freezes your ass off because it can’t protect you any longer. It betrays you.

Rating: 9.8/10

My Notes (as condensed from my iPad):

I start off and my first thought is: “wtf is going on?” Like, there’s a wedding? Feyre/Tamlin right? No. No. Like, five pages in and I’m reading about dresses and parties and Feyre saying how she wishes she’d one day learn to love her role as the blushing bride and all I’m hearing is no. Because Feyre is not, under any circumstances, just a pretty bride or the helpless princess. She is a warrior among her own right and should be treated as such, damn it. Wtf happened in that time gap between the end of ACoTaR and the beginning of this book? What the fuck?

And she’s not allowed to help? At all?

“Feyre Cursebreaker”. Huh. That’s new.

“I was introduced and passed around” like a fucking toy? Hell no.

“Alone in my bedroom, I realized I couldn’t remember the last time I’d truly laughed.” Jfc. Is it just me or does it sound like Feyre might be in a little – just a little – pain? Huh, Tamlin? Tamlin, who doesn’t give two shits and who doesn’t wake up when Feyre is puking her guts out every night? Wow, what a wonderful and supportive fiancé you are Tamlin. Would really want to marry you

Also, is it just me or does the first part of this where Feyre is trapped read a lot like Just Ella? Anyone ever read that? It’s about after the happily ever after of Cinderella. Except it’s not much of a happily ever after. That’s how I felt. Like this was just a really shitty happily ever after.

Also, hey, after three months Rhys finally calls in the bargain. Right during Feyre’s wedding. Good. Because Feyre sounded like she was so done with this right now. Except she’s so deep in denial, it’s kind of side. Also, like, Tamlin just gave up so easily – he just threatened Rhys a bit and called it a day. Like, no. If you really love her – if you really want Feyre – you should be fighting a little harder for your bride-to-be.

Hey! Feyre gets to learn how to read and write. “Rhysand is the best, Rhysand is awesome.” That’s hilarious. Also, Feyre is learning Occlumency. I’m literally getting flashbacks to HBP and Snape’s lessons with Harry. Fun, right?

Yes, yes, yes! We finally rescue Feyre! Yay Mor! “Not safe. Not protected. Free.” Hell yeah you are!

The Court of Dreams vs. The Court of Nightmares. Oh I love that.

Okay, idk what that whole prison scene shit was but it sounded a lot like Azkaban. But worse. Because these prisoners have been here for a long time. Also, the Bone Carve scared the shit out of me. It better not come into play later – Feyre shared one too many secrets with that asshole.

The whole Weaver scene was absolutely insane. Like, I couldn’t flip the (metaphorical) pages on my iPad fast enough. Feyre needed to get out. (Fuck you Rhys and making her fetch a ring.) Feyre has to get out. Go, go, Feyre!

Wow, this scene with Elain and Nesta went real well, didn’t it? Nesta, wtf? I thought you were supposed to be on our side?

Also, the Feysand training is basically Rowaelin training. Fae mates are just merciless, aren’t they?

The Summer Court bit was fun. A nice break. I like Tarquin. Tarquin is our friend. Also, going down to get the Book, I knew shit was going to go to pieces. There’s no way they’d make it that easy for us. And guess what? I was right

Wow, the mortal queens are assholes. Willing to abandon the island to save the continent. Fuck them.

Also is it just me or did the sex scenes read like fanfics? I’m not complaining, per say, just finding it…odd. Very well-written fics, but…fics nonetheless. Basically, what I’m saying is that Sarah J Maas’s original stories read like my favorite fanfics/authors and you don’t understand how ecstatic I am about that.

Like that throne room scene in the Court of Nightmares? Literally the sexual tension was through the fucking roof. It got so heated. Was expecting they start banging right there in front of everyone.

I mean, so were the cabin scenes, I guess, but that throne room. JFC. Combustion. I was in public reading this on iBooks on my phone and I was like so worried people would take the words out of context. That would've been awkward

Starfall scene was wonderful and beautiful and fluffy and feels

Okay, that journey to the Illyrian camp could’ve gone a lot better. Like, I thought everything was okay, right? And then Feysand go into the mountains to train. And who shows up but Lucien? Like, still convinced Feyre is brainwashed and here to “rescue” her.

And if that wasn’t enough, basically immediately after, we get Rhysand super injured because some assholes just shot him with ash arrows? Like, no. It’s Hybern. Ofc. Fuck them.

Okay, love how whenever Feyre has a question/problem, she just goes and traps the Suriel

They’re mates! Yes! I knew it! Thanks Suriel!

Okay, Feyre, wtf? Why you running away into a secluded cabin? All Rhys wanted to do was protect you.

But lol, Mor telling Feyre to paint her eyes next to Amren’s so they can all judge the boys is great. I love it.

Finally, finally Feyre just accepts it. God, you’ve been family for ages already jfc just accept it and can we move on please?

Okay, Rhys talking about he was dreaming about Feyre for years, even when she was mortal, and how she was all that kept him sane Under the Mountain was just heartbreaking

THEY SHOWED THEM VELARIS AND THEN THEY WERE ATTACKED

I know the nice queen warned them not to trust the other queens, but seriously? Velaris?! The only beautiful thing left in this fucked up continent? You assholes

“So I won my wedding ring without even being asked if I wanted to marry you.” Wow. Figures it would go something like this.

So the whole “let's go destroy the Cauldron” part sounded sketchy from start to finish lbr, so I was just waiting for something to go wrong

I just didn't anticipate it to be that wrong

First Feyre puts the Books together. Which. Idiot

Then Jurian shows up. I'm not particularly sure his storyline (am still confused about his history) to tell us that he's just been sent here to distract us

And then they shoot Azriel. And all I'm thinking is “Fuck they WOULD target Azriel”

And so they can't do shit. The most powerful people ever, Feyre with all seven court lords’ powers, Rhysand as the most powerful High Lord, Cassian as a ridiculously powerful Illyrian, Mor who was auctioned off as a bride because of her power – none of them could live a god damned finger. And I was SO worried

And then fucking TAMLIN AND LUCIEN STEP THROUGH

HELLS NO

I have to be reading this wrong. <Goes back to reread last line of last chapter> Fuck. No.

Fucking Tamlin is delusional and Lucien’s loyalties are ridiculous and you literally just let the dude who wants to destroy the whole world in through your backyard so it'll be easier for him to destroy your world, and all for what?

But noooo, we’re not done yet. The mortal queens show up

And we learn they've given up their whole world to be made immortal. Like, what?

And then we’re thoroughly fucked because Feyre’s sisters get dragged in

We learn that the King of Hybern can use the Cauldron to turn mortals immortal. And Nesta and Elain are the test subjects

(Keep in mind that I am reading this whole ending, starting from like right before they reach the Cauldron, in line at lunch. In public. And I couldn't scream or flail and it was torture)

Cassian’s WINGS. Omg I almost forgot. Cass no. He'd rather have death than not be able to fly Cass NO

I almost lost it - would've started crying had I not been in public – when they made Elain go first.

Elain comes out Fae, which, yay? At least she’s not dead. And she's immortal now

Nesta goes down, kicking and screaming and cursing the King of Hybern. And that line – that line of “I knew something was different”, I nearly knocked into somebody in line before me because I was so worried it would say she was dead

But she wasn't. Thank the Cauldron. Actually, fuck the Cauldron

But we’re not done yet. Not even close.

Because Feyre starts to say she's willing to do anything – give up anything – to those she loves. To save her sister. And – oh no – a feeling of dread starts to build up…

Feyre fucking manages to convince everyone that she was indeed under Rhysand’s spell and she's in love with Tamlin again. Like, no Feyre.

And if that wasn't enough, fucking Feyre asks – asks – the King of Hybern to break their bond. NO NO NO. We just spent like five hundred pages trying to make the bond are you ducking kidding me?

It happens anyways. And we’re sobbing right alongside Feyre. As she returns to the Spring Court with Tamlin and Lucien

And then we get a Rhysand PoV. And we learn that LOL actually, the mating bond wasn't cleaved. Just the whole bargain one. And also, LOL, Feyre can now be a spy for us. And also, LOL, we got married last night. And also, LOL, I made her the High Lady of the Night Court so fuck y'all fuckers

Tbh, that one Rhysand PoV at the end was my saving grace. I don't think I foul would've been as soothing if we heard it just from Feyre. I needed to have known that Rhysand was on board too, that this was what we had to go with

I mean, I'm still not actually happy with the ending, but it's (spoiler alert: EoS) still one hell of a better ending than EoS. Fml #savefeyre

“When you spend so long trapped in the darkness, Lucien, you find that the darkness begins to stare back.” – Feyre Archeron

The Characters:

One thing that I really loved about this second book was that we really got to see how Feyre grew, as a character and as a person and how she learned to fight. Like in the beginning, she was so helpless – or, rather, she thought she was helpless and should just subject herself to Tamlin locking her up, but then she runs away and starts training with Rhysand and it gets so much better. But not immediately, because that would be unrealistic. Instead, Feyre slowly learns about her abilities and what she can do with the powers of all seven High Lords, and it’s a slow process. Especially in the beginning. She has no control – she’s just been made High Fae, so it’s understandable. But to read about the trials and error she undergoes, how she learns how to winnow and how she works on her water abilities in the Summer Court because she’s near Tarquin and how she finally gets over Tamlin (mostly) and shapeshifts and it’s great. It really is. Feyre has become a bamf and I can’t wait to see what she can do – what she will do – now that she’s an official spy in Tamlin’s Court. She’s no longer going to be held down, locked up. Not anymore. Not this High Fae Feyre. Not the High Lady of the Night Court. No, if you upset Feyre – if you get on her bad side – you better pray to whatever god or Cauldron you believe in that she leaves and piece of you behind when she’s finished. She can defend herself now, fight for her own rights, and I think that’s so important.

Rhysand is not an asshole. What do you know? Well, I never thought he was a complete asshole, even in ACoTaR, because he was just subjecting himself to Amarantha Under the Mountain to protect his people, after all. But then in ACoMaF, we learn just how far he’s willing to go for his people. To protect Velaris. And honestly, Velaris is like a fucking dream. It’s beautiful. Who wouldn’t want to protect this city? And we learn Rhys has sacrificed so much of himself for others, to make those he love happy, to make sure his friends weren’t Under the Mountain and even initially giving up on Feyre because he just wanted her to be happy, even though if it meant if he’d be suffering for all of eternity. Like, Rhys, when have you ever done something nice for yourself? You should. When this trilogy ends, you better treat yourself good. I mean it. That’s an order.

Cassian is amazing. He’s so entertaining and fun and I love him. He’s like the jokester of the group. Except after hearing his backstory, you start to wonder why he’s the jokester. Why he’s so goddamned happy all the time and – more importantly – how? Like, Cassian’s childhood was shit. Azriel at least knew he was special and Rhys. I mean, with Rhys, everyone knew he was the child of the High Lord of the Night Court and thus his powers were through the roof, even if he was training with everyone else. But with Cassian. Oh poor Cassian. I felt so bad because Cassian was just a regular guy who just wanted to prove his worth but wasn’t allowed to and he had to go through so much and he deserves all the happiness he gets right now and and and his wings! I almost screamed when I read about his wings being burned off (or ripped?) and I can’t. He has to be fine. They have to be fine. They said an Illyrian warrior would rather die than not be able to fly, and I don’t know about you, but I can’t have Cassian dying on me. Nope. That’s not going to happen so you better buck up and get those wings fixed mister before I even get to ACoWaR.

Mor is Nehemia. But more badass. Like Nehemia fought with words and subtly, while Mor was in your face and you had to defend from that. Mor is great. I really wish Feyre had bonded with Mor more. (Wow, “Mor more”. That sounds weird even in my head while I’m writing it.)

Unlike Mor, I didn't know what to think of Amren for a while. She seemed okay. She's Rhys’ second in command so she had to be a good person, and capable. And then we learn more about her. About how she's not of this world – of how she's so fucking powerful, she's currently on a leash. (Rhys mentioned at one point to Feyre that if all else fails, he’ll find a way to unleash her powers on the world and kill himself first.) And she drinks blood. Which I did immediately think when Feyre saw her not eating, but I thought that would be too Twilight-esque. Apparently not. Still, she's not a vampire so I'm not particularly sure what she is. I want to know. I want to know what Amren really is, and I want to see her going full out and ravaging the King of Hybern. That would be a sight to behold.

Azriel is my kind of guy. He's silent but he's always present and he's so damn good at his job, it bothers him when he can't accomplish shit immediately. He's like always on call and he's just as capable as everyone else in the Inner Circle and it’s wonderful.,

Tarquin is freaking awesome. I really liked him. I didn’t think I would. But he was an idealist, a young High Lord, and he was like Rhysand. Except not as cunning. I think he would make a wonderful ally. And I think, if we just explain the situation to him, we could get him on our side, making him understand why we needed the Book. Also, side note, Tarquin sends giant rubies personally engraved as a sign of aggression. Like, sign me up please! Where can I get some of those?

Tamlin is a fucking bastard. There’s no nice way to put it. Tamlin is a bastard and I can’t believe I liked him before. Jfc. Did you have to ruin everything, Tamlin? Everything. He ruined literally everything. And for what? A woman who no longer loves you because you had locked her up, didn’t listen to her. A woman you didn’t treat as your equal. And you wonder why she wanted to escape so badly from you? Why she’s still secretly escaping? You are delusional and you are an idiot and I really hope you come back to us (because you’re hot) because otherwise, you’re going straight to hell, a grave right alongside the King of Hybern and Ianthe and Jurian.

Lucien is honestly not much better. Could be worse. Still doesn’t question Tamlin. Still doesn’t try to fight him. He knows Feyre is wasting away. He knows Tamlin is doing some dumbass shit. He knows. He has to know that Tamlin making that god damned bargain with the King of Hybern was the stupidest thing he could’ve ever done, but did I see him do anything? Nope. Just sobbing over a once-human mate. You’ll get what’s coming to you, Lucien, unless you convert too. I’m sorry, but I really have no pity for you. You’re not dumb, Lucien, nor blinded by love, like Tamlin can claim, so I don’t really understand why you aren’t protesting more – your protested more in ACoTaR when Tamlin wouldn’t tell you shit about the curse! Jfc Lucien I know you can do more, so I better see you step up your game, talk to Feyre, otherwise if she leaves you behind, I won’t protest.

With Ianthe, I really should've seen it coming. Because she was just such a randomly introduce character whom we had no background for, unlike Lucien, so we couldn't even see if she was semi-decent and she's complying with Tamlin’s every wish and ignoring Feyre and dressing her up and not an actually friend. One thing I'm glad this book did is teach Feyre who actual friends are and what they'd do for each other. Aka. The Inner Circle and not Ianthe.

“The issue isn’t whether he loved you, it’s how much. Too much. Love can be a poison.” – Rhysand

The Ships:

Feysand (Feyre/Rhysand): Is beautiful. They’re mates. I knew it! I predicted it ever since Rhys’ eyes went wide Under the Mountain. That parting scene. And it’s everything and more that I could want from them. Really.

Azriel/Mor: Is the saddest relationship ever. I don’t mean sad like Tamlin/Feyre said (that’s just messed up) or sad like there’s no chemistry. I mean sad like why the fuck haven’t they fucked yet? Like, Azriel doesn’t think he’s good enough or something, and I guess Mor thinks the same, because of what she had to undergo as a powerful woman born in the Court of Nightmares. Like, no. Literally, “Azriel would likely love Mor until he was a whisper of darkness between the stars” should not be the best quote about your relationship. Please fix this. Please. Someone, anyone. Feyre? Rhysand? Amren? Cassian?

Nestian (Nesta/Cassian): it’s not just me, right? Like, this is an actual thing? I think they’re mates. I also think they’re going to tear each other apart before they admit that, but hey, it’s Nesta and Cassian. That wouldn’t be surprising at all.

Elucien (Elain/Lucien): These two are actually mates. And honestly, I think this could work out really well. Or really badly. Like, Elain is the one who was engaged to an anti-faerie guy, but Elain is also a lot nicer. A lot less strong-willed than Nesta. So as long as Lucien isn’t an ass – which, honestly, he seemed just shocked – we should all be good with this pair. They seem like they’ll be cute.

Tamlin/Feyre: Is someone seriously still questioning the shipping dilemna? There isn’t. Tamlin is an ass and it’s Feysand all the way and if you aren’t Feysand that’s some fucked up relationship you’re behind right there. I’m not about that shit, sorry not sorry.

“I was his and he was mine, and we were the beginning and middle and end. We were a song that had been sung from the very first ember of light in the world.” – Feyre Archeron

My Questions:

Just what are the limits of Feyre’s powers?

Like, she has the power of all seven courts, all seven High Lords. Does she have a limit? I want to see her go full out. The Cauldron was practically singing to her. She would tear the whole god damned world apart if she mastered all seven courts. And it would be glorious to watch her do so.

Wtf happened when Nesta went into the Cauldron?

Like, Feyre said that with Nesta (in comparison to Elain) it was different. Did Nesta get more powers? Was Nesta’s grudge against the King of Hybern going to come into play.

Wtf is Amren?

I really want to know what Amren is. To see the full extent of her powers. Because she will decimate her opponents, especially without whatever leash holding her back that Rhys casually mentioned that one time. I want to see her go to town on the King of Hybern. She better. It’s the least she can do, after everything her friends have gone through.

“No one was my master – but I might be master of everything if I wished. If I dared.” – Feyre Archeron

My hopes/predictions for the future:

I finally get what #savefeyre means

And I wholeheartedly agree

Yes, she’s a spy, but she’s also your mate Rhysand. Go and get her back god damn it.

Also, it might be stupid and naïve of me, but I’m still holding out hope that Tamlin joins them.

I have slightly higher hopes that Lucien will understand. Or at least work with them (Feyre, mostly) because his mate has been taken. But I think Lucien understands and can sympathize better with Feyre in general, so I have higher hopes that he’ll really join their forces and work with Rhysand and see that the Night Court isn’t just a bunch of assholes

Oh, that’s another thing I want to happen: people seeing the Night Court as it truly is – a split between the Court of Nightmares and the Court of Dreams. People being able to see – and appreciate – Velaris (fuck those mortal queens. Fuck those bitches to hell. I’m with you on that Feyre)

Although, the Court of Nightmares does exist still, so I really hope that after everything is said and done and the King of Hybern and fucking Ianthe, that bitch, and the mortal queens and Jurian and everyone is disposed and taken care of that we can go back with Mor and Cassian and Azriel and sack the god damned place. And return the wonderful treatment Mor received during her time as a female in that underground

Another thing: Amren. Amren and her power. I really want to see what the fuck she can do – what her limits are

And Nesta and Elain! I want them to fight alongside Feyre & co. That would be ideal. And drag along Lucien.

“To the stars who listen – and the dreams that are answered.” – Rhysand

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emthinks · 8 years ago

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Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

Although this is technically a reread in preparation of starting on the rest of the series, since it is one of my favorite series, I thought I should probably review it.

The one thing about Sarah J Maas, in my long break between my reading of Crown of Midnight and my re-read of this book (approximately 3 years, give or take?) is that I had forgotten exactly why I liked Sarah J Maas. It has been a while (a long, long while) since I’ve finished a book with the speed I did, not to mention the fact that I cannot recall a single instance when I had finished a re-read in that same speed. Although I always had this inkling, in the back of my mind, that I had ranked the Throne of Glass series in my top five favorite series of all time for a reason, disregarding the fact that I had only read two books of the intended six, I could never truly recall what the reasons actually were.

Needless to say, now I can. In perfect, clear, crisp detail. And the following will be a list of each and every single one of them.

Rating: 9.8/10

“We each survive in our own way.” - Celaena Sardothien

An Overview:

Perhaps I had intended to read this book more slowly, this time around. To garner a better understanding of the story, of its characters, of Sarah’s ultimate goal. That was, of course, all before. And then I started reading, and I flew threw it in under 48 hours. So please excuse me if I leave out some details.

However, despite my claims that I had forgotten nearly everything in this series, I still could recall (most) of the important plot points, including (but not limited to): Caelana’s progress through the Test, the accumulating bodies of dead Champions, Cain as our antagonist, and Nehemia as the best friend one could ever ask. I did not, however, remember the role Kaltain had played, or the manipulation by Duke Perrington and the King, using her as a pawn to test their powers and her consequential headaches. (Tbh, I think I noticed it the first time around though.)

Keeping that in mind though, despite most of the critical plot points, I still plowed through this story like no tomorrow. I still enjoyed all the banter between Celaena and Dorian; I still loved visualizing Celaena overcoming all the obstacles set before her and trouncing her competition soundly in the Tests (her duel with Varian (Varin?) was especially fun); I still loved the easy relationship with Nehemia; I still loved the fight sequences (especially the last one with Cain, where Elena came and it made Celaena look crazy to outsiders but hey, who cares?); and most of all, I still loved that I still loved this book, this series, this world, despite the years. That’s how you truly know it’s a good book.

“We all bear scars, Dorian. Mine just happens to be more visible than most.” – Celaena Sardothien

Celaena is still the most badass girl I remember. I remember reading the summary, of her being an assassin, and I was like “hell yeah!” She’s great. And I love how she isn’t portrayed to be this perfect protagonist. Yeah, she can fight her way out of anything, but she’s also arrogant and selfish. She’s too proud of her abilities, sometimes, and I like how training with Chaol, with the other Champions, really knock her down a peg. Or two. She needs that humbleness. Yes, she has spirit, which is impressive after a year in Endovier, but she has to show humility at some points too. And I think that’s great character development. And I think her relationship with Nehemia really propelled her towards that.

Speaking of whom. Nehemia. God, the female characters really are great, huh? They kick fucking ass. Nehemia, who knows she’s here more as a POW than anyone with actual power, doesn’t give up. She still attends these councils with the King and advocates for her people, for their freedom. She doesn’t back down from a fight, even if she knows she’s going to lose. Yes, I kind of hated her when we found out she was just faking her lack of knowledge of the common tongue to get information, but then I realized that was just another badass thing she did. She did everything she could to help her people, and I really think that’s admirable.

On the other hand...Dorian. Oh, Dorian. How I love you. But how I also kind of hate you. God, it’s such a balance with everyone in this book, but especially you. Dorian is fun and good. He knows what his father is doing is wrong (really wrong) but he doesn’t do anything. He is as terrified of the king as anyone else. He doesn’t have any backbone. And I really think that’s going to come back to bite him in the ass one day. Like it’s said, he’s a reader, not a fighter. But he needs to be both, if he will become King of Adarlan one day. He needs to know the history of the kingdom, yes, feel the plight of the people, sure, but he also needs to know how to defend himself, fight for his own beliefs. Nehemia does that beautifully, because Nehemia hasn’t been sheltered her whole life. Oh, you can argue that Dorian’s battles are more subtle, the silent wars between his father, his need of escapism from the family, but honestly, he hasn’t suffered nearly as much as anyone else. Don’t get me wrong: I still adore Dorian. I just...would adore him a little bit more if he grew a spine. Or just a few of the spinal bones. I’m not picky.

Even Chaol dirtied his hands in this book. Which. I still can’t believe that Chaol, the Captain of the Guard, hadn’t killed a single person until Cain. Don’t you find that a little ridiculous? Perhaps Chaol is even more sheltered than Dorian. Or perhaps we just don’t know where his fights are. Either way, we don’t learn a lot about Chaol. Yes, I’m glad he’s there, a constant presence by Celaena’s side, training with her and sparring and all. But. He’s just there. Supposedly, it’s “two men love her” and he’s one of the two. I know he’s not Dorian in his show of affection, but come on. Give me something to work with here. I really don’t know what to think of you.

On the other hand, I know exactly what to think of some of these other characters:

The fucking king. Needs to die. Now. Please and thank you.

Jeoffrey Oh whoops. Sorry. Hollin. But in my defense, he is totally, 100% Jeoffrey from Game of Thrones. Just saying.

“Names are not important. It’s what lies inside of you that matters.” – Princess Nehemia Ytger

Questions:

Team Dorian or Team Chaol?

There are many things I didn’t remember from my first reading of Throne of Glass, but this was not one of them. I was (and still am) a strong shipper of Celorian.

“You could rattle the stars. You could do anything, if you only dared.” – Elena Galathynius Havilliard

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