Grisha Trilogy Finale Felt Unfinished || Rise & Ruin Critique

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Title: Ruin & Rising
Series: Grisha Trilogy
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
Publication Date: June 17, 2014
Format: Kindle/Audiobook
# of Pages: 432

Synopsis:

The capital has fallen.

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation’s fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova’s amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling’s secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The Firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

Not a Whole Lot of Siege or Storm | Siege & Storm Critique

Rating: 
Title: Siege & Storm
Series: The Grisha Trilogy
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
Publication Date: June 4, 2013
Format: Kindle/Audiobook
# of Pages: 401

Synopsis:

Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

So Many Series, So Little Time || Chit Chat

Welcome back to the blog! I recently watched a video from JesseTheReader where he talked about the series he wants to finish this year. I liked this idea, so I borrowed it and am sharing a handful of the series that I want to finish. I guess you can say that this is sort of a TBR for the year, but I’m not in any way strictly holding myself to this because as you may remember from a post I wrote last year, I firmly believe that TBRs contribute to my reading slumps. These are just some small goals for me to help (continue to) kick my butt back into the reading gear.

Six of Crows Duology – Leigh Bardugo

I recently finished Six of Crows (review to come!) and immediately bought Crooked Kingdom. As much as I have know what happens, I’m striving to finish the Grisha trilogy first so I’m not spoiled by anything else. 😛

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The Grisha Trilogy – Leigh Bardgo

I read Shadow & Bone last year and absolutely fell in love with it. One of the reasons why I didn’t continue with the series was because I heard that Siege & Storm is a victim of the second book slump.  I’m currently reading it right now, and while things have picked up it’s just…odd.

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The Lunar Chronicles – Marissa Meyer

Literally the only reason I haven’t finished this series yet is because Winter is so damn long. It’s 800 pages!! Home girl did not have the patience for that last year during her slump. Plus with the release of Stars Above last February, I wanted to read the novellas in the right order as suggested by Trina.

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Throne of Glass – Sarah J. Maas

Much to my dismay, I’m not caught up with this series yet again. I still have to read Empire of Storms, which will hopefully happen soon. With the release of the last book in September, I can’t believe that we’re already at the end of this series. Although I was late to jump on the bandwagon, I’m sad to see it go. (Consolation prize is four more books in the ACOTAR series though.)

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Beautiful Bastard – Christina Lauren

I’m too lazy to make a graphic for this series because there like a thousand books. Beautiful was released last October and is the final book in the Beautiful Bastards series. I’m so sad to see this series come to an end because it’s just so dang sexy and funny. They need to make into a movie, pronto. (Just the first one….or maybe the third one too.)

What series are you guys aiming to finish this year? Do we share any of the same ones? Let’s chat below! 😀

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Critique || A Court of Mist & Fury by Sarah J. Maas

I’m not sure what I was expecting from this book, but it was definitely not this and I love it. I got everything I want and more from ACOMAF. I’ve decided that I’m going to split this review into a non-spoiler section and a spoilery discussion section. Ok? Ok. Let’s get to this because there’s so much I need to get out. (This is a long one. Sorry!)

Synopsis:

Feyre survived Amarantha’s clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can’t forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin’s people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.

Brief Thoughts:

• Unlike ACOTAR, the pacing for this book was good. We felt Feyre’s conflict about what she’d done from the start and from there it kept going.
• I really, truly don’t see a love triangle here, and I feel sorry for everyone missing out on it because of that.
• We get to meet a ton of new characters, each of whom I completely fell in love with.
• The world-building kinda sorta awed me in this book. We learn so much more about relationships between courts, fae politics, and traditions.
• I love Feyre’s character development in this book; she really comes into her own and starts to find her own way.
• Rhysand. I loved everything about him and that we get to know him a little better.
• The ending…as is SJM’s style, she really threw me for a loop and I had to sit back and go, “Wow,” when I was done.
• The writing style felt different, which was great. Though there were a lot of F-bombs I wasn’t expecting and oh boy, were there more of those steamy scenes she loves to write, haha.
• If you’re a fan of Tamlin, you don’t see much of him in the book at all. He’s absent for probably 95% of it.

That’s all I can really say without giving away too much. Keep on reading if you want to see my in-depth thoughts. 😀

***Spoiler warning from here on out***

Critique | Demon King by Kassandra Lynn

3.5 Teacups

**I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review**

So my review for the first book in this trilogy, Demon Princess, was pretty much a rave review. I loved most everything about the story, and only had a couple of things on my wish list for the next book. Unfortunately, I feel like this book took a step back both in terms of writing and character development. Yes, I know it’s a review copy, but I did end up downloading the finished book on Kindle Unlimited to track my progress, and there were still a lot of grammar mistakes. Normally I can look past it, because we’re all human and mistakes happen, but some of these mistakes distracted me from reading. I had to go back and reread the sentence to make sure that I grasped what was happening. In addition to that, some of the writing felt a bit juvenile. There’s one sentence in particular where it said,

Xander has blocked Drake’s attack at the last minute!

I was just kind of like, ‘You don’t say? Thank you for that Captain Obvious.’

Critique | Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

4.5 Teacups
Dates Read: January 13, 2016 – January 15, 2016

I enjoyed this book immensely. The characters, the plot, the magic, it was fantastic. Not gonna lie, this is probably attributed to the Darkling. Majorly. All of my notes and Goodreads updates centered around him and his softer side, but I’ll get to him later. I want to talk about Alina. She was pretty hilarious.

Oh well, I thought as I got to my feet. Maybe he’ ll fall into a ditch on his way…

This made her feel relatable, albeit a bit stubborn at times. She isn’t overly beautiful and stunning, in fact, she looks sickly most of the time, which we find out has to do with her subconsciously suppressing her power.  Once she learned to let go and embrace it, she started to look like a normal, healthy human being. Before that though, I think she sold herself short on a lot of things, including her relationship with her best friend Mal. She’s secretly in love with him and totally writing herself off because she doesn’t think he can see her the same as other girls. Despite that it’s evident that he’ll always be there for her, she doesn’t quite see it right away.

Critique | Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Dates Read: October 21st, 2015 – October 23rd, 2015

4 Teacups

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

I really enjoyed this book and the whole concept of parents having their “troubled kids”unwound. Would I ever wish it on someone or do it to my own child? No, but it was an interesting idea that Neal Shusterman dealt with nicely.

I liked the idea of not knowing what happens when you’re unwound and the air of mystery surrounding it as a result. I thought the chapter where we read Roland’s unwinding was going to be satisfying, but instead I found it deeply disturbing. I was literally left speechless. He was unwound and no one cared or mentioned it. Even when Connor wound up with one of Roland’s arms (which I am <i>not</i> ok with by the way), they didn’t spend a ton of time on it. Didn’t even bat an eye. It just, no.

Overall, I’d recommend the book. It’s a good sci-fi dystopian book with a pinch of horror thrown in.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

If he was a faerie, I should already be running.

Dates Read: August 4th, 2015 – August 7th, 2015

4.5 Teacups

Source: SJMASS Livejournal

Synopsis: Feyre is a 19-year-old girl who lives with her father and two sisters. One day, while she was out hunting, she sees and kills a wolf, who, unknown to her, is a faerie. (It could’ve gone either way.) The following night, a faerie appears at their home and says that she either comes to live with him forever, or she has to die. She chooses to live with him. At first, she’s distrustful, but eventually becomes comfortable with her “captor,” Tamlin, and his court (his friend and emissary Lucien, his servants, etc.), eventually falling in love with him. Then, the truth about his predicament comes into the light, and Feyre is fighting for the one she loves in a place she’d never imagine that she’d be.

Matched by Ally Condie

Dates Read: August 9th, 2015 – August 16th, 2016

2.5 Teacups

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this book. It took me forever to get through it because it just wasn’t holding my attention. The only reason I finished it was because my

Source: Bookequals

loan was about to expire with my library. lol

Nothing really happened in this book. Cassia walked around paranoid pretending to be stuck between two boys, when in reality, she knew who she wanted all along. I wasn’t surprised with whom she fell in love and I don’t like it.

I never bonded with any of the characters, despite the fact that we get a nice backstory for all/most of them. I do have to give it to Ally Condie in that she does some nice world building, however, she doesn’t do anything with it. There’s no real conflict or climax. I think the part where they haul Ky off is supposed to be that climax, but it didn’t really do much for me. I had a feeling that by Cassia placing him in the group she did, something would happen to him, it’s just where the story was heading.

I really wanted to like this book, but it lacked that something extra that I was looking for.

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