Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (ARC)

A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1 by Sarah J. Maas
Bloomsbury, 416 Pages
Expected US Release Date: May 5, 2015
Format/Source: ARC via Around the World Tours - thank you!

A thrilling, seductive new series from New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas, blending Beauty and the Beast with faerie lore.

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!
----------------Goodreads Summary

Notable Quote

Rhysand stared at me long enough that I faced him. “Be glad of your human heart, Feyre. Pity those who don’t feel anything at all.”

If you’ve ever read a Sarah J. Maas novel (and that should be ALL OF YOU), then you know how incredibly hard it is to write a review for it. There’s just SO MUCH for you to say! The characters, the setting, the world, the action, the intrigue…Sarah is such a master in storytelling and world creation, and how does someone possibly comment all they want to without using all the words in the world?!

Somewhere I completely missed that this book was a blend of Beauty & the Beast, and about 50 pages in I was like heeeeeeeeey…this is starting to sound familiar! So, chalk me up to being an idiot – but it was definitely a pleasant surprise! Beauty & the Beast is one of my favourite tales, and this was a fantastic retelling. It stuck pretty true to the lore and enhanced the parts that definitely had room for it.

If I were to try to boil my review down to 3 words only, I’d go with these:

Fascinating. Because everything Sarah created in this world was so original (even though it is a retelling!) and absolutely creative. In all the action, all the progressive storytelling, it was always interesting and different and filled me with such awe and incredulity that she could create something like this book.

Seductive. And not just in the relationships (though trust me, that is definitely applicable to the relationships, too), but in the entire aura of the writing. The dangerous lore, the spirits and darkness that always has a tinge of sexiness and intrigue…there’s something so deliciously wanting about the entire thing, and it hooks you in and does not let go the entire book.

Heart. This applies in a lot of ways. The heartstrong characters, who endure everything and more for their loved ones or loved land. The hearts that are empty and then filled as we move along in the story. How my heart felt like it was hurting for everyone at various parts, for the hearts that are broken and empty and seemingly incapable of having a capacity at all. There is heart woven throughout this entire book, and it is brilliant and wonderful.

And I mean…that doesn’t include how much I want to talk about the perfect pacing, how Tamlin is so divine and strong and sexy, how Feyre is headstrong but human, how the ending just absolutely blew me away and made me gasp and tear up and clutch at the pages as I furiously flipped through them just wanting to know how it ends!

I really can’t recommend A Court of Thorns and Roses enough. Even me, who usually cannot stand anything faerie, and I definitely don’t like fantasy…this got through to me and blew me away. The writing, the story, absolutely everything ties together to be a completely unique tale of love and the varying lengths we go through for it.

5+ stars

Review: The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord (ARC)

The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord
Bloomsbury, 384 pages
Expected US Release Date: March 31, 2015
Format/Source: ARC via Around the World Tours - thank you!

It’s been a year since it happened—when Paige Hancock’s first boyfriend died in an accident. After shutting out the world for a year, Paige is finally ready for a second chance at high school . . . and she has a plan. First: Get her old crush, Ryan Chase, to date her—the perfect way to convince everyone she’s back to normal. Next: Join a club—simple, it’s high school after all. But when Ryan’s sweet, nerdy cousin, Max, moves to town and recruits Paige for the Quiz Bowl team (of all things!) her perfect plan is thrown for a serious loop. Will Paige be able to face her fears and finally open herself up to the life she was meant to live?

Brimming with heartfelt relationships and authentic high-school dynamics The Start of Me and You proves that it’s never too late for second chances.
-----------------------Goodreads Summary

Notable Quote

If you're lucky, relationships--with family or friends or boyfriends--are limitless. There's no maximum on how much you can love each other. The problem is, there's also no limit to how much you can hurt each other.

The Start of Me and You is by far my favourite read of 2014. Because the entire story itself is fun and inventive and interesting. Because everyone in it is entirely relatable and lovable and just a smidge infuriating, in manageable and almost endearing increments. Because I swear it felt like I was reading something with my feelings all over the page. Because Max Watson is my book boyfriend. And that’s all just the beginning!

Emery Lord has got to have the most approachable writing in YA right now. There’s something so open and friendly about her writing (I hope others who have read her books know what I mean, otherwise I sound like a crazy person), it just draws you in and gets you coffee and lets you prop your feet up. I always sink so comfortably and so fast into Emery Lord’s stories, and it completely consumes me.

The Start of Me and You had such an interesting concept of having Paige the “widow” of a high school relationship. So unique, and something that has so many possibilities in terms of follow up. And I mean…I’m a sucker for lists, so her plan of moving on was so perfect and right up my alley.

And maybe this is a weird thing to attach to, but one of my favourite things about The Start of Me and You is how utterly normal it all is. I mean, Paige’s situation is unique…but her friends, her thought process, befriending Ryan and Max, moving through her school year? It’s all perfectly realistic and paced just as any real relationship and friendship would develop, and that definitely made everything seem so much closer to my heart.

Let’s talk Max, because YES PLEASE. I may even love him more than Matt Finch from Open Road Summer! Who know THAT was possible?! Max is seriously the best nerdy awesome guy in the world.  I loved his backstory, his friendship with his cousin, his playfulness and how he exhibited his intelligence without any sort of bragging or condescension. As I get older, I tend to attract to guys who are unabashedly, unashamedly themselves—and Max fits that bill perfectly.

And as much as I did love Max, I have to admit the friendships in this book are amazing and wonderful, too. Which I think Emery just specializes in, because Lilah and Dee’s friendship in Open Road Summer was one of my favourites, too. (I think this means I should be friends with Emery. Is that creepy?) Paige’s girlfriends were the best and reminded me so, so much of my own little crew I keep. Sure, there are pairings within the 4, but it makes sense and they’re still 100% there for the other. It’s a real friendship, with ups and downs and arguments and hugs and support, and I absolutely wish I could be folded in with them.

Paige and Max’s friendship is also something I enjoyed immensely, because it’s so obvious there’s an attraction but there’s also an understanding there, too. They’re thoughtful in regards to each other, and seeing it on the page absolutely squeezed my heart with warmth.

And the thing I particularly attached to was the ending realization of having to come to terms with yourself and be who you are before you can really be with anyone else. I like that Paige is sort of broken, without being absolutely shattered, and that every win for her no matter how small it is really makes a difference in her rebuilding of strength. It’s very much a lesson I’ve been learning, and thought it was displayed so well.

The Start of Me and You is a fantastically written story of a girl struggling to find her way after suffering a loss. It’s got romance and friendship and Quiz Bowl and airplanes and I cannot wait until I can read it over and over again because I will never tire of the relationships found within. Everyone needs to read this book.

5 stars

and airplanes above me sprinkling so many more stars!

Review: The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider (ARC)

Severed Heads, Broken Hearts by Robyn Schneider
Now titled: The Beginning of Everything
Katherine Tegan (an imprint of HarperTeen), 335 pages
US Release Date: August 27, 2013

Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them—a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: in one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra’s knee, his athletic career, and his social life.

No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra’s ever met, achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.

But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: if one’s singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when more misfortune strikes? 

Robyn Schneider’s The Beginning of Everything is a lyrical, witty, and heart-wrenching novel about how difficult it is to play the part that people expect, and how new beginnings can stem from abrupt and tragic endings.
-------------------------Goodreads Summary

Notable Quote

Imaginary prisoners are still prisoners.

I feel like this book is my kindred spirit. I feel like it’s the missing piece of me I’ve always been yearning for, that extension of myself that I hadn’t realized was lost until I found it. Severed Heads, Broken Hearts feels suspiciously like home.

Probably the best word I can think to describe this book is “unexpected.” Not surprising , and nothing was horribly improbable, but there were some very unexpected twists and revelations. They were all done perfectly and with the best treatment, but still: unexpected.

When I say this book is my kindred spirit, it’s because I feel like every single character has elements of me in him or her. Toby, Cassidy, Ezra, absolutely everyone was a little bit of the confidence I have and a lot of the questions and indecision and existential crises I go through daily. I remember all these feelings so well in high school, and even now. There’s so much complexity and depth to each one, and seeing how they all intertwine and affect the other just makes it all the better. The characters are so complementary to each other, I absolutely adore it.

More passages were marked in this book than I have in any other this year. It feels like there’s so much wisdom and guidance in these pages, I feel like there’s so much to learn between the lines. About love. About friendship. About family, and relationships and happiness and accepting a direction you feel forced to go in. Probably the best part about this story as a whole is that it’s about the changes that happen in someone’s life, whether we make them by choice or consciously or without reason. That it’s a story that focuses on living through the changes and tragedies, rather than fighting or resenting.

I also love how cool-nerdy this book is. All the references, the “smart” situations and words, how it’s about the debate team – and yet, all the characters are completely normal as well. They have friends, there’s drama, there’s schoolwork and projects and some family problems and secrets. Sure, it feels a little exaggerated sometimes between the “cliques” and the divide in high school, but it has to be so in a book (and maybe it’s not, I just didn’t experience a high school like this!).

Perhaps my only disappointment? The title change! I guess I get why the title is now The Beginning of Everything, but I absolutely ADORED Severed Heads, Broken Hearts. And it’s just so much more fitting!

Also, this will only be understood by anyone who has already read it: COOPER <3

5 stars

Review: Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson (ARC)

Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson
Simon & Schuster BYR, 449 Pages
US Release Date: May 6, 2014
Format/Souce: ARC via Around the World Tours - thank you!

The Pre-Sloane Emily didn't go to parties, she barely talked to guys, she didn't do anything crazy. Enter Sloane, social tornado and the best kind of best friend—the one who yanks you out of your shell.But right before what should have been an epic summer, Sloane just... disappears. No note. No calls. No texts. No Sloane. There’s just a random to-do list. On it, thirteen Sloane-selected-definitely-bizarre-tasks that Emily would never try... unless they could lead back to her best friend. Apple Picking at Night? Ok, easy enough.Dance until Dawn? Sure. Why not? Kiss a Stranger? Wait... what?

Getting through Sloane’s list would mean a lot of firsts. But Emily has this whole unexpected summer ahead of her, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected) to check things off. Who knows what she’ll find?

Go Skinny Dipping? Um…
--------------------Goodreads Summary

Notable Quote

I don't think you have to do something so big to be brave. And it's the little things that are harder anyway.

Is there anything Morgan Matson can do wrong? I swear she has it all when it comes to writing. Amazing characters? Check. Growth and development that is both exciting and unpredictable and natural? Check. Friendships that are real and organic? Check. Brilliant boys who function as friends and like-like friends? Check. A wonderful writing style that invites you in and never lets you go? Check, check, and more check.

I have to say, while I love pretty much all and everything Morgan Matson does, probably the best parts of Since You've Been Gone to me were the small, nuanced details. Like that Frank was called "Frank Porter" through a lot of his introduction into the story. Because we all have or know those people who are just first+last name people, right? It's such a small detail, but it says so much about him. I was immediately given an idea about who he is and how he is viewed by that small thing.

Or the parallel between Collins and Frank's friendship to Sloane and Emily's, regarding an "extra" feeling to the relationship. I can't quite discuss it since it gives away some of the book if I were to go into details, but it was a subtle draw from the story, and it made it so much more whole, so much more like real life to me.

Of course I loved the big things, too. I thought Sloane was a bit strange and had a whole ethereal, hippie vibe to her--which was great. I felt very close to Emily and her character, who was a bit lost and looking. I really loved Frank Porter and Collins, they had such fun personalities and had great Best Dudes vibes and chemistry with each other. I was surprised how much I loved Dawn, too, and how she fit into the story. She came crashing in with tears and a teenage tragedy, and what she turned into was utterly fantastic.

I was really in love with the list, even though I didn't like how Sloane up and left Emily. It was such a fun, creative list, and I liked the ways that Emily fulfilled the items she could. Some were at face value, and others were a little more and a little deeper than I thought they would be--and it was better that way. It takes a lot to surprise someone when we're given a list from the beginning, but again, Morgan doesn't disappoint.

Sloane up-and-leaving Emily was something I didn't like, as mentioned--but I have to say, I understand it. I move around a lot, and I get why it feels easier to do that when you live a transient lifestyle…but I felt like Emily is the kind of girl you realize you can't do that to, and I was a little sad Sloane did. Of course, it fits with the characters and creates the whole story so it's not really a complaint…just a comment.

Since You've Been Gone is a brilliant story about friendship and finding yourself, about defining who you are and digging into what you once were with the people you knew and want to always know. Written with warmth, love, subtlety, and fun, it's a book that climbs quickly to one of my favourites of the year. And you should read it and discover why, too.

5 stars

and lists upon lists more

Review: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski (ARC)

The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy #1) by Marie Rutkoski
Farrer, Straus & Giroux (an imprint of MacmillanTeen), 355 pages
US Release Date: March 4, 2014
Format/Source: ARC via Around the World Tours - thank you!

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love.

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. 

Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined. 

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.
-------------------------------------Goodreads Summary

Notable Quote

Isn't that what stories do, make real things fake, and fake things real?

I want to tell you that I have no words for this book…but seeing as how this is a review blog, that wouldn’t do much good, would it?

So I’ll amend it to: I have no worthy words for this book. The Winner’s Curse is brilliant and stunning, clever and cunning and sweet and intense. It made me hold my breathe, it made me close pages because I was feeling so much, it made me tear the book back open because I had to keep going. There are surprises everywhere, games and gambling and taking chances, and every single word and moment gets better than the last.

This is about the realest thing I can say: I stopped reading about 70 pages to the end because I had work the next day and needed to sleep. And I kid you not that my body woke me up at 3:30 AM thinking about it and needing to read…so I continued reading, because I could not leave it as I’d done.

I’ll talk about the components first, because that I can handle. There’s society and slaves, high culture and gritty realism. There’s lovely landscape and blood and gore. There is love, and relationships, and friendship at it’s best and most worthy; there is family at every angle, present and lost and lacking and disappointing. Absolutely everything I could ever think I wanted in a book is here at it’s best, with all the elements I never knew would make a novel better but has.

There’s so much depth to this novel. Every single person you meet, plot point you hit, is part of something else, leads to something even thicker and intense than you can originally see. You get buried in the plot and entirely consumed, and I barely remembered to breathe.

That said, the plot is never confusing or convoluted. Everything is there for a purpose, and it all makes sense in its build and movement. It is nicely linear, and it’s like everything you read just enhances the next moment rather than confuses it.

Kestral and Arin are breathtaking characters. They are so strong and so dimensional. And while I loved them individually for having the flaws and weaknesses and strength they do, I was so blown away every time they were together on the page. From the moment Kestral saw him at the slave market to…well. The end. Even when they weren’t at the same location, but thinking of the other or considering the other, I felt their connection. Their chemistry and tension and pure, raw emotion with the other.

Every review I’ve seen tells you to “clear your calendar” or “set aside hours to read this cover to cover” or some other variation, and I clearly echo that advice. This book is un-put-downable. Take it from me, who did put it down…only to have my mind and body wake me up craving to finish it at an ungodly hour. You cannot escape this novel, and nobody in his or her right mind would ever want to.

The Winner’s Curse is filled with tension and trials, fights and fancy parties. There’s even a duel! But what makes this so incredible is how every element is the best it could possibly be by itself, and together make something as beautiful as this tale. If ever a book to be 5 stars, it is The Winner’s Curse: for making your head and heart know they together love something wholeheartedly, but also battle as you find yourself tangled in the curses and games, too.

Read The Winner’s Curse. Just do it.

5 stars

and so many stars worth fighting for

Review: To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han (ARC)

To All the Boys I've Loved Before (#1) by Jenny Han
Simon & Schuster BYR, 368 pages
US Release Date: April 15, 2014
Format/Source: ARC via Around the World Tours - thank you!

Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control in this heartfelt novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Summer I Turned Pretty series.

What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them... all at once?

Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren't love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she's written. One for every boy she's ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control.
-------------------------------Goodreads Summary

Notable Quote

"…it's a lot of responsibility to hold a person's heart in your hands."

There are very few books I’ve ever read that I wish I’d actually written. There are the ones I adore, the ones I want to marry, the ones I want to be or read again immediately—but few make me wish I’d had the ideas and magic to create it.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is one of those books I wish I’d written. It is every bit the perfect contemporary with all the elements I want and love: friendship, family, relationships, love, humor, nerdiness. It’s all here in various amounts that tie together and make this wonderfully sweet story. Even on the writing side I loved it! The concept is so original and fun (who didn’t write love letters to boys they’ve loved?!), and the story just follows through wonderfully in tone and voice.

One of my favourite parts was definitely the sisterhood between Lara Jean, Margot and Kitty. It’s sweet and real and though I’ve never once wanted a sister, this one made me a little sad I hadn’t experienced what they have. (Don’t get me wrong, I love my brother. But he’s no sister.) I loved all their fights and teasing, and it was just the perfect portrayal of siblings.

The plot of this book was also so, so wonderful. Surprising and unique and lovable all rolled into one, I never really knew what to expect next. I love that while the cause of most of this are the mysteriously mailed out love letters, they’re not really the main focus. They’re there, you even get to read a few, but it’s so much more than that. It’s not like a checklist, going through the letters and what happened to each boy and how they affect her now—it’s about her life and what happened and what ensues. There’s some heartbreaking moments, there are definitely hilariously funny blunders, and a whole bunch of love throughout.

I can’t not talk about the boys, because uh…I kind of love them. All of them, no matter what. All of her friends and almost-loves and past-loves and maybe-future-somethings are so personable and funny, with such distinct characteristics to all of them. I loved the portrayal of both Josh and Peter—they’re so different, but with some similarities, and it was enough to really make it interesting. The entire concept of…well, I can’t quite say, but there’s some hijinks that ensue, and I love it all.

Also, while writing this review, I found out this is actually a duology – and I am SOSOSO happy about that! Not that I didn’t like the ending. It was actually pretty perfect for how the entire book goes, and it leaves just enough or us to create something wonderful in our heads. But I just love these characters together so much, I’m so excited to find out more. And the title suggests it may come back around to Josh and Margot, and I adore that. Even if it doesn’t, I’m happy with it—as long as I get more time with this bunch, I am all good.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is seriously one of the best contemporaries I have ever read. It is sweet and cute and thoughtful and everything I could ever really want in one. The only disappointment is having to wait until next year for Book 2!

5+ stars

and many, many love letters worth more

Review: Cress by Marissa Meyer (ARC)

Cress (Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer
Feiwel & Friends (an imprint of Macmillan Teen), 560 pages
US Release Date: February 4, 2014 (yesterday!)
Format/Source: ARC via Around the World Tours - thank you!

Rapunzel’s tower is a satellite. She can’t let down her hair—or her guard.

In this third book in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army. 

Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker—unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice. 

When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.
----------------------------Goodreads summary

Notable Quote

"Yeah, I guess you're right,” he said, squeezing. “Maybe there’s a little bit of a hero in me after all. But…really, Cress. Only a little."

There are so many words I could use for Marissa Meyer and her books; but they all boil down to one fact: they are brilliantly amazing, and I wish she would release new material every day for the rest of life. All of Life, entirely, forever.

I LOVED Cinder (book 1, not the character…though I do love Cinder too), and I loved Scarlet, as well. Perhaps not on the same level as Book 1, but it was bloody fantastic and a great continuation of the series. I’ve a sneaking suspicion I just had too high hopes, which is the only reason it wasn’t quite as BIG BOLD LOVE—which meant I approached Cress with a little more reserve. I knew I’d like it, but which level?

One constant thing that amazes me about Marissa’s books are that even though they are retellings of fairy tales we all know, love, and grew up on – they are entirely new and completely refreshing and unlike any story I’ve ever read. They’re part sci-fi, part action, part romance, part thriller…it is everything I crave and want in a story, using our pre-knowledge (IT’S A WORD NOW, DAMMIT) to the best. She is a wizard with words and stories, and I love it.

And Cress hits that same mark. I loved it, so much…still not as much as I LOVE Cinder, but I think it is better than Scarlet. I had to read Cress in a week so I couldn’t savor it, but I definitely had to take a few breaks and set it down and gather my thoughts and emotions. There’s just so much action and curveballs thrown at you! I was holding my breath and covering my eyes every other page, it felt.

Handling this cast of characters was something I was getting nervous about, since each book kind of introduces a handful more that keep adding on. But Cress incorporates everyone, still progressing characters while letting each one take the stage for equal parts. I feel like I got to know every single character better, more fully, and in more development—even the older, old ones. They’re like old friends that I’m consistently learning more and more about.

Speaking of characters, Cress is so badass, guys. Crescent Moon, the most kickass hacker in all the galaxy. And somehow, she’s still a sheltered, timid girl who just wants a kiss and to do what’s right. She and Scarlet are both kickass, in entirely different ways. Scarlet is headstrong and brash (and dear GOD did it kill me what happens to her in Cress, guys!) and ready to fight for what she wants. Cress is much more like me, the quiet ally with a strong, silent will. Her backstory gives you an immediate reaction to care for her, and it just gets better and stronger the more time you spend with her.

And um..Thorne. I love him. I adored him from Scarlet, and I just…I mean, I will always love Prince Kai. But…can I have a little of Captain Thorne, too?

I’m trying to think of anything bad I can say about this book, since that would balance this gushing, squeal-y review nicely…but I just can’t think of anything! I have to say there were a few things that happened in the story that I wasn’t fond of, but at the end it all just makes so much SENSE. And I can’t imagine it any other way. Even if it does rip my heart to pieces and make me want to wail at the book “NOOOOOOO THEY BELONG TOGETHER!!” (Take that for what you will. I’m evil, I know.)

There are a few more things I want to talk about, but they’d be pretty major spoilers. Like when…well, they get stuck…or when this person dies and you find out…or when that group is torn apart…or what happens to her on Luna…or…

You get the idea.

For longtime lovers of this series, Cress won’t disappoint. If you’re only just now hearing about it, you are missing out on A LOT. If I could spend all my days shouting how amazing this series is from the rooftop, I would…except I’ll have to take frequent breaks to read and re-read and pray for Winter to hurry and come out.

5 Stars

and many moons more

Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge (ARC)

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Balzar + Bray (an imprint of Harper), 352 pages

Expected US Release Date: January 28, 2014

Format/Source: ARC via Around the World Tours - thank you!

Challenges: Debut Author Challenge, Standalone Challenge

Graceling meets Beauty and the Beast in this sweeping fantasy about one girl's journey to fulfill her destiny and the monster who gets in her way-by stealing her heart.

Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

-------------------------Goodreads summary

Notable Quote

If there's one thing I've learnt as the Lord of Bargains, it's that knowing the truth is not always a kindness.

Is it too early to declare a book my favourite of the year? Because Cruel Beauty is definitely a contender. A frontrunner, and I suspect will stay there for the next 12 months.

I’m not a Fantasy kind of girl. For someone with a crazy imagination like mine, I’m always pretty grounded even when not realistic. And I don’t really like paranormal, and I’m just…for whatever reason, I’m not really into magic and powers and all (excluding Harry Potter, of course. HP is the exception to every rule in the universe). So, I didn’t really expect to like Cruel Beauty. I love the story of Beauty and the Beast, and this one sounded just the right amount of different and familiar. But I definitely did not expect to be so blown away!

I have to mention the writing. I don’t think I’ve moved faster through pages before. The writing, the story, everything is just so smooth, I felt like I was gliding over the words and suddenly I found myself 130 pages in and I didn’t even know how I got there.  The language completely transports you into a different world, a different time, and I was completely sucked in.

This was one of my status udpates on Goodreads:

Because oh my god I love Ignifex. Demon Lord and Darkness and all. He is so hilariously cheeky and mysterious and manly. Which is weird, I usually don’t get “manly” from a page, but oh heavens Ignifex has got it. I kind of love how he’s got his flaws, built in and up front, and that we are made to guess the reason for them and how it effects Nyx and everyone else.

I could not stand Nyx's family (I'd spit at Aunt Telomache, too),  Astraia, and I was not sold on Shade—as people. As characters in a book, they were freakin’ fantastic. Just enough catalyst and annoyance to get me feeling, but endearing and intriguing to keep me eager and going. Shade reminded me quite a lot of Owen in The Archived by Victoria Schwab (review here!), in function and personality and everything. But it’s a good thing, because I thought that character was different and added a fantastic level to the book. But back to the characters as people---ugh. Astraia. I want to drive that damn knife into her and just…AGH. I hate her.

Cruel Beauty is one of the few books that I was kept guessing. I mean, I can generally assume…and since we know Beauty and the Beast…but there’s still something completely surprising and different about everything that happens. I love that the pacing seems to go along with the revelations in the book, that you feel like you’re supposed to start suspecting The Kindly Ones and the riddles and Hearts at the right moments in the plot, that everything feels like it comes together at that exact time that your breathe and heart is caught in your throat.

Cruel Beauty is a wonderful, sweeping novel, you guys. It is beautiful and different and filled with the intrigue and loveliness we all want from a fairy tale. There is darkness and light, flickers of hope and desire and strength at the other end of the pitiful despairs. Read, read, read this.

PS. Cover loooooooooove. Absolutely stunning.

5 Stars

and crimson roses more

Review: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner (ARC)

These Broken Stars (Starbound #1) by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Disney-Hyperion, 374 pages
US Release Date: December 10, 2013

Format/Source: ARC via Around the World ARC Tours - thank you!

It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.

Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever?

Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it.

A timeless love story, THESE BROKEN STARS sets into motion a sweeping science fiction series of companion novels. The Starbound Trilogy: Three worlds. Three love stories. One enemy.
-----------------Goodreads summary

Notable quote

"If it's true, then we know we're not mad," I say, keeping my eyes on the sky.

"And if it's true, we know we're not alone." He, however, sounds more troubled than relieved.

If Titanic and Across the Universe decided to have an interdimensional Under the Never Sky baby, These Broken Stars would be it. And trust me: it. Is. AWESOME. I went into this book expecting to be blown away. I’ve heard about this book since last year, the cover has long been coveted, we all know about it. So safe to say: expectation. To the max.

I’ve been trying to write what I thought was the best part, and I keep deleting to put in something else. Which leads me to: everything is the best part. I loved the set-up of the disaster, the exploration and adventure Tarver and Lilac are forced to go through as they explore this planet, the tension and action so perfectly weaved together into a brilliant tale of hopelessness, even the scary parts made me love it!

There is definitely a creep factor here guys, and I have to admit how surprised I was by it! Just reading the summary, you know there are voices. But how they’re presented, how they slowly build into something – it is so fantastically terrifying and oh my god I would go batshit nuts if I were hearing and seeing the things Lilac was.

Perhaps the best part is that even though this book focuses almost entirely on a romance and relationship, it barely feels like it at all. Not that I’m opposed to relationships, we all know I’m a huge romance/contemporary relationship kinda gal. Give me that any day. But how the relationship built up, how they slowly started to mean something to each other, how it all comes together and gets fiercely tested and ripped apart time after time…it’s interesting and crazy and heartstopping, and it really makes the relationship feel secondary. And somehow, it still manages to maintain sweetness and sentimentality! Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner are phenomenal masters.

We all know how much I love a dual narrative. And this one is amongst the best – you get first person narratives from both Tarver and Lilac. You get to really feel who they are, understand what they’re becoming, sense what they’ve been. You get to see some situations from both points of view, which gives a great roundness to scenes and settings. Both are perfectly crafted, and I love both for very distinct reasons.

Of course I love Tarver though. Military man? Check. Real? Check. Strong? Check. Considerate, can-do, get’s-his-shit-done? Check check, more check. Poet? OH. YOU. KNOW. IT. It sounds crazy, but it all wraps up into one character so perfectly and trust me when I say you will swoon like it’s nobody’s business when he worms his way into your heart.

These Broken Stars yanks at every string I ever had in my heart, and made me discover more. It’s crazy how it made me feel so attached and in love and hopeless and lost with them, and I haven’t even begun to describe it all. Read this, guys. It’s your new favorite.

5 stars

Review: How to Love by Katie Cotugno (ARC)

How To Love by Katie Cotugno
Balzar + Bray (a HarperTeen imprint), 389 pages
US Release Date: October 1, 2013
Format/Source: ARC, via Around the World Tours - thank you!
Challenge: SARC 2013, Contemporary Challenge

Before: Reena Montero has loved Sawyer LeGrande for as long as she can remember: as natural as breathing, as endless as time. But he’s never seemed to notice that Reena even exists…until one day, impossibly, he does. Reena and Sawyer fall in messy, complicated love. But then Sawyer disappears from their humid Florida town without a word, leaving a devastated—and pregnant—Reena behind.

After: Almost three years have passed, and there’s a new love in Reena’s life: her daughter, Hannah. Reena’s gotten used to being without Sawyer, and she’s finally getting the hang of this strange, unexpected life. But just as swiftly and suddenly as he disappeared, Sawyer turns up again. Reena doesn’t want anything to do with him, though she’d be lying if she said Sawyer’s being back wasn’t stirring something in her. After everything that’s happened, can Reena really let herself love Sawyer LeGrande again?

In this breathtaking debut, Katie Cotugno weaves together the story of one couple falling in love—twice.
------------------------------goodreads summary

Notable Quote

…both of us watching Sawyer just like we used to, back when watching Sawyer never felt like something that hurt.

How To Love was one of my most anticipated reads this year, because the moment I heard about it I swear was the moment I started hearing how brilliant it was. And when you read the synopsis, you know it’s one of those books that could break you and make you love harder.

I think what made this book such a fantastic one was the writing. And not that it’s lyrical or beautiful – it is, though I’ve read a few authors who can wrap words a bit better. But there’s a certain realness to all of Katie’s writing. The details she includes are touching and tender in really subtle ways that you don’t even realize are wrapping the story right around your heart. There’s a singular line on one of the pages a little over halfway in that just struck me breathless (“So many fathers and daughters.”) because of its profound simplicity. Five words, five shatteringly simple words – but in their context, there’s a weight and a meaning and a clarity in them to just speak to your soul.

The other thing that rocketed this to the top of my favourites list is the exploration of all kinds of love. Not just the gooey, heart-swelling kind, or the complex, heart-being-squeezed-to-death way. That’s there, but so is the messy kind, the complicated kind, the love that you’re not certain is really love, and the love that you know is love even though it in no way resembles it. There’s friendship love, family love, respect love, tough love, shrouded love…it’s all here, in so may facets, and it’s all wonderful.

The general plot of this book is enough to impact anyone’s heart too, even if it didn’t have the little parts that shatter you. When you first read about it, and then start finding out how everything came to be…it’s gripping and dramatic and a roller coaster of everything you love to hate and hate to love. You can’t help falling for Sawyer even though you know from the beginning he left her; and you can’t help loving Aaron even though you know Renna’s love for Sawyer can’t possibly have gone away.

The family is what broke my heart. I love the element of family in YA books, and this is no exception to those who do it fantastically. There’s such a variation in relationships, from strained ones to supportive ones, from far to close, from the ones you know mean well versus the ones who don’t deserve anything. I could feel Soledad’s watchful eye and her supportive pat on the shoulder just as much as the coldness and judgment of Reena’s father.

I’m not certain I anticipated how sad this book would be, how many tragedies of all kinds of sizes there would be. There are the obvious ones that we can guess, and then some surprise huge ones that are enough to make you gasp…and then there are smaller ones, the innocuous ones that you breeze by and then stop a few seconds later as you try to process what exactly it means, how it will affect everything else.

I feel like I’m painting this book like it’s a sob-fest downer, but I don’t mean to. I actually never did cry. I felt every single emotion I think I could possibly have the capacity for, sure, but no tears. And that includes all the happy ones too – the ones of a budding romance you’re so certain is right, the loyalty of friends and that push into a direction you know is right.

How To Love is a book worthy of it’s title, of all the meanings and nuances love can mean. The highs, lows, and dips in between are all here, and I don’t think there’s a better story to take us along for the ride.

5 stars

and so many more, with so much love

Review: This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales (ARC)

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales
Farrer, Straus & Giroux (imprint of Macmillan Teen), 288 pages
US Release Date: September 17, 2013 (today!!)
Format/Source: ARC via Around the World Tours - thank you!
Challenges: SARC 2013, Contemporary Challenge

Making friends has never been Elise Dembowski’s strong suit. All throughout her life, she’s been the butt of every joke and the outsider in every conversation. When a final attempt at popularity fails, Elise nearly gives up. Then she stumbles upon a warehouse party where she meets Vicky, a girl in a band who accepts her; Char, a cute, yet mysterious disc jockey; Pippa, a carefree spirit from England; and most importantly, a love for DJing.

Told in a refreshingly genuine and laugh-out-loud funny voice, THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE is an exuberant novel about identity, friendship, and the power of music to bring people together.
---------------------------Goodreads summary

Notable Quote

Sometimes people think they know you. They know a few facts about you, and they piece you together in a way that makes sense to them. And if you don't know yourself very well, you might even believe that they are right. But the truth is, that isn't you. That isn't you at all.

It’s hard to review a book that strikes so close to your heart, that seems to pull at every cord and chord ever anchored to you. This Song Will Save Your Life spoke to me on every level I’ve ever found with books: personal, impersonal, as a reader, as a person.

One of the things that struck me most is that Elise seems to be a generally normal person. There isn’t anything particularly terrible, or mean, or different about her, and therefore her being the outcast at school seems so…odd. Unfair. Wrong. And it’s that mindset that makes you get a little more invested, that makes you care just a little more. All you can ask is why, and the more you see about her, the more you really wonder and try to figure out her life.

It also makes you love when she finds DJing more, because you feel like there’s hope. Like there’s a chance for her, like she’ll be ok. And it’s such a rollercoaster through each chapter – something takes you way high up, and then it comes crashing down and breaks your heart just a little; until the next when something breathes new life into Elise, and suddenly you’re gasping for air again. Leila Sales has created a master plot of back and forth, and it’s breathtakingly wonderful.

Is it weird to say that one of my favourite things about this book are the lessons you can learn from it? I don’t mean to say the book is preach-y, but it’s just done so well that I love what we can pick out from each character, the growth and tragedies and struggles they all go through. There’s so much that a person goes through in life, and I feel like somehow, it’s all here in this book; and it all works amazingly well! There are a few heartbreaking realizations too, that just wrecked my heart and made me cry because I’ve felt all those feelings before (the castle thing and Elise’s reason for it…*sob*) and had that same hopeless void just begging to be filled.

I want to mention Leila Sales’ writing as well, even though I don’t have much to say about it, really: it’s beautiful. It’s simple but meaningful, and there’s something about it when you read that seems to feel like the words are coming from your own soul.

Part of me wants to say that this book is for anyone who feels a little out of place, who is searching for that something in life that gives you purpose – but really, it’s for all those people and everyone else, too.

5 Stars

and beats and beats of more.

[Une Petite Revue] Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Maas
Bloomsbury Children, 404 Pages
US Release Date: August 7, 2012
Format/Source: Print ARC (via publisher at ALA 2012), and an eARC via NetGalley

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another.

Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.
-------------------Goodreads summary

Notable Quote

We each survive in our own way.

The Goods

EVERYTHING.
Also, Chaol. Oh, Chaol. *fans self*
Oh, and Celeana's dresses.

The Bads

NOTHING.

The Consensus

I rarely ever (if ever) read high fantasy, but I would seriously read Throne of Glass over and over for the rest of my life. The plot, the characters, the setting, Sarah's writing, absolutely everything is enchanting and brilliant.

The Recommendation

For anyone. Everyone. All. Even if you don't like to read, read it. You'll love it. I swear.

5+ stars

In the interest of full disclosure: (1) I read Throne of Glass last year. Months ago, before it was actually released. But I still wanted to post a "review" because it deserves a little recognition on my blog since I loved it so fucking much. (2) I do know Sarah in real life, we've met on several occasions and she is just as fantastic and amazing as her writing/characters. I adore her. And (3) I know this isn't really a review to contribute anything to her masses of fans, but I had to do it as I gear up to read Crown of Midnight (book 2). Also, I needed Chaol on this blog somewhere.