A Court Of Thorns And Roses by Sarah J Maas

"I love you," I said, and stabbed him. 

I'm not going to explain the plot since I'm late to the party anyway, but I will say this: Beauty and the Beast? Check. Badass, funky and incredibly courageous heroine? Check. Lush settings and well-developed world-building? Cheeeeck. Swoon worthy love interest? Double check. Toe-curling, sigh-inducing and heart-breaking romance? Oh, check. Fae, nightmarish creatures and magic? Check check check. I'm telling you, it had everything a good novel should have and then some! It's SJM after all. 

THIS BOOK. Omg, Sarah, what have you done to me? I'm a puddle on the floor. Hands down, one of my favourite books. I adored every last sentence.

Wow. So I expected to at least LIKE this book because it was written by one of my favorite authors... But I never expected to love it. I mean obviously I was hoping it would be awesome, but Sarah J. Maas has already created an incredible series that I'm so in love with, and I can't expect that she would have it in her to create TWO insanely, amazing series. I'm so impressed with her right now... Seriously... Soooo amazing. It's one of those books where now that I've finished it, I just want to go back and start rereading it because I want to stay in this world a little longer I highly, highly recommend this book if you love fantasy.

I was so worried that this book would have a plot too close to Throne of Glass and that the characters would also bare that same fate... But thank the literary gods above that didn't happen. Yes, Maas still gives us swoon worthy gents and a strong leading fem, but they are not at all like the cast of ToG. Our leading lass is Feyre, and man oh man did I love her. I loved that though she is strong she isn't doing it for herself or because that's who she is, she's doing to because it's what needs to be done. This is what made her character for me. She does everything for everyone and expects nothing in return. Her character starts as a strong huntress and turns into something more. She has the head strong will of a warrior and the heart of an artist. I loved that Maas gave her so much depth and let us get so deep into her brain that her feelings become your feelings. As for Feyre's love interested she gives us the heart twist-swoon worthy-deep-thoughtful-man candy that is Tamlin. Oh Tamlin will have you weak in the knees and have your loins aflame (seriously blushed so much during this book). He literately has so much weight on his shoulders and still stands tall. He is willing to give up everything to make sure shes okay

A Court of Thorns and Roses exceeded all of my expectations, which is saying a lot considering how ridiculously high they were to begin with. I was actually so happy when I finished this book that I actually hugged it

This could have easily stood it's own as a standalone novel. But I'm excited that it's not because I want more! 

Goodreads: ACOTAR by Sarah J. Maas

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

“The gods rule us still. They have come down from the stars. And they are no longer kind.” - Victoria Aveyard, Red Queen

17-year-old Mare is waiting for the day when she is conscripted into the army the same way her older brothers were before her. She knows that her conscription is inevitable, even while she doesn’t want to fight a war for the Silver-bloods.

When her best friend loses his job and is also headed for the army, she knows that she has to do something to save the both of them.
Can Mare really save herself from conscription? Or are there worse fates in store for her?

This was an okay story, but I lost interest.

This one took some time for me to really get into and enjoy. I think there was a lot of build up from friends who OMG LOVED IT. My expectations were really high and the story lacked a spark that I was looking for. 

I have so many mixed feelings about this book. This story has been so over-hyped lately so I was expecting this book to easily become one of my new favorites and it was just okay. This book was really difficult for me to get into, it was very slow in the beginning and for the first 100 pages I wasn't sure if I was gonna be able to get into it. 

I  love a great romance as much as the next girl (in fact romances are my favorite!) but I guess I just don't like them as much in this type of novel. Maybe it's because the romance aspect feels teeny boppy and immature since the protagonist changes her mind so often about who she may or may not love? It boggles my mind how easily they fall in and out of love. I just don't get it. 

The ending to this was again, predictable, and slow. I was glad about certain aspects, but I still had trouble staying focused. I’m not sure if I want to read the next book in the series. But there was also some great storytelling to keep me interested in a second book. I don't really know.

 I can understand why people love it and I get the appeal, but it was a miss for me.

Goodreads: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard