Tag: #Book Review Blog

Book Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

Published on by Savana - The Biblio Life7 Comments

acotar-coverSynopsis:

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 over the faerie lands is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin–and his world–forever.

TRB Review – 5/5

An impressive reweaving of the classic Beauty and the Beast with it’s own fantastic twist on the enchanting world of magic and faeries. Sarah J Maas did an incredible job creating a world that not for one second did I want to leave for my own reality!

The honest reason that I started this book (it should be known early on that this was my first Maas novel) was because of all the hype that I saw on social media about it and it’s sequel, A Court of Mist and Fury. By the time I came around to joining the Maas fandom, there were already five books in her Throne of Glass series and two in this series. I do own Throne of Glass, but my boyfriend started reading it at the same time I started ACOTAR so I’ll be moving on to that one a few weeks from now. Sometimes I think I have too many books, then I laugh and remind myself that there is no such thing as I run to my bookshelves and start singing merrily while I admire them all in their glory!

I’ll probably lose some bookish friends over what I am saying here, but perhaps it will be understood that I have not yet continued on to ACOMAF (which has been ordered btw, it should be arriving Tuesday afternoon). That seems to be where most of the hype stems from. Rhysand anyone? Maybe I’ll be forgiven.

Okay. Here goes.

For all of the hype that this series received, I don’t fully understand what was so fantastic. I only say this because it took almost 100 pages for me to truly be convinced it was worth finishing, and I honestly didn’t even realize that there were traces of a Beauty and the Beast retelling until my bf pointed out the running theme in her books after he read something about it online. Then it clicked. That’s enough negativity, I admit that I became addicted quickly once the story picked up!

The main character, Feyre, is well rounded from the start. Her struggles and upbringing do her no favors, and in spite of those things she blossoms into a very strong female protagonist. Her main concerns are consistently the safety and wellness of her sisters and father, which was refreshing to see. Of course there’s the romance that builds up as the story moves forward, OH THE ROMANCE!! Sometimes I really despise writing no-spoiler reviews because I have so many questions and I need answers 😬 Discussion anyone?

I’d like to see a bit less of the more of the broken and hopeless Feyre, and more of the fiesty and courageous gal that had this conversation:

“Do you ever stop being so serious and dull?”
“Do you ever stop being such a prick?” I snapped back.
Dead—really, truly, I should have been dead for that.
But Lucien grinned at me. “Much better.”

I was very impressed with the mortal/magical realm(s) that Maas created. The creatures, Fae and Faeries specifically, were unlike anything I’ve read before. There were some completely new aspects to these creatures that I’ve not seen in a story before, but her descriptiveness really brought out the vivid imagery in my mind and made it very possible to picture everything. Of course, at one point I got caught up in fan art on Pinterest too, seeing other people’s renditions of characters is always exciting!

Once I fell for the characters and things started getting a bit more interesting, I couldn’t put this book down. I binge read it in about 3 days (considering I have full-time work and school, that’s the fastest I’ve read a book in years) and I seriously debated for an additional 24 hours whether or not it would be appropriate to revoke my book ban to order ACOMAF, which definitely happened. I’m hoping that ACOMAF is not as slow starting, I truly do have a new outlook going into the sequel even if it is 85% for my excitement in discovering Rhysand and all of his glory that people can’t stop raving about!

Have you read A Court of Thorns and Roses? Tell us what YOU thought about it in the comments below!

This book was provided by SocialBookCo in exchange for an honest review.

About the Author:

sjmaas

Sarah J. Maas is the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Throne of Glass series, as well as A Court of Thorns and Roses and A Court of Mist and Fury. A New York native, Sarah currently lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and dog.

Visit her website or connect with Sarah via FB, Twitter, and Instagram!

If you haven’t already purchased this fantastic book, follow my custom link to SocialBookCo and they’ll help you find the lowest price via TONS of different retailers!

Book Review: Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerill

Published on by Savana - The Biblio Life2 Comments

everthehuntedSynopsis: 

Seventeen year-old Britta Flannery is at ease only in the woods with her dagger and bow. She spends her days tracking criminals alongside her father, a legendary bounty hunter—that is, until her father is murdered. The alleged killer is none other than Cohen Mackay, her father’s former apprentice. The only friend she’s ever known. The boy she once loved who broke her heart.  

     She must go on a dangerous quest in a world of warring kingdoms, mad kings, and dark magic to find the real killer. But Britta wields more power than she knows. And soon she will learn what has always made her different will make her a force to be reckoned with.

TRB Review – 5/5

This was one of the best debut YA novels that I’ve picked up in a very long time! Ever the Hunted is a fantastically constructed coming of age story spun with a little bit of romance and a lot of adventure – just how I like it!

Don’t worry, you won’t find any spoilers here. My first and only complaint about this book, which I am getting out of the way now so that I can discuss all of the amazing things about it, was the overuse of descriptiveness in some scenes. There were certain points where scenes just seemed unnecessary, or too in depth. I never thought I’d find myself saying that someone wrote too descriptively, but this is the exception. If you can see past this minor flaw, the book is an absolute wonderful work of art!

“Lightning cracks across the sky again, and in the burst of colorless light I notice how close we’re sitting. I lower my gaze from his, but it catches on his lips. Then noticing the slow movement his throat makes as he swallows, my focus eventually drops to my lap and the space between us.” Ever the Hunted, pg. 223

There is a seemingly tense romantic connection between the two main characters, Britta and Cohen. You learn early on about Britta’s feelings, but Summerill keeps the tension throughout the story very taut and interesting by not eluding to Cohen’s thoughts on the matter. There’s obviously conflict in emotion, and a clear sense of physical lust. This theme throughout is very strong, so if you are not a romantic this may not be for you. If nothing else it’s worth reading for the surprising twist at the end (did I say that?).

“Cohen’s eyes are flat and angry in a way I’ve never witnessed. Leif grunts when Cohen’s sword slices a clean line through the arm of his shirt. Blood darkens the bold blue material of Leif’s Shaerdanian commoner clothing, turning my guts inside out. Bludger.” Ever the Hunted, pg. 104

While the romance is strong, the character development is stronger. There’s quite a bit of mystery surrounding Cohen, as well as Britta’s past and her abilities, but her first person narration really allows you a peculiar look at the people and places around her. You learn quite a bit about Cohen just from his mannerisms, as well as what others are thinking by their facial expressions.The world that she’s created is nothing too fancy, but there’s very curious magic wound in and it’s vivid enough that you can imagine the varying lands and picture the people and shifting scenery.

I finished this book in less than 3 days, which is a record for me considering work and school and life all happening at the same time. I’m fairly certain the last time that I devoured a book so quickly was when I read the Inheritance series by Christopher Paolini years ago, and since then I’ve been sadly disappointed – until now! This book helped pull me out of an awful reading slump and gave me renewed hope for emerging authors! Summerill did such a fantastic job building a fantasy world plagued with war, politics, romance and adventure. I absolutely cannot wait for the second book in this series!

I received a complimentary ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.

About the Author:

erinsummerill

After completing a B.A. in English, I had aspirations to knock out the next great American novel. Mom always taught me to dream big. Well writing proved tougher than I first thought. Tougher than chewing on a two-year-old gummi-worm that’s been hiding under a car seat. Plans changed. I didn’t write the next great American novel. No, I grabbed a Nikon and became a professional wedding photographer. During the day I posed brides and in the evenings I put scenes into action. Word by word. Manuscript by manuscript. I kept on writing.

The scenic detour of photography took me across the United States and even over to Australia and New Zealand, where I picked up world-building inspiration. After seven years, eight failed manuscripts, and a life-altering kidney donation experience, I finally had the vision to draft my debut young adult fantasy, EVER THE HUNTED.

When I’m not writing or shooting, I’m chasing my 4 kids, 2 dogs, 1 cat, and 4 chickens around the state of Utah. This is probably why I’m seriously addicted to Coke Zero and Hot Tamales.

You can connect with Erin via Twitter and Goodreads, or check out her website here.

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