Book Review: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

This synopsis contains spoilers for the previous books in the series.

In the fourth installation of the Throne of Glass series, Celaena Sardothien, who has now embraced her title of Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen, returns to the kingdom of Adarlan to deal with her past and fight for her country.

Overall this book was really great (even though it took me a while to read). It has become my second favourite book in the series next to the first novel. Characters changed, new ones were introduced, ships sank and battles were fought. I would recommend reading The Assassin's Blade before you read this because it has connections to the novella woven in, and it gives the story more depth.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Spoilers ahead.

Some of my favourite parts of this book were the epic battle scenes, specifically the one between Manon and Aelin. I was glad that we the two characters met, and I thought the fight between them was amazing and well written. I also enjoyed the final battle at the castle with the King of Adarlan, Dorian and Aelin. Magic was freed (finally), Dorian became himself again (mostly) and the King died. But as it turns out, he might have just been a chess piece in a bigger plan, Erawan might just be Perrington. I also loved how Aelin and Dorian's magic worked together seamlessly. 

Manon's chapters also got more interesting. She's starting to become more "human", and tensions seem to be rising between and her grandmother. The scene where she fled Morath while Kaltain burnt it to the ground. I think it will be interesting to see where her character will go in the next books.

Another one of my favourite parts of the book was when Aelin was planning to kill Arobynn. The dinner, Aelin playing up Celaena's character, the part where I thought she was under Arobynn's control, the extreme scheming, everything about that part of the book was just great.

Finally, can we just talk about the characters and their relationships? Aelin's character certainly changed quite a bit, maybe to the extent of it being a bit unrealistic. She and Chaol have both changed so much that I think we've come to the conclusion that that ship has sunk. A relationship between Aelin and Rowan seems to be building though, which I'm fine with this, but I don't love them. After reading about her and Sam in The Assassin's Blade, I just don't think that Aelin and Rowan's relationship is as great. The one relationship that I absolutely loved though was Aelin and Lysandra's! I love that we got an amazing friendship between two female characters, something that I think we need to see more in the YA genre.

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

In the land of Mytica, three countries rule, Auranos, Limeros and Paelsia, but not for long if things continue to head downhill...

Four individuals are pulled into the brewing war of the three countries. They must deal with political 

maneuvering and the consequences of war on top of their own personal issues.

Pampered Princess Cleo of Auranos is trying to cope with the murder she witnessed before her own eyes. And when her sister falls sick, she sets out on a quest to find a magical legend as a last resort.

Jonas, a rebel from Paelsia, is angry and wants vengeance for his brothers death. He finds himself a leader of a rebellion for his oppressed country.  

Magnus, the heir of Limeros, is the King of Blood's son. But he doesn't want to end up like his father when he is to become king. Meanwhile, his sister, Lucia, begins to discover the secrets of her heritage.

Rate: 3.5/5 stars

I thought that I was really going to enjoy reading this book. I'd heard great things about this series, and the concept sounded like something I would enjoy quite a bit. But it turns out, I didn't like as much as I thought I would. At first I gave this book a four star rating, but when I began to think about it more, I realized that not a lot happened, and I didn't like it as much as I thought. Overall, the book was just okay. I think I'll continue with the series, but it's not on the top of my list.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

For the most part, the characters in this book didn't amaze me. Although I did think that Magnus was decent, but maybe that's because I like morally grey characters. The rest-- Cleo, Jonas and Lucia-- didn't do too much for me. They just didn't seem as fleshed out as some other characters I've read.

I wished that the magic system was explored a bit more. We got to see some of the things that Lucia could do, but that was only until the second half of the book, and even then we barely saw any of it. I think that elementia could be a pretty cool magic system if we got to see more of it.

Another thing that I wished we got to see more of was the action. During the war scenes, we barely got to see any of the actual fighting. It was kind of skimmed over by the author. Action is one of my favourite things in a book, so I was disappointed that there wasn't too much of it in this book.

I thought that the war in this book took too long to develop. I was kind of let down by the overall plot. Interesting things did happen though, Cleo went out to search for an ancient watcher, Lucia discovered her magic, alliances were made, as well as betrayals. But it was just the way it was executed that made me like it less.

Also the fact that Cleo and Theon fell in "love"quite quickly bothered me. They only really realized it right as Theon was dying. I didn't care much about his death anyways. 

The book overall wasn't horrible, I just didn't love it like some people. 

The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas

In the prequel to Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass series, we learn more about notorious assassin, Celaena Sardothien's, dirty past. The Assassin's Blade consists of five intertwining short stories, all featuring the world's finest assassin. 

Celaena works for Arobynn Hamel, who gave her a place at the Assassin's Guild many years before. Since then she has become his protégé, and the worlds best assassin. In these novellas we follow Celaena as she travels far and wide on assignments for Arobynn, along with what happened leading up to her capture and enslavement in Endovier. 

Rate: 4.5/5 stars 

I decided to pick this up since Queen of Shadows (book four of six) is coming out this fall, and I wanted to read it before then. Also, I heard that some characters in this book will be showing up in Queen of Shadows, so I though it would be a good idea to read this before it comes out. I really enjoyed these short-story-prequels, and that's saying something, because I'm not a huge fan of short stories. I thought each novella was great (although The Assassin and the Healer was lacking a bit for me)! I loved how they each had their own storyline, but were all part of one big story. As per usual, there was lots of action, and great writing! I highly suggest that you pick this book up if you are a fan of the series. And if you haven't started reading this series yet, get on it!

SPOILERS AHEAD.

First off, let's talk a bit about the first novella, The Assassin and the Pirate Lord. We got to see a bit of Celaena's softer side in this novella. We saw that she does actually have a heart, and isn't just a cold, hard killing machine. I thought that it was great that she freed the slaves, even when it was against her orders, and I thought that it was great that Sam joined in. I really love when Celaena does things like that for the good.

The Assassin and the Healer was lacking for me as I mentioned above. It was still good, but I enjoyed the others far more. I didn't care too much for Yrene, and it was a bit boring compared to the other stories.

Next was The Assassin and the Dessert. I liked how we got to see that there was more than one place for assassins, and it was interesting to see the stark difference between the two keeps. I was not expecting that betrayal from Ansel. But it just made the story just that more interesting. I did like their friendship while it lasted though. I think that it was good for Celaena to have a friend of the same gender. And you could tell that she definitely still cared for Ansel at the end.

Fourth was The Assassin and the Underworld. This one was quite good, my second favourite actually. We began to see just how treacherous Arobynn could be. I loved the storyline of this one, it had lots of action (which you may have noticed is what I love in a book)! The scene where Celaena was trapped in the sewer was probably my favourite. I was really glad Sam showed up to save her (and they finally became a thing! I was waiting for that the whole book!). But the worst part was when Celaena realized that the person she was hired was actually working for the rebellion and not against it. And just think, this was only the beginning of Arobynn's horribleness.

The fifth and final novella was The Assassin and the Empire, my personal favourite. The action, the romance, the betrayal, it was all great (and horribly sad). Sam's death, although we knew it was coming, was just horrendous. I felt so bad for Celaena. And then she finds out that his death and her capture was all a plan set up by Arobynn, making it even worse. But this novella was still so amazing. I just loved it because of all the tragedy, that's what made it so good. 

Overall these novellas were great! I can't wait for Queen of Shadows to come out in the fall! 

The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

Joel wishes he was a Rithmatist. He wishes that he could create elaborate defences, bring his chalk drawings to life and defend the American Isles from the deadly chalk creature know as wild chalkings. But sadly Joel is the only student at his school that isn't from a wealthy family or a Rithmatist. 

But things begin to change when students begin to disappear from Joel's school, leaving blood at the crime scene. He befriends a Rithmatist, Melody, and the two are assigned to help the professor that is investigating the crime scenes. And they begin to discover things that could change the world of Rithmatics forever.

Rate: 4.5

I have yet to read something by Brandon Sanderson that I didn't like. This was a pretty great book in my opinion. The world building was great as always. The magic system was elaborate, interesting and well put together. Plus I loved the characters, especially Melody. I also enjoyed the steampunk/gearpunk aspect to the book. I thought the illustrations of the chalkings and defences at the end of each chapter really helped the readers understand the magic system better. This book was super unique and it left many directions for the rest of the story to go.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

Like I mentioned above, I love the characters in this book, especially Melody! I loved her spunk and overall personality. Plus, her friendship with Joel was great! Melody was the dramatic one, whereas Joel was the more thoughtful type, plus  were the two odd ones out, and it made for a great friendship. I loved how at the end, they teamed up at the tournament and won. That was a great scene to read. 

I really loved the magic system in this book, it was just so great! The chalkings and the defences were so cool. It was quite mathimatical, and sometimes complicated, and I know some people may not have liked it as much because of this, but I thought that was what made it so great. I really love complex magic systems, story lines, ect. Iv've come to the conclusion that Brandon Sanderson is a genius.

The end was a tad complicated, and I don't have the book with me (it's currently floating over the ocean) to look back on, so please excuse the vagueness (if there is any).

I loved the ending. The mystery, the Rithmatics, ect. The fact that Inspector Harding was being possessed by a forgotten was quite interesting. That changed things quite dramatically. And the same goes for Professor Nalizar, but we never found out exactly what he was. 

Then there were the newly discovered Rithmatic lines. That also changed things quite a bit. There could be many more out there that haven't been discovered yet. 

These two things combined leave the story line wide open. Many things could happen in the next book. You never know. But I'm excited to find out!

The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan

***The following synopsis and summary contain spoilers for The Red Pyramid and The Throne of Fire.***

The giant snake of Chaos, Apophis, still threatens to take over the world despite Carter and Sadie Kane's efforts. They, along with the help of a now deceased magician, managed to buy the world some more time, but that time is quickly running out. If they want to live, the siblings must do the impossible, defeat Apophis himself. And the only way to do that is to find an ancient spell, and use the serpent's shadow against him.

Rate: 4.5 stars

This was my favourite book of the trilogy. I really loved the final battle and the way things ended. I just love Rick's books, his writing, his characters, his stories. It's all just so great! Everything was wrapped up nicely, and overall this was a great conclusion to an awesome, action-packed series!

SPOILERS AHEAD.

Did anyone else catch that Camp Half-Blood reference? We got to see Drew and Lacy, which was pretty cool! I love authors who do that sort of thing!

Anyways, let's get on with the review. I'm pretty much just going to be talking about the ending because that was the best part. First off, the final battle against Apophis was pretty epic. Action is always the best. That's one of the reasons why I don't like contemporaries. I think that all of Rick's action scenes are written pretty well. Although I enjoyed reading the last battle, I was expecting a tad bit more. I thought that defeating Apophis would be a bit more tricky.

Besides the end scene, I also liked the scene in "A Friendly Game of Hide and Seek (with Bonus Points for Painful Death!)" (I also love the chapter titles, they're hilarious!), where Walt and Sadie played a "friendly" game of hide and seek with Neith. Also, the Jelly Baby Conspiracy thing was hilarious.

Speaking of Walt and that chapter, let's talk about what happened to him in the end. So may recall that a deadly curse runs in his family, and he was dying. So naturally he hosted Anubis (well maybe that's not exactly natural). I actually suspect that Walt and Anubis would join forces. I have conflicted feelings on this topic.On the one hand, I'm glad Walt is alive and well, but on the other, isn't it a bit odd that he's basically two people in one (buy one get one free!)? I preferred Anubis and Sadie together over Walt and Sadie. Don't get me wrong, I liked Walt, but I just liked Anubis and Sadie together better. And the two-for-one-deal that is Walt (is that what we're going to call him?), wasn't exactly the same, and it was like dating two people at once. Weird right?

On the topic of hosting gods, I'd like the mention Ra/Zia. For the short time that they were one, that was a bit odd. Also, Ra is back, but he's not taking the throne? That was surprising. Instead he decided to give his place to a fifteen-year-old magician/Horus. Good for Carter and all but will he be able to take that responsibility? I also really loved that little scene at the end with Carter and Zia.

Moving on. I was glad that at the end we got Bes back. He was able to save Carter and Sadie (again), which, you know, is always handy. Plus it was great to have his character back in the story.

Overall, I was quite happy with the ending. There we no cliffhangers in the series surprisingly enough (I mean have you Heroes of Olympus?!?). And everything was wrapped up quite nicely. It was a great book to end the series. 

The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan

***The following synopsis and summary contain spoilers for The Red Pyramid.***

After defeating the Egyptian god of evil, Set, Carter and Sadie Kane have learned that he was the least of their problems. The giant snake of Chaos, Apophis, is starting to rise, and he is way more powerful than Set. 

Carter and Sadie must stop Apophis before he swallows the sun and plunges the Earth into darkness and destruction. And if they don't stop Apophis, the world will end. So Carter and Sadie must reawaken the sun god Ra if they want to survive. The must go on a dangerous mission to find the book of Ra which they will use to awaken the sun god. Will Carter and Sadie be able to awaken Ra and defeat Apophis?

Rate: 4 stars

I liked this instalment of The Kane Chronicles just as much as the first book! I still love the brother/sister dynamic of Sadie and Carter. We still got all that action, mythology and that uniquely funny writing style. A love triangle began, which I actually didn't mind. Overall this was great sequel.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

I liked the new addition of Bes in this book. He was a great god to have around, and he saved Carter and Sadie many times. He was very helpful when he showed up in the scene where Sadie was visiting in London for her birthday, and Nekhbet and Babi possessed her grandparents. It was too bad when they were gambling their souls for time and he gave up his soul for Carter and Sadie though.

Along with Bes we got to see some of the kids that Carter and Sadie were able to recruit like Walt and Jaz. I thought Walt was a great addition to the story. His presence certainly caused more drama within the story, that with his curse and the love triangle. Although I liked Walt and felt bad about his curse, I still liked Sadie and Anubis together better. I just love their banter! 

We also got the real Zia this time around. I felt a bit bad for Carter since he had to rebuild everything in between them. I really like Zia though, she is a strong female character.

In this instalment we got to see more of the Duat and magic. The Duat was a tad confusing for me, so I was glad we got more insight. I thought the whole adventure the Kanes went on in the Duat was more eye opening, interesting and action packed. I really loved all the scenes in the Duat.

The end was especially great! The awakening of Ra (who was ridiculous and sad), and the one fight against Apophis with Menshikov and Desjardins. It was great that Carter and Sadie teamed up with Dejardins, even thought they didn't like each other, to defeat Menshikov and Apophis, however not permanently. Desjardins died a heroic death, and in the end was on the right side. Kind of like Snape in Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows (I'm assuming everybody has read it or seen the movie by now).

Honestly I'm surprised that Rick hasn't ended any of the books in cliffhangers yet. But the book was still great!

Top 5 Wednesday: Side Characters That Deserve Their Own Series

Another Top 5 Wednesday! If you haven't seen my other Top 5 Wednesday posts, or don't know what T5W is, then this is for you. But if you have read my other T5W posts, you know the drill, and you can just skip to the next paragraph. So T5W was created by gingerreadslainey. If you would like to check out her channel, here is a link: https://www.youtube.com/user/gingerreadslainey And here's the Goodreads group if you would like to check it out: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/118368-top-5-wednesday

So if you haven't noticed already, this week's topic is "Side Characters That Deserve Their Own Series". I think this is a pretty cool topic! But without further ado, let's get into the list!

5. Nehemia Ytger from The Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas

I really want to know more about Nehemia's past. We know that she is a princess of Eyllwe, which was conquered by the King of Adarlan, and that her family practiced the magic of Wyrdmarks. I think it would be interesting to see what her life was like before she came to the castle and met Celaena. Plus I really liked her character.

4. Liam, Chubs and Vida from The Darkest Minds Trilogy by Alexandra Bracken

I really loved all these characters, and I want to read more about their pasts, especially Vida. We knew a bit about Vida's past and only a bit more about Chubs and Liam's. It was mentioned that Vida had a tougher past than most, so I would love to read more about her. I think a bind up of the three stories would be great!

3. Kelsier from The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson

Kelsier was said to have a difficult past. He was sent to The Pits of Hathsin after being captured by the Lord Ruler. And he thought that it was possible that his wife betrayed him. We could see what really went down during that time, and see how Kelsier snapped, became a Mistborn and escaped Hathsin. I think all of this would make for an interesting and action packed prequel! Plus I would love to jump back into that amazing world (although I still have to read the last two books in the trilogy)!

2. Reyna from the Heroes of Olympus Series by Rick Riordan

Reyna is another character that had a tough past and that I want to know more about. She had a rough time with her father, ended up on Circe's island, which pirates then attacked, and finally at Camp Jupiter. I think her story would make for an excellent series, and I would definitely pick it up if it were ever published!

1. The Marauders and Lily Evans and the Next Generation of Harry Potter from the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

I want a prequel series about the Marauders and Lily so badly! I want more of their adventures, their friendships and to read about the rise of Voldemort the first time! It would just be so great! But since that hasn't happened, I'm just stuck reading headcanons on Pinterest... 

Anyways, I would also really love another series about the next generation of the Potters, Weasleys, Malfoys, ect. I just want more fun adventures and more Hogwarts! Let's face it, I just want to get back into the world of Harry Potter!

Well that's it for this Top 5 Wednesday! What characters do you think deserve their own series? I'd love to hear your answers!