Review: Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

Crown of Midnight | Sarah J. Maas

Publication Date: August 15th 2013

Publisher: Bloomsbury Children

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance

Owned, Paperback, 418 pages

Synopsis:

Crowned by Evil.

Bound by Duty.

Divided by Love.

Celaena Sardothien, royal assassin, is the King of Adarlan's deadliest weapon. She must win her freedom through his enemies' blood - but she cannot bear to kill for the crown. And every death Celaena fakes, every lie she tells, put those she loves at risk.

Torn between her two protectors - a captain and a prince - and battling a dark force far greater than the king, Celaena must decide what she will fight for: her liberty, her heart or the fate of a kingdom...

My Review: ★★★★★

"When you do, I want you to remember that it wouldn't have made any difference to me. It's never made any difference to me when it came to you. I'd still pick you. I'll always pick you."

This sequel to Throne of Glass delivered the best of it to me - action packed, swoon-worthy romance, inevitable heartbreaks and grief, substantial characters development, all of it. I could still smell the intensity hovering in the air when I turned to the last page.

We'd seen so much more in Celaena now. Underneath her femininity, she had gone through tough years and losses that caused her to live in severe pain, which she had built a high wall with a facade, and learnt to be the deadliest weapon to protect herself from vulnerability. Every piece of characteristic was delicate, aesthetic and beautifully written, especially the grief and loss she experienced in this book, as if I was feeling it too, slowly swallowed me bit by bit from the inside.

"The rest of the world quieted into nothing. In that moment, after ten long years, Celaena looked at Chaol and realized she was home."

The story strengthened my irrevocable affection for Chaol. I might have squealed a little when the ship started sailing, and I was on the brink of an overwhelming heartbreak when it began to sink. Even though Celaena was oftentimes ruthless and unmerciful, that was entirely not the case when it came to Chaol. He was kind, considerate, protective, loyal - everything a boyfriend material needs. He melted my heart just as he melted Celaena's, and it hurt me more than ever when the plot was twisted to the other way round.  

Dorian was sweeter in this sequel if that was even possible. I could absolutely sense that his character apparently has so much potential in the upcoming books, which had tremendously heightened up my anticipation towards the rest of this series, and leveled up my adoration for him, too.

In a nutshell, this book was one vehement journey that allowed us to take a glimpse of how huge the world building actually is for the entire series. You'll be pleasantly surprised. I solemnly promise.

Perfect for this book:

Two feet standing on a principle

Two hands longing for each other's warmth

Cold smoke seeping out of colder throats

Darkness falling, leaves nowhere to go

Still with feet touching

Still with eyes meeting

Still our hands match

Still with hearts beating

With love,

Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass | Sarah J. Maas
Publication Date: August 2nd 2012
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance
Owned, Paperback, 404 pages

Synopsis:
Meet Celaena Sardothien.
Beautiful. Deadly.
Destined for greatness.

In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake. She got caught.

Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament - fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin's heart be melted?

My Review: ★★★★★

"We all bear scars... Mine just happened to be more visible than most."

Okay, Throne of Glass is now officially, irrevocably becoming one of my most favorite series, ever.

I was absolutely devoured by the world building and the premise surrounding it, and I'm dying inside, hopelessly waiting to be rescued by my Chaol. It somehow makes me sad, seeing that the entire story and its characters were all merely creations by words plus the imagination of my own.

When I was first introduced to Celaena in this book, being the deadliest assassin, I expected her to be emotionally aloof and the barriers to her heart would be very much harder to breakthrough. Hence I was honestly surprised upon the realization that there was so much femininity in her - she cared about clothes, her appearance, and she pretty much aware of how others had been attracted by her beauty. It didn't really bother me though, in fact I admired her sensitivity on emotions, perhaps it was the softness hidden beneath that makes her stronger.

And CHAOL. Seriously, need I say more? I love Dorian too, but I feel Chaol and Celaena are meant to be together. I JUST FEEL IT.

All in all, if you asked me to describe the book in one word, I think I'm gonna let you down because there is no any single word I could muster to entirely fit in the awesomeness I've experienced while reading this book.

Perfect for this book:

Oh, all of these minutes passing, sick of feeling used

If you wanna break these walls down, you're gonna get bruised

Now my neck is open wide, begging for a fist around it

Already choking on my pride, so there's no use crying about it

With love,

Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Boys | Maggie Stiefvater

Publication Date: September 19th 2012

Publisher: Scholastic 

Genre: Paranormal, Young Adult

Owned, Paperback, 454 pages

Synopsis:

Even if Blue hadn't been told her true love would die if she kissed him, she would stay away from boys. Especially the ones from the local private school. Known as Raven Boys, they only mean trouble.

But this is the year that everything will change for Blue.

This is the year that she will be drawn into the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys. And the year Blue will discover that magic does exist.

This is the year she will fall in love.

My review: ★★★★☆

"She recognized the strange happiness that came from loving something without knowing why you did, that strange happiness that was sometimes so big that it felt like sadness." 

Reading this book required a good lot of patience. This masterpiece was mysterious, so magically mysterious that it had burnt a fair amount of my reading time to slowly devour the descriptive details. It was like a match - the plot constantly intrigued you, and you'd let curiosity to lure you in, hence you stayed and it unfolded layer by layer as you read, but still not enough to be fully grasped and thus hardly got you excited; it was still perplexing when you turned to the last page.

But the book was undoubtedly, beautifully written. The sentences were delicate with omniscient style that it felt like you were not merely reading. In fact, it occasionally sent me chills because it read like someone was narrating the ghostly atmosphere to me, and the scene was vividly depicted on my mind.

All of the characters in this imaginative story were very dynamic and distinctive from each other. Blue was unique and unlike the other heroins we had normally seen, eccentric but strong-minded. And there was a group of tight-knitted Raven boys - Adam, a boy who'd always yearned for more and strived to be better; Ronan, a troubled teenager who hid untold regrets and secrets with constant anger; Noah, who spoke the least and held the thinnest sense of existence but apparently knew more than the others; and also, Gansey, like a pack leader of four with some vulnerably soft spots who restlessly obsessed with the supernatural.

Speaking of which, I adored seeing the desperate side of Gansey. Perhaps it was the whimsical writing style that could speak through the words, I found his need to do something meaningful with life, the fear of oblivion was rather relatable. And oh, his banters with Blue were oftentimes entertaining and hilarious too!

"I guess I make things that need energy stronger. I'm like a walking battery.""You're the table everyone wants at Starbucks," Gansey mused as he began to walk again. Blue blinked. "What?"Over his shoulder, Gansey said, "Next to the wall plug."  

All in all, I was utterly enthralled by the beauty of this book. Despite being confused at times, I loved the way Maggie Stiefvater played with words to allow readers to effortlessly see the beauty in ordinary things.

"In the end, he was nobody to Adam, he was nobody to Ronan. Adam spit his words back at him and Ronan squandered however many second chances he gave him. Gansey was just a guy with a lot of stuff and a hole inside him that chewed away more of his heart every year."

Perfect for this book: 

Are you going to age with grace?
Are you going to age without mistakes?
Are you going to age with grace
or only to wake and hide your face?

When oblivion is calling out your name
You always take it further than I ever can


With love,