Review: Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Maas

Published: May 7, 2013 Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Format: ebook
Source: Purchased

Goodreads Summary

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.

She stood not ten feet from the King of Adarlan. Freedom or death lay at this table. Her past and future were seated on a glass throne.

The Good

When we first meet 18-year old Celaena Sardothien, she is a prisoner, haggard and bitter. She's forgotten what true comfort feels like and her beauty has diminished. She's known as Adarlan's Assassin and the Prince of Adarlan makes her an offer she can't refuse - fight for the title of King's Champion in a competition and be free after four year's service, or rot and die there in the prison in Endovier. Celaena is a lot of fun to read about. She's full of contradictions that make her entertaining. As Choal notes, she can kill you with whatever is handy, yet she's kind-hearted. She's arrogant and tough-as-nails yet a girly-girl that loves shopping and gorgeous dresses. She's intelligent and doesn't trust easily but appears to put her trust in the wrong people. She greatly embodies the assassin, yet at the same time I can tell she has so much more below the surface than an incredibly adept killer. I also really enjoy the character of Nehemia, a princess of Eyllwe also staying at the castle that is pure spunk.

The world is so easy to understand and even though I thought I'd have trouble pronouncing some of the names and places, they start rolling off the tongue. The plot kept me on the edge of my seat as I waited to find out the outcome. I really liked the different thieves, assassins, and criminals that Celaena is pinned against in the competition. I also was greatly surprised at all that was beneath the surface, since I was basically just expecting a great book about an assassin in a competition for the King. There is so much more going on to keep the story moving.

The Bad and The Romance

My only complaint about the story is the romance. There are two main men in Throne of Glass, the Prince Dorian and the Captain of the Guard Choal Westfall. I love both characters for different reasons and it's plain to see they care for Celaena. They have both been changed by her presence. My problem here is that the romance took away from what I loved about Celaena. It doesn't feel like a love triangle to me so it wasn't that. I can't honestly see her with either men so it's not a book based in romance to me. I guess I really wanted her to realize that she couldn't have a relationship pan out with either guy so she could get her mind back on more important things like winning the competition and staying alive.

Conclusion

This is an amazing start to a series. The end leaves me begging for more and excited about where the story can go from here. There are so many mysteries that kept me guessing the entire time, political intrigue, and fantastic characters. I'm hooked!

Excerpts

"I can survive well enough on my own - if given proper reading material."

"You bear many names, and so I shall name you as well." Her hand rose to Celaena's forehead and she drew an invisible mark. "I name you Elentiya." She kissed the assassin's brow. "I give you this name to use with honor, to use when other names grow too heavy. I name you Elentiya, 'Spirit That Could Not Be Broken.'"

Her legs gave out and Celaena collapsed. Her eyelids became heavy, so she closed them. Why did her heart beat so slowly?

The ridderak stalked back and forth on its four long, spidery limbs, sniffing at her, and Celaena paused. Why didn't it attack immediately? It sniffed at her again, and swiped at the ground with a clawed hand - striking deep enough to take out a chunk of stone.

Sunday Cover Scramble [135]

Let's have some fun! I am going to post covers on here every Sunday that are scrambled up graphically, making it hard to tell what cover it is. I would like your guesses on what cover you think I've posted. I won't answer you until I'm posting the next one to let you know if you are right, allowing others to guess as well. Some will be hard, and others may be easy. Let me know in the comments if you'd like some more hints and I'll offer some more if no one guesses it correctly.


I am pulling covers off the Most Popular Page on Goodreads.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

The Torrent (The New Agenda #4) by Simone Pond

Published: July 7th 2015 by Ktown Waters
Genre: Dystopia, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Format: ebook
Source: provided for honest review

Goodreads Summary

Grace has survived Chief Morray’s attempt to keep her trapped inside the mainframe, but at a terrible cost: leaving her mother behind. Giving up training at the academy in order to wait for Ava’s return. Grace wants to do the right thing, but it’s never that simple. While Ava struggles against Morray in the virtual reality, Grace is left alone in the real world to fight her own battles. There’s a new corrupt authority figure. A regional council to sway. A war to stop. And a promise to keep to a precious young soul. How can Grace save everyone, including herself?

Buy The Torrent (The New Agenda #4) by Simone Pond today at Amazon

“This place feels so real. Even more today than yesterday,” she said. 

“There is no today. There was no yesterday.” “Nothing but this moment, and this moment is nothing.” Morray laughed. “Don’t be so dramatic.”

“It’s hard not to be. I keep missing out on my life, and the common denominator is always you,” she spat.

The Good

So I really enjoy this series. Each book in the series has felt new to me, while each book fits perfectly into the series itself. Ava and her Daughter work really well as mother and daughter. You can feel their connection and yet at the same time see why they argue so much. This time we get a plenty of reasons to still hate Morray while at the same time learn to despise two new individuals. I love how this book shows the way some people will cling to what they know even if it's horrible, while just as many people are will to strive for something better even if it's the unknown.

The Bad

The ending of this one was pretty abrupt. It has an in your face ending with plenty of twist's along the way. But it's like BAM possible end to one problem and that's a wrap. Another thing that bug's me is this is the last book in the series.

The Romance

Can Morray finally get the girl? Will Grace get to raise baby she took with Lucas? Can Ava make it back to Joseph? All this and more are waiting for you in The Torrent.

Conclusion

A little sad to come to the end of a series I truly enjoyed. But at least I got a few answer's I've wanted for a while. I love how Simone wrapped this one up while leaving just enough out there for you to decide what's next. I'll miss the wonderful characters except when I have the chance to refer this series to friends and fellow sci-fi fans.

Excerpts

“Until you face them, the demons will keep chasing you.” 
“But what if I can’t stop them?” 
Adyar kissed her cheek and peered at her with wise old eyes. “The only thing stopping Grace is Grace.”

“Please, Ruth. I only took him because I didn’t want Faraday to put him in that soldier program. He deserves a choice. Don’t you think? I’m not ready to face the council yet. I need a little time to build my case.” 
“You’ve had plenty of time.” Ruth sneered. 
Blythe stepped up. “Easy there, Nurse Lady. You both want the same thing: To protect the kid from that jerk-bag Faraday. Right?” Grace and Ruth looked at each other and nodded.

“You’d be nothing if it weren’t for me.”
“That’s not going to work either. You can try to take credit for my existence to give yourself the upper hand, but there was something before you. Before everything. You’re just a fleck in the larger spectrum.” 
“So you’re planning on leaving me in here?” 
“I’m not sure what will happen to you. I do know that I have a body out there waiting. A family and friends. You don’t have anything.”

Buy The Torrent (The New Agenda #4) by Simone Pond today at Amazon

Harry Potter Moment of the Week [80]

This is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows.The idea is to share a favorite moment, magical item, character, spell, quote, object from the books, films or J.K.Rowling herself! Click the links to the blogs to see how to join up &  upcoming topics.

Which magical creature would you like living in your house?

via GIPHY

Well it would be amazing to have a house elf for sure, but like Hermione I can't abide with the slavery involved in that so it would have to be a willing friend like Dobby that just helped out whenever he so desired.

The main magical creature I've been obsessed with is Fawkes. I would LOVE having a phoenix. Besides just being beautiful and amazing creatures (they are reborn in their own ashes!!), I'm extremely accident-proned so it'd be nice to have a creature around with healing tears. Then there comes the point again, that they are reborn in their own ashes. Every pet owner knows that losing that loved one is so incredibly hard, so I think the added benefit of not having it die would be so amazing.

Which would you choose?

Excerpt: Forgotten Ones by Brian McGilloway

Summary

From the New York Times bestselling author of Little Girl Lost comes a brand-new thriller featuring Lucy Black—a twisting, gripping story of secrets and lies, perfect for fans of Louise Penny and Tana French.

The body of an elderly man is hauled out of the rushing water of the River Foyle, cold dead. Detective Lucy Black is called in to investigate when it becomes evident that this was not a suicide: the man's body was embalmed before it ever entered the water.

Confounded and exhausted, Lucy heads home to review the case in quiet; but there will be no rest for her tonight. She's barely in the front door when a neighbor knocks because his wife's sister has been attacked and they need her help.

As a string of strange crimes is unspooled throughout the city, Lucy is pulled in countless different directions… until she realizes there may be something dark and dangerous connecting everything.

Soulful and suspenseful, featuring one of the most appealing characters in suspense fiction, The Forgotten Ones is a novel to take your breath away.

Excerpt:

The bruising extended from his temple, around the curve of the eye socket and down almost to where the fold of his laughter line curled round to meet his lip.

Lucy gently touched the purpled skin with the tips of her fingers, afraid that too much pressure might cause him to wake. She moved back slightly and traced down along his neck to where she saw a second shadow on the skin, this time the injury aged and yellowed around the edges, just visible above the collar of his vest. Wisps of gray hair curled over the material, rising and falling lightly with each breath.

She drew back the blanket from him, seeing for the first time the leather strap that encircled the safety bar at the side of his bed, its other end fastened around her father’s wrist.

“Dad?” she whispered, tapping him lightly on the arm in an attempt to rouse him. “Dad, what happened?”

For a moment, his eyelids fluttered, his face inclining toward hers. Then he settled back on the bed again, his head barely denting the pillow. His brow shone with perspiration, despite the presence of a portable fan in the room.

She pushed back from the bed, opened the door, and went out into the corridor. Seeing no staff, she moved up toward the main workstation on the ward. Just as she approached, an orderly came around the corner.

“DS Black? Just the person.”

“What happened to my father?” Lucy demanded. “His face? What happened?”

The man raised his hands in placation. “I’m sorry, Miss Black. I thought you’d been … He became aggressive with some of the other patients and took a fall,” he said.

“He’s chained to the bed,” Lucy said.

“He’s not chain—” he said, seemingly swallowing back his protest at her comment. “We had to restrain him to stop it happening again; he was uncontrollable.”

“He has a bruise on his chest, too.”

“I don’t know—it … it may have been when he was being subdued. Look, I understand you’re annoyed. And I know you’re off duty, but … well, we think there’s a body in the river.”

Order Forgotten Ones by Brian McGilloway today at Amazon

Author Brian McGilloway

Brian McGilloway was born in Derry, Northern Ireland. After studying English at Queen’s University, Belfast, he took up a teaching position in St Columb’s College in Derry, where he was Head of English. His first novel, Borderlands, published by Macmillan New Writing, was shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger 2007 and was hailed by The Times as “one of (2007’s) most impressive debuts.” The second novel in the series, Gallows Lane, was shortlisted for the 2009 Irish Book Awards/Ireland AM Crime Novel of the Year. The third Devlin, Bleed a River Deep, was selected by Publishers Weekly as one of their Best Books of 2010. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling Lucy Black series, all to be published by Witness. Brian lives near the Irish borderlands with his wife and their four children.

Find the Author:
Goodreads |  Website | Harper Collins

Sunday Cover Scramble [134]

Let's have some fun! I am going to post covers on here every Sunday that are scrambled up graphically, making it hard to tell what cover it is. I would like your guesses on what cover you think I've posted. I won't answer you until I'm posting the next one to let you know if you are right, allowing others to guess as well. Some will be hard, and others may be easy. Let me know in the comments if you'd like some more hints and I'll offer some more if no one guesses it correctly.


I am pulling covers off the Most Popular Page on Goodreads.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Harry Potter Moment of the Week [79]

This is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows.The idea is to share a favorite moment, magical item, character, spell, quote, object from the books, films or J.K.Rowling herself! Click the links to the blogs to see how to join up &  upcoming topics.

Place you wish we'd explored in the series but didn't?

via GIPHY

Some of my favorite places like Hogwarts, The Burrow, and Diagon Alley were well explored. I feel like we got quite a good bit of background information on just about every location that was mentioned. So I'm gonna say that I would've like to learn more about Hermione's house and her parents. The Dursley's gets the name #4 Privet Drive, and the Weasley's have The Burrow so I wonder what we would've referenced her house as. I think Hermione would've had quite the home library.

Her parents while briefly discussed throughout, were kind Muggles. I would like to think they were like Mr. and Mrs. Weasley in the sense that they loved their child and wanted what was best for her. Of course, they were probably no where near as eccentric but I feel like the oddity of them being completely 'normal' in this world would've been fun to explore. We got to know the Dursleys who were Muggle and abhorred magic, it would've been wonderful to see more of the parents that embraced having a witch in the family.

Which would you choose?