A Court of Mist and Fury Review

 

A Court of Mist and Fury
by Sarah J. Maas
Read: Hardback and Kindle
Pages: 621

I had two major thoughts throughout this book.

Thought #1: That's hot.

Thought #2: Damn it, Tamlin!

Both in equal measure. 

The Night Court is everything. Everything. It's free and fun and dark and wondrous and beautiful and dangerous and majestic and it's just everything. Can we say that? It's just everything. 

Moving on to the 'That's Hot' Rhys and Feyre are goals in this book. No instalove. No beating her over the head with orders about safety (ahem, Tamlin, take notes). He just lets her be...her. She trains at her pace. She takes risks at her pace. She rests at her pace. It isn't even a matter of he-let's-her. She just does her thing and that's it. After the atrocity that is Tamlin, she deserves that so much. 

Oh and the characters. Mor and Amren -dear God Amren, and Cassian and Azriel. There are just so many more people to embrace in the Night Court than Tamlin had. I mean, Lucien was okay for a while. But the people make the Court what it is and what it is, is funny and shameless and brave and oh, I love it. I love them all so much. Even Amren. Especially Amren! 

And Nesta. God, I fell in love with Nesta in this book. She's still cold and distant, but also self-sacrificing and her love and protection for Elain, perhaps her only redeeming quality, shines so brightly. She is going to be the baddest of the bad ass Fae. 

So many twists and turns and Feyre is there for all of them, fighting alongside the others. She has done such a 180 since the first book and just yes. 

All the yes!

Inheritance Games -- Five Stars

❖︎Plot❖︎
Topsy, turvy, and a little bit of What just happened? At least there at the end.
How I love eccentric old billionaires and their power plays and mysteries and riddles. Ah, if only I had the funds I would drive my family crazy from beyond the grave.
But this isn't about me.
This is about Tobias. I mean, we could say it is about Avery and those Hawthorne boys, but Tobias, that old kook was the one pulling the strings and making the magic behind the curtains. This is about him still having control of his family and fortune. Though I don't think control was his intention, but we'll get to that later.
There was death and attempted murder and love triangles and suspense and suspicion and honestly, the excitement is almost as appealing the money. Almost. Because to live out a mystery like this is, yes, please!
But it was the ending for me. I did not see that coming and now I NEED to read more. Good thing the newest installment just came out. :)

❖︎Characters❖︎
Gotta love those Hawthorne brothers. I just loved how unique they were, yet they all sort of fit together, like a puzzle all their own. I related to Xander the most in the beginning as I usually place myself firmly in the nerd corner. Proudly and purposefully. Oh, but the tension with Grayson and Jameson was so thick and I could taste it. I definitely see the appeal and magnetism. Poor Avery doesn't stand a chance. However, I think it was Nash, so level-headed in all this, that was my favorite. Tobias, who like I said, didn't seem like he really wanted control, rather wanted his grandsons to come together. Maybe work towards something together. He'd obviously worked hard to make them well-rounded and it was almost like he had trained them throughout their lives for this. I think he saw in Avery her humility and work ethic through the years and wanted her to inspire his grandsons. Avery was very independent through this considering she had been dropped into a totally different world than the one she'd come from. Of course, the boys helped her along, especially Xander. But had most girls her age been left with all this suspicion and new fame, being shot at and living with strangers who don't particularly care for even if she worked getting 'their' money, many would have bailed or crawled into a corner and hoped to survive the year. Very eager to see what she does next.
And alas, Nan. Okay, probably Nan is my favorite. She's sassy and bold but in a quiet way that no one suspects. I just adore her.

Spells Trouble by P.C. Cast

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to like this book. After the prologue -which I loved!- I was hooked. It quickly went downhill. There was really just a modge podge of 'magick' and mythology with no real direction, so it comes off as bland and reaching just to progress the story. Then there is the rather gratuitous sex scene that comes off as cringe-worthy for a YA book. It read like a how-to, which I do not appreciate. Had this been an adult/erotica book, it totally would have made sense. In this context/age group, hard pass.

Okay, we get is. Mercy and Hunter are different. It was plenty obvious, but it felt like parts were written just to, once again, remind the reader how different they were. And their CONSTANT use of the word 'witchy' was so redundant that I rolled my eyes every time they used it. 

Bast had the potential to be so awesome, you know, as a goddess, but she was kept as 'Xena,' which annoyed me to no end. Like, hey, this is supposed to be a goddess, like the kind you worship, and you keep referring to her as a character from a bad 90s show. 

Kirk was horrible and a total douche, which really made him the most real character in the book. I loved to hate him because, as much as his jerk-ness was over done, he served as a cautionary tale for girls.

Disappointed.

City of Ashes

 

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

                 

This entire book I just felt... filler. Sure, there were important parts. For example, Clary can create her own Runes. Yay, Clary for finally being useful. There were some decent action scenes, especially towards the end. There was the back and forth of Jace's allegiance. But for the most part, the second book in the series was lacking compared to the first.

                                                                  

       

Clary has finally developed a sense of usefulness. Yes, she was completely new to the Shadowhunter life in the first book, but it was a lot of, "Save me! Help me." However, here we find her coming into her own talents and that is so nice. There is also so much more conflict in her mind, mostly regarding her love life, but nonetheless. 

Simon was pining for most the book as per usually. However, at least this wasn't an instalove situation. Still, I was glad when he broke up with her at the end. His new vampire-ness is fun. He can keep up with everyone else now, even if he is on the "wrong side" of the Shadowhunter/Downworlder coin. Perhaps as the series progresses, those lines will blur further. I think he and Mya will progress well and she will be good for him.

The Inquisitor was, well, evil. Not literally of course, and in a story about demons, that distinction must be made. But she really had no mercy on Jace, which is fine. Whatever. But don't use the Clave as your excuse like it makes your revenge something noble. Sad as it was, I gleaned some satisfaction from Valentine's not caring about Jace being killed. 

My Dark Vanessa

Vanessa is the protagonist and victim of Strane. While I truly felt bad for what happened to her, an act that she should never have gone through, just as no one should, I couldn't bring myself to like her. It wasn't that she thought he was innocent and loved her. She was conditioned to believe that by a very experienced manipulator. She can't be blamed for that. However, I can't think of any other reason to like her. As she stated herself, this experience with him became her life. She wrapped herself up in it. Again, not her fault. But it didn't allow for anything else.

Jacob Strane is the disgusting, rapist pedophile who violated Vanessa. He was very smooth in his grooming of her. Making her think that he was doing her some sort of favor in taking the risk of being with her because he just couldn't help falling in love with her. He's disgusting. The man actually got a vasectomy so that he wouldn't have to worry about his teenage victims getting pregnant. Yet maintains that he never planned on victimizing her, and the poor girl believed him.

Pretty much every other adult in the book totally let Vanessa down. Teachers, parents, counselors. They all just accepted that she lied. Not much of an investigation or anything. Even her peers, at least the ones who knew her, knew better. Her own mother even said that she just didn't want the trouble and thought that the issue would go away when she changed schools. Useless.

Okay. Horrible. Just horrible. Please understand that my issue is NOT the subject matter. Of course, pedophilia and rape are terrible and unforgivable. But I knew that going into the book. I expected it. What I did not expect was that the second half of the story was be agonizingly, painfully tedious. Because that's what it was. After (view spoiler) offs himself, it should have ended. I get that the story is supposed to show the aftermath of this particular kind of rape, but it dragged. Over and over Vanessa rattles on about how he didn't do anything wrong and the other girls are lying. She pounds it into the reader for about 150 pages. We get it. I mean, she's wrong, but we get that's what she thinks. At least 100 pages could have been cut. At least.

The first half the book moved along well enough. There is build up to the "relationship," the grooming, etc. There are current blurbs describing how Vanessa is coping now. But then the second half happened, and honestly, WHAT WAS THE POINT. It was just more of the same. Him treating her horribly when she was too old for him. Her denying the claims of the other girls and still wanting him. Over and over and over.

But I'm not going to make it all bad. I will say that I think that girls (or boys) who this has happened to may be able to relate and come forward

2021 Reading Goal Ideas

 1. Netgalley book (250ish books)- Read and review them for blog and to up completion rate + Twitter
2. Finally get through my list of classics-  Reviews not really as important as they've been read to death
3. Kindle Unlimited- Read and review for blog and Amazon to help indie/unknown authors + Twitter and make use of Kindle Unlimited subscription.
4. Books actually on TBR list including so many series that I want to finish
5. General number of books and read as I go along 

Number 5 sounds appealing and much less planning. But #1 really needs to get done. #2 has been a goal FOREVER. #3 makes me feel better about helping unknown authors. #4 sounds good because I really want to know how so many series end. 

Other goals:

Use KU more for my money's worth and to highlight and make notes

Do updates on GR as I read instead of just reviews

Write more thorough reviews

Read one book at a time! and focus on it. 

The Selection

Plot

The idea behind the story is simple enough. Kind of like a dystopian, royal Bachelor. I think what added a lot to the story was the attacks on the palace. I mean, it is pretty clear now that Maxon wants America. So what keeps me going in what are the Rebels after?

Characters

Seems like each character was meant to be either good or bad based on their relationship with America. Basically if she doesn't like them then they are shallow. This book is great for the opportunities to pit girls against girls, which I don't really care for. I like Marlee more than America and really wish she had feelings toward Maxon because I would be rooting for her. I really like that America is taking her time and really thinking about whether or not she wants to be with Maxon. I hate instalove. And I like that he genuinely cares about her thoughts, like with the food situation of the fives, sixes, sevens, and eights.

Writing

So, I feel like the writing should be a little more, I don't know, sophisticated, I guess. Maybe that isn't the right word. More developed. I mean, they are obviously in a dystopian society and in a castle at that. But it all seems so average.