Book Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Title: Throne of Glass
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publication Date: August 7, 2012
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 404
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"Nothing is a coincidence. Everything has a purpose. You were meant to come to this castle, just as you were meant to be an assassin."

When magic has gone from the world, and a vicious king rules from his throne of glass, an assassin comes to the castle. She does not come to kill, but to win her freedom. If she can defeat twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition to find the greatest assassin in the land, she will become the King's Champion and be released from prison.
Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her.

And a princess from a foreign land will become the one thing Celaena never thought she'd have again: a friend.

But something evil dwells in the castle—and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying, horribly, one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival—and a desperate quest to root out the source of the evil before it destroys her world.

When I finished reading A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas earlier this year, I was told by about ten million people that I NEEDED to read Throne of Glass. Of course, I've seen this series on tons of Top Ten lists and I've seen the beautiful cover at Barnes and Noble. I just didn't think I'd like it because I didn't know that I liked high fantasy. But lately I've discovered that I do like it after all! And I finally bought my own copy of this beautiful book.

It took much longer than I thought it would to get through Throne of Glass. To be honest, I read the first half and then put it back on the shelf, read a few more books, and then went back to it. The first half just really seemed to drag... Don't hate me! I realize that this is the set up for a series and that a lot of background had to be established, so I can definitely forgive the slight lag, especially since the second half was totally kick-ass!

Celaena is an amazing heroine who I totally fell in love with from page one. I love that she's a hard assassin who was able to survive death camps and compete with the biggest, baddest men the court could provide, but she's also a woman. She likes clothes and jewelry and dancing, while still being bigger and badder than all the other dudes. She gets an A+ in my book!

One thing I was really worried about with this book was the love triangle that I knew was coming. I have to say though, this was one place where it really worked. I could believe Celaena's relationships with both Chaol and Dorian because each was so very different. I thought both relationships were sincere and adorable! The one thing that did really bug me though... the angst. More and more I feel like I might be growing out of this tortured lover plot device. I did like their relationships! I just can't stand the whole "I love you but we can't be together for reasons x, y, and z" thing (reasons that are usually dumb).

The world that Sarah J. Maas created in Throne of Glass was pretty great too! I especially enjoyed getting to "explore" the secret tunnels and the glass castle! That being said, I do think that world building is something that Maas really did refine between the release of Throne of Glass and ACOTAR. The world of ACOTAR was amazing and I could picture it like I was there! I didn't get that kind of clarity with this book, although it was still good.

Finally, I recall seeing that Throne of Glass was a retelling of Cinderella, or at least it began that way. I didn't get Cinderella from this at all. If anything, the fact that she went to a ball was about the only parallel I was able to find. Maybe someone who knows more about this series can tell me if this is further developed later or if the retelling aspect was totally scrapped. Either way, the story is still really spectacular! I loved the magical elements in the story and cannot WAIT to see what all of this was building up to, because I feel like it's going to be something awesome.

All in all, I am glad that people would not leave me alone about this book! The beginning of it almost did me in, but in the end it was all worth it. I do feel like this book was a huge buildup to something even better, so I'm really excited to see what book two is all about!

#TBRTakedown Read-a-thon

So... today when I was pursuing the interwebs I came across a read-a-thon that seems to be picking up a lot of speed in the BookTube community. Even though I'm not going near YouTube with a 10-foot pole, I thought it sounded like a lot of fun and might even help me with these physical TBR issues I've been having lately.

Here's the announcement video for the challenge!

The idea behind this read-a-thon is to whittle away at all of those books that have been slowly piling up on your bookshelves over the course of a week (June 1-7). There are five mini-challenges to make it a little more interesting!

1. A book that's been on your TBR shelf over a year!
2. An unread sequel sitting on your TBR shelf.
3. A first book in a series on your TBR shelf.
4. An "out of your comfort zone" book on le TBR shelf!
5. A book from your most recent book haul!

Five books in a week is a little too ambitious for me since it's physical copies only and audiobooks don't count so I've decided to combine some of these categories and plan to read a total of 3 books.

Here is my TBR for the read-a-thon (I'm an extremely indecisive mood reader and can't make this decision now... so these are the options):

A book that's been on your TBR for over a year/A first book in a series 

   

An unread sequel/A book from your most recent book haul

   

An "out of your comfort zone" book

  

So there it is! The read-a-thon begins on Monday and I am SUPER excited to get started on this one! Is anyone else planning to participate?

May goals: Blog Ahead & TBR

OMG I'm about to graduate!!!

Finally, I might have some time to get ahead and read a little more of what I feel like reading. So I've decided to make a post attempting to hold myself accountable.

Blog Ahead

This month I've signed up for Blog Ahead! This is extra important since I am going on a two week vacation later this month (one week of that I'll be totally off the grid). If I don't have posts ready to go then I won't have anything on the blog!! I'm hoping to catch up on memes and post some good discussions... even though I won't be here to discuss. So here we go! Hopefully I can get this done before I leave! Wish me luck! XD

May TBR

I don't usually make lists because I'm terrible (terrible) about deviating from what I intend to read. But since I'll be gone for two weeks and can only read what I have with me, I'm hoping to cut down on a few books. Since I'm participating in the TBR Reduction challenge this year I'm going to try to make at least half of those books that have been hanging around my TBR list for awhile!

Hard Copies

        

Audiobooks

  

Wish me luck, everyone! The end of school is coming!!! 

Book Review: The Raft by S.A. Bodeen

Title: The Raft
Author: S.A. Bodeen
Publication Date: August 21, 2012
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 231
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Robie is an experienced traveler. She’s taken the flight from Honolulu to the Midway Atoll, a group of Pacific islands where her parents live, many times. When she has to get to Midway in a hurry after a visit with her aunt in Hawaii, she gets on the next cargo flight at the last minute. She knows the pilot, but on this flight, there’s a new co-pilot named Max. All systems are go until a storm hits during the flight. The only passenger, Robie doesn’t panic until the engine suddenly cuts out and Max shouts at her to put on a life jacket. They are over miles of Pacific Ocean. She sees Max struggle with a raft.

And then . . . she’s in the water. Fighting for her life. Max pulls her onto the raft, and that’s when the real terror begins. They have no water. Their only food is a bag of Skittles. There are sharks. There is an island. But there’s no sign of help on the way.

I love a good survival story. I LOVE them! So when I saw the cover of The Raft, I figured it was probably for me. And when I read the description, I knew it for sure!

The raft is emotionally wrenching from page one when the heroine is introduced. She lives on a tiny island with not much to do and takes refuge in visits with her aunt in Honolulu, Hawaii. Almost immediately, the action begins. After a terrifying encounter with a creepy homeless(?) guy on the street, Robie knows she has to get back home in a hurry. When she realizes there are no passenger flights going out, she decides to take the cargo flight home. After all, she's done it in the past with no issues. But this time there is an issue. The plane goes down. And my heart was in my throat for the rest of the book.

There's no romance here. Although Robie survives with the co-pilot, Max, he is there solely to survive and he has enough of his own issues without taking on any of Robie's. In fact, he's not a very likable character at all. But that's fine, because Robie carries this story on her own. She's a fantastic narrator. She has to be since she's basically alone for the entirety of this book! Although she isn't entirely reliable...

There is a very natural flow to the action of The Raft. Being stranded at sea with constant action would not be very believable. The author has created a situation that makes sense in the context of the story but is never boring. It was the opposite of boring, really, keeping me on my toes from start to finish. This was truly one of the most emotional books I've encountered, second only to the one book that has ever made me cry, which also happened to be a survival story.

Believe it or not, although Robie is stranded in the middle of the ocean and then stranded on an island for the entire book, there is a twist in this book that I did not see coming at all. Not.At.All. The twist in The Raft was early 2000's M. Night Shyamalan quality. It literally left me gasping for breath and that's not something I've ever been able to say about any other book.

I really can't recommend this book highly enough! It was a very short, very quick read, with a satisfying wrap up that had me immediately in search of other books by S.A. Bodeen. I can't wait to get my hands on more of her work! But really... go read this book!

Audiobook Review: Asylum by Madeleine Roux

Title: Asylum
Author: Madeleine Roux
Publication Date: August 20, 2013
Publisher: Harper Teen
Pages: 313
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For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, New Hampshire College Prep is more than a summer program—it's a lifeline. An outcast at his high school, Dan is excited to finally make some friends in his last summer before college. But when he arrives at the program, Dan learns that his dorm for the summer used to be a sanatorium, more commonly known as an asylum. And not just any asylum—a last resort for the criminally insane.

As Dan and his new friends, Abby and Jordan, explore the hidden recesses of their creepy summer home, they soon discover it's no coincidence that the three of them ended up here. Because the asylum holds the key to a terrifying past. And there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried.

Featuring found photos of unsettling history and real abandoned asylums and filled with chilling mystery and page-turning suspense, Madeleine Roux's teen debut, Asylum, is a horror story that treads the line between genius and insanity.

Asylum has been on my to-read list for an exceptionally long time - ever since I saw the cover, honestly. I knew it had to be spectacular with that cover and a description about a haunted insane asylum! There's no way it could be anything BUT awesome! Right? Um... well.

This book started out pretty good. It had all the creepy factor it needed and the setup seemed like it was going to lead to something amazing. Unfortunately, it didn't take very long for me to realize this was not the horror of my dreams. Perhaps it's because this is one of the first YA horror novels I've ever tried to read, but it just didn't work for me for a number of reasons that make me sad. Because I so wanted to love this.

The characters were really the beginning of the end for me. Dan seemed like an okay guy, but he was just too... young. I read a ton of YA. In fact, that's almost all I read. But Dan seemed entirely too young to be in a college prep program. His actions around Abby seemed ridiculous, to be honest. Really, Dan acted like I would have at his age, but I definitely wasn't out doing the things other kids my age were doing back then so... maybe he was sheltered? Abby and Jordan weren't all that likable either. Jordan was kind of a jerk and Abby was a little bit too whiny for my taste.

One thing that did work in Asylum was the mystery surrounding the institution. I think if this book had been marketed primarily as mystery it would have been a heck of a lot better. But the horror aspects fell flat for me. I did keep reading (er... listening) because I wanted to know what was going to happen, who the bad guy was, etc. I was never scared though, and that's something I'm looking for in a scary book, especially an audiobook, which should really be even more frightening if done well.

The potential was definitely there, but Asylum didn't come through, which really is unfortunate. I think the main problem is probably that I'm much older than the target age group, although that isn't usually an issue with other YA books. I would recommend this very hesitantly to fans of mystery, but perhaps fans of middle grade books rather than YA. I guess you can't win them all!

Notes on the Audiobook

Michael Goldstrom was a pretty excellent narrator! He did a good job distinguishing characters and he did really do the best he could with the material. I'd definitely listen to more books narrated by him!

Audiobook Review: Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan

Title: Lord of Chaos (The Wheel of Time #6)
Author: Robert Jordan
Narrator: Kate Reading & Michael Kramer
Publication Date: November 15, 1995
Publisher: Tor Fantasy
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Reviews for book 5 & book 7

In this sequel to the phenomenal New York Times bestseller The Fires of Heaven, we plunge again into Robert Jordan's extraordinarily rich, totally unforgettable world:

On the slopes of Shayol Ghul, the Myrddraal swords are forged, and the sky is not the sky of this world;

In Salidar the White Tower in exile prepares an embassy to Caemlyn, where Rand Al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, holds the throne--and where an unexpected visitor may change the world....

In Emond's Field, Perrin Goldeneyes, Lord of the Two Rivers, feels the pull of ta'veren to ta'veren and prepares to march....

Morgase of Caemlyn finds a most unexpected, and quite unwelcome, ally....And south lies Illian, where Sammael holds sway....

After taking kind of a long break from The Wheel of Time series, I decided to get back to it with installment number six on audiobook (because I just cannot stay focused on these books on paper). My overabundance of free time lately made this one a much quicker "read" than books one through five, but I was honestly a little sad when it ended!

Lord of Chaos begins Perrin and Faile trying to manage Emond's Field, Nynaeve and Elayne hiding out with the rebel Aes Sedai, Egwene studying under the Wise Ones, Mat doing his own thing with his army, and Rand wondering if he's gone mad already. (Can we just talk about all the names in these books? It is SO hard to write a review after listening to them and not seeing names on pages!) As always with The Wheel of Time, book six starts right where book five left off. And, as always, the action takes a little while to pick up. These books are by no means fast paced. There were actually moments throughout the book when I'd stop and take note of what had actually happened and not much ever had. I think this is something that would really grate on my nerves if I were reading them instead of listening, but as it is I actually enjoy hearing all of the minute details. In any case, things did happen and they were amazing!

This is actually the first book in The Wheel of Time series that had me cheering out loud for the characters! I have been rather impartial to the individual characters up until now, but Lord of Chaos changed me. I am absolutely in love with both Rand and Egwene! I LOVED watching them throughout this sixth book as they both rose to the occasion and embraced the power they were faced with. I really liked the relationship between Egwene and Gawyn. Although it did seem a little rushed, it worked for me. And Egwene herself is just a lovely character - she seems so much more wise and mature than the other women her age. Could this be from her time with the Wise Ones? o_O The romance between Rand and Min was also a lot of fun! As was wondering whether Rand really was going mad! He has become so strong throughout this series. I can't wait to see where book number seven takes him! Between Egwene becoming the Amyrlin Seat and the final battle between Rand and the Aes Sedai, I had to literally restrain myself from jumping up and down in excitement!

Of course, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. Nynaeve and Elayne continued to annoy me with their constant bickering and behaving like teenagers. I realize this book was written during a slightly different time, but the non-stop references to the differences between men and women had me rolling my eyes on a pretty regular basis. I try not to hold that against Robert Jordan... And it really doesn't detract from the story overall, at least in my opinion. I wished Lan had a more prominent role (read: any role) in this book. One negative about a series this long is that sometimes characters completely drop out of an entire book! Hopefully he's back for the next installment!

This book was truly the best of the six I've read so far! I couldn't give it five stars because it really did drag. I mean, it's almost 42 hours of audio, so... it was bound to happen. Either way, I really did enjoy it and I can't wait to read the next one!

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°o°  Notes on the Audiobook  °o°

Once again, Kate Reading, Michael Kramer completely blew me away! I love them so much! Anyone who happens to be listening and hear them think they're the funniest thing ever, but their voice acting skills are superb!