Tag: Books with Faerie

New Adult, New Adult Romance, YA Fantasy

My Review: A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3): by Sarah J. Maas

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Publish Date: May 2nd, 2017
Number of Pages: 699 Pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Genre(s): YA Fantasy, New Adult, New Adult Romance

***This review contains major spoilers from the previous books, so continue reading at your own risk. You’ve officially been warned!***

To see my review of book #1 – A Court of Thorns and Roses – Click HERE

To see my review of book #2 – A Court of Mist and Fury – Click HERE

To see my Fancast/Dreamcast for the series – Click HERE

Total Star Rating: 3.25 Stars

When I first read the book back in 2017 when it was first released, I was once again blown away and majorly entertained by yet another book title released by Sarah J. Maas—if you’d read A Court of Mist and Fury, you were probably just as excited—but looking back into it all these years later leaves a bitter taste in my mouth…

You guys, this book was pretty disappointing…

I think what happened was that I was so excited, so anxious to see what happened next after ACoMaF; to see Feyre and Rhysand reunited once again now that they’re officially mated and she’s now the first ever High Lady in the history of Prythian. That, along with wanting to see the how the final battle played out, and to see if all the couples that fellow fans shipped would finally get together or not. We all wanted to see what would happen in those regards, that maybe some of us skimmed over everything else that was actually wrong with this book. Once we had time to soak it all in and get what we wanted, we could go back and see for ourselves more and more things that weren’t handled well, and we were left disappointed in the outcome. Some people were able to catch them right away, but not me…consider me initially fooled.

Part of me feels guilty that I didn’t catch a lot of the issues right off the bat, even if some of them are issues that only a specific group of people were offended by, but the fact that I first saw nothing wrong with the story aspects that were called out, but then again, is anyone the same person they were three years ago? I’ve read so many books since then, broadened my horizons, grown as a young man since graduating college, and have developed a stronger critical eye for writing and the books I choose to read. Plus, my world views have changed and have seen the real world and how it works, so case in point…I’ve changed. There’s no use beating myself up over not being informed enough then, but accept what I know now moving forward and being able to recognize it in future stories.

What It’s About:

The Official Blurb:

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s manoeuvrings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit – and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well.

As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords – and hunt for allies in unexpected places.

In this thrilling third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Sarah J. Maas, the earth will be painted red as mighty armies grapple for power over the one thing that could destroy them all.

What I Liked:

  1. Feyre’s Antics Back in the Spring Court! Going off the perfect ending to A Court of Mist and Fury, Feyre has been brought back to the Spring Court with a delusional Tamlin, and everyone there expects things to go back to the way they were, except for one major change: Feyre’s now secretly the freakin’ High Lady of the Night Court. Like a Trojan Horse, she’s going to infiltrate enemy territory and cause a little—or a lot—of chaos. Some of her acts are pretty great, like in Lucien’s bedroom…but I wish SJM had some more fun with this part of the book.
  2. Supernatural Battles! ***Spoiler Alert***……………………In the final battle for the fate of the realm, Feyre and the other courts get a little help from some supernatural baddies: The Bone Carver, The Weaver of the Woods, and a shadow known as Bryaxis. I don’t know if they’re just otherworldly monsters or if they’re considered “old world gods,” but their addition was a really cool touch. I wish they wouldn’t have died so easily, when Nesta and Elaine seemed to be able to kill the King almost too easily….but for what it was, I enjoyed their addition to the battle.
  3. Bryaxis! What a fun monster he turned out to be! I love the fact that we never actually see his true form, and the mystery surrounding the monster in general, but even Cassian was afraid of this…thing that lurks in the shadows at the bottom of the library, and the way he was introduced was fun too! Really creepy.
  4. The Worldbuilding (Again)! For this book in particular, I may mean that with the supernatural aspect of it it all. With creatures like Bryaxis, The Suriel, The Weaver of the Woods, The Bone Carver, the Ouroboros, and even Amren, gave SJM’s book a darker and creepier vibe that I really got into. Now, what she didn’t need to do was backup, chicken out on it, and try to humanize them. She should’ve just kept them as sadistic and ominous monsters, to be honest, and let their chaotic evilness reign supreme.

What I Didn’t Like:

  1. Back to the Beginning…While I enjoyed some of Feyre’s antics and schemes while she was back in the Spring Court, not a whole lot else happens. Actually, not a whole lot happens in the first major chunk of the book except for all the major planning and strategizing for the major war ahead. While that can sometimes be an interesting driver of the story itself, it wasn’t the case here.
  2. Major Plot Inconsistencies…***Okay, so major spoilers in this one, so seriously consider skipping over if you haven’t read it yet*** ………..but I’m talking about when Rhysand dies and is resurrected by Feyre and the other High Lords (much like she was in the first book). It’s been said how the power of the High Lords is passed down through generation to generation, and Rhysand is supposed to be the most powerful out of all of them…so how is that possible, exactly? Each High Lord has their own specific power, and it manifests into their heir, so how is he more powerful than the others? Also, if he was resurrected like Feyre, how come he didn’t inherit their powers like she did? Also, what exactly is Nesta’s power? Death? Among other things, I did start to notice that maybe the magic system could’ve used some fine tuning, because it became a plot convenience.
  3. Random Coming Out of the Closet…***Another spoiler ahead***…….so yeah, a character reveals that they are actually queer, and it’s handled just so poorly. It was treated like an afterthought, purely for cheap shock value. Yes….I do mean Mor and Azriel. Not that I’m upset that a possible hetero couple didn’t work out for once, inaction and avoidance of the confrontation that needed to happen has led to casting Mor into a less than stellar light. Stringing Azriel along and giving him a false sense of hope isn’t cool, and he deserved more than that. I get the fear of showing vulnerability, and accepting/revealing this part of yourself as identifying as queer is a big thing, but for how long she’d known him (500 years?), maybe their relationship wasn’t as strong as we’d like to believe it was if she felt she could never confide in him or let the guy off easy. I recognize that SJM has obviously listened to her fans included more LGBT characters, and she did make it so that homophobia—for the most part—wasn’t a thing to worry about. Unfortunately, a character who turned out to be bi/pansexual (it’s never fully clarified) was handled rather poorly too. Basically, they’re the horny individual who wants to have sex with everyone of both genders, and usually at the same time. It’s kind of a stereotype, and I thought it was hot at first, but hearing from others that this was poor representation made me change my mind.
  4. The Underdeveloped Villain…Who even is the King of Hybern outside of his scheme to take over the realm? Hardly any personality, hardly anything is revealed, or even told through reputation…I would’ve rather had Ianthe, Tamlin, or even the Bone Carver ending up being the big boss villain in the end.
  5. The Romance/Sex Scenes…Yes, a lot of us can agree that SJM isn’t the greatest at writing a sex scene, but I feel like that’s not entirely her fault, so let me explain. I feel like she can go further with this aspect of her writing ability, but it was more how limited based off the fact that she’s trying to include smut in a YA novel, and words like cock, fuck, vagina, clit, etc. can’t really be used for the younger reading level. She was threading a delicate line with this is in her book, and obviously wanted to write it more through the actions of a full grown adult rather than through the eyes of a teenager, which is the main fanbase that this book was marketed towards. I don’t need to go into the other words/phrases she used instead: the devouring and feasting that occurred, even after a treacherous battle and witnessing many others die before their eyes…I feel like that’s been poked to death by plenty of other readers. Think back to The Hunger Games movies, and how a lot of people said they would’ve been better if they were rated R, but were PG-13 instead to make more money? It kind of reminds me of that, so maybe she has the ability to write these scenes well, it was more how she did what she could with the materials she was limited to use.
  6. The Under-usage of Amren as a Character…I was disappointed with how little we saw of Amren, and how she became more of background character who stayed behind and simply read books to give the group answers while she sips on blood in a wine glass. Also, was anyone disappointed when it’s finally revealed what she is? I was expecting more there…
  7. Not Everyone Needed to End Up with Someone…It’s becoming a similar theme in all of SJM’s books, but almost all major players have to end up with someone, or there’s major hints at two people getting together later on. While I’m a hopeless romantic at heart and love seeing people finding their soulmate, but….there’s also nothing wrong with being single. It’s beginning to feel like in SJM’s worlds, you need to end up with someone in order to matter or be happy. This can go into the acephobia criticism the book has gotten, but I feel like others can explain that better than I can, so I’ll leave it to them.
  8. More People Needed to Die For Higher Impact…***Major Spoilers***…………This sounds unsettling I know…but I think more major characters should’ve died in the final battle. It feels too safe that they all made it out in the end…not completely unscathed, of course, but the book would’ve had so much more emotional impact if say… Mor died before she could’ve had that conversation with Azriel, Amren died after her true form saved them for the moment, Tamlin got killed for his one little spec of a moment when he wasn’t a total piece of trash, or if Rhysand had stayed dead. Make things feel dangerous and unpredictable, that literally ANYONE could wind up dead at any moment! It’s part of what made Game of Thrones such a blatant success when it was running during it’s first few seasons: so many character deaths, including major players like almost every Stark Royal, Joffrey, Tywin, The Direwolves, Khal Drogo, the Direwolves, plus many more…some of these I’m still not over.

Conclusion:

A shiny new toy that I absolutely adored when I first got my hands on it back in 2017, going back into it all this time later leaves a bitter taste in my mouth as I’ve noticed more and more things about this book that I’d either ignored, or hadn’t even realized I didn’t like it at the time. I feel like I’ve become a much different reader and overall human being since the time I first read this, and I can take note more things to call out on in whatever books I choose to read.

I’m torn on how SJM and Bloomsbury have decided to rebrand this series and rerelease it as an Adult level Fantasy Genre series. While It’s been one of the most popular series in recent memory amongst YA readers, there’s no doubt that there’s been some major controversy over some of the more mature themes it presents. I’ve always known it be more New Adult than Young Adult, although I’m conflicted about the new cover designs…I wasn’t crazy about the original covers, but I don’t necessarily fangirl shriek in anticipation of these new ones either…Here’s a comparison below for those that don’t know what I’m talking about:

The original Young Adult Covers:

The rebranded Adult Covers:

Don’t let my many criticism’s fool you, I do still enjoy the book, and will continue to read on as the stories get released. I was just disappointed with its execution and the direction SJM decided to go in on certain aspects of the story. I really enjoy the characters and look forward to reading more into others now that I feel like Feyre and Rhysand’s story is pretty much done. My impression is that the other books being released will be more like a spinoff, and other characters will get their own books, but I am nervous about continuing if my main reason for holding on rests solely with them. The next book, A Court of Frost and Starlight, is a novella instead of a full length novel, and will act as more of a bridge between the two era’s of this world created by SJM.

Thanks For Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Fantasy, New Adult Romance, Paranormal

My Review: Shadowfever (Fever #5): by Karen Marie Moning

nicholasjgoodsell
Publish Date: January 18th, 2011
Number of Pages: 608 Pages
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Genre(s): Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

***Warning!! This review contains spoilers from the previous books in the series, continue reading at your own risk. You’ve officially been warned!***

To see my review of book #1 – Darkfever — Click HERE

To see my review of book #2 – Bloodfever — Click HERE

To see my review of book #3 – Faefever — Click HERE

To see my review of book #4 – Dreamfever — Click HERE

To see my Fancast/Dreamcast of the series – Click HERE

Total Star Rating: 4.5 Stars

Finally…

At long last…

The time has come to get answers to the ever-growing list of questions that have come up since starting this blasted series, but I can say without a doubt that SO. MUCH. HAPPENS. IN. THIS. BOOK!

A few words to describe it: wicked, vicious, sexy, intoxicating, twisted, unpredictable, startling, unrelenting, infuriating, addicting, enchanting, and utterly mind-blowing! The most satisfying component about this book by far is how we finally get some answers that Karen Marie Moning had been deviously hiding from us since the very beginning. From the very first chapter, your heart and your soul is put to the ultimate test as you’re put right back into the thick of it with how the previous book ended, and from there on it just feels like a never ending emotional roller coaster!

Looking back on this series and where it’s taken me, I had no idea that it would truly suck me in like it has since the start of the new decade. I know I’ve probably said this before in my past reviews, but I seriously just remember scoffing at the description of Darkfever a little bit when my work friend, Erika, first told me about these books and how they’d completely sucked her in. Plus, with some of the cover designs, I figured it would just be another really stupid and trashy paranormal romance series… While I can say there have been over sexualized, strange moments in this series to prove my point, I can’t stress enough that they had quickly become so much more than that as I’d read on!

I was especially surprised at how deep the plot had ended up becoming as I’d devoured each book after the last; the Fae lore and all the big players that have only been mentioned in all the stories that we’ve been told, the Sinsar Dubh–that freaky as fuck possessed book that everyone is hunting and has been following Mac like some creepy stalker…not to mention all the incredible side characters we’ve gotten to know too! There’s Christian Mackeltar, Ryodan, V’Lane, Dani O’Malley, Inspector Jayne, the other Sidhe-Seers, Dreamy-Eyed Guy, the monsters, the Unseelie Princes, and even Darroc–aka The Lord Master–has become someone truly intriguing in this series. Also, I just love the unpredictability of it all…not the character tropes because I will admit a few of them are pretty cliché, but just how I truly didn’t know what was going to happen next and what direction everything was going to take…I had my guesses throughout, but almost every time was way off.

Before I can go further, all I can say to those who’ve made it this far; all the cliffhangers and frustration hasn’t driven you away, and I can say without a doubt this book will not disappoint. It finally answers a lot of questions while still leaving us with some loose ends in order to keep the series going further, BUT it’s not nearly as bd as it has been! It’s truly a satisfying ending.

What It’s About:

We left off with Mac losing her frickin’ mind over whoever the beast had turned out to be. She and Ryodan teamed up to kill the big, bad beastie while Ryodan had been tossed over a cliff to disappear, and were left wondering if he’s dead. Mac absolutely loses it and ends up on the ground in the fetal position over the body of….

…major spoiler ahead…

…

…

…

…Jericho Barrons. That’s right, he’s the beast that showed up shortly after she’d dialed the “IYD” number on her phone Jericho had given her way back. She’s sobbing, she can’t go on, she doesn’t know how to keep going, she realizes her true feelings for the mysterious and brooding alpha-hole we’d all come to appreciate. She’s devastated until there’s a shift within her, and suddenly she’s not anymore. She becomes like a shell of herself, and becomes cold. calculating. sinister. vengeful. She vows the last thing she’ll do is to finally capture that damned book and use it to create a new world. A better world with her dead sister, Alina, and Jericho both brought back to her. To do that, she has to gain help from the most unlikely source of them all…The Lord Master himself, Darroc!

Mac truly seems to have gone over to the dark side with her new alliance, and the Lord Master provides her with more information about the book itself, and believes he knows a way to be able to merge with it without letting it possess him and corrupt his soul. All the while, Mac waits like an Angel Shark beneath the sand and patiently waits for the perfect moment to strike.

The war between humans and the Fae continues to escalate, and become even more dangerous as new alliances are formed, shocking and bitter betrayals steal our breath away, and finally figuring out how exactly to stop the Sinsar Dubh, what exactly Barrons and his other men are, also figuring out who exactly Mac is. It’s been played with for a little bit now, but there’s definitely something off about the visions and memories she has that aren’t her own, other clues and newfound powers…what’s going on there? Also, the grand finale of it all will reveal a enemy that has been like a wolf hidden amongst the sheep: someone who’s started all of this, and someone who had the most to gain through everything that has happened…

What I Liked:

  1. That Finale! What a surprise! There were two major reveals in the climax of the book: one that involved multiple people and the other that was shocking, but part of me just wants to say…I FUCKING CALLED IT! Ever since I’d met this character, I’ve had an off feeling about them, and I’m happy to say my gut reaction was right about them all along!
  2. Dani O’Malley! Let me start off by saying that I haven’t always been the biggest fan of Dani, especially as she becomes a more central character and you hear from her perspective in a few chapters…Not a fan. I think she needs to go through some more growth before she takes center stage, HOWEVER…something happens in this book that makes her character a whole lot more interesting, and raises many eyebrows too. Suddenly, I want to hear more about what’s going through her head, and how certain things came to be.
  3. How Nicely Everything Ties (Mostly) Together! I’ve loved how tightly woven the plot and all it’s mysteries have been planned out throughout this series since the very first book. So many little factors that have stacked on top of each other and have added to the anxiety produced at how slowly things are revealed. I have to say overall how everything tied together in the end really well with this book; it was obvious that Karen Marie Moning knew about how this outcome would come to be since the very beginning and gave us clues and tidbits of info at an achingly slow pace that built until this moment. As far as I’m aware, every question that’s popped up has been accounted for, and there aren’t any holes left untouched!
  4. Mac and Jericho’s Relationship! In this book, it’s shown how their relationship has changed and honestly has become more satisfying than any of the other books in this regard. What I can truly appreciate about KMM’s work on Barrons is that he stays true to his character. He’s not some soft, vulnerable being who shows a sensitive side of himself whenever it’s just him and Mac, and he never becomes that guy either. He stays hard, cheeky, cold, snippy, but we love him for it anyways. The two of them still have those many, many arguments, but they also have those important conversations with them just looking at each other. The sexual tension continues to build and build between them, and while he doesn’t lose his edge to do it, Barrons finally reveals what his true feelings are and I am HERE for it!

What I Didn’t Like:

  1. The Highlanders Cross-Over…For many fans of Karen Marie Moning, I’m sure you’re aware of her other series out there: The Highlander series. I personally have not read it, and honestly don’t plan on reading it either, but can tell you that the main characters of that series come over to Dublin. You’d met some of them in the previous book too, but as they’re the group of Druids that assisted the Seelie Fae Court since ancient times, they are needed in order to assist in the capture and containment of the Sinsar Dubh. For me, it was a jumble of other characters that were a struggle to be able to tell the difference between. I know some fans were probably jumping with glee about this crossover–I probs would be too–but with me not touching the other series, this addition was honestly kind of lost on me.
  2. What Barrons Turns Out To Be…I’m not gonna lie…this reveal was disappointing to me. I just thought with so much emphasis around the mystery of what exactly Jericho Barrons was would’ve lead to a much bigger reveal in the end. I was someone who’d suspected he was the Unseelie King, and he was after the Sinsar Dubh because as the king, he’d created it, but realized he’d made it too powerful, and wanted to destroy it once and for all. I think what he turns out to be is cool enough, and would be interested in learning more background info/history of what he is later on in the series, so we’ll see I guess…

Conclusion:

An epic finale of what I guess is only the first phase of this intricate and twisted urban fantasy series that has become a serious addiction since the start of 2020. All our frustrations as readers has finally been rewarded, and KMM gives us so many answers to our questions that have been with us since the very first book, Darkfever. While she ties pretty much all of her loose ends together, she’s also able to reveal some shocking new information too that tells us things are very much far from over…

Part of me really wishes I could go back and reread all these first five books, and catch all the little details and easter eggs I’d missed and become even more impressed at the masterful storytelling this series has given me, but know I have so many other books I haven’t touched on my “to read” shelf that I seriously need to give a try already. It’s okay, because I love this series so much already that I have hardcover copies already giving my bookshelf a massive glow-up with their presence, so it’ll happen at some point, that much is guaranteed.

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

YA Fantasy, YA romance

My Review: Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4): by Sarah J. Maas

nicholasjgoodsell
Publish Date: September 1st, 2015
Number of Pages: 648 Pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Genre(s): YA Fantasy

***Be warned!! This review contains spoilers from previous books in the series, so continue reading at your own risk. You’ve officially been warned!!***

To see my review of book #0.5 – The Assassin’s Blade – Click HERE

To see my review of book #1 – Throne of Glass – Click HERE

To see my review of book #2 – Crown of Midnight – Click HERE

To see my review of book #3 – Heir of Fire – Click HERE

To see my Fancast/Dreamcast for the whole series – Click HERE

Total Star Rating: 4.5 Stars

By now, we’re so far into the series and even further into the evolution that was Celaena Sardothien into Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, the long lost heir of Terrassen. We’ve gotten to know her as a character, see her bloody past and her mistakes, and to see her grow before our eyes as readers. We’ve also met plenty of memorable characters along the way too; some that will be major players for the battle ahead!

Queen Of Shadows is a particularly interesting part of the series because of a few reasons. It was obvious—even back during Heir of Fire—that the series had taken a massive shift. A major change to the tone and the overall feel of these books was evident, and whether or not that’s a good thing really depends on who you ask within the Throne of Glass fandom. I for one absolutely loved it—as you can tell by my star rating above—for many reasons. In my opinion, it’d felt like we’d gotten to see a lot that we’d been waiting a long time for: the reveal of the big villain behind everything, the meeting of many new characters, certain character interactions happening, and of course, the possibility of justice to the realm of Adarlan.

For a few though, they say things like how it feels more like fanfiction from it’s own author, how certain characters have been pushed aside, and the series has gone in a direction that may not have been the best choice…They say plenty of other things, but I politely & respectfully disagree as I personally say Queen of Shadows is actually one of the author’s better written books. I felt like the entire time I’d read it that it was filled with so much high-octane events and amazing characters; how could anyone not appreciate that!

You can definitely tell Sarah J. Maas’s skills as a writer has continued to grow in her ability to make the plot of the whole series more complex and twice as dangerous as more and more keeps getting revealed, like the wyrdkeys and their significance, the Valg and how they want to take over, seeing both sides of the battlefield and getting inside the minds of important characters, enticing side-stories, sexual tension between love interests, and continuing to deepen the development of the world she’d created.

For me, she has an amazing talent to be able to make you fall in love with characters, even when you’d barely thought twice about them at first. She makes them feel so personable, memorable, and strong in their own ways; you wish they were real and that you were a part of your squad IRL.

Going off of that, another high point is how newer characters keep getting introduced with each book on top of the already established cast with some that have been there since the beginning, but it never feels overwhelming or unnecessary! You met Rowan, Aedion, Queen Maeve, and Manon in Heir of Fire, but more keep getting introduced in this book along with a few others that you haven’t seen in sometime since the first two books.

What It’s About:

Aelin has returned to Erilea from across the sea, ready to fight it out as she’s now been trained on her Fae abilities–her fire–but she’s going to need some extra help. She seeks out the help of anyone in Rifthold–the capital of Adarlan–even one man whom she considers a great enemy: her former trainer & mentor, Arobynn Hamel. Still reputable as the “King of the Assassins,” he informs her about her cousin, Aedion, being imprisoned and set for execution.

She also meets up with Chaol and a new ally, Nesryn Faliq, and they all get caught up on whats happened since they’d last seen each other, mainly the fact that Aedion and Dorian got captured, the latter now succumbing to the control of the Valg, and they realize just how bad everything has gotten even without them always getting at each other’s throats about it. They both carry valuable information, but neither are willing to share it with one another because of the mutual distrust they now share with their tense history.

More players enter the game as (spoiler alert but not really)…Rowan makes his way over from across the sea too and reunites with Aelin as they try to get ahead of their enemies and learn so much more about the Valg and what exactly has been happening.

Meanwhile, Manon Blackbeak and the other Ironteeth Witch clans are still in Morath training with their Wyverns for when the King of Adarlan finally calls them forth to battle. Her and Duke Perrington butt heads as she tries to figure out what exactly is going on, and he’s having her choose a clan for an experiment with the witches and the implantation of Valg stones to see if they can successfully breed together. She also wonders what role another female prisoner must play, but becomes concerned when her deadly power shows that more is definitely going on than she’s actually aware of. Maybe this isn’t what she signed up for?…She also meets a servant/kitchen maid, Elide Lochan, who may or may not be another key player added to the mix and is more than meets the eye.

So, so, so, so, so many things happen in this book: there are many twists and turns, epic battles, bitter betrayals, new characters introduced, familiar characters that continue to grow, and even more plots become revealed in this next installment in one of my all-time favorite series!

What I Liked:

  1. You Meet Lysandra (Sort Of)! Lysandra is a former courtesan (prostitute), and the mistress of Arobynn Hamel. If you’d read The Assassin’s Blade—which you totally should if you haven’t already—it was there where you actually first met her and instantly thought of her as the token hot & sexy mean girl who knows she’s hot and is an instant enemy to Aelin because she’s threatened…Obviously, as you get to know Lysandra more in this book, you’ll come to know that is the complete opposite of who she actually is. Her as a character and her dynamic with Aelin throughout Queen of Shadows was excellently done, and as more is revealed about her, you’ll quickly add her to your list of favorite characters.
  2. You Meet Arobynn Hamel (Sort Of)! The man has quite the reputation, that much is certain…You’ve heard his name thrown out plenty of times, but if you skipped The Assassin’s Blade novellas—seriously, read them if you haven’t—you come face to face with the “King of the Assassins” himself for the first time in person. Aelin returns and reluctantly seeks him out for assistance in rescuing Aedion from the castle, but it may as well be making a deal with the devil, as she learns he continues his deadly mind games and has plans of his own in their uneasy alliance.
  3. You Also Meet Lorcan Salvaterre and Elide Lochan! Even more new-ish characters! You’d kind of met Lorcan in the previous book, but he wasn’t there for too long, so it would’ve been easy to write him off and assume you’d maybe never see him again….WRONG! The legendary warrior is back with a vengeance under the orders of the Fae Queen Maeve after how things ended between her and Aelin’s confrontation across the sea. He hunts for the ring to return to his master, and is willing to do whatever it takes to get it back, including going head-to-head with Rowan. Next, we’ve got Elide Lochan, who meets and reluctantly befriends Manon. I liked her instantly because despite her limp and her misleadingly weak demeanor, it was revealed how crafty she is and how she’s a survivor. There’s definitely more than meets the eye with her, so watch out!
  4. So Many Strong Female Characters! You already know Aelin and Manon, who are both total badass babes, but literally EVERY female character in this book is too! There’s Elide, who has mastered the art of deception in order to survive, Nesryn Faliq is a master archer who becomes a big help in the many rescue missions, Lysandra shows so many hidden depths to her character, you learn more about Asterin Blackbeak as her character is explored more, and even (spoiler alert!!)…………..Kaltain Rompier makes a surprise reappearance and is able to change the game in her own way!
  5. The Big Bad Guy Revealed! I’m going to say this is a major spoiler for the book, so readers beware!…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Okay, so we’ve known about the Valg, right? The shadowy demons from another dimension that have come into this world through ancient wyrdgates and plan to take over and turn it into a dark, icy, windy wasteland much like their homeland. There have been a few higher ups–the Valg Princes–but now it’s revealed there’s an even BIGGER villain that’s in charge of it all: it turns out there are actually three Valg Kings, and one of them has come over and goes by the name Erawan. He was locked in a tomb deep beneath the mountains many years ago, but was also revealed to have been let out, and has been let loose into their world this whole time! I know, this plot twist sounds eerily similar to the White Walkers, wights, and Night King story arc from Game of Thrones, but you have to admit that it certainly raises the stakes, and makes you rethink everything about a certain character that has always been there, but had remained in the background until now…creepy stuff!

What I Didn’t Like:

  1. A Sudden Shift With The Romance…Now hear me out, I am a big supporter of romantic subplots and am a firm believer in OTPs. It’s even better when the romance is a subplot and it doesn’t interfere with the main storyline, which is a case in this series when it comes to budding romance between Aelin and Rowan. I think this is a big part of why some people don’t like this book because they were major shippers of Celaena and Chaol from the first two books in the series–I was too, but at the same time I also figured with how they’d developed that they weren’t actually right for each other. Once it was revealed that she was Fae, he just couldn’t see past that and couldn’t look at her the same. It made sense because that’s the kind of character Chaol is: very traditional, raised a certain way, and has a certain set of beliefs. I get it, but was disappointed with him nonetheless. Aelin wasn’t all that innocent either; both of them made mistakes, and they call each other out on it in this book. Anyways…Now it seems her and Rowan have a thing going on, and while I do see it, I felt like it was a bit of a jump that could’ve been smoother. In Heir of Fire, the two of them had a complex relationship that’d felt more platonic and friendship based, and then we get here and there’s suddenly romantic feelings beneath the surface that neither fully admit to, sexual tension that burns them from the inside out…and like I said, it just could’ve been a smoother transition. It feels like this subplot was added just so there could be at least ONE major romance going on in this title. All I can say is, I agree when it’s said that Chaol was good for Celaena but Rowan is good for Aelin, and there is a difference there.
  2. Chaol Reduced to the Bitter Ex…While part of me knows this isn’t necessarily true in some regards, I consider my biggest disappointment with the series how it’d felt like Chaol and Dorian got done dirty and were pushed aside to make way for Rowan and Aedion. Nothing against those two, but I have a thing against social climbers who ditch their old friends for people newer and “better,” and it felt like that with Sarah’s treatment of continuing to break up the original trio who we’ve all come to know and love. In this book, Chaol and Aelin reunite, but it’s clear they’re both still harboring some ill will towards each other. Chaol seemed to have been reduced to the bitter ex role, and just becomes the antagonist who questions Aelin at every opportunity that arises. Not that it isn’t completely unjustified; Aelin has screwed up too, and it’s nice to see that Chaol still isn’t afraid to call her out on her faults, but it still felt at some points it was like he purposefully got in her way or poked at her sides in some petty act of revenge of a bruised ego. Maybe that’s not how others saw him in this title, but as a serious fan of him and his quieter, more stoic demeanor; I was continued to be disappointed to see where his character has gone by this point.
  3. “Why Are You So Obsessed With Me?“…It’s gotten quite repetitive with how many times you hear how amazing Aelin/Celaena is by now. Everyone still seems to fuss over her, obsess about her, is in love with her, in awe of her, etc….like okay, fine, she turns out to be the long lost heir to the throne, her power is pretty cool if not the most original special ability to have even if the amount of her power has never been seen before…Believe me, we get it by now Sarah…She’s fire, she’s ash, she’s light, and she’s embers. She will bow to no one and take what is rightfully hers by blood-right. Why are we hearing the same pep talk over and over again?

Conclusion:

A thiccccc addition to this action-packed, high fantasy series! The book’s substantial size may seem intimidating, but let me assure you that it doesn’t slow down or bore you to tears. Lots of things happen–some you’ve been hoping to see since the beginning–and lots of new characters to get to know! Some you may have met if you’d read The Assassin’s Blade—One last time: READ IT—but still plenty more where they come from, and the plot thickens with the reveal of a major villain!

The series has shifted since the first two books, and honestly kind of has an even bigger Game of Thrones feel to it overall, but that doesn’t necessarily detract from it in any way! There’s still plenty to get excited about with all the intrigue, the danger, the monsters, the romance, the brutality, and the strong bonds formed between the characters. Also, total side note, but who else totally jammed out to Halsey’s “Castle” (The Huntsman version or the original) while reading this?

Thanks For Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Fantasy, New Adult, New Adult Romance, Paranormal, Romance

My Review: Darkfever (Fever Series #1): by Karen Marie Moning

nicholasjgoodsell
Publish Date: August 26th, 2008
Number of Pages: 347 Pages
Publisher: Dell
Genre(s): Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal

Total Star Rating: 4 Stars

So just what I needed…another series to dig my hands into.

Especially, another book about the Fae – not that I’m necessarily complaining – I’ve absolutely adored other series like Throne of Glass, and The Folk of the Air to be specific that have had the Fae as a central part of their story plot. It’s really fun to see how authors showcase different variations of the fair folk, all the while, still using the same rule set as a base to go off.

Darkfever is the first book in what looks like a long series involving the Fae: an urban fantasy, paranormal romance that I can tell – even just by the first book – can be something that is absolutely addicting to read. It seriously has it all: murder mystery, a well developed world rich in myth and lore, comedic one-liners and commentary, multiple swoon-worthy leading men, and what is most likely going to turn into a slow-burn romance between one of them.

Recommended to me from a friend and coworker, I started the book with honestly no expectations, and then found myself enjoying it, and really getting into the world the author had created. I saw something special in the main character, Mackayla Lane: I loved her hilarious commentary throughout the story, especially as she’d called out a certain character who may or may not be a vampire – she wasn’t afraid to point out the clichés like the creepy castle on the hilltop, the lightning timed perfectly to their arrival, his secret lair in a cave, his whole creepy demeanor: the works.

What It’s About:

When MacKayla’s sister was murdered, she left a single clue to her death: a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone. Journeying to Dublin, Ireland in search of answers, Mac is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to master a power she had no idea she possessed: a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae.

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious bookstore owner, Jericho Barrons. They decide to work together in order to find a rare artifact that her sister had been searching for, but their alliance doesn’t ease both their reluctance to put their trust in each other, especially with the plethora of secrets they both carry.

Despite discovering the reveal of monsters literally littering the streets, theres also V’lane – an alpha Fae Prince – who’s hot on her trail, no pun intended, because he’s some High Fae who drags out human sexual attraction to incredibly dangerous levels.

As the boundary between our world and the fae’s begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: to find the elusive Sinsar Dubh – the rare artifact both her and Jericho are searching for – before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book of magic. Whoever gets to it first would hold nothing less than complete control of both worlds, human and fae.

What I Liked:

  1. Mackayla’s Character Growth! Mackayla, or Mac, starts off as a literal human barbie doll living in Atlanta, Georgia: she has long blonde hair, a bubbly personality, loves the color pink, and has tons of gorgeous friends to go on shopping excursions with. She seems pretty shallow and vapid to start off with, but actually develops even in just the first chapter when she learns that her sister has been murdered. Her parents are absolutely torn apart about the devastating news, but Mackayla reacts unexpectedly; she burns with the need for revenge.
  2. The Murder Mystery! Her sister’s murder is the lead driving point of the plot, it drives Mac to drop everything and catch the first flight to Dublin, Ireland where her sister had been studying abroad. I always love a good whodunnit murder mystery, and while I wished it’d stayed more central to the plot, even after Mac discovers the whole world of the fae, it still drives her whole story arc and the book in general.
  3. The Worldbuilding! I hadn’t expected this to have become such a big draw of the book! Anyone who is a fan of the fae has probably read plenty of other books, but what I liked was the lore behind this series in particular. Basically, theres the Seelie and the Unseelie: the good and the bad. Each court has a ruler: The Seelie Queen and the Unseelie King, along with their followers of either Fae warriors or vile monsters. There’s also sidhe-seers, mortal beings that can see through the glamours of the fae. Mac, of course, turns out to be a sidhe-seer, along with having the other abilities to sense sacred fae artifacts and being able to stop fae power with the touch of her fingers for an extended period of time.
  4. V’lane! He was probably the character that had drawn my attention the most, which is ironic considering he was the one who’d appeared the least… He’s a powerful Fae prince to the Seelie Queen, and has the ability to draw out sexual attraction in humans that come into contact with him, like some pheromone on steroids. I’m not even joking: Mac gets so hot and bothered in his presence that she actually strips in public several times and has to try to stop touching herself – seriously…it was some really fucking weird shit that actually made me crack up. Anyways, because we see so little of him and his gorgeous face, I’m extremely curious to see how he plays out as the series develops. Is he a potential love interest to Mac? Where do his loyalties really lie? Will he become a villain? What’s his purpose to the story?? SO MANY QUESTIONS!

What I Didn’t Like:

  1. The (Lack of) Romance…It’s called a paranormal romance series, but besides a few quickly thrown in actions towards the end, there was actually very little romance involved with this first title between Mac and Jericho. I’m all for slow burn romance, and obviously their relationship is incredibly unconventional with plenty of tension, secrets, and lack of trust does not make for sexy times…I was still hoping to be given a little more than daydreams, a quick peck that may or may not have happened, and Mac being turned into a freaky exhibitionist in the middle of a museum because of V’lane.
  2. The Stereotypical Characters…Some readers would be turned off to keep going with this series because I can admit it: the characters do seem pretty cliché. Mac is the stereotypical bubbly, shallow blonde who is naive and maybe not the brightest crayon in the box – a complete Elle Woods knockoff who at least turns into a Buffy the Vampire Slayer warrior babe who wants to kick ass and take names. Jericho Barrons is also given a similar treatment: he’s the tall, dark, brooding and handsome type who has a fiery temper and little time for gorgeous little blonde’s who stumble into his bookstore with dangerous questions. He’s the type of alpha anti-hero we’ve probably all seen before. I do suggest taking all this with a grain of salt, as this series has been out for quite some time now. This book was first published in 2006, and I’m reviewing this in 2020…obviously books don’t always hold up well, even just five or six years after their published. I mean, look at all the “classics”: They’re boring and probably wouldn’t even get published in today’s world of literature.

Conclusion:

A series that I didn’t need to add on top of all the other series I’m reading, but enjoy nonetheless! It’s going around the office amongst my coworkers as the next juicy series to sink our fangs into, so consider me added to the bandwagon! I’m VERY curious to see how this series plays out!

I recommend this title to anyone who enjoy’s reading about the fae, or enjoy’s Urban Fantasy genre titles like TV Shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Trueblood, The Vampire Diaries, or pretty much any book written by Cassandra Clare. To me, they all match the tone of the Fever series in both plot and characters.

I’ve started the second title almost immediately after completing this first book, so I can say it’s a good sign that I’m that eager to see what happens next!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

YA Fantasy, YA romance

My Review: The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air #3): by Holly Black

nicholasjgoodsell
Publish Date: November 19th 2019
Number of Pages: 305 Pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Genre(s): YA Fantasy, YA Romance

***Warning!!! This book review contains spoilers from the previous titles in this trilogy, continue reading at your own risk! You’ve officially been warned!***

To see my book review of book #1 – The Cruel Prince – Click HERE!

To see my book review of book #2 – The Wicked King – Click HERE!

To see my Fancast/Dreamcast of the series – Click HERE!

Total Star Rating: 2.75 Stars

I just gotta say…WHAT a book series!

Like seriously, some of the most fun and utterly enchanting books/series I’ve had the pleasure of reading! I loved almost everything about them. Were they the most original? Were they the most innovative or unique? Were they….No okay… the answer would’ve been a big “NO” but the point is that none of that matters! What matters is they were absolutely addicting and entertaining! When I opened the pages, my mind was warped into the storyline and anything else was blotted out because I HAD to find out what happened next.

Upon finishing this title, I’m feeling that existential crisis-like book hangover when you’ve completed something major and now you feel dread and hopelessness along with the question “What now?” It’s that bittersweet feeling of torturous bliss; I’m just so sad the journey is already over! I’d hoped for this series would go on for much longer! I definitely feel like there are plenty of untold stories within this wondrous world that Holly Black has created. Maybe one day another book or series will come out, but we can only hope!

(Holly…girl, if you ever actually read this, PLEASE CONSIDER!)

It felt like it’d been forever since The Wicked King had come out, but it only came out back in January of this year! It’s so weird to think that, but what a huge treat to have two amazing books come out in the same year, even though 2019 has been a long one and it feels like it’s been 84 years since January. I still remember the dread after finishing that title and the expectation of having to wait ANOTHER year to get answers (especially after that demon of a cliffhanger at the end), but Holly knew our inner struggles and later this year had announced on her twitter that “The Queen of Nothing” would actually arrive 2 months early, and my wig was snatched and I flopped back dead in my chair from my heart exploding out of my chest.

The series is over, much to our non-fae dismay, but I am certain they will remain in our hearts forever and that Holly Black will in fact continue to bless our eyes, minds, and hearts with more wicked tales of the Fae.

What It’s About:

***ONCE AGAIN, SPOILER ALERT FOR ANYONE WHO HASN’T READ THE PREVIOUS BOOKS! YOU’VE BEEN WARNED TWICE NOW***

So we left off almost immediately when Jude had been exiled from Elfhame by King Cardan, who also happens to be her husband because they’d secretly eloped! It was a pretty big betrayal that Jude took really hard, and is fuming back in the human world over it with her baby brother, Oak, and her older sister, Vivienne.

She passes the time acting like nothing is actually wrong; it’s almost like she’s accepted her fate. She does a few odd jobs here and there with other Fae folk also stuck in the mortal world in order to get rent money (including battling it out with a cannibalistic Redcap), but is surprised when her twin sister, Taryn, shows up on the front steps unannounced, and soon Jude is thrust back into Elfhame on a mere favor.

Besides facing Cardan again, Jude learns about a prophecy and curse upon the land, and as the true queen of the Fae, she must do whatever it takes to save those in danger and put everything back in balance before it’s too late!

It’s honestly pretty hard to more in depth with what all goes down, but that means I’d be going into some major spoilers, so I just have to say that you really need to read it in order to find out what else happens!

We have lived in our armor for so long, you and I. And now I am not sure if either of us knows how to remove it…”

– Holly Black, “The Queen of Nothing”

What I Liked:

  1. So Many Unexpected Twists! One thing Holly Black absolutely excelled at with this trilogy was her ability to really keep me guessing, like, I honestly was not expecting certain things to happen, oh but they did! It was absolutely delightfully wicked, and it made these books so much fun!
  2. Jude and Cardan’s Relationship! So slight spoiler alert but not really…these two have their confrontation and FINALLY lay it out on the line! They admit how they really feel and how much they mean to each other, and finally understand that they need to trust each other in order to keep going in the plot. I’m not gonna lie, but Cardan had my salty and bitter heart melting throughout the book, because he’s not a cruel prince or a wicked king…it turned out he was more an awkward loser who got drunk whenever he didn’t know how to explain his feelings! Yay I think…There’s the family issues too, but that’s a whole other can of worms…
  3. The Morally Grey Characters! Over the years, it’s become apparent that the best stories don’t just have heroes and villains and it’s not all just in black and white. The great procrastinator, George R.R. Martin, once said that in order to make a story with many characters more compelling, you have to make them think they’re the hero of their story. They could do something absolutely heinous, but in that character’s head, they did it for their own happy ending. One character who really comes to mind in this idea was Madoc. The guy wasn’t necessarily a villain, more just an antagonist, but he was also a stone cold killer throughout! Despite that, it was always clear that he had a certain moral compass, a sense of honor in his beliefs and actions, and part of me respected him for it. He wasn’t all bad, and it made him much more complex and intriguing of a character. His relationship with Jude was absolutely spectacular and one of the highlights of the story; it’s unlike a father/daughter relationship you will ever read in literature!
  4. Chapter 22! Without giving too much away, I just want to commend Holly Black on the brilliance of all that goes down in this specific chapter! Emotions are literally thrown across the room, and *out of context spoiler alert* it goes from comparable scenes in Mean Girls to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in less than two pages! It. Was. Awesome.
  5. There’s Multiple Redemption Arcs! While everyone in these books were horrible people to some degree, the author allowed some to have a couple arcs of being able to make themselves suck a little less! I know, hard to believe, right? Let me break it down: **MORE SPOILERS** Taryn freakin’ killed a guy! Not just anyone, but her husband and total douche-nugget, Locke! Actually, Jude’s relationship with all her siblings pretty much gets better as the story develops because we all know there’s no stronger bond than blood! Nicasia, the princess of the sea, also got some spotlight onto her and we see a different side of her when Jude makes her return, and it made her more than just the token mean girl who used to hook up in Jude’s Love Interest (thank god)…Jude and Cardan both got a lot better once they both realized they needed to toss aside the chessboard with each other and just admit they’re feelings, and who know, but Cardan is a total sweetheart!
  6. The Curse/Prophecy/Exile! So while these aspects are nothing new and nothing we haven’t seen or read before, the author’s play on words and how they play out is what becomes a real highlight! Like the Fae, it’s not always what they say but more about how it’s said and interpreted. The curse does come to be and it’s a twist for sure, but I enjoyed how things played out and still stuck within what the prophecy and curse originally said. Also, the outlines of the exile and when Cardan revealed his loophole to Jude had me feeling like a jackass…like, it was seriously that easy?…

What I Didn’t Like:

  1. Needs More Heartbreak…Call me a sadist, a masochist or whatever, but I wanted more death and more tears…A story can be so much more impactful if there’s more danger and unpredictability to make it more exciting. A couple big names in these books do get killed, and while I won’t spoil who they are exactly, I personally thought more could’ve met a gruesome end…but like I said, I’m not a sadist.
  2. Over Before You Know It…I think I said this in my previous review of The Wicked King, but these books are short! Part of me enjoyed it, because 2019 was filled with thick volumes so it was a nice change of pace, but I wanted more for these books! It felt like the author had left so many things up in the air and didn’t conclude a lot of her subplots. What happens with Taryn and Ghost? Why didn’t Orlagh make a single appearance? What happened to Lady Asha? What about Oak or the unborn child? Way too many questions for what is supposed to be the finale of the series…
  3. Very Little Confrontation…This pertains more to Cardan and Jude’s eventual reunion in the story. I don’t know, I was kind of hoping for Jude to be on his ass more about it; she let him off way too easy! I kinda wanted a drawn out, sexually-tense fight like something straight out of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, with sexy times in the conclusion (tail included).

Conclusion:

It’s hard to say goodbye to a series that has captured my attention much like The Folk of the Air by Holly Black did. It was truly over before I knew it, and I can definitely say I (mostly) enjoyed the ride while it lasted. Like I mentioned before, but it wasn’t like these books were the most innovatively unique books, but they were for sure one of the most intricately plotted, truly entertaining books I’ve read recently. The characters stick with you way after you finish reading, and the unpredictability of it always left me guessing until I too experienced every emotion that swirled through Jude’s mind as the narrator.

Anyone who likes magical beings, or the Fae to be more specific, will absolutely adore these books because of how much fun they are, but also because of how much Holly Black seems to know about the Fae in general. A few of their quirks and behavioral traits are familiar with other tales I’ve read, but her work takes it 500 miles further. I have a feeling these books will go down as one of the most popular YA Fantasy series of all time, just read them if you haven’t and I think you’ll agree with me!

Thanks For Reading!

— Nick Goodsell