Empire of Storms Spoiler Free Book Review

Title: Empire of Storms (Book #5)
Series: Throne of Glass
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Fantasy, “YA”
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those who don’t.

As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

Aelin’s journey from assassin to queen has entranced millions across the globe, and this fifth installment will leave fans breathless. Will Aelin succeed in keeping her world from splintering, or will it all come crashing down?

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Disclaimer: This is the 5th book in the series, if you haven’t read the series at all then it will come off as a spoiler to you. If you have read the series but not this book, then carry on =)

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My Initial Thoughts After I Finished:

My Thoughts Now That It’s Been A Few Hours:

It’s still a joke. Sarah has played us.
*screams*
*catches a tantrum*
*laughs hysterically*

I honestly feel like my 3 star rating is being generous on my end. I am so baffled that a very loved series for me has become a parallel universe to A Court of Mist and Fury. No, but seriously. HAVE YOU READ THAT ENDING??? LMFAO!!!!!!!! I sent Lilly from Lair of Books so many voicenotes after finishing this book, I probably sounded like a maniac #sorrynotsorry

Okay okay okay..on to the review.

I was really happy when I got my copy in the mail and at first I was loving it and breathing it in. We get different perspectives from the characters which I always tend to love books with multiple POV. Some of my all time favorite characters from this book are Manon Blackbeak, Aedion Ashryver, Lysandra, and Elide. I couldn’t get enough of Manon. If Sarah had written a whole book about her, I would read it. I wouldn’t read Sarah’s grocery list but I would read a book about Manon. I would also read a book about Aedion and Lysandra because they’re total babes and I want to protect them forever.

This book follows the quest of Aelin returning to her throne in the mist of a war that’s brewing and centered around her. She is the key to all of this that’s going on. She must also gain allies to win this war and take back what’s rightfully hers.

Whatever. The whole plot of this book just really confused me and SJM was adding all this extra stuff to the plot that made no sense. I mean the writing was good and fast paced. I felt like for a nearly 700 page book, I finished it quickly considering I have a full time job and child (my dog!! my child is my dog).

However, SJM was doing the thing again and that thing is: summarizing.
SHE WAS SUMMARIZING IN A NEARLY 700 PAGE BOOK! You want to know why? Cause she was busy hooking everybody up and writing all these unnecessary sex scenes. Listen, the sex scenes in A Court of Thorns and Roses and A Court of Mist and Fury are freaking fine by me because it’s New Adult Fantasy being told as a Beauty and The Beast/Hades and Persephone retelling. THIS SERIES DOESN’T NEED THAT THOUGH!!!

These characters are in the middle of a war, flirting, thinking about body parts, getting all hot between the legs. And SJM pretty much wrote the same romance for each of the couples. Trust me, I love romance and I love all the steamy stuff but reading some of this was awkward. Can you not? Can we focus on killing Erawan, Maeve, and winning the throne back? Can we focus on the plot? Can we focus on Aelin getting her court and throne in order? Can we?

What SJM should’ve done was focus on the plot rather than summarizing it and writing those lengthy sex scenes.

OH-MY-GOSH and what was up with everyone snarling, growling, and hissing? Are you a savage or human/fae? Cause this is what I pictured:

Aelin was really annoying to me in this book particularly. I disagreed with a lot of her choices, disagreed with how she treated some of the characters, and I most definitely didn’t like her “holier than thou” attitude. Like miss fire breathing bitch queen needs to humble herself and learn a thing or two. Cause last time I checked she was running through like an assassin.

Overall, this book is forgettable and my least favorite. I liked the pacing, I liked reading about certain characters, and I like the world that SJM has created. However, I just didn’t like the ACOMAF 2.0 she pulled, they are way too similar. Maybe if you haven’t read A Court of Mist and Fury, this book will be up there for you.

Have you read this book? What did you think?

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Nevernight Spoiler Free Book Review

Title: Nevernight (Book #1)
Series: The Nevernight Chronicle
Author: Jay Kristoff
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5 out 5 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The first in a new fantasy series from the New York Times bestselling author.

In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.

Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.

Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she’ll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church’s halls, the bloody secrets of Mia’s past return to haunt her, and a plot to bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves.

Will she even survive to initiation, let alone have her revenge?

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WOW THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!

Just want to point out that although the characters in this book are 16+, this book is not Young Adult. It is an Adult Fantasy. The book has sexual content, unfiltered language, and graphic violence.

This is going to be a semi short review because I feel like everyone should go into this book not really knowing anything. Nevernight is one of those books that starts off slow but is well done because of the world building. The world is beautiful, rich, and dark all at the same time. I got an Ancient Rome feel while reading it. I loved the descriptions of the towns and it’s people, all coming from different backgrounds, cultures, and religions.

We follow Mia Covere whose been through so much darkness in her life at a very young age. The story is told in a third person POV – the narrator being pretty hilarious sometimes (he was seriously throwing shade at other authors). There are footnotes throughout the book, a lot more in the beginning, some were pretty important because we get to understand the world/culture/religion. And the other footnotes were funny and okay.

The book follows Mia’s past and present life. When I was reading the “past”, I was pretty confused in the beginning, however once the world was set, it all started connecting and making sense.

Mia Covere and Mister Kindly done by Mona May (click here for link)

Mia isn’t your typical girly-girl assassin, she is on a mission to avenge her family and she will not stop until she sees specific people dead. She’s a very surprising character. Once you think you know her, BOOM! SURPRISE SURPRISE! You thought! She first goes to the Red Church (an assassin school) to become a Blade. She also wants to learn about herself since she is a Darkin which means she can control the shadows and darkness. This school isn’t like other schools you read about, yes you learn, however the test students go through are life or death. Literally. There is no sympathy from the ministry.

In the Red Church, we meet other very important characters that take a major part in the plot of the story. Within these characters we meet other students, teachers, and workers of the Ministry. They were all very different coming from other parts of the Itreya Republic with their own hidden agendas.

I was on my toes when reading this book, I didn’t expect so many turn of events. There are so many different magical elements that I enjoyed reading about. I never once compared the Nevernight world to the real world because it was unique and authentic within itself. I probably wouldn’t want to visit nor be apart of this dark world but I would LOVE to go to the library in Red Church. Oh the library is so perfect!!

If you want to read a dark fantasy with it’s own language and twisted world with a gruesome school, then pick this up. You will not regret it.

I NEED THE SECOND BOOK ASAP!

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

“Listen, girl,” Aelius sniffed. “The books we love, they love us back. And just as we mark our places in the pages, those pages leave their marks on us. I can see it in you, sure as I see it in me. You’re a daughter of words. A girl with a story to tell.”

“The brighter the light, the deeper the shadow.”

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Have you read this book? What did you think?