Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Rereading the ACOTAR Series // Review: A Court of Silver Flames

Posted April 22, 2021 / Book Reviews / 2 Comments

Spoilers for the books pictured above only, not ACOSF. I wasn’t planning on rereading the ACOTAR series ahead of the new release – I planned to read a recap somewhere for each book and just dive right in. However, when I saw a readalong planned that broke down when to start and finish each book, PLUS I found the audiobooks on Scribd… I figured I may as well! I was a big fan of the first book and was surprised at how quickly I read it. Usually fantasy books take me forever, especially ones of this size! The magic and world-building was very accessible so I think that helped. I loved Feyre and Tamlin and was fascinated by the trials Under the Mountain. I definitely thought, upon rereading, I would hate Tamlin the whole time or see some inklings of what was really going on, but that didn’t happen too much. If I thought I enjoyed ACOTAR the first time around, I was certainly not prepared for ACOMAF – my favorite of these above. Rhys was immediately captivating yet again. I remember thinking I’d hate him heading into book two but he wooed me right away. Some of her writing started to grate on me in this one, with her constantly making “vulgar gestures” way too often or calling him a “prick” as the only insult. Just made for a lot of repetitive scenes. While I do see why I loved this one the most the first time around, I […]

Review Round Up | Not If I Save You First and A Court of Frost and Starlight

Posted May 18, 2018 / Book Reviews, Review Roundup / 4 Comments

In an effort to cut down on posts and burnout, my Review Roundups will feature 2-4 books I’ve read or listened to recently. Sometimes they’re newer releases and sometimes they’re all backlist titles. My ARC reviews usually get the solo treatment. Enjoy the mini reviews! I’m a big fan of Ally Carter… clearly, if you look at all the reviews up at the top there. She writes some of the most fun and engaging “light mystery” kinds of books. I love all of them for different reasons. I was pretty excited to explore a standalone too! This was a first for her. The whole Alaskan survival thing didn’t exactly appeal to me but I can’t resist her stories, so I dove in soonafter it came out. I enjoyed Maddie and Logan, and the complexities of their relationship. I’m a huge fan of childhood-friends-to-more, especially if there’s hate-to-love involved. This checked off a lot of boxes for me in terms of tropes I love! There was a decent amount of build for their relationship and understanding where they both were coming from. I shipped them but not to OTP levels. The survival aspects were nicely done and not overkill, considering that I don’t love that genre/topic in general. The journey was really quick (the book itself is quite short and I listened to the audiobook, which was only around 6 hours). I think I would have liked a little more to the story? It was kind of simple, if that makes sense. I […]

Review Round Up | My Not So Perfect Life, Literally, ACOWAR, and Always & Forever, Lara Jean

Posted June 8, 2017 / Book Reviews, Review Roundup / 4 Comments

In an effort to cut down on posts and burnout, my Review Roundups will feature 2-4 reviews of already published books (either older/backlist or newer releases) that I’ve read or listened to recently. My ARC reviews usually get the solo treatment. Enjoy the mini reviews! Man, this was cute. Seriously… so good, guys. If you like early Kinsella like Can You Keep A Secret, Remember Me, and I’ve Got Your Number, give this one a shot. I read all of those – plus a few more – back in the day and had been craving her style again. This book did not disappoint. The story starts in London, where Katie/Cat is struggling to achieve the city life of her dreams. She’s soon let go from her job and returns home to her dad’s house in the country, where her stepmom and father have started a glamping business on their farm. She quickly settles back into life there and her scatter-brained ex-boss suddenly appears with her family on vacation. The book was pretty long and covered a lot more time than I expected, but it was nice to see all the different “phases” of her life to see how things progressed. I loved learning more about her boss, Demeter, who was not who she seemed. I loved Katie trying to find herself, fit in, and/or put her talents to good use on the farm’s business. I loved Alex. I loved her parents. I loved Steve. Seriously, everyone was fantastic. I really liked seeing secrets get […]

Review: A Court of Mist and Fury

Posted May 19, 2016 / Book Reviews / 15 Comments

I was able to attend the ACOMAF tour stop in Warwick, RI, which was moderated by my friend and former Secret Sister Sarah! Both Sarahs were so fun to listen to. Seriously, seeing SJM and hearing her talk about Throne of Glass makes me want to hop on reading those books ASAP! It was also great to see Sarah and catch up about everything. It definitely was worth the 1.5 hour drive! Plus, it was near my old college and I had all the nostalgic feels. Here are a few photos from the event before I kick off my review: It took me a very long time to read this book. I have trouble with fantasy sometimes and I remember having the same issue at the beginning of ACOTAR as well. I just needed time to settle into the world, but everything picked up so much after the first couple hundred pages. This makes it sound like those millions of pages were boring or not good. Believe me, that’s not the case. I found myself reaching for lighter, faster reads in the middle of ACOMAF because I just needed a break. I know I could have sat and read forever if I had the time, but I just needed to take my time and savor it. ACOTAR was also one of those books I felt slightly disillusioned with over time. The more I thought about Tamlin, the more he bugged me. The ending of ACOTAR was an absolute fucking whirlwind […]

ARC Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Posted April 29, 2015 / Book Reviews / 12 Comments

This review was written immediately upon finishing the book (February 13th), so pardon any nonsensical flailing (AKA the whole review. Okay bye.) MY THOUGHTS? WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS, STUPID REVIEW GRAPHIC???? I DON’T KNOW HOW TO MAKE WORDS. This was my first Sarah J. Maas novel (don’t yell at me) and I can certainly now see what all the fuss is about. I decided to approach this one before Throne of Glass because honestly the synopsis of ToG didn’t appeal to me NEARLY as much as this one did. I love faeries! Love, love, love. Always have. When the lovely Andi lent me her ARC, I started reading it immediately because I was just so in the mood for it. I finished it in three days, which is a little longer than usual for me… BUT not that long considering it was over 400 pages and I pretty much read it in a few loooong sittings. I could not stop reading, folks. Even when there wasn’t much happening as far as plot-moving action, I couldn’t stop. So damn engrossing. Fantasy books can be very hit or miss with me; for some reason they don’t hold my attention as much as contemporaries do. I find myself getting distracted. Nope. Not with this book. I was drawn in immediately as I learned about Feyre, her family, and their history. I despised her sisters right off the bat and was hoping that there’d be some redeeming qualities eventually. No matter how poorly her family members treated her, […]