Review: Crooked Kingdom NO SPOILERS

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

NO SPOILERS     

This sequel/ending was fantastic!!! It is rare to get an ending that is this well-tied together and still super action packed and entertaining. Crooked Kingdom is definitely going to live on my favorites shelf for quite some time. :) It moved at a nice pace, it had phenomenal characters, and, even though there was a point where I cried, I thought the ending was spot on. If you haven't picked this one up yet, I STRONGLY encourage you do so!!! (If you have no clue what this book is, I suggest you pick up Six of Crows ;) You won't regret it.)
[Right from the beginning, this book was killing me...... Kaz was freaking out over Inej, Inej was still being held captive, there was no real resolution between Nina and Matthias, and they were in a nearly impossible situation with almost no high ground to work with. They actually started the book having to camp out on a grave-yard-island-thing that had been abandoned. Super creepy- and super awesome. The entirety of the book was amazingly atmospheric. And it developed, for the most part, really well. There were one or two spots where it seemed to jump from one thing to another, but the majority of it flowed exceedingly well.
MATTIAS: oh my god.... WHERE THE HELL DID THAT COME FROM??!??!!!! Seriously!!! One minute he was totally ok, the plan was working just fine, and then he gets shot?? Of all the ways to go!...... I cried. I surprised myself by crying. It's not that I didn't have any attachment to him, just that I was more attached to other characters. I think a part of the reason why I cried was because it was so unexpected. And Nina... I couldn't help but think about Nina and how they were never going to have their happy ending together. I think I may have actually been crying more for that that I was for Matthias himself.
Kaz Brekker...... Damn.....Damn. I actually love him as a person and character and a person in this story. He was great. My favorite. Hands down. PLUS- him and Inej were so incredibly cute together. He's one of those characters that you can never really know how they're going to act, but deep down they are one of the "good" guys. Kaz himself probably wouldn't agree with this, but he is. Inej made that distinction herself really well in the end.
As always, I LOVE the world that Leigh Bardugo has created. There is simply nothing like the Grisha world and I sincerely hope that she creates another story within it. There is still so much that I think could be explored and I really really hope that she does. :)
(hide spoiler)] This series takes place in a great world with great characters and great writing and great scenes.... I think you get the idea. Have fun reading Crooked Kingdom!!! Thanks for reading!

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Rowaelin (Throne of Glass): A Ship in My Fleet

A Ship in My Fleet

Rowaelin (Rowan x Aelin)

From: Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

***I am not sure what I will be spoiling and/or from which books they could be from. Assume this whole post has spoilers***

I may or ay not have shared my excitement for this ship and the new release of Empire of Storms (book 5) that is coming out next week. But I have loved this ship since before they even tolerated each other in Heir of Fire. Damn, Sarah, such great ships..... great ships..... Rowan and Aelin are one of the most perfect relationships that I think I have ever read and will ever read. I don't know if this helps put it in perspective, but my Throne of Glass Pinterest board mostly revolves around these two characters. In book 3, they hate each other and then grow to be a completely badass duo in fighting. And in book 4, that badassness grows by about a gagillion levels and then they both start to realize, gasp, they have feelings for each other!!! But then Rowan is a butt for a while about it, and then s*** goes down and they don't get to have their moment until the end of the huge book that is Queen of Shadows. I can't wait to see what happens in Empire of Storms!!! ONE WEEK!!!!!!!!

When I Started Shipping:
Like I said already, I really started shipping these two way before I probably should have (who am I kidding- I am so proud that I called this a thing so soon).  Way back in Heir of Fire, when these two first meet, they pretty much hate each other's guts. Aelin is depressed and not herself + Rowan still closed off to all things since Lyria died + almost zero proper communication between the two + two really short tempers = the first half of Heir of Fire. I still shipped it. There was something about them, that I can't really put name to. And even before this book, I didn't really ship Aelin/Celaena with anyone. It just didn't seem right. But this does. :)

Favorite Canon Moment:
Oh there are so many at this point I don't even know where to choose. For example, there's the moment when at the end of Heir of Fire Rowan throws Aelin into water and then jumps in after her. So cute. I think... I'm going to say... that ONE of my favorite moments was when Rowan first comes to Rifthold in Queen of Shadows and shows up out of nowhere. They just embrace each other and take in the smell and feel of the other and it is such a great adorable moment. There are so many moments....

Rowan:
Damn. Rowan is one of those characters that, damn. Damn he is great. I love the moodiness and the darker history. And he is an ass to Aelin at first. Really, actually, an ass. But then he finds out about her past and he just feels horrible and ever since really sees her and now that they are like an actual thing he still balances her out. He is the (mostly) even-tempered one that makes Aelin think things through. Plus I found the whole, "I can't be with her she deserves better", thing a little endearing. Plus he's fae. Automatically great.

Aelin:
Like above, Aelin is there to balance out Rowan and is the one who helps convince him that he is worthy and that he is not an awful person/fae. I think the biggest thing with Aelin, is that with Rowan she has found an equal as Aelin. Not as Celaena (Sam), or Lilian (Dorian), or Elentiya (Chaol), but AELIN!!! The best of her and her character is brought out because Rowan shows her that he deserves happiness and can be who she is destined to be. He makes sure she accepts herself- all of herself- and believe that she isn't essentially an evil bitch.

Rowaelin:
THEYARE AMAZING TOGETHER!!!! They are the balance to each other that they had both so desperately needed for the longest time. Not only do they grow and come out to accept themselves because of each other, but they are both so much more motivated now to be the best that they can be, which is, I think, one of the best things that can happen in a successful relationship.

These guys have come so far in two books and there are TWO MORE COMING!!!!! AND ONE OF THOSE TWO COMES OUT NEXT WEEK!!!!!! Holy shit holy shit holy shit it is finally upon us: the release of Empire of Storms. Let's hope for lost of great Rowaelin moments. Shippers of Aelin with someone else, we are going to have to agree to disagree, but I'm almost 94% positive that this is endgame. We're done bouncing around from ship to ship at this point. Rowaelin or bust.

Thanks for reading!!

Dragonfly in Amber Book Review WITH SPOILERS

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

Review WITH SPOILERS
5 out of 5 Stars

This book destroyed me. It chewed up my time, has put me WAY behind on my reading challenge, and I couldn't read anything else while I was reading it. And I loved every minute that I was reading it. I would not change it for the world. Just like Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber is completely amazing. The plot, setting, characters, writing, themes, and twists were all perfect, or near perfection. It took forever. My copy is over 900 pages long. But it was SOOO good. If you haven't started the series yet, I don't know why you're reading this review; go look at Outlander and read it- you won't regret it. If you have read the first book and are considering the second, PICK IT UP PICK IT UP PICK IT UP!!!! This is one of those books that destroys your life in the best way possible. It's completely an emotional rollercoaster, but you will gladly get on to ride. :)
(view spoiler)
SPOILERS AHEAD
So many things... so I'm probably going to work backwards.

THE ENDING!!! Holy **** we think that Jamie goes off to die because he sent Claire away and even when the story is taking place in the twentieth century Roger doesn't say anything about Jamie and then in the beginning Claire had seen the grave and NOTHING IS DENIED and then suddenly within the last two pages Roger comes up to Claire and is like "btw Jamie may be alive" because there is one vague reference in some book or something and JAMIE MIGHT BE ALIVE!!!!! WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!?!? CLAIRE GO BACK!!! GO BACK NOW GO BACK NOW GO BACK NOW!!!!!!! THIS IS NOT OK BECAUSE SHE JUST SPENT ALL THOSE YEARS WITH FRANK WHEN SHE COULD HAVE GONE BACK WITH JAMIE AND BEEN HAPPY IN THE HIGHLANDS OR WHEREVER JAMIE WAS BECAUSE THEY ARE SO IN LOVE AND ARE ABSOLUTELY PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER BUT INSTEAD SHE THOUGHT HE WAS DEAD!!!!!!!!! NOT. OK.

Alright- so hopefully this paragraph will be less spazzy. One of the things that I really loved about this book was that we got to go to France!! It was so cool to be hanging out with all of the French royalty and nobility, and then to see Diana Gabaldon tie in the actual history. Obviously, to keep the story going, she couldn't really rewrite history. She must have had to do so much research to make sure she got all the details correct and find a way to tie in two fictional characters. Props to her.... everyone should give her a round of applause at the end of each book. On principle, because Diana Gabaldon deserves it.

The only minor thing that I was not a huge fan of at first was starting out the book without Jamie. We start with Claire, Brianna, and Roger, and for the longest time I couldn't get past that because all I could think was, "But where's Jamie?" Now though, looking back on the book in it's entirety, that was really a smart way to present the story. It ties in really well at the end with how Brianna needed to react to all of this information that was being thrown at her. And then put in Geillis Duncan why not. So while I did not particularly enjoy being back in the 1900's at first, I can now appreciate why it was there and why we needed to start the story there.
 To be completely honest, I'm slightly terrified to start reading the third book Voyager. My copy of that is over 1000 pages!!! I don't know how I'm going to navigate that, because I really do not want to fail my reading challenge. And I don't want to lower my goal of 100 books either. So, I guess I'll wait until 2017.....? That's such a painful thought though. Who knows. I'll figure it out later. :)

Thanks for reading!

Review: Dragonfly in Amber NO SPOILERS

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
SPOILER FREE     

This book destroyed me. It chewed up my time, has put me WAY behind on my reading challenge, and I couldn't read anything else while I was reading it. And I loved every minute that I was reading it. I would not change it for the world. Just like Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber is completely amazing. The plot, setting, characters, writing, themes, and twists were all perfect, or near perfection. It took forever. My copy is over 900 pages long. But it was SOOO good. If you haven't started the series yet, I don't know why you're reading this review; go look at Outlander and read it- you won't regret it. If you have read the first book and are considering the second, PICK IT UP PICK IT UP PICK IT UP!!!! This is one of those books that destroys your life in the best way possible. It's completely an emotional rollercoaster, but you will gladly get on to ride. :) [ So many things... so I'm probably going to work backwards. THE ENDING!!! Holy **** we think that Jamie goes off to die because he sent Claire away and even when the story is taking place in the twentieth century Roger doesn't say anything about Jamie and then in the beginning Claire had seen the grave and NOTHING IS DENIED and then suddenly within the last two pages Roger comes up to Claire and is like "btw Jamie may be alive" because there is one vague reference in some book or something and JAMIE MIGHT BE ALIVE!!!!! WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!?!? CLAIRE GO BACK!!! GO BACK NOW GO BACK NOW GO BACK NOW!!!!!!! THIS IS NOT OK BECAUSE SHE JUST SPENT ALL THOSE YEARS WITH FRANK WHEN SHE COULD HAVE GONE BACK WITH JAMIE AND BEEN HAPPY IN THE HIGHLANDS OR WHEREVER JAMIE WAS BECAUSE THEY ARE SO IN LOVE AND ARE ABSOLUTELY PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER BUT INSTEAD SHE THOUGHT HE WAS DEAD!!!!!!!!! NOT. OK.
Alright- so hopefully this paragraph will be less spazzy. One of the things that I really loved about this book was that we got to go to France!! It was so cool to be hanging out with all of the French royalty and nobility, and then to see Diana Gabaldon tie in the actual history. Obviously, to keep the story going, she couldn't really rewrite history. She must have had to do so much research to make sure she got all the details correct and find a way to tie in two fictional characters. Props to her.... everyone should give her a round of applause at the end of each book. On principle, because Diana Gabaldon deserves it.
The only minor thing that I was not a huge fan of at first was starting out the book without Jamie. We start with Claire, Brianna, and Roger, and for the longest time I couldn't get past that because all I could think was, "But where's Jamie?" Now though, looking back on the book in it's entirety, that was really a smart way to present the story. It ties in really well at the end with how Brianna needed to react to all of this information that was being thrown at her. And then put in Geillis Duncan why not. So while I did not particularly enjoy being back in the 1900's at first, I can now appreciate why it was there and why we needed to start the story there.
(hide spoiler)] To be completely honest, I'm slightly terrified to start reading the third book Voyager. My copy of that is over 1000 pages!!! I don't know how I'm going to navigate that, because I really do not want to fail my reading challenge. And I don't want to lower my goal of 100 books either. So, I guess I'll wait until 2017.....? That's such a painful thought though. Who knows. I'll figure it out later. :)

Thanks for reading!

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Review: The Rent Collector

The Rent Collector by Camron Wright
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Rend Collector by Camron Wright was an incredible story that had so many small lessons thrown into the larger lesson that is revealed by the end of the book. While one of the easier books that I have read, I would not consider it a light book either. Or one that you can really get through all at once and be done with it. The language that the author used is very profound and there were more than several moments when his words resonated with me and remained there days later. It was a little rough to get into at first, but then you start to understand his writing and how you yourself need to read and interpret the plot and morals and it turns into this gem that you had no idea that you were holding in your hands. Moving, thought-provoking, and beyond interesting, I would recommend this book to many people. Especially those who need a change of pace, or love modern nonfiction.

Thanks for reading!

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Ten Bad*** Gals from YA Literature

Bad*** Girls in YA

We all love them. There are so many times that the main protagonist of a story is great and strong, and then completely does a 180 and becomes this dependent little person. However, we do get some seriously badass characters every now and then. And they are fabulous. Listed below are ten of these girls who I think definitely qualify as some of the most badass in young adult literature.

 
1. Celaena Sardothian

2. Feyre Archeon

3. Hermione Granger

4. Claire Randall-Fraser

5. Izzy Lightwood

6. Tessa Gray

7. Annabeth Chase

8. Tris Prior

9. Alina Starkov

10. Lysandra

These are only ten of them. Certainly, there are many many more, BUT I will revisit this at a later date. The books that these characters are from are (in order): Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas, Harry Potter by JK Rowling, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare, Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan, Divergent by Veronica Roth, Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, and Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas.

Related to this post, I will be making a list of ten badass men from YA literature as well at some point in the near(ish) future. I also hope to be putting more reviews up soon, but I am in the middle of a gigantic book right now, so that is why those posts have been scarce as of late.

Who are your favorites? If you have any others let me know!!

Thanks for reading!



Diana Gabaldon Books

Diana Gabaldon Books

My Plan of Action

Alright- so I'm in the middle of Diana Gabaldon's second book of the Outlander series, Dragonfly in Amber, and I'm looking at her books, like, there's another series that's a spinoff?? How in the world am I going to read these???!!! So, here is my plan of action to reading all of her books in these two series (Outlander and Lord John Grey), because her books are life-sustaining and beautifully written. Long, but totally worth it and completely addictive.

I think I will be reading these in publication order. So here is the list of the two series as they were published. JUST KIDDING! I went to her website and she very kindly has is all laid out in chronological order, so I think I'm going to read them that way. SO, the list below are the books as they are set in chronological order.

Outlander
Dragonfly in Amber
Voyager
Lord John and the Private Matter
Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade
The Scottish Prisoner
Drums of Autumn
The Fiery Cross
A Breath of Snow and Ashes
An Echo in the Bone
Written in My Own Heart's Blood
Go Tell the Bees that I am Gone (not published yet)

The green books are in the Outlander series and the blue books are in the Lord John Grey series. There are also a TON of short stories and novellas in between these, and OF COURSE I will be reading those. But I think I'm just going to try to finish Dragonfly in Amber first. :)

Her books are amazing- I don't think I will ever stop singing praises of her books, so jump on board with the fandom, it is never too late, and you will love the ride. Especially if you love history.

Thanks for reading!