A Court of Mist & Fury - Review

Book Review:
Title: A Court of Mist & Fury
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury

“To the people who look at the stars and wish, Rhys."
Rhys clinked his glass against mine. “To the stars who listen— and the dreams that are answered.”

 Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court - but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.
Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms - and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future - and the future of a world cleaved in two.

How do I even convert my feeling into words. In my mind, all I can think is 'ASDFGHJKL PERFECTION. ABSOLUTE PERFECTION. RHYSAND. PERFECTION. FEYRE. PERFECTION. FEMINISM. PERFECTION.' and so on..
As you can see, my mind cannot process any coherent sentences regarding ACOMAF, but I'll try my best anyways.

This book was PERFECTION! (Have I said that already?) But honestly, I cannot fault this book at all. It was everything I wanted and more. It was an epic fantasy story. A unforgettable romance novel. But most importantly, it was an inspiring book about self discovery. 

I'll try to keep spoilers to a minimum, but in this novel we see Feyre realising her self worth. Understanding that nobody should settle for less than they deserve. That every female has a right to their own opinions and wants. That if there are people in your life who don't respect you and treat you as an equal, you should remove them from your life, because they will only drag you down. It was both beautiful and inspiring to read. This book touched me very deeply, and I want to give the highest praise to Sarah J. Maas for it. It's not often you see such a strong character growth and arc. 

Speaking of characters, I absolutely adored all of the new additions to the series. We had Cassian, Azriel, Mor, Amren, to name a few. They are all part of the Night Court, which I think is safe to say is my favourite court out of them all. The Night Court is literally what dreams are made of. I could live there forever, especially if I was surrounded by such awesome people. I mean it also helps that Rhysand is the High Lord.
If you haven't figured it out yet, Team Rhysand!
 
I loved seeing much more of Rhys and his life in this book. Seeing Feyre struggle broke me, but so did learning about Rhysand's past. He hasn't had an easy life. When anything seems to go right for him, there's always something new that pushes him back. It's heartbreaking! I need him to get the happy ending that he deserves. He has suffered way too much.
You can see clearly how much he loves and cares for Feyre, yet he doesn't make the same mistakes Tamlin does. He worries about her and wants to protect her, but understands that she is capable and should be able to make her own decisions. He let's her be her own person. And that - as well as his other traits - makes him pretty much near perfection in my eyes. 

Moving on to the plot of the story. In one word; Perfection! (Am I using that word too much?)
In more words; It was non-stop action that kept my heart racing. I was unfortunately spoiled on some minor plot points of ACOMAF before it was released, which I was annoyed about, but it did not take anything away from the story. There were many parts which I knew were coming, yet when they arrived my stomach still dropped and my mind was still blown. Also, THAT ENDING! I (sort of) regret reading ACOMAF within a day, because the wait for the next book is going to be TORTURE! Cauldron save me! Though I have complete faith that the wait will be worth it entirely.

Before I wrap this review up, there's one more topic I want to share my feelings about. And that topic is the sexual content within this book. Now, before reading ACOMAF I knew there were going to be some steamy scenes, but what I read, I did not expect. WOW! I assume that there will be a number of people who will try to make this into a big issue and will argue that it shouldn't be classed as YA, which I understand to some degree. However as a young adult myself (17 years old) I had no problem with those scenes at all and found it quite refreshing to see some sexual relations in a YA novel. It should definitely be embraced more in young-adult fiction.

Well, there are my views. It was so hard to put my feeling into words and not just write 'ASDFGHJKL' repeatedly. 
It's only May, but I can already guarantee that this book will be part of my Top 10 of 2016.

To sum up in 6 words: An epic romantic, feminist fantasy novel

5+ Stars (ALL THE STARS)
Goodreads

The Raven King - Review

Book Review:
Title: The Raven King
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic

“He was a book, and he was holding his final pages, and he wanted to get to the end to find out how it went, and he didn't want it to be over.”

Read my review for the The Raven Boys (1st in series) HERE, my review for The Dream Thieves (2nd in series) HERE and my review for Blue Lily, Lily Blue HERE

This review may have some minor spoilers for the entire series.
 
All her life, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love's death. She doesn't believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem, but as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

I can't believe it's over. It's actually over. No more Blue. No more Gansey. No more Ronan. No more Adam. And no more Noah. What do I do with myself? I've become way too attached to these characters (like I do with every series I read) and I just don't think I'm ready to let go yet. 

However, saying that, this was quite a brilliant finale. It was action-packed from start to finish (some may argue it was too packed) and my heart was racing - and breaking - constantly throughout it. From the very first book, we've both seen and been told of Gansey's fate. Even Maggie herself said that - and I quote - 'That kid is going down.' Furthermore, I think we were told like four times within the first couple of chapters of The Raven King that Gansey was going to die. Knowing something like that really keeps you on edge. I mean, I could have easily read this book in one sitting, but the constant death reminders scared me, so I ended up reading the book over 2 days to prolong the experience and preserves Gansey's life. 

In the previous books there are little hints of romance, but it's not focused purely on that topic. This book however, has so many more 'romantic' moments with pretty much every character. Some people may not enjoy that, but I for one am a sucker for romance so I loved it. The Bluesy scenes and the Pynch scenes we got were everything I wanted and needed. So much swooning! 
The relationships as a whole within the gang, both romantic and platonic, are just inspiring. They always had each others backs. They always saw the best in each other. And they would die for each other. Literally. It's the kind of friendship you strive for in life.

The Raven King is without a doubt my favourite book of the series, but I did have one little issue with it. I wanted more Noah! Noah is my son. My precious Cinnamon Roll. And I felt dissatisfied with how much Noah we got in this book. It felt like he had been pushed to the side as a minor character, and I didn't like that. Some might disagree with me, but that's just my personal view. If we had more Noah, this would definitely be a five star read, but unfortunately due to that issue I can only give it 4.5 stars, which to be honest is still an amazing rating. 

Other than that, I cannot fault this book. Maggie Stiefvater knew exactly what she was doing. I think the direction that this book took was done well and even though it completely shattered my heart, I wouldn't change anything (apart from having more Noah, obviously.)

So, I guess those are my views about this finale. I haven't spoken much about the plot, because I don't think I can say anything without spoiling it, but in short, I loved it!
It's sad to say goodbye to such a fantastic series, yet I'm excited to see what Maggie has in store for us next. And hopefully, she *might* consider writing about the gang again? (One can dream)


4.5 Stars
Goodreads