Arc Review: Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Rating: 5 out of 5

Published: September 11th 2014 by Bloomsbury  

Synopsis:

Celaena has survived deadly contests and shattering heartbreak―but at an unspeakable cost. Now, she must travel to a new land to confront her darkest truth . . . a truth about her heritage that could change her life―and her future―forever. Meanwhile, brutal and monstrous forces are gathering on the horizon, intent on enslaving her world. Will Celaena find the strength to not only fight her inner demons, but to take on the evil that is about to be unleashed?

The bestselling series that has captured readers all over the world reaches new heights in this sequel to the New York Times best-selling Crown of Midnight. Packed with heart-pounding action, fierce new characters, and swoon-worthy romance, this third book will enthrall readers from start to finish

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Review:

Read my review of Crown of Midnight here. 

Everything you know, or you think you know about the Throne of Glass series will be turned on its head.

Celaena is back in the third saga, but she isn't back in the finest sense. She must go back to the begin and unlearn all she's learned about herself, her present and her future. And who will be in her future.

The story starts and everyone is bitter. Chaol sent Celaena away. Dorian's angry. We learn of Rowan and what he might be as he spies on Celaena and Celaena herself is doing her usual. Getting into fight, stealing, trying to stay alive whilst spying on the crown prince of Wendlyn...

Rowan leads Celaena on her quest, but Celaena becomes undone as she visits Queen Maeve in Wendlyn. Maeve wants her to become Queen but to achieve her goal Celaena must become Aelin Galathynius. The girl she once was. Through many throw-backs we learn of her childhood, of how she escaped her parents murder and learn more about her cousin Aedion Ashryver. The king's formidable General.

New characters are also introduced. Emrys and Luca are stand-outs. Bringing up the story behind the wyverns we get to know Manon Blackbeak. Again, another character who, similarly, is not happy with her lot in life and plots to overthrow the witches. Throughout Heir, interspersed at regular intervals we learn how the king is planning to use the witches and wyverns as his main plan of attack. However reading about Manon's history and getting an idea of what she see's in the future we know one of them will be disappointed with that outcome.

The majority of the book centres on Aelin and Prince Rowan Whitethorn. An enormous character to bring into the story which is already bulging with big characters. At first we think he's a big bully but it soon turns out that his heart is as big as anyone's, given the right motive to release it. Aelin and Rowan begin a brutal partnership, with Rowan as her trainer, and soon enough there are figments of camaraderie happening and a hope that Rowan will be the one to bring out the goodness in Aelin/Celaena.

As for Chaol, well, he turns his back on his best friend, Dorian, and initially the future isn't bright for him. He decides he's more fit to hiding in shadows but forms an unusual alliance with Aedion. After Crown I had high hopes for Chaol and Celaena but we quickly learn she's outgrown him. He does however redeem himself numerous times throughout the story and where once he looked like his path was ever darker, a stream of light crosses him near the end.

The lands as we know them are all build more solid with Heir of Fire. We can actually feel the scope of what Aelin is wanting to achieve. Can she become the Queen that Maeve thinks she could be? But we also get a new glimpse of the dark world the King would turn the lands to, and how he's been able to hold on to magic while others have had it taken away.

Throughout Heir Aelin has exposed herself in the most daunting of ways. She's opened up and has dropped the tough girl facade she been holding on to these last ten years. Finally near the end, you find yourself rooting for her, as she overcomes Maeve, the Valg prince's, and with unlikely fr-enemies that have joined the fold you have to remember to breathe, and hope she'll win in the end. If only for her sanity....

CBx

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Sarah J. Maas is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Throne of Glass series and A Court of Thorns and Roses series, as well as a USA Today and international bestselling author. Sarah wrote the first incarnation of the Throne of Glass series when she was just sixteen, and it has now sold in thirty-five languages. A New York native, Sarah currently lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and dog.

She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Hamilton College in 2008 with a degree in Creative Writing and a minor in Religious Studies.

You can find Sarah J. Maas here:

Web 

  Goodreads

Quickie Review: Rhett by J.S. Cooper

 Rhett by J.S. Cooper

Published: 27th June 2014

Rating: 2 out of 5

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Synopsis:

I’m Rhett.

I’m cocky because I can be. I've got it all: the looks, the money, the endurance. I’m the guy that every girl wants to be with, yet none of them have ever been able to tie me down.

I don’t do love. I don’t do relationships. And I sure as hell will never do marriage.

I’m all about the fast life and everything that entails. There’s a different woman in my bed every week. My friends are jealous of me. My enemies envy me. Everyone wants my life. And everything in my life is absolutely perfect.

Until the day she told me she was moving away. She’s my best friend. She was my first kiss in grade school. We share everything with each other. We never dated because I don’t love her. I don’t care that she’s moving. I don’t care that she’s moving for a guy. I don’t care because I don’t love her. I don’t do love.

I’m Rhett and I don’t let anything get me down. Then one night changed everything and everything I thought I knew was called into question.

All of a sudden, being Rhett didn't mean so much anymore.

~~

Review:

I thought this would be better. I thought this would be about a cocky guy who changed his ways because he finally realised what love was. Well, he does but it happens so quickly I'm not sure it's real.

Instead the whole book came over as incredibly shallow. Not sexy at all and very crude in places. Especially with how Rhett and his friend Tomas regard women. And yes, some of the women were blatantly open regarding sex but that just made the story even more vulgar.

This book has no plot unless you count a girl who wants to have sex with his best friend from childhood. There is very little with regard to back story and the small parts where we learn about Rhett's family are all on about 2 pages with nothing to make you actually feel any different for him.

Apart from a lot of sex, which is pretty generic, nothing spectacular I was actually quite bored reading it. A shame really because I did enjoy Cooper's other books. I can't help thinking this one was written for the paycheck.

- CBx

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You can reach J.S. Cooper here:

Web

Goodreads

ARC Review: Beautiful Oblivion (Maddox Brothers #1) by Jamie McGuire

Beautiful Oblivion (Maddox Brothers #1) by Jamie McGuire

Expected publication: July 1st 2014 by Simon & Schuster UK

From: Net Galley

Rating: 4 out of 5

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Synopsis:

Fiercely independent Camille "Cami" Camlin gladly moved on from her childhood before it was over. She has held down a job since before she could drive, and moved into her own apartment after her freshman year of college. Now tending bar at The Red Door, Cami doesn't have time for much else besides work and classes, until a trip to see her boyfriend is cancelled, leaving her with her first weekend off in almost a year.

Trenton Maddox was the king of Eastern State University, dating co-eds before he even graduated high school. His friends wanted to be him, and women wanted to tame him, but after a tragic accident turned his world upside down, Trenton leaves campus to come to grips with the crushing guilt. 

Eighteen months later, Trenton is living at home with his widower father, and works full-time at a local tattoo parlour to help with the bills. Just when he thinks his life is returning to normal, he notices Cami sitting alone at a table at The Red. 

As the baby sister of four rowdy brothers, Cami believes she'll have no problem keeping her new friendship with Trenton Maddox strictly platonic. But when a Maddox boy falls in love, he loves forever - even if she is the only reason their already broken family could fall apart.

In the first instalment of The Maddox Brothers series, readers can experience the rush of reading Beautiful Disaster for the first time, all over again.

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REVIEWS FOR JAMIE MCGUIRE'S BOOKS HERE

Review for Beautiful Oblivion:

I have a confession to make. I read this book in its entirety and loved it. I have read Beautiful and Walking Disaster, however in between those books and this one I've also tackled around 75 books in between. So, my confession is - I didn't remember who all the important characters were. Therefore when the last page of this one 'revealed' the secret, it was completely lost on me.

To make up for the amazing suspense that McGuire kept going throughout the book I speed read Walking Disaster and then read this one again. OH BOY!!! Then I picked up all the clues!! The 'Spaceballs' one is genius. So is Travis' declaration about his brother being in love with Cami. 

No, I'm not going to spoil anything, this book sort of runs parallel with the others, but reading it like this actually gave me room to contemplate. Yes, Cami's 'boyfriend' did let her down on so many occasions. But he was genuinely sorry and (his status is revealed at the end of Walking Disaster) does have pressure and a stressful job which doesn't warrant much if any free time. I actually felt sorry for him because I think he genuinely loved Cami but couldn't put her first.

As for Trent? Well, I thought he was a cutey, a very sweet guy who like Travis, has an affinity to all things pretty but also has a devoted streak running through him. Especially when it comes to Cami.

Overall, this book didn't have the same story impact as the first two books. Those books had a storyline which packed a punch. This one relies more on the suspense, and soap opera style drama. 

Still thoroughly recommended :)

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You can reach Jamie McGuire here: 

Web 

Twitter 

Facebook 

Goodreads

Review: The Moment We Began (Fairhope #2) by Sarra Cannon

The Moment We Began (Fairhope #2) by Sarra Cannon

Published September 15th 2013 by Dead River Books

From: Net Galley

Rating: 2 out of 5

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Synopsis:

The moment they both believe all hope is lost is the moment something real finally begins. I have loved Mason Trent for years, but I've only been sleeping with him for one.

None of my friends know about our secret passion. He's in my bed one night and in the arms of someone else the next. And it's tearing me apart.

I've done everything I can think of to make him mine, but the more I cling to him, the harder he pushes me away. I'm spiraling out of control, not sure how much more of this I can take. A girl can only bend so far until she breaks. And when I do, I break completely. I'm talking about one night of bad decisions, all leading to a my-world-will-never-be-the-same kind of moment. A moment where I need Mason more than ever. True to form, though, he's running.

But I intend to go with him this time. I'm willing to leave my money, my family, my friends behind for this one last chance to see if he could ever really love me the way I deserve to be loved. I'm willing to sacrifice forever if it means one real moment with him.

~~

Review:

Sometimes you can't help who you love. In the case of Penny, she's loved Mason for what seems like forever. Mason doesn't love her. They spend nights together but then he's with a different girl two days later.

Some men are mean't to break our hearts. It's how we cope with it after that builds us into the people we are now.

I was excited to continue Cannon's Fairhope series. I really enjoyed the first book so my intrigue wanted to know how Penny and Mason's relationship would pan out. I think Sarra has done a great job of leaping from YA to NA. Her writing is still very very good and reaches new climbs that she wouldn't have been able to get to in YA.

Unfortunately I wasn't enamoured with this story. I enjoyed it to a certain extent. I had hopes for a fun, diverse road trip but it panned out to be a little too safe.

The first thing that I really enjoyed when reading about Penny's growth of character was when she decided to help Delores gain more financial stability with regards to the diner. This showed all of us that Penny was bright, courageous for sticking her neck out, and was definitely a brain with many talents. I thought this would be the way of the story and as Mason and Penny drive a swarth along their map into the unknown, Penny would reach out and help people along the way and learn that not everything profits even if you throw money at it. In this scenario her parents would hear of her great adventures and the good she was doing for ordinary people. She would be redeemed.

Sadly it didn't even get this far. Even more sadly an incident regarding Mason and the girl under the pier happened and I felt misguided. 

The story turned sallow, selfish, and a little too blinkered. As we reached the end Penny ended up being someone who runs a charity and does exactly what her parents had been doing all along i.e. funding charities and holding events. None of the Penny with a brilliant brain and an eye for turning businesses around stuck with her. In my honest opinion the author did Penny a discredit but I did like how Mason turned out. As a character he did show his merit.

Haven't read the first book, The Trouble with Goodbye (Fairhope, #1)? Read my review here.

-CBx

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You can reach Sarra Cannon here:

Web

Goodreads

Top 10 New Adult books for July publication

Oh my! Where did June go??July is almost here. 
Here's the Top 10 New Adult books to look out for! 
Click on the pics to go to Goodread's synopsis's.

I can't wait to read Thrive by the Ritchie sisters. I love their series so far.
Which book are you most looking forward to?

Let me know!

-CBx

ARC Review: FANGIRL_15 by Aimee Roseland

FANGIRL_15 by Aimee Roseland

Expected publication: July 8th 2014

From: Net Galley

Rating : 5 out of 5

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Synopsis:

Chloe is in love with Lucien.

He’s enigmatic, compassionate, generous and intelligent. Likes classical music just as much as kicking ass and knows his way around a kitchen, though he’d never admit it. His Samurai swords are an extension of his personality and a lifetime of heartache has taught him to wield them unfailingly. He’s gorgeous yet humble and can’t see past his own scars. Lucien feels deeply for his chosen family and is absolutely worthy of love. Sounds perfect, right?

The only problem is that Lucien is a character in a novel.

The Dark Riders is one of the best selling paranormal romance series of all time, and it was destined to have eight installments, one for each of the brothers-in-arms. Lucien’s story was supposed to be book eight, where he’d finally find true love and live happily ever after. Except the writer died before his story was published. Worse yet, book seven was finished by some poser that thought killing off one of the main characters would bring a more modern twist to the finale.

Chloe is absolutely devastated by the news that one of her “friends” is dead and that the series is canceled. She has a quasi-nervous-breakdown at work and ends up falling asleep in the lounge. Her midnight escape from the locked office lands her in a deserted parking lot after hours where an unseen force has been waiting. Just. For. Her...

This supernatural assault strands her in an alternate reality where the Dark Riders are real and the horrible ending created by the publisher hasn’t happened yet.

Chloe decides that she’s been brought there to fix all of the storylines and tries her best to convince the monsters around her that she’s there to help. She ends up mangling their plots more often than not and now must race the waxing moon to find a way home before Lucien accidentally falls in love with her instead of his destined mate. The Fates are working against her as Chaos interferes and the truth about what really dragged her over threatens to destroy everything that Chloe holds dear.

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Review:

Just so you know, I haven't read any of the authors other books. I picked up Fangirl_15 from Net Galley because I loved the synopsis. I didn't expect to be giving the book 5 well-worth-them stars.

To me Fangirl_15 sounded a little Matrix-y mixed with something that JR Ward would write. A delve into the world of a supernatural Brotherhood and lets face it, who hasn't wanted to dive into a story and make sure the hero had a better ending than what the author wrote.

I wasn't expecting what I read. Chloe is average everything. Neither tall, nor small, neither large nor thin, neither pretty nor unpretty. Her life is simple, basic and without excitement. Except when her favourite Dark Riders books get published. The bad news for Chloe is the Series author has died and the latest installment has been finished by a nobody author with average writing. To make things worse the writer writes an ending that Chloe believes shouldn't have been written in that certain way.

A string of strange events occur. One where Chloe dreams of being with her book boyfriend of the series, Lucien. While his physical looks sound quite horrible to look at, Chloe has fallen in love with him because of his beautiful eyes, his heart of gold, and his compassion towards his brothers and their previous plights. Eventually Chloe wakes up from one dream and realises she IS actually in the fictional world that the author has created. Astonished, she meets one of the 'Brothers' and gets taken to their mansion.

From here on in Chloe sees a way of enjoying herself while helping the Brotherhood in their next endeavour. Because, well, she's going to wake up in the real world any moment, right?

Uh-uh. It never happens. Her path is clear, her task is in hand. She must right the wrongs of the plot holes and the storyline. Little does Chloe know that her own story is pivotal to how the ending really happens.

Firstly, I have to comment on the writing. I don't often get on with 3rd person perspective but it worked so well with this story. Also, I loved Chloe as a character. She has her own flaws, she has a fair amount of self-doubt. But her intentions are so from the heart that you can't not like her. Lucien also came across as someone who you could easily judge because of his demonic looks but he's a haunted, tortured soul who deserves to be loved. 

The excellent side cast of many made me laugh and feel appreciation for how they treated our heroine. I wonder what the Dark Riders books are really like. After reading this I honestly would want to have read the books myself!

With a good, steady pace and lots of very dramatic, dare I say it, romantic tension the ending is one I didn't expect but somehow made sense. This was an ending I was happy about!

Definitely pick this one up if you love supernatural, spurned lovers, tortured heroes and an average heroine who changes the entire game plan!

-CBx

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You can find Aimee Roseland here:

Web

Goodreads

Review: Very Bad Things (Briarcrest Academy #1) by Ilsa Madden-Mills

Very Bad Things (Briarcrest Academy #1) by Ilsa Madden-Mills 

Published September 9th 2013 by Little Dove Publishing

From: Net Galley

Rating: 4 out of 5

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Synopsis:

Born into a life of privilege and secrets, Nora Blakely has everything any nineteen-year-old girl could desire. She’s an accomplished pianist, a Texas beauty queen, and on her way to Princeton after high school. She’s perfect...

Leaving behind her million-dollar mansion and Jimmy Choos, she becomes a girl hell-bent on pushing the limits with alcohol, drugs, and meaningless sex. 

Then she meets her soulmate. But he doesn’t want her.

When it comes to girls, twenty-five-year-old Leo Tate has one rule: never fall in love. His gym and his brother are all he cares about... until he meets Nora. He resists the pull of their attraction, hung up on their six year age difference.

As they struggle to stay away from each other, secrets will be revealed, tempers will flare, and hearts will be broken.

Welcome to Briarcrest Academy... where sometimes, the best things in life are Very Bad Things.

~~

Review:

I lost a lot of sleep by reading this book. It kept me up until well after 3am this morning. Does that mean its good? Well, for the most part, yes.

We're brought into Nora's world very abruptly. Early on we begin to see the relationship between Nora and her mother. How patronising the woman is, and completely uninterested in Nora in any way, shape or form, other than a walking human doll to dress up and tell how to act. And then Nora did what she did and blew me out of the water.

We get introduced to Leo at this point. Leo is a lot older than Nora. When it began I did have this skeevy feeling because of the age gap. I thought it wrong. But gradually as the story continued this didn't bother me.

Nora and Leo DO have an insta-lust thing going on from the start but it doesn't amount to much when Leo puts the brakes on any kind of relationship happening between them other than friendship. As we continue through Nora's days and weeks we see a side of her character actually bloom. The freedom of getting over her guilt (her step-brother did a terrible thing to her) and her mother's denial of the incident. 

One thing that stood out to me when I finished was that Leo was entirely right to stay away from Nora in the beginning. Nora grows leaps and bounds in this book. Almost like going through the stages of grief. Finally at the end she becomes someone else. Someone who is well grounded, someone who has a family as such who help her and nurture her, someone who has learnt by her mistakes. 

 I loved the romance, the will-they-won't-they. I loved how Nora and Leo became this 'entity' even before they became a couple. There were moments when I thought Leo was an idiot and he didn't appear to have any friends of his own age. But the ending rounds everything up nicely. Yes, we don't know why her mother treated Nora so badly, and we don't know who her mother was before she became Mrs Anchor-woman. But, frankly, I couldn't care less!

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You can reach Ilsa Madden-Mills  here:

Web

Goodreads