BedsideReads

This Savage Song by V E Schwab: Review

This book had me hooked from the beginning. I did actually read this in one day, I read over 200 pages in one sitting. I would have done the whole book in a ‘one-er’ if I could have done, but it’s move out period from my uni accommodation. I only have one week left of my freedom, so have spent some of the day packing up things. My room looks so empty but also so untidy its unbelievable.

!SPOILERS AHEAD!

ANYWAY, back to the book! The magic of this world is something I have never heard of or read about before! I loved it! August and his abilities amaze me. The concept that he plays music and the sinners bare their souls to him to be eaten, is beyond anything I have ever read! I ate this up, just like August does souls (sorry bad pun).

Kate and August are very unlikely friends and I could see a little bit more of their friendship coming out in the second book in this series, I am hoping to buy this sometime next month. Kate’s father is the ruler of the the North side of the city, where Monsters are hunted and treated as inferior to humanity. August’s father is the leader of the South side of the city, where his ‘monsters’ are his children and the rarest type of monster in Verity.

I really really enjoyed this book and I don’t want to spoil it any more for anyone- I don’t think I can talk about it anymore without ruining it. I feel like a gushing like a fangirl here. I will try to review things better next time, hopefully I shall get my hands on the next book in this series soon.

Reading Update

Right, I know I’ve been slacking for a while now but I actually haven’t read anything since my last review the other week. I have actually just DNF’ed a book today- I only read about 80/90 pages of The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, my full review is on Goodreads if you want to check it out.

I thought I should really give you a plan for the books I should be reading for the rest of this year for my degree, since I have my reading lists finally. I have around 16 books to read in the first trimester of my second year which takes us to the end of the year. I am currently sitting on 32 book for the year out of my goal of 50. The 16 for my course will take me to 48 books for the year- which means I am on track to exceed my target so far.

My reading list for the first trimester is:

Thom Gunn’s The Man With the Night Sweats
Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale
Leila Aboulela’s Minaret
Jeff Eugenides’ Middlesex
Angela Carter’s The Passion of New Eve
The Norton Anthology of English Literature Book F: Modernism
D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover
F Scott Fitzgerald’s Bernice Bobs her Hair
F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Diamonds as Big as the Ritz
William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
William Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis
John Ford’s ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore
The Norton Anthology of English Literature Book B: Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century

The last three books are still to be chosen but they are chosen by the group so I’m not sure what they will be yet. If you’ve read any of these, let me know what you thought so I can get a feel for what they’re like.

As you know I plan on reading five books next month to that puts me upwards of my goal even further. At the moment, I’m stuck in a bit of a reading slump though, I don’t have anything that I really really want to read right now. I have no more books at uni with me that I can read right now, all the rest of the books with me now are for The Bookie Trials. I’m unsure of what I’m supposed to do now, do I order more books?? Let me know what you think!

The Bookie Trials- My July TBR

I have decided that July will be my first month to do a read-a-thon and a TBR for it. I will be taking part in Rachael- Marie’s, from Rachael- Marie’s Book Junkie, The Bookie Trials. I will be joining the Scribes in the pursuit for the Bookie Grail.

To take part in the read-a-thon you must either take the personality quiz to tell you which team you are or pledge your allegiance to a team. You then follow the map which gives you your challenges for the read-a-thon. The challenges match up to prompts which you have to complete in order to make your way to The Bookie Grail where you meet your team leader, in my case the Duchess of the Scribes Sophie from Sophiesticate Me.

As a scribe, I am a professional chronicler who writes accounts of important and historical events. I follow where the action is; however, we as scribes, are known to give rather conflicting accounts of battles depending on which side we favour.

The ability I have, as a scribe, is I am able to rewrite my own tale. This means I can read a book that wasn’t declared on my original TBR as long as it still fulfills the prompt I am using it for.

My weakness is I must read a book which is over 500 pages long- DAMN!!

For my journey I must make five stops along the way to the Bookie Grail:

My first stop is Dwarf Mountain: This means I have to read a book with a hint of romance within it to get me in the mood for the read-a-thon. I have chosen to read The Wife Between Us y Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen.

I then go on to Apothecary Towers where I had to chose a book from my TBR at random. Now there isn’t very many books on my shelf at uni that I haven’t read, so it wasn’t a massive random generator game I played. I just pointed at a book from ‘afar’ . For this challenge I will be reading Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

I can then push forward to The Great Library, where I pick a book that has been on my TBR for what seems like forever. Again with the small amount of books I have with me here, I picked from a couple of books. For this prompt I shall be reading I Know My Name by C.J. Cooke.

After I have finished in The Great Library, I can continue to The Drowning Deep. Within this challenge, I have to read a book with rich world-building that sucks me into that world instead of my own. I shall be reading, and giving into the hype surrounding, The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon.

Finally I can enter the land of The Bookie Grail and read the group book, Stardust by Neil Gaiman.

So that’s 5 books in 1 month. In total there is 2012 pages I have to read which equates to around 65 pages per day to finish all the books on time.

I shall be updating my progress on my instagram, @BedsideReads, but also on my personal twitter, just search @AshleighTorrie on Twitter to follow me. I shall also keep my GoodReads up-to-date for anyone who wants to friend me and follow my progress on there, it again is just Ashleigh Torrie.

The Crown’s Game Review by Evelyn Skye

!SPOILERS AHEAD!

The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye. Photo Credits @bedsidereads

This book! Oh my god, I have so many feeling after reading this. It reminds me so much of my favourite book, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I love how the world of magic is hidden from almost everyone in the world. It is a beautifully written debut for Evelyn Skye and she should be so proud of this novel!

I absolutely love the relationship between Nikolai and Vika; the love hate sort of thing they have going on makes the novel as a whole. The situation with Pasha makes their relationship even more difficult, he is infatuated with her or is it her magic? I’m not too sure on this, I would hope it was because of her rather than the magic she has.

The whole story behind the Crown’s Game, the actual game in the book, makes me so angry. The Tsar doesn’t have any trust within his son and his methods and that makes me so mad for Pasha! How can you be a parent and not have faith in your own child, I know it is different when you’re handing a whole country and community over to your child but you should have faith that they have picked up on how to be a good leader! I am so please the throne goes to Pasha and not Yuliana, she is such a terrible person and would be a terrible leader. Almost a huge dictator (added the tator because I’m nice).

I have several favourite parts of the book, and I don’t think I actually dislike any parts of this. I love love the ball for Pasha’s birthday; the dresses of Vika and Ludmila, why can’t I have one!. I adore the character of Pasha, sneaking out and disregarding his royal status- he is not his title unlike his father. The dance between Nikolai and Vika though. Their connection is beautiful. The idea of the tug between them is something I love. Their dance piece is, words cannot even describe. I felt so many things, I felt the warmth that Vika felt towards Nikolai, I felt like I’d built a relationship with both of them.

Then there was also when Vika fainted. Nikolai felt the warmth in his heart too. I love that he picked her up straight away and helped her, despite the competition. He gave up on all his protection charms to make sure she was OK, he fell in love with her just as we fell in love with him. (FEELS!!)

Ohhh, so there is one part of the novel that I don’t entirely like. I dislike the whole “the tsar is Nikolai’s father” piece. The idea that Nikolai’s mother had an affair with the tsar and that their son found his way to being friends with the tsars’ “real” son is a bit far-fetched but hey it is a fantasy style novel, and I am not writer so what do I know.

Other than that I can definitely say that this is one of my favourite books of the year, it may even be up there with my favourite books of all time!

-I feel like I’m gushing like a fangirl now, but I am a huge fan of this book-

I am really sorry for this rushed review, The Women’s World Cup has just started and I really want to watch it but I needed to get these feels out onto ‘paper’ first. I really really recommend this book, it was a 5 star read for me. Hopefully, there should be some more content coming your way in the near future about Shadow and Bone. Until then, if you have any recommendations let me know in the comments!

Bookish Sins

Now to say I don’t commit these sins, I would be lying to you. Some of these I do quite often; others not so. I’m sure they’re many more but these are the few I do.

Very sorry to anyone who takes offence to these horrible bookish things that I do, I am ashamed of me too!

Dog-earring pages: I do only do this in extreme circumstances when I have run out of tabs, sticky notes, hell even litttle its of receipts. But I hate it. It is so so wrong to turn down the pages of books, they are such scared things that do not deserve to be harmed in this way. My A-Level books are horrendous from dog-earring, some exam boards don’t let you tab your books for the exam and the only way around this was to dog-ear it. I have such a battered copy of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley its unbelievable, I’m so horrified with myself for that books poor life it led!!
Writing in books in PEN!: Thanks to my degree I do have to write in my books to remember what I originally thought about certain places or characters so I can write about it in essays; but it does make them look so untidy. Writing in books is one thing but writing in books in pen is a whole other thing. I wish I was more organised and had pencils to do this but I am really not the most organised.
Highlighters: Now, this is a very touchy subject for many. I do highlight certain parts of books, especially books for university. Many of my uni books are covered in rainbow highlighter- again I am very sorry for my poor book etiquette. I will do better! I hope anyway. I have found highlighter ‘tabs’ in the last couple of months but they’re expensive for the actual amount you get. And poor student here!
Breaking spines: I really really hate this one and try so hard not to do it but this is so so hard not to do with some books. My copy of The Devouring Gray wouldn’t open wide enough for me to read it without the spine breaking and it does kill me inside when that happens. But also for uni, you have to bend and break the spines in order to write in the books- I’m really not very nice to my books am I?- I commit heinous crimes against books.
DNF-ing books: Right, if I don’t like it I will not read it all. I hate not finishing books but if it’s boring and predictable then why should I bother. The only problem with this is my course books are usually like this and I struggle to read them *Welcomes SparkNotes and CliffNotes greatly for crappy books for my degree with open arms*. I recently did just DNF Fairy Tale by Danielle Steel because my god that was so predictable and of course boring because of it. Its not the biggest sin in the book world but I love finishing things myself.
Reading instead of doing assignments: This isn’t really a bookish sin but it is a sin to do with my books. I am a massive procrastinator and I will genuinely do anything to avoid doing my assignments- usually I clean my bedroom and bathroom at least once in the week I’m doing assignments in; but for my last assignment of my first year I just read a whole book instead of actually working. Bad student as well as a poor one me!!
Removal of dust jackets: I really do not know how to hold a hardback, I think I’m just inept, so I usually take off the dust jackets and then can never find them again. I cannot deal with how chunky a hard back is and therefore cannot hold it- for those of you who don’t know, I am a very small person so chunky books are CHUNKY to me.

I do actually have a confession to make, I do not like hardbacks at all. I am a proper paperback princess and cannot understand how on earth anyone likes hardbacks. As I said, I cannot hold them, I think they’re too chunky and what are you supposed to do with the dust jacket?!

I am very sorry to the ‘Book Gods’ for I have sinned, many-a-time to be frank with you. But I will try to be a better book lover I swear.

Hopefully, in the next week there will be a book diary coming your way along with a review of one of my favourite books of the year, The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye.

May Wrap Up!

So, after my first month of taking reading seriously and creating my blog and Instagram! I am bringing you my first ever reading wrap up for this month!! So I do have to say that this is my first time doing anything like so I am sorry for the poor quality of everything done this month- Hopefully I will get the hang of it soon! If anyone has any tips or tricks about blogging, let me know in the comments please.

So without further ado here we go;

From the start of the month I have read 7 books- You by Caroline Kepnes, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas, A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas, A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J Maas; followed by The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman and then finally A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab. In total that is 3,164 pages read this month alone.

Breaking that down further; I have read 5 fantasy novels, 1 thriller and 1 YA Sci-Fi fantasy novel. On average I have read around 102 pages per day! Now compared to the last few months of reading for my English degree, I have done more reading in the last month than over the past 4 months! My one bug bear of doing English at University is being told what to read and when, I am more of a mood reader which is why I don’t create a full month TBR- I know that I wouldn’t stick to it.

Since finishing the reading lists for university I have been bored of reading and in a slight reading slump- I didn’t know what I wanted to read, when I wanted to read, to be honest I kind of lost my WANT to read anything. I lost my love of reading until this month. I didn’t know what genre I loved anymore; I was once a romance lover now I cannot stand books just of love! I need more than that. There was one book that I did like on my course, I had to read Ready Player One. I really liked the idea of fantasy and other worlds and the sci-fi elements. So I decided to get some recommendations from friends. Which is why I read the ACOTAR series this month. I am hoping to read more books like this, because MY GOD I loved this series. If you guys have any suggestions like this, please inbox me, email me, etc! I need more books to be read!

The first book I read was You; this is a thriller written as though “you” are the person being stalked by Joe. Now, I decided that I wanted to read the book before watching the Netflix series and I am so pleased that I did. I liked the book so much more than the series- I think the series is done badly and strays away from the book a lot in some places. I do think the casting is brilliant though, they characters that Kepnes writes come to life easily in the series just as I imagined them to be.

I next read all four books that have been released in Sarah J Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses series. Those books broke me! I love the characters, the events and just how she writes. I cried, I laughed and I rejoiced with every character in the series; I fell completely and hopelessly in love with this series. I am so excited for the next book in this series and the development of some of the other characters. This series means so much to me now, it made me fall in love with reading again. I want to thank my lovely friend, Lauren from Lauren’s Reviews and booksfordays1045, for telling me to read these- I know you told me in college to read them, at least I finally got round to it in the first year of uni!! I did fly through this series, all four books in just under two weeks!

I then read The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman in the penultimate week of the month. It did take me a while to get into this book from the massive book hangover I had from ACOTAR, but I did end up loving this so much. My only problem with this novel is that I do not feel any connection to the characters, the main four character were good and all don’t get me wrong but I didn’t want to cry and laugh with them like I did the Sarah J Maas’ characters.

And finally I have read A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab. I am not so sure on what I think of this. I like it to an extent, I have read it quite fast, but I don’t feel attached to the plot line. I feel like I read it just to get it done, I don’t remember anything stand out-ish from the plot and I could imagine the characters in my head (I sound like a crazy person, but to be engaged I have to feel like it’s real to an extent) Sorry to anyone who didn’t sign up to this craziness). I am more intrigued by the little elements of magic rather than the whole story line. Nearer the end I did become more and more engaged in the plot line, I really liked the idea of Kell and Lila having to fight against the monarchy of White London to keep the peace across the whole of the Londons. I am unsure on whether to continue further into this series right now, I’m not sure if I will like the next book since the first book ended well enough to be a stand alone in my opinion. Please let me know what you think of the series, and whether it is worth continuing.

My plan for June is to do two buddy reads. I am planning on buddy reading Caraval by Stephanie Garber and also Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo from the Grisha trilogy. Other than that, I shall see where the mood takes me. I am tempted to pre-order the paperback version of The Priory of the Orange Tree- I don’t understand why there is like a year between the release of the hardback and the paperback – because I really want to try high fantasy novels, let me know if you think I should buy it! Sorry to all the hardbook lovers, but I’m a paperback lover!

I am hoping to keep up the same pace with reading and blogging as I have been doing but I make no promises for this, I have plans for the month- not very exciting ones but plans nonetheless- strange for me usually I’m not the most sociable.

Don’t forget to check out my Instagram, @besidereads, I do keep updating on their or at least try to anyway. I also try to keep my Goodreads up to date- if you’d like to follow me on there it’s just ‘Ashleigh Torrie‘.

Hopefully there will be more reviews coming soon.

Ashleigh

A Darker Shade of Magic Review

!Spoilers, sorry!

The seventh book of the month for me was the start of yet another series, I read the first book in the Shades of Magic series by Victoria (VE) Schwab. The first book, A Darker Shade of Magic, is a marvelous creation of world. The Londons are a brilliant way to make you feel like you know the world intimately, especially to those who live in London. I love the concept of this novel and some of the ideas but I just didn’t feel anything towards it.

I did not feel truly engage in this story until the late 200s which is a lot of the way through this book as it’s around 400 pages long. It is a really fast paced read and I was getting through big chunks of it when I was reading it, but it wasn’t one that I wanted to pick up all the time- Not sure if this is because I’m still in a slight Maas hangover. But I do wish that I’d felt more of a pull towards it, when I was reading I was reading lots of the book at once because the chapters, in my opinion, were quite short.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab. Photo credit @bedsidereads instagram

Lila and Kell are the main protagonists in this first novel in the series, however there are parts about both that I still feel that I do not know at all. We didn’t even know that Lila had a glass eye until really late on! I feel there is still a lot to learn about this pair, and I do hope from the chemistry they have between them that it could lead to a romantic encounter maybe? I think that they suit each other- Lila is as stubborn, if not more stubborn that Kell and I do love that! She stands her ground even in Londons unknown to her. She is a strong woman who does not need Kell, I feel that sometimes Kell needs her more than she needs him. It is about balance, just like his magic is! They balance each other out in a way, even when she fights fire with fire ‘arguing’ with him.

I do not remember a lot from the first 200 or so pages, but I feel that the majority of the action happens in the last chunk of this novel so I don’t feel so bad about that. I love the bond that Kell has with his “brother ” Rhy, even though they’re not actually brothers by blood Kell is treated as family and is loved by Rhy as a brother. The fact that Kell binds himself and his life to Rhy’s just to save him says something about their relationship. Blood doesn’t always matter when it comes to relationships, similar to Lila and Barron. Barron takes Lila in when she is at her most desperate point and doesn’t charge her, her helps her with Kell. He puts himself in danger for her which is really sweet.

I am really unsure what I think of this series to be honest, I have very mixed feelings on the writing- I wasn’t that interested in the first 200 pages but the last 100 or so pages really grabbed me. I don’t know if I should continue with the series or not so please let me know your thoughts on it.

So there is 3 days left in this month and I don’t think I shall be picking up a new book until the 1st of June. I am going home for a couple of days to celebrate a friend’s birthday so it’ll be nice to have a few days away from the land of books.

My May Wrap Up will be with you on the 1st of June, hopefully at 10am (if I have scheduled it correctly), See you in June.

Ashleigh

The Devouring Gray Review

!Spoilers, sorry!

For anyone who does not know about this novel; This is Christine Lynn Herman’s debut novel which is about a beast haunting a wood in a small town where the “founder” families are to be feared and the beast seems unstoppable until one of the founder families move back into the areas, however through the power of the founder ‘magic’ this founder family know nothing of their history.

The characters of the founder’s children remind me a lot of some of the character personalities in Riverdale, it seems to be a bit like the North and South side division between founders and locals. The founder’s are to be feared, but also respected for what they did and what they can do to ‘protect’ the people of this little town, Four Paths. The children seem to be willing to live up to the name that their families gave them years and years before. Justin and May are Hawthorn children, when the novel is set the Hawthorns are in control of Four Paths, however neither of them relish this power really. Isaac is a Sullivan, however he is the only Sullivan in the story we meet properly as the other Sullivan’s have died or left- in some ways he uses his name to insight fear to avoid confrontation as he does not a have strong hold on his temper when it comes to his heritage. Harper is a Carlisle, part of the founder family taking a stand against the control the Hawthorn’s have over the town. She however is an outsider and a founder child; her character allows you to view both sides of the town through one person. Her name doesn’t mean all that much to her for most of the novel which is an exception with the founder families. And finally there is Violet, she moves back into Four Paths with her mother. She knows nothing of her heritage and her family history with the town. Between all the founder children Violet learns about her history and her abilities while learning the dark history of the town.

The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman with the ARC tarot cards, kindly sent to me by Lydia@Titan Publishing. Photo @bedsidereads on Instagram.

The novel builds at a good pace and introduces the twists and turns of the novel slowly but powerfully. Although the things that go on in this town are far fetched, the division between Founder and locals are something which can be clearly seen in reality. Some of it could be classed a playground drama which does make this a fun novel to read, but there are some dark elements to this book. It has creepy atmosphere that will keep you enticed in the book; then you’ll be wanting more by the time you finish it- just like me. *Please release part 2 soon, Christine Lynn Herman. I need it*

The chapters, although seem long, are very fast paced. I read this book so quickly when I finally got over my humongous book-hangover from the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. This is a debut novel, however, it does not feel like one. It feels very much like an experienced authors writing, it is beautiful for a first time author!

However, I am struggling to rate this. I am thinking a 4 Star rating because I didn’t feel any emotional attachment to any of the character because of the flitting perspectives, but the writing is absolutely beautiful and I am so excited for the next book. I did love the story, but I did want to feel more for the characters, don’t get me wrong I did feel sympathy for them but I wasn’t holding my breath for any of them really.

I’m not sure what to pick up next; I have a choice of The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye OR A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab. I shall let you know what I choose on my Instagram for those of you who follow me on there.

Feel free to follow me on my:

GoodReads: Ashleigh Torrie

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ACOTAR #4: A Court of Frost and Starlight Review and Wrap up of the Series

So I have just read this whole book, of 229 pages (and then the little sneak peek of the next one), in a little over three hours. And let me tell you I love this too, just not as much as the ‘proper’ books. Now I have read them all I feel like I can finally have an established opinion on the characters. I still do not like Tamlin one bit- he helped them win the war against Hybern but that does not excuse his behavior before hand. Lucien has grown on me, and I was loving the bit when he stood up to Feyre about his feelings about his living arrangments- he needed that little bit of power about him. Rhysand, despite his persona that he plays, is a big softy who loves his ‘wife’ and will do anything for her no matter what; and for this he does, in my opinion, hold the title of the most powerful High Lord because of the connection he has with his High Lady. Elain does have very little to do with the plot until the last book in the series- she is featured in the small novella- ACOFAS- but the majority of her character development is within ACOWAR. Nesta and Amren are very similar with their characters, neither of them are willing to open themselves up entirely to other people; whether this is a defence mechanism is yet to be seen from both. Cassian holds such power over the armies that I think sometimes he forgets what he means to his family, especially in ACOFAS where he was reluctant to join them for the Winter Solstice. Azriel is very similar to Amren and Nesta in someways- he doesn’t open himself up to many people. He has a strong relationship with his High Lord and Cassian, whom from the battle, I am sure he would die for both. Feyre- we have spoken about several times before. Mor is the only character who I do not know what I think of, she of course is a strong character who bounces back to normal life no matter what; but there are part of her character that are untouched, she has parts of her that are damaged that I think should be spoken more of, she keeps a lot of that to herself which I don’t think is fair on her. I am hoping that Maas might explore some of her other sides within the next novella when we see more of Nesta and Cassian’s ‘relationship’.

The relationship that Maas makes between all of these people is amazing it makes you fall more and more in love with the story. The intricacies of these relationships make the stories feel real. The love and friendships within this makes a wonderful heart-warming series despite everything.

A Court of Frost and Starlight by S J Maas. Photo Credits @bedsidereads on Instagram

Getting into ACOFAS story now. I did really like being in different people’s shoes for a little bit- we’ve been inside Feyre’s head a long time now. But I think that it only worked as this is a novella and with it being so so short. I also wanted to see into Azriel’s mind too, I do think that would be a brilliant point of view. I want to know what is going on between him and Elain- he is the only other person she got a present for except Feyre. I just want Elain to find some happiness, be it with Lucien or Azriel.

My favourite part of the book is when Rhys and Feyre give each other everything, it is never explicitly said but we assume that with giving each other everything they are trying to conceive. They bare every part of their souls to each other, and that it beautiful; their relationships is one of equal which is my favourite part of this series. Wow, I feel like this has just descended into fangirling rather than actually writing anything of worth.

But I also love how Feyre still wants to give back to Velaris and its people. The idea that she pursue to help people to cope with the aftermath of the war is phenomenal; she is a true leader who defends and helps its people. The art classes will hopefully help her to repair herself too, although she is a High Lady she too has the scars of the war inside her. This just might be her outlet for it, but it also helps her feel like she is helping her community.

So I have given this a 5 star even though it was not as good as book 2 and 3- but that was an awful lot of pressure for it to live up to those. It is a great companion to the series and I cannot wait to read the next installment. I am so attached to this series now, I just need more.

ACOTAR #3: A Court of Wings and Ruin Review

!SPOILERS AHEAD! Because my god how can I talk about this without spoiling it slightly!

Woah! That is my first thought, did anyone else feel emotionally drained when they finished this? I feel like I went through the war with them; I’ve laughed, I’ve cried and I’ve loved throughout the series but this book was just another level. I cannot begin to describe how I feel now. Just the last little novella in the series to read now- many thanks to my lovely other half for buying me. My god how on earth have I managed to read so much this month; I only started this whole thing this month. Blogging, Instagramming, Page counts, all of it in only 12 days. Something I never thought I would do was put myself and my thoughts out there; but also I thought I was a romance lover, turns out I hate pure romance and have a deep love for fantasy.

Sorry getting to the point of this post, I promise!

A Court of Wings and Ruin by S J Maas. Photo @besidereads

The development of the sister in these novels is a work of art. The Archeron sisters are everything in this series. Nesta and Elain make this last novel in my opinion, both sisters hold important puts within it. But they also hold a place in your heart as you read it. These stories are not just of adventure, of true love, of power; but are stories of family, of love, of friendship. All of these things are encompassed within Nesta and Elain Archeron. Of course they’re within Feyre too but she experiences these things differently because of her love and her title.

As the first and only High Lady in the series, Feyre seems to hold her own. I am so pleased that she got back to her ‘mate’, Rhysand. She deserves proper happiness, which is something that Tamlin could never offer her. I love the relationship Maas has given to Rhys and Feyre, it is a true match, love and equality- how it should be! I love the idea of the mate bond, Maas has used this idea brilliantly especially with Nssta and Cassian in this final book. I am hoping that the last book picks up just after this one ends, hoping it has details of Nestan and Cassian, hopefully of Elain and Lucien- because my god they both deserve some happiness after all they’ve been through- maybe a bit more on Lucien and his family- that would be my dream for it.

I don’t think I could actually pick my favourite bit because I love all of it so so much. I love it when Alis tells Feyre that she came back from Rhys “right”. Alis knew all along and said nothing to point it out, she truly knew what Feyre was and where she deserved to be. She knew that Tamlin was not what Feyre needed, she knew exactly what she needed and deserved and for that I am very grateful!

From the amount of emotional investment this book gives you it certainly deserve nothing less than 5 stars! Just got to wait for A Court of Frost and Starlight to arrive now!

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GoodReads: Ashleigh Torrie