Published: October 23, 2012 

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

Author: Michelle Hodkin

Pages: 523
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Mystery

The truth about Mara Dyer's dangerous and mysterious abilities continues to unravel. 

Mara Dyer once believed she could run from her past.
She can't. 

She used to think her problems were all in her head. 
They aren't. 

She couldn't imagine that after everything she's been through, the boy she loves would still be keeping secrets. 
She's wrong. 

In this gripping sequel to The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, the truth evolves and choices prove deadly. What will become of Mara Dyer next?

 Holy. Crap. I--So. Many. Feels. 

Book Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Published: May 5, 2015 

Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Pages: 416
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Fae

A thrilling, seductive new series from New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas, blending Beauty and the Beast with faerie lore. 

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world. 

 As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it... or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever. 

 Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!

First of all, if you still haven't heard of Sarah J. Maas or read something about and from her, I don't know where you must have been hiding. This lady has her shit together and you can judge that only by the fact that she takes the time to make maps for her books. She takes the time to map out fictional regions and that's when you know stuff is about to go down.

Book Review: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass #4)

Published: September 1, 2015 

Publisher:  Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Pages: 656
Genres: High Fantasy, Young Adult, Adventure

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past . . . 

 She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen's triumphant return.

 Celaena’s epic journey has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. This fourth volume will hold readers rapt as Celaena’s story builds to a passionate, agonising crescendo that might just shatter her world.

I CAN READ THIS SO MANY TIMES and I will not get bored of it! (easily)

This is an intense book  let me tell you that. There isn't a space where there isn't something happening. My plans to read it as fast as I can crumbled miserably on page 40.

I was under so much pressure that I hadn't realised until after I finished this book. My whole existence seemed and felt lighter.

Book Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (Mara Dyer #1)

Published: September 27, 2011 

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

Author: Michelle Hodkin

Pages: 456
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Mystery

Mara Dyer believes life can't get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
 It can. 

 She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed. 
There is. 

 She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love. 
 She's wrong.

I can’t get over the amazingness of this book. 

 I was freaking out, it was so creepy. 

Book Review: Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Published: September 2, 2014

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Author: Sarah J. Maas 

Pages: 562
Genres: High Fantasy, Young Adult , Adventure

Celaena Sardothien 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. To defeat them, Celaena must find the strength to not only fight her inner demons but to battle the evil that is about to be unleashed. 

 The king's assassin takes on an even greater destiny and burns brighter than ever before in this follow-up to the New York Times bestselling Crown of Midnight.

 In terms of fantasy, especially where YA is concerned, this is some pretty exceptional work. YA doesn't do so hot with fantasy and barely touches High Fantasy, I assume because authors just can't manage it: boring romantic relationships swallow any interest I can have in character development or the world in which they reside in. And speaking of the world they reside in, it is bad AND boring. They are BORING. And boring universes in fantasy is just not the business.

Sarah J. Maas has something very good going on. Magic system development, an immense universe with a bunch of different countries and cultures and languages and dimensions.

Book Review: Crown of Midnight by Sarah J.Maas (Throne of Glass #2)

Published: August 27, 2013 

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Author: Sarah J. Maas 

Pages: 418
Genres: Young Adult, High Fantasy, Romance

"A line that should never be crossed is about to be breached. It puts this entire castle in jeopardy—and the life of your friend." 

 From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil. 

 Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart. 

 Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie... and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.

HOOOOOOOOOLY SHITTTT STUFF WENT DOWNNNNN. 

*this review includes a fair amount of gifs, beware

Book Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass #1)

Published: May 7, 2013 

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Pages: 404
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Fiction

 

In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass--and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

I have a lot of thoughts on this book. Not all of them are positive.