My February TBR

So after Christmas and my Birthday last week, I have received an abundance of new books for me to delve into, and even better vouchers to purchase more! What more could a girl want!

So after staring at the growing pile on my shelf and umming and ahhing, about which books i should focus on reading and reviewing for this month, i have decided on the following:

Days of Blood and Starlight - Laini Taylor (Book 2 in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy)

It began with the breathtaking DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE...The story continues in the astounding, must-read sequel, DAYS OF BLOOD AND STARLIGHT Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a new way of living - one without massacres and torn throats and bonfires of the fallen, without revenants or bastard armies or children ripped from their mothers' arms to take their turn in the killing and dying. Once, the lovers lay entwined in the moon's secret temple and dreamed of a world that was a like a jewel-box without a jewel - a paradise waiting for them to find it and fill it with their happiness. This was not that world.

The Assassins Blade - Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass Novella)

Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan's most feared assassin. As part of the Assassins' Guild, her allegiance is to her master, Arobynn Hamel, yet Celaena listens to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam.

In these action-packed prequel novellas - together in one edition for the first time - Celaena embarks on five daring missions. They take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, where she fights to liberate slaves and seeks to avenge the tyrannous. But she is acting against Arobynn's orders and could suffer an unimaginable punishment for such treachery . . .

Explore the dark underworld of this kick-ass heroine and find out how the legend begins in the five page-turning prequel novellas to the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series.

The 5th Wave - Rick Yancey

THE 1st WAVE

Took out half a million people.

THE 2nd WAVE

Put that number to shame.

THE 3rd WAVE

Lasted a little longer. Twelve weeks . . . Four billion dead.

IN THE 4th WAVE,

You can't trust that people are still people.

AND THE 5th WAVE?

No one knows.

But it's coming.

On a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs.

Runs from the beings that only look human, who have scattered Earth's last survivors.

To stay alone is to stay alive, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan may be her only hope.

Now Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

The Mime Order - Samantha Shannon (Book 2 in the Bone Season series)

Paige Mahoney has escaped the brutal prison camp of Sheol I, but her problems have only just begun: many of the survivors are missing and she is the most wanted person in London...

As Scion turns its all-seeing eye on the dreamwalker, the mime-lords and mime-queens of the city's gangs are invited to a rare meeting of the Unnatural Assembly. Jaxon Hall and his Seven Seals prepare to take centre stage, but there are bitter fault lines running through the clairvoyant community and dark secrets around every corner.

Then the Rephaim begin crawling out from the shadows. But where is Warden? Paige must keep moving, from Seven Dials to Grub Street to the secret catacombs of Camden, until the fate of the underworld can be decided.

Mistborn: The Final Empire - Brandon Sanderson

A thousand years ago evil came to the land and has ruled with an iron hand ever since. The sun shines fitfully under clouds of ash that float down endlessly from the constant eruption of volcanoes. A dark lord rules through the aristocratic families and ordinary folk are condemned to lives in servitude, sold as goods, labouring in the ash fields.

But now a troublemaker has arrived and there is rumour of revolt. A revolt that depends on criminal that no-one can trust and a young girl who must master Allomancy - the magic that lies in all metals

If I manage to finish them this month then I may even squeeze in another.

If you have any recommendations of books I should read, or anything you would like to see me do a review of, let me know and i will add it to the list :)

Heir of Fire - Sarah J. Maas

Heir of Fire – Sarah J.Maas

*This review will contain some spoiler information for the previous two books in this series*

Heir of Fire is the third book in the Throne of Glass series. Still following the story of Celaena Sardothien, a young assassin who is now reluctantly the Kings Champion, all be it in hope to gain her freedom back. The story carries on where it left off with Celaena being sent to Wendyln in order to kill the royal family. However the twist Sarah left us with at the end of Crown of Midnight, certainly complicates matters. Even more so that Celaena hasn’t actually been killing any of the targets assigned to her by the king either, merely faking their deaths and ensuring they leave and start a new life. Not something easily done for a royal family…

I said this with Crown of Midnight, and I can only say it again with Heir of Fire. These books become even better as they go along. Each time I read one, I go ‘That’s my favourite book in the series’ then I read the next and think the same thing. Well, Heir of Fire didn’t disappoint and now I am saying that this is my favourite in the series…until book 4 maybe? Sarah J. Maas creates such a fantastic world; I honestly cannot get enough of it. I always worry that people think I am over exaggerating about a book, or that I’m just easily pleased. But this is honestly such a great series, and is so beautifully written and carried out. I would encourage anyone to give it a read.

The detail, in which the world is created, flows so easily off the pages. Created so well within your imagination that you don’t have to worry about keeping up or pondering what exactly this setting or even person may be like, there are never any questions about the world that are not meant to be asked as Sarah J Mass intricately creates it all so perfectly for us to delve into.

I absolutely adore the characters in this book; we have the old as well as some new characters, Rowan, Luca, Emry, Aedion and Maeve. Which I found incredibly refreshing to see Celaena’s development with these new faces as opposed to that of Chaol and Dorian. I thought it was brilliant of Sarah to veer away from focusing on romance with Celaena, and just that of friendship. More importantly the bond she develops with Rowan.

Rowan was a great character and i feel like there is more we can learn of him and his back story, perhaps a Novella of his past and his history with his Cadre would be needed so we could learn more. I have to say at first I thought I would detest his character, his allegiance to Maeve and his cruel and punishing training regime for Celaena. You really felt for Celaena, but over time he changes and you see what he is really like, and it is that friendship that you really root for, it was brilliantly executed by Sarah, throughout the whole story.

Another character I thought was quite interesting was Mahon, one of the iron teeth witches, Sarah dedicated the odd chapter from her perspective, not only allowing us to see what the King of Adarlan is planning and has been breeding. But also gives more of an insight into another part of the world. I again feel there is more we can learn from this character and The Thirteen.

Throughout the book Sarah keeps us up to date on all the other characters in Adarlan, keeping us informed as to what they are doing, their plans and uncovering how magic disappeared. We see Chaol veer away from his duties as Captain of the Guard as he prepares to leave for Anielle, as well as forming a bond with Aedion as they plot together about the king’s motives and finding Aelin. We see Dorian slowly learning how to control his growing power, and his new relationship with Sorscha. A lot seems to not only be happening back in Adarlan, but Celaena too has a lot on her hands to deal with keeping the whole book fast paced and action packed throughout, and yet never leaving you to fall behind on other events taking place in the world.

The entirety of this book is filled with pure emotion as we learn what really happened to Celaena 10 years ago. You feel her pain, her anguish and her exhaustion. We watch her grow into her powers, becoming ‘Fireheart’ and becoming even more bad ass than she already is. We see her confront Maeve, and show what she is really capable of, and we begin seeing the person she will become in the next few books.

Some of the monsters created in this book, Skinwalkers, the Valg and that thing in the lake!...Jeez, they are creepy, the idea of something lurking under a frozen lake poised and ready to enjoy the meat on your bones, is certainly something to freak you out when you are still reading the book at gone 1 in the morning! Sarah’s writing and imagination was brilliant here, to be able to scare and freak you out simply with her words is a real credit to her.

The ending to this book completely shocked me, I wasn’t expecting it all to kick off so suddenly, and become so brutal. We are left desperate to now know, what will become of Aedion, What will happen to Dorian, What about Chaol and Fleetfoot, are they going to survive? Then we have Celaena, about to head back to face the King of Adarlan, and you just know, book 4 is going to be completely explosive, and possibly even more jam packed with action than that of Heir of Fire. The title in itself being ‘Queen of Shadows’ just makes you desperate for September to get here as quick as it possible can!

I have given this book a 5 out of 5

Crown of Midnight - Sarah J. Maas

Crown of Midnight – Sarah J. Maas

*If you haven’t read the first book, there may be a few spoilers for it in this review*

Crown of Midnight is the second novel in the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas and wow did it pack a punch. After reading Throne of Glass, I was absorbed into this epic world of fantasy, magic, and murder and I instantly loved the world Sarah had created through the pages in her book. Because of this I eagerly awaited to receive Crown of Midnight, desperate to know and see more of this truly amazing world. Safe to say I really was not disappointed.

Crown of Midnight, if even possible, is even more brilliant than the first book. It almost feels like as Sarah goes along, she becomes more comfortable within this world and her writing and creations are really brought to life. You create each character and setting within your imagination so perfectly that you feel you are there yourself until you close that book, and I truly love that about this author and this series.

Crown of Midnight follows on from Celaena’s story and her new title of Kings Champion. On a mission assigned to her by the king. We still have the main characters with Dorian, Chaol and Nehemia and the relationships Celaena has with them. Her friendship with Dorian is slightly strained due to the sudden end to their relationship in the first book; however her friendship with Chaol grows stronger than ever. I really enjoyed the character development throughout this book. We are given more POV chapters from Dorian and Chaol and even at one point the King and Nehemia herself. It really allowed us to learn more about the characters, their feelings and views and where they stood on exactly what the King of Adarlan was doing. I found it interesting learning more about Chaol and seeing a more softer less ‘Captain of the Guard’ like side to him, and I feel after reading this book we will learn even more about him when he heads to Anielle. Dorian was incredibly interesting and I really didn’t expect that little twist with him, and I am certainly looking forward to seeing how that plays out in later books, as if that is only the beginning of what’s happening, who knows what will happen a few months or so down the line. It will certainly change a few of the character dynamics. 

Celaena was for me as always the biggest character development within this book. I felt like we saw two sides of a coin with her, the start of this book, yes, she is on a mission from the King to assassinate his requested targets, however we see a much caring and almost sweet person, with what she does for Chaol on his birthday and her reaction to just how moved Chaol is by it. To then nearer the end of the novel, seeing Celaena as the complete badass that she is, you really see exactly how she got her reputation as an assassin. As much as most people may feel some scenes were gory and violent, I really loved all of it, I felt it was great to see just the strength that she empowers and the rage she unleashes, for vengeance and to protect those she cares most about. At times within this book we truly felt Celaena’s heartbreak, we felt her pain. The moment she screamed to Chaol ‘You will never be my friend. You will always be my enemy’ I was devastated! I have been and always will be Team Chaol but to be able to feel that hatred through Sarah’s writing was incredible, and I was left in complete shock at it.

I have to say I did slightly guess the ending to this book, however it was still shocking to know and to have my theory confirmed as such, but it is a great plot twist and certainly leave you eager to pick up the third book in the series Heir of Fire.

Crown of Midnight is full of action, betrayal, magic and even corruption. It truly is an epic and enthralling read that leaves you hanging on to ever word Sarah writes. Sarah J Maas is an incredible author and vastly becoming one of my favourite authors. I am absolutely loving the Throne of Glass series, and I have no idea how I am going to cope once I finish Heir of Fire and have to wait for the fourth book in this series to be released later this year!!

I have given this book 5 out of 5 stars

We each survive in our own way – Celaena Sardothien

Mara Dyer Trilogy - Michelle Hodkin

Mara Dyer Trilogy – Michelle Hodkin

Book 1: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Book 2: The Evolution of Mara Dyer

Book 3: The Retribution of Mara Dyer

I am writing this review as a whole series, as there is only so much I can say about these books without spoiling what takes place within them, or taking away from the enjoyment of each twist and turn that unexpectedly happens throughout. So this review may be a little shorter than others I have done.

The Mara Dyer trilogy is truly an original and captivating paranormal romance/thriller and at times horror series.  Being Michelle’s debut novel, she certainly knows how to introduce us with a bang, in this eerie tale.

Michelle’s writing is truly amazing, drawing you in right from the start and leaving you wanting to know more. Each book ended with a cliff hanger, and I truly couldn't wait to pick up the next and find out what happened. This is such a beautifully written and yet seriously twisted book, that becomes darker as it goes along. I loved the light and shade that carried on throughout, the innocence and vulnerability of our main protagonist Mara, but then the darkness that she brought and just how untrustworthy she was as a narrator, was truly creepy.

The characters within this book were brilliant, the loving family, who truly support Mara through everything and whose only wish is to see her better and happy again. Jamie, the first friend Mara makes in the series, which not only provides humour but is a brilliant contrast to that of Mara’s character herself. Then Noah Shaw, the swoon worthy boy with one hell of a reputation, who has a secret of his own. These were the main characters throughout the series; however others do pop up, doctors, therapists and even someone from her past. Each character is written in great detail and the relationships built between each is brilliantly highlighted and felt due to Michelle’s great writing, the relationships feel real and genuine and possibly the only thing we do feel to be true in this story. Plus there really are some overly creepy characters created…Phoebe...wow!

I found as the story progressed you were sucked deeper in to this dark world, left solving mystery after mystery. The books certainly became darker, and I did struggle with the sudden change in Mara in the third book, to be so fearful of what she could do, to then outright going out and doing it no questions asked (this may not make sense for those who have not read the book, but i really don’t want to spoil anything… more of an incentive to go and pick it up maybe?) Mara’s vulnerability was so evident in that final book, and I really felt like Jamie’s character was the pivotal force throughout it that made me deal with that, he really did become one of my favourites with his humour and the spark and dynamic between him and Mara was truly amazing.

Overall this series is truly fantastic, it leaves you on the edge of your seat, freaked out, holding your breath and completely confused and yet absolutely desperate for more all at the same time. You finish each book and are left saying’ What!!!’ so you just have to pick up the next one. Michelle Hodkins story really is one of a kind, and I absolutely loved the dark world she created and all the amazing characters within it. So I really would say if you like thrillers, a bit of romance, and even paranormal stories. Then this truly is for you. Just brace yourself for a bumpy ride.

I would give this series 4 out of 5 stars.

Throne of Glass - Sarah J Maas

Throne of Glass – Sarah J Maas

I have been wanting to read Throne of Glass for quite a while now, i have seen many a mixed review of some people not finding it to be for them, and others absolutely loving it and soaking up this fantasy world of magic and mystery.

Throne of Glass follows the story of Celaena Sardothien, a young girl who just so happens to be a deadly assassin. We are introduced to Celaena whilst she is a slave at a salt mine, following her arrest after a set up and betrayal on her last assignment. Living conditions are poor, and people barely survive the first few months there. That is until Dorian, the crown prince of Adarlan arrives with a proposition she cannot refuse. Compete in a competition against other deadly assassins and vicious criminals to become the Kings Champion, and as a result, gain her freedom. Should she lose however, she would return back to the salt mines.

Throne of Glass is full of various exciting characters, that Sarah J Maas leaves you wanting to know more about. They are written in such a great way that each character is completely individual, it is not just the men that come across strong but the women too, each character gives us a snippet to their life and back story that leaves you eager and thirsty to learn more about, which i just know will happen in the next few books in the series. This really is a credit to Sarah’s writing and the world she is creating through the pages of her book.

The detail in which this book is written clearly and easily forms the world within your imagination, you picture scenes, rooms, secret passages and even each assigned task that is carried out within the competition. You almost feel like you are within this fantasy world, filled with magic, corruption, betrayal and death. With each page you turn you truly do not know what to expect and you are fully captivated by the story laid out within the pages you hold.

Celaena’s journey through the book is an intriguing one, she is labelled as being this deadly assassin, but at the end of the day she is still a teenage girl. It is made quite clear that as deadly as she may be, she still loves clothes and shopping, and still blushes when an attractive man is around. I know this drew some criticism from some reviewers, as they believed it did not make her a plausible assassin. However, i thought this was a great counter balance, and even made her seem that bit more deadly. No one would suspect a young girly girl, who loves a good dress to be a murderer. I also felt this connected well with her upbringing, the way she was raised; she wasn’t always an assassin, regardless of how young she was when she started.

The somewhat unusual triangle relationship between Celaena, Dorian and Chaol was interesting to say the least, i won’t say too much about this, but even without any romantic notions between them, i am team Chaol all the way.

Sarah J Maas, has created an amazing fantasy world within Throne of Glass, it is exciting, gripping and a complete page turner. I would honestly recommend it to any fantasy and/or young adult fan. I certainly cannot wait to read the next book in the series. 

I would give Throne of Glass a 5 out of 5 star rating.

Girl Online - Zoe Sugg

Girl Online – Zoe Sugg

I was incredibly dubious about this book, I didn’t really know what to expect from it. Being a debut novel and with no prior reading material to gain knowledge in just how the writing style of this book would be.  From a quick flick through I could see that the story had the general narrating style, with snippets told through blog posts and conversations held via text. Seeing this I thought it would be interesting to see how this story is carried out.

Girl Online follows a young girl named Penny, a girl who from the first few pages comes across lacking self confidence and suffering with anxiety. With the encouragement from her best friend starts an anonymous blog to get her thoughts and opinions out for anyone who may be feeling the same. A line I quite enjoyed from the very first blog was

‘I have this dream that secretly all teenage girls feel exactly like me. And maybe one day, when we all realize that we all feel the same, we can all stop pretending to be something we’re not’

I thought it was great how this one line captures the thoughts of the vast majority of teenage girls growing up. At an age where you are always comparing yourself to others, covering ‘flaws’ you feel you may have, trying to ‘fit in’. When in reality the majority of the other girls are doing the exact same thing, you just don’t see it. All you can be is who you are.

I knew from this that this book would be a coming of age book, Penny growing as a person, finding herself and her confidence and dealing with her anxiety and panic attacks.

There are a variety of characters we meet throughout the book, Penny’s parents, who seem lovely and supportive, both running a To Have or To Hold theme wedding company. Tom, Penny’s older and somewhat protective brother. Elliot, Penny’s next door neighbour but best friend, who I have to say I went through this novel with a bit of a rollercoaster of views on him, at times I loved his character and the humour he brought and others I couldn’t stand him and his jealousy and almost controlling nature. There is Megan, the horrible and yet popular friend, Ollie the ‘swoon worthy yet would never fancy me in a million years’ boy. Finally there is Noah, who I feel is a great character for Penny, and the development between the two of them is amazing and very well written, if somewhat a tad fast.

Penny’s character really develops throughout this novel, which was great to see, she slowly gains that self confidence (all be it not for long) but I feel like she grows up throughout the book and you are there with her for each step of the way. 

Girl Online is a great coming of age, romance novel. With twists and turns that I really did not see coming at all, so you really are left feeling for Penny and the pain and upset she goes through. I also greatly enjoyed the significance played on the end of just how easy something can be posted online that is hurtful and nasty, without being thought over. The impact this could have on a person and their life, really is horrible.

If you are looking for a light, funny book with a splash of romance I would say this is for you. I got through this book pretty fast, and really enjoyed the journey and story told through its pages. I’m eager to see what Zoe comes out with next.

I have given this book 4 out of 5 stars.