Book Review | The Raven King by Maggie Stievfater

The Raven King (Raven Cycle #4)
By: Maggie Stiefvater (@mstievfater)
Published By: Scholastic on April 26, 2016
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 438
Goodreads // Book Depository

Nothing living is safe. Nothing dead is to be trusted.

For years, Gansey has been on a quest to find a lost king. One by one, he’s drawn others into this quest: Ronan, who steals from dreams; Adam, whose life is no longer his own; Noah, whose life is no longer a lie; and Blue, who loves Gansey…and is certain she is destined to kill him.

Now the endgame has begun. Dreams and nightmares are converging. Love and loss are inseparable. And the quest refuses to be pinned to a path.

"What a strange constellation they all were."

It took me three tries to finish The Raven Boys. Thank god I was bored out of my wits that day and just needed a book to read, because otherwise, it would've never been read. The Raven Cycle is just one of those incredible series in which the first few books in it are confusing, but the finale is just a masterpiece, weaving all those loose ends back together.

I missed the characters so much. Before the book came out, I spent a lot of time going through edits and rereading, and it made me realize how much I loved this series. Blue and Gansey and Ronan and Adam and Noah just make me so happy inside. And can we talk about the ships?!?!?! My heart literally exploded and I had to shut the book to prevent myself from crying during the middle of an English class. 

That epilogue, ugh, I just wanted more! The first three, I was more like, "That was good." and I wasn't as invested. In this book, Maggie Stievfater's impressive foreshadowing skills were just astounding. Finales always scare me, because they're just not enough most of the time. I was super scared for this one, because I wasn't ready to let go. Thankfully, Stievfater tied up (most of) the loose ends and satisfied me (mostly) (but pynchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh). 

The blurb doesn't do the book justice at. ALL. If I were to tell you three things about it to get you to read it, they would be: psychics, welch king, and prep school boys. Those things sound vague and confusing, but believe me. If you haven't hopped onto the Raven Cycle bandwagon, you're seriously missing out. Do me a favor, and just pick it up.

Let's discuss! What did you think about The Raven King? Are you absolute TRC trash (yet)?

Final Rating: 

❄❄❄❄❄

Book Review | Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

*image via lisa_lostinlit on instagram

Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1)
By: Leigh Bardugo (@lbardugo)
Published By: Henry Holt and Company on September 29, 2015
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 465
Goodreads // Book Depository

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...

A convict with a thirst for revenge.
A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.
A runaway with a privileged past.
A spy known as the Wraith.
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Kaz's crew are the only ones who might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first.

"No mourners. No funerals."

OH MY GOD. This was absolute perfection (well, close to it), and I was mind blown about how much Bardugo has improved in her plot lines. Her writing is so beautiful, yet dark, and I just want to quote EVERYTHING. The novel was filled with plot twists, and an intricately thought-out plot that was just SO amazing. The characters were #SQUADGOALS. Everything was really intense and the pacing was fast - I couldn't turn the pages fast enough!

I wasn't a big fan of all the characters from the start, like some people were. What I really loved was how the characters grew on you, and by the end, you're just like OMG MY LITTLE TEDDY BEAR I LOVE YOU SO MUCH. There was MUCH DIVERSITY in this novel, and I loved it. Kaz sort of annoyed me with his "I'm so much better than you" vibe he had going on. (I felt that way while reading the beginning-anyone else?) Matthias was just weird to read about, but by the end, I adored him so much. I even have a gigantic teddy bear named after him. Um. Yeah.

Nina was the Grisha of the novel, and I just loved her from the start. I do think her relationship with Inej was a bit quick to begin with, as I didn't expect Inej to trust anyone, but BOY ARE THESE TOO #BADASSLADIESGOALS. Their sarcastic comments to each other also felt loving as well, and these ladies can kick butt. 

The plot of this novel was well thought-out. I was engrossed from the very beginning. Their little heist thing had a bunch of plot twists that I did not see coming. Also, this book is DARK. Bardugo doesn't hesitate with the gruesome parts.

The relationships hurt. I can't remember a time I was more hurt by a relationship. Although they were incredibly subtle for a YA novel, they were there, and they were so painful to read. ALL OF THEM. I SHIP THEM ALL, OKAY?? The relationships were also all so FRUSTRATING because EVERYONE in the crew seems to be stubborn as heck. Which isn't surprising, but still. <-- that's not a sentence. HAHAHA. THIS WHOLE REVIEW IS JUST ME FANGIRLING. I swear I can form sentences. Ha. Ha. Ha.

Six of Crows was in third person, which I liked, because it made it easier to flip through all the characters (THERE ARE 6!!!) POVs without spoiling anything or making it easy to predict what was going to happen. I think Shadow and Bone was written in first, (ahhhh don't kill me it's been a while.), which was one of my problems with the book, so I was glad this one was in third. I was disappointed that Wylan didn't get his own POV because I admired him so much and just felt SO sorry for his past. 

The Grisha World is one of my favorites, and although I did think it got confusing at times, there was always TWO beautiful maps in the front of the book that I could refer to. I fell head over toes in love with this elegant and beautiful world that just seems so...incredible. Bardugo really brought out all the different cultures of this world, and I loved the differences. 

OH AND DID I MENTION THE BEAUTY OF THIS BOOK OH MY LORD. The pages are black stained and they are just gorgeous. The cover of this novel is so appealing and elegant yet DARK and everything I could ever hope for. The typography just kills me. Bless.

Overall, this book was incredible and I LOVED IT SO MUCH and if you haven't already, PLEASE do go read it. Seriously. 

Let's discuss! What did you think about Six of Crows? DID YOU LOVE IT AS MUCH AS I DID?? :)

Final Rating: 

❄❄❄❄❄

Book Review | Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

*image via bookvibes on instagram

Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices #1)
By: Cassandra Clare (@cassieclare)
Published By: Margaret K. McElderry Books on March 8, 2016
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 720
Goodreads // Book Depository

The Shadowhunters of Los Angeles star in the first novel in Cassandra Clare’s newest series, The Dark Artifices, a sequel to the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series. Lady Midnight is a Shadowhunters novel.

It’s been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire that brought the Shadowhunters to the brink of oblivion. Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses.

Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn’t lead her in treacherous directions…

Making things even more complicated, Julian’s brother Mark—who was captured by the faeries five years ago—has been returned as a bargaining chip. The faeries are desperate to find out who is murdering their kind—and they need the Shadowhunters’ help to do it. But time works differently in faerie, so Mark has barely aged and doesn’t recognize his family. Can he ever truly return to them? Will the faeries really allow it?

Glitz, glamours, and Shadowhunters abound in this heartrending opening to Cassandra Clare’s Dark Artifices series.

"Lex malla, lex nulla. A bad law is no law.”

I wasn't even sure I was going to pick this one up, since I wasn't particularly fond of the last three books of Clare's Mortal Instruments series, but I still picked it up. THANK GOD FOR THAT. Cassandra Clare has grown so much as an author, and this book definitely reflected that. Lady Midnight was jam-packed with amazing characters, a fabulous plot, and an extremely EXTREMELY amazing romance that was also painful to read and broke my heart into a million gazillion pieces.

The characters were all just so much fun, and the Blackthorns may just be my favorite Shadowhunter family. YA Fiction just doesn't have enough family themes (HELLOOOOOOOO, YA FICTION!! WE LOVE THIS SO PLEASE ADD IT AND DON'T KILL OFF THE PARENTS!!!) ALL OF THEM JUST LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH AND IT'S JUST LIKE I LOVE THEM ALL. It pained my heart to see how Julian took care of ALL of them and loved ALL of them. I loved some of the relationships between some of them. I adored Ty and Livvy, and how much Livvy does for her twin. Dru holds a special place in my heart; she's so much more different from the rest of them. Tavvy was super adorable and I loved his innocent little heart. 

  

Cristina and Emma's relationship was #bestfriendgoals, and I loved how Emma how had a girlfriend to talk to. Cristina is like the steady rock to Emma's life, and basically everyone else as well, and they just supported each other so well. The conversations they have together are just sassy and sarcastic and just absolutely hilarious.

The plot was so amazingly awesome and thought-out and just so much BETTER than her previous novels. Except for Clockwork Princess though. *cries* 

SPOILER SECTION!!! IF YOU HAVEN'T READ LADY MIDNIGHT YET, GO READ IT!!! AND THEN COME BACK. SERIOUSLY. YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED!

_________________________________________________________________________________ 

Um, can we just talk about Julian and Emma's relationship? It was the most heartbreaking thing I've ever read. I mean, from the beginning, we just know that they're going to get together, DUH. Cassandra Clare has this forbidden love thing going on that I just can't help but fall for. ALSO IN THAT STUDIO OF JULIAN'S - when he was like NO ONE CAN COME IN, I just knew that those were pictures of Emma. And his short speech to Emma about love and what he thought of it was just incredible. <3 <3 <3.

Did anyone suspect Malcolm Fade as being the murderer? I think I guessed that pretty close to when they were guessing it, so I don't think I'm much better ._. I did NOT see that coming. Magnus was just a trustable warlock, that I suppose we have this weird connatation that warlocks are good. I guess Cassie proved us wrong, once again.

Can we just talk about the potential love triangle that might happen? Is there going to be some Mark, Kieran, Cristina (wait, there's Perfect Diego. I guess she's out), and Emma love triangle going on? Or maybe Julian, Mark, and Emma love triangle? AT THE END, I COULD NOT believe that Emma Carstairs was asking Mark to be her fake boyfriend. Like, Mark and Julian's relationship isn't like perfect or anything, so ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE IT WORSE?!?! I did think that Kieran tended to be a little clingy, and that made him lose major points in my shipping book. Also, did anyone ship Cristina and Mark even though Kieran was there. I did, until Perfect Diego came. OH THE SHIPS. SO MANY OF THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Kit being the Lost Herondale, eh? I thought that was a bit random, and that it was just randomly put in there, but I hope he has like...a purpose...in the next book. ALTHOUGH I DID SEE THIS THEORY: TY AND KIT...eh? Clare might add another LGBT+ couple!!! :) I see it. I do. Although them becoming parabati wouldn't be my first choice, I would still love it, even if inside, I'm crying for Livvy because if they do become parabati, she's probably get like SUPER upset (I'm talking depressed upset.) 

I STILL WISHED THAT THEY EXPLAINED MORE ABOUT WHY PARABATI CAN'T BE LIKE, IN LOVE LOVE LIKE THAT. Jem explained it a little in the end, and it just broke my heart. Julian and Emma are just like perfect for each other. I HAVE MANY THEORIES ABOUT HOW JULIAN x EMMA WILL WORK OUT, OKAY (Is it Jemma or Jula, or Eulian or Emmlian or whatever TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK IT IS. (um, I'm talking about their ship name if you didn't know. i can be confusing at times ._.))

Theory 1: They take away that law but the parabatis must go through extensive training to learn how to control their powers.

Theory 2: Julian and Emma get rid of their parabati-ness (idk how this is supposed to happen ?!), Emma and Cristina become parabati, Julian and Emma can get together.

Theory 3: They take away their Shadowhunter-ness. I know.    

Let's discuss! What did you think about Lady Midnight?

Final Rating: 

❄❄❄❄❄