Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

5/5 stars

So I have finally finished Queen of Shadows; a book that I had highly anticipated every since I finished Heir of Fire. Maas is one of my most favorite authors yet and a definite auto-buy for whatever she gets published. I apologize for a wait between reviews. I needed some time to recuperate before writing about it. The emotions I felt reading this, especially in the end portion, sapped me of all emotional strength.

I'd like to start off by saying I really did love this book! Maas did a great job yet again, and I'm already dying for book five. Why do we have to wait? I had gotten my hands on it before I finished reading another book and was itching to finish it just so I could finally get to QoS. I was not disappointed as I finished its last page. Hey Sarah, can you publish book five early, just for me?

The end of QoS was phenomenal, and I was crying and yelling, and I couldn't take it. I stayed up late just to finish it. Maas destroys my emotions and I'm surprised I made it through in one piece. I love the radically different characters Maas creates, let alone how strong her female characters are! She gives a whole new meaning to badass! No matter if a woman is warrior or courtesan, she is intelligent and strong. It's wonderful. Along with the male protagonists that make you swoon and jump for joy. Everyone has a place! 

I like to describe Maas as a watered down version of George RR Martin. She can be heartless in who she destroys, but I don't think she's as evil as GRRM is. She wouldn't destroy certain characters. Right, Maas? [If Maas ever sees this: please don't make me eat my words.] 

The world within the Throne of Glass books is amazing and the detail describing it gives you the ability to imagine it perfectly well in your mind and feel as though you're there with the characters. If the royal hammer wasn't so horrible in Adarlan, I'd want to live there! 

On to a certain character. Manon. I wasn't a big fan on her or her excerpts in Heir of Fire. I was a little uninterested and just wanted to get past it. Her parts were so different from Celaena's that I couldn't grasp them well enough. But after finishing QoS, I really do love Manon and cannot wait to see what's in store for her in the future! She isn't as heartless and evil as she may want everyone to think. Please give me more Manon, along with her kitten of a wyvern, Abraxos. 

Despite giving this book five stars and raving about it, I will admit to its flaws. I love you, Sarah, but we have to cover all the bases here! If you haven't read it yet, I will hide all spoilers and if you want to read them, you can highlight the hidden text. First off, I won't count as spoilers! I love Chaol. He's been one of my favorite characters from the beginning; stern and serious male characters are my kryptonite. Though, throughout QoS, Chaol just seemed a little too broody and depressed for my taste, even after the events at the end of Heir of Fire. I felt as though his character undeveloped. I will admit though, he got better towards the end of QoS. Second off, Celaena, or how we now know her to be, Aelin, just seemed more bloodthirsty than her usual self. Too kill-happy. I know she's Aelin, but finding out what you truly are doesn't change who you are. 

This next bit is spoiler-y, so I'll hide it. As I said, highlight the text to see it! I love Rowan's character, really loved him in Heir of Fire! I personally never saw anything romantic between him and Aelin, though I do know that a portion of the Throne of Glass series fans did, and really loved them to be a couple. "Shipping" them. I'm more of a Chaolaena fan. I have been. The romantic relationship between Aelin and Rowan, I have no problem with it. If it makes Aelin happy, so be it [but girl, please, I love me some Chaol]! It just seemed that the romance experienced between Rowan and Aelin in this installment was rushed and sloppy. First, nothing in Heir of Fire, then BAM! Rowan is so in love with Aelin and has to hold himself back. I'd have less of a problem with their romantic relationship if it was eased into a bit more. End of spoiler-y bits. 

But in the end, I really do appreciate this book and will continue on through the end of Maas's plan of six books! As long as I can survive the wait between books. I highly recommend this series to anyone who likes action, romance, and epic fantasy. You will love it, so go buy it right now!

Before You Break by Christina Lee

1/5 stars

Main character Ella lost her brother in high school and that has inspired her to pursue a career in psychology, and in college she works on a suicide prevention hotline. Daniel Quinn is depressed and emotional over what happened to his best friend, and calls the hotline. Neither Ella nor Quinn know it's someone they know on the other line, but they're falling hard for each other outside of the hotline.

I just really didn't like this book very much. The story could be interesting and it could have gone very well, but Lee didn't put much into it. I felt like the story went way to quickly and nothing really developed. Basically, it was insta-love. Quinn is immediately has the hots for Ella and it's same for her. There was no building in the relationship. And it was as if Joel, Ella's boyfriend, was just there for kicks; he could have been taken completely out of the story and it would have been exactly the same. 

The language used was also ridiculous. Ella's girlfriends would call her "bitch" as a nickname. No one does that! Along with terms used such as "bud[s]" and "very stiff". 

I also felt as though Quinn's emotions were just too extreme. Everything he did and felt were extreme, from happiness to sadness to depression or anger. He was too much the "good guy". But what I really disagreed with was the whole "bring out my inner caveman" and a sense of ownership over Ella. That isn't very good guy in my book. 

This book held some potential and could have been a great story, but in my opinion, Lee didn't put enough into it and ruined this story of Ella and Quinn. I couldn't follow the plot because it was all over the place and each rising action rose quickly and dropped like a roller coaster going down. The story was immediately entered and there was little to no exposition. 

I don't recommend this book to anyone unless you like cheesy stories. They by all means, go read it! 

Just wasn't my type of book!