Sarah J. Maas – Re-Read Fest

12th Apr 2021 belleinpagesLeave a comment

“To whatever end,” he whispered. Silver lined her eyes. “To whatever end.”

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas is the final instalment in the loooong, looong, loong, long storyline of Aelin Ashryver ~~Whitethorn~~ Galathynius and her band of pals all trying to get her on the throne. Basically. It was, in so many ways, the conclusion we all wanted. In other ways, it was not. This is an absolute mammoth of a book. It is so, so long. Now, I don’t mind that, usually. When I do mind it, is when a book could have been a bit shorter with a bit more critical editing. And as much as I love the world S. J. Maas has built and the narrative she has grown here, it needed that critical editing. For starters – there were definitely some typos in my copy of the book…

All that being said, I did cry multiple times reading this, had a wee giggle and numerous gazing out the windows trying to imagine certain conversations/dialogue/moments between the characters. Don’t trick yourself, we all do it. As with the other S J Maas books, this one lacked some major diversity and ‘shaking things up’ in the way of romantic interests. WHY is everyone getting married at 18/19/20/21?! WHY can anyone who is not portrayed as heterosexual only be bisexual, rather than homosexual? Weird.

But, again, all that being said, I don’t think this actually requires a long review. If you have started the Throne of Glass series, it is well worth persevering and reading the entire thing. And you wouldn’t be picking up this book unless you had already come that far. Every loose end is tied up within this. The pages are teeming with emotion, tensions are high and expectations both built and shattered. Every hinted story throughout the previous books has lead somewhere, and the majority of those ‘somewheres’ are very satisfying.

Aelin/Celaena is a fantastic heroine and arguably my favourite of all time (YES – even better than Feyre… if you know, you know). Her coined ‘motto’ of “will not yield” is really just all-encompassing of the characterisation, and as a now 24 year old, I wish wish WISH I had discovered her earlier so my younger self could have looked to her and used her as inspiration for how I should be living my life. Although, 24 year old Annabelle also learned a major thing or two and I will probably carry them with me forever. The other female characters within this also make a very worthy statement in terms of powerful protagonists and heroines, and for that, I would highly recommend this book to any young women, or men, who are looking to feel inspired, challenged and empowered by a series.

Also – this. This is the quote.

Aelin walked forward. Took Yrene Westfall by the hand to guide her to the front. Then Manon Blackbeak. Elide Lochan. Lysandra. Evangeline. Nesryn Faliq. Borte and Hasar and Ansel of Briarcliff. All the women who had fought by her side, or from afar. Who had bled and sacrificed and never given up hope that this day might come. “Walk with me,” Aelin said to them, the men and males falling into step behind. “My friends.”

Again, a wee PSA for you all though – this final book, and the past 3 probably are not YA anymore. No shockers there, this has a lot of romance in it and all the other parts of relationships that come with that. Tastefully done.

A definite 4 out of 5. The only thing that would have made this stronger is, yep. You guessed it! A near 1000 page book does not excuse bad editing!

Belle xo

Re-Read

Heir of Fire // Sarah J. Maas – Re-Read Fest

29th May 202023rd May 2020 belleinpagesLeave a comment

“She would light up the darkness, so brightly that all who were lost or wounded or broken would find their way to it, a beacon for those who still dwelled in that abyss. It would not take a monster to destroy a monster—but light, light to drive out darkness.”

Heir of Fire presented us with the magical world of Wendlyn, Doranelle and Rowan Whitethorn’s angst. What a dreamboat. It’s pretty obvious, following the events of Crown of Midnight, that Rowan has been brought into the mix as Celaena’s complete mirror reflection. He’s the new male protagonist (although there are many) and matches her word for word, strength for strength, weakness for weakness.

A running theme in S. J. Maas’ characterisation – Rowan has his own demons and these dictate and guide his actions. As the audience, we are also all still reeling after THAT plot twist/name reveal at the end of the previous book, and this novel provides clarity and closure to that. Celaena’s development throughout the entire series so far is pretty impressive but this is the most personal and defining we have seen so far.

We receive continuous perspective changes throughout this which is effective but slightly confusing. You really need to focus for this one. New characters are introduced (Manon Blackbeak; Elide Lochan; Aedion Ashryver) and their movements in both Ardalan and a shiny (or should I say, bleak) new setting, Morath, are smattered throughout Celaena’s progressive transformation alongside Rowan in Wendlyn. Dorian and Chaol also have altered perspectives throughout this and you can really feel the tension beginning to build up in preparation for what is bound to be a big finale.

All in all, really enjoyable and a solid 3 stars (in comparison to the other books within the Throne of Glass series). My appetite has been wetted and I’m excited to see where these lot go next!

Once again, READ THIS SERIES.

Book Reviews

Imagine Me // Tahereh Mafi

29th Apr 202029th Apr 2020 belleinpagesLeave a comment

Imagine me
master of my own universe
I am everything I ever dreamed of

Well. This is it. The final instalment. The end of an era. I think it’s probably wise to tell you my relationship with the Shatter Me series by Tareheh Mafi before I go into the review for this; as it made this reading all the more poignant. This is a v quick review because, I’ll be honest, I don’t want to make this too spoiler-heavy nor do I have that much to actually say about it.

I put off starting Shatter Me and the subsequent books for a long, long time. I think I fell victim to the negative Goodreads reviews and didn’t want to put myself through reading it. But then I read it and wished I had picked it up sooner. To fully appreciate Imagine Me, please PLEASE read the other books in this series beforehand. They all feed into each other; they are all necessary to get this as a final piece of written work for Juliette; Warner; Kenji and so on. I was sad to end my time with these characters; and was equally as sad and disappointed with this final instalment. (Eek! Controversial).

I think Imagine Me was always going to struggle to deliver the same way, emotionally, as the other books. Such a momentum had been built in the run up to this with the events of Ignite Me and Defy Me, that I do appreciate that it would have been tricky to keep the interest peaked. But it definitely felt like this was the nicey-nice round-off that Juliette and Warner deserved; but as readers – did we NEED it?!

Warner was virtually non-existent in this book. Dealing with the loss of Juliette, Warner slips into a depressive state and is the nasty piece of work he was depicted as in the first couple books. He was having a hard time. Juliette was also present in this but only ever-so-slightly more than Warner, having been kidnapped and basically altered scientifically to do dirty work for her enemies.

Kenji was the definite star of the show here – and the majority of the book was from his perspective. He came into his own and I was sad when the book finished, because I felt like in all the other books we had been a bit cheated of Kenji and he didn’t have enough pages-time.

All in all, I will give Imagine Me 4 out of 5 stars, but I think at least one of those is just for nostalgic value and the emotions you feel when you realise you have officially closed the door on a set of characters that you have come to love. So it’s more likely a 3 star book. When the ending came, I was left feeling a bit – “That was it?!” It felt incredibly rushed and sort of as if not that much actually happened throughout the novel?

Warner and Juliette, as always, were pretty cutesy. But I wanted more PASSION.

Emmaline’s storyline made me cry.

Kenji is king.

Will definitely re-read this and wallow in Shatter Me memories though.

What did you lovely lot think?

A xo

Book Reviews

The Queen’s Wing // Jessica Thorne

10th Apr 202010th Apr 2020 belleinpagesLeave a comment

“Born to fly isn’t strictly true, of course. I’d been born, if anything, to be a very minor game piece in the interstellar games of houses and bloodlines, married to someone the Empire or my family deemed suitable or at least convenient. I’ve never been one for living under illusions. I can still hope however. My main hope is that I am just not that important.”

When I first began this book, I was elated and excited, I’ll confess. 99p on the Kindle store?! Royalty and a sci-fi vibe? An obvious romance and relationship development from the get go? A Powerful female protagonist? SIGN ME UP.

I devoured the first 50% of this book. It was fast-paced, engaging, and the world-building was magnificent. The characterisation left something to be desired, apart from Bel, I felt that the two main male love interests where a bit gappy and transparent – they held no real ‘content’?

I loved the transition of Bel’s character in line with the different settings she encountered. I LOVED the sci-fi element of this, and the notion of a warrior princess to be queen. She wants to be a soldier and won’t let anyone tell her no? YES?! This is the sort of female character I’m here for!!!
(I’ll admit that this is a frequent character cocktail for ya fantasy and sci-fi, but Jessica Thorne did well with her female character.)

The second half of this book, though? Meh. What happened, you ask? Not much. There was some semblance of conflict, rebellious occupation, but nothing that made my heart race or blood boil! I didn’t really care that there had been an overthrowing by their rival race. And I should have. With a good book, you always should. The ending was also a bit… for want of a better word.. half-arsed? It felt rushed and a bit cliche. I saw every plot-turn coming from about 50 pages away.

As it was so cheap and not an overly coveted fan-favourite as of yet – I won’t overly complain. I’ll definitely give it another chance and re-read it, because it was good, but it just wasn’t GREAT! The 2nd book in this series, The Stone’s Heart, is already out and I’ll pick it up when I feel ready to engage in this story again. If it is of the same nature then it’ll be a worthwhile read, but not my most anticipated…

Interested to hear what others thought of this?
A xo

Book Reviews

The Crown // Keira Cass

27th Mar 202028th Mar 2020 belleinpagesLeave a comment

Just a 5 minute review today, folks.

V fluffy. So cute. 3 stars. Out of the whole The Selection series, this was definitely the weakest. I dunno, I found Eadlyn hard to like and constantly getting on my nerves. I know they tried to do some character development with her but she was ultimately still a bit of a brat?

Certain points of this felt a bit rushed and I feel like Eadlyn’s selection and story could have also spanned 3 novels just like her mother and father’s did. There was definitely enough potential plot to beef that out. That’s a shortcoming for this, as I feel Keira Cass really missed an opportunity to get some more character development for both the Elite and Maxon and America.

Also – potential spin-off for Ahren and Camille? No? At the end of the day, I’ve been a huge fan of The Selection series since it came out and can’t believe it took me so long to read this finale! I will always, always hold this series as one of the first, OG successful dystopian concepts and trilogy (that then became a series). I love the world, I love the concept of The Selection process and a society where there is a monarchy and caste system etc. (Love in the sense that, I enjoy reading about it…)

The final twist of who Eadlyn ended up with was FAR TOO RUSHED and a bit of an insta-love, although any declarations of feelings from protagonists that had only had a 2 book lead up to describe and illustrate and entire competition that determines a victor to marry a princess/queen would be far too rushed. I like who ended up with Eadlyn though.

All in all, The Selection Series: The Selection, The Elite, The One, The Heir, and The Crown are all worth a read. Just don’t pick up the series for this book. You will probably feel a bit underwhelmed, at least with Eadlyn’s story, byt the end of it. America and Maxon are the true reason anybody invests their reading time here.

I mean – just look at them!!

https://colourofmagic.tumblr.com/post/189042588055/something-to-hold-on-to-for-the-king-maxon

Book Reviews

Chain of Gold // Cassandra Clare

11th Mar 202028th Mar 2020 belleinpagesLeave a comment

The point of stories is not that they are objectively true, but that the soul of the story is truer than reality. Those who mock fiction do so because they fear the truth.

[POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD]

Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare (CC), the first instalment into her new The Last Hours series, is one of those books that will go down within my reading memory and history as a totally encapsulating, awe-inducing story. I loved it. I don’t know how to really put into words how much I loved it. 5 out of 5 x 100 times. Do not overlook this book and the chance to read it, grab it by the horns and fill your boots! It was a wild ride.

Built upon the foundations of Cassandra Clare’s The Infernal Devices stories; showcasing the Shadowhunters within Victorian London, this took it one step further. Not only did the main protagonists of TID feature heavily, AS PARENTS (!!!) but time had moved onto the Edwardian period of history, in London. Now, I am Scottish. I am from the UK. I’m well accustomed with the time period of Victorian/Edwardian London. My parents’ house is an Edwardian manse. It is as romantic and traditional in its historical teachings as CC portrayed, and so for that, I tip my hat to her. It can’t be ignored that she has taken liberties with certain elements, however this is to be expected since it is a fantasy book – and I think even with those she did it successfully. Her world-building, contributing to what she had presented within TID, was on the mark and fully immersive.

I’ve seen a lot of reviews on this already raising that they didn’t enjoy the over-explanation of Shadowhunters as a race; their meaning; purpose; relationships etc. I personally don’t feel that this was an issue?! Having recently re-read (for the umpteenth time) The Mortal Instruments which was CC’s first endeavour into the Shadowhunter universe, the explanations and fortifications of info was much heavier within those novels in comparison to TLH. If anything, I felt that the slight lacking of explanations of these things makes it slightly inaccessible to readers to the book who haven’t read anything of the various CC series beforehand. As someone who has read EVERY SINGLE BOOK by here ever, I had no issues. Anyone else?

The characters within this were fantastic: in-depth, well thought out, descriptive and unequivocally human. But, my god, there were A LOT. I felt exhausted half the time just trying to keep up with them. Although this book was large, I don’t think it was large enough for all of the perspectives being thrown at us. It’s fast-paced-ness also meant that I was frequently flicking back and forth between pages; trying to remember who was who to which characters and whose parents were who and whose relationships were forming or breaking down and built on what. Bear this in mind, content-wise this is not a difficult read, but complexity of characters-wise, it is a bit gruelling. You have to be very switched on. Herondales, Carstairs’, Lightwoods, Cartwrights, Blackthorns, Fairchilds…. A lot of big Shadowhunter names and a lot of cousins, brothers, sisters, mums, dads, aunts, uncles. Sometimes I was trying to make sure that there was nothing incestuous going on with the relationships…

The MAIN foursome protagonists (and the ones I was most interested in) were James, Lucie, Cordelia and Matthew. I loved them. James Herondale – new Shadowhunter poster boy – is my jam. Yes. Matthew is the typical best friend struggling with his inner demons, Lucie and Cordelia the heroines you don’t realise you need until you see them. James and Cordelia’s budding romance features the most heavily and I loved it, but I wanted MORE LUCIE AND MATTHEW. PLEASE. I can only hope they’ll have more front-and-centre time within the next novel. Cordelia was a force to be reckoned with, and if you have read CC’s other series, The Dark Artifices, then you will get series Emma Carstairs vibes. This was fine, because they are essentially within the same ancestral tree, however it is slight character regurgitation, no? Just to be watched.

My one area of particular annoyance was towards the end of the novel. There seems to be a potential love triangle surfacing… I do not want it. I can only hope that it’s to be short-lived, because I think that will put a real dampener on other elements of the series for me.

I was pleasantly surprised by how ANOTHER facet of the Shadowhunter world became apparent – in the form of James’ Shadow realm and ability to access the Demon World. Also – Tessa’s dad is a Prince of Hell?! PLOT TWIST. The cliff-hanger at the end clinched it for me to. I am very excited to see where the next installment of this goes.

Really, really good. If you are a fan of YA Fantasy – this is definitely one for your list. Although if you’re a YA Fantasy fan then I doubt you’ve not had this on your list already…

What are your thoughts on Cassandra Clare’s latest novel? Let me know!

A xo

Book Reviews

The Royal Companion // Tanya Bird

9th Feb 202020th Feb 2020 belleinpagesLeave a comment

I know nothing about war, but I understand grief. I know it extinguishes everything else, even victory I imagine.’ She twisted a piece of his hair and let it go. ‘How odd it must be to return home a hero and be confronted with celebration while grieving.’ She slipped her hand into his. ‘How ludicrous you must find the feasting as you count the empty chairs before you.

This is a quick one but felt it deserved a wee review cause I think… This is my favourite book so far of 2020. I know. I’m surprised too – relatively unknown and not a cult following fantasy read; but I just couldn’t put it down!

WOAH. This did a total 180 on me. Started incredibly slowly and I struggled to keep interest, however it definitely picked up by about a 1/3 of the way through. This is definitely a romance front and centre, so don’t assume anything else when you pick this up.

Some of the perspectives are a bit *ahem* sexist and degrading to women but I think this is the entire point and helps to present the contrast between the main character and her love interest nicely – in both senses of the word they are looking for the opposite of what ‘royal society’ is constraining and categorising them to.

My one bug-bear is that the world-building and characterisation is a bit empty… A lot more could have been done with this to help the story develop and help the reader become fully immersed within the read. That being said, some of the writing was truly beautiful and had me pause after reading (like the quote above) and think, “huh.”

For a free book on Kindle it is definitely worth a read – and there are loads more in the series! However, I feel I have been trapped as all others are £4 (Still cheap but now I need to buy them ALL to follow what happens next).

TOP 10

TOP 10 OTP’s

3rd Feb 202028th Mar 2020 belleinpagesLeave a comment

I couldn’t not kick this off with indulging in my romantic self, could I?! OTP’s, also known as ‘One True Pairing’ are a derivative of ‘ships’. They are crucial to a successful romance story. And often the reason why I keep going back to a book series for the next installment. See below for my Top 10 so far – in no particular order. (Potential spoilers and artist credits have been applied where possible).

Feyre & Rhysand

I mean, are we really surprised? Feyre and Rhysand from Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses series are the ultimate enemy-to-lovers paradigm. And I love it!

Warner and Juliette

Another classic enemy-to-lover story, Warner and Juliette from Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi are, quite frankly, stunning. Their relationship blossoms over the course of the Shatter Me storyline and is empirical to both Warner and Juliette’s character development.

Thomas Cresswell & Audrey-Rose Wadsworth

Ooft. The Stalking Jack the Ripper series by Kerri Maniscalo was definitely one that got me out of a reading slump and I think it is all down to these two. The whole series is fab and all the better for them being in it.

Cresswell and Wadsworth – *Morgana0anagrom*

Adam & Ronan

From the moment these two were introduced I knew there was more than meets the eye… and there was! Just love them. The perfect contrasting couple from the most FANTASTIC YA fantasy series – The Raven Cycle.

Aelin and Rowan

Another on SJM couple – are you shocked, yet? There may be a theme here… I love Aelin and Rowan. ULTIMATE power couple. Their love stroy is a bit less mature than that shown within ACOTAR, however nonetheless gorgeous. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, READ THRONE OF GLASS.

Lou Le Blanc & Reid Diggory

A pretty fresh one for me, but Lou and Reid were the OTP I never knew I wanted (or needed!) I feel like Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin is one of those new cult classics within the fantasy genre and Lou and Reid’s relationship is just, lovely.

Thorne and Cress

From Marissa Meyer’s fairytale retelling bonanza series The Lunar Chronicles Thorne and Cress were the all-reigning couple that stole my heart! There were a lot of relationships going on in this series, and I did enjoy the development of all, but I think they get the ticket. Also a sci-fi series rather than fantasy made a nice change – I’m trying to expand!

Cartier & Brienna

I feel like The Queen’s Rising series doesn’t have the attention it so, SO deserves…! Cartier and Brienna’s relationship is fantastic, and their character writing is truly stunning. Brienna is defo the sassy heroine we should all aspire to be more like!

Mare & Cal

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard was the first book I read post-uni; the first one I read for leisure rather than essays, anyway! Mare and Cal (and actually Mare and Maven)’s turbulent relationship(s) made for a wild ride, and their story was pretty intense…

Fitzwilliam Darcy & Elizabeth Bennett

My forever favourite novel and pairing – Darcy and Bennett from Pride & Prejudice are the romance I have always wished for and think I have now found! It was a slow start for them but they got there in the end and Austen’s writing makes it magical when they do get together.

That’s it! Who are your all-time favourite OTP’s? I’m almost looking for new stories and romances to dig my teeth into so let me know!

Annabelle xo