Review - Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

Series: Throne of Glass (#5) 

Genre: Fantasy

Age Group: Young Adult

Hardcover - 693pgs

Source: Purchased 

Published - 2016

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Rating: 3/5

The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius as war looms on the horizon. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those who don't.


With her heart sworn to the warrior-prince by her side, and her fealty pledged to the people she is determined to save, Aelin will delve into the depths of her power to protect those she loves. But as monsters emerge from the horrors of the past, and dark forces become poised to claim her world, the only chance for salvation will lie in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

So just a few things that were good. I like that we continue to learn about the world and the people who live on the continent. It was interesting to see the dynamic between magical and non-magical people now that the magic has been released. I like how random characters turn up again.

HOWEVER. I was frustrated and really disapointed by this book. I have left this book languishing on my shelf for years because I've heard a lot of mixed things and if I wasn't already five books in, I would probably give up on this series. As it is, I only have two more books and I'm too invested in Manon and Lyssandra to give up now.

I'm disappointed we focused so heavily on the romance during this book. Here's the real question though, why? I loved Maas's focus on the romance aspects of A Court of Mist and Fury. She does write interesting characters and creates sexual tension. So why did I hate it in this series?

Because it got in the way of the plot and the character development.

This series is volatile and we are leading up to great violence and battle, I expect, for the last book. However, everyone in this book is focused on sex and romance when many of them never were before? Several of them have survived trauma, but they are focused on romance? The plot doesn't advance very far. We once again spend most of the book traveling and being confused how Aelin will defeat the Valg.

I was unimpressed and seriously disappointed. Characters can be friends, they can work together and they can travel in mixed company without falling in love. Friendship is a real thing.

Also every relationship is a hertosexual one. Maas did mention one gay relationship and one character who could be bisexual. However, those felt like Maas throwing a bone to the LGBT community. None of those relationships are written on the page or currently happening in the series. Both instances were only mentioned in passing. Again, not impressed.

The ending also felt so much like her other series. The format and plot points seemed very similar. Throughout the book the tension and build up felt incredibly similar to ACOMAF. The plot points weren't the same, but the way they were written and the big reveals were very similar. Because her characters have escaped some nasty circumstances before, I'm not worried going into this last book based on what I've read from her before.

Overall, while I like many of the characters (Lyssandra, Manon & Elide especially) I'm really frustrated with this series. I'm hoping Tower of Dawn will redeem a few of these flaws for me, but I'm not expecting it to be different as far as romance goes.

My Review of ⇨ The Diviners by Libba Bray

Review - An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors by Curtis Craddock

Series: The Risen Kingdoms #1
Genre: High Fantasy
Age Group: Adult
Hardcover - 416pgs
Source: Library Book
Publication: 2017
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Rating: 4/5

In a world of soaring continents and bottomless skies, where a burgeoning new science lifts skyships into the cloud-strewn heights and ancient blood-borne sorceries cling to a fading glory, Princess Isabelle des Zephyrs is about to be married to a man she has barely heard of, the second son of a dying king in an empire collapsing into civil war.

Born without the sorcery that is her birthright but with a perspicacious intellect, Isabelle believes her marriage will stave off disastrous conflict and bring her opportunity and influence. But the last two women betrothed to this prince were murdered, and a sorcerer-assassin is bent on making Isabelle the third. Aided and defended by her loyal musketeer, Jean-Claude, Isabelle plunges into a great maze of prophecy, intrigue, and betrayal, where everyone wears masks of glamour and lies. Step by dangerous step, she unravels the lies of her enemies and discovers a truth more perilous than any deception.

What brought this novel to my attention was a very interesting combination of genres and elements. I stayed because our heroine, Isabelle, and a fantasy world based on France and Spain. Though France and Spain are still solidly in the Western world, this story had a different flavor than many of the high fantasy stories I've read.

Overall I really enjoyed the story and I was really impressed by the way the story wove together. I adored how the magical, religious and political elements were all important parts of the plot and they were well balanced. Isabelle and Jean-Claude needed to unravel the complex mystery of this story by using both of their strengths and I really enjoyed their relationship. They worked together well and switching between their perspectives was effective and well done. 

Where this novel loses points is the pacing. The plot is incredibly slow at the beginning. There is a huge focus on the religious and geographical aspects of the world building. Combined with the descriptive language, the story took awhile to get off the ground. The plot is little like stone rolling down a hill. It is slow to start but accelerates almost out of control at the end. Overall, a little more balance would have been appreciated.

As I am an able-bodied person, I cannot speak to the representation of disability in this novel. I appreciated that Isabelle was portrayed as comfortable with herself and unfazed by others' reactions or views of her. There are moments where Isabelle's interactions with other people with disabilities are a bit clunky. However, her examinations of her own prejudices and assumption was an interesting commentary.

So far I've only found one review by a disabled review which you can check out here.

On the whole, this was an excellent debut and I'm really excited to see what direction the next book will take.

My Last Review ---> An Unsuitable Heir by KJ Charles 

Review - The Sumage Solution by G.L. Carriger

Series: San Andreas Shifters Series #1
Genre: Urban Fantasy 
Age Group: Adult
Ebook - 314 pgs
Source: Overdrive
Published: 2017
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Rating: 4/5

Max fails at magic, relationships, and life. So he works as a sumage, cleaning up other mages’ messes. The job sucks and he’s in no mood to cope with redneck biker werewolves. Unfortunately, there’s something irresistible about the sexy muscled Beta visiting his office for processing.

Bryan is gay but he’s not out. There’s a good chance Max might be reason enough to leave the closet, if he can only get the man to go on a date.

Everyone knows werewolves hate mages, but Bryan is determined to prove everyone wrong, even the mage in question.

NYT bestseller Gail Carriger, writing as G. L. Carriger, presents an offbeat gay romance in which a sexy werewolf with a white knight complex meets a bad boy mage with an attitude problem. Sparks (and other things) fly.


This story contains M/M sexitimes and horrible puns. If you get offended easily, then you probably will. The San Andreas Shifter stories include blue language, dirty deeds, and outright admiration for the San Francisco Bay Area. Not for the faint of heart/mouth/tongue…

During the course of the past few years I have devoured a majority of Gail Carriger's books. Her blend of historical fiction, paranormal, and romance work very well for me and make the novels fly by. I love the characters and the witty banter that many of them have. She represents racial and gender diversity in the historical setting and overall I just adore her books. 

                   

Today though, I wanted to talk about her contemporary M/M adult romance.  I loved this book. It was finished in just one sitting. The story is fast paced, the plot is addictive, and the characters are fantastic. Even though it is different than Carriger's other books (obviously since it is an adult  contemporary romance) it has a lot of the elements about her other YA books that I love so much like funny snarky banter and loveable side characters.

My only problem with this book was the world building. I was very confused by the magic system Max was a part of. Overall, the focus was on the romance, but I needed more information about Max's magic. This was also a problem because understanding the magic is essential to understand the climax of the book. So I feel like I missed something at the end of this book.

While I had an issue understanding the magic, the romance was built up very nicely. The conflict between Max and Bryan felt real and a deeper issue. The problem needed to be addressed for both characters and it didn't feel like something that was made up for drama or to keep them apart. Their relationship didn't feel forced and their chemistry was great. I loved them and I could gush about them.

I'm hoping to reread this before the next book comes out. If that doesn't resolve my confusion, I really hope the second book will clear up the world building issues and give a more detailed explanation of the magic.  

My Last Review - An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors

Bookshelf Reorganization Footage

When I moved into my new house, I had grand plans of filming my bookshelf reorganization and having my bookshelves look amazing. None of that happened. I filmed the process, but I don't love how my shelves turned out and the footage didn't turn out well because the lighting was difficult to manage. So, here's some footage of me putting books away, but this will probably change in a few months and, hopefully, I'll like it more then!

Have you ever moved and reorganized your shelves? How did you find an order you liked? Did you need to reorganize more than once?

May Book Haul

Look! It is a May Book Haul. Its been missing for a while. I meant to upload this in June, but I was busy and it was lost in my computer. Luckily, I haven't purchased anything in June and I'm doing my best not to buy any other books in July either. Check out what I picked up in May!

Mid-Year Freak Out Tag

Once again it is time to do the Mid-Year Freak Out Tag. This is one of my favorite tags to do each year. I love to look back at how things have gone during the first half of the year. 

It has been an interesting reading year so far and I can't wait to read more! 

Readathon Schedule for July 2018

Happy July! I am really excited to be participating in several readathons this month. Even though this is my busiest month of the year, I also go on vacation to the beach so I'm going to do my best to participate in all of them. 

If you have any questions about the rules of the readathons or what types of challenges they entail, check out the links below the calendar. 

Tome Topple

30 Day Book Binge

Biannual Bibliothon

24 in 48

June Wrap Up

What a month! June has been a wild and crazy ride from start to finish.


So what did I read? I picked up a few things this month, but I didn't have time to read very much. While there is a lot on my shelves that I want to read, nothing really grabbed me until I had a spontaneous four day weekend. With a little more time to myself, and a bath, I was finally able to really sink my teeth into a few books. If you want to see how that weekend went, check out my reading vlog.

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After that weekend, I was off to the races and finished three books before the end of the month which brought my total to five. Although this isn't my best reading month, I really enjoyed what I read and finally felt like I got back in the swing of things. To check out my thoughts on what I read see my June Wrap Up.

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I also reviewed one of my favorite books of the year in June on the blog: 

The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal by KJ Charles

This story involves two men who hunt down ghosts together. One of them is the ghost hunter while the other is his chronicler though these two are also lovers in a magical and historical London. I mentioned it involves ghosts, but it also brings mystery, scandal and sexy times. Sound interesting? Check out more of my thoughts. 

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June has been a lot of fun and I spent a lot of time hanging out with friends as well as getting back into playing video games. I mentioned that reading hasn't been going as well. Instead I've been hanging out with two of my friends at a new restaurant we've found. The place rotates beers after they finish one keg so we like to try new things when they sound interesting. It has been a lot of fun and we've spent a lot of time on their patio as well!

I also finished Bioshock 2 and Bioshock Infinite this month. While I'm excited that I've finally finished the trilogy, I don't think I was as blown away by Infinite as some other people were. Personally, I enjoyed the first two more, but I like Atlantis stories a lot. 

Something else I've been doing other than reading is watching NCIS. I watched reruns of this show a lot a few years ago when they were on the USA channel, but I never was caught up on the show. I started it from the beginning on Netflix about a week ago and I watched the entire first season already. I'm really excited to continue on with it. It is the perfect balance of familiar and new since I've watched quite a few of them before, but I forget the details. 

Anyway that was my June. How did things go for you this month? Did you finish all the books you wanted to or did you get sidetracked by other things like me?