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The Crimson Crown (Seven Realms #4) by Cinda Williams Chima

March 26, 2016 / Anna

The Crimson Crown (Seven Realms #4)
by Cinda Williams Chima
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
(...)

A simple, devastating truth concealed by a thousand-year-old lie at last comes to light in this stunning conclusion to the Seven Realms series.

✨ Spoiler free for the whole series ✨

LOOK OUT, FANTASY WRITERS! SEE THIS BOOK?

*pushes The Crimson Crown in your hands*

SEE THIS?

LOOK AT IT! JUST LOOK AT IT!

This is how you end a series : BLOODY. FABULOUS.

WHY? WHAT DO WE READERS WANT?

Alright. I can think of some things :

1) WE ARE OUT FOR BLOOD. SO. We need IN YOUR FACE! moments with the villains and all those who annoyed the hell out of us. Yes, this is MUCH needed. Nothing’s worst than anticlimactic confrontations. Give us GIDDINESS.

2) If you want to give us a romance, PLEASE SLOW DOWN, because the butterflies, here? They would never have had the same impact if not for the wait. My ship made me suffer along the way, but it paid up x1000.

3) NO NEED FOR CARDBOARD PEOPLE. Give us fleshed-out and interesting secondary characters – some we love to hate and other we’d defend with our *fictional* life.

4) We also need EPIC ENDINGS. No Mockingjay “I don’t know if my ship really sailed or what”. No dull as hell temporizing like In The Afterlight (I know, I gave it 5 stars at the time… I wouldn’t now, honestly). The last book should always be the BEST of the series. If you want 600 pages of great battles, though, look elsewhere. This is not what it is about and I’m so glad it isn’t. Alright, it is fairly predictable, but again, I. Don’t. Care. Any book that manages to engross me like this deserves its 5 stars. Now, maybe I’m bewitched, and many readers will argue that nothing really happens and … you know what? Perhaps that’s just the point. It is not so easy to bewitch me, if I dare say.

5) Last but not least, you wouldn’t want us to be disappointed in our main characters now would you? Take 3 stereotypes and call it a hero? Use idiotic misunderstandings to drive them through a painful joke of character development? NOPE. You do NOT want this. Try this instead : give us flawed characters in whom we can believe. Now make them grow. Then again. Then again. Now perhaps, if you’re lucky, you’ll have Raisa and Han – I just freaking LOVE them. Here are characters who know what that means to have a backbone.

Of course The Crimson Crown passed all these tests with flying colors.

Damn, I’m exhausted, I just know that a huge book hangover is coming, but it was so worth it.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Fire and Thorns #1) by Rae Carson

March 25, 2016 / Anna

The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Fire and Thorns #1)
by Rae Carson
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.
Elisa is the chosen one.

But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can't see how she ever will.

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he's not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people's savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.

Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.

Most of the chosen do.

All in all incredibly underwhelming and somewhat both idiotic and infuriating. Trust me, I would love to tell you that my distaste only revolves around personal matters – as a strong case of “it’s not the book but me”, let’s say – but in all honesty, I really don’t think that and the problems I had with The Girl of Fire and Thorns were way too numerous to be left ignored.

“You must not lose faith, child. No matter what. Do not doubt God or his choosing of you. He knows infinitely more than we can imagine.”

The Girl of Fire and Thorns can be considered as fast-paced, if you don’t mind following characters you don’t care about ← I do mind. You know what I also mind? When quantity prevails over quality. Hé, sure, I cannot deny how action-packed the story is but I’d rather read about few in-depth plot points than a succession of superficial twists, because you know what? Wandering around (even in an active fashion) is plain boring all the same. Had the characters stand still for more than 5 pages, perhaps I would have been able to start feeling something. Sadly I didn’t.

Many of my friends loved this book, and because I am naturally trustful (alright, maybe not), I kept reading when I wanted to DNF the hell out of it around 40%. Did it pay off? Huh, not really. Although the plot does pick up in the last 30%, the way events take place stays way too convenient and simple for my liking.

Not to mention that the writing was terrible, and by that I don’t mean grammatical mistakes (there are none that I noticed) – No, I mean that everything was told to me and never ever shown.

True story : My favorite character is a 5 years-old boy whose appearance doesn’t last more than 5 pages. Huh-oh, I may have a problem here. Truth be told, none of these characters were rage-inducing. Nah. They were too busy wandering around, bland and flat as fuck.

First of all, I’m not sure how Elisa avoided to be called on her Mary Sue status. Is it because she’s fat and YA books tend to consider overweight as a synonym of ugly? The girl is God chosen, for crying out loud. Oh, she tells us that she’s useless, but then she tells us so many things, I LOST COUNT. Really, though? She gives war advices that get everyone happy, does wonders with children – she even spreads martyr vibes at some point (but on that aspect she improves, woot!).

I didn’t hate Elisa, because I didn’t care enough to do so, but it doesn’t mean that I liked the way her characterization was handled.

In my opinion, she conveys a disturbing and infuriating portray of overweight. Look, at first I was really happy to finally see a YA heroine who isn’t strikingly beautiful, skinny, and white. So much wasted potential unfortunately. A book isn’t body positive when the MC’s growth is linked to her lost of weight and when fatness is only seen in a negative light (God forbid that a fat girl be beautiful – yes, there is a pun in there).

You gotta love pig metaphors, really.

“… as if I am a juicy pig roast garnished with pepper sauce”

Seriously. What’s up with that? Did I miss a memo? Is it considered as normal and healthy that an overweight MC – one of the only ones I met in YA – constantly self-depreciates herself? Is repeating all over again that she isn’t worthy and beautiful because she’s not thin serves some purpose I somehow didn’t grasp?

Does she ever realize that her weight – past and present – doesn’t begin to define who she is? No, and really, how could she, when the plot never lets any room for that? I do realize that self-loathing can be linked to appearances, especially during the teenage years. I just wish that this important issue had been dealt with more complexity and depth, because as it is, I cannot condone it.

Then come the male-leads. Oh my GOSH what is it with these guys?

Who the fuck is Lord Hector? His entire characterization is built around the twisting of his moustache. I KID YOU NOT.

I won’t bother talking about the weak husband View Spoiler ». Oh, oops, I just did.

Do not fear, though! Just wait and meet Humberto, the smiling, puppy-like desert man who never convinced me enough to care.

THESE ARE NOT PEOPLE.

To be fair, I did enjoy Cosmé and Ximena when they were present, but I still feel as if Rae Carson only scratched the surface of their personalities, unfortunately.

And do not get me started about these painted-faced enemies we know nothing about. As a rule, all the villains are plain EVIL, without any nuances. BO-RING.

More generally, I found two ways of dividing the whole set of characters :
Way #1 : The Fat vs. The Beautiful
Way #2 : Those who like Elisa vs. Those who don’t like Elisa

This is the extend of characterization as far as I’m concerned, and I have yet to see some dynamics in there (at this point, I’m not even asking for chemistry).

Again, a fail. Let’s talk about the religious stuff, okay? I saw many readers stating that it wasn’t Christian at all (but then why not name the god something else, and why make it seem like a Bible parable, and why add some martyr vibes, I wonder), and I’m ready to acknowledge the fact that I have literally no patience for praying and sentences like “god knows all” in my books. Granted, it irks me something fierce in Fantasy, but let’s not take my personal taste into account, okay?

Let’s forget that I had to suffer from entire paragraphs like this :

“My soul glorifies God; let rejoice in my Savior
For he has been mindful of his humble servant
Blessed am I among generations
For he lifted me from the dying world
Yea, with his righteous right hand he lifted me
He has redeemed his people, given them new life abundant
My soul glorifies God; let it rejoice in my Savior.”

(for full disclosure, I have to point that they’re in church at this moment, and this is not the MC talking, but a priest)

Let’s also not mention the constant praying, okay? It still bothers me very much. Why, you ask? Because it may be one of the LAZIEST magical system I’ve ever read about. What the fuck is this shit, really? So she prays and the God Gemstone in her belly-button helps her …. Sometimes?

REALLY?! RANDOM MUCH?! I can’t believe how easy and idiotic it makes the plot. No explanation needed – because GOD. Pl-ease. Give me a break.

▶ Sigh. I could go on and on and on, it would remain that I’m in the almost non-existent minority on this one, and sad to be. In all honesty, I know that I can enjoy YA Fantasy, even tropey – I recently read and loved the Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima. The Girl of Fire and Thorns doesn’t compare anywhere near the still predictable The Demon King. And I’m not even talking about the awesomeness of The Lumatere Chronicles.

FRIDAY STARS – Your Weekly Must Knows 03/25/16

March 25, 2016 / Jen / 0 Comments

Happy Friday! Below you will find:
Giveaways!
What we just finished and loved!
What we are planning to read next.
Upcoming releases, in the next week, that we are extremely excited about!
And of course the latest sales and freebies, which we have either read or have on our to-read lists.
♥ Enjoy!

Giveaways:

Project1 Enter to win 25 Copies of Red Rising by Pierce Brown! Click → here.

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7515df60-b549-4c76-83f0-963c1bd3a54e Enter to win a Custom Mug, $25.00 Amazon Gift Card and Print Set of FRISK ME and STEAL ME! Click → here.

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Just Finished and Loved:

Sweet Peril (The Sweet Trilogy #2) by Wendy Higgins
5 Stars! This series continues to be a favorite, and I can’t wait to see how the ending unfolds. If you are a paranormal lover, then I really think you would enjoy this series too! Jen’s Review
In the first book, Sweet Evil – What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences? This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels. Tenderhearted Southern girl Anna Whitt was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but Anna, the ultimate good girl, has always had the advantage of her angel side to balance the darkness within. It isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage and her willpower is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna. Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

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Nevermore (Nevermore #1) by Kelly Creagh
5 Stars! Omg this book…it was beyond words spectacular and out of this world amazing. Chelsea’s Review
A page-turning psychological mystery that is equal parts horror, humor, and romance, Nevermore is the story of Varen—a Poe fan and Goth—and Isobel—a cheerleader and unlikely heroine. When an English Lit. project pairs the two, Isobel finds herself swept into Varen’s world, one that he has created in his notebook and in his mind, one where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life. Isobel slowly learns that dreams and words can be much more powerful than she’d ever imagined. As labels of “Goth” and “cheerleader” fade away, Isobel and Varen slip into a consuming romance, braced against the ever-clearer horror that the most chilling realities are those within our own minds. When Isobel has a single chance to rescue Varen from the shadows of his nightmares, will she be able to save him—and herself?

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4.5 Stars: Cuff Me (New York’s Finest #3) by Lauren Layne → Chelsea’s Review

3 Stars: Yellow Brick War (Dorothy Must Die #3) by Danielle Paige → Chelsea’s Review

We also had a Top Ten Tuesday post about Books We Love But Haven’t Talked About In A While. If you missed it, check it out here.

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Reading Next:

Sweet Reckoning (The Sweet Trilogy #3) by Wendy Higgins
In the first book, Sweet Evil, What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences? This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels. Tenderhearted Southern girl Anna Whitt was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but Anna, the ultimate good girl, has always had the advantage of her angel side to balance the darkness within. It isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage and her willpower is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna. Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

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Enshadowed (Nevermore #2) by Kelly Creagh
In the first book, Nevermore,- A page-turning psychological mystery that is equal parts horror, humor, and romance, Nevermore is the story of Varen—a Poe fan and Goth—and Isobel—a cheerleader and unlikely heroine. When an English Lit. project pairs the two, Isobel finds herself swept into Varen’s world, one that he has created in his notebook and in his mind, one where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life. Isobel slowly learns that dreams and words can be much more powerful than she’d ever imagined. As labels of “Goth” and “cheerleader” fade away, Isobel and Varen slip into a consuming romance, braced against the ever-clearer horror that the most chilling realities are those within our own minds. When Isobel has a single chance to rescue Varen from the shadows of his nightmares, will she be able to save him—and herself?

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Upcoming Releases:

The Winner’s Kiss (The Winner’s Trilogy #3) by Marie Rutkoski (3/29)
The final book in the trilogy! In the first book, The Winner’s Curse, Winning what you want may cost you everything you love. They were never meant to be together. As a general’s daughter, seventeen-year-old Kestrel enjoys an extravagant and privileged life. Arin has nothing but the clothes on his back. Then Kestrel makes an impulsive decision that binds Arin to her. Though they try to fight it, they can’t help but fall in love. In order to be together, they must betray their people . . . but to be loyal to their country, they must betray each other. Set in a new world, The Winner’s Curse is a story of rebellion, duels, ballroom dances, wicked rumors, dirty secrets, and games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

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Cuff Me (New York’s Finest, #3) by Lauren Layne (3/29)
Vincent Moretti is one of the NYPD’s top homicide detectives-and one of the most eligible bachelors in town. His family, however, thinks he should date his longtime partner, Jill-a sassy, sexy, smart-mouthed blonde who drives him absolutely crazy. Behind the quiet authority, tough-guy demeanor, and dark aviator glasses lies a man with a big soul-and a hard body that can soften any girl’s heart. After years as his coworker, Jill Henley has given up hope that anything could happen between her and Vin. Besides, loving him would break all the rules. But seeing Jill with someone else triggers feelings in Vincent he never knew he had. Now he’ll have to stop playing good cop/bad cop-and find a way to convince her to be his partner for life. . .

Check out our list of upcoming releases that we can’t wait for → Click Here

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Sales:

$0.99

New Sale	5 Stars! Jen’s Review Chelsea’s Review	4 Stars! Laura’s Review

$1.99

5 Stars! Jen’s Review	4.5 Stars! Anna’s Review	4.5 Stars! Jen’s Review Chelsea’s Review
5 Stars! Cheslea’s Review Jen’s Review
4 Stars! Chelsea’s Review	4.5 Stars! Anna’s Review
4.5 Stars! Chelsea’s Review	Chelsea’s Review

$2.99

New Sale 5 Stars! Chelsea’s Review Anna’s Review	New Sale	5 Stars! Chelsea’s Review Laura’s Review
4.5 Stars! Chelsea’s Review		5 Stars! Anna’s Review Jen’s Review Chelsea’s Review
4.5 Stars! Chelsea’s Review

$3.49+

New Sale 4.5 Stars! Laura’s Review	New Sale 5 Stars! Chelsea’s Review	New Sale
4.5 Stars! Chelsea’s Review	Chelsea’s Review	5 Stars! Chelsea’s Review
4.5 Stars! Chelsea’s Review	Anna’s Review	5 Stars! Chelsea’s Review

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Freebies

4 Stars!
Anna’s Review

BOOK REVIEW: Nevermore (Nevermore #1) by Kelly Creagh

March 25, 2016 / Chelsea / 3 Comments

Nevermore (Nevermore #1)
by Kelly Creagh
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Cheerleader Isobel Lanley is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project, which is due—so unfair—on the day of the rival game. Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear he’d rather not have anything to do with her either. But when Isobel discovers strange writing in his journal, she can’t help but give this enigmatic boy with the piercing eyes another look.

Soon, Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen. Steadily pulled away from her friends and her possessive boyfriend, Isobel ventures deeper and deeper into the dream world Varen has created through the pages of his notebook, a realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life.

As her world begins to unravel around her, Isobel discovers that dreams, like words, hold more power than she ever imagined, and that the most frightening realities are those of the mind. Now she must find a way to reach Varen before he is consumed by the shadows of his own nightmares.

His life depends on it.

*VACATION REVIEW*

“Isobel?” Varen called to her in a whisper. “Hold on,” she said. “Hold on and wait. For me.” She turned away from him, toward the direction of the screaming, which came now between bursts of a pounding sound like someone beating their fists against a bolted door. She began to run. “Isobel!” “I’ll be right back, I promise!” These last words echoed through the passageway around her. I promise, she thought, repeating her vow over and over in her mind. I promise.

Omg this book…it was beyond words spectacular and out of this world amazing. I don’t know why I’ve never read this one before, but for my vacation it has been PERFECT-mesmerizing. Sitting on the beach (even at this moment), not knowing the difference between dream and reality…just breathtaking. Creepy, deep, and addicting, I am officially hooked. This series will consume my whole time in Florida lol.

The Nocs The Nocs They live in the floor The Nocs The Nocs They knock on your door The Nocs The Nocs Where there’s one, there’s more.

And Varen…just ugh. What an interesting, complex, and tortured character. I adored this book from beginning to end, and I still haven’t decided if I rated high enough. I’ll let you know, though ;). Until I post a mini-review again… Latas ♥

BOOK REVIEW: Yellow Brick War (Dorothy Must Die #3) by Danielle Paige

March 24, 2016 / Chelsea / 4 Comments

Yellow Brick War (Dorothy Must Die #3)
by Danielle Paige
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
In this dark, action-packed third book in the New York Times bestselling Dorothy Must Die series, Amy Gumm—the new girl from Kansas—must do everything in her power to save Kansas, kill Dorothy, and make Oz a free land once more.

Amy Gumm’s mission to take down Dorothy Gale is not going according to plan. Dorothy has found a way to bridge the worlds of Oz and Kansas, and if the power-hungry dictator of Oz has her way, Kansas will be destroyed forever. Now, Amy has to team up with the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked to save her home, restore the balance between the magic and nonmagic worlds, maybe get the guy—and kill that not-so-sweet Kansas farm girl once and for all.

In the third installment of the New York Times bestselling Dorothy Must Die series, Danielle Paige’s twisted versions of beloved Oz characters are back, including the biggest, baddest, most famous of all: the Wicked Witch of the West.

Welcome to the other side of the rainbow. Here there’s danger around every corner, and magic shoes won’t be able to save you

I couldn’t help but wonder: What if, that afternoon in the trailer, my mom had decided just that once to take care of me? To drive me to safety-somewhere both of us could ride out the storm together? What if she had finally done the right thing? Was what I’d gained in Oz-strength, power, respect, self-reliance-worth what I’d lost?

I think by far my largest disappointment stems from my epic love of book one, the epic heartbreak of book two, and my obsession of the series as a whole. But slowly, surely, my heart was torn to shreds as I saw this story unraveling before my eyes. It’s not so much that it was a bad story-It wasn’t. It’s more that this series should have been a duology-at most.

Part of me felt way too old for that now. No, not even too old. Too tired. Too experienced. I’d fought in a war. I’d seen too much of the world to believe in any of that crap, even for an hour.
But at the same time, being back home, and seeing my mom like this, was doing something funny to me. It was like everything that had happened in Oz was drifting away. It was like I was waking up and looking around and realizing, slowly, that it all had just been a weird, terrible dream.

And I don’t blame the author for her decision to make this what I thought was a trilogy. I really don’t. I absolutely ADORED the cliffhanger in book one, was a mess after the cliffhanger of book two, and I thought perhaps book three would follow suit…but when I picked up this story it was only 288 pages long. And I’m sorry but come on….that’s like a long novella. And I HATE novellas, if you didn’t know that about me.

“Of course, once you weren’t around for a while-you know, I almost missed you. Almost. This is Dustin Jr., by the way.” She patted the baby, who made a burbling noise. Madison’s baby was downright ugly. Then again, I guess most new babies are. He looked like a little old man who couldn’t find his dentures. His cheeks were too fat and his face was squashed-looking, as if someone had stepped on his head. Plus, he was bald as an egg. But I felt bad for him. It wasn’t his fault that his mom was the biggest bitch in Kansas-well, second biggest, now that I was back.

I guess there’s nothing wrong with novellas, per se, but it was not one of this story’s attributes. Every scene, every chapter, every moment felt a bit rushed, and as the pages progressed (each page flipped causing the percentage read to rise by, like, 3% each page) my heart slowly began to fracture-I began to see that the book I’d waited a YEAR for was not even close to what I wanted it to be, and it wasn’t going to end like I’d have wanted it to…and then I found out there is a FOURTH book. WHAT??! This is a horrid thing…or maybe it’s good. If this author, who’s writing enraptured me from the moment I opened her first story and became a forever fan, can make things right, make the story longer, more fleshed out, etc, I will be the happiest person in the world. I just don’t see how that could happen.

“You,” she said, her voice more exhausted than angry. “It always comes back to you, doesn’t it.”

I’m serious-I’d have rather read a 1000 page Dorothy Must Die book and called it a standalone than to be disappointed in this manner….but it is what it is. And, not to be totally negative. There were a lot of things I loved, too! And I must say…..90% of the things I was in love with centered around one name: NOX.

I closed my eyes again and lost myself in the sensation of the kiss. He shifted his weight and grunted with pain, and I started to laugh again. After a second, he laughed, too. His mouth moved to my neck, and then my ear. “Amy,” he said softly, his voice rough with emotion. “I am so not supposed to be doing this, but-“

I just…ugh. From the moment I met him in book one with his asshole-ish warlock (NOT A WITCH! Bahaha) attitude, he had my heart. The way he looked, treated, and secretly liked Amy warmed my soul and made me an obsessive fangirl (I mean, duh, it’s me). And I missed him dearly over the last few months…VERY VERY VERY much. He was everything I could want in this story with his raspy voice during the more heartfelt and gut wrenching moments, his loyalty, his protectiveness of Amy, and the aspect of forbidden love that was thrown in (not that it wasn’t before, but even more so now). But, and it pains me to say this…he can’t be the only thing that I love about a story. He just can’t. He may be close to perfection, but it doesn’t hold a candle to my level of disappointment scattered throughout the story.

“Yeah, I know,” he replied. “But you know what I liked about it?”
“What?”
“It reminded me of you. Everywhere I looked, I couldn’t stop thinking, This is where Amy’s from. This is the dirt that she walked on. This is the sky that she grew up under. It’s the place that made you who you are. And that’s what made me like it.”

For instance: Amy. What. The. Fuck??? She acted like a total bitch. A whiney asshole. A lovelorn teenager. She became somebody I didn’t recognize. Gone was the girl who was a total badass, the girl with pink hair and an attitude that stretched as long and wide as Kansas. She was a wisp of the girl I had obsessed about from the beginning (And I never get obsessed with girls in a story so this was by far the largest disappointment of all). And, ya know, she got better near the end and realized how naïve and young she was acting…but by that point it was by far too little, too late. And that made me so tragically sad.

Suddenly, I thought of my mom. Magic for me was as destructive as pills had been for her. The same addiction-and the same results. I’d fallen in love with power the way she’d fallen in love with oblivion. I’d hated her for what her addiction had done to her-to us-but was I really any different?

So, ya know, all in all I loved visiting her home and meeting her mom. I loved the addition of old characters that we were taught to hate becoming allies we could grow to love and admire, making the cast of people to obsess over a little larger (her mom and a couple unexpected surprises 😉 ). I really enjoyed seeing Amy and her mother becoming a little closer before things began to crumble, disintegrate, turn to ash. These are the things (AND NOX BOY!) that almost made me love and rate higher out of loyalty. But, then we have the broader side of the spectrum where I feel I was cheated as a reader and a rather unwavering fan. The writing was rushed-there’s no way to hide such things-and that was one of the things that I had loved most about this series-the beautiful writing and unflinching and unabashed way of strangling the breath out of you, causing you to choke and sputter and start crying out of nowhere as one of your characters becomes perilously close to death (aahhhh that peril-she does it well :P). The writing seemed like it was a chore, like this was a book that had long since been put on the backburner. So, yeah. This sucks. I hate rating lower than four, and I hate feeling like I’m betraying one of my favorite series ever. I could go on and on about what I wish was different, but that’s not what I’m about. So, as much as I love and adore this series, this book was a major letdown…and I’d be lying if I said otherwise. Ugh.

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So this was…..disappointing. *sad face* I will have a full review when I get a chance. Also…..Am I the only one who didn’t know this series had four fucking books?? Yes??? Just me then…. *Frowns*

RTC

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