No Pop Day 4

So, on Wednesday, my friend Kate and I decided we were going to give up soda pop. I figured I'd hold myself more accountable if I talked about it here. Today will be 4 days if I succeed. Surprisingly, I am not overly craving pop. I've managed to find different things to drink which helps. I bought a bunch of juices and sparkling waters to try.
We'll see how I do . I'll keep writing about it.

February 2015 Wrap-Up

Hello! Welcome to another wrap-up post. I read one book, started one book, and listened to an audio book for the month of February.

First, I completed Throne of Glass! It took me longer than I would have liked but it was so worth it! The sleepless nights I experienced were worth it! The writing was amazing. The characters were incredible and stand out so much in my memory. The plot was mind-blowing! I did a full review on my blog here. It starts off with no spoilers and gets more in depth with a few spoilers.

Next, I began a reread. I am rereading Scarlet by AC Gaughen. I did a video review on my YouTube channel so click here if you want to watch it. I am reading this a second time because I want to continue on in the trilogy. I have the second book, Lady Thief. I've had it for months. And book 3 comes out in May so I wanted to catch up and after reading Throne of Glass I wanted to tone things down a bit before diving into more fantasy. I was unable to complete it in February but I will for March and I will also read Lady Thief in March in order to stay on track with my reading challenge. I am about 2/3 complete and I will probably go read some more before bed. This was another book that cause me many sleepless nights but in that good, exciting way when you read books you love and don't want to put down. But, I wanted to refresh my memory so I can continue the series.

Suddenly, it was February 26! Only two days left in the month. How the heck am I going to read a book in two days with my work schedule? I don't want to fall behind in my reading challenge because that starts the whole domino effect and I end up reading 5 books all year.

Solution- Audio book! I listened to the Resurrection Casket. It's a Doctor Who book read by David Tennant. It is basically a Treasure Island in space story and it's so cute. I really enjoyed it. I've listened to it a number of times.

For March, I will complete Scarlet and read Lady Thief. If I can squeeze in a 3rd book, at least to start, bonus.

I'm off to read another chapter before sleep.

Happy reading!
~Carey

Throne of Glass Book Review (With Spoilers)

Title- Throne of Glass
Rating- 4.5 Stars

I just finished reading Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas! I loooved it! I was disappointed every time I had to put it down.

First, let me just say, look at how awesome that cover is! It is so beautiful. Even more so in a physical hard back copy. I squealed when I saw it on the shelf at the store because it is just so pretty.

I had heard so many people talking about this series. I know it's been out a while so I'm just kind of jumping on the bandwagon now. There are 3 books out in the series, not including a bind up of prequel novellas. According to Goodreads, there are supposed to be 6 books. This book is hugely popular among the BookTubers that I follow on YouTube. So, I figured I would give it a go.

The book takes place in this wonderful fantasy world ruled by a corrupt king who is very clearly bent on world domination and through the most brutal methods possible. Anyone who stands against him gets sent to a death camp. This is where we meet Celaena, our main character. She is the world's most notorious assassin. The crown prince comes to her and tells her he wants her to compete in a competition. The winner will work for his father, the king, for a period of time as his personal assassin and then she will win her freedom. Of course, Celaena jumps at this opportunity and agrees. She has to compete in a series of tests and survive to the final duel and the winner is crowned the King's Champion. Who wouldn't take that chance? Her competition is chosen by other members of the nobility. There are other assassins, thieves, former soldiers.

So, off she goes and there's drama and romance and intrigue and magic and the tasks are incredible and Celaena is just a bad ass and amazing and I just love her! The writing is incredible and fast paced. I actually would get upset every time I had to put the book down. I kind of had a Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire meets Hunger Games kind of feel as I read it. Goblet of Fire in terms of the tests they had to accomplish and Hunger Games because she's battling for her life and her freedom.

I highly recommend picking this up. I already got a coworker hooked on it. She saw me reading it on my break one day and asked about it and went to borrow it from the library. She came to me today and said, "Oh, my gosh. Carey, what did you get me into? This book is incredible!"

That's all I think I can say for the non-spoiler part. Now I'm going to get more in depth with the characters and the plot.

Bye non-spoiler people!

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Okay! So, who agrees that they already don't like the King of Assassins and we never officially meet him in the book? I've seen this in other reviews. At first you think, awe, he's actually kind of nice. Takes in this orphaned 8 year old and takes her under his wing. You can almost forgive the fact that he's training her to kill people for a living. But then, little by little, Celaena reveals the amount of crap she has to go through and you think, "Oh, my gosh. This guy is a rotten dirty bastard!" He forces her to break her right hand so she can gain skill in her left? Makes her stand on top of a building to overcome her fear of heights? Whaaat? That would be like sticking me in a room full of spiders to cure me of arachnophobia. Kill me now. And, she has to pay him back for food, training, and having a roof over her head. A touch of Memoirs of a Geisha there, how Sayuri has a debt to repay to Mother for raising her.

The love triangle- Oh, where to begin with that? First, I'm Team Dorian. I like Chaol. I think he's really cool and has his moments where he's really charming but Dorian I really love. And, not because he's the prince, although that is a perk. The way I picture him is like Jonathan Meyer in the first season of the Tudors. Dark hair, striking eyes, drop-dead-gorgeous looking. He's mischievous and charming. He is so nice to her and tries to give her confidence. Even though, his initial reason for asking her was just to piss off his father. But, I think he's trying really hard to find his own place and make a mark in the world that is better than the king's and it's not easy to do. And, he's not sure how to stand up to his father which makes life a little harder. Then, there's his mother who is constantly pushing him to get married. She's one of those moms who means well and tries to come across as being concerned for the future but just ends up being a pest.

Then, there's Chaol. He's the Captain of the Guard. He also trains Celaena for her tests. We don't get too much information on his background, aside from he's close friends with the Prince and he gave up some kind of title in his homeland. The name escapes me right now. Sorry. He takes his job very seriously. He doesn't trust easily. It takes him time to warm up to Celaena and see her as anything but "an assassin," especially when he sees that Dorian might be developing feelings for her and tries to say that nothing could come of a relationship with her.

The other characters I'm going to be pretty brief about because we meet a lot of people in this book and lots of them I still can't figure out yet. The King, Dorian's father, terrifies me. Every time he appears in this book I get the chills. Had this book been written 50 years ago, I could see an actor such as Vincent Price playing him. He is just mad for power and will do whatever it takes to get it. No matter how many people have to die.

Princess Nehemia I eventually came to like. I got the feeling she knew more than she let on about the Wyrdmarks and it was so cool that she has powers! (Magic has been banned by the king) I love how Celaena was able to have a female friend who is just as bad ass and cool as she is. They relate to so much from their prior life experiences. I hope we see plenty more in upcoming books.

Lady Kaltain annoyed me. This is a horrible comparison, I know, but she's like the popular cheerleader in high school who has to have the captain of the football team because of his title. That's how she goes after the Prince. She doesn't actually love him. She just wants him because she's the prince, which means one day he'll be king and she will be queen if they get married. But, I can't figure her out either. She gets these head aches and these voices about needing more power and reaching her ambition which she treats with opium. And, at first, I thought the opium was causing the voices. As part of her addiction. If she goes so long without it it's like a withdrawal symptom or something? But, then that last conversation between the King and Duke Perrington made me realize they're using her as a pawn for something. But we won't find out until further on in the series!

The description of the death camp where we meet Celaena was incredible in an awful and frightening kind of way. I wonder if they were inspired by the Nazi camps and the atrocities that took place there. (Hmm, something to Google later)

I love that even though magic is supposed to be banned from this country, there are still hints of it throughout. When Celaena is first released from the camp and is traveling with Chaol and the Prince, she can still sense the fairies and the spirits in the forest. The markings that she sees at the palace we find have an ancient power to them. The first queen of this land was part fae. Great set up for the rest of the series where I hope magic will be restored.

One of my favorite parts was one that just made me laugh so much. As Celaena is training, she's getting healthy again and this means her body is returning to normal. And since she is a young woman, this means she gets her period back. Any girl can sympathize with this. Apparently, she gets cramps so bad that it makes her physically sick. Chaol can't deal with this. He's just like, "Ugh! Girl stuff! Keep me away!" Dorian isn't phased by it and comes to talk to her anyway. Celaena being Celaena practically tells him where to go because she has cramps and doesn't want to be bothered. Their interaction is so funny!

As I've mentioned, the tests give me a Goblet of Fire feel. Some are pretty simple and just barely mentioned. Some are intense and exciting. I love when they have to spar against each other and Celaena takes down her opponent ridiculously fast. She tells the weapons master to "find her a real man" and maybe she'll make more of an attempt next time.

I wish the big bad didn't turn out to be Cain. It was pretty obvious. He was the biggest and best of the group of other competitors. It seemed like the obvious choice to make him the cause of the other opponents dying. If it was someone who was smaller and seemingly less significant, it would have been more of a twist. But, that could be just me.

The final battle. Oh wow. That had to be some of the most intense reading ever! I finished it in a few hours one morning. Had the day off and just woke up and read and read until I was done. At first, I thought it was too much. There was too much going on! I can't take it all in! But, when it was done, I was awestruck.

I'm starting to ramble now and I don't know what else I can say because there's so much to this book and it's only the first! Um, whaat?

Can't wait to get Crown of Midnight! I need to know what happens next!