"Queen of Shadows" by Sarah J. Maas is Fantastic! (Writer's Workshop)

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas is the fourth book in the Throne of Glass series of 6 and all are great!  These books get better and better in my opinion.  Aelin a/k/a Celaena is her usual "bad ass" self and outwitting and outfighting everybody.  She also has a new girlfriend that is also tough like her and the two of them together are just amazing!  Rowan is back as well as Dorian and Chaol.

There are many "wow" moments in this book that I did not see coming!  This book flows so well that there are not any dull moments.  If you read the first three, you must read this one too!
(Gerard's review 10/30/15, 5++ stars)

Karen's review 11/15/15, 5 stars:
Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Mass continues to provide lots of intrigue, adventure, suspense and romance in this Throne of Glass series. Celaena is now going by Aelin and is reunited with Aedion (her cousin), Rowan, Lysandra, Arobynn and Chaol. She fights another witch, Manon, and is amazing at both fighting and plotting. Even the reader is not informed of all her activities and plans which makes for some surprises and jaw dropping moments along the way. She is such an interesting character who has grown so much since the first book. She is a class act! It is good to see others step up and join forces to help her rescue her cousin, get her revenge on Arobynn and kill the king.

I enjoyed this book and found myself cheering for her a lot. I also liked the parts with Manon and Abraxos. I was confused with Lorchan’s part, but other than that was able to follow what was happening for the most part with the exception of all the rings which got me puzzled somewhat. I’m sure Elide will meet her queen in the next book and look forward to that. Also, I am anxious to see Aelin set up her kingdom in Terresen with her court. If you started this series, I encourage you to continue on with this book which is very good! I strongly suggest, however, that if you haven’t read The Assassin’s Blade yet, that you read that before continuing on with the series. It is so good and provides the background that is referred to in the Throne of Glass series. (5 stars)

Linking this review up to Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop this week.

See our reviews of the previous books in this series:
Ambassador's Blade
Throne of Glass
Crown of Midnight
Heir of Fire

If you've already read this book, click on "read More" below to see the parts I liked a lot!

"The Rose Society" by Marie Lu

The Rose Society by Marie Lu is the second book in The Young Elites series so you should read that one first.   Adelina is on the run and is now known as the "White Wolf."  She is feared and you better not mess with her!  Her goal is to strike down the down the inquisition.

I thought this book was so much better than the first one.  There is much more action with a great ending and I enjoyed it a lot!
(Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday--Three Today

Gerard's:

I don't know why I smiled back.  She smiled like she was seeing heaven.

From page 20 of The Mare by Mary Gaitskill. (click link for my review.)

I used to be more ashamed of such a feeling, but now I think--why shouldn't I hate?  Why shouldn't it bring me joy?

From page 15 of The Rose Society (a Young Elites Novel) by Marie Lu.  

Karen's:

Hannah stares at him a moment, wondering if she refuses to go, if she cements herself to the chair, would anything change?  If she could somehow reverse the day, go back to the beginning and start over, do everything differently, none of this would have happened.

From page 12 of Safe With Me by Amy Hatvany.  (Click link for Gerard's review.)


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just pick two sentences from the book you are reading. 

Happy Reading!

"The Mare" by Mary Gaitskill

The Mare by Mary Gaitskill is for the most part, told by Velveteen, an 11-yr.-old girl and Ginger, a young woman who hosted Velveteen for two weeks.  The interaction between these two made this book.  It was not always good and they got to really see the differences between them.  Ginger's horses were also a part of the book that I enjoyed. 

Entertainment Weekly gave this book high praise and they were right!  The ending is fantastic!  They byplay with Velvet's real mom and her was very good too.
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J. K. Rowling

Continuing in the Harry Potter series with book 6, I read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling.  This has several mysteries going on at the same time:  (1) What is the mission Snape and Malfoy Draco are working on; (2) Who is the "Half-Blood Prince"? and (3) Can Dumbledore and Harry find and destroy the horcruxes made by You-Know-Who?  Besides the mystery, this book also had some high points with Harry being the new captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Harry moving on from Cho, Hermione and Ron's relationship and lots more background about You-Know-Who.  Professor Snape finally reveals his true colors and the death eaters return. 

As I was reading this book, I kept thinking to myself, "this is so good!"  I didn't really figure out for sure who the Half-Blood Prince was until near the end when it came out.  Malfoy's mission was a complete surprise to me and the horcrux hunt was very scary!  I hated the ending of this book though, it was so sad so only 4 stars for this one!  I still don't get why Dumbledore trusted Snape, that part must didn't make any sense to me.  I enjoyed the potions class most in this book when Harry topped Hermione for once and how she hated that.  I look forward to reading the last book in this series to see how it will end. 

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!