"Kingdom of Ash" by Sarah J. Maas (Last book of TOG series)

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas is the final book of the Throne of Glass series.  Aelin has vowed to save her people, but is locked in an iron coffin.  She will need help, and plenty of it to stop Maeve from gaining more power and dooming her friends.  First, congrats to me for reading all 980 pages!  I enjoyed Aelin and Rowan again.  The byplay between the two of them was very good!  The others I enjoyed were Fenrys when he was in wolf form, Manon and Lysandra.  Dorian was very good also.

This book was told in two parts.  I enjoyed part 2 the most.  It has plenty of action!  The ending was wild to say the least--congrats to Sarah for surprising me!  I do think that this could have been told just as well in fewer pages, but it does have plenty of good parts that got my attention.
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Karen's review:
Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas is such a heavy book that I was relieved when I finally finished it. This is mostly about the buildup to protecting Terrasen in a final battle against Morath, Erawan and Maeve and also the quest to get put the wrdkeys in the lock to get rid of the gods. I liked the story line about protecting Terrasen and building a better world, but did not understand the wrdkey storyline and found that very confusing. As I was reading, I kept thinking, “what’s going on here?” “This doesn’t make sense!” There is a lot of fighting in this one and many very sad parts. On the other hand, it has lots of good parts as well with romance blooming. The character development was very good and the relationships in this book were all interesting. I really liked how much the women contributed in the battles and how Aelin was always appreciative for everyone’s contributions and caring about others throughout the book. My favorite parts in this book was Manon and her desire to unite the witches and get them to fight with the 13 to help protect Terrasen, and Dorian learning to shape shift and becoming a mouse at Morath.

I give this 4 stars because there were several things that made no sense to me that I did not understand and much of the first half of the book I was pretty confused because it seemed to jump around between three groups. I’m sure part of my confusion was because it was so long ago that I finished the preceding book and forgot a lot of what was happening. I would suggest though to someone reading this that they may want to take some notes on who are in each group and their mission as they read. I was happy with the ending and with the couples who ended up together.
(4 stars)

Teaser from page 3:  She would not tell them what they wished to know.  
                                 No matter how often her screams drowned out the raging river.

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"CatWoman--Soul Stealer" by Sarah J. Maas

Catwoman Soulstealer by Sarah J. Maas does what she does best--writing about a young female who kicks butt that you better not mess with!  Her name in this is Selina.  I would describe this book as an adult comic book because it has Catwoman and Batman as the main characters!  I enjoyed Selina very much and lots of action kept me turning pages!  This is a standalone with a really good ending.
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Teaser from page 6:

That's what the match emcee was declaring down the hall.  Selina could just make out the croon of words:  The undefeated champion, the fiercest of Leopards . . .

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"A Court of Frost and Starlight" by Sarah J. Maas

Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas is no where near as good as the previous books in this Court of Thorns and Roses series.  This is a time of peace and rebuilding of the Night Court.  Feyre and Rys enjoy happy days and nights together, celebrate their second winter solstice and Feyre starts painting again.  The biggest tension in this book is whether Nesta will join them for Solstice.

I was glad this book is much shorter than the others because it has no action in it whatsover!  It is all about the relationships developing further, or not.  I liked the characters and that is the only reason I finished it.  I think you could easily skip this book and not feel like you missed anything at all.  It has a little humor now and then but I was wishing I would get done with it so could go on to something better.
(Karen's review, 2 stars)

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"Tower of Dawn" by Sarah J. Maas Did Not Impress Me

Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas has two parts to it. In the first half, Chaol seeks out a healer there to help him get back on his feet. He is currently in a wheel chair. The healer is reluctant to help him for reasons you will find out as you read. The second half has the focus on Nesryn who faces big problems. I enjoyed the second half much better, but overall, I did not think much of this book and do not recommend it. There is just so little action, I was pretty bored with it. The only reason I finished it was that I kept thinking it would get better, but it never did. I guess even Sarah Maas can have a dud.
(Gerard's review, 2 stars)

My wife is passing on this book due to my review.  Glad I saved her a boring read although many others did like this one about healing and acceptance!  You may want to see for yourself.

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"A Court of Wings and Ruin" by Sarah J. Maas - We Both Loved It!

A Court of Wings and Ruin is the third book of A Court of Thorns and Roses series and did not disappoint! It starts off with Feyre back with Tamlin in the Spring Court where she creates some havoc with her mischief, but soon moves back to Valeris. Feyre and Lucian’s friendship is strengthened and he proves. In this book, other courts come into play and more new characters are introduced. Feyre’s sisters have a major part in this book and some romance starts to blossom. Rys and Fayre are reunited and work together so well throughout the book. There is a lot of banter and adventure.

This is a page turner that was hard for me to put down once Rys and Feyre were reunited. I was happy to see Tamlin come through for Feyre and her flying lessons with Azriel were pretty funny but paid off in the end. I loved how this book brought out a wide range of emotions for me and of course had some surprises along the way. I look forward to the next book in this series. (Karen's review, 5 stars)

Gerard's review:
This is the third book in this series written from Feyre's perspective.  WOW!  This book is really good!  It has plenty of action and I loved the dialogue between all the main characters.  That really added to the enjoyment of the book for me.  The ending is full of surprises and I had a hard time putting it down for the last 150 pages.  With this book, Sarah J. Mass shows once again why she is one of the best!  I give this 5++ stars!

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"A Court of Mist and Fury" by Sarah J. Maas is FANTASTIC!

Wow!  A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas is so good! This is the second book in A Court of Thorns and Roses series and is even better than the first! This review has some spoilers so read the book first and then come see what I thought of it. Definitely must read the first book before this one.  If you like fantasy and magical kingdoms, this is a "must read."  (This would be R rated for sexual content.)

SPOILER ALERT: Feyre pretty much tells Tamlin to “jump in the lake” and chooses to stay with Rys who is her mate and challenges Feyre to use her skills. This book is full of new adventures with lots of wit and packed with both heartbreaking and heartwarming scenes and lots of good dialogue. I like all the characters in Rys’ inner circle and loved their trip to the Summer Court and how the wraiths came to save Feyre and Amren from drowning. I cheered when Feyre served Rys the food in the cabin, accepting the bond as mates.   The ending is Great and I can't wait for the next book!

I was having a hard time deciding on my favorite read for December until I read this one which is the winner! (Karen's review, 5 stars)

Gerard read this first, 6-15-16:
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas is the follow-up book to A Court of Thorns and Roses and is like ten times better than the first one!  Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to spring court, but at a high cost.  She still has the bargain with Rhysard.

Wow, oh Wow!  I really liked the characters, the writing and the action which all work together to make the story flow well.  The ending is probably the best I have ever read!  I want book 3 NOW!
(5++ stars)


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"A Court of Thorns and Roses" by Sarah J. Maas (UPDATED)

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas is about a human, Fayre who is the sole provider for her family until she kills a Faerie and gets taken by a beast away from her home to his Faerie kingdom. The beast, Tamlin, treats her well and they fall in love. Wanting to protect her from the impending trouble, he sends her back home to the human world. However, her love for him is so strong that she decides to go back and try to help him no matter what.

I liked Tamlin, but didn’t care for Feyre in the beginning but grew to like her as the book progressed. I liked this book because the suspense built and the romance blossomed gradually. I also liked Lucien and Rhysand who were interesting characters. This book has magic, adventure, suspense, romance and an interesting plot that was easy to follow. 
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Gerard read this one first:
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas is about a young girl named Feyre.  She is the sole supporter for her family, a dad and her two sisters.  One day while hunting, she shoots a deer and a wolf that was going after the same deer she shot.  That was a BIG mistake as she soon found out.  Another wolf comes and gives her a choice to either be killed now or go live with the wolves.

This book was outstanding!  I LOVED the characters in it.  The middle dragged some but the last 100 plus pages more than made up for that.  I can't wait to read the second book in this series!
(Gerard's review 7-30-15, 5++ stars)

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"Empire of Storms" by Sarah J. Maas is one We Both Liked

In Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas, Aelin is looking for a way to save her homeland before it is overtaken.  Manon has a big part in this book surrounded by good action.  Her and Aelin together are really good!  Lysandra also has a major role and I also enjoyed the parts with Rowan.  In this book, the author concentrates on other characters besides Aelin which I was fine with.  The pages leading up to the ending were the best part of this book.  It is action packed for sure and impossible to put down!  I LOVED IT and am looking forward to book 6.
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Karen's review:
Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas is the second to last book in The Throne of Glass series and is full of adventure, battles, plotting and romance.  Aelin continues her quest to save the world to make it better and it is good to see her rally her friends to help her.  If you have been reading this series, definitely continue on with this book but don't read this one until you have read all the previous ones.

Parts of this book were puzzling to me; however, the action scenes are very good and I cheered for Rowan and Lysandra in the battles and also for Mannon and her Wyvern, Abraxos!  I really liked these characters especially in this book!  Aelin now fights with her magical fire more than her swords which is okay, but I liked the sword fighting better.  This book has very strong female characters who always seem to stay one step ahead of the males in this book.  It was good to see Ansel back too.  I liked her and Aelin working together.
(Karen's review, 4 stars because I didn't like the raunchy sex scenes in this one)

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"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 Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Mass is Fantastic! (UPDATED)

Here is my Booktube spoiler free review of Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas:

The Assassisn’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas is amazing! It has action, betrayal, romance, humor, and shows a softer, caring side of Celaena that I wish I had known going into the Throne of Glass series. This book is about two assassins, Celaena and Sam, who like each other in spite of being competitors. We also see Hamel Arobynn’s dark, cruel, mean side--he's a real scumbag. There are five novellas that comprise this book that were all very good. I particularly liked the first three better than the last two just because the last two are so heartbreaking and so sad. After reading this book, I like Celaena even more than I already did.

This book is a page turner that had me from start to finish. I liked this one even more than those I’ve read in The Throne of Glass series because this book does not have any magic in it, just action and a lot of character development. I enjoyed this book very much and wish I had read it before starting the series so I knew Celaena better. I think Celaena and Sam should have went back to the Red Desert and worked for the mute assassin when they decided to leave Arobynn. In the second story about the healer, I found the self-defense lesson by Celaena very interesting and liked how she was willing to train Yrene, the barmaid at the White Pig Inn, how to defend herself. In the third story, Celaena finally finds a friend in Ansel and has some fun for a change. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy adventure, action, and well developed interesting character interaction. 
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Mass is made up of five short stories that give background on Celaena, the main character in The Throne of Glass series.  This collection could have easily been a novel because the stories follow in chronological order.  The three big things I got out of this book were:  (1)  I got to see a different side of Celaena; (2) Got to know Sam and about his relationship with Celaena; and (3) got to know more about Arobynn Hamel (the guy who trained her to be an assassin).

Wow!  This book is fantastic!  The stories are very good and filled with twists and turns.  I LOVED IT A LOT!  I would recommend reading this first before the Throne of Glass series although I didn't do it that way and still enjoyed it.  I just think reading this one first would give you helpful background on Celaena going into the next books.
(Gerard's review 7/22/15, 5 stars)

Review of the previous books in this series:
Throne of Glass
Crown of Midnight
Heir of Fire

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!

"Heir of Fire" by Sarah J. Maas (Updated)

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas is the third book in the Throne of Glass series so read the first two first!  In this book, you will be introduced to yet more new characters.  My favorite is Rowan and hope he is a main character now.  Of course, we get more of Chaol, Dorian and Celaena.  This series seems to get better and better with each book!  This is another action packed book full of twists and turns that I didn't want to put down with a fantastic ending!  I want more, Wow!  Can't wait to read the next one in this series!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Karen's review:
I thought this book started out very slow and was very confusing but the second part really picked up and got very good.  Things I liked about it are:  Celaena learning to use and control her magic fire power, Manon training Abraxos, her wyver and how they sort of bond, Rowan finally being nice to Celaena and them fighting together, Celaena's confrontation with her Aunt Maeve when she demonstrates her power, the showdown with the King at the end and Chaol still protecting Celaena's dog, Fleetwood. 

I think I'm probably the only person who liked the first two books better than this one.  I am looking forward to continuing on with this series because there are enough characters that I like and want to see how it all turns out.

Here are my two favorite quotes from this book:

The witch, Manon, trying to get her vicious wyver, Abroxos, to eat meat:

"He moved to sniff some white-and-yellow flowers.
A nightmare.  this was a nightmare.  "You can't really like flowers."
Again those dark eyes shifted to her.  Blinked once.  I most certainly do, he seemed to say." p. 261

Aelin to Rowan at the end when arguing about her plan of action:

"And, just like I said, magic doesn't work there anymore.  you'd be trapped in that form.  Though I do hear that Rifthold rats are particularly delicious, if you want to eat them for months." p. 560

Review of the previous books in this series:
Throne of Glass
Crown of Midnight

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!

"Crown of Midnight" by Sarah J. Maas with Discussion Video

Both my husband and I are reading this series now, he is reading the book first and then I am reading it so be sure to come back and see my review of the book too.

Here's Gerard's review:
This is the second book in The Throne of Glass series which is action packed!  There is so much going in in this second book!  Celaena is such a bad ass, I love her!  She knows what she is and is not afraid of anyone and makes it clear she is not one to mess with.  The characters of Dorian and Chaol are further developed and some new ones are added.  We learn a lot more in this book than in the first.  Loved this book a lot!  On to book 3--Heir of Fire.
(5++ stars)

(Karen's review, 5 stars)
In Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas, there are a few more characters introduced and lots of action.  Celaena plays a dangerous game making the king think she is following his orders when she isn't really.  She continues to pursue her own agenda, to find his secret power source and to seek revenge.  There are quite a few scenes I liked a lot including some with Chaol, Dorian, the king, assassinations and her dog, Fleetfoot.  I am still pulling for Chaol in the love triangle.  A couple of her secrets are revealed in this book too!

I liked the humor in this book and the fighting she does seemed justified to me.  She is very clever but way more curious than I would be.  Can't picture me wandering through dark secret passageways below a castle alone!  This is one brave girl!  I also like how Chaol is always willing to protect her and help her anyway he can.  There were lots of things I especially liked in this book but don't want to be more specific to spoil it for you.  Read it and discover the mysteries for yourself! 

Here is a discussion video on this book that Gerard and I did on our front porch yesterday:

See our reviews of the first book in this series:  Throne of Glass.

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!