Dust

Dust

by Sarah Daltry

Source: Publisher

Format: ARC PDF

Who makes YOUR choices?

"I was once the type of person who was impressed by starlight; the type of person who would dance beneath glass ceilings and let the world swim in its loveliness. The sky reminds me of the parties we used to throw - parties like the one last night. The memories bring back the trill of harps and endless ripples of satisfied laughter. Now, though, when I try to recall what I felt, all I hear is screaming."

In a world ravaged by war and oppressive forces of evil, a princess must fight to claim her bloodright and save her people.

When the princess, Alondra, falls for the beautiful, blue eyes of a hooded stranger, it awakens in her a taste for freedom and an escape from her duty.

But her parents have other plans; they have a kingdom to protect and Alondra must marry to ensure the peace between nations. Only what happens when your parents choose a cold-hearted assassin as your betrothed? 

As lies, illusions, and long hidden vendettas surface, the princess has to confront a very secret history. One that makes her realize that she not only risks losing her liberty, but also everything she has known and loved.

Issues:

-Alondra. As a character she was kind of a juxtaposition. She was originally portrayed one way, but then acted quite the opposite for the rest of the story. 

-The romance. The pacing of the romance made it a bit unbelievable, and everything escalated quickly.

Also, the original situation with the blue eyed stranger felt a bit ridiculous.

-The plot. It was strangely paced. The action got started really early on (which is fine, I like that.), but then it was like it hit this point where all that was happening was action and honestly I got a little bit bored.

-The action. The action got to be a bit excessive and monotonous for my taste.

-The flashbacks. Sections flipped back and forth from "now" and "then" I found it to be unnecessary for the most part and a bit confusing at times.

-The world building. I was really confused a lot of the time and couldn't figure out what the world was supposed to be like or how parts of it worked.

Pros:

-Alondra. I liked the personality she had for the majority of the time. She was kind but fiery upon occasion. Unfortunately the original portrayal of her was a bit more spoiled brat. 

-Romance. It was cute, if unrealistic. 

Last Thoughts:

Honestly, I was not a fan. It was an interesting concept but it fell short for me.  There was way too much going on and I couldn't find any reason to care about any of it. I give it a weak one star out of five and sadly, wouldn't recommend it. 

Gif. Consensus: 

The Darkest Part of The Forest

The Darkest Part of the Forest

by Holly Black

Date of Expected Publication: January 13th, 2015

Source: Liberty Bay Books

Format: Paperback ARC

Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for.

Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once.

At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking.

Until one day, he does…

As the world turns upside down, Hazel tries to remember her years pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough? 

At first all I wanted to do was spill my guts out about this book as soon as I finished the last word. Actually, I was dying to blog about it after the first word, but I've been putting it off for a while now because now that I sit to write a review for it, I have absolutely no clue where to start, or what to say. I have never been at as much a loss for words as I am right now. This book gave me an unsatisfiable book hangover for a full week and still haunts me. As soon as I finished it I wanted to read it over again. I didn't really want a sequel or a series, one book summed everything up perfectly, but I loved the story so much that I wanted to read it over and over again until my eyeballs fell out. I couldn't read anything else for a really long time because it wasn't as good, and I just wasn't in the mood for any other type of book. I just wanted The Darkest Part of The Forest again. Thankfully, I am back on track now, but I must say, this book destroyed me like no other.

When I finished the book:

Me:Everyone:

As soon as I read the first word, I knew I wasn't going to be able to put it down and I was right. The way Holly Black wrote and the style she used couldn't have been more perfect for the type of story it was, It was thoroughly enchanting. Holly Black's writing is bewitching.

The plot was the perfect pace and kept me on my toes the entire time and I was able to follow it all without any horrible info dumping or anything because the world building was flawless.

There is nothing I can say to fully explain and sum up my complete obsession with both the characters and the concept. Really just the whole book. Anyways, I didn't have any problems with any of the characters. Sure Hazel and Ben had kind of strange and absent parents, but that was part of their character and it was recognized that their family was kind of an anomaly so I was ok with it, and there were moments of involvement. Jack's parents played a surprisingly large role and it worked with everything else very nicely.

All of these characters were unique and a bit weird, but without being horribly quirky. Holly Black does an amazing job of making her characters some of the realist feeling that I've read. They all have this inexplicable tangibility. I don't want to say too much about Hazel or the romances because I want to talk about them in a later post. However, I will say that I loved Hazel's romance and will sing it high praises into eternity. Ben's on the other hand was abrupt and felt more logical and less real on an emotional level. It was like a lightning strike, there was a bit of thunder before but that was your only warning, there was no development, or gradual progression to it. So I couldn't ship it quite like I wanted to.

The concept was to die for! A true fairy tale like no other. It was a mix of so many classic elements, knights and fair folk, and all the superstitions that come with it all. It was a really interesting and fun blend that felt oddly natural and wonderfully fresh.

I also really enjoyed that she incorporated and addressed real and difficult issues that people face and are especially prominent in teen lives. There are mini existential crises, struggles to define who they are, mistakes, betrayals, and general struggling with a bit of learning how to be a human, and it is great.

Last Thoughts: 
It's like I keep saying, it is indescribable, words don't do it justice. This book is bewitching and will probably eat your soul (in a good way, I promise). I just...I don't even know what to say. It took my breath away. It was love at first word. I give it the ultimate five out of five stars and my highest recommendation. Read it. Read it now. No regrets.

Goodreads and Liberty Bay Books!

General Gif Consensus:

A Month of Giving: Week One

I am so immensely thankful for Liberty Bay Books. It has only been a bit over a year of working with them and still, it is already hard to remember what it was like before. They have made a huge difference in how I blog and because of their support I am able to do some really awesome things!

Suzanne came to me with yet another brilliant idea/offer. She suggested doing, "a month of giving" to give away more ARCs! Well you don't have to ask me twice! Of course I said yes! So now I'm here to kick it off. I am beyond thrilled to be able to share so many great books with you guys! I would not be able to do this without Liberty Bay Books, Suzanne, and all her amazing employees!

So here's what you need to know:
- I will be giving away two books a week every week in December.
-The books being given away are lightly used and well taken care of ARCs, some of which have come out/been published already, while others have yet to be released/published.
-The weekly giveaways only run for one week. So enter ASAP.
-Said weekly giveaways are only open to US residents. (Yes, yes, international readers I hear you just hold on and keep reading.)
- There will be special giveaway the week of the 21st.
* This same week, there will be a giveaway (using the book depository) for INTERNATIONAL Readers only! (I'm finally doing it for you guys!)

Week One: "Holly Black: New and Old"
Again you only have 7 days to enter and you have to be a US resident.

This week's prize is two Holly Black ARCs...

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown received a grand review and rating from me which you can see here, but be warned it was from my earlier days and may be a bit wild. (This one has been "out" for a while.) 

The Darkest Part of the Forest almost didn't make it into the giveaway pile because I loved it so much that I wanted to keep it forever and ever. That review is still to come because the book won't be "released" until January 13th 2015. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Throne of Glass

Throne of Glass

by Sarah J. Maas

In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien. 

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass--and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

I caved. I finally read Throne of Glass. I did it for you guys, and boy am I glad I did. I devoured this book. Sure it had some issues, but hey what book doesn't?

Let's talk about Celaena. She is one of those strong characters people either love or hate. She is a bit of an unreliable narrator and certainly has some big character flaws. She is self centered, and vain and lacks compassion, not to mention her arrogance. But for some reason I enjoyed her anyways, I think it was the hints of something better hidden beneath it all. I didn't find it weird when she was preening or noticing her outfits, or indulging because that really fit the established personality and it seemed logical because she had been deprived of: nice clothes, good food, and other nice things that we take for granted, for so long! Her sassy comments were quite humorous and as I said before her redeeming qualities offset all the flaws. Her loyalty and curiosity were admirable and her strength was astounding both physically and emotionally she was not all about her and she was not all bad, despite how it may have seemed.

Side note about her back story, I thought this was so well woven in! There wasn't a huge info dump, and it was parceled out throughout the story keeping some mystery in it too. Maas only gives you what you need to know for the story and nothing extra, fitting with Celaena's personality and making the story so much better to read.

For the most part,  I was happy with the plot. I got pretty caught up in it. There were small lumps of info upon occasion and little lulls, but as a whole I really, really enjoyed it.

I was pretty darn happy with the writing too. It was a bit repetitive when it came to things like descriptions, but other than that I wasn't really upset with any of it.

Honestly though, I was so caught up in the concept and the other characters that I wasn't paying too much attention to the technical stuff. I should be upset with myself for not paying closer attention or I should assume there were things I didn't see, but really, it gets more points in my book if it was so good that I didn't even notice!

Last Thoughts: This review is so late that I don't have much left to say about it other than that I really loved it! It was super entertaining and I can't wait to continue the series and see what happens! I give it five out of five stars.

Goodreads and Liberty Bay Books!

General Gif Consensus: