A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

Fiction

It was so great to see Tamlin finally get what he had coming to him. He thought he was being so romantic and heroic, sacrificing his court and all of Prythian by making a deal with the devil in order to get the woman he wanted back. But he was just a crazy fool who lost everything because he was too stubborn to listen to reason and consider compromising, and too prideful to believe that maybe Feyre really didn’t want to be with him. I don’t even feel a little bit bad about what happened to him and his court. I think I might have a slight problem, in that I get entirely too excited when I hear or read about people getting justly punished for their wrongs. 

Besides my absolute glee over the first part of the book, the rest of it was amazing. Intrigue, intricate planning, secret missions, betrayal, one on one combat and huge battles, and, most importantly, romance and spice between Feyre and Rhys. And we finally get to meet all the High Lords of Prythian, along with their most trusted advisors, love interests, and family. I had to take a few notes when I got to the chapters detailing the meeting of all these characters. It was hard to keep up with who came from what court, what their special powers were, and who had a grudge against who for whatever reason. The best part was how feisty everyone from the Night Court got when Tamlin couldn’t keep his mouth shut about Feyre and when the men of the Autumn Court were too disrespectful towards Mor. I would love to read those scenes again for the first time. 

I was convinced that someone important, someone that I liked, was going to die in the huge battle that the book was leading up to. When the characters I had predicted might be on the chopping block were still alive at the end of the book I was both surprised and relieved. But, there are two more books in this series, and Maas is writing a sixth as we speak. I don’t want to think what might happen to some of these characters in the two books that I have left to read and the one that will be out in the future. Happy endings are great, but deep down, I think I might want a little more drama? Maybe I will get it in the fourth book, A Court of Frost and Starlight. Although, from what I have heard, fans of the series like this book the least. Maybe I won’t be amongst them.

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Fiction

I don’t usually do this, but spoilers ahead because I am just so incredibly excited about this book that I need to rave about the plot.

I am beyond elated that Feyre and Rhys ended up together because I was rooting for him pretty much the entire time. Back in A Court of Thorns and Roses, I liked Tamlin and Feyre as a couple. And I could understand why Tamlin acted the way he did Under the Mountain, emotionless and cold. He was doing it to try and protect Feyre as much as he could by acting like he didn’t care what they were doing to her, although in the back of my mind I was slightly wondering why. When Feyre arrived she immediately stated that she was there to claim her love. I think this alone would have let everyone there know that Tamlin felt the same way about her because he didn’t deny not loving her back. He could have done something, he should have done something, to help her. With the way the next book opened up, I grew an immediate dislike for him for his lack of help during her trials.

A Court of Mist and Fury immediately opens up with Feyre reliving what happened Under the Mountain in her nightmares, and we see that her waking moments are filled with just as much agony. She has had to adjust to a new life after living through trials designed to torture her body and mind, but she has not been given any time to heal. The wedding between her and Tamlin has been set for only three months after their liberation, really rushed in my opinion. Everyone around her is controlling her, giving her excuses as to why things need to be done a certain way, and why she cannot be allowed to do certain things. Rhys ends up saving her from making a huge mistake, and here is where I started to love him. He may have given you icky, gross, feelings Under the Mountain, but we find out that it was all an act that Rhys has been putting on for decades in order to save his people, Prythian as a whole, and ultimately Feyre as well. I don’t care what people say, he is exactly the person she needs by her side, supportive, encouraging, loving, and most importantly, non controlling. I’m still fuming at Tamlin for locking her in his mansion. 

I loved the ending. I don’t know if I have ever been more excited to read the next book in a series, and it took an amazing amount of self control for me to not open it before writing this review. I cannot believe I waited so long to begin reading these books.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Fiction

I had to see what all the fuss was about. If people all over the internet were recommending this series, it had to be good. And having read Maas’ Throne of Glass series, and having enjoyed it immensely, I suspected that everyone was not exaggerating. They were not.

I live for fantasy novels. I love magic, spells and curses, other worldly creatures, strenuous quests, puzzling mysteries, and betrayals that make me gasp out loud. This book has it all. If you have read the Throne of Glass series and are looking for another great story to get obsessed with, this is it. It feels like a combination of Hunger Games and Throne of Glass, and also a little bit like the stories from Grimm’s fairy Tales, but it is still its own unique, adventurous fantasy. 

Feyre is just trying to survive the winter, hunting for her family, when she kills the wrong sort of wolf. Her mistake costs her everything, as she is forced to make the choice between immediate death or leaving her family forever, the very ones of whom depend on her for their survival. Thinking that even though her useless sisters and disabled father may die of starvation or exposure without her, becoming a captive is better than death, and she leaves the mortal world to live the rest of her life in the faery realm. She is immersed into a beautiful, but dangerous world, where she is so weak as a mortal that just about everything can kill her. All the creatures seem to be speaking to her in riddles, and her lack of knowledge about the ways of the faery’s makes trying to solve anything close to impossible. The build up is amazing, and when everything is finally revealed, it is delivered by an expert storyteller who leaves out no details. I don’t think I need to tell you that as soon as I am done writing the review for this book, I will immediately be opening up the sequel.

Scotland: The Story of a Nation by Magnus Magnusson

Nonfiction

I absolutely loved this book! I have not read a historical account this amazing ever. This almost seven hundred page novel chronicles the entire history of Scotland, from its very beginnings up until the late nineties. It took me forever to read, being almost seven hundred pages, and the text inside being relatively small, but I found myself constantly ready to pick it up and read as much as I could in the time I had set aside for reading. There was not a single moment in which I said to myself, I need to put this down for a while and read something else, because the writing was just so engaging. Shortly after I began reading I knew I needed to find out more about this author and see what other books he had written, because I knew if he had penned other novels about the history of other countries that I would want to read those as well.

Magnus Magnusson, incredible name by the way, was born in Iceland, but made his way over to Edinburgh with his family as a child. Although he is no longer with us, he left behind an incredible collection of novels, including additional works about Scotland, books about Iceland, and books about Vikings. I cannot tell you how excited I am at the prospect of buying all of his works. Even after reading about the entire history of Scotland in this novel, I am hungry to learn more, not just from Mr Magnusson, but from anyone, anywhere. I left so many notes behind in this book, marking pieces of information that intrigued me and subjects that I wanted to learn more about in the future. I have been spoiled here however, as I don’t know if I will ever find another author who writes in such a way that makes history so interesting and enjoyable. I highly encourage anyone to read this book.

The Mastery of Self by Don Miguel Ruiz Jr.

Nonfiction

This book I borrowed from my friend after I saw it in his room. I wanted to read it as soon as I saw it because it was laying in the room of a man who does not read, so it must have been something very special for him to have brought it home. 

This is a quick read, but you get so much out of it in the short amount of time it takes to get through it. It’s both religious and spiritual, insightful and helpful, particularly for those who take the time to consider the hypothetical scenarios and perform the exercises at the end of each chapter. It’s also philosophical, you question the methods as you are reading about them, you wonder if the practices as described by the author would actually help you. I found myself interested in trying some of the exercises but also doubting the usefulness of others for me personally. Perhaps I doubted some of the practices because I am in a very negative mood right now, there is not a lot in my life that is going well at the moment. There were a lot of ideas that I did not see as being useful for me in the present or in the future. Perhaps I should come back to this book when I am in a more positive place and reassess the contents within, although I feel like that is opposite of the point the book is trying to make. It gives the impression that you need to love yourself at your worst or you will be unable to love yourself at your best although the message is much deeper than that. I think, in the end, I can probably take a few of the ideas here and find a way to use them to help myself.