Shadow & Bone, Siege & Storm, Ruin & Rising (The Grisha Trilogy)

Hi everyone! I was originally going to review these all separately, but I read through these books so fast that 1) it felt like one really long book and 2) because of that, I have thoughts on the overall series than just one book at a time. Shall we just jump in? Yes, because this might get long.

First of all, I LOVED these books. Absolutely adored them. I've heard many say that this series is not as good as Six of Crows, and if that's the case, then I am super excited to read that one because this series has me in love. I gave all three of these books a five-star rating.

Let's start with our characters. Alina. She annoyed me at first, and then she got SO badass. So she starts as this poor, skinny, sort of ugly orphan girl who is in love with her best friend. We'll talk about that guy later. Then she discovers she's Grisha and she gets carted off to learn how to use her power. She starts off really humble and not wanting much attention and all that. Then she gets a taste of the power. And here's what I really love about this series. She's the Sun Summoner, right? And typically the "light" side is the good side that doesn't want too much power and they're holy and pure and blah blah blah. Not Alina. I love these books because she's HUMAN in them. She gets a taste of power, of her sun power, and she wants more. She's the good guy, but that doesn't mean she only wants enough power to defeat the bad guys. She has a hunger for these amplifiers that will make her all powerful and I really loved that. It shows that real human beings aren't ALL good or ALL bad. They're a mix of both, and they showed that very well through Alina. Another thing I liked is that she doesn't necessarily enjoy being seen as a Saint, but she uses it to her advantage. She uses that to get help and to inspire people to not give up. She might be inwardly cringing, but she uses her image of Sankta Alina to help her cause.

The Darkling. Ughhh I'm going to be like tons of other people and say that I LOVE the Darkling. New favorite villain, hands down. Tall, dark, and handsome - check. I have a weak spot for those types of characters. I wish we had seen more of him. I know that he only really liked Alina because of her power and what she could give him, but I still ship them. I know it would have been bad for Ravka and all that stuff... but I wish Alina hadn't found out what he was planning and that she had just been with him. I'm awful, I know. It would have been fun to see what they would have done together. But I digress. I wanted to see more of an arc for this guy, to see how much more he could have developed.

Mal. Ugh. A different kind of ugh than I gave for the Darkling. I didn't like Mal! He was SO needy and insecure. And of course, he was buff and beautiful and every woman wanted him and blah blah blah. I just didn't like him. I know, I know. He didn't understand what Alina was going through or understand how Alina and the Darkling were connected, but he didn't try to! He was way too huffy puffy and pouty about the whole thing and I just wanted him to go away. He made Alina feel like crap for something she couldn't really control and instead of listening to her, he would just stomp off and drink and fight and be immature. Granted, Alina could have told him more, but I doubt he would have listened. Actually, she did tell him, and he just walked away!

Anyway. I'm moving on. Something I thought of that might have been a cool spin was at the very end. If you haven't read through all of these, spoilers are coming! When Alina got all three amplifiers and destroyed the darkness, what if she hadn't killed the Darkling? Would the darkness have vanished in him, and he would have become like Alina? I would have loved to see that. What would he have done at that point? That could have been a sweet spin-off series.

I will admit that it wasn't all action and badassery, a lot of it was kind of boring. There was a ton of travel involved and a lot of world building. As a writer myself, I loved the world building but I know a lot of people found it boring. Here's another thought - a lot of people have criticized Leigh Bardugo for her imperfect Russian influence. That's the thing though, it's just influence. It wasn't actually Russia where this took place. She made her own world, with Russian-esque themes. That said, it's not going to be 100% spot on with how our real Russia actually is. The beauty of writing is that you can write about whatever you want to and you can create worlds that don't actually exist. People need to chill.

One more thought train and then I'll wrap this up. Nikolai. I looove him! I wanted more of him, and he was probably one of my favorite characters. Part of me wanted Alina to be like "Mal? The Darkling? Nah, let's just ghost 'em and go for Nikolai." He was smart, funny, calculating, and someone who's going to make a great king. I really appreciated when he was talking to Alina about a possible marriage alliance, and he said that he knows they aren't in love, but maybe they could be one day. He didn't push it, he just offered it as an option. I'm excited to read more about him in King of Scars.

Okay, this has been a super long post. Let me leave it at this: This was a great series, and I couldn't put it down. I read through these books in a very short time and I am in love with this world. It's a fun read, but it gets a little dark too. The characters were awesome, and I want more!

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A Curse So Dark and Lonely

Fall in love, break the curse, save the kingdom. 

Hi everyone! Let's talk Beauty and the Beast. I am a sucker for a retelling. I've read so many B&B retellings, and I never get sick of them. But this book, A Curse So Dark and Lonely, utterly takes the cake. Well, I mean, it's up there with ACOTAR. But this book was amazing!

Let's start with the characters. Harper. What a fantastic human being! I'm not going to lie, I'm a terrible person. When I heard that she had cerebral palsy, I wasn't too thrilled. Let me explain. Authors sometimes have a habit of giving their character something that makes them different and then talking about it WAY TOO MUCH. For example, if Cassandra Clare had written this book, I wouldn't have been able to finish it. But Brigid Kemmerer did such a great job with this! She explained without going overboard. And it was so cool to see how Harper lives with this. It's not something that's mentioned every two seconds, but it was worked in subtly. Like when she was climbing out of the window and she was like "ugh this stupid foot" but that was kind of it. And when she throws the "There's nothing wrong with me!" at Rhen, I was like YAASS QUEEN. Harper was such a strong character. She didn't fall for Rhen instantly, she didn't let Lilith get to her, she didn't take no crap from anybody, and she wants to learn how to fight and use weapons. I really really love her. 

Rhen. I wasn't such a fan at first, not going to lie. But then I remembered that he is our "beast" and he has some stuff to deal with. He's killed so many people, and he's facing the end where if he doesn't break the curse, he's going to be a crazy beast forever. I'd be salty too. But he was sweet underneath. He essentially gave up on the hope that Harper would fall in love, and he didn't push it. He turned his focus to his kingdom, and that was very noble of him. The other thing I thought was amusing was when Harper finds the room with all the blood, and he's so nonchalant about it! He's just like "yeah that's me but no biggie." I know he's had so many years to become a little immune to that, but it made me laugh. I'm glad that he was human for a while. I know it's about loving the person underneath and not for how they look and all that, but still, falling in love with a legit animal that just so happens to talk is a little gross. Not that it stops me from loving the movie, or a book like Hunted by Megan Spooner or anything like that. 

Grey. Ugh. I love this big softy. He's loyal, he's protective, and he's a total badass with a sword. I don't have too much to say about Grey, other than that he was a wonderful addition to the story. It was sort of obvious that he liked Harper, but I really appreciated that he didn't try to step between her and Rhen. He knew the goal, and he was respectful about it. I think my favorite thing was that both Rhen and Grey didn't fault Harper for not falling in love with Rhen. They didn't try to make her feel bad or anything like that, which was very gentlemanly of both of them. 

I only have one complaint about this book. I wish Rhen and Grey had just called Harper by her name more often instead of all the 'my lady' stuff. It seemed excessive. I understand the manners and all that, but damn. Oh, also, the whole time difference between the castle and the rest of the land was a little confusing to me. I know time moved differently and they restarted the same season over and over, but then they were able to leave and go into town and then the days were synched up..? I don't know. 

The romance in this book was a slow burn. Normally I hate that. This time, it was okay. There was a lot going on! I liked that the focus wasn't entirely on the romance. There was a larger plot going on that was enough to keep me happy with the little bit of romance that we did get. There seemed to be a very subtle love triangle starting, but the author said that there definitely will not be one. So I hope that means that Grey gets his own love story too! Oh, that reminds me, I like that the true reason the curse broke was unclear. Was it because of Harper's love for Rhen? Or Grey's love for... well really it could be his love for Rhen OR Harper. Maybe we'll get answers in the next book. Maybe not. Either way, I really enjoyed the ending. 

This was definitely a five-star read. Brigid Kemmerer said that this book could be a standalone, but there is a sequel coming out. My question is, why wouldn't you want to read more about these amazing characters? 

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The Gilded Wolves

Hi fellow bibliophiles! Today I'm going to be talking about The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi. I absolutely adored this book! I started this book at the very end of January, thinking it would take me a few days into February, but I was very wrong. I finished it by the morning of the 1st. I still included it in my February TBR though. This was a definite five star read for me. I've also heard that people say this is similar in theme to Six of Crows (which I have not yet read) so that just makes me all the more excited to start that series. As always, there are spoilers ahead! Here's a quick synopsis:

It's 1889. The city is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. Here, no one keeps tabs on dark truths better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. When the elite, ever-powerful Order of Babel coerces him to help them on a mission, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance. 
To hunt down the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin calls upon a band of unlikely experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian banished from his home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in arms if not blood. 
Together, they will join Séverin as he explores the dark, glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the course of history—but only if they can stay alive.

I fell in love with all of these characters. There wasn't one that I didn't like. My favorite? Probably Enrique. He was so funny and witty and had so many great one-liners. The banter between him and Severin was fantastic. Zofia was such a fun character too, I really enjoyed her. And of course, I adored brooding Severin.

This was such a fun idea! I love the twist on the Tower of Babel. I don't know of anyone who has done something like this before, but it was very interesting. The idea of Forging is super neat too, I wish we had abilities like that in our world. This book was fun because it actually made me think - there was some puzzle solving involved.

When I was younger, I exclusively read mysteries, and I was super into Ancient Egypt. I wanted to be an Egyptologist. (Basically an archaeologist, but someone who works specifically in Egypt) This book had both of those themes, and it made me super nostalgic.

I'm not going to lie, though, there was one thing that frustrated me a little. Some things weren't very well explained, and I often had to reread a paragraph or page to try and understand exactly what was happening. This is my only gripe with the book.

If you've read this far, and you don't want a huge spoiler, you should probably stop now. I'm going to talk about something kind of huge. Last chance... okay. I was devastated that Tristan was killed. But the more I thought about it, it was probably for the best. Everyone hates themselves for it now, and they lost a very talented Forger, but this poor boy was tortured. I thought back on the story, and while Tristan seemed fairly normal, he was also a little off. He was off because of the torture he had endured earlier in his life, and then this asshole comes around and does the exact same thing to him! It made him lose his mind. So while it was very sad, it's probably for the best because who knows how he would have been after this. And from a different point of view on it, it was a little refreshing.

I know, "Refreshing?! Are you psycho?!" I'm not. But what I mean is that we read so many books where the main circle of people always remains alive and well. Real life doesn't happen like that; there are usually casualties on all sides in something like this. For example, ACOTAR does this. There's a HUGE war, and TONS of people die, but somehow everyone in the Inner Circle is alive and well. It's going to be a good underlying issue that all of these surviving characters deal with going forward. We'll be able to see how everyone deals with grief. We got a small glimpse of it, but there's going to be a second book. It's going to come up again.

I'm super stoked for the second book in this series. I'm not sure how many books she's planning, but we'll at least get one more story about this wonderful cast of characters. If you have thoughts on this and want to share them with me, please leave a comment! I'd love to talk about this book with people.

Until next time!

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