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book review for "the queen of nothing" by holly black

6/28/2020

Disclaimer: Do NOT read this review if you have not read “The Cruel Prince” or “The Wicked King.”
Book: Queen of Nothing
Author: Holly Black
Page Number: 305 Pages
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4/ 5 stars

The Cruel Prince: 5/5 (I rarely give out 5 stars by the way)
The Wicked King: 5/5
Queen of Nothing: 4 /5

“I hate being a fool. I hate the idea of my emotions getting the better of me, making me weak. But my fear of being a fool turned me into one.”

This is a review that pains me to write. I really wanted to love this book and had such high expectations…. QON (Queen of Nothing) just didn’t seem to have the magic that the other two books in the series had. I still devoured this book in one day but something was missing. Yet I can’t stand rating the last book of my 5th favorite series anything less than four stars, so it gets a few extra points simply out of pity.

Synopsis: Power is much easier to acquire than to hold on to. Jude has learned this the hard way after the recent betrayal she received from Cardan. Cursing herself over her stupidity, Jude now resides in the Mortal World, as a queen of nothing. Until Jude’s sister, Taryn, comes to her in search of help. One that requires Jude to venture into the Faerie World in which she is exiled from. But Elfame is not how she had left it. War is coming, and it is coming soon.

Right away, when I first got this book I was surprised at how short it was. There is no way everything can be resolved in just 305 pages! And I was right. There is still a lot of unresolved, barely touched on issues. I am predicting that this is because Holly Black has decided to keep things a bit open ended because she is thinking of a spinoff series, with Oak as the main character.
The shortness of the book also contributed to the ending being rushed, but more on that later.

“Come home and shout at me. Come home and fight with me. Come home and break my heart, if you must. Just come home.”

What I liked:

Jude: I’ve always loved Jude and considered her one of the most clever main protagonists ever. Usually I like Cardan and Jude equally, however Cardan was a huge disappointment in this book, so Jude stood out even more. Note: But I did think it was weird how Jude had become less revenge motivated in this book.
The First 75 Pages: I don’t even know why I enjoyed these pages as much as I did, but they were awesome! Spoilers: This book did not disappoint in the first 75 pages which is up until after Cardan discovers that it was Jude at the inquisition and not Taryn. I loved these initial pages because I got to read about how Jude was adjusting to the Mortal World and I got to read about the scene where Jude and Cardan meet again! *squeals*
Grima Mog: I love her!!!! And that fight scene at the beginning of the book was awesome.
Madoc’s Ending: Spoilers: I’m actually happy with the ending that Madoc gets. They all get to live together as a family again and Madoc can try to become the good father that he never was. Although there are many problems with this ending (Madoc could fill Oak’s head with propaganda and ideas for when he gets older and becomes king), I still love Madoc’s ending.

“‘It’s you I love,’ he says. ‘I spent much of my life guarding my heart. I guarded it so well that I could behave as though I didn’t have one at all. Even now, it is a shabby, worm-eaten, and scabrous thing. But it is yours.’ He walks to the door to the royal chambers, as though to end the conversation. ‘You probably guessed as much,’ he says. ‘But just in case you didn’t.’”

Why this book was a massive disappointment:

Cardan: Ok I know that in an enemies to lover trope, they can’t always stay enemies and that the boy can’t always be a jerk…. But I didn’t expect Cardan to be a master of trickery in “The Wicked King” and then suddenly turn into a mushy, super nice guy in “Queen of Nothing”. Where’s the transition? As a reader, it would have really helped to actually read about the pain that Cardan felt when Jude was gone and see how that pain turned into love instead of just Cardan saying “I missed you while you were gone” or something like that. Cardan felt out of character this whole book.
Lady Asha: What was the point? There’s all this built up tension about Lady Asha and her circle of rebels. You would think that she would play a role in this book, but SHE. DOESN’T. She has absolutely no role in this book, which makes me mad, because the ending could have used more plot twists/action. Which leads me to my next point:
The Battle (Spoilers): Was there even one? This was supposed to be a high stakes battle and the final one in this series. It should have ended the series with a bang! Instead the “battle” (if you can even call it one) lasted about 3 pages and had no action whatsoever. Why did Jude even bother gearing up for a battle? Nothing happened. To make things even more dull, Holly Black decided to make Madoc surrender (which seemed very out of character for Madoc).
The Lame Ending (Spoilers): Cardan turning into a snake was unexpected and I was happy that finally there is some kind of plot twist in this book! However the ending just erased the impact of that scene. Even though I love Cardan, the ending would have had a more lasting impact if he had died. (I didn’t get the need to resurrect Cardan? Jude chopped off the snake’s head so he should have been dead.) My favorite endings are always the most memorable, in which a character that was very dear to me dies. As much as I hate characters dying, without it, the book seems too perfect. In “Queen of Nothing”, nobody died and it made the ending seem unrealistic, especially since they all just came out of a huge “battle”.
Cardan’s reason for Exilement (Spoilers): Seriously? After that amazing plot twist at the end of “The Wicked King”, you’re telling me that it was all just a big misunderstanding on Jude’s part?! It would have been so much better if Cardan actually had intention to take revenge on Jude and that’s why he exiled her.
Jurdan: I loved this couple so much but I didn’t feel the magic between them like I did in the first two books.

“By you, I am forever undone”

While I didn’t like this book as much as I wanted to, I still am sad to see these characters go. Jude and Cardan will always have a special place in my heart. The Cruel Prince is a book that I will never stop recommending and even if the last installment in the series wasn’t the best, I will continue to recommend this trilogy!

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Book review for a court of wings and ruin by sarah j maas

6/18/2020

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Blog Post 12:

Disclaimer: Do NOT read this review if you have not read ACOTAR, ACOMAF or ACOWAR. Book: A Court of Wings and Ruin
Author: Sarah J Maas
Page Number: 699 Pages
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 3/ 5 stars

Note: If you are a Sarah J Maas stan or an ACOTAR series fan, this review is probably not for you. I just finished reading ACOWAR and I’m using this space to rant.

I’ve never gotten why people get so hyped over Sarah J Maas’s books.

This book only raises my confusion.

I’ll agree that ACOWAR is better than ACOMAF, (even if I gave it a lower rating than ACOMAF), I didn’t like several aspects of this book, hence the 3 stars.

Here is my rant:

Characters:

Rhysand: I’m sorry to say this but he has the personality of a brick. He only does two things in the entirety of the book: Flirt with Feyre or become a martyr and wish to self sacrifice himself. Where did the Rhysand from the first book go? This one only cackles at Feyre’s poor jokes (once or twice is fine but she could do literally anything and Rhysand would smirk, or Feyre would feel laughter down the mating bond and etc.). I know this is a super unpopular opinion.. but Rhysand, for me, is bland in ACOMAF and ACOWAR.
Feyre: A lot of her actions annoyed me. ALSO can we please talk about what a hypocrite she is? She spent the entire second book and even the beginning of the third book complaining how no one in the Spring Court helped her even when they knew she was suffering. Then in the beginning of the third book, there is a guard getting 21 lashes (for no reason but stupid Ianthe set him up). Feyre did NOTHING to help him. She had the full capability of stopping the lashes or at least taking away the guard’s pain with her powers much like how Rhysand did in the first book. But she chose to do nothing. And THEN she had the AUDACITY on the next page to expect an apology from the other guards in the court for letting her suffer in ACOMAF. I was angry because Feyre expected the guard to help her when she’s in pain but she doesn’t extend that courtesy when there was a guard in front of her getting whipped? Hypocrite much? Anyways, onto the next point. I found it hilarious that every time Feyre opened her mouth to speak, everyone else would act as if she was a goddess speaking the most wisest words in the world. In reality, her “words of wisdom” were actually quite plain. Sarah J Maas usually writes this so then she can write in the next sentence: “She felt pride through the mating bond.”. Wow….. Feyre could literally ramble about anything and Rhysand and the Inner Circle would listen to those words as if they were the most precious thing they’ve ever heard. For example, when Feyre and Lucien are running from Lucien’s brother and Cassian and Azriel finally come to the rescue, Feyre says: “I am the High Lady of the Night Court.” The very next sentence was something like: “Feyre could feel the pride coming off of Cassian”. WHY? She merely stated a fact that was less than ten words… Why was Cassian reacting like she stated some fancy monologue?

Another scene that ticked me off was when Feyre ran off to the Suriel without telling Mor where she was going. When Mor got mad at her and told her that she was going out of her mind because she was worried for Feyre, Feyre’s response was so unrelated and unnecessary. She basically spun it back to Mor and was like: SO WHAT?? YOU HAVE FEELINGS FOR AZRIEL! Uhhh… what does that have anything to do with the conversation?
Sidenote: This is getting long but whatever happened to Feyre’s painting skills?
“The movement was so perfect that I knew I’d one day paint it.”
I haven’t seen Feyre paint since she returned from the Spring Court. I get she’s busy with the war and stuff, but she wasn’t too busy to keep from flirting with Rhysand.

Nesta: Loved her… but the “I’m too cool for you” act was getting a bit tiresome by the end
Elain: Is she even relevant to this story?
AMREN: I LOVE HER.. that’s it. No rant here.
Varian: Amren and him were so random. Not everyone needs a love interest.
My Mate: I saw someone say that there were about 200 “My mate” quotes in this book. Every time this “m” word was mentioned, it made me almost rip out my hair. Enough said.
Hybern: When SJM said “Hybern” what did she even mean? Hybern stands for the king, the kingdom, the location, etc. So whenever she just said “Hybern”, which she did countless times, I was so confused. Which meaning of the word was she referencing?
Nesta’s Powers: Am I the only one confused on the specifics of Nesta’s powers? I get her powers are about death but what specifically can she do?
THE ENDING: I could rant about the ending for days! The ending was just so….lame

Hello? I thought this was a high stakes war! And not a single soul dies? Not even Amren who SJM JUST HAD TO REVIVE FROM THE DEAD?! I love Amren but that ending was such a bad way to conclude. It was like a gift wrapped up in bows. Rhysand was dead and there was no way he could have possibly come back to life since he was already Fae. The spell from all the high lords shouldn’t have worked but WHY NOT MAKE IT WORK since you WANT TO GIVE US A PERFECT ENDING!!! Amren literally sacrificed herself and died beautifully. AND THEN SHE CAME TO LIFE AGAIN! It took away the entire meaning of her death! Oh and all the super powerful creatures that were actually somewhat interesting (Bone Carver, Weaver) were killed off in seconds. Wow… just wow. And you’re telling me, that when all those creatures died, Elane magically survived and was able to kill the king? Ok then….

Confusing Plot: I’m so glad that this book actually had a plot unlike ACOMAF and ACOTAR. It had action scenes and actually kept me from going insane and rating this book a one star. The plot made this book interesting. However, the plans in this book made no sense whatsoever. Didn’t Amren tell everyone that if the Bone Carver were to come out of the prison, it would just have to bind itself to a normal Fae body? Then how was it able to come out as the Bone Carver in the end? This is just one of the many things I’m confused about in this book.

To sum it up, I did not particularly love this series. It was ok. I don’t get the hype over these characters because they all seem pretty bland to me. The first book (ACOTAR) was the only good one. It only went downhill from there.

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Book review for a court of mist and fury

6/6/2020

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Disclaimer: DO NOT read this blog post if you have not read ACOTAR!
Book: A Court of Mist and Fury
Author: Sarah J Maas
Page Number: 656 Pages
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars

“When you spend so long trapped in darkness, Lucien, you find that the darkness begins to stare back.”

Ok where do I start? I have so many thoughts on this book….to put it simply, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the first one. Don’t get me wrong, I was hooked on ACOMAF from the beginning but despite it having a little bit more action than the last one, I found myself downright angry and frustrated to the max at some parts, which I will explain further down in this review.

Synopsis: Post Acotar and the war with Amarantha, Feyre has found herself still traumatized from the events that happened Under the Mountain. In addition, trouble is brewing in Prythian. Amarantha was only the beginning and there are much worse things in store for the Fae. Feyre realizes that she holds the power that may be the key to save them all.

“I was not a pet, not a doll, not an animal.
I was a survivor, and I was strong.
I would not be weak, or helpless again
I would not, could not be broken. Tamed.”

This book made me so furiated at times so right off the bat, here are the things I didn’t like about this book: (Sorry if this comes off as harsh- no hate to those who love ACOMAF but in my opinion, here are the parts I didn’t like about this book)

SJM ruining characters: Can someone please tell SJM that she doesn’t need to ruin characters like Tamlin (And Choal in TOG) in order for us to like her other love interests? It’s so not necessary! It was very obvious that the Tamlin in this book is a completely different character than the one in ACOTAR. Why? What was the need to ruin him? Falling out of love is perfectly normal… there was no need to demolish Tamlin’s character to get Feyre and Rhysand together. This just angers me. Authors should be able to make us fall for the other love interest without destroying the first love interest. This was just plain manipulation and left me with no choice but to ship Feyre and Rhysand (Still love Rhysand and Feyre though).
Feyre: Honestly I could rant about her all day. In the beginning, my heart pained for her and what she was going through. That sympathy vanished soon enough. First of all, did it not even cross her mind that Tamlin was going through PTSD from Under the Mountain as well? Rhys, Feyre and Tamlin all suffered and were reflecting on in their own ways. Tamlin’s first instinct was to protect Feyre because he couldn’t do so before. Rhys acted differently because he experienced something different. He let Feyre make her own choices because he understood what it was like to be unable to make decisions for yourself. Tamlin and Rhysand went through different things and so it is natural they responded in different ways after it. Then Feyre had the NERVE to compare them? I get one or two comparisons but she compared the two of the males once every page. Ugh Tamlin would never let me go along on this mission but Rhysand is perfect and he lets me go along! Sigh. It got so tedious… like we get it! SJM obviously put all those comparisons to show how much Rhysand is Mr. Perfect while showing that Tamlin is a piece of trash. The reader can make these comparisons by themselves….

Spoiler: It was completely unacceptable for Tamlin to lock up Feyre and I would do the same thing Feyre did if I was her. But what I’m mad about is how much Feyre victimized herself while portraying Tamlin as the bad guy when both of them went through horrible experiences.

Plot is nonexistent: If I thought ACOTAR had little plot, this one’s plot was nonexistent. At least in ACOTAR, I could give you a clear step by step summary of what happens in that book. ACOMAF was all over the place. First of all, where was the action? Where was the villain? There’s some awesome, powerful villain in Hybern and we only see him in the last 20 pages? And when we do see him, he just lets Feyre and everyone go as soon as they come in because that’s realistic. Excuse me? I was promised a very powerful King. Seriously, what a missed opportunity! I was expecting an epic fight scene with the King of Hybern. SJM writes fight scenes really well (Throne of Glass fight scenes are very well written), so it struck me as a surprise when there was no action. This whole book was basically Feyre realizing her feelings for Rhysand. (It was fun at first but when the whole book revolves around this romance, it became beyond boring.)
Mr. Perfect Rhysand: Ok, don’t get me wrong, I love Rhysand but where was the mysterious man from the first book. The Rhysand in the previous book was cunning and mysterious and interested me. The Rhysand in this book bored me in the second half. Gone was his deviousness and mysteriousness and in came his “perfect” qualities. In the effort to make us all love Rhysand and hate Tamlin, SJM made Rhysand too perfect, with no flaws. I wish he was just like the Rhys in the first book and then later in the ACOMAF, we get past his shells and see his true self. Instead, right away in the first hundred pages we suddenly got introduced to a new Rhys.
SPOILERS (Skip this paragraph): The dream where Rhysand knew Feyre was his mate was disappointing. I just hoped that Rhysand had taken time to fall in love with her after he got to know her in ACOMAF. Instead it was kind of like he suspected the whole time she was his mate and it just felt less romantic…. (Also when does Feyre feel the mating bond? Rhysand felt it at the end of ACOTAR and doubled in pain because of it. Will this not happen to Feyre or will it happen in ACOWAR?)
Too Graphic: Uhhh chapter 55? Chapter 48? Chapter 2? Too graphic and I’m just going to leave this there as a warning for those who haven’t read the book yet.

Questions (SKIP FOR SPOILERS):

Ash Arrows: In the first book I thought it made it clear that ash arrows kill the Fae no matter where it’s pierced. Yet, in this book when Rhys was pierced with one, he didn’t die.
Is having a Mate rare? I thought in the first book it said mates were rare.. But maybe I read wrong. If they are rare, it doesn’t make much sense to make Elain and Lucien mates….

Sidenote/ kinda spoiler : Unrelated, but was anyone else laughing every time Feyre said “my mate”? I found it funny because she said this every two sentences while longingly looking at Rhysand… haha.

I know it seems like I hated every aspect of this book but there are actually many parts I enjoyed, which is why I’m giving this book 3 stars:
“‘Smile again,’ he whispered. I hadn’t smiled for him. Ever. Or laughed. Under the Mountain, I had never grinned, never chuckled. And afterward … And this male before me … my friend.. For all that he had done, I had never given him either. Even when I had just … I had just painted something. On him. For him. I’d—painted again. So I smiled at him, broad and without restraint. ‘You’re exquisite,’ he breathed.”

The side characters: I need more of Mor (haha get it), Nesta, AMRENNN (love her attitude and wished we got to see more of her fight scenes) and Cassian. (I left out Elain because she has the personality of a doorknob). I loved these characters and found myself more invested in their stories than Feyre’s.
Feyre’s PTSD: Hands off to SJM! This was very well written and I really did sympathize with Feyre (until she started acting like she was the only one who was allowed to feel pain and Tamlin was supposed to be perfect).
THE ENDING: The real reason for the three stars. AHHHH!!! Except I didn’t like how the King who was supposed to be a scary villain was really just a big flop and didn’t do anything.
Rhysand and Feyre: They were so cute in the first half of this story! And then it became boring after a while because this whole book was just about romance but I enjoyed Feysand nonetheless.

“To the stars who listen—and the dreams that are answered.”

I know it sounds like I downright hated this book but I actually thought it was ok. I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it completely (except for a few parts). ACOMAF is definitely worth a try! Most people love it and I really tried hard to love it too but I guess it just wasn’t for me. I’m still going to try ACOWAR and see if it’s better than this book.

“‘You will feel that way every day for the rest of your life,’ Rhysand said. This close, I could smell the sweat on him, the sea-and-citrus scent beneath it. His eyes were soft. I tried to look away, but he held my chin firm. [...]“You can either let it wreck you, let it get you killed like it nearly did with the Weaver, or you can learn to live with it.’”

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book review for "the queen of nothing" by holly black

Book review for a court of wings and ruin by sarah j maas

Book review for a court of mist and fury

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