Review: A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

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A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3)Information…
Title/Author: A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses (#3)
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens Books
Release Date: May 2, 2017
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Rating: ✭✭✭✭✩

Looming war threatens all Feyre holds dear in the third volume of the #1 New York Times bestselling A Court of Thorns and Roses series.

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s manoeuvrings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit – and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well.

As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords – and hunt for allies in unexpected places. 

In this thrilling third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Sarah J. Maas, the earth will be painted red as mighty armies grapple for power over the one thing that could destroy them all.

I will admit, A Court of Mist and Fury was definitely better than this finale. Not that ACOWAR was bad, it just lacked it some things that I really wanted to see. Things that were in ACOMAF that I was hoping to see again. But, this violence-heavy novel definitely kept my attention and satisfied my needs for the ending of this trilogy.

What I liked…

Let’s dive straight into what I loved most: the violence. I’m usually never a lover of violence, but this book was filled with so much of it that I started to really enjoy it. Obviously, most readers expected to see a big war at the end of the book (TOTALLY OBVIOUS) but there was so much more violence. I can’t even count how many fights there were in the novel. It was bloody and awesome. Whether it was just a training scene between Cassian and Rhys or it was a full-out war, there was enough violence in this book to last a lifetime!

I really enjoyed reading about the evolution of each character throughout the series. As ACOWAR is the final book in an intense, fantasy series, we got to see the end of each character’s evolution. Whether we are talking about the differences between Feyre from ACOTAR to ACOWAR or how both Elain and Nesta changed between ACOMAF and ACOWAR, it’s a big difference. Every character changed, for better and for worse, and it was really neat to see how each character changed throughout the series.

I also really liked the huge shifts in the storyline. It still ended how anybody who has read ACOTAR would expect it to end, but there are scenes in ACOWAR that you wouldn’t expect to happen… EVER. There are both people that you would never expect to come to the Night Court’s rescue and major cliffhangers that WILL drive you insane. Some of these unexpected scenes you will hate, while others you will love. But let me tell you, you definitely will not hate Tamlin as much as before.

Finally, I have to talk a little bit about this gorgeous cover. I don’t think there is one thing I dislike about this cover. The background is a beautiful shade of green and Feyre looks both beautiful and fierce in her “Charlie Bowater inspired” dress.

What I didn’t like…

I found that this novel lacked a lot of romance that I was anticipating. I constantly read reviews that listed this book as “NA” or “Too mature for young readers,” and it made m believe that this novel would be romance-heavy. But honestly, there weren’t many romantic scenes in this book . . . Unless you are talking about Cassian and Nesta, whom I loved. But I found that this book didn’t have enough romantic scenes between Feyre and Rhysand to satisfy me.

I also found that this book lacked a lot of Lucien scenes. After the events of ACOMAF, I thought that Lucien would be in almost every chapter of this book. But about a third into this book, Sarah J. Maas sent Lucien away until the end of the book. He had so much potential in this book and we were unable to see most of it.

Favorite quotes…

“Night Triumphant- and the Stars Eternal.”

“I would have waited five hundred more years for you. A thousand years. And if this was all the time we were allowed to have… the wait was worth it.”

Overall…

Although this book wasn’t able to beat ACOMAF, I was still really able to enjoy it. It was filled with enough violence and humor to last me through 2018. In the end, I gave this book 4/5 stars. If you have not picked up this series yet, you need to go run to your local bookstore and grab a copy of A Court of Thorns and Roses. Although you might have mixed feelings after the first novel, the last two are worth starting this trilogy!

Amazon | Chapters/Indigo | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Happy Reading,
Alaina

Review: If There’s No Tomorrow by Jennifer L. Armentrout

REVIEW

If There's No TomorrowInformation:
Title/Author: If There’s No Tomorrow by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Standalone
Release Date: September 5, 2017
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance
Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭

A single choice can change everything.

Lena Wise is always looking forward to tomorrow, especially at the start of her senior year. She’s ready to pack in as much friend time as possible, to finish college applications, and to maybe let her childhood best friend Sebastian know how she really feels about him. For Lena, the upcoming year is going to be epic—one of opportunities and chances.

Until one choice, one moment, destroys everything.

Now Lena isn’t looking forward to tomorrow. Not when friend time may never be the same. Not when college applications feel all but impossible. Not when Sebastian might never forgive her for what happened.

For what she let happen.

With the guilt growing each day, Lena knows that her only hope is to move on. But how can she move on when she and her friends’ entire existences have been redefined? How can she move on when tomorrow isn’t even guaranteed?

YOU GUYS, this book was amazing. Literally, I read this weeks ago and I am still beyond words with how good this book was. I have been struggling to come up with the words to express my emotions for this book, but it just hasn’t been working. I don’t think I can do it justice. But, this review really can’t wait forever.

For those of you who didn’t already know, Jennifer L. Armentrout is my favorite author. I have read (and reviewed!) so many of her books, and have yet to hate any of them. This one was no exception. It was flawlessly written with amazing characters, a tear-worthy plot and a romance that beats so many others.

What I liked…

Literally everything. I flew through this book so fast since there was nothing that I disliked.

The plot in this book was what originally attracted me and made me want to read this book, as it does with most. Most of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s YA contemporaries follow a main female who has gone through something traumatic in their life. For Lena Wise, it was a car crash. A devastating car crash that changed both her as a person, and her view of the future. She didn’t want to look back but she also feared what would come tomorrow. But the big question was “what if there was no tomorrow?” What if she had died in that car crash and not lived to get married, have children or even to go to college.

If anything, Lena Wise is one of my favorite JLA females. She was a volleyball player, an avid reader, a lover of history, and simply a girl who cannot wait to move on to college. But her life takes a turn of events when she happens to be in a devastating car crash. She no longer is as happy as before, nor is she as open. She became secretive, which caused her to *almost* break apart multiple friendships and relationships. But most of all, it almost cost her her best friend and crush.

Sebastian, Sebastian, Sebastian. What a babe! Football player, extremely hot, and super emotional. Literally, if any character shed more emotions than Lena in this novel, it was Sebastian. He proved how much he cared for her, even before he confessed his love. He was chivalrous and treated Lena like royalty. I don’t know how, but I am pretty sure that Jennifer L. Armentrout is the queen of writing about hot gentlemen.

The romance in this book was AMAZING! I absolutely love romance in books and most of the time YA books don’t have enough to satisfy me. But this one had such a sweet and cute romance that I could rant about for hours. Let’s just get it out there that Lena and Sebastian are definitely on my OTP list.

Also, does anyone else just love when authors mention one of your favorite series in their books? Possibly you are even a fan of the ACOTAR series by Sarah J. Maas… Well, you are in store for a treat. Within the first 100 pages of this book, the author mentioned the series approximately 10 times. Our main character, Lena, hit home with how much she loves reading!

My favorite quotes…

“I knew I couldn’t go back and start a new beginning. I couldn’t rewrite the middle. All I could do was change tomorrow, as long as I had one.”

“Sometimes I just wanted to…I don’t know, escape life. To delve headfirst into a world that dealt with real-life issues to open my eyes, or a world that was something else, something completely unreal. One with warring faes or roaming vampire clans. I wanted to experience new things and always, always, read the last page feeling satisfied.
Because sometimes happily-ever-after existed only in the books I read.”

 

Overall…

This book was unlike anything I have ever read before. It was inspiring and proved how one wrong mistake can totally change your life. Jennifer L. Armentrout’s character were very relatable and realistic. I’ve mentioned so many times on this blog about how I love Jennifer L. Armentrout’s books and this is why: they never fail to thrill and excite me.

Amazon | Chapters/Indigo | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Happy Reading,
Alaina