Friday Reads November 2, 2018

Hello and happy Friday! If you checked my YouTube channel you can see that I did a fall recommendations video for all of the spooky reads I recommended last month! Does anyone else just love reading all the scary and creepy books not only in October, when Halloween is approaching, but all fall and winter when the weather is cooling down? Especially during a snow storm or when it's raining! So check that out if you're interested. I included a broad array of genres.

This weekend I plan on finally having a pretty mellow weekend where I get a good amount of reading done and get caught up on writing newer reviews for you guys and filming a couple of videos (my October wrap up, October book haul, a review, etc).

As you will see below, one of my all time favorite series released its final book last week and I am officially a little over half way through the 1,000 page tome. And that book is Kingdom of Ash! Like many readers I am a major Sarah J. Maas fan and I first fell in love with her work when I picked up a floppy paperback about a swaggering teenage assassin named Celaena Sardothien.

I remember that reading experience when I was eighteen and thinking that this book was really great and knew I'd probably like the rest of the series. Then I was blown away a few years later with Heir of Fire and thought that the series must have peaked. Oh if only I had known how much Maas would grow as an author and how far she would take us in this world and with these characters.

I grew up with this cast of misfits and it is absolutely breaking my heart to see this massive series coming to an end but I cannot express how grateful I am for the author's talent and the privilege it has been to get to know these amazing characters.

I have been filming a group of reaction videos every hundred or so pages as I am reading and keeping notes of every time the book has given me chills or made me cry. Hopefully I can finish the book soon (though I'm trying to make it last as long as possible!) and edit enough coherent footage to get a reading vlog up on my channel.

Check out some of my thoughts so far down below as well as the other book I am have been craving lately. The gold theme is completely unintentional.

Happy reading!

Title: Kingdom of Ash
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Page Count: 992
Progress: 563
Format Read: Hardcover
Genre: YA High Fantasy
Keywords: Strength, War, Loyalty
Kid Appropriate: Teens

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Years in the making, Sarah J. Maas’s #1 New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series draws to an epic, unforgettable conclusion. Aelin Galathynius’s journey from slave to king’s assassin to the queen of a once-great kingdom reaches its heart-rending finale as war erupts across her world. . .

Aelin has risked everything to save her people―but at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. Aware that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, though her resolve begins to unravel with each passing day…

With Aelin captured, Aedion and Lysandra remain the last line of defense to protect Terrasen from utter destruction. Yet they soon realize that the many allies they’ve gathered to battle Erawan’s hordes might not be enough to save them. Scattered across the continent and racing against time, Chaol, Manon, and Dorian are forced to forge their own paths to meet their fates. Hanging in the balance is any hope of salvation―and a better world.

And across the sea, his companions unwavering beside him, Rowan hunts to find his captured wife and queen―before she is lost to him forever.

As the threads of fate weave together at last, all must fight, if they are to have a chance at a future. Some bonds will grow even deeper, while others will be severed forever in the explosive final chapter of the Throne of Glass series.

My thoughts so far:

I could not be more pleased with the strength of this finale. It so far has everything I could have wished for and more. The growth being displayed by all of the characters has moved me to tears over and over.

Sarah J. Maas is quite simply a master storyteller that has built an amazing world that it is incredibly easy to get lost in.

Manon has grown so much and every time I read one of her chapters I cannot believe that I used to hate this character. Elide and Lorcan are easily my favorite pair. And...I simply cannot express how much every scene is written to perfection. When I have to write this full review in a few days I know I am going to be devastated that it has all ended.

Title: The Sisters of the Winter Wood
Author: Rena Rossner
Page Count: 464
Progress: 0
Format Read: Hardcover
Genre: Fantasy
Keywords: Judaism, Fairytales, Eastern Europe
Kid Appropriate: Teens

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Raised in a small village surrounded by vast forests, Liba and Laya have lived a peaceful sheltered life - even if they've heard of troubling times for Jews elsewhere. When their parents travel to visit their dying grandfather, the sisters are left behind in their home in the woods.

But before they leave, Liba discovers the secret that their Tati can transform into a bear, and their Mami into a swan. Perhaps, Liba realizes, the old fairy tales are true. She must guard this secret carefully, even from her beloved sister.

Soon a troupe of mysterious men appear in town and Laya falls under their spell-despite their mother's warning to be wary of strangers. And these are not the only dangers lurking in the woods...

The sisters will need each other if they are to become the women they need to be - and save their people from the dark forces that draw closer.