Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

  Wow, Wow, WOW!!! Sooo much better! 
                           (third installment after Crown of Midnight)




I was agonizing over the first two books. It would be so good one second then so angsty, dramatic, and cheesy. This one started out with a little angst with Celaena being in a new country with no allies, but it progressively got better.

Celaena takes on the name she was born with, Aelin, and with this change she morphs into womanhood, becoming more comfortable with herself, her powers, heritage, and her role as Queen. She aims for change, and keeps a promise made to her dead friend in her heart. But it was moving to see her make personal progress with the troubles of her life and past. Not to mention, we get to meet Rowan.

Aelin's strict, battle harden, elven teacher. Yum. Team Rowan, please!
Besides the delicious side dish we are introduced to, we get to follow a new character line of blood thirsty witches. I found their story to be a tad distracting when I was more enamored with Aelin's, but I suppose it will lead to something important...eventually.

It does give hints as to what Dorian's father is up to, (nothing good, obviously). There is also some personal progression with Dorian and Chaol. We're left with a giant, frustrating cliffhanger, alas but I was quite thrilled with where Maas is taking her tale!

Lauren - 5 stars

My review for Queen of Shadows! 

Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken

5 stars

(sequel to The Darkest Minds)

Such an amazing sequel, I want to kick myself for putting it off for so long!

We pick up where we left off in the previous book but some time has passed. Ruby is now an official member of the Children's League, and has become much more comfortable with her powers compared to how out of control she was before.

She works for the League doing a variety of tasks, mostly unpleasant. Whether its missions to help attain goods for the League, or questioning prisoners aggressively, Ruby does what she needs to do though Liam and friends are a constant on her mind.

We get to meet a few new people, mostly people from Ruby's team. We have the sweet and loveable Jude though he can be annoying, to the rather bitchy but stunning beauty, Vida. We also get to meet Liam's older brother but with his arrival comes bad news: Liam is unknowingly carrying information that is important to his brother, and possibly vital to the League, which puts Ruby in a situation since she sacrificed everything to protect him. 

Things become especially complicated when Ruby finds that there are untrustworthy members of the League that have no problem killing children or any one who gets in their way of their higher goals. The story once again takes on an on the run theme, as Ruby seeks the information Liam carries in order to protect him while keeping out of the reach of the dangerous clutches of the rogue League members. 

Readers unite with old friends, meet new enemies, and encounter old ones as well. The ending of the book leaves off in a triumphant and dangerous cliffhanger that was absolutely brilliant. The third book, In the Afterlight, should be released this year!

The Shadow Throne by Jennifer A. Nielsen

4 stars
(Trilogy to The Runaway King)

An amazing conclusion to this trilogy!

And it was all done in classic Jaron style! I was rather impressed with how Jaron managed to work his way out of some tough situations, especially with his still injured leg, and how his friends were there for him in his most dire times of need and were extremely loyal.

Jaron is facing several enemies and finds himself quite short of the army he needs in order to face them. What else is there to be done if you're lacking brawn, except to outsmart with brains!

We get to see some fine strategy on Jaron's behalf, and losses too.

Most of all I was touched by the journey of this series. I watched a young rebellious boy go from the streets, to a Prince in an unwelcoming Kingdom, to a King defending his Throne, loyal subjects, and the people he considers family.

It was a delightfully strategic book with plenty of struggle and although I felt that this final book was missing just a touch of Jaron's clever pizzazz, it was still thoroughly enjoyable and I cannot wait for another book from Nielsen.

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

4.5 stars

I was a serious sucker for this cover. Dramatic wings? Yes, please!

A book that actually surprised me!

As mentioned on the cover, This book is a nearly perfect mix between Hunger Games and Ender's Game. Except people are classified as colors. 

Be warned, it takes a little bit for the story to pick up, so hang in there, because you won't regret it!

Darrow is a hero that you can't help but admire as he climbs the ranks in this tragic tale. His back story is one of hardship right from the beginning as he is a poor, hungry miner among his fellow people who are also suffering from the short end of the stick. Believing that some day their sacrifice will help make Mars habitable for future colonies you can imagine his anger when he discovers it is all for naught as they are considered merely slaves for the "upper classes," and that Mars has been lived on for quite a long time.

Darrow seeks revenge with the help of a rebel group, by taking on the disguise of a Gold, the highest rank of color in society, in order to earn the power he needs to complete his goals. 

I honestly expected something boring when I learned that Darrow was to enter a Gold's school. Classrooms, government, history, all that boring political stuff, right?  Imagine my surprise when he is forced to kill a fellow student with his bare hands in order to move on into a bloodier arena; a battlefield of strategic warfare.

The story itself was constantly exciting and yet horrifying, as we uncover secrets, experimentation, and how far humanity will go before they're simply monsters instead of men. There is an element of rape in here, so be warned. Nothing to horribly graphic, but it's there. 

I'm dying for next step of Darrow's story, because I'm honestly not sure what will happen next! 

Tune in, readers!