Tag Archives: spoilers

Observations on The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

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dream thieves This is my favorite book in The Raven Cycle (so far). Gansey in his Ganseyness. Adam in his Adamness and Blue in her Blueness but most importantly Ronan in his Ronaness. I love him.

  • If you could dream anything and bring it back with you when you awoke, what would it be?
  • What really turned Declan and Ronan into enemies?  Is it just that Declan is a liar and that he upheld Niall’s will without a fight?
  • How long has Declan known about Ronan and Niall?
  • Oh Poor Adam.  It’s almost painful to read about his abuse and almost harder to read him think that he deserved it.
  • I know Adam had to accept his bargain but maybe when he started to see strange things, maybe that’s the time to go to the women who deal with strange things?
  • I don’t think I’ll understand the internet stanning for Kavinsky?  He’s a terrible human being to put it mildly.
  • I’m quite charmed by the courtship of Maura and the Gray Man. To quote Hamilton “So this is what it’s like to match wits”
  • Calla is amazing.  Her interactions with Ronan are always a delight.  They should have more scenes together.
  • I wish I knew more about the Gray Man and his brother.  I get his brother is a sociopath but I feel like there is more there.
  • champagne mistake.  the champagne atrocity.  I just loved how the Gray man described his rental car.
  • Let’s talk about Ronan’s sexuality or how little it’s talked about.  I think that’s it’s great that he never out right says his gay. He doesn’t have too. It’s pretty clear that he is.  Just as it’s pretty clear that Gansey is straight.
  • I wonder if there is more to the break in to Calla’s office at Aglionby.
  • Kate pointed this out but I do love how Maggie writes her female characters.  They stand up for themselves.  They never play the damsel in distress.  When Adam loses his cool when arguing with Adam, Blue doesn’t apologize for making him angry or stands and takes it.  She just tell Adam that she would be outside and he can join her if he calms down.  Take note ladies.

I think I had a few more thoughts but now I can’t remember.  Oh well.  Onto Blue Lily Lily Blue.

Review: Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

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lady midnight** Spoilers Ahead**

The Clave are dicks.  I mean seriously.  In case you don’t know what I’m talking about, the Clave is the who rules the Shadowhunters, with the Council that makes the decisions.  They are not the most understanding of people. They are definitely judgemental.  For those who read City of Heavenly Fire know that outcome of the Dark War lead to the Shadowhunters basically cutting ties with Fairies because of their roles in Sebastian Morgenstern’s rebellion.  This meant that the two older Blackthorn siblings, Helen and Mark who are half fairy.  Mark was taken by the Wild Hunt at the beginning of the City of Heavenly Fire and Helen was banished to Siberia by the end.  They both had nothing to do with Sebastian and the fairies who fought with him but since they had fairy blood, the Clave was afraid they were side with them so they banished one and abandoned another.  So basically because of the actions of a few, everyone like them are punished.  (Does that sound familiar to anyone?)  Emma’s parents were found dead with strange markings, blamed on  Sebastian’s rebellion even though their deaths resemble nothing that he or his followers did before or after.  Emma is convinced that their death is not related and their killers are still out there but the Clave have shut the door on in.  That leads five years later when Lady Midnight begins.
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Review: Half Lost by Sally Green

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Half Lost

I don’t even know where to begin with this review.  After finishing this book I said this on Twitter.

So yeah.  That ending.  I can’t say what it is because that would be an obvious spoiler but damn.  I’m still in tears thinking about it.  This series has been very surprising.  Sally Green did not hold back in the finally. It was chaotic and tense and painful.  I’m heartbroken for so many characters, Nathan and particular.  He is a boy who his whole life has been told he is bad for because of who he’s father is.  He is not and has never been.  Yes, he has done bad things. Some forgivable and some quite questionable but not a bad person.  He has from a young age been tortured and manipulated.  Used for one groups goals for another.  He had few people who truly cared about him and betrayed by one he truly cared about.  Only to find his true love, his soul mate.  The one person who truly believed in him and that is Gabriel.  I spent most of the first half, hoping that Nathan would look up an see Gabriel for who he really is and see that his love wasn’t just one way.  Gabriel questioned Nathan, he challenged him not because he didn’t believe in him but because he did.  He wanted what was best for Nathan and willing to go along with him no matter what.  It was a beautiful love story.  Nathan is not in a good place at the beginning of book but works his way through.  He may have thrown himself with the Alliance because it was best chance for revenge but by then end he understood that the Alliance was the best way to get his freedom.  As long as Soul and his White Witches continue to rule, he would always be watching his back.  So he does what no one else can.  He leads the fight.  War is hard.  There is always a price and the price Nathan paid may have been too much.  I know it was for me.  I felt a little broken like Nathan was by the end.  The ending was nothing buy heartbreaking and tragic but happy endings don’t always happen in real life either.

Half Lost unexpectedly helping me with my Diverse Lives, Diverse Stacks Reading Challenge by being a book with a Queer Character.  In the previous books, Gabriel’s feelings for Nathan were pretty clear but besides a kiss and some hints in Half Wild I didn’t think that Nathan would return Gabriel’s feelings.  I hope he would.  There was no confusion.  No pronouncement, I am Gay or Bi or Queer.  Just this was the person he wanted to be with and that was it.  I do believe that Nathan did love Annalisse but not in love with her.  She was first person outside his Grandma and siblings that treated him like he could be good or was good and he so desperately wanted but that wasn’t love.  There was nothing fake or forced about his relationship with Gabriel it was true.

Review: Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

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glass swordBack in the complicated world of Mare Barrow.  **Spoilers** She’s been betrayed by Maven. Her dead brother isn’t dead and also has a super cool power.  Cal and Kilorn, two completely different boys who are totally in love with her are now in the same space.  Oh, and Mare now has to deal with the grief of killing people while pushing a revolution into high gear.  Yep, Mare has some things going on in her life.  I’m going to do something different then just a straight review.  I’m going to talk about how I felt reading this book.  If you’ve read any of my previous posts about the first book, Red Queen. Then you know how excited I was. (Also how disappointed that Barnes and Noble didn’t deliver it on timed)  I could go on and on about how much I enjoyed reading it and how it’s just as fast paced as the first.  Less then a chapter in and we are already into our first battle.  The emotional roller coaster I went through with Mare, Cal, Kilorn, Farley and Shade.  One of which I was pretty sure wasn’t going to make it to the end of the book.  (I won’t see who and sadly I was right). I could give you a synopsis of what happen but really, I’m probably spoiled enough of it already.  Just go read it!

As I was getting more and more into the story, I started to notice some disturbing signs.  I was pretty sure that I was not going to like how it ends  I was starting to see the end game and like I alluded to before, someone was going to die.  Someone was going to have face off with someone unpleasant and someone or someones were going to be heartbroken.  So I started to stall.  I figured I would just delay the inevitable. I distracted myself with other things. Since I was on vacation last week it was pretty easy to do.  I told my mom what I was doing and her response. “This is why I read the ending first”. BTW, she totally does and it’s adorable but I can’t do that.  That takes away the surprise! The suspense!  So I read a little bit a time until it was time for me to go home and when you are on a small commuter plane, there really is nothing else to do but read.  I had it finished before I got to Detroit.  It was painful as I thought it would be.  It didn’t play out exactly as I thought it would but yes the character I suspected was going to die, did.  The confrontation I thought was going to happen, did happen but not at all how I thought it did and it lead to one crazy cliffhanger.  And the heartbreaks were all around, myself included.  Readers, why do we do this to ourselves?  Why?  The good news I have time to process everything that happened and get my emotions back in check before the next book comes out.  The bad news (and also good news) is that there are two books to go. But really, is there anything better the agony and the ecstasy of a good book?  Yeah, I didn’t think so.

Review: The Iron Warrior by Julie Kagawa

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the iron warrior*Spoilers*

I’m not sure if Julie Kagawa counts towards our Diverse Stacks, Diverse Lives challenge since I would have read her books anyway.  This is the last book in the The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten series.  I knew I was going to read it as soon as I finished the last book, The Iron Traitor  and I’m going to read Soldier, the next book in her Talon series.   So counting her as my Asian American author doesn’t really go in the spirit of the challenge since we are trying read new authors,  However, I think it’s good to point out the diversity that is already in my reading list.  Yes, this is a little self serving, pat myself on the back type of thing but while I do mostly read white women, I’ve never been exclusively been just that and honestly until this past year I’m not sure I’ve noticed.  I’ve been reading Julie’s work for a couple of years now and it make me think.  I’m not sure where I’m going with this but you should read her work is all.

So The Iron Warrior is the last book in the The Iron Fey series’.  The first series followed Meghan as she transitions from normal teenage girl to Fairy Queen of the Iron Fey.  In Fairy mythology, iron has always been one their weaknesses and the human world has become more and more technologically advance the Nevernever has started to get poisoned, except for some of the Fairy who have adapted and created a new kingdom of Iron.  Call of the Forgotten is the continuation of the series but follows Meghan’s brother, Ethan and son , Kerrian.  Now, it’s been about a decade since Meghan has left and in that time Ethan has grown cursed with the sight and is constantly harassed by the Fey.  Then one day he finds himself back in the Nevernever with a new girl, Kenzie and his nephew, Kerrian, who is roughly the same age thanks to the fact that time moves differently in Faery.  Yeah, it’s weird.  It’s even weirder since Ethan didn’t even know that Kerrian even existed.  You see, their was a prophecy that one day Kerrian would kill Ethan and either destroy the courts or unite them.  So obviously everyone wants to keep them apart.  It didn’t work because the prophecy is set in motion when Kerrian does in fact stabbed Ethan and temporarily lifting the veil between faery and the human realms.  Now Kerrian is the champion for the Forgotten Queen who looks to lift the veil permanently and only Ethan can stop him.

Ethan is the type of hero I like.  He’s sarcastic and I do love sarcasm.  He’s also a fighter.  Not always the swiftest on the up take but he’s loyal.  He knows the stacks are high and despite being given outs several times throughout the book he never backs down.  Kerrian I’m not really digging.  He’s quite stubborn to the point of destroying the Nevernever.  Everything starts with Kerrian unwillingness to let go of his love. Since the story is from Ethan’s point of view, we don’t get to know the inner working of Kerrian’s mind and because of that I found him a little unsympathetic.  We all have people we love that we don’t want to lose but losing your soul for them.  Killing your uncle and friend.  No one would want that.  If he was able to keep his emotion’s in check all of this could have been avoided but then again we wouldn’t have a story.  Kenzie is my favorite.  She’s a normal human.  She’s not fairy or half fairy or related to.  She just happened to be with Ethan when he goes back and because she is curious and looks for adventure sticks around.  She is also sick so wants to live life to fullest.  That being said she is the smartest of them all.  She adapts quickly to the Nevernever.  She may not be a fighter but it’s often her quick thinking that saves them .  I would love a book just about her.

All and all this was a great series with a satisfying ending.  It’s not the usual fairy story and full of action and adventure.  If you like fairy books or fantasy, you can’t go wrong with the Iron Fey.

 

Review: Endure by Sara B. Larson

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endure  *Spoilers Ahead*

This is the final book in the Defy trilogy.  For those who are not familiar it follows Alexa who is a guard to Prince Damian but she has to be pretend she is a boy named Alex or be subjected to the cruel breeding houses.  Over the series Alex is exposed as Alexa, saves the Kingdom from the evil King of Antion, fall in love with the Prince but also have feelings for her fellow guard, Rylan. Then after all of that has the save kingdom once again from the even more evil King of the neighboring country of Dansaii.  That’s a real simplified synopsis but you get the idea.  It’s sort of the typical YA novel where the girl must defeat evil while trying to figure out who she loves at the same time.  It’s really isn’t much of a love triangle as Alexa is pretty clearly in love with Damian and Damian makes it pretty clear that he is in love with her but you know he’s the Prince and later the King and she’s just a guard. It can’t be simple as them saying I love you and be done with it.

Alexa is a good character.  She’s a fighter both figuratively and literally.  In this world there are sorcerers that have powers to create fires or earthquakes.  Alexa isn’t but a revelation that her father might have been one and she may have inherited some of his powers in the form of quick reflexes, which makes her on the best fighters in the Prince’s guard.  She is steadfast and loyal and despite many tragic deaths she still pulls though and gets things done.  As for the other characters, they are not as fleshed out as Alexa is. Damian is giving more time.  We get that he’s vulnerable and his doubts of his own abilities and loves Alexa. The same with Rylan.  He’s a good guy who always stands by Alexa but not much else.  I would have liked to know more about them and the other characters.  Maybe one of the flaws of first person story telling.  I get this feeling that YA authors are getting over their fears of killing off characters, no matter how important they are.  I think this is great because it does give books a little more drama.  I used to feel a little cynical when characters were in trouble because you sort of knew that authors wouldn’t risk alienating readers by killing off popular characters.  Well not any more.  Now it anyone can go and boy the body count is high in this one and many I was sad to see go.

It was good series with a good ending.  I’m glad that I read it but it’s not going to go down as one of my favorites.

Preview of The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

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hidden oracleWe are big fans of Rick Riordan here at Stacks so we or at least I am since Kate has yet to finish Blood of Olympus (and I will continue to publically shame her until she does, out of love of course). We saw that USA TODAY published the cover to the first book of Rick’s new series The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle.  The series is a small spoiler as to what happens to a certain God at the end of the last series but then again, if you know your Greek Mythology then you know that Apollo has a history of pissing off Zeus and that he gets turned into a human. The most exciting part of all of this is that it returns us to Percy Jackson’s world and another trip to Camp Half-Blood.  Rick may explore other mythologies like Egyptian in the Kane Chronicles and Norse in his latest Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard but he always seems to come back to Greek mythology and Percy. USA TODAY not only revealed the cover but also publish a short excerpt and it’s pretty clear that Apollo is in for a world of hurt.  After ten books from demi-gods point of view, it’s going to be fun to read from a God’s point of view, even if it is one turned human.

Who else is excited to read about Apollo’s adventures?  Or who is more excited about more Percy and the gang?  Is it May yet?

Rereading Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

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scarletNow on to Scarlet. I do love this book too.  I love the no nonsense of Scarlet.  The almost innocence of Wolf. Captain Thorne cockiness.  Cinder’s sarcasm. Kai’s sarcasm and Iko as a ship.  Just like I did with my rereading of Cinder, he’s a few observations I may have missed or didn’t think much of the first time around or just things that I love about this story. *Spoilers*

  1. Seriously, is there a better character as Iko ever.  Whether she is a regular android, a ship or an escort droid, she’s the best.  I mean that.  No way the team can accomplish anything if Iko wasn’t there.  She’s very Data like (Star Trek reference!) in her quest to be be and feel more human.  She’s a total optimist in the face of the immense odds and gets everyone going when they feel that can’t go on.  She’s the best!
  2.  When Kai starts to think that the Lunar’s are spying on him, why doesn’t he have his office swept then?  Why wait?  The worst thing that could happen is that there are no bugs and he was just paranoid but the best, he could have stopped  their spying a little sooner.  Of course, who knows what Levana’s reaction would have been then but she was probably going to attack anyway.
  3. Wolf not knowing what Tomatoes were and saying he was from Paris probably should have been a bigger red flag that he was not actually from Paris.  I’m not all that familiar with French food beyond pastries but I’m sure he would have at least seen a tomato before.
  4. How much time did Dr. Erland spend on building new hand and foot for Cinder?  Is that what he was doing when he was hiding from Levana instead of researching the antidote? Or did he have spare cyborg body parts at the ready and once he found her pulled out what he needed once he found her? And if Cinder hadn’t been arrested, when would he have given it to her?
  5. Anyone else want to talk about how creepy it was that Throne wanted to take an unconscious Emile hostage?
  6. How cute was Wolf when Scarlet suggested that she was his Alpha female?  Love seeing men blush.
  7. Let’s give props to Michelle Benoit.  She keeps the biggest secret the world has ever none for 11 years and still doesn’t give it up under severe torture.  Sacrifices herself and her son to do so and still was able to do some serious trash talking before she dies.

I feel like there was more  I wanted to say but I can’t remember.  I really should write these things done.  Next up, Cress.

Review: The Walls Between Us by Nova Ren Suma

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Featured imageThere are some authors that other authors just swoon over.  Nova Ren Suma is one of them and I really don’t get it.  Her prose is quite beautiful but I’ve always had a hard time getting into her books and they are not that memorable after I have read them. The only thing I remember about the other book I have read by her, Imaginary Girls was that it had a good ending and I think one of the girls died for the other.  The common thread of these books is that her characters are shrouded in mystery.  I’m not sure what I’m missing.  It’s not that I don’t like her books but I don’t find them to be as wonderful as I they are supposed to be.  Then again, reading is subjective.  What someone likes someone else might not.

The Walls Around Us is the story of three girls.  Amber is in a juvenile dentition center for girls, serving time for a crime she may or may not have committed with little chance of getting out anytime soon.  Violet is a ballet dancer, who is on the verge of getting everything she has ever wanted.  She just graduated high school and is about to start at Julliard for more training.  Orianna is the link between the two of them.  As the story unfolds, we discover who did what and who is innocent and who is guilty.

Major spoilers ahead Continue reading →

Review: Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

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Featured imageThings are getting real for Calaena, Chaol, and Dorian and they have new friends too!  Just like my review of the previous book, Crown of Midnight this review will contain spoilers! Spoilers from this book as well as Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight. So if you haven’t read any of them and don’t want it spoiled for then don’t read any further. 

(P.S. Usually Kate and I edit each others posts before they go live but since I want her to read this series I didn’t ask her to take a look.  Please forgive any errors I might have made.)

Now that is out of the way, let’s get started.

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