Read "The Assassin's Blade" first.
I'd started reading "Throne of Glass" because it was the first book published. But I quickly realized that I was missing a lot of information. So I did a quick Google search to see what "The Assassin's Blade" was about. I knew it was supposed to be a series of prequel novellas, but didn't want to read it if it didn't tie into Throne of Glass at all. Luckily I found out that Throne of Glass starts where The Assassin's Blade ends, so happily started reading that instead... However, I had just read the first chapter of Throne of Glass and knew something bad happens for Throne of Glass to begin, so kind of read through Assassins' Blade with a lot of dread.
Maas reveals some of the background info in Throne of Glass, but seems to assume that you would know things about Celaena's past.
But yes, read The Assassin's Blade first.
The Throne of Glass series follows the story of Celaena Sardothien and her quest to survive. She was found as an orphan by the lead assassin in the country when she was 8 and was then trained to be his heir. Her training is brutal, but he treated her as well as he could. At first, I was a little annoyed by her because she was always like "I'm the best" and "I'm beautiful". But you later realize that she's just repeating what people have always said to her. Not that it's untrue, but for her, her skills and her beauty are just tools for her to survive the world that she ends up in.
In Throne of Glass, the story goes as summarized in the book jacket. She is pulled into a competition to be the King's Champion (aka, personal assassin), and enters into a bit of a love triangle with the Crown Prince (Dorian) and the Captain of the Royal Guard (Chaol). I'm totally shipping Celaena and Chaol. Dorian is like the pretty boy you always crush on because he's gorgeous and knows how to talk to girls, but you ultimately know that it's too good to be true (no matter what he thinks at the time). Whereas Chaol is sturdy and takes care of you, and is still gorgeous AF. And gets you. Anyways, I'm not sure Celaena can handle another relationship yet after Assassin's Blade. Throne of Glass is a year and a couple months after Assassin Blade, so... she's still a bit scarred.
And if you ask, "Why are you reading a Young Adult novel? There's no sex in it" - I will reply "EXACTLY". The novels I've been reading have been a bit too focused on that lately and there's been very little character development. Also, I've been annoyed at how short the good books have been (I look at you Ilona Andrews - averaging 250 pages). Maas's books are around 350 pages so far. Harry Potter and Tamora Pierce's book are even longer. I've missed having a full proper plot. Although I haven't missed the mass of characters that are a symptom of fantasy epics - I don't think I could read Robert Jordan again or even attempt George RR Martin just yet.
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Saturday, October 22, 2016
Touch the Dark / Claimed by Shadow by Karen Chance
Remember when I mentioned post traumatic LKH syndrome? Well, Karen Chance brought on a full spasm worth. I only managed to read the first two books before I had to stop because it reminded me too much of LKH.
If you like LKH, you will probably like Karen Chance. Of what I've read, Karen Chance is at least better plot wise - there's more action to the story. They are very similar in that they throw in lots of violence, lots of sex and borderline rape scenes, and very little character development.
The main character of Karen Chance's series is Cassandra Palmer (Cassie), and she is a clairvoyant who was raised by vampires. She is human when the series begins, but according to the subsequent book summaries, she eventually becomes a god. When you meet her, she's been on the run for a few years, after having escaped the vampire mafia that raised her. Somehow, she was raised by the one ugly vampire in the entire series because she is soon kidnapped and forced to endure the attentions of multiple sexy vampires. And of course, ALL the sexy vampires want to have sex with her for one reason or another.
The first book was very fast paced, action packed with very little explanation for what was going on until two thirds of the way through. At which point, the action stopped and there was an extensive dialog between Cassie and the sexy vampires. Of course, this wouldn't be required if Cassie had any skills at listening. Instead, she is extremely stubborn and refuses to acknowledge the danger she's in and constantly runs off to do side missions with very little rationale. She basically annoyed the hell out of me.
The only reason I read the second book is that the first book ended in cliffhanger, and I went for it to see what happened. Story in book two continues a couple weeks (months? it's not clear but definitely not within days of the first book) later, and all I could think was, WHY ARE YOU STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BAD PLACE! And why haven't you been caught yet? Why are the sexy vampires letting you wander off being a fucking idiot with no skills. BTW, they don't tell you why.
There are certainly interesting ideas in there - UN of supernatural creatures, Jack the Ripper is now a vampire, and tattoos that hold spells. If only the main character wasn't so annoying and showed so little growth despite all the things that happen to her.
Also, there is time travel.
There's just too much going on in this series and I have trouble caring for the welfare of the main character. Cassie keeps saying she doesn't want to be Pythia, but keeps running into the fray to use the Pythia's powers. Make up your damn mind woman! She's so fragmented that she doesn't seem like a real person.
Anyways, I won't be reading anymore of this series. Just writing this made me angry at how pointless Cassie Palmer is as a person.
If you like LKH, you will probably like Karen Chance. Of what I've read, Karen Chance is at least better plot wise - there's more action to the story. They are very similar in that they throw in lots of violence, lots of sex and borderline rape scenes, and very little character development.
The main character of Karen Chance's series is Cassandra Palmer (Cassie), and she is a clairvoyant who was raised by vampires. She is human when the series begins, but according to the subsequent book summaries, she eventually becomes a god. When you meet her, she's been on the run for a few years, after having escaped the vampire mafia that raised her. Somehow, she was raised by the one ugly vampire in the entire series because she is soon kidnapped and forced to endure the attentions of multiple sexy vampires. And of course, ALL the sexy vampires want to have sex with her for one reason or another.
The first book was very fast paced, action packed with very little explanation for what was going on until two thirds of the way through. At which point, the action stopped and there was an extensive dialog between Cassie and the sexy vampires. Of course, this wouldn't be required if Cassie had any skills at listening. Instead, she is extremely stubborn and refuses to acknowledge the danger she's in and constantly runs off to do side missions with very little rationale. She basically annoyed the hell out of me.
The only reason I read the second book is that the first book ended in cliffhanger, and I went for it to see what happened. Story in book two continues a couple weeks (months? it's not clear but definitely not within days of the first book) later, and all I could think was, WHY ARE YOU STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BAD PLACE! And why haven't you been caught yet? Why are the sexy vampires letting you wander off being a fucking idiot with no skills. BTW, they don't tell you why.
There are certainly interesting ideas in there - UN of supernatural creatures, Jack the Ripper is now a vampire, and tattoos that hold spells. If only the main character wasn't so annoying and showed so little growth despite all the things that happen to her.
Also, there is time travel.
There's just too much going on in this series and I have trouble caring for the welfare of the main character. Cassie keeps saying she doesn't want to be Pythia, but keeps running into the fray to use the Pythia's powers. Make up your damn mind woman! She's so fragmented that she doesn't seem like a real person.
Anyways, I won't be reading anymore of this series. Just writing this made me angry at how pointless Cassie Palmer is as a person.
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews
I ran out of books to read, and finally got around to trying Ilona Andrew's Kate Daniels series. It keeps coming up in my recommended reading lists, but I just wasn't sure I was up for another Vampire + Werewolf series where the lead is a kickass woman with undocumented super powers... I have post traumatic LKH syndrome. If you don't know, LKH is Laurel K Hamilton, and she writes the Anita Blake series. I read her books in high school, some of them were very good, but most of them had poor character development, random but frequent sex scenes, and very little plot development. But features Vampre + Werewolf + kickass woman with undocumented super powers.
Lucky for me, Kate Daniels was nothing like that. First, vampires are not sexy in this series at all. They are ravenous zombies that can be controlled by necromancers. Second, Were Lion. Third, her super powers are documented, she just has to acknowledge the truth of her power and the current limits to her power... so it's not like Anita Blake who just inexplicably becomes more powerful with each book.
I ended up loving this series. Powered right through the first to most recent one. Super entertaining, with good character development and plot. I like it when long series have individual plot within the novel and then an overarching plot that spans the series of books. It gives you something to look forward to, and you're rewarded for reading all the books in a series. Sherrilyn Kenyon also does that really well.
The relationship between Kate and Curran is very truthful. I was initially afraid that their sexual tension would go on forever without any resolution, but thankfully, the authors were kind and brought them together in the fourth book. I love that they did that, because you get to see more of a partnership dynamic where they must suffer and rely on each other. I feel that's more true to life, and certainly what you hope a good marriage would be like.
Lucky for me, Kate Daniels was nothing like that. First, vampires are not sexy in this series at all. They are ravenous zombies that can be controlled by necromancers. Second, Were Lion. Third, her super powers are documented, she just has to acknowledge the truth of her power and the current limits to her power... so it's not like Anita Blake who just inexplicably becomes more powerful with each book.
I ended up loving this series. Powered right through the first to most recent one. Super entertaining, with good character development and plot. I like it when long series have individual plot within the novel and then an overarching plot that spans the series of books. It gives you something to look forward to, and you're rewarded for reading all the books in a series. Sherrilyn Kenyon also does that really well.
The relationship between Kate and Curran is very truthful. I was initially afraid that their sexual tension would go on forever without any resolution, but thankfully, the authors were kind and brought them together in the fourth book. I love that they did that, because you get to see more of a partnership dynamic where they must suffer and rely on each other. I feel that's more true to life, and certainly what you hope a good marriage would be like.
Saturday, October 8, 2016
The Undoing by Shelly Laurenston
Update, I read book two of Shelly Laurenston's Crows series.
1. Not about Erin. It's about Jace Berisha, the berserker girl in the first book who likes to hide in closets and read depressing books.
2. Better than the first book.
Now that the world has been established in the first book, she spends less time explaining things, which is nice. And you get to see more of the group dynamic between the different viking clans, which is where the humor comes into play.
My only complaint, and this is a big one, is that she introduces the most amazing backstory about Jace and doesn't go into it in more detail. It ends with Jace walking into her grandmother's house for dinner. FULL STOP. Discovering Jace's back story was the best part of the whole book, including how amazing her grandmother is. The second best part being how cute Ski Eriksen (the love interest) is.
I hope there's going to be a whole book just on Jace and her family...
1. Not about Erin. It's about Jace Berisha, the berserker girl in the first book who likes to hide in closets and read depressing books.
2. Better than the first book.
Now that the world has been established in the first book, she spends less time explaining things, which is nice. And you get to see more of the group dynamic between the different viking clans, which is where the humor comes into play.
My only complaint, and this is a big one, is that she introduces the most amazing backstory about Jace and doesn't go into it in more detail. It ends with Jace walking into her grandmother's house for dinner. FULL STOP. Discovering Jace's back story was the best part of the whole book, including how amazing her grandmother is. The second best part being how cute Ski Eriksen (the love interest) is.
I hope there's going to be a whole book just on Jace and her family...
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