January Wrap Up

Well that was unexpected! I grossly underestimated the amount of books I was going to read in January! I planned for five books and I actually read eleven and finished ten. I blame the fact that some of the longer ones were really engaging, audiobooks, and the fact that the more time I spend in the book blogoshphere the more I want to read! My theme this month was High

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Series: Grisha Trilogy Book 1
Full Review
My Thoughts: A roller coaster ride of a fantasy novel with interesting and complex characters, a very cool world, lots of mystery, and enough action to keep everyone engaged if you are a fan of fantasy or not.
Rating: 9 out of 10

A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin
Series: A Song of Ice and Fire Book 4
Full Review
My Thoughts: An amazing High Fantasy series but not the best book in the bunch. The political intrigue and characters with redemptive arcs were there but very little magic, some of my favorite characters were not featured at all, and the perspectives are a little unbalanced. It got better as the book went on though and was very enjoyable.
Rating: 8 out of 10



Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
Series: Grisha Trilogy Book 2
Full Review
My Thoughts: Even better than the first book. The characters are growing and developing and the plot wasn't so much of a roller coaster. This one was much more character driving and left me with a book hangover desperately wanting the final book in the series.
Rating:  9.5 out of 10




A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin
Series: A Song of Ice and Fire Book 5
Full Review
My Thoughts: A Song of Ice and Fire like it should be. The missing favorites are back but so is the magic, the political intrigue, and characters with redemptive arcs. This book is full of so much mystery and theorizing that I can't help but plot the series conclusion. The cliffhangers left me with all the feels desperately longing for the next book.
Rating: 9 out of 10


Stardust by Neil Gaiman
Full Review
My Thoughts: A lighthearted and funny story that was a nonstop parade of odd and interesting characters that were only in the story for a brief period. Most of the story was odd and confusing but it all came together for an interesting and compelling ending. Could have used more world-building and action but pretty good.





Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
Full Review
My Thoughts: Effortless. A beautiful and engaging young adult contemporary romance with realistic characters you can relate to, and a plot that flows and develops in such a beautiful way that when it's over you can't believe you finished it and you're so overwhelmed with feelings because not only are you upset it's over but it made you feel things deeply buried in your soul.
Rating: 10 out of 10



Manor of Secrets by Katherine Longshore
Full Review
My Thoughts: A good historical fiction book that does a good job of setting the scene of the Edwardian era. The characters are interesting, a great slow-burning romance, but the plot is muddled, and the secrets are not very surprising.
Rating 7.5 out of 10






The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas
Series: The Elemental Trilogy Book 1 
Full Review
My Thoughts: A good start to a new young adult fantasy series with engaging and complex characters and a really cool world with tons of action. However it took awhile to become invested in the story, the constant change of perspectives was annoyinging, and the world-building was a bit confusing.
Rating: 7 out of 10



No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale
Full Review
My Thoughts: A really interesting young adult mystery with quirky characters that appealed to my dry sense of humor but was a surprising exploration of friendship and overcoming grief. The mystery aspect wasn't that difficult to solve and there were some weird plot details but thoroughly enjoyable.
Rating: 8 out of 10


 


Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians Book 5
Series Review to Come
My Thoughts: A fantastic ending to a really engaging series. This book in
particular was full of action, surprises, and tears.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10






What did you read this month? Leave me a comment and don't forget to check out my full reviews for all of these books and of course.. HAPPY READING!

Book Review: A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin

After the trills of A Storm of Swords I really was not sure what to expect for A Feast for Crows, the fourth installment in the epic A Song of Ice and Fire series. I have heard people refer to this one as a colossal disappointment and the least exiting of the series. I had also been warned, which was very helpful, that this book only contains half the characters. In A Feast for Crows we catch up with the characters that are (mostly) in and around Kings Landing.

In every book in the series we are introduced to more characters and locations in a gigantic world. What started out as a the story of a few families and the power struggles in Westeros now spans continents and has way too many characters to keep track of. No seriously, there are way too many people to keep track of, and many of them have very similar names. Often I had to look them up online to remember who they were, what they had done, and why they were important. And because there are so many people to keep track I found it kind of nice that there were fewer characters in this book. Each chapter is told from a different characters point-of-view and this way you don’t have to wait too long to learn what happens to them. And yes, I did miss a handful of my favorites like Danearys, Tyrion, and Bran but there were also a bunch of new characters and perspectives in this book to keep things interesting. In this book we got to explore more of the southern part of Westeros and visit Dorne where we were introduced to more of House Martell (who I like) and spent a lot more time on the Iron Islands with House Greyjoy (who I don’t like). And while I was glad to be able to focus on a few characters there was still some issues with balancing out these storylines. There was a very heavy focus on a couple characters (Jamie, Cersei, and Brienne) and some of the most compelling characters and storylines (Arya and Sansa) had very small parts, leaving me wanting more.

Some of my other favorite things of the series were also missing in this book. There was almost no magic this time. While A Song of Ice and Fire is not a High Fantasy series that relies a lot on magical elements (it’s more of the epic adventure sort of story) it does have magic and throughout the series the magic has been growing with every passing book. In this book however there were no dragons, no warging, no greendreams, and no red priests. And for me I was longing for the magic to return. It also didn’t really have much violence. If Storm of Swords was a bloodbath then A Feast for Crows was a paper cut. The war seems to be over and I really missed the battle scenes. Often times the book felt like it was a step backwards to the tone of book one in the series.


But what it did have in spades, which I loved, is the political intrigue. After the events of the last book, and the previously mentioned war being over, there is still an epic power struggle in Westeros and more than one region has a new leader that is desperately trying to create or cling to power. The characters are trying desperately to carve up their own personal slice of the spoils of victory or defeat so that they can better themselves. The characters in this series all walk the line between good and evil. They are selfish, conniving, and incredibly complex. They are trying to raise themselves to power by whatever means necessary including bringing about the downfall of others. One character in particular is completely losing their grip on reality as they try to cling to their power and it is making them so much more interesting even though with every passing chapter I hated them more. Many of the characters that appeared to be simple archetypes have these amazing character arcs throughout the series and they continue to develop in this book into complex and interesting characters. The characters are the best part of this series. They are full of surprises and just when you think you have them all figured out George R.R. Martin reminds you that he is the one who holds the power and completely changes your opinion of this person. And while some of them changed completely out of left field, others continued the trajectories of redemption they have been on for a few books and my love of them grew deeper.

Surprisingly the plot and characters were able to redeem the book from some pacing issues. As previously stated there was a heavy focus on some characters and not on others. There was also a lot of focus on a few storylines that were not really all that interesting. In the first half of the book I found myself waiting for things to start picking up and thinking “I get it, they’re scheming against that character” and there was just way too much build up to plot points that didn’t occur until much later in the book. There were also some whole chapters and storylines that I felt like didn’t serve much of a purpose at all. But despite these issues when things did finally pick up, about two-thirds of the way through the book, it was incredibly engrossing and gripping. I read the last 150 pages way quicker that I expected and I couldn’t put it down.

As the book went on my opinion of it got better and better and when it was all over I was incredibly pleased and entertained by A Feast for Crows. The A Song of Ice and Fire series is an incredibly fantastic series and I love the way that is developing with every passing book. It’s now at a place where I can see everything moving towards this huge and epic conclusion and I cannot wait for that moment to arrive and I hope it comes sooner rather than later.

I give A Feast for Crows an 8 out of 10

If you have read A Feast for Crows and have thoughts about it please leave me a comment. If you haven't read my post yesterday about A Storm of Swords check it out. It has a lot more details and my thoughts on the series as a whole. If you haven't read A Song of Ice and Fire and like fantasy then check it and Happy Reading!

January TBR- High Fantasy

I don't know what it is about winter that makes me want to read fantasy book. Maybe it's because I want to escape into another world while mine is so uninviting. Maybe it's because winter is a time to curl up under a blanket with a hot beverage and spend all day reading which lends itself so perfectly to the frequently lengthy fantasy books. Or maybe I'm making this whole thing up. Either way this January my plan is to read books that are High Fantasy.

For those not very familiar with the subgenres of Fantasy, High Fantasy is a story set in a completely imaginary world that is unrelated to our own, often one where magic exists in some way, or by the epicness of the characters, themes, and plots (often both).

There are three ways to categorize it:
1.) A world totally independent of our world which doesn't exist, think Lord of the Rings
2.) An alternate world is entered through a portal, think Chronicles of Narnia
3.) An unknown world exists within our world, think Harry Potter.

I prefer the first two as in the last one the lines get a little blurry when it comes to high and low fantasy. So now that I have explained myself here are my picks for January.


A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
Goodreads Amazon
Synopsis: Book 4 in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. This series fits in to category 1 of High Fantasy and is about the fictional land of Westeros and the power struggle to control it. This book looks mostly at the political intrigue aspect of the series.






A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin
Goodreads Amazon
Synopsis: Book 5 in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. This book and the previous one were intended to be one book so I am marathoning them. This one is more about the magical elements in Westeros. A Storm of Swords (Book 3) was one of my favorites of 2013 and I hope these next two do not disappoint. 






Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Goodreads Amazon
Synospis: This also fits into category 1 of High Fantasy (I've heard some debate about this but I'll have no lip from you) and is book one in the Grisha trilogy. It is set in the fictional land of Ravka and tells the story of Alina who discovers a magical power withing her and joins the Grisha who are like magical soldiers.






Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
Goodreads Amazon
Synopsis: Book 2 in the Grisha trilogy. I've heard great things about this series and I am really excited to read the first two books and finish the series later this year. I may also read the two novella that go with the series.






Stardust by Neil Gaiman
Goodreads Amazon
Synopsis: There has been some debate over which category this fits in but my assessment is the second. It is the story of a half-fairy boy who is completely lovesick and goes on a quest to find a fallen star in the magical realm. I've been wanting to read something by Neil Gaiman for awhile and I'm really excited that this will be my first one. I'm going to listen to the audiobook which is actually narrated by Mr. Gaiman



Depending how these go I may add a book or two that is not High Fantasy (I'm already a quarter of the way done with A Feast for Crows), probably one that comes out in January but for the time being, here's my list.

What are you reading in January? Leave me a comment and check back for my reviews!