Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

Title: Throne of Glass

Author: Sarah J Maas

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Online Ratings: 4.2 out of 5 stars

NO SPOILERS! 

Summary from Goodreads: 

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom. One of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined. 

My Opinion:

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas is an action packed novel filled with fantasy, mystery and romance. It was a fun, enjoyable read with a lot of suspense which encouraged me to keep reading. There was never a dull point in this book as each scene was easily relatable too and later becomes a main aspect in the novel. Throne of Glass followed a love triangle between Celaena the Assassin and two close friends, Chaol the Guard and Crown Prince Dorian. I loved how the romance played out and was not forceful. This book had a lot of character development and a well explained world. Creating a world in a fantasy novel can be quite hard if you do not explain the purpose and the making but Maas did an amazing job as she used an unique writing style. She also created a strong, main protagonist with whom readers fell in love with straight away. I am not really a big fan of a novel told from the 3rd perspective but this novel changed my mind on that opinion. The novel would alternate between different characters sharing each of their opinions with the readers and each point of view would be shown in a single chapter. This technique is very hard to use but Maas did an excellent job which helped us to relate to each character. Overall I would recommend this novel to readers who enjoy fantasy, mystery and adventure. 

SPOILERS! 

Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas is an excellent book in the genre of fantasy. The novel revolves around a 18 year old named Celaena who is an assassin. I love the character of Celaena as she is one of the strongest female protagonist I have read about and she proves that girls can be independent. Celaena is a strong, brave character who believes she is stronger than men but throughout the novel she also shows her "feminine" side. This side was shown through the romance and also that she loves going to balls and dressing up in fancy dresses. Celaena is a multi-dimensional character who is a good role model for teenagers. The next two characters we meet are Prince Dorian and Guardian Chaol. Prince Dorian is the sponsor of Celaena throughout the test to find his father, The King, a new royal Assassin. His character has a good sense of humour but is also quite serious. It is later shown that he has feelings for Celaena. I believe the best character growth was represented in Chaol's character. From judging and not trusting Celaena he learnt to overcome that she might do something wrong and trust her. At the end of the novel he even kills her enemy, Cain, which risked his career and nearly got him thrown into jail. Chaol has a strong and loveable personality whose story reaches out and touches the heart of every reader. The setting and old myths/ legends were well explained through out the novel and a myth later became the main aspect of the novel. Cain's character was growing stronger by the days and also everyday a new Champion would die. This mystery was left for Celaena to discover and when she did she could relate to an old myth. The fantasy world Sarah Maas built in this novel was phenomenal and I don't believe she could have done it any better. The complication of the mystery of all the Champions was an amazing suspense and mystery added to make this novel even better. And the resolution to these problems was an Ancient Language. I loved how unique the resolution was and also how it became known to readers. The suspense that lead up to the end was an encouragement for readers to keep reading the novel. As stated in the "My Opinion" section of this review, I recommend Throne of Glass to any bookaholic who likes mystery and fantasy. I rate this book a 5 stars out of 5 as I could not identify any faults in this novel. I congratulate Sarah Maas for writing such a fantastic book and an interesting story. 

- Erisha <4 

Star Rating System

Hi Bookaholics,  

Sorry for not posting for awhile but I have been extremely busy. For today's post, instead of writing a review I have decided to show you how I rate books on Goodreads (How many stars a book receives out of 5 stars). Below is a criteria to follow when rating and reviewing books. If the book fulfils each category than the star amount (written in bold) should be received. 

STAR RATINGS (Out of 5):

• Character- Good development? A detailed, descriptive introduction? 1 STAR

• Setting-Thoroughly explained? 1/2 A STAR

• Themes/ Issues- Expressed throughout the novel? 1 STAR 

• Plot- Interesting & Engaging? 1/2 A STAR

• Complication- Well thought out? 1/2 A STAR

• Resolution- A build up from the complication? Relevant? 1 STAR

• Author's Writing Technique- Good use of vocabulary? Unique? Attracts the audience? 1/2 A STAR 

- Erisha <4 

Designed for Perfection by Elle Davis

Title: Designed For Perfection

Author: Elle Davis

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Online Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 stars

*I RECEIVED THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW*

NO SPOILERS!

Summary from Goodreads:

Messing with Mother Nature can have unexpected consequences... Having a genius level IQ, model good looks, and supernatural physical traits, almost guarantees seventeen year old Ronan Callahan a life of success. He is a genetically engineered human, custom designed by scientists and his wealthy parents, who paid a hefty price for his perfect designer qualities. But, being a Designer Baby doesn't guarantee happiness for Ronan. In fact, his superior traits leave him bored, unchallenged and a social misfit. Cat McCullough, is orphaned, raising her little sister Claire, and struggling to survive. The last thing she's looking for is romance. In a high school full of girls swooning over Ronan Callahan, she's the only one who rejects his arrogant, cold, and indifferent behavior towards others. And yet, she's the only girl to ever capture his attention for more than a minute. When Ronan falls for Cat, he falls hard. For the first time ever, he looks forward to the traditional high school experience that now includes a budding romance. But when his life is threatened by a deadly virus, he is forced to abandon the simplicity of tradition and unite with five other Designer's, whom he shares a secret Designer trait so powerful, that it has the potential to influence world events.

My Opinion:

Designed for Perfection by Elle Davis is a beautiful, cute romance story but it has a twist! Is it possible to say I am in love with a book because it is so true! Designed for Perfection was incredible and the writing style was also a job well done. You can clearly see throughout this novel that Elle Davis used her background knowledge on Medicine, Perfect Genes in creating this novel which made it more life like. The idea of being a Designer Baby is original am very unique. This book was a quick read as the first page would straight away capture your interest. The setting up of the world was beautifully done and this book was very fast paced but it still gave you time to enjoy the romance between Cat and Ronan.  I enjoyed this book a lot and would recommend this novel for any romance or Science Fiction readers, as this novel fits into both categories perfectly.

SPOILERS!

Designed for Perfection by Elle Davis is no cheesy, romance story but in fact is a life like story with a twist. Ronan, the main male protagonist, is a designer baby. A designer baby is not a baby who wears designer clothes but in fact a baby who was modified at birth to have perfect genes, a perfect face and brilliant skills which guarantees a successful life. Ronan has a stubborn behaviour and throughout this novel is confused to why his parents would ruin his life by making him perfect. Being perfect is not the best thing in the world as it leaves you not challenged in the world. We later find out that the Designer babies have genes from animals which makes them have qualities which are both found in animals and humans. This causes a threat to the Government as having extra strength can lead to destroying the world. Cat is the main female protagonist who has lived a hard life. With her twin brother and parents dead she has a huge responsibility of taking care of her 5 year old sister, Claire. Cat character is very strong as she has the power to ignore Ronan's stubbornness and looks which other girls can't. This attitude only leads Ronan to find himself falling in love with Cat. He also breaks down his walls to reach out to Cat. Their romance is one of a kind and has definitely reached out to me.  Claire is later a main character in this novel when we find out she is the most powerful Designer baby. She has more strength than the others and through the power of energy, can lift objects. With another 5 designer teenagers they stand against the Government to regain their freedom in the world. When Ronan's parents died I had a mix of emotions mainly sympathy for Ronan and the courage he has to go back to his town was amazing and it is very difficult to find such strength in teenagers today. At the end of the novel, I loved how every thing came together, including unanswered questions. The idea of the Designers working as secret agents for the Government in return for freedom was a smart resolution leading to Ronan proposing to Cat. This proposal was left at a cliff hanger which has me in a hangover of this novel. I am eagerly waiting to read Designed to Love and I am desperate for Cat's answer. This novel was an enjoyable read which I will definitely recommend for others to read. Elle Davis has a unique style of connecting with her readers and I adore her writing style of two point of views. I rate this a 5 out of 5 stars and I don't really have anything negative to say as this novel was really interesting and heart capturing. 

- Erisha <4 

The Whispers of the Fallen by J.D. Netto

Title: The Whispers of the Fallen

Author: J.D Netto

My Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Online Ratings: 4.4 stars out of 5

*I RECEIVED THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW*

NO SPOILERS!

Summary from Goodreads:

Ever since the dawn of days, rumors about the Diary of Lucifer echoed throughout Elysium. Hidden from all human knowledge, the Diary was kept a secret, locked away in the small village of Agalmath. Isaac and Demetre find themselves in a dangerous journey as they uncover the truth about the Diary and those who guarded it for all these years.

Hunted by the Nephilins and the Fallen Stars, they must find others who will join them in the battle against the coming darkness.

My Opinion:

The Whispers of the Fallen by J.D Netto was a fun, interesting, fast paced book. It was written in two point of views, one was the protagonist, Isaac, while the other was the antagonist.  Reading both point of views was really interesting and it definitely have two perspectives of the novel. I really enjoyed this book but I felt at times it was a bit too fast paced. I definitely recommend it to any age group and readers who love fantasy and/ or mystery.  Reading this book you could definitely see the hard work Netto put into writing this book and it shows how 6 years of hard work definitely pays off later! 

SPOILERS!

J.D. Netto has a unique style of writing books. The language, the sentences and the characters he formed were great examples of a unique style. He created an idea and instead of rushing through the book when writing it, he spent 6 years making the world come alive before our eyes. At times I felt a bit confused of the worlds and what Tristar was but later reading this book everything made more sense. I felt that loosing Demetre in the first few chapters was a big loss of a great character. Isaac's character was strong, bold and brave and after the encounter with God he became even more stronger. I loved his character development from the first few pages of the novel to the end where we killed the antagonist. Devin was probably my favourite character throughout the book. Even though his kind was evil, in order for redemption he tried really hard. The effort he put in protecting Isaac represented how strong he was. Even though he was betraying his kind he knew what he was doing was for the best. Netto's idea of this angelic war and the Diary of Lucifer was original and definitely a start to an amazing book. Isaac and Demetre are caught up in the middle of a battle an Isaac's blood is what is needed to open the first diary. I loved the suspense in this book and when more diaries were added into this case, I was like screaming because that's how suspenseful it became. Each diary holds a body part of Lucifer and in order to bring Lucifer back these special people have to pour their blood on top of the book and read it. There were a lot of unexpected twists and turns during this book which made me not out down this book. The suspense was killing me overnight to see how this book ended! I can't wait for the next book in this series. I definitely recommend it to people who love action filled books with fantasy and mystery filled in them. Netto has written an absolutely beautiful book about how Heaven and the Underworld mix together in war. 

- Erisha <4 

Small Circles by Megan Duke

Title: Small Circles

Author: Megan Duke

My Rating: 5 out if 5 stars

Online Ratings: 4.6 out of 5 stars

*I RECEIVED THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW*

NO SPOILERS!

Summary from Goodreads:

Small Circles is the story of four friends over four years of their young adult lives in Tennessee. Starting in their sophomore year at a boarding school and continuing through their freshman year at different universities, the friends face the same trials most teenagers face today, as well as a few other things. This inspiring story touches base with the struggles of defining oneself in spite of homosexuality, drug addiction, suicide, and heartbreak. Most of all it sends one message: it’s okay to be happy.

My Opinion:

Small Circles by Megan Duke is an emotional, heart capturing book which based on the story of four friends from Sophomore years to their College years. The four friends are Larson, Paxton, Owen & Jade who go through tough times in understanding themselves and each other better. This book was like a roller coaster- full of emotions, sometimes I was happy an star next I was crying. This book definitely reached out to me and the characters were so realistic I almost felt I was right there, next to them. If you are looking for a coming to age novel this is definitely a great pick. I can't wait to read three sixty! 

P.S: I loved how the cover related with a particular scene in the novel! 

SPOILERS!

I am lost for words...this book was truly amazing an has definitely captured my heart. This book follows the story of four friends who are going through tough times. Larson and Paxton are childhood friends and later on they meet Owen. Soon the three of them become best friends doing everything together. The first year in Sophomore, a new girl Jade comes to their school. The three friends form a strong bond with Jade making her the fourth member of the crew. The friendships formed is really special and we also experience the up's & down's of every relationship which helped make this book more relatable to. I adored how the cover represented that it doesn't matter what happens but as long as they live in each other's hearts everything will be fine. The nails and the wood shows their friendship as forever and I loved how you could see that symbolism throughout the entire novel as the four friends always supported each other and always forgave as well. Small Circles follows the emotions of each character and from the being to the end you can definitely see a large character growth. Paxton was probably the character whose character growth was most evident. From drinking and taking drugs to gaining confidence from Jade and being able to fix his problems by controlling them.  Paxton's main problem was a cause of his dad who committed suicide due to pressure. Paxton is afraid of becoming a coward like his dad who runs away from all his problems. He also starts to hallucinate which is why he starts to drink. His two best friends weren't there for him through tough times so he turned to Jade who gave him a helping hand. Paxton and Jade later grow a close relationship which turns into love but their love can be classified as forbidden as Jade's boyfriend is Owen at this stage of the book but later it is possible for them to love each other. Larson starts to form an interest in Owen which cause a lot of conflict between the four friends. The main message portrayed throughout this book was to never take what you have for granted and to always be happy. This was especially shown at the end if the book during the death of Owen. His death was quite sudden and unexpected. I have never cried so much when a character died but Duke connected me to the characters and their problems so well that I felt so attached. When Larson experienced the death of Owen, all his emotions came pouring out and Larson's character became more multi-dimensional as he was not perfect and unfortunately had to go through tough times. This book definitely shows major issues faced by teenagers and also it helps us to understand how teenagers define themselves. Megan Duke definitely reached the hearts of many readers and also made this book so engaging I started to believe some of the character's problems were mine. I was filled with joy and grief throughout this book and I was touched by the stories many people ignore today. Small Circles represents the idea that it doesn't matter what colour, nationality, status you are...as long as you are happy everything will be okay. 

- Erisha <4