Let's Talk: A Court of Wings and Ruin

Title: A Court of Wings and Ruin

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Series: "A Court of Thorns and Roses" #3

Genre: New Adult Fantasy

Page Length: 699 pages

Publication Date: May 2, 2017
Date Started: May 2, 2017

Date Finished: May 6, 2017

Rating: INFINITY stars

It took me a while before I could even start to write this review, and even longer to write it. For those who want spoilery discussions, I suggest skipping the next few paragraphs until you see Spoilers in big letters. For those of you who don't want any spoilers, I would suggest only reading the first few paragraphs. And for those of you who want to read this entire thing, I suggest getting a bowl of popcorn or whatever snack you like and settling in for a long discussion because I certainly have many things to talk about.

I've broken this review down in three parts: Non-spoiler and semi-spoiler. Make sure to pay attention to those headings if you haven't read this book/series. I was going to add a complete spoiler discussion but it was getting unnecessarily long and I knew I needed to get this posted before Sarah releases her next book :)

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NON-SPOILER SECTION: Does not spoil any of the series

First, I love this series to the moon and back. I don't think there will ever be a time that I won't love this series. When I first read ACOTAR, I liked it but then ACOMAF took this series to a whole new level. This latest book brought it even further. A Court of Wings and Ruin was everything I ever wanted in the conclusion to Feyre's narrative in this world.

I cried so hard that my sister heard me from three rooms away. I laughed so hard I gave myself coughing fits. I was worried so much of the time that my heart was beating so fast it probably wasn't healthy. To sum it up: this book was intense.

The side characters were perfection. I will always have Feyre and the one I ship her with as my favorite characters, but all the side characters really ramped it up in this installment. Everyone was amazing. The sass, the interactions, the family aspects. I loved it all.

So...to sum up this non-spoiler section: ACOWAR was perfect. If you haven't read this series, you NEED to. The characters Sarah J. Maas creates are one-of-a-kind and the plot she weaves will bring you to your metaphorical knees. This has definitely become my favorite book of all time and my favorite SJM book.

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SEMI-SPOILER: May have spoilers for ACOTAR/ACOMAF but not this installment.

Let's just say that I fell even deeper in love with the Inner Circle in this book. The banter and the wit and the sass all combined with how deeply they all care for each other brought me to my metaphorical knees. I loved loved loved seeing more of them in this book.

Most of the new characters I absolutely adored. Some others had me wanting to bash their brains in, but a good number of the newer characters I loved. I already want to read more about them and I hope we get appearances from them in the upcoming books in this world.

The side characters were fucking amazing (and by side characters, I mean anybody who's not Rhys or Feyre). This comment combines my above-mentioned love for the Inner Circle and my adoration of most of the new characters. Everyone was just so good in this book. Their backstories, their thoughts and actions, everything. Each character was planned and thought out and it showed. These characters were so realistic for being magical immortal fae. I adored it.

Overall, I thought this book was the perfect installment to Rhys and Feyre's story. I obviously want to see more of them in the other books, but I thought that this book's ending was fantastic. Hopefully the new installments will feature Cassian, Nesta, Azriel, Lucien, Elain, and some other characters we meet in this novel. I would adore one all about Cassian, Azriel, and Rhys meeting each other for the first time and growing up.

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Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren

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August 2017 Wrap-Up

I only read three books this month, which is better than the previous months but still not a great number. I'm hoping to really drive that number up in September and October. In the month of August I worked 60 hours in the first week alone, and that was then followed by preparations for college and finishing up summer homework. I moved in about halfway through the month and have spent the past two weeks just getting acclimated and settled at my new home. I'm living my best life and having so much fun.

Now, moving on, I only read 3 books this month. One was an audiobook and the other two were required reading for a summer essay. I feel a little like a failure but it's okay because September will be better! I have so many books that I started but had to put down because I got busy and never picked back up that I can now continue on with! I'm not sure how ambitious I want to make my September TBR, if I even want to make a set list. Still, enjoy this wrap up and if you want to know about what books I bought this month, check out my August Book Haul here :)

1.
Title: Trying To Live With The Dead
Author: B.L. Brunnemer
Rating: 5/5 stars
Review

I audiobooked this book this month and I adored it! It was my fourth or fifth time rereading this book and I absolutely loved it. I thought the audiobook was done extremely well and I am incredibley excited for the second book's audio version to be released in FOUR days! 

2.
Title: Under Fire
Author: Henri Barbusse
Rating: 2/5 stars

I had to read this for school and that is part of the reason I did not enjoy this book: I was being forced to read it. I felt like the book was too verbose, monotonous, and slow for me to enjoy it. There were a few chapters where I wasn't completely bored to death, but they were very few and far between. On the upside, the book had a few lines and quotes here or there that really resonated with me or made me stop and pause to grab my highlighter. I also think that this book was eye-opening into the horrors of war and being a soldier. It gave me quite a bit of insight past what little information I had previously learned in school about wars and trench-life. I will most likely not read this book ever again, but I am grateful of the new perspective it has given me.

3.
Title: All Quiet on the Western Front
Author: Erich Marie Remarque
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Wow I liked this book a lot more than I expected too, especially since it was a book that I was required to read for one of my courses. I stopped reading this book just to analyze it and started reading it because I enjoyed it. I probably should not have fallen in love with these characters as much as I did, but it couldn't be helped in the end. I thought this book was fantastic. I thought that it showcased the war in a brilliant way. It showed soldiers fighting on the front--allowing us to see both the action these soldiers face as well as the trauma it puts them through--while also showing readers the less gritty side of war--giving us a look into the characters' comradery with each other and ability to find something fun in such a dark place. I thought that this book, unlike other war novels I've read, was very well paced and not overly-verbose. It was an excellent storyline and I feel like I have taken away from this book more than just an inside view on life as a soldier.

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Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren

~~~

Get 10% off your first order on A Court of Candles when you use this link

Subscribe to Owlcrate using this link and get 15% off your first box using "BOOKING15" or "BKWORM15"

Get free worldwide shipping with Book Depository using my affiliate link:

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~~~

August 2017 Book Haul

Hello all! I am finally settling into college and now can focus some time and effort back onto blogging, reading, and writing. It has been an amazing but also stressful month. But I won't focus on that right now, I'm here to talk about books. Specifically, the books that I spent my hard-earned final summer pennies on. I ended up with quite a few more than I expected with a total of 12 physical books (including a few I got for one of my courses), 9 ebooks, and 2 audiobooks. We have a lot to talk about so let's just jump into it, shall we?

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So for starters I picked up 12 physical books this month. I only expected to get 3, maybe 4 (not including the required buys for my classes). However, I think we can all understand that urge to buy books or to pick up a certain one when we read a thrilling synopsis.

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The first book I got this month was One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus.

My birthday was in August and I spent the day with two of my best friends. One of them surprised me and said we could go to Barnes & Noble and she'd buy a book for me. I picked this one and I honestly love her for buying it for me. I've had my eye on this since before its release. It's a book that I've been told is The Breakfast Club meets murder and suspense. I am 100% down for that!

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The next book I picked up was The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin.

I've had my eye on this one since I started watching BookTube, and I finally picked it up. I unexpectedly had to buy even more books for one of my classes and decided to reward myself buying those books by buying myself a cheat book. So now I have this beautiful book. I've heard mixed reviews but I'm hoping that I'll enjoy it!

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The next three books are all for my Editing & Publishing class, but aren't necessarily textbooks. I thought I'd just show you them but not go into much detail. The first is The Elements of Style by William Stunk Jr. and E.B. White. The second is Merchants of Culture by John B. Thompson. And the third is Publishing: Principles and Practice by Richard Guthrie.

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Next I rewarded myself for buying those required books. How did I reward myself? I bought some books I wanted in the form of Shatter Me, Unravel Me, and Ignite Me, all by Tahereh Mafi.

To be fair, the box set was only $16 so I felt like I was getting a pretty good deal. Plus, I've had my eye on this series for quite a long time and I'm so excited to dive in and see what all the love (or hate) is about.

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Then I picked up Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan.

I picked this up for one main reason: Tom Holland (aka my bae) is playing the main character in the movie adaption. While the adaption is still a while away, it just means I have extra time to read the book before going to the movie. It also sounded like a pretty good war novel, which I've read a few of lately. I'm excited but I'm not dying to rush into this novel.

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Then I picked up The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner.

I heard Reagan from PeruseProject talking about this series in her most recent book haul and the premise sounded interesting, so I looked it up on Amazon. I read the official description and knew I wanted to read it. Then I saw the price: $3. I knew I had to 1-Click that book and add it to my collection.

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Next I have a book that released this month: The Dazzling Heights by Katherine McGee, the sequel to The Thousandth Floor.

I haven't read The Thousandth Floor just yet, but I did bring it to college and it's been on my radar since before its release. I've tried to not buy sequels lately that I haven't read the first book, but I knew I had to have this one simply because of the stunning cover. I hope I get sucked into this world and these characters.

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And probably my most anticipated book I got this month is Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo, the first in the D.C. Icons series.

I must confess that I haven't seen Wonder Woman yet (gasp, I know), but I've wanted to and I've been excited about this book for quite a long time. I'm not much into comics but I am into books. I don't know when I'm going to be able to get to this book, but hopefully soon.

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I also picked up 9 ebooks, which was a huge surprise for me. I thought I'd get maybe 2 (both preordered). Still, I'm not mad. All of them were under $3, so I can't be mad about spending money on them. Plus, most of them are books I've been wanting and found for a cheap price on ebooks or new RH releases.

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First I have Take Me On by Katie McGarry.

This is the fourth book in the "Pushing The Limits" series. I have the box set of all the previous books and novellas so when she announced that this was on sale for a cheap price, I jumped on it. Every book written by Katie McGarry that I've read has been awesome and I can't wait to start this series soon.

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Then I bought Loving Halston by Amaya Nicole.

To be honest, I don't remember at all what this book is about. I believe that I had it preordered so I know it is something that interests me, but I do not know anything about this book. I have a feeling it is RH, so that excites me since RH books are one of my favorite type of books to read.

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Next I picked up The Four Horsemen: Legacy by LJ Swallow.

I know this was one of my more anticipated RH releases of this summer and I honestly am so excited to read it when I get the chance. It sounds so interesting and I hope it leads to a good series.

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Next I have Into the Storm by Amber Lynn Natusch.

This is the sequel to From the Ashes by the same author, a book that I absolutely adored. I read the first one so fast and have been eagerly anticipating this release. I haven't gotten the chance to dig into it yet, but I know it is going to be amazing when I do.

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Then I bought The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johnasen.

I've had my eye on this book for so long, specifically the gorgeous hardcover. But when I saw it on my BookBub newsletter for only $2, I knew I had to jump on that chance. I'm not 100% sure what this series is about, but I know it's high fantasy and I have heard nothing but great reviews.

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Then I have Happily Harem After by Amy Sumida.

Short and sweet for this one: the only thing I know is that it is an anthology of RH retellings.

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Next I grabbed Friends vs. Family by C.L. Stone.

This is the third in the Ghost Bird series which I absolutely adore. I have all the books on my other kindle but I have no way of combining my two libraries so I am working on getting all of them on my main account. Also, if I bought this kindle book, I got the audiobook included for only $4 instead of $24. It was really a no brainer.

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Then I grabbed Paper Princess by Erin Watt.

I've had my eye on this one for a while now but I think what finally pushed me over the edge was it went on sale for less than a dollar. Not entirely sure what it is about since I haven't read the synopsis in a while, but I hope it will be good.

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Lastly, I have Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter.

I've been interested in this book for a while now, so when I saw it on my BookBub newsletter for about $2, I jumped on the chance to add it to my collection. I have no idea what it is about, but I'm excited nonetheless.

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I also picked up two audiobooks this month. The first one I bought was Friends vs. Family by C.L. Stone.

As stated previously, I love this series and this is one of my favorite installments. I'm so excited to hear the different voices of my favorite characters and get a deeper understanding by hearing all the emotions.

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The second audiobook I have is Paper Princess by Erin Watt.

I bought this simply because I had the ebook and the audiobook was only $2 more...

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Well, there you have it. That's my haul for the month of August. I would say that my September haul won't be as big, but I think we all know that would be a lie. With all the new releases and special editions of books coming out next month, I know for a fact my bank account will probably hit single digits for a little while.
Thanks for reading
xoxo
Lauren

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Get 10% off your first order on A Court of Candles when you use this link

Subscribe to Owlcrate using this link and get 15% off your first box using "BOOKING15" or "BKWORM15"

Get free worldwide shipping with Book Depository using my affiliate link:

http://www.bookdepository.com/?a_aid=laurensboookshelf

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