Book Review 9: Throne of Glass by Sara J. Maas

I first heard about the Throne of Glass series a few years ago (through social media.) When I started researching on what the book was about, I was intrigued. The story follows Celaena Sardothien (Adarlan's most dangerous assassin), as she competes for the chance to become The King of Adarlan's Champion. The King promises her total freedom after four years of being his lackey...if she wins. The readers witness Celaena's journey from being a dangerous assassin to fighting for her freedom. 

Despite Celaena's cocky nature, you can't help but fall in love with her. Having gone through such a rough childhood and adolescence, she grows to be a strong and independent eighteen year old. Her spirit and headstrong personality reminded me a lot of Raisa Ana Marianna from the Seven Realms series (one of my favourite book series.) 

In addition to the parallels between Raisa and Celaena, both the Throne of Glass series and Seven Realms series have a similar undertone to them. If you are a fan of one of these series', I think you may enjoy the other one just as much. Sarah J. Maas does a great job of hooking her readers in with fantasy, love and friendship. We learn right from the get go of Celaena's deadly demeanor, However, Maas does a nice job of successfully humanizing her through out the book by introducing us to some her hobbies and interests as we get further into the story. 

The Throne of Glass book series consists of five books in the series (and a sixth one underway.) I am looking forward to continuing on with the series and reading more of Calaena Sardothien's adventures. 

Happy Reading! =)

Since when is Controlling "romantic?"

*** THIS ENTRY CONTAINS BOOK SPOILERS ***

So, I recently discovered a new phenomenon in the world of literature. Women seem to like to read about men who control their girlfriends, and in some sick way find that "romantic." Let's start with everyone's favourite: The Twilight Saga. I will admit, I read the entire series (because there was a shred of hope in me that Bella would end up with Jacob. But instead she decided to throw her life away, become a vampire and stay with her vegetarian, sparkly boyfriend/husband Edward.) The reason I had a problem with Bella's decision was because Jacob was clearly the better choice for her. He stated early on that if she wanted to be with him, she wouldn't have to change anything about herself. She could stay human, and they'd live happily ever after. Instead, she quit college, left her family, married Edward and had a human-vampire hybrid baby who nearly killed her from inside. And secondly, Edward's protectiveness was borderline controlling and almost abusive (in my humble opinion.)

If that wasn't bad enough, the huge success of Twilight spawned another "romance" series entitled The Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James. I have not read the series, but I've done enough research to know this book is about a young girl who develops a relationship with a wealthy and older man named Christian Grey. Their relationship soon becomes very sexual. Their sex life consists of BDSM, and Grey begins controlling young Ana both in the bedroom and in real life.

Author E.L. James claims that this is every woman's fantasy. Um, really? I can believe every woman wants some passion in her life. But it is really hard to think that all women would want to be a rich man's sex slave. There is a part of me that is curious to pick up the series and see what everyone is talking about, but I would in no way consider it a romance novel. If anything, I would probably categorize it under literary pornography.

Don't get me wrong. I sound like a cynic, but I do love reading a romance novel every now and then. I just think books like these are sending out the wrong message to women. It is making them think these relationships are romantic and healthy. When, in my opinion, they are just making girls look stupid. It is possible to have a healthy relationship and still do stuff that you want to do. It is not always about the man. A relationship goes both ways, and both the man and woman should be happy in it.

Furthermore, I like reading books about strong headed women who are able to stand up for themselves, are capable of making decisions for themselves and not have a man tell them what to do all the time. I am currently reading The Gray Wolf Throne which has an amazing female character, Raisa. Raisa is heir to the throne and although she has guards constantly protecting her, if she is ever in a rut, she can kick some serious ass. These are the female characters I look up to. Since when did women with no ambitions  and no backbone become "good" female role models?

Book Review 3: The Demon King

So I finally got around to reading one of the many books on my "books I want to read" list. I usually like to complete one book series before starting on another (I'm currently going through the Percy Jackson series, Warriors cat series, Chronicles of Narnia series, and now The Seven Realms series) but I just couldn't help myself from grabbing a hold of The Demon King when I found it readily available at my local library. The Demon King is book one from the (planned) four part Seven Realms series. Having recently read the first three books of the Heir Chronicles by the same author (Cinda Williams Chima), I knew I wanted to check out any other book(s) she had written. Although The Demon King was different from the Heir series, it was equally as enjoyable. The Heir series dealt with fantasy in the modern world, while The Seven Realms series is more high fantasy in the Royal Queendom of Fellsmarch. It follows the story of Han Allister who is a reformed streetlord still constantly getting himself into trouble with the Raggers, his previous streetlord posse. Meanwhile, Raisa ana Marianna is the heir to the Fellsmarch throne. I don't want to give away too much, but I found this story a bit more complex than the Heir series since there was a lot more information to absorb. But I will say this; it was one of those books which was hard for me to put down. Cinda Williams Chima grasped onto my attention with this epic tale of love, loss, and self discovery. An intriguing page turner to say the least. There are currently two books out in the series; The Demon King and The Exiled Queen. Book three is due to come out around late August or mid September, which will be titled The Gray Wolf Throne, I'm really excited for it's release! One of my favourite passages in The Demon King was a scene in which Han stands up to his mother, who is constantly on his back about getting a better job so he can feed his family (Mam, and kid sister Mari.) This passage is just too awesome not to share. I remember getting goosebumps the moment I read it. Enjoy!

     Mam's breath hissed out, like he'd confirmed all her worst fears. "You're cursed, Hanson Allister, and you'll come to a bad end," she said. "It's no wonder you're in trouble when you're out on the streets all day long. When you run with street gangs, thieving and robbing..."
     "I'm not with the Raggers anymore," Han interrupted. "I promised you back in the fall."
     Mam plowed on as he hadn't spoken. "When you take up with ill-favored sorts like Lucius Frowsley. We may be poor, but at least we've always been honest."
     Something broke loose inside Han, and when he opened his mouth the words came spilling out. "We're honest? Well, honest won't fill our bellies. Honest doesn't pay the rent. It's been me supporting us for the past year, and it's a lot harder without slide-hand. Be my guest if you think you can keep us out of debtor's prison taking in washing and picking rags. And if we do go to prison, what do you think will happen to Mari?"
     Mam stood speechless, eyes very blue, her lips as white as the rest of her face. Then she snatched up a stick from the kindling pile and swung it at him. Reflexively, he gripped her wrist and held it. They glared at each other for a long moment, married by blood and anger. Slowly anger drained away, leaving only the linkage of blood.
     "I'm not going to let you hit me anymore," Han said quietly. "I've already had one beating today. That's enough."


http://www.cindachima.com/Demon_King/Demon_King.htm