Mortal Heart (His Fair Assassin #3)
By Robin LaFevers
Rating: 5
'"Your love cannot change a man or a god. All it can do is open a door, create a new path for him to choose. One that has not been open to him before. That is what the power of your love can offer him - all of that, and no more.
(...) Your love makes him happy. Whether it will give him the courage to step through that door remains to be seen."'
Without freedom, even the walls of a home can turn into those of a prison.
Annith has lived as a novitiate at the convent of St. Mortain for as long as she can remember. Many of her friends and fellow novitiates have come and gone, leaving the convent's confines to serve Death and fulfil their destinies.
Everyone except for Annith.
Annith knows in her heart that she is destined to serve as Death's handmaiden, outside of the convent's walls. So when the abbess tells her that she is to be groomed to take on the role of Seeress, Annith is devastated. A life spent locked away inside the convent seems like the cruelest kind of punishment, after all of the years she's spent training to be the perfect assassin.
Sometimes we need to take our fate into our own hands.
Praying that Mortain will guide her on the right path, Annith sets out - leaving the convent behind to find the answers to the burning questions surrounding her past and the mysterious workings of the convent.
A journey filled with hellequins, unexpected alliances, bitter truths, and difficult decisions lies ahead. Annith must find the strength to save those she loves...no matter the cost.
The truth can be deadlier than any poison or blade.
Mortal Heart is an emotional and thrilling finale to what has been a deeply captivating series. Robin LaFevers has worked her storytelling magic once again, to produce a book that you will not be able to put down.
Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3)
By Sarah J. Maas
Rating: 5+
'It wasn't the carved oak furniture, or the faded green drapes, or the warmth of the fire that made her stop dead. It was the dark-haired woman seated behind the desk. Maeve, Queen of the Fae.
Her aunt.
And then came the words she had been dreading for ten years.
"Hello, Aelin Galathynius."'
'That girl, that princess, had died in a river a decade ago. Celaena was no more Aelin Galathynius than she was any other person.'
Although Chaol Westfall may be reeling from the shock of discovering that Celaena is Terrasen's rightful queen, Celaena has no true feelings on the matter.
Her past - and who she used to be - are buried deep inside her. And she plans on keeping it that way.
Too much has happened for her to ever consider taking up a crown. Wendlyn offers nothing more than a chance to drink herself into oblivion, as she tries fruitlessly to forget what sent her there in the first place.
Nehemia. Chaol. And a tyrant on a throne that is not his own.
'Celaena was Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, heir to the throne and rightful Queen of Terrasen. It
made her his mortal enemy. It made her Dorian's enemy. The future he'd once dreamed of was irrevocably gone.'
Back at the palace, Chaol struggles to deal with the truth behind Celaena's parting words. And they're made no easier to handle by the appearance of a person who looks all too familiar.
Aedion Ashryver, the King of Adarlan's General of the North.
And Celaena's - Aelin's - cousin.
Chaol has a heavy choice to make. Can he trust anyone with Celaena's secret...even someone who shares the same blood as her?
'She'd been running for so long that she didn't know what it was to stand and fight.'
Although the humans of Wendlyn may not know a queen is in their midst, some powers certainly do. Especially Maeve, Queen of the Fae and Celaena's aunt.
Coming face-to-face with the woman her mother, when alive, had kept her hidden from is not a wise move to make. But Celaena needs answers. Answers that could change the fate of the kingdom and that could allow her to return to Adarlan at last.
But everything has a price. And Maeve isn't going to give those answers to her for free.
'I wish you to become who you were born to be. To become queen.'
Celaena is to reside at Mistward, under the experienced eye of Prince Rowan, nephew of Maeve and bound to the fae queen's service. There, he will test her until she has proven worthy of gaining the answers she desperately seeks.
But these tests, unlike the ones that made her King's Champion, are not concentrated on mere mundane methods of combat and killing.
They require Celaena to use her magic.
Which is easier said than done. No matter how hard she tries, she cannot seem to summon up even a spark - something that infuriates Rowan to no end.
The light inside her is barely flickering. For what does she have live for? For what purpose does her existence serve? Such questions Celaena must answer for herself.
'She has no hope, Prince. She has no hope left in her heart. Help her. If not for her sake, then at least for what she represents - what she could offer all of us, you included. (...) A better world.'
Rowan Whitethorn has better things to do than babysit a spoiled princess who refuses to tap into her own magic. He may not know much about Celaena, but what he does know doesn't exactly inspire him to aid her.
Yet the more time he spends with Celaena, the more he comes to realise that the girl before him is only one side she shows the world. Every now and then he gets glimpses of a fiery, passionate woman who would do anything for those she holds dear.
And he can't help but think that maybe, just maybe, she has the potential to be the queen she was meant to be - if only she'd find the strength to face her fears head-on.
'You do not have a heart, Manon. We are not born with them, and we are glad of it.'
Over in the Western Wastes, Manon Blackbeak - the heir of the Blackbeak Witch Clan - has only one goal.
To win the War Games, so she can one day become Queen of the Waste.
She is a killer, but the skills that got her that title won't help her in the Games. To do that, she will have to train Abraxos, her chosen wyvern, and get it to make the Crossing successfully.
But time is against her, as is the stubborn Abraxos. But Manon has never backed down from a challenge before and she'll be damned if she will this time, when it really counts.
'Behold my power (...) Behold what I grapple with in the deep dark, what prowls under my skin.'
Will Celaena accept her past and find a way to start a court that will change the world? What secrets will lie in Maeve's much sought-after answers? And what tricks does the evil king on his stolen throne have up his sleeve?
Only time will tell.
'She was Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, heir of two mighty bloodlines, protector of a once-glorious people, and Queen of Terrasen.
She was Aelin Ashryver Galathynius - and she would not be afraid.'
**A big thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this book and to Sarah J Maas for writing it!**
The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles #1)
By Mary E. Pearson
Rating: 5+
'I drew in a deep breath, a new breath, one I had never taken before.
I am only Lia, now. From this day forward.
It felt like a baptism. A deeper kind of cleansing. Water trickled down my face and dripped from chin. Terravin wasn't just a new home. Dalbreck could have offered that, but there I'd have been only a curiosity in a foreign land, with still no voice in my own destiny.
Terravin offered a new life. It was both exhilarating and terrifying.'
Move aside Daenerys Targaryen...a new badass princess is coming!
Kings throw away your crowns. Queens start practising your curtsey. Because Princess Lia is here to show you how being royal is supposed to be done - going on a journey that will tear her apart & put her back together again as she becomes the woman she was always meant to be.
She doesn't accept lies or deception. She wants to make her own destiny. And she's so badass it's not even possible to describe the insane amounts of badass-ery this girl has. Especially that part when she faces down a bunch of barbarian assassins & tells them to basically screw themselves.
And not only does this book have a brilliantly constructed plot, a badass heroine & a fantastic world of myth & magic, but to top it all off it presents us with not one...but two gorgeous men. Although, I do think Rafe is the more attractive of the two!
So if you're ready for the adventure of a lifetime...be sure to grab yourself a copy of The Kiss of Deception when it's released! :)
Death Sworn (Death Sworn #1)
By Leah Cypess
Rating: 5
'"Pretty, isn't it?" he said. "Didn't the Elders tell you about this?"
"Of course," Ileni said stiffly, letting the magelight vanish.
What they had said, actually, was 'Parts of the caves are very beautiful, but don't let that distract you from the evil within them.''
The good thing about losing everything, is that you've got nothing more to lose.
Ileni had everything - her magic, her society, a future, and even love. And like anyone, she expected those things to be permanent.
Until the day they weren't. Until the day she lost her magic.
Faced with such a crippling revelation about her abilities, Ileni was given an ultimatum by the Elders: to live a purposeless life shunned by society, or to become a magic tutor to a secret sect of assassins.
Enter a whole new world where death is a part of everyday life and each and every person has more than one weapon up their sleeve.
Willingly, Ileni leaves behind the only life she's even known to tutor assassins in the ways of magic. But that isn't her only task. Two of Ileni's predecessors died beneath the assassin's caves under mysterious circumstances, and Ileni is determined to discover why...and by whose hand.
Secrets will come to light...but which ones?
Ileni tries to balance staying alive with solving the mystery before her, whilst keeping her own secrets safe. But nothing that goes on beneath the assassin's caves is truly secret...not from the Master of the Assassins. And he is not someone Ileni wishes to have as an enemy - not when his words hold such sway over the assassins. Even assassins like Sorin.
Unlikely allies can be found in the darkest of places.
Against her better judgement, Ileni is drawn to Sorin - a skilled assassin, who is all the more dangerous due to his hidden streak of independence. Walking a fine line between obeying the Master and embracing freedom, Sorin offers Ileni his protection and his aid in discovering the killer of the previous tutors.
Yet, when loyalties are tested, will Sorin choose Ileni...or the life of an assassin, the only life he's ever known?
Dangerous. Addictive. Stunning.
Death Sworn is as sharp as a sword, with a twisting plot that readers will not be able to tear their eyes and imaginations away from. A cross between Sarah J Maas' Throne of Glass and Maria V Snyder's Poison Study, it is another fantastic tale filled with bravery, wicked weaponry and exemplary characters who will not disappoint.
Rebel Spring (Falling Kingdoms #2)
By Morgan Rhodes
Rating: 5
'Such deaths would be considered by most to be destiny. To be fate.
Paelsians, especially, believed that their futures were set and that they had to accept what they were given - be it good or bad. It only served to create a kingdom of victims afraid to stand up against opposition.
A kingdom easily taken by someone happy to steal what no one would fight to keep.'
Her kingdom handed to the enemy, her family dead, the love of her life killed...Princess Cleo has little left to fight for.
The evil King Gaius has taken everything from the dethroned princess of Auranos. Merging the three kingdoms into a single country completely under his tyrannical reign, Gaius plans to use Cleo for his own schemes. In the hopes of diverting the ire arising over his new project, a road through the Forbidden Mountains, the king announces a surprise betrothal.
Between Princess Cleo...and Gaius' son, Magnus.
The man Cleo hates more than any other. The man who killed Theon, the boy she loved.
Which will bring freedom: magic, force, or sacrifice?
Whilst Lucia lies in a mysterious coma, untangling the secrets of her abilities with the help of a charming Watcher, Jonas bands together another rebellion - this time opposing King Gaius. He aims to stage an attack on the king and his heir, Magnus. But a crucial detail is missing. The princess. Cleo.
Without her, Jonas can't seat a worthy monarch on the throne. But will she be willing to aid the very people who handed her and her family over to the enemy?
Feelings become the deadliest weapons of all, and the line between friend and foe blurs in the latest instalment in the thrilling Falling Kingdoms series.
Who will fight?
Who will survive?
Who shall rise...and who shall fall?
Grab your copy today and join in the adventure of a lifetime.
Fireblood (Fireblood #1)
By Trisha Wolfe
Rating: 5+
'Just over four weeks ago, Prince Sebastian announced his intention to find a maiden to wed. As he's only nineteen, all assumed this was a move toward him taking the throne. A wife would mature him in the eyes of Karm.
The news had spread through the realm like wildfire. Or, how I imagine a wildfire would spread and consume if it were allowed. Every girl of age had gone into a frenzy. Hadley had talked about it nearly every day.
Not me. I watched my father wither.
The force field may imprison Karm, but Prince Sebastian has imprisoned me. I'm trapped in a prison within a prison.'
Becoming the prince's betrothed is an honour. An honour Zara would rather do without.
Out of all the eligible girls in Karm, Zara Dane is chosen to marry Prince Sebastian Hart. The news would be the cause of much celebration and joy to most girls, Zara's best friend Hadley included. But being told she's to be wed to the son of the man who ordered her father’s capture is a terrible sentence which Zara has no wish to see out.
Prince Sebastian may have staked his claim. He may have have admitted to all of Karm that Zara belongs to him. But Zara belongs to no one but herself, and she will find a way to fulfil her father's final plea, no matter the cost: "Please, Zara. Do what you must to escape."
And escape she must.
Camelot was a dream, a fiction. Karm is real, and not at all perfect.
Trapped behind the towering stone walls of the Camelot-forged realm, Zara's days are filled with warding off the prince's unwanted advances and attending dull functions she has no desire to be apart of. No privacy is to be had, with guards forever lurking over her shoulder - especially with the prince's first knight, Sir Devlan Capra, constantly by her side.
His shrewd mind and ability to sense Zara's inner turmoil make him a force to be reckoned with, and Zara cannot afford to have him foil her plans of escape. Nor can she afford to let her guard down, no matter how kind and honourable she may find him.
Everyone has secrets. Sometimes, they're even what keeps people who they are.
As the days pass, Zara begins to uncover the true foundations of King Hart's twisted rule - deception, convoluted plans and fickle agendas are the building stones of a world that is being torn apart from both ends. Suddenly no one is who they seem. Warring emotions plague Zara, as she is forced to make the ultimate choice: her freedom, or the realm's. To flee, or to join the Rebels and overthrow Hart once and for all.
But deception is a two way street.
The Rebels need Zara - she's their key to Hart, through his son. If Zara can sway Sebastian to aid the Rebels, victory will be theirs. They will able to save Zara's father, and the families of others who have been taken.
As the wedding looms closer, Zara's time is running out...as is Sebastian's. Because if she can't convince him, then he is the only thing standing in the Rebel's way. And they will have no choice but to take him out along with his father.
Is Sebastian his father's son? Or is he the kind of ruler Karm, and the Rebels, need him to be?
Forces, fates and hearts collide in a tale that will sweep readers off their feet.
Trisha Wolfe's vivid and breathtaking story and its magical mix of dystopian elements, court intrigue, underground networks, fiery romance and, of course, the spectacular twist at it's conclusion, is a must-read this December. Accompany Zara on her journey and be amazed by the engaging nature of her tale, and the charming collection of characters you will meet along the way.
Join the fray. And fight for what truly makes us human - our freedom.
Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2)
By Sarah J. Maas
Rating: 5+
'"Is it done?"
Celaena reached a gloved hand into the sack and tossed the severed head toward him. No one spoke as it bounced, a vulgar thudding of stiff and rotting flesh on marble. It rolled to a stop at the foot of the dais, milky eyes turned towards the ornate glass chandelier overhead.
Dorian straightened, glancing away from the head. Chaol just stared at her.
"He put up a fight," Celaena said.'
'She was a beautiful wraith - and when she looked at him, it was like she didn't even know who he was.'
As the Crown Prince, the son of the King of Adarlan, Dorian has grown up in the cold shadow of his father. He's seen cruel things, watched silently as death was handed out swiftly - and horribly - to those who dared to oppose his father.
But watching Celaena become the King's Champion is a whole new experience.
Gone is the girl with the teasing grin and the fancy for trinkets and pretty gowns. Gone is the soft-eyed pianist with gentle waves of golden hair falling around her face. In her place stands a woman, made up of edges sharp enough to cut, clothed from head to foot in black.
The King's Champion...the King's Hand of Death.
And Dorian can't help but wonder if she really has transformed...or whether Celaena is simply showing her true colours. The colours of an assassin. The colours of a cold-blooded, cold-hearted killer.
'Of course Chaol would notice the difference - he noticed everything. She couldn't tell if it pleased her or not.'
Celaena's duties are smothering her, choking her like an iron collar around her neck. Killing off the king's enemies one by one is a gruesome and difficult task. Especially when her trips are not at all what they seem. Though from the outside, it may look like Celaena's nothing more than the king's pet assassin, her iron will is far from broken.
But she cannot afford for her loyalty to the crown to be in doubt...so her plans, hopes and efforts remain a secret, locked up away inside of her, behind her cold and hard facade.
Keeping up the charade may not be the death of her. But it could be the death of everyone she loves.
'He's got little to lose and a lot to gain. That makes people dangerous. Ruthless.'
Secrets are not the only things hidden within the castle walls. Enemies hide behind saccharine-sweet smiles. Ancient powers rise to the surface. And above it all, the chess master scanning the board, sits the King of Adarlan - whose every move is deliberate, malicious. All aimed towards one end. The securing of power. Supreme rulership.
Not only must Celaena deal with physical threats to her safety and that of those who she cares for, but she must face a horrible truth - a supernatural force that threatens to unravel the framework of the kingdom and plunge it into chaos.
Fate calls. And Celaena isn't convinced that she should answer its summons - the stakes are too high. The price too heavy to pay.
'Do not let the light go out.'
Choices. Loyalties. Sacrifices. Love. Celaena is at the forefront of an epic battle that has the power to change the kingdom forever - for better or for worse. But she must remember who she is. What she is fighting for.
Or lose herself to the madness and to the darkness that lurks within her, in the depths of her eyes of brightest blue, ringed with gold.
The making of a literary legend, Sarah J Maas' Crown of Midnight is a thrilling sequel which will have you sitting on daggers, awaiting her storytelling magic and more of Celaena's passionate spirit!
A big thank you to Sarah J Maas, Netgalley and Bloomsbury USA Children's Publishing for the chance to read and review an ARC copy of the book :)
