A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas (3/5*s)
ACOTAR follows Feyre, an 19 year old huntress, as she adapts to life in a new magical realm after killing a Fae. The worst thing I did before reading ACOTAR was re-read Throne of Glass. I couldn't help but compare the two books, and I just didn't enjoy A Court of Thorns of Roses as much. Firstly, I felt that the world that Feyre lived in, and the different creatures the dwelled there, could have been explained much better to the reader. Even by the end of the book I was confused about the differences between Fae, High Fae and High Lords. Secondly, I did feel particularly attached to any of the characters, unlike Throne of Glass where I was quite invested in what happened. And finally, I did not like the ending - it was way too Twilight-like for my liking. However, I did really like the majority of the storyline and I can't wait to see what happens next - I just didn't like it as much as Throne of Glass.
City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare (5/5*s)
City of Bones follows Clary Fray as she encounters the world of Shadowhunters and tries to save her mother from the evil Valentine. The Mortal Instruments series has been around for nearly 10 years now and for some reason I decided that it didn't appeal to me, but I thought I'd finally give it a try since the new TV show has come out. I am so glad I did! Even though I guessed nearly all of the plot twists, and parts of it were clearly based on Harry Potter, I really loved this book. I can tell this series is going to be my new obsession and I can't wait to buy the next few books!
Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) by Leigh Bardugo (4/5*s)
Shadow and Bone centres around Alina - an orphan who discovers she has a unique power that throws her into the world of the Grisha and the Darkling. I didn't enjoy this as much as I enjoyed Six of Crows and I have a feeling it's one of the over-hyped series. I also would have liked more background on the Grisha as I found myself getting confused early on with the different powers and names! Overall I did like the story and the characters but I didn't think it was as brilliant as Six of Crows.
Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer (4/5*s)
The Lunar Chronicles is based on four fairytale retellings, with Cinder based on Cinderella. This retelling comes with a twist - Cinder is a cyborg. Cinder follows the main character as her life becomes intertwined with Prince Kai and the evil Queen Levana. I'm surprised how much I loved this by the end because I wasn't that interested at the beginning. Once Queen Levana was introduced the story really picked up and I found myself getting invested in it. I can't wait to see where the story goes!
City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2) by Cassandra Clare (3/5*s)
City of Ashes picks up straight after City of Bones, and follows Clary as she tries to stop Valentine from gaining another Mortal Instrument and find a way to wake her mother up. I didn't think this was as good as City of Bones - it seemed a bit like a filler book and nothing really happened until the end battle, which was over within 20 pages. I'm hoping the next book picks up again because I am really loving this series!
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (3/5*s)
The Song of Achilles centres around an exiled Prince, Patroclus, and he becomes immersed in Prince Achilles world and fights against Troy to save Helen of Sparta. I think this has been my most disappointing read of the year so far. It's not that I didn't enjoy it - I just didn't connect with it. I loved how it was written, and spanned over 20 years of Patroclus and Achilles' lives, but I didn't connect with the characters and I wasn't invested in it. I also really disliked Achilles by the end! Not a bad book but definitely not my favourite.
Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) by Leigh Bardugo (4/5*s)
Shadow and Bone centres around Alina - an orphan who discovers she has a unique power that throws her into the world of the Grisha and the Darkling. I didn't enjoy this as much as I enjoyed Six of Crows and I have a feeling it's one of the over-hyped series. I also would have liked more background on the Grisha as I found myself getting confused early on with the different powers and names! Overall I did like the story and the characters but I didn't think it was as brilliant as Six of Crows.
Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer (4/5*s)
The Lunar Chronicles is based on four fairytale retellings, with Cinder based on Cinderella. This retelling comes with a twist - Cinder is a cyborg. Cinder follows the main character as her life becomes intertwined with Prince Kai and the evil Queen Levana. I'm surprised how much I loved this by the end because I wasn't that interested at the beginning. Once Queen Levana was introduced the story really picked up and I found myself getting invested in it. I can't wait to see where the story goes!
City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2) by Cassandra Clare (3/5*s)
City of Ashes picks up straight after City of Bones, and follows Clary as she tries to stop Valentine from gaining another Mortal Instrument and find a way to wake her mother up. I didn't think this was as good as City of Bones - it seemed a bit like a filler book and nothing really happened until the end battle, which was over within 20 pages. I'm hoping the next book picks up again because I am really loving this series!
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (3/5*s)
The Song of Achilles centres around an exiled Prince, Patroclus, and he becomes immersed in Prince Achilles world and fights against Troy to save Helen of Sparta. I think this has been my most disappointing read of the year so far. It's not that I didn't enjoy it - I just didn't connect with it. I loved how it was written, and spanned over 20 years of Patroclus and Achilles' lives, but I didn't connect with the characters and I wasn't invested in it. I also really disliked Achilles by the end! Not a bad book but definitely not my favourite.
Re-reads: Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J Maas (5/5*s)
What did you read in February? P.S. You can keep up-to-date my my book challenge progress over on Goodreads!
What did you read in February? P.S. You can keep up-to-date my my book challenge progress over on Goodreads!
Great book choices! Cinder and anything that is fairytale-retelling sound interesting. I finished reading Kiss of Deception in February. A really quick read :)
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