Queen Of Shadows Review

Throne Of Glass is one of my favourite books of all time. I am opening with that statement because

not only is it true, but it is also completely necessary to keep in mind throughout this review. I am also going to state here that Celaena, Nehemia, Manon, Chaol and Dorian are some of my favourite characters of all time. I love this series, and reading the first two books makes my little heart soar. However, things started to go somewhat downhill in Heir Of Fire, but I still had faith that Sarah J Maas had a plan, that the questionable content and characterisation in HOF was completely intentional, and written into the SJM Throne Of Glass Masterplan.

But after reading Queen Of Shadows, the fourth installment in one of my favourite series ever, I'm just slightly confused and vaguely offended that SJM thinks her readers are so dumb they wouldn't notice the abrupt, poorly justified shift in characterisation and in relationship dynamics between characters.

In saying that, QOS is a good book. If I set it apart from the series, and pretend that these characters are not the same ones as in TOG, COM and HOF,  then I would give the book five stars. It is impeccably written, has a beautiful plot and despite it's 644 pages, never really has a dull moment. And there is (probably) nothing SJM could ever do to make me hate this series (THAT IS NOT A CHALLENGE PLS SJM DON'T TRY). Although, in my opinion, this book was way out of character and a complete shift in plot from the earlier books, I still have some faith that SJM will pull it back (not in the way I would want it to be, but I'll get to that in the spoiler section).

If you've read the first three books and are questioning whether to continue, especially because of the sheer amount of negative reviews circulating, then I'd say yeah, it's worth continuing. As I mentioned, some characters are ripped to shreds in terms of characterisation (disclaimer: if you love Chaol like I do, please beware. Your heart may be squashed almost as much as his character was), but it's still a fantastic book.

You can check it out on goodreads here, and read the synopsis below:

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past . . .

She has embraced her identity as Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. But before she can reclaim her throne, she must fight.

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die for her. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen's triumphant return.

If you haven't read QOS, beware of the spoilers below!

***SPOILERS***

Queen Of Shadows has me very conflicted. And you can bet you'll read about why I'm conflicted very shortly, but first I'm going to talk about why this was a fantastic book.

Sarah J Maas is an incredible writer. She uses her words so nicely and she is a master at world building. When reading her books, I am constantly in awe of how spectacular she is at creating such vibrant and complex fantasy worlds.

And this book was no different. The setting was so intense and beautiful and scary, it makes for the perfect backdrop in an epic fantasy series like this. The mythology and the depth of ancient magic and folklore was just incredibly beautiful to watch develop and unfold even further, despite being in the fourth book of the series. Nothing is surface-deep in SJM's books. Everything is intricately built, carefully constructed so that the reader truly understands the way Terrasen will start to flourish again, the exact way the Valg demons take and possess people, and the way they are destroyed. No corners are cut in terms of world-building, and SJM never skirts over complications or leaves any plot holes.

I was also incredibly happy to see elements of the novellas (The Assassin's Blade) pop up in QOS, like Lysandra, whom I'll talk more about shortly, Aelin's time in the Red Desert, and Aelin's tense relationship with Arobynn. The way SJM subtly expanded on these themes really added depth to not only the novellas and the series, but to Aelin's character.

Lysandra slowly became my favourite character in this book, because of how Aelin and Chaol were treated (which I will discuss later on). She was fiery, sharp-tongued, and wasn't afraid to do whatever to get what she wanted for herself and for those she loved. Her loyalty to Evangeline, Aelin and even Clarisse was so strong. Then, we later found out she was a shape-shifter, and this just added to my love for her. It was amazing to see her character expanded on and developed in an incredible way, after only seeing her in fleeting times during The Assassin's Blade. Even down to the fact that she shifted into a ghost leopard and saved Rowan and Aedion, and her friendship with Aelin. It was all so nice to see. Her fantastic characterisation almost made up for the travesty with other characters.

Let's discuss Rowan/Aelin, before I dive into the issues with Aelin and Chaol's characterisation and the mess that is Rowan/Celaena/Chaol. Rowan is a nice guy, I'm not disputing that at all. But honestly, we've all seen Rowan-esque characters before. Does Ash from the Iron Fey ring a bell? How about Tamlin, from SJM's other book, A Court Of Thorns And Roses? Regan, from City Of Halves? They're all the same character trope: the stoic, possessive male who is surprisingly loving and passionate when it comes to their slightly rambunctious love interests. All loosely supernatural, all boring. Rowan was funny at times, and I don't hate him by any stretch, but his character is just so overused. It was way more interesting when he and Celaena/Aelin were just friends, and their relationship was entirely platonic. When he helped her deal with her feelings for Chaol, and might have even helped them get back together. But no, SJM just had to completely change a clear, well written plotline and make Rowan/Aelin a thing.

And in theory, I have no problem with my ship (Chaolaena, if you hadn't already guessed) not being canon. It would hurt my soul a little, but if she wrote it well and made sense of it, I could look over it, because I'm not one of those crazy "make my ship canon or I will hunt you down and steal your fridge" fans. The thing that upsets me with the Rowan/Aelin/Chaol storyline is how flippant and weak Aelin's transition between the two was. In COM and even HOF, Celaena/Aelin was completely in love with Chaol. She said multiple times that he was her one and only, that she would always choose him. To me, that seems like a solid, endgame storyline. But in this book, she completely flip-flopped. She decided that she had literally no feelings for Chaol whatsoever, which just doesn't make any sense in comparison to things she said in TOG, COM and HOF. It's just not consistent.

On top of that, the progression from platonic to romantic in regards to Rowan and Aelin was ridiculous and unbelievable. It was clearly said multiple times in HOF that they were completely platonic, just friends due to AELIN'S FEELINGS FOR CHAOL!!! So why, all of a sudden, did they just decide they were in love with one another? If this progression had been written well and over time, maybe it would've been more believable. Check out this quote from page 250, from Rowan's perspective, about Aelin:

"While they'd been in Wendlyn, it had taken him a while to realize she was beautiful. Months, actually, to really notice it. And for the past few weeks, against his better judgement, he'd thought often about that face."

Last time I checked, it normally doesn't take supposed "soulmates" months to realise the other is beautiful. What a flimsy attempt to create a somewhat "instalove" style relationship. As I said on twitter, whilst live-tweeting as I read, I'm not buying it.

Now, let's discuss the biggest problem I had with this book — my poor baby Chaol's characterisation. Chaol in the earlier books was calm, loyal, protective and conflicted. He was an amazing friend to Dorian and Celaena, and he took his job and loyalties seriously. He was filled with self-loathing, and always blamed himself for everything. He trusted and loved Celaena and Dorian, and was incredibly selfless and loving.

In the first few pages, we see Chaol get furious at Aelin, as soon as she returns. He picks a fight with her, blaming her for the horrific things that happened in her absence, even though he was the one to ship her off to Wendlyn to start with (an action proving his selflessness, loving nature and deeply ingrained self hatred — he gave up the woman he loved and pretty much any chance of being with her so that she could reach her full potential and take back what was hers). The young man we saw in TOG, COM and even HOF was calm, collected and selfless. This immature, insolent boy we see in QOS is hostile, angry and short-tempered. His character shift was completely unexplained and so abrupt I could barely believe I was reading about Chaol.

In addition to this, Chaol was in love with Celaena, just as she was him. Similarly to Celaena, his feelings seemed to be stamped out so quickly, him moving on so fast, I was so confused. Love like Chaolaena had doesn't just disappear the way SJM portrayed it, not at all. He was stubborn, obnoxious and constantly put himself and his agenda first. He acted like a sulky child, which was just so out of character. Of course, all these things only happened when he was actually mentioned. For a major character, he was degraded to such a minor role. He only had a few short chapters in his point of view here and there, and most of the time, his actual thoughts and opinions weren't recorded, only his observations and actions. I even started to think he might have had a demon in him, too. He was simply pushed to the side for convenience, to make room for Rowan and to ignore the one gaping plot hole — where the heck did Chaolaena go?

I was so upset at the way Chaol was treated in this book. He was such an interesting, caring, intricate character that was completely ripped to shreds in the process of tearing the story away from its natural progression and setting it on a whole other route. It was unfair on his character and the readers, and so this is the main reason why this book could never be five stars or perfect by any means to me.

Okay I spent ages discussing characters and very little time discussing actual plot, so to keep things (somewhat) short, I'll quickly talk about the plot here. In this book, we see a build up to the killing of the King, the rescuing of Dorian and Aelin claiming her place as Queen of Terrasen. I am excited to see how Aelin rules, and what will happen next (hopefully Chaol will be avenged!!). I was particularly fond of Manon, the Wing Leader of the Blackbeak witches. We finally got to see her interact with Aelin and the other main characters, and I loved the relationship she had with Aelin. I loved the message she left for her on the wall — it just gave me chills. I really want to see more of her in the next book (and possibly watch her kill her grandmother and take control of the clan... Just an idea!).

I was also really fond of the Arobynn storyline. I am so glad he's dead, after what he did to Celaena and Sam and Lysandra, and I think Lysandra killing him was just perfect. I love that she felt no guilt, that she killed him and never looked back. And when Aelin switched the wills, I laughed so hard, because she felt like Celaena again, and I truly did miss Celaena in this book. I feel like Aelin and Celaena are slightly different people, and I feel that Celaena isn't nearly as heartless or cruel as Aelin portrayed her to be. Celaena was brave and calculating and funny, and in my opinion, less hard and bloodthirsty than Aelin, anyways. Throughout the book, Aelin killed and threatened to kill without any shred of remorse, whereas Celaena always felt remorse and the weight of her actions.

What did you think of Queen Of Shadows? I am aware that it is a highly debated book, and very divisive, too. If you want to share your opinion, let me know in the comments or via any of my socials. My question for you is — what are your ships in the TOG series, platonic or otherwise? I'm still holding tight to Chaolaena, even though I highly, highly doubt it'll be endgame. I also have strong feelings about Chaol/Dorian as a brotp, Manon/Asterin, and even a bit of Lysandra/Dorian, even though they've never met. I just feel like they'd get on really, really well.

If you want to contact me about business, my book or just to say hi, shoot me an email to mywordsarearrows@gmail.com. You can also friend me on goodreads and like my facebook page to keep up to date on what I'm reading and posting about.

Have a wonderful day, and I'll see you here next week with another post!

Lily xoxo

Just One Day Review

I'm so sorry it's been a while! I've been so busy with work (and publishing my book... eep!) but I'm back again with another splendid post! And today, I am going to be

reviewing a book you've most likely heard of. Just One Day by Gayle Forman. And as someone who spends a lot of time on goodreads, in the YA blogosphere and on booktube accounts, I have heard many, many things about Just One Day. So, in an effort to find a book that would entertain me from finishing The Darkest Part Of The Forest, which was fantastic, to when In Honor arrived in the mail, I picked up Just One Day from my library in the hope that it'd give me something to do in between. And boy, did it ever!

I had been skeptical about this book for a while, particularly as I didn't really enjoy If I Stay all that much and also because I thought that the entire book was set over the course of one day. 360 pages and one day. And so I shoved it at the bottom of my TBR list. But as per usual, the books I think I won't enjoy are the ones I do. It's always the way.

If you did enjoy If I Stay, you will definitely love this. I would also recommend it to fans of Anna And The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins and fans of Rainbow Rowell.

Here's the synopsis;

Allyson Healey's life is exactly like her suitcase—packed, planned, ordered. Then on the last day of her three-week post-graduation European tour, she meets Willem. A free-spirited, roving actor, Willem is everything she’s not, and when he invites her to abandon her plans and come to Paris with him, Allyson says yes. This uncharacteristic decision leads to a day of risk and romance, liberation and intimacy: 24 hours that will transform Allyson’s life.

If you're into travel-finding-yourself-romances, this is right up your alley. I would certainly recommend to lovers of a good young adult contemporary. For me, it had some issues but definitely a solid four out of five stars.

 So if you haven't read Just One Day and you'd like to, go find yourself a copy and check it out, then come back to check out my spoiler review!

***SPOILERS***

Where to start? My feelings for this book are so conflicted. I have some major issues that really kept me from totally loving this book but I also tore through it at a rate I haven't in a while.

Let's discuss the plot. The plot drove this book, I think, as the characters were fairly weak. I really loved the way the plot moved so fluidly, like when Jacques, that guy Willem and Allyson met in Paris, said that time was fluid. I also felt like the themes in this book were carried through really well and none of them (and let's be real, there was a lot of them) were left behind and forgotten. The central themes, of course, being Willem's idea of love, and his "stain" analogy, and of course the whole accidents idea. I was so glad that these themes, in addition to all the others (like Allyson's scar on her neck, the things Willem and Allyson said to one another, the whole idea of "Lulu" and the symbolism of time and Allyson's watch), were continued nicely.

And yes, being wrong about the entire book being set on one day was entirely my fault. I need to stop jumping to conclusions. The start of the book, this One Day Allyson spent with Willem, was a total of 142 pages. These pages did not drag at any point. The entire day was fast-paced and I was constantly intrigued. There wasn't one point during this first part where I wanted to put the book down, and so I didn't. The book did, however, come to a lull in the first part of the one year later half. And I think the reason this bit was so hard to read was that Allyson was just such a sad sack, and such a boring character to have narrating.

Allyson Heady was not in any way shape or form an overly interesting character. At the start of the book, she was mopey, average and following around in the footsteps of her prettier, more adventurous best friend. She was your typical YA protagonist. Constantly commenting on how "unpretty" she is, but somehow also manages to be "strikingly beautiful" later on, boxed in, pressured by her ambitious parents, constantly jealous of the more socially competent, prettier girls around her. I don't think there was one girl in the One Day part and the start of the One Year part she narrated in a positive light. Maybe except her grandmother. It wasn't until she met up with the "Oz gang" and Wren in her return to Paris where she actually stopped comparing herself to the girls around her and just settled.

Allyson was just very, very average. And also rather childish, I found. She often overreacted and jumped to conclusions and had zero motivation, which made me sometimes forget that her character was meant to be eighteen/nineteen. And maybe it's because I'm a cynic and I've never been "in love", but really, this girl was seriously hung up on a one-day fling, a day that ended badly because she didn't actually think that morning through. Logically, though, when Willem wasn't there in the morning, she didn't think things through and wait for him, but totally flipped. This made her character really annoying to deal with eighty percent of the time.

Despite this, I think Gayle Forman meant to make Allyson annoying. I think she wanted us to see the stark difference between Lulu and Allyson, and wanted us to realize that Allyson wasn't just pining for Willem, but also for Lulu. The part of her that she lost. And when you look at it in this light, the way Allyson was written does make sense. But honestly, I wanted to slap her in the face a lot during this book.

Willem was interesting and adorable but also very average. He was interesting, because he clearly liked Allyson a lot, but he still seemed like a total player. I, like Allyson, was constantly confused by his messages. He was a bit like Adam from If I Stay, in that I just couldn't figure him out and therefore it made him harder to care about.

In addition to this, he was also kind of a jerk. Throughout the book it seems like he had no less than seven girlfriends either closely before Allyson or in the year in between. And although I had a feeling Allyson had misunderstood the morning where he left, it still made me angry that he never seemed to put in a lot of effort to find her. Like, really, in the internet era we live in, finding someone really isn't that hard. We all Facebook stalk and google our crushes, and often with results that lead to more information and more information, so I really don't think he put in much of an effort.

But don't let these rants about characters lead you to think I didn't enjoy the book, because I did, I really did. For me, however, as you probably already know, characters are the most important part of any story. And in this book, I felt like I didn't connect with any of the characters.

One of the things I loved most about this book was the way that the Allyson/Lulu dynamic played out. I thought it was so interesting watching Allyson realize she not only wanted to see Willem again, but Lulu. It was so awesome to see just how different she was when she spent that day with Willem, like before and after she was just a shell of who she wanted to be. It reminded me a little of the mythology behind eating faerie food. Once you try it, everything else tastes like ash and dust. I felt like once Allyson had tried being Lulu, she sunk into depression in the way she did because she realized she hated Allyson and loved Lulu.

I was so glad we were able to see Allyson return to Lulu, and without Willem's help. Although it annoyed me to no end that it took so long to find Willem again, I must say!

Although I didn't love Allyson and Willem separately, the time they were together was certainty the most enjoyable as a reader. They clearly brought out the best in one another and were better off together than alone, and I think that's a good indicator of how well a relationship is working out. I definitely hoped that Willem had some sort of explanation for why he'd (seemingly) been such a jerk and I did hope they'd get back together, for the benefit of them both.

Fate plays a big part in this book, and as someone who doesn't quite believe in the sort of fate or "accidents" portrayed in the story, it was both hard to relate to but also refreshing. It was nice seeing this idea of fate through much more positive eyes, but at the same time I found the events in the book to be impossible and completely fictitious. But then again, isn't that what makes books so enjoyable?

And wow, that cliffhanger is the motivation I needed to be sure of reading the next book. I understand Just One Year is the year in between the One Day Allyson and Willem spent together and the day they meet again from Willem's point of view. I am very curious to see this from Willem's point of view and start decoding him as a character a bit more.

I would love to know your thoughts on this book or the series (although no spoilers, please!!!) in the comments below. If you would rather tweet me your thoughts, send a tweet to @lilypherondale and if you're more of a tumblr sort of person, I love getting asks on my tumblr, sherlockcrumpets. You can also like my facebook page to keep up to date with what I'm reading and posting!

If you want to talk business or just say hi more privately, feel free to send me an email at mywordsarearrows@gmail.com.

See you next week with another post!

Lily xoxo

A Court Of Thorns And Roses Discussion

Hey! So instead of writing up a review for the highly anticipated new Sarah J Maas book, A Court Of

Thorns And Roses, I thought I'd do a discussion sort of thing, because it's only recently out, and I want to recommend it, but I don't really know how I feel about it. So here is a spoiler-free discussion!

A Court Of Thorns And Roses, or ACOTAR, is about faeries. The main character, Feyre, is a human girl growing up in a faery-occupied world. She is a huntress, and one day, whilst hunting, she makes a huge mistake and is sucked into a faery world. Here is the blurb;

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Now, Sarah J Maas is my favourite author, probably. She's definitely up there with Cassandra Clare and Jandy Nelson. I adore Throne Of Glass, I really do, they're some of my favourite books. But this book did not live up to the standard I hoped it would.

Feyre felt like a more chilled Celaena (of Throne Of Glass). I liked her, but she didn't make me yell "MY SWEET BROKEN CINNAMON ROLL" like my other favourite SJM characters do. I felt like she was a bit more passive than Celaena, that she was a bit more observant rather than reactant.

I also feel that the narration would've been better in third person. The first person worked fine, but I must admit, I prefer my fantasies in third. I would've liked a few chapters in Tamlin's (the love interest) POV, or some of the other characters like Lucien (Tamlin's best friend).

The thing I was most thankful for in this book was the lack of love triangle. There was so much potential for a cheesy, horrible love triangle between Tamlin/Feyre/Lucien, or even Tamlin/Feyre/Rhysand, and I was so, so relieved that never happened. I loved that the friendship between Feyre/Lucien was completely platonic, and that Tamlin never needed to get jealous. We need more platonic relationships in YA.

I would have loved to see more female characters, though. Besides Feyre and her briefly appearing sisters, the only female characters we saw were Feyre's maid in Tamlin's court, Alis, and the evil faery queen.

The pacing of this book was hard to follow with. The start was fairly slow and romancey, and the end was fast, dangerous and bloody. There were some points in this book where it was hard to persevere (and maybe it's because I'm in a reading slump), despite the beautiful writing. I even had to stop and read another book before I could bring myself to finish the book.

Tamlin was just a bit dry, to be perfectly honest. He was quite solemn and stoic, and I did like him, but I would've loved to see some more developing of his character. I did, however, love his friend, Lucien. And another character, Rhys... well, you can form your own opinions about Rhys when you read the book.

ACOTAR was a good book. I did enjoy it, despite everything I've said here. I would recommend it to fans of Throne Of Glass and the Iron Fey series. So go and read it, then come back here and I might even write up a full review.

See you all next week!

Lily xoxo

From The Ashes Review

Hello readers! Today I will be reviewing a book that was given to me by the author, Shelby K. Morrison, in exchange for a review. The book is called From The Ashes and it will be released on May 3rd. I would very much like to thank Shelby for offering me the chance to read and review her wonderful book! It was truly an honor. If you are an author with a book coming out and you're looking for ARC reviewers, feel free to contact me via my email: mywordsarearrows@gmail.com. Anyways, onto the review.

Because this book hasn't come out yet, this will be a totally spoiler free review, so anyone can read it.

It is a young adult fantasy, and I really enjoyed it! Here's the blurb:

For eighteen years Aia Wynnald has lived a lie. Raised as a highborn in the Kingdom of Tharien, she's filled her days with tutors and archery lessons. But simmering beneath her polite surface is a dangerous gift, one which she must keep a secret. Aia is a bender. And in Tharien, Benders are feared and hunted. 

When her unruly power breaks free with dire repercussions, Aia's lifelong goal of independence shatter. As she scrambles to piece her life back together while evading capture, she disturbs a vengeful force intent on destroying the kingdom. 

Now, with the help of an unlikely ally, Aia will decide the fate of Tharien. To rescue those she cares about will require accepting what she is. But can she risk becoming the monster she's dreaded to save the very citizens baying for her blood?

This was such a great read. I was getting serious Throne Of Glass-esque vibes from it, which is great because I love Throne Of Glass. The book overall was really fun and I cared a lot about all of the characters. I felt like this book worked really hard with the relationships between the characters, and I loved that.

Firstly, let's talk about Aia, the main character. Aia spent most of the book working through these issues she had. I really liked that she wasn't your typical fantasy-protag-cliche. She didn't automatically accept this change in her environment and tackle it head first. She was cleverer than that, and she thought things through a lot better than most other protagonists, which was really refreshing.

I liked that her internal struggles were dealt with in such a realistic way. She was fighting her instincts that were so deeply ingrained in her, that Benders were inherently evil and that she was a danger. I feel like in fantasy a lot of the time the characters are way to adaptable and run into things headfirst, never really thinking things through. In From The Ashes, this was so much more realistic, and it made for a really interesting internal conflict with Aia.

The writing in this book was really beautiful. I loved the prose, it was classic high-fantasy and it really fit well. There was the perfect balance of descriptive, metaphorical language and actual character interaction. This was the way it reminded me of TOG most, because I feel like this book and TOG are two of the best written high fantasies with the perfect tone.

Then there were the other characters, Cole and Illicina. I really liked both of them. Cole, a young man working for the Emperor, hunts Benders... but maybe there's something more to him? Cole was a multi-dimensional character (maybe love interest?) and I was really feeling the relationship between him and Aia. I hope that in future books, their relationship might just develop into something more. Despite wanting them together, I was glad there wasn't too much romance in this book. I think Cole and Aia's relationship was growing but slowly, and somehow, that made it more real and enjoyable than if it had been rushed. And also the plot twist surrounding Cole... did not guess that one at all!

Illicina is an angry, vengeful Bender, focused on bringing retribution on those who hurt her. I liked Illicina quite a bit. At the start, I was a bit apprehensive, but as we got to know her, even though Aia's suspicious, eyes, I started to like her. She was complex and detailed, and I would really be interested in finding out more about her.

Her relationship with Aia was beautiful. Illicina, who doesn't trust anyone, starts to trust and love Aia in a way that she clearly hasn't for a while. And in return, Aia starts to love and trust Illcina as well. They had a very sister-like dynamic, and I am hoping that in the next book, we'll get to see more of Illicina and her relationship with Aia. I feel like there is plenty of potential for hilarious scenes with Aia, Cole and Illicina.

The actual story, which has a gentle pace, worked very well with the complex internal struggles of Aia and the well-developed relationships between Aia and Illicina and Aia and Cole. It follows Aia and her desperate attempts to evade capture from the Breakers, the people who hunt Benders, and trying to stop Illicina from taking out her anger on the people who want Aia convicted. I really liked the story. All the elements fit nicely together and it flowed really well. As I've already mentioned, Aia's internal conflict is a lot of the story, and I think it was done fantastically and it slotted into the plot perfectly. I'm never going to stop gushing about the relationships and Aia's internal conflict in this book, to be perfectly honest.

On occasion, the dialogue felt a bit forced and would snap me out of the story. It was also quite cheesy occasionally, which was a shame, because there was plenty of room of banter and emotive writing in the dialogue.

I also would've liked a lot more worldbuilding. I feel like there was so much potential for an amazing world, a deep and well developed society. Unfortunately, I still don't know all that much about this wonderful world the book is set in. I'm hoping that in future books, we'll see this world expanded.

My final critical point for this book was Aia's backstory. We sort of jumped straight into her life as a fugitive, and I would've liked to see some of her life before, as well, to have some contrast. I think it would've helped the audience understand the world and Aia a bit better. Although this would've been nice, it didn't really impact or detract from my enjoyment of the story.

All in all, From The Ashes is a beautifully written, well developed story that treats its fantastic characters the way they deserved to be treated. I liked it a lot, and I'd rate it a solid four out of five stars. I would recommend it to fans of The Winner's Crime, Throne Of Glass and Snow Like Ashes. So set your calendars to alert you on May 3 for the release of From The Ashes!

If you want to share your thoughts or get in contact with me, you can leave a comment below, send me a tweet to @lilypherondale, a tumblr ask to sherlockcrumpets or even email me at mywordsarearows@gmail.com. Also, like my facebook page to keep updated with what I'm doing!

Have a wonderful Easter weekend, and I'll see you next week with another post!

Lily xoxo

Imitation Review

Hey! So I received a copy of Imitation by Heather Hildenbrand from the publisher, and so I decided

to write up a full review for it.

I did enjoy this book, although there were some things throughout it that I wasn't so fond of.

Imitation is a dystopian, set in a world pretty similar to our own, except that for all the socially elite people: the daughters of politicians, the sons of senators, leaders themselves have carbon copies of themselves. These exact replicas are grown in test tubes to serve the person they were modeled after, or their "Authentic". These "Imitations" are taught exactly how to act, dress and be their Authentic, so that if anything happens to them, their Imitation will be able to jump in and pretend to be them.

The story follows one particular Imitation, Ven, who is a replica of socialite Raven Rogen, the daughter of the leader of a well known scientific research company, RogenCorp. Ven is called to pose as Raven, as there seems to be people trying to attack her. Ven must pose as Raven; deal with her socialite best friends, her unofficial, arrogant boyfriend, Daniel, and her tyrannical father all whilst trying to figure out just who is trying to harm Raven Rogen.

But Ven will discover things she didn't even think possible, and as she tries to unravel what is happening with the help from a boy who may or may not hate Raven Rogen, she will work out what's really happening with RogenCorp, Daniel and the people who supposedly want Raven Rogen dead.

Fans of Pawn by Aimee Carter, These Broken Stars and other dystopian/science fiction/romance young adult novels will love this mysterious, intriguing dystopian by Heather Hildenbrand.

This next section will contain spoilers for the book, so if you plan to read it, I suggest you read it and come back so you won't be spoiled!

***SPOILERS***

So this book was really engaging, and I enjoyed it. The story had rather unique elements, and I was constantly wondering what would happen next. Despite there being a lot of world building and a lot of background information needed, I felt that I could slip into this world fairly easily, and there wasn't too much lengthy info-dumping.

The world wasn't very different from our own but the subtle differences made this world seem more real, because they were things that I could see happening in our world. The divide between the wealthy and the poor was stark, but unfortunately, didn't really follow on through the storyline. I was hoping it would somehow tie into the whole RogenCorp thing, but in this book, it didn't seem to. I will be interested to see if this is developed in future books, as I believe this is going to have a sequel.

I would've liked to see more of the other Imitations, like Ida and Lonnie, and their interactions with Ven. I really liked their friendship and the dynamic between them, and I hope they turn up again in future books. Ven herself was interesting, because even though she was created solely to imitate Raven, she was very different from her. I thought that maybe all Imitations had their own personality, that they were all different from their Authentics, but when we met Obadiah, it appeared that Ven might be different. It was easy to see similarities between Obadiah and Ida, just subtle ones that made me wish they could meet.

Ven went from being a follower - following orders, doing what she was told, relying on others to protect her and tell her what she should be doing and not really thinking for herself - to being a stronger character by the end of the book. She knew what she wanted and she wouldn't let anyone else stop her from getting it. I really liked seeing her character transform through things like hanging around Raven's friends, discovering the truth about RogenCorp and the Imitations and bonding with Linc. I liked seeing her realise that she was more than just a test-tube-grown experiment made to serve, and that she was valuable and she had her own ambitions and desires.

I wasn't fond of the relationship between her and Linc. It felt a little bit insta-love, like she fell in love with him because he was the first semi-decent and good-looking boy she'd ever met. And in comparison to Daniel, who was pretty much her first romantic experience ever, Linc had pretty much descended from heaven on a cloud pillow with a chorus of angels singing behind him. Their romance felt too rushed, and I didn't really buy that after only a few weeks tops they were totally "in love". 

I also didn't like the way Ven seemed to be more spineless and in need of help around Linc. I also didn't like the way he would speak for her, telling other people that she wouldn't do this, shouldn't do that. I felt like Linc was a tiny bit possessive and a little too alpha male for my liking. Ven was constantly relying on him to save her, and taking him places with her to make sure he would protect her. Take this snippet for example:

"I grimace and look down at my sweatsoaked tank. 'I should probably shower first.'

He shrugs. 'We'll take the bike, let the wind dry us off. Let's just go.'

I hesitate again. But it's Linc. And I won't refuse him. 'Alright.'" 

That part, especially the highlighted bit, makes me a tiny bit uncomfortable with Linc, and the dynamic between him and Ven, which may stem from the fact he was her bodyguard, I'm not sure.

Despite this, I didn't mind Linc as a character. He was a bit moody, and I sometimes felt like he was two different people. But ultimately, he was willing to sacrifice everything for Ven, and he was always by her side, supporting her. I liked that he didn't freak out and get really angry and annoyed when he found out the truth, like you sometimes see in other YA romantic relationships where there's a secret.

The resistance group at the end was not what I was expecting. I did not expect Daniel to be one of the "good guys", and so I was pretty shocked when I found out he was. I'm curious to know whether he knows his dad is an Imitation, but unfortunately, we didn't find out in this book. I would like to see more of him, despite him being quite a horrible character.

I am excited to see where the story will go in the following book, and what Ven will have to do for the resistance group. I would like to see more of Ida, Lonnie and Obadiah. I'd also like to meet the real Raven Rogen, and see how she interacts with Ven. I think it would be really cool if Raven and Ven developed a sisterlike relationship, and she joined or already was part of the resistance group.

I'm going to give this book 4 stars out of five. The next book is definitely on by TBR list, and I'm hoping to get to it soon!

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See you next week for another post!

Lily xoxo