Review: Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5) by Sarah J Maas

Title: Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5)

Author: Sarah J Maas

Published: 6 September 2016
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing UK & NZ
Source: Bloomsbury Publishing UK & NZ in return for an honest review
RRP: $17.99 paperback
Reviewed: Sapphired Dragon
Rating: ***** 

My Review:

This was an amazing amazing read! Such a glorious continuation of this series. I was so enthralled by this latest instalment that my nails are bitten to the quick after reading the last 100 pages!

In my opinion, book 4 was a really big book in the series, with Ailin finally embracing her destiny and finally besting her nemesis, the King of Adarlan. Though we knew the big bad is down in Morath and intent on unleashing his horrific experiments on the whole of Erilea, this book was a essentially a whole new direction for the series as a whole and i wondered where this direction would lead us and whether it would live up to the first four books.

I honestly don't why would doubt Sarah J Maas' brilliance as the moment I started reading, I was home, Back with the familiar characters I have grown to love and living, breathing, following their story once more as if this was always meant to be. In this instalment, we see the story through the eyes of mostly Aelin, Manon and Elide with other smaller chapters devoted to Aedion, Dorian, Rowan and other characters. Each thread, each point of view, each different character pulled me more and more into the story and kept me invested in where the story was going. Though the previous King of Adarlan may be dead, Ms Maas still keeps the stakes high for all the characters and nothing is ever as it seems.

There were a few twists along the way that I picked to a certain degree but Ms Maas is extremely skilful at putting the puzzle pieces together in such a way, that the bigger picture formed is not at all what you expected but perfectly right. The pace and flow of this instalment is superb and ensures that once you are completely absorbed into the story from page 1 and by the time you hit the last 100 or so pages, there is no way you will be putting that book down till you reach the end.

I utterly adored this book and loving that this series is getting better and better with each book and have absolutely no hesitation in giving this book 5 huge stars!


Sapphired Dragon xx

About The Book:

Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5) by Sarah J Maas

The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those don't.

As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

Aelin's journey from assassin to queen has entranced millions across the globe, and this fifth installment will leave fans breathless. Will Aelin succeed in keeping her world from splintering, or will it all come crashing down


Purchase: Bloomsbury Aust | Amazon | Booktopia  | Book Depository

Exclusive Prelude for The Song Rising (Bone Season #3) by Samantha Shannon

I am super super excited to announce that I have been chosen as one of the advocates for the compelling Bone Season Series by Samantha Shannon. I have been a huge fan of this series since I first reads books 1 and 2 last year, and feel truly privileged to be able to bring to you exclusive content and updates on both the next book, The Song Rising, due out in March 2017 and the rest of the series in general.

This series is one of the most original series I have encountered in a long long time and I cannot tell you how impatient I am in awaiting the release of book 3.  The world building is incredible, the characters vivid and real, the story line gritty, compelling and unforgettable.

Please note there will be spoilers to books 1 and 2 in the below post.

Today's special treat is a is an exclusive prelude to book 3, The  Song Rising.  At the end of book 2, Paige Mahoney has won the fight to become Underqueen and goes to confront Nashira Sargas by possessing one of the guards.  However another surprise finds her there.

The ending to book 2, The Mime Order, came as something as a shock and the below prelude picks immediately where The Mime Order finished.  Read on to enjoy an exclusive sneak peak at the prelude to Samantha Shannon's book 3 of the Bone Season series, The Song Rising:

Prelude

The lights scalded my borrowed eyes. I was still inside a

different body, standing on the same floor, but everything

had changed.

There was a smile on his lips. That old gleam in his eye, like I’d

just brought him good news from the auction house. He wore a

black waistcoat embroidered with interlinked gold anchors, and a

scarlet cravat was tied at his throat. One silk-clad hand grasped an

ebony cane.

‘I see you have mastered possession at a distance,’ he said. ‘You

are full of surprises.’

The cane’s handle was porcelain, shaped like the head of a white

horse.

‘I believe,’ Nashira said, her voice soft, ‘that you are already

acquainted with my new Grand Overseer.’

I let out my first breath since laying eyes on him.

He had tried to stop me. The scheming worm had silenced me

for weeks, kept me from telling the world about the existence of

the Rephaim. Yet here he was, looking as easy with them as he was

with his own shadow.

‘Oh, dear. Have you swallowed that pilfered tongue?’ Jaxon let

out a deep laugh. ‘Yes, Paige, I am here, with the Rephaim! In the

Archon, wearing the anchor! Are you aghast? Are you oh-so- scan-

dalised? Is this all a terrible shock to your fragile sensibilities?’


‘Why?’ I whispered. ‘Why the hell are you here, Jaxon?’

‘Oh, as if I had a choice. With you as Underqueen, my beloved

syndicate is doomed to self-destruction. Consequently, I have

decided to return to my roots.’

‘Your roots?’

His smile widened.

‘You have chosen the wrong side. Join this one, darling,’ he

continued, as if I hadn’t spoken. ‘I can’t tell you how it hurts me

to see you in the pocket of those despicable Rephaim who call

themselves Ranthen. Unlike the Rag and Bone Man, I have

always believed you could be saved from their indoctrination.

From Arcturus’s . . . seduction. I thought you had more sense than

to blindly obey the man who was once your master.’

I stared at him coolly. ‘You’re asking me to do that now.’

‘Touché.’ A fresh bruise cast a shadow on his cheekbone. ‘To

Terebellum Sheratan, you are a convenient pawn in an age-old

game. Arcturus Mesarthim is nothing but her lure. Her bait. He

took you under his wing in the penal colony on her orders, to

entice you into the Ranthen’s net. And you, my darling – you fell

for it . . . and everyone but you can see it.’

A chill warned me that something was wrong. Elsewhere in the

citadel, someone had touched my body.

‘This is a fight you cannot win. Don’t mutilate the syndicate, O

my lovely,’ he purred. ‘It was never meant as a weapon of war, and

you were never meant to rule. Step back from the brink. All any of

us in the Archon want is to protect you – you, and the wonder of

your gift. If we must pull off your wings to stop you casting your-

self into the fire, so be it.’ His pale hand reached out. ‘Come to us,

Paige. Come to me. All this can be avoided.’

He had shocked me. We both knew it. If he thought he could

scare me, he would have to try harder.

Another shiver. I felt myself falling out of the stranger’s dreams-

cape, back into the æther’s embrace.

‘I’d rather burn,’ I said.


My brain was liquid, slithering out through my nose and down my

front. I had to get out, get air into my lungs . . .



A hand took hold of my arm, but my skin was taut with goose-

flesh, excruciatingly sensitive. I clawed off the oxygen mask, got

the door open, and spilled out of the car in a jumble of limbs,

gasping. The jolt peeled open the stitches in my side, wetting my

shirt.

All of my composure fell apart. Jaxon was many things, but I

couldn’t believe that he had gone to Scion. He had made his career

out of living in their shadow, not their arms.

My wounds from the scrimmage flared, white-hot in my torso,

deep and throbbing in my back. I pitched into the night, down the

moss-slick steps to the Thames, and fell to my knees at the water’s

edge, where I gripped my head between my hands and cursed my

own stupidity. How, how could I have not foreseen this? There

must have been some clue. Now he would be our most formidable

enemy, a vital asset to the anchor.

I will find other allies, he had told me after the scrimmage.

Be warned: you have not seen the last of me.

I should have killed him in the Rose Ring. The blade had been

against his throat, but I’d been too weak to cut.

A very old ally, Nashira had said. One who returned to me . . .

after twenty long years of estrangement . . .

A shout in the distance stopped time, or started it again. I

hunched over the water, holding myself.

I have decided to return to my roots.

‘No,’ I breathed. ‘No, not you. Not you . . .’

He had been standing so comfortably alongside the Sargas. Not

like someone who had only laid eyes on them for the first time

a few hours ago. And there were other things I had brushed off,

that I hadn’t seen from behind the blindfold. He had always been

wealthier than other mime-lords. Absinthe alone cost a fortune on

the black market, and he drank it almost nightly. How had he leapt

from pauper to prince? Surely not just from his writing; there was

no money in pamphlets. Then there was the fact that he had spear-

headed my rescue from the colony with no exit plan – senseless. It

wasn’t in his nature to go blindly into anything. But if he had left

the colony once before . . . if he had known there was a way out –

or if the Sargas had allowed him to take me away . . .


An old ally. Twenty long years. Those were the only words I

needed to work out who Jaxon Hall had once been, and who he

was. I had no absolute proof, but I knew – I knew, in my heart,

that my instinct was right.

He wasn’t just a traitor. He was the traitor.

The man who had betrayed the Ranthen twenty years ago to buy

his freedom from the Rephaim.

The man who had left the scars on Warden’s back.

The man who was responsible for the deaths of every prisoner he

had left behind in the colony.

And I had been his mollisher. His right hand.

The sound of footsteps broke through the white noise in my

ears. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Warden sink into a crouch

beside me.

I had to tell him. I couldn’t carry this knowledge alone.

‘I know who betrayed you twenty years ago,’ I said. ‘I know who

gave you the scars.’

Silence. I realised I was shivering.

‘It is not safe out here,’ Warden finally said. ‘We can discuss this

at the music hall.’

The thoughts tangled like barbed wire in my head. I was every-

body’s puppet, caught in a thousand strings.

Nick ran to the railings above us. ‘Vigiles,’ he shouted. ‘Warden,

bring her up here!’

Warden stayed where he was. I was afraid he would lack the

ability to read my expression – that I might have to say the name

myself – but as the moments ticked past, I watched it dawn on

him, just as it had on me. A fire entered his eyes.

‘Jaxon.’

**********

About The Book:

The hotly anticipated third book in the bestselling Bone Season series – a ground-breaking, dystopian fantasy of extraordinary imagination

Following a bloody battle against foes on every side, Paige Mahoney has risen to the dangerous position of Underqueen, ruling over London's criminal population.

But, having turned her back on Jaxon Hall and with vengeful enemies still at large, the task of stabilising the fractured underworld has never seemed so challenging.

Little does Paige know that her reign may be cut short by the introduction of Senshield, a deadly technology that spells doom for the clairvoyant community and the world as they know it…

Pre-Order: Bloomsbury

Stacking The Shelves #31

Welcome to Stacking The Shelves! Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga Reviews and is a meme to share those books, both print and e-book, that have been added to your shelves in the last week/s.

At the end of last month I decided to make this a monthly feature rather than a weekly one so I could put more of my focus on reading and reviewing and I think it has helped as I had a really productive reading month and better reviewing month also 

In terms of books for review, I have really been trying to limit what I request to things I absolutely want to or must read so as to limit the amount of DNFs and books that I just run out of time to read.  I have also spent the month going through my TBR list and reading a lot of books that have been sitting on my shelves, literally, for a year or more.  I have joined a number of reading challenges on Goodreads also that focus on reading and reviewing as well as choosing books to read that fit certain categories or certain tasks and I am having a lot of fun.



Have a great week!

Review - Print ARCs ( with thanks to Bloomsbury Australia)

Stealing Snow (Stealing Snow #1) by Danielle Paige
Bloomsbury (UK & ANZ) 

Seventeen-year-old Snow lives within the walls of the Whittaker Institute, a high security mental hospital in upstate New York. Deep down, she knows she doesn't belong there, but she has no memory of life outside, except for the strangest dreams. And then a mysterious, handsome man, an orderly in the hospital, opens a door – and Snow knows that she has to leave …
She finds herself in icy Algid, her true home, with witches, thieves, and a strangely alluring boy named Kai. As secret after secret is revealed, Snow discovers that she is on the run from a royal lineage she's destined to inherit, a father more powerful and ruthless than she could have imagined, and choices of the heart that could change everything. Heroine or villain, queen or broken girl, frozen heart or true love, Snow must choose her fate …
A wonderfully icy fantastical romance, with a strong heroine choosing her own destiny, Danielle Paige's irresistibly page-turning Snow Queen is like Maleficent and Frozen all grown up.

Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon | Booktopia

The Devil You Know by Trish Doller
Bloomsbury (UK & ANZ) 

Eighteen-year-old Arcadia wants adventure. Living in a tiny Florida town with her dad and four-year-old brother, Cadie spends most of her time working, going to school, and taking care of her family. So when she meets two handsome cousins at a campfire party, she finally has a chance for fun. They invite her and friend to join them on a road trip, and it's just the risk she's been craving-the opportunity to escape. But what starts out as a fun, sexy journey quickly becomes dangerous when she discovers that one of them is not at all who he claims to be. One of them has deadly intentions.

A road trip fling turns terrifying in this contemporary story that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon | Booktopia

Review - E-ARCs (via netgalley)

Recreated (Reawakened #2) by Colleen Houck
Hachette Australia via Netgalley

From Colleen Houck, New York Times bestselling author of The Tiger’s Curse, comes Recreated, the second book in the epic Egyptian-inspired Reawakened series, in which a seventeen-year-old must literally go to hell to save the love of her life.

Lily Young thought traveling across the globe with a reawakened sun prince was a grand adventure. Now she’s about to embark on the journey of a lifetime.

When Amon and Lily part tragically, he transports himself to the Netherworld—what mortals call hell. Tormented by the loss of his one true love, he’d rather suffer in agony during Lily’s mortal years than fulfill his duty to protect humanity.

Heartbroken, Lily seeks refuge on her grandmother’s farm. Yet she can feel Amon’s pain, and she has been having dreams—dreams of Amon continually suffering.

For before he departed, Amon gave Lily something very special, an item that connects them even though they are worlds apart. Now Lily must use this object to free him, and to free their realms from darkness and utter chaos. She will do whatever it takes.

Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon | Booktopia

Sisters of the Fire (Blood and Gold #2) by Kim Wilkins
HarlequinTeen/Mira via netgalley

An action-packed, compelling historical fantasy, from the pen of an award-winning author

The battle-scarred warrior princess Bluebell, heir to her father’s throne, is rumoured to be unkillable. So when she learns of a sword wrought specifically to slay her by the fearsome raven king, Hakon, she sets out on a journey to find it before it finds her. The sword is rumoured to be in the possession of one of her four younger sisters. But which one? Scattered as they are across the kingdoms, she sets out on a journey to find them.

Her four sisters all have their own paths to tread, the gifted magician Ash is on a journey to find a dragon that could determine her destiny. The beautiful, unhappy Rose has left her undermagician Aunt and is speeding to the aid of her daughter, Rowan, who has been lost to her. Ivy, sold into marriage for the sake of an alliance, is now set to become the ruling Duchess of Seacaster with the imminent death of her much older and sick husband, and the power-hungry Willow is raising her infant child as a potential trimartyr king and training to be a warrior for the fanatical religious order Maava.

From wild rocky coastline to granite-topped tors, from bustling harbours to echoing ghost towns, from halls of kings to ancient primal woodlands, this story follows five sisters upon whose actions kingdoms will rise and fall.

Goodreads | Galaxy Bookshop | Amazon | Booktopia

Replica (Replica #1) by Lauren Oliver

Hachette Australia via Netgalley

Gemma has been in and out of hospitals since she was born. 'A sickly child', her lonely life to date has revolved around her home, school and one best friend, Alice. But when she discovers her father's connection to the top secret Haven research facility, currently hitting the headlines and under siege by religious fanatics, Gemma decides to leave the sanctuary she's always known to find the institute and determine what is going on there and why her father's name seems inextricably linked to it.

Amidst the frenzy outside the institute's walls, Lyra - or number 24 as she is known as at Haven - and a fellow experimental subject known only as 72, manage to escape. Encountering a world they never knew existed outside the walls of their secluded upbringing , they meet Gemma and, as they try to understand Haven's purpose together, they uncover some earth-shattering secrets that will change the lives of both girls forever...

Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon | Booktopia

Purchased - Print Books

I had a pretty awesome book mail month this month with some awesome titles arriving/being purchased all in the space of a week.  I was even lucky enough to attend the Sydney Nevernight launch and have my copy signed by Jay Kristoff!

Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle #1) by Jay Kristoff  Purchased Dymocks

And I Darken (The Conquerors Saga #1) by Kiersten White  Purchased Dymocks

Paper and Fire (The Great Library #2)by Rachel Caine  Purchased: Book Depository

The Raven King (The Raven Cycle #4)by Maggie Stiefvater  Purchased: Book Depository

Borrowed - Library

Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) 

A Corner of White (The Colours of Madeleine #1)

The Cracks in the kingdom (The Colours of Madeleine #2)

So what did you add to your shelves this week?

Review: A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2) by Sarah J Maas

Title: A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2)

Author: Sarah J Maas

Published: 3 May 2016
Source: Bloomsbury Sydney in return for an honest review
Reviewed: Sapphired Dragon
Rating: *****

My Review:

I positively adored this book! I loved book one so I was very hopeful I would like this one too, but even then I was not prepared to love it as much as I did.

The second instalment starts about 3 months after the end of the first book. Feyre, having been utterly broken by the events Under The Mountain is struggling to regain herself and adapt to her new immortal body. She has her beloved Tamlyn but is drowning under the weight of her new life and what it seems to mean for her future.

I loved the way Ms Maas' writing evokes so well the feelings of her characters.  I could  feel Feyre's feelings of suffocation and  unhappiness at how she was dealing with the aftermath of everything and her frustration at Tamlyn and Lucien for not letting her do more.  This made it so much easier to connect with the characters and really feel inside the story.

While at first I was not entirely sure I wanted the story to go in the direction it seemed to be heading, by the end I felt like the story had gone exactly where it needed to and I loved every bit of it. As the story progressed, I lived and breathed it along with the characters and literally could not put it down for the entire novel. Even when I had to put the book down to deal with every day things like work, my head was still in the novel and I couldn't wait to get back to devour it some more.

What I especially love is the way Ms Maas gives her characters room to expand and change as a consequence of their experiences. She does this in such a sensitive yet realistic way that gets you inside the heads of the characters to really understand them better but also in such a way that enriches the story so much more. Her characters are allowed to grow and change as they need to and this makes them so much more vibrant and alive and real.

It is Ms Maas gorgeous writing that really weaves the threads of this tale together in to the masterpiece that it is, and is the glue that hold all these amazing elements of this book together. Rich imagery, layers of story intricately woven, characters that will remain with you even after you put the book down.

This is easily one of the most amazing reads I have experienced all year and I have no hesitation but to give this book 5 stars!

Sapphired Dragon xx

About The Book:

A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2) by Sarah J Maas

Goodreads | Bloomsbury | Book Depository | Amazon | Booktopia

Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.

With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.

Review: The Winner's Kiss (The Winner's Trillogy #3) by Marie Rutkoski

Title: The Winner's Kiss (The Winner's Trilogy #3)

Author: Marie Rutkoski
Published: 24 March 2016 by Bloomsbury Publishing
Source: Bloomsbury Sydney
Reviewed: Sapphired Dragon
Rating: *** 3/4

My Review:

I was so looking forward to reading this book. After reading books 1 and 2 I was looking forward to being blown away by the final book. Whilst I did enjoy it, I wasn't blown away as much as I wanted or expected to be.

To start with, the week I was reading it, I had a busy RL going on so I was only able to read it fits and starts rather in the one sitting I really wanted to read this in. And I think to a certain degree this made a difference to my enjoyment level of the book as I had to keep re-entering the book, and reminding myself what had gone one rather than being able to submerse my self in the book from beginning to end. I think made it harder to completely connect with the feels of the book and the story itself.

I loved the beginning with Kestrel being stuck in the North and Arin in the south and desperately waiting to see if Arin would get the message she had sent through the messenger whilst on her way to the mines and wondering if she would be rescued before she completely broke or worse. I loved the suspense n this portion of the book as we waited on tenterhooks to see what was going to happen.

As the book progressed however, a lot of that suspense dissipated and the middle part of the book became somewhat of a chess match, and whilst my interest remained in seeing how it would turn out, the grip on the edge of my seat lessened and I became more passive and less invested in the end result. The ending brought the suspense level back up and I mostly loved and was satisfied with how the book ended.

There some threads through this book that I absolutely loved and I especially love that this book acknowledge the growth/changes in Arin and Kestrel since the beginning of the series so it was a realistic redefining of their relationship during this book given the depth of the emotions we saw previously. I love these two as a couple and this didn't change in this book.

I think what I missed in this final book was a lot of the intrigue of the first two books and that feeling that the worst could and just might happen at any moment. There was suspense and intrigue in parts and there were some particularly clever twists but on the whole this book seemed a lot more straightforward then the first two books as it powered on to the end.

As I emerge on the other side of this series, I am immensely glad I first picked up The Winner's Curse and got to know this world and characters. Over all I loved this series and am mostly pleased with where this series ended.

If you have read the first two books, I definitely recommend this final book and still recommend this series as a whole.

I give this final book a rating of 3 3/4 stars!


Sapphired Dragon xx .

About The Book:

The Winner's Kiss (The Winner's Trilogy #3) by Marie Rutkoski 

Some kisses come at a price.

War has begun. Arin is in the thick of it with untrustworthy new allies and the empire as his enemy. Though he has convinced himself that he no longer loves Kestrel, Arin hasn’t forgotten her, or how she became exactly the kind of person he has always despised. She cared more for the empire than she did for the lives of innocent people—and certainly more than she did for him.

At least, that’s what he thinks.

In the frozen north, Kestrel is a prisoner in a brutal work camp. As she searches desperately for a way to escape, she wishes Arin could know what she sacrificed for him. She wishes she could make the empire pay for what they’ve done to her.

But no one gets what they want just by wishing.

As the war intensifies, both Kestrel and Arin discover that the world is changing. The East is pitted against the West, and they are caught in between. With so much to lose, can anybody really win?

Publication Date: 24 March, 2016

Pre-Order:Booktopia  | Book Depository | Amazon

Review: The Winner's Crime ( The Winners Trilogy #2) by Marie Rutkoski

Title: The Winner's Crime

Author: Marie Rutkoski
Published: 12 March 2015 by Bloomsbury Publishing
Source: Bloomsbury via netgalley in return for an honest review
Reviewed: Sapphired Dragon
Rating: ****

My Review:

I absolutely adored the first book in this series The Winner's Curse. I gave it 5 stars. I have to be honest though, this second instalment took me 2 separate goes to finish it. It actually took receiving book 3 for review, to go back and finish it. That being said though. I am so glad I did come back to it as the second half had me absolutely gripped to the pages, greedily devouring each page until the ending... The words exquisite agony come to mind. Needless to say. I am extremely glad to be able to move straight on to book 3 to see how it is all going to unfold.

I first started it shortly after I reviewed book 1 last year. I read it ravenously at first then I think I got distracted by something else and then never quite got back to it. When I picked it up again however last week, i found I could easily sink back into to the story and get caught up in all the intrigue till suddenly i was sitting shell shocked at the last page. What I really love about this series and this instalment is that there are so many different threads running through it and yet every thread is exactly where it needs to be, being expertly woven into the whole to make such a rich, detailed and authentic story.

The world building is incredible. Ms Rutkoski has created a such a vivid world, with such distinct countries and cultures and her writing really captures the brutalness of the Valourians conquests and campaigns and the desperateness of the conquered countries to both obtain their freedom and fight back against the Valourians and their brutal tactics. I think in this books we get to let much more about all of these countries and the people who both live and rule them and i think this really adds to the story and series as a whole.

There is so much intrigue in this story. I was genuinely scared for both Kestrel and Arin for a good portion of this book. And the emperor scares me with his evilness and constant game playing and loyalty tests. He always seems to be several steps ahead of everybody else and that just makes him dangerous. This goes together with my point about the many different threads. there s so much going on beneath the surface in this book and Ms Rutkoski gets the balance between suspense and reveal absolutely perfect

I am so very glad i finished this story and it truly was a gorgeous and thrilling read and if you will just excuse me now, i am off to read book 3 :-)

Even though I loved this book, because of my original false start with this book, I have to pull this otherwise flawless story back to 4 stars!

Sapphired Dragon xx .

About The Book:

The Winner's Crime (The Winner's Trilogy #2) by Marie Rutkoski 

Book two of the dazzling Winner's Trilogy is a fight to the death as Kestrel risks betrayal of country for love.

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement…if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.

As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.

Publication Date: 12 March, 2015

Pre-Order:Booktopia  | Book Depository | Amazon

Release Day Blitz & Giveaway: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas

I am so excited that QUEEN OF SHADOWS by Sarah J. Maas releases today and that I get to share the news, along with an awesome giveaway!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful series by Sarah J. Maas, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for a set of the first 3 books in the series (in paperback format). US only. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

About The book:

Title: QUEEN
OF SHADOWS

Author:
Sarah J. Maas

Pub. Date:
September 1, 2015

Publisher:
Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Pages: 656

Find it: Amazon, Barnes
& Noble, iBooks, Goodreads

Sarah J. Maas's New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series reaches new heights in this sweeping fourth volume.

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 will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. 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.

Celaena’s epic journey has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. This fourth volume will hold readers rapt as Celaena’s story builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.

Read
Chapters 1-5 of QUEEN OF SHADOWS HERE!

Sarah J. Maas is the author of the New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling Throne of Glass series–Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, and Heir of Fire, and the series’ prequel, The Assassin’s Blade–as well as the New York Times and USA Today bestselling A Court of Thorns and Roses. She wrote the first incarnation of the Throne of Glass series when she was just sixteen, and it has now sold in twenty-three languages. Queen of Shadows, the fourth book in the Throne of Glass series, will release worldwide on September 1st, 2015.

A New York native, Sarah currently lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and dog. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Hamilton College in 2008 with a degree in Creative Writing and a minor in Religious Studies. 

Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr | Pinterest | Instagram| Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive the first 3 books (in paperback) in the THRONE OF GLASS Series. US Only.

Ends on September 11th at Midnight EST!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4) by Sarah J Maas

Title: Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4)

Author: Sarah J Maas

Published: 1 September 2015
Publisher: Bloomsbury Sydney
Source: Bloomsbury Sydney
Reviewed: Sapphired Dragon
Rating: ***** 

My Review:

I am not entirely sure that words can describe how much I adored this book. I seriously devoured it not able to get enough.

I can honestly say this was not only everything I hoped it would be but infinitely infinitely more.

The story starts about 4-5 weeks after the end of Heir of Fire and Celaena Sardothien/Aelin Galathynius has just set foot one back in Rifthold and she is back with a purpose.

It was amazingly easy to slip right back in the world of Erilea and to pick up where the story last left off. Right away, I needed to know everything about the characters I had been waiting so impatiently to revisit and Ms Maas did not disappoint. Characters from both the series proper and the previous novellas feature prominently in this novel which in many ways helps complete this instalment as Ms Maas begins to thread previously seemingly stand alone threads together.

Ms Maas writes her characters so wonderfully well. They are vibrant and they come alive and make you feel so much for them that whenever they do anything dangerous - which lets be honest, is really the entire book ;-)- I had my heart in my mouth scared about how they were going to come out at the other end. Every twist, every turn had me hanging on the edge of my seat in worry of what might happen to *my* beloved characters.

That being said there were some characters that insisted on annoying me for a good portion of the first part of the book *cough* Chaol *cough* but even when they were being annoying, you couldn't help but love them.

And the story itself? Sarah J Maas weaves a story like no other. There are layers and twists and turns,sub plots and threads that weave together and others that seem to stand alone randomly...until they are needed when they tighten the story and pull it together just right. There is so much in this story and I am in awe at the mastery of Ms Maas to be able to hold the multitude of different threads in her head and pull on them with such perfect timing to deliver what is easily the best instalment so far.

With action a plenty the whole way through, this book had me deep in its thrall from beginning to end and I can't wait for more!

Bring on Book 5 and 5 stars for an amazing read!

Sapphired Dragon xx

About The Book:

Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4) by Sarah J Maas

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 will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. 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.

Celaena’s epic journey has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. This fourth volume will hold readers rapt as Celaena’s story builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.


Purchase: Bloomsbury Aust | Amazon | Booktopia  | Book Depository

 

Waiting on Wednesday #12: Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4) by Sarah J Maas

Welcome to Waiting on Wednesday!  Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly featured hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight the not yet released books that I wish were in my hot little hands right now.

This week, like probably most of the rest of the world I am waiting on Queen of Shadows by Sara J Maas, the fourth book ( well, fifth if you include the Assassin's Blade novellas) in the Throne of Glass series.

I first read Throne of Glass  shortly after it came out in 2012 and loved it.  However a year is a long time, especially when its the year your first child is born. So by the time Crown of Midnight came out, whilst I bought a copy and then Heir of Fire the following year, I never quite got around to reading them.

It wasn't till early this year when I bought kindle/audible versions and listened all the way through from the first novella in Assassin's Blade through to the end of heir of Fire, that I really, truly fell in love with series.

Now I am joining the rest of the horde that is waiting to see what happens next to Caelena, Chaol. Prince Dorian and Rowan having already pre-ordered both paperback and hard copies :-)

 I absolutely cannot wait to get this book!

Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4) by Sarah J Maas

Sarah J. Maas's New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series reaches new heights in this sweeping fourth volume.

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 will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. 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.

Celaena’s epic journey has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. This fourth volume will hold readers rapt as Celaena’s story builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.

Publication Date: 1 September, 2015
Pre-Order: Booktopia  | Book Depository | Bloomsbury Sydney

What book are you 'waiting on' this week?

Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses By Sarah J Maas

Title: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Author: Sarah J Maas

Published: 1 May2015 
Source:Bloomsbury Sydney in return for an honest review
Reviewed: Sapphired Dragon
Rating: ****

My Review:

Sarah J Maas as has created another great series!  A Court of Thrones and Roses is a dark captivating re-imagining of Beauty and the Beast tale set in a forbidding and dangerous world where the Faerie have created fear and loathing  in the human folk that live to the south of their borders.

Given how much I adore the Throne of Glass series, I was pretty sure I was going to love this too and I wasn't mistaken. This is a totally different tale from Ms Maas' previous series with the only thing in common being a strong female heroine.

Feyre, has been hunting to put food on her families table since her mother died and her father lost the family's fortune. As close as they are to the wall that separates the dangerous faeries from human civilisation, Feyre has grown up on stories of Faerie brutality from the wars and attacks on townships so when given the opportunity to kill one of these hated Faerie, Feyre doesn't hesitate. However thanks to the treaty in place, it means she is now destined to spend the rest her days in Faerie lands, her life in exchange for the one she took.

I liked that once again, Ms Maas has given us a strong and capable female character. One who is willing to do what ever it takes to protect her family and keep them alive, even if they don't necessarily seem grateful. She always seems to put them first, at the expense of her life and her dreams but we also get to see her develop as she learns more about the dangerous and foreign land she has found her self in and herself in the process. I also loved Tamlyn. From the beginning he had that air of protectiveness, strength and power and the more I got to read and know the character, the more I found to like.

I loved the twists and turns in this book, the fact that noting was exactly as it seemed at first and both Feyre and Tamlyn are forced to reconsider what they had previously considered their truths as they learn more about each other and each other's heritage.

But more than anything, i loved the dark and dangerous faerie world Ms Maas has created,with its rich, captivating imagery that draws you in and makes you want to see and know more and a story that slowly builds, surrounding and engulfing you with thread after thread and layer after layer, so that when you finally emerge at the other end, you are satisfied and sated that you have experienced a good tale.

A great start to a new series. I loved it and give it 4 stars!

Sapphired Dragon xx

About The Book:

A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses  #1) by Sarah J Maas

Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon | Galaxy Bookshop

A thrilling, seductive new series from New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas, blending Beauty and the Beast with faerie lore.

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.

Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!