A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1 by George R.R. Martin)

Synopsis

The Game of Thrones is the first book in the Song of a Ice and Fire series, a fantasy novel by George. R. R. Martin. The plot-line revolves around three stories of the nobel houses: The Westeros, the Wall and most people's favourite, the Targaryens. Eddard (Ned) Stark treats being named the hand of the King like a curse after the one before had died, or was rather murdered. This changes everything for the Stark family as they split. 

It is a matter of time before the Iron Throne is claimed by the wrong people. 

Review

I give

★★★★☆

Game of Thrones is a novel that includes eight perspectives, (Tyrion Lannister, Sansa Stark, Arya Stark, Eddard (Ned) Stark, Bran Stark, Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen , Catelyn Stark). I had a difficult time building some kind of emotion towards any of the characters listed above. The first book revolves around the idea of who is to keep the Throne and how the fight between the Starks and the Lannisters got bloody, but mainly who killed John Arryn, the hand of the king, because the fight against the Starks starts when Ned (Eddard) Stark questions if Arryn died of a natural cause. This is the type of book where you would expect gory details when it comes to violence, detailed sexual content and rough language, make no mistake there will be. The narrative is rich in context, though, I have had trouble understanding what was happening sometimes because of the different use of vocabulary, and it is not simple English. It is highly expected considering how the writing has to match the setting of the story, that being the middle Ages. Perhaps someone with a more profound knowledge in literature would have no trouble understanding everything. There’s always that one word though, right?!

There is no shame in picking a favorite character, so I’ll admit, I love Tyrion. He is more or less one of the most bullied characters in the book, along with Jon Snow, for being different and this is how I was emotionally attached to the both of them.  They’re both examples of good protagonists. Their choices are wise, and I can’t help but love the amount of sarcasm Tyrion has thrown in every now and then. I’ve enjoyed his chapters far more than any other character. However what makes the book so great is the fact that if you do despise or love a character, the chapters aren’t entirely long, so you have enough time to see what is happening on the other side, but not enough to bore you if you don’t feel interested. Besides, he may be fun to read because of his sarcastic thoughts, but events have made others a lot more interesting. And there’s this constant thing going on where some chapters end with a cliffhanger, which absolutely kills me and love.

As a mystery book, there’s a lot to discover, even though the core idea revolves around someone’s death. There’s so much going on and this helped me continue reading when I felt discouraged at times. The diversity between the characters is great, everyone’s different. In fact neither of them can quite relate to each other, especially those related.

What I liked so much about this book more than most other ones is that there is no cliché to it. There are no heroes or evil guys. There’s only our opinion on their actions. In the end every character and general person in real life believes their actions are for some kind of greater good. It’s us who decide who are the good guys. Of course we learn that all Eddard wants is for the truth to be out. He’s a loyal man with good intentions, and that gets him “chopped”. So this is more about survival. We see from every character’s perception what it takes for them to survive against those who wish them harm. I’ve unfortunately seen the TV show before reading and I know for a fact that this is no typical story. Or a typical fantasy for that matter. There will be deaths, ones I won’t care one tiny bit about, and others I’ll bawl my eyes for, so of course I’ll continue. 

Throne Of Glass (Throne of Glass series #1 by Sarah J. Maas)

In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake. She got caught.

Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament - fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. 

But will her assassin's heart be melted?

Review

I give  ★★★★★

Third-person perspective is extremely different.  I still get into the mind of the character, but her thoughts don't matter as much as her actions. Also knowing what the other people think is so different. 

This novel starts out when they take her, so we don't get much insight into what she does at the mines, just when she talks about it with the Prince or Chaol, Captain Westfall. There is a love triangle going on, I knew it as soon as both guys were introduced. Now it only depends on who she'll end up with. The "Shatter Me" had an unpredictable ending, so I can only hope that who I choose as my final favourite  will remain Celaena's lets say "lover".

She has such a strong character, I fell in love with her personality as soon as one could. She is not thoughtless or even stupid. She considers all of her enemies and I think she has a good sense of judgement when it comes to those around her. She thinks of what benefits her, and her only, but then she has these small acts, or well excessive acts of selflessness, like saving Mr. Thief and  telling him to leave because he was in danger. And she likes books! So little characters in novels are actively enjoying their hobbies. 

“No. I can survive well enough on my own— if given the proper reading material.”

But she does, and the piano playing. It is great, however I wish I was given more information  on her past "lover", which would be so unusual for an assassin to have. 

I was a bit conflicted about the fact that she fell for the Prince, or at least liked him in that way, maybe or maybe not it was for her own benefit but for an assassin, assuming she kills without blinking an eye, her heart is all over the place. Or at least that is how it seems. 

"Say my name, Say, 'Very well, Dorian'."

She rolled her eyes. "If it pleases Your Magnanimous Holiness, I shall call you by your first name."

This book made me smile more than I can remember. It has these little moments that just warm my heart from visible acts of humanity, or how she is in fact still young for all of this. 

Chaol is such an uptight person. There are rarely any non-serious moments with him, but even those serious, he just, he just, I don't know I have high hopes for him but my head is stretched between both of them, Chaol and Dorian. I like Chaol because he seems mysterious, and stronger than Dorian, who just gives his heart away without even hesitating, and he seems so oblivious sometimes, it makes me wonder if he actually cares about what is happening in the world, and if he does why not show that?

A Chaol momento:

“How long was I asleep?" she whispered. He didn't respond. 
"How long was I asleep?" she asked again, and noticed a hint of red in his cheeks. 
"You were asleep, too?" 
"Until you began drooling on my shoulder.”

Ok, Nehemia. These names confused me completely. I was convinced Nehemia was the same character as Kaltain. So I was basically against Nehemia halfway through the book. What is up with these names? I could not even remember most and then Nehemia gives Celaena another name for the sake of their friendship? Elentiya, like I'm going to remember that by the time I start the next book. 

Despite the names, I've enjoyed this book and it is why I think it deserves 5 stars, I would not give less. Never, Let the next books not disappoint me. 

My Life Next Door (By Huntley Fitzpatrick)

"One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time."

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, messy, affectionate. And every day from her rooftop perch, Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs up next to her and changes everything.

Review

I give ★★★✩✩

Can I just say the book cover gives me the impression that they are some tiny humans near a ginormous fence. I like it. 

Where do I begin? Well, I'm quite surprised with myself for giving so low, honestly now.  I was 20% into the book when I said I could not put it down. This book got me hooked, up until the 200th page. If it weren't for my brother telling me something was going to happen, I would have found it very difficult to continue. This book was constant. The characters were beautiful, with the exception of Mr. Clay and her selfish mother. 

Maybe for some of you reading is just a form of entertainment, well I wanted this book to be  my source of completely shutting the world out, it just disappointed me so much towards the end. 

Let me start on the Jase guy, Mr. Perfect boyfriend, brother, son, and friend. He takes things slow, he understands, he helps, he volunteers to help around the house, he gets two or God knows how many jobs to help out his family, he puts money away to buy a car and ends up selling it to benefit anyone but him and he helps Tim with the job at his father's shop. He is amazing, maybe, just maybe too amazing, and maybe that is why I haven't felt a connection to him, he's too inhumanly selfless, and don't get me started on Samantha. 

I get that you know a lot about your science and your astrological signs but knowing it all just won't do it. She's too perfect, until she isn't because of her perfect mother, who again, is not perfect because clearly just shutting out problems, not associated with her is not the perfect way to go at life. Samantha does not act like a spoiled brat, even though she may be, but living under her mother's strict rules kept her from becoming one. But since she's so good, I start to wonder is that really how she may have turned out? Her mother is being an ignorant selfish strict mom, and Samantha somehow still turns out perfect, even with a missing father. This just doesn't add up. And after all the sacrifices her mom made, making sure both of her daughters being raised properly and whatnot, it just seems like not enough credit is given to her, and to fall in Clay's scumbag trap should've been obvious, IT WAS OBVIOUS. Not to mention letting anyone tell her how to be a parent, which she did let Clay do.

As soon as the car incident happens, I just knew this perfect little story I was reading was over. Because everything turned gray. 

Nan was a big shock, like, what? Why? For 12 years she kept this act, no, no, no, impossible, 12 years is a lot, and 12 years Samantha never noticed her hate towards her? There must have been something, Gosh, eyes betray every feeling we try to hide, and Samantha being such a smartass should've been able to tell. Nan also should have noticed that Samantha did not have it all, she was literally cursed by being the daughter of a strict, selfish witch. And Samantha not telling her best friend about Jace, what was up with that? 

I suppose most of my favourite moments were those when Samantha was excited to meet Jace by the window, I just found that adorable, also this idea of watching another, completely different, family from afar, yes it sounds like something a stalker would do, but wanting to be a part of that family was just beautiful. That was worth my 3 stars, because if it weren't for that, this book would have made top 10 least favourite books. I suppose it is a better book than "The summer I turned pretty." since they are both sending out that summer vibe I was looking for. 

Currently Reading: Obsidian (Lux Series #1 by Jennifer L. Armentrout)

So far, I can't say much, I've read up to eight chapters and I'm not complaining. It's extremely fun and entertaining. The humour is just what keeps me going.

Golden Lily (Bloodlines #2, by Richelle Mead) Review

Blurb

Sydney would love to go to college, but instead, she’s been sent into hiding at a posh boarding school in Palm Springs, California–tasked with protecting Moroi princess Jill Dragomir from assassins who want to throw the Moroi court into civil war. Formerly in disgrace, Sydney is now praised for her loyalty and obedience, and held up as the model of an exemplary Alchemist.

But the closer she grows to Jill, Eddie, and especially Adrian, the more she finds herself questioning her age–old Alchemist beliefs, her idea of family, and the sense of what it means to truly belong. When a shocking secret threatens to tear the vampire world apart, Sydney’s loyalties are suddenly tested more than ever before. She wonders how she's supposed to strike a balance between the principles and dogmas she's been taught, and what her instincts are now telling her.

Should she trust the Alchemists—or her heart?

Review

No, no, no. The book was not supposed to finish like that, I wanted to put a stop to my obsession, it seems like I failed. 

So first things first, what is up with Brayden? I'm sure as hell that Sydney is way smarter than I am, so it should have been easy to spot what an idiot he is. And if Brayden was that smart, he should have done a brief check on what girls like: COMPLIMENTS (I think they tend to just make situations more awkward, but whatever.) But still, Sydney's the best he'll ever strike. 

Second: If I were to take a sip at every mention on Sydney's car 'Latte', I think I would have drowned in a dozen gallons of LATTE. I couldn't bear to keep myself away from coffee while reading. Unluckily for me, when I was reading the first book, I was fasting (No food, no water) and occasionally found myself craving a cup of coffee. 

Third:  I was so, so, so happy at the fact that Adrian's character came floating on the surface compared to the other characters. I got to know him better, Sydney got to know him better, and well I might've gotten more attached to him than she did, but I believe it's what made the book so great. No Adrian, no goody goody stuff. 

Fourth: I absolutely liked the fact that Sydney was so confused as to what she was supposed to feel when she got kissed, when she went on a date, what was appropriate, and I just might've related to her in so many ways at that point, which is very rare because all characters in the books I read seem to magically have a past of boyfriends and whatnot. 

Speaking of magic... I KNEW IT! I knew she was going to use the blind spell, hell, I guessed it from the moment it was mentioned, also I knew about the tattoo and it's significance on Trey's back, I knew he was evil, I think the author intentionally made sure the readers wouldn't get too attached to him, just enough so they would not be disappointed by revealing the sad truth about Trey. 

I like the twist involving Eddie, Angeline and Jill, that love triangle, thankfully it's two girls against a guy instead of the typical stuff with two guys, one girl, despite the fact that, that might have also been there with Mikah and Eddie, however it didn't exactly get to the point of it being annoying, Eddie's decisions were reasonable and I came to appreciate his loyalty and admiration towards Jill, overall I found it cute. 

Vampire hunters?! What- 

That was a bit surprising, not completely, after the way the last book ended, I actually believed this whole idea of a vampire-hunters group would just fade away, clearly it played a major part, and it was different however I wanted more action, maybe Adrian should learn how to throw some punches and start defending Sydney for a change, she's got magic on her side, what's he got? Art skills, which as an artist myself, have come to appreciate that I share so many things in common with him. So yeah, I expected that to be an excuse for the both of them to start learning how to fight, but the sign up classes with Wolfe was a good bonus to their abilities. 

OVERALL: Don't be surprised but I LOVED IT! 

The humor, the characters, story, and as some things may have come off as mysteries, either I'm a genius or they were too obvious. I could be taking into account every little detail, so that could be it.

Insurgent (Divergent series #2, by Veronica Roth) Review

Blurb

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

Review time!

I'll admit to one thing, it took me a while to finish the book, if anything, I think I partially found it boring. It felt like it was all about TRIS FEELING BAD. It basically revolves around the idea of trust but all Tris tends to do is lie and lie and lie to the ones she loves and it's just so overwhelming. She hides how she feels, she hides what she knows and most of all she hides what she feels, and then when Four or Christina find out what she's been hiding, she feels bad. IT'S ALL ABOUT TRIS FEELING BAD. I don't know what to say about the book, I liked it, I was able to finish it, so it was THAT boring, I've read worse, definitely worse, but I would have liked more of "Happy Tris" and that would be very unrealistic if she would have been happier, due to the world falling apart and all those hidden mysteries, but it was in the last 100 pages that I started enjoying the book, which is why I gave it 4 stars. 

It was a book I liked, however was a bit disappointed when Tris seemed to just throw herself out there for the sake of others, despite Four point on that, I had gotten to the point of disrespecting her because she no longer valued her existence. 

I was beyond happy to find out that Christina made peace with Tris and everything was good between the friends, also that she later on started confiding in her by telling her what she knew, so much appreciation on that. 

Overall, it was a good book, I hoped it'd meet my expectations though, which were a lot higher.

Bloodlines (Bloodlines series #1 by Richelle Mead) Review

Blurb

Sydney belongs to a secret group who dabble in magic and surf to bridge the world of humans and vampires. But when Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, she fears she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. What unfolds is far worse. The sister of moroi Queen Lisa Dragomir is in mortal danger, and goes into hiding. Now Sydney must act as her protector. The last thing Sydney wants is to be accused of sympathizing with vampires. And now she has to live with one. 

Closer review on Bloodlines Series' first book

23 Hours, sleep not included, so that makes it... 14 hours of reading, possibly constant reading, small gaps in between, perhaps no more than 3 hours. That's how long it took me to finish the book. I'd say it was a record, I can't remember finishing a book so fast before.
Meaning... I liked it, perhaps exactly just about how much I wanted to like it.
Despite the boring introduction and everything, it seemed to me like the story progressed quite slowly, but that was just the beginning of it, and then as she had finally moved to Palm Springs, it felt like the story had finally begun.

I loved Adrian's remarks throughout the whole story, the beginning when he opened their door to that mansion, that moment was just AMAZING!

"They're waiting for you. Go on in." Adrian leaned close to Keith's ear and spoke in an ominous voice. 

"If. You. Dare." He poked Keith's shoulder and gave a "Muhahaha" kind of monster laugh. Keith nearly leapt ten feet in the air.

I would ruin it for you if you haven't read the book, so maybe I'll keep those "moments" to myself and laugh out loud at just how hilarious they are so I won't list any of them, just that first one that got me super attached to the rest of the book.

So the story's told from Sydney's point of view, which was something I did NOT expect, I actually thought it would be from Adrian's point of view, and by the time I finished the 'Last Sacrifice', the last book from the Vampire Academy series, I was worried that Adrian would go on and on and on about how sorry he felt for himself that Rose chose -SPOILER- Dimitri over him, that's hardly a spoiler alert because we all expected that-DUH! But what got me super furious was that it kinda seemed like the world revolved around Jill. WHY DOES EVERYONE HAVE TO FREAKING FALL FOR HER?! Okay, so if I'm going to be a professional reviewer, perhaps capitalizing how furious I was with Jill's character would be a bad move. She is exactly the perfect description of the most difficult and infuriating teenager I will ever read about. I was fifteen once. like two years ago, and I do not remember being so desperate to be out there, much less be all over this whole idea of wanting to get a boyfriend, or be involved in all this romance-y-stuff. So maybe that kinda almost got me to throw the book out the window, if Adrian would have fallen for her as well, I might've as well burnt the book to ashes, Adrian is for Sydney and that's that. I hope.

So, more infuriating characters... Well the twist at the end with Lee really got me surprised, shocked, all words to describe that emotion. It was crazy and it covered all the missing "climaxes" in the story, which I seemed to not have noticed.

Keith.. if there is any character I could not hate more, it would be Keith, I wanted to cry just as much as Sydney wanted to every time he pissed her-off-excuse my language- but how can he be so ANNOYING and MEAN and RUDE and how in the world could he get away with RAPE?! I would have pinned him near a very-awake-volcano on a stick and let him burn from the increased temperature-he deserves to BURN!

Sydney is the ideal character for this series, I kind of doubted I'd enjoy reading and well seeing everything from her perspective considering how I haven't given her much attention in the Vampire Academy series, to be honest, I hardly noticed the fact that she feared vampires so much. Anyways, the story was interesting BECAUSE she was so scared and despised them. This was no I-hate-them-because-it-is-a-cliche-to-love-them, loving them would be almost like a sin to herself. She was raised to hate them and because of that I came to appreciate her effort at getting closer to them, even though it was not in her job-description to do so, if anything, it was against everything The Alchemists did. Perhaps falling in love with one will be beyond complicated. I can't to find out.

I couldn't help but notice the excess mention of COFFEE. I craved coffee while reading the book, and since it's Ramadan, I could not drink ANYTHING. I kept dreaming of a cold Frappuccino, or a freaking Latte, because her car HAD to be named LATTE! Of course, after the eating hours I made myself a Latte, now, I can't sleep.

Overall the book was amazing and I'll be very likely to read it again, once I'm done with the Goodreads challenge, with reading 30 books in the rest remaining months of 2014.

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