REVIEW: A COURT OF MIST AND FURY BY SARAH J. MAAS.

Title: A Court of Mist and Fury
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #2
Edition: Hardcover
Publication: May 3rd 2016 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Source: Bought from Fullybooked
Pages: 640
Genre: New adult, Romance, High-Fantasy,

Synopsis:
The #1 New York Times bestselling sequel to Sarah J. Maas' spellbinding A Court of Thorns and Roses.

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.

PURCHASE THE BOOK HERE:

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Took me a while to finish this because why does adulting have to ruin everything?

My friends were right, ACOMAF felt like a totally different series. Like, you're starting a new one. SARAH J MAAS made a GLORIOUS 360 DEGREE-CHANGE. It was totally not the sequel I was anticipating but I believe, she did this to make the story much compelling. I DUNNO, HATE ME ALL YOU WANT BUT I LIKED THIS SEQUEL AND I LIKED EVERYTHING IN IT EXCEPT FOR THE FIRST 200 PAGES WHERE NOTHING HAPPENED. I ALSO OFFICIALLY SWITCHED TEAMS AND I AM NOW TEAM RHYSAND BECAUSE SJM IS SO CRUEL TO MY HEART, TO TAMLIN HAHAHA. I ALSO HAVE THIS LOVE AND HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH FEYRE BECAUSE I INITIALLY FELT HOW BROKEN SHE WAS AND I ADORE HER FOR PULLING THROUGH AND AT THE SAME TIME I FELT HER RAGE FOR BEING LOCKED UP I WANT TO PUNCH EVERYONE IN THE FACE WHEN THEY DID THAT UGH BUT SOMETIMES SHE'S JUST SO FULL OF HERSELF IT MAKES ME HEAVE.

YOU WOULD UNDERSTAND THOUGH WHY TAMLIN DID WHAT HE DID RIGHT? AND WHY FEYRE'S FEELINGS WENT SOUTH BECAUSE WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS WRONG WITH TAMLIN I KNOW HE'S SCARED TO LOSE HER OR THERE'S A REASON BEHIND THAT WOULD BE REVEALED NEXT BOOK OR SOMETHING, I DON'T CARE I MEAN COME ON MAN YOU HAVE THE GIRL WHY IMPRISON HER? THERE SHOULD BE LIKE, FUCKING TRUST THERE TAMLIN WHY DID YOU HAVE TO BE SUCH THE DOUCHIEST DOUCHE BAG, I LOVED YOU TAMLIN BUT YOU FUCKING PUSHED ME AWAY

IT ALSO FELT LIKE THIS IS ALL ABOUT JUSTIFYING EVERYTHING RHYSAND DID. HELLO???????? HE TERRORIZED THE ENTIRE REALM FOR AS LONG AS SJM CAN REMEMBER AND THEM BAAAAM BEFORE YOU CAN EVEN SAY 'RHYSAND'. HE'S SUDDENLY THE WHAT, THE ------- ONE?? YOU GET ME? BUT WELL, I AM TOTALLY OKAY WITH THAT WTH GIVE ME MORE RHYSAND I'LL TAKE IT BECAUSE I AM NOT JUDGEMENTAL AND EVERYBODY DESERVES A SECOND CHANCE RIGHT ---

MY FEELINGS went a little bit south as well during that ridiculous cave scene with the King LIKE, FUCK, RHYSAND DIDN'T SEE THAT ONE COMING? REALLY? OF ALL THE THINGS HE ANTICIPATED, THIS ONE HE MISSED? UNFUCKINGBELIEVABLE. BUT HE'S STILL THE CLEVER ONE, LIKE I DUNNO MAN, I JUST HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS I COULDN'T FIND THE ANSWERS TO LIKE WHY DIDN'T HE MANIPULATE THE QUEENS' MINDS IF HE'S THE MOST POWERFUL HIGH LORD OF ALL AND WHY IS IT ALWAYS FEYRE LIKE WHY NOT UNLEASH WHATEVER MONSTER AMREN IS AND WIPE THEM ALL AAAAAAH SEND HELPPPPP

A Court of Mist and Fury is TAUNTING, HAUNTING, AND IS SO FUCKING PAINFUL YOU WOULD WANT TO THROW IT OUT THE WINDOW. SJM MASTERED TOYING WITH MY FEELINGS AND ACOMAF LEGIT DESTROYED ME. I CANNOT ANYMORE WITH THIS LIFE

"To the stars who listen— and the dreams that are answered."

EPIC DAY FOR ALL PH FIREHEARTS!

Been a fan of Throne of Glass even before it was released (first post about it here). The synopsis of ToG just captured me and I knew then it would be my kind of book. And I wasn't disappointed. I was introduced to this whole new HF world that I immediately fell in love with. My experience with ToG was unbelievably good that it kind of set this standard when I am reading HFs. What I love most is that aside from Celaena, Sarah J. Maas is such a wonderful person that she isn't only a gorgeous queen but also very approachable on Twitter.

Reviews:

▲ Throne of Glass ▲ The Assassin and the Pirate Lord ▲ Crown of Midnight ▲ The Assassin and the Desert ▲ Heir of Fire ▲ Queen Of Shadows ▲

Thankfully, my lovely Lady friend Louisse of The Soul Sisters turned out to be a huge fan of SJM as well and she hosted a PH blog tour of ACOTAR April of last year. It was such amazing thing because we all had the chance to read ACOTAR in advance and some of the participants had the chance to interview SJM. Then Louisse went to BEA and met SJM in the flesh (!!!!!!!!!!!) and she was thoughtful enough that she sent the blog tour participants this:

SIGNED BOOK PLATE FOR ACOTAR!! Thank you so much, Louisse!
(This bookmark is now pasted on my ACOTAR copy)

Most of my blogger friends know how much I love this ToG and of course, meeting Sarah and getting my books signed are dreams I want so badly to come true. I think that is every SJM fans want to experience - to meet the queen. Then the gods of the publishing world suddenly cracked the entire PH bookish universe when National Bookstore posted this:

THE QUEEN IS COMING TO STORM MANILA. THE QUEEN IS COMING TO MANILA ON MARCH 13. I AM GOING TO FINALLY MEET SARAH J. MAAS. OH. MY. GOD.

I couldn't express my gratitude to National Bookstore and to all those people responsible for this event. SERIOUSLY. OMG. This is unbelievable. OMG!!!!!!

According to National Bookstore, they would post the full mechanics of the signing soon and HONESTLY, I AM SO FREAKING NERVOUS. All her UK books are available at NBS branches here and I don't see any US ones. I both like the US and UK covers and I honestly don't mind it, as long as the height's the same. I also hope there wouldn't be any limit on how many books we can get signed because I'm expecting a lot of fans attending the event so SJM/the publisher/NBS might limit it. Sorry guys, I am just trying to internalize everything HAHA and I don't want to get disappointed (just like what I felt during CoHo's signing) so I am preparing myself for the worst. I mean, I am not expecting SJM to sign gazillion of books in one event because she gets tired, too. But I am hoping - truly - for a no-limit signing. Because I want all my SJM books touched by the queen. HUHUHUHU.

Anyway, the registration starts at 10 in the morning on March 13th in Glorietta, Makati. I don't know why there is no event in Cebu, though. I will definitely be there so I hope to see you, fellow Firehearts!

Let us all look forward to having a blast in this event!

Thank you so much, National Bookstore! This means a lot to me (and us) and don't get tired of making PH bookworms happy and satisfied! I LOVE YOU, NBS!

BLOG TOUR (17): ACOTAR BY SARAH J. MAAS.

Hi, guys! I've been missing in action for the past month because I have started working!! (FINALLY!!) Am no longer taking in calls because am a full-pledged IT now and am in the morning shift thus the blog absence. I've been learning SQL and other things so I have to put books aside. Anyway, I couldn't pass up the chance to review ACOTAR because S-J-MAAS, yo!! I was supposed to interview her but I didn't finish ACOTAR on time. Boooo, work! LOL! But here is my review for today's blog tour stop!

Title: A Court of Thorns and Roses
Series:  A Court of Thorns and Roses #1
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Edition: Kindle
Publication: Bloomsbury Children's / May 5, 2015
Source: eARC provided by the publisher through Netgalley
Pages: 432
Genre: High Fantasy, Romance, Retelling
Trailer: Intro.

Synopsis:

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!

Sarah J. Maas proved once more that she can outrank her previous books (like, over and over again). She keeps impressing me and giving me outrageous feels book after book. Truly, she exceeded what I was hoping to get from ACOTAR in surprising ways.

ACOTAR is inspired by Beauty and the Beast but you can tell how Maas owned this story. She amazingly created a vast fae universe (my imagination led me to the world of Avatar with all that floating stones and blue people) and breathing became a struggle. It was beautiful beyond words. My brain couldn't even grasp how vivid Maas describe this world -- it vomits colors, magic, beauty. The journey was such incredible I want to go back right after I finished reading the acknowledgements.

However (how am beginning to hate this word), slow paced stories consistently push my buttons. That's how I easily get bored and irritated. Even though Maas' Throne of Glass series can be slow at times, the slowness didn't tickle my impatience. I have always loved how the slowness factored to the development of each book. But ACOTAR somehow poked that horrible part of me that halfway through it, I almost DNF-ed it. It felt dragging and I was almost out of hope that something important would happen within the first half of the book. As usual, the last several chapters turned the table upside down but it didn't impasse the doom of my boredom.

I wasn't utterly impressed with the plotline but I was flabbergasted by the execution! Maas described each emotion in heightened sense of its context and she wasn't afraid to embrace human's fragility and even use it in an advantage I didn't anticipate.

ACOTAR's characters are all equally compelling and I think I fell for all of them.
Feyruh who is human in the Fae world but developed so much more because of her drive to fend for her family; Tamlin (OH, I LOVE YOU SO) who is the cursed High Lord of the Summer Court, he is mightly and loving despite the mask he could never take off; Lucien who is Tamlin's Emmisary, he's full of sarcasm and wit. He doesn't sugarcoat things and his loyalty to Tamlin is unquestionable; Rhysand the High Lord of the Night Court who is handsome but full of deceipt. He's very clever; Amarantha, the Queen of Pythian, the evil one driven by hatred for humans. And then Alis the ever loving fae house help who captured my heart because of her kindness. I loved Tamlin more even after I learned everything about him, he loves truly and even if he's bounded to the curse, it didn't stop him from being the just Fae I am inlove with. Plus, Maas wasn't joking when she said this story was full of sexy times. DAMN, SEXY TIMES. It's so, so alluring.

A Court of Thorns and Roses is a story where magic is expounded in its different forms. Stunningly written and downright ravishing, ACOTAR is the go-to novel for all!

Thank you so much to Bloomsbury and Throne of Glass PH for the eARC!

"We need hope, or else we cannot endure."

"Don't feel bad for one moment about doing what brings you joy."

"What would be enough to make you happy?"

"Everything became a blur of color and sound, and he was the only object in it, tethering me to sanity, to my body, which glowed and burned in every place he touched. I was filled with sunshine. It was like I'd never experienced summer before, like I'd never known who was waiting to emerge from that forest of ice and snow. I'd didn't want it to end -- I never wanted to leave this hilltop."

"I was as unburdened as a piece of dandelion fluff, and he was the wind that stirred me about the world."

"It was either a sunset or a sunrise. The sun filled the clouds with magenta and purple, and its orange-gold rays blended with my path to form a band of shimmering metal. I wanted to fade into it, wanted the light of that sun to burn me away, to fill me with such joy that I'd become a ray of sunshine myself. This wasn't music to dance to - it was music to worship, music to fill the gaps of my soul, to bring me to a place where there was no pain."

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

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GOOD LUCK!!

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY (41): ACOTAR BY SARAH MAAS.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine that highlights our much anticipated books.

Expected Publication Date: May 5. 2015
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Add to Goodreads

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!

This is another Sarah J. Maas novel and I think that's enough reason why be excited about this upcoming series. My love for her Throne of Glass Series is endless that whatever she writes, I'd read. Like, hands down, even her grocery list!

My reviews of:

The Assassin and the Pirate Lord (Throne of Glass 0.1)

The Assassin and the Desert (Throne of Glass 0.2)

Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1)

Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2)

Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3)

Am super jealous right now that a lot of bloggers received ARCs of ACOTAR but am also happy that they get to read it early. Their reactions are making me go apeshit crazy about getting this. So May, please be here ASAP!

Also, this is my first WoW post for the year (and in a while) and I must say am excited to be back! How I missed fangirling over our anticipated books!

What are the titles you are most excited about this year?