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!

REVIEW: QUEEN OF SHADOWS BY SARAH J. MAAS.

Title: Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4)
Series: Throne of Glass #4
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Edition: Hardbound
Publication: September 1, 2015 by Bloomsbury
Source: Bought from Fullybooked
Pages: 648
Genre: High Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis:

The queen has returned.

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.

The fourth volume in the New York Times bestselling series continues Celaena’s epic journey and builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.

PURCHASE THE BOOK HERE:

Amazon ▴ Barnes and Noble ▴ Book Depository

3 weeks after reading Queen of Shadows, I am still here in this void of heartaches, holding my shattered heart, couldn't seem to continue with my bookish life anymore. Once again, Sarah Mass left me brain dead, emotionally dead, physically dead, dead, dead, dead. There is nothing better I could have hoped for, guys. Sarah Maas delivered another freaking masterpiece and I can't wait to see how she would top this one off next year.

Seriously. Words are floating away from me. I couldn't even begin to tell how much I was surprised by the turn of events in this installment. Maas exactly knows what she's doing. She freaking nailed this one (WELL, AGAIN!) and what can I ever ask for? More kickass scenes? More sexy times? More Rowan? More Aelin? More Manon? I don't know what else to say but I WANT BOOK 5 NOW PLEASE PLEASE PLEASEEEEEE.

Aelin (who will always be Celaena to me) matured so much in this installment. Of course, she's still the greatest assassin ever graced my bookshelf but there are a few things I noticed that bothered me and made me ask questions. I know our Fire-Breathing Bitch-Queen is awesome in so many ways but I guess I missed seeing her a little vulnerable and dependent on others. She has the right to be scared and protective though after Nehemia but come on, man! Ask help sometimes. There's nothing wrong with that. I also noticed how she staged everything perfectly by herself. Like, how could she anticipate every single thing without fail? Can she see the future now? I was just a little bit uncomfortable with those things. She's perfect enough that making her too perfect just seemed so off.

But don't worry, I forgive Celaena for being too perfect because OMG ROWAN WHITEHORNNNNNNNNNNNN IN THE HOUSEEEEE! If you are following my live tweets (I used #KateReadsQoS), you would know that I screamed when Rowan finally showed up! OMG THE TENSION IN THE AIR IS UNBELIEVABLE. I am not - not even a singe bit - pissed off by how this part of the book revolved into something BETTER. I am not saying that the 'other one' is bad news, what I am saying is, the 'other one' just got stuck right there and couldn't decide for himself or even for them and I am still mad with his attitude. Good thing that there's some fantastic development in the Hearts Department that FINALLY, SOMEONE WORTHY CAMEEEEEEEE. #TeamRowanFTW

Lastly, I wanted to really highlight this because I think this is important stuff. Sarah Maas writes not only kickass male characters BUT ALSO FEMALE ONES! WE HAVE CELAENA AND JESUS CHRIST, CAN WE TAKE A MOMENT TO APPRECIATE MANON BLACKBEAK'S EXISTENCE?! Seriously, THAT, THATTTTTT fantastic fight scene was something I've always looked forward to since Heir of Fire and Sarah Maas did not fucking disappoint! I want more from these two equally amazing female characters and of course, I WANT ROWAN FOREVER AND EVER THAT I WANT TO LEGALLY CHANGE MY LAST NAME TO WHITEHORN.

Queen of Shadows is another Throne of Glass installment that left me in awe. Jaw dropping, hair gripping and heart wrenching novel packed with unlimited awesomeness!

"She was fire, and light, and ash, and embers. She was Aelin Fireheart, and she bowed for no one and nothing, save the crown that was hers by blood and survival and triumph."

“He shifted his arm so he could brush her hair back. His fingers lingered along her jaw. “You make me want to live, too, Aelin Galathynius,” he said. “Not exist—but live.” He cupped her cheek, and took a steadying breath—as if he’d thought about every word these past three days, over and over again. “I spent centuries wandering the world, from empires to kingdoms to wastelands, never settling, never stopping—not for one moment. I was always looking toward the horizon, always wondering what waited across the next ocean, over the next mountain. But I think … I think that whole time, all those centuries, I was just looking for you.”