Archive for October 2022

World Ender meets Ender of Worlds...

A thousand years ago, Dianna gave up her life in the deserts of Eoria to save her dying sister. She called upon anyone who would listen, not expecting a monster far worse than any nightmare to answer. Now she does what Kaden asks, even if that means securing an ancient relic from the very creatures that hunt her.

A King thought long dead and long forgotten.

In the old world his name was Samkiel. In the new world it is Liam, but one title remains true throughout time. He is the World Ender, a myth to his enemies, a savior and King to those loyal to him. After the Gods War, he locked himself away, hiding from the world. He denied his crown and responsibilities, leaving the very ones who needed him most to deal with the fallout of the death of their homeworld. Now an attack on those he holds dear sends him back to the one realm he never wished to visit again and into the sights of an enemy he thought imprisoned eons ago. Now enemies older than time must put aside their differences and work together in hopes of saving both their world and every realm in between.

Review:

Never before have I read such an intense enemies-to-lovers tale. The gulf between the two main characters - Diana and Liam - was so extreme, so vast, with such unforgivable things they'd each done to the other between them like seemingly immovable boulders, that I don't know how the author managed to so convincingly bring them together.

And bring them together she did! In a sizzling "I'd die for you" kind of way.

I really enjoyed this book. Although it has a good few recognisable tropes I feel like the storytelling and structure of the story was very unique. I also loved the world-building. Or should that be worlds? Love a bit of Sci-Fi mixed in with my fantasy!

Diana was also an incredibly interesting character. She was about as morally grey as they come (and how nice is it for it to be the girl for once?) but I loved her journey. Liam also had quite a transformation throughout the book. He's a good guy, but he's completely shut off his emotions and that's not a good thing for anyone concerned.

The only thing that slightly marred my experience was the ending. It was just a little too mushy-monologue-y for my liking after all the badassery. Certainly not enough to put me off reaching for the next book, however, as there's clearly going to be more to this story and I'm looking forward to it.

4 stars ★★★★

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Feyre's survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price ...

Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre's presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.

Review:

Preamble

It's getting to the point with the series and, indeed, with this author, that when you scroll BookTok or Bookstagram for more than 5 minutes you're guaranteed to see someone grinning away, holding up their copy, having just fallen victim to its charms. You lovingly roll your eyes at them because of course. Of course, you loved it. Of course, it's your new favourite thing you've ever read. "We've got another one!" we collectively cry.

It was strange for me, however, to see the surge in popularity in recent times. Particularly on BookTok. Because I first read this back in 2017 - and loved it, of course. Obsessed over it, even. But it was an entirely solitary endeavour as it just wasn't "a thing" back then.

But then I get a TikTok account and suddenly it's everywhere! That amazing book series from 5 years ago and I'm like, oh cool! I read that too! And then people start talking to me about it and I quickly realise I can't remember a single damn thing about it other than the most MAJOR of plot points. Character names? Never heard of them. Under the mountain, what now?

Which leads me to now: My first re-read to see if it lives up to its current hype and my own fond memories.

****

Sarah J. Maas has in recent times confirmed that this first instalment in the ACOTAR series is based on Beauty and the Beast. I have to say this is so obvious when you know but I didn't actually realise it on my first read-through. 🙈

The story follows Feyre, a young girl from a formerly well-off family that's fallen on very hard times and it's been left to Feyre, the youngest member, to make sure they survive. She hunts for her two sisters and her father otherwise they wouldn't eat. She's had to teach herself everything she knows because she was the only one to step up to the plate.

You'll have very conflicted feelings towards Feyre's family in this book because Feyre, as the narrator, clearly loves them, but to the outside observer, they're infuriatingly useless and entitled. A very annoying combination.

The book opens with Feyre accidentally killing a member of the Fey while out hunting. An action that triggers an ancient Fey curse that forces her to relinquish her life in the human realm, as miserable as it was, and spend the rest of her life in the Fey realm away from everything and everyone she's ever known or loved.

Hopefully, that's enough of a lure to get you intrigued to read this book if you're one of the 3 people that have yet to do so.

So why does everyone love this series? Well as fabulous as this first book is, I think people's true obsession only fully sets in when they get to the second and third books because there's quite a big development that happens that is the key to all that follows. That's not to say this isn't a great book in its own right, because it is. It's fully fleshed out and has a great story arc and world set-up and breadcrumbs dropped here there and everywhere for what's to come.

However, I have to say it was a VERY different experience reading it the second time knowing what I know. Ignorance was bliss the first time and you'll never be able to read this first book the same way again once you know.

Because if you know, you know.

I hope the level of fangirling this series engenders hasn't put anyone off because I know that can happens sometimes with super popular books. Having watched seasoned readers, brand new readers, readers but not of this genre, readers and many more fall prey to its allure, I feel confident in saying that nearly everyone ought to give it a go because it hits waaaaaaay more than it misses.

Hope you enjoy it if you do decide to give it a try, and I envy you that first read-through feeling that I'll never get again!

5 Stars ★★★★★

Find it on Goodreads