This fun book exceeded most of my expectations after I plucked it off a Barnes & Noble shelf, thinking its premise seemed promising. I mean, the title is adorable. And the back cover describes "A curmudgeonly professor" and "her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival" working together in a small, snowy corner of the world to study the activity of the Faeries in the realm. A good rivals to lovers sometimes rivals that of a good enemies to lovers, and this was one such case. So much about this book surprised me, one of the main things being the narration style. The entire book is comprised of the main character's, Emily Wilde, journal entries, which makes for a fun, academic tone and lighthearted shortcomings concerning her true feelings for said academic rival, Wendell Bambleby. It's interesting to get to know her as a character through how she analytically writes about her day, her research, her usually awkward social interactions, and her encyclopaedia. She also ends up working on a paper with Wendell that consists of her well-thought-out notes and Wendell's wit and charm. I loved how this book portrayed the Fae: we see higher Fae forms, the ones that most stories portray since they're the closest to humans. But we also see lower forms of Fae in characters like Poe who Emily befriends via trades and careful language to form a transactional friendship. That's another cool element of the journal entries -- a good amount of folklore is learned through Emily's extensive knowledge of the Fae, since she has devoted her entire career to understanding them. Now, I knew that she and Wendell were destined to fall for one another (duh), but I loved loved loved the way it all came about. I'm gonna spoil it a bit by saying that Wendell's unexpected and slightly flustered marriage proposal charmed me to no end. It had me kicking my feet and blushing on an airplane at 11:30pm. Their romance is one that readers realize has been burning for quite some time; Emily knew all along how she felt about Wendell, and knew her suspicions about how he felt were probably not misplaced either, but because we're forced to read the story through the lens of her careful, controlled thoughts, we have our doubts regarding whether there's a real romantic connection there until it's staring us in the face. This goes hand in hand with Wendell's incessant wit and charm. His dialogue is so well written, I just can't get over it! And the few times we get Wendell's brief entries in the journal are so fun too, to get a glimpse into how he's observed events that Emily was unable to record. This author's figurative language in general is just lovely, especially as she describes the landscape of the setting and the usually strange appearances of the Fae. I also love Wendell's fussiness and skillful avoidance of any hard work while also somehow being a great scholar. Prepare yourself for another spoiler: Wendell is actually an exiled Irish Faerie prince trying to find his way back home, and chiefly hoping to utilize Emily's expertise on his kind to help him find the "door" he's looking for. But also, of course, he loves her and enjoys her company. It's a win win on so many levels. And while this endeavor to find Wendell's door isn't as fleshed out of a storyline in this book, I suspect it will be in the next book, which I hope will be published very soon. The twists and turns this book took regarding the winter Faerie king's curse and Emily's unfortunate part to play in his freedom was refreshingly unanticipated, at least by me as a reader. In all, I felt like it tapped more into the darker parts of Fae lore and history than I thought it would (especially concerning Wendell's capability to exact methodical, gruesome pain for Emily's sake). And the meaningful theme of true friendship through Emily's realization that she has people who care enough about her to see her rescued from a seemingly impenetrable land really touched me. I'd like to see this adapted into a TV show or movie! I'll be anxiously awaiting the next book in the meantime.



Some of my favorite quotes from Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries:

"Perhaps it is always restful to be around someone who does not expect anything from you beyond what is in your nature."

"One doesn’t need magic if one knows enough stories."

"I knew you wouldn’t believe it. Just because you have a heart filled with the dust of a thousand library stacks does not mean everybody does."

"But then his eyes came open, and he smiled at me with such innocent happiness that my ridiculous heart gave a leap and would have answered him instantly, if it was the organ in charge of my decision-making."

"Shall I make an appointment?" he said, then laughed. "Yes, I believe you would like that. Well, name the time when it would be convenient for you to receive a declaration of love."

"How was it that I suddenly had faerie kings, plural, demanding to marry me?"

"'Yes,' I said. 'You blend into the background. I could almost forget about you entirely. It's refreshing.'
Naturally, he found a way to twist this into a compliment. 'And am I ordinarily a distraction to you, Em?'"

"I say half, because I was mostly just watching you, observing the way your mind clicks and whirs like some fantastical clock."

"I may be of use to you yet, my dear dragon."

"'Do you want to marry me?'
'That's---that's beside the point.'"

Please, please, please read The Assassin's Blade before reading Queen of Shadows because it will seriously make so many things about this book even better. I don't think this has anything to do with SJM's writing or storytelling, but every time I sit down to write a new review for the next installment in this series, I stall and struggle to choose where to begin since so much happens in each one of these novels. If anything, I think this is a testament to SJM's talent, that she takes her time developing this world she's created to slowly introduce characters and stretch out the plot. I loved this novel's climax concerning a final battle of sorts with Aelin, Dorian, and his father, the King of Adarlan. I could feel the story pushing toward that final culminating event, since Aelin had unofficially declared herself alive and willing to fight for what was taken from her. But all of the events that have to transpire before this justice can be exacted are all parts of the complicated narrative and contribute to the weaving together of the bigger picture. They're also just plain entertaining. Like Aelin and Aedion finally being reunited after epically saving Aedion from his own execution. Or Aelin finally taking down Arobynn Hamel, the King of the Assassin's. And seeing how Lysandra blooms into a well rounded, important character (I love her and her unexpected shape shifting abilities). And, the entire time, I'm analyzing Manon Blackbeak and sure that she is close to cracking under the unyielding brutality and control her grandmother, the Matron Blackbeak, has forced her to bow to. Elide's character, meek and small as she may seem at first, is definitely going to make some big impacts later in the series. Oh, and how can I forget about Dorian... sweet, trapped, tortured Dorian... ugh, I love him so much. I knew his fate couldn't be a dark and painful death at the hands of a parasitic Valg demon prince, but SJM did a good job of making me think she might be twisted enough to let it happen. I'm very glad to have shed bittersweet tears over his story rather than full on sobs like I gave to Sam. And notice how I've hardly mentioned Chaol? It's cause I really can't figure out if I like him or not. I can say for certain that he majorly bugs me more than half the time because he's self aware enough to know he's made some pretty terrible mistakes at the cost of being loyal, but then he turns around and keeps on making more mistakes, being pretty cold about it every step of the way. I've just started my tandem read of Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn and have high hopes for the process. The two incredibly thick books are intimidating, but knowing that Tower of Dawn is mainly all about Chaol makes a tandem read more appealing since it pairs a slower storyline with a more fast paced one. In conclusion, this series has me in a chokehold and I am gladly being dragged along for the ride. :)
P.S. I love Rowan + Aelin! Their slow burn is (finally) figuratively and literally heating up!



Some of my favorite quotes from Queen of Shadows:

"You make me want to live, Rowan. Not survive; not exist. Live."

"They joined hands. So the world ended. And the next one began."

"Behind them, across the hall, the dancers shattered their roses on the floor, and Aedion grinned at his queen as the entire world went to hell."

"But perhaps the monsters needed to look out for each other every now and then."

"You and I are nothing but wild beasts wearing human skins."

"Fae warriors: invaluable in a fight—and raging pains in her ass at all other times."

"'What if we go on, only to find a horrible end waiting for us?' Aelin looked northward, as if she could see all the way to Terrasen. 'Then it is not the end.'" 

Bits and pieces of Celaena Sardothien's past as the undefeated Assassin of Adarlan are hinted at in the main Throne of Glass series several times. We hear about Arobynn Hamel, the King of the Assassins and man responsible for shaping Celaena into the weapon she became. Snippets of her past adventures and conquests add to the mysterious quality of her infamy. And every scarce mention of Sam Cortland, Celaena's first love, is tainted by obviously painful, grief-filled memories. But it's this book, this series of five novellas, that shows readers who Sam really was, and the girl Celaena had the luxury of being before a nasty betrayal that saw her sent to Endovier, a slave camp those who enter rarely exit. I liked the structure of five different stories all linked by the same main character and slow but steady development of a relationship with Sam. And even though I knew what had to happen at the end of the book concerning Sam's life and Celaena's trauma, I still curled up on my bathroom floor where no one could see my tears and sobbed over the last fifty or so pages. Hurting right alongside characters is a sign of a truly well-told story. I'm glad I decided to read this prequel before continuing with the actual series since I can now see why it makes sense. Characters I have a hunch will show up later make their humble debuts in the various novellas, and the details of backstories are entreatingly illuminated to a point where I forgot I was reading a prequel. The progression of the novellas is carefully intentional as well. The Assassin and the Pirate Lord begins the whole collection perfectly, sweeping readers up in Celaena's first outright act of defiance against her master and slavery (and dragging Sam along with her). The Assassin and the Healer reveals Celaena's punishment for her defiance, an intriguing woman named Yrene, and budding feelings for Sam. The Assassin and the Desert took a turn I wasn't expecting, showing readers that the Assassin's Guild doesn't start and end with Arobynn, but rather encompasses a group of peacefully vigilant warriors in a corner of the scorched desert lands. What Celaena learns about herself and a very broken new friend makes so much sense later on (and explains her affinity for Asterion mares). The Assassin and the Underworld seemed to blend with the last novella, The Assassin and the Empire, which I think was intentional and very smart. They take place back in Rifthold, Celaena on the cusp of admitting newfound feelings for Sam and tasked with yet another target to kill related to the expansion of the slave trade on the continent. Everything that transpires from the moment she returns home (and the moment she and Sam finally lock lips) spirals down slowly but surely, until it's clear that the trickery Celaena didn't see coming from a person she thought she could trust will be her downfall. Like I said, I knew what had to happen for the rest of the events in the series to unfold, but geez, did I cry. RIP Sam Cortland. You deserved so much more. I'll be grieving him all the way to the end of this series... but on to Queen of Shadows I go.


Some of my favorite quotes from The Assassin's Blade:

"She would tuck Sam into her heart, a bright light for her to take out whenever things were darkest."

"There was no way in hell she was going to move to the southern continent without all of her books."

"My name is Sam Cortland... and I will not be afraid."

"My name is Celaena Sardothien," she whispered, "and I will not be afraid."

"The music broke her apart and put her back together, only to rend her asunder again and again."

"She didn't want to go out into a world where he didn't exist. So she watched the light shift and change, and let the world pass by without her."

"But she’d also promised Ansel that she had twenty minutes to get out of range. Celaena had fired after twenty-one."

"I suppose if we’re going to die, it should be for a noble cause,” he said."

In typical Sarah J. Maas fashion, the last hundred or so pages of this book were just as gripping as I hoped they'd be. One of the most gripping qualities of the book as a whole is the masterful juggling of three different storylines in three different settings. The serie's last installment saw Celaena on a ship set for Wendlyn, leaving Chaol, Dorian, and the remnants of what happened to her friend Princess Nehemia behind in Rifthold. We get to see Celaena (now unmasked as the true heir to the throne of Terrasen, Aelin Galathynius) come face to face with her truly unsettling aunt Maeve and train with a conveniently handsome, though grumpy, Fae warrior named Rowan. Meanwhile, Dorian's falling in love with a palace healer who happens to be (spoiler!) a part of the rebel movement that Nehemia conspired with. Celaena's cousin, Aedion Ashryver, makes an appearance at the glass castle, an intimidating figure who Chaol finds himself aiding in rebel activity. The third storyline seems entirely detached from the first two, but if I know SJM at this point, I know it will intersect wonderfully when the times comes. This setting introduces readers to fearsome Blackbeak witch, and eventual Wing Leader to the King of Adarlan, Manon. I can safely say she's my favorite character in the series so far: fearsome, beautiful, and seemingly unbreakable, she's a true force to be reckoned with. Though the disappearance of magic has caused her to age at a mortal rate, she is powerful, and does everything she can to win the War Games the king has set up to train Manon's coven and other witch colonies to eventually fight in his armies. I wasn't expecting to grow so invested in Manon's relationship with her underdog wyvern, Abraxos, but I love them as an unlikely duo. A lot of this book feels like filler for Celaena to understand and master the depth of her magical abilities she's had to keep under lock and key for ten years. With Rowan's often rough help, we see Celaena blossom until she is a true fire-wielding force to be reckoned with. Until she is ready to face the facts: her duty to stand against injustice as her peoples' queen is not a duty she can ignore forever. And it takes the king's frightening possession of demon princes, residing in mortal host bodies, to unleash the Aelin who'd been sleeping for a long time. I'm so incredibly curious to find out what will happen next: Adarlan's on the brink of war (especially after the king's order to massacre every slave in Calaculla and Endovier), Celaena is now in a blood oath with Rowan (will this relationship end up growing into something more?), Dorian has been trapped by the dark magic of the demon princes, grieving the death of his Sorscha, Aedion is locked in the king's dungeon, Manon is prepared to do what she must to serve the king and eventually take back her stolen homeland, and Chaol is in hiding, waiting for Aelin's return. I feel like all of that still falls short of everything that happens, because a lot happens. And I'm still a little fuzzy on exactly how Fae Aelin is; in other words, is she immortal, like Rowan, if she were to stay permanently in her Fae form, or will she always be mortal? I bought The Assassin's Blade and Queen of Shadows at Barnes and Noble yesterday and decided to continue the series by reading Assassin's before Queen per the suggestion of a friend who is a quite knowledgeable fan of the series. I'm very glad to find things picking up since Throne of Glass' slow beginning.



Some of my favorite quotes from Heir of Fire:

"You cannot pick and choose what parts of her to love."

"You collect scars because you want proof that you are paying for whatever sins you've committed. And I know this because I've been doing the same damn thing for two hundred years."

"Witches didn't need blood to survive, but humans didn't need wine, either."

"He looked at his friend, perhaps for the last time, and said what he had always known, from the moment they’d met, when he’d understood that the prince was his brother in soul. 'I love you.'"

"These days, I am very glad to be a mortal, and to only have to endure this life once. These days, I don't envy you at all."

Music and books -- two of my favorite things. A book about music, and influential women's music at that? I'm sold. I must admit, I'm really not a huge fan of nonfiction; I just don't find myself getting as personally invested in narratives that aren't steeped in fantasy or take place in fictional worlds. But I read this book for my rock n' roll as literature class over the past few months and ended up enjoying its truly deep dive into the lives and professions of these three ladies tremendously. For one thing, I'd heard of all their names before (and a few of their greatest hits) but knew I had basically everything to learn about who they really are, how they've impacted the trajectory of music, and their influence as immensely talented songwriters. One of the coolest things about this book is that it doesn't just talk about Carole King's, Joni Mitchell's, and Carly Simon's music and personal lives, but rather weaves and melds the two together since, arguably, one does not exist without the other. Taking it one step further, this book finds ways to connect the stories of these women so that they overlap, namely through one of their shared lovers, James Taylor, and specific social movements and cultural norms of the changing times, such as the introduction of birth control, the assassination of JFK, and the multifaceted surge of feminism. I have great admiration for the author of this book's highly impressive interviewing skills. While the piece features more run of the mill quotes from various published articles and public statements, there are also direct quotes from the people who knew these women best: lovers, mothers, fathers, producers, fellow artists, and friends. The ability to work with so much material as well, to drop quotes left and right with skillful relevancy, was an attribute of the writing I had one eye on the entire time. Another smaller attribute I admired was the small but fun choice to use a different font for each woman's chapters. When you're reading a chapter about Carole, you're reading text in one particular font. But every chapter about Joni sports a different font, even if only slightly different. And, you guessed it, Carly's is different as well! It was a subtle stylistic choice that went a long way, at least for me as a reader. Even as the overarching narrative of the book encompasses all three women, giving each of them their own font almost seems to be a form of honoring how they each followed their own paths and muses. I think this concept gets at a large theme of the piece: each of these women were volatile forces of nature in their own corners of the world, in their public and private spheres as mothers and lovers and dynamic female icons. Each of them suffered their fair share of relationship and substance abuse, struggling to pick themselves up off the ground after particularly nasty breakups or negative reviews of their newest albums. But each of them were prolific songwriters and passionate creators. Each of them are still alive to this day, servicing the world with their enduring music and current projects. I am inspired as a musical and creative woman by all of them and recommend this book to anyone curious about taking a closer look at how female artists are refreshingly like the rest of us girls.

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Some of my favorite quotes from Girls Like Us:

"Now, the choice to live in a situation that included sex but not a wedding license was a mark of enlightenment for a young woman."

"... you can't keep writing endlessly about the ups and downs of love; freedom has its limits as a subject."

"It's more comfortable if James is more successful than I (Carly) am."

"... men had profoundly let her (Joni) down by failing to hear what she wanted but did not say, instead of what they wanted and she agreed to."

"If I (James Taylor) called you (Carly) every time I thought of you, there would be little time for anything else."