A Court of Thornes and Roses

A Court of Thornes and Roses is a book that I was afraid to read because I thought it was over-hyped but it is one of the best stories I have read this year. Sarah J. Maas writing is incredible. It is a new adult fantasy novel. I don't agree with some saying it is a young adult novel since some romantic parts of the story are not related to young adult. This review is my opinion and spoiler-free.

The story is about Feyre, a huntress and a care taker of her family for years. In order to survive she had to hunt and kill a wolf during one of her hunting experiences in the forest. Yet, the wolf was not the animal she expected. The wolf was a magical creature. Taken prisoner by a very powerful enemy, Feyre had to discover the ultimate intention of Tamlin and his kingdom and how she is going to survive the High Queen of Prythian. It is hard to talk about the books without revealing something.

I can fully understand the hype of the book and I fully agree in a certain sense. The characters development is phenomenal and although it lacks the world description experience yet I was satisfied. The first part of the book confused me a lot. There were instances that I had no intention why the characters behaved in certain way. Thus, made me curious to the point that I couldn't stop reading it. The ending made a lot of sense and answered many of my questions revealing other questions especially from what I heard from the Bookstagram community. (Why Rhys is so loved by the community?? Haha! I have to read book two) The story is fast paced, not complicated and the chapters are perfect in length. It is a book that one reads for leisure without getting emotionally involved in it. Still it is a good story and although there are aspects that made me cringe or over simplified yet I did enjoy my time.

 Can't wait to start the second book.

The Informants

@author_snickerson81 gifted me The Informants after being chosen for @bookstagrammerscom . 

This book is a mysterious, crime fiction ideal for this month. As I was researching what the book consists of, I have read that the author himself was a Special Agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration. The review is my own honest opinion and spoiler free.

The story is about thw wife of a famous Mexican drug lord that was poisoned infront of an 11-year old daughter while having dinner. A huge  reward was set to identify the waiter responsable and the hit man that made this operation real. For this to succeed, many members of the cartel had to be on field to identify the murderer. The Drug Enforcement Administration holds an important conference to investigates the cartel members. Toro, which is an assassin and that even his reputation paves a way for him,  kidnaps an agent and threathens to kill him if the murderer is not identified. 

This is the first book I have read as mystery crime fiction and to be honest I have taken some time to read it. Not because of the writing but there are so many essential details that I was afraid to lose something along the way. The book have so many characters involved and it was like watching a movie, fast and action filled. I felt that I was part of the story, as I was a partner solving the crime. I tried even solving the crime beforehand. Obviously without any success. I had to re-read certain paragraphs in order to fully understand and grasp certain situations because I felt that this was written from someone that truly experienced crime because there are certain details that only a person involved had to know them. I had to search for some terminologies and I had to take a special care for the names that the author has written beforehand. It helped me a lot. I recommend this book especially if you are into a crime-fiction kind of story. 

Murder in St. Judes

The author of this book @bert_busuttil gifted me this book. I immediately fell in love with the cover since it is so vibrant and eye-catcher. However, as soon as I started reading it, I became obsessed with it. In fact, I finished the book in just three days because I couldn’t stop. The length of the chapters is ideal which makes it easier for the reader to pause and continue. Also, some trigger warnings are important also to be mentioned especially for sensitive audience. The review here is spoiler free and my honest opinion. 

The story is situated in St. Jude’s when a very macabre scene was discovered near the statue of the Madonna in a convent. Few paces far from the scene another macabre scene was found. Inspector Lucio Vella was called in to investigate the crime scenes, teaming up with policemen, members of clergy and brother Marius from the convent.

This remote fishing village never experienced such a horrible homicide and while facing his greatest demons, Vella had to unravel the truth and seek justice.

From the prologue itself, the book is already promising and the only thing that comes into my mind when I see this book is that the story is remarkable. No detail was extra, and every page has something important going on. I was shocked from the beginning, but it helped me to hook myself to the story and read further on. The development of the characters throughout the story is notable and I could feel what they had experience. I felt the anger, sadness and grief. The suspense was continuous, and I couldn’t let go.

Some topics that might cause trigger are homicide and suicide which is very important to point out at this stage. However, the story is highly recommended to those who enjoys a crime and mystery book. I gave this book a solid 4 star! Well done, Robert! Can’t wait for your next book.

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The Song of Achilles

The Song of Achilles is a book that I believe had to be made a classic. This is the book that I can't recommend enough! I love it, absolutely love it! This is the book that made me fall in love with reading and it is the same book that stopped me from reading something else in order to recover from the story. Within a year, I have read this book twice and it never disappoints. The first time I've just read the book while the second time I read it while listening to audio and annotated it as well. This was a very beautiful experience and I have understood more from the story. This review is spoiler-free and my honest opinion.

The story is from Patroclus's point of view and it is the retelling of the stories of Achilles. Achilles is the best of all the Greeks, the son of a Goddess and a very important king. Destiny brought Achilles and Patroclus together and there, an inseparable bond was created, eventually falling in love with each other. Achilles however had to make a decision that due to a prophecy might lead to something lethal. Little did Patroclus know that his intervention can help Achilles save his reputation. I can't give more information since I promised that this review is spoiler free.

This book is out of this world! Love Miller's writing skills and her way of portraying the characters. The last few chapters shattered me into pieces and the ending was something that left me in tears. I can't recover from this story yet which is why I gave it 5+ stars. The story is fast paced and every detail is important is the story. I loved the development of the characters and how they are portrayed. Loved it!