terrifyinglyficional: February 2019

I Read This Twice Before Writing This Review - Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) Review (Spoilers)

Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas

Heir of Fire is the third book in the Throne of Glass series which follow the events that happen in the previous novel.

I'm really starting to run out of ways to express how amazing Sarah J Maas AND this series is.

I don't even know where to start without sounding like a record.

I guess we'll start off by saying, Sarah J Maas never fails to blow my mind away; with the plot and her writing. I think I love this author so much because I love her writing and this world so much. This was one of the first high fantasy novels that I read and became obsessed with when avidly joining the book community.

Now, I'll admit, this was once my favourite book of the series at one point, but this time reading it, it didn't stick out to me as much as I remember. I did notice there was a lot of really slow parts, more than I remember, but I think the characters made up for that. (I'll get more into that later *wink*)

We really don't get much of Celaena's past, other than her relationship with Arobynn and Sam from The Assassin's Blade, but we never knew anything about Aelin. (Also, there's massive spoilers, so if you're not caught up on this series, you probably shouldn't continue.)

So in the previous book, Crown of Midnight, we find out near the end of the book from Chaol's perspective that Celaena is actually Queen Aelin Ashrvyer Galathynius (try saying that ten times fast). I really loved getting to know not Celaena, but Aelin. Her backstory is actually really interesting and I loved her training sessions with Rowan.

What blows my mind is that Sarah J Maas went from writing about Celaena, a badass assassin, to writing about Aelin with magical powers in a book. And it's something we should have expected because of her love of the "mythical creatures" at the beginning of Throne of Glass but I never caught on.

The magical element, I was really excited for because it brings a new twist that I didn't think this series needed. Celaena training with Rowan to turn into her fae self and use her fire powers was one of my favourite things of this book.

I loved the character growth of Celaena/Aelin. In the previous book, she lost her best friend, basically because of herself. In this book, she's overcoming this loss and healing from it. But not even just because of Nehemia's death, but by everything that had happened leading up to her being Celaena, and losing her first love, Sam. It's heartbreaking but also makes me appreciate her as a character so much more.

These characters in this series mean so much to me, mainly the "day one characters": Celaena, Chaol and Dorian. But we get introduced to new characters as well, which I love.

So if you're new to the fandom or not, I think everyone is fully aware of Manon and Rowan. And in this book, we finally get to meet the both of them. And I was very happy about that. I'm pretty sure I've had dozens of little giddy fangirl moments, because I loved the additions of characters as both are so badass!

Manon, I think is the most interesting character I've read since Randall Flagg from The Stand. She's genuine, yet you can tell she's hurting as well. I think I related to Manon the most of all these characters and that's why I love her the most. She's taught to not show emotion, no compassion or love. But she knows that isn't who she is. She loves Abraxos and she knows it. The connection between her and her dragon is so real. She reminds me a lot of Daenerys from A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones and I love it.

Dorian, as always, I love him more and more each book but the addition to him also having powers was completely mind blowing to me! And his relationship with Sorscha was also a nice change as he was always put last in the love triangle between him, Celaena and Chaol. But because I was so happy about this, I was completely upset when we find out that she dies - by Dorian's father. More so, heartbroken for Dorian. And to make matters worse, he's then imprisoned by his father. So obviously, Dorian has great luck this book.

The ending really blew me away because of this reason.

Maas does a stupid-amazing job at making your heart ache at the end of a book, leaving you with the most impeccable cliffhanger.

The reason why I read this book twice was because I was caught up in my "re-read" meaning, every book after this, I haven't read yet. And because the last book in this series, Kingdom of Ash came out last year, I don't want the series I love to come to an end just yet. Well, that's how I felt.

Prior to writing this blog post, I thought, I minus well dive into the rest of the series, because I can re-read these books as much as I want from there. And it really excited me, so after my current read, I'm definitely finishing this series!

What series were you scared to finish because you didn't want the series to end? Let me know in the comments section or on my Instagram! I want to make sure I'm not the only one!

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, by jessreadsalatte

My Favourite Stephen King Items - Jess' Collectors Corner

(I hope you guys love the photo of a small portion of my King collection haha)

So I actually asked my Instagram followers late last year what they wanted to see more of on my blog, whether it was blog posts I did in the past, or new ideas that I can bring within this year. I really want my blog to evolve from just reviews and wrap ups and I wanted to post a lot more for you guys, with the intention of seeing what my readers are interested in reading.

I got a lot of fun little requests; book subscription reviews, monthly book hauls, and to bring back my series of book vs. adaptation reviews. But one idea that really intrigued me was how you guys were really interested in bookish memorabilia. I received a lot of requests in my little answer box of people who wanted me to talk about certain editions, mainly the YA special editions that have become so popular and if they're worth it, alongside reviews of indie companies, and my favoruite, Funko Pop!s.

Whenever I do a "top _" post where I ask you guys to give me a topic to rate my top 5 of, a fair amount of people either say "book memorabilia," "fanart" or "Stephen King collectables" so I am here to deliver that request and as always, I'm super excited about it.

Of course, most bookstagrammers have a large collection of books, but we also have memorabilia to add as little "props" in our photos.

A while back when I started my blog, I was really interested in doing things like this, but didn't really think any of my readers were interested in my in depth reviews on Pop figures or fan art companies.

I'm super excited to share this fun little segment on my blog that I'm calling "Jess' Collectors Corner" where I talk about all things collectable; where I purchased them, how much they are and most importantly, are they worth it?

Today I wanted to start off with something simple and that's my favourite King items I own. I'm a huge Stephen King collector; I think that's quite obvious, but I collect more than just books and I wanted to show you some of my favourite collectables (including books) today!

*I also wanted put a quick little disclaimer before I start that I am not bragging and I have no intent on bragging when I do any of these posts.*

With that being said, let's get into my favourite Stephen King collectables I own!

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, by jessreadsalatte

I Think This May Be My Favourite Book of the Series! - City of Glass Review (Spoilers)

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

City of Glass is the third book in Cassandra Clare's debut series The Mortal Instruments.

I'm so obsessed.

I'm so happy you guys encouraged me to pull through this series, and this world because I think City of Glass is probably my favourite book of the three I've read so far.

There's just so many elements that really sucked me in and made me continue the series as I am doing so.

I wanted to start off by saying, Cassandra Clare's writing has definitely evolved, plot-wise and character-wise and she really has you gripping on the edge of your seat for this book.

I know a lot of people aren't a huge fan of how big these books are (I think City of Glass is about 600 pages long) but I really enjoy being submerged in this world that is almost like our own with these characters I have seemed to fall in love with.

After reading the previous book, City of Ashes, I've really become attached to all of these characters and I'd much love to spend as much time as I can with them.

This book has definitely progressed since the first book as it's a lot more eventful, even compared to the last one, where everything seemed to keep you on the edge of your seat.

I know with big books, it tends to be really easy for the reader to lose interests or even, the author to lose the plot as it typically runs on with big books like this. But I definitely feel like Cassandra Clare does a great job with keeping the reader entertained with this one.

Character-wise, I love all the characters as always. (Kind of) And I'm really loving how much the plot is explanding for not just Clary, but everyone else around her.

I absolutely love diversity in books, whether it is a racial addition, or including LGBTQ+ characters and I'm so glad I've gotten to the point where Alec and Magnus' relationship finally soars. This news isn't really "news" to me as it's always been all over bookstagram so I am familiar with this ship, but I never thought I'd love it more than I do after reading this book. You guys really don't understand how much I've squealed while reading City of Glass.

I've also really loved the addition of Clary's actual brother Sebastian (which we don't really find out that he's Clary's real brother and not Jace until basically the end.) as I thought he was a really freaking creepy character and the fact that he tried to kiss Clary (whom is his sister) is really weird. I know at that time, Clary had no idea, but I'm honestly so tired of Cassandra Clare adding all these "accidental incest relationships". Which, speaking of, the fact that Jace also confessed his love for Clary during the time they thought they were siblings was also a roll my eye moment.

Thankfully, it's confirmed to everyone that Jace and Clary aren't related by the end of the book which is where they finalize their love. Regardless, this was one of the weird moments of the novel, just like the previous one.

One of my favourite aspects of Cassandra Clare's books is that it really is Urban Fantasy (which is Fantasy incorporated in our world) so I love hearing about different places in New York that sound familiar but is also incorporated in this Shadowhunter world.

It makes the whole idea so realistic and genuine and I quite love that detail.

There are six books in The Mortal Instruments series, al being divided by two trilogies per se, and I'm quite glad I finished the first part. I'm really excited to dive into the last half (after I read The Infernal Devices like everyone says) and see what's to come from there.

I'm hoping for less weird relationships and more badass moments.

What is your favourite moment in Shadowhunter history so far? (Remember to add a spoiler alert if needed) Let me know in the comments or on my Instagram! I'd love to read through them.

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, by jessreadsalatte

This Broke Me - American Street Review (Spoilers)

American Street by Ibi Zoboi

American Street follows our main character, Fabiola, a Haitian native and her journey to America. But during their journey, Fabiola's mother is detained in New Jersey and Fabiola has to survive the streets of Detroit, her loud cousins, Chantal, Donna and Princess, and her new love interest. Desperate to take her mother out of detainment, Fab realizes that freedom comes with a price.

I'm torn. I am absolutely torn.

American Street is mine and Johely's Book Club pick for this month (February) and I'm so glad Johely picked this book for us to read.

I'm always on the lookout for diverse books and this was perfect for Black History Month.

I cannot say how accurate this is with Haitian culture because I'm not Haitian and I'm not too familiar with the culture, but by the author's note at the end and the reviews I've read from people who are Haitian, I hear she does a great job portraying the lwa and spiritual guides.

Which, by the way, I found that element so interesting. I had never heard the stereotype of "Haitians do voodoo" or any of these spiritual guides and I definitely wanted to dive more into this new piece of information (to me). I love how throughout the novel, you learn about new guides as she starts to relate every person she is surrounded with: her cousins, aunt, the "crazy guy on the street" and even her love interest, Kasim to a spiritual guide.

Character-wise, I fell in love with each of the characters especially Fab, from the first page.

Seeing Fabiola try and figure out this new American culture is absolutely adorable but also hilarious. During Thanksgiving when her aunt Matant Jo asked her to cook the Thanksgiving meal because she wasn't feeling well, and Fab ended up cooking the food, Haitian style instead of American made me laugh so hard. The confusion from her cousins and aunt because she cut the turkey and fried it in sauce and used the sweet potato from the pie and made it into soup was hilariously cute.

And as her cousins are teaching her to talk "street" but Fabiola still has a Haitian accent, the words end up sounding weird, so they laugh, I can definitely relate to this with my parents as it's so funny but cute to hear people whith accents say something in English.

I found that although Fabiola is our main character and she ties a lot of seriousness to this novel, she also adds a lot of comic relief which I love.

Her cousins were also great characters, although I seemed to love Chantal the most.

Kasim was also one of my favourite characters throughout the book because of how genuine he is: a normal kid who doesn't want to be on the streets but is because of his long-time best friend Dray. Which by the way, I absolutely hated Dray. the way he treated Fab's cousin Donna (whom he was dating) as he constantly hit her. Drove me insane. Although, his death I still found very sad. Not as sad as Kasim's which I bawled my eyes for; trust me. Ask Johely or my boyfriend. I cried like there was no tomorrow.

But the most heart-wrenching thing about Kasim's death, is that Fabiola accidentally planned Kasim's death. Before you say it, no, she did not try to kill her boyfriend. She tried to get Dray in jail and in resulted in Fabiola's boyfriend getting killed. It broke my heart. Mainly because we didn't see it coming.

Ever since Kasim met Fab and their relationship blossomed from there, I loved them together. There were so many squeals and chants that I could only hear because I wanted them to get a happily ever after and I thought they did.. until I hit the last 50 pages and it hit me.

Ibi Zoboi's writing is absolutely phenomenal in this debut novel, which I was surprised this even was a debut. Her writing flowed so well and it was so hard for me to put down this book. One night I stayed up until almost 4am reading this book, until my eyes couldn't take it anymore and I passed out. It grips you from the beginning and it doesn't let go until the end. It has been a while since I've read a book like that before.

The only thing I found partially useless were they backstories because majority of them weren't really adding to the plot. I feel like the stories near the end like 8800 American Street's was because he talked about how there was always death in the house which at the time, I thought it was asking about Fab's Uncle Phil who was shot in the head.. until we find out he wasn't shot in the home (Then I realized it was foreshadowing to Dray's death in the home later in the book) I also thought Dray's story was very useful to the plot as his girlfriend and her sisters thought their dad was killed to protect Dray's Uncle Q. But really, Dray accidentally killed Uncle Phil and that blew my mind.

Stories like Matant Jo and Pri's, I wish had a similar style. I was hoping the stories were there to expose information to the reader than the main character doesn't know and at first it didn't but near the end, it got better.

I am absolutely in love with this book. It made me feel angry, happy, sad. It made me laugh so hard I couldn't breathe but it also made me sob.

I absolutely loved American Street and I definitely see myself re-reading it in the future.

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, by jessreadsalatte

The Series Gets Better! - City of Ashes Review (Minor Spoilers)

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

City of Ashes is the second book in Cassandra Clare's debut Shadowhunters based series, The Mortal Instruments.

*I know it's marked as 5 stars on my goodreads, but I felt like 4 stars really suites this book instead.*

It has been quite a while since I read this book, but I really wanted to publish this review before I post the review of the next book, City of Glass because I have a lottttt to say. (you'll find out in the next post *wink*)

So if you follow me on Instagram or Goodreads, or even if you've read my review of the first book, City of Bones, you'd know that I was not a fan of the book at all. I highly recommend reading my review for the first book if you haven't yet, the link will be here.

I actually wasn't planning on reading the rest of the series and I was highly debating on giving away the books because I thought I wouldn't be "Shadowhunters Trash" like everyone else.

But a lot of you guys told me to pull through because the series gets better and you guys are absolutely right!

I'm so happy I pulled through because the more I read the series, the more it picks up and the more I fall in love. (I am definitely Shadowhunters obsessed now)

I wanted to start off with characters because that was one of the main things that threw me off from the previous book and almost made me drop the whole entire world. I am so happy that Cassandra Clare's writing has progressed so much since the last book, itself.

Clary seemed a lot easier to withstand this book than she was last which made me so happy because I was definitely dreading this element this most. I also really liked how although Clary is the main, main character, this story really revolved around Jace and kind of his trials with Valentine being his father and all the backlash per se. I just really like the fact that it isn't just revolving around Clary, there's other side plots and every character has their own story to follow with.

Also, Jace being a sassy, sarcastic asshole is probably one of my favourite things about Jace himself, but because it also adds onto a small form of comic relief that I really enjoyed.

Another thing I really loved and made me pursue the series is how much the plot and suspense has improved. The previous book was a little dull in my opinion, but I love how in this book, it's starting to pick up and become more eventful; more "juicy" if you will.

Of course, one of things I really didn't like and I think I'm alongside everyone else is the fact that Clary and Jace find out their "siblings" (I say that in quotations because it's "fake news" - spoiler for the next book and my next review lol) but yet they still have feelings for each other. I thought that was super weird. I was quite uncomfortable during the scene where Clary kisses Simon and all she thinks about is Jace - super cringe to kiss your best friend and all you think about is your "brother".

Can we also talk about the amount of times Simon dies and is then brought back to life. The guy has zero luck, that's for sure.

Overall, I really liked this book. The plot has picked up immensely and Cassandra Clare's writing has definitely evolved.

Whats your favourite Shadowhunter book? Let me know in the comments or on my Instagram! I'd love to hear your thoughts!