PlotTwist

I don't really know how to feel about this book... the writing seemed to try a little too hard to be poetic, and it threw me off.

"...I am hit with a migraine again. It's worse than the one before. I lie in my darkened room. Scavenger birds peck at the oozing matter that leaks from my crushed skull."

What? A) Gross. B) Didn't happen. C) Waaaay too dramatic for me.

There was a brilliant twist at the end that I didn't see coming and I love when that happens! I am compelled to read it again to see all the clues leading up to the twist. But the writing... it was trying too hard-in my opinion- to be "haunting".  Also, the characters were all awful. Spoiled little brats. I didn't relate or empathize with anyone. We shall see.

Overall:

The Throne of Glass series continues to blow ma mind! Sarah J. Maas is just brilliant. The characters continue to be intriguing and the world Maas built is incredible. I catch myself referring to the map the front and it's extremely helpful.

The point of view is really nice. It is in third person, and we mainly follow our heroine Celaena, but some chapters don't involve her and there is more secondary character development. (Definitely kept me reading, I didn't get bored with the main plot because there are so many other subplots in the book too.) 

There was an amazing plot-twisty ending, I loved it and can't wait til I get my hands on Heir of Fire, Throne of Glass Book #3!

I really REALLY loved this one. Celaena is one badass protagonist. I'm still not a huge fan of the whole love triangle aspect that is popular with YA books, but Throne of Glass covered it elegantly. 

And though it was a very small section of the novel, I really appreciated the fact that they covered Celaena's loss and gain of menstruating. I have noticed that when there are "strong female characters" in books they are often interchangeable with men and that's what makes them strong. Since Sarah J. Maas included the fact that yes, Celaena has a menstrual cycle, and yes, she also wears dresses and enjoys it it doesn't make her any less powerful or threatening than any other assassin in the novel.

My one issue was with the magic, it seemed a little sloppily done, but it was the first of a series and I'm thinking that it will go more into depth as it continues. 

Over all:

I really, really, really wanted to like this book. I just didn't connect. The characters seemed one-dimensional (also, I truly despised all their names. Waaay to overboard with the sea/water theme) and I just couldn't picture the city of Atlantia.

This part is absolutely a personal preference but if I knew that there would be religion involved, I would have most likely not read the book at all. The polytheistic religion that was a heavy topic in the book was not well defined and there were definite holes throughout it. (Religion is a whole other discussion, but because it was such a heavily mentioned topic in the book- the protagonist's mother was even a minister- it really didn't help persuade me to like it.)

This was my first Ally Condie book. I have heard some pretty great things about her Matched trilogy, but Atlantia has led me to have some doubts.

 What hurts the most is that the cover is sooo pretty... but I guess you can't judge a book by it.

I am head over heels for this book. A graphic novel of sorts with 5 stories, the illustrations are absolutely wonderful and the tales are quite chilling. Though each story is but a few pages long, they can really freak you out and I only wish I read this closer to Halloween! I could read this over and over again, and hope to see more book of this sort from the author.

I care about this book SO much. It's been a little while since I've REALLY liked a female protagonist. Wren is such a badass (like, the actual baddest ass in Texas) and she doesn't expect anyone to help or save her, she does that herself. She was a pretty serious character, although she could be pretty humorous at times. I just genuinely liked everything about her. For some reason the fact that she didn't smile much... was a little endearing?

CALLUM THOUGH. Oh my god, I'm in love. He was so sweet and cute throughout the whole book. These have to be some of the best characters I've read in a LONG time. The writing style was great- nice and fast-paced- and I'm very excited to read the next book, Rebel!