Lately I've been able to read an awful lot of new books and it seems like it would be a great plan to utilize the Literary side of my dual communications degree! This section is just like the music review section, but it's devoted to print media rather than music or movies or tv shows.

          The sequel to Throne of Glass lives up to the expectations set by the first, though without becoming a stunning masterpiece. I liked the first one better. The rapid development of the main relationship irked me a bit; it was simply too solid to be entirely believable and the inevitable result of such a bond felt a bit too predictable and was less than heart-wrenching. The romance taking center-stage was also a bit off-putting, being that it was so well-done in the wings of the first one. Though the competition is over, there still should have been other, more important things receiving more time on the main stage.
          I deeply enjoyed the greying morality, and the struggle of various characters to find the line within self-preservation between duly cautious realism and cowardice. The motivations and moral dilemmas of the characters, particularly of Celaena, reminded me strongly of the same fight occurring inside the main character of Marie Lu's the Rose Society, and I was deeply pleased to see how much more exquisitely depicted the struggle became within Maas's characters. Overall, this is a fabulous sequel within an aptly epic fantasy world.
          The series is taking several turns that I wasn't expecting and haven't quite come around to liking them all just yet, but I am still very eager to see how things develop in book three!

                  Another exhilarating page-turner!

           This is a fantastic kick-off to what will surely turn out to be a truly epic series! The lines of adventure and action of the plot are pushed and pulled by the subtle twists of intrigue created by the plethora of individual interests and motivations of the many well-developed characters. The depth and breadth of the cast is truly fantastic, and their unique and wholly developed schemes are intricately woven together to create a treacherous landscape that comes to life in a fully functional fictional universe.
           While some of the names are a bit iffy on the tongue, the characters and places themselves are richly crafted. It's certainly one of the best ground-up fantasy universes I've seen in YA fiction in a while. There are twists and sudden turns on every page and nearly all of them are simultaneously very logical, and yet rather deliciously surprising.
           The romantic lines are on the back-burner, a place perfectly suited to them in light of the circumstances around the characters concerned. The relationships, both the loves and friendships being portrayed, develop in a very realistic manner: touching every facet of the characters' lives without becoming the sort of 'great romance' that all too often narrows great sagas into rather trite tales.

                                  It's a fantastic read!

           After the slog of An Ember in the Ashes I needed something short and sweet and I found Flunked to perfectly suit me. Being Kids' Lit, it did get a bit preachy at times, but for the most part it was a delightfully subtle commentary on what defines right and wrong. The main character is perfectly depicted as a morally mystified 12-year-old, flipping with believe-able inconstancy between thinking of herself as a villain and as doing what was necessary. It made me think of the moral turmoil within Marie Lu's the Young Elites, and honestly, I think it was done better here.
            The Fairy Tale aspects are delightfully consistent, and presented with a wonderful quirkiness that keeps the playfulness of kids lit alive. The characters are all very well fleshed out and each of them develops and presents new sides of themselves to the reader throughout the story. It's a very well done novel for any age, and its delightfully sophisticated for a middle-grade audience. There's nothing in it that will go over the kids' heads, but it's not so simple so as to bore an older reader.

                        Over all, it is an EXCELLENT read!

           When I started this book I was really excited about it. As a fantasy world purportedly based on ancient Rome, it sounded like my bread and butter. But I was quickly disappointed with the world building. It IS Rome-based. But it's just the bland brutality and bloodlust of it, there's no culture. There's nothing of the high society elegance that Rome prided itself on, there's nothing on the intellectual innovation of the Empire, on their technology or philosophy or eccentricity, there's nothing but blood and ruin. Not only is it an excessively brutal universe, but the separation of Martial and Scholar is one I find rather insulting to the Roman Empire and to the Imperial concept as a whole. And none of the love-ish story lines were very convincing. There were moments of spark and heat and that giddy little flutter of fluff, but only moments, nothing sustained. None of the characters grew or changed very much and what DID evolve within them only happened within the last hundred pages.
               Literally everything in this book that people have said is great about it was done a thousand times better in Winner's Curse than it was here...
               It was alright, over all. It picked up significantly 2/3 through, and by the end I actually enjoyed the read. The first half at least was a slog of this was done better elsewhere and jeez these kids are annoying... None of the characters believes in the Empire, none of them believe in the Stories of the Tribes until well after they're proven true... There's no clash of culture because none of them actually HAVE a culture that they cling to... The most interesting character is a chick from the Tribes who shows up for one dance and one off-stage conversation and then disappears again, presumably to reappear with a more prominent role in the sequel... Honestly, I was very disappointed in this book, but it is nonetheless a decent read. I wouldn't recommend it, but I wouldn't caution firmly against it either.

           This is easily the best book I've read in YEARS, and it took me completely by surprise. It took me a bit to get caught up in it, but I'd reached the end of the book well before I'd realized I was addicted. I went out and bought the sequel right away and read that one in a single sitting. It's absolutely enthralling.
            The setting is a wonderful rendering of the traditional High-Fantasy vaguely medieval world with a fresh twist mixed in that's reminiscent of the Roman Empire. There's not much in it that's truly Fantastical, so I wouldn't classify it as 'Fantasy' per-se, but the world is developed with every bit of the detail expected of a fantasy world. The political atmosphere of the reality the characters in habit is intricate and believable, utterly gut-wrenching for its impact on the main characters. Both sides of the story are well developed and relatable and you find yourself torn between sides.
           What really got me is the relationship between the two main characters. It's a romance novel in many ways, and it has the best relationship development I've ever seen, especially in YA Fiction. The narrative is in 3rd person and switches POVs between Kestrel and Arin to give a delightfully nuanced understanding of the situation; both of the developing relationship and of the obstacles keeping the lovers apart.

             It's an absolutely FANTASTIC read.