A Court of Mist & Fury Book Review

Title: A Court of Mist & Fury
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genre: New Adult Fantasy
Format: Hardcover
Series: Yes, Second of trilogy
Series Status: To be completed on May, 2 2017

That.  Was.  Possibly the BEST book.  I have EVER read.

I wish I could forget it, so I could read it again for the first time.
I don't know what to do with myself!  The final installment of the series comes out during finals!  What am I going to do?!?!

ACOMAF is the second book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses trilogy, which is a Beauty & the Beast retelling.

I really enjoyed reading ACOTAR but ACOMAF BLEW ME AWAY!  I could not put the book down.  I woke up on Saturday morning, rolled over in bed, picked the book up, and didn't stop reading until dinner.

ACOMAF has none of what has come to be known as "second book syndrome."  The plot never slows down.  Feyre was constantly moving and discovering and fighting.  The reader gets to see new (and A-MAZING) parts of Prythian, meet and fall in love with new characters, fall deeper (or not) for characters we already know and love, and we see the development of this new threat off Prythian's shores.

One disclaimer: ACOMAF definitely falls into the New Adult, not Young Adult, genre.  And rightly so because it has some sexually explicit content.


Spoiler review located below.
Don't even glance down here if you haven't read the book.
I mean it.

From the second I opened the book, I was dying to see Tamlin, Rhysand, and Feyre in the same room.  I kept flipping ahead to see how much farther before Rhy's name popped up.

Then you get to the wedding.  OMG I loved the wedding scene.  Feyre is walking down the aisle and mentally begging someone, anyone to save her.  And then up shows Rhy in all his sassy glory, saying he thought the wedding was over, "At least, Feyre seemed to think so."  That is the right was to get my emotions flowing at the beginning of a book.

Then we get to the Night Court and its BEAUTIFUL.  And Feyre throws a shoe at Rhy, the most powerful High Lord to have ever existed.  And he tells her that when he feels she is in danger through the bond, he rifles through it to make sure she is okay.  I fell in love with Rhy that first week in the Night Court.  I didn't even need to see Velaris.  Sorry Tamlin, but Feyre and Rhysand's relationship is WAY more fun to read.

IDK if its just how Ianthe was introduced but I didn't like or trust her from her first word.  Mor, though, you could tell she was gonna be the girl friend we needed in this book.  I hope Mor and Feyre's relationship is more fleshed out in the next book.

The friendships built in ACOMAF were, in general, better than that of ACOTAR.  Of course, I think SJM did this on purpose.  It was fun meeting Rhy's friends.  He has a squad.  They insult each other, they fight with each other, they go out together, they stay in together.  These friendships were the "homey" piece missing from ACOTAR.  They made me feel at home in the world of Fae.

When Rhy told Feyre he knew history would remember him as the villain, I finally started putting the pieces together.  Then Feyre goes on to tell Amren that the villain is the one who locks up the maiden.  And Rhy was the one who let her out.  Tamlin locked her up.  Then I knew.  In my review of ACOTAR, I asked where Gaston was.  I wondered if he was Isaac Hale.  But it didn't make sense for Gaston to have such a small part in a Beauty and the Beast retelling.  I wrote it off because these are SJM's books and she can do what she wants with the characters (and I thought she might've dropped his character all together because there is no Gaston in the original Beauty and the Beast).  But here, I realized.  Tamlin is Gaston.  SJM makes us fall in love with Gaston before we even meet the Beast.  Tamlin, with his inflated sense of self.  Tamlin, with his refusal to accept her rejection.  He is Gaston.  Well played, Sarah.  Well played.

I have read some reviews where readers were upset by how SJM developed Tamin's character in this book.  They say that she unmade the character she built in the first book.  I disagree.  Yes, the PTSD affected him but SJM didn't change Tamlin fundamentally.  She gave us enough information about him in ACOTAR to think we knew him; then she added information in ACOMAF that sharpened the image.  And you realize that you don't like who you see.

For example:
In ACOTAR, Tamlin had a temper.  After Rhy showed up, he tore up his house in a rage.  In ACOMAF, Tamlin destroys his study in a temper.  The only difference is we see it first hand because he does it in front of Feyre.
In ACOTAR, Tamlin tells Feyre that she doesn't need to fight and that ends with them all Under the Mountain.  He tells her not to fight in ACOMAF and, this time, she refuses to acquiesce.  So he locks her in the house.
Yes, the PTSD had an affect but his problems were already evident before they ever went Under the Mountain, just to a lesser degree.

When squad gets to Hybern, there were not enough pages left in the book and Tamlin had been gone for too long.  I knew it was about to get bad but I never imagined he would ally himself with Hybern.  The Queens AND Tamlin?  Is every ruler in this book that stupid?  (Normally that would bug me but I can overlook it because the book as a whole was so great.)  I can see how, if Tamlin wanted to, it would be easy to interpret all of the evidence in a way that indicates Feyre was kidnapped by Rhysand.  I won't fault him for holding on to that belief.  The evidence was just murky enough to justify it.  I do fault him for allying himself with Hybern.  Stupid, Tamlin.  Stupid.

I was in hysterics when Feyre asked the King to break her and Rhy's bond.  I respected her decision to make such a drastic sacrifice to protect her court but I was a mess.  And then you get to Rhy's POV and, oh hey, they actually got married last night.  NBD (we didn't even get to be there!!!).  She is just the High Lady of the Night Court.  Serving as a spy in the Spring Court.

The ending was perfect for a second book in a trilogy and I cannot wait for the next book.  GAH! 

“I’ve an idea that all those circles and things are rather rot.  I don’t think [Aslan would] like them.  It would look as if we thought we could make him do things.  But really, we can only ask him.”

Eustace, The Silver Chair

Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus Book Review

Title: Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus
Author:  Nabeel Qureshi
Genre:  Christian, Religion, Theology, Autobiography
Format:  Audiobook
Narrator:  Author











Nabeel Qureshi's story is life changing.  It is paradigm shifting.  It's full of love and despair and hope and brokenness.  Some parts had me crying.  Others had me (very literally) jumping for joy.  Just the dedication alone had me on the verge of tears. He dedicated this book to his Muslim parents and I could hear his love for them in his voice.

Nabeel is the son of two Pakistani immigrants, who came to America before his birth.  His family is a devout Muslim family with a long and prestigious Muslim lineage.  He grew up a devout Muslim, had chapters of the Quran memorized, and was always ready to advocate for his religion.

In college Nabeel met a Christian who became his best friend.  Nabeel shares with the reader the struggles he went through theologically and emotionally as he tried to prove to this friend that Islam is the true way to God.  He shares how and why he ultimately chose Jesus and how that decision totally changed his life.

I learned a lot about Islam in this book.  It was eye opening to learn about Islam from someone who grew up practicing the faith devoutly, who is emotionally tied to it, and who has happy memories attached to this faith he ultimately chose to leave.  Nabeel is also very well learned in apologetics.  He made me want to learn more about Islam from the Quran and Hadith.

This isn't the typical "coming to Christ" story we hear in the West.  Seeing God from Nabeel's POV (which is a mixture of Eastern and Western ideology) was convicting.  At one point, a friend of his asked if he would be concerned for his safety if he was to choose Jesus over Allah.  Nabeel responded that, while he wasn't concerned, it would be an honor to die for God, even if that God turned out to be the Christian God.  Like I said, convicting.

Nabeel reminded me how blessed I am to be a child of God.  He reminded me how amazing my King is.  He reminded me to be proud to belong to our God.

But this autobiography isn't just for Christians.  There are theological arguments for and against Islam and Christianity.  There are historical arguments and scientific arguments.  Whether or not you agree with either religion, you will learn a lot.

Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus definitely deserves 5/5 stars.  I would recommend it to anyone and everyone.  

P.S.
This is the link to Nabeel's youtube channel.  I definitely recommend watching his vlogs.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCepxnLs6GWAxAyI8m2U9s7A

The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo Book Review

Format:  Audiobook
Genre: Autobiography
Narrator:  Author


"In The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo, Amy mines her past for stories about her teenage years, her family, relationships, and sex and shares the experiences that have shaped who she is - a woman with the courage to bare her soul to stand up for what she believes in, all while making us laugh."









I particularly enjoyed some parts of Amy Schumer's The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo and particularly disliked others.

Surprisingly, I found Amy's stories about her family to be the best part of the entire book.  Her childhood was intense, the kind of plot a novel would covet.  Her parents divorced when she was young under the weirdest of circumstances.  The struggles she has with her relationship with her mom are relatable and the anecdotes she tells about her experience with her dads multiple sclerosis are sad but Amy tells them in a beautifully funny way.


I loved the way Amy discussed money.  My favorite quote from her in this book is, "It is FUN to give money away."  I also loved that she told the reader that her greatest fear at 9 years old is that she would churn herself into butter.  These anecdotes were relatable and funny.

I do specifically take issue with one thing Amy said in this book and that is, "No one can be innocent and wise at the same time."  She seems to use that mindset to justify her shoplifting as a teen and other mistakes she has made throughout her life.  Maybe, "No one can be naive and wise at the same time," would be a true statement.  But if there is any correlation between wisdom and innocence, it is the reverse of what she said.

Amy also talks a LOT about her sex life.  In fact, she opens her autobiography with a chapter titled, "An Open Letter to My Vagina."  Thank you, but I didn't need to know that.  It added absolutely no value to the book.  Nor did I want to hear about her one night stands and other arbitrary sexual escapades.

This is not to say that all of her stories about sex and boys had no merit.  I appreciated Amy's honesty when she talked about her first relationship, the emotional as well as the sexual.  I also really appreciated her openness about her experiences with domestic abuse.  These two stories were powerful and the subject matter is important.

I give this book 3 stars.  While I enjoyed learning about Amy's childhood and how she got started in the comedy field, the book could have done without the extensive (and often pointless) details about sex life.

A Court of Thorns and Roses Book Review

Title: A Court of Thorns & Roses
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series:  Yes, first book of a trilogy
Status of Series:  To be completed May 2, 2017















ACOTAR is a retelling of Beauty & the Beast in which Belle hunts to provide for her poor family and the Beast is a Fae, one of the creatures all humans know to fear.  Let me begin by saying, this book was so freaking good.  In fact, it was the best YA fantasy book I have read in a long time.  (If you are wondering why I am just now reading ACOTAR, please check out my "About Me" page.)

Beauty & the Beast was my favorite Disney Princess movie as a child, so I was skeptic when Sarah J. Maas began twisting the traditional story.  Feyre is not the avid reader that Belle was and Maas removed some of the benevolence that I always attributed to Belle's character.  But Mass quickly won me over with the world and characters she built.  Each of her characters was strong yet flawed and I grew to love them all, especially Lucien (and even Rhysand).

I was slightly worried that this book wouldn't live up to all the hype surrounding it but it did.  It most definitely did.  I think ACOTAR is a series that a reader should go into knowing as little as possible, so I'll say no more.  If you haven't already, go.  Go now.  Read it.  Its great.  No, seriously, do it.  


Spoiler found below.  Please do not read if you have not finished the book!!!

ACOTAR opens up with Feyre hunting with a bow and arrow in the woods.  I don't remember how The Hunger Games opens but it was too close for my liking.  I immediately thought of Katniss.

Where is Gaston?  Is he Isaac Hale?

When I started liking Tamlin:
When he assures Feyre that her family is alive and well-cared.
When he said "Do not do whatever you were contemplating."
When he first complemented her: "You hair is...clean." AHAH

I nearly died laughing when Tamlin asked: "And do you...love anyone else?" I may have cried.

I did have one issue with Tamlin's character in this book: he let Amarantha torture Clare.  That was hard for me to stomach.  I get that he didn't really have a better option but I wish we could have seen him try to do something.  Even if that something was killing Clare to let her out of her misery.  Also, Rhysand protected her identity!  That made me happy.

The fact that Maas introduced Rhysand as the most attractive person Feyre had ever seen and he saved her life the first time we meet him made me trust him regardless of anything else he did.  Is it gonna be a love triangle?  I hope not.

Because Lucien had a fox mask, I kept waiting for him to do something conniving but he never did.  Even though I was on edge about his character, I loved him.

I literally rolled over in bed laughing when I read that Rhysand bet on Feyre for the first of Amarantha's trials.

I love that Feyre thought "I did it for you" towards Tamlin when Rhysand told the court about their deal.  I also loved it that Rhysand hinted that he thought she would win. 

WHEN RHYSAND GOT HER THROUGH THE SECOND TASK I LOVE HIM THIS MAKES ME HAPPY.  Then he kept her together as she left the throne room.  Yep.  Love him.

When Feyre came to her last trial and saw there were two boys and a girl for her to kill, I was super worried that it was gonna be Alis and her boys.  Dodged a bullet there.

For a second I thought the last way to break the curse was Feyre being willing to die for Tamlin.  But no.  Then the answer to the riddle was love.  Come on.  Really?

I really loved the scene where Rhysand tries to help Feyre and fails; then Tamlin kills Amarantha.  I was surprised because I thought Amarantha would be the villain for at least the first two books, but overjoyed that she died.  And not expecting Feyre to become a High Fae.  That was a total surprise for me.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me Micro-Review

After reading Why Not Me?, I had to get my hands on Mindy Kaling's first memoir.  I wish I had read Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? first because she talks about her road to stardom, beginning with her experience upon first arriving in NYC.

One of my favorite parts is when she discusses the play she co-wrote and starred in as Matt Damon ("I have never been so excited to hold back vomit.").  She then goes on to explain how she wound up on The Office.

This book is also full of fun and interesting anecdotes, like her short essays on boys and relationships. (Although I disagree with her opinion on chest hair.  Sorry, Mindy.)  

And the cover.  Can we talk about the cover?  It's beautiful!