Review: Fate of The Tearling #3

The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

Narrated by: Polly Lee 👍
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

WHAT A FUCKED UP MESS! I didn't like how it ended, sorry. For the most part, I thought the Fate of the Tearling was a great fantasy, but the ending ruined everything.

After ALL that world building and plotting, I felt cheated by a disorganized and chaotic ending. The characters such as Javel, Mace, Aisa, Fr. Tyler, Pen, Row Finn and his children, were utterly cast away and carelessly cut out of the story haphazardly. I was hoping to see Kelsea kick Row Finn's ass, to be honest, or that perhaps he would just turn to ash or disappear.

I couldn't even guess the period in which Kelsea found herself in after she donned Row Finn's crown. Was it even mentioned? I know there were horse buggies but the books in the library hint to our modern age from such authors as Margaret Atwood. And the last person we hear from is Carlin? Really?
"Kelsea, where have you been?" Back in time and future. Where else? :/
Poor Kelsea, She was only nineteen and the conversation with William Tear? in the time tunnel? Is a WTF moment. Oh, let's see...what's behind door number one...or two...or yes, as far back as we can remember *rolls eyes* Kelsea got to pick and choose where in time she would prefer to be in the heat of battle! Damnit! I was so disappointed. On top of it, Kelsea wanted to live in the time that almost bored me to death. Katie and Jonathan Tear were bound in the cellar of a church by Row. I guess we will never know what exactly happened, will we?

At least we find out who her father was. Kelsea also kills The Red Queen, Evelyn. There was magic from a bad witch Brenna and from the diabolical menace Row Finn.

About the author:

Erika Johansen grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. She went to Swarthmore College, earned an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and eventually became an attorney, but she never stopped writing.

The Sunday Post: I am currently reading The Fate of The Tearling

➤I'm also linking up with It's Monday What Are You Reading via Book Date

☺What I am currently reading

The Fate of The Tearling has been my current listen/read for the last few days. I am taking my time and am enjoying it immensely. It is the final book in the Tearling series, and things are wrapping up quite nicely. I can add this book to my Series Enders challenge as well. I plan to finish the book today. In fact, it turns out Kelsey is not what I expected her to be, by that I mean she doesn't seem to be swayed by her magic stones. I suppose she is much like Katie. UPDATE: Finished My Review

☺What I have read and reviewed

I haven't read much else in the month of March besides Blood Vow (link to my review)by J.R. Ward and A Court of Thorns and Roses(link to my review).  I do however look forward to reading what is next on the list.

�What I plan on reading 

A Court of Mist and Fury that I am in no hurry for since A Court of Wings and Ruin isn't released until sometime in May I think? The Return by Jennifer L. Armentrout and Truthwitch are on my TBR list.

❢In other news

I binge watched The Originals. Klaus was by far my favorite character on the vampire diaries. He is a vampire/hybrid, first of his kind and the main focus of the show with his 1000-year-old siblings who call themselves The Mikaelson's otherwise known as the world's original vampires. I got caught up with the program, and I now have to wait each week for the next episodes, and I don't like waiting. I am sure you can relate.

With the spring weather arriving I have been suffering from dry skin, so I resorted to oil cleansing(not an affiliate link) for my face and body butter(not an affiliate link) for my elbows.

Thank you for visiting and sharing your blog posts this week. 

The Sunday Post: Finished Reading ACOTAR #1

Link-Up 

I added two books to my shelf this past week. The book depository failed to ship me these books when I ordered them before Christmas. I've also been waiting to listen to the audiobook of ACOTAR but I realized I need not have waited for the book to arrive because Jennifer Ikeda's stellar performance of A Court of Thorns and Roses was easy enough to follow without the book.

➤A Court of Thorns and Roses #1
Add to Goodreads| Amazon | The Book Depository | Audible
My Review
Written by: Sarah J. Maas 
Narrated by: Jennifer Ikeda 👌👍 
Length: 16 hrs and 7 mins 
➤The Return A Titan Novel #1
Add to Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository


I finished 4 books in the TakeControl of your TBR challenge. I am pretty bummed that I have to wait two weeks before I can watch another episode of my favorite show on Netflix - The 100. Last night on TV, the season finale of The Vampire Diaries was on. Television just ruined the entire thing for me! Besides that we never got to see my favorite character, Klaus again. Only he sent a letter to Caroline 😭 and who cares about fucking Vicki Donovan? Let me know if you watched the Vampire Diaries. I will be watching for season eight without commercials on Netflix in the fall. 

I went shopping at Torrid and bought a new dress that I liked and was comfortable to wear for spring and I got my hair done. I sometimes watch beauty gurus on youtube to see what new beauty products are in and Jen from Jenn Luvs Reviews mentioned a favorite liquid lipstick from Makeup Monsters which I then had to order to try out. 

I just bought 'Vintage Avenue Matte Liquid Lipstick' on Makeup Monsters Cosmetics https://t.co/ufwC0gn2uG

— Jackie (@joliejackie) March 10, 2017

Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Audiobook 
narrated by Jennifer Ikeda👍👌
Buy on Amazon Canada
The Book Depository(affiliate link)

When Feyre goes hunting in the woods one day, to provide meat for her family, she spots a wolf and a deer and decides to kill the wolf and sell his pelt on the market. She may have regretted killing the wolf, but it wasn't a mistake to be certain. 〘The wolf was a fairy, who had been sent by Tamlin himself as a sacrificial lamb. Feyre was meant to kill the fairy wolf.〙 
Tamlin gets all up in her face for killing the shapeshifting fae and feeds her a mouthful of lies before he takes her back to the Spring Court. There he entices her to fall in love with him. They become intimately closer as Amarantha (the blight) is threatening the faerie realms and taking their magic powers. Tamlin isn't as strong as he used to be and he is cursed to wear a mask until the curse is lifted, which can only happen if a human kills a fae and falls in love with one. Feyre only needed to speak those magic words "I love you," and the curse would be lifted. But Tamlin is running out of time.

I thought Feyre would be happy with Tamlin in the land of faery. I mean she could come and go as she pleases and her bedroom is bigger than her cottage! Not to mention servants who looked after her. Tam and Lucien treat her pretty well, but she was petty and selfish. All she wanted was to go home to her sisters and father, but the memory of the day she was taken was wiped from their minds, and all they knew was that she was with a distant Aunt and safe.

"It took me a couple of hours to stop painting little portraits of Tamlin and Lucien with pigs' features. But as I finished the last one - Two faerie pigs wallowing in their own filth, I would call it - I smiled into the clear, bright light of my private painting room. The Tamlin I knew had returned. And it made me ...happy." page 200

When Feyre was abused by Rhysand, a High Lord of the Night Court, Tamlin was afraid, if Amarantha were to find out about her, Feyre would be killed. So, he sends her back to her village. It was then Feyre should've told Tamlin she loved him. Stupid girl. She could have lifted the curse! She should have listened to the Suriel too. Oh well.

"some people would hurt you, Feyre. Hurt you because of what you are to me. I thought I would be able to handle them, to shield you from it, but after today... I can't. So you need to go home, far from here. You'll be safe there."-page 243-244

Her family was well cared for by Tamlin. They went from rags to riches in no time. Feyre's sister wasn't compelled and knew something was wrong. Feyre admitted to the real truth, but she also was anxious about Tamlin. All she wanted to do was to go back to Tamlin and his estate. Only Alis told her that Tamlin, Lucien and everyone else was taken under the mountain. Alis also was able to tell the real story about everyone and what a story it was indeed!
What the hell made Feyre, a mere human, think she could save Tamlin and the whole of Prythia? She couldn't even read!!?
To take Tamlin back, Amarantha gave Feyre three trials to perform and a riddle to solve. Really? The things she did for love.

There are those who seek me a lifetime but never we meet,
And those I kiss but who trample me beneath ungrateful feet.

At times I seem to favor the clever and the fair,
But I bless all those who are brave enough to dare.

By large, my ministrations are soft-handed and sweet,
But scorned, I become a difficult beast to defeat.

For though each of my strikes lands a powerful blow,
When I kill, I do it slow...

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Assassin Study #1.5

Assassin Study by Maria V. Snyder

Kindle Edition, 29 pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Assassin Study was short but I enjoyed it.
When Valek is made aware of an assassination attempt on Yelena, he makes plans on meeting the assassin and ending the threat. Valek encounters someone by the name of Ziva who saves Valek's life in return that he promises to help her get her daughter back.

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Review: Blood Vow

Blood Vow by J.R. Ward

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Borrowed Hardback from the Library
Purchased audiobook on Audible

I thought Blood Vow was nothing short of amazing. I had the warm fuzzies cozying up with the Brotherhood and their Shellans around a big Christmas Tree with presents underneath it, and Lassiter stuck in the chimney LoL. What a hoot that angel is!

Blood Vow speaks of blood relations and the bonds of love. When Rhage and Mary file to adopt a little orphan girl named Bitty, by law, they need to make sure any claim from her blood relatives won't stand in their way. In the two months, it takes them to find Bitty's Uncle Rhun, Rhage and Mary fall in love with the girl and are only heartbroken and saddened when the time comes to let her go. Only, fate would have none of that.

When Axe is introduced to Elise, their animal attractions are not to be denied. I was waiting for the word 'Mine' to happen, but their bonding, unfortunately, doesn't occur in the usual way.

"This was the marking she had heard about. This was the owning of the female by the male, the staking of the claim. And sure enough, he held her in place at the throat with his teeth as he marked her from the inside out by coming into her sex. "

-pg. 355
What I found perfect and hilarious is when Axe takes the job of being Elise's bodyguard! Oh, snap! Suffice it to say their attraction is a big fat distraction for Axe.

"Personally, I think my attraction works for us, I mean, you. It increases my protective nature and will make me more lethal. ...So, yeah, anyone tries to so much as brush the ends of your hair with their elbow, and I will kill them four times over before I light their corpse on fire."
"Well, isn't that something to put on a Valentine's Day card."

- pg 123
Every time he was near Elise he got a hard on. It seemed like the old trope of 'needing protection from him' would come into play but lucky for me it wasn't that bad because of how Elise handled things. She was a psych student after all. He majored in being fucked up and made some wrong choices in life, but his painful past makes him want to be good for someone like Elise. He also saves a life of a Brother which merits some respect.

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It's Monday! What Are you Reading?

Weekly meme hosted @Bookdates

I finished two books for the March #TakeControlTBR challenge. 

Bitter Bite by Jennifer Estep and
Mortal Heart by Robin Lafever.

Mortal Heart has been on my TBR for over a year, and I include it in the 2017 Series Ender Challenge as well. It was a great ending to the His Fair Assassin Trilogy.

I am currently reading Day 21 of The 100 by Kass Morgan

New in paperback-the sequel to New York Times bestseller The 100. Now a TV show on The CW!

I binged watched the hundred on Netflix, and I am addicted. I love the show! Since season 4 is airing segments each week, I have only the books to read in between episodes.

Here is my condensed summary of the TV version for The 100 Season 1.

Ninety-seven years after the destruction of planet Earth, the council of the Sky Crew sends 100 delinquent teens to Earth to test the survivability of the world. They discover Earth is survivable, but they rebel against the Arks elders. Some of them find the strength they never knew they had making heroes and warriors of themselves to save their people. 
John Murphy is banished by his friends and tortured by his enemies and is hated by everyone, but he comes back again and again. I love Clarke, but killing Finn, the one who loved her was not ok. It took me awhile to warm up to Bellamy as his decisions weren't the best for everyone only himself. Octavia falls in love with Lincoln, her kidnapper and grounder, and kind of goes off by herself and learns to fight and kill. I thought after all Octavia did for Lincoln, sacrificing himself was an ungrateful and terrible mistake when he gets shot in the head. This show has great characters with its twists and turns making it incredible. ex. King Roen of the Ice nation and Lexa Kom tricru. It was exciting to watch, and I miss them all so much. It hurts how badly I miss them. In the events that unfold, the Ark is running out of oxygen, and the rest of the sky crew make it to Earth but are unwelcome by all ground inhabitants. ex: mountain men, Tree people aka grounders, Reapers, and Ice Nation. The mountain men cannot go outside without a mask and uniform because the air is contaminated and poisonous to them. The Skaicru are subjected to many threats and people.

I plan to read either The Fate of the Tearling next or Truthwitch sorry I forgot I have Blood Vow by J.R.Ward to read first :p

Review: Bitter Bite

Bitter Bite by Jennifer Estep

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Amazon |The book depository

Bitter Bite has an ice magic flare to it and lots of expensive bling if you care about that sort of thing.

The story starts and ends in a cemetery. Gin Blanco has her suspicions about Finn's mother being alive. And she was right. Gin discovers Deirdre Shaw's coffin is empty. When two dwarves interfere with Gin's business, they end up dead. So Gin buries them in the empty grave she just dug up. Good riddance.

Anyhow, Bitter Bite was a hoot, even though the real action doesn't start until page 283. Gin teams up with her sister Bria to stop a bank heist. The bad guys, Deirdre and Santos, are holding Finn hostage to get inside the First Trusts bank vault. The very bank in which Finn works! Deirdre leads Finn to believe she cares for him against Gin's better judgment- but Deirdre is only using Finn as her tool, the same way she used Fletcher.

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Poison Study

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Poison Study is about an orphan girl named Yelena, who is sentenced to die in a prison cell for killing Reyad. He had raped and tortured her for years, but nobody would believe her. Instead, she is offered to be the new taste tester to the Commander Ambrose. During her line of duty, Yelena learns to control her demons and discovers she has special magic skills and falls in love. She also finds out the Commander isn't who he says he is. (view spoiler)[He is a she. (hide spoiler)]

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His Fair Assassin Series Ender- Mortal Heart

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It took me close to a month, but I finally finished Mortal Heart. The events leading Annith on her long journey to Guerande did not disappoint me. She learns many secrets about the Abbess and herself and falls in love with Mortain aka Balthazar aka Death himself. (view spoiler)[The title refers to Mortain living a mortal life with Annith by his side. (hide spoiler)]I love a good HEA, and this one was excellent. It ties in well with the others making Mortal Heart a good conclusion to the trilogy.

Amazon
Book Depository
Goodreads

Goodreads Description:


Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own. She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind doesn't mean she has...