Crescent City is the third series from the best selling author Sarah J. Maas. As of this blog post there are three books in the series, House of Earth and Blood, House of Sky and Breath, and House of Flame and Shadow. No more books in this series have been announced. 

What is the series about? (SPOILER FREE)
The series follows Bryce Quinlan, a half-human, half-Fae citizen of Crescent City in the world called Midgard. They have the internet and smart phones and all that jazz, but it's powered by a type of magic called firstlight. Bryce comes off as a party girl as does her best friend and heir to the wolf-shifter throne, Danika. But when Danika is murdered, Bryce falls apart. She must piece together the last days of her bff's life to solve the mystery of who killed her and why, and in the process learns far more than she bargained for. She's also partnered up with over-powered angel/slave Hunt Athalar. Their choices together have the chance to change the world as they know it.

Does it live up to the hype?
I knew very little about this series going in except that the first 100 pages were famously confusing and that book 2 ended with a major cliffhanger that had everyone buying book 3 as soon as it came out. 
It lived up to the first 100 pages being confusing. Knowing nothing would be explained, I rode it out and waited. There was a lot of info dumping in a short period of time and then other things mentioned and never explained.
It also lived up to book 2 ending with a cliffhanger. I could see why people flocked to book 3. And yet, I realized no one I knew had discussed book 3 much. After finishing it, I understand why. It was not my favorite.
These books were fine, don't get me wrong, but there were subplots and characters that seemed slapped in there for length and had very little impact on the main storyline. Be aware this series also has much less smut than ACOTAR, but more than Throne of Glass. 

So does it live up to the hype? It was a fine read, but it wasn't one I'll be re-reading and if there's a fourth book, I might not buy it immediately. 


This series is for you if you like contemporary fantasy but want a secondary world, if you like multiverse/connected universe concepts, and if you love the SJM style of leading ladies who have secret plans all along. It's not for you if you love mysteries because you enjoy solving them, if you're looking for sword and sorcery fantasy, or if you are looking for quick reads (each is over 800 pages.)


Have you read Crescent City? Which series from Sarah J. Maas is your favorite? Let's discuss in the comments!

ACOTAR, or A Court of Thorns and Roses, is a series by Sarah J Maas with a huge following. As of this blog post, the series isn't complete yet, so to be clear this review covers A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and Ruin, A Court of Frost and Starlight, and A Court of Silver Flames. 

What is the series about? (SPOILER FREE)
This series (mostly) follows Feyre Archeron, who lives in a world where a wall separates the human realm from the seven Fae courts. (On other continents there are other situations, but we're focusing on her island, Prythian). Feyre and her family (sisters Nesta and Elain and their dad) live destitute after their father's trading business fell apart years ago. Feyre hunts to feed the family and no one else does literally anything. However, after Feyre kills someone she believes is a creature, but is actually a Fae, she's forced into a deal: leave the human world behind and live at a Fae court, or die. The series follows her adventures in the Fae world. The first book is a loose retelling of Beauty and the Beast but the rest of the series moves away from that model. 

Does it live up to the hype?
This series was consistently sold to me as fairy smut. I will say there is more smut as the series goes on (looking at Silver Flames here) but the first several books had only a couple of explicit sex scenes each. Less than Fourth Wing, honestly. However, I really enjoyed the twists and the surprises in the plot. My favorite book was A Court of Mist and Fury, although the first act of Wings an Ruin is a close second.

I could list some complaints, but they are spoilery. Suffice to say, I disliked some characters and even though it seems most other readers warmed up to them, I didn't. My least favorite of the series might be Silver Flames because of that problem. 


So, does it live up to the hype? Yes, I think so. When the next book comes out, I will read it right away. I will say that if the first book doesn't do it for you, give the second one a chance, it changes so much.


This series is for you if you like Fae, Romantasy, and are Team Xaden from Fourth Wing. It's not for you if you're looking for sweet/non-explicit romance, dislike Fae/fairies, or if you're not in the headspace to read about starvation, torture, or abusive relationships. 


Have you read the ACOTAR series? What do you hope the next book will be about? Let's discuss in the comments!

Last year I reviewed Sarah J. Maas's hit Throne of Glass, the first in an adult epic fantasy series, and asked if it lived up to all the hype. I decided it was, and bought the rest of the series. In January, I finally finished the last book of the series, Kingdom of Ash, a nearly 1000 page behemoth. I even did the famous tandem read of Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn. So, is all that worth the hype? 

What's the series about? (SPOILER FREE)
As a refresher, Throne of Glass followed Celaena Sardothien, famed assassin, as she tried to win the king's tournament to be the King's Champion, aka assassin on call. Along the way she got some troubling information from a ghost and discovered the king was not all he seemed to be. The rest of the series follows the same three characters: Prince Dorian, Captain Chaol Westfall, and Celaena Sardothien (by many names) through the adventures that ensue from seeds planted in book 1. More POVs are added over time for characters that have become beloved by fans.

The books are: Assassin's Blade (prequel, recommended to read 3rd), Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, Heir of Fire, Queen of Shadows, Empire of Storms, Tower of Dawn, and Kingdom of Ash. 

Does It live up to the hype?
My impression of the series was that it was a fun read. Celaena kept me on my toes and always guessing, and I loved whenever her plots and plans were revealed both to the audience and those around her. She was intensely clever not just powerful, and she never leaned to far into the trope I hate, "I'm not like other girls," because she was super girly when she had the chances. The romances were hit or miss for me because some I rooted for and sometimes I was yelling at the book about what a terrible guy someone was and why his romantic interest absolutely needed to dump him. 

My complaints are few. Even though I predicted a lot of the overall things that would happen, the twists along the way kept me going, just like in the first book. I didn't like Tower of Dawn much, because it focused on Chaol, who I grew to dislike. However, the tandem read improved that experience, see the next section.

Does this series live up to the hype? Yes. Well written, interesting, surprising, strong female characters without the internalized misogyny, and a dash of romance. 10/10 will probably re-read someday!​

What's the tandem read and is that worth the struggle?
The tandem read is when you read some chapters of Empire of Storms and then switch to Tower of Dawn, and then back again. I followed the guide on the Throne of Glass wiki, which I think worked well.

Pros: You're not stuck with Chaol for 600 pages, you get others too. It feels more like the other books, where the main trio are all represented by POVs, even if they're not all together. You add tension to the read because if you follow the guide, certain elements align so you only know some information about the off-screen characters, but you maintain mystery.

Cons: It takes a while to flag all the chapters before you start, and you may accidentally get spoiled by the first line of some chapters--especially in Tower of Dawn! I also somehow got off, and ended by reading two sections in a row of Tower of Dawn because I'd already finished Empire of Storms. Oops! And of course, if you read in public, you now have to carry around two books instead of one, and they're beefy. 

Overall, I felt like the tandem read was worth the struggle. I liked the added tension and the way it kept things fresh and moving forward. If you're curious about the experience, I recommend giving it a try!



This series is for you if you like monarchy drama in fantasy worlds, a mix between hard and soft magic systems, a strong female main character, and fae/fairies.

This series is not for you if you dislike fae/fairies, are not in the headspace for on-page violence or war (she's an assassin!), dislike soft magic systems, or dislike on-page sex scenes (they're not as descriptive as the scenes in Fourth Wing, but you're getting more than you'd get from a YA series, for example). 


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Have you read the Throne of Glass series? Crescent City 3, also from SJM, just dropped so I may do another "does it live up to the hype?" post soon! Which of her series have you read, and which is your favorite? Let's discuss in the comments.

I know it’s hard to believe, but until recently I hadn’t read anything by Sarah J Maas, the bestselling author of the Throne of Glass series, the Crescent City series, and the NSFW fae series A Court of Thorns and Roses. This author first made a splash when I was trying to survive grad school and keeping up with reading trends fell off my radar. However, one of my close friends and fellow book lovers recently told me I’d love Throne of Glass, so trusting her judgement, I bought it.
 
What is Throne of Glass anyway? Isn’t SJM the fairy lady?
Fairies feature in the distant past in Throne of Glass (book 1 out of 8 in the series). It focuses on (human) assassin Celaena, who is brought out of a labor camp prison to compete against a ton of other killers (not all assassins specifically) to become the King’s Champion. Win, and she gets a four-year contract and then freedom. Lose and she’s back at the labor camp where she’ll definitely die. Along the way she meets and has sizzling chemistry with the crown prince and the captain of the guard. However, as the competition progresses, dark secrets come to light.
 
Does it live up to the hype?
I picked it up on vacation (I’d been searching every indie bookstore at home and had never spotted it) and devoured it. It was exactly my jam: strong female protagonist, a little magic, some chemistry to keep things interesting, twists, and language that was invisible. I know some people read for deep turns of phrase to savor, but I want the words to fade away so I can watch the movie in my head.
 
After a bad day at work, the day before I finished this book, I went to Barnes and Noble and bought the rest of the series at once. So, yeah, you could say I liked it.
 
Things I didn’t like were few and far between. I mean, in any competition book, you pretty much know who’s going to win, right? So there wasn’t much tension there for me, but the other twists introduced along the way really helped. The other downside is I have no idea how to pronounce the name Chaol. Is it Cole? Kay-ole? Kale? Ch-ole? I’m going with Cole in my head. I read this on paperback, but if you read it on an e-reader, be advised the map is very detailed and you may not be able to read it. (However, you won’t really need it.)
 
In conclusion, yes. It lives up to the hype. I’m already 200 pages into Crown of Midnight (book 2) and loving it! However, I’m going to try to read other books between entries in this series to better keep up with my goal of having 50% or more of the authors I read be from different backgrounds from mine.
 
You’ll enjoy Throne of Glass if you like deadly competitions, magical secondary worlds, and badass female protagonists. It’s not for you if you’re looking for literary style fiction, high spice level romance, or a real-world setting.
 
I liked reading such a popular book and deciding if it was actually that good, so I may do more posts about popular books and decide if they’re worth all the hype.
 

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Have you read Throne of Glass? What about other books by SJM? Do her other series live up to the hype? What hyped up book should I do next in this series of blog posts? Let’s discuss in the comments!