Top Ten Books I've Read So Far In 2014

The Assassin's Blade (Throne of Glass #0.1-0.5) by Sarah J. Maas

Review | Goodreads

Most series novellas I have read just seem inessential and underdeveloped. But Sarah J. Maas breaks the mould with The Assassin's Blade. Now THIS is how novellas should be done. Each of the prequel Throne of Glass novellas are not only significant to the overall series story, but they are also each as strong as an actual full-length novel. Sarah J. Maas excels as a storyteller: tension-ridden romances, no-holds-barred action scenes, gut-wrenching heartbreak and feels. This woman is a genius!

Scarlet and Cress (Lunar Chronicles #2 and #3) by Marissa Meyer

Review of Scarlet | Goodreads | Review of Cress | Goodreads

I was a bit late to the party with this series, but now I'm all caught up and ready for Winter! THIS SERIES, GUYS. As with Cinder, Scarlet and Cress were both compulsively readable, thrilling, and altogether awesome. I don't know how Marissa Meyer does it, because you would think the multi-layered storyline and numerous POVs would feel convoluted, and yet it never does. It's like each instalment has more and more to offer than the one before it and that is impressive indeed!

Night of Cake and Puppets and Dreams of Gods and Monsters (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #2.5 and #3) by Laini Taylor

Review of NoC&P | Goodreads | Review of DoG&M | Goodreads

Oh, Laini. I bow down to you. Laini Taylor took the finale of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy to a whole new, unexpected, and brilliant level in Dreams of Gods and Monsters. And though I was left wanting so much MORE (I need a spinoff!) after the close of Dreams of Gods and Monsters, I was also pleased that I got the sense of closure that I craved for this series ending. Also, shout out to the Zuzanna/Mik novella Night of Cake and Puppets, which was simply WONDERFUL!

The Books of John Green

Review | Goodreads

And finally, in the month of May I read all five of John Green's novels for the first time, back-to-back, in chronological publication order, in what I have dubbed, The Great John Green Read of 2014. It was a fantastic experience and I can honestly say that all of John Green's novels were memorable and meaningful to me in their own way. John Green has a way of writing profoundly thoughtful books that make you THINK and stay with you long after the book has ended. Loved this experience!

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Review: The Assassin's Blade (Throne of Glass #0.1-0.5) by Sarah J. Maas

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: March 4, 2014
Pages: 448
Source: Bought
Rating: 5 Stars

Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan's most feared assassin. As part of the Assassin's Guild, her allegiance is to her master, Arobynn Hamel, yet Celaena listens to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam. In these action-packed novellas - together in one edition for the first time - Celaena embarks on five daring missions. They take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, where she fights to liberate slaves and seeks to avenge the tyrannous. But she is acting against Arobynn's orders and could suffer an unimaginable punishment for such treachery. Will Celaena ever be truly free? Explore the dark underworld of this kick-ass heroine to find out.

In short: The Assassin's Blade shows that Sarah J. Maas excels as a storyteller, even in novella format.

Now THIS is how novellas should be done. Too often when I read series novellas, the characters are underdeveloped, the story is superfluous, and I'm left thinking, "What is the point?"; I could easily read the series and skip the novellas and it would make absolutely no difference because the novellas are inessential and unimportant. But THESE Throne of Glass prequel novellas!! They are not only relevant and significant to the overall series story, but they are also each as strong and entertaining as an actual full-length novel.

I don't know how Sarah J. Maas does it, but somehow she is able to give the reader a feel for what Celaena is all about within the first few pages of the first novella, The Assassin and the Pirate Lord. Those who were turned off by Celaena's cockiness and inactivity in Throne of Glass should definitely give these novellas a read as Celaena demonstrates another side of herself as a gutsy and tenacious heroine with a heart of gold. And then there's Sam. Following Throne of Glass, I was firmly Team Chaol, but even I was swayed and swooned by Sam and his hate-turned-love relationship with Celaena.

Sarah J. Maas excels as a storyteller, not only when it comes to tension-ridden romances, but also no-holds-barred action scenes and gut-wrenching heartbreak and feels. And the fact that she is able to accomplish all this in short novella format when you would normally have to turn to novels to get this much depth? Well, that's just genius. My only regrets are a) that I didn't read these prequel novellas before reading Throne of Glass, and b) that I haven't read Crown of Midnight yet (seriously, what am I waiting for?!).

Previously, my review of Throne of Glass.

Other Reviews:
Looking for the Panacea
Lunar Rainbows
YA Book Queen

Author Links:
Website
Blog
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads