What I love about A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES...

It's that time of the year again, the time when Sarah J. Maas is about to drop a hella awesome new book. The second book of the A Court of Thorns and Roses series, A Court of Mist and Fury, comes out May 3rd so Bloomsbury decided to host the #ACOTARreadalong (follow the hashtag on Twitter and join the conversation)! I'm here to share what I love about A Court of Thorns and Roses and I have five reasons for you.

1. The details are INSANE...ly gorgeous. I absolutely love how Sarah's paints intricate pictures and sceneries, especially since Feyre is a painter herself. Seeing things through her artistic eyes gives a depth and uniqueness to her environment. The way she describes texture and notices the different shifts of light and even the features of the people she meets makes her experience in Prythian all the more real and grounded.
2. A quiet yet headstrong heroine that finds her strength within herself. Feyre isn't your typical super badass YA/NA heroine, she's vulnerable and wary and not too impressive but as the pages go by and you truly get to know her, you'll see a spark inside of her that isn't normally seen in other heroines. Her vulnerability is where she draws her strength and there is so much courage in that.
3. ACOTAR is hot, hot, h-o-t. This book crosses the boundary of Young Adult to New Adult because of the intense sexual tension between Feyre and Tamlin. And trust me, there are some really spicy scenes in this book that will make you want to chug a glass of cold water to cool off. (*cough*Chapter 27*cough)
4. I feel like Sarah J. Maas is the queen of hot fae men because holy Batman, the guys in this book are smoking. From the brooding High Lord Tamlin to the snarky, foxy emissary, Lucien, you will not run out of guys to choose from. (I am personally incredibly partial to Rhys, my Night Court High Lord bae. It's a mouthful... but that's what he is. Hahahahaha.)
5. Other than the characters being insanely good looking, there's a complexity to them that you won't find anywhere else. Each character has their own backstory and agenda and the brings the plot to a whole new level (oh, Lucien...). Even more than that, ACOTAR will completely take you by surprise. The first half is amazing but buckle in your seatbelts because it gets even better. Sarah J. Maas elevates the Beauty and the Beast fairytale and completely owns it, you will not be disappointed.

And there you have it, my reasons as to why I loved ACOTAR (and why YOU need to read it, if you haven't yet). Also, do join my friend, Nicola, and I for #ACOTARQuizNight on April 30th; there'll be fun questions and great prizes! See you there!!

Something Strange & Deadly Read-along: Discussion Two

Hi all!

So I am currently participating in a read-along for Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard and literally having all the fun! I have no idea why it took me so long to start reading SS&D but hey, better late than never, right? As part of the read-along, Stephanie from In Wonderland aka the hostess extraordinaire of the read-along made a few discussion questions and I'm here to answer a few of them.

Who is your favourite character in the first book and why?

Eleanor is easily my favourite character in SSaD mostly because I felt like I knew her so well being in her head, her different conflicts, experiences and feelings really bridged a connection between us. She was more of a friend to me than just a character in a book and it really amazed me how emotionally invested I became when it came to her life. Wish they had Facebook in SSaD so I could send her a friend request. Lol, what.

How would you convince your friends to read this book?

I'm happy that I have friends who trust me when it comes to book so I'd just fangirl to them about Something Strange and Deadly and they would 70% buy it. And I would totally mention how swoony Daniel Sheridan is because my friends are suckers for hot dudes, that would add the remaining 30% then BOOM, new readers.

Well, that was fun! If you guys want to join the read-along, feel free to check out Steph's read-along post HERE.

Something Strange & Deadly Read-along: Discussion One

Hi all!

So I am currently participating in a read-along for Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard and literally having all the fun! I have no idea why it took me so long to start reading SS&D but hey, better late than never, right? As part of the read-along, Stephanie from In Wonderland aka the hostess extraordinaire of the read-along made a few discussion questions and I'm here to answer a few of them.

How do you think you would react to the Dead walking around in your city?

There is a 99.999% chance that I'd pee myself/faint/whimper/get lost or all of the above... at the same time. I really wouldn't know what to do even though the Dead aren't really too zombie-ish, there's still terrifying about the fact that they're quite unpredictable. I'd probably also start assembling my own The Walking Dead team to protect me in case something insane happens, like, Idk the Dead apocalypse or something. (Yes, my team would totally have Eleanor and Daniel in it, just so I could watch them throw each other down. Lol.)

What do you think about the Dead? Are you glad it isn't too zombie-ish, or were you hoping for a more zombie-esque theme?

Nothing beats a shambling, decaying, flesh-eating zombie but Susan Dennard's Dead is like a more sophisticated version of them. (Who knew historical zombies would be something I needed in my life? Thanks, Sooz!) The thing with the dead is that there's a sentience to them that gives them an extra oomph that your average zombies don't have. I'd still want to stay away from them. Like maybe put a continent distance between us. *backs away slowly*

Well, that was fun! If you guys want to join the read-along, feel free to check out Steph's read-along post HERE.