Book Review: Conform (Book #1 in the Conform series) by Ariel Sullivan (Major Spoilers)

Right off the bat, I have to confess that I went into reading Ariel Sullivan’s book, Conform, with a great deal of excitement and anticipation, given all the hype surrounding this book. After having read Conform, I have to say that this book definitely lived up to the hype for the most part.

 

Conform definitely has a lot going for it, both as a book and as the beginning of a book series. Emeline is also a very interesting protagonist for the series in many ways. That being said, I don’t think that Emeline having heterochromia can be considered a particularly compelling defect from an emotional standpoint. Hopefully, Sullivan will flesh out the idea of the characters having defects, especially when it comes to Emeline, to make the whole aspect of the series involving some of the characters having a defect, so it will come across as more compelling from a creative standpoint as the series continues. That being said, Collin and Hal are both well-written and compelling characters who both served as great and interesting love interests for Emeline in their own unique way.

 

Conform also has quite a few compelling supporting characters that I really enjoyed. I especially enjoyed what we saw of Collin’s family members and found them very well-written. The whole Gregory and Nora subplot was especially compelling and a very enjoyable aspect of the book. Honestly, I wish we could have gotten more of the Gregory and Nora subplot, simply because of how much I enjoyed that aspect of Conform. I would love it if one of the future books in the series focuses on Gregory and Nora. Emeline’s friend, Lo, was also quite interesting, at least based on what we saw of the character, given her interest in getting a reproduction contract like Emeline was originally trying to get. That being said, one complaint that I have about Conform is that many of the supporting characters kind of blurred together at times, especially when it came to some of Collin’s family members. Hopefully, Sullivan will flesh out Collin’s family members as characters as the series continues. Given that the Conform series is apparently going to consist of nine books, hopefully Sullivan will have the chance to further develop Collin’s family members and the supporting characters in general.

Book Review: Crush (Book #2 in the Crave series) by Tracy Wolff

Right off the bat, I have to say that my thoughts on the second book in Tracy Wolff’s Crave series, Crush, are rather complicated, because in some ways I liked it more than I liked Crave, but at the same time, I also thought that at times this book somehow managed to lack even more originality than the first book did. Crush also has a variety of other aspects to it that I definitely think could have been better. However, despite its flaws, Crush is definitely a really fun guilty pleasure book, much like the first book in the series was. That being said, here are my thoughts on Crush.

I thought that it was pretty interesting that a major plot point in Crush was Grace finding out that she’s a gargoyle and learning how to use the abilities that come along with being a gargoyle; because I honestly can’t think of any other YA books where the premise involves gargoyles. Grace discovering in this book that she’s a gargoyle is definitely something that I think helps set Tracy Wolff’s Crave series apart from other YA fantasy series. Grace finding out in this book that she’s a gargoyle definitely came as quite a surprise to me, because in Crave (The book) I really thought that Wolff was setting things up for Grace to become a vampire later on in the series.

 

However, I definitely think that there are a lot of missed opportunities on Wolff’s part when it comes to how she handled the reveal that Grace is a gargoyle. It seemed really weird to me that Grace pretty much didn’t seem upset or say anything at all about the fact that her parents had never told her that she was a gargoyle while they were still alive. She was simply initially in shock when everybody told her that she was a gargoyle, which is something I can completely understand. The other thing that frustrated me about Wolff’s execution of Grace discovering that she’s a gargoyle and how to use the magical abilities that she has as a gargoyle is how quickly she always learned how to do something. Instead of struggling to get the hang of her abilities for at least a couple of chapters and experiencing some genuine frustration, which could have led to some potentially compelling storytelling, Grace basically always figured out how to successfully use her abilities within a matter of a few pages; which typically led to lovey dovey moments between Jaxon and Grace that ultimately proved to be incredibly repetitive almost immediately.

A Court of Thorns and Roses: In Anticipation for A Court of Frost and Starlight's release

Even though I personally think that A Court of Mist and Fury is a tad overrated, and A Court of Wings and Ruin has its fair share of issues; I’m still extremely excited for the release of the A Court of Thorns and Roses novella, A Court of Frost and Starlight. I’m definitely planning to devour it as soon as it's released, because I’m really looking forward to finding out what happens next with Feyre and Rhysand. Personally, even though some of Tamlin's actions throughout the series have been somewhat questionable, I'm hoping that he will also be featured in A Court of Frost and Starlight at least briefly, if not somewhat prominently. Regardless of what happens in A Court of Frost and Starlight, I’m pretty confident that I’ll enjoy it, though. :)

Finally, I also want to mention that I'm considering the possibility of marathoning the first three books in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by listening to them on audiobook again in April, in both preparation and anticipation for the release of A Court of Frost and Starlight on May 1st. I think that marathoning the A Court of Thorns and Roses series could possibly be a lot of fun. :)

Related Post:Book Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses (Book #1 in the ACourt of Thorns and Roses Saga)

Book Review: A Court of Mist and Fury (Book #2 in the A Court of Thorns and Roses Saga) by Sarah J. Maas

Right off the bat, I have to say that while I absolutely loved A Court of Thorns and Roses for the most part, I sadly thought that A Court of Mist and Fury was a rather disappointing follow-up to it. That being said, I have to admit that I was really surprised by the aspects of the book that I ended up liking the most.

While I ultimately thought that A Court of Mist and Fury was a rather disappointing book, I did think that the book started out on a relatively strong note. I thought that Sarah J. Maas did a pretty good job of showing at the beginning of the book how the events that happened “Under the Mountain” in A Court of Thorns and Roses had definitely traumatized Feyre in a variety of ways. For example, it was established that she had apparently been getting sick and throwing up during the night on a regular basis, and it was also established that she had been hiding that fact from Tamlin. While I thought that the trauma that Feyre was experiencing at the beginning of the book was all very interesting, I really wish that Maas had explored that more than she did. I especially wish that Maas had really delved into how the trauma that Feyre was experiencing affected her relationship with Tamlin in more detail. 

One thing that really bothered me about the beginning of the book is the fact that much like Maas had the tendency to give what I viewed as being important conversations that took place between Feyre and Tamlin in A Court of Thorns and Roses the “Yada Yada” treatment, she also kind of did the same thing when it came to giving the details about how Tamlin proposed to Feyre. I was really surprised by the fact that Maas kind of glossed over the story of how Tamlin asked Feyre to marry him. That’s something that I really thought that Maas would have wanted to flesh out more than she did since Feyre and Tamlin’s relationship was such a central element of A Court of Thorns and Roses; and Tamlin proposing to Feyre is also something that I personally think that Maas definitely shouldn’t have glossed over like she did.

One thing that really surprised me about A Court of Mist and Fury is that it really made me hate Tamlin in a lot of ways. While Tamlin did do a few things in A Court of Thorns and Roses that bothered me, I ultimately thought that Tamlin was a very nice guy, and I was rooting for Feyre and Tamlin as a couple. However, as I was reading this book, I really started to feel like Feyre and Tamlin’s relationship was rather problematic, and I couldn’t entirely blame Feyre for not wanting to go through with the wedding. Given the way Tamlin was written in A Court of Mist and Fury, I honestly felt like Maas almost completely assassinated him as a character, as well as the relationship between Feyre and Tamlin.

Book Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses (Book #1 in the A Court of Thorns and Roses Saga) by Sarah J. Maas

Right off the bat, I’d like to start off this review by mentioning that A Court of Thorns and Roses is the first book by Sarah J. Maas that I’ve ever read, and Maas definitely made a phenomenal first impression with this book. It has been a goal of mine to read at least one of Sarah J. Maas’ books for about a year now, since I’ve heard a lot of great things about her books from people on BookTube. The reason I chose to start with A Court of Thorns and Roses, instead of her book, Throne of Glass, is due the fact that A Court of Thorns and Roses is very loosely based on the story of Beauty and the Beast, and I’m a HUGE fan of fairytale retellings. Once Upon a Time and Grimm are two of my favorite TV shows, I love the movie Into the Woods, and I’m also a huge fan of Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles series. As for A Court of Thorns and Roses being somewhat of a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, I thought that this book was a very clever take on the story.

The overall pacing of the plot of the book was definitely handled very well, in my opinion. The book starts on a very interesting note, and I thought that Maas did a great job of not taking forever for the plot of the book to really get moving after Feyre kills what she thought was a wolf, but was actually a faerie in disguise, and unwittingly breaking the treaty that exists between the humans and the faeries by doing so. When a wolf faerie shows up at her family’s home, demanding retribution for Feyre killing the wolf faerie, she chooses to willingly go live with Tamlin, who’s the High Lord of the Spring Court, at his manor for the rest of her life, as payment for breaking the treaty.

Now that I’m an adult, when it comes to the story of Beauty and the Beast, there’s always been a part of me that has felt compelled to make jokes about the relationship between Belle and the Beast, and her falling in love with him being a case of Stockholm syndrome. That being said, I honestly can’t say the same thing about Maas’ writing for the relationship between Feyre and Tamlin. There’s definitely quite a bit of tension between the two of them when Feyre first comes to live with Tamlin, but I still feel like he acted fairly civil and accommodating towards her. I really like the fact that at the beginning of the book, when Feyre is first getting to know Tamlin, it’s clear that she has come to believe a lot of lies and misconceptions about faeries that she was probably raised to believe. I found that initial tension between the two of them rather interesting, and I felt like Maas handled the progression and evolution of their relationship throughout the book very well. Feyre and Tamlin’s relationship definitely isn’t a case of insta-love. Personally, I think that’s great to see, because a lot of YA and New Adult books seem to be plagued with cases of insta-love, which is pretty much always beyond frustrating. In my opinion, the relationship between Bella and Edward from the Twilight series is one of the worst cases of insta-love that I’ve ever encountered, but I digress.

Empire of Storms: Sarah J. Maas book signing Q & A @ Fenton, MO Barnes & Noble

Here's a Q & A panel that Sarah J. Maas did at an Empire of Storms book signing at a Barnes & Noble in Fenton, Missouri. The panel was moderated by YouTube personality, Jesse the Reader. I actually haven't read any of Maas' books yet, but I'm hoping to read the first two books in her A Court of Thorns and Roses series fairly soon. I'm also planning to check out her Throne of Glass series at some point as well. This video is the first time I've ever watched Sarah J. Maas do an interview, and I have to say that she sounds like a really fun and interesting person. Watching this Q & A definitely got me even more excited to read Maas' books than I already was. :)