Laura
3.5 stars
It took me 256 days to finish this. That makes me so frustrated because I LOVE VE Schwab. Everything I've read from her has been 4 stars and up. Gallant just didn't keep my attention. The beginning hooked me... then let me go til about 70%, which is where it got me again. I just didn't feel like I wanted to pick it up every day. I did love the last 20% of the book, I just wish that action was sprinkled throughout the whole book.
This is one of the most confusing books I've ever read. Maybe because I listened to the audiobook? Idk. But I felt completely lost through most of this fucking thing. Maybe I'm just not intelligent enough to understand all the symbolism or whatever. But this is precisely why I don't read classics. The only reason I picked up this book is because they teach it at the school I work at (I'm the librarian) and students have asked me if it's good. I'd heard from past students that they enjoyed it. But tbh I think they were lying to seem like they actually read it
4.5 stars.
I love how this tied in with the Bloodline Vampires series. I also like (surprisingly) how it ended, since it was open-ended and not exactly finished with a neat little bow.
I predicted the twist near the end, but it was pretty obvious. Still loved the smut, the dialogue, and the character development.
Meh. Dunno if I'll continue this series. Modern-day Romeo & Juliet is how I would describe this. Spice is 2/5 because there's only a few spicy scenes and they aren't lengthy. If you like a more plot driven story, this is more your speed. Personally, I like more spice and I didn't really connect with the characters.
This book has been on my TBR for eight years and I FINALLY took the plunge and read the dang thing. As with all SJM series, it starts off a little slow and confusing because of the world-building and character introductions. With Throne of Glass, it felt like I was being pushed into a story that I hadn't read the first chapter of. I found out that was because there was a prequel (multiple novellas, actually), but many sources online said to read The Assassin's Blade AFTER the third book, so that is what I'm going to do. I pushed on and eventually, everything made sense.
Celaena's journey to become the King's Champion felt kind of Hunger Games-esque, but more fantasy. I loved the tension and relationship between Celaena and Chaol (which I still can't pronounce correctly), but Dorian's interest in her made me happy too. I hope her friendship with Nehemia deepens, she is such an interesting character.
I was expecting more magic in this series, but I expect that will come in later books. I'm interested to see what the King will have Celaena do as his Champion, and how Dorian and Chaol will resist her.
I LOVED the Cruel Prince trilogy. I was exited to hear Oak was getting his own book. I was really disappointed to find out the book is in someone else's POV. I wanted Oak's POV.
Suren was a fine character, but I just didn't connect with her like I did with Jude. And Oak isn't as compelling as Carden.
I did enjoy the end of this story, although I was left thinking, “what?! It's gonna end like THAT?!” Ugh. Lol.
Thank you to BookSirens and the author for an advanced copy!
First off, I want to say that I personally know the author and I was SO excited to hear she was publishing her first book! I IMMEDIATELY wanted a copy for myself.
The Marriage Wars is set in a near-future dystopian Sacramento, which is where I grew up. I knew every road, business, and landmark that Melissa mentioned in the book, and it made the story feel more real to me. At first, I was confused about the concept of the Nation, but over the course of the book, it started to make sense. California became the Nation and implemented its own government and started regulating who can get married and have children, in order to rebuild the population after the pandemic. The Nation also implemented a tier system to segregate its citizens by class.
Olivia mostly grew up on a compound, outside of the Nation, where such regulations were not in place. But to have a more stable income, she and her fiance Ethan moved back to the Nation, but their marriage application was denied. Sometime later, Olivia marries Thomas, who is in a higher tier, in order to get her sister cancer treatments.
Ten years have passed since Olivia and Thomas married, and Olivia decides to use her Challenge Pass. This is like a marriage hall pass, where they can go to a Nation Center to have sex with random people for three days, as a reward for being married and contributing to the Nation for 10 years.
I like this concept, it feels plausible, like this situation could actually happen in the future. It felt reminiscent of A Handmaid's Tale.
The plot and writing in The Marriage Wars is strong, but certain parts felt kind of slow. I wanted more action in the first half of the book. Around 70%, things really started to pick up and so much happened. There was one twist around 80% that I did NOT see coming.
Overall, a solid 4 stars.