Silent in the Sanctuary re-read

Publication Date: December 28th 2007
Publisher: Mira
Pages: 552

Fresh from a six-month sojourn in Italy, Lady Julia returns home to Sussex to find her father's estate crowded with family and friends— but dark deeds are afoot at the deconsecrated abbey, and a murderer roams the ancient cloisters. 
Much to her surprise, the one man she had hoped to forget—the enigmatic and compelling Nicholas Brisbane—is among her father's houseguests… and he is not alone. Not to be outdone, Julia shows him that two can play at flirtation and promptly introduces him to her devoted, younger, titled Italian count.
But the homecoming celebrations quickly take a ghastly turn when one of the guests is found brutally murdered in the chapel, and a member of Lady Julia's own family confesses to the crime. Certain of her cousin's innocence, Lady Julia resumes her unlikely and deliciously intriguing partnership with Nicholas Brisbane, setting out to unravel a tangle of deceit before the killer can strike again. When a sudden snowstorm blankets the abbey like a shroud, it falls to Lady Julia and Nicholas Brisbane to answer the shriek of murder most foul. 

There's nothing quite like returning to an old favourite. Particularly when that favourite is set at Christmas and involves murder and intrigue. I've talked a bit about my love for coming back to read this book around Christmas, but realised I'd never actually written a review of one of my all time favourites.

The Lady Julia books were a happy accident for me. I'd read and loved some Gail Carriger and decided to take advantage of Amazon's 'people who bought what you've bought also bought this!' feature. It recommended me this series, and I bought the first book, "Silent in the Grave", based entirely off the first sentence. I then bought the next two books (all that were out at the time) before I was barely twenty pages into the first, because I was enjoying it so much.

Whilst all of the books in the series are favourites in different ways, this one is the one I come back to at Christmas. The entire family, snow bound in their country house, with a murderer on the loose! Ghosts and ghouls! Foul play! Romance! Intrigue! I just cannot get enough of it, it is glorious.

It's sometimes hard to follow up an incredible first book, but Deanna not only has written a worthy follow up, but an absolutely brilliant continuation of the story. I loved meeting more of Julia's family. I loved the slow, simmering tension between her and Brisbane. The writing is glorious, the plotting absolute perfection, and the mystery itself truly brilliant. It's the kind of mystery that has you almost believing in ghosts - the mysterious apparitions and fear that pervade the estate at night. The character's are beautifully constructed. Everyone could be a suspect, all charming with dark hidden secrets just waiting for Julia to ferret them out with her intrepidly determined sleuthing.

In short, this book is perfection, and I love it. It's one I adore coming back to, and I always make time for a re-read at Christmas. If you're looking for an excellent historical murder mystery, the Lady Julia series is one of the very best out there.

If you're curious to find out more about Deanna's writing, you can read my Q&A with her here!

The Scorpio Races re-read

Publication Date: 22nd October 2011
Publisher: Scholastic
Pages: 482 pages

Every year, the Scorpio Races are run on the beaches of Skarmouth. Every year, the sea washes blood from the sand. To race the savage water horses can mean death, but the danger is irresistible.
When Puck enters the races to save her family, she is drawn to the mysterious Sean, the only person on the island capable of taming the beasts.

"It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die."

This remains one of the best opening lines I have ever read, and it cements the book as something magical and incredible, that will beckon you closer and keep you curled around the island and the story until the final pages send you back, dizzy and bereft, into the real world.

Whenever I am only allowed to pick one book - one book that changed me, that means the world to me, that is beautiful and incredible and magical and everything I never knew I needed - this is the book I pick.
I return to it every autumn in its physical form. I return to it much more often than that in its audiobook form. And every time I fall a little more in love.

This is a story that is hard to pin down, to adequately explain whenever anyone asks you to describe it. At its most basic it's a story about a horse race with deadly water horses that takes place every November. But it's so much more than that, so many layers of character, of wants and needs and desires, of loneliness and companionship, of an island and its traditions and lore that takes on a shape of its own, and becomes a character in its own right. It is a story of love in so many different forms.


It is so incredibly written, a haunting story filled with sly moments of humour and passages that are so beautiful they make you ache. I adore this island and the characters, and I cannot ever adequately convey what this book means to me.
It is everything.

If you're put off by the cover, by the assumption that this is a girly book, or a book about horses, get rid of those thoughts immediately because this book is so much more, and you should put away your misconceptions and pick it up.
It marks the turning point in Maggie's writing, and if you enjoy this then I highly recommend finding a copy of "The Raven Boys" to read next - the start of a truly gorgeous series. But nothing will ever compare to the feeling of coming home that I feel every autumn as I return to Thisby.

"I am so, so alive."

Throne of Glass re-read: Empire of Storms

Publication date: September 6th 2016

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Length: 693 pages

The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius as war looms on the horizon. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those who don't.
With her heart sworn to the warrior-prince by her side, and her fealty pledged to the people she is determined to save, Aelin will delve into the depths of her power to protect those she loves. But as monsters emerge from the horrors of the past, and dark forces become poised to claim her world, the only chance for salvation will lie in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.
In this breath-taking fifth instalment of the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series, Aelin will have to choose what—and who—to sacrifice if she's to keep the world of Erilea from breaking apart.

I can't even with this book. Just. What. Even. This series keeps on improving, it's like Maas sees each excellent instalment as a challenge - "Oh I broke your heart with that book? LET ME HAVE YOUR SOUL WITH THIS ONE."

I adore "Queen of Shadows" like you wouldn't believe, but I'd not fully allowed myself to remember just how insanely brilliant "Empire of Storms" is. Whilst the fourth book takes its time to build to an earth shattering final quarter, the fifth kicks off hard and fast and brutal and doesn't let up.

All the threads that Maas has gently woven over the course of the series are pulled together and it is a sight to behold. Suddenly there are pairings you never knew you wanted, character interactions which are brilliant in so many ways, and the whole thing feels like one giant reward for all the plotting that has come before. This is a book that rewards you for your dedication and attention as everything starts to be revealed and set up for a truly amazing finale.

The confrontation in Skulls Bay at the halfway point is incredible. I love it when a plan comes together, and there is nothing quite like a team of characters working with each other. Lysandra vs. the sea wyverns honest to god gives me chills as everyone else rallies around to support her. It's just so intense and you're left completely dizzy and breathless by the end. Which all goes to show just how damn extraordinary the writing is.

Then the brief lull - although by no means boring - whilst the pieces are all moved into place for the final heart-breaking showdown, and oh boy did I cry. Even though I was expecting it this time, I still tore through the pages desperate to see how it plays out. I still had goose-bumps as everything falls into place and everyone comes together in one glorious moment. I still was in tears at the gut wrenching heartbreak and emotional sucker punch of the end.

It's incredible. The writing, the characters, the plotting, the layering that slowly unwraps and offers this stunning instalment and sets up what is sure to be an unbelievable final instalment. I adored this book, but I am so glad that I'd put off re-reading it until only a few days before the release of "Kingdom of Ash"!

Throne of Glass re-read: Queen of Shadows

Publication date: 1st September 2015
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 645 pages

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past . . .
She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen's triumphant return.
Celaena’s epic journey has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. This fourth volume will hold readers rapt as Celaena’s story builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world. 

You know, after re-reading this one, I think this might be my favourite book of the series. It's a tough call, but oh my word this book is truly EPIC. I get chills every time I read the last quarter, as everything kicks into an insanely high gear and the world goes to hell and it's all AMAZING.

Whilst "Heir of Fire" is the point where you realise that this series is about so much more than you originally thought, "Queen of Shadows" is the point where everything kicks off and you end up flinging yourself head first into the story whilst everything goes horribly wrong and horribly right and you realise that this, THIS, is what you've been waiting for and building to.

There's something about being back in Rifthold again, getting all of the major players together, unfolding these relationships that have been building both on and off the page for several books, that makes this book fly. I adore how centred Aelin is in this book, I love seeing more of how her mind works and her plans unfold. I love the number of OH DAMN moments where I stop breathing as I desperately read to find out what will happen next. I love the relationship that builds between her and Lysandra because dammit the world needs more female friendships, and whilst I loved Nehemia, there's something really wonderful and equal about the relationship between Lysandra and Aelin.

I love that no-one is entirely good or bad, I love the shades of grey that creep into every character. I love that we get to see more of these character's fleshed out. We get more of Chaol's complete break down in preparation for him to be built back up even greater than before in "Tower of Dawn", I love Aedion and the history between them and the new facets that show with Aelin as a result of their interactions. And I love Rowan. I've always loved Rowan, but I think I'm appreciating him even more this time around.

Basically this is one big love fest. I knew I was going to enjoy this re-read, I'd been carefully holding off going back to the series in preparation for exactly this splurge just before the final book, but I'd never really appreciated how much I would enjoy it. It's been such a joy to re-experience these books, in some cases for the first time since my first read of them. To get to really savour the characters and know a vague idea of where the story is going, that only serves to highlight just how good the writing and storytelling is.

If you've struggled to get into this series, I cannot recommend enough pushing through and getting to this point, because the pay off is glorious. I adore this series, there is so much depth to it, so many layers to unpack, and I am clearly going to end up crying like a small child when I finish "Kingdom of Ash". But for now, I'm on to "Empire of Storms" where I will be happy and joyful crushed anew by the emotional turmoil experienced within those pages...

Throne of Glass re-read: Heir of Fire

Publication Date: September 11th 2014
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 562 pages

Consumed by guilt and rage, Celaena can't bring herself to spill blood for the King of Adarlan. She must fight back...
The Immortal Queen will help her destroy the king - for a price. But as Celaena battles with her darkest memories and her heart breaks for a love that could never last, can she fulfil the bargain and head the almighty court of Terrasen? And who will stand with her?

Continuing with my series re-read before the (EVER APPPROACHING) release of "Kingdom of Ash" (LESS THAN A MONTH GUYS) I went into "Heir of Fire" for my very first re-read since it was released.
My feelings about this book were complicated the first time around. I was still under the impression that the series would only be a trilogy (so glad that was incorrect) and it meant that I was permanently frustrated whilst reading at the lack of story movement and all the threads that were tantalising me and refusing to be tied up neatly. It just felt wrong, and once I discovered that there were more books to come that was completely fine, but it did mar the initial reading for me.

So this was a fresh start of sorts. My expectations for it being the end of the series having lifted, I was able to go into this book with very little recollection of what happens (it's been four years...) ready to fall in love with it. So many people have said that this book was where they truly fell for this series, when all of their feelings exploded into full blown adoration for the books. And when I recommend this series I do give a warning that people should push through to book 3 before deciding whether they like the series or not. They usually fall in love before that.

I think the combination this time was just right. Lack of expectations, barely any recollection of the storyline for this instalment, and being a few years older and having had different life experiences created the perfect blend for me to truly fall in love. I relished this story, experiencing it as though for the first time, as I wept and raged with Celaena and watched her break down and rebuild herself back up again. It was a truly extraordinary thing to read, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I got a bit teary and goosebumpy by the end.

This is the first time that we really see the story diverge into multiple different threads, and whilst it's sad to be out of that bubble of Celaena's world in Rifthold, Maas handles the transition deftly and makes you care for every single person you follow. It's a sign of the growing world, the expanding layers that are being peeled back in the story. This is no longer the story of a girl assassin who was enslaved. This is an epic that crosses time and countries and wraps so many incredible characters up in its grasp.

And Celaena herself - oh how my heart broke for her. She is such an incredibly complex character, and the growth that we see from her in this book alone is staggering. It truly cements Maas as a writer to be watched. She has now shown in both her series' her ability to create stunningly real characters, and to show how broken they can become through their experiences. We do not get enough representation of depression, grief, anxiety, PTSD etc. in YA fiction, and I love that she isn't afraid to tackle that, and to do so sensitively and well. She shows that things can break you, but you can be reforged, you can rebuild yourself, and that is a truly incredible thing to see in fiction. 
These books are important to so many people, myself included, and I think that that is a good portion of the reason for that.

Yes, the book is slower than some of the others in the series, but it makes sense. It allows you to take time to get to know Celaena and her traumas and her past. To truly unwrap this character and allow the reader to understand her. No longer is she a spoiled and whiny teenager, she is forged into something stronger, more enduring, and is utterly incredible to watch.

In short, I loved it. I'm so glad I'd given myself so much time before coming back to it, to allow myself to almost experience it for the first time again. It's the turning point in the series, the moment when you realise that Maas has been putting the pieces in place for a much bigger game than you realised, and that this series is going to be something truly remarkable.

Throne of Glass re-read: Crown of Midnight

Publication Date: August 15th 2018
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 418 pages

Celaena Sardothien, royal assassin, is the King of Adarlan's deadliest weapon. She must win her freedom through his enemies' blood - but she cannot bear to kill for the crown. And every death Celaena fakes, every lie she tells, put those she loves at risk.
Torn between her two protectors - a captain and a prince - and battling a dark force far greater than the king, Celaena must decide what she will fight for: her liberty, her heart or the fate of a kingdom...

And so the re-read continues, with for some people perhaps one of the less loved instalments in the series. Yet I really love this book, and that feeling held even on this re-read and knowing what's to come.
It's a truly impressive sequel, with Maas taking what she's built in the first book and developing it further as well as chucking romance and a terrifying mystery into the mix.

We also start to see the start of one of the things I particularly love about her stories, she gives her heroines the chance to grow, evolve, and for their loves to change with them. There's none of this 'true love and that's it, straight off with the first person you meet'. No Maas allows her characters to fall in and out of love, for circumstance to change feelings, and her characters to not be slut shamed for having multiple love interests over the course of their lives. It was something I first came across with Tamora Pierce in the Alanna quartet, and it makes me stupidly happy to see Maas allowing her characters the same freedom in her series.

Maas takes her time with this series, to progress character development and take her time unveiling the layers and facets to this world and the arcs she has plotted for everyone, and I just love revelling in that. This book is filled with some gasp worthy moments, as well as a fair dollop of heart break and tragedy. But it all feels so real, and that is a mark of a truly brilliant story.

I enjoyed getting to see more of Rifthold, to see what being the King's Champion means, and on this re-read paying particular attention to the little clues that Maas peppers the story with pertaining to the characters and what's to come for them.

I'd forgotten how much I love this series, it's been a while since I've let myself go back and revisit it, and I'm really enjoying seeing that my love hasn't changed with the break, more it has evolved and I now find things that used to frustrate me bother me less, and I can appreciate some aspects of the characters that I never fully embraced before.

This is an incredible series, one that deserves all the recognition it has garnered over the years. If you've been hesitant about picking it up let this be the nudge to get you started. I cannot recommend them enough, and there's nothing quite like spending time with these characters.

Throne of Glass re-read: Throne of Glass

Publication Date: August 2nd 2012

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Pages: 404 pages

Meet Celaena Sardothien.
Beautiful. Deadly.
Destined for greatness.In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake. She got caught.
Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament—fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?

Who would have thought, when I first opened the package with my review copy of Throne of Glass, that I would be here,  six years later, about to come to the end of this staggering series, and completely in love?

I wouldn't. I was predisposed to dislike the book. Here was an author who already had a massive following for this story when she'd self published online, was younger than me and incredibly beautiful. But I'd been sent this ARC to review, so with a resigned sigh I opened up the book and...

Well I didn't stop reading. I devoured the entire thing in one sitting, and then cried because oh god I now had to wait for the sequel and that just Wasn't Fair.

My snap judgements were not only completely unfair (I was going through a particularly bad time so this achievement from someone younger than me felt like a huge kick in the teeth) but also completely unfounded, because this series was magic. And whilst you don't understand in this first book quite what a ride you're actually going to be in for over the course of the series, it's still an excellent first step.

Going back now and re-familiarising myself with this world, I am struck once again by what a brilliant writer Maas is. She captures that frustrating cockiness, that self assuredness that Celaena holds herself with - part coping mechanism and part the armour of youth. She has such faith in her abilities, in her place in the world, and that can be frustrating to read (I admit to wanting to take her down a peg or two at points) but put together as a whole with the rest of the series, it shows her character development as she matures, and with hindsight becomes even more impressive.

I love the sheltered feel of the first book. The action is confined to the castle, to the competition, and you're allowed to take the time to get to know these characters and how they interact and respond. It's quieter than the rest of the series, but filled with the sense of malice that grows to shape the final battle, and then to set up the rest of the series.

A lot of people find this book frustrating and don't truly get into the series until book two or three, yet I found myself loving it from the first page. It's safe to come back to, without some of the higher stakes you find in later books. It's wonderful to see that development, to see the little breadcrumbs that Maas leaves the reader to pick up about the layers and threads she's weaving into this series as a whole.

If you've tried this book and found yourself not engaging, or finding Celaena too frustrating, I urge you to try again. A lot of her immaturity and arrogance smooths as her character grows over the series, and you'll discover a much deeper story than what this first book appears on the surface. Stick with it, you'll be rewarded.

And as for my re-read? It's simply cemented my love for this series and her writing as one of my all time loves. I adore it, and it's nice to re-experience it and to sink back into this world from the beginning.

Throne of Glass re-read: The Assassins Blade

Publication Date: March 13th 2014
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 430 pages

Celaena Sardothien owes her reputation to Arobynn Hamel. He gave her a home at the Assassins' Guild and taught her the skills she needed to survive.
Arobynn's enemies stretch far and wide - from Adarlan's rooftops and its filthy dens, to remote islands and hostile deserts. Celaena is duty-bound to hunt them down. But behind her assignments lies a dark truth that will seal her fate - and cut her heart in two forever...
Explore the dark underworld of this kick-ass heroine and find out how the legend begins in the five page-turning prequel novellas to the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series.

With the upcoming release of the final book in the Throne of Glass series on October 23rd, it seemed like an excellent excuse to go back for a full re-read of the series, partly because who really needs an excuse? And partly because this is such a complex, well plotted series, that I really need a bit of a refresher before diving into the final behemoth. (over 900 pages!)

I haven't touched the prequel novellas since they were first released as individual e-books, mostly because Celaena at 16 is a spoilt and irritating brat. I found her incredibly difficult to deal with at that age. This highlights a) what a good writer Maas is to fully capture the arrogance and insistence of being an adult that can come at that age (I remember that well for myself...) and b) the incredible character development that Maas puts her through over the course of the series. Because that character development is a masterpiece, and should be praised as such.

So going in on my re-read I was prepared for annoying!Celaena, which helped, because the first time I really, really wasn't and I struggled to enjoy the stories as a result. It's fascinating to get these glimpses into life pre-Endovier, and it's really lovely to see some of the characters and story threads get set up so early, to then have such a pay off in later books. It's a master class in the long game of plotting and storytelling.

Some people question whether the books are necessary to read, and what order you should read them in. Firstly, they're not necessary, you can get by perfectly well without having the information conveyed in these stories, because Maas fills you in on the really important bits when they become relevant. But it's really lovely to see these stories and threads and then watch them play out their repercussions over the series.
Secondly, I wouldn't recommend reading these first when approaching the series. Yes chronologically they are, but I think if you are faced with sixteen year old Celaena straight off, I think a lot of people would find that off putting and wouldn't continue the series. Start with Throne of Glass, and come back to this book at a later date when you've already fallen in love with the series - you'll appreciate it much more at that point.

I've also found it fascinating to go back and re-read my original review and see that a lot of my initial feelings still stand, but that the furthering of the series has mellowed a lot of my feelings, and proven that Maas is truly a writing force to be reckoned with.

Check back later for my re-read review of Throne of Glass!