Actual Rating: 4.5/5

I've only read 3 historical fiction novels in my life, including this one, 2 of which were written by Khaled Hosseini. I really need to read more of this genre, because, so far, I've loved every single historical fiction novel I've read.

As a whole, this was a novel that really messed with my emotions. While some of the characters were not particularly likeable, at least not the entire time, it was easy to sympathize with them, understand them, and feel what they were going through.

This novel made me tear up, broke my heart and had me holding my breath from suspense.

It really gave me a feel of the situation in Afghanistan during a time of chaos, and really made me think about the true meaning and effects of family and of guilt.

If you're in the mood for some historical fiction, for a heartbreaking story that deals with heavier topics, then I highly, highly recommend this book.

Before you read this book, I just need to warn you that it has close to nothing to do with Alice in Wonderland, so don't go into this book expecting it to be a retelling of the classic story, to prevent disappointment.

Luckily, I went to Goodreads and quickly scanned over a couple of reviews before buying this book, so at least I didn't have incorrect expectations for the plot while reading the book.

Overall, I did enjoy reading the book. It was fast-paced and action packed, with a really interesting concept. I found myself really enjoying and sympathizing with the characters as well. I also appreciated that, as this story had such a unique take on zombies, a lot of effort was really put into explaining what these zombies were and what the spirit realm had to do with everything.

Unfortunately, there was one general thing, comprised of several small things, that I had a problem with while reading this book, and that was how unrealistic it seemed to me at times. I feel that paranormal books should be able to facilitate the suspension of disbelief in its readers. In this book though, I found that there were several instances in which it wasn't able to do that properly.

There was definitely a case of insta-love in this book. I never felt the relationship or feelings of the main couple develop. Suddenly, it was just there.

Also, I think some of the characters took the truth unrealistically well. I would probably take a lot of convincing to eventually believe that zombies existed if I couldn't see them, yet some of the characters just realized it made sense and rolled with it, with little to no difficulty.

Lastly, I just don't understand why teenagers were playing such a big role in both sides of the problem. Realistically, in the unrealistic case that zombies such as these existed, I think adults would play a bigger part than they did in this book. Why are the teenagers the ones to deal with it?

That being said, I still thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and would still recommend it to you if you enjoy action and zombie or ghost related paranormal fiction.

Actual Rating: 4.5

I absolutely loved this book!

While reading it between classes, my friends would ask me what exactly I was reading. Upon telling them the premise of the book, they found it kind of strange. If you were to tell someone you were reading a book about a girl who was raised by part-human-part-animal monsters, they should think it strange. If they were actually to read the book though, I'm sure it would make all the sense in the world.

I loved the characters, and found myself becoming extremely invested in them. I loved the way it was told, how it went back and forth between characters and even periods of time in such an effective way; it wasn't confusing, but, instead, was really able to contribute to the story well.

It has a lot of romance, but, at the same time, we know that isn't the main point; instead, it's a book that makes you really rethink your ideas of war, peace and enemies.

I can't wait to read the sequel! :D

I read this book for a few reasons: firstly because it came out on the Kindle last month, secondly because it’s a classic so why not and lastly because it’s my mom’s favorite book.

I had a hard time getting into it at first. There were so many details, and I felt like none of it was entering my head. If that’s your problem, don’t let it hinder you from reading the rest of the book, because by the end of it, I ended up loving it!

While this book mainly tackles issues regarding discrimination of black people among white people, it also touched on many other heavy issues – regarding family, expectations, childhood and justice, among many other things. What made all of this easy to digest and relate to was the fact that these issues were tackled from the perspective of a child – someone that looked at issues with innocence, the way they were, without prejudice.

It was a touching and thought provoking book overall. I highly, highly recommend it. :)

Synopsis:
The main premise of the story is that there’s this 18 year old female assassin named Calaena. Celaena is more than just your regular assassin though – she is the most notorious assassin in all of Adarlan, a reputation gaining her the prestigious title of Adarlan’s Assassin. In the beginning, she is brought out of prison and brought to the Crown Prince of Adarlan, Dorian Havilliard, and she doesn’t know why. She just assumes that they’ve finally decided to kill her. Of course, they don’t kill her; instead, the prince asks for her to be his representative for this competition that his father, King of Adarlan, is holding. It is a competition wherein several of the best thieves, assassins, military men, etc. against each other in a series of tasks, until there is only one left standing. The remaining competitor will become the king’s champion - basically his personal assassin. Calaena agrees to represent the prince because 1) if she stays in prison, she’ll die eventually anyway and 2) she’s promised that, if she does win this competition, she will be granted her freedom. The story continuous on from there, but with more than just the competition. A love triangle forms. Gruesome deaths begin occurring, and nobody knows why. A mysterious evil lurks in the castle. Magical secrets are unveiled and hidden. And Celaena finds herself in the middle of all of this.

Genre:
I think this book touches on a lot of genres: there are a lot of dystopian elements in it, as well as a lot of fantasy and magic, some mystery, a lot of action, and a good amount of romance. It was definitely a high fantasy novel, yet it was still relatable to real world, through its concepts of kings, empires, rebellions and the like, which I think made it easier to take in all the fantastical elements of this book. It’s a good mix of genres, so I feel like it has something for almost everyone.

Plot:
I didn’t actually realize this was a high fantasy novel at the very beginning, because all the magical and fantastical elements kind of creeped into the story. I really appreciate that, as a reader, you aren’t just thrown into this whole other magical world; instead, you were slowly introduced to it. I really liked that aspect of the book, because it made it easier to take in the world and understand the different magical elements of it.
The entire story was told in the third person point of view, though it alternated perspectives between characters. It’s confusing sometimes when books do that, because, sometimes, I feel like it’s just done simply for the novelty of it, but, here, I think it was done well and appropriately, always able to add something to the development of the story.
There was a lot more romance in this book than I thought there would be, and maybe just a little bit more than I would’ve liked. I feel like sometimes the romance was a bit out of place in the book, and slightly cliché. As a whole, I’m not a big fan of love triangles, and this one was kind of similar to those annoying ones in the sense that all of the people in the love triangle just happen to be extremely attractive (do all main characters need to be attractive?), but, as a whole, I think this love triangle was done well enough. Maybe there was some insta-attraction, but there was no insta-love, and I appreciate how Celaena’s relationships with each of the men in her lives developed at a good pace. While I did have my gripes with this romance, as a whole, I don’t think the way it was executed was too “in your face”; it just added a nice lightness to the whole story. I actually found myself significantly enjoying some of the sweeter moments in this book.
Also, if you’re a guy planning to read this book, I just feel that I must warn you that the author goes really into detail when it comes with the dresses and clothing (but mostly the dresses). I found it okay, and found that it made it easier to imagine the characters, but you might not like it. It’s not a massive deal though.
There’s a lot more to the story than just romance and dresses though, don’t get me wrong. That’s just a small part of the entire plot. Throughout the book there’s a lot of mystery, and threats of evil lurking about. There was also a good amount of action, as you can expect from a book about an assassin. There were parts wherein she was just so awesome and kickass that in my head, I was just screaming, “Yes! Celaena, you’re awesome!” There were also a few parts that were so intense that it pained me to much to read further, and yet I couldn’t stop myself from just reading and reading! There were definitely scenes in this book that got my heart racing.

Characters:
I won't go through each character individually, but in general, there were a lot of characters I absolutely loved, as well as a few I absolutely hated, who are the villains of the story anyway. The characters here were just really easy to love or hate.

Conclusion:
All in all, this was an awesome book, with an interesting plot, and amazing characters that I have very strong feelings about. While there were parts in the execution of the romance that I wasn’t 100% happy with, I honestly couldn’t put my Kindle down while reading this even when I tried. It was one of those books that really sucked me into the world, and one of those books wherein I got really attached to the characters. I can’t wait to read the next book, which, I hear, is even better than the first; I probably will, as soon as I catch up on some schoolwork.