Holy crap! How is Forest a newbie author?! I DEVOURED this book in a little under 5 hours and will definitely now be re-reading The Black Witch. Forest is an instant buy for me now.

This book starts out with a bang...like dragons fighting a witch trying to stop a genocide type bang! It eventually dies down but I didn't ever feel or notice a lul in the pace. There is always something happening and I understood that everything being brought up was either a comment on an issue we have in our society and/or was a mirroring of events and the world/time in The Black Witch.

While the characters and plots are not unique (there's some good fluff romance), Forest does an amazing job of showing how we tend to repeat history by using hate to guide our actions. They also bring up so many modern issues: homophobia, access to healthcare, sexism, gender roles and racism.

READ IT!

UPDATE FROM REREAD:

Omg I am such a moron ROFL
I didn't connect this Gareth or Vivianne or Tesla's brother to them in The Black Witch the first time I read it! So many dots connected!

Apparently I'm that random person that doesn't think this book was amazing. It was by no means bad but it struggles with plot. Honestly, I couldn't figure out what the point of the book was until the last 1/3 when things pick up for the sequel. I HATE when books do that. That aside, I actually loved the world, the characters and the romance. but nothing seems to happen for a massive chunk of the book

Such an underrated series!

I liked this and it was a really interesting back/side story. it did redeem Chaol to me. I never hated him but I just was getting exhausted with his emotional baggage. I do find it a little odd/weird/creepy that he found his partner in the girl who modeled a lot of her behaviour and self from Celaena because of the Assassin's Blade story.

I loved getting introduced to a new world and court. I do think that part moved a little slower. the last like...third or quarter of the book made me gasp so many times (in traditional Maas style). Maeve...oh I want to take that bitch down so hard! Lyssandra is my homegirl so I loved the reveal in this book. I loved Nesryn's new ship much more than with Chaol. I'm excited to see how all this plays into the sixth book.

I'm kind of floored by the low rating on GR for this. Incredibly interesting glimpse into Indian folklore and Hindu mythology. The magic was cool, lots of mystery and some beautiful writing.

4.5/5

Wow this was WAY different than The Last Namsara. A lot more romantic writing and it worked quite well with the plot. Actually total trash for the romance. I don't think anything within the plot really surprised me--in fact, it was quite predictable but I still enjoyed it. I think the paranormal magic aspect was REALLY cool and not what I was expecting

This book just warms up heart so much!

This was an interesting read! I liked this WAY more than Shadow and Dust. The last like 1/4 of the book has so many twists and turns! My only real complaint is that I really wanted more of Birdie. She just wasn't as developed as I wanted.

I'm really happy I reread this before picking up A Sorrow Fierce and Falling cause I had forgotten EVERYTHING! This book just screwed up everything Henrietta had going positively in her life during book 1. Loved getting to see her adapt on the fly and learn who to really trust. I'm a massive fan of of layers and layers in a prophecy getting peeled as the story progresses so this was an A+ for me on that factor alone

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! HOW DARE YOU END THE BOOK LIKE THAT!

I loved seeing Dorian grow and Dortia was so perfect for him! I am in immense love with Rowan. I'm kinda over Chaol being super in love with Celaena. They were together for like a week? Get your crap together and move on! I hate the King so much! And I have a feeling I am going to invent a swear words specifically for Maeve by the end of this series. My gut hurts thinking about what comes next.