5 STARS
The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. 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. As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear. Aelin’s journey from assassin to queen has entranced millions across the globe, and this fifth installment will leave fans breathless. Will Aelin succeed in keeping her world from splintering, or will it all come crashing down? WARNING…Some mild spoilers – not too much though. And what an epic of proportions are we facing…such an amazing, heart-breaking cliff-hanger! Is Aelin really going to die? It can’t be. Can’t we have a happy soppy fairy-tale ending for peat sake!?? Another absolute epic description of vast mysterious worlds and creatures. You smell the green pastures. You reek of vile dark blood. Your bones shiver from iron teeth and nails screeching. You dance and become one with the ocean. The saltiness lingers upon your tongue as you set sail with the crew. Your thoughts and words are vulgar matching the drunkards. Love consumes your heart as their touch shatters your body. You watch in awe as the sea monsters lunge out of the water licking the sun with their arrogance. Sarah J Maas really did a superb job on description of scenery. I really don’t have a favorite character as each and every one of Aelin’s cadre snuggled deeply into my heart. Even Manon Blackbeak. What a turn of events indeed. In this installment you really get annoyed with Aelin and her lies. But in the end, you cheer for her not being able to stay mad at her. She absolutely completely crawls under your skin. So much deception and betrayal. It stings all over. Just as you thought things are heading a certain way, some character…good or evil smacks a rock in your face. You can’t keep up. It’s crazy. I loved Lorcan and Elide’s story. Who would’ve thought. But then again, as you squirm within their chemistry, Maeve comes along with her invisible leash and tears everything to bits and pieces. There’s so much I want to swoon over when it comes to Lorcan and Elide…but it will reveal spoilers which...nope, read the book! Aedion and Lysandra, another beautiful description of something brewing which might just evolve into a blossoming flower. Some may find this cliché as every character now suddenly has a love interest. However, I kind of enjoyed learning both their soft sides and obviously their monstrosity sides. No other words to describe it really. Lots and lots of killing. War has indeed peaked and we have to wait and see what happens. Lysandra became a really strong character. She’s taking full control of her shifting capabilities. One of my best scenes happened in Skulls Bay as she morphed into a Sea Dragon. She toyed with the adults and the bull. Eventually after much screaming and loud chanting from my side, Lysandra kicked their fishy butts to the deepest depths of the oceans! An epic scene indeed. It was really difficult to decide which part in the book I enjoyed best, because the whole damn book kept me on edge…literally! The part that really saddened me, as if this series was based upon real events…that’s how deeply it affected me, was when Maeve captured Aelin and let Cairn whip her. The humility and horror. It was Endovier times a thousand all over again. Especially as the Fae warriors and the rest of Aelins’ cadre, some of them, only stood by and watched their queen bleed. Again, Sarah J Maas did not hold back while delivering a superb fantasy series. Detail upon detail. Twists and turns. Pain and heartache endured. Love explored to the ends of the worlds. I’m actually quite speechless. I can’t believe I have to wait until October this year before the next book comes out. Noooo!!
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5 STARS
Her destiny awaits. But first, vengeance… 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 for her to regain her throne. 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. What can I say? Where do I possibly begin? The heartache. The bravery. The evil plans. The courage. The backstabbing. The strength. The loathing. The friendships. The thrashing and slashing. Bonds forming. Killing occurs on a permanent basis. Love blossoms. Power grows stronger – good vs. evil. Shots of adrenaline as you turn the pages. Rattling your world as you delve deeper into this fantasy world…not sure if you’ll be able to swim back up for a breath of air. No, Sarah J Maas rocks the genre of YA fantasy. So much happened within this book. The plot becoming thicker and juicier and messier and more complex and evil. The amount of detail just keeps surprising me. There is no lack or rushing when it comes to every bit of detail. A perfect escapism as the vividness of the worlds immerses you deeper as if it were you roaming the streets. Observing the luxury of some, the poverty in areas, the blood and gore, but also the beauty here and there. Each and every character within this series, they truly make this series and ‘Awesome’ story…it’s like a drug. You keep coming back for more and you can’t stay away. Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, also known as Celaena Sardothien, is seriously starting to step into her role, reclaiming her power back as Queen. What could I possibly say about this girl. She’s a mean, butt-kicking Fae female. She knows what she wants. As powerful as she may be, she really does hurt, hurt for her people especially the one’s she loves. Just as you ponder upon what action should be taken next, Aelin has already completed the act, got home and jumped into bed! So many things occurred in this book. Enemies turn into allies and allies’ kind of become selfish. I absolutely lover her relationship with Rowan. Some heated scenes, fans will go crazy for. I thought it was excellent for her to have found a ‘friend’ who is stronger than her and can eyeball her down to such an extent where she actually completely surrenders. She has met her match for sure. Although, Rowan is a bit of a cliché being this immortal handsome Fae warrior with six packs and what-not. However, we ALL love Rowan! An added bonus for me…my hubby’s name is Rowan and packed with all kinds of hotness! Yep…he’s immortal too. 😉 Manon Blackbeak…what an amazing turn of events. Can’t go into too much detail…but this is now going to be even more interesting than anticipated for. I immediately picked up she is different. Where there is supposed to be no heart…she actually does have one. As soon as she chose Abraxos...it was evident, Manon Blackbeak is going to change the witchy world. Arobynn…what a psychopath! No…something worse…I don’t know. He is down right EVIL! I shoved every possible edible food into my mouth, holding onto my wobbly knees as I read the encounter with Arobynn and Celaena. But boy-oh-boy, what a spectacular twist! Sarah J Maas…you got me! It saddens me knowing the series is nearing the end. I’ve become so fond of all the people. I could read 10 more books in this series and afterwards I’ll watch the TV series…when is that happening by the way?? Sarah J Maas…Job Well Done! Many people have asked me where I’ve been and what I’ve been up to, since my Instagram account and my Book Blog have basically stood still for a couple of weeks now.
To answer your burning question and tickle those curiosity nerves…See the picture? That’s me…all hippy and ready for more self-discovery and healing, learning and guidance. Hubby and I joined an Ayahuasca retreat on a beautiful farm. It was all cosy, since we were only about ten participants. We were yanked back to our roots as we set up tents in which we slept in for ten days. There was no hot water. Not that you needed a shower really, since the Dieta rules were, ‘No showering’, until the shaman says so. Food we were allowed to eat was extremely bland since no salt or any flavoring was allowed. And you basically could only eat small amounts for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yes, we were all nice and smelly and reeked of fire smoke. BUT IT WAS AWESOME!!! If you would like to gain more knowledge about what the Dieta and Ayahuasca is all about, please research it for yourself as there are loads of info on these plant medicines. I don’t really want to go on about explaining the finer details as this post would be much too long and boring. However, I would love to share with you my experience… I’ve used Ayahuasca on a previous occasion with the same shaman we had this time around again. All I can tell you really is…it was SCARY and I DIED and HELL and CONFUSION and FEAR took over. But… it was all worth it. Seven hours of scary shit I endured over and over and over as if my mind was in a washing machine just simply tumbling and tumbling and tumbling and there is absolutely NO WAY of stopping it. The part where I died…YES…that is how it felt. To use more understandable terms, my Ego died and that is the part where the breakthrough and healing took place. Ancestral Amazonian tribal women sat all around me while wrapping my whole body in these huge Amazonian leaves. They cocooned my body while gently patting my back. Did this really happen…Yes, within another altered dimension of my understanding. They weren’t there in physical form, they could only enter my space as soon as I let go of my Ego and invite them in. The big message why they did this? They showed me and made me believe again, that I am worthy to be healed. I have the right to live within this experience. To learn and teach. To come back to this current trip. No, unfortunately FEAR took over this time. My Ego had me literally by my ‘cahoonas’, (since I’m a woman and not a man). Fear crippled me this time and I really was disappointed within myself. However, I did have the opportunity to receive personal healing from our shaman, Yawa Bane, whom by the way is absolutely amazing and loving. His energy simply booms out of him and affects you in such a way, whereas you have no other choice of just being yourself. Don’t try to hide. Don’t try to shy away or even be arrogant. This guy pulls out your core, shows it to you and then the choice is up to you…you going to continue your ways or start living a life of constant learning, awakening, evolving and expansion? I had Myocarditis which is inflammation of the heart due to my digestive tract being so out of whack the past few years. Doctors labelled me with all these fancy terms; Crohn's Disease, Diverticulitis, Celiac Disease etc. I’m basically gluten, diary and wheat intolerant. Most chemical medications don’t work for me as it flare’s up my stomach. Ultimately, this trip played a huge factor in our lives for physical healing to take place. As I’ve mentioned, I received 30 minutes of personal heart healing where the shaman would smoke his healing pipe, blow the smoke into my heart and into my crown chakra and then the ‘gunk’ will be energetically sucked out which he spits out into a bucket. No, he doesn’t literally suck out anything. This happens on an energetic level; however, he does spit out mucus with every inhalation and then blowing. It symbolizes the healing energy entering my physical body and as the smoke attach to all the illness within my body, it then gets sucked out with a shamanic prayer and he would then spit it out into the bucket. I’ll tell you… My heart felt much lighter afterwards and it’s now been almost a month since we’re home. After a recent follow-up from the doctors, my heart dysrhythmia has become significantly less. This beautiful physical heart of mine is on the road to recovery. My gut is more stable and less achy. Things are seriously looking good health wise. On our retreat, I did drink San Pedro. Oh, my oh my. I just LOVE Papa San Pedro. Again, please feel free to google and do some research on these plant medicines. They are truly healers which come straight from Mother Gaia. Now, Papa San Pedro has always been very gentle with me. It’s true as they say, this medicine has a masculine energy, but in such a way where you actually feel safe and protected. As if being in your Father’s arms whilst you are a young boy or girl. San Pedro is more of a physical healer. I drank a small amount since I’m extremely light-weight when it comes to plant medicines. It’s an overall buzz and warm feeling. It immediately started glowing within my whole body, all the sore parts literally started glowing as if a coal, but not in an uncomfortable sense. I just knew that San Pedro pinpointed all the yucky parts which needed healing, and so healing took place. My overall experience was absolutely fantastic and so worth it. Sometimes you really need to face uncomfortable spaces in which you can find yourself. Get to know yourself. See where you thrive and where work is needed. Once again, I have come to the realization that all is not as you perceive it to be in your reality. You are an experience within this human body and it’s up to you to gather as much information for your soul to absorb, in order for you to evolve and expand. It’s all about expanding our consciousness, but never ever forget to have fun within this experience we call life upon Earth. |
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