A Court of Thorns and Roses

Title: A Court of Thorns and Roses
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #1
Pages: 416 (hardcover)
Published: May, 2015, by Bloomsbury

Summary: When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world. 

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow over the faerie lands is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever

My Thoughts: Okay, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I think I have an addition to my favorite books list on my hands with this one, I mean I absolutetly loved it!

First of all, Sarah J. Maas is amazing. I had the pleasure of meeting her this past Saturday at Bookmarks Festival of Books and Authors in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and she was so sweet and cool and amazing. Not only that, but she can write like nobodies business. 

The world building in this book was so seamless and effortless that I never felt lost or confused about where something was happening or who or what a character might be, (which happens occasionally when it comes to fantasy novels).

This book is a worthy first book of a series, too. It set up a world that can be explored and that can flourish for many, many books, but this installment could have even just been a standalone with how it ended. The ends were tied so neatly with a little extra so that you can still see how another book would be welcome to the plot.

My only qualm was with some parts where our protagonist, Fayre, was a tad on the damsel in distress side a bit much, but maybe it only bothered me because I'm used to Maas' strong, independent, femal protagonist of her other series, Celaena Sardothien of the Throne of Glass novels. 

Other than that, this book was a solid 4.75 out of 5 stars. I was hooked in from chapter one, completely entranced by the detailed world building and fully fleshed out characters all the way until the last page.

It is safe to say that I will be continuing on with this series, especially since I've already started reading the next book, A Court of Mist and Fury. If you liked the Throne of Glass series or Beauty and the Beast fairy tale retellings with some sexy times in it, then this book is definitely for you! Happy reading, my fellow book borrowers!
My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood

Title: Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
Author:  Marjane Satrapi, Mattias Ripa (Translator)
Series: Persepolis #1
Pages: 153 (paperback)
Published: June 2004 by Pantheon
(All links below lead to it's respective Goodreads' page unless otherwise specified)

Summary: Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.

Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Marjane’s child’s-eye view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, with laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.

My Thoughts: I was pleasantly surprised by this book in how funny it actually turned out to be. You would think that an autobiographical account of one woman's childhood in Iran during the Islamic Revolution would be all sadness and heaviness, but it wasn't.

Don't get me wrong, it still had plenty of gravity, however I found myself laughing and smiling along with Marjane Satrapi's younger self when she would do something that all teenagers do, like for example listen to rock music that her parents didn't really understand or try to dress cool like Michael Jackson.

I learned a lot by reading this graphic novel and it gave me a better understanding of what happened in Iran during that time. It also gave me a hunger for more understanding of day to day life in similar situations that have happened or are happening all around the world, and I can't wait to read the follow up book to this one!

If you liked Maus by Art Spiegelman, then you will enjoy this graphic novel as well. Happy reading by fellow book borrowers! And let me know if you've read this awesome graphic novel or one similar to it, because I'd love to get more into the non-fiction graphic novel game!
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars