ChelseaWriteNow

i wish that booklikes would update from Goodreads because i use Goodreads constantly and booklikes never, but i still want things to be current. 

...wow, first world problems. 

now off to delete the duplicates on my ipod manually because there's no automatic function to do so. 

Super-fast paced. Break-neck speed. Slams you full-speed again and again into heart-wrenching twists and mind-blowing turns. The action is mesmerizing and the characters are enthralling. Can't wait for the next book!

I liked this book for the same reasons I loved Jennifer Government. it's smart, and absolutely fantastic fun.

this book was too fun. I can't wait to read the second. :)

this book was too fun. I can't wait to read the second. :)

after reading Scarlet, it's great to see Wolf's history. gives a much better understanding. but I still think he could betray them.

the only drawback to series- good ones anyway- is having to wait for the next book to come out. while I wasn't surprised by the conclusion of the story archs, I was too in love with the characters and enjoying their development, to be upset. and the writing is good enough that I was caught up in the drama anyway. plus, I love the way Cinder never lets a pretty face distract her from her goal.

the only drawback to series- good ones anyway- is having to wait for the next book to come out. while I wasn't surprised by the conclusion of the story archs, I was too in love with the characters and enjoying their development, to be upset. and the writing is good enough that I was caught up in the drama anyway. plus, I love the way Cinder never lets a pretty face distract her from her goal.

i really liked the Graceling Realm series and was quite satisfied with its conclusion. i loved the characters and getting to see everyone from [b:Graceling|3236307|Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1)|Kristin Cashore|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1331548394s/3236307.jpg|3270810] and [b:Fire|6137154|Fire (Graceling Realm, #2)|Kristin Cashore|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1331535456s/6137154.jpg|6128277] from a new perspective. Bitterblue is a good read if you can get over one flaw: the beginning. (obviously, I did, but still.)it started very slowly with Bitterblue constantly doing nothing but signing paperwork all the time. and you have to wonder how it is that a girl of 18, who was very precocious at 10, never got curious enough in EIGHT YEARS to explore her own castle, let alone her kingdom. i'm an adult and i get curious after eight MINUTES. every time Bitterblue's age, the amount of years passed, or how Bitterblue spent her time was mentioned, i again expected to get some kind of explanation as to what would make her so patient. i just don't find it true to the character, as smart and strong as she is, to have been so meek for so long. especially someone who is apparently adept at knowing how how to make her advisers flustered enough to leave her be. it's unbelievable that she never went exploring- again, in her own castle- during these respites. i think she easily could have been as ignorant and naive as was necessary for the story and still have snuck around the grounds now and again. with such overprotective advisers, it would even have made sense if she had avoided people so no one could tell on her. and it would be fitting that someone used to sneaking around her own castle for so long would finally get emboldened to venture outside her walls and be confident she could manage moving around undetected. but if you can get over that, it ends up being a fun story. it was strange seeing characters from a different perspective. after having read from the perspective of Katsa in the first book, it's very odd to see her from an outside view, where it wasn't that odd to see Fire at all. i could almost fill in some of Katsa's thoughts and feelings during her time in the tunnels, which was actually good because i wasn't left wishing I could see that part of the story. i feel rather bad for Po, though, during these stories. he always seems to spend the majority of the time miserable and/or bedridden. and i also feel bad for Teddy in this book. he's pretty much everyone's tool. he chats up a pretty girl in a pub against the wishes of his best friend, only to have said friend and the pretty girl fall in love. he gets stabbed and then gets his house partially burned down from his forgiveness and continued involvement with the pretty girl. he's going to be the surrogate father of his lesbian sister's baby (remember when Bitterblue wonders if he and Bren are sweet on each other, then Po later tells her about their plan?). and in the end, he gets to work two jobs because it's out of character for him to turn down the Queen (the pretty girl) when she asks him to be head of one of her ministries. also, i felt satisfyingly horrified whenever Leck was mentioned. i liked that he was still a frightening character a decade after his death. and i liked the big reveal about Bitterblue's advisers. when you think they just had to do the patch up work after Leck had his fun, you already can understand why they're so damaged. but when you find out that Leck made them do the horrible things- *winces* *shivers*- it was a surprising confession. it was weird to feel so much revulsion and pity at once. of late, i've rather taken to happy endings. not sappy ones, but i kind of like when the hero/ine gets the girl/guy. though i suppose i would be complaining about a sappy, saccharine ending now if Bitterblue had ended up with Saf. and after all, it's implied that she ends up with him down the road, anyway. so i guess that's ok.

i really liked the Graceling Realm series and was quite satisfied with its conclusion. i loved the characters and getting to see everyone from [b:Graceling|3236307|Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1)|Kristin Cashore|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1331548394s/3236307.jpg|3270810] and [b:Fire|6137154|Fire (Graceling Realm, #2)|Kristin Cashore|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1331535456s/6137154.jpg|6128277] from a new perspective. Bitterblue is a good read if you can get over one flaw: the beginning. (obviously, I did, but still.)it started very slowly with Bitterblue constantly doing nothing but signing paperwork all the time. and you have to wonder how it is that a girl of 18, who was very precocious at 10, never got curious enough in EIGHT YEARS to explore her own castle, let alone her kingdom. i'm an adult and i get curious after eight MINUTES. every time Bitterblue's age, the amount of years passed, or how Bitterblue spent her time was mentioned, i again expected to get some kind of explanation as to what would make her so patient. i just don't find it true to the character, as smart and strong as she is, to have been so meek for so long. especially someone who is apparently adept at knowing how how to make her advisers flustered enough to leave her be. it's unbelievable that she never went exploring- again, in her own castle- during these respites. i think she easily could have been as ignorant and naive as was necessary for the story and still have snuck around the grounds now and again. with such overprotective advisers, it would even have made sense if she had avoided people so no one could tell on her. and it would be fitting that someone used to sneaking around her own castle for so long would finally get emboldened to venture outside her walls and be confident she could manage moving around undetected. but if you can get over that, it ends up being a fun story. it was strange seeing characters from a different perspective. after having read from the perspective of Katsa in the first book, it's very odd to see her from an outside view, where it wasn't that odd to see Fire at all. i could almost fill in some of Katsa's thoughts and feelings during her time in the tunnels, which was actually good because i wasn't left wishing I could see that part of the story. i feel rather bad for Po, though, during these stories. he always seems to spend the majority of the time miserable and/or bedridden. and i also feel bad for Teddy in this book. he's pretty much everyone's tool. he chats up a pretty girl in a pub against the wishes of his best friend, only to have said friend and the pretty girl fall in love. he gets stabbed and then gets his house partially burned down from his forgiveness and continued involvement with the pretty girl. he's going to be the surrogate father of his lesbian sister's baby (remember when Bitterblue wonders if he and Bren are sweet on each other, then Po later tells her about their plan?). and in the end, he gets to work two jobs because it's out of character for him to turn down the Queen (the pretty girl) when she asks him to be head of one of her ministries. also, i felt satisfyingly horrified whenever Leck was mentioned. i liked that he was still a frightening character a decade after his death. and i liked the big reveal about Bitterblue's advisers. when you think they just had to do the patch up work after Leck had his fun, you already can understand why they're so damaged. but when you find out that Leck made them do the horrible things- *winces* *shivers*- it was a surprising confession. it was weird to feel so much revulsion and pity at once. of late, i've rather taken to happy endings. not sappy ones, but i kind of like when the hero/ine gets the girl/guy. though i suppose i would be complaining about a sappy, saccharine ending now if Bitterblue had ended up with Saf. and after all, it's implied that she ends up with him down the road, anyway. so i guess that's ok.

I've never been so satisfied by such a predictable story. But it's not the WHAT it's the HOW. When you get to the parts that you've been waiting for all along (which is every part), you're surprised by the way it was executed. I thought when Lena saw her mother it would be more reunion-y. And I was happy when it wasn't. And when I realized, very early on, that Lena was going to fall in love with Julian, I was really annoyed. But the way it was executed made me actually not mind that it happened, even though the whole time I was thinking, "Don't do it. Alex isn't dead. This is SO obvious." And when the big reveal finally happens, even though I was waiting for it from the first scene, and even though it was explained HOW it happened in the first few chapters, I was still happy with the way it was done. Especially since I thought it was going to be a really emotional, rather saccharine moment (which would make me want to gag), like some of the ones in [b:Delirium|11614718|Delirium (Delirium, #1)|Lauren Oliver|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327890411s/11614718.jpg|10342808]. Instead, Alex is pissed off and shows up literally the moment after she's promised her love to someone else. Which, frankly, is way better than I expected. And, of course, by doing it that way, I CAN'T WAIT to see how the next moment plays out in the next book. Oh, and btw: TEAM ALEX!!! :P

It was definitely a good conclusive ending and I would have loved it. I definitely like the ending and that it was a trilogy much better, though. :)

Sean is still crazy and talking to himself and resolved to staying that way and living a peaceful life with his imaginary Georgia... after he avenges her death of course. It's not a spoiler to say Georgia's back. It would be a spoiler to say how she's back. But just know that when you do find out how, that won't even be the disturbing part. That's yet to come. This whole series is fun. They come up against impossible odds, and they shoot down zombies. Plus- my favorite- strong female characters. What more could you ask for in a story?

Considering the length and the subject matter, pretty emotional.

dammit! i don't have the third book from the library and the end confirmed my suspicions... i wanna know what happens next! dammit!

really adds layers of depth to all of the characters. loved it!