Mini Reviews ft. Crown of Midnight, Messenger and Son

★★★★★ Best.  Sequel.  Ever.

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas I absolutely loved this book - it was a big step up from Throne of Glass in my opinion.  There was a lot more happening, and there wasn't a dull moment.  I liked seeing more of Celaena in action and seeing her relationships with other characters develop.  We also find out a fair bit about the world of the series, which I enjoyed.  I'm glad I read The Assassin's Blade before this however.  I think it really adds to the story, because Celaena reflects on some of the happenings from the novellas, and it's nice to know exactly what happened.  Dorian wasn't as present in this novel, which was a little sad, but I like the direction he's heading in.  My affection for Chaol also grew a lot in this one.  Highlight for spoiler:[That moment when he told Celaena he would run away with her made me cry.  Not joking.  I felt so awful for him when Celaena got mad at him for Nehemia's death (which by the way, I was actually really shocked by), because he was only trying to do the right thing.].  Nehemia was great too, I loved how she stayed true to herself throughout the novel.  I can't wait to get into Heir of Fire and see where the story goes.

Messenger by Lois Lowry This is the third book in The Giver Quartet.  My favourite thing about this book was hearing about some characters from the previous two books.  However, I did find this one to be upsetting, despite being spoiled for one major event [He had so much more to live for!  Why did he have to die?!].  The tone of the novel was one of sadness, even though the ending was hopeful.  I liked the characters, especially the Blind Man.  I enjoyed the conversation between him and Matty, the main character.  Another drawback was Matty's constant insistence that they needed a Gaming Machine.  This was mentioned approximately two million times throughout the novel and by halfway through it was really getting on my nerves.  The plot was intriguing, especially the trading part.  Overall, I found Messenger to be entertaining, and definitely worth reading if you've read The Giver.

★★★★☆ ❀ Nice ❀

★★★★☆ Good Conclusion

Son by Lois Lowry As the last book in The Giver quartet, the length of this was a surprise.  It was about three times the length of each of the others, and sometimes I was a little puzzled as to why that was.  The biggest problem I had with Son was that occasionally it could be boring as though it had lost sight of where it was heading.  The first section of the book seemed unnecessarily drawn out to me.  I did enjoy the overall story, though some things seemed overly simplified and others overly complicated (I know, this doesn't make much sense, but if you've read it: [To have the final ending be the quashing of Evil... it was nice, but all too simple.  The cliff climbing was the main part that seemed to complicated.  So.  Much.  Training.]).  As with Messenger, I loved seeing characters from the previous instalments.  I also appreciated how everything tied up together and the ending was fairly satisfying.  I would definitely recommend this quartet.