Review: The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

A poor widow, Elizabeth Woodville, is left with nothing after her husband is killed in battle, leaving her and her two sons penniless. Believing that she is meant for something greater, she sets her sights on the young King Edward of the House of York. After a short courtship, he marries her in secret and she finds herself as the Queen of England.

Queen Elizabeth is very clever, and very manipulative of the King. Despite being a nobody, she convinces the King to marry her, and sets about installing her vast family into as many important positions in court as possible. This series is written from the point of view of the women of the families, since their stories are so often ignored, and this has been done incredibly well. This book is the first in a series about the Cousin's War, between the houses of York and Lancaster for the throne of England, each family believing that it is theirs by birthright.

I love a bit of historical fiction, and Philippa Gregory's has to be some of the best in the world.

Review: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Cadence and her group of Liars (cousins, mostly) go to her Grandfather's private island every summer. But one year, she has an accident which leaves her with a head injury and significant memory loss of the entire summer. Now she's trying to piece together what happened to her, one memory at a time.

This book was a great quick read, but I have mixed feelings about it. It's been on my 'to read' pile for ages, and I finally picked it up to read before Christmas. I read it in two days.

To be honest, the story was quite slow. The first half or so was just giving information, and this was a long, roundabout process. The second half was better - it was a lot more interesting and the plot moved forward much quicker.

The redeeming quality of this book was the big twist, which I truly did not see coming. It added a whole new layer to the story, and was exciting enough to save the story for me, even if it was a bit peculiar. Despite the slow start, this is one of those wonderful books that you can pick up, read and enjoy, and put down again once it's done.

Review: A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

Side note before we begin - you have to accept this book for what it is, which is more of a filler than a plot-based novel.

That being said, I enjoyed it just as much as the others. I love seeing life at the Night Court after the Battle of Hybern and seeing the Inner Circle go about their daily lives. This is definitely the book to read if you're interested in more of the relationship-based details, as it shows the Inner Circle recovering and trying to move on.

Most of them, anyway. What on Earth is Nesta's problem?! Just when I thought she was finally on side, she's gone completely the other way. It has set up nicely for the spin-off series though - I'm very excited to find out how Nesta and Cassian get on in the Illyrian mountains.

Review: A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

This series just keeps getting better and better! I don't have a single bad word to say about it.

Having finally escaped Tamlin's court and taken her rightful place as High Lady of the Night Court, Feyre is expecting life to slow down again, but this is not the case. The King of Hybern is threatening to bring down the wall that protects the humans, and the Inner Circle must rally all the Courts together to be able to stop him.

The relationships between the Inner Circle were my favourite part about this book, followed closely by the glimpses we get about life within the other courts. Of course, we also see Nesta and Elain struggling with their transition into High Fae, and this causes problems that even the Inner Circle might not be able to fix...