The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - UPDATED REVIEW

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde  Genre : Classics Blurb (on back of book) : Oscar Wilde’s only novel is the dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind. UPDATED REVIEW MY OPINION : ****** I would like to start out this review by stating that this is undoubtedly m...

Crown of Midnight - Sarah J Maas

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas
Genre: YA Fantasy

Image result for crown of midnightBlurb (on back of book): "A line that should never be crossed is about to be breached.
It puts this entire castle in jeopardy—and the life of your friend."
From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.
Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.
Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie... and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.

MY OPINION: *****

I just realized it's the end of February.

Okay then. I have to hurry this up so I can wrap up my month on my blog, iRead, which you should go check out (iread2016.blogspot.com).

Okay. This book was unexpected for me. I didn't exactly hate it but it wasn't the best book ever.

Sarah J Maas has made such an imprint on the Young Adult fantasy world and I am proud to say that I'm a huge fan of her books (well, the two I've read so far). I really liked Throne of Glass. I thought that it was nicely written and I loved the characters.

This one took me a little longer. I thought that it was kind of harder to read. I don't know, but for some reason, I kept procrastinating and putting off reading this book until yesterday, when I finished the last 100 pages.

I didn't hate it. I want to say that much. I liked the writing style and I raved about quotes and actions and dialogue. The characters...

Celaena. I feel like I spelled that wrong (did I?). I thought that her character was played nicely. She definitely matured in my opinion. She didn't necessarily become a better fighter but I think she just became a better person. In the first book, I kind of thought she was too innocent and ignorant to play the role of Adarlan's greatest Assassin.

Dorian. I thought that his character was definitely a lot more entertaining. I didn't necessarily like him in the first book, mostly because I thought he was stealing Chaol away from Celaena. However, Dorian definitely was a lot more admirable in this book, mostly because of his bravery and his determination to protect a girl that could never belong to him, and instead to his best friend (well, for about half the book). I thought that his whole getting over Celaena was a relief, though did he truly? THINK ABOUT IT (view spoiler)

Chaol. Prepare for a rant. CHAOL FREAKING WESTFALL.

I love him.
I HATE him.
I want to murder him.
I want to kiss him.

CHAOL JUST GAVE ME SUCH A HUGE MIX OF FEELING AND EMOTION THAT I CANNOT STAND IT ANY LONGER.

Pity, this has to be categorized as a spoiler. Although a lot of people have read this series OR just like spoilers (like me!). 

Anyways, Chaol and Celaena GOT TOGETHER. YAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYAY I have been shipping WHATEVER THEIR SHIP NAME IS since I first met Chaol. I love him. I think that he's an admirable character who deserves all the praise he gets. He's determined, he's brave, he's handsome, he's strong, and HE GOES INTO SOME RANDOM VOID THAT HAS DEMON-LIKE CREATURES IN IT TO SAVE HIS EX-GIRLFRIEND'S DOG. STUPID, YES, but also ROMANTIC and SWOON-WORTHY. 

I need a guy like that. JK. Maybe.

AND THEY GET TOGETHER FOR ALL OF 50 PAGES AND THEN THEY BREAK UP.

There wasn't enough romance in this book, in my opinion. Yes, I understand that this is not a romance novel and instead is supposed to be bloody and gory and violent. BUT I STILL NEED THE SHIPS TO SAIL.

Chaol should have told Celaena. He lost her because he didn't tell her that her best friend's LIFE was in danger.

I never said Chaol was smart. 

I mean, Nehemia is a PRINCESS. Shouldn't he be warning people about all of this?

And even though she semi-forgives him, they still don't get back together. I did think that that last goodbye scene between them was beautiful and I cried for him when he said "I love you" and she DOES NOT. I know, it's so sad.

I DO KNOW THAT THIS SHIP SINKS. She meets some guy named Rowan, I believe? But I love Chaol so much.

Whew. For those of you who missed that whole rant, consider yourselves lucky. Or maybe unlucky.

Okay. Anyways. Mort. I loved him. He was so hilarious and we always just need one of those Cute/Annoying characters in these books to add to the humor and lighten the mood in these dark dark dark scenes.

I've wavered between making this book a four or a five stars. I'm actually going to make it right in the middle though my Goodreads rating will be a five.

I would recommend this book to Young Adult fantasy lovers.

Main Character: Celaena
Sidekick(s): Dorian, Chaol, Nehemia, etc
Villain(s): Archer, demons, the king, wyrd-anything, etc
Fantasy Elements: All of this was pure fiction.

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