Sarah J. Maas

The world of Crescent City is elaborate. Learning the array of beings, their strengths, magic, and social order was a bit arduous at the beginning. What made it worth while were the characters. The author took the time to build them, creating complex, multidimensional characters that were engaging and believable. The investigation into the mystery of who killed Danika and the pack drove the story forward keeping me glued to the pages.

I really appreciated the ending for Bryce and Hunt and all the human, fae, angel, and other characters.… (mer)

It took me forever to finally start this series. To be honest, YA isn't my thing, but a friend of mine who happens to be an English teacher, kept recommending this series, and I'm glad she did. This book was certainly better than any YA I could have expected. To be clear, I'd probably list it under "new adult," to be on the safe side, but in the library I work for, we have it in our teen section.

The story is about Feyre Archeron and one decision she makes hunting in the woods one day that will ultimately save her family from starvation, but will see her kidnapped and taken into the Fae realm, where humans are despised and a curse is all around. It's a very interesting take on the whole "Beauty & the Beast" (my favorite) story. However, the characters are well written and certainly have a lot of depth to them, and the world building is incredible. Not once while reading this book did I feel it was too "young" or "childish" for me. In fact, I couldn't wait to read the rest of the series after I finished. I think what I also appreciated about this book was the dialogue. Too often, I come across books where the dialogue is absolutely ridiculous, and by that, I mean the characters (usually the main female characters) sound like they're reality TV stars. They sound completely uneducated and immature. This series was different, the female characters were strong and well spoken, and even though they found love, a male was not required for them to break free from their chains. I think this series is great for young women, espeically those who value strong female characters.… (mer)