Author Spotlight

    Hey everybody!  I had a really great idea to highlight a different author I love every so often, so I hope I can keep going throughout this blogging experience.  The idea came to me after finishing Queen of Shadows literally mere hours ago and I just can't wait to talk about how great this book is, so I'm highlighting Sarah J. Maas as my author this month.

(goodreads.com)

    It shouldn't come as much of a surprise to any of you, but I've grown to love Maas's writing over the last few months.  I started my love affair with her after reading the first book in her new series A Court of Thorns and Roses, (my review of that book should be in my Book Reviews section above).  I loved everything about that book, from the plot intermingling with the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale to the strong female lead character to the hot, steamy romance everywhere.  I didn't think I would be into all that stuff, but Maas proved me very wrong.  Although I started reading her books this July, I have almost caught up with everything she's written so far, save for The Assassin's Blade, (which I will desperately try to save for next month's TBR list, but I honestly don't know if I can stand it).  These books have made me love reading again in a way that I can only explain as being similar to my love for Harry Potter.  I was eager to get my hands on the next book in the series, painstakingly waiting each time they were released, read them in record time and craved more each time I finished one.  I was enthralled by the story line, the characters, the descriptions of the scenery, the world building around me, etc.  I didn't think I would ever feel this way about reading ever again, so these books mean a lot to me in that regard.

    Sarah J. Maas's characters are strong and complex, but still relatable.  At this point, after reading all of her books, her characters are also kind of predictable, but in a good way.  She enjoys the strong, independent female lead with a strong man on her arm or by her side to make the fighting easier.  Both female protagonists in the Throne of Glass and ACOTAR series are fighters, warriors in their own right as well as hunters, survivors.  They are also complex, with dark pasts that still haunt them, which is a conflict they must address in each of their stories.  I love how both protagonists have similar traits, but are still their own character.  I feel like Celaena/Aelin in the Throne of Glass series is a completely different person from Feyre in ACOTAR.  Maas usually has a lot of side characters to help or hinder her protagonists as well.  Although there are a lot of characters to watch out for, I've always felt that their side stories enhanced the experience of the main plot and contributed something to the story.  Everyone has a place and she knows exactly what to do with them.

    Maas's writing is terribly good.  I don't remember reading anything quite like it before.  She builds her worlds so thoroughly, you feel like you're actually there in the books, experiencing it first hand.  Again, something I remember from my days of reading Harry Potter.  Sometimes her writing can get a little over-dramatic, but the words she uses and the way she weaves them together 99% of the time have me screaming, "WHY CAN'T I WRITE LIKE THIS?!"  It's so fluid and natural for her, it's staggering how beautiful she paints a picture in your mind.  The descriptions within each book are incredible and well-thought out.  Character descriptions are solid and paint a decent picture of who you're looking at or talking to without giving everything away, so you can create a little bit of your own character too.  It's just stunning, how she writes and what she makes you feel while you're reading it.  I can't even...

(pulse2.com)

    I never thought I would be this into the fantasy genre either.  I knew that I liked things like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, but I spent a long time not reading, and when I did read, it would be contemporary or historical fiction.  I never thought that I would crave high fantasy literature like I once did.  Sometimes I wish I could take back the years I spent not reading for leisure and doing a disservice to myself in the process.  I held myself back from discovering books like these awhile ago, so I want to embrace anything and everything I can.  Sarah J. Maas has made it possible for me to crave reading again, to read day and night until I finish the damn book, so stay up until all hours of the night just to see what happens next.  It's a fantastic feeling, one that I missed, and one that Maas has given back to me in the best way.

    Have you read any of Sarah J. Maas's books?  What was a book you read growing up that made you love to read?  If you've read Queen of Shadows, or any of Maas's other books, let me know in the comments below so we can discuss.  Also, let me know who your favorite author is and maybe I'll give them a try.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.