Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) by Sarah J Maas

Synopsis :

Celaena Sardothien has survived deadly contests and shattering heartbreak—but at an unspeakable cost. Now she must travel to a new land to confront her darkest truth...a truth about her heritage that could change her life—and her future—forever.

Meanwhile, brutal and monstrous forces are gathering on the horizon, intent on enslaving her world. To defeat them, Celaena must find the strength to not only fight her inner demons but to battle the evil that is about to be unleashed.

The king's assassin takes on an even greater destiny and burns brighter than ever before.


This is what I say :

Book three in the series introduced new important characters and revealed much about the background and destiny of Calaena Sardothien.  As the story move along, Calaena Sardothian ceased to exist and she embraced her new identify or rather, the identify and destiny that she's been denying herself all these while.

Heir of Fire has certainly brought the story into a new dimension and things are certainly becoming more interesting.

I am looking forward to book four Queen of Shadow in the series.

In case you're interested, you can read my review of book 1 Throne of Glass and book 2 Crown of Midnight.

Oriental Gateaway (#2 2019)

I didn't do much travelling this year.  Maybe because there's no really no reason to.  Anyhow, since early part of this year, I managed to get rather good airfare rates to an oriental destination.

Such, in a couple of day's time, princess and I will be holidaying for about a week in this oriental city which we have not been to.  Can't wait! The height of our enthusiasm is actually the opportunity to visit the home of a couple, Mr & Mrs MM whom we love, having visited only two of their home so far...one in Hong Kong and the other in Tokyo.  And we love all their girls too. Can't wait to see the sweet and lovely princesses too.

While we are excited in planning for the trip, I have my own personal excitement of deciding which book to bring with me.  It's always the same for me before each trip...to spend time thinking and deciding which books to accompany me for that duration of time.

This time round, I have decided on The Peach Keeper.  This book has been on my shelf for rather long time.  It;'s time it seems itself some adventure in a land that is might be as magical as The Peach Keeper.

Anyway, see you in a week's time.

Origin by Dan Brown

Synopsis :

Robert Langdon, Harvard professor of symbology and religious iconology, arrives at the ultramodern Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao to attend a major announcement—the unveiling of a discovery that “will change the face of science forever.” The evening’s host is Edmond Kirsch, a forty-year-old billionaire and futurist whose dazzling high-tech inventions and audacious predictions have made him a renowned global figure. Kirsch, who was one of Langdon’s first students at Harvard two decades earlier, is about to reveal an astonishing breakthrough . . . one that will answer two of the fundamental questions of human existence.

As the event begins, Langdon and several hundred guests find themselves captivated by an utterly original presentation, which Langdon realizes will be far more controversial than he ever imagined. But the meticulously orchestrated evening suddenly erupts into chaos, and Kirsch’s precious discovery teeters on the brink of being lost forever. Reeling and facing an imminent threat, Langdon is forced into a desperate bid to escape Bilbao. With him is Ambra Vidal, the elegant museum director who worked with Kirsch to stage the provocative event. Together they flee to Barcelona on a perilous quest to locate a cryptic password that will unlock Kirsch’s secret.

Navigating the dark corridors of hidden history and extreme religion, Langdon and Vidal must evade a tormented enemy whose all-knowing power seems to emanate from Spain’s Royal Palace itself... and who will stop at nothing to silence Edmond Kirsch. On a trail marked by modern art and enigmatic symbols, Langdon and Vidal uncover clues that ultimately bring them face-to-face with Kirsch’s shocking discovery... and the breathtaking truth that has long eluded us.

This is what I say :

I have been wanting to read this title as it's a new title in the universe of Robert Langdon and I was expecting great things.  However, when I get hold of an e-book, it took me a long time to read .  I actually read about 50% of the book and then took a break and try to continue the other half many, many months later.  The key word here is 'try' because I really did try but unfortunately I have lost interest in Origin.

Origin while being quite original just did not capture my attention.  While it's quite good, maybe because I have other nicer and more unique titles to read around the same time, I was more interested in those titles and somehow, Origin got lost among those titles.

It would also be because i was tired of the same formula of having to follow Robert Langdon all over the places, like in previous books.  Maybe I was tired that there's always a woman running around all over the places with him...same old..same old. So, with all these traversing around and people getting killed left, right and centre, it got kinda....boring.

Perhaps, I should read it another time when I don't feel so 'rush' in my reading.

The Black Path by Asa Larsson

Synopsis :

A grisly torture-murder, a haunting northern Sweden backdrop, and a dark drama of twisted sexuality collide memorably in Åsa Larsson’s masterpiece of suspense—a tale of menace, hope, longing, and darkness beyond imagining.

The dead woman was found on a frozen lake, her body riddled with evidence of torture. Instantly, Inspector Anna-Maria Mella knows she needs help. Because the dead woman—found in workout clothes with lacy underwear beneath them—was a key player in a mining company whose tentacles reach across the globe. Anna-Maria needs a lawyer to help explain some things—and she knows one of the best.

Attorney Rebecka Martinsson is desperate to get back to work, to feel alive again after a case that almost destroyed her. Soon Rebecka is prying into the affairs of the dead woman’s boss, the founder of Kallis Mining, whose relationship with his star employee was both complex and ominous. But what Rebecka and Anna-Maria are about to uncover—a tangled drama of secrets, perversion, and criminality—will lay bare a tale as shocking as it is sad…about a man’s obsession, a woman’s lonely death, and a killer’s cold, cold heart.


This is what I say :

I must admit that I struggled with this book.  I find it very difficult to actually pin point where the author is going.  First, there's an investigative who done it which seems to escalate to a mafia type of thriller and then there's a character who seems to be psychic so there's the supernatural element as well.

With all the above thrown in, the mixture is kinda confusing for me to wrap my mind around it.

Shall I say that in another season, I might enjoy it but after reading some rather excellent titles recently, The Black Path is unable to showcase it's appeal.

It's my first time reading Asa Larsson and I am not sure if I will be reading any of her titles in the future.  Perhaps at another season, my expectations would be different and perhaps I shall be more receptive then.

The Better Sister by Alafiar Burke

Synopsis :

Though Chloe was the younger of the two Taylor sisters, she always seemed to be in charge. She was the honor roll student with big dreams and an even bigger work ethic. Nicky was always restless . . . and more than a little reckless—the opposite of her ambitious little sister. She floated from job to job and man to man, and stayed close to home in Cleveland.

For a while, it seemed like both sisters had found happiness. Chloe earned a scholarship to an Ivy League school and moved to New York City, where she landed a coveted publishing job. Nicky married promising young attorney Adam Macintosh, and gave birth to a baby boy they named Ethan. The Taylor sisters became virtual strangers.

Now, more than fifteen years later, their lives are drastically different—and Chloe is married to Adam. When he’s murdered by an intruder at the couple’s East Hampton beach house, Chloe reluctantly allows her teenaged stepson’s biological mother—her estranged sister, Nicky—back into her life. But when the police begin to treat Ethan as a suspect in his father’s death, the two sisters are forced to unite . . . and to confront the truth behind family secrets they have tried to bury in the past

Author's Note :

I know readers often want to learn more about the originating idea behind a novel. Believe it or not, I sometimes have a hard time recalling the inchoate conception of a book by the time it is finished. That’s not the case with The Better Sister, which, following The Exand The Wife, completes what I see as a thematic trilogy of novels that explore the complexity of female relationships and the diverse roles that women play in contemporary society.
As we juggle busy lives, we often show different faces to our spouses, exes, children, parents, siblings, and coworkers, all while trying to know and be true to ourselves. The Better Sister, specifically, is about sometimes conflicting connections between adult siblings. I hope it might also provoke some thoughts about the often gendered nature of threats, abuse, and violence in our culture. Mostly, I hope you enjoy it.

This is what I say :

I decided to insert the author's note above to show the connection that the author intended for the three titles that she wrote starting from The Ex followed by The Wife and now The Better Sister.

Indeed all three titles are good titles and having read them within weeks apart, the stories are still pretty fresh in my mind.  All three feature Olivia Randall but she was just the lawyer for  hire in The Wife and The Better Sister whereas The Ex features her story.

Alafair is a wonderful story teller with great ability to bring readers not just along with the ride but also pretty emotionally vested in what she wrote.  In reading her books, readers must always be alert that her protagonists are not necessary who they are and a single world of sentence by the author can break that illusions into thousands of pieces.  That, is what I discovered and enjoyed in her titles.

This author gets a yes from me and I will now be on the lookout for her titles that I have yet to read.