User Profile

This book ruined my sleep schedule.

I picked this up shortly after receiving the email that it was available for me to read and couldn't help but read it whenever I had free time. I was able to cut myself off at midnight the first night, but the second night I was up until 2AM because I just HAD to see how the story wrapped up.

Part of me is disappointed that I didn't read it while next to a body of water with a cold drink nearby, because A Perfect Vintage makes for the perfect summer read. The setting is magical, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if a number of readers book trips to France after finishing this. It's a story packed with romance, betrayal, a dizzying amount of family drama, and so much more. I was surprised at the number of characters in the book, but the author did a great job of integrating them and making them important to the story in their own way. The writing was easy to follow, with the perfect amount of detail used throughout.

A Perfect Vintage was a pleasant surprise and one of my favorite books of 2023. I had a lot of fun reading this and highly recommend it.

Special thanks to Orsay Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Having loved the original duology, I started this book excited to continue the series, but quickly found myself missing the familiarity of Hessa and the characters in her orbit. There was nothing wrong with Thray or any of the characters introduced with her, but I started Barrow of Winter coming off of the high of the previous two books in the The Four Pillars series, and there was definitely an adjustment period. Once I remembered that change is good, I quickly found myself immersed in Thray's journey for answers. I loved the many callbacks to the first two books, and how those characters and events were woven into Barrow of Winter.

Thray is a woman being pulled in different directions by the two sides of her that make her who she is. There's the Eangen side that she's lived among all of her life, and then the Winterborn, who show up unannounced with promises that they can prove to Thray whether or not she's immortal like them. Surprises abound as she travels north to the Winterborn's home of Duamel, where there is a never-ending winter darkness.

Like her aunt Hessa in the previous novels, Thray undergoes a ton of growth in a relatively short period of time, going from a powerful Eangen warrior to something much more. I'm very interested to see how powerful Thray is in the next book, as she finishes this one already quite formidable. The story is a rollercoaster of action and intrigue, and Long does a great job with pacing and making Barrow of Winter an interesting read from start to finish.

I really enjoyed this book and hate that I have to wait a year for the release of the fourth book. Pillar of Ash is my most anticipated book of 2024 at this point, and I would highly recommend fantasy fans read Barrow of Winter and the previous novels before its release.

Having read the first three novels in the Throne of Glass series, it was fun to take a detour to read these five novellas, which give the reader a glimpse into the months leading up to the first novel. The novellas feature swashbuckling pirates, horseback rides through the desert, romance, and lots and lots of blood. The first three novellas are like being on a rollercoaster and sitting through the slow climb up the massive incline before the ride's first drop. Celaena's legend grows, her relationship with Sam takes root, and she leaves the desert with a newfound sense of optimism. The latter three novellas, however, see Celaena teeter over that edge, and eventually plummet to never before seen depths.

The writing itself was great, and exactly what you'd expect if you've read a Sarah J. Maas book previously. She does a great job of setting a scene and describing things in great detail, but not so much that you wish the focus would shift elsewhere. I find myself being able to envision the scene whenever I read something from Maas, which helps with immersion and seems to raise the stakes of what's happening in the story.

This is essential reading for anyone reading the Throne of Glass novels, as they provide valuable detail into Celaena Sardothien's past, and provide additional context into who she is and why she is the way she is. For anyone curious about the series or even Sarah J. Maas' writing in general, The Assassin's Blade is a great way to get dip your toes in and see what you think.