Return of The King (Lord of the Rings #3)

 Sauron's forces have laid siege to Minas Tirith, the capital of Gondor, in their efforts to eliminate the race of men. The once-great kingdom, watched over by a fading steward, has never been in more desperate need of its king. But can Aragorn answer the call of his heritage and become what he was born to be? In no small measure, the fate of Middle-earth rests on his broad shoulders. With the final battle joined and the legions of darkness gathering, Gandalf urgently tries to rally Gondor's broken army to action. He is aided by Rohan's King Theoden, who unites his warriors for history's biggest test. Yet even with their courage and passionate loyalty, the forces of men--with Eowyn and Merry hidden among them--are no match for the enemies swarming against Gondor. Still, in the face of great losses, they charge forward into the battle of their lifetimes, tied together by their singular goal to keep Sauron distracted and give the Ring Bearer a chance to complete his quest. Their hopes rest with Frodo, a tiny but determined hobbit making a perilous trip across treacherous enemy lands to cast the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom. The closer Frodo gets to his final destination, the heavier his burden becomes and the more he must rely on Samwise Gamgee. Gollum--and the Ring itself--will test Frodo's allegiances and, ultimately, his humanity.

GUYYYYYYS

My obsessions....I already said that.

I think that the character arcs in this one are just *awestruck gasp*. Yeah. I mean. Come on. Could there be a better way to end this trilogy?

No. There couldn't. 

I wish that J.R.R. Tolkien was still alive. It would be AMAZING to talk to him and ask him his secrets. OHMIGOSH. Imagine doing a CAT scan on him while he was writing! The computer screen would be blinding to look at!!!

I am now going to stop rambling about this and get on with it.

......................................

...why did I even put that field here....................................

Again, nothing. At all! Short and sweet.

My FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAvorite part!

FIVE STAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARS

Share your LoTR Fangirling obsessions in the comments below!

(be honest--you know you have them!)

Princess of the Midnight Ball

Princess Rose is the eldest of twelve sisters condemned to dance each night for the wicked King Under Stone in his palace deep within the earth. It is a curse that has haunted the girls since their birth -- and only death will set them free.

Then Rose meets Galen, a young soldier-turned-gardener with an eye for adventure and a resolve that matches her own, and freedom suddenly begins to seem a little less impossible. To defeat the king and his dark court, they will need one invisibility cloak, a black wool chain knit with enchanted silver needles, and that most critical ingredient of all -- true love.

Jessica Day George's inspired reimagining of The Twelve Dancing Princesses demonstrates yet again her mastery at spinning something entirely fresh from a story you only thought you knew. 

Galen was awesome! I loved how he was mature, and yet he didn't sound like a ninety-year-old man, but a nineteen-year-old boy. He made me laugh so many times. Also, HE KNITS. Some people might find that fact weird, but I loved him SO MUCH MORE for that fact. The knitting also played a big role in the story. I can't stop raving about Galen's knitting, but it was sooooooooo adorable.

I have three younger sisters and I love stories that have a "sistery" feel to it. I find that sometimes, books that have sisters in it as a major plot point don't make them feel like real sisters. I'll be sitting there and think that these girls seem more like really good friends and not sisters. The twelve sisters in this story really seemed like sisters. They fought (and sisters do that, trust me). They helped each other. They loved each other. They were sisters.

The romance was pretty cute. I loved how Galen and Rose met, it honestly seemed like something that I would do. And their scenes were so cute, too bad there weren't more of them.

Okay, so the story world was pretty cool. Like, it reminded me sooo much of our earth, but it was different. I always find those worlds really cool. Because you have to make it different enough so people don't think that it's on earth, but not so different that they can't see the similarity

The plot was pretty good! Like I said earlier, it was ingenious how Jessica Day George made the knitting a really essential part of the plot was really cool! And the way she retold the fairy-tale was really cool.

So the ending was a little confusing and rushed. I had to re-read it to get a grip on what was going on. Like, who was the King Under Stone?? That was the part that sorta confused me. I could have done with a little less rushed ending.

So this might be a little confusing, as a said that the romance was one of my favorite things, but I don't think that Galen and Rose had enough screen time (if you will) to fall in love. Maybe attraction, but not love. The romance was so adorable, and I wish that it would have been fleshed out a little better.

So the princesses are accused of witchcraft. And there is the use of some magical objects. There are also mention of spells but they are put in a bad light.

A very adorable and easy read! I give it...

4.5 stars

Have you read Princess of the Midnight Ball? If so, what were your thoughts? Do you want to read it? Have you read anything else by Jessica Day George?

The Two Towers (Lord of the Rings #2)

  Sauron's forces increase.
The Ringwraiths return in an even more frightening form.
Saruman's army of Uruk Hai are ready to launch an assault against Aragorn and the people of Rohan. Yet, the Fellowship is broken and Boromir is dead. For the little hope that is left, Frodo and Sam march on into Mordor, unprotected.
A new number of allies join with Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, Merry, and Pippin. And they must defend Rohan and attack Isengard. Yet, while all this is going on, Sauron's troops mass toward the City of Gondor, for the War of the Ring is about to begin.

^^^ THAT BOOK COVER. OHMIGOSH.  FANGIRL PROBLEMS.

Anyway, what I liked!

Faramir and Eowyn. Ok, so some people don't like Eowyn for her "flirting" with Aragorn (even though she supposedly knew he and Arwen were basically engaged), but she and Faramir are soooooo cute! (ESPECIALLY IN THE MOVIES)
And of course there's the obvious likes: the plot, the drama, the characters, etc. etc. etc. J.R.R. Tolkien was such a great writer! What's not to love about his books? :D

Once again.....

Nothing! At all! 

:D :D :D :D :D 

Again, only some battles and the like. Also, Denethor was too depressed for his own good. (As clearly shown in the book and also the movies.)

There is no other possible rating to give this one...

Five stars in a heartbeat!!!

Have you read The Two Towers? What was your favorite part? Who was your favorite character? Have you read anything else by J.R.R. Tolkien? If so, what was it and how did you like it?

(P.S. If I forgot to mention any other awesome parts, don't hesitate to let me know in the comments section below! :D)