A Feast for Crows by George RR Martin

A Feast for Crows (book 4)
George RR Martin

SPOILERS BEGIN AFTER BOOK PICTURE
Time for another aSoIaF review.

I'll be sharing my feeling character by character as they appear in the book.
Overall, this book was disappointing, but only because A Storm of Swords raised my standards so high. aSoS had multiple moments of tension and excitement scattered throughout... AFoC only had a few near the end. aSoS made me cry, aFoC only made me very concerned for a few characters.

If you have not read A Feat for Crows, I strongly suggest that you refrain from reading the remainder of this post. Do come back when you have read this completely! Much will be spoiled below.

 

Prologue:

I'm not a fan of the prologues used in any of these books. I'm usually so excited to return to the main characters that I find it unsatisfactory to be forced to learn new once. After I made myself focus, I thought the prologue was fairly interesting... AND WHO WOULD HAVE SEEN THAT COMING AT THE END. 

Let's discuss.

After I finished the book, I looked up Pate in a Wiki. Apparently, he is given the same description as Jaqen H'ghar. I thought they acted very different, but I guess we can't be sure since we weren't able to see into his mind before. I really doubt it was him but I'm very curious. 

Arya Stark (AKA Cat of the Canals) (self-proclaimed nobody)

Arya, Arya, Arya. I'm very proud of her, but I'm very concerned. I was really hoping that she would be reunited in the end with another Stark house member (Sansa, Bran, Rickon, Jon or... her mother?), but I can't see her living a normal life now. She continues to push away her past and become someone different. I'm afraid that she'll completely lose her feeling for her family and past.

I was really disappointed that she only had three (if I counted correctly) chapters. She isn't very important to the who "game of thrones" battle, but she's very important to the reader. Well, she's at least important to me. I was completely shocked by the last few words of her final chapter of book 4. I was overwhelmed and so surprised... I'm guessing it's just a part of the training she's going through. 

Sansa Start (AKA Alayne Stone)

While nothing ever goes well for Sansa, I think she's actually in a very good spot right now. She is being protected by Petyr, and is safely stashed away very far from the main trouble areas of the realm. I'm sure she is much happier in Eyrie than in Kings Landing. 

Petyr has never been so suspicious to me. I simply cannot believe that he means to give all this land (including Winterfell!) to Sansa without something in it with him. I'm disgusted by his lust (maybe?) for Sansa. Gross. 

Jaime Lannister

Jaime is such a dynamic character. I hated him in book 1, and now I adore him. After Tyrion informed him of Cercei's promiscuity, Jaime began to look at his dear sister in a different way. He continued to love her for quite some time... but he was constantly thinking about what Tyrion told him. After a while, he began to separate himself from his sister. At then end, I was thinking that he would at least go to Kings Landing to at least witness the entire dilemma, but he chose to completely ignore his sister's plea. 

Also, GRRM provided us with some good Jaime-Brienne material. Even though they traveled far apart, he continued to think of her and pray for her. Brienne somehow taught Jaime to have self-worth and honor.

Samwell Tarly

Sam had a few chapters in this book, but once again he didn't really capture my interest. I was so torn between shipping Sam and Gilly and wanting Sam to remain loyal to his pledge. I thought the moment with Gilly was a little out of character for her... but whatever. 

I am actually very interested in what will become of Sam in Oldtown. I'm sure a lot of going to happen in book 6.

Cercei Lannister

I see the down fall of the queen coming very soon. I can't see any way for her to escape the situation... She's doomed. I thought the bit about the prophesy was nice. It showed Cercei's fears and worries (She was always portrayed as resilient and brave).  This book really defined who she is -- a power-hungry, paranoid, mother who sees all other houses as inferior. She works solely to promote her house, children, and self.

She has reached the point where she has overused too many people. She has lost faith in too many of her allies, and now she is done (as we are led to believe...)

Brienne of Tarth 

Brienne's story almost made me cry. She is so built on duty and honor, but the odds are always against her. I was surprised how Catelyn Stark reacted to her. I thought that Catelyn would be proud of Brienne's efforts. I'm so, so excited to finally figure out what happens to her. What word does she call out?? Is she dead or alive? Will she ever save Sansa?

I don't have very much to say about the Greyjoy's but I'll try to at least say a little about them all. The Greyjoys have never really caught my interest no matter how important they are to the story. The POV's are as follows:

Aeron Greyjoy (Damphair) - "The Prophet" or "The Drowned"

Thankfully, he is a relatively minor character. I was so confused about all his names!

Areo Hotah - "The Captain of the Guards"

Another very minor character. It just actually nice getting a look into a house new to the main story!

Asha Greyjoy

Finally, a familiar name. I disliked her before, but now I'm warming up to her (as a character). She was always a strong, female leader, but now she struggles for control. I'm not sure what I would like to have happen to her... I don't know if I should root for her or not.

Arys Oakheart - "The Soiled Knight"

Poor Arys! We hardly got to know him, and Areo lops off his head.

Victarion Greyjoy - "The Iron Captain" or "The Reaver"

I don't have anything to tell you. Like the rest of the Greyjoys, he didn't grab my attention or emotions. I don't think anything significant happened to him...

Arianne Martell - "The Queenmaker" or "The Princess in the Tower"

Arianne  is a sneaking, plotting girl who tried to give the throne to Myrcella Lannister. Her story seemed like a side plot, but it did answer my questions about what is happening with Myrcella. 

That's it!

Out of curiosity, I peeked at the character POV list for book 5... I AM SO EXCITED.

The Fault in our Stars

 

One word: Inspiring

Goodreads: "Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind"

I read this book with tissues ready. It's a book about cancer kids, you just know it's not going to always be happy. Usually I can sort of prepare myself when I know a book was sad, but I still cried A TON with this one. It captured my heart with John Green's Clever humor, and then it tore it to pieces when (SPOILER ALERT.) Augustus told Hazel that he had cancer all throughout him. He was in love with Hazel, Hazel loved him. Hazel thought she would be the one dying on him and breaking his heart, but she was wrong. He was going to be one the to leave first. I cried. SO MUCH. 

It was actually really funny though (me crying. Not Gus's sickness) because my mom just got home, and I had to quick run from the kitchen, where I was reading to the bathroom, so she wouldn't think I was having a complete emotional breakdown. All I had to do was dry my face because I have a cold and my nose was already red and runny. Anyway, back to the book!! This isn't a blog about me!

Although my heart was ferociously ripped apart and thrown around in a million pieces, it was repaired by the end of the book. No, Augustus did in fact die. But Hazel's mom rescued my heart and sanity. On "Bastille Day" in the book, Hazel's mom was super duper excited and went on a picnic. She was acting just how she did near the beginning of the book even after Gus's death. It wasn't that she didn't care about him at all, she was just being strong and loving every day for what it is. Everyday is important. Who cares how many good days you have left? What people should worry about it making sure all of their last days are good days. Enjoy ALL the life!   

I would rate this book ... like a 9.8/10 to a 10/10

I'm trying to compare it to other books I love, but I can't. I don't know if it is my favorite book... I'll have to think about it.