A Song of Ice and Fire: Book 5 - A Dance with Dragons

It's a little embarrassing that I didn't have a single book review in January.

Hear me out though! I had a plan, even if it was a slightly flawed plan.

I thought with my 2014 reading challenge, it would be better to start out with a book that I KNEW would set me back and put me behind schedule because then it would give me the motivation to keep up and get ahead of the game afterward. Still, I didn't think this book would take me a month... which really, I should have seen coming. The last one took a month to read, but I figured that I had motivational issues with that one because it was so crummy. But I looked back at the others in the series and the second and third took me around a month to read as well. The only one that didn't take me that long was the first one, and I'm pretty sure it's just because that one ROCKED MY WORLD, and it still took me 3 weeks to finish.

But yes, be prepared for more reviews coming in the future! I should be able to stay on track now (until August... and then I might have issues keeping up again ;)  )

~*~

In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance — beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has thousands of enemies, and many have set out to find her. As they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.

Fleeing from Westeros with a price on his head, Tyrion Lannister, too, is making his way to Daenerys. But his newest allies in this quest are not the rag-tag band they seem, and at their heart lies one who could undo Daenerys's claim to Westeros forever.

Meanwhile, to the north lies the mammoth Wall of ice and stone — a structure only as strong as those guarding it. There, Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, will face his greatest challenge. For he has powerful foes not only within the Watch but also beyond, in the land of the creatures of ice.

From all corners, bitter conflicts reignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all.

I really enjoyed this one, but I had some bittersweet moments while reading it because I know that the 6th book hasn't come out yet, so I will have to wait a while to continue the story and I hate that. I wanted to finish it ASAP, but I also wanted to cherish it until the next one comes out (which the publisher said will NOT happen in 2014 now, gah!)

There were a lot of really BIG moments in this book, lots of game changers (par usual), but far fewer deaths than I expected, which I actually kinda enjoyed, but made me VERY nervous going into the last few chapters.

I have discovered that Barristan Selmy is my new Ned. He's honourable, and honest, and such a father figure. The problem with that is that it means he's not very good at playing "the game of thrones" and thus I am concerned for his safety.

My new favouritest book quote EVER I discovered in this book, some of you may have seen it when I posted it on my facebook: "A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, a man who never reads lives only one" - Jojen Reed. LOVE it! 

George really needs to get a move on for the next book! I am ready!! :)