September 10, 2014

Thirteen Days of Ash & Fire || 10 Reasons You Should Be On Team Celaena (+ Giveaway)

Welcome to the final stop of Thirteen Days of Ash & Fire: An Heir of Fire Blog Tour! It's seriously been such a joy to see all the creative posts that my fellow bloggers have come up with in celebration of the amazing Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas. It's far exceeded my wildest dreams to see all this creativity and love for this series! So, in case you missed anything, here's a list of what went down:
Today, it's my turn to share a post dedicated to Heir of Fire. I had quite a few ideas in mind, mostly because there are so many things I love about this series. But I settled on sharing my 10 Reasons You Should Be on Team Celaena because it seemed the most fitting way to end this blog tour! 

After all, it's really Celaena whose story we are focusing on in the books, and it's her story that will take us all the way to the very end. Don't get me wrong, as I've fallen in love with a lot of the other main characters: Nehemia (one of Celaena's closest friends), Manon (a badass, emphasis on bad, witch), Dorian (the prince), Aedion (the soldier), Sam (Celaena's first love and fellow assassin), Rowan (the warrior) and my beloved Chaol (the captain of the guard).  But Celaena is the driving force behind the entire series, and she's the character I care the most about -- and you should too!

1. Celaena is physically strong. She's definitely a badass assassin, with the fighting and weaponry skills to prove it. She basically is kickass, especially when she's in warrior/assassin mode. Plus, she has a knack for getting herself in and out of places undetected too!

2. Celaena is mentally strong. She's a big lover of books! She's awed by the library at the castle, has one of her own in her apartments and loves to read. She also holds interesting conversations with her companions, which often involves some witty repartee.

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3. Celaena loves to eat. This is especially applicable to sweets. Doesn't that just make her seem like most regular people? I love that she's not ashamed to stuff her face with sweets at all, because that's totally something I'd do too.

4. Celaena enjoys pretty things, from dresses to decoration. Celaena is definitely not shy about her love for beautiful dresses and a well-decorated apartment. The money she's earned for herself goes into the things she loves, and these two things, along with books, are definitely chief among her purchases.

5. Celaena has a puppy named Fleetfoot. Fleetfoot is seriously adorable, but what I adore even more is how affectionate Celaena is towards her dog. It's really cute to see how much she's bonded with Fleetfoot, and how much she cares about his wellbeing.

6. Celaena is brave, even when she doesn't feel like it. She's constantly telling herself, "I will not be afraid", a mantra that many of us can adapt in our own lives and situations. She takes courage in the most dire of situations, and fights the fears that threaten to become a disability.

7. Celaena has a good head on her shoulders. She knows what's right, and she knows what's wrong, and she's always willing to do the right thing in any given situation... even if that involves being a little devious. But her heart is in the right place, and she's fighting for the right cause.

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8. Celaena has the strength and courage to allow herself to trust others, even though she's also fiercely independent. As an assassin, Celaena lives mostly a lonely life. She's capable of fending for herself and getting things done on her own. However, as the Throne of Glass series progresses, readers slowly see her opening up and allowing herself to form relationships with other people. She learns to be open to them, and it's seriously one of the best things ever to witness.

9. Once you've earned her trust or respect, Celaena is one of the most loyal friends you will ever have. She will be willing to fight for you, to go through hell and back, to face things that can be life or death, on your behalf. She's gotten into many a sticky situation because of how she's willing to jump headfirst to help the people she cares for. That kind of loyalty? It's rare.

10. Celaena, like many of us, experiences a lot of grief and anger and hurt. The things that happen - to her, to her loved ones - they're the kind of things that can break a person apart. And Celaena falls apart, which is only to be expected. But she manages to eventually rise above it, to hold on to her hope, and to find her strength to be able to conquer all of the negativity that threatens to put her out of commission. Her fortitude, her bravery and her willingness to allow this to happen is one of the most inspiring things I've ever read.

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And now, I'm bringing you the official giveaways for the Thirteen Days of Ash & Fire: An Heir of Fire blog tour! There are going to be two in this post, one open internationally and one open US/UK. Please make sure to double check when you enter on the Rafflecopter forms below!

INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY
Prize: hardcovers of The Assassin's Blade, Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, Heir of Fire + Throne of Glass tote bag


US/UK ONLY GIVEAWAY
Prize: an Heir of Fire ARC + Throne of Glass tote bag


On behalf of everyone who organized the tour + participated in it, I'd like to thank all of you for celebrating the Throne of Glass series, particularly Heir of Fire, with us! Rachel, Katie, Judith, Jaz & I are so pleased that we were able to share our love for the series, along with everyone who joined us. We hope you fall in love with Throne of Glass the way we did, and keep coming back for more. 

Thank you, as well, to the publishers who have so generously donated prizes for us to give away! And thank you to Sarah J. Maas, for writing an incredible series of books that have bonded the five of us, among many others, for life. You're seriously a magical writer, and I cannot wait for more!

{Not that it's official yet, but look out for next year's event (which we're already plotting about)!}

29 Comments:

  1. THIS IS SUPER MEGA AWESOME OMG!!!!

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  2. Why do I love the Throne of Glass series... I'll try to leave out as much fangirling as possible, haha.
    Faeries and their awesome magic. A main character with so many different layers--kick*** assassin, plays piano, falls in love, enjoys dressing up, has an adorable puppy.... Two fabulous male characters (coughCHAOLcough), each with very realistic and well-written emotions. Nice world-building without too many info-dumps, lots of action, cute romance... ah, I could go on :)

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  3. Goodness, I adore this blog tour so much! I've actually been following everyone's posts and I'm getting so excited to read HOF, even though I've yet to read COM! I love your list of reasons, Alexa! I'm Team Celaena all the way!

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  4. I want to read this series because I have heard such AMAZING things about it and I want to join the fandom! :)

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  5. Christina R. in the rafflecopter


    I want to read this because of all the awesome things you said about Celaena :)

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  6. Next year's event? I LOVE THAT.


    I was happy to be part of this blog tour. I had an amazing time coming up with a fun idea and looking around what all the other team members came up with. We all did something different, so cool!


    I think what I love the most about Celaena is how flawed and realistic she is. She is not only badass, but also vulnerable. She is not only an assassin who can snap your neck with the blink of an eye, but also someone who loves dressing up and eating candy :D

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  7. Love your post!! How can anyone not be on Team Celaena :D AHH YES!!! You have my support for an event next year. Thank you so much for inviting me on this tour and be part of the Thirteen, it was so unique and I loved every minute of it.

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  8. Love it!! Celaena forever!! She is seriously my favorite character of all time. There are so many layers and so much depth to her. I love that she's this badass assassin, but that she also loves pretty things like dresses. I love that she stuffs her face with sweets and I love that she loves to read! Oh and her music. I love that too. And Fleetfoot!!! Oh my gosh, I can't. I'm totally fangirling over here.

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  9. There are kick ass characters and a heart-pounding story who can resist!!! I got my copy of Heir of Fire a couple days ago and I can't wait to dive back into the world to meet the new characters and see how Celaena is doing ;)

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  10. Why do I love the series? Easy - Celaena, Chaol, Dorian, Rowan, Aedion, Sam, Nehemia, Manon, Sorscha, etc.

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  11. Hey love, do you like to check out http://www.librarist.com/. It is a place you can buy the cheapest book worldwide including shipping. I thought you might like it.

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  12. I haven't read them yet and I feel seriously behind!! They sound so interesting and it's all anyone can talk about these days in the bookish world. XD

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  13. I just finished this and loved it! I need to read some Sylvia Plath now. My review will be posted Monday on Annette's Book Spot. Can't wait to see what you guys come up iwth.

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  14. I feel that everyone has read this series except for me and they all rave about it. It is time for me to see what the frenzy is all about!

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  15. This is one of those series where the books are like completely unputdownable. I'm waiting to start Heir of Fire because I need to have my days cleared out because I will STOP EVERYTHING until I'm done! :)

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  16. I really love this series because Celaena's character is something I appreciate. She's so strong and deadly but she's also girly, loves dresses and reading. I love this contrast.

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  17. I want to read this series because I've heard nothing but good things

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  18. I don't just WANT to read this series, I want to OWN this series! Celeana is such a strong, smart female role model and I definitely need more of her in my life!

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  19. I keep hearing about this series! Everywhere. I have to read it!

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  20. People are always raving about it on booktube and the whole synopsis sounds very interesting. And the protagonist isn't a damsel in distress who needs a guy to save her.

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  21. I love epic fantasy and, as an aspiring writer myself, I find it endlessly fascinating delving into the worlds created by fellow authors.

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  22. I love ToG because even though Celaena is the ultimatest badass, there is so much more to her.

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  23. well I want to re-read the series so far again and I would love do it with beautiful hardback copies! It's one of my favorite series ....I just heart all the characters so so much! Thanks for hosting such an awesome giveaway!!!

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  24. I dig epic fantasy and think it's about darned time I started this series, which has received so much love from a lot of bloggers and others whose opinions I trust. I love that Celaena has achieved a balance of femininity and bada$$ery.

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  25. I love Throne of Glass because of the relationships. I adore epic fantasies, but the intricate relationships (between Celeana and... everyone) are why I keep coming back for more and why I'm super anxious for the rest of this series!

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  26. I adore throne of glass! Sara J maas is growng to be one of my favorite authors. I love it.

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  27. TEAM CELAENAAAA! I'm SO glad I started this series! (And binged it haha) By the time I reached Heir of Fire I was totally floored! Now comes the excruciating wait for book four!

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Thanks for leaving a comment! I love seeing what you have to say, and will try to reply (here or on Twitter) as soon as I can :)