#readASOIAF Read-Along – Hosted by Riley from Riley Marie, Elizabeth from Liz Loves Literature, and Kayla from BOOKadoodles. ♥

“In the game of thrones, even the humblest pieces can have wills of their own. Sometimes they refuse to make the moves you’ve planned for them.”

A Feast for Crows is my least favorite in this series, but this prologue and ending chapter give me life, I swear. GRRM is such a genius and if you have twenty minutes, I can’t recommend this video, by Alt Shift X, enough. Seriously, these two plot points, that don’t even seem to make sense, are going to play such a HUGE part in this world, and I’m still in awe over the genius.

I kept debating if I wanted to give this book four or five stars, but this plot point brings me so much joy that I couldn’t resist and ended up just giving this five stars, too.

“I don’t want to have a dozen sons,” she had told him, appalled. “I want to have adventures”

I, also, absolutely loved all the feministic themes in this book. I know GRRM gets hate for all the violence against women in his books, but he writes some really empowering women, who I love to root for and read about:

-Asha’s whole story line, with her right to rule, but a bunch of men are telling her she can’t solely because she is a girl.
-Cersei finally ruling and acknowledging that everyone in her life has treated her like a piece of meat, only worthy of being married off to reproduce royal children, because she was born a woman, while seeing the male version of her (Jaime) thrive and live his dreams.
-Brienne smashing the patriarchy and gender roles left and right, all while making me her biggest fan.

Like, all of these themes make ASOIAF an even more enjoyable story to read. These are important themes that are very predominant in A Feast for Crows, and GRRM gives them the light they deserve. ASOIAF is truly an epic fantasy series above the rest.

I love this book, I love being a part of this reread, and I really love being back in this world. ASOIAF is such an immersive and all-encompassing experience, I can’t really put it into words. I will always recommend this series to anyone who will listen.

The rest of this review will have spoilers from all the previous books and also spoilers for this book! If you have not read the first four books in this series, and do not want to get spoiled, please do not read this portion of my review!

At this point in the story, so much is happening, I think I’m just going to break down the major plot lines and how I, personally, feel about them:

Arya and the Many-Faced God – Again, I can’t emphasize enough how amazing Alt Shift X’s video is, and how informative it was for me during this reread. Arya has been through so much so far in this series. My heart always breaks for Arya. In A Feast for Crows, she finally finds a path with the God of Death’s religion, where they literally take the faces of other people to kill others for their clients.

Sansa/Alayne, Robert, and Littlefinger – This whole story line is just so creepy; Littlefinger is the epitome of gross. Robert was weak before his mother’s death, and now even weaker. I’m just waiting for his death to come, at this point. Sansa pretending to be Littlefinger’s daughter, Alayne, is pretty heartbreaking to read. Sansa has, also, lost so much and watching her get stronger and stronger is really rewarding.

Asha, Euron, and Victarion – As much as I love Asha and watching her not back down over her right to the Iron Throne, Euron is probably the character I hate the most in this world. The juxtaposition is actually insane. The scene in Oakenshield Castle, with Euron, was very hard for me to read.

Even though Euron wins the kingsmoot against Asha and Victarion, Victarion still agrees to bring Dany Euron’s marriage proposal, yet, he has an ulterior motive that we will see in A Dance with Dragons.

Cersei, Margaery, and Maggy the Frog – Let me preface this portion by saying: I think Cersei is one of the best villains I’ve ever read. All of her actions make sense, and you can’t help but somewhat root for her. She is constantly being plagued by a vision a witch gave her at a young age, in which she predicted Cersei to become Queen, have three children that will all die, be overthrown by a younger and more beautiful girl, and to eventually die at the hands of her younger brother (who she thinks is 100% Tyrion, but I 100% think it will be Jaime – especially if books take the show’s route).

“Men have scars, women mysteries.”

Cersei thinks, by getting Margaery (who is now Queen, married to Tommen) out of the picture, she will ensure that Maggy the Frog’s prophecy doesn’t come true. You know, because she has no idea what Daenerys Targaryen is up to. Which brings us to…

The High Sparrow – …who is heavily foreshadowed to be an evil bastard from the start. Not only does he agree to doing to Gods’ work with Margaery, but he then takes it upon himself to do it with Cersei, as well! I know most of us know how the show’s version of this story-arc went down, but I cannot wait to actually read GRRM’s book version, that will have major differences (like Loras Tyrell’s storyline.)

Jaime – The last thing Jaime does in this book, is receives the letter from Cersei letting him know all the shit that is going down in King’s Landing. You know, because she sent him away for reasons. Oh, Jaime, you try so very hard to do what is right, but it always falls apart anyways. He is also harboring the secret of being the one that actually released Tyrion in A Storm of Swords, while being haunted with Tyrion’s information of who is warming Cersei’s bed. If I could ask for one happy ending for any of the characters in ASOIAF, I would ask for it to be Jaime’s. His story-line is seriously one of the most compelling things I’ve ever read, and I have so much empathy for him.

Brienne – Oh, and of course I ship Jaime with Brienne! Is it just me, or is their sexual tension out of this freakin’ world? Like, I need this; I need this to happen very badly. Brienne is one of my favorite characters, and such an honorable soul, how could you not love her? She is still in search of Sansa, with Podrick Payne, Tyrion’s old squire, in tow. On this journey she is constantly belittled for being a woman that is a knight, but never loses focus on her promise to Cat.

Lady Stoneheart – AKA: Resurrected Cat, is on a killing spree for vengeance. Even though she can’t really speak, because she died getting her throat slit, she and her group are seeking retribution for the Red Wedding in A Storm of Swords. In this book, she gives Brienne an ultimatum to either kill Jaime or die herself, and Brienne, being all that is right in this world, chooses death, but on a cliffhanger, of course!

Sam, Gilly, the babe, and Maester Aemon – I’m not going to lie, Sam’s chapters were a little unbearable for me. He, Gilly, the babe and Maester Aemon are on their way to the Citadel, where Sam is going to try to find something that will help them win the impending war that is looming with the White Walkers.

My heart breaks for Gilly, because (unlike the show) it is stated that her and King-Beyond-the-Wall, Mance Rayder, switched children, because Melisandre wants to sacrifice a child of royal blood. I mean, this might be the saddest thing in this book. I can’t even imagine Gilly’s pain, and my empathy is off the charts for her.

“There is no shame in loving. If your septons say there is, your seven gods must be demons. In the isles we know better. Our gods gave us legs to run with, noses to smell with, hands to touch and feel. What mad cruel god would give a man eyes and tell him he must forever keep them shut, and never look at all the beauty in the world? Only a monster god, a demon of the darkness.”

Aemon accompanies them on this journey to the Citadel, because Jon, too, thinks that Melisandre would want to sacrifice him for his royal Targaryen blood, so he sends him away, as well. Sadly, he is dying as their boat makes it to Braavos, but not before realizing that Dany and her dragons are going to change the world.

This series is so very close to my heart and I can’t express enough how much I truly love it. I could triple my word count by gushing and fangirling about theories, but I’ll save that for my A Dance with Dragons review!

“One more book, he had told himself, then I’ll stop. One more folio, just one more. One more page, then I’ll go up and rest and get a bite to eat. But there was always another page after that one, and another after that, and another book waiting underneath the pile. I’ll just take a quick peek to see what this one is about, he’d think, and before he knew he would be halfway through it.”