The Well of Ascension and The Hero of Ages

I finished this trilogy rapidly - I couldn't put them down! It truly is an epic story that continued to grip me and pull me along all the way through to the end. And then it wrapped up in such a way that had me quite amazed at Sanderson's foresight and storytelling capability.  He did a really nice job making me love the characters and I was pleased with how their story-lines turned out, and the direction he took them as well as the world.  It was a great balance of dark and light and everything in between.  I felt like he answered most of really important the questions I had left in the story, and I really, really enjoyed the ride.  Rating 4 stars and 5 stars respectively.

Mistborn

This book took me a while to get into.  In fact I started it and then read 3 other books because there wasn't enough of a pull for me yet.  But once it got past the setup at the beginning (140 pages or so) it was a great ride and really fun.  It was a unique experience for me as well because Mr. Sanderson also puts out a podcast called Writing Excuses which I listen to every week as he is a local author where I live and am an aspiring author.  So it's one of the first times I've read a book in which I feel I've come to know a little more about the author and his processes, and I had to eventually just switch gears in my head to just reading it for fun and not to try to analyze and learn.  But I'm so glad it, and will plan on finishing the trilogy.  I love books with strong women and Vin is a great character, as are all the rest of the characters the book for that matter..  He did a really nice job fleshing them out and especially showing Vin's growth and perspective changes.  The world is really cool, and the system of  magic is one of the most unique I've come across in all my fantasy reading.  So much so it took me some getting used to, but I really appreciated the creativity.  I am also glad to see Sanderson's skill at storytelling as he was given the monumental task of wrapping up Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, which I have been anxious about and will tackle some time soon.  Anyways, I gave Mistborn 4 stars, as I really liked it.