Upcoming Releases: Autumn 2021

As always, autumn seems to be a treasure trove of exciting new fantasy books, and there’s quite a few here that I’m dying to get my hands on (though I should probably try to restrain myself, as I went rather overboard with the book-buying in the last couple of months… 😓). It was a tough list to narrow down, but here are my most-anticipated releases for September, October & November:

[All dates are taken from Goodreads unless stated otherwise, and are correct as of 5/9/2021.]

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff (7th September)

The first in a new urban fantasy series set in a world where humans and vampires are at war, with a main character who’s the last  of an elite order of vampire hunters, and is now imprisoned by his immortal enemies… All I want from life right now is all the edgy vampire books that ever existed, and it seems like Jay Kristoff is prepared to oblige me! I’ve only read a few of his other books, but I’ve really liked them all, so my expectations for this book are pretty high! Let’s hope it lives up to them! 🤞  Excitement level: 8/10

Three Novels by Yuri Herrera (14th September)

A gorgeous new bind-up of Herrera’s three novellas: Kingdom Cons, Signs Preceding the End of the World, and The Transmigration of Bodies. I’ve already read the latter two of these, and they were excellent stories; engaging and thought-provoking, and showing glimpses of a Mexico that I had barely imagined… Excitement level: 6/10

Terciel & Elinor by Garth Nix (2nd November)

A new entry in the Old Kingdom series, one of my all-time favourite fantasy series! I don’t know (or really want to know) much about the plot at this point, but I do know that it will be set some time before Sabriel (the first book in the series), and following Sabriel’s parents. 😊 I’ve pre-ordered this already (mostly because Forbidden Planet are releasing an exclusive edition that matches the old UK hardbacks), and am awaiting its arrival with bated breath! Excitement level: 10/10

King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair (30th November)

Another vampire book! 🧛🏻‍♂️ (Did I mention that I’m into vampires at the moment?) This is kind of a wild-card entry on this list, though, as all I know about Scarlett St. Clair is that she wrote a Hades & Persephone retelling that I was kind of interested in for a little while… but this book sounds like it’s right up my alley! Centring around an arranged marriage between a vampire king and a human who wishes to kill him, King of Battle and Blood sounds like it’s going to be choc-full of drama and angst, which is exactly what I look for in my fantasy romance picks! 😁  Excitement level: 9/10

Honourable Mentions:

• The Tensorate Series by Neon Yang (21st September) – an omnibus edition of Yang’s novella series, which starts with The Black Tides of Heaven.
• For All Time by Shanna Miles (28th September) – a YA reincarnation (or possibly time loop?) romance!
• Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson (5th October) – the start of a new fantasy series about a nun possessed by a malevolent spirit, from the author of An Enchantment of Ravens and Sorcery of Thorns.
• Aurora’s End by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (9th November) – the final book in the Aurora Cycle.
• Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson (25th November) – the next book in the Skyward series.

November & December Wrap-Up

It feels weird to still be talking about 2020 so far into January, but alas, I’ve been very slow to collect my thoughts on my November and December reads… which weren’t numerous, I’m afraid (I hit a bit of a reading slump at the beginning of December), but made up for the quantity with pure quality! For although I only read 13 things, 5 of them were 5-stars! Which is more than half my 5-star reads for the whole year (excepting re-reads)! 😅

BOOKS I REVIEWED
[REVIEW]	[REVIEW]	[REVIEW]
OTHER BOOKS I READ
The Promise by Gene Luen Yang. [COMIC; Illustrated by Gurihiru] A continuation of the Avatar: The Last Airbender TV series, in which Aang and Zuko’s friendship is tested by their different hopes for the future of the former Fire Nation colonies – particularly in the case of Yu Dao, which has existed for so long that its Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom residents have come to consider themselves a single people. To be honest I love this world and these characters so much that Yang could have written basically anything and it would’ve pleased me, but this story surpassed all my expectations! 😁 I loved seeing Zuko continued to develop as a character even after achieving his goals, and his friendship with Aang and the pressure it came under here were perfectly characterised. And the side-story with Toph’s earthbending school nicely offset the more serious themes of the complexities of decolonisation…
Ravensong by T.J. Klune. The sequel to Wolfsong, but this time following Gordo, his history with the Bennet pack, and how it’s changed over the years, and how it’s changed him. Gordo was my favourite character in Wolfsong, so it’s no surprise that I was excited for this book, but sadly I didn’t think it was quite as good. I still love Gordo, of course, and I found his backstory really heart-wrenching; the plot was also very solid, and continued on where Wolfsong left off, but I didn’t think the romance was quite as well-developed, and I didn’t manage to form much of an attachment to Mark beyond what rolled over from the last book… The best parts of this for me were probably the flashbacks, but I’m also looking forward to seeing where the plot goes in Heartsong.
A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole. Emma Troy’s search for the truth about her late parents is interrupted by the sudden appearance of a powerful, half-crazed Lykae, furious with her for no apparent reason; Lachlain, meanwhile, finds the strength to break free of his ancient prison when he catches the scent of his destined mate… but he doesn’t expect her to be a vampire. This was a fun, and pretty addictive read, but I found myself growing a little bored towards the end, and looking back, I’m finding it kind of difficult to remember the details… The good: Emma I liked well enough; she and Lachlain had decent chemistry; the steamy scenes were a good level of steamy. The less good: I didn’t care about much of the Valkyrie or Lykae lore, which was what this book mostly focused on, worldbuilding-wise; I find phonetically-written Scottish accents more comical than sexy, and the old-fashioned slang didn’t help with that; and I found the side characters beyond the main couple all kind of boring. Also, trigger warnings for kidnapping and dubious (at least) consent, and probably other things that I can’t think of right now…
City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare. The final book in the Mortal Instruments series, in which Clary & friends face off against the seemingly-unbeatable Sebastian and his growing army of Endarkened for the last time. As always, Clare delivered a pretty epic conclusion here, but although I really enjoyed it, I still kind of agree with the people who say that this second trilogy didn’t need to exist… The first half of this book, in particular, was a real slog (as were the two preceding novels), but I do feel like the ending made up for most of it. I’m mainly still in the Shadowhunter universe for the Infernal Devices cameos, which were finally delivered in this book (that epilogue was perfect), and other good things were: 1) Sebastian is still a really great, thoroughly hate-able villain, and 2) I’m glad that all the romances ended out well (kind of).
The Toll  by Neal Shusterman. [AUDIOBOOK; Narrator: Greg Tremblay] Three years after the events of Thunderhead, Citra and Rowan wake to find themselves separated once again, each playing pieces for different sides of the Scythedom’s ideological split, and the world utterly changed. A great end to a great trilogy! I found the ending really satisfying, as well as the journey to get there – though, like in Thunderhead, I wish that there had been more interaction between Citra and Rowan. 😅 Some of the highlights for me were Citra’s search through the backbrain, the bits of worldbuilding we got via the chapter intros (especially all the Tonist analysis), and Grayson’s relationships with Jeri, Morrigan, and of course the Thunderhead itself… And while it wasn’t at any point as great as Thunderhead‘s most exciting moments, I found that it was much more consistently good the whole way through.
The Search by Gene Luen Yang. [COMIC; Illustrated by Gurihiru] After the events of The Promise, Zuko finds a letter that may contain a new hint as to his mother’s location, and he sets out with the rest of Team Avatar to track her down – with a volatile Azula along for the ride! Of all the Avatar comics, this was definitely the one I was looking forward to the most, as the fate of Zuko’s mother is one of the biggest mysteries that the TV series left hanging… and it absolutely didn’t disappoint! I loved the tense interactions between Zuko and Azula, and the flashbacks to their childhood; the search itself takes a really interesting path; and the eventual reveal of Ursa’s fate was surprising and emotional… I’m really looking forward to reading more of these comics when my copy of The Rift, Volume 1 finally arrives! 😅
A Closed & Common Orbit by Becky Chambers. Now stuck in an artifical body that she never asked for, Lovelace (now called Sidra) searches for a sense of purpose and self. Meanwhile, the young Jane 23 tries to make a life for herself outside the scrap-sorting facility that’s all she’s ever known. I loved this so much. Becky Chambers’ books have always been great, but I this is my favourite thing she’s written by far; the characterisation is just so thoughtful (I’m not sure how else to describe it, but of course the security-AI would prefer to stand in the corner, it makes so much sense)! Naturally I loved Sidra (I’m a sucker for a good, multi-faceted AI character), but Pepper’s backstory was also incredibly touching. And the plot was basically perfect, too. There’s not much of it – the book is almost entirely character- (and relationship-) driven – but it blends the two timelines together wonderfully, and makes for a natural and gratifying conclusion to both Pepper and Sidra’s character arcs.
This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone. [AUDIOBOOK; Narrators: Emily Woo Zeller & Cynthia Farrell] In a war that spans all of time, two rival agents send each other letters, and slowly fall in love. This is very poetically written, and I can see why it’s such a hit-or-miss book for a lot of people, but I really loved the vivid imagery, and I think this may have been my favourite book of last year. (If not, it definitely came close.) The romance was slow-building and it was wonderful to see it develop so gradually, and although there’s not much else of plot in this story, it was interesting to see the small, often arbitrary-seeming actions that Red and Blue took in order to shift the timeline. A lot of the reviews I’ve seen for the audiobook in particular say that the two perspectives aren’t distinct enough, but I never found that a problem myself, and I think that the narrators both performed excellently.
The Novice by Taran Matharu. And we go from an incredibly unique book to an incredibly boring one. The Novice follows a young orphan called Fletcher who accidentally summons himself a demon familiar, and must then attend a fancy magical school, where he’s out of place because of his common background, and the unorthodox way that he bonded with his demon. I liked the concept of a demon-summoning school, at least, and the three-way war between humans, orcs and elves made for a potentially intriguing storyline, especially as the series goes on… But! The characters were so awful. 😑 The villains were all comically evil, actual-enemy-of-the-nation and petty bullies alike – and Fletcher! Fletcher was the most annoying protagonist I’ve had the displeasure of reading about in a while. He’s the most open-minded person in the book, uniqely capable of accepting people for who they are; he’s the most un-racist human you’ll ever meet, able to convert the most stubborn or bigots with one encounter; he’s not naturally talented at all and has to work really hard for his skill, we’re told, even as we’re shown the exact opposite; and he’s so eloquent that he must have his own personal speech-writer following him around, scripting everything he says. Seriously, it’s not even as though he doesn’t talk like a teenager – it’s that he doesn’t talk like a person.
Nevernight by Jay Kristoff. Thankfully, though, I was able to end the year on a high note with Nevernight, which tells the story of another orphan – Mia Corvere – who swears revenge on the men who ruined her family, and heads off to join the Red Church – an organisation of deadly assassins – in order to learn the skills she needs. Dark, witty, frequently edgy and over-the-top (which I love… sometimes), with well-developed and surprisingly likeable (for murderers) characters, and a plotline that kept me on the edge of my seat – with some truly shocking twists (though admittedly, some of them I was probably more shocked by than I should’ve been). I was given the sequel to this for Christmas, and I can’t wait to get to it as soon as my new TBR game allows… 😅🤞

 

2020 in Review: Highlights

🎉 Happy New Year’s Eve, all! 🎉 Once again, the year is at an end and so everyone has to pick a favourite book (or several)! And, once again, I can’t do it. 😓 So these are some of the highlights of my reading year, rather than a top 10, and it’ll definitely include some 4-star reads as well as the usual 5-stars:

Starting with my most recent read, which was Nevernight by Jay Kristoff! I feel as though I haven’t read as much really great fantasy this year as I usually do, so I was delighted to end 2020 on such a high point! Super-edgy, with a witty narrative, a really memorable cast of characters, and a plot that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through; this book was everything I wanted it to be, and more. 🤩

However! To me, the most notable thing about my reading this year is just how much re-reading I’ve done; with my book-buying ban finally starting to cut my physical TBR down to a less anxiety-inducing size, I’ve felt a lot more comfortable with re-reading old favourites rather than always reaching for something new, and it’s been wonderful to revisit worlds that I haven’t been to in ages! I’ve discovered a new appreciation for Tamora Pierce’s Circle of Magic series (which I already thought very highly of), and I loved Tim Curry’s reading of the original Old Kingdom trilogy, which I listened to in order to prepare to finally read the more recent entries in the series. And although Twilight has never been and will never be my favourite series, my chapter-by-chapter re-read of the first two books along with the Twilight in Quarantine podcast kept me sane through the first bout of lockdown-and-return-to-work; I’m very much hoping that book three will do the same for this most recent one… 🤞

Besides re-reads, another thing I’ve read a surprising amount of this year is science fiction! I don’t know how the numbers would hold up compared to genres like fantasy, or even romance, but so many of the sci-fi stories I’ve read this year have been truly fantastic. Notable among them were Becky Chambers’ A Closed & Common Orbit, a book which not only lived up to my sky-high expectations, but actually managed to surpass them; and Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee, who may well be one of my favourite new(-to-me) authors… I’ve yet to finish up his Machineries of Empire trilogy, but I got a collection of his short stories for Christmas, and I’m dying to make a start on it, even though traditionally I don’t like short fiction that much.

And! On the subject of sci-fi short stories, I also really, really loved This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone. Was it my favourite book of the year? … Maybe? I’m not entirely sure, to be honest, but if not, it definitely comes close. The writing and imagery were absolutely beautiful, the story itself was unlike anything I’ve read before, and the audiobook – which was how I consumed this story –  was expertly narrated by Emily Woo Zeller & Cynthia Farrell.

And finally, the last book I want to mention is I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman, which was a surprise favourite early on in the year. I won’t say much about it here, since I talked about it already in my Mid-Year Book Freakout post, but it’s definitely stuck with me, despite all the other really great books I’ve read since. 😁

2018 in Review: Highlights

🎊🎊🎊 Happy New Year’s Eve Eve, everyone! 🎊🎊🎊 It’s the time of year again for everyone to talk about their favourite books! 📚 … And usually I’d be joining in with the numbered-list-o-mania, but I’ve read so many great books this year, so instead I thought I’d talk about some of my bookish highlights for the year! 😊 Not all of these are necessarily my absolute favourites, but these are the books I found particularly memorable in 2018:

If you’ve been following my monthly/seasonal wrap-ups, you’ll probably have noticed that I finally got myself an Audible subscription, which I’ve been enjoying immensely. I find it hard sometimes to tell whether my feelings about the book being read are affected by the narrator’s performance, or vice versa, but quite a few of my favourites this year turned out to be ones that I’d listened to rather than read. In terms of pure performance, though, nothing comes close to Garth Nix’s Frogkisser!, which was wonderfully read by Marisa Calin; you can find my review of it here.

The other stand-out audiobook I listened to was Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor, though in this case I think my enjoyment was based mostly on the story itself (though Steve West’s narration was also excellent), and I’ve no doubt that I would have liked it just as much in print form. I was a little behind the bandwagon in starting this series, but this first book definitely lives up to the incredible amount of hype surrounding it, and the sequel (Muse of Nightmares, which was released a few months ago) was almost as good.

And on the topic of more recent releases: The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff and The Conqueror’s Saga by Kiersten White both ended this year, and are by far some of the best series I’ve read in the last few years. Neither Obsidio nor Bright We Burn were my favourites from their respective series, but they both made for incredibly satisfying endings.

After a slightly disappointing start to the series, I was also pleasantly surprised by how much I liked The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan, which I finally – and reluctantly – picked up for the Fall into Fantasy readathon in November. I was never entirely sure why The Hidden Oracle didn’t resonate with me, but The Dark Prophecy has definitely saved the series for me; I’m currently reading book three (The Burning Maze), and enjoying it just as much, and no doubt it would be included in this post, too, if not for the fact that I’m unlikely to finish it before New Year. (I also have a review up for this book, which you can find here, if you’re interested.)

On the whole, my 2018 seems to have been a really great (and intense) year for fantasy books, and it’s been really wonderful to delve so deeply back into my favourite genre, including my first (kind-of) go at one of the classics: Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea Cycle! I’ve been meaning to read this series for such a long time, and now that I’ve started, I can’t believe it’s taken me so long! So far, I’ve only read the first three books, but I’ve loved them all, and the second book, The Tombs of Atuan, is probably my favourite book of the year; it was such a wonderful read. 💕 Needless to say, Tehanu (the fourth in the series) will be one of the first things that I read in 2019.

Finally, I’d like to also give a quick mention to We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler, which is probably the most thought-provoking book I read this year, and was an incredible roller-coaster of emotions. I feel like I read it so long ago that it’s heard to believe that it was really still 2018, but it’s stuck with me, and I have no doubt that it will continue to do so for a long time to come.

Summer Catch-Up

Seeing such a long list of books makes me much more satisfied with my reading than I have been for my last few wrap-ups (/catch-ups), though I know it’s a slightly artificial satisfaction (but not entirely! Booktubeathon meant that I read a lot more this summer than I would ordinarily have); three months naturally results in more books read than one, after all… 😅

Also, I find myself liking this new format. It’s kind of labour-intensive (I had to completely re-code it last night, which was a chore), but I expect that it will become less so as I get more used to it. And it looks very tidy, which I appreciate. 😊

FAVOURITE OF THE SEASON*	LIBRARY SCAVENGER HUNT PICKS
	JUNE [REVIEW]	JULY [REVIEW]	AUGUST [REVIEW]

OTHER BOOKS I REVIEWED
[REVIEW]	[REVIEW]	[REVIEW]
[REVIEW]	[REVIEW]	[SERIES REVIEW]
BOOKS I DIDN’T REVIEW (INDIVIDUALLY)
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor. [AUDIOBOOK; Narrator: Steve West] The first book in a new series of the same name, which follows the orphaned Lazlo Strange, who has always been fascinated by the lost city of Weep, which was one day erased from the world, as if by magic, leaving few who even remembered that it was ever more than a myth. I liked Daughter of Smoke and Bone a lot, but this may be my favourite thing that Laini Taylor has written so far. I really loved both Lazlo and Sarai (the book’s second protagonist), and the supporting characters were all incredibly memorable, despite there being quite a few of them. The conflict at the centre of the book was fascinating, too, and the world-building amazing. I’m very much looking forward to returning to Weep, and am glad that I only have a month more to wait for Muse of Nightmares, which is unsurprisingly my most anticipated autumn release – and which I will definitely also be listening to, rather than reading in print, as Steve West’s performance of Strange the Dreamer was fantastic.
Dragon Age: Knight Errant by Nunzio DeFilippis & Christina Weir. [COMIC; Illustrators: Fernando Heinz Furukawa & Michael Atiyeh] A brief (and self-contained) story set in the Dragon Age world, about Vaea, the elven squire to drunken knight Ser Aaron Hawthorne – and, unbeknownst to her master, a thief. I’ll admit that I’m inclined to enjoy every foray into this world, regardless of length (or even story or writing quality), but Knight Errant surpassed all my expectations. It’s very short, but did a great job of making me care about Vaea and Ser Aaron, the two main characters (who are original to this comic), and although the plot is simple, it’s also solid, and a lot of fun. Varric and Sebastian from the games also had fairly significant roles, and it was great to see them both again (as well as Charter, who made a brief appearance). 😊 In terms of timeline, this takes place after Inquisition, but is not directly connected to the events of that game.
The Call of the Wild by Jack London. The tale of a domestic dog called Buck, who’s stolen from his owners in California and taken all the way to the Yukon, where he lives a much less comfortable life as a sled-dog, but is drawn to the wild places that exist just beyond the borders of his new life. This was a really interesting read! I picked it up a few days before Booktubeathon, because I was hoping to read White Fang for one of the challenges, and mistakenly thought that the two were directly connected, but I actually ended up liking this one a bit more, as the pacing was much more consistent, and the story a little gratuitously violent… Buck’s life in the North is a harsh one, but London doesn’t dwell on the brutality of it quite so much as in White Fang. Still, for such a short book, it packs a huge emotional punch.
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. [AUDIOBOOK; Narrators: Aysha Kala & Jack Farrar] An excellent, Roman Empire-inspired fantasy following two leads: Laia, a teenage girl who becomes a slave in order to spy for the Scholar resistance, and Elias, a Martial soldier who wants only to be free of the Empire. I first read (and reviewed) this book a couple of years ago, and my feelings on it haven’t changed in the slightest. 💕 The audiobook was a new experience for me, but also a good one; both narrators did an excellent job, though I feel like the communication between them might not have been particularly great, as there were several words that they each pronounced differently. It wasn’t usually too jarring, and the most significant pronunciation disagreement was corrected after a few chapters, but it’s something that really should have been addressed by an editor or director (or whoever is in charge of voice work) before recording… especially when it’s the name of one of the main characters!
Obsidio by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff. The final book in The Illuminae Files, which introduces two new protagonists: Asha, Kady’s cousin who was left behind on Kerenza IV when the majority of the population fled, and her ex-boyfriend-from-before-Kerenza, Rhys, who is now a technician for the invading BeiTech forces. As the conclusion to the trilogy, the plot of this book was much less self-contained than the other two, and it wrapped up the plot really nicely, and made for an incredibly powerful ending – though at the expense of some development for Asha and Rhys, who had to share their screen time with the series’ previous four protagonists (or five if you include AIDAN). However, I do think that they were both very well-fleshed out characters regardless, and the Kerenza-based perspective that they both provided to the story was essential. The pacing of the story was fast and tense, and only became more so as the stakes got higher and higher towards the end… and although I didn’t like this book quite as much as Illuminae, it was a near thing. A truly great ending to this fantastic series!
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. [AUDIOBOOK; Narrator: Lindsay Duncan] The classic tale of Lizzie Bennet and Mr. Darcy, who meet at a ball and absolutely do not hit it off. 😉 This is one of my favourite books, and always a joy to re-read, but I decided to buy the audiobook to listen to with some friends on our recent pilgrimage-of-sorts to Pemberley! (Or rather, Lyme Park, which played the part of Pemberley’s exterior in the 1995 BBC adaptation, i.e. the best adaptation.) There are several different audio versions of this book, so much deliberation went into the choice of this one in particular, and I’m pleased to say that I was not disappointed! Lindsay Duncan’s performance was incredible, and I especially liked her take on Mrs. Bennet. 🎶

*Not including re-reads.

Series Review: The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (Spoiler-Free)

Caught in the middle of a conflict between two corporate giants, the residents of the illegal mining colony of Kerenza IV find themselves forced to flee through deep space, pursued by people who will kill to keep their crimes a secret. Potentially more dangerous, however, is the quickly-spreading virus aboard the colonists’ already-damaged ship – and the ship’s A.I., which will do anything within its power to save them.

The Illuminae Files is comprised of three books: Illuminae, Gemina and Obsidio. The summary above only describes the first book, but the plot of the later two goes on to describe the continuing struggle between the the aforementioned corporate giants (the Wallace Ulyanov Consortium – or WUC – and BeiTech Industries), and the roles of two more pairs of protagonists in it. Each book’s plot is relatively separate, but they are blended together perfectly to create an overarching storyline that is incredibly powerful, and feels truly epic in scale.

The most immediately noticeable thing about these books is their formatting: The entire series is told in the form of data-logs, emails, IM chats, and beautiful word art, along with descriptions of security footage, which are the most conventional parts of the series to read, but from an obvious outsider perspective. Hanna, one of the main characters in Gemina, has a talent for drawing, so in the last two books we also see a lot of extracts from her sketchbooks. (These illustrations are – in the non-fictional world – by Marie Lu, who did a fantastic job.) This was one of a couple of reasons why I didn’t start Illuminae with high hopes; these all seemed to me to be barriers that I would have to overcome in order to really get to know the characters, and as someone who is primarily drawn to character-driven stories, that preconception was a massive turn-off.

Thankfully, however, it was also a massive misconception. True, we didn’t see directly into their heads all that often, but the challenge of portraying fully-fleshed-out characters mainly through conversation and body language was one that the authors rose to, to great effect. I laughed, I cried, I raged and I yearned as I read these books. Additionally, I found that this formatting lent itself really well towards fast paced action, and did a particularly great job of portraying the confusion and chaos of warfare. There’s a couple of pages near the end of Obsidio that are entirely made up of jumbled-up radio transmissions of people trying to figure out what’s happening in a battle, and it doesn’t tell a story in any traditional sense, but it does make its point very vividly; that everything is happening all at once, and everyone involved is confused and frightened, despite their determination. Granted, if the whole book had been like those to pages, it would’ve been unreadable, but Kaufman and Kristoff managed to strike a very nice balance between styles, so that each one had its own powerful impact.

Of the three pairs of protagonists, I found myself more attached to Kady and Ezra than either Hanna and Nik or Asha and Rhys, but because – as the lead characters in the first book – I spent much more time with them over the course of the series than with the others, rather than because they were any better written. Correspondingly, I was much less invested in Asha and Rhys, who were only introduced in Obsidio, where they were already sharing screen-time with the other four – but they were all excellent, compelling characters. As was AIDEN, their A.I. kind-of-ally, whose presence was felt in almost every twist and turn of the plot (and who I loved).

Each pair also had their own romantic sub-plot, which both sweet and very believable, and (unusually for YA, at least in my experience) all of these were either built on pre-existing relationships, or at least pre-existing feelings. This could have made us as readers feel disconnected from the romances, but I found that the characters’ feelings still grew and changed enough that that wasn’t the case, and I also appreciated the fact that less time spent building the relationships from scratch meant that more time could be spent on developing the main story.

This whole series was incredibly emotionally draining, in the best possible way, and Illuminae and Obsidio were particularly intense (there were a few places in both of them that brought me close to tears). Gemina was probably the weakest of the three, as it felt a little less connected to the series’ overarching storyline (its plot was kind of a “meanwhile, these other peripherally-connected things were going on nearby”), but that’s really not saying much, as the other two were so incredible; all three books were definite five-star reads for me, and Illuminae was my favourite of them.

Upcoming Releases: Spring 2018

Once again, I had a pretty hard time picking out just a few books to look forward to this spring, as there seem to be a tonne of exciting things coming out in the next few months – and in particular, lots of books from series or authors that I really love… Narrow it down I did, however, so these are a few of the books I’m most excited for in March, April & May. 😁

[All dates are taken from Goodreads unless stated otherwise, and are correct as of 25/2/2018.]

Obsidio by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (13th March)

The final book in the Illuminae Files series, in which we will be returning to Kerenza (where the first book began) and joining new protagonists Asha and Rhys. I absolutely loved Illuminae when I first read it, and although I didn’t like Gemini quite as much, I still really enjoyed it… At this point I’m not sure how I’ll take to the new protagonists, but I’m willing to give Kaufman & Kristoff the benefit of the doubt, and the likelihood of me buying this as soon as it’s available is close to 100%. Excitement level: 9/10

The Smoke Thieves by Sally Green (1st May)

The first in a new high fantasy series with four main characters: a princess, a thief, a hunter, and a traitor. I know very little else about it, but since I loved Green’s Half Bad trilogy so much, I’m interested to see what she’ll be doing with what looks like a more traditional fantasy setting. Excitement level: 8/10

I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman (3rd May)

A standalone contemporary novel about the lead singer of a boyband called The Ark, and a teenage girl who owes a huge amount to her experiences as part of their fanbase. I only discovered Oseman’s writing recently, but I was super-impressed by it, so I’m really eager to see what she’s come up with next. This also sounds like its going to be more on the fluffier side of things than most of the other books on this list, but (although I wouldn’t be disappointed if that were the case) judging from Radio Silence – and, I hear, Solitaire, too – I expect that it’ll get heavier at some point. Excitement level: 6/10

Season of Storms by Andrzej Sapkowski (22nd May)

A spin-off, standalone novel set in the Witcher universe, some time around the events of The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny (the two prequel short story collections), if I’m not mistaken. I remember being super-excited when I heard (sometime last year, I think) that Sapkowski was going to write another Witcher book, but, given that the main series has only just finished being released in English, I’m surprised that this one was translated so quickly! I’m definitely looking forward to reading it… as soon as I’m done with Lady of the Lake. 😋 Excitement level: 7/10

November & December Haul

I’ve divided this post into two sections; the first for books that I bought myself, and the second for books that were Christmas presents. That second section, by the way, is almost twice as long as the first, because (amazingly) my book-buying ban (or “book-buying restriction”; I’m allowing myself to buy one book for every five that I read) is going really well at the moment! 😀 Anyway, here’s what I bought in the last two months:

1) Gemina by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff. The sequel to Illuminae, which I spent the whole of 2016 eagerly anticipating. This is another deep-space survival story told through IM transcripts and data logs and the like, but featuring two new protagonists – Hanna and Nik – and showing another aspect of the Kerenza incident that was documented in Illuminae. I read this book in December, so you can find my thoughts about it in my wrap-up for that month.

2) The World’s Best Street Food by Lonely Planet. Something in-between a cookbook and a guide book, this book was one of the books we had in our new products range at Oxfam this year, so I made sure to snap one up before they all sold out. I haven’t tried out any of the recipes yet, but the pictures are really beautiful, and I love that it includes information about the countries where all these interesting recipes come from.

3) The Monstrous Child by Francesca Simon. A re-telling of the tale of Hel, the Norse goddess of death, and Queen of the Underworld. I won’t lie, I mainly picked this book up because it had a really beautiful cover… but it also had an interesting premise. I read this book in December, too, so I’ve talked about it in the same post as Gemina, but I’m also hoping to post a full review of it in the not-so-distant future.

4) The Graces by Laure Eve. A Twilight-esque, but (deliberately) super-creepy story about a teenage girl who moves to a new town, and becomes caught up in the town’s fascination with a local family called the Graces – who are rumoured to be witches. Look out for a mini-review of this book soon, as I finished reading it a few days ago, and have a lot to say.

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These next few books were Christmas presents from various (wonderful) friends and relatives! People don’t often give me books as presents, as it’s difficult to find things that I’ll definitely be interested in, but don’t already have, but everyone seemed to anticipate me really well this time around! I haven’t read any of these quite yet, but I’m super-excited for them all. XD

1) The Dark Volume by G.W. Dahlquist. The second book in Dahlquist’s The Glass Books series, which I know basically nothing about. I picked this book out for myself, & mysteriously found it in my stocking on Christmas morning ( 😉 ), but I will need to get hold of the first book in the series before I can read this one.

2) Hyrule Historia. A thing of beauty, given to me by my friend Chloë (from SSJTimeLord and Her Books), which is all about the history, art and making of the Legend of Zelda series of games. I’ve been wanting this book for so long, it’s kind of hard to believe that I finally have it in my hands… ❤

3) How to Bake by Paul Hollywood. Another beautiful book about bread, which was given to me by my parents. I’ve started making sourdough recently, and this book seems to have a lot of tips that I can learn from (and also some interesting new variations to try). 🙂

4) Wild Lily by K.M. Peyton. I’ve described this book a couple of times before as “a new book about aeroplanes from the author who first made me love aeroplanes”, and I don’t think there’s really any more that I can add to that, except that I’m really, really looking forward to it, and I really, really hope that it’s good. (I’m sure it is.) This wonderful book was a gift from my aunt and uncle, Lucy and Mark.

5) The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman. This book and the next were both from my other aunt and uncle, Catty & David, and they’re completely unknown to me. From reviews, I’ve managed to glean that this one is some kind of magical-realism mystery novel that focuses on the relationship between a mother and daughter… it definitely looks like it could be interesting.

6) Rainforest by Jenny Diski. I know even less about this book, but it did come with a recommendation from Catty, who apparently really enjoyed it. Neither this nor the last book really sound like things that I would’ve picked out for myself, but I am trying to branch out a bit in my reading this year, so hopefully they’ll both be good for that – and getting to try new kinds of books is part of the fun of receiving them as gifts!

7) Frozen Tides by Morgan Rhodes. Lastly, the fourth book in the Falling Kingdoms series, which was a present from my cousin Laila. 🙂 I’ve been waiting to read this for a long time now, as I didn’t want to buy it before it was out in paperback… and now I have it! (Possibly) Interesting trivia: Falling Kingdoms was one of the first books I read in 2016, and Rebel Spring (the sequel) was the first book I bought. It seems oddly fitting that the latest(-but-one) book in the series should be the last new book I received in the year. 😛

December Wrap-Up

December ended up being a pretty great reading month – in terms of both quantity and quality – despite being crazily busy at work and at home in the build-up to Christmas. I read a grand total of 5 novels, 1 short story collection, and 10 manga volumes – including several books that I’d been really excited for for a long time! And they most definitely did not disappoint~ 😀

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. The sequel to Six of Crows, which follows a group of criminals trying to make their fortunes in the underbelly of the Amsterdam-inspired city of Ketterdam, and bring ruin to everyone who’s ever crossed them. I didn’t enjoy this book as much as Six of Crows (though I still enjoyed it a great deal); there was a plot development near the end that I really didn’t like, and, worse, felt was completely unnecessary, and it didn’t leave me with quite the giddy, excited feeling that I had after reading the first book. What it did do was tear out my heart and stomp on it. 😥 The writing was wonderfully emotional, the character development was superb, and the plot was brilliantly complex; a masterfully crafted roller-coaster of a story, full of dramatic twists and turns. Definitely a worthy ending to a great series.

Winterkill by Kate A. Boorman. The first book in series which follows a young girl called Emmeline, who lives in a remote and isolated community that’s plagued by a strange monster called the malmaci. This was my Library Scavenger Hunt pick for the month, so I’ve already posted a review of it here, but in short: it was well-written, with an engaging plotline, likeable characters and a great, spooky atmosphere, and I had a lot of fun reading it. 🙂Gemina by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff. The second book in The Illuminae Files, which all document an attack on a mining planet called Kerenza, but from several different points of view. Gemina showed the incident from the perspective of two teenagers aboard the Heimdall space station, where the Kerenza survivors were fleeing during the first book – Hanna, the station commander’s daughter, and Nik, an unregistered civilian whose family is running a drugs operation – and like Illuminae, it’s fast-paced and action-packed, and surprisingly emotional for being written as a series of data files. So, naturally, I loved it. ❤ Hanna and Nik were both great characters, and the story’s twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through… Illuminae is a tough act to follow (one of my favourite books of all time), and I don’t think Gemina was quite so good, but it comes pretty close. Needless to say, I’m very excited for the next book in the series.Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE, Volumes 11-20 by CLAMP. A fun and energetic series about a group of friends travelling between different worlds (and meeting lots of other-world versions of characters from CLAMP’s previous works) in search of Princess Sakura’s stolen memories, which take the form of magical feathers. It’s been a long time since I last rad any of this series (several years, in fact), but I was surprised by how easily I was able to pick up where I’d left off, even though I’d been in the middle of a story-arc when I last stopped – the story and characters are all incredibly memorable. In these 10 volumes, the plot took a very surprising turn, taking the series in a rather dark direction, and I’m really excited to see how this new dilemma is going to be resolved!

The Monstrous Child by Francesca Simon. The story of Hel, the Norse goddess of death, and Queen of the Underworld, imagined as a teenager who’s despised by her divine family. Understandably – since this book is about Hel’s whole life rather than just a certain event – the plot lacks direction somewhat, and I wasn’t a huge fan of Hel herself; she’s rather an abrasive character. This was, however, really interesting as a character study, in a way that was almost reminiscent of Fairest by Marissa Meyer, and I really enjoyed that aspect of it, along with the writing, which was fluid and engaging.To finish off the year, the Holiday Booktubeathon arrived, and I managed to read two books over the course of it: The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski, and Percy Jackson & the Greek Heroes by Rick Riordan. I’ve written mini-reviews for both of them, which you can find by clicking on their respective covers. 🙂

Upcoming Releases: Autumn 2016

Autumn looks like it’s shaping up to be an exciting season for books (October especially!); there are so many things coming out soon that I couldn’t even fit them all on this list! But after much agonising, here are the books I’m most excited to see in September, October & November!

[NB: All dates are taken from Amazon UK unless stated otherwise, and are correct as of 28/08/2016.]

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas (6th September)

The next book in the Throne of Glass series, which has been getting more and more exciting as it’s gone on. I wasn’t hugely thrilled with Queen of Shadows in terms of character development, but the plot was really great, so I still have high hopes. 🙂

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (27th September)

I finished reading Six of Crows just a few days ago (as I’ve been telling you all incessantly), so it’s a stroke of luck that the sequel’s coming out so soon! I am more excited to read this than I’ve been for any book in a long time, so I’ll probably be reading it pretty promptly, too! My hopes for it: I’d really like some chapters from Wylan’s perspective, and maybe a little more of Jesper, too; they were the characters that I felt got the least development in Six of Crows (though, naturally, I still want to see loads of Kaz, Inej, Nina and Matthias! 😉 ).

Goldenhand by Garth Nix (4th October)

To be honest, I know nothing about this book except that it’s a new Old Kingdom story. And I still haven’t even read Clariel (the book that comes before it, and which I’ve had on my shelf since it was released two whole years ago. But I want it anyway, and I’m sure it’s going to be brilliant – Garth Nix’s books always are. XD

Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (4th October)

The illustrated edition, because it’s that time of year again! 😀 Re-reading Philosopher’s Stone last year was such a wonderful experience, and Jim Kay’s art was beautiful, so of course I’m excited to see what’s he’s done with Chamber of Secrets.

Gemina by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (20th October)

Another book that I’m expecting to be beautiful. And heart-wrenching. And generally amazing. Illuminae was one of my favourite books from last year, and I really hope that this sequel will live up to it… I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed!

Honourable mentions, cut because I’m not yet up to date on either of these two series… and because this post was in danger of becoming far too long even without them: Magnus Chase & the Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan (4th October) and The Thorn of Emberlain by Scott Lynch (22nd September).