October & November Wrap-Up

Some more really great reads in the last couple of months (including what  might be a new favourite)! 😁 I was a little bit slumpy at the end of October/beginning of November, so there’s not a huge number of books here, but quality-wise, it’s been a really great autumn! 🍁🍁🍁

BOOKS I REVIEWED
[REVIEW]	[REVIEW]	[REVIEW]	[REVIEW]
OTHER BOOKS I READ
Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater. A sequel/companion novel to the Wolves of Mercy Falls series, following Isabel and Cole as they attempt to put their lives back together, and sustain a relationship. I don’t remember the original trilogy super-well at this point (it’s been literally years, and I could definitely do with a re-read), but despite (or maybe because of) her general antagonism towards the protagonists, Isabel was always my favourite character. And happily, I still loved her in Sinner! Which is a good thing, as it’s a pretty character-driven book. The story mainly revolves around Cole moving to LA in order to be closer to Isabel, and the chaos that follows him wherever he goes getting between them, which I might have found annoying if it’d been written by a less skilled writer (or about characters that I cared less for)… but as it is, Sinner was a pretty enjoyable ride; the romance was great, the conflicts realistic, and the characters compelling… and it was really lovely to be back in this world. 😊
Kulti by Mariana Zapata. Successful soccer player Sal Casillas is astonished to find that her former idol Reiner Kulti is about to become her team’s new coach… and seems determined to be a complete dick to her. I loved this book so much (and must now devour every other book Mariana Zapata has written)! It’s a very slow-burn enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance, with two great lead characters, and enough going on beyond the romance that I was never bored (which tends to be a problem for me with romances), even though it’s a pretty long book. 💕
Lusus Naturae by Alison Goodman. [SHORT STORY] A quick story from the world of The Dark Days Club, which re-tells Lady Helen and Lord Carlston’s first meeting, but from Carlston’s perspective. I liked this; it was quick, and a little nostalgic, but Carlston’s thoughts and feelings upon meeting Helen weren’t anything unexpected, and I don’t feel like the story really added anything to the series.
Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes. The first book in the Falling Kingdoms series, which centres around three kingdoms on the brink of war, and the search for an ancient magic that will restore the continent’s dying land. Re-reading this wasn’t part of my reading plans for November, but I’m glad to have picked it up anyway; I kind of hate the storyline of this series, as well as the world and most of the characters, but somehow it’s weirdly addictive? Cleo and Magnus (who are two of the three primary characters), though not at their best in this book, are definite bright spots of the series, and it was fun to revisit their beginnings – even though my general opinion of this book hasn’t changed.
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. The two Owens sisters grow up under suspicion of witchcraft, and desperate to escape their hometown – but life away from their childhood home comes with unexpected challenges, and the more that they try to stay apart, the more that they find that they need each other. I liked the almost dream-like writing in this, and found both Sally and Gillian (as well as Sally’s younger daughter Kylie) to be compelling leads, but wasn’t hugely invested in either the plot or the romances, unfortunately… The book seemed to wander kind of aimlessly through the sisters’ lives without coming to any real point until near the end, and all the love interests were introduced really suddenly, and neither they nor their relationships were ever really fleshed out much. I found myself wondering if this book is only so famous because the film (which I’ve heard is very different from the book) was very popular? Because I liked it, but didn’t think it was really anything special… And I probably won’t be revisiting this world for the sequel/prequels.
Borders of Infinity by Lois McMaster Bujold. [AUDIOBOOK; Narrator: Grover Gardner; SHORT STORY COLLECTION] A collection of three of Miles’ adventures, framed by an original story for this collection in which Miles recovers from bone-replacement surgery – an important episode in his life, even if the tale in itself isn’t the most gripping. The three short stories were all ones I’d read before, but I enjoyed revisiting them a lot, and bumped up my individual ratings for both The Borders of Infinity (which I was much more invested in this time around), and The Mountains of Mourning (which I honestly thought I’d given five stars already… but apparently not). Labyrinth is my least favourite of the bunch, but still an entertaining read (/listen).
Red at Night by Katie McGarry. [SHORT STORY] A quick story from the Pushing the Limits universe, in which the popular Jonah begins to spend time at the graveyard after a traumatic accident, only to find that it’s “Trash Can Girl” Stella’s favourite spot. This was cute, and I liked both the main characters, but it was too short, and moved to quickly for me to really feel like I’d got to know either of them, or (consequently) for me to get invested in their future. My favourite scenes: their first graveyard-talk, and when Stella took Jonah to volunteer with her.
Eve of Man by Giovanna & Tom Fletcher. In a dystopian near-future where the birth rate for girls has drastically declined, Eve – the last girl to be born – is humanity’s only hope for survival. No rating for this one; I DNFd it almost halfway through, because whoever came up with the plan to save humanity was clearly an idiot, and I was so frequently reminded of the fact that I was unable to enjoy any other part of the book. I’ve been informed (by a friend who did read the whole thing) that some of my issues with the plot are addressed in the second half, but regardless, I have no plans of picking this up again.
The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk. [AUDIOBOOK; Narrator: Moira Quirk] Beatrice plans to restore her family’s fortunes by summoning a greater spirit of luck and becoming an assistant to her father, while her family is banking on her making an advantageous marriage – which would mean sealing away her magic until widowhood. But when she meets Ianthe Lavan (handsome, charming, eligible, and – most astonishingly of all – understanding of her plight), her choice becomes that much more difficult. This book was barely even on my radar this year, but I’m so glad that I decided to pick it up; if not an all-time favourite, it’s definitely one of my favourites of the year! 💕 I don’t want to say too much here, as I’m planning to write a full review soon, but my favourite thing about The Midnight Bargain was the gradual shift in so many of Beatrice’s relationships, from mercenary to respectful, then to genuinely affectionate. And there were so many wonderful characters (my favourite was Ysbeta, though)!

[EDIT (1/7/22): Changed rating of Kulti from 4 to 5 stars after further consideration.]

December Wrap-Up

Happy New Year! In the final month of 2018, I am pleased that my intense desire to read all the time remained strong (despite the shocking realisation that the single-player mode in the new Smash Bros. game is actually fun 😱), and so I managed to get through 7 manga volumes, 6 novels, 2 audiobooks, 1 novella, 1 picture book, and 1 data book! 😁 Here’s what I thought of them all:

FAVOURITE OF THE MONTH	LIBRARY SCAVENGER HUNT PICK
	[REVIEW]

 

OTHER BOOKS I REVIEWED
[REVIEW]	[REVIEW]
BOOKS I DIDN’T REVIEW
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, volume 1 by Hideyuki Furuhashi. [MANGA; Illustrator: Betten Court] A spin-off series from the My Hero Academia manga, which focuses on a young man who wasn’t able to become a licensed hero due to the unsuitability of his quirk, so joins up with a group of vigilantes instead. I obviously haven’t managed to read much of this series yet, but I really like all the characters so far, and appreciate the alternative take on hero society that it offers.
Crimson Dagger by Morgan Rhodes. [NOVELLA; Available here: Part 1 / Part 2] A prequel novella to the Falling Kingdoms series, featuring a pre-series Magnus regretting a cruelty he committed as a small child. This comes across more as fanservice than as something that’s meant to add to the series as a whole, but Kara seems like a cool character, and it would be interesting if she were to show up in one of the last two books. The other benefit of this snippet? 7-year-old Magnus, who is adorable. 💕
Santa’s Husband by Daniel Kibblesmith. [PICTURE BOOK; Illustrator: A.P. Quach] A cute picture book that portrays Father Christmas as a gay black man, and talks about his life with his husband. I am of course not the target audience for this book, but I appreciated it as a challenge to the typical image of Father Christmas, and liked its underlying message that there is no wrong way to think of him – or other folk figures like him.
Crystal Storm by Morgan Rhodes. The fifth book in the Falling Kingdoms series, about a group of characters who are in contention over the magical Kindred, which will decide the fate of the world. Super melodramatic, and oftentimes frustrating, but great fun overall. This book and the next (which I’ll talk about in a moment) are definitely the series’ high point.
My Hero Academia, volumes 1-6 by Kohei Horikoshi. [MANGA] A series about a boy with no superpowers, in a world where almost everyone has superpowers, and his journey to become a hero. I’ve been loving the anime version of this series, and decided to pick up the manga while I’m waiting for the next season to be released. Needless to say, the story and characters are all just as charming as their anime counterparts, and I’m looking forward to reading more as soon as my book-buying ban will allow. 😅
Immortal Reign by Morgan Rhodes. The sixth and final book in the Falling Kingdoms series. As I’ve said before, these books aren’t without their (significant) faults, but I’ve really enjoyed my time with them (and am actually kind of tempted to re-read some of the earlier books soon…). The characters have all grown so much, and I’m a little sad to be saying goodbye to them all; even Jonas, who I hated for the majority of the series, has been quite likeable in the last couple of books! 😱 And the plot, too, wrapped up in a satisfying way, though I was definitely less invested in it than in the characters.
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden. [AUDIOBOOK; Narrator: Kathleen Gati] The sequel to The Bear & the Nightingale, wherein Vasya, disguised as a boy, leaves home for Moscow, and becomes caught up in a hunt for a group of bandits that are raiding villages and stealing girls, but seem to leave no tracks behind. This book was just as hauntingly atmospheric as the last one, and it’s plot was engaging and suspenseful in a way that made it very difficult to stop listening. Some of the first book’s minor characters were more prominent here, and it was wonderful to be able to get to know them a bit better, along with some really interesting new characters… I’m looking forward to seeing where Vasya’s story will take her next.
The Angry Tide by Winston Graham. The seventh book in the Poldark series, which follows the inhabitants of a Cornish mining community, mainly focusing on the titular Poldark family. Naturally, as a sequel, I don’t want to say much about the plot, but there were some developments in this one that made me very happy, as well as a few that made me very sad. The writing was as engaging as ever, and I remain incredibly emotionally invested in all the characters – even the ones I despise. As always, the emotional rollercoaster made the book somewhat draining to read, however, so I will probably be taking a(nother) break before reading the eighth one… but hopefully it won’t be too long!
Tortall: A Spy’s Guide by Tamora Pierce. [DATA BOOK; Co-authors: Julie Holderman, Timothy Liebe & Megan Messinger; Illustrator: Eva Widermann] A companion to Pierce’s Tortall-universe novels, primarily made up of letters, journals, pamphlets, and intelligence reports (hence the title, though one of the larger sections of the book is also a more blatant guide for spies). My favourite parts were probably an interesting set of letters that led up to Lord Wyldon’s appointment as training master, Daine’s gorgeously-illustrated notes on Immortals, and an amusing homework assignment near the end, in which Thom (of Pirate’s Swoop, not Trebond) is tasked with compiling a timeline of the kings and queens of Tortall, which he does with much sass. As regards spoilers: I’d say that the book contains fairly minor spoilers for basically all the Tortall series except for the Beka Cooper trilogy, and more significant spoilers for the Trickster’s books, The Immortals, and Protector of the Small. The very last section of the book (entitled “An Official Chronology of Tortallan Events”), is spoiler-heavy for basically the whole series.
The Christmas Hirelings by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. [AUDIOBOOK; Narrator: Jennifer Saunders] A short story about an elderly man who’s persuaded to hire some children in order to liven up his home for Christmas. The early part of the story that talked about Sir John’s time with his two daughters I found quite interesting, but on the whole this book was rather tedious; it’s primarily character-driven, but all the characters were either bland or annoying, and Moppet – the most prominent of the hirelings – in particular was incredibly grating, not only for her own actions, but also for how all the other characters acted around her. I wasn’t particularly taken by Jennifer Saunders’ performance, either, but it was very expressive, and I probably would have enjoyed it more if it hadn’t been attached to such a dull book.

 

Autumn Catch-Up

Almost immediately after implementing this new format, I am forced to re-think it again, as, with my reading slump now completely over, this post will be a mammoth one! 😅 (Perhaps flexibility is the key…) In any case, I read a great deal over the autumn months, and was mostly in the mood for fantasy, but with bits and pieces of quite a few other things mixed in, too! All in all, I managed to get through: 18 novels, 1 short story, 1 comic, 7 manga volumes, 2 pieces of non-fiction, and 5 audiobooks…

FAVOURITE OF THE SEASON*	LIBRARY SCAVENGER HUNT PICKS
	SEPTEMBER [REVIEW]	OCTOBER [REVIEW]	NOVEMBER [REVIEW]

 

OTHER BOOKS I REVIEWED
[REVIEW]	[REVIEW]		[REVIEW]
[SERIES REVIEW]	[REVIEW]	[REVIEW]	[REVIEW]
BOOKS I DIDN’T REVIEW (INDIVIDUALLY)
The Girl in the Mirror by Lev Grossman. [SHORT STORY; Anthology: Dangerous Women] A quick tale from the world of The Magicians, that makes me almost tempted to read the main series… Undergraduate Plum and her friends in the League play an elaborate prank on the college’s student wine steward – who has been short-pouring the wine at dinner – only for it to take a rather unsettling turn just before its completion. What I’d heard about this series makes me think I probably won’t like it, but I enjoyed this short story a surprising amount. I didn’t like Plum all that much, and even felt a little sorry for her chosen victim, Wharton, but the way that the prank played out was great fun (for the reader, though not the participants 😉).
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. [AUDIOBOOK; Narrator: Jenna Lamia] The story of a white girl called Lily who runs away from her abusive father, and sets out – dragging along her nanny and best friend Rosaleen, in trouble with a dangerous group of racists after spitting on a white man’s shoes – in search of information about her mother, who died when she was a toddler. I had a hard time getting into this story, but once I got through the first section of the book I was hooked. Lily was probably the weakest of the main cast (though I still liked her a lot by the time the book ended), but the relationships she formed with the people who helped her on her search were incredibly compelling. She and Rosaleen had their ups and downs, but their love for one another was always very obvious, and the bond that grew between Lily and the Calendar Sisters (and August in particular) was wonderful. Lamia’s narration was also beautifully done; I don’t know if I would’ve liked this book half so much if not for her excellent performance.
I Am Pusheen the Cat by Claire Belton. [COMIC] A collection of short comics about a very silly, very cute cat (with whom I’m sure we are all familiar). I actually bought this to give to a friend who really loves Pusheen, and hadn’t intended to do more than flip through it myself, but as is often the case with episodic cartoons like this, a quick flip-through turned into an entire read-through without much input from me. (It was still pretty quick, though. 😋)
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin. The first book of the Earthsea Cycle, which tells the story of the early years of the wizard Ged, who, as a boy, and out of pride, summons a terrible shadow that stalks him throughout the rest of his childhood – and which he must hunt in turn once he is a fully fledged wizard. I stalled halfway through reading this book about ten years ago, and have been meaning to get back to it ever since, but somehow it was never a priority. But I’m really glad to have finally been able to experience the beginning of this amazing series! 😁 It’s a very character-driven story, with slow pacing and an often a somewhat lonely tone, and a vast world, saturated with magic.
Hard in Hightown by Varric Tethras (a.k.a. Mary Kirby). [Illustrators: Stefano Martino, Álvaro Sarraseca, Andrés Ponce & German Ponce] A short tale from the world of the Dragon Age video games, as told by Varric – a companion character from both Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition – who is one of Thedas’ most popular authors. The majority of this book exists in-game in the form of unlockable codex entries (of which I had already read a few), but it was really lovely to read them all together, with some wonderful accompanying illustrations. The story itself – a murder mystery – is nothing particularly special, but the real charm of Hard in Hightown is all the familiar locations and characters that are scattered throughout the book, as Varric’s penchant for modelling his characters after his friends is greatly in evidence. 😊
The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula Le Guin. The second Earthsea book, which is told from the perspective of Tenar, the young priestess of the Nameless Ones, who wield a dark power in the sacred tombs beneath her island home of Atuan. I think I may have enjoyed this book even more than A Wizard of Earthsea! The new perspective was unexpected (and I was surprised by how long it took for Ged to appear in the story), but I liked Tenar a lot, and her small world above and below the island were fascinating.
Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor. [AUDIOBOOK; Narrator: Steve West] The sequel (and conclusion) to Strange the Dreamer, in which Lazlo Strange and his companions come face to face with the horrors of Weep’s past, and begin to uncover the reasons behind them. Since this is a sequel, I don’t want to say too much about the plot, but I had somewhat mixed feelings about it; while I loved all the backstory and worldbuilding in this book, and felt that the story wrapped up in an interesting way, I wasn’t as blown away by it as I hoped to be… Given that my expectations were sky-high, perhaps that isn’t saying much, but I found the book a bit too romance-driven (even though the romances were all ones I liked), and thought that the consequences of the dramatic – and potentially game-changing – twist at the end of Strange the Dreamer were avoided more than addressed… But regardless, I still think this was a fantastic series, and my interest in Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy (which I think this one is peripherally connected to?! Though I could be mistaken about that!) has definitely been re-invigorated.
A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb. A love story between two ghosts who are only able to meet by possessing the bodies of two teenagers. I didn’t have high expectations for this book, but was pleasantly surprised by it! It wasn’t particularly scary, but the spooky atmosphere was excellent, and I loved how the characters were caught between their desire to be together, and the dubious morality of their actions. I believe that the sequel is about the two teenagers whose bodies they were inhabiting, which sounds interesting, and I hope to read that at some point, too.
The Farthest Shore by Ursula Le Guin. [Illustrator: Charles Vess] The third book in the Earthsea Cycle, where Ged – now Archmage – is called away from Roke by a young prince who visits the island, bringing news that magic is fading from the world. As the majority of this story was spent travelling, it covered a lot of places in Earthsea that I hadn’t seen before, and which it was very interesting to visit, and I also really liked Ged’s new companion in this book, Prince Arren, and the bond that grew between them… Of the three books I’ve read so far, I found this the least-compelling, but that’s not much of a criticism! 😅 Having just begun reading from my new illustrated edition, I wish that there had been more pictures, but that only speaks to the quality of Vess’ artwork.
Secret Vampire by L.J. Smith. The first book in the Night World series follows a human girl called Poppy who is secretly in love with her best friend – who is, unbeknownst to her, a vampire, and possibly also her soulmate. This is probably one of the weakest stories from this series, as it’s almost entirely romance-driven, and neither of the two lead characters are particularly compelling, but it’s quite short, and I some of the secondary characters are interesting (meaning Ash, and Poppy’s brother Phil).
Daughters of Darkness by L.J. Smith. The second Night World book, in which the three Redfern sisters run away from their vampire family in search of a little freedom, and find themselves living next door to an inconveniently observant human girl, who suspects they may be killers. In contrast to Secret Vampire, this is one of the best entries in the series. I really liked all three of the Redferns, and Mary-Lynnette, their neighbour, was a great protagonist, although the length of these books doesn’t really lend itself to a great deal of character development. I appreciated, too, that the focus of this story was on the murder mystery, rather than pure romance – though the romantic aspects of the book were also very well done.
Spellbinder by L.J. Smith. The third in the same series, which is about two teenage witches who find themselves in competition over a mortal boy, and throwing around spells that are quickly growing beyond their control. This was another promising entry in the series, and I enjoyed the focus on Blaise and Thea’s friendship, despite their wildly different values. I liked Eric a lot, too, and his growing romance with Thea was very sweet.
Dogs, volumes 0-6 by Shirow Miwa. [MANGA] A dystopian series about a group of characters who are all searching for a way into the Below, their home city’s sinister underground. I had previously read the first three volumes of (and prequel to) this series, but decided to give them a (much needed) re-read before continuing on, as it’d been such a long time. And I find myself (for a second time) intrigued by the story and characters, and wowed by the beautiful art, but wishing the series was a bit less violent, as much of it seems unnecessary, and the action scenes are sometimes quite hard to follow. I’m also a little worried that, with Heine’s backstory now explained, the most interesting part of the plot may be over – despite the tease at the end of volume 6 of a new, powerful enemy for the team…
Frozen Tides by Morgan Rhodes. The fourth book in the Falling Kingdoms series, which follows a group of young protagonists, each of whom is trying to get their hands on the four Kindred – a set of stones with powerful magical abilities – for reasons of their own. The plot is definitely escalating dramatically in this new entry in the series, and I like where a lot of the relationships are going. Princess Amara of Kraeshia also joins the main cast in this book, and I’m not sure how I feel about her as a character yet, but she certainly adds an interesting new perspective on this world… And I still hate Jonas – I will probably always hate Jonas – but he does seem to be getting at least a little less insufferable as the series goes on. I tend to talk quite negatively about this series, but I do kind of love it. It’s not great literature by any definition, but it’s super-fun, and I’m really looking forward to reading the last two books. 😁
The Rights of Man by H.G. Wells. A new edition of Wells’ manifesto on human rights, introduced with an essay by Ali Smith. The beginning of the book is primarily made up of a proposed bill of rights, which is rather dry when read in its entirety (despite the importance of its contents), but I found Wells’ discussion of each clause interesting, and considerably more engaging. This is definitely not the most extensive thing ever written on human rights, but it provides a good introduction for those interested in the topic.
The Secret Crusade by Oliver Bowden. [AUDIOBOOK; Narrator: Gunnar Cauthery] A novelisation of the first Assassin’s Creed video game (with some elements from later games which explain why it’s the third in the novel series, and not the first), which tells the tale of Altaïr Ibn La-Ahad, the youngest ever Master Assassin, who’s stripped of his rank after a series of horrific misjudgements on an assignment put the whole of the Order of Assassins in danger. I was hoping that this book would fill in some of the gaps that were left in the game’s storyline (which jumps around a lot in terms of times and locations), particularly in regards to Altaïr’s relationship with Malik. But while it did offer a lot of extra content – including extra backstory for Altaïr, an explanation of his enmity with Abbas, and a continuation of the main story which really fleshes out his relationship with Maria – Bowden didn’t elaborate much on the retelling of the game itself, which is a shame.
The Bear & the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. [AUDIOBOOK; Narrator: Kathleen Gati] The enchanting first book in a fantasy trilogy inspired by Russian folklore, which follows a young girl with a hint of magic, who becomes caught in an unending battle between the gods of life and death. Vasya was a really wonderful lead character, and the haunting, wintery wilderness of northern Russia – full of magic and spirits – was as much a character as a backdrop to the story. The slow pacing may be a little off-putting for some people, and the start of the book is a little confusing (since a lot of the characters are introduced all at once), but needless to say, I loved it! I’m already nearly done with the second book in this series, and can’t wait for the third! ❄️

*Not including re-reads.

[EDIT (23/12/18): Decreased rating for The Bear & the Nightingale from 5 to 4 stars after further consideration, and replaced it with The Tombs of Atuan in my “favourite of the season” slot. My feelings on the book haven’t changed, just my assessment of those feelings… if that makes any sense. 🤔]

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. 😛

The Mean Girls Book Tag

Hello, all! 😀 Today I thought I’d try the Mean Girls book tag, which I’ve seen in quite a few places (though not recently), but, as usual, wasn’t tagged for – it’s just such a great film, and with so many great, quotable moments! This tag barely even scratches the surface, despite its length. Speaking of which, I have quite a lot of questions to answer, so I’ll try to keep my answers short. 😛 The Mean Girls book tag was created by Sarah Jane at TheBookLife.

1) “It’s pronounced like Cady.” – Which fictional character’s name did you get completely wrong?

For this one, I’m going to have to admit that I was one of the legions of people who thought for the longest time that Hermione was pronounced “Hermy-own”… But at least our mistake led to J.K. Rowling writing in that brilliant scene between Hermione and Krum in Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire.

2) “She doesn’t even go here!” – Which character would you like to place in a fictional world from another book or series?

Disregarding the “book” part of this question (or at least half of it), I’d really love to dump Hermione in the Dragon Age universe, and watch her rage against the Circle system, and the subjugation of the elves. I’ve actually just started an Inquisitor!Hermione playthrough of Dragon Age: Inquisition, and it’s been a lot of fun so far!

3) “On Wednesdays we wear pink!” – Repetition. Repetition. Which book gave you deja-vu of another book whilst reading it?

Definitely Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout, which was ridiculously like Twilight, but a million times more self-aware. And also with aliens. Clearly there was some very heavy “inspiration”, but luckily the two series go in completely different directions, or else it probably would’ve started to annoy me after a while (even though I think the Lux books are much better than the Twilight books…).

4) “You all have got to stop calling each other sluts and whores. It just makes it okay for guys to call you sluts and whores.” – Which book gave you the complete opposite of girl power feels?

Maybe Fiesta by Kate Cann? I had a lot of problems with this book that went beyond a severe lack of girl power (& which I talked about in my review), but one of the major ones was the way the main characters – who were supposed to be best friends – always seemed to be turning on each other over boys…

5) “You go, Glen Coco!” – Name a character you felt like you wanted to cheer on whilst reading.

I’m currently in the middle of The Skull Throne by Peter V. Brett, and there are a lot of characters that I’m rooting for, but none (for now) so much as Sikvah, who just had her most epic moment yet! 😀

6) “Get in loser, we’re going shopping!” – How long do you typically spend at a book shop?

Bookshops are magical places where I completely lose track of time, so I’m not usually able to tell how long I’ve spent in one… except that it’s always longer than it should be. I try to avoid even setting foot in a bookshop unless I know I have several hours to burn. 😳

7) “It’s not my fault you’re, like, in love with me or something!” – Which character would have to get out a restraining order on you, if they were real?

… I actually don’t know. I love a lot of characters in a lot of books, but none so much that I’d actually go all creepy-stalker on them…

8) “I can’t help it that I’m popular.” – Which over-hyped book were you cautious about reading?

I was very hot-and-cold about whether I wanted to read the Throne of Glass books by Sarah J. Maas, after hearing all the hype… I’m definitely glad I did pick them up, though! 😀

9) “She’s a life-ruiner. She ruins peoples lives.” – We all love Regina George. Name a villain you just love to hate.

Ugh, Umbridge from Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix. She’s fantastically-written, but so awful and petty! 😡

10) “I’m not like a regular Mom; I’m a cool Mom.” – Your favourite fictional parents.

He’s not actually Todd’s father, but Ben from the Chaos Walking trilogy is such a brilliant father-figure; I love their whole relationship. ❤

11) “That is so Fetch!” – Which book or series would you love to catch on?

The Emelan-universe books by Tamora Pierce (i.e. the Circle of Magic, The Circle Opens & The Circle Reforged series)! I love these books so much, and they’re reasonably well-known and well-regarded (though not so much so as her Tortall books), but I never hear anyone talking about them! 😦

12) “How do I even begin to explain Regina George?” – Describe your ideal character to read about.

Clever and creative, but without the need to shove it in people’s faces. Understated, I guess. And with a wonderful circle of friends (my love of a character is often based more on how they interact with the people around them than on that character as an individual).

13) “I just have a lot of feelings.” – What do you do when a book gives you a bad case of the feels?

I either call or message my friends and rant about it, if they’ve read it too, or else I badger them incessantly to do so. Immediately.

14) “Nice wig Janice, what’s it made of?” “Your Mom’s chest hair!” – Which character’s one-liners would you love to claim for your own?

You know, I can’t actually think of any books I’ve read with particularly witty one-liners? I would like to steal Beatrix’s internal monologue, though (from Night Owls by Jenn Bennett), and this quote in particular:

“This was the night bus, not a Journey song. Two strangers were not on a midnight train going anywhere. I was going home, and he was probably going to knock over a liquor store.”

15) “Boo, you whore.” – Name a time a character’s decision has made you roll your eyes.

Jonas from the Falling Kingdoms series has the worst ideas of all time, ever. I’m really enjoying the books, but as the series has gone on, I’ve found it increasingly difficult to suspend my disbelief that anyone could consider him a serious threat.

February Wrap-Up

Another satisfying month of reading, and quite a few four-star books this time, particularly towards the end of the month… A lot of these were blind picks, too, so I’ve been pretty lucky! 😀 In total, I read 7 novels and 2 short stories in February; here’s what I thought of them:

Sea of Stars by Amy A. Bartol. The second book in the Kricket series, wherein Kricket and Trey find themselves (once again) on the run from the Alameeda clan. I liked this book, but the series is getting a bit same-y (which is probably not a good sign when I’m only on book two!), and Kricket’s overwhelming tendency to be good at everything, and incredibly beautiful, and somehow gain the undying love and loyalty of everyone she meets (okay, I’m exaggerating on that last one) garnered quite a few eye-rolls. Bartol seems to be pushing the fact that she can’t swim as her major character flaw, which does not a relatable heroine make. Again, I am still enjoying this series, but I’ll probably leave off for a while before reading Darken the Stars (despite Sea of Stars‘ not-all-that-suspenseful cliffhanger ending).

All the Truth that’s in Me by Julie Berry. A short crime novel that follows a girl named Judith, who went missing as a teenager, only to reappear two years later with her tongue cut out so that she couldn’t say what had happened to her. This was my Library Scavenger Hunt pick for February, and as such I’ve already written a review – you can find it here.Himself in Anachron by Cordwainer Smith (from The Time Traveller’s Almanac). The story of a man who takes his wife with him on his search for something called the Knot of Time as their honeymoon. And, of course, things go horribly wrong. This story was more about the emotion of what was happening than the science of it, which I appreciated, and the story itself was both interesting and inventive. One of the better entries that I’ve read so far from this anthology.

Some Desperado by Joe Abercrombie (from Dangerous Women). A short story about a highway(wo)man who is on the run from her former associates, who have betrayed her. It had something of a Wild West feel to it, though there was a distinct lack of guns (the characters are all armed with swords, knives, and bows and arrows), so I’m not sure whether it was meant to, or if my imagination just ran away with the word “desperado”. Well-written, and I liked the main character (Shy) a lot, but it was a bit too bloody for my taste, unfortunately.Stardust by Neil Gaiman. A romance between a man who is half faerie, and a woman who is actually a fallen star. Neil Gaiman’s prose is beautiful, and I particularly loved the way he portrayed the land of Faerie and its inhabitants. The beginning was a little bit slow-going, but everything that happened afterwards more than made up for that… The edition I was reading was also illustrated by Charles Vess, and his art suited the story perfectly – it really emphasised the simultaneous beauty and danger of Faerie; both enchanting and at times incredibly gruesome. I’ve written a full review of this book, which you can find here.Gathering Darkness by Morgan Rhodes. The third book in the Falling Kingdoms series, in which things escalate, there is a great deal of duplicity, and my ship finally sails! 😀 What to say about this book without spoiling it? Hmm… Well, Magnus is rapidly becoming my favourite character in the series, and I’m really intrigued by the direction Lucia’s character seemed to be taking towards the end of the book. I still love Cleo, though the way she’s choosing to deal with her situation makes me supremely uncomfortable – as manipulation of one’s supposed friends tends to, so that’s not really all that much of a surprise. There were also some very interesting developments with Nic, though I still miss the happy-go-lucky Nic of the first book… 😦 Also, I take back everything I said (or at least felt) in my review of Rebel Spring about how Jonas was growing on me. He’s not. His plans are all ridiculous, and how anyone thinks he’s a serious threat is beyond me; the fact that girls in the book seem to be falling in love with him left and right is becoming extremely annoying. 😡 That said, this series is still getting better as it goes on, which is a trend that I hope will continue.The Desert Spear by Peter V. Brett. The second book in the Demon Cycle, in which we continue to follow our heroes – Arlen, Leesha & Rojer – in their efforts to save the world from corelings. There was a new major protagonist in this book, too, who I remember despising in The Painted Man: Jardir! About the first third of the book is taken up with his perspective, which I didn’t initially like all that much; it was interesting, but also quite disturbing. So I wasn’t a huge fan of the first part of the book, but once Arlen & co. were brought back into the spotlight, things got seriously epic (and often hilarious), and the book ended on a definite high point. I’m looking forward to reading The Daylight War soon (i.e. for next month’s readalong).A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston. A new retelling of A Thousand and One Nights, in which an unnamed (and that’s an interesting theme in this book) protagonist tricks the demon king Lo-Melkhiin – who has killed all his previous wives – into picking her, when he comes to her village to choose a new bride, in an effort to save her sister. And then, much to her surprise, Lo-Melkhiin is not able to kill her. I’d heard mixed things about this book before picking it up, and although I liked it a lot, I can also see why others might not. There is almost no romance, which I didn’t expect; most of the book is taken up with the main character’s thoughts and memories, about her husband and her sister, whom she has visions about; and the plot is so slow-building that the story’s climax really sneaks up on you. These were all positive points for me – I loved learning about her family and culture, and the glimpses we got of Lo-Melkhiin were such that a stronger romantic sub-plot would have seemed out of place… And I do love a good slow-burn story, even though A Thousand Nights is actually quite a short book. And the writing was also beautiful, which certainly helped.Lorali by Laura Dockrill. A standalone paranormal novel, about Lorali – a young mermaid who makes herself human – and Rory, the teenage boy who finds her lying naked on the shore after her transformation. And pirates. Lots of pirates. 🙂 There’s definitely a visible The Little Mermaid influence, as well, but it’s certainly not a straight-up retelling. As for my thoughts on the story itself – it was wonderful. Rory and Lorali were wel-developed, likeable and sympathetic leads, and much of the story was also told from the perspective of the sea itself, which was interesting (and very well executed). I wasn’t initially sold on the pirates, but they definitely grew on me, and I really, really loved the portrayal of Rory’s friend Flynn and his grandfather Iris. The plot was also surprisingly action-packed (in the best possible way), and it was fascinating trying to piece together the mystery of Lorali’s past, and of all the Mer – which was revealed at the perfect pace. (This was also the first book I picked up for the Under-Hyped Readathon, and it definitely got me off to a great start!)

[EDIT (3/5/2017): Changed rating of Sea of Stars from 3/5 to 2/5 after finishing the last book in the trilogy & thinking on the series as a whole.]

January Haul

At the beginning of the year, I visited Chloë (of SSJTimeLord and Her Books) in London and went on a ridiculous shopping spree, spending basically all my Christmas money. Somehow, though, I managed to only buy one book – despite stoping at Waterstones and Forbidden Planet, two of my favourite places to buy books. That is, until a spontaneous trip to a second Waterstones, where I got a bit carried away, and ended up using all of my accumulated Waterstones points, as well as a not-inconsequential amount of actual money…

And then there were, of course, a few more things that I picked up here and there… I didn’t even realise quite how many books I’d bought until the time came to put them all together. But, oh well! I figure that I’m still making up for my uncharacteristic self-restraint in December. 😉

On the plus side, I’m still reading more than I’m buying! Just.

1) The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness. His new(-ish) book, which I’ve been wanting to get my hands on for what seems like an age! Chloë ordered this for me, as part of a multi-buy deal on The Book People’s website – and since I don’t get to see her in person that often, it’s taken a while to reach me. Hopefully it’ll be worth the wait!

2) Rebel Spring & Gathering Darkness by Morgan Rhodes. The second and third books in the Falling Kingdoms series, which I started reading at the tail-end of last year. I’ve already read Rebel Spring, and I’m really looking forward to starting on Gathering Darkness soon!

3) A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston. A re-telling of the A Thousand and One Nights fairytale, which I wasn’t initially planning on getting, since I’ve heard some pretty mixed things about it… But I saw it, and it was just too beautiful to pass up. 😳 (As I keep saying, self-control is not my strong point.)

4) Lorali by Laura Dockrill. A mermaid story that I bought on a whim. I should definitely read more mermaid books, and for some reason I have a good feeling about this one.

5) Froi of the Exiles & Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta. The two follow-ups to Finnikin of the Rock, which I read in December and absolutely loved. I got a bit sidetracked by other series in between reading Finnikin of the Rock and buying these two, which is the only reason I haven’t started on them yet… but hopefully I’ll be able to get to them in the not-too-distant future! 😀

6) The Gift, The Riddle & The Crow by Alison Croggon. The first three books in the Books of Pellinor series (which may actually just be a trilogy; I’m a bit shaky on the details, though I do know that there’s at least one more book associated with these three). I don’t know much about these, except that they’re YA fantasy, but I picked them up second-hand, so they were super-cheap, and they look pretty interesting.

7) The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. A space adventure story following the crew of a ship that creates wormholes. I’ve already read this book – and reviewed it!

8) Uprooted by Naomi Novik. A slightly late Christmas present from my aunt and uncle, which I’ve been looking forward to for a while. I don’t know all that much about the story, but it’s a standalone novel from one of my favourite YA fantasy authors, and that’s enough to get me interested. 🙂

9) Star Wars: Identities: Exhibition Catalogue. This is exactly what it sounds like – I went on holiday to Vienna towards the end of January, and happened to stumble across a really fun Star Wars exhibition that was going on… and then I bought the catalogue. You can find out more about the exhibition at the Star Wars: Identities website.

January Wrap-Up

I got off to a pretty good start this year: 6 novels, 3 short stories, and 1 picture book. And my average rating was pretty high, too – most of the books I read this month I gave 4 stars; only the short stories fell a little short… Hopefully I’ll be able to keep up this momentum over the next few months! 😀

The Fox and the Star by Coralie Bickford-Smith. An incredibly beautiful book about a lonely fox whose only friend is a distant star – which one day disappears, setting the fox off on a journey to find it again. This may be essentially a picture book, but I’d recommend it for anyone, regardless of age. The story is very touching, and when I first opened this book, the art literally took my breath away.

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes. A high fantasy series that follows several different protagonists: Cleo, the second princess of Auranos, a spoilt but well-meaning teenager who’s hoping to escape from an arranged marriage to a boy she hates; Janos, the son of a poor Paelsian wine merchant, who is filled with rage at the injustices his people have suffered; and Magnus, the prince of Limeros, who mainly just wants to keep his sister safe. This one was a fun read, though I found it a little difficult to get into at first – it takes a while for anything to really happen plot-wise, and Morgan Rhodes’ writing style is not bad, but her phrasing is somewhat unconventional in places, which I found slightly jarring. The characters are rather hit-or-miss, but I feel like they’re the kind to grow on you as you read more. I didn’t really like any of them (except Theon) much at the beginning, but as the story went on, I found myself feeling more and more for Magnus, and even Jonas seemed to show some promise towards the end of the book. Cleo I got attached to a little earlier in the story, but at times I also found her frustratingly naive… I was, however, completely hooked by the time I reached the end of the book, and I’m looking forward to reading more.The Threads of Time by C.J. Cherryh (from The Time Traveller’s Almanac). A short story about a man whose job is to fix the paradoxes that people have created by illegally travelling back in time. An interesting story, and less confusing than some of the others in this collection – but only slightly. ❓Triceratops Summer by Michael Swanwick (from The Time Traveller’s Almanac). Another short story, this time about a man who sees a herd of (presumably cloned) triceratops that have escaped from a lab, and – finding out from one of the scientists on the project that they’re planning on resetting time to fix their mistake – tries to find something exciting or meaningful to do before his timeline fades out of existence. This one was also pretty interesting, conceptually, but unfortunately (as is often the case with short stories) I didn’t feel any connection to the characters. Rebel Spring by Morgan Rhodes. The sequel to Falling Kingdoms, which I’m not going to be saying too much about, because there are a lot of things I could potentially spoil from the first book… However, the POV characters have changed a little in this book: Lucia has a much more prominent role, as do Alexius and Nic, and I was surprised when Rhodes also added King Gaius and Queen Althea to the short list of people whose perspectives we see. There’s also a brand new character called Lysandra who seems to be becoming very important to the story – I don’t always like her (she’s very pushy), but it is quite gratifying when she constantly calls Jonas out on his terrible plans (and they’re sometimes really, really terrible). As far as character development for the returning characters goes, Jonas and Cleo both seem to be maturing a lot, in the best possible way (though – as I touched on before – they both still make awful, unhelpful, obviously-doomed-to-failure decisions); Lucia’s back-and-forth between kindness and viciousness is kind of fascinating; and Magnus is quickly becoming my favourite character in the series. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a Magnus/Cleo romance, too, though I’m  not sure how popular that opinion is with this series’ fans… Nicholas Dane by Melvin Burgess. The story of a teenage boy who – after his mother overdoses on heroin – is sent to a boys’ home, where he is horrifically abused, and how this abuse impacts his life, even after leaving. This was my Library Scavenger Hunt pick for the month, so I’ve written a mini-review of it – you can read it here.The Most Important Thing in the World by Steve Bein (from The Time Traveller’s Almanac). A story about a taxi driver who finds a suitcase left in the back of his car by a customer – and containing a suit which borrows time from the future to be used in the present instead. The science of this story is (as always) a little over my head, but I found that the characters – Ernie the taxi driver; his wife Janice; and of course the scientist who created the suit – were all very compelling, and I ended up enjoying the story a lot more than I have many of the others in this collection. 🙂The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. A standalone sci-fi novel that follows the a tunnelling crew (who drill holes in “subspace” in order to allow faster travel between planets) on a long journey, the goal of which is to create a path to a new planet. The story itself is quite episodic – there is an overarching plotline, but for the majority of the book it’s pushed aside in order to deal with obstacles in the way of the crew’s journey, and for more personal story-arcs – and the pacing is accordingly quick; each chapter is dated, but if they hadn’t been, I probably wouldn’t have realised that more than a year had passed over the course of the story… This is usually a negative point for me, but in this case I actually didn’t mind too much, as the mini-arcs themselves were all quite interesting, and the story as a whole actually turned out to be more character-driven. And, on that note, the (incredibly diverse) cast of characters were all wonderfully fleshed out. Lovey and Jenks were particular favourites of mine, but I really did love them all (even Corbin, eventually!). A sequel/companion novel is apparently scheduled for release in October this year, and I’m already looking forward to reading it. 😀 I’ve written a full review of this book, which you can read here, if you so desire.Under Different Stars by Amy A. Bartol. The first book in the Kricket series, which follows a teenage girl called Kricket, who’s hiding from Social Services when she’s abducted by a group of people from another planet (or possibly dimension), and finds out that she’s one of them. The writing in this book was witty and engaging, and I enjoyed the story and characters a lot, despite the fact that Kricket could seemingly do no wrong, and the way she reacted to everything that was happening to her was ridiculously unrealistic (she’s definitely more of an ultimate-wish-fulfillment character than a relatable one). I did find her continuous use of Etharian slang to be kind of irritating at times (and I regularly lost track of what each word actually meant), but that’s a pretty minor issue… I wouldn’t recommend this book for die-hard sci-fi fans, as it barely read like a sci-fi novel at all (it’s very romance-centric), but it was definitely an enjoyable read nonetheless.The Painted Man by Peter V. Brett. Three children – Arlen, Leesha and Rojer – grow up in a dangerous fantasy world, where the night is ruled by fearsome demons called corelings. I read this book as part of a readalong with Chloë, which probably added to my enjoyment quite a bit (it’s always nice to have someone to rant/rave at without having to worry about either spoiling them, or getting spoiled myself 😛 ), but even so, it was extraordinarily good. Fast-paced, exciting, and with really strong characterisation and a great plot! There was a romance towards the end of the book that I wasn’t too happy with (it developed way too quickly), and – also towards the end – I found myself a bit disappointed with the direction that Leesha’s storyline seemed to be taking, and with the huge time-skip in Arlen’s storyline, but otherwise, I really, really loved basically everything about it! And the ending was absolutely epic! XD

[EDIT (3/5/2017): Changed rating of Under Different Stars from 4/5 to 3/5 after finishing the last book in the trilogy & thinking on the series as a whole.]

December Haul

I’m pleased to say that I didn’t buy any books in December (except one, which I only kind-of-bought; explanation to come). But, of course, it wouldn’t be a book haul without books, and since December means Christmas – and, like many book-lovers, I tend to get books for Christmas – I still have a few things to show you. 😉

1) First & Then by Emma Mills. A new contemporary romance novel by the youtuber elmify, which was pitched as Pride & Prejudice meets Friday Night Lights… Not that I know anything about the latter except that it’s about American football, but still. I’ve been really excited for this book, and have actually already read and loved it. 🙂 This was a gift from my cousin, Zou, who has excellent taste (clearly).

2) How to Be Both by Ali Smith. This one I know comparatively little about – only that it’s won / been nominated for several awards, and is apparently incredibly good. I received this in my Christmas stocking.

3) The Official “A Game of Thrones” Colouring Book by George R.R. Martin. This beautiful book was a present from my sister, and if you’ve been keeping an eye on my twitter, then you might’ve spotted my first couple of completed pages. 😀 One of the first things I did when I got back from Denmark (where my family spent Christmas this year) was go out and buy myself some good quality coloured pencils! (Presumably not actually by George R.R. Martin, but that’s what it says on the cover.)

4) Simply Nigella: Feel Good Food by Nigella Lawson. A cookbook, which was given to me by my parents, since I got a lot more into cooking this last year.

5) Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes. The first book in a YA high fantasy series that’s often compared to A Song of Ice & Fire, which I’ve been wanting to read for a while now. This is the one book that I “kind-of-bought”, since I bought it using a voucher that I got in my stocking, and therefore I think it should technically count as a present from Father Christmas. 😛 I’m currently reading this book, and although it’s been slow-going so far (I’ve been really distracted by video games), I’m really enjoying it. 🙂

T5W: Books I wanted to start yesterday!

So, there are a couple of different ways I could’ve interpreted this topic, and I’m not entirely sure which was the intended one, but I’ve decided to think of it as books that I’m so ridiculously excited about that I wish I was already reading them. I’ve also decided not to include books that haven’t been released yet, since otherwise it would basically just be a list of new releases I’m anticipating (there are a lot)…

5) The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

I’ve been wanting to read this for the longest time, but unfortunately it’s been a little difficult to get hold of. 😦 Apparently it’s a dystopian road-trip novel, featuring teenagers with super-powers, which sounds like a lot of fun. 🙂

4) Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

I’ve heard this book described as the Game of Thrones of YA literature, which is probably overdoing it somewhat… but I do really like Game of Thrones, and I’ve heard lots of really positive things about Falling Kingdoms. Plus, I can’t seem to get enough of the fantasy genre lately (you’ll start to notice a trend very shortly 😛 ).

3) Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Demons. Hidden worlds. Forbidden love (I think?). What’s not to be excited about? This whole series has been sitting on my shelves for a while, waiting for the opportune moment to be read, but I keep having to put it off, because I have so many other books to read!

2) Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

This is the book that I’m most likely to read in the near future, as the whole Farseer trilogy was available recently as a Kindle Daily Deal, so I snapped them up. I don’t really know what the trilogy’s about (other than assassins, obviously 😉 ), but Robin Hobb is one of the greats of modern high fantasy, so I’m definitely looking forward to it.

1) The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

I was kind of on the edge over whether or not I wanted to read this book, until recently. I’ve heard really amazing reviews, and apparently it’s also been optioned for a film starring Emma Watson, which is very exciting! Realistically speaking, I don’t know when I’ll get round to reading it (maybe when it’s out in paperback?), but I hope it’ll be soon.

[The thing that I usually forget to say…: Top 5 Wednesday was created by gingerreadslainy, and if you’re interested in finding out more, you should check out the Goodreads group.]