Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they provide a topic and you are free to use that topic and/or variations of that topic to make your top ten list. You don’t have to do all ten. Instead you can do three, five, fifteen, whatever you want. A full list of the weekly themes can be found here. Continue reading
Hello and welcome to this week’s Top Ten Tuesday! Outside the leaves are starting to change from green to lovely shades of red and yellow. I feel like my last pool day of the year is in the near future and that is always a let down but in it’s place you get crisp autumn breezes, warm sweaters, and watching the dog frolic in the leaves. I love fall. It seems the ladies at The Broke and the Bookish love it too as today’s theme is Books on our fall TBR. Let’s get to it, then! Continue reading
Hello and welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! This week’s topic is Ten Books I Struggled to Get Into But Ended Up Loving or Ten Books That Were A Chore To Get Through or Ten Books I’ve Most Recently Put Down (the theme is…books you had a hard time with…tweak it how ever you need) which is, of course, brought to us by The Broke and the Bookish. We all have those books that we open up, expecting to enjoy, and then they turn into a chore to read. Some of them we get through, some of them we don’t. Today I’ll give you the books that became a chore for me to read, whether I finished them or not.
Hello and welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! This week’s topic is “Ten Hidden Gem Books in X Genre: Pick a genre and share with us some books that have gone under the radar in that genre!” The genre I chose is historical fiction. Why? I just feel that historical fiction doesn’t get enough love.
It is Tuesday once again and the wonderful ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish are still on their hiatus. That’s alright, gives me a reason to make my own stuff up! Not that I ever entirely follow their themes anyway. It is so easy to get derailed.
This week I stumbled across a post over on Thrice Read about books they liked/didn’t like as much as they expected. I thought, hey! What a great Top Ten Tuesday theme! So, here it is. Top Ten Tuesday- Books I liked/didn’t like more than I expected.
Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #1) by Laini Taylor – So, yeah, I finished this one up about two weeks ago now and didn’t even bother to write a review on it. Everyone seems to love this book. The amount of lovey gush is astronomical. You know what? It bored me. Bored bored bored.
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare – Never ending dialogue and half witted, selfish, single minded characters. I went into this read completely excited and ready to love it. I have never been more let down by a book in my life and that is saying something.
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas – After the masterpiece that was A Court of Mist and Fury I have to admit that I was expecting a lot from this book. It did not deliver on ANY level. I gave it a 2/5 on Goodreads I was so agitated with it.
Cinder by Marissa Meyer – This book was just dull. I picked this book up after I had read Meyer’s Heartless which I adored. Cinder, however, was a let down. I may continue the series at some point but the longer I wait, the more I doubt it. Simple characters, simple story, did not give me any feels, and some really awkward dialogue? No thanks.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo – Hello to another book that completely bored me. The characters were dull, the story was long with very little of consequence happening, and I was just damn bored! This one was a struggle to get through. It has such a huge following I was expecting much more out of it.
The Case of the Green-Dressed Ghost by Lucy Banks – I got this book as an ARC a few months back and didn’t really know what to expect from it. Happy to say that I loved it. Light read, entertaining without being overkill. Just a good book.
Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn – I mentioned in my review previously that I picked this book up pretty much at random. Sometimes I take my daughter to the library to play when the weather is bad and I grabbed this off the shelf to entertain myself while she did her puzzles and what not. Could not put it down once I had it. Excellent book.
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab – When I started blogging at the beginning of this year I noticed a few people mentioning this book. I didn’t really read much about it, mostly skimmed a few blog posts on it and picked it up on a whim at Barnes and Noble. Schwab quickly became one of my top five favorite authors. So glad I grabbed it that snowy day.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – It feels like it has been a lifetime since I read this book but I can still remember it clearly. This one was picked up on the strength of it’s cover alone and I just fell in love with the story. Many people say that the descriptions in this book are over the top but I love them. Lyrical without being tacky. Just a good, well written story.
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon – Have I brought this book up enough on my blog? Probably but I will continue to do so. This is another one that I purchased on the strength of it’s cover alone. I was on lunch break from work one day and there was a Barnes and Noble just up the street so I went in to browse the shelves. I purchased this book without knowing ANYTHING about it other than, “Man, what an eye catching cover!” Since then I have re-read it a half dozen times, purchased the next two in the series which have also been re-read, and ended up completely adoring the author.
That is it for this Top Ten Tuesday. What books have you read with high expectations that just crashed and burned for you? What books were pleasant surprises? Let me know in the comments and, of course, feel free to leave your own TTT link!
Hello hello and welcome to another week of Top Ten Tuesday. The ladies at The Broke and the Bookish are still on their July break so today’s theme is another left to the individual blogger. This Tuesday I am going with Top Ten(ish) Female Literary Leads. These will be books that I have read with strong and influential female characters.
The Bone Season series by Samantha Shannon
I’ve made it no secret that I adore this series by Samantha Shannon. Our leading lady, Paige Mahoney, displays many of the characteristics I find appealing in a female character. She is cast off by society, told she is less than human, and sent to become a prisoner in what is effectively a slave camp. What happens? She begins leading a rebellion to topple all that is wrong in society and pull those that are different, the voyants, up into the light. Paige is strong, determined, and aware of her fear and uses it to her advantage. One of the best things about Paige is that she is also flawed, she does her best, makes mistakes, and learns from them. She doesn’t give in. For me, she is one of the best female leads in recent literature.
The Bone Season Review
The Song Rising Review
Shades of Magic series by V.E. Schwab
Schwab has received a lot of attention recently and for good reason, she is an amazing author. In her Shades of Magic books we encounter one of my all time favorite female characters, Delilah Bard. Lila is so many things. She is strong, highly intelligent, calculating, self reliant, and unafraid to tackle whatever is thrown her way. Sure, she is also cocky and more than a little rude but that is just more reason to love her. Lila sets the bar high for positive female characters in fantasy.
A Darker Shade of Magic Review
A Conjuring of Light Review
Veronica Speedwell Series by Deanna Raybourn
In Raybourn’s Veronica Speedwell series we are given a truly extraordinary character. The books are set in Victorian times when women were still considered little more than a pretty accessory. Ms. Speedwell breaks the mould by being educated and having a successful career. She makes her own money, does her own work, and speaks up for herself at every opportunity. Contrary to the times she is no dainty flower prone to fainting and being delicate, but instead a wild rose. Strong, beautiful, and not easily tamed.
A Curious Beginning Review
A Perilous Undertaking Review
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede
In Wrede’s Enchanted Forest Chronicles we have two female characters that deserve recognition. First we have Cimorene, a princess from a land where women were expected to learn needle point and giggle prettily behind dainty fans. Cimorene is having none of that nonsense and instead goes to work for the king of the dragons, go on adventures, and save two kingdoms from evil wizards. She is pretty bad ass.
Also in these books is the witch Morwen. Morwen casts aside all preconceived notions of what it is to be a proper witch, makes her own decisions, and is side by side with Cimorene saving the Enchanted Forest. Both of these characters are prime examples of female strength in literature.
Bitterblue (Graceling Realm #3) by Kristin Cashore
I have probably talked about Bitterblue until I am blue in the face. No matter where I am, where I’ve moved, or what I am doing, picking up a copy of Bitterblue feels like home. Bitterblue is the queen of a kingdom in a state of terrible turmoil. Her people have been lied to, manipulated, used, abused, and murdered all during her father’s reign. This queen, little more than a child, has to find the strength to lead them out of that darkness. Her determination in the face of terrible odds always gives me heart. She doesn’t give up, doesn’t give in, and she is always trying to do her very best and beyond for the people she governs. Bitterblue is amazing.
There are my top five on a Top Ten Tuesday. I did not want to add characters simply for the task of finding ten of them. I wanted to give you characters that I truly thought displayed strength, courage, intelligence, and perseverance. Something I love about the fantasy genre is that, for the most part, it is unafraid to give us shining examples of strong female characters and that is, to put it simply, beautiful.
Here we are on another Tuesday so that means Top Ten Tuesday! The ladies at The Broke and the Bookish are taking a break in July so that means coming up with our own themes for the month. So as I pondered, weak and weary, an idea knocked on my chamber door. An idea, and nothing more (Oh yeah, I went there). 
This week I’ll be bringing you the top ten past releases that I haven’t read yet. That means books that have been out for more than a year that I haven’t taken the time to pick up yet, but I want to.
Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #1) by Laini Taylor
Published: September 27th 2011
Around the world, black hand prints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.
In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.
And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.
Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”, she speaks many languages – not all of them human – and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.
When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?
I know. I am probably the only jerk that hasn’t read this yet. I actually checked it out of the library over a week ago, read a couple pages, and didn’t pick it up again. I need to. From where I sit I can see it sitting on the counter. Taunting me. I’ll get to you, buddy.
Cruel Beauty (Cruel Beauty Universe #1) by Rosamund Hodge
Published: January 28th 2014
Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.
With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she’s ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.
But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle—a shifting maze of magical rooms—enthralls her.
As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex’s secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.
Yeah, this one is sitting in my house as well. Directly underneath Daughter of Smoke and Bone to be honest. The duo just sits there and stares at me. They mock me with their pretty covers. I’ll get there, alright?!
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Published: August 16th 2011
In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade’s devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world’s digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator’s obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade’s going to survive, he’ll have to win—and confront the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.
Alright, I’m not usually into futurist type things but every time I see this book I itch to pick it up. I’m not sure I can read a book with a character named Wade without seeing Dead Pool in my head every time I see the name, though.
The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle #1) by Patrick Rothfuss
Published: March 27th 2007
Told in Kvothe’s own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen.
The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature.
A high-action story written with a poet’s hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.
No, I still haven’t read this one. Fight me.
The Memorist (Reincarnationist #2) by M.J. Rose
Published: November 1st 2008
As a child, Meer Logan was haunted by memories of another time and place, always accompanied by the faint strains of elusive music. Now the past has reached out again in the form of a strange letter that sets her on a journey to Vienna to unlock the mystery of who she once was. With each step, she comes closer to remembering connections between a clandestine reincarnationist society, a lost flute linked to Ludwig van Beethoven, and David Yalom, a journalist who understands all too well how the past affects the future. David knows loss first hand–terrorism is a reality that cost him his family. He’s seen every solution promised by security experts around the world–and he’s seen every solution fail. Now, in a concert hall in Vienna, he plans to force the world to understand the cost of those failures in a single, violent act.
I am a huge fan of Rose’s Reincarnationist series. Something I love about them is that I can read them out of order and it really doesn’t matter. I need to get my hands on this one. Admittedly, her writing isn’t for everyone but I adore it.
Between Two Queens (Secrets of the Tudor Court #2) by Kate Emerson
Published: January 5th 2010
Pretty, flirtatious, and ambitious. Nan Bassett hopes that an appointment at the court of King Henry VIII will bring her a grand marriage. But soon after she becomes a maid of honor to Queen Jane, the queen dies in childbirth. As the court plunges into mourning, Nan sets her sights on the greatest match in the land…for the king has noticed her. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time King Henry has chosen to wed a maid of honor. And in newly Protestant England, where plots to restore the old religion abound, Nan may be the only one who can reassure a suspicious king of her family’s loyalty. But the favor of a king can be dangerous and chancy, not just for Nan, but for her family as well…and passionate Nan is guarding a secret, one that could put her future — and her life — in grave jeopardy should anyone discover the truth.
Historical fiction based on Henry VIII’s court? Sign me up. The Tudor period is one of the most fascinating times in history and my obsession with it knows no bounds. I will read pretty much anything to do with that bloody king’s time.
Royal Mistress by Anne Easter Smith
Published: May 7th 2013
Jane Lambert, the quick-witted and alluring daughter of a silk merchant, is twenty-two and still unmarried. When Jane’s father finally finds her a match, she’s married off to the dull, older silk merchant William Shore—but her heart belongs to another. Marriage doesn’t stop Jane Shore from flirtation, however, and when the king’s chamberlain and friend, Will Hastings, comes to her husband’s shop, Will knows his King will find her irresistible.
Edward IV has everything: power, majestic bearing, superior military leadership, a sensual nature, and charisma. And with Jane as his mistress, he also finds true happiness. But when his hedonistic tendencies get in the way of being the strong leader England needs, his life, as well as that of Jane Shore and Will Hastings, hang in the balance.
What can I say, historical fiction is my jam. Is that still a saying? It should be. Historical fiction certainly isn’t the most popular of genres but it pulls on my little heart strings.
So, Top Seven Tuesday. Doesn’t have the same ring but those are seven books all released more than two years ago that I want to read.
What are some blast from the past books you’ve been wanting to pick up?
Hello, and welcome again to Top Ten Tuesday. This week’s theme is Best Books You’ve Read In 2017 So Far. 2017 has been an amazing year of reading for me, there are so many books I’ve truly enjoyed! On a side note, the hosts of Top Ten Tuesday, The Broke and the Bookish, have chosen to take a break until August so that means no organized themes in July. I think I’ll still try to come up with my own but we will see how that goes.
The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon
Following a bloody battle against foes on every side, Paige Mahoney has risen to the dangerous position of Underqueen, ruling over London’s criminal population.
But, having turned her back on Jaxon Hall and with vengeful enemies still at large, the task of stabilising the fractured underworld has never seemed so challenging.
Little does Paige know that her reign may be cut short by the introduction of Senshield, a deadly technology that spells doom for the clairvoyant community and the world as they know it…
This is the third book in Shannon’s The Bone Season series and to say I loved it would be an understatement. I had been looking forward to this book for ages and completely devoured it the moment it was in my hot little hands. Wonderful read.
A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn
London, 1887. After burying her spinster aunt, orphaned Veronica Speedwell is free to resume her world travels in pursuit of scientific inquiry—and the occasional romantic dalliance. As familiar with hunting butterflies as with fending off admirers, Veronica intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime.
But fate has other plans when Veronica thwarts her own attempted abduction with the help of an enigmatic German baron, who offers her sanctuary in the care of his friend Stoker, a reclusive and bad-tempered natural historian. But before the baron can reveal what he knows of the plot against her, he is found murdered—leaving Veronica and Stoker on the run from an elusive assailant as wary partners in search of the villainous truth.
I stumbled across this book entirely by accident early this year and I am ever so glad I did. I love historical fiction and I love mysteries and this book is both. Throw in that the main character is a strong willed, intelligent woman and you’ve got yourself a winner.
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.
Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.
Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see. It’s a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.
After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.
Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive.
I read my first Schwab book this year and it made me sad that I had been missing out on her books up until this point. A Darker Shade of Magic is the stuff dreams are made of.
Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland and a favorite of the unmarried King, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, she wants to open a shop and create delectable pastries. But for her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for a woman who could be a queen.
At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the King’s marriage proposal, she meets handsome and mysterious Jest. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the King and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into a secret courtship.
Cath is determined to choose her own destiny. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.
I debated whether to put this one on the list. When I read it, I LOVED it. However, I feel like if I read it now, months later, I’d DNF it. I’m a grumpy goat that wouldn’t be able to tolerate the love story at this point.
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas
Feyre survived Amarantha’s clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can’t forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin’s people.
Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.
With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas’s masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.
I read this book twice the week that I got it. It’s ridiculous, I know, this book is a monster, but I couldn’t help myself. The story pulled me in and wouldn’t let me go. I only wish the third book hadn’t been such a horribly mediocre conclusion to the trilogy.
In 1837, less than a month after her eighteenth birthday, Alexandrina Victoria – sheltered, small in stature, and female – became Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. Many thought it was preposterous: Alexandrina — Drina to her family — had always been tightly controlled by her mother and her household, and was surely too unprepossessing to hold the throne. Yet from the moment William IV died, the young Queen startled everyone: abandoning her hated first name in favor of Victoria; insisting, for the first time in her life, on sleeping in a room apart from her mother; resolute about meeting with her ministers alone.
One of those ministers, Lord Melbourne, became Victoria’s private secretary. Perhaps he might have become more than that, except everyone argued she was destined to marry her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. But Victoria had met Albert as a child and found him stiff and critical: surely the last man she would want for a husband….
I’m a big ole softy for good historical fiction. Just can’t seem to help myself. Victoria is well written and the story stuck with me long after I set this book down.
The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
Irene must be at the top of her game or she’ll be off the case – permanently…
Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, which harvests fiction from different realities. And along with her enigmatic assistant Kai, she’s posted to an alternative London. Their mission – to retrieve a dangerous book. But when they arrive, it’s already been stolen. London’s underground factions seem prepared to fight to the very death to find her book.
Adding to the jeopardy, this world is chaos-infested – the laws of nature bent to allow supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic. Irene’s new assistant is also hiding secrets of his own.
Soon, she’s up to her eyebrows in a heady mix of danger, clues and secret societies. Yet failure is not an option – the nature of reality itself is at stake.
The Invisible Library was an easy read but that made it no less engrossing. How could I resist a story about a magical library and a librarian spy?
Golden Son continues the stunning saga of Darrow, a rebel forged by tragedy, battling to lead his oppressed people to freedom from the overlords of a brutal elitist future built on lies. Now fully embedded among the Gold ruling class, Darrow continues his work to bring down Society from within.
A life-or-death tale of vengeance with an unforgettable hero at its heart, Golden Son guarantees Pierce Brown’s continuing status as one of fiction’s most exciting new voices.
You know a book is excellent when, after finishing it, you literally hug it and don’t want to let it go. Golden son is quite simply amazing.
This week ended up being a Top Eight Tuesday instead but no matter. These eight books are the ones I’ve enjoyed most this year. No, most of them weren’t released in 2017 but there is nothing wrong with reading books a year or more old.
What books have been your favorites in 2017?
It is time once again for Top Ten Tuesday! This week’s theme is Top Ten Series I’ve Been Meaning To Start But Haven’t. I’m going to do a mixed bag with this one and add in series I have started and need to finish. As always, be sure to check out The Broke and the Bookish for other Top Ten Tuesday posts and themes. (This post got a little long. Whoops! Ten points to the Hogwarts House of your choice if you make it to the bottom. )
The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare
In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.
The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them…
I just started on this series maybe two days ago and I feel like I’m definitely going to be continuing with it.At the beginning of a series there is usually a lot of set up that needs to happen which is slow going to get through which can get tiresome but this seems like it is going to be a great read.
Graceling Realm by Kristin Cashore
Eight years have passed since the young Princess Bitterblue, and her country, were saved from the vicious King Leck. Now Bitterblue is the queen of Monsea, and her land is at peace.
But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisers, who have run the country on her behalf since Leck’s death, believe in a forward-thinking plan: to pardon all of those who committed terrible acts during Leck’s reign; and to forget every dark event that ever happened. Monsea’s past has become shrouded in mystery, and it’s only when Bitterblue begins sneaking out of her castle – curious, disguised and alone – to walk the streets of her own city, that she begins to realise the truth. Her kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year long spell of a madman, and now their only chance to move forward is to revisit the past.
Whatever that past holds.
Two thieves, who have sworn only to steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck’s reign. And one of them, who possesses an unidentified Grace, may also hold a key to her heart . .
I’ve read the first book of this trilogy, Graceling, and the third book, Bitterblue, which I absolutely adored. Somehow I managed to skip the second book, Fire, which I’ve been told is the best of the three. I find that hard to believe because I adore Bitterblue. It’s my safe harbor book when life gets a little too heavy. Need to read Fire to see if it really is the best of the three.
Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas
After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.
Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king’s council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she’ll serve the kingdom for four years and then be granted her freedom. Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilarating. But she’s bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her … but it’s the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.
Then one of the other contestants turns up dead … quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.
I finished the first book in this series last week and I was unimpressed, I’m sorry to say. However, I’m told the next book in the series is fantastic so I’m going to give it a shot. I want to fall in love with them like so many other people have.
Stalking Jack the Ripped by Kerri Maniscalco
Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord’s daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.
Against her stern father’s wishes and society’s expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle’s laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.
I stumbled across this series on another blog just a few days ago and can’t wait to get started on it. I’ve always had a fascination with Jack the Ripper and love finding books that include him. So far this series has two books out with a third announced.
Cruel Beauty Universe by Rosamund Hodge
Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.
With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she’s ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.
But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle—a shifting maze of magical rooms—enthralls her.
As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex’s secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.
I have this book as a requested hold at the library right now and am hoping they get it in soon. When a fairy tale retelling is done well it is a thing of wonder and I hope this one is.
Menagerie by Rachel Vincent
When Delilah Marlow visits a famous traveling carnival, Metzger’s Menagerie, she is an ordinary woman in a not-quite-ordinary world. But under the macabre circus black-top, she discovers a fierce, sharp-clawed creature lurking just beneath her human veneer. Captured and put on exhibition, Delilah in her black swan burlesque costume is stripped of her worldly possessions, including her own name, as she’s forced to “perform” in town after town.
But there is breathtaking beauty behind the seamy and grotesque reality of the carnival. Gallagher, her handler, is as kind as he is cryptic and strong. The other “attractions”—mermaids, minotaurs, gryphons and kelpies—are strange, yes, but they share a bond forged by the brutal realities of captivity. And as Delilah struggles for her freedom, and for her fellow menagerie, she’ll discover a strength and a purpose she never knew existed.
Ever since I read The Night Circus I’ve had an interest in books that include an odd circus. Weirdly specific, right? Right now the Menagerie series has two books published and a third announced.
Dr Pimms, Intermillennial Sleuth series by L.J.M. Owen
Archaeologist Dr Elizabeth Pimms thoroughly enjoys digging up old skeletons.
But when she is called home from Egypt after a family loss, she has to sacrifice her passions for the sake of those around her.
Attempting to settle into her new role as a librarian, while also missing her boyfriend, Elizabeth is distracted from her woes by a new mystery: a royal Olmec cemetery, discovered deep in the Mexican jungle, with a 3000-year-old ballplayer who just might be a woman.
She soon discovers there are more skeletons to deal with than those covered in dirt and dust.
Suitable for readers young and old, Olmec Obituary is the first novel in a delightful cosy crime series: Dr Pimms, Intermillennial Sleuth. Really cold cases.
I bring this book/series up every couple of weeks and I still haven’t been able to get a hold of it. The only way I can find it is as an overpriced e-book and I want a hard copy which, apparently, is difficult to find outside of Australia. I want it. GIMME!
Thomas De Quincey series by David Morrell
Gaslit London is brought to its knees in David Morrell’s brilliant historical thriller.
Thomas De Quincey, infamous for his memoir ‘Confessions of an English Opium-Eater’, is the major suspect in a series of ferocious mass murders identical to ones that terrorized London forty-three years earlier.
The blueprint for the killings seems to be De Quincey’s essay “On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts.” Desperate to clear his name but crippled by opium addiction, De Quincey is aided by his devoted daughter Emily and a pair of determined Scotland Yard detectives.
In ‘Murder as a Fine Art’, David Morrell plucks De Quincey, Victorian London, and the Ratcliffe Highway murders from history. Fogbound streets become a battleground between a literary star and a brilliant murderer, whose lives are linked by secrets long buried but never forgotten.
My love affair with good historical fiction knows no bounds. I recently got a copy of the first book in this series at an excellent price from Thriftbooks and am very much looking forward to reading it. I’m saving it for a rainy day and sour mood but still itch to pick it up every time I walk by my book case.
Lady Julia Grey series by Deanna Raybourn
“LET THE WICKED BE ASHAMED, AND LET THEM BE SILENT IN THE GRAVE.”
These ominous words, slashed from the pages of a book of Psalms, are the last threat that the darling of London society, Sir Edward Grey, receives from his killer. Before he can show them to Nicholas Brisbane, the private inquiry agent he has retained for his protection, Sir Edward collapses and dies at his London home, in the presence of his wife, Julia, and a roomful of dinner guests.
Prepared to accept that Edward’s death was due to a long-standing physical infirmity, Julia is outraged when Brisbane visits and suggests that Sir Edward has been murdered. It is a reaction she comes to regret when she discovers the damning paper for herself, and realizes the truth.
Determined to bring her husband’s murderer to justice, Julia engages the enigmatic Brisbane to help her investigate Edward’s demise. Dismissing his warnings that the investigation will be difficult, if not impossible, Julia presses forward, following a trail of clues that lead her to even more unpleasant truths, and ever closer to a killer who waits expectantly for her arrival.
I have quite the love of Raybourn’s other series, The Veronica Speedwell Mysteries, and see no reason why I wouldn’t fall for Lady Julia Grey as well. Historical fiction? Check. Mystery? Check. Bad ass leading lady? Check. Not to mention Raybourn’s writing itself is just lovely. If there weren’t so many books in this series I’d have started it already but once I get started I know I won’t want to stop.
The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss
Told in Kvothe’s own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen.
The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature.
A high-action story written with a poet’s hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.
I’ve been wanting to start on this series for a while but, I have to say, it’s a little intimidating. Just the first book is 662 pages which is a bit of a monster (at least for my attention span) and Rothfuss’s reputation precedes him. I’ll start on this series one day when I’m feeling like conquering the world or something.
I got seriously long winded on this one, folks. Sorry. I probably could have left out the book descriptions but I like having them here. That way someone can go, “Yeah! I want to read that, too!” after just giving the description here a quick peruse without having to go look the book up. For getting to the end, as promised, ten point to your Hogwarts House! (Go Ravenclaw!)
Yes folks, it really is Tuesday yet again. This week’s Top Ten Tuesday theme is Father Figures in Literature. Father’s Day related Freebie: favorite dads in literature, best father/daughter or son relationships, books to buy your dad, worst dads in literature, etc. etc. Now, as I noted for the Mother’s Day post, there are not many parental figures who survive to be influences in the genres I tend to read. Usually they are dead or absent in general. Be sure to check out The Broke and the Bookish‘s post for more Top Ten Tuesday posts and themes.
Bad: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller – Although I absolutely hated this book the entire story couldn’t have happened without Patroclus’ father. He rejected his son and never considered him to be good enough which is a large reason why Patroclus ended up in the court of Achilles’ father. This father figure abandoned his son and cast him aside at the earliest opportunity.
Bad: Caraval by Stephanie Garber – Here we have another example of a bad father figure also in a book that I did not enjoy. None of the story could have happened without Scartlett’s dad. He is painted as a cruel and abusive man and none of the story would have occurred without his abuses toward his daughers. Scarlett would most likely never been put into a situation that led to her leaving her home it he had been a positive and healthy influence.
Redeemed: A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas – I’m starting to get the feeling that all the books that actually have fathers in them are ones that I didn’t enjoy. With the conclusion of the ACOTAR series we have the redeemed father. He had been little more than absent for most of the story, effectively nearly letting his daughters starve to death. In the end, he storms in and saves the day which, of course, gets him killed. I’m sure there is more to it than that but that part of the story didn’t feel right to me and I’m still annoyed.
Multiple: Harry Potter – First, lets stop for a minute and think about how many father figures are actually in Harry Potter. We have Harry’s dead father, Arthur Weasley, Dumbledore, Mr. Malfoy, Uncle Vernon, Sirius Black…I’m sure we can keep the list going. Harry had no shortage of father figures. Luckily, Harry chose to heed the advise from the more positive ones…mostly.
Positive: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – Not much to say here. I’m fairly certain the majority of us have had exposure to this book and can agree that Mr. Bennet is a great big softy. He loves his girls and his family and they love him.
Confusing: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan – Oh Percy. Silly, innocent little Percy. The boy grew up with Smelly Gabe as a horrible step father only to learn that his biological father is none other than Poseidon and that he should never have been born. All in all I think the boy handles it well but talk about an imposing father figure…
That is all I have for you. As I mentioned, the majority of the books I read seem to not even mention a father figure much less involve anything about said parental unit. So, happy Tuesday and happy upcoming Father’s Day!
Sharing My Eclectic Reading
A book a day is bliss😍
Serving up stories since 2013
Stumbling my way toward happiness
Literary Weaponry 