Favourite Fantasy Books – Top 10 Tuesday

I haven’t done a Top 10 Tuesday in AGES. But this week’s topic is top 10 books in your favourite genre and I wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to talk about my fantasy babies. If you don’t know, Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, though originally it was created by The Broke and the Bookish. So here, we go, ten of my favourite fantasy books! Well… series, for the most part. Because I can’t just recommend one book in the series.

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The Book of the Ancestor by Mark Lawrence

This should come as no surprise to anyone who’s been here for any length of time. I talk about this all the time. You can read my review of it for more details, but it’s basically a series about magical assassin nuns.

The Broken Earth by N. K. Jemisin

Again, I never shut up about this. It’s amazing, you should read it. It’s about the end of the world and people who can control earthquakes.

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

I don’t talk about this one quite as much as the other two, but it probably still doesn’t come as much of a surprise. I’ve loved everything I’ve read by Brandon Sanderson. I’m so thankful to whoever it was who introduced me to him (I can’t remember who it was). I’m currently reading The Way of Kings and it might dethrone Mistborn as my favourite Sanderson series, but we’ll see. In case you didn’t know, Mistborn is about a bunch of people trying to steal something and they live in a world where certain metals give people certain abilities.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

One of my all time favourites. Please, please, PLEASE give us book 3 before I die. Please. This is one of the most difficult series to summarise in my opinion, because it sounds so boring when you try to summarise it. This is a frame story following a guy who’s basically a legend and it’s just the story of his life as told by himself after his kind of… fall from grace and presumed death. If that sounds boring… well it isn’t. give it a try. I have reviews of the first two books (Book 1 | Book 2), so check those out if you want to get more of an idea about the series.

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

I’ve only read the first two books in the series, but there is talk of the fourth one being released soon-ish. So I’m hoping to read the third one soon. This is a series about a band of con-artists. And it’s basically them planning and executing heists and getting themselves into trouble. I love heist stories. They’re so much fun and this is one of the best heist stories I’ve ever encountered. I have reviewed both of the books I’ve read, if you’d like to know more (Book 1 | Book 2).

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

I talk about this one a lot less, but I love this duology so much. It’s another heist story. This time it’s YA, but it does remind me a lot of The Lies of Locke Lamora. In vibe, more than anything else. The world, story and characters are very different, but they both have a vibe that I adore. I’ve also reviewed both the books in this series so check those out for more details (Book 1 | Book 2).

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

Another one I don’t talk about as much, mainly because it’s not as recent in my mind since it’s been 2 years since the last book came out. But I absolutely love it and I’m so excited to read the conclusion this autumn! This is also about assassins and very much reminds me of The Book of the Ancestor. Again, in vibe, rather than anything else. Reviews of the first two books: Book 1 | Book 2.

The Knots Duology by Amy McCulloch

This is a series that is so tragically underrated and I wish people talked about it more. I read it quite a while ago and I’ve been meaning to re-read it, but it’s such a cool desert fantasy. It has an interesting magic system and as far as I remember, doesn’t actually have a romance. Which in YA is a rarity and I love it. More people just need to read this series cause it’s great. It follows a guy who gets banished into the desert because he breaks a promise he doesn’t even remember making. In this world, each promise is tied with a magical knot and if broken, the knot burns and scars the oathbreaker and they become haunted by a shadow and become outcasts. Sadly, I read this series before I started my blog, so I don’t have a review, but if I re-read them, I will review them.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

A stand alone fantasy fairy-tale retelling influenced by Russian folklore. I think at least. I’ve read this twice, it’s one of those books that I think I will never tire of re-reading. It’s magical and beautiful. I love the atmosphere, I love the characters, I even love the romance which almost never happens. It’s amazing. It’s about a girl who lives on the edge of a magical forest which kills people and she gets taken away by the wizard who protects their area from the forest for unknown purposes. The wizard takes a girl every 10 years and then lets her go, but the girls are never the same afterwards and nobody really knows why he takes them.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab

Inter-dimensional travel between different versions of London. Need I say more?

Marvel Avengers Book Tag

I got a tag for y’all today. I saw this on some other blog and sounded cool, so here we go.

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IRON MAN: A BOOK THAT MADE YOU LAUGH OUT LOUD

The Martian by Andy Weir. This book made me laugh multiple times, It’s really funny. I have a review of it, go check that out.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: A BOOK THAT SENDS A POSITIVE MESSAGE

Temeraire  by Naomi Novik. It sends the message that dragons are awesome and clever. And that’s a positive message. And it makes me happy.

THOR: A BOOK WITH A CHARACTER’S STRENGTH YOU ADMIRE

I admire Agnieszka from Uprooted by Naomi Novik. All the Naomi Novik books today. Because she’s badass and is super chill and self confident even when the dumbass she loves runs away cause he’s a dumbass. And Agnieszka is just like “Yeah, well I’m amazing anyway and I’m just gonna do my thing until you decide to get your shit together and realise I’m amazing and even if you never do I’m still amazing tra la la”. And I admire her for that. I wish I was like that too.

BLACK WIDOW: A BOOK WITH A KICK-ASS FEMALE PROTAGONIST

ESSUN FROM THE BROKEN EARTH. EsSuN. Essun. Essun. essuNNNNNN. I’ve talked about this series to death and I’ve reviewed it and raved about it. so go check those posts out.

HULK: A BOOK THAT MADE YOU INCREDIBLY ANGRY

I feel like I haven’t trashed on this book in a while, so just in case you didn’t know, I hated it. It made me maaaddd. If you want to know why, you can read my rant about it.

HAWKEYE: AN UNDERRATED BOOK YOU THINK MORE PEOPLE SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO

I’ve only said it 50 hundred million times.

*BONUS* LOKI: A BOOK WITH A TWIST OR SURPRISE THAT TRICKED YOU

Mistborn  by Brandon Sanderson. Particularly the last book. But throughout the series, I just didn’t see stuff coming. I’ve also reviewed this series.

Favourite Magic Systems – Top 5 Wednesday

Okay, I know this isn’t the topic for this week, but I missed that week and I really like this topic, so… we’re doing it.

If you don’t know, Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Thoughts on Tomes (who is one of my favourite booktubers btw). You can check out the Goodreads group for more details.

I’m rubbish at doing these in order of preference, so this isn’t necessarily the order of preference. I’m not even sure there is an order of preference. I just love these magic systems.

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Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

This probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise because it’s very well known, very well loved. But it’s cool. I was honestly skeptical about it at first because it sounds weird, but it works. It works so well. It’s very visual, very dynamic and it’s a hard magic system. So it has very well defined rules. I personally love both hard and soft magic systems and all the shades in-between, but for people who like hard magic systems, this one is amazing.

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

This is such a cool magic system. It’s definitely a soft one, but it’s so cool. It’s kind of like… shadow magic. Well, there are several different kinds of magic in the series. There’s the shadow magic that nobody really knows or understands much about. Then there’s also blood magic that we see some of the characters perform and it’s really creepy and dark. And there are also other elements that are hinted at but that we don’t know much about. But I’m loving it and I can’t wait for the next book. I’m mad that I have to wait until 2019.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

This series combines several magic systems, some of them are hard magic systems and some of them are soft. There’s the Sympathy magic which is kind of sciency and has very well defined rules. Then there’s the rune magic, which is kind of related to sympathy, but not exactly the same and that also has clear rules. But then there’s the magic of naming and some other kinds of magics that we don’t know much about. And I just eat that shit up. I cannot wait for the next book, please I’ve been waiting for two years, end my misery!

The Darker Shades of Magic Series by V. E. Schwab

This is another series that combines several types of magic. The main magic system is an elemental one, which I’m a sucker for. But the coolest is the blood magic. Which is also considered one of the elements, but it has its own rules. I love this series, I love Victoria Schwab and I can’t wait for more stories in this world.

Book of the Ancestor by Mark Lawrence

This is another series with a rather ambiguous magic system that has a lot of different aspects and we don’t understand most of them. It reminds me a lot of Nevernight both in terms of the magic system and in terms of the vibe of the story and characters. Nevernight is more of a YA series, and it is a very dark story, it just has that YA vibe, whereas this series is an adult series. But they’re both awesome and if you enjoy one, chances are you’ll also enjoy the other.

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson – Series Review

Series rating: 5/5 stars

Genre: Fantasy

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Synopsis: What if the prophesied hero had failed to defeat the Dark Lord?

For a thousand years the ash fell.

For a thousand years, the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousend years, the Lord Ruler reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Every attempted revolt has failed miserably.

Yet hope survives.

An new kind of uprising is being planned, one that depends on the cunning of a brilliant criminal mastermind and the courage of an unlikely heroine who must learn to master Allomancy, the power of a mistborn.

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I already did a spoiler free review for The Final Empire, as well as a spoilery rave, however, because I read books 2 and 3 in rapid succession, I’d rather do a series review. This review of only of the original trilogy, as I have not yet read the second trilogy. I’ve already covered the main points about the world and magic system in my review of The Final Empire, so I won’t go through that again. You can go and check that out if you’re interested. I’m going to focus more on the series as a whole.

As you can tell from the rating, I freaking loved this series. Everything about it was awesome. The world, the magic system, the characters, the plot. Let me tell you about the plot! It was… wow. I mean I would never have seen that coming in a thousand years. The way it just evolved from one book to the next, the way seemingly insignificant details from the first book became so important in later books. The way you’re given just the right amount of information at every step so that you’re not totally confused, but the plot twists are also not glaringly obvious so you can still be surprised and there’s still that tension and anticipation of “What’s gonna happen next!?”. Just top rate storytelling!

The magic system also gets expanded throughout the series as we learn more about the history of the world and the magic in it and it’s just mind-blowing how seemingly unrelated things connect. It’s amazing.

The story arcs for most characters are also great. You get to watch them grow and learn and change and become more mature. I will say I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about a couple of character development points particularly regarding one character in the second book. I’m kind of okay with it by the end of the series, but also… I don’t know. It’s not bad in itself, it’s just personal preference I think. Some of the things that I enjoyed the most about that particular character changed, so I’m not entirely happy about that. And actually I think that applies to two characters, but one of them more than the other.

I’m also not sure how I feel about the ending. It’s been a few months since I finished the series (I’m really behind with reviews, what’s new?), and I’m still not sure how I feel about it. It makes sense, but at the same time… I’m like… but… buuuuuuuuttttt no. And again, that comes from me being really invested with all of the characters in this series and wanting them all to be happy and okay. But that’s impossible and I’m kind of bitter about it.

Having said that, this series is masterful. I love it so much, I cannot recommend it enough for fans of epic fantasy. I will say that if you’re not used to epic fantasy, this isn’t the place to start. It’s a bit heavy for beginners. But if you’ve already dipped your toes into the world of epic fantasy, this series is awesome.

The Grinch Book Tag

This tag was created by Sam @ Thoughts on Tomes and I think it’s great because it gives me the opportunity to rant about stuff, so I’m down.

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1. Half of the lights on the Christmas tree are burnt out : Name a book/series/character that started out good but then went downhill

 

For this I’m gonna go with  Red Queen  by Victoria Aveyard. I was okay with the first book. I enjoyed it. But then Glass Sword happened. And we all know how that went (if you don’t, then you can check out my rant about it).

2. Annoying Great Aunt Sally who will not leave you alone : Name a book that you didn’t enjoy, but everyone else seems to love so it never goes away

Caraval by Stephanie Garber. I hate it. I hate it so much (I have a rant about that as well) and so many people love it. I know there are people who hate it too, but it was even nominated for the Goodreads Choice Awards… what? What? I just can’t. I’m sorry, but how even? That book is a waste of paper. Trees were killed for nothing printing that.

3. Your pets keep knocking over the Christmas decoration : Name a character that kept messing things up for everyone else (can’t pick a villain!)

The guy from The Wrath and the Dawn. What’s his name? I can’t remember. The childhood friend. He was just in the way. He didn’t really do much in the book and when he did, he messed things up. Just stop it guy. Tariq? I think that was his name.

4. You hear your parents putting out the presents and learn Santa isn’t real: Name a book you were spoiled for

Hmm… I don’t know. I don’t think I’ve really been spoiled for any books. At least not in any major way. Maybe Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince cause I knew about Dumbledore. But I can’t really think of anything else. I’ve been pretty good at avoiding spoilers.

5. It’s freezing outside: Name a main character you just couldn’t connect with

Any of the characters in the Inheritance series. I just could not get them at all. Also the girls from The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani. I enjoyed the story. And I even liked the characters, I just didn’t feel very connected to them. Same goes for the eponymous Sabriel by Garth Nix. I enjoyed the book and the characters were good, but they just didn’t click with me.

6. Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ and it’s giving you anti-romantic feelings : Name a couple you couldn’t stand

Scarlett and… whatever his name from Caraval by Stephanie Garber. I hated everything about that book, not least of all the romance.

All the relationships in Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige. Another waste of paper and one of the worst cases of insta-love and love polygons in the history of YA.

Chaol and Celaena from Throne of Glass. I just do not like that couple. I just don’t.

7. That scratchy homemade wool sweater you got for Christmas years ago but won’t get rid of : show some books that have been sitting on your shelves for a while, and you aren’t motivated to read, but you don’t have the heart to get rid of

Oooh boy. I have so many. But I’m a book hoarder. To be fair, a lot of these I didn’t buy and they aren’t strictly speaking mine, so probably once I settle down somewhere for more than one year at a time and decide to move all my books from my parent’s house, I’ll leave some of those behind. But anyway, here are some books that I own and just don’t have any interest in reading (and I will focus on books that I own personally, whether I bought them for myself or received them, but I won’t mention the books that are technically my family’s books, but because I’m the only person in my family who consistently reads, they’re mine).

Inheritance by Christpher Paolini. I’m actually considering donating this, because it’s just taking up space and I’m never going to read it. Ever.

Clancy of the Undertow by Christopher Curie. Again, 0 interest in this book. I won it in a giveaway that I don’t even know why I entered. Probably will end up giving that one away as well.

The Odyssey by Homer. I’ve had this for a couple of years and I just never feel like picking it up. I do want to read it eventually, so I’m going to keep it. But I just have no motivation to read it at the moment.

The Divine Comedy by Dante Aligheri. I’ve read about half of Inferno and I just… can’t. It’s in verse and I can’t focus on it. I want to read them though. Just not now.

Dodger by Terry Pratchett. I’ve read about maybe a third of this book and it was just not what I was expecting it to be so I stopped. I want to read it eventually, cause it was good, but I really don’t feel motivated to at the moment.

I’m going to stop at 5, but there are plenty more.

8. Grandma Got Runover by a Reindeer: Name a character death you still are mad about (warn people for spoilers! You can also use TV or movie deaths)

***SPOILERS FOR MISTBORN, SIX OF CROWS, HARRY POTTER, HUNGER GAMES, LORD OF SHADOWS***

I’m mad about a lot of deaths, okay? I’ll put headers for each book/series, so if you haven’t read it and don’t want spoilers, you can skip that paragraph.

MISTBORN

Kelsier. Why? Just why? I’m not over it, I get why he needed to die. But no. I’m so mad.

SIX OF CROWS

Matthias. That was so unnecessary and I am mad. I’m so mad. I can’t cope with it, I yelled at the book and i cried and I just don’t understand why.

HARRY POTTER

Hedwig and Dobby. It’s just not okay. Neither of them deserved to die and just why? A lot of people died in HP and most of them are tragic and heartbreaking but I can’t get over those two. They didn’t need to die.

HUNGER GAMES

My baby Finnick I am so mad. I can’t articulate how mad I am about that. I refuse. In my mind, he’s alive and happy with Annie they have tiny little children and a little fishing cabin.

Cinna. The best side character in YA literature. I can’t handle it. I am wounded.

LORD OF SHADOWS

I’m still mad about Livvy. I could not believe what I was reading. What is Ty going to do without her, I can’t even. My brain reuses to accept it. I feel like the next book will begin with Julian waking up from a nightmare and none of it is true.

Also, I can’t remember what book this was in, but I recently read it and it was this random rider on a horse and the rider did something stupid and the horse was like torn in half and it was so graphic. I suffered. I can’t for the life of me remember what book it was. But I know the MC was watching this scene unravel and I was so mad. Maybe it was Uprooted by Naomi Novik? I don’t know.

9. The malls are overly crowded with holiday shoppers: Name a series that has too many books in it/went on too long

Elemental Assassin series by Jennifer Estep. That series just goes on and on. I don’t even know how many books there are to date, but way too many. At least 15 and with no intention of stopping anytime soon. That series is not that good. It doesn’t need that many books.

Also, I’m sorry but I’m starting to think Throne of Glass should come to an end. I feel like one more book and then that’s it. I kind of think that Tower of Dawn was a bit unnecessary. I mean, I haven’t read it yet, so I can’t say for sure. But I think I would have been happier to just get a conclusion instead of that one. Because Empire of Storms declined in quality compared to the others and I want it to end while it’s still good.

10. The Grinch : Name a main character you HATE (No villians again!)

Mare Barrow from Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard. I hate her so much, I want her to die and rid the world of her insufferable self-righteousness and self-importance.

Scarlett from Caraval by Stephanie Garber. She’s stupid and hypocritical and I’m just so done with her.

Snow from Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige. Ugh, another stupid, whiny and self-righteous one. I hate her.

These are the ones I really hate. I actually don’t often hate characters. Like, they may annoy me, but then I usually don’t care enough to really hate them. I’m just annoyed, but to mention a few: Lissa and Rose from Vampire Academy, Chaol from ToG, the girl (forgot her name) from The Sin Eater’s Daughter.

MASSIVE Book Haul – 25+ Books

I’ve been buying books like crazy over the past few of months. So a book haul is long overdue. This is going to be pretty long, so let’s get right to it. If I have a review of a book, it’ll be linked.

 

The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson | The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton | Sabriel by Garth Nix | Temeraire by Naomi Novik | The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare | City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare | Harry Potter and the deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling | The Bat by Jo Nesbo | Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

The School For Good and Evil by Soman Chainani | Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo | A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas | Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (20th anniversary Ravenclaw edition) by J. K. Rowling | The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

The Wrath and the Dawn by Rene Ahdieh | Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman| Jesus Feminist by Sarah Bessey | Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare | What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe

Sketchy, Doubtful, Incomplete Jottings by Johann van Goethe | Ready Player One by Ernest Cline | Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Mass | Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff | The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valante | The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

Mid Year Book Freak-Out Tag

I know it’s quite some time past mid year, but… oh well. I did this tag last year as well (timelier then), out can check that out here.

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Best book you’ve read so far in 2017

For this I probably have to go with The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson. Although I’ve read a few awesome books so far this year (honourable mentions go to Illuminae, Nevernight and A Conjuring of Light), this one just kept me up at night reading and I was just so excited to talk to everyone about it and that hadn’t happened in a while. I have both a spoiler-free review and a rave review of this, if you’re interested to know more of my thoughts about it.

Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2017

This one goes to A Conjuring of Light by V. E. Schwab. It was such a great conclusion to the series. There is so much going on, we lern so many new things. I loved it so much, I felt all the feels and I NEED to get to her other books. I love her writing and her imagination so much. She writes such compelling stories and characters and I just don’t even know why I haven’t read all her books yet! I have a spoiler-free review of this one as well, if you would like to read more of my thoughts on it.

New release you haven’t read yet, but want to

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor. Again, another author whose writing I love so much, and yet I still have to finish Daughter of Smoke and Bone and I still don’t have my hands on Strange the Dreamer and I want it because it’s beautiful and I bet on the inside it’s beautiful as well and I can’t wait to read it!

 

 

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff. I loved Nevernight so much, Jay Kristoff is one of my new favourite authors and I want to read this book yesterday! This actually shares a release date with Tower of Dawn, which I’m also quite excited about, but not as much as I might have expected. Was a bit disappointed with Empire of Storms and Chaol is not really my favourite character. So Godsgrave wins this time. And I’m so excited about that cover! It’ll look so pretty along with the first one!

Biggest disappointment

Caraval by Stephanie Garber. That book sucks. If you’ve been following my reviews, you know how much I hated that stupid book. If you haven’t, then you can check out both my spoiler-free review of it and my rant review. The biggest disappointment position is actually a joint one, and Caraval shares it with Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige. I also have both a spoiler-free review and a rant review of that if you want to know more, so I won’t go into too much detail about why I hated it because I don’t want to ruin my day.

Biggest surprise

Hmm… this is difficult. I don’t think I’ve really read any books that surprised me so far this year. Maybe Replica by Lauren Oliver, because I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. it was far more insightful and clever and bold than I thought it would be and I went through it really quickly. So I guess I was a little surprised by it, but I can’t say it was a big surprise. I have a spoiler free review of it if you want to read more of my thoughts on it.

 

Favorite new author (Debut or new to you)

Jay Kristoff. I’ve read two of his books already and loved both. There’s something about the wit of his writing that gets me and I will read pretty much anything written by him. I really have to catch up with his other books. I can’t wait to see what other delights he has set in store.

 

Newest fictional crush

ELEND VENTURE HE’S SO CUTE I CAN’T sfjhsflakjhwryonjdnafihvnrlehen he’s such a precious, clueless cinnamon fluff ball I want to marry him.

Ahem… I’m okay. Ignore what just happened…

 

 

Newest favorite character

This is kind of hard… either Mia Corvere from Nevernight, AIDAN from Illuminae (although… Kady and Ezra as well, if I’m being honest) or Kit Herondale from Lord of Shadows. I’m currently about two thirds through Lord of Shadows and what can I say, I just can’t resist a Herondale. It’s a tough question to answer, because there isn’t any one character that stands out dramatically above the others, there are just a lot of really good characters that I love.

Book that made you cry

I don’t think I have an answer for this. I can’t remember reading any book that made me cry this year. Oh actually, I may have cried when reading A Monster Calls. Like, not properly cried, but I think my eyes got a bit watery. I do have a review of A Monster Calls if you want to know more of my thoughts. It’s a really powerful book, I thought and I do recommend it to anyone.

 

Book that made you happy

Again, I’m not sure I have an answer for this. I can’t think of a book that made me particularly happy. I mean, all books tend to make me happy just because I love books and I love seeing them and having them and arranging them on bookshelves, but beyond that, there wasn’t any specific book that made me happy.

Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)

Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare. It’s so pretty! And it looks so nice with Lady Midnight and I’m happy. I have the edition with the dark blue pages and it’s so cool and I love it!

Other honourable mentions for beautiful books are Illuminae, Nevernight and Caraval (even though the book itself sucks, I can’t deny that it’s beautiful to look at).

What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

I’d like to read The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton and maybe some more Laini Taylor and V.E. Schwab. And I need to continue the Mistborn series.

The Pride and Prejudice Book Tag

I was tagged by Angelica @ The Book Cover Girls to do this. Thank you Angelica! I love P&P. This should be fun.

How it works

• Link back to Laura and Emma’s original posts so we can see all of your answers! (Just copy and paste these instructions)
• Thank the person who tagged you
• Answer the questions
• Tag a maximum of 10 people

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While Mr. Bennet silently reads in the study, and Mrs. Bennet’s tales of woe can be heard from miles away, you spend a lovely afternoon in the garden with your dramatic and doting sisters. What is a favourite novel of yours that features a strong sibling relationship?

Here I’m gonna go with Fred and George Weasley from the Harry Potter series. I just love their relationship.

You and Mary have decided to walk to the bookshop in Meryton to search for the newest releases. Which book or books are you likely to purchase?

I still haven’t got this, for some reason.

Netherfield Park has been let at last, and the owner, a Mr. Charles Bingley, hosts a magnificent ball at his new estate. What fictional ball gown would you wear?

Hmmm… maybe Feyre’s Starfall dress? (image credit)

Or Tessa’s Dress.

It is the Christmas Ball and Maria has asked you to join her at the piano. What music or song would you choose as an accompaniment to your current book?

Well, I just started reading The School for Good and Evil, but I’ve only read one chapter so far, so I don’t really know what song would fit it.

You’re helping Jane to take care of her younger cousins whilst staying with the Gardiners. Which fictional children would you include in your own family?

 ARTEMIS FOWL!

It’s a sombre evening at Hunsford Parsonage, and after dinner, Mr. Collins stands by the fireplace and quotes from the Good Book, while the party tries not to yawn too obviously. What is a memorable quote from a novel that has always stuck with you?

There are many. In fact, I have a whole series of posts dedicated to quotes, because I am a quotes aficionado (you can check that out here). But I’ll go with the first line of what is probably my favourite non-fiction.

"No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear."
-C.S. Lewis (A Grief Observed)

You’ve been invited to dine at Rosings Park by none other than the infamous Lady Catherine de Bourgh, but the evening ends in disaster as the pompous Lady insults you and your family. Who’s your favourite fictional villain?

Hmm… this is hard. I tend to love a lot of villains. Sebastain Morgenstern from The Mortal Instruments maybe? Oh… Light from Death Note. Or Johan Liebert from Monster. Also, I’ve recently read Illuminae and I really loved AIDAN.

As Lydia has gone down to Brighton with the Forsters, and Elizabeth is off on her jaunt to Derbyshire with the Gardiners, you also want to go away for a quick break. Which fictional location would be your perfect holiday destination?

Um… not many of the books I read, that’s for sure. People tend to die a lot in those places. I’m gonna go with Le Cirque des Reves from The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I feel like from all the places, my life would be least threatened there and it would be so freaking awesome.

You’re running to the fine horse chestnut tree on the green to relive some of your favourite childhood reading memories. What is one that you remember most fondly?

My grandfather used to have this giant collection of stories and fairytales. It was yellow and very old and every time I would go there, he would read to me from it for hours and hours. I know that’s not really me reading, but it’s a very fond memory. And I’ve read the book by myself as well. I’m pretty sure I now have the book at home (I stole it from him muahahah)

You’re on a tour at Pemberley and you come across Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy emerging from the pond, scandalously clad in only his wet underdrawers and shirt. You can’t help but swoon at the sight. Aside from Mr. Darcy, who is your favourite romantic interest?

Rhysand from ACOTAR, Kaz Brekker from Six of Crows, Will Herondale from The Infernal Devices and more recently, Elend Venture from the Mistborn series. There are others, of course, but these are my top ones.

Rhys credit Kaz credit Elend credit

I tag all P&P lovers to do this!

Top Ten Books With Covers That Don’t Reflect the Inside

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is book covers. I’ve chosen to tell you about 10 books that have covers that are simply discordant to their content. Whether the cover is beautiful and the book isn’t, or the other way around, or the cover simply has nothing to do with the book.

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Caraval by Stephanie Garber

This book is gorgeous. Both the UK and the US editions are just so beautiful, I can’t even! But the actual story is absolute shit. I hated it so much, but it’s so beautiful that I’m never going to get rid of it. I have both a spoiler free review and a rant review of this, if you would like to know more about it.

Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard

Another one where the covers are beautiful, but the books are just not. Well, the first book was okay. I absolutely hated the second one. I obviously haven’t read the third one because I’m not subjecting myself to another book of rage and frustration, but yeah… I hated Glass Sword. You can check out my review of it if you are interested in knowing more.

The Sin Eater’s Daughter series by Melinda Salisbury

This series has such cool covers! And it’s so… boring. I’ve only read the first book, but it was so boring that I cannot imagine what happens in two more of them. I am telling you, this was a 250 page book of nothing happening.

The US Editions of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone Series by Laini Taylor

These covers don’t do the series justice. The UK covers are stunning, but I would not be interested in these books at all based on these covers. They’re kind of ugly. And they really don’t have anything to do with the plot. What close ups of girls wearing masks or makeup has to do with this? I don’t know. This series is so beautiful and the writing is magical and these covers just don’t reflect that.

Poison Study series by Maria V. Snyder

I know there are some other editions of the books, but these covers make no sense to me. To me, this looks like some period romance/court intrigue series. It’s not. These covers just do not reflect the content of the books at all, in my opinion. Based on these covers, I would never buy these books. They’re not necessarily ugly covers, but they speak to me of a genre that I’m usually not very interested in.

The Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer

I don’t think this series has an entire set of matching covers. There are like 5 different cover editions at least and none of them are complete as far as I could tell. It’s so annoying. And what’s even worse is that all those editions are just varying shades of bad. The one in the picture is the edition I hate the most. It’s just so… bad. It does not do the series justice. The series is awesome! I want them re-released in a nice edition where they all match. Is that too much to ask?

The Diabolic by S. J. Kincaid

It’s a really nice cover… I just don’t understand what a butterfly has to do with anything. I suppose the two halves of the butterfly could represent Sidonia and Nemesis, one soft and one sharp and serrated. But… why butterflies? They did that for Replica by Lauren Oliver as well. It’s like they have no idea what to put on the cover, so they just slap a butterfly on it and call it a day.

The Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer

Again, very aesthetic covers, just… what do they have to do with the books? I suppose the theme of black, white and red does capture the vampire-y, but why an apple, a petal, a ribbon and whatever else? Could have been some objects that reflect the story somehow? I mean, I like these covers. And they’re so iconic by now, that everyone would recognise them. But I just wonder what the thought process was when first printing this. “Hmm… so this is a book about vampires. It’s called Twilight… let’s put an apple on the cover.”

The US editions of the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson

Both the US hardback and the US paperback editions are just hideous. This looks like some shitty comic-book covers. They’re so, so ugly and this series does not deserve such ugly covers. Thankfully, the UK editions are really cool. I’ve only read The Final Empire so far, but it was so amazing, I can’t wait to read the rest of them. I have both a spoiler-free review of it and a rave review if you are interested to know more of my thoughts.

The US covers of the Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss

These aren’t horrible, but they certainly don’t do the books justice. The UK covers are much better and I feel also capture the essence of the series much better. I absolutely adore these books, it’s one of my favourite series. I have reviews of both The Name of the Wind  and of The Wise Man’s Fear, if you are interested.

The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson – RAVE

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE SPOILED, READ MY SPOILER FREE REVIEW

This series is my newest obsession. I don’t think I’ve been so absorbed by a book since I read The Name of the Wind. When I first heard about it, the magic system seemed a bit iffy to me and I wasn’t sure I would like it. BOY, WAS I WRONG! The magic system is so cool. Like, ingesting metals and then burning them for powers sounds kind of weird… but it works so well once you start reading it and it makes for the most spectacular action scenes ever. I was reading this book like:

This is one of those books where I really loved all the characters. I really loved the dynamics of the gang, but I especially loved the dynamic of Vin and Kell. Just that father-daughter-like relationship that they developed was so cute and I loved it! And then Kell went and got himself killed and I was like NO! I was so shocked. I didn’t see it coming… well I did, but I was in denial. And Vin’s reaction to it destroyed me more than anything. Oh, and that conversation they have not long before on the roof, where she asks him to promise not to leave her and he says he can’t make that promise because he knows he’s going to sacrifice himself just akjfhaga.

The scene with Kell in the mines gave me chills. Him remembering how it was to search for the geodes, the single, all consuming thought that he needed to find one to survive, not caring that his arms are being shredded open and his memories of his wife and…

Let me tell you about Elend. He is the most adorable, fluffy, clueless cinnamon roll ever. Walking around with his stack of books at parties. I could relate to him so much though. That is me. When him and Vin first meet and he just reads like the giant dork he is. That is what I do at parties too. And then Vin’s all annoyed like “‘Scuse you! I am hot, pay attention to me!”.  I love them so muchhhhhhh! They’re so cute! They gave me all the feels and I was so happy at the end.

Oh, OH! At the end, when Elend comes to ‘rescue’ Vin and she’s just like “Thanks baby. Here, hold my purse while I save everyone’s life like the BAMF that I am.” And he just takes it in stride like “Yup. My girlfriend just decimated 15 grown-ass warriors. Cool.”

The little paragraphs at the beginning of each chapter were so cool! I thought for the longest time that they were written by the Lord Ruler and I was trying to fit all the information together and it was just not clicking and I was so frustrated. But in the good way. I love when I have to figure things out in books and I especially love it when they trick me! And now I’m so excited to find out what actually happened to the person who wrote that diary and what the hell is the Deepness.