One of my 27by27 goals is to read 200 new books over the next five years. I'll mostly be keeping track of this one via my goodreads account, but every three months I'll be posting a little update over on here - showing the books I've read over those months, and some mini reviews of my favourites! Here's my update for June, July & August.
L-R:
Dare Me - Megan Abbot | 3/5 stars • Red Queen - Victoria Aveyard | 4/5 stars • Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov | 2/5 stars • The Invasion of the Tearling - Erika Johansen | 4.5/5 stars • Royal Wedding (The Princess Diaries #11) - Meg Cabot | 5/5 stars
The Girl of Fire and Thorns - Rae Carson | 4/5 stars • The Crown of Embers - Rae Carson | 4.5/5 stars • The Bitter Kingdom - Rae Carson | 5/5 stars • The Kiss of Deception - Mary E. Pearson | 4/5 stars • A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J. Maas | 5/5 stars
Snow Like Ashes - Sara Raasch | 3.5/5 stars • Fool's Quest - Robin Hobb | 5/5 stars • The Heart of Betrayal - Mary E. Pearson | 4.5/5 stars • Graceling - Kristin Cashore | 5/5 stars
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My top picks:
Royal Wedding by Meg Cabot
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure 99% of British girls my age absolutely adored Meg's The Princess Diaries series in the early noughties. I had no idea an eleventh book was being written, so when I was shopping in Asda, came across Royal Wedding and subsequently realised what it was I had to hold back a scream of joy. I literally devoured this book - it's perfect because Mia's the same awkward, funny character she was all those years ago, but time's passed, she's older and the book's target audience is more the 16 - 25 bracket than pre-teens. I'm so glad Meg decided to write this book literally for its original audience in this way. Definitely recommend to anyone who loved these books when they were younger!
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
I am a huge fan of Sarah's Throne of Glass series, so when I saw that she was writing a new book inspired by Beauty and the Beast but with a twist, I just had to read it. Feyre's story and her world immediately sucked me in, and I couldn't put this book down until I'd finished it. It has the perfect balance of everything I love in a YA fantasy (although I'd say it's aimed at a slightly older audience than the usual YA book - there's quite a few very descriptive raunchy scenes so if you'd rather not read that sort of thing then do bear this in mind!): some of the books main features are a strong female lead who's had to learn to take care of herself and her family, a war, a fantasy land, fairies, a map at the beginning of the book, and of course, a romance. I'd recommend this book to all fantasy or YA lovers, and anyone who's into the Throne of Glass series!
Fool's Quest by Robin Hobb
Oh. My. Gosh. I am still not over this book. Or this series. Or this author.
All I can say is, if you haven't read these three trilogy's already, go and pick up a copy of Assassins Apprentice right now and get reading!
Fools Quest is the second book of the third trilogy that's based on FitzChivalry Farseer, a prince's bastard turned stableboy turned assassin. Honestly, when I first started reading these books I found them really hard to get into, but once I hit a certain stage I was completely hooked on Fitz's storyline. One of my favourite things about the books is that you literally do experience Fitz's whole life - the first book begins with him being a very young child, and in Fool's Quest he's around sixty. Now I know if someone recommended me a book where the main character is a sixty-something year old man, I'd definitely be put off, but just trust me on this one!
I'd recommend this book (obviously at the same time, recommending the Farseer Trilogy, the Tawny Man Trilogy, and the first book of The Fitz and The Fool Trilogy - Fool's Assassin) to anyone into fantasy fiction which also has a bit of politics thrown in there (fellow A Song of Ice & Fire fans, you will love these trilogys!). I'd also recommend it if you love a bit of fictional vengeance, like myself ;)
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
This is a book I've been meaning to read for so long, so this weekend I finally got around to it, and I'm so glad that I did! Again, it perfectly fits all of my favourite themes for a book - strong female lead (who's also an amazing fighter, obviously), a fantasy realm, a romance... etc etc etc, you've heard this all before. I'd recommend for lovers of easy-going but still great fantasy!
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I've actually really enjoyed writing this post - reading is one of my biggest and probably longest standing passions, so if you're interested in some more frequent book review or just book related posts, do let me know :)
14 new books out of 200 read, 186 to go!
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