This is my second installment of my quarterly reading recommendations for 2019. Every 3 months I will be looking over all the books I’ve read in that time and picking out my top 10 favourites. Then at the end of the year I will compile my lists and pick my top 10 overall from the books I’ve selected where I will be going a little more in depth! If you want to check out my first quarterly reading recommendations click HERE.
So in no particular order my reading recommendations for April-May-June are:
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard
Red Sister & Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence
Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young
The Crimson Crown by Cinda Williams Chima
Vampire Academy & Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
I decided instead of doing individual reviews for each book I would combine them all and do a series review! I was immediately sucked in to this series and the storyline and the characters. I started the first book on a Friday and by the next Tuesday I had completed the series, I was that invested!
It was nice to have a different perspective on the whole vampire genre. It is usually quite straightforward from what I’ve read in the past in terms of their powers and how they are turned etc. The fact that Richelle Mead created something that was so different and unique really captured my attention straight away. Having the three species of vampires and having differing was that they are changed and how they reproduce added a lot of depth to the books.
The characters had the perfect amount of angst that I wasn’t too annoyed by. They weren’t the most complex cast of characters that I’ve read about but there was enough distinction between them that kept me eager to read on.
Rose didn’t really show any growth throughout the books in terms of her demeanour or attitude, she stayed pretty consistent throughout; though that didn’t really bother me because she brought a lot of unpredictability and entertainment to the storyline. She acted and reacted very true to her age and I appreciated that, she read as a 17 year old and that’s why I liked her so much.
Lissa’s storyline was very fascinating; it strayed a little too close to the political side of the story which doesn’t really engage me as much as the action. It was nice that the plot went so in depth with the Moroi royal families and their many layers of political manoeuvrings, but again I wasn’t all that interested in that side of the story. She was one character that we did see a change occur throughout the series. I found her to be a little bit pretentious and entitled in the first few books, but you really get a feel of how much she appreciated Rose and her friends in her rise.
As I was making my way through the series there was definitely times when I could predict exactly what was going to happen and usually that annoys me, but this time I was actually ok with it because it made sense. The progression between each book was purposeful and each book was easy to differentiate. Sometimes when I read a series quite quickly all of the books can kind of blend together and I can have trouble picking out which event happened in which book. With this I had no such trouble, I was invested enough that when I finished one book I wanted to immediately pick up the next and did. I can see now why so many people love and recommend this series; I just wish I had read it sooner!
I LOVED this book!
amyleighreads.com 