Book Lists – Page 88 – Amy Leigh Reads

5 things that make me pick up a book!

April 2, 2019April 3, 2019by amyleighreads1 Comment

Every Tuesday I look forward to everyone’s Top 10 Tuesday posts but I have never participated myself. So I thought I would throw my hat into the mix today and give it a go!

SO THESE ARE THE FIVE THINGS THAT MAKE ME PICK UP A BOOK!

I am highly susceptible to hype and I have found myself in the past picking a book up purely because of the hype. Nowadays, I am a little pickier with what I read so I will do a little more research on the book first before I actually read it! Example: The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi – I was browsing a bookstore a little while ago and when I spotted The Gilded Wolves on the shelves I proceeded to pick it up and buy it with no hesitation. I had seen it soo much on my social media at that point that it was instinctive.

I am a sucker for beautiful covers! If I am in a bookstore and a particular cover stands out to me I will immediately gravitate towards it! Whether or not I actually purchase the book will depend on my mood but there have been several instances where this has occurred! Example: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood– I was perusing a book store and came across this beautiful edition of The Handmaid’s Tale. I had been on my TBR for a while now so I immediately bought it!

If I have read one or more books by a certain author and loved it I will definitely go back and pick up more books from that author because I trust them and their work! Even if I know nothing about the book I will still give it a read and see what I think! Example: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson – I had just finished his Mistborn Trilogy and was looking into his other work when I came across the Stormlight Archives and immediately picked them up. Now one of my all-time favourite fantasy series!

I am a fantasy lover and I am always on the hunt for new fantasy series! The longer the better in my opinion I love them all! So when I hear about a book that is the start of a new fantasy series I will probably be picking it up in the very near future and checking it out! Example: Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan – This was a mixture of hype, cover and the fact that it is a newly released novel that is the start of a new fantasy series! When I saw this book and read the blurb I immediately knew I had to read it!

Sometimes I just sit and stare at my bookshelves and I see some of the books sitting there and it brings back memories of when I first read them, what I was doing in my life at that moment, how old I was etc. and that feeling really prompts me to pick the book up! Example: Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling – I am still in the middle of my reread of this series! What spurred my nostalgia was receiving the illustrated editions for Christmas and that just put me in the mood to read them all again!

Book vs. Movie

📚Book vs. TV Series 📺

March 28, 2019March 28, 2019by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment

This month instead of doing a book vs. movie I thought what about book vs. TV show? Nowadays a lot of books are getting adapted into TV Shows, the Six of Crows duology being one I am super excited to see when it comes out. Another super popular one is of course Game of Thrones and The Handmaid’s Tale which, as I just finished the book a few days ago I thought would be a good one to start with! It’s interesting because I actually marathoned the series with my mum in January so I watched the series before I read the book. The 3^rd season is coming out in April and I am very excited to get back into the world and see what happens next!

So with all that being said these are my thoughts on The Handmaid’s Tale:

Pros: Offred’s commentary is actually really witty and realistic. You can really see how oppressed she has become but she still kind of maintains her originality. The first season is pretty much an exact replica of the book which I like. I’m not a huge fan of veering so far away from the original concept that you can’t recognise the plot. But the show also expanded on the story and gave us so much more information, which I really enjoyed!

Cons: The book was actually pretty short, so it didn’t really give me enough time to connect with the characters or get really settled into the plot. It jumps from past and present a lot and the pacing was a little on the slower side. In the TV Show they made a lot of the characters younger than what they are in the book. I appreciate they are trying to reach a certain audience but I feel like it would have been more effective had they left them with their original ages. It would make sense that they would need the Handmaid’s if the characters were on the older side.

Overall thoughts: The premise is super interesting but the book was a little boring. In the TV Show they took the original plot on board but expanded so much more of the world and went more in depth with the characters and their motivations.

My Recommendation: It really goes against everything I stand for, but I am going to have to say the TV Show. You just get so much more information about the world and the characters and we see a continuation of their storylines. The ending of the book is just so abrupt and left me wondering so it’s nice to see what happens after the story finished.

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Book Lists

5 Fantasy Stand Alones

March 21, 2019March 21, 2019by amyleighreads3 Comments

These are a few of my favourite fantasy stand alones! I think most of these are great if you aren’t an avid fantasy reader, to get you started and to dip your toes into the genre. Fantasy is my absolute favourite and I don’t get around to reading a lot of stand-alones in the genre but what I have read I have loved!

Graceling by Kristin Cashore – I get that there are two more books in this world but I believe they are just companion novels, so I am counting this as a stand-alone. I loved this book. The premise alone I found to be very interesting and I loved how it was executed! Katsa is one of my favourite female protagonists and I loved her arc throughout this story.

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To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo – This book surprised me a little bit! I picked it up on a whim and thought it was going to be a little dry (lol) but I actually really enjoyed the storyline. The pace was very well done, I thought the premise was unique and the kind of hate to love romance trope is one of my favourites so I really liked this!

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Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson – I was highly entertained throughout the course of this book! I loved Mila and her commentary in this book was very witty and kind of snarky which I like in a female protagonists. Overall I think it was her desire to find out the truth and her stop at nothing nature that really captured my attention and ensnared me!

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The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw – Dark and atmospheric, I really enjoyed this book as well. The premise I found to be very unique and the twist at the end did really surprise me! I didn’t see it coming and I felt like the execution was very well done.

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The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon – Even though this is a fairly new read I had to put it on the list! An epic fantasy book of over 1000 pages I’m sure it is intimidating to the average person. However, I found it to be an incredibly fast engaging read. The world is vast, the characters are diverse and the magic system is unique. Everything I love about fantasy this book really captured!

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Book Lists

5 Favourite Book Covers

March 14, 2019March 15, 2019by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment

These are 5 book covers that I am absolutely loving at the moment! This post is completely subjective as everyone has their own preferences when it comes to book covers, but these are a few books I’ve acquired recently that have captured my attention! As you can probably tell I am a fan of bright colours and gold foil!!!

Dance of Thieves by Mary E Pearson

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

Legendary by Stephanie Garber

Circe by Madeline Miller

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Book Lists

5 Books/Series with Queens 👑

March 7, 2019March 6, 2019by amyleighreads2 Comments

I thought I would do a super specific reader recommendation post about 5 books/series that includes a Queen who is integral in the overall plot.

Three Dark Crowns Series by Kendare Blake

This is a super dark, atmospheric young adult fantasy series revolving around 3 queens. These triplets are born every generation and when they come of age they have to fight to the death until one Queen emerges as the victor. Like I said the premise for this book is super dark, yet the characters are really diverse and the magic system is interesting and engaging! There is still one more book coming out this year that I am highly anticipating!

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The Red Queen Series by Victoria Aveyard

This is a really polarising series I find, either people love it or hate it and I really didn’t mind it. This world is divided by blood-red or silver. The reds are the commoners and the silvers are the elite, upper class that each has some form of power. We follow the protagonist Mare who is a Red blood but is discovered to possess her own powers which threaten to destroy the balance of power in the kingdom. I highly enjoyed this series, I was entertained throughout and the arc’s that some of these characters undertake are wonderful to read!

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The Thief Series by Megan Whalen Turner

The Thief Series follows the main protagonist Gen who is a master thief and has boasted that he can steal anything in the world. Someone takes him up on his offer and he finds himself in the middle of an incredible heist to steal a relic off a neighbouring kingdom. This is a very politically charged series that keeps getting grander as the books progress. The characters are each so diverse and distinct and there are so many secrets and schemes that enrich the plotline!

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Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J Maas

I had to put it in! I am kind of trash for this series tbh! If you haven’t heard this series revolves around an assassin named Calaena. She has been imprisoned in a salt mine and the crown prince comes and offers her a deal to enter a tournament to be the King’s champion assassin. There is so much character development and magical elements and crazy plotlines that really kept me invested and entertained throughout this series. I highly enjoyed it and it was a wild ride from the first book to the last!

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The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

This epic fantasy standalone revolves around several strong, brave, female protagonists; one of which happens to be a Queen. This book is very large but don’t let that intimidate you, it reads very quickly and there is a whole lot of action and adventure mixed in! The premise is super unique, the world is richly developed and vast and the storyline had many twists and turns that keep you highly entertained!

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Do you have any books/series involving Queens that you would recommend???