I’ve been a little bit scattered and all over the place lately and that has trickled down into my reading. I never know what I feel like reading or even what is on my TBR or radar lately and it’s been driving me a little crazy. So I figured I would make this post I can refer back to every time I’m in the mood for reading but have no clue what to pick up. Hopefully it helps!
Usually I don’t really attention to the Goodreads Choice Awards but I have seen the criticism in the past about how it’s more of a popularity contest rather than going off actual ratings. Which is apparent this year as one of the nominees for the Fantasy category is Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson and it hasn’t even been released yet. I wanted to make an informed decision when I vote so I have decided to try and read all of the nominees from the YA Fantasy category and see which I think should be the winner!! There are a couple that I have already read and a few on my physical TBR and I will have to try and source the rest and try to get to them in the coming weeks.
I just completed the second book in this series A Torch Against the Night a few days ago and I have thoughts. For one I loved that we get some new perspectives in this book, especially Helene’s. I loved seeing how drastically her position has changed over the course of the storyline and how she has had to make some immensely difficult decisions which could lead to ramifications either for her or the ones she loves. I loved getting more of an insight into her character and the depth of feelings she has for Elias and how she has had to quell them and put her family and her Gen first. Second the world expands so much more in this book as we follow Elias and Laia on their journey to Kauf. The amount of time it actually takes for them to reach the prison gives us more of a scope of just how big the empire is. Speaking of Elias and Laia it was great to see them grow closer and come to trust each other completely and how unfair it is that they have to keep each other at arms length. Elias’s whole storyline I am not a fan of simply because I am yearning for them to be able to be together but alas that is not going to happen any time soon. Reading this the second time around I completely forgot about the twist involving Keenan. It was a nice experience to kind of be surprised again and connect all of the dots that were littered throughout the storyline. I wasn’t as in love with this book as opposed to the first simply because there wasn’t as much going on in this book. The stakes were definitely there and there is a lot of context given but it felt like a filler book for the series. It sowed the seeds that are definitely going to come into fruition as the series continues and I am excited to read on!
I thought it was time to do another update about the books I’ve been borrowing and reading from my local library. Last month I tried to prioritise most of the books that I borrowed for my TBR as there were quite a large amount and there were a few that I was dying to read. Out of the 14 books I read in August seven of them were from the library so I would definitely count that as a success. When I returned all of those books there were a couple that I just had to grab as well. I’m trying not to borrow as many books as I have been previously as I do want to try and get my owned TBR down to single figures!
I am on holidays at the moment and haven’t been doing a lot of reading while I have been away…. It’s been nice just taking a break and relaxing and not really worrying about what to pick up next. The only physical book I brought with me though is Fire by Kristin Cashore so I think I will definitely be picking this book up next. I loved Graceling when I read it a few years ago and I bought the two companion novels straight away but they have been sitting on my shelves gathering dust ever since. I have heard nothing but great things about the other two book and by bringing Fire with me I almost guarantee I will be completing it within the next few days! 
Amy Leigh Reads 