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
I read Caraval last year and I was entertained yet it wasĀ not quite as captivating as I hoped. The atmosphere of the book was quite dark and mysterious with an air of danger attached. I definitely couldn’t predict anything that was going to happen which I enjoy in a fantasy book, it keeps me invested in the storyline. I thought the twists were well timed and the characters were somewhat likeable, Donatella wasn’t a favourite of mine. That being said the magic system kind of fell a little flat for me in the book. So I am hoping it is really explained and expanded more in Legendary. I am excited to get into this book and hopefully I like it even more than its predecessor.
Happy Readingš
There are some books in this month’s TBR that I am super excited to get in to! I feel like my selection this month is quite varied so depending on my mood I have multiple choices that I am eager to read!Ā
Windwitch by Susan Dennard
Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner
The Wrath & the Dawn and The Rose & the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh
The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware
The Priory of the Orange TreeĀ by Samantha Shannon
Legendary by Stephanie Garber
The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima
Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Iāve had another great month of reading for September. I end up finishingĀ nine of the tenĀ books that I set out to read this month plus one extra from last month! I have reviews on all of these books up on my blog at the moment so feel free to click on the titles and check them out.
Caraval by Stephanie Garber ā āļø3/5 stars
Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson ā āļø5/5 stars
Cinder by Marissa Meyer ā āļø4/5 stars
Renegades by Marissa Meyer ā āļø4/5 stars
Scarlett by Marissa Meyer ā āļø4/5 stars
Magic Study by Maria V Snyder – āļø4/5 stars
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – āļø4.5/5 stars
Cress by Marissa Meyer – āļø4/5 stars
Gemina byĀ Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – āļø4.5/5 stars
Winter by Marissa Meyer – āļø4/5 stars
This month was very up and down for me. I thoroughly enjoyed each book that I read but I definitely liked some more than others. I look forward to continuing on in some of the series that I have started this month and I have plenty more books on my TBR that I am excited to get in to for the rest of the year!
Happy Readingš
*Kind of Spoilery*
Okā¦. I was highly entertained throughout the course of the storyline but the magic system really fell flat for me here. It was mentioned a lot in the context of the story however it wasnāt fully explained.
Caraval follows Scarlett and her sister Donatella who live under the rule of their terribly abusive and manipulative father. For years Scarlett has been writing to the leader of this magical travelling carnival called Legend, wanting him to travel to her island so she can attend with her sister to kind of escape reality for a while. For years and years she had no replies until suddenly 10 days before she is to be married to a count that her father arranged she received a reply and 3 tickets to attend. This is really where the story takes off.
I am kind of in two minds about Scarlett as the main character. She seemed a little too naĆÆve to me and she had gotten so many reminders about Caraval and how she shouldnāt believe anything she sees or trust anyone while its taking place, and she continually disregards them and continues to make decision that I was kind of like āwhy?ā. But I did think she redeems herself towards the end of the book, especially during the confrontation scene with her father and her fiancĆ©. Her character arc over the 5 days she was in Caraval and her show of strength especially after she was at her lowest point was really commendable. I am also kind of in the same boat about Tella; I didnāt find her to be terribly likeable. She kind of seemed a little bit selfish and brash to me. But we really see a different side of her at the end of the novel especially after she explains herself to Scarlett and shows how much she loves, cares and trusts her.
That being said I still enjoyed the storyline, I really couldnāt anticipate or predict what was going to happen next. The atmosphere is really kind of dark and mysterious and the prose was actually nicely descriptive and sort of lyrical. I did like the gradual relationship Scarlett shared with Julian and the role that he played in the story really enraptured me and completely took me by surprise. I was intrigued enough by the premise of the book that I couldnāt put it down and finished it pretty quickly. I was disappointed that the magic system wasnāt expressed or shown more clearly in the book. It was mentioned various times and we see glimpses of magical elements but there is nothing really solid that was shown.
There were twists, revelations, romance, mystery, danger, bloodshed, a lot of aspects that come together to form this pretty good fantasy novel. I know that the sequel Legendary just came out recently and I definitely think Iām going to have to pick it up and see what else Stephanie Garber has in store.
āļø3.5/5 stars it enjoyable and interesting but not one of my favourites.
Amy Leigh Reads 