What a month. I think I was so close to giving most of these books five stars. It has really been an exceptional month for me and I can’t quite believe it. It has also been one of my best reading months in terms of quantity as well as quality! I read 12 books, which is my joint highest month with January.
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Name: Ninth House (Alex Stern #1)
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Genres: Adult, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Gollancz
Format: Uncorrected Proof
Source: Ellie @ Faerie on the Shelf
Rating: ★★★★★
GOODREADS | BUY
Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?
Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Anthology
Publisher: Orion Children’s
Format: Fairyloot Exclusive Hardback
Source: Fairyloot October 2017Love speaks in flowers. Truth requires thorns.
Travel to a world of dark bargains struck by moonlight, of haunted towns and hungry woods, of talking beasts and gingerbread golems, where a young mermaid’s voice can summon deadly storms and where a river might do a lovestruck boy’s bidding but only for a terrible price.
Inspired by myth, fairy tale, and folklore, #1 New York Times–bestselling author Leigh Bardugo has crafted a deliciously atmospheric collection of short stories filled with betrayals, revenge, sacrifice, and love.
Perfect for new readers and dedicated fans, these tales will transport you to lands both familiar and strange—to a fully realized world of dangerous magic that millions have visited through the novels of the Grishaverse.
This collection of six stories includes three brand-new tales, all of them lavishly illustrated with art that changes with each turn of the page, culminating in six stunning full-spread illustrations as rich in detail as the stories themselves.
What are you reading right now? Are you enjoying it? Tell me in the comments!
September has been the month of moving house and finding a job. It’s been extremely manic trying to settle into a new area and a completely new part of the country but I’ve really enjoyed it. Admittedly I didn’t read as much as I wanted to this month and had a bit of a slump so ended up doing a bit of a reread. Hopefully, I’ll do a bit better next month.
Wonder Woman: Warbringer (DC Icons #1) by Leigh Bardugo ★★★★★
KEY WORDS: Greek Mythology, Superheroes, Adventure, Friendship, STRONG FEMALE CHARACTERS.
This was 100% everything I could have possibly hoped for. Greek Mythology: check, Kickass Female Characters: check, intricate and interestingly described action-packed scenes: check, and so much more. I am now eagerly anticipating the rest of the DC Icons series.
See my full spoiler-free review here.
Invictus by Ryan Graudin ★★★★☆
KEY WORDS: Time Travel, Futuristic AND Ancient Rome, SPACE HEISTS.
I mean, Space Heists. Need I say any more? This book was everything I wanted and didn’t know I needed. Set around a group of friends who travel through time and space and are drawn into saving the world by a mysterious girl who keeps showing up where they travel. Also, there’s an Imogen.
See my full spoiler-free review here.
Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) by Sarah J. Maas ★★★★★
KEY WORDS: Adventure, Healing, Magic, Monsters, Mature Content.
If you’re one of those people who didn’t think this instalment matters to the series as a whole, you could not be more wrong. I didn’t care about Chaol before reading this but Maas makes you care and the events that happen within these 700 pages will hold a great deal of importance in the final book.
See my full spoiler-free review here.
Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1) by Richelle Mead ★★★★★
KEY WORDS: Boarding School, Vampires, Sassy/Badass Female Heroine, Romance.
A faithful old series which I will always love. I was having a bit of a slump and decided a reread was in order. Rose Hathaway is an angel and I love reading about her so ploughing through this series was exactly what I needed before heading back to Ringer.
Frostbite (Vampire Academy #2) by Richelle Mead ★★★★★
KEY WORDS: Boarding School, Vampires, Sassy/Badass Female Heroine, Romance.
A perfect sequel to the first. It comes with more adventure and drama than before if that were even possible. I fall in love with these characters more and more with every page and every reread (this is my third).
Shadow Kiss (Vampire Academy #3) by Richelle Mead ★★★★★
KEY WORDS: Boarding School, Vampires, Sassy/Badass Female Heroine, Romance, HEARTBREAK.
It’s funny when you reread something and know what’s going to happen. I saw all the hints throughout this book to how it will end and unlike the first time I read it, I saw them for what they were. I struggle to finish it when I know what’s going to happen because it hurts me so much how this one ends. I get angry and sad.
Books read: 6
Pages read: 2,590
Approximate words read: 647,500
Books bought: 13
ARCs/Review Copies recieved: 5
NEW
New authors read: 1 | New series started: 1 | Books Reread: 3
FORMATS
Hardbacks read: 1 | Paperbacks read: 4 | eBooks read: 1
TYPES
Standalones read: 1 | Books within series read: 5 | Anthologies read: 0
GENRES
New Adult: 0 | Young Adult: 6 | Middle Grade: 0
Fantasy: 2 | Sci-Fi: 1 | Paranormal: 3 | Thriller: 0 | Contemporary: 0
What books did you read in September? What was your favourite? Let me know in the comments!
As ever, my TBR is way too long and I certainly don’t help myself by constantly buying more books. I’m sure you can all empathise, right? It’s got to the point now where I have a spreadsheet of all the books I need to read, otherwise, I can’t keep up!
Anyway, here’s a more concise list of the books that I am hoping I’ll get around to tackling this month. Due to my diminished success last month, I’ve got some of the same books back again!
What’s on your TBR for this month? Do you have a stupid amount of books on your bookshelf that you still haven’t read? Let me know in the comments!
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish and I love a good list so here goes!
I have so many books on my TBR that I actually have a spreadsheet detailing what I need to read and by when. It’s long and organised and mad but these ten books below are the ones I’m most looking forward to!
Ringer (Replica #2) by Lauren Oliver
Release: 3rd October 2017
I was lucky enough to receive an eARC of Replica this time last year and absolutely adored it, so when Ringer was released on Edelweiss, I snapped it up! It’s next on my TBR once I finish Tower of Dawn!
The Replica series tells the story of two girls, Lyra and Gemma, when their lives become intertwined after Lyra and a boy known only as 72 escape the Haven Institute, a clandestine research facility where thousands of replicas, or human models, are born, raised, and observed.
The Fandom by Anna Day
Release: 5th October 2017
I somehow managed to get this beautiful paperback ARC at YALC, moments after I walked into the convention hall. I am really intrigued by the concept and will definitely be reading this one soon.
A YA fantasy, set within a YA fantasy. Cosplayers go to comic-con and, after a freak accident, find themselves trapped within the fantasy world from their favourite fandom.
A Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo
Release: 26th September 2017
I am unbelievably excited to be transported back into the incredible Grishaverse. Leigh Bardugo is one of the best world-builders out there right now and I have loved everything she has written. Give me more.
Six short stories set within the Grishaverse which explore familiar lands and new, inspired by myth, fairytale and folklore.
Without Merit by Colleen Hoover
Release: 3rd October 2017
I have read every CoHo book, some more than once, and her books mean so much to me. They tear me apart and stitch me back together. I cry a lot. They are my catharsis and I’ve heard lots of good things about her next novel, her first YA since Losing Hope.
Without Merit explores family dynamics and the layers of lies that tie a family together through the eyes of the imperfect daughter, Merit Voss.
Bad Mommy by Tarryn Fisher
Much like Colleen, I love Tarryn’s writing. Plus, sometimes it hard to like one and not the other considering what a double act Hoover/Fisher are. Bad Mommy is one of the few that I haven’t yet read along with the new release Athiests Who Kneel and Pray. Both are on my bookshelf begging to be read.
When Fig Coxbury buys a house on West Barrett Street, it’s not because she likes the neighbourhood, or even because she likes the house. It’s because everything she desires is next door: The husband, the child, and the life that belongs to someone else.
Illuminae series by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
My friends kept going on and on at me telling me I would love this series so I decided to buy them and now they’ve been sat on my shelves a month or so, waiting to be read. I guess I’d better get on with it!
Kady’s planet has been invaded and she and her ex-boyfriend need to work together to fight their way to an evacuating fleet. Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews and more.
False Hearts by Laura Lam
Having read the Micah Grey trilogy and fallen in love, I figured I should add Laura Lam’s other novels to my TBR. I’m sure I’ll love this adventure just as much as the last.
Two formerly conjoined sisters are ensnared in a murderous plot involving psychoactive drugs, shared dreaming, organized crime, and a sinister cult.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Top of the NY Times bestseller list since its release, The Hate U Give, has been widely recognised as the book to read in 2017… so I read it I must!
A young, black girl, trapped between the two worlds of her poor neighbourhood and surburban preparatory school, has her life turned upside down after she witnesses the fatal shooting of her unarmed, childhood best friend by a police officer.
And I Darken by Kiersten White
I purchased this and its sequel, Now I Rise, at YALC having had it on a long list of books I should get for a while. Yet, since its purchase, I have had more pressing things to read. It sounds just like my kind of book so I would love to get around to this soon.
A gender-swapped, historcal YA retelling the story of the Prince of Wallachia, also knowsn as Vlad the Impaler. Political and historical with a ruthless heroine, stabbing, murder and volatility.
One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
Another novel that I haven’t stopped hearing about since it’s release so I feel the need to see what all the fuss is about. Especially with the tv series going ahead, I want to read it before that comes out.
A murder mystery surrounding five high school students who have detention together, but only four come out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide.
What’s on your Autumn TBR? Have you read any on my list that I should read sooner? Let me know in the comments or link me to your TTT for me to check out!
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Name: Wonder Woman: Warbringer (DC Icons #1)
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Penguin
Format: Limited Edition Hardback
Source: Waterstones, Taunton
Rating: ★★★★★
GOODREADS | BUY
She will become one of the world’s greatest heroes: WONDER WOMAN. But first she is Diana, Princess of the Amazons. And her fight is just beginning. . . .
Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law—risking exile—to save a mere mortal. Even worse, Alia Keralis is no ordinary girl and with this single brave act, Diana may have doomed the world.
Alia just wanted to escape her overprotective brother with a semester at sea. She doesn’t know she is being hunted. When a bomb detonates aboard her ship, Alia is rescued by a mysterious girl of extraordinary strength and forced to confront a horrible truth: Alia is a Warbringer—a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery.
Together, Diana and Alia will face an army of enemies—mortal and divine—determined to either destroy or possess the Warbringer. If they have any hope of saving both their worlds, they will have to stand side by side against the tide of war.
KEY WORDS: Greek Mythology, Superheroes, Adventure, Friendship, STRONG FEMALE CHARACTERS.
This book was everything I wanted and more. Leigh Bardugo has not disappointed at all. It’s not in her Grishaverse and it’s not anything like anything she’s done before but it is 100% equally as good. Her writing is as fantastic as ever.
The book is written in third person past, with chapters alternating between Diana’s perspective and Alia’s perspective. Both characters are perfectly formed, well rounded and intriguing characters, complete opposite and yet the bond they form together on their adventure is heartwarming and incredible to read. I want a sequel so bad, even though I don’t think there will be, because I really want to see this duo again.
The adventure itself reminded me a lot of everything I loved about Percy Jackson – modern world with Greek Mythology introduced and infiltrating that bubble. For anyone who doesn’t know me, I studied Classical Civilisation at A Level and wrote my Theatre dissertation on Greek Tragedy because I completely adore Greek Mythology so this book was everything I needed to remind me of how much I love it. Little touches like Tek calling Diana ‘Pyxis’ really made me smile and brought me back to my love of learning about that time. Which brings me to the sheer amount of research Bardugo must ahve done for this! The list of names in the Acknowledgements emphasises that but she really worked hard to make this as Mythologically and Comic Book accurate as possible. I can’t pretend I know anything about the comics, but from the research she has done, you can tell that Leigh really tried.
I was drawn in from the start of the book and was not released from its grip until I was done. The story and writing were as equally wonderful as any of Bardugo’s other works and her world-building of Themyscira and the detailed writing of the fight scenes (of which there are many) blew me away. I actually ended up messaging Christine halfway through because I knew she’d read it and I needed someone to vent to because it was so incredible.
I am totally looking forward to the other DC Icons books now and I need them in my life.
Modern Mythology
Superkickassheroines
Is Wonder Woman: Warbringer on your TBR or have you already read it? What did you think? Let me know in the comments!
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Superheroes
Publisher: Penguin Random HouseShe will become one of the world’s greatest heroes: WONDER WOMAN. But first she is Diana, Princess of the Amazons. And her fight is just beginning. . . .
Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law—risking exile—to save a mere mortal. Even worse, Alia Keralis is no ordinary girl and with this single brave act, Diana may have doomed the world.
Alia just wanted to escape her overprotective brother with a semester at sea. She doesn’t know she is being hunted. When a bomb detonates aboard her ship, Alia is rescued by a mysterious girl of extraordinary strength and forced to confront a horrible truth: Alia is a Warbringer—a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery.
Together, Diana and Alia will face an army of enemies—mortal and divine—determined to either destroy or possess the Warbringer. If they have any hope of saving both their worlds, they will have to stand side by side against the tide of war.
What are you reading right now? Are you enjoying it? Tell me in the comments!
As ever, my TBR is way too long and I certainly don’t help myself by constantly buying more books. I’m sure you can all empathise, right? It’s got to the point now where I have a spreadsheet of all the books I need to read, otherwise I can’t keep up!
Anyway, here’s a more concise list of the books that I am hoping I’ll get around to tackling this month. It’s only six books because my house move means I’ll be quite busy and I don’t want to be over-ambitious. Enjoy!
What’s on your TBR for this month? Do you have a stupid amount of books on your bookshelf that you still haven’t read? Let me know in the comments!
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish and I love a good list so here goes!
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
(Primary/Secondary/Sixth Form)
I think I will probably end up having Harry Potter on most of the lists I do for this. It has influenced so much of my life that it seems reasonable for it to continually appear. Rowling, through a magical world of wizards, witches and Hogwarts, taught us all the most important life lessons which we will always hold with us – love, friendship, bravery, loyalty – and these fantastic stories should undoubtable be told and taught in schools for the rest of time.
The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Steven
(Secondary)
Laura Steven’s debut novel which is to be released in March 2018 discusses the incredibly important topics of high school bullying, slut shaming and revenge porn. If nothing else, the themes within this book are ones that need to be addressed in schools and, for me, this is the most important release of 2018 which I have read so far.
Gone series by Michael Grant
(Secondary)
This came to me like a revelation because it’s been years since I read this series but it truly is fantastic. Set in a dystopia where one day all the adults just disappeared and this world is now run by adolescents – it has a similar feel to Lord of the Flies but with mutants thrown into the mix. Basically, it’s the perfect update for the GCSE syllabus if you want a more modern story which young people are more likely to connect with.
Wing Jones by Katherine Webber
(Secondary)
Another debut novel, this time from Katie Webber, telling the tale of determined Wing Jones who, following a family tragedy, goes out and makes something of herself for the sake of the ones she loves. Heart-warming and inspiring and the perfect addition to English for Years 7-10.
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
(Secondary/Sixth Form)
I strongly believe that Laini Taylor is one of the greatest writers of this generation (with the other two also entries on this list) and the beautiful way she crafts worlds, lives and stories should be studied by all. Her metaphors and similes, especially in this fantastic novel, deserve to be on the syllabus.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
(Secondary/Sixth Form)
Narrated by Death, a novel set within the depths of World War II which I wouldn’t be surprised to already find on the syllabus – it just wasn’t when I was still at school. Historical background, while conveying the power of literature, all with a far more interesting narrator than your average GCSE or A Level text.
Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo
(Secondary/Sixth Form)
Entry number two in the greatest writers of this generation category is Leigh and her incredible spin-off duology in the Grishaverse. Her world-building is easily the best I have encountered and this tale of gangs, magic and mystery is undoubtably a favourite. If it had been on my syllabus, maybe I would have done better in A Level Eng Lit.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
(Secondary/Sixth Form)
Easily the most important book I read during my school years which has stuck with me ever since and I still quote as being the best book I’ve ever read. The Kite Runner was on my A Level syllabus so why can’t this masterpiece be on it too? Following the life of a young Afghan woman through war, loss, life and fate.
It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
(Secondary/Sixth Form)
I would say this is probably my wild card entry. I am a sucker for a CoHo novel and It Ends With Us is the one that impacted me most. I spent all night sobbing into my pillow until I could compose myself. A heart-breaking story of domestic abuse and the strength required to live through and confront it. It allowed me to question whether I could leave someone in the same situation and that is important for everyone to question.
A Darker Shade of Magic series by V. E. Schwab
(Secondary/Sixth Form)
The third and final, ‘greatest writer of our generation’ for me goes to the Queen of all things fantasy, Victoria Schwab. Everything she writes deserves to be taught to all and read by all. This particular series is rife with detailed characters, intriguing plots and the most beautifully built worlds – three different Londons to be precise.
Imi Reviews Books 