Hello, January. One of my least favorite months. But, since it is my last month before our baby arrives, I am going to soak up every moment that I have to myself…and fill it with thick fantasy books!
Here are the books I hope to read this month!
The Dragon Republic (The Poppy War #2) by R.F. Kuang
I devoured The Poppy War in December and immediately flagged it as one of the best fantasy books I’ve ever read. I plan on doing a full trilogy review once I am done … and I have a feeling I will finish The Dragon Republic and The Burning God this month! It’s so good, friends. Pick it up if you haven’t already.
The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air #2) by Holly Black
In a previous version of this post, I listed The Cruel Prince as a January 2022 read … well … I flew through the first one and now on to the second! I am excited to see what happens in this trilogy. The Cruel Prince was … dark and pretty messed up. Loved it, honestly.
Rule of Wolves (King of Scars #2) by Leigh Bardugo
While I was not a fan of King of Scars (more on that later), the ending did pique my interest and encourage me to finish the duology and the Grishaverse series. I am going to go into this one cautiously optimistic …
Daughter of the Moon Goddess (The Celestial Kingdom Duology #1) by Sue Lynn Tan
The cover alone has me hooked, but I have heard nothing but amazing things about this book. It has a strong female lead, magic, monsters, adventure, romance … I simply cannot wait to get my hands on this book.
The Burning God (The Poppy War #3) by R.F. Kuang
I can only assume once I finish The Dragon Republic I will need to pick up the final book in this trilogy. Kuang is also releasing a new book in August called Babel, and I cannot wait for more of her work!
The Shadow and Bone trilogy by Leigh Bardugo has been on my TBR for some time now, so I was looking forward to picking up the first book, Shadow and Bone, a couple of months ago. I heard that the trilogy was different from the other fantasy books I was reading (think anything by Sarah J. Maas), so I was excited for a change of pace.
The Shadow and Bone trilogy is part of the Grishaverse, a Russian-inspired fantasy world filled with magic and small science. The Shadow and Bone trilogy is the beginning of the Grishaverse, followed by The Six of Crows duology and The King of Scars duology. And yes, I will be reading them all!
In Shadow and Bone (#1), you are introduced to the Grisha, the magical elite of Ravka, one of the countries in the Grishaverse. The Grisha are known as the Soldiers of the Second Army and they practice small science, manipulating matter for the purpose of battle and healing. There are the Corporalki (Heartrenders & Healers), the Ethereakli (Squallers, Inferni, & Tidemakers), and the Materialki (Durasts & Aklemi). There are also Sun Summoners, members of the Ethereakli who can summon and control sunlight. If you are reading this and scratching your head in confusion, don’t worry; this world is broken down very well in the books and at the beginning of each book. There are lots of intricate maps and a handy-dandy chart.
The books (written in first-person) center around Alina Starkov, who is afraid to cross the Shadow Fold — think a thick cover of unnatural darkness that is infested with dangerous creatures. Who wouldn’t be? When her regiment is attacked, Alina unleashes magic that reveals that she is a Sun Summoner. Alina then meets The Darkling, and before you shudder at the corny name like I did, hang tight. He is one of the best characters in the trilogy. The Darkling is a Shadow Summoner and is Second in Command in Ravka. He is feared by all. He is also *misunderstood* and *dreamy*. Think your “bad boy” character, but he is actually quite dangerous. These books can get very dark and graphic real quick (which I loved). After she realizes that The Darkling is corrupt and evil, Alina turns on him, and she goes out with a group of colorful characters to save her storyworld.
I’m not too into breaking down what each book is about and giving spoilers, so I will just give you some likes/dislikes.
What I like the most about this trilogy is that each character is neither “good” nor “bad.” They are all grey characters, which makes the characters (and books) so much more interesting. Alina, especially, is a compelling heroine. She grows in power throughout the trilogy and struggles with wanting more. She sees The Darkling as an enemy, but the power he holds over her storyworld (and her) is alluring. She can’t get away from him, and she’s not sure if she wants to. I certainly wouldn’t.
One thing I loved about these books can be summed up with one name: Nikolai. Nikolai forever and ever. I loved him. Still love him. Bardugo did a wonderful job creating such a witty, colorful character that you won’t forget easily. Nikolai is definitely her first take at creating the colorful, witty characters that you will meet in Six of Crows (which happens to be one of my favorite books of 2021 so far), and he is the reason I kept reading.
While there are things I liked about this trilogy, there were many dislikes. First, the pacing was tough to follow throughout. Rhythmically, I struggled reading this trilogy. The first book was very fast-paced, but the second and third books dragged. While Siege and Storm was definitely my favorite because of the nautical elements and of course, Nikolai, Bardugo rushed through some of the climatic parts, making me wonder if the world-building and unnecessary dialogue/plot points could have been edited out to leave space for the good stuff. The third book, Ruin and Rising, was even slower, and I found myself struggling to finish the book.
Ruin and Rising fell flat, and it all has to do with the ending (which I will not spoil). A large portion of the book followed that classic epic travel trope — lots of traveling, lots of dialogue, lots of unnecessary stuff. But what left me more disappointed was the salient moments in this book (and arguably, the trilogy) were rushed. I felt cheated, because the story and the characters deserved a better ending.
Also, if you are looking for steam, find another trilogy!
Speaking of those who deserved a better ending (and here is where I get a little spoiler-y and use a lot of CAPS … you can stop reading here if you want):
The Darkling! WHY did this happen? The Darkling is the most intriguing character in the series, yet he is the weakest character in the trilogy when it comes to storyline. MAL gets more of a storyline. MAL. MAL!!
I have a problem with Mal. Who doesn’t?
While readers anticipate The Darkling to be a complicated, grey character, these are only assumptions given to readers through Alina’s perspective. Alina knows that there is good in him, but it is not explored otherwise. Other than a backstory provided to Alina when she’s at Os Alta, there are only fleeting moments of his goodness, and that’s where this trilogy fails. I don’t mind “teases” throughout a trilogy, but I do mind a lack of execution. The Darkling was done dirty in this trilogy, and instead of creating an illusion or allure to his character, it shows a lack of structure and attention to a character. And his ending? I won’t get started. What a let down.
So, here is my very messy review of the Shadow and Bone trilogy. I enjoyed it, I won’t read it again, and I will be watching the Netflix show once I finish The Six of Crows duology (which I love much more than the Shadow and Bone trilogy. Bardugo thrives at writing in third-person).
Have you read The Shadow and Bone trilogy/the Grishaverse? What are your thoughts?! Please share in the comments!
This month is going to be one for the books hehe (is this thing on??), because it is the first month where I have no graduate work to complete.
I submitted the thesis. I did the thing! I’m ready for nothin’ but my job and free time on the weekends!
Alright, alright. Let’s talk books.
I have plans to read six books in May, and I look forward to finishing up a couple of series that I have been working through. There is a good balance between fantasy and fiction, and there’s even a nonfiction, self-help book on the list!
This is it, folks. The end. The very last book in Throne of Glass. Look at Aelin on this cover. The badassery, the flowy hair, the armor. So coool. Kingdom of Ash is nearly 1,000 pages, so I am very optimistic in thinking I will get to five other books this month. We shall see. Once I finish, you best believe a series review will be posted on this blog of mine.
I have already started this one, and I enjoy this book more than I enjoyed all of the Shadow and Bone books combined. Don’t @ me (you can if you want).
I think Bardugo thrives in writing third-person narratives, and this premise is just too fricken cool. I love the representation in this book, from race and abilities to gender, and it’s giving me real Sherlock Holmes, Gangs of New York, Pirates, thievery vibes. I just really enjoy it. That’s it. That’s the tweet.
She’s back! If you did not already know, I discovered Kristin Hannah the end of 2020 and love.her.books. This one came out in February, and I can’t wait to read it. I heard it’s amazing, and unsurprisingly, will make you sob. Perfect!
So this will either be a book with tips that I’ve already read 100 times, or it will be revolutionary when it comes to managing burnout and stress. Time will tell. I do look forward to reading this one because I enjoy Thrive Global and its platform. Even though my thesis is over, I still work in a very demanding, fast-paced industry and need some help when it comes to prioritizing self-care. I am hoping this book and “the new science of microsteps” will help me in this journey.
Fredrik Backman has become one of my favorite authors. I read A Man Called Ove a few years back, and in 2019, I clutched My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry while sobbing on my couch. THEN, in 2020, I laughed AND cried again while reading Anxious People. AND THEN, this year, I read Beartown and Us Against You and they are two of my favorite books EVER. SO … enter Britt-Marie Was Here … my last Backman.
What are you reading this month? Share in the comments below!
Check out these posts to see what I’ve read this year:
It’s hard to believe that April has come to an end, yet here we are. April was a super important month for me because I submitted my master’s thesis and completed my graduate degree. Being done is honestly such a surreal feeling, and I am still getting used to “doing nothing” once I log off work in the evenings. I do have a feeling that I will get used to this “nothingness” very quickly!
When I was planning my April books, I was trying to be realistic. While I might not have had time to read for fun, I realized that I was going to be reading a lot — 75+ pages over and over to be exact!
I ended up reading 6 books, but only one from the list above. I finished Tower of Dawn, but did not end up finishing Sunflower Sisters or The Lost Village. Unfortunately, neither book piqued my interest. I couldn’t get past 60 pages of The Lost Village. It was dull and repetitive.
Instead, I dove into some comfort books this month, reading right before bed to calm my mind after hours of reading and editing.
So, without further ado, here are the 6 books I read in April:
This is the penultimate book in the Throne of Glass series, and I must say that I am going to be sad when it ends. Kingdom of Ash is very intimidating, and I plan on tackling that one in May. I also heard it is very heavy!
Tower of Dawn was a very interesting book, and I am glad I read it. I learned that some ToG readers often either skip the book (which horrified me) or they read it in tandem with Empire of Storms because of the corresponding timelines. Really impressive. I wish I did that, but I also enjoyed leaving behind one set of characters and meeting/revisiting others. Sartaq is perhaps my favorite SJM dude, so, there’s that.
After finishing a very heavy fantasy book, I decided to pick up a children’s classic. Let me tell you: If you are writing a master’s thesis about society’s inability to avoid giving girl heroes conventional ends, then don’t read Anne of Green Gables. Alas, there I was, frowning in bed thinking about why we limit girl heroes so much. What a frustrating book! I never read it as a child, and if I did, I am sure that I would have a sense of nostalgia attached to it. However, seeing as how I was nostalgic towards Katniss and Hermione and relentlessly ripped their stories apart for 75 pages, I’m sure I would have had the same reaction rereading Anne as an adult.
I forgot how whimsical and fun Roald Dahl was, but also forgot how weird this book is. I’ve experienced this world through a few mediums in my life: book, movie, musical (don’t ask), and I realized that I really don’t enjoy this story. While I love Gene Wilder, I do not love Willy Wonka. Charlie Bucket is a sweet little gem, but that is about it.
This book made me want to cut meat out of my diet again, so that’s a key takeaway. This book was a little frustrating. Fern is this tomboyish, imaginative girl, but then even the doctor predicts that she will start to chase boys in a few years and shed her “weird” ways. Great. My thesis again. Will I ever enjoy children’s books?
Anyways, what really bothered me is when Wilbur is in the competition at the county fair, Fern isn’t even present to watch him win the award. Instead, she is on the ferris wheel with a boy Henry (gag), who I am sure will be her future beau. *cue eye roll*
Also, Charlotte’s death is the saddest, most depressing thing EVER.
I also finished up the Shadow and Bone trilogy this month. This was certainly an interesting journey. I will be reviewing the trilogy in a future post, but I will say this: these books were a great escape. They were easy to digest, the story was interesting, and I did not care about what happened to most of the characters (only Nikolai).
Ruin and Rising was, unfortunately, the most disappointing of the three, but I will get into that in a later post. For now, I will enjoy Six of Crows (a book within the “Grishaverse”)and start the show this weekend.
This is definitely a good one. Again, I don’t remember reading this as a kid, but I do remember watching the movie every time it came on ABC Family and wishing I had pancakes. I’ve also had Rusted Root stuck in my head since finishing it.
What did you read this month?
Take a look at my other wrap-ups from this year:
Check out these posts to see what I’ve read this year:
keepitkassual.com 