Top 5 Tuesday: Favourite Series

My blog has been a little review heavy lately as I try to catch up on talking about books I’ve read over the last several months, so I’m getting back into Top 5 Tuesday with a topic that was too enticing to miss out on – my top 5 favourite series! I promise I’ll stick to the format guidelines next time, but it was so hard for me to narrow this list down that I’m not just cheating, I’m MASSIVELY CHEATING. Since it’s the 14th of September, here are fourteen of my favourites instead.

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Meeghan Reads! It was originally created by the wonderful Bionic Book Worm. This week’s topic:

SEPTEMBER 14TH – Top Five Fourteen Favourite Series of All Time

Captive Prince Series by C.S. Pacat

What is it? A three-book fantasy romance about Prince Damen, who is betrayed by his half-brother and by his lover as they seize power in a coup. Stripped of his identity and sent to serve an enemy prince as a pleasure slave, Damen is soon caught up in a power play and must work with Laurent to survive and save his country.

Why do I love it? I got into this series back when it was being posted in updates on Livejournal and yes, my old livejournal username may be among those thanked for reading/commenting in the acknowledgments, so this holds a special place in my heart. It’s been thrilling to see the series published and to watch it achieve mainstream success. The first half of the first book is definitely something that will, understandably, turn people off; it’s very rapey and there’s other content that is definitely not what you expect in a romance. If you do decide to keep reading though, the series moves past this and become an enjoyable guilty pleasure with some actual emotional depth. The relationship that grows betwen Damen and Laurent is intense and worthy of shipping and Pacat keeps us guessing about how much each character knows. I also love the political intrigue of this world and the sense of tension throughout. It’s very clear that Pacat was inspired by my favourite author (further up the list) and you can see where she’s borrowed from Dunnett in an affectionate pastiche.

Favourite Book: Kings Rising
Least Favourite Book: Captive Prince

The Imperial Radch Trilogy by Ann Leckie

What is it? The Hugo Award sci-fi trilogy about a millennia old startship AI that inhabits the body of a single human “ancillary” named Breq. As the starship Justice of Toren, she once had thousands of bodies (ancillaries) at her disposal and was connected at all times to her crew, but 20 years ago a betrayal left Justice of Toren isolated and (more or less) human. Now she’s out for revenge.

Why do I love it? This series is one of the most unique I’ve ever read. The worldbuilding is exceptional with Leckie giving us details about the Radchaai Empire’s customs, taboos, and language, and I loved that this series zags when you expect it to zig. Instead of getting bigger and more explosive with its storylines as the series goes on, the Imperial Radch trilogy focuses on character development and sharp social critique. While the use of all she/her pronouns (the Radchaai language and society is unconcerned with gender) is initially jarring, I ultimately found it really effective.

Favourite Book: Ancillary Sword
Least Favourite Book: Ancillary Justice

Teixcalaan Series by Arkady Martine

What is it? Arkady Martine won the Hugo Award for Best Novel for her intelligent space opera A Memory Called Empire. Its sequel, A Desolation Called Peace, was published earlier this year. When Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives at the center of the Teixcalaani Empire, she learns that her predecessor has died and that his death may not have been an accident. Now, Mahit must discover who is behind the murder, rescue herself, and save her Station from Teixcalaan’s unceasing expansion.

Why do I love it? A Desolation Called Peace is one of the best books I’ve read all year and I loved A Memory Called Empire as well. Both are almost intimidatingly smart science-fiction that tackle colonization in a very realistic way, especially through ambassador Mahit Dzmare who both loves the Empire’s cultural output and hates its reach. She wants so badly to belong, but also hates that she has this desire and knows that in the eyes of the Empire’s citizens she will always be a barbarian outsider. It makes for delicious internal conflict, even as Mahit also feels a connection to her Teixcalaan attaché, Three Seagrass. The worldbuilding is outstanding and the politics and plotting are clever and intricate.

Favourite Book: A Desolation Called Peace
Least Favourite Book: A Memory Called Empire

The Shades of Magic Series by V.E. Schwab

What is it? A fantasy trilogy about one of the last magicians, who has the coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black. Officially Kell, the adopted son of the Maresh King, is an ambassador between courts and worlds, but unofficially he’s a smuggler. When an exchange goes awry, the consequences of his dangerous hobby catch up to Kell and the fate of all Londons may lie in the balance.

Why do I love it? A lot of V.E. Schwab’s books tend to get stuck in what I think of as 4.25 star territory. They’re good, they’re definitely enjoyable, but there’s just something missing. There can also be a sameness to her female protagonists. I adored this series though. Perhaps partly because it’s written in fantasy early 19th century, partly the parallel Londons setting, and partly because I love Kell with his peculiar coat and furrowed-brow and bond with his brother Rhy, this series hooked me. It’s fast-paced, high-stakes, and tremendously fun.

Favourite Book: A Conjuring of Light
Least Favourite Book: A Darker Shade of Magic/A Gathering of Shadows

The Wayfarers Series by Becky Chambers

What is it? The beloved cozy sci-fi series about characters from different species and representing a wide range of genders and sexualities coming together in understanding. Hopeful, optimistic, and sure to break a reading slump.

Why do I love it? Wayfarers is such a comforting warm hug of a read. The books are character, rather than plot, driven and Chambers builds an inventive world populated by species that have a wide range of appearances, customs, taboos, and rituals. Her books are often about the families you choose, rather than the ones you’re born into, and are about daring to hope and to try and do better.

Favourite Book: A Closed and Common Orbit
Least Favourite Book: Record of a Spaceborn Few

The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin

What is it? N.K. Jemisin made history when she became the first person to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel three years in a row and the first person to win for all three books in a trilogy. Her groundbreaking dystopia is about a world where mass climate events wiping out chunks of civilization every few generations. Some individuals (known as orogenes) have the power to control and create earthquakes, but they are feared, used, and brainwashed from a young age to obey. When her husband murders their young son and kidnaps their daughter, Essun pursues her surviving family through a deadly, dying world.

Why do I love it? This series is a masterpiece and Jemisin deserved every one of her Hugo Awards. Jemisin’s lyrical prose and complex, fully-realized world are reasons enough to read the Broken Earth Trilogy, but I also love her characters, who are not always likeable but always understandable. Protagonist Essun especially has a tremendous character arc throughout the series. Intelligent, diverse, and well-written science-fiction.

Favourite Book: The Fifth Season/The Stone Sky
Least Favourite Book: Obelisk Gate

The Divine Cities Trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett

What is it? Robert Jackson Bennett’s fantasy trilogy about a fictional continent where the roles of the oppressor and the oppressed have been reversed. Once near-omnipotent beings conquered and enslaved the neighbouring island nation of Saypur. But when the Saypuri found a way to kill the divinities, they emerged as a military power occupying the continent. Officially Saypuri spy Shara Komayd is visiting the continent on a diplomatic assignment. Unofficially she’s investigating a murder and discovers a plot to try to restore a divine regime.

Why do I love it? Robert Jackson Bennett is one of the few white men writing fantasy that I trust to write women well. I absolutely adore his vividly rendered characters! In City of Stairs he gave us Shara, a glasses-wearing, tea-drinking, quiet and clever WoC spy. In City of Blades we got General Turyin Mulaghesh, a foul-mouthed, one-armed, middle-aged female soldier. His worldbuilding is first-rate (are you sensing a pattern in my favourite series yet?) as it incorporates the world’s mythology about their dead divinities and I was engaged throughout.

Favourite Book: City of Stairs/City of Blades
Least Favourite Book: City of Miracles

The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden

What is it? Set in medieval Russia and incorporating elements of Russian mythology and folklore, the Winternight Trilogy is a historical fantasy about a free-spirited nobleman’s daughter, Vasya Petrovna, who is able to see and communicate with mythological creatures.

Why do I love it? I’m not someone who does much in the way of seasonal reading but The Bear and the Nightingale is the perfect winter read. I just want to curl up under a blanket with a cup of hot chocolate and watch snow fall outside when I read this series! I’m also not big on fairy tales and retellings but I absolutely loved these books. The prose has a lyrical enchanting quality to it and Arden writes in a way that appeals to the senses, richly recreating the world of medieval Russia through imagery. I found the tension between the Orthodox church and the old traditions based in folklore and slavic myths intriguing, and I loved the fully-realized characters, especially Vasya.

Favourite Book: The Bear and the Nightingale/The Winter of the Witch
Least Favourite Book: The Girl in the Tower

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

What is it? A contemporary YA fantasy trilogy about five Virginia teens on a quest to find the Welsh king Owain Glendower who is thought to be buried along the ley line, of Henrietta, Virginia, and wake him from his slumber.

Why do I love it? This series! I have a lot of feelings about this series. I love that the books are focused on friendship and that the author even had a post-it nearby as she wrote to help her remember that “the worst thing that could happen was that they could stop being friends.” YA as a genre can be so concerned with romance. Even though there’s romance here and I enjoyed the romance, it always felt like it was secondary to this epic friendship between a group of teenagers from different upbringings. As someone who loves fantasy I was also really wrapped up in the magical and destiny elements of the story, and how atmospheric the writing is, but the reason this quartet works so well is its wonderful characters.

Favourite Book: The Dream Thieves/Blue Lily, Lily Blue
Least Favourite Book: The Raven King

The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

What is it? The Hugo award-winning series of novellas (and one full-length novel!) about a part human and part bot, agender security unit. Although it lives in a world where it is treated as sentient property by the company that controls it, this SecUnit (who privately refers to itself as Murderbot), has hacked the governor module that tells it what to do, allowing it to make cho

Why do I love it? I don’t know if I’ve ever related to a character more than Murderbot. All Murderbot really wants is to be left alone to binge-watch its shows in peace, half-ass its security job, and not have to talk to anyone, but the humans it’s supposed to be working for keep getting into trouble and Murderbot keeps saving their lives. Murderbot’s first-person point-of-view is snarky, self-deprecating, and honest, but also, at times, surprisingly touching. The books are well-plotted, fast-paced, competence kink as Murderbot uses its proficiency to protect the humans it definitely doesn’t care about. Nope, no caring at all to be seen…

On a personal note, there are entire essays that could be written about Murderbot and the queer community. As an asexual person, I normally get annoyed at robot/androids being considered ace representation since it plays into cold, aloof, inhuman stereotypes that asexuals face, but I would be 100% okay with being represented by Murderbot. I’ve had conversations with friends in the queer community and the owner of my local SFF indie bookstore about how many asexuals and some trans and non-binary people connect with this character, which is pretty special.

Favourite Book: Artificial Condition (maybe? I love them all)
Least Favourite Book: Network Effect, but I did read it during quarantine so it deserves a re-read in more normal times.

The Doctrine of Labyrinths Series by Sarah Monette

What is it? Better known as Katherine Addison, who wrote The Goblin Emperor, this is Sarah Monette’s first fantasy series about a dysfunctional gay wizard, Felix Harrowgate, and his cat burglar half-brother from an equally dismal past, Mildmay. Comprising four books, it’s primarily about the gradual process of recovery from trauma. The characters never really get over what has happened to them, so much as try to process and work through it (in very much a two steps forward, one step back kind of way) to slowly, eventually, heal. There are massive content warnings for this series though so I advise being aware of what you’re getting yourself into.

Why do I love it? I absolutely love this series and am heartbroken that it’s out of print. Please ignore the covers that make it look like a bad paranormal romance and just lose yourself in the fascinating worldbuilding that strongly features labyrinths and Monette’s distinct voices that she has for alternating first-person chapters from Felix and Mildmay’s POV. Mildmay is one of my all-time favourite characters and I love the complicated, co-dependent and not always healthy bond he has with his half-brother throughout. From Goodreads it looks like this is a series you either love or hate with very little in between, so it may not be for you but it was very much for me.

Favourite Book: The Virtu and The Mirador
Least Favourite Book: Corambis

The Amberlough Dossier by Lara Elena Donnelly

What is it? Deeply relevant to recent political events, this fantasy trilogy is set in a secondary world reminiscent of Weimar Republic Berlin as the fascist One State Party rises to power. After his cover is blown on a mission, the emotionally and physically scarred spy Cyril DePaul becomes a turncoat in order to preserve his life and that of his lover. Amberlough is an espionage thriller about people and the choices, and sacrifices, they make under pressure.

Why do I love it? Donnelly’s prose is exquisite; atmospheric and sensual it creates a richly imagined sense of place. I absolutely love the moral ambiguity of this world and how realistic it is that this series is about people making choices and deciding what they value the most, whether it’s themselves, their partners, or a democratic society. The dance of a relationship between Cyril and Aristide Makricosta, a smuggler and emcee of the cabaret, as they compartmentalize and avoid talking about their feelings is a highlight. I have also never been as tense reading a book as I was Amberlough. The aura of danger as the book goes on and the water rises around our characters is terrifying but compelling and I couldn’t put it down! The series is brought to an incredibly satisfying conclusion as well, that feels earned and appropriate.

Favourite Book: Amberlough/Amnesty
Least Favourite Book: Armistice

The Six of Crows Duology by Leigh Bardugo

What is it? A YA Fantasy duology in which criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker gathers a crew of misfits to pull off a heist that could make them rich beyond their wildest dreams…if it doesn’t kill them first. An absolute masterpiece. I literally don’t trust people who didn’t enjoy this series.

Why do I love it? This is the series I universally recommend, regardless of age, gender, and reading preferences. People who don’t usually read YA or Fantasy have enjoyed it. People who don’t usually read period have enjoyed it. It’s just that good! The plotting is impeccable. The stakes get higher and higher as the books go on and they’re also intensely personal, with Bardugo placing each character in situations that personally test them and push them to their limits. The dynamics between characters are fabulous as their relationships develop and grow, and Kaz and Inej in particular are absolutely wonderful to watch. Each of the characters in their own right (okay, except maybe Matthias because really who cares?) are engaging and well developed and I would read a spin-off on any one of them. I could re-read this series forever, and probably will.

What is it? It will surprise absolutely no one to learn that my favourite series of all time is the Lymond Chronicles. Written by Dorothy Dunnett in the 1960s/70s, this is a dense six-book historical fiction epic that spans ten years of European history. In 1547 the exiled Scottish nobleman Francis Crawford of Lymond returns to his homeland to redeem his reputation and protect Scotland, and its child Queen, from the English threat. Dunnett was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to literature and she is counted as an influence by authors such as Katherine Arden, Juliet Marillier, C.S. Pacat, Ellen Kushner, Guy Gavriel Kay, and Max Gladstone.

Why do I love it? These books are an experience. You spend the first fifty to a hundred pages of the first book in the series, The Game of Kings, wondering what’s going on and what you’ve gotten yourself into but still weirdly enjoying the ride, and then the last third hits you with all of the feels and you finally gain some understanding of the often infuriating enigmatic protagonist.

The fandom might be a cult (a very nice, very well-intentioned cult, eager for new members to delight in its niche interest) and the author throws you into the deep-end with her untranslated or referenced quotes of medieval songs and poetry, but once you move beyond that this series is one of the most brilliant, affecting, intelligent things I have ever or will ever read.

The prose sometimes makes you put the book down to marvel at Dorothy Dunnett’s skill and envy the way she can turn a phrase. The way she uses perspective, only a handful of times placing us into the mind of Francis Crawford, and mostly making us see him through the unreliable eyes of others, is masterful, as is her ability to build and maintain tension. It’s the characters themselves and the dynamics between them that make this such a delight though. As much as I sometimes want to slap our handsome, sharp-tongued polyglot of a protagonist, I mostly adore him and just want him to have happiness, and possibly a long nap.

Favourite Book: The Game of Kings and Pawn in Frankincense
Least Favourite Book: The Ringed Castle

As you can see, I have a lot of thoughts about series! These are my absolute favourites, the ones I look forward to re-read and gleaning more from the next time around. Have you read any of these? What are your favourites series?

Thanks for reading!

Top 5 Tuesday: Series I Need to Finish

Like so many of my fellow bookworms, I have a lot of series on my TBR. There’s a certain commitment in stating something publicly, so I’m hoping this week’s Top 5 Tuesday topic – Series I Need to Finish – will force me to tackle at least a few of these in 2021. For accountability reasons I’ve chosen to specifically focus on series where I read the first book, loved it, and yet never finished the series.

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Meeghan Reads! It was originally created by the wonderful Bionic Book Worm. This week’s topic:

FEBRUARY 16TH – Top 5 series I need to finish

The Masquerade by Seth Dickinson

Synopsis: Dickinson’s Masquerade is a brutal geopolitical fantasy that manages to make economics interesting! As a child, Baru watches The Empire of Masks conquer her island home, criminalize her customs, and dispose of one of her fathers. Baru bides her time, swallowing her hate in order to one day infiltrate the Empire and dismantle them from within. In order to prove herself, an adult Baru is sent to subdue the distant Aurdwynn, but her forbidden attraction to the fascinating Duchess Tain Hu threatens to derail even the ruthless Baru’s plans.

Why I need to read it: I read The Traitor Baru Cormorant back in 2016 and it was one of my favourite books of the year. At the time I called it brutal, effective, and so well-written. I also appreciated the politics and the dive into morality that made for a fascinating character study. Now book 2, The Monster Baru Cormorant, was published in 2018, but my memory is absolutely terrible. I’d forgotten the details and the politics and knew I would have to re-read in order to appreciate the next book in the series. Despite my best intentions, I never got to it and by now book 3 is out! The series isn’t finished yet – there’s a fourth book due out at some point – but I really want to catch up on this series anyway.

House of Niccolo by Dorothy Dunnett

Synopsis: Set in 15th century Bruges, when merchants became the new knighthood of Europe, the series is about the rise of Nicholas “Claes” van der Poele from good-natured dyer’s apprentice to helming a mercantile empire.

Why I want to read it: I know this will come as a shock to anyone who’s been reading this blog for awhile but I am a HUGE fan of Dorothy Dunnett’s Lymond Chronicles series. As in, it’s my all-time favourite series and has consumed good chunks of my life for the last 8 or 9 years and influenced my reading choices. I re-read at least one book in the six book series every year or two. I’ve still never read The House of Niccolo. I read the first two books (there’s eight in total) and I liked the first, really liked the second, but neither book hit me in the same way as Lymond. It might be partly the setting (15th century merchant Flanders vs. 16th century political intrigue Scotland) but I think it’s mostly that protagonist Claes just doesn’t appeal to be in the same way that beautiful tortured polyglot genius and sometime asshole Francis Crawford of Lymond does. I do love Dunnett’s writing style though and I’m determined to read this entire series.

The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty

Synopsis: When street smart con Cairene artist Nahri accidentally summons a mysterious djinn warrior to her side during a con, she’s forced to accept that the magical world she believed only existed in children’s stories is real. Nahri is bound to Daevabad, the legendary city of brass, but behind the city’s gates, old resentments simmer between the six djinn tribes and even magic can’t shield Nahri from the dangers of court intrigue.

Why I want to read it: I read City of Brass in 2018 and really liked it for the fresh worldbuilding it offered and the interesting characters. I had some issues with the execution of the concept, especially in its pacing and I found it confusing to keep track of the various djnn tribes, their customs, and loyalties, but ultimately this is yet another victim of my good intentions to read the second book quickly and then enough time passing that I’ve completely forgotten the first book and need to re-read. The entire series is out now so I’m hoping to read them consecutively.

The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb

Synopsis: Born on the wrong side of the sheets, Fitz, son of Chivalry Farseer, is a royal bastard, cast out into the world, friendless and lonely. Only his magical link with animals – the old art known as the Wit – gives him solace and companionship. But the Wit, if used too often, is a perilous magic, and one abhorred by the nobility. So when Fitz is finally adopted into the royal household, he must give up his old ways and embrace a new life of weaponry, scribing, courtly manners; and how to kill a man secretly, as he trains to become a royal assassin.

Why I want to read it: Robin Hobb is beloved of the book blogging community. I buddy read Assassin’s Apprentice in 2019 and I enjoyed it and fully intended to keep going but I got distracted and a year flew by and I completely forgot every single detail of the plot. I’ve heard the series picks up and I know Rachel, who is not usually a fan of fantasy, loved the second book in the series so I promise I will begin again and try not to be too intimidated by the length.

The Thomas Cromwell series by Hilary Mantel

Synopsis: England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?

Why I want to read it: This is the only series on this list where I didn’t finish the first book. I was about a third of the way into Wolf Hall in March 2020. When the world ground to a halt, so did my reading. I suddenly didn’t have the ability to focus long enough to read, let alone to read a dense, long historical fiction novel. In the end I marked it as paused and put it aside. Although the reviews among my friends/fellow bloggers have been a little more mixed, this series is so critically acclaimed and I was mostly enjoying it, although I did find it slow going, before the pandemic so it’s certainly a book series that I plan to return to.

Have you read any of these? Which series should I prioritize? Comment and let me know!

Top 5 Tuesday

I’m trying to get back into blogging on a more consistent basis, and one of the ways I want to do that is through participating in bookish memes when I like the topics! I was especially taken by this month’s Top 5 Tuesday tags because as much as I enjoy some fictional romance (I’m playing Juliet this weekend in Project Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet after all!), Valentine’s Day can be a weird time of year when you’re aro-ace. I really appreciate that Top 5 Tuesday has shied away from the usual Valentine’s topics with its choices.

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Meeghan Reads! It was originally created by the wonderful Bionic Book Worm. This week’s topic:

FEBRUARY 9TH – Top 5 series I want to start

The Sevenwaters Trilogy by Juliet Marillier

Synopsis: Based loosely on “The Six Swans” fairy tale, the first book in the series, Daughter of the Forest, is about 13-year-old Sorcha, who embarks on a quest to return her brothers to their true form after a witch’s curse transforms them into swans. Using only her hands, she must sew six shirts from a painful nettle plant and remain mute the entire time. But terrible events hinder her progress and eventually take her further and further away from her home. The series is set in 9th century Ireland and covers four generations in the family of Sevenwaters.

Why I want to read it: This series was highly recommended to me by my friend and former co-worker Ivana, who has similar taste in books. I purchased copies of the first three books from a used bookstore and in 2017 named Daughter of the Forest one of my 5-star predictions. Well, it’s 2021 and I still haven’t read it but fate, or rather Rick and his BookTubeSpin#1 stepped in and proclaimed that I would read this before March 31st!

The Plantagenet series / The Angevin Novels by Sharon Kay Penman

Synopsis: The series begins with the sinking of the White Ship in 1120, a disaster which drowned William Adelin, the only legitimate son and heir of King Henry I of England and kicked off a succession crisis and a period of civil war in England known as The Anarchy. Focusing initially on the first Plantagenet king, Henry II, his equally famous queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, the 5 book series moves on to cover their notorious offspring, often called the Devil’s Brood.

Why I want to read it: I’ve only read one Sharon Kay Penman book (Here Be Dragons) but I really enjoyed it and she’s an acknowledged master of the historical fiction genre. Maybe it’s going through all of Shakespeare’s history plays recently and becoming more familiar with the Plantagenets that has sparked this renewed interest in reading historical fiction. I used to read a lot more historical fiction than I do these days though and I often really enjoyed it so I’m deliberately planning to read more from the genre this year. Especially since my favourite book series of all time, while owing a lot to and inspiring many fantasy authors, are yes, you guessed it, historical fiction. Also, Eleanor of Aquitaine is the coolest.

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Synopsis: In the aftermath of a war between gods and men, a hero, a librarian, and a girl must battle the fantastical elements of a mysterious city stripped of its name.

Why I want to read it: Honestly, I’ve read the goodreads synopsis and I still have no idea what this duology is about but it’s one of my mom’s favourites (we don’t always agree but we often do and swap SFF back and forth) and I know other friends absolutely adored it as well so I’m looking forward to this!

Kristin Lavransdatter series by Sigrid Undset
(translated from the Norwegian by Tiina Nunnally)

Synopsis: Set in fourteenth-century Norway, the first book in this trilogy chronicles the courtship of a headstrong and passionate young woman and a dangerously charming and impetuous man. Defying her parents and stubbornly pursuing her own happiness, Kristin emerges as a woman who not only loves with power and passion but intrepidly confronts her sexuality. Her prose combines the sounds and style of Nordic ballads, European courtly poetry, and religious literature.

Why I want to read it: I’m not actually sure how I learned about this series, but probably it was through a list of historical fiction recs, but it’s looked both interesting and intimidating ever since. I’m tending more towards classics this year though and this series, published in 1920, is looking very appealing right about now! Undset was awarded the Nobel prize for literature for her depictions of Northern life in medieval times through these novels. I’ve read very little Nordic fiction so I’m very intrigued!

The Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer

Synopsis: Eleven secret government expeditions and few have returned unscathed. Area X has been cut off from the rest of the world for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; the second expedition ended in mass suicide, the third in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another. Annihilation opens with the twelfth expedition.

Why I want to read it: VanderMeer’s Borne is one of my all-time favourite books but despite my best intentions I’ve never read any of his other works! I think this critically acclaimed book is probably the logical place to start.

Have you read any of these? What did you think? Are there any series you’ve been meaning to read? Comment and let me know!

T5T: Books on my 2018 bucket list

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the wonderful Bionic Book Worm. This week’s topic:

JANUARY 9TH – Top 5 books on my 2018 bucket list

I’ve taken the topic to mean books that you’re prioritizing for 2018 and will absolutely, positively read this year. I’ve opted for books that were mostly hold-overs from 2017, and possibly earlier than that, some of which overlap with my 2018 reading resolutions, to read more classics and to read what I own.

5. Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin
Pushkin’s short novel in verse has been on my reading list for a few years now, because it’s a story I’ve seen and loved in other forms. It was while watching the National Ballet of Canada dance the classic John Cranko-choreographed adaptation of Onegin that I fell for ballet as an art form. I was spellbound by the female lead, Tatyana, who begins the ballet as a country girl who has to be dragged away from her novels to greet company and felt empowered by the end of the ballet, where Tatyana doesn’t die, but holds a position of power over the (quite frankly rather dickish) Onegin. More recently, I caught a new Canadian musical based on the story that was one of my favourite theatre experiences of the year! By now I know the elements of the plot and characters well, but like any bookish blogger, I really want to read the original!

4. Fire From Heaven by Mary Renault
Historical fiction is one of my preferred reading genres. Several years ago, I went looking for recommendations to read some of the more foundational authors in the genre, hoping to find well-researched and well-written titles. Some I took to heart, like Sharon Kay Penman and Dorothy Dunnett, but although the name Mary Renault often came up, I’ve still never read any of her books. A few friends have told me how much I would love her works, and I even picked up Fire From Heaven and The Persian Boy at a used bookstore last year, so I have no excuse! Fortunately, owning copies just means that Fire From Heaven can count towards one of my 2018 reading resolutions, to read what I own. Although I’ve heard it’s dense, I fully expect to love this book, and I can’t wait to tackle it later this year!

3. Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb
In 2017 Assassin’s Apprentice made a lot of my ‘series I’ve been meaning to start’, ‘top of the TBR’, kinds of lists. Yet here we are in 2018 and I STILL haven’t read it. A few book bloggers I follow made their way through the fantasy series last year and seemed to love it, and friends offline have recommended it to me, so I am determined – 2018 will be the year I finally pick up a Robin Hobb book! I actually have copies of the first few books too, thanks to a friend who permanently moved to New Zealand and gifted some of the books she couldn’t take with her to me.

2. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
The book everyone was talking about last year was The Hate U Give. I intended to read it. I moved up the holds list at the library. I looked forward to it, yet it never quite reached the top of my TBR, despite the raves. My only excuse is that I’m really not much of a YA Contemporary reader, but there are a few notable exceptions and I suspect this is one of them. I’m making this important book a priority for 2018, and am planning to read it in February!

1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
I always get the same reaction from friends when they learn that I, a former English major and current enthusiastic reader, haven’t picked up Charlotte Bronte’s masterpiece. “You haven’t read Jane Eyre?” they ask in disbelief, jaws hanging open. To be honest, I’m a little surprised too. Somehow I never encountered it in high school or university and, although Jane Eyre is one of those rare classics that seems to be beloved by its readers, I rarely read classics after completing my degree. Now, as I make a conscious effort to choose a variety of reads and tackle some of the classics though, Jane Eyre is undoubtedly at the top of my list.

Have you read any of these? What are the titles you’re prioritizing this year? Comment and let me know!

T5T: New to Me Authors in 2017

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the wonderful Bionic Book Worm.  This week’s topic:

DECEMBER 12TH – Top 5 (OR 10!) new to me authors in 2017

In an attempt to branch out of my comfort zone, I read a lot of works by authors I hadn’t previously discovered. Here were my top five favourites of the year, and another bonus five authors that I was also happy to discover:

1. Ann Leckie
As someone who keeps, at least vaguely, tabs on what’s happening the world of science-fiction and fantasy books, Ann Leckie’s name has been on my radar for ages. Each year, her Imperial Radch trilogy seemed to be on my TBR but I never quite got around to reading them. So this year I finally picked up Ancillary Justice. I loved it. The world building was exquisite, different from anything else I’d ever read before, and the use of default female pronouns through me for a loop. Two of Leckie’s books, Ancillary Sword and her standalone novel Provenance, will make my Top 10 List of the best books I’ve read in 2017, which makes her my favourite new author discovery of the year!

2. John Boyne
I’ve only read one of Boyne’s novels so far (I’m planning to read The Absolutist before the end of the year), but what a novel it was! From its first page The Heart’s Invisible Furies hooked me with its black humour, cynical criticism of the Catholic Church, and flawed but fascinating characters. I loved The Heart’s Invisible Furies so much that it’s in contention for my favourite book of the year! I can’t wait to dive into The Absolutist and have my heart broken by John Boyne once again, and I will definitely be going through his back catalog and reading the rest of his works over the next few years.

3. Becky Chambers
I don’t read much in the way of science-fiction, I really prefer fantasy, so it says a lot about the caliber of the authors’ work that there are two science-fiction writers in my Top 5 this week! Becky Chambers’ cozy sci-fi novel The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is a character study in which very little actually happens, but you don’t even care because the characters are so damn enjoyable. It reads more like a series of vignettes that concentrate on the relationships between crew members on a rundown spaceship than it does a novel with any overarching plot. It works surprisingly well, but I was even more taken with her sequel. I found something empowering in reading the parallel narratives in A Closed and Common Orbit about young women who are shaped by tragic pasts, but who start over, gain autonomy, and shape their own identities. I was genuinely moved by both novels in her Wayfarers series and look forward to reading more by Chambers in the future.

4. Min Jin Lee
Although I’ve only read one of her novels, I loved Pachinko so much that I would pick up any new novel she writes based on the strength of it alone. A multigenerational novel about an ethnic Korean family living in Korea under Japanese rule and then in Japan itself, it’s an evocative beautifully written book that I would recommend to absolutely everyone. Lee has a way with words, and although the book appears daunting due to its length, it’s a quick read with prose that is simple, yet elegant. Where Pachinko really excels though is in its depiction of characters who are kind, flawed, and hard-working. I look forward to seeing what else Min Jin Lee can do in the future.

5. E. K. Johnston
I absolutely loved Exit, Pursued by a Bear. I’m so sick of stories where rape is used as plot device or to show how dark and gritty a world is, but Johnston’s story is focused on the girl impacted by sexual assault. She refuses to be a victim, and the narrative empowers her at every turn, putting the decision about how to move past what’s happened to her and what to do about the assailant in her hands. Exit, Pursued by a Bear also gives protagonist Hermione a rock solid support system. It’s absolutely brilliant. I was less impressed by That Inevitable Victorian Thing, but the creativity in concept and diversity in the novel was terrific to read about. Of course I also love that she’s a Canadian author!

Honourable mention to:

Lisa See – I’ve only read The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, but I really enjoyed it and have been told that it’s not her best work, so I will definitely read more of her books in 2018.

Adam Silvera – I often find YA a little light and fluffy for my tastes, so what a relief to find Adam Silvera’s work! I adored More Happy Than Not, which is unusually bleak for the genre, yet fascinating to read. I wasn’t as taken with the other book of his I’ve read, History Is All You Left Me, but I still solidly enjoyed it and intend to read more of his works.

Katherine Arden – The opinions I’ve read about The Girl in the Tower are more mixed, so I’m cautious about putting her on my list, but The Bear and the Nightingale was such an unmitigated delight. Atmospheric with a protagonist who is brave and intelligent, yet kind, I loved it from the first page.

Anita Amirrezvani – I read The Blood of Flowers, a historical fiction novel about carpet weavers in 17th century Iran (Persia), recently and loved the flowing prose and the elegant world building. The setting was a completely unique one for me, and such a refreshing change from the usual England and European-set hist fic novels. I see she has another novel about Persia, which I intend to read next year.

Kathryn Ormsbee – Tash Hearts Tolstoy resonated so much with me for its positive asexual representation. I don’t know if this is a one-off, or if more asexual characters will appear in her work, but it was also a charming YA novel in its own right. I would definitely pick up future work by Ormsbee.

Have you read books by any of these authors this year? Which new (to you) authors did you discover in 2017? Let me know in the comments!

T5T: Books on my TBR the longest

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the wonderful Bionic Book Worm.  This week’s topic:

NOVEMBER 14TH – Top 5 books that have been on my TBR the longest

Like most book bloggers, my TBR list is miles long and seems to get longer by the day. Looking through my goodreads ‘to read’ list I picked out some of the earliest entries that I still intend to read in the next few years. Without further ado, here are some of the oldest entries on my TBR:

1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Jane Eyre is one of those classics that I’ve been meaning to read for probably a decade. I can’t believe I got through an English major, including a Victorian Lit class, without reading this one! Sure I’ve seen the most recent film, and the BBC miniseries (which I really enjoyed), but as we all know, the book is usually better, and I just know this is one classic I’m going to enjoy!

2. Falls The Shadow by Sharon Kay Penman
I read the first book of her Welsh Princes trilogy, Here be Dragons, in 2012 and really enjoyed it. Set in thirteenth century Wales, the characters were great, the historical aspects were well researched, and the plot engaging. I’ve been meaning to get back to this series for awhile, but it fell victim to timing. See Here be Dragons was the last book I read before I started The Lymond Chronicles, the dense six-book historical fiction epic that ate my life for six months, and then continued to do so while I re-read, and fought the urge to re-read, and re-read. At this point it’s been five years, so I’ll probably have to re-read Here be Dragons, before I can finish the trilogy, but it’s definitely on my list!

3. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
I was introduced to Raymond Chandler’s hardboiled detective Phillip Marlowe in a Detective Fiction class during my undergrad. The Big Sleep immediately captured my attention with its unusual and evocative metaphors and similes, its depiction of seedy Los Angeles, and the atmospheric noir style. I’ve been meaning to read more of Chandler’s work for awhile now, and The Long Goodbye seems to be one of his better known works, so I thought I’d start there.

4. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Along with Rebecca and Jane Eyre, The Count of Monte Cristo completes my trilogy of classics I actually want to read and fully believe that I will enjoy. Dumas is often held up as a pillar of adventure/historical fiction and I know he was a favourite author of Dorothy Dunnett’s, which is enough to put him on my to-read list on its own! Wrongful imprisonment, betrayal, and revenge, what’s not to like?! After War and Peace I think I need a break from doorstopper books for a few months, but hopefully I will get to this at some point next year!

5. The Last Great Dance on Earth by Sandra Gulland
I really need to finish the historical fiction series I start! Like Sharon Kay Penman’s Welsh Princes trilogy, this is a series where I read the first book (and I think the second?) in 2010 but never finished, despite really enjoying this story, which focuses on the life of Napoleon’s wife Josephine Bonaparte. A friend of mine recently read the series and loved it, which reminded me of how I need to get on this. Again, I think it’s been so long that I’ll have to re-read the entire series first, but I’d like to read more historical fiction next year anyway.

How about you? What books have been on your TBR the longest?

 

T5T: Book Quotes

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the wonderful Bionic Book Worm.  This week’s topic:

OCTOBER 24 – Top 5 book quotes

Rachel and Steph can attest to the fact that narrowing down the multitude of favourite quotations to just five choices was a Herculean task. Asking a book lover to pick just five favourite quotes seems on par with selecting only five books to read for the rest of our lives! Nonetheless, here are some of my favourites (and I’ve only cheated a little bit this time!):

~ 6 ~

The leaves rustled, close and protective, pressing up against his ears, curled in his fists. They didn’t mean to frighten. They only ever tried to speak his language and get his attention. It was not fearsome Cabeswater’s fault that Adam had already been a fearful boy when he’d made the bargain.

“You think they’re gonna look at you and see an abused kid? Do you even know what abuse is? That judge will’ve heard enough stories to know a whopper. He’s not gonna blink an eye.”

The branches leaned toward Adam, curling around him protectively, a thicket with thorns pointed outward. It had tried, before, to cling to his mind, but now it knew to surround his body. He’d asked to be separate, and Cabeswater had listened. I know you are not the same as him, Adam said. But in my head, everything is always so tangled. I am such a damaged thing.

– Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

Have I mentioned that Adam Parrish is one of my favourite characters in all of literature?! Adam’s thought at the end of this passage always make my stomach clench in pain, but it’s such a beautifully written part and I love the development of his relationship with Cabeswater.

~ 5 ~

Jack: How you can sit there, calmly eating muffins when we are in this horrible trouble, I can’t make out. You seem to me to be perfectly heartless.

Algernon: Well, I can’t eat muffins in an agitated manner. The butter would probably get on my cuffs. One should always eat muffins quite calmly. It is the only way to eat them.

Jack: I say it’s perfectly heartless your eating muffins at all, under the circumstances.

– The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

The Importance of Earnest was my first taste of Oscar Wilde’s famous wit. I originally encountered the play in high school and now, more than ten years later, this ridiculous scene of frivolity between the anxious Jack Worthing and his rogueish friend Algy Moncrieff still makes me smile.

~ 4 ~

Cosette, though from another cause, was equally terrified. She did not understand; what she saw did not seem possible to her; at last she exclaimed, “Father! What can that be in those wagons?”
Jean Valjean answered: “Convicts.”
“And where are they going?”
“To prison.”
At this moment a the cudgeling, multiplied by a hundred hands, reached its climax; blows with the flat of the sword joined in; it was a fury of whips and clubs; the prisoners crouched, a hideous obedience was produced by the torture, and all fell silent with the look of chained wolves. Cosette trembled all over; she asked, “Father, are they still men?”
“Sometimes,” said the man of misery.

– Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

Hugo’s writing is such that there are several Les Miserables passages that could go here, but this often overlooked passage hits me right in the heart, as ex-convict Jean Valjean is confronted with a visceral reminder of his past, while adoptive daughter Cosette, who remains ignorant of his status as an escaped convict, is by his side. Fun Fact: This is actually the passage I chose to have printed on a custom book scarf several years ago!

~ 3 ~

“You’re Jude St. Francis. You are my oldest, dearest friend. You’re the son of Harold Stein and Julia Altman. You’re the friend of Malcolm Irvine, of Jean-Baptiste Marion, of Richard Goldfarb, of Andy Contractor, of Lucien Voigt, of Citizen van Straaten, of Rhodes Arrowsmith, of Elijah Kozma, of Phaedra de los Santos, of the Henry Youngs.
“You’re a New Yorker. You live in SoHo. You volunteer for an arts organization; you volunteer for a food kitchen.
“You’re a swimmer. You’re a baker. You’re a cook. You’re a reader. You have a beautiful voice, though you never sing anymore. You’re an excellent pianist. You’re an art collector. You write me lovely messages when I’m away. You’re patient. You’re generous. You’re the best listener I know. You’re the smartest person I know, in every way. You’re the bravest person I know, in every way.
“You’re a lawyer. You’re the chair of the litigation department at Rosen Pritchard and Klein. You love your job; you work hard at it.
“You’re a mathematician. You’re a logician. You’ve tried to teach me, again and again.
“You were treated horribly. You came out on the other end. You were always you.”

– A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

A Little Life destroyed me, as I suspect it does just about anyone who makes it through. Yanagihara’s prose is so devastatingly beautiful that again there are any number of quotes I could choose. I had enough distance from this book that a particular quote didn’t instantly spring to mind and I was leaning towards one on friendship (which I also love) but then I scrolled by this one and every single one of those feelings came rushing back. It’s such a beautiful passage. More moving in context, but still wonderful.

~ 2 ~

“Inej turned to go. Kaz seized her hand, keeping it on the railing. He didn’t look at her. “Stay”, he said, his voice rough stone. “Stay in Ketterdam. Stay with me.” She looked down at his gloved hand clutching hers. Everything in her wanted to say yes, but she would not settle for so little, not after all she’d been through. “What would be the point?”
He took a breath. “I want you to stay. I want you to… I want you”.
“You want me.” She turned the words over. Gently, she squeezed his hand. “And how will you have me, Kaz?”
He looked at her then, eyes fierce, mouth set. It was the face he wore when he was fighting.
“How will you have me?” she repeated. “Fully clothed, gloves on, your head turned away so our lips can never touch?”
He released her hand, his shoulders bunching, his gaze angry and ashamed as he turned his face to the sea.”
Maybe it was because his back was to her that she could finally speak the words.
“I will have you without armor, Kaz Brekker. Or I will not have you at all.”

– Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Gah! Do I really need to say anything more? All the building sexual tension, the reliance that these two characters have on each other and the feelings between these them, which have always been present, but never before voiced, and it comes to a head in this wonderful scene. Inej’s last line gets me every time.

~ 1 ~

“Go away and bleed to death,” said his onetime saviour sharply. “On behalf of the female sex I feel I may cheer every lesion.”

“Remember, some live all their lives without discovering this truth; that the noblest and most terrible power we possess is the power we have, each of us, over the chance-met, the stranger, the passer-by outside your life and your kin. Speak, she said, as you would write: as if your words were letters of lead, graven there for all time, for which you must take the consequences. And take the consequences.”

– Queens’ Play by Dorothy Dunnett

In my eyes, Dorothy Dunnett’s Lymond series is sheer mastery of the craft of writing. There’s a reason so many prominent authors (including Ellen Kushner, Leigh Bardugo, C.S. Pacat, and Guy Gavriel Kay) admit to being inspired by her works! I could easily create a Top 5, 10, probably even 50 Lymond quotes. I don’t think these are my favourites of all time, but they fit better out of context, and aren’t a page or two in length. The two I’ve chosen also complement each other well. Both quotes are words said by the same character in the same book. Margaret Erskine is a great underappreciated minor character who speaks plainly to Francis Crawford of Lymond. I would love to steal the words in her first quote to use against someone particularly heinous, but it’s the advice she gives in the second about the impact we can have even over acquaintances and people who barely register in our lives, and how devastating the impact can be should we abuse or remain ignorant of the power of our words, that stays with me, and with Lymond.

Those are some of my favourite quotes of all-time, what are some of yours? 

Top 5 Tuesday: Favourite Book Covers

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the wonderful Bionic Book Worm.  This week’s topic:

OCTOBER 17 – Top 5 Favourite Book Covers

As much as we all try not to judge books by their covers, we definitely do take notice of books with fabulous cover designs, so this week’s topic is a great opportunity to show off some of our favourite covers! Without further ado, here are my choices:

5. The Killing Moon and The Shadowed Sun by N.K. Jemisin

     

I adore the vibrant colours in this pair of covers that make up N.K. Jemisin’s Dreamblood Duology, a fantasy series based in Egyptian mythology. Admittedly I’m not someone who tends to actually judge a book by its cover or choose to read one based on its art, but these gorgeous covers by designer Lauren Panepinto and artist Cliff Nielsen are striking! I also love how the book title is worked into each design in a way that’s clear, and yet not obtrusive.

4. The Book of Three, The Castle of Llyr, and The High King by Lloyd Alexander

       

I’m cheating a little bit here by naming a whole series, but some of the first book covers that I fell in love with were these covers of Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain Chronicles, a series loosely based on Welsh mythology. The vibrantly coloured illustrations by Jody Lee on these editions published in the 1990s are gorgeous. My favourite covers belong to the first, third, and fifth books in the series, which so vividly bring to life characters like Taran, the assistant pig-keeper who longs for adventure and glory, oracular pig Hen Wen, Princess Eilonwy of the red-gold hair and her glowing “bauble”, and the dark enchantress Queen Achren. I feel like it’s rare for illustrations to actually depict characters in a series in a way that matches the pictures in your head, but for me this series of covers for the Prydain Chronicles did exactly that.

3. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

I think Katherine Arden’s The Bear and the Nightingale is the perfect match between cover art and the feeling that the novel inside creates. I’m usually not much of a seasonal reader, but from the first page The Bear and the Nightingale gave me a feeling of wanting to curl up under a warm blanket, clutching a mug of tea, while snow fell outside on a day where I had no where I needed to be. The cover art for this edition makes me feel exactly the same way. It conveys the fantasy element and feeling of being swept away by a great story, but also the sense of warmth in the midst of a Russian winter.

2. The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson

Although the design is fairly simple, I can’t think of a more appropriate cover for this gut-wrenching fantasy about one woman’s attempt to infiltrate an empire and to tear it down from the inside. The design by Sam Weber speaks to Baru’s struggle as she conceals her true emotions and feelings in order to elevate her position, but her experiences threaten to break through her carefully constructed mask and leave her shattered.

1. Shades of Magic series by V.E. Schwab

          

My favourite book covers of all-time have to be the American Shades of Magic series covers designed by Will Staehle. I love how the covers utilize the colour scheme of the 4 Londons that becomes so significant in the series (Gray, Red, White, and Black), and the map element that’s subtly integrated into each design. The font choice is appropriately fantasy-esque and yet feels appropriately historical for this 1800s set fantasy adventure. I think my absolute favourite thing about these covers is that they are so unique and don’t remind me of anything else.

What are some of your favourite book covers?