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I love books, they are one of my absolute favourite things, I love disappearing into different worlds and escaping on the adventures that my characters go on. Last year was a tricky year and part of the way I got through it was by picking up some awesome books while I was recovering from surgery. I read 71 books in total and thought I would share my three top reads.
1. Thone of Glass by Sarah J Maas
This is perhaps a predictable one, it’s a series that’s seen huge popularity. I read Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series last year and I think was initially put off a little by Glass of Thornes as it’s described as a Young Adult book, but actually I really do not think that it is. Certainly by the end of the series I would not class it as young adult at all.
Our heroine is an assassin sentenced to death and give a reprieve at the last minute to earn her freedom. This series is a thrilling ride of shocking twists and action. The very first part of the book was a bit shaky, I struggled with Celeana’s vanity incongruos when she is meant to be one of the deadliest assassins in the country, but as she grew as a person this got get. The growth of the main character from beginning to end, to a selfish and understandably young woman to a woman ready to face her fate and responsibilities is a great one and probably the part of the whole story. The battle scenes keep you on the edge of your seat and I adored the final love story. There was one thing at the end I would change, but I can’t really go into things without spoiling it for you, but this series was without a doubt my outstanding read of the year. I highly recommend it.
2. From Blood and Ash Series
I finished the Glass of Thrones series and had such a book hangover after it. You know when you love a series of book so much you don’t want it to end and you have absolutely no idea what to read next? I didn’t know what to read next. So I set about googling what to read after Sarah J Maas and this series by Jennifer L. Armentrout was recommended.
The story follows Poppy a maiden, chosen to live a life in solitary, untouched, and never to be looked on. She is now allowed to experience pleasure and lives in utter isolation, but then everything changes. I’ll be honest I found the opening scenes to the book a bit weird and didn’t think they worked and the pace was a bit slow to get going, Amrentrout can be quite descriptive at times. But… when it did get going it was a whirlwind and the pages couldn’t stop turning. The ending of the first book has a cliffhanger and you will want to dive straight into the next one. You have been warned!
3. The Serpent and the Wings of Night
This book was a Book Tok recommendation. Recommended for people who like Sarah J Maas and Jennifer L Amrentrout and how good I not pick it up after that? In tone I found it different to both of those books though. There was actually something about Hunger Games-esque about it. Oraya is the human daughter on a vampire king and is seen as nothing more than prey, so to overcome this she enters a tournament run by the Goddess of death. A tournament which, you guessed it there is only one survivor. This was quite a slow start and I really struggled to get into it at first, wondering what all the fuss was about, but once it got going it was fab. Dark, twisty and full of pain, angst and action. The romance was a slow burn at first, but once it got going it was well worth the wait. I loved Oraya’s strength and determination and the ending was a total killer, book two is already on pre-order.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?