So I didn’t read a lot in July despite taking part in both the Book Junkie Trials and The Reading Rush, I only managed to read 6 books but one of those was the Way of Kings which I was really proud that I finished. I also created my own readathon which will be happening between August 7th and August 14th – so check my post out for that.
Almost Moon by Alice Sebold **** – I didn’t know much about The Almost Moon, other than it focuses on the relationship between a mother; Clair and her daughter; Helen. After absolutely loving both The Lovely Bones and Lucky I was so excited to dive into this story by one of my all-time favourite authors. It is easy to tell from the beginning that the mother and daughter have a very difficult love/hate relationship, with a lot more hate recently but Helen still cares for her elderly mother as she has dementia, but she only does it out of some forced sense of loyalty. As this novel is told through Helen’s perspective we bounce back and forth in time. Helen often revisits her childhood memories of her mother, and we learn she was a lingerie model before marrying Helen’s father and having children which threw her into despair. Helen’s mother often gets violent towards her father and Helen even suspects that she may be responsible for his death. Helen, on the other hand, has lived a fairly normal life but I suspect this isn’t actually the case.
2. The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson ***** – So I didn’t know a thing about the Way of kings before I read it, but I have read a lot by Brandon Sanderson, so I was looking forward to getting into this monster of a book. The opening of the Way of Kings was very interesting as we learn of the Oathpact and the ten men bound to it including Kalak who are bound to fight the same battle known as Desolations with purgatory-like punishments in between. However, this battle is different as it is their last for all but one as he died and must repeat the same process alone but Kalak knows he won’t endure the punishment but we then we up forward 4500 years into the future. In the opening chapter after the prelude we are introduced to Szeth who carries a Shardblade, a mythical weapon once used to destroy beasts not made of flesh and bone, but at this moment he is nothing more than an assassin for hire. He has been hired by a race called the Parshendi to kill the King of the Alethi; Gavilar Kholin. We see that Szeth uses a type of magic he calls Lashings when he gains by absorbing something called Stormlight. While he completes his mission Szeth believes the Shardblade he carries is a curse as he flees into the night with an orb that radiates black light.
3. Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco ***** – It has been a while since I read Stalking Jack the Ripper, but I loved it, it was one of my favourite reads of all time, but I have put off reading the sequel but now I am for the Book Junkie Trials. The opening to Hunting Prince Dracula was interesting, we re-join Audrey and Thomas as they travel to Romania and its capital Bucharest to attend the Academy of Forensic Medicine and Science. However, all isn’t well as Audrey is still reeling from the events that took place in Stalking Jack the Ripper and might be suffering from some form of PTSD and is trying to hide it especially from Thomas who can see straight through her. This Audrey seems quite unhinged compared to the Audrey we encountered in the first book. The twists come early in the novel when something dangerous happens aboard the train frightening Audrey further but Thomas manages to keep her grounded. When a man is murdered on the train, killed by a stake through the heart, rumours were flying around the train, but Audrey knows they will be arriving at the Academy soon and there isn’t any time for them to investigate. However, a mystery picture of a dragon turns up in their compartment Audrey knows someone is watching every move they make, and it isn’t much between when they finally arrived at the Academy.
4. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell DNF – So Simon Snow if the same character that Cath, from Fangirl, writes about in her fanfiction and while this novel is reminiscent of Harry Potter, I was still excited to read it as it features a gay romance with a vampire. The opening of Carry On, introduced us to Simon Snow, who is the Chosen One but probably the worst chosen one in history as he seems to have little to no control over his magic. Simon attended Watford School of Magicks with his best friend Penny, girlfriend Agatha, and his nemesis, rival and roommate Baz. Simon is very different from Harry Potter as he is quite cynical and puts himself down a lot while Harry is naïve and quite humble and despite their similar upbringings, the difference is clear from the outset.
5. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi **** – In the opening of Shatter Me we are introduced to Juliette who has been incarcerated in an insane asylum for the past 264 days and we don’t know why. She then gets a cellmate named Adam and she seems to remember him from her life before, but he doesn’t remember her, Juliette also has a dislike of being touched and freaks out badly whenever Adam touches her and although I know the reason from reading the book before it hasn’t been stated yet. After a while Juliette is taken to a different cell where she is starved and tortured before she discovers that Adam is a solider for the Restablishment and she is being groomed in order for Warner; his boss to use her gifts in the war they are fighting. When Juliette’s power of giving pain through touch is revealed she is ashamed and devasted at being made to hurt someone, but Warner seems to love the fact he can use her as a weapon.
6. Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller ***** – So, I have read Daughter of the Pirate King before, but I am re-reading it for the Book Junkie Trials which I am competing in this year. I am a Scribe and this book fits my first prompt Dwarf Mount: You spot a fair tavern wench, however, the Dwarf Mines, grimy and dusty, didn’t evoke a very romantic feeling. Read a book with a hint of romance to get you in the mood. In the opening of Daughter of the Pirate King, we are introduced to Princess Alosa who is aboard a ship being boarded by pirates from the Night Farer. It turns out Alosa is the daughter of the Pirate King and the captain of the Night Farer; Draxen intends to take her hostage which he manages to do but he is unaware of the fact that Alosa planned to get captured in order to rob Draxen’s ship.
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