Book Review: A Royal Guide to Monster Slaying by Kelley Armstrong

I was hoping to get this review up several weeks ago, but unfortunately, due to a lack of Internet and just an incredibly busy schedule it just didn't get done.  I have now started a new permanent position at my work with more hours, but no set schedule, so it will be more difficult to get these done.  Anyway...
I really enjoyed this book!  It was so well written and engaging I couldn't put it down.  The characters are very fleshed out and they have real motivations for doing things, rather than because the plot requires them to do so.
The plot is so well written that it will keep you on the edge of your seat.  I really liked that there was a good mix of action and regular life, if you will.  I'm already looking forward to the next book (although there is no hint of a date)!
This is a tween book.  It is a bit old for children around 10 (depending on maturity level, etc).  I certainly wouldn't read it to my 5 year old niece!

Suggested Reads
I couldn't think of any off the top of my head that I haven't suggested already, so I turned to Novelist for some assistance!
Here are the 9 titles that Novelist suggested with spunky female leads:

               

               

A "Serie"ous Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

      

    

This review covers the main series as I have not read any of the prequel materials.  Normally, I would review each of the individual books, then the series as a whole.  In this case, to prevent spoilers, I will be reviewing the entire series.  When Celaena is rescued from the slave mines in order to take part of a competition, by the crown prince Dorian, she is thankful.  All of her opponents are men - thieves, assassins, brutes.  However, something dark is lurking in the castle and killing off the fighters one by one.  She must kill in order to survive, while also avoiding what is killing her competitors.  In the final fight of the competition, it brands her and sets her on the path to her destiny.   

I loved this series!  I would finish one, then try to get the next one as quickly as possibly.  They are very fast paced and difficult to put down.  I spent more than a few nights staying up on my Kobo reading in the dark, much to the frustration of my husband.  The author is a master of the cliffhanger, so you just HAVE to read the next book in order to see what happens next.  Celaena is a very independent woman who knows what she wants and she'll do what she must in order to get it.  On the path to her destiny, she makes a number of unusual friends and allies who will assist her in the ultimate and final confrontation.  LGBTQ+ friendly.

Similar Books:
Graceling Realm Series by Kristin Cashore

    

The main character from Graceling reminds me of Celaena.

The Ascendance Trilogy by Jennifer A. Nielson

    

Although the main character is male, the cutthroat competition is very similar to Throne of Glass.

Rule Series by Ellen Goodlett

 

The politics of the kingdom remind me of the politics that occur in the Throne of Glass series.  Bonus points for LGBTQ+ normalization of relationships.

A "Serie"-ous Review: Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce

Tortall:  The Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce

A coworker at the library suggested this book for my Adult Summer Reading Club Bingo.  She said she didn't like Harry Potter because she read this series first.  To me, this is still fantasy, but it is a different sort of fantasy than Harry Potter.  I would put this more in a "classic" fantasy where it is set in a completely different world.

I'd review each book individually, but this is better off reviewed as a whole.  The basic plot is that Alanna is far better suited to be a knight than her twin brother Thom, who wants to be a sorcerer.  Alanna and Thom switch spots with Thom being trained in magic and Alanna being trained as Alan of Trebond as a knight.

The series follows Alanna as she learns to control her magic and use it for good.  She must learn who to trust, including herself, as she goes on many wild adventures and grows from Alan of Trebond into Alanna, the Lioness Rampant.  She faces and defeats many foes until she is ready for the penultimate confrontation.

She is a strong, confidant girl who grows into an amazing woman.  Although she hides and denies her femininity at first as part of her disguise, she learns to embrace it.  Her growth in this area reminds me of this part from Avatar:  The Last Airbender:  

I would definitely suggest this to older teens and adults as there is some sensitive topics (puberty, birth control, implied sex) who are more emotionally capable to handle these implications.

Similar Series (Strong Independent Woman Protagonist)

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede (Ages 8+)

Princess Pulverizer by Nancy E. Krulik (Ages 5+)

The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale (Ages 5+)

The Belgariad by David Eddings (Ages 13+)

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (Ages 18+)

Wonder Woman (All Ages)

A "Serie"ous Review: The Mapmaker's Trilogy by S.E. Grove

          

The Mapmaker's Trilogy by S.E. Grove

In The Glass Sentence, we travel with Sophia on an adventure where she follows the directions of a mysterious glass map.  She finds and makes new allies along the way including a new companion named Theo.  The politics of the time echo our own.

In The Golden Specific, she sets out on a mission to find her parents after being given a hint to their whereabouts by a mysterious benefactor at the Nihilism archives.  We also meet some interesting new characters and find out more about the different Ages across the globe.

In The Crimson Skew, Sophia and her companions arrive back in North America only to find everything in disarray.  She continues onward to find her parents and along the way gathers the necessary allies as they all head towards their shared destiny.

I honestly picked up the first book on a whim from the library.  I wasn't really reading anything at the time and wanted something interesting.  The cover captured my eye and the description on the back clinched the deal.  Sophia is a strong, independent female character who accepts her companions as they are.  The plots are compelling and, once the world building is out of the way, very fast paced.  You will read the entire trilogy just to see what happens next.  This is a wonderful fantasy series!

Other similar series:

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman


Northern Lights is the adult edition of The Golden Compass.

Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede



Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

Book Review: The Glass Sentence

The Glass Sentence by S.E. Grove

This was an amazing book that was hard to put down! When I did put it down over the Easter weekend, it was with great reluctance. When I started reading it, I couldn't stop until I got to the ending!  I stayed up much too late to find out what happened.
In 1799 the world experienced the Great Disruption in which something happened so that time in the world was fractured and then came together in different times. The year is now 1891, Sophia is the daughter of two explorers who have gone on an adventure, leaving her with her uncle Shadrock. When he is kidnapped, she goes after him with the help of Theo. Together, they have great adventures while searching for him and heading into danger. Will Sophia be able to decipher the map in time or will she doom the entire world?
Read Alikes: The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

Review: The Night Circus

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The night circus is the venue for two magicians to compete by proxy each choosing a child as a game piece. They grow up learning different methods of magic and then they compete with each other, not knowing the horrible truth of the game until it is nearly too late.

The story is told from multiple points of view over different periods of time we see how the night circus came to be. This book has everything: love, revenge, magic, fantasy (it doesn't have pirates.  If you want pirates as well, read The Princess Bride by William Goldman).

This book was amazing! Once I got into it, I just couldn't put it down! The plot was very fast-paced and switched points of view (P.O.V) pretty much every chapter. However, the switches between P.O.V were so smooth that it didn't bother me at all. It took me a little while to figure out the changes between time, but at the beginning of every chapter (in tiny tiny print) there are the dates.  I referenced them frequently at first to see what was going on, but as I got to the end, I didn't need to reference them anymore because the pace and events picked up as I got closer to the end of the book. It is a circular story as well because the end of the book is the beginning of the book.

It is well worth the read!  People who would enjoy this are people who enjoy historical fantasy set in the real world or steampunk.

A "Serie"ous Review: The Broken Earth by N.K. Jemisin

I forget how I found this series.  I think it was during a brief period where I had just finished reading a number of romance novels and wanted some fantasy to read.  Once I started reading this series, I was pulled in and just had to read the next one!

The first book, The Fifth Season, is written from Essun's point of view.  It starts in the present with the horrific murder of her son and kidnapping of her daughter by her husband, but as she travels through her destroyed world, she also tells the reader about her past.

The middle book, The Obelisk Gate, is when her past and present collides at what she considers to be her new home.  This is when she discovers that no matter where she goes, politics will always be affecting her.  We also hear from Nassun what happened when her father kidnapped her and afterwards.

In this stunning conclusion of the series, The Stone Sky, it is told in several different voices.  The voice of Hoa, speaks of his and indeed, the earth's past.  Nassun has been forced to grow up all too quickly in this fifth season and we find out what choices she makes when she is pushed to the edge.  Will her mother's love for her win her over or will she decide that everything must be cleansed?

I really liked this fantasy series!  Although I'm not normally into something this gritty, it is nowhere near as gritty as The Game of Thrones.  I thought it was a good balance.  I found the last book a little heavy as she explores several serious topics all at once.  It was fascinating how she used the different voices to intertwine the stories and lessons, so it didn't necessarily come off as heavy handed as it could have.  She also tied up all the loose threads by the end of the book, which was amazing.  I highly suggest this series for all fantasy fans!

Review: The Fifth Season

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

In a parallel Earth, a cataclysmic event occurs in which the capital city of the Empire is consumed in flames and threatens all life on the Earth. This story is about a woman and her search for her missing daughter after her husband murders their son after this cataclysmic event takes place.

This was an amazing book! It is written so well. I love the characters as they are so complex. I also truly enjoy that there are LGBQT+ characters in this book. I was a little confused at first as to what was happening since the author switches between the past and the present, but as the author approaches present day, I figured out what was happening. The world building is very good as well since you feel like you are somewhere similar, but not our Earth.  Also, when I downloaded the ePub, I was warned it was an ePub3, but I don't feel I missed out on anything by reading it on a "traditional" eReader. I can't wait to read the sequel!

I would suggest this book for anyone who is really into big worlds and don't mind the grittiness of the world.  So, people who enjoyed Game of Thrones, this book is for  you!

Review: The Invisible Library

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is amazing! I really enjoyed it once I got going. Irene is a librarian for the Invisible Library. The Invisible Library basically is a hub at the center of of L-space (Pratchett fans will get this) which allows librarians into alternate universes to collect unique pieces of literature and where time does not pass.
Irene is a librarian who is sent on a standard mission of search and retrieval. However, this time, she has a student with her named Kai. The librarian who meets them, Dominic Aubrey, gives them the information they need to retrieve the book, clothes, etc. However, things soon go down the drain as Irene and Kai get caught up in the politics of this world and then find out that Alberic, the one librarian who betrayed the Invisible Library, is also in the world and determined to get his hands on the text. Events reach a climax as all the different factions in this world who are determined to get their hands on this book clash.

This book is a good mash-up of sci-fi (steampunk), fantasy (magic, vampires, fae, werewolves) and action/adventure.  Fans of steampunk, specifically Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series, will enjoy this.  Librarians and archivists will also love this book as it involves trans-dimensional travel in order to save books.  Overall, I would say that the book isn't terribly gritty except in a few parts where it becomes violent and the descriptions get gory.

Amazing New Fantasy Series!

Rise of the Dragons by Morgan Rice
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book! The characters are well-balanced and the plot moves quite quickly. The main focus of the book is on Kyra, daughter of Commander Duncan. However, she isn't like all the other girls as she'd rather be training with weapons rather than learning domestic skills. When she slays a boar who was going to kill her brothers on Winter Moon, she changes her destiny forever.

This book also follows the story of Merk, a mercenary who is unsure of what to do now that the king surrendered and Alec, a boy who took his lame brother's place to be sent to the Flames, the purpose of which is to keep the trolls out of the country. At the same time, you also meet the Troll King, who is much more cunning and cruel than any who has come before.

I've never read anything by this particular author before, but I would suggest it to people who like their fantasy a little bit gritty as the writing style is similar to George R. R. Martin.

Missing Percy Jackson? Try these Books! Part 2

This is a continuation of my blog post from last week.  There were just so many suggestions that I couldn't fit them all into one post.  The person was seeking books for a 9 year old boy with an extensive reading history of fantasy.

Spirit Animals

 

Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland

Tombquest by Michael Northrop

The Last Dragon Chronicles by Chris D'Lacey

Brotherband Chronicles by John Flanagan

 

Pendragon by D.J. MacHale

The Queen's Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

Leviathan by Scott Westerfield

Bone by Jeff Smith (Graphic Novel)

The last two suggestions are normally found in the teen section, but keep in mind that the teen section covers from 12/13 years of age to 18.  These books can be handled by those who have read through Harry Potter as it is pretty dark by the end.

Protector of the Small by Tamora Pierce (or if that doesn't appeal, try one of her others)

The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black

Magisterium by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Any book by Diana Wynne Jones.  I liked Howl's Moving Castle.

Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede (See my review for Dealing with Dragons to get a good feel for the series)

   

TimeRiders by Alex Scarrow

Earth Sea Cycle by Ursula K. Leguin

The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander

The Blood Guard by Carter Roy (more forthcoming?)

Seven Wonders by Peter Lerangis

The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini

Beyonders Trilogy by Brandon Mull

Brian's Saga (Hatchet) by Gary Paulsen

Arthur Trilogy by Kevin Crossley-Holland

Of course, once everyone submitted their suggestions, my mind kept chugging away and came up with one more suggestion.  The first book of the Tales of Alderley series, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen is an excellent fantasy/adventure story set in Wales.  I haven't gotten around to reading the other two books in the trilogy, but I'm sure they're just as good!

I hope that those of you who are Percy Jackson fans found some great reading suggestions.  Please comment below if you have further suggestions or how how you liked on the books suggested in the post.