Top Ten Tuesday: The Last Books That Gave Me a Book Hangover

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish,
Now, hosted by Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl 

To take part, just pick your top ten, and add the link here.

So, I haven't really been reading that much lately. A couple of weeks ago I got Witcher 3 during the Steam Year of the Rat sale. (It was 15$) And I have been spending all my free time playing that instead.

Not many books put me in the good version of a slump... I had to add two books here that weren't 100% positive. I've read many books that are amazing this past year, but typically when I read a really good book I just want to keep reading other books that I hope are as amazing to keep that good book vibe going.

Blood Heir by Amélie Wen Zhao - It was so, so, good. I want more, and I want it now. 

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor - I kind of wish there were more books written in this series. Or that there was a companion book or something. I can't really say much more because it would be spoilers for more than this book.

The Fallen Kingdom by Elizabeth May - I read book one in 2014, and then for some reason waited until late last year to finish the series. Read books 2 and 3 back to back. Mistake. I was gutted several times reading these final books, even with the 5-year gap between the first and the final two. And even though the ending was everything, I wish I didn't have to leave those characters.

***

King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence - I'm currently reading the third book, and it's taking me a bit to get into it. I think it's because this book made me nervous for the ending of the trilogy. It also feels strange to root for a villainous character. I feel like I should feel worse about it, but I don't. Not sure what that says about me.

Shadow & Flame by Mindee Arnett - Unfortunately, this one put me in a hangover of sorts because I was so disappointed in it. It wasn't the sequel I wanted, and I was just bummed out trying to read it.

Book Beginning | Friday 56 | Friday 50/50 | Blogger Hop || Emperor of Thorns (The Broken Empire #3) by Mark Lawrence || Favorite/Least Favorite Fantasy of 2019

Please join us over at RoseCityReader every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

This is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice
These are the rules:

1. Grab a book, any book.

2. Turn to page 56, or 56% on your eReader.

3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you.

4. Post it.

5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda's most recent Friday 56 post.

Synopsis:
  King Jorg Ancrath is twenty now—and king of seven nations. His goal—revenge against his father—has not yet been realized, and the demons that haunt him have only grown stronger. Yet no matter how tortured his path, he intends to take the next step in his upward climb.
  Jorg would be emperor. It is a position not to be gained by the sword but rather by vote. And never in living memory has anyone secured a majority of the vote, leaving the Broken Empire long without a leader. Jorg plans to change that. He’s uncovered the lost technology of the land, and he won’t hesitate to use it.
  But he soon finds an adversary standing in his way, a necromancer unlike any he has ever faced—a figure hated and feared even more than himself: the Dead King.

Book Beginning:
Kai stood before the old-stone, a single rough block set upright in the days when men knew nothing but wood and rock and hunting.

Friday 56:
"Go with God, Jorg of Ancrath," he said and returned to the study of the board.

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50/50 Friday is a new weekly link-up hosted by Carrie @ The Butterfly Reader and Laura @ Blue Eye Books.  Every week they have a new topic featuring two sides of the same coin - you share a book that suits each category and link up on the hosts' blogs.

This week's topic is Favorite/Least Favorite Fantasy of 2019. I'm basing this off of books I read in 2019 over the ones that came out last year.

Favorite

Least

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Click Here to add your link

Q: What were some of the most memorable books you read as a child? What made them memorable? 

A: I don't really remember many specific books I read as a child. Anything before age 13 is kind of vague. 

Review: Dragon Quest by Ava Richardson

Title: Dragon Quest 

Author: Ava Richardson

Series: The Stone Crown Series # 2

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Relay Publishing

Publication Date: January 29th, 2020

Edition: Kindle Edition, 291 pages

Source: NetGalley

Purchase: Amazon US 

Synopsis

She can save her people—or doom the world.

  Narissea faces an impossible choice. Armed with a map discovered in the hidden shrine, she’s forced to lead Inyene’s heir through the wilds of the Plains to claim the ultimate prize. For only the wearer of the Stone Crown can command all dragons, and take the High Throne that rules over the three kingdoms.

  To place the crown’s power into Inyene’s hands is unthinkable. Yet failure to obtain it means certain death.

  But the small band is not alone. Vicious mercenaries seek the crown for their mysterious patron and attack Narissea’s expedition when they least expect it. In the ensuing chaos, the map is torn in two, forcing Narissea to rely on her memories of landmarks and stories passed down by the village elders to make her way through the Plains and its treacherous Sea of Mists.

  When Inyene suspects betrayal, she sends her mechanical dragons against the beleaguered band, and the sands erupt in an epic clash of forces. Narissea’s desperate decisions threaten to alter destinies, but she’ll do whatever it takes to save her people.

No matter the consequences.

Review:

This book had a much slower pace than the previous book did for me. It felt like it took forever for things to really get going. That being said, once they did things really took off and I flew through it.

Narissea really grew on me as a character in this book. In book one, I didn't really connect with her all that much. But in this one, I saw more sides to her character and it made her more complex. Ymmen is still my favorite character, but being a dragon he gets bonus points.

The rest of the characters are sadly kind of forgettable for me. Abioye, Inyeye's brother, I had to look up his name because I keep forgetting it, I don't know what his role is supposed to be. I know who he is in terms of being against what his sister is trying to do. I just find his character boring. That and he is the most unwilling part of the group. He says he wants to stop her but expects someone else to stop her. He just doesn't take any actions, or not enough action, to seem committed to preventing her from what she's doing.

Montfre is a more interesting character and I wish he was the one who was recruiting people to help stop Inyeye. He actually seems committed to preventing the threat of a dictator that she possesses.

We meet a large number of Narissea's clan/tribe, I am hesitant to call them a tribe since I don't really know what they are supposed to look like, or if they are based on any existing culture at all. Their customs are still pretty vague for the most part. It seems to be a matriarchy. Which is cool, but their customs are really vague for the most part.

I still did enjoy reading this book, and I will be reading the third book. I just wish there was some more consistency with actions and decisions characters made.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books On My TBR I Predict Will Be 5-Star Reads

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish,
Now, hosted by Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl 

To take part, just pick your top ten, and add the link here.

As always, this list is in no particular order.

Music Monday: Watsky!

Happy Monday everyone and welcome to Music Monday! This weekly meme was created by Lauren @Always Me. Let's share some songs we've been enjoying lately! If you would like to play and I really hope you do, please see the rules and link up. 

I haven't been following his music as closely as I used to, he also hadn't made anything new for a while there. But these are a couple of new ones that I saw.