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This year definitely wasn’t my best year of book reading. I read a decent amount of books, but not all of them for pleasure, as I had a ton of reading to do for my school from my major related classes as well as Spanish literature which was so detailed and I never got to review here.
So instead of rounding up everything I’ve read, I’ve decided to just pick a few books that I really enjoyed and thought were fantastic choices for this year!
Book 1 – Forest of a Thousand Lanters by Julie C. Dao
“Eighteen-year-old Xifeng is beautiful. The stars say she is destined for greatness, that she is meant to be Empress of Feng Lu. But only if she embraces the darkness within her.
Growing up as a peasant in a forgotten village on the edge of the map, Xifeng longs to fulfill the destiny promised to her by her cruel aunt, the witch Guma, who has read the cards and seen glimmers of Xifeng’s majestic future. But is the price of the throne too high? Because in order to achieve greatness, she must spurn the young man who loves her and exploit the callous magic that runs through her veins–sorcery fueled by eating the hearts of the recently killed. For the god who has sent her on this journey will not be satisfied until his power is absolute.
Set in an East Asian-inspired fantasy world filled with both breathtaking pain and beauty, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns possesses all the hallmarks of masterful fantasy: dazzling magic, heartbreaking romance, and a world that hangs in the balance. Fans of Heartless, Stealing Snow, and Red Queen will devour this stunning debut.”
From Amazon.com
I absolutely adored this book as it had such a strong main character and it was so different than anything I had read! Check out my pitiful review (I have no idea why it is so small…), but I definitely loved this one. 4.5/5 teacups!
Book 2 – Gunslinger Girl by Lyndsay Lay
James Patterson presents a bold new heroine—a cross between Katniss Everdeen and Annie Oakley: Serendipity Jones, the fastest sharpshooter in tomorrow’s West.
Seventeen-year-old Serendipity “Pity” Jones inherited two things from her mother: a pair of six shooters and perfect aim. She’s been offered a life of fame and fortune in Cessation, a glittering city where lawlessness is a way of life. But the price she pays for her freedom may be too great….
In this extraordinary debut from Lyndsay Ely, the West is once again wild after a Second Civil War fractures the U.S. into a broken, dangerous land. Pity’s struggle against the dark and twisted underbelly of a corrupt city will haunt you long after the final bullet is shot.
From BN.com
I loved this book so much! It was filled with adventure, once again a strong female character and the story was just so intriguing. I think this could make an incredible movie, just saying!
Find my full review over here – this is certainly one you don’t want to miss!
Book 3 – The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
“First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror. It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a “haunting”; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.”
From Amazon.com
This is such a perfect read for the spooky season but honestly it’s great for any time of year. It’s simple, not too scary and a classic that everyone should read. Find my review over here!
Bonus Book – My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
So I don’t have a review up for this book yet, but I just finished My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. It’s a beautiful memoir and one that I absolutely love so it’s definitely one of my favorites! Definitely a book you will want to purchase.
The Haunting of Hill House is strange.
It’s definitely strange and compared to new creepy books, that come out now, it doesn’t line up. But for the time, which I had to keep in mine a lot while reading, it was apparently quite creepy!