A Month of Reading Shamelessly- the good, the bad and the ugly…

Now for something completely different.

I had only very tentatively dipped my toe into the fantasy/romantasy genre, as I like to step out of my comfort zone once in a while. Bolstered by recommendations and suggestions from bookselling colleagues and bloggers across social media, my strange, and at times downright hilarious, reading journey began, as just for larks I decided to dedicate a whole month to solely reading within this genre.

I had to be careful when I posted this, as obviously one of these books I’ve had to wang on about for an entire month, making it out to be the best thing since sliced bread. Which it wasn’t.

So join me now on my weird, wonderful and downright awful discoveries, throughout the month of April- it’s a long one…

I would apologise in advance for the more tongue in cheek and sarcastic observations that will be part and parcel of this blog post, but where’s the fun in that?

Oh. And before anyone gets all up in my face on my personal observations of some of these, no, I won’t be tagging the authors…

So let’s start with a real positive to get the ball rolling. One of my lovely bookseller colleagues was agog that I had not read V. E. Schwab yet, and recommended me The Invisible Life Of Addie LaRue and A Darker Shade Of Magic. I started off with TILOAL, and it’s not often I am completely blown away by a book, but this was one of those rare occasions. As we follow the life of Addie spanning 300 years, due to a dubious deal with a devil to avoid the prospect of a soul destroying marriage, we follow her anonymous path through life, but a path which in turn, touches many people in many ways. No one remembers her, until one day somebody does…

The writing is just sublime, and there are moments of descriptive observation that require re-reading and savouring for their sheer beauty and lyrical flow, which would not be out of place in some of the finest ‘literary’ fiction. As her existence intertwines with the devil who grants her deal at the beginning, there is a wonderful interplay of her relationship with him, and that of hers with Henry, the only person who remembers her, and as the story progresses Schwab toys with our emotions and empathy to the final denouement. I absolutely adored it and, although it will be different in style, am keen to get cracking on ADSOM soon…

I then made the decision to go down the romantasy path, as to this point I have only read the first two books in the Sarah J. Maas book series (still can’t get through book 3) and the very enjoyable  The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent- again recommended by a colleague. Vampiric hunger games? Not half…

So where to next?

Surely one of the most talked about books across social media, and a book guaranteed to divide opinion, yep, I read Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. I know this is a Marmite book, as my very unscientific straw poll on X revealed a 50/50 split on the like and dislike measure. So what did I make of ‘Top Gun with dragons’. Well, to be honest, not a lot. The book was way too dialogue heavy, the use of exposition was terrible, and I had to keep reminding myself that Violet was not in fact a petulant 14 year old girl, but a young woman, especially during the inevitable spicy scenes later in the book. Xaden was your usual stereotyped brooding sex god, who really started to annoy me with his brooding sex god-ness after a while.

I thought the world building was all a bit meh, and the book was only redeemed by the cool and snarky dragons themselves. Norbert and Gawain of Raven’s Coop (pictured right) are with me on this. Probably won’t be reading Iron Flame anytime soon, ever, ever, and note to self, always listen to that work colleague who tries to put you off reading something that is really not that good…

Next up two from Nisha J. Tuli, Trial Of The Sun Queen and Rule Of The Aurora King both of which were a lot more pleasing. Lor is released from her unlawful imprisonment by the Sun King to take part in a brutal Hunger Games style contest to become his queen. But there are sinister motives behind her release, and Lor finds herself wondering just who can she trust, and what do the murky events of her past bode for her future, as the rulers of the other kingdoms begin to take an interest in her…

Although there was a very likeable naivety to the writing, I felt very invested in the characters from the outset, especially Lor herself. There is a good mix of peril and obviously the whole enemies to lovers trope, which plays out over the books. Having read the first two I can assure you that the world building, so essential to books like this, is very assuredly done, (any book that uses the aurora borealis to such good effect has me on side) and surprisingly I find myself eagerly anticipating the next two books in the series, due before the end of the year.

I’m #TeamNadir if anyone needs to know…

In a similar vein I also read Fate Of Wrath and Flame, the first in a series by K. A. Tucker. This starts out in modern day New York following the exploits of thief-for-hire Romeria, employed by a notorious gangland boss to do his bidding. Right, so now you have to stay with me here folks, as Romeria then finds herself transported into a different realm of warring kingdoms as a treacherous elven princess, although she doesn’t immediately know about the whole elf thing. As ludicrous as this all sounds, trust me on this, this actually is an incredibly good read. Yes, I have already bought the next two in the series, as despite being the world’s biggest cynic, I loved the characterisation, the tension and the wee surprises that Tucker drops in along the way. I’ll report back when I get further into the series, but if the standard of Tucker’s setting, characterisation and plotting remains as good, I am in for the long haul…

Next up, I thought I’d go really lowbrow just for a laugh and read what turned out to be quite possibly the worst two books I have ever read in my life. Filthy Rich Vampire by Geneva Lee and Sinner  by Sierra Simone, and to be quite honest I feel shamed, and can’t quite look myself in the eye any more.

If badly written soft porn with negligible storytelling is your thing, fill your boots- ahem- and in the case of Sinner, I feel a pressing need to re-watch The Sound Of Music to assure myself that is what nuns really should be like…

After talking about my April off-grid reading, another colleague suggested I try the grown up fairytale genre to, so I ploughed right in. Picked up Stephanie Garber’s Once Upon A Broken Heart and to be honest I have never been more bored in my life. Billed as having romance, suspense, magic and adventure, it was just all way too twee, and I am now forced to use a word that I detest, whimsical, for my liking. Never been a big fan of the whole pink princess puffiness, so probably was never going to be my thing. On the plus side though, I don’t have to buy any more in the series, so every cloud…

Undeterred from my mission, although admittedly flagging a bit by this point,  I moved onto A Curse Of Blood and Wolves by Melissa McTernan- billed as a steamy re-telling of Red Riding Hood. It was all complete nonsense of course, but do you know what? I really enjoyed it. I liked the characters, the tormented loner werewolf, edgy Ruby and her weird savant sister, and the dark goings on in the woods at night. Insert ghostly wooh noises here. Now I am not an inexperienced woman of the world, but the spice in this one? It’s pretty damn spicy indeed. And the author looks like such a wholesome soccer mom. If you don’t take it all too seriously, this is just sit back and enjoy wolfish romp, but is it likely to have a happy ever after? Doubtful, with that cliff-hanger at the end I’m thinking…

So there we have it. My month of reading shamelessly, away from the crime, fiction and nature writing, that is my normal fare. I actually really enjoyed cutting loose a bit, and as work is such a complete nightmare at the moment, it was good to escape into these different fantasy worlds. I’ve come out the other side discovering three authors that I will definitely stick with, and one that I may catch up with a later point, so happy days.

Hope you’ve enjoyed my little reading flight of fancy.

Enjoyed any of these? Recommend me any more?  Drop me a comment below.