A Song of Ice and Fire Re-Read – A Game of Thrones

There are spoilers ahead for this book so proceed with caution!!

It starts with one of the best opening chapters I’ve ever read. You know you’re in for a chilling (pun intended) and brilliant ride. The prologue is set beyond the Wall, three men of the Night’s Watch are looking for signs of wildlings and instead find creatures that have been gone for thousands of years.

In ASOIAF the chapters are told from different points of view, we switch from person to person. It’s such a clever way of telling the story, especially one as complicated as this. Everyone gets more and more spread out across Westeros so it wouldn’t make sense to stay with one person. Although one character has many more chapters in this first book…Ned Stark.

I love how much of the history of Westeros we get in the book. All the religions and kingdoms fascinate me. But it doesn’t distract from the current events in the story. Westeros is a very dark and brutal place, with medieval values when it comes to women, people of colour and of course no one is allowed to be lgbt. The only place that seems chill is Dorne but we haven’t been properly introduced to them yet!

My favourite chapters are usually Tyrion’s, Jon’s or Catelyn’s. Although any mention of Cersei will have me on alert! It frustrates me that we don’t get to hear her thoughts until A Feast for Crows, the fourth book.

Character’s dreams play a big part in the books. “Everyone knows that dreams are prophetic.” – Sansa Stark. The Starks especially have really important dreams, Bran and Rickon both dream that their father is in the crypts after he was executed. Bran and Arya both have wolf dreams in which they become wolves and see the world through their eyes.

On a different note I cannot tell you how much I hate Robert Baratheon, he’s such a vile, self indulgent arsehole. The fact that Lyanna died obviously haunted Ned for years, because he’s her brother, but Robert thinks he had this weird claim to her. “You knew Lyanna’s beauty but not the iron underneath.” – Ned Stark. Robert went to war to ‘take her back’ and then when he won he painted Rhaegar Targaryen as a murderer. I am convinced as are many fans that Lyanna left of her own will because she loved Rhaegar as he loved her. Then Robert spends the next fifteen years treating Cersei like crap. I am genuinely surprised she didn’t have him killed a lot sooner, she really has the patience of a saint.

Ned being so honourable he risked all of his family’s lives…good job idiot. Seriously, what is wrong with you? Sure Joffrey is a sociopath, but with the right leaders beside him like Tywin Lannister (I also hate him but he is good at running the country) it would have been fine. It’s not like Stannis is any better, he’s practically a robot, no one likes him, why don’t we just avoid thousands of people dying in a war no one wanted. I could literally rant about Ned’s incompetence for hours.

It is terrifying how young some of the characters are. The show did at least one thing right in making Dany, Jon and Robb a lot older than they are in ASOIAF. They are all thirteen or fourteen at the beginning, Bran is only seven, Arya is nine and Sansa eleven. I completely forgot how young they were and it amazes me how they navigate the horrors to come at that age.

A confession: Despite Jaime and Cersei throwing Bran out of a window I somehow managed to forgive them. I blame their complicated characters and the phenomenal acting of Lena Headey and Nikolaj Coster Waldau. From what we see of them in this first book, I don’t think I would have warmed to them at all. The Lannister siblings are deeply troubled, thanks to the worst father in Westeros – Tywin. If I could go back in Westeros time and adopt all three as children I would! They’re also the sassiest characters by some way which wins them all bonus points.

Characters who break my heart the most: Jon, Tyrion & Dany

Most underrated: Sansa – she’s just a child and she adapts so quickly at the end of the book to ensure her survival, yes she trusted too easily but she learnt her lesson.

On my kill list: Littlefinger, Joffrey, Robert, Lysa, The Mountain & Tywin.

Let me protect them: Arya, Sansa, Bran, Dany, Jon, Robb, Tyrion, Cersei, Jaime, Catelyn and all of the smallfolk of Westeros.

Favourite quotes: “When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives.” – Ned Stark

“When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die, there is no middle ground.” – Cersei Lannister

“The heart lies and the head plays tricks with us, but the eyes see true.” – Syrio Forel

“For the first time in hundreds of years, the night came alive with the music of dragons.”

Favourite dynamic: Jon & Arya – they are so cute and they love each other so much! They think of each other all the way through their seperate journeys, they wonder what the other is doing and recall their childhood together. And Jon giving Arya her sword Needle was so important to her, it’s one of the few things she has left of Winterfell at the end of the book.

Favourite death: Robert Baratheon’s death is by far my favourite in the first book. I had a little chuckle because it was cleverly done, Robert was out hunting boar and his squire had been instructed to get him as drunk as possible. Then they let his arrogance and stupidity do the rest. Robert missed the boar and was speared in the stomach instead…shame (not).

I have started a Clash of Kings, it is one of my favourites, but it’s so sad! Seeing the war torn countryside through Arya’s eyes is so upsetting! But anyway let me know what you think of A Game of Thrones in the comments.

Top Ten Tuesday – Auto-Buy Authors

I do have a collection of authors that I have to read everything they’ve ever written!

1. George R.R. Martin

This man though….he’s honestly a genius. I’ve read all of A Song of Ice and Fire and the first part of Fire and Blood which is about the Targaryen kings and queens. I’ve got Nightflyers waiting on my bookshelf which is a completely different genre from ASOIAF. It’s set in space in the future and I’m really looking forward to reading it.

2. Kate Morton

All of her books are stand alone but they all have a similar style. Set in different times but centred around the same place, usually an old house. The characters are so well written and I always form a strong connection to them. I love Kate’s descriptions of the houses and the different time periods feel real. I’m reading the Clockmaker’s Daughter at the moment which goes from 1862-2017 and lots in between but every time we switch there’s a different feel to the chapter, I don’t know how she does it. I’m always eagerly awaiting her next book!

3. Kate Atkinson

I first discovered Kate Atkinson when I read When Will There Be Good News? which is part of her Jackson Brodie series, he’s a private detective but the books aren’t so much focused on the crimes in them, more about the characters and how they’re affected. I read the rest of the series and when Life After Life came out I was bowled over with the incredible writing and depth of this book, it’s so beautiful and covers the theory of parallel worlds but not in a super sci-fi way. I recently read Transcription which was again historical fiction and I loved it.

4. Nicci French

Nicci French is actually a husband and wife duo! Their books are crime/psychological thrillers and some of them are super scary. I can’t stand scary films but these are different they’re full of suspense. The Frieda Klein series is really good, Frieda is a psychologist who consults with the police and seems to attract trouble. I’ve still got two books left to read from that series and then I’m going to tackle all the ones I haven’t yet read.

5. Laura Andersen

I’ve read her first trilogy The Boleyn Trilogy which is written as if Anne Boleyn had given birth to a son, she survived Henry and her son and daughter are heirs to England. It’s great historical fiction with a twist, the new characters who are friends of the Prince and Princess are Minuette and Dominic all four of them are true friends and have to try and navigate court life together. I’ve started the second trilogy which is set twenty years after the first, I can’t wait to read the rest. I really like Andersen’s style and choice of genre!

6. Lucinda Riley

I am loving her series of The Seven Sisters, every book tells the story of one of the D’Apliese sisters on the journey to discover where they were born. They also flashback to characters in history of each place, so far we’ve discovered Brazil and Norway! I really enjoy reading about the sister’s dynamics, I only have two sisters but they still reminded me of us a little bit! I’m really excited to read the rest of the series.

7. Ian McEwan

I read Atonement for the first time years ago and fell in love with it, since then I’ve read Sweet Tooth which is set in England during the Cold War, Solar and The Children Act. I love how all his novels are completely different, I’ve got all of his older ones on my TBR list and the newest one about robots!

8. Katherine Webb

Webb’s style is similar to Kate Morton, based in the past with ties to the present. The Legacy was the first book I read by Katherine Webb and I was completely hooked. Her others look just as intriguing, The Unseen is next on my list, it’s set in the early 1900s in a small village in England, when two strangers show up and change the town forever.

9. Stephen Fry

I’ve been reading Stephen’s books about Greek Mythology, the way he ties them all together is so clever. Mythos was great, I used to love learning about the many Greek Gods and Goddesses at school but I had forgotten how funny they were. I’ve started Heroes and there’s a third book still to come!

10. J K Rowling

Although we haven’t had anything from Rowling for a while and despite the epic disappointment the was Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (which wasn’t written by Rowling), I would probably still read anything she writes. After Harry Potter we had the Casual Vacancy about a small town, it’s residents and their complicated relationships and biases, I really enjoyed the book, I might re-read it soon.

So there they are, who are your must buy authors?

Top Five Tuesday – Fantasy Books

A new Top Five Tuesday, the prompts are created by Bionic Book Worm. I love fantasy as a genre and here are my favourite five picks:

1. A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin

I don’t think anyone is surprised that this is the top of my list. I can barely go five minutes without talking about this series, it’s phenomenal. The world of Westeros and Essos that George has created is so real, it’s a cruel and brutal world with dragons, undead ice zombies and devastating wars. Wherever we go in this world the detail George describes is incredible, when we change to a different point of view you know where you are almost immediately.

2. The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett

This world that Terry Pratchett created is so brilliant, it’s quirky, random, it’s a flat disc with land and sea like ours on top. The disc rests on four elephants who in turn stand on the Great A’Tuin, a giant turtle who swims through space. Every single book in the series is funny and thought provoking. Death is probably my favourite character and I think my favourite book is either Hogswatch or Soul Music.

3. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

I read the Hobbit when I was about ten. I absolutely loved it, I’ve read it again since and it doesn’t get less magical. I think it’s the adventure side of it I really enjoyed and of course it sets the scene for the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

4. His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman

I’ve been re-reading this series and I hd forgotten how good it was. The original world in the first book is home of Lyra, everyone in her world has a daemon, a piece of their soul in the form of an animal, always with them but they’re able to converse and play together. Children’s daemons can change form until the grow up and stick to one thing. We then travel to different worlds, one like ours, one where shadows come and steal the grownups souls. It’s quite a dark series for children actually! In the third book there is a war approaching between God himself and Lord Asriel’s army of combined forces. It’s detailed, complex and fascinating.

5. Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb

I really enjoyed this series, it starts with a boy being abandoned by his family to the heir to the kingdom claiming he was his bastard son. Fitz grows up in the castle kept out of sight and eventually he is trained to be an assassin.

What are some of your favourite fantasy books?

Top Ten Tuesday – Books Published in the Last Ten Years

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday topic by thatartsyreadergirl is books published in the last ten years, I’ve decided to do one book for every year so here they are:

2008: The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

This is one of my favourite books ever so I’m glad it could make this list. It’s set in England and Australia from the early 20th century to the 1980s to 2000s. Cassandra’s grandmother Nell has recently passed away. Nell has left all of her property to Cassandra, including a cottage in rural England. Cassandra is confused, they live in Australia and as far as she knew Nell never had any interest in England or it’s countryside. She goes to investigate why her grandmother would have brought the rundown cottage. She follows in Nell’s footsteps. We also meet Eliza, a young poor child living in London with her brother, their parents are dead and they have to work all hours of the day to afford food and shelter.

2009: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Set in 1960s America, this book follows the stories of three black women and how they come together to fight the injustice they face everyday. As well as being moving and poignant, this book has a lot of humour in it. I really enjoyed reading it even though it made me incredibly angry to read about how black people were treated like they were nothing.

2010: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

The last book in the Hunger Games trilogy. We follow Katniss and her friends as they discover the underground Distirct 13 and take on the Capital one last time. It’s a gripping and intense book. I was sobbing by the end (I’m not good at saying goodbye to characters!)

2011: A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin

This book! I read it in two parts as it was published like that in paperback here. The fifth novel in A Song of Ice and Fire and it has the most different point of view characters in it which is great. In the start we’re with Danerys and Tyrion on their seperate journeys in the South of the world and then we head North and join Jon and his brothers of the Night Watch. In the second half of the book we rejoin our other characters in King’s Landing and all over Westeros. As always it’s filled with twists and turns and genius storytelling.

2012: The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

Another Kate Morton book! During a summer party at her family farm in the English countryside, sixteen-year-old Laurel Nicolson has escaped to her childhood tree house and is happily dreaming of the future. She spies a stranger coming up the long road to the farm and watches as her mother speaks to him. Before the afternoon is over, Laurel will witness a shocking crime. A crime that challenges everything she knows about her family and especially her mother, Dorothy her loving, nearly perfect mother. The book also flashes back through Dorothy’s story as we discover all the secrets she is holding.

2013: Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

This book is so incredible it’s kind of my dream book, it’s set in the 1920’s-40’s and it all about the possibilities of life and the decisions we make affecting our lives. We follow the Todd family, specifically Ursuala through their lives. It’s another one of my all time favourites. We follow Ursula down different paths and some of the possible lives she could have led during WWII. I can’t tell you how much I love this book and how beautiful it is.

2014: The One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

The One Plus One follows the story of Jess, her children Tanzie and Nicky and Ed, a stranger to them until they take a week long road trip to Scotland. Jess, Tanzie and Nicky are a lovely family but struggles with money and intimidating neighbors have taken their toll on them. Their journey is chaotic but brilliant. Ed only knows Jess because she cleans his holiday home which he had never used until that week. At first they barely speak but Jess’ endless optimism, positivity and her homemade sandwiches eventually breaks down Ed’s walls. Ed helps Nicky put down his bullies and grows to care for all of them. The characters are so well written, they’re likeable, real and so lovely you just want to protect them from all the rubbish thrown their way. The story flows so well, there wasn’t a moment when I was bored or distracted. A really lovely, heartwarming book. Not your usual romance story, it has much more depth than that which I really enjoyed.

2015: Children In Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

This book is so good. Humanity are branching out into the stars, a project has identified different planets to terraform and make suitable for human life. But it’s also an evolutionary experiment, they send down insects and animals and some of our primate ancestors. But there are people back on Earth who believe this is wrong, we are meant to live and die on Earth. They sabotage one of the spaceships. The captain sends the monkeys off towards the planet along with the evolutionary accelerator. Then she is trapped in a tiny escape pod, orbiting her planet, transmitting a distress signal. 100 years later survivors of Earth find the planet and attempt to make it their home, but something has gone wrong. There are no monkeys here, instead the world is covered in webs.

2016: The Power by Naomi Alderman

This book is AMAZING! Teenage girls now have immense physical power – they can cause agonising pain and even death. And, with this small twist of nature, the world changes utterly. They have the power to channel electricity through their hands. When I first came across the book I was all: “Hell yeah women have the power, woop!” But half way through the book we see that it doesn’t matter who has the power male or female, all humans are capable of horrendous things and we will always use power to destroy one another. It’s written from the points of view of different women around the world and one man. It’s a work of genius, I absolutely loved it.

2017: The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye by David Lagercrantz

I love the Millennium series, Lisbeth Salander is one of my favourite characters ever, she’s so complex and badass. This is the fifth book in the series and at the beginning we find Lisbeth in prison (only for a couple of months) but she’s using her time there to read up on a complicated maths problem. Until her old guardian Holger comes to see her and tells her about a visit he received from someone in Lisbeth’s past. Lisbeth and her sister Camilla were almost part of an experiment carried out on twins. Mikael and Lisbeth start looking into the experiment and uncovering the shady people behind it. Lisbeth is under threat, she’s on a high security ward which has been corrupted by an influential inmate. We also delve into the stories of a pair of identical twins whose lives were ruined by the scientists who ran the twins experiment. The book is gripping and mysterious as always with this series. The author constantly keeps us guessing. I still found myself thinking about the story and how it was going to pan out even when I wasn’t reading it. The story is all woven together so seamlessly, it’s fantastic writing.

2018: Fire and Blood by George R.R. Martin

This is part one of two about the history of the Targaryen dynasty in Westeros. Until recent events I’ve been fascinated by the Targaryens and I did really enjoy the book. It’s written like a history book (only more interesting), George R.R Martin is so clever. It starts with Aegon the Conqueror and his sisters Visenya and Rhaenys. These badass dragon riders turned the Seven Kindoms into one, they were fierce, clever and beautiful. I’m really jealous of their purple eyes! All the battles, betrayls, births and deaths are covered in this book. I really enjoyed it, especially the first half. I got quite upset when it came to the Targaryen civil war, the Dance of the Dragons, because so many of the dragons die, it breaks my heart.

What are some of your favourites from the past ten years?

Top Five Tuesday – Books I want to reread

A new Top Five Tuesday, the prompts are created by Bionic Book Worm. I love rereading books, whether it’s one of my favourites or just a story that I’ve forgotten the plot to! These are my next/top rereads:

1. A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin

ASOIAF has a lot to take in, every time I read them I connect something else in the story or see things from a different point of view. I could reread these books forever. Because of how they’re written, every chapter we’re with a different character in a different part of their mad world so it’s always interesting. I can’t get enough of this series so I’ll be rereading them forever!

2. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

This book is so incredible but I’ve only read it once so I can’t wait to enjoy it all over again. This is kind of my dream book, it’s set in the 1920’s-40’s and it all about the possibilities of life and the decisions we make affecting our lives.

3. Atonement by Ian McEwan

I haven’t read this book in so long and it’s one of my favourites. The film is also one of my favourites. I clearly have a thing about WWII Britain.

4. The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins

I haven’t read these books since the last film came out, it’s definitely time I reread them again. This is another series that I will always come back to because of the emotional connection I have to it and how brilliant it is!

5. His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman

I loved this series when I was younger and Pullman has written a book that’s set twenty years after the events in the last book, it’s out later this year. I am so excited and I thought I’d better read the series again just to remind myself of all the details! The series is aimed at children but it’s so complex and clever that I think any age would enjoy it.

Harry Potter should really be on the list as it’s another series that I will never not want to read but I only read them all last year so they’ll have to wait!

Top Ten Tuesday – Inspirational Book Quotes

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday topic by thatartsyreadergirl is inspirational quotes. I love quotes, so this was a really fun topic for me.

“Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.” – Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

“Life wasn’t about becoming, was it? It was about being.” – Ursula Todd, Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

“Laughter is poison to fear.” – Catelyn Stark, A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

“But you know, happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” – Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J K Rowling

“Old stories are like old friends, you have to visit them from time to time.” – Old Nan, A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

“But people themselves alter so much, that there is something new to be observed in them for ever.” – Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

“A story was a form of telepathy. By means of inking symbols onto a page, she was able to send thoughts and feelings from her mind to her reader’s. It was a magical process, so commonplace that no one stopped to wonder at it.” – Briony Tallis, Atonement by Ian McEwan

“It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live.” – Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Philospher’s Stone by J K Rowling

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, the man who never reads lives only one.” – Jojen Reed, A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin

“I wanted to tell the book thief many things, about beauty and brutality. But what could I tell her about those things that she didn’t already know? I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race-that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant.” – Death, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

What are some of your favourite inspirational quotes?

Top Five Tuesday – Books I Predict Will Be Five Stars

A new Top Five Tuesday, the promts are created by Bionic Book Worm. It takes a lot for me to rate a book five stars, I’m British, we’ve always got something to moan about, five stars has to be pretty much perfect. I want to be completely transported and involved with the story. Here are my predictions:

1. Transcription by Kate Atkinson

I love all of her books so I have a lot of confidence that this will be five stars. It’s set in Britain throughout WWII and onwards through the Cold War. I’m really excited to read it.

2. The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton

Again this author never fails to deliver, all of her books are incredible so I expect this one will be too!

3. The Winds of Winter by George R.R. Martin

Whenever it arrives I’m sure I will love this book as much as I have loved the rest of the series.

4. The Shadow Sister by Lucinda Riley

I’m loving this series so far and Star who’s story we follow in this book fascinates me. We don’t know a lot about her as she is often overshadowed by her slightly younger sister.

5. Making History by Stephen Fry

I found this book the other day, I was looking for alternative history books. This is about what would have happened if Hitler had never been born. Stephen is a complete genius so I can’t wait to see what happens!!

And that’s it, I’m pretty confident with the whole list. Have a good day!

Fire and Blood: A History Of Targaryen Kings Review

Ever since I started reading A Song of Ice and Fire I’ve been fascinated by the Targaryens and their dragons so this book was everything I needed!

It’s written like a history book (only more interesting), George R.R Martin is so clever. It starts with Aegon the Conqueror and his sisters Visenya and Rhaenys. These badass dragon riders turned the Seven Kindoms into one, they were fierce, clever and beautiful. I’m really jealous of their purple eyes!

All the battles, betrayls, births and deaths are covered in this book. I really enjoyed it, especially the first half. I got quite upset when it came to the Targaryen civil war, the Dance of the Dragons, because so many of the dragons die, it breaks my heart.

I hope the second book goes into detail about Robert’s Rebellion and the downfall of the Mad King because that would be so interesting. I am really excited for the second part of the series. Would like to read The Winds of Winter first though…please!!

Ten Most Recent Additions to My To-Read List

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday topic by thatartsyreadergirl is the most recent additions to my to-read list so here it goes!

1. Do You Dream of Terra-Two by Temi Oh

It’s set to be published in March and it’s about a group of astronauts who head out to find another habitable planet for humans. I don’t read enough sci-fi so this will be perfect for that. It may take me a while to get to it though, there are 132 books in front of it!!

2. Mythos by Stephen Fry

I got this book for Christmas so I will be reading it soon, I can’t wait, I love history and learning about it, it’s about Ancient Greek Deities. Stephen Fry is brilliant and a genius so anything by him is a must for me!

3. Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon

There are nine books so far in the series and I added them all to my list at the same time so I’ve put them all in one entry…it’s not cheating. I’ve been watching the tv show based on the books so I will of course have to read these at some point. The books are ahead of the show which makes a nice change *side-eyes George R.R. Martin*.

4. She Lies In Wait by Gytha Lodge

I love a good crime novel, trying to work out the clues along with the detective. This book is about a night in 1983 when a teenager went missing when out with her friends, thirty years later her body is found and the case is reopened. Jonah Sheens is assigned to the case, he has a personal connection to the victim and the suspects. It looks really good and I need a new detective series as I’m almost at the end of Nicci French’s series.

5. The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh

In the blurb it describes it as a ‘dystopic feminist revenge fantasy’ so of course it’s on my to-read list! It sounds really interesting, about three sisters who have grown up isolated on an island with their parents, they can’t leave and they’ve always been warned about the dangerous men out in the world. One day their father goes missing and sometime later three men wash up on the island. Psychologically this looks like such a great read. I’m excited about it.

6. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

I saw a few of my friends on Goodreads had read this and wrote raving reviews, it looks so interesting. Like a real life game of Cluedo, not sure I’d want to play though. Aiden Bishop has to solve Evelyn Hardcastle’s murder, until he does he will live that day over and over again, inhabiting a different witness each time.

7. The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton

Any book by Kate Morton will make it onto my to-read list, her books are incredible, moving and beautiful. Set in both 1862 and modern day London, Elodie, a young archivist, finds a satchel with a picture of a Victorian woman, somehow she seems familiar. I’m really looking forward to reading this and adding it to my Kate Morton collection.

8. Fire and Blood: A History Of Targaryen Kings by George R.R. Martin

Can’t wait to read this, I have my copy, but it’s huge so I can’t take it to work with me! I just need to finish Little Women and then I can read all about the Targaryens.

9. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

This book looks so good, the tv adaptation was a bit confusing and I got a bit bored so I’m hoping the book will be a lot more intriguing.

10. The Home for Unwanted Girls by Joanna Goodman

This book also came up on my Goodreads feed. It looks utterly heartbreaking, it follows the stories of Maggie who fell pregnant at fifteen and was forced to give her baby, Elodie away. Elodie grew up in an orphanage and suffered horribly. This book will definitely break my heart.

What are your most recent to-reads? Have you read any from my list? Let me know in the comments!

Top Ten Books on My Winter To-Read List – Top Ten Tuesday

This is my first Top Ten Tuesday (thatartsyreadergirl posts prompts every Tuesday for book lovers like myself) I’m not sure if I’ll be able to read all ten books on my list before the end of winter but we’ll see!

The Long Cosmos by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

It’s the last in The Long Earth series, it’s set almost sixty years after the first book. I have enjoyed this series, not quite as much as Terry Pratchett’s other work, but I love the idea of parallel worlds and I can’t wait to read Joshua’s final adventure.

2. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I got the gorgeous Penguins Classics hardcover copy for my birthday and it’s been ages since I last read Little Women so I’m looking forward to re-reading it next year.

3. Fire and Blood by George R.R. Martin

Although I’m slightly disappointed that we still haven’t got our hands on The Winds of Winter, I am still incredibly excited about this book. I’ve always been fascinated by the Targaryen’s and their dynasty and this is written as if it’s a history book, but it’s fiction. I can’t wait to read it. George is a complete genius so I know it will be wonderful.

4. The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye by David Lagercrantz

I read all four of the first books in the Millenium series this year and I am excited to read the next one! I adore Lisbeth and this story once again looks gripping and intense.

5. The Storm Sister by Lucinda Riley

I recently read The Seven Sisters which is the first in this series, which I really enjoyed (my full review is here). This book follows Ally on her quest to find out where she’s from. I’m looking forward to getting to know Ally better and seeing Norway through her eyes.

6. Shouldn’t You Be In School? by Lemony Snicket

I haven’t read any books by Lemony Snicket in ages and this book has been on my to-read list for a while, but it’s finally got to the top! I adore Lemony’s writing style, I can’t wait to dive back in to one of his books.

7. The Virgin’s Daughter by Laura Andersen

I love historical fiction and after reading Laura Andersen’s other series about the son Anne Boleyn never had, I was really excited to find out she had written a series about a secret daughter of Elizabeth I. This is my dream genre, the what if’s of history!

8. The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett

I realised I’ve missed out a lot of the early discworld novels and haven’t read as many as I thought so here we are with the Light Fantastic. Terry Pratchett is a genius and his books are magic so I’m very excited about this one.

9. Lost Among the Living by Simone St. James

Another historical fiction gem. Set in England in 1921 the story follows Jo Manders who lost her husband in the war. Jo ends up working for her husband’s wealthy aunt and stays at their family estate. Looking forward to this one.

10. Saturday Requiem by Nicci French

This is the sixth book in the Freida Klein series and like every book by Nicci French I expect it will be thrilling, clever and terrifying! Freida is such a brilliant character in the fifth book we saw her hit rock bottom, I’m looking forward to seeing how she is now.