A Year of Reading Brandon Sanderson! March: Skyward

A year of Brandon Sanderson!

March: Skyward

Where in the world is this year going!  It’s nearing the end of March, and it’s time again to talk to you about my next Brandon Sanderson book for my ‘Year of reading Brandon Sanderson Challenge!’

This month I  made a start on the Skyward Series.  The series opens with the book Skyward.  Sci-Fi is a genre I don’t read a lot of, but when I do I really enjoy it-so I really should read more (especially as I love a great sci-fi film!)  If anyone has any recommendations please do add them in the comments below, I would love to look into this!  Anyway, returning to Skyward.  This book follows our main character Spensa, who’s dream is to become a pilot-and although that is all she can dream about, she is not well liked because her dad was also a pilot, and he became labelled a killer and deserter.  These books are part of the Cytoverse, where as The Mistborne Trilogy and Stormlight Archive are set within the Cosmere universe.

There is a vast list of characters in this book that will steal your heart.  The world building is, as always, fantastic, and again I have found another series I wish to follow.  I laughed, I cried, I said ‘oh no’ out loud a lot!  We spend a lot of time engaged in battles in the sky, and riding around in star ships-as you can tell it’s a lot of fun, and before I knew it I was flying through this book (no pun intended!).

This series has another two books to follow, and also a book which consists of three smaller stories which are co written with Janci Patterson.  On further research I have also discovered another novella called Defending Elysium, which as far as I can tell is only available as an e-book download.  I would like to think I could read the second book, in this series, also this year.

Next month, as long as it arrives on time, I am looking forward to reading Brandon Sanderson’s new book ‘Tress of the Emerald Sea’.  I am of course very excited to read this, as so far I have loved each and every book I have read in this challenge, and I think come the end of the year, I am going to find it very hard to decide which is my favourite! 

Thanks for stopping by, and until
I blog again, keep reading.

Meeting Samantha Shannon!

Meeting Samantha Shannon!

I came home yesterday completely buzzing!  Not only had I met Samantha Shannon, author of the Bone Season, Priory of the Orange Tree, and her newest release A Day of Fallen Night, I had spent the past two and half hours surrounded by fellow fantasy lovers!!  We talked books, gaming, dragons and Lord of the Rings!  It was such a surreal experience!  

It was a wet Saturday afternoon when I arrived-early-at the venue.  I grabbed a cup of tea, and settled down on a long sofa, to discover there were others waiting early, like me, to be able to go and claim our seats to this wonderful event.  I started fangirling on entry, not only had we been given a pin bag, but the opening music to Fellowship of the Rings was playing, which I thought was a wonderful touch, my back was covered in goose pimples!  I adore Lord of the Rings!

I followed this little group I had attached myself to, and we chose middle seats in the front row!  Soon after, another young person, and her Mum sat on the other side, and we soon got chatting- all things dragons, gaming,and books.  It was such a wonderful opportunity to connect with others that have similar interests.

After sitting and waiting, what seemed only a few minutes (half an hour to be precise) Samantha Shannon, and Lucy Holland-author of Sistersong, appeared on stage.  Excitement, expectation and applause greeted the air!  Everyone was so grateful, from our little town, to be hearing all about the wonderful world Samantha had created in the two books The Priory of the Orange Tree and A Day of Fallen Night.

For the next forty minutes I was mesmerised to hear the origins of Priory… and the ways in which Samantha Shannon had developed her characters.  I always think it’s especially wonderful, when you attend these events, that the authors are able to talk about their books without giving anything away, how they keep this spoiler free is a mystery to me!  Even those individuals new the Priory would be returning home and knowing nothing of what occurred in the book, though hopefully with a temptation like warm bread to start reading it!

To finish the event, of course there was a book signing!  With people I don’t know I am generally a very shy person, though I do try to chat, as I did on this day, but I am very aware of what every limb is doing, dropping everything with nerves, and as can be seen in the photo below I get very embarrassed and red!  It took every bit of courage to ask if I could have a photo with Samantha Shannon, but I did! I explained that I had my very own blog, and would be telling the world about this wonderful event.  Normally I would have so wanted to do this, but walked away.  Although I do look incredibly red, I still want to share this with you all.

It was a wonderful experience to attend this event, I would encourage anyone to go if you have the opportunity-book events really are a lot of fun, I know I will think upon this day with a lot of fondness, especially whilst reading the book.

If you haven’t already read Priory of the Orange Tree, I would highly encourage it, especially if you are into fantasy reads and/or dragons.  Don’t be intimidated by the size…. I was-up until that date it was the biggest book I had read, and for some reason I felt that it would be beyond my level of understanding, but it was so not the case.  You soon get transported into such a wonderful world that you don’t want to leave!  It has given me such an appreciation of larger books, and I have read more and more of them, the author has so much more time to describe what is going on, you as a reader just get so much more.

This has been my longest blog post since starting my adventure with blogging, but I wanted to write and remember this always, and if it brings joy to just one reader I would be delighted!

As always-keep reading and enjoying the wonderful world of books, because it really is a world of opportunity they bring.

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

Pages:416

Published: 30/08/22 (HB)

Publisher: Hodder & Stroughton

Genre: Gothic Fiction, Crime/Mystery Fiction

Death waits for no one . . . except for her.

Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa has been raised by a string of guardians, each more interested in her wealth than her wellbeing – and each has met an untimely end. Her remaining relatives are the elusive Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at Thorn Grove, an estate both glittering and gloomy.

Its patriarch mourns his late wife through wild parties, while his son grapples for control of the family’s waning reputation and his daughter suffers from a mysterious illness. But when their mother’s restless spirit appears claiming she was poisoned, Signa realises that the family she depends on could be in grave danger, and enlists the help of a surly stable boy to hunt down the killer.

Signa’s best chance of uncovering the murderer, though, is an alliance with Death himself, a fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side. Though he’s made her life a living hell, Death shows Signa that their growing connection may be more powerful – and more irresistible – than she ever dared imagine.

 This is a book that I have picked up, put down, picked up, put down, read the back of, and all those wonderful things us bookworms do when we are contemplating adding yet another book to our ever growing tbr!  My only wish is now that I picked this book up sooner! It wasn’t until I was looking on goodreads one day, that it dawned on me that this book was getting a lot of wonderful reviews!  I’ll be honest this is what swayed me in the end, and the minute this arrived it didn’t make it to the tbr pile, it went straight in beside my bed ready to be the next book read!  

Belladonna did not disappoint!  It was a sensational read!   Although it isn’t part of my favourite genre, it had so many things I love in a book!  Dark creatures, ghosts, a gothic eerie feel, and magical characters! The characters were well established, and I was easily whisked away to their world, a world full of secrets, and unlocked doors. 

The main character, Signa is very likeable and I love the relationships she has with others in this book, and the way she behaves- is influenced by the way she was bought up, and the life she has had to lead. The author explains this very well throughout the book.

I would highly recommend this book, to anyone who likes magical ‘beings’, ghosts and eerie vibes, including balls and beautiful gowns!! There is also a little romance in this book, which I think adds to the story as well!  I am also pleased to say there is a second book called Foxglove coming out in August, which of course I am very excited for!  

Five stars, and quite possibly one of my favourite reads of 2023 so far!

Thanks for stopping by, and until I blog again, keep reading!