A Year of Reading Brandon Sanderson. April:Tress of the Emerald Sea

A year of reading Brandon Sanderson!

April: Tress of the Emerald Sea

This month’s choice of Brandon Sanderson books, is one I have been waiting to read for a while, and that is his newest release Tress of the Emerald Sea! 

The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and make her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death?

I don’t know how to go about explaining the wonderful voyage I have been on with Tress, and the rest of the crew in this magical book.

I don’t know how to do this book justice, and I have no idea how I can explain how wonderful this is without giving away too many spoilers!

This Cosmere story is told to us by Hoid. Now I know from searching the internet, that Hoid is a fan favourite, and is one of those characters that keeps appearing in several of Brandon Sanderson’s books.  What I don’t know is how much we actually know about him, because unfortunately, I have only read one other book with him in, so far.  This book does give us a lot of information about him, though whether this is entirely new I have no idea-but I can firmly say I too, am now a fan of the famous Hoid-in fact all of the main characters in this book are well developed and interesting, from the smallest to the largest.  There are also some mythical creatures-which I really didn’t expect.  I would love to go on another voyage with this wonderful crew, though currently this book is a stand alone.

In a nutshell- Tress leaves the rock she lives on to go rescue the boy that she loves, and bring him back to their home.   This adventure involves boarding a boat, and hopefully finding passage to the place where He is being held captive-which is easier said than done, as it lies in the middle of perilous ‘waters’.  I feel if I say anymore than this I will ruin the wonderful story that lies awaiting, those brave enough to venture forth!

This book, as is always the case, is very well written. The language in this book is absolutely gorgeous.  When I reread this I definitely want to annotate, as there are some wonderful quotes within.

So from this review you have probably guessed the end score… I give this book a shining six stars out of five! LOL!  This has to be one of my favourite books of all time, I absolutely adored it, and of course it’s my favourite read of 2023 so far.  I will without doubt be re reading this over and over- the book has a lot to give, and I am sure on a second read through I would find other bits to pick out and appreciate.

*A Fantasy Tale

*Wonderful World Building

*Different Idea of a Magic System

*Mythical Creature Inside

*Magic

*Adventure on a Ship

If you’re in the reading mood for any of the above I highly recommend this book.

I have no idea which book I will pick up for my Brandon Sanderson Challenge next month, perhaps I will read The Way of the Kings-it’s definitely calling to be read!

Thanks as always for reading, and stopping by my little corner of the web, until next time…..

Manga Recs!

Manga Recs!

I haven’t been reading manga all that long.I’ve been busy hiding under a rock-playing Pokemon if the truth be told!

My daughter started reading it several years ago, and started with a series called Naruto, but I really wasn’t all that interested.

Then along came Bookstagram and Booktube!  Not only were bookworms enjoying reading any book they fancied-but this also included manga…and I came to discover there is so much variety to be enjoyed.

One of the first I read (and not yet completed) is Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya-this series came highly recommended, not only by the bookish community, but also my daughter-and let me explain now my daughter’s taste in  books is second to none-she is incredibly analytical and scrutinises everything she reads within an inch of its paper filled life-if she tells me something is ⅘ stars I want to read it!  We don’t always agree, but more often than not I end up having had a wonderful adventure. Fruits Basket is no different-the volumes that I have read have been charming, and the idea that the family members represent signs of the chinese zodiac is a clever concept.

Despite the fact that I have so far enjoyed, the handful of volumes I have read of Fruits Basket-I decided that it would be far better (or at least that’s what I thought!) to find some manga which was contained in one large volume, so I wouldn’t have to read reams and reams of volumes to find out the ending!  SO began the search! 

I came up with one such book called I want to Eat your Pancreas by Yoru Sumino.  Not only did the title have me incredibly intrigued, but it had a very appealing synopsis.  I thoroughly enjoyed this, and this story has stayed with me since the day I read, and finished it.  I think the message within is an incredibly important one. BUT I have to say, perhaps I shouldn’t have been so quick to think shorter manga’s, complete in one edition, were going to suit me better! By only thinking this was the way to go, I discovered I was limiting my reading of manga incredibly.!

I have now moved on, and corrected the error of my ways!

Last year I started collecting Spy X Family, I am so far up to date with this series, and it’s incredible-not only that, I recommended this series to my daughter, and she loves it equally! Spy Family follows the Forger family, which consists of Lloyd (spy), Yor (assassin)  Anya (Telepath) and Bond the dog-who can see into the future.  They don’t know each other’s secrets-but nevertheless, they always seem to be able to help each other with Lloyds secret mission!  It really makes for a fun read.

The last series I would love to recommend, is the reason why
I started to write this post-my actual fixation at this moment in time, I can’t seem to get enough of it! I am currently reading this manga-and following closely behind with the anime, and that is Attack on Titan!  I am loving this manga so much, it’s incredibly immersive, the characters are fantastic, and the battle scenes create a lot of ooohhhing and ahhhhhing!!! LOL!   If you haven’t already given this manga a try I would definitely look it up-I managed to read the first volume for free on my kindle-this offer may still be available to prime members, or kindle unlimited.

There are so many manga books out there, I really have only scratched the surface,  and I believe there is something for everyone to enjoy.  If you haven’t already given it a try, why not look into it today!

Enjoy whatever books you love to read, and until I blog again, keep reading.