mybookishthrills

One thing about the bookish community is that we all read differently...Some of us enjoy reading contemporary after contemporary, and others can't imagine reading something other than fantasy series...And some of us ~~(like myself)~~ are somewhere in-between the two, where our obsessive fantasy-reading has to be interrupted by a fluffy contemporary in order to keep our sanity and not go flying off into Cosmos to fight unwordly monsters and dragons..yup.

Regardless on where on the scale you fall, you probably have reservations about your reading habits, and wish you could read a little bit of everything. But let me guess....you're intimidates as hell and don't know where to start...right?!

Well today's post is going out to all my contemporary, and non-fantasy readers. Today I am compiling a post/list (i'm obsessed with lists i know don't judge me too much) for all of you who are intimidates as hell about the thought of committing to a hefty fantasy series with a million characters and a whole new world.

The recommendations on this post include books that got me into fantasy, ones that I think weren't too intimidating, and ones that I just generally think everyone should read hehe...

"The Mistborn" series by Brandon Sanderson

I don't know if this is the most appropriate one to start with intimidation wise, but nevertheless, I'm going to start with it because this is the series that made me genuinely love and admire fantasy, and one that has stayed ingrained in my mind and my heart for months.

This series has the coolest magic system ever! 'Mistings' are persons who have one particular ability when they ingest one specific metal, and 'Mistborns' are the ones who have ALL the powers by ingesting all the known metals that bring forth the powers.

The series has 3 books with original cast of characters who face challenge after challenge, and the poor babies never get a minute to breathe before they're being attacked again. The series then continues in a few more books, hundred of years later after the main events of the series.

The magic system and the epicness of it will have you reading like a madman alone, and I haven't even started on the amazing, realistic characters, and even more beautiful relationships between them...the freaking romance that was one-of-a-kind. And the ACTION, the POLITICS, the STABBING...Oh my lord...this book just has it all and everyone needs to read it right now!!

It gives me so much joy just to rant about these books in a post, it's unbelievable!

"The Chaos Walking" by Patrick Ness

This might be a more reasonable place to start...Although I can't say that I loved this series as I did the above, it had something unique about it, and every now and then I still remember of it.

This one doesn't have so much of a magic system, but rather abilities acquired by mutation. It follows a boy who was born in a plantation on a planet which humans harvested years ago...the only rarity of this world that our character lives in, is that it makes every male thought audible to all, and females are scarce.

Also there's a corruption among the men, a horrible secret, and 'alien' natives who were suppressed by these humans, but that are now coming back in forces to fight for their lands.

If that isn't appealing enough for your contemporary-lovers' interest, there's a cute, young boy as our main character who goes on a wild, fast-paced run to survive and to save the planet, accompanied by a human girl who has literally just landed on this strange new planet. Basically, they're both clueless about different aspects, and it's adorable to watch them both develop and grow through the 3 books...It kind of gives me feels just to think how much they fought to save each other, wow...

"Six Of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo

I'm sure everyone and their mothers have heard of this duology, no matter how much you turn away at the mention of fantasy... This one is also one that I adored and worshiped!

It has just one of the best cast of characters, that is literally diverse in almost every aspect...sexuality, race, shape, disability, mental illness...you literally freaking name it, and it'll be in here! This group of thieves, spies, soldiers and fighters go on a seemingly impossible mission to the world's most secure compound, with the goal of breaking-out the most wanted prisoner in the world.

It's set in a fantasy world of 'Grisha' which the author previously establishes in a trilogy. However, I attempted this trilogy and did not enjoy it...the author's writing is a lot more grown up and appreciable in this duolgy than her previous trilogy...

Obviously, you do not need to have read this trilogy to enjoy 'Six Of Crows'...but as the author herself said, if you want to give it a go - 'Some references in the duology won't fly over your head if you do'.

You might want to leave this one for after your first encounter with fantasy though, as I do believe that it does have some tricky fantasy-based-ideas that might just fly over your head if it's your first go at fantasy.

"Court of Thorns and Roses" by Sarah. J. Maas

This might be your safest bet at enjoying fantasy, if I'm being honest! This is technically a 'Beauty and The Beast' retelling, but boy does it take it's own wings somewhere along the way. This might aid you with the story, as you will probably know the basic of it, and be able to focus on the fantasy bits, and really enjoy it for what it is.

This is one I enjoy mostly for the fairy-tale retelling aspect, I won't lie. I adore analyzing the twists and turns that it takes away from the original story, but I'm also quite in love, and quite deeply invested with the characters of this series..

The series is about a world where courts and kingdoms are at rivalry, and our main protagonist finds herself quite torn between a few of them ~~*cough* and their lords hehe*cough*~~. It's simply entertaining, and fun to experience!

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That concludes my list of fantasy recommendations. I hope I have given you some inspiration and direction if you're someone seeking for that when it comes to fantasy. I hope that you will be picking these up soon, and hopefully enjoying them too! Get obsessed with fantasy, it's a whole new world in reading once you do! ~~(literally hahahaha)~~

Tell me in the comments below if you've maybe already read one of these, and if not, which one caught your eye most? Isn't it obvious which one I love the most...hahaha. Tell me which other fantasy series you're hoping to read? Talk to me about the beauties I rave about above!

All the love,

Samanta. x

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At the start of the new year, I set myself a brand new Goodreads' reading goal for the year. Last year I tackled my 40 books goal, which might not seem like much for most people, but for me, as a really picky reader, this was a lot. For whatever reason though, I felt like I could up my own game in 2017, and I set my goal at 50 books.

As nervous as I secretly am, I am happy to report that I read 5 books in January, and am currently 2 books ahead of schedule...Only 45 books, and 11 months to go...*nervous chuckling*.

Anyways...After a pretty decent month of reading, here I am, happy to be bringing you my January wrap up!

1. "Crooked Kingdoms" by Leigh Bardugo

RATING: ★★★★★/5/5

My last read of 2016 was 'Six Of Crows', which I had been meaning to read for literal ages. I finally did, and holy mother of God...it was so good!

Whether you've read this book or not, all I'm going to say is Jesper and Wylan are my babies, and also Kaz Brekker is my son, and no one better touch my thieving and bomb-making little sons, or they'll have me and my cap locks to deal with!

This duology was honestly so entertaining! Once you start, there is literally no going back, because you get so invested with these characters you just have to see them through every fight and battle.

It was so good, and I adored how this duology wrapped up. ~~Although I'm secretly hoping for a continuation or a spin-off hehehe.~~

2."The Art of Crash Landing" by Melissa DeCarlo

RATING: ★★★☆☆/3/5

This one I randomly picked up from the library shelf when the title caught my eye. Like honestly...that's one hell of a title. And it fit the story perfectly too! This book is about a young-woman who's life is in turmoil and she travels to her mother's hometown in an impulse and out of desperation. She ends up finding more than she anticipated in this town, including answers to questions that had kept her restless in her own skin.

I liked this story well enough. It was relaxing and calming after reading a few fast-action fantasy books. I think I picked this book up at exactly the right time, and it really helped my enjoyment of it.

The main character was really relatable and the plot was interesting enough that it kept me reading, but it wasn't mind-blowing or heart-breaking the way a five star read would be for me.

3. "The Diabolic" by S.J. Kincaid

RATING: ★★★★☆/4/5

I had my doubts going into this one, just because the concept sounded like it could really easily run into a cliche, so I was quite apprehensive. However, I read it, and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

It was a cool, YA science-fiction/fantasy, and had some pretty cool scenes and images.

I liked the concept of the universe in which this story is set in, and mostly, I was really warmed by the underlying message of marginalization that I found in this book.

You can find my full thoughts, and a thorough review here.

4. "The Unseen World" by Liz Moore

RATING: ★★★★★/5/5

This was my second 5-star read of the year, and it came somewhat as a surprise. I picked this book up knowing only very vague details about the plot. Therefore, I didn't really have many expectations at all, which I feel was the reason why I had such an amazing experience with this book.

This also entailed some important aspects of LGBT+, and the community's experience in 1980s.

It was really engrossing, it pulled me in and didn't let me go till the last page. It broke my heart and put it back together, all while making me feel nostalgic as hell. Overall, it was lovely and I recommend this book to absolutely everyone!

You can find my full thoughts, and a thorough review here.

5."The Smell Of Other People's Houses" by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock

RATING: ★★★★☆/4/5

This is another one with great characters who pulled me and had me by my heart strings throughout the whole book.

I adored the simplicity of this book, and the story that it told. Although it had a slow beginning, in my opinion, it eventually hit the ground running and didn't stop until it wrapped up in a really satisfying and gratifying way. It was so heartwarming and honest, I loved it!

I would recommend this book to everyone, especially if you're someone who has a few hours to sit down and read it all in one go...I think maybe this book would be enjoyed the most in such manner as it is well-paced and quite short.

You can find my full thoughts, and a thorough review here.

That wraps up the list of books that I read in the month of January, 2017.

Tell me in the comment below what you've been reading this year, and which of the above books caught your eye, or you've fallen in love with previously?

Let me know in the comments bellow. All comments are massively appeciated!

All the love,

Samanta.