2019 | New Year, New Challenge

Last year, I challenged myself to slot 200 new books onto my Goodreads "read" shelves. December was a full-blown book binge in order to complete the challenge. As a result, I've spent the majority of this January nursing myself through a serious reading hangover by meandering my way through favorite re-reads, letting my imagination relax into the worlds of storytellers familiar and trusted.

This weekend I finally dove back in, already 11 books behind on my 200 for this year. But I have faith in my to-read booklist to get me back on track.

The Weekend's Reads

 City of Lies ~ Sam Hawke

I struggled at first to fully immerse myself in this world, but once I did, it was Kalina who drew me into it. Jovan and Kalina are a brother and sister who are tasked (one explicitly, the other implicitly) with the safety of the Chancellor-to-be of their city. When the Chancellor is lost to an unknown poison, they AND the new Chancellor are pushed suddenly into adult roles that they were unprepared for. 

I was impressed with how Sam Hawke handled the transition for her main characters, their growth throughout the book felt believable, felt real, and I found myself getting far more deeply attached than I thought I possibly could be. If you read this book - and I recommend you do - keep an eye out for the scene where two very inexpert young men have to defend themselves against a seasoned swordmaster - and are NOT suddenly revealed to have so-far-unmentioned savant-level skill.

Read if: You like epic fantasy. You enjoy characters who don't magically lose all their real-human impediments. You're looking for characters who aren't obvious heroes and heroines - but are doing their darn best.

Notable For: Character who could be read as having chronic illness. Character with OCD.

Girls of Paper and Fire ~ Natasha Ngan

I don't know how to write about this book without giving too much away - so I'll just say that I enjoyed it, and am looking forward to seeing where this story will go next! 

Read if: You are looking for young adult romance that isn't a love triangle. You enjoy strong, unconventional female leads. You're looking for non-western-inspired mythology.

LGBTQIA characters: Yes

Possible Trigger Warnings: Violence, Rape

The Poppy War ~ R. F. Kuang

I loved this book. I'm vaguely uncomfortable about how much I loved this book. 

Rin is vicious and logical and single-minded and occasionally hilarious in a way that I rarely expect young female characters to be allowed to be in fiction - and she STAYS that way through-out the book.

Read If: 

You like your main characters focused, unapologetic, honest to a fault - even with themselves, and only vaguely aware of the concept of romance. You struggled to understand, even as a child, the decisions that your peer protagonists made in books because they MADE NO SENSE.

Possible Trigger Warnings: 

Plenty of violence. War and war-related atrocities. Rape (one scene, skippable if you know it's coming, it made me uncomfortable - as it well SHOULD.)