Update: October & November

Finally, some time to do another Update post! I have now officially moved to the UK, at least, for the next 9 months. After that I’m packing up again and moving to Australia for 2 years. My life has never been this crazy before, but I’m loving all the excitement and all the amazing opportunities I’m getting here. Reading has been going a bit slow because of that. I’ve started listening to audiobooks on the bus or while I’m doing routine work, so I don’t have to miss it too much.

Read and Currently Reading

Read:

‘Divergent’, ‘Insurgent’ and ‘Allegiant’ by Veronica Roth: I finally watched the Divergent and Insurgent movies and it made me really curious to find out what the books are like. I bought the trilogy and read them back to back in just a week. The Divergent movie was in my opinion pretty similar to the book and I quite enjoyed it. Insurgent however had a totally different atmosphere than the movie. I liked the movie, but I really liked the book more. It’s even darker, more hopeless and less spectacular. It felt more real. I knew the ending of Allegiant was something that brought about a lot of discussion when it first came out, so I was kind of prepared for what was coming. For me, Allegiant wasn’t as strong as the two previous books, but the ending was bold and probably unexpected for people who haven’t read the reviews.

‘Hidden Huntress’ by Danielle L. Jensen: I received a copy of Hidden Huntress from the publisher and though I liked Stolen Songbird, I somehow wasn’t that enthusiastic to continue the series. The story was good, the writing was compelling but it didn’t leave a very deep impression with me. Setting my feelings aside I started Hidden Huntress and was again swept away by Jensen’s writing. She sure knows how to keep you hooked. It was a good, captivating book, but I think me and Cécile (the main character) just don’t get along. A full review will go up on the blog soon.

‘The Flood Dragon’s Sacrifice’ by Sarah Ash: I’m a big fan of Sarah Ash’s work. I absolutely adored The Tears of Artamon and was excited about her new work. The Flood Dragon’s Sacrifice is a great story against an interesting backdrop and woven around fascinating mythology. However, it didn’t resonate as much with me as The Tears of Artamon did. I felt as if something was missing. You can read my full review by following the link that I added at the bottom of this post.

‘The House of Shattered Wings’ by Aliette de Bodard: What an amazing book. Seriously, I’ve been struggling to write a review for this one for weeks. I can’t put to words what makes it so good and why you should all read it. I’ll get there in the end, so keep an eye out for the review.

Currently reading:

‘The Vagrant’ by Peter Newman: A book about a mysterious guy, a goat and a baby in a dystopian world? Yes, please! Another fun fact: the main character doesn’t speak a word throughout the entire book. Interesting!

‘Any Other Name’ by Emma Newman: After enjoying Between Two Thorns so much, I couldn’t wait to start Any Other Name.

‘TimeBomb’ by Scott K. Andrews: A book I picked up at FantasyCon this year, but has been on my radar for a while now. I’m halfway through and it’s a really good book so far.

Audiobook:

‘The Maze Runner’ by James Dashner: A first for me and it took some getting used to, but I’m enjoying the experience so far. I wanted to start with a story I already knew and because I enjoyed the movie (and because it was on sale in Audible) I chose ‘The Maze Runner’.