*First time posting… What books have you enjoyed the most in your reading journey?
For all those who don't have the time or will to read through my extensive rambling below, I am essentially looking for book recommendations as a relative newbie to the genre, overwhelmed by the many, many, many already existing, often contradictory, suggestions and reviews across the internet.
I am not a big fan of overt spice (couldn't finish ACOSF), I enjoy a well-constructed story (absolutely loved Throne of Glass), with good worldbuilding and characters (Green Bone Saga is a favorite), I despise weakly written and depressively incompetent characters (Violet Sorrengail, the queen eternal of frailness and tragedy) and I loathe badly written romance (Alina and Mal/Violet and Xaden). I like reading about protagonists who aren't intensely self-conscious and instead brace their powers and recognise their strengths. I like romance that doesn't spurt out of nothing, it doesn't necessarily have to be a slow-burn but it should at least make sense. I like gripping stories. I like good villains. There are so many books that seemingly fit the nook inside the genre I am searching through, but every further investigating leads to reviews contradicting the initial values that drew me in. I'm at a loss! Hence the post…*
I was coaxed into picking up my first book since high school in September last year. It was A Court of Thorns and Roses, naturally. Then my story took the same trajectory that seems to be most prevalent among like-minded people online…
Possible indirect spoilers ahead.
I enjoyed A Court of Thorns and Roses. It was an incredibly fun read that I enjoyed at the time, but could acknowledge all its many flaws and faults upon reflection. Hated the ending of the third book, where I learned that I don't like the resurrection trope. Very, very similar sentiments regarding Shadow & Bone series, my latest read. Enjoyed the journey, the potential of a great story, then hated the ending. As previously mentioned, I found ACOTAR to have a touch more spice than I would prefer. Not in a prudish way, but as so many before me, I simply prefer the tension and unspoken things. Controversially, I don't wish to know precisely what Lorcan did.
As you may now suppose, Throne of Glass was next on my reading list. I devoured the entire series and it still remains cemented as my favorite of all the books I've read. Perhaps for sentimental reasons more than anything, as Maas appears to very effectively convince you to deeply care about her characters. However, I liked the trope where the hero loses power in the end about as much as I like kidney stones.
I then tried to commence my reading journey through Fourth Wing. With a mere hundred pages left to the end, I simply could not endure any more of Violet Sorrengail. I hit a reading slump for months after that. I found it to be a painful waste of what could've potentially been an interesting story, if we were not stuck inside the perspective of an inarticulate, sexually starved teenager. I understand YA, but with so much hype and excitement surrounding the series, I genuinely expected a story worth reading. For me, it wasn't. A weak romance that Violet seemingly manifested into reality through sexual hormones, which seems to be the only tangible plot throughout most of the first book; secondary characters you can't bring yourself to care about because all Violet ever really thinks about is her frail self or Xaden; the very contemporary, very Internet way of communication between characters; none of it clicked for me. Except the dragons, the dragons were really cool.
Caraval was next. Finished the first book, but didn't care to continue the series. There's really not much I could say here, as I scarcely remember what happened in this book. It bored me to tears, that much I know. I couldn't bring myself to care about what happened to these characters, so none of what happened really hit me. The idea of it was intriguing, but this was now the second time in a row that the many online recs I've written down have failed me.
Then I discovered The Green Bone Saga, which was just. so. good. Oh, how I enjoyed following the Kaul family through generations of trials and tribulations. This was a different setting from what I thought I was looking for, but it turns out that I didn't need dragons and unicorns or magical provinces to enjoy a beautifully constructed story. Jade and violence were enough. Beautifully complex characters throughout the story. One of the things I enjoyed most about the books was the complexity of the villain, where they had enough substance to them that you couldn't help but respect her for who she was. Excellent trilogy.
*Side note: Fuck Bero. He was my villain.
Similar sentiments towards my next read, The Poppy War. Villains were many, but I found Rin to be an immensely difficult, arrogant and borderline villainous protagonist whom I struggled to grasp. I adored it! A gut-wrenching story, so full of pain, trauma and suffering that enjoyment seems like a wrong word to describe it. But it was an experience.
Rachel Gillig's Shepherd King duology was like a picture-perfect romantasy for me. Although the romance could be a bit on the nose at parts, Gillig's way of writing was so charmingly beautiful that I found myself immediately captivated by the story. A very interesting premise that fleshed out wonderfully. The girl, the king and the monster they became. I may have shed a tear in the end.
And that's it from my journey. I'm not entirely sure as to why I felt the need to review all my reads for you. I would love to discuss any of these titles with anyone who may care, but more than anything I'd love to hear from people who liked the same books I have liked – what else did you love? What else made you feel the range of emotions, from giddiness over romantically charged banter to pure sadness over losses and characters' pain? I'm curious. I need more books for my TBR list.
I am currently about to continue with the Grishaverse. Other than that, I've got Shadow of the Gods, Red Rising, Once Upon a Broken Heart and The Daevabad Trilogy to start with.
If anyone has made it to the end, I apologise for the long post! I got carried away.
by cambynes