September 2013 Reading List

I've felt really bad this month, aware that I'm writing some of these blog posts and then promoting them on Twitter while I have hardly had time to write anything else on Twitter. But these are the trials of building a new business. I'm sure my friends still remember me.... vaguely.

Paper Towns.

3/5 - Disappointing, especially after being floored by The Fault in Our Stars.
After reading (and being a little bit traumatised by) The Fault in Our Stars, I decided almost immediately that I would be reading more from this author. I had a dream that I got to tell him exactly how much his writing had moved me. This is how much I think about this guy's writing. This title goes straight into the book trolley.

The Emperor-Mage.

4/5 - Different to how I remembered, but only a little. Still loads of fun.
I find it really odd re-reading titles in this blog. I think it's because I already know the book is good. That's why I'm re-reading it. But it also means I don't get to write a first impression here, and most of this blog is about initial impressions. Still, I read the book before this last month, and it made me want to grab for the next one. Nostalgia reads for the win.

Magic Bites.

3/5 - An interesting beginning. Will decide if I'm in after the next book in the series, I think.
People have been telling me I need to read this book for about a year and then I suddenly found it in an op shop for like $1. Paranormal fiction with shape shifters running around the place. Score! Another one for the book trolley.

The Iron Wyrm Affair.

DNF - There's one in every month.
I was going to read Clockwork Princess this month as my token Steampunk read, but then I finished all my titles early and couldn't resist pulling it off the shelf early. (AND IT WAS AMAZING!!) So I guess this read from new-to-me author Lilith Saintcrow will have to do ;) Also, would you look at this cover art? Isn't it just completely amazing!

One Day.

4/5 - Very different story telling style, not how I imagined it, but good. 
I've read the beginning of this book before and had to put it down because at the time I was working in a book shop, not supposed to be reading in a bookshop. But it had an intriguing enough start to stay in my mind for the last couple of years, so I'm happy for the opportunity to pick it up again. Also, now there's a movie, which also looks to be right down my alley!

Written in Red.

4/5 - Amazing, I loved this, I love this author!
I have long since been a fan of Anne Bishop. I initially wanted to wait a while until a few more of the books in this series were released in case one just wasn't enough. Then, when a friend passed me a copy of this book last night, what was a girl to do? Start reading it to a small group of people at the party to many laughs, is the answer, and now of course I'm hooked.

Summer Knight.

4/5 - A lot of fun, this is where the series has started picking up for me.
This is a bit new for me. The reason why you don't see this book in the pile above is because I'll be listening to this on audio book. This is the first time I've done that on this blog. I dunno, I guess there was just a part of me that said that I had to make some inroads on a series that I hadn't read for a while. James Masters will be reading it in my ear. Nothing wrong with that!

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As always, feel free to follow my reading via my account on Goodreads. Added bonus: The posts from this blog show up there and people even tend to have discussions around them. O.o
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6878229.Nicole_D_Fergusson

Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas.

About a week ago, I entered a contest to win Sarah J. Maas' new book Throne of Glass held on Yolanda Sfetsos' website.

As someone who hardly ever wins any of these contests (largely because Australian addresses are often too far for American giveaways to be sent), I was hugely excited both to have an opportunity to enter this contest, and then also to win!

The book arrived today, courtesy of Bloomsbury Australia, and I couldn't wait to read it. Having gone from knowing nothing about this book about a week ago, Goodreads.com has equipped me with a fount of information, reviews, as well as many people I know who are looking to read the book early this month. 

And, it turns out: this book is amazing. From the first chapter, I was comparing it to the Anna Bishop character Lucivar (from The Black Jewels, a stunning yet sadly finished series that I also heartily recommend) were the genders reversed.

Celaena is a young woman who has been made a slave in the mines for a year and earns her reprieve in the opening pages of this book.

Although the sticker on the front cover obviously wants to compare this novel to The Hunger Games (an amazing set of stories and I myself can hardly wait for Catching Fire to screen in cinemas later this year) the fact that Celaena is an assassin makes me draw parallels between this book and other assassin-centric books: Grave Mercy, or the Robin Hobb Assassin trilogy. Thankfully, it's not like the former.

I have found the pacing of this novel is phenomenal. There isn't a slow moment, paragraph or scene so far! About the only thing that I have cause to complain about is the letter 'C'. Celaena. Chaol. Captain of the King's Guard. Crown Prince of Adarlan! (Crown Prince's hunting dogs). The first time a character without a 'C' in their name or title walked past the page, I almost dropped the book.

All in all, this is a first book by an author I've only recently heard of. It's impressed me and I'll definitely consider picking up another book of hers in the future. Indeed, I have it on Yolanda's good authority that the second book is even better than the first! :D