The original Game of Thrones - the book behind the television saga. I won't spend time on a summary, because those who've seen the series know the events of the first book fairly well and those who haven't seen the series aren't really interested anyway.
Oh my gosh! How do you write about the finale of a trilogy without giving anything away. Obviously, the heroes vanquish their foes, they live happily ever after. But how do they do that? Not in the way that you would imagine. There's a significant amount more drama to be had before the end. You can't be sure that things will happen in the way that you think, or that they're laid out.
It was a satisfying conclusion. The epilogue may have been unnecessary, and if necessary it needed to be a little bit more, but otherwise, it was a good way to end the three books.
#86-2021
Another Kelly Armstrong, though this time in collaboration with Melissa Marr, whom I've never read before. This took me a while to get through - I chose distractions instead of reading, and it's written for a much (MUCH) younger age group than I belong to so it felt slow.
The characters are written as well as I always find with Armstrong, and the story is based on Norse mythology, so it's interesting to see how the lore is woven through.
I'm not going to say much about this because I don't want to give anything away. But I really loved the way it was set up. Fluid timelines that converge at a central, pivotal point. And characters who aren't exactly who they are and give us insight into so many other characters through their words.
Atwood truly is a marvelous writer. She waited so many years to complete this sequel and it seems to flow so easily from the writing several decades before. Anyone who has read The Handmaid's Tale should really read The Testaments. It's a fabulous follow up and answers a number of questions that an inquisitive reader might still have.
#66-2021
I love this series because it's so creative. There are "monsters" I've never heard of and that in other situations would be scary but they're written as creatures to be learned about and treated as equals.
The series title is Royal Guide to Monster Slaying, but it's really more about monster care. It's a lesson that doesn't seem to resonate for people in reality but might make more of an impression on the age group targeted with this series, because of these books.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
I have this weird tendency to buy books with titles that include the word library, or book without knowing what they're really about. I would call an episode like that "meta" in TV, but I don't think it's like that with books.
In the case of The Midnight Library, I'm extremely glad I did. This is a great book. The description I read before purchasing didn't tell me anything that I didn't want to know. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised by how little I actually knew about the book as I started reading.
I read this for the first time in high school. I remember being appalled but it, but I think I probably was even more so this time.
I wanted to re-read this before the new TV adaptation started airing, but I never actually got it done. I'd been saving the series on my PVR until I read the book. I had to switch TV services recently and was going to lose all the recordings if I didn't watch them, so I started to read.
I didn't manage to finish the book before beginning the series, but it didn't really matter. The book is still appalling in so many ways, and the show just adds to the grotesque and horrific.
