JULY BOOK A DAY – JULY 23

JULY 23.

23) Favorite novel with exotic background

Kushiel’s Dart (Kushiel’s Legacy book 1) by Jacqueline Carey

A Novel of Passion, Magic and Betrayal

The story takes place in a land which is geographically very much like the world we live in.

What is so exotic is the people and how they live in a world the author imagined. The place where the story starts is called Terre D’Ange and its inhabitants are descendants of angels. The people are called D’Angelines. Their country’s credo is:

Love as thou wilt.

Terre d’Ange is divided into seven provinces, each with a companion as its patron deity. Cassiel, who eschewed mortal love and never fully rejected the One God, is the only companion without a province. The Cassiline Brotherhood, however, follows the ways and philosophy of Cassiel and have a prominent role in d’Angeline society. Naamah (patron Goddess of the Night Court) is the patron of Namarre, Anael of L’Agnace, Azza of Azzalle, Shemhazai of Siovale, Camael of Camlach, Eisheth of Eisande, and Kushiel of Kusheth.

This would be Kushiel

I like how author imagined her characters and their view on life. Main characters go on epic adventures and those adventures have just the right amount of aspects that are familiar to our real world but just enough exotic details to make the readers want to experience more alongside with main characters.

 

Main characters embark on an epic journey and it turns the series into a real adventuring saga – the whole series has nine books total which are divided into three trilogies.

First three books are centered on the character of Phèdre nó Delaunay – a character that inspired many a fan.

“Whip us ’till we’re on the floor, we’ll turn around and ask for more, we’re Phèdre’s Boys!
We like to hurt, we like to bleed, daily floggings do we need, we’re Phèdre’s Boys!
Man or woman, we don’t care, give us twins we’ll take the pair! We’re Phèdre’s Boys!
…But just because we let you beat us, doesn’t mean you can defeat us, we’re Phèdre’s Boys!”
― Jacqueline Carey

Second and third trilogy continue in same manner as the first. These are captivating intriguing books that will amaze the reader and make him blush.

 

I find the background to the story to be quite exotic!

 

JULY BOOK A DAY – JULY 22

JULY 22.

22) The novel you most like to give to friends

Devil in Winter  (The Wallflowers book 3) by Lisa Kleypas

This is a historical romance series about a group of four women in Victorian England that end up sitting alone in a corner at every ball during the husband hunting season.

 

Needless to say their husband hunting suffers for it. After a while they band together and utilize group effort to catch a husband each.

 

 

Yes the end is total HAPPY EVER AFTER but I love it.

While looking for appropriate images for this post I have found out about the existence of manga version of this series!

 

Must get my hands on it!

JULY BOOK A DAY – JULY 21

JULY 21.

21) The novel you expected to hate but turned out you loved

 

 

Hunted The Iron Druid Chronicles: Book 6 by Kevin Hearne

This is one of the rare books I get to read alongside with my BF. Our tastes differ drastically and we usualy enjoy completely different genres and themes. When we got the book he was the first one to read it. I let him read it first since I was swamped with some other books at the time. He read it and didn’t like it. To him the book was boring. I was actualy nervous to read it since I wanted to like it.

 

As it turned out I had nothing to fear and maybe as a result of my lovered expectations I found the book not only enjoyable but super fun! Lesson learned!

 

JULY BOOK A DAY – JULY 20

JULY 20.

20) Your Desert island novel

While I was trying to decide which book would be a good company if I ever find myself stranded on a deserted island few options crossed my mind.

• Option A#

I’d like a book that will make me so absorbed in her world and characters so that I forget I’m alone on a deserted island. Something that will inspire me to think about the things that are to be read in between the lines.

This is why I choose Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton

Ok, so it is not exactly 1 book but 22 and counting. But I don’t care and count it here anyway!

The reason I find this series inspirational is the actual lack of things happening. Let me explain…

This series is written in first person from point of view of main heroine Anita Blake. And the author has created a really great world and filled it with large variety of creatures which make for some very interesting reappearing characters.

 

Unfortunately, not all of those characters get the same amount of spotlight. Some of them are very dear to me and I like thinking about what they were doing/feeling while the main heroine was doing her thing – which is running around, waving a gun and hunting the bad guys as a US Marshall.

This series goes from overlong scenes where main character is confused by her love/sex life to the very short, and sometimes, amazing action packed scenes which end way to quickly. And almost every book has a rather annoying narrator ending which explains what happened from the point of the view of the main heroine – I say annoying since with all the drama that is spread trough the book only thing that gets resolved is the bad guy dies and case is closed. The personal drama is ever flowing and it never gets resolved unless it comes to bloodshed – which so happens it does more than often.

 

This leaves the reader with a sense of heaviness –  a great big burden that stretches from one book to the other and then you turn around and see ten books just flew by while you were reading in a hopeless quest to get some closure or even book time for your favorite characters.

I would really like to read more about my favorite characters so I could use my time on the deserted island to daydream about what would the story be like from their point of view.

• Option B#

I’d like a book that will take my mind off my predicament by presenting me with how fictional characters got out of predicaments similar to that of being stranded on a deserted island.

This is why I choose The Odyssey by Homer

This is one of the books I’d like to read. And just like being on a deserted would be a journey for the mind I think that Homers Odyssey would be a fitting equivalent as a reading adventure.

Odysseus on his journey home

Calypso and her island

Penelope losing it a little every few years

• Option C#

There are some books that are on my reading list but I just can’t make myself read them. Being on a deserted island with nothing better to read instead would be a prefect way for me to make myself read them.

This is why I choose Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin

Again it is not one book but a series of formidable plump books – but give me a break I need more than one book if I get stranded on a deserted island!

Game of Thrones (first book in the series) is one of the rare books I did not finish. I did not give up on it! I merely put it off for later…how much later I really don’t know.

http://i1.wp.com/www.metalinjection.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Game-of-Thrones-metal.jpg?fit=750%2C1000

I think it is because I watched the series before giving a book a chance and can’t get myself into it now.