impishtubist (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
impishtubist) wrote2014-12-05 07:18 pm
impishtubist) wrote2014-12-05 07:18 pm
Book Recs, Part 2
I still have nothing meaningful to contribute to fandom (or rather, nothing that I feel like posting at the moment), so I'm doing another book rec list (or at least, a list of some of the books I've read recently). My first list of book recs can be found here.
The Song of Achilles
Here is a book for those of you who feel like being emotionally destroyed (which applies to me about 99% of the time). It's a novelization of the story of Achilles and Patroclus, told from the POV of Patroclus, and oh my word is it amazing. One reviewer hit the nail on the head by saying that this was written in the style of Mary Renault, which was an instant sell for me. Gorgeous, heartbreaking, and engaging all at once. I didn't want to put it down, and I'm pretty sure I finished it off in two days. Highly, highly recommended.
The Brothers Bishop
Okay, well, here is another book that will probably destroy you emotionally, but at least Song of Achilles ended on a bittersweet note, and the love story was always assured. Pretty much no one gets a white-picket-fence happy ending in this book, and one bad choice after another leads to a gut-wrenching ending. It's one of those snowball situations, where you can see it happening from a mile away and it just keeps getting worse and worse until everything falls apart. It's a gripping story, though, and it's another one that I just couldn't put down. Tthough for those of you who don't want to read about incest... avoid this one.
A Strong and Sudden Thaw
Here's a story for you dystopia fans. This takes place approximately a century down the road, after an environmental disaster sets civilization back a few hundred years. There's forbidden romance and dragons in this, too, so really, what else could you need in a book? The love story is a bit hokey at times, but it's still an interesting read. The world-building especially is particularly engaging. I probably enjoyed that more than the romance itself.
There's a sequel to this book, btw, but it pretty much got panned (and after spoiling myself for it, I can see why). So I'd recommend just reading this as a stand-alone.
The Benjamin Justice mysteries
If you follow me on Twitter, then you'll probably know that this is the book series that I hate to love. Nothing - and I do mean nothing - good ever happens to the main character. Stumbling across a murder accidentally in every book is the least of his worries, really. But the mysteries are complex and interesting, all of the characters are engaging, and you just have to know what happens next, which makes this a very hard series to give up once you've started. You'll want a strong stomach for a couple of these books, because some pretty gory things happen to the MC. Oh, and don't get too attached to the minor characters... not all of them survive to the end.
The Song of AchillesHere is a book for those of you who feel like being emotionally destroyed (which applies to me about 99% of the time). It's a novelization of the story of Achilles and Patroclus, told from the POV of Patroclus, and oh my word is it amazing. One reviewer hit the nail on the head by saying that this was written in the style of Mary Renault, which was an instant sell for me. Gorgeous, heartbreaking, and engaging all at once. I didn't want to put it down, and I'm pretty sure I finished it off in two days. Highly, highly recommended.
The Brothers BishopOkay, well, here is another book that will probably destroy you emotionally, but at least Song of Achilles ended on a bittersweet note, and the love story was always assured. Pretty much no one gets a white-picket-fence happy ending in this book, and one bad choice after another leads to a gut-wrenching ending. It's one of those snowball situations, where you can see it happening from a mile away and it just keeps getting worse and worse until everything falls apart. It's a gripping story, though, and it's another one that I just couldn't put down. Tthough for those of you who don't want to read about incest... avoid this one.
A Strong and Sudden ThawHere's a story for you dystopia fans. This takes place approximately a century down the road, after an environmental disaster sets civilization back a few hundred years. There's forbidden romance and dragons in this, too, so really, what else could you need in a book? The love story is a bit hokey at times, but it's still an interesting read. The world-building especially is particularly engaging. I probably enjoyed that more than the romance itself.
There's a sequel to this book, btw, but it pretty much got panned (and after spoiling myself for it, I can see why). So I'd recommend just reading this as a stand-alone.
The Benjamin Justice mysteries
If you follow me on Twitter, then you'll probably know that this is the book series that I hate to love. Nothing - and I do mean nothing - good ever happens to the main character. Stumbling across a murder accidentally in every book is the least of his worries, really. But the mysteries are complex and interesting, all of the characters are engaging, and you just have to know what happens next, which makes this a very hard series to give up once you've started. You'll want a strong stomach for a couple of these books, because some pretty gory things happen to the MC. Oh, and don't get too attached to the minor characters... not all of them survive to the end.