My 2019 4 star reads

Hello booklovers

Very long time no see, it's been almost three months since I last wrote a post. I just haven't felt like posting anything lately... I'm going to give it one more try, I guess and see where it leads me. I want to write more reviews, but they are so time-consuming and school has been really hectic with all the changes there have been.

Anyway, I thought of doing a top 10 of 2019 but when I started looking at my GR list of read books, I had a hard time narrowing it down to 10 books. So, instead of a top 10, I'm going to list my 4, 4.5 and 5 star reads of this year.

These books are in no particular order and they weren't necessarily published in 2019.

*Shadowblack (Spellinslinger #2) by Sebastien de Castell

I reread Spellslinger so I could read this one (even though I'd only read it back in April), because I wasn't totally invested in the story the first time I read it. After having enjoyed it a lot more the second time around I didn't wait very long to read Shadowblack. I really liked this one and I already have book three Charmcaster on hand.

*The Black Prism (Lightbringer #1) and The Broken Eye (Lightbringer #3) by Brent Weeks

I have been meaning to read a Brent Weeks book for a while now. I've had the first book in his Night Angels trilogy on my TBR for years. But I decided to try his Lightbringer series first.
So far, I've read three out of the five books in this series and even though I'm sometimes confused when reading them I'm really enjoying them as well.

*The Alloy of Law (Mistborn #4) and The Bands of Mourning (Mistborn #6) by Brandon Sanderson

I really love the Mistborn Era 1 trilogy and was really curious to read the Era 2 books. They aren't as good as the original trilogy, but I still enjoyed being back in this world. And the humour is again very good. I thought this was a trilogy, but apparently, a fourth book has been announced.

*Malice (The Faithful and the Fallen #1) by John Gwynne

This is another one that I've had on my TBR for ages. I started it a couple of years ago, but I couldn't really get into it (I don't have the audiobook for this one, so it was taking me ages to make any progress) but in August I decided to give it another try. And I'm so happy that I did. I even went and bought the rest of the series after finishing this one. Malice is perfect for fans of the more classic fantasy writing style.

These were all the fantasy books that were 4 star reads.

The other two 4 star reads were an adult dystopian and a New Adult contemporary:

*The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

I watched the first two seasons of the TV-show before reading this so I had some idea of the bleakness of the story being told here, but wow, the book painted an ever bleaker version of that possible future. I'll be picking up The Testaments when it's released in paperback.

*Him by Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen

I've read quite a few books by Elle Kennedy, but I hadn't read anything that she co-wrote with Sarina Bowen yet. This is also only the second M/M romance that I've read and I have to admit I liked it a lot. My biggest fear when reading M/M romance is that it will be cringe-worthy, but that's definitely not the case in this story. I'm definitely going to pick up the sequel at some point.

What were some of your 4 star reads this year? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies 

Traitor's Blade by Sebastien de Castell - non-spoiler review

Hi booklovers

Today I'll be reviewing Traitor's Blade by Sebastien de Castell. This is book 1 in the Greatcoats series.

I first read this book about a year ago, but I never got around to reading book 2, Knight's Shadow. Because I finally want to continue with the series I thought a reread of book 1 might not be a bad idea, so that's what I did. (Apparently, I never got around to writing a review last year either.)

One of the first things I noticed in this book is that it has a lot of humour. I was actually laughing from the very start of this book. That's something I like a lot in books, humour and sarcasm.

This book follows the story of Falcio val Mond, First Cantor of the Greatcoats. The Greatcoats used to be a group of elite soldiers who served the king. However, they have been disbanded after the king was murdered and now they are mockingly called 'tatter-cloaks'. Through the eyes of Falcio we get to see how he and his two best friends try to continue to do the honourable thing and speak justice, but since this is a story full of intrigue and plotting, you can imagine this is easier said than done. We follow the three along their path to more or less restoring the idea of the Greatcoats, but their journey is full of twists and turns.

Another thing I liked in this book is the friendship. The friendship dynamics between Falcio, Brasti and Kest is wonderful. They each have very different personalities; Falcio being the 'brains', Brasti a cocky archer and Kest a level-headed - but extremely good, if not the best - sword-fighter. But they fit very well together. These friendship dynamics remind me of the friendships in The Lies of Locke Lamora.

This book is fast-paced, action-packed and has some incredible fight scenes. And, like I said, it has a lot of humour strewn in, which makes the sometimes dark atmosphere a little 'lighter'. This is a very good example of how humour can help people through even the most horrific events.

Even though this book has only one POV, we get to know the other characters pretty well too. There are some characters I really liked: the dynamic trio, Aline, the Tailor. There were also a few I really disliked (which means that they are written so well that you have to dislike them).

Knight's Shadow will be one of the next books I'm going to pick up, because the revelation at the end has made me very curious to see how the story will continue!

Have you read this book or his Spellinger series? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies