So, I’m back from my vacation at last!  I didn’t read a whole lot – I spent time with family – but I did get through a few things.  My review of Robin Hobb’s Fool’s Assassin was published yesterday – go check it out if you like slow burning character driven epic fantasy.

I also finished the Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet.  It had been on my TBR list for a while, but I found it slow going because I had been watching the YouTube video series in sync with the book.  I gave up on that and breezed through the book.  I thought it was an excellent companion to the web series, and enjoyed reading it very much.  The trouble is, it’s spoiled me now for The Austen Project series of modernisations of Austen’s works.  The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and Emma Approved are just so cleverly written and adapted, nothing else can come close.

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One book I picked up this week and breezed though was Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods.  This is written from Percy Jackson’s point of view and in it he tells the stories of the Greek gods in his own inimitable style.  It was a lot of fun and I found it a great antidote to all the heavy epic fantasy I’ve been reading lately.  I would suggest reading this book in hard copy form or on a colour device – the book is packed full of illustrations by John Rocco which are gorgeous.  I started reading on my eInk Kindle but switched to my Fire to get the full effect.  I would say though that without a strong through narrative as in the rest of the Percy Jackson series, the humour did seem a little forced at times.  For that reason I gave it four stars out of five.

Added to my library this week

The Broken Eye by Brent Weeks.  This is the third book in the Lightbringer series.  It’s been two years since we had a book in this series and I am very much looking forward to listening to it.  Simon Vance is a fantastic narrator, and suits Weeks’ witty style perfectly.  I’m relistening to the previous instalment, The Blinding Knife, before I move onto this.  Obviously, I picked it up in Audible format.

L’Eveil – Le Retour de l’Oiseau-Tonnerre Tome 1 by Anne Robillard.  I have mentioned the Quebecoise author Anne Robillard a few times on my blog now.  She writes incredibly real characters in a fantastical setting, and L’Eveil – The Awakening – is the first book in a  contemporary series.  I don’t know much about it other than that the main character regresses through past lives, but I’m happy to give it a try.  I actually bought this in hard copy – it’s not available electronically – so you must appreciate how much I admire Ms Robillard for me to read that format again!

Upcoming releases in September

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas will be released on September 2nd.  This is the third instalment in the Throne of Glass series which is an epic fantasy telling the story of Celaena Sardothian.  The fantasy element has been quite subtle so far. I loved Throne of Glass and have Crown of Midnight, the second book in the series in my library – just not got round to listening to it yet!  I have preordered Heir of Fire in Kindle format.

The Iron Trial by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black is published on September 9th.  I know very little about the book other than that it’s written by two excellent authors.  I love Clare’s Shadowhunter world and although I’ve only read a bit of Black’s Coldest Girl in Coldtown, I’ve read enough to like the style.  This collaboration has potential to be excellent.  I have preordered it in both Kindle and Audible formats.

That’s all for today, folks.  Have a good weekend!