Birthstone Book Covers: September 2023

Since I didn’t have any surprise vacations this month, I was able to participate in one of my favorite monthly posts in a reasonable amount of time, lol. And this time I did waaayy better in finding covers for Birthstone Book Covers.

Leslie @ Books Are the New Black created a fun monthly post called Birthstone Book Covers. Each month, she features book covers that are either the same color of that month’s birthstone or include the color in the title.

September has one birthstone – Sapphire.

Rules:

📚 Mention the creator (Leslie @ Books Are The New Black) and link back to her so she can check out your post.
📚 Pick 5+ book covers that match the current month’s Birthstone.
📚 HAVE FUN!
📚 Nominate people if you want!

**The Titan’s Curse** **by Rick Riordon**

**The Great Gatsby** **by F. Scott Fitzgerald**

**Daughter of Smoke and Bone** **by Laini Taylor**

**A Curse So Dark and Lonely** **by Brigid Kemmerer**

As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you have an terrific day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Shelf Control #14

It’s been three months since I’ve participated in this feature. Whoops. (Ugh.)

Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books languishing on our bookshelves created and hosted by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies. It’s a whole lotta fun, so if you’re interested in participating yourself, click the backlink above.

This week I’m gonna highlight a book I’ve had for a couple of months, but (obviously) haven’t read yet. It’s Eragon by Christopher Paolini.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

SERIES: The Inheritance Cycle (Book #1)

LENGTH: 528 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, YA, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers

RELEASE DATE: 1 August 2003

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

When fifteen-year-old Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself.

Overnight his simple life is shattered, and, gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now his choices could save–or destroy–the Empire.

Why It Languishes on my Bookshelf

WHEN I GOT IT: March 2023

WHY I WANTED TO READ IT: Two reasons- One: I never finished the series (I only read the first three books), and, Two: Murtagh, a new adventure set in the same universe, is releasing later this year.

WHY I HAVEN’T READ IT YET: I kept getting distracted by other books.

WILL I EVER READ IT?: I don’t know, actually. I’m not as revved about rereading this series or reading Murtagh as I was at the beginning of the year. Who knows, though.

Anyway, thank you for reading and have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Books I’ve Read with Legend of Zelda Vibes

Books I've Read Like the Legend of Zelda, with a beautiful backdrop of Hyrule Castle during a sunset

Sooo… This is kinda out of left field. A bit of an oddball post, too. But, um, I’ve got something to confess to everyone.

I. Am. A. Huge. Geek.

There, I said it! Whew! So glad I finally got that off my chest. I mean, I’m sure it was pretty obvious, from the kinds of books I read, but I wasn’t completely sure.

Anyway, I’m a geek, and The Legend of Zelda is like my favorite thing ever. Ever. And there’s a new game coming out tomorrow – Tears of the Kingdom. So I thought, what better way to pay tribute to the franchise that I love the most, than to connect it to books in some way and post about it on my blog. (Where everyone can see it.) (Cuz the internet is forever.)

(Yeah…)

So yeah, I’m bursting with excitement. These last 24 hours or so are gonna be hell. But I’m still riding the high of the hype train nonetheless.

But I’m heading towards a tangent. Let’s get back to books with Legend of Zelda vibes. Here’s five books (or series really, they’re all series) that I’ve read that reminded me of Zelda.

If you’re interested in any of the books/series on this list, click on the corresponding images if you want to learn more information. I got ’em linked.

#1: The Lord of the Rings

I thought I’d get the obvious one out of the way first. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien is the progenitor of modern fantasy. Not just of books either. Of a lot of fantasy stuff.

Elf-like beings? Check. An epic quest to save the land from dark lord? Check. Magic and swords? Check. There’s a lot of similar vibes between these two series. Particularly if you watch the Peter Jackson movies and then play Ocarina of Time or Twilight Princess.

#2: The Inheritance Cycle

So, I’m totally aware that The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini is a bit of an homage/ripoff of a lot of the fantasy that’s come before it. (And Star Wars.) But I haven’t read any of those books (except for part of The Lord of the Rings), so Eragon and its sequels are going on this list.

Farmboy is upended from his normal life and set on the path to defeating a dark lord? Check. Dragons? Check. Magical blue swords? Check. Magic sentient trees? Check. And, last but not least, elves? Check.

#3: The Seven Realms

The Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima is a bit of the odd-man-out in this list, but I still felt a ton of Legend of Zelda vibes while reading these books.

A kingdom in turmoil? Check. Very atmospheric and immersive? Check. A male and female lead, one a mage and one a warrior? Check.

#4: The Chronicles of Prydain

The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander

Of this list, I’m probably the least familiar with Lloyd Alexander’s Chronicles of Prydain. But I’ve seen The Black Cauldron movie that Disney made, and I’ve read the first book (and most of the second, I think), so I know enough.

Orphan boy upended from his quiet life to go defeat a dark lord? Check. A quirky companion or two? Check. A beautiful princess with a complicated relationship with said orphan boy? Check.

#5: Deltora Quest

Deltora Quest by Emily Rodda has a special place in my heart. I didn’t really read them until I was in middle school – and even then I didn’t get very far because I thought I was too old for them and got embarrassed – but I did like what I read.

Then, in high school I found the anime adaptation (yes, there’s an official, licensed, anime adaptation) and watched it. And I absolutely adored it, even though the voice acting was… not the best. I loved the world and the story so much though, and I hope to read through the entire thing for the first time soon, and then share it with my children when they exist.

(Also, its similarities to a quest in a videogame are deliberate. Rodda saw his much her kids enjoyed games and wanted to write a book/series that reflected them.)

Oh, almost forgot. An epic quest to defeat the dark lord? Check. Swords and magic? Check. Locating magical stones to unlock a McGuffuin of sorts? Check.

BONUS: The Legend of Zelda Mangas

The Legend of Zelda Mangas (Legendary Edition) by Akira Himekawa

This is cheating a little, but I just couldn’t help it. I absolutely HAD to plug the Zelda manga. Mangas. They’re just so wonderful – the kind of supplemental material that fans love. And they have gorgeous artwork and they follow the base plot extremely well, even if a lot of stuff is cut to meet the page count.

The Legendary Editions of the mangas are also fantastic. I love how colorful and distinct they are, not to mention their omnibus forms makes them a bit more convenient to shelve and store.

And I can’t talk about the LOZ manga without mentioning the crème de la crème.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (The Manga) by Akira Himekawa

The Twilight Princess manga adaptation is absolutely amazing. Dare I say, nearly perfect. (And that’s not just cuz it’s my favorite game in the series and I’m biased. Nuh-uh.)

The art is beautiful, just like the other mangas, which is not at all surprising. (They’re all written and drawn by the same author, Akira Himekawa (which is an alias for a mangaka duo).) But this time, the mangakas were allowed to adapt the game at a more sedate pace. So, instead of doing the entire game in a volume of two, they had eleven volumes to tell the story. And it makes a glorious difference.

But yeah, I gotta stop gushing or else I’ll just keep going on. Forever.*coughs awkwardly*

So, these are the books with Legend of Zelda vibes. Have you played any of the games? Have you read any of these books/series on my list? What did you think of them?

Anyway, as always, thank you so much for reading, and have a really, really, awesome day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Goodreads

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WWW Wednesday 4/5

Okay. So I’m not on as much of a reading roll as I was last week. But that’s only cuz I’ve been anticipating a release for a bit, and for whatever stupid reason, I can really only read one book at a time. So I’ve been holding off. But now that release is here, so I’m back on the books!

WWW Wednesday is a meme that used to be hosted at A Daily Rhythm, but has been taken over by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Now, without further ado, let’s get into the 3 Ws!

The 3 Ws of WWW Wednesday:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

The Thing I’m Currently Reading

Spell Bound by F.T. Lukens

CURRENT STATUS: 20%

CURRENT FEELS: 🤩 (loving it)

The Thing I Just Finished Reading

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

My review of The House in the Cerulean Sea

The Thing(s) I Might Read Next

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

OR

The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells

What books have you been reading lately? What have you thought of them? Do we have any overlap?

Thanks for reading and have a great day/night!

See ya ~Mar

WWW Wednesday 3/22

It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve taken part in this, but last week I just happened to be in between books and I didn’t know which one I’d read next. But this week I’m locked and loaded with a plethora of options!

WWW Wednesday is a meme that used to be hosted at A Daily Rhythm, but has been taken over by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Now, without further ado, let’s get into the 3 Ws!

The 3 Ws of WWW Wednesday:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

The Thing I’m Reading Now

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

Current Status: 2%

Current Feels: 🤔 (unsure, but definitely willing to read and finish!)

I’m currently buddy reading this series with my mom in a bid to get her into reading (and to give me some motivation to finish the ACOTAR books). I know what shows she likes, so I knew what kinds of books she’d like. (I was right. Lol.)

The Thing I Just Finished Reading

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

Read My Review

The Thing(s) I Might Read Next

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

Depending on how I feel after I finish ACOFAS, I’ll either read this next and finish off the series, or take a break and read it next month. (My mom’s barely started ACOWAR, and it’ll probably take her a month to finish a big book like that, so… yeah.)

OR

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

This series is what I’ll read next if I choose not to go for ACOSF right away. It’s a series that I originally read over a decade ago and never finished. (Inheritance wasn’t even out yet!)

I’ve always had a desire to finish The Inheritance Cycle, though, and it has a special place in my heart. So it’s getting read no matter what – whether before or after ACOSF, not withstanding.

What books have you been reading lately? What have you thought of them? Do we have any overlap?

Thanks for reading and have a great day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Spring Reading 2023

Happy Spring everyone! 🌱🌈🌞🏵️ March 20th was the spring equinox this year, so I wanted to get this post out before the end of the day. So, Spring Reading 2023, here we come!

With this post I’m gonna start a new thing here. It’s a thing that I made up, but is inspired by this post, where I talk about the books I feel like reading depending on the season. And what better one to start with than spring, the season of new life?

So without further ado, let’s jump right in!

The Kinds of Books I Like to Read During Spring

In general, I’ll just read all kinds of different stuff throughout the year. I read different genres and stuff sometimes depending on the season, but I’m not a seasonal reader in the way that you’re probably thinking.

I’ll read fantasy books of all sorts throughout the year, regardless of the way different times of the year “feel” to me. But in spring, I start getting in the mood for some weird sci-fi, post apocalyptic, and dystopian fiction for whatever reason. Actually, no scratch that, it’s probably because of that thing that happened in March 2020. So yeah, that’s what I love reading in spring.

A Few Random Things From My TBR That I’d Like to Read This Spring (From Soonest to Not Soonest of When I’ll Read It)

I’ve decided to finally finish the ACOTAR series, after starting it years ago. I got my mom into it, and we’re currently buddy reading A Court of Wings and Ruin, which I’ll most likely finish by tomorrow night.

It’s a long series full of long books though, so depending on how I feel after I finish A Court of Frost and Starlight, I might put off A Court of Silver Flames a couple of weeks and read other stuff. My mom will need time to catch up anyway. (She’s a slow reader and she spends a lot of her free time during the day doing other stuff she likes.)

This was a book series that I absolutely devoured about fifteen years ago. But I was young, and I lost interest in the political machinations going on, so I lost interest after Brisingr. Thus, I never read Inheritance when it came out in… 2011?

But yeah, I absolutely loved Eragon when I first read it – so much so that I read it a second time just a few months later in the same year that I first read it! I rather liked Eldest too, and I love the setting that Paolini created. (Parts of it make me feel the same way I do when I play Legend of Zelda games, and I love it.) So I’m gonna finish it this time – the whole dang series!

The Locked Tomb series is still on my TBR!! I just… keep getting distracted by other books that I want to read, unfortunately. But I’m definitely still interested in it! I already have the first two books, waiting on my shelf, ready to be read. Plus lesbian necromancers in space!! How can I not try reading that?!

Also, it’s a weird science-fantasy, possibly post apocalyptic, and definitely dystopian series of books. So yeah, absolutely gotta read it now!

This is one of the books coming out this year that I’m ridiculously excited for. (Other books I’m excited for include: everything that Martha Wells is publishing this year and Murtagh by Christopher Paolini.) In the Lives of Puppets is another book that falls into that weird sci-fi category that I love. And it has found family to boot! (I love the found family trope.)

The End

So yeah, these are some of the things I’m planning on definitely reading in the immediate future. I’m looking forward to all of them. (To a degree. I’m looking at you, ACOTAR series.)

It’s not as weird science-y and post apocalyptic as you might think, but as I said: I’m not really a seasonal reader. Half of the list here is though, so I say it’s enough to be a thing.

As always, thanks so much for reading and have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar