Tuesday, May 4, 2021

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Recent Reads


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly book blog meme now hosted by Jana over at The Artsy Reader Girl!

This week's topic is: Most Recent Reads
This week's topic is pretty easy, which I appreciate! 😂 I also like this topic because it gives me a chance to share a few books that I haven't reviewed/might or might not get around to reviewing, as well as upcoming ARCs that I won't be posting a review for until closer to June. Let's check them out!

The Priory of the Orange Tree        The Portrait of a Mirror

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon: This is my most recent audiobook and as of writing this post, I actually have about thirty minutes left, but since I plan to finish those thirty minutes today I'd say I'm just about done! This has been a long audiobook experience since it's a pretty huge book and it does drag a bit in places, but overall I've really enjoyed exploring this world and story! I've especially liked what a woman-dominated world/story it's been. 

The Portrait of a Mirror by A. Natasha Joukovsky: This book's not out until June, and I'm not sure what to think of it. It's described as "A stunning reinvention of the myth of Narcissus as a modern novel of manners." Part of me enjoyed it, part of me was annoyed by it. It's the sort of thing that's meant to be a bit pretentious and mocking of the rich societies, but at the same time it feels more like it's for the wealthy who want to sarcastically explore their society than it is for someone like me. I'll have a review up closer to publication, so stay tuned for that when I hopefully have better formed thoughts. 

Madam        For the Wolf (Wilderwood, #1)

Madam by Phoebe Wynne: My review for this book will be up on Thursday, so I won't say too much about it. I felt very mixed about this book as well--I liked some aspects, but other others. This is a very weird and rather dark book in relation to content and it's not going to be for everyone.

For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten: Another one that left me mixed! Loved the atmosphere and setup, but the execution felt a bit muddled and somewhat derivative. Still, I'd recommend it because it was enjoyable and has some great elements--I'll have a review up for this in June, as well, with hopefully better written thoughts. 

The Constant Rabbit        The Binding

The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde: This was my before-bed read over the past couple weeks and it was a really fun pick. You can't really go wrong with Jasper Fforde if you're looking for some really on-the-nose satire. 

The Binding by Bridget Collins: I had had this checked out from the library for what seemed like months when I decided to read it quickly before I had to return it. Why did I wait so long to read this? I even have a beautiful UK edition of this book with a beautiful naked cover that I got a couple years ago (I don't have it with me at my apartment right now, hence the library copy) and still took until now to read it. But regardless of all that, this book was beautiful and unexpectedly heartbreaking at times, so be warned! Absolutely worth the read, though, I found it very compelling and hard to put down.

Ariadne        The Jasmine Throne (Burning Kingdoms #1)

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint: I love checking out new Greek myth retellings, and Ariadne is such a great addition to that subgenre! I'll be participating in a blog tour for this one next week where I'll include my review, so be sure to stick around for that if you're interested!

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri: I'll also have a review up for this later in June, but this was a really beautiful story that I know people are going to love! I actually didn't end up loving this as much as I expected to considering how much I loved SUri's previous two books, Empire of Sand and Realm of Ash, but I am definitely still interested in continuing on with the series. 

Into the Jungle        The Children of Húrin

Into the Jungle by Erica Ferencik: I'm so glad I finally got to read a copy of this from my library because it was such an unexpectedly beautiful and moving story. I thought this would sort of be a little thriller-esque journey into the jungle, but instead it was a deeper exploration of culture, love, adapting to new surroundings, finding yourself, and so much more. Highly recommended! I'm not sure when I'll have time for it, but I'd like to post a review for this one as well. 

The Children of Hurin by J.R.R. Tolkien: I really loved this book! I've read both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings over the years, but I hadn't yet made it through any of the other tales from the Middle Earth universe (other than probably halfway through The Silmarillion), so I was a little nervous about this one, but it was such a great–although extremely tragic!–story that I was fully immersed in. If you enjoy the LOTR books or The Hobbit, you'll probably like this one. It's written in a very entertaining and readable manner, so don't be hesitant like I was!

 

Have you read any of these books? What are some of your recent reads?


8 comments:

  1. Great list! I'm so excited for The Jasmine Throne and I need to cross The Priory of the Orange Tree off my TBR.

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  2. I've been hearing such good things about Ariadne, so it makes me even more excited to read it!

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  3. I'm very curious about Into the Jungle. Hopefully you'll post a review at some point😁

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  4. You're making me so curious about The Binding.

    My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-my-ten-most-recent-reads/

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  5. I am curious about Ariadne. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

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  6. Oh, I've been super excited for Ariadne, glad to hear you enjoyed it!

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  7. I liked this topic too, I didn't have to think too much. :)

    Madam is super curious to me because I kinda like dark academia- depending on the book- so I'm REALLY curious about this one!

    Into the Jungle is interesting to me since I read one of her other books and liked it. and I remember wanting to read this but never got to it...

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  8. I love Jasper Fforde's books. They're so unique.

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