I surprised myself with how much I got through this month, but then I realised it’s because of my new obsession; the Throne of Glass. But first let me tell you how I got onto it.
Back in January, I remember the hype when Onyx Storm was released. The book club was buzzing with it, and I still had yet to read the Empyrean Series at this point. The only thing I was told was, “Hold off as long as you can, because it ends on a cliffhanger.” So, like an amateur, I waited until April to read Fourth Wing, but it was too late. I was hooked. I followed with Iron Flame straight away and then was so incredibly proud of myself when I made myself wait until September for the third instalment from Rebecca Yarros. Stupid, stupid, Hannah. The delay of five months was not nearly enough. I devoured this instalment within the week, and now I’m floating around without even a Book Four announcement in sight. It was enough to launch me into a reading slump, which I announced loudly on BookTok.
Like the lit beacons to call for aid from Rohan, BookTok responded with recommendations. I had been repeatedly told about the Throne of Glass series on previous reading slumps, but I knew enough to know it was an emotional rollercoaster. After Onyx Storm, I just needed something, and then it began. After advice, I began with Assassin’s Blade. Wow. This was a phenomenal book. I knew next to nothing about the series or characters, but this was a high-paced, explosive beginning. Celaena Sardothien is an epic female lead, and I wasn’t emotionally prepared for the ending of this book. Within two weeks I read Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, and Heir of Fire. What a journey! At no point could I figure out where the story was going. The only thing I cannot understand is why this isn’t as big as Sarah J Maas’s ACOTAR series. I am looking forward to diving into the series further, as I am coming to love all these characters.
Due to how the Book Club landed this month, both of my reads completed in September. The romantasy was easy. The Crimson Moth by Kristen Ciccarelli was a great read. An enemy to lover with a witch and witch hunter was an interesting twist. The banter was brilliant, although it was set in historical times, the speech was quite modern. I enjoyed it, and while it wasn’t quite a five star, it was enough for me to buy the sequel.
The second book club read had sparked zero interest. Like I always do, I had left this read until the last minute. I needed to finish 400+ pages within three days. But it wasn’t a problem, because I actually loved it. We Solve Murders by Richard Osman hooked me from the beginning. It was surprisingly funny. A murder mystery that was actually believable and not full of coincidences. Even until the end I didn’t know what was going to happen, so I was genuinely hooked and consumed it within two days.
Book swap reads with the husband. We arranged to do this last month, and although he’s already read a couple of my top five books, I had only just got around to reading his. 1984 by George Orwell is his all-time favourite, and I love a dystopian, so it made a world of sense that this was my first read. It was startling how this sixty-year-old book predicted such things. It reads as a modern story, while the writing and parallels match those of current times. The only thing I couldn’t cope with was the chapter of Winston reading a book. Never do I ever want to read about anyone reading a book for anything more than a paragraph, and I made this very clear to my husband. It was perhaps the most depressing book I had read in a while. I just wanted things to get better for them. For the revolution to gain momentum. For the world to change. But his acceptance at the end was so tragic. A miserable tale, but I can see why my husband loves it.
The second book he insisted I read was Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. It was a short and an easy read. The tale was sweet, and I appreciated the philosophical aspect. Definitely a story to inspire self-reflection.
