Have Book, Will Read #11

July already, and where the flip-flops has the year gone to? In June, I took a long break from reading and instead binge-watched Supergirl and Vikings between heated discussions of end-of-season Game of Thrones episodes. This means that lately I’ve been reading ALL THE BOOKS to make up for it. Here are a few…

Recent Reads: Love, life, death…and toilets.

Somehow I missed that Benedict Jacka’s latest Alex Verus novel came out in April. I’m a big fan of this series, so I quickly remedied this by rushing out to buy Burned and reading it in one afternoon.

In Burned, Jacka sets Mage Verus upon a dark path when a race to save himself and his friends from an execution order leaves Alex with no good choices to make, only ‘less worse’ ones. This was an exciting yet also heart-wrenching read, and it’s going to be a long year before the next book, Bound, is released in April 2017. If you like urban fantasy and haven’t tried the Alex Verus series, do yourself a favor and pick up the first book, Fated.

I spent a highly enjoyable evening reading Waters of Versailles by Kelly Robson, which takes us to an alt-world 1738 France where a former soldier tries to reach fame and fortune through the wonders of indoor plumbing with the help of a little water magic.

This delicious Nebula-nominated novella is short enough to slip in between your other summer reads and, seriously, toilet stories don’t get any more sweet or charming than this blend of historical fiction and magical realism.

The first two books in Claudia Gray’s Firebird trilogy had been sitting on my shelf for a while, and last week I finally picked them up. Them, plural, because I enjoyed the first, A Thousand Pieces of You, so much that I jumped straight into the second, Ten Thousand Skies Above You.

Pitched as ‘Orphan Black meets Cloud Atlas’, Gray’s dimensional travel tales have it all: intrigue, love, betrayal, heartache and adventure follow Marguerite as she dives into alternate realities and alternate versions of herself on a journey of revenge that becomes a mission to save her world and all others in the multiverse.

I’d heard good things about Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle series, so this week I picked up the first book, The Raven Boys. It definitely lived up to the hype. The characters are gorgeous, the plot intriguing, and Stiefvater’s writing style an absolute delight.

Psychic’s daughter Blue has been warned that if she ever kisses her true love he will die. But despite her best intentions to stay away from guys, she can’t help being drawn to four of the ‘raven boys’ of a nearby private school, and before long she becomes involved in their quest to uncover a local ley line and the grave of an ancient king.

The last on my list is special… The Loose Ends List by Carrie Firestone is a contemporary novel, not a genre my sff-obsessed brain usually dips into. But this book and I go back a couple of years. When I first met Carrie she was at the agent query stage. Along with the rest of our writing group I’ve followed the submissions, the rewrites, the line edits, the excitement of the cover reveal. So I was thrilled to read the final polished version, released on June 6^th.

And it was just as lovely as I remembered. A really fun read, though heartbreaking at times, and one that made me laugh and cry all over again as though I was reading it for the very first time. This is the story of seventeen-year-old Maddie, who accompanies her family on a death-with-dignity cruise at the request of her dying grandmother. Maddie’s family is a loud and wonderful splash of color, and Maddie gets a chance to make new memories, forge new friendships, and fall in love.

Now Reading: Deserts, deserts, everywhere.

I’d had China Miéville’s Railsea on my to-read list for some time, so when I won a flash fiction competition on the sffchronicles.com I claimed this book as my reward (thank you Brian Turner!). I’m not far in, and as with the other two Miéville novels I’d previously read, it’s taking me a while to immerse myself in his world. But that’s just fine. Some novels are for gulping down in one glorious race for the end, others are for dipping into slowly, and enjoying each page as a work of art.

I’ve also started reading Sunset over Abendau, the sequel to Abendau’s Heir in Jo Zebedee’s Inheritance trilogy. This somewhat dark space opera series will definitely appeal to those who prefer their happily-ever-after’s to have a large dose of fallout on the side. Jo writes excellent characters, and I’m enjoying being back in Abendau’s world.

To Read: The end of things.

I picked up a couple of library books this week, which by necessity have jumped to the top of my to-read list. Can’t keep all those other readers waiting! The first is one I’ve been meaning to get to for ages: Half a War, the last book in Joe Abercrombie’s Shattered Sea trilogy.

The other is also, coincidentally, the last in a trilogy: Brian Stavely’s The Last Mortal Bond, conclusion to his Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne. I’ve enjoyed both of these trilogies so far, and it will be nice to see how they end.

So that’s it for July. Happy summer reading to those in the northern hemisphere. May your beach towels be sand-free, your pool chairs perfectly angled, and your picnic spots quiet and shady. To those down south, may your winter be mild and your blankets soft and cozy. Read on.