Quarantine Reading

2021 has gotten off to a rough start with quarantine, but luckily for you, while cinemas, shops and restaurants are closed, reading is still very much open! I'm going to give you eight recommendations: of the books I've read recently, and the books I'm most planning to read in the coming weeks.

First the books I have read:

A Blade so Black ~ L. L. McKinney
This is a YA fantasy novel that is a retelling of Alice In Wonderland, but in a way that you will have never seen before! McKinney takes all the elements of the classic fairytale, but puts her own spin on it that makes it somehow not Alice in Wonderland at all. Here, Wonderland is a dream realm full of monsters called Nightmares, and Alice's job is to slay them. The world building is illustrious and incredibly creative, the characters are unique and shockingly relatable, and our main love interest is based off none other than the Mad Hatter himself, and if that doesn't intrigue you...

Nemesis ~ Brandon Reichs
This is a dystopian, sci-fi YA novel that is the first in a completed trilogy. Our main character is killed in cold blood every two years on her birthday and seeks to find out why. It's the whole 'government is keeping secrets, world is ending etc.' novel, but with shocking twists that kept me glued to the pages. If you want to get stuck into a short series, this is a great one. I'm looking to get the next books ASAP and besides, Corona Virus, world ending? It's really relevant!

The Cruel Prince Series ~ Holly Black
I mentioned this before in my last recommendation list, but I just read the second and third books of the trilogy this month...and let me tell you, I am imploring you ALL to get this series and read it. Now. This is a dark fantasy faerie YA novel, and I will admit I was a bit skeptical after reading book one for various reasons, but I am here to tell you the books get a whole lot better! Who doesn't love that? Holly Black's writing style and prose is vindictively clever and so faerie that I have been completely won over by her style and characters. Besides, this is a series you can find free to read online if you don't want to go about ordering the books at this time!

Six of Crows ~ Leigh Bardugo

I am currently reading this book, and if you've heard the countless recommendations, I am here to let you know they are all absolutely correct. A duology (two-book series), this is a fantasy heist-style YA novel set in the Amsterdam-inspired city of Ketterdam. As with most fantasy books, you spend the first couple chapters completely confused with no idea what is happening but after that? Unstoppable. The characters are all completely different but somehow I've ended up loving all of them, and I mean, it's kind of thrilling to read about a magicky troupe of teenagers carry out an illegal heist while they're trying not to kill each otherq. Plus, it's only a duology, which you can find online!

And the books I cannot wait to read:

The Project ~ Courtney Summers
This is a thriller mystery book that's being released in February, and it sounds incredibly enticing. The protagonist sets to uncover and expose what she believes are lies behind a charity project that has won the hearts of the entire New York region, and everything she knows about the world around her is upended...

Oasis ~ Eilís Barrett
Now this book is the absolute reflection of COVID, and how perfect! A virus that will drive the world to extinction? Sounds familiar. A dystopian YA thriller by an Irish TEENAGE author, (Yay!) a city has been walled off from the outside world called Oasis, government imposing their vision of the perfect society, but for protagonist Quincy, something else is stirring...

The Midnight Library ~ Matt Haig
I've only heard of this book very recently, but I am incredibly intrigued and plan to get it very soon! Sci-fi/fantasy, this book seems like one that will leave you thinking about it...and yourself, for long after closing the pages. Between life and death there is a library, full of the different lives one would lead if they would have made different choices. For protagonist Nora, this means she can undo every wrong in her life. But as she traverses between the books and begins putting herself in danger, she has to answer the ultimate question: What is the best way to live?

Here also is a picture of my reading journal that I started this year, and the books I plan to read: some because they have been sitting on my shelf for too long, some recommendations, and way too many I've been indoctrinated into reading because of booktok!