If you like this then….. #17

This post is late today due to a massive migraine that would NOT leave me alone. They’re caused by the muscles in my neck and back so I took a muscle relaxer and it knocked me out cold! I ate supper, sat on the chair with my kids, and fell asleep…… at like 7pm! My husband woke me up so I could move to the bed. 12 hours later I woke up and I finally have a lot less pressure in my head! Thank goodness! Going to to chiropractor helped too. My neck and more than half of my ribs on the right side were out of place also. I’m a freaking mess! Anyways, enough of that – you’re here for the books! So here are two new recommendations 🙂

The first book I’m going to talk about is one that I’m sure you’ve all read or at least heard of! Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. This book was everywhere and SO hyped – but it was for good reason! This book was so interesting and beautifully written! We are introduced to Zélie was born into a world without magic. Her people’s powers were taken away from the king who surpassed and killed because of those powers. She gets the chance to finally bring the powers back and strike against the monarchy at the same time, but it won’t be easy. So freaking good! Click here for my full review!

So – if you liked Children of Blood and Bone, then I KNOW you’ll love The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty. I was a little on the fence about this one for a few reasons. One – it’s a huge book! 2 – it got some mixed reviews. But I decided that I wanted to form my own opinion and it had quite a few things that I really enjoy – SOOOO GLAD I dove in! This was one of my favourite reads of this year! It was so amazing! I read the first chapter and was absolutely hooked! Our main character Nahri is an independent con woman living on her own in a place where a woman alone isn’t heard of. She doesn’t believe in magic but provides card reading and ceremonies for money. She didn’t believe in magic until one of her ceremonies actually worked and conjured something unbelievable. She’s then forced into a magical world and needs to adapt to it. Click here for the full review!

HERE’S WHAT THE TWO BOOKS HAVE IN COMMON:

• They’re both debut novels?!?!?! – I have this in question marks because, after reading these two books, I find it hard to believe that these  were debut novels! The writing was absolutely amazing and flawless! The world building, the character building, the magic systems…… everything! It’s quite apparent that these two ladies were born to write novels!
• Powers against Monarchy – There’s something about this premise that just calls to my soul! I love it when there is a monarchy that misunderstands or tries to squash magic because of their own fears. There’s usually an aspect of suppression and then rebellion and I’m all for it! These two books definitely fit that bill!
• Dual perspectives between both sides – Along with the subject above, we not only get the perspective of our main character, but we also get the side of the royals. We see how the royals (who have been born and raised with their hatred or segregation of magical powers) view magic and it’s people. It gives us as the reader a more complex understanding of the situation. We know how the royals feel and the differences of opinion within that monarchy. While at the same time we see the oppressed side fighting against that ruling and trying to find a way to work with others to make changes.
• Realizing powers – In both of these books, we have two women who didn’t realize or didn’t have their powers in the beginning. Throughout the story, they themselves realize their powers and learn to fall into them, and we get to follow along in that journey. We get to see them learn their powers, test them out, and find their limits. I love being able to learn along with a character and see their magical growth!
• Bad ass women!! – These two ladies are nothing short of bad ass! They aren’t fearless, but learn to harness that fear into something that has an end result. They find power and confidence within themselves and learn that they are a tool for themselves and their people.
• Beautiful writing – Last, but certainly not least, is beautiful writing! I mentioned above that it was flawless and I need to repeat it again here! The writing styles is what made me put these two together more than anything. It was poetic and descriptive without effort. I felt like I was immersed in their emotions and could picture literally everything around me. These women were born to write and wrap the reader up in their world. Once again, FLAWLESS!

If you’ve read and loved Children of Blood and Bone, I’m highly confident that you’ll also LOVE The City of Brass! They’re both going to end up on my top 10 list for 2018 for sure! If you’ve read both, did you find that they were similar in any way?

Until next time, happy reading!