The Reading Challenge Group discussion

Let's explore magical worlds during Fantasy month.
We all need a little magic in our lives right now!

I am sad to say I haven't read a lot of fantasy books. I am not sure why as I liked the Harry Potter movies. Anyway, this will be a good challenge for me. I think in April, I'll try out either of these books:

or

They both sound good.

D.L. wrote: "I am sad to say I haven't read a lot of fantasy books. I am not sure why as I liked the Harry Potter movies. Anyway, this will be a good challenge for me. I think in April, I'll try out either of t..."
I remember liking Graceling. Enjoy!

Cindy wrote: "D.L. wrote: "I am sad to say I haven't read a lot of fantasy books. I am not sure why as I liked the Harry Potter movies. Anyway, this will be a good challenge for me. I think in April, I'll try ou..."

Thanks!!

I was going to read Snow Like Ashes for April but I started a few days early and finished it last night. It was very entertaining. Of course I have been sucked into another series so I am moving onto the second book Ice Like Fire.

I have just finished an older occult fantasy, The Devil Rides Out by Dennis Wheatley.
It was very exciting at times.

I'm starting with the Magnus Chase trilogy and if I have time, I will start the Apollo series, which will be the last major series of Rick Riordan that I haven't yet read. But I still have a ton of ARCs to read, so we'll see. My first fantasy ARC was Namesake which concluded the duology quite nicely but left itself open for further books, I think. I have no idea if the author wants to add more books, but I really enjoyed it. My next fantasy arc is a long one, but it has promise, though it's a whopping 640 pages. The Black Coast

I’m reading The Priory of the Orange Tree! That one is going to take me a while. I’m alternating with my audiobook of Klara and the Sun

Susy wrote: "I’m reading The Priory of the Orange Tree! That one is going to take me a while. I’m alternating with my audiobook of Klara and the Sun"

Both of those look interesting. Yes, Priory looks like it'll take some time. Is it standalone? I don't mind long books when I know they complete the story, lol!

I have Klara and the Sun on request so if it comes in on time, I'll give it a listen!

It is a standalone, so far. As I understand the end is open though, so a sequel is possible. It was written as a standalone, says Shannon but she loves her series, or so she stated. Though even if someday there will be a sequel, it won’t be anytime soon.

If anyone is a fan of Leigh Bardugo, I just finished King of Scars and loved it so much that I immediately bought Rule of Wolves and have already started, although I need to take a break to meet with a student, lol. I will probably be reading it tomorrow. For those of you who enjoy audiobooks, Lauren Fortgang narrates and I think she's perfect for these books. And now that I've been sucked back into the Grisha universe, I might go back and read her original trilogy (I've only read the first one, Shadow and Bone) and then reread Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom. I really do love Leigh Bardugo's writing, and I love the characters in Six of Crows.

Eileen wrote: "If anyone is a fan of Leigh Bardugo, I just finished King of Scars and loved it so much that I immediately bought Rule of Wolves and have already started, although I..."


I just finished The Shadow and Bone trilogy and am waiting for Six of Crows to arrive for me to pick up at the library. And Crooked Kingdom

Finished How to Stop Time - this was a very interesting novel about a man who ages slowly - he was born in the late 1500s and currently is about 500 years old, even though he only looks about 40.

Oooh, How to Stop Time has been on my list. I've read 3 books by the author and have enjoyed all of them. So I'll have to give that a try. I had no idea that's what the book was about!

Susy, I really do think that I will go back and read the Shadow and Bone Trilogy and reread Six of Crows. So far Six of Crows has been my favorite, but I'm really loving this Duology as well.

Eileen wrote: "Susy, I really do think that I will go back and read the Shadow and Bone Trilogy and reread Six of Crows. So far Six of Crows has been my favorite, but I'm really loving this Duology as well."

Is Shadow and Bone the first book that starts the whole universe? I want to read them in order and I've heard such good things about Bardugo's books.

D.L. wrote: "Eileen wrote: "Susy, I really do think that I will go back and read the Shadow and Bone Trilogy and reread Six of Crows. So far Six of Crows has been my favorite, but I'm really loving this Duology..."

Yes! 😃

Susy wrote: "D.L. wrote: "Eileen wrote: "Susy, I really do think that I will go back and read the Shadow and Bone Trilogy and reread Six of Crows. So far Six of Crows has been my favorite, but I'm really loving..."

Awesome! Thank you for replying. I have this book so hopefully I can read it for the challenge.

So I read Shadow and Bone 2 years ago and while I thought it was decent, Alina was just so much less interesting than all the characters in 6 of Crows. So with one thing or another, I never moved forward in the series. But with Rule of Wolves coming out, I decided to just go ahead and read King of Scars and Rule of Wolves and I loved them both so much I decided to go back to the beginning. I'm about a third of the way through Shadow and Bone now and it's so much better than I remembered, perhaps because I know the characters a lot better now, and it feels like I'm going back and getting their back stories. Bardugo has definitely grown as a writer, but it's definitely worth going back and reading the original trilogy.

I read Earth Abides - George R. Stewart & recommend it.

That's good to know, Trisha. I plan on reading it some time soon, then, since it's been on my TBR list for awhile.

Rosemarie wrote: "That's good to know, Trisha. I plan on reading it some time soon, then, since it's been on my TBR list for awhile."

It’s in a number of sections, of which the first (almost half of the book) was probably my favourite. But the whole story was very creative & felt real even though it was fantasy. I suspect it resonated more because of the current situation with our lives disrupted.

Sonia wrote: "I finished The Train to Impossible Places, which belongs to my son. It's a bit crazy and very enjoyable."

It’s lovely that you can share books with him.

The book I am reading is a combination of a mystery with bits of fairy tales and some time travel (I think) so I am chosing it for my Fantasy book. It is an older novel by Kate Atkinson called Human Croquet.

That is a good description of the book, Candy. I read it when it was first published.

I'm having so much fun with the Grisha Universe right now! I just finished the Shadow and Bone trilogy and I have a much greater appreciation for that trilogy than my initial impression. I am now reading Six of Crows and plan on finishing the Duology and MIGHT reread King of Scars and Rule of Wolves now that I better know the world. But I did just read both of those so I might wait a bit. It will depend on my mood, lol.

I also just finished the Magnus Chase Trilogy and I have a greater appreciation for Norse Mythology. I love how inclusive Rick Riordan is with his characters and I learned quite a bit from reading this trilogy, not just about Norse mythology, but also about Ramadan and gender fluidity. He also includes a deaf character in this trilogy and talks about homeless children. And one of his characters is a former slave who fought for the North in the Civil War, so I appreciated that perspective as well. I can't wait to start the Trials of Apollo next, although I'm a little undecided about whether I'll start it right away since this is the author's last major series (so far).

Eileen wrote: "I'm having so much fun with the Grisha Universe right now! I just finished the Shadow and Bone trilogy and I have a much greater appreciation for that trilogy than my initial impression. I am now r..."

It's great to see how you have enjoyed this author. Shadow and Bone is in my TBR. I was debating whether to give it a try for this month. You have helped my decision. I'm almost done with Dragonflight. I'm jumping int o this universe as soon as i finish!

Still waiting on my copy of Six of Crows from the library 😢

Brenda wrote: "It's great to see how you have enjoyed this author. Shadow and Bone is in my TBR. I was debating whether to give it a try for this month. You have helped my decision. I'm almost done with Dragonflight. I'm jumping int o this universe as soon as i finish!"

I liked Dragonflight, but my favorite trilogy from that series are the Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, Dragondrums!

I hope you end up enjoying the Grisha universe!

Susy wrote: "Still waiting on my copy of Six of Crows from the library 😢"

:'( I ended up getting all of my Grishaverse books from Audible, because my libraries didn't have the audiobooks!

While a romance, I think of these as fantasy too - finished Wicked Bite - second in the Night Rebel series. ❤️

Still working on The Priory of the Orange Tree.
Finished Klara and the Sun which was ok, gave it 3 stars: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished Ice Like Fire and I am looking to get the next book in the series from the library. Is there a 12 step program for those of us who get sucked into too many different series at once?

Roseanne wrote: "I finished Ice Like Fire and I am looking to get the next book in the series from the library. Is there a 12 step program for those of us who get sucked into too many different seri..."

Lol, if there is, sign me up!

Finished The Vine Witch - liked it. A good fantasy set in the French wine country.

Now on to the big boy... A Storm of Swords - 3rd in the GoT series and weighing in at over 1100 pages. That's a commitment.

Also finished The Keeper of Lost Things - a bit of magical realism so I'm not sure if it really counts as fantasy or not but it seemed a little bit on the fantasy side. It was a sweet story.

I have just finished The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien. It's very High Fantasy and reads almost like a poem.

I finished the classic The Beetle by Richard Marsh, but don’t recommend it.

Susy wrote: "Roseanne wrote: "I finished Ice Like Fire and I am looking to get the next book in the series from the library. Is there a 12 step program for those of us who get sucked into too many different seri..."

Lol, if there is, sign me up!"

Me too!

I just started the Mistborn Trilogy and am on the second book. But then I got interrupted by Patricia Briggs' latest Alpha and Omega book which was seriously awesome, but the epilogue leaves you hanging for the next book, which will be who knows when?! I'm still plugging away at The Black Coast but making my way through The Well of Ascension.

Eileen wrote: "Brenda wrote: "It's great to see how you have enjoyed this author. Shadow and Bone is in my TBR. I was debating whether to give it a try for this month. You have helped my decision. I'm almost done..."

I enjoyed Dragonflight and will definitely be reading more. I already bought Dragonquest. I am already diving full into the Grishaverse as well. Appreciate the recommendation!

Take one book off the TBR and add 15 more.

My favourite Pern book is The White Dragon.

Trisha wrote: "I finished the classic The Beetle by Richard Marsh, but don’t recommend it."

That book is a mess!

Rosemarie wrote: "Trisha wrote: "I finished the classic The Beetle by Richard Marsh, but don’t recommend it."

That book is a mess!"

I’m so glad you said that, Rosemarie!

Finished Wild Sign - a favorite author / series and it did not disappoint. I have a few more in this genre - hoping to get them done before the end of the month

I started the month trying to get in Daughter if Shadow and Bone but I guess I wasn’t in the right mood. So I switched to rereading a series known as the Dresden Files. Urban Fantasy meets The Maltese Falcon meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I really love this series, so April turned out to be a good reading month for me.

I'm glad everyone had a chance to read some books they enjoyed, or tried a new author.
I like your description of that series, Renee!

Dresden Files is one of my favorite fantasy series! Renee, that is a great description of that series. I will read anything by Jim Butcher or Patricia Briggs, Renee and Cindy! I want to read one of Butcher's other series, but haven't figured out which of the two I want to read first!

I ended up reading two very different fantasy books this month.

The first was Mexican Gothic, a horror story with a fantasy twist. I almost never read horror, but I actually really enjoyed it. Even if the end was a little too much for me (I'm a giant wuss).

I also read The Children of Húrin, a high fantasy set in the Lord of the Rings universe. It expands on a tale found in the Silmarillion. Sadly, I didn't enjoy this one very much. Although, I kind of figured I wouldn't; the story of Turin was easily my least favorite part of the Silmarillion.

I loved Mexican Gothic, and have a copy of The Children of Hurin, but haven't read that.