Top 5 Tuesday: Books from your Childhood

Hey, guys!
It’s Tuesday, which means it’s time for a bookish favorites post. Top 5 Tuesday is hosted by Meeghan over on Meeghan Reads and is quite simple: check out the topic and write a post with your picks.
Today’s topic deals with some of my favorite childhood books. This was quite tough for me, as I don’t remember much of the stuff I used to read back then. 😅

#1 Fairytales

My collection of fairytale books is still tucked into some corner of my mum’s basement. I loved to read fairytales just like I was a fan of those old adaptations that aired on Sunday afternoon. I can’t think of one specific edition that I own so as a stand-in for every other fairytale book I ever laid eyes on, I give you this:

Grimm’s Fairytales on Goodreads

#2 Die kleine Hexe

I couldn’t find the exact copy I own but I do remember being very fond of Die kleine Hexe (which means The little Witch). Maybe that’s where my love for witches was born?!

Die Kleine Hexe on Goodreads

Top 5 Tuesday: Authors I want to try

Hey, guys!
It’s Tuesday, which means it’s time for a bookish favorites post. Top 5 Tuesday is hosted by Meeghan over on Meeghan Reads and is quite simple: check out the topic and write a post with your picks.
Today, we’ll get into some authors I want to try. There are many writers that I encountered while reading other people’s T5T posts. So, this will probably be a list of books and authors, everybody except for me has already read. 😅

#1 Stephanie Garber

I’ve heard so many intriguing things about the Caraval series and it’s been on my tbr-pile for a while. Although I read something slightly similar by a different author (and ended up rather disappointed), I’m still curious and want to give her a shot!

Caraval on Goodreads

#2 Tamsyn Muir

Although I’ve seen Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir pop up again and again, I hadn’t been aware that it’s part of a series. Her work seems fascinating to me, so I hope I’ll have the time to pick up one of her books soon!

Gideon the Ninth on Goodreads

Top 5 Tuesday: Series I haven’t finished

Hey, guys!
It’s Tuesday, which means it’s time for a bookish favorites post. Top 5 Tuesday is hosted by Meeghan over on Meeghan Reads and is quite simple: check out the topic and write a post with your picks.
Today, we’ll talk about some book series I still haven’t finished reading. I will get back to (most of) them at some point, I swear!

#1 Tomorrow when the War began

There are seven books in this series and I read the first three. You see, I started this so long ago, ebooks hadn’t even really been a thing then. So, I got one book for Christmas, maybe the next for Easter, and then maybe one for my birthday. That’s almost an entire year just so I could get a hold of the first three books! And then I couldn’t find a copy of the fourth novel, so I gave up. 😅

Tomorrow when the War began on Goodreads

#2 Dexter

Years ago, I binged the TV show Dexter that was inspired by these books. So, me being me, I absolutely had to check out the books as well. I read the first one … and wasn’t impressed. Still, I wanted to give the second one a shot. Well, I enjoyed that even less than the first one. This series just isn’t working for me.

Dexter on Goodreads

Top 5 Tuesday: Series I want to start

Hey, guys!
It’s Tuesday, which means it’s time for a bookish favorites post. Top 5 Tuesday is hosted by Meeghan over on Meeghan Reads and is quite simple: check out the topic and write a post with your picks.
This week, the topic is series I want to start. There are way more than five but I’ll restrain myself. 😉
I’ll leave you with the info from Goodreads, so you’ll get an idea of what the novels are about!

#1 The Parasol Protectorate

Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations.

First, she has no soul. Second, she’s a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire–and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London’s high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

The Parasol Protectorate on Goodreads

#2 The Mortal Instruments

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know… 

The Mortal Instruments on Goodreads

Top 5 Tuesday: Books I meant to read in 2020

Hey, guys!
It’s Tuesday, which means it’s time for a bookish favorites post. Top 5 Tuesday is hosted by Meeghan over on Meeghan Reads and is quite simple: check out the topic and write a post with your picks.
Today, we’ll talk about some books I meant to read in 2020. Considering that my tbr-pile on Goodreads is currently over 300 books high, there are a few novels I can think of! However, I’ll specifically talk about some subscription box books I never got around to. I always feel a little guilty ’cause those editions are so pretty and now they are on my shelf accumulating dust. Although I managed to read quite a lot of my backlog on that front, there are still several I didn’t get to. And since I haven’t read the books yet, I’ll leave you with the info provided by Goodreads, so you’ll get an idea of what they are about!

#1 A Brightness Long Ago

In a chamber overlooking the nighttime waterways of a maritime city, a man recalls his youth and the people who shaped his life. Danio Cerra’s intelligence won him entry to a renowned school even though he was only the son of a tailor. He took service at the court of a count–and soon learned why that man was known as the Beast.

Danio’s fate changed the moment he recognized Adria Ripoli as she entered the Beast’s chambers one autumn night, intending to kill. Born to power, Adria had chosen, instead of a life of comfort, one of danger–and freedom. Which is how she encounters Danio in a perilous time and place.

Unforgettable figures share the unfolding story. Among them: a healer determined to defy her expected lot; a charming, frivolous son of immense wealth; a powerful religious leader more decadent than devout; and, affecting all these lives and many more, two larger-than-life mercenary commanders, lifelong adversaries, whose rivalry puts a world in the balance.

A Brightness Long Ago on Goodreads

#2 Girl, Serpent, Thorn

There was and there was not, as all stories begin, a princess cursed to be poisonous to the touch. But for Soraya, who has lived her life hidden away, apart from her family, safe only in her gardens, it’s not just a story.

As the day of her twin brother’s wedding approaches, Soraya must decide if she’s willing to step outside of the shadows for the first time. Below in the dungeon is a demon who holds knowledge that she craves, the answer to her freedom. And above is a young man who isn’t afraid of her, whose eyes linger not with fear, but with an understanding of who she is beneath the poison.

Soraya thought she knew her place in the world, but when her choices lead to consequences she never imagined, she begins to question who she is and who she is becoming…human or demon. Princess or monster.

Girl, Serpent, Thron on Goodreads

Top 5 Tuesday: Books celebrating indigenous Heritage

Hey, guys!
It’s Tuesday, which means it’s time for a bookish favorites post. Top 5 Tuesday is hosted by Meeghan over on Meeghan Reads and is quite simple: check out the topic and write a post with your picks.
This week’s topic is indigenous heritage which was inspired by Australia Day (which happens to be today).
However, since I rarely read non-fiction, most of the indigenous heritage I came up with is fictional eventhough inspired by real countries and peoples. This topic was a little tough for me, so please excuse that some of my picks are a bit of a stretch. 🙈

#1 Woven in Moonlight

This novel was the first thing that came to my mind. Here, the story revolves around two peoples who are interlocked in a constant battle. What Isabel Ibanez does really well is illustrate that there are two sides to each story, and even if you think of yourself as the hero, you might actually be the villain in someone else’s. How do we handle history? How do countries move on from a dark past? A lot of things are addressed here – and many of them are beyond relevant outside the context of this book. Oh, by the way: the setting appears to be inspired by South/Central America, thus drawing from a rich and fascinating history of indigenous peoples!

Woven in Moonlight on Goodreads

#2 Kingdom of Souls

With Kingdom of Souls we move towards Africa. Barron drew from the rich history of tribes and I was fascinated from first to last page. The protagonist is caught between her mother’s and her father’s heritage and somewhat chosing between those peoples. Barron did an amzing job capturing the essence of indigenous tribes.

Kingdom of Souls on Goodreads