Times have been rough so far this year, we’ve all had to deal with the Covid-19 crisis in some way or another and honestly? I wouldn’t mind a vacation.
Since we can’t travel, I’ve put together a short list of books that you won’t be able to put down and that will have you forgetting about current events!
A Discovery of Witches
Debora Harkness
Deep in the stacks of Oxford’s Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.
If you enjoy a well-written world, with intrigue, romance, time-travel and more, then the All Souls Trilogy is just the book for you! I loved reading about Diana Bishop’s relationship to her family and to Matthew and his family. She’s just a great character and her story is one that I could not put down!
The God Engines
John Scalzi
Captain Ean Tephe is a man of faith, whose allegiance to his lord and to his ship is uncontested. The Bishopry Militant knows this — and so, when it needs a ship and crew to undertake a secret, sacred mission to a hidden land, Tephe is the captain to whom the task is given. Tephe knows from the start that his mission will be a test of his skill as a leader of men and as a devout follower of his god. It’s what he doesn’t know that matters: to what ends his faith and his ship will ultimately be put — and that the tests he will face will come not only from his god and the Bishopry Militant, but from another, more malevolent source entirely…
The God Engines is such a good book! Yes, it’s short, and yes, I wish the author would write more in this universe, but these two complaints pale in comparison to how good this book is. I’m not even kidding. Consider this. You have space ships and the power to go anywhere, but that power is provided by imprisoning an actual god and their wroth will be unimaginable if they should be freed.
The Thief Lord
Cornelia Funke
Two orphaned children are on the run, hiding among the crumbling canals and misty alleyways of the city of Venice.
Befriended by a gang of street children and their mysterious leader, the Thief Lord, they shelter in an old, disused cinema. On their trail is a bungling detective, obsessed with disguises and the health of his pet tortoises. But a greater threat to the boys’ new-found freedom is something from a forgotten past – a beautiful magical treasure with the power to spin time itself.
I remember reading The Thief Lord and being absolutely entranced by the street children and their leader. It is an extremely well-written fantasy/mystery book that leaves the reader with a sense of wonder at the world we live in and the possibility of something more.
I’ve Got Your Number
Sophie Kinsella
A couple of glasses of bubbly with the girls at a charity do and Poppy’s life has gone into meltdown. Not only has she lost her engagement ring, but in the panic that followed, she’s lost her phone too. As she paces shakily round the hotel foyer she spots an abandoned phone in a bin.
Sophie Kinsella’s books always make me chuckle and I’ve Got Your Number is no exception. It’s a cute, quirky story that will completely take your mind off your troubles as you follow Poppy along on hers, lol. She’s spunky and girly and just a fun character!
The Morning Star
M. Chandler
Simon Drake is an up-and-coming young FBI hotshot. Not yet thirty, he’s already the leader of his own special ops team; a ragtag bunch of talented but nigh-uncontrollable lunatics, it’s true, but they’re a force to be reckoned with, a team with an unparalleled success rate, a team with an almost unblemished record–until now.
Jeremy Archer is the brilliant and unpredictable scion of a long line of international art thieves. At twenty-seven years old he’s already wanted on nearly every continent for thefts totalling more than ninety-one million dollars, and yet no one has ever come close to catching him–until now.
Now? May the best man win.
The Shadow of the Templar series is good, clean fun… if you ignore the criminal element, that is, and it’s exceedingly difficult to ignore Jeremy Archer, thief extraordinaire. I really enjoy this entire series, the characters are each interesting in their own ways and the story is full of intrigue and entertainment. A supremely good “heist” series, if ever I’ve read one.
Meandering Michelle 