Friday Reads: November 9, 2018

Hello! If you want to watch my Friday Reads on my BookTube channel click here! Otherwise, keep on reading to see how my week of reading has been going as well as what I plan on reading this weekend.

Last month was an ultra slow reading month for me with only 4 books completed. November is proving to be far more productive though. It started off with a bang when I finally got to read the massive and beautiful tome that is Kingdom of Ash. If you want to read that review click here. I am currently working on three essays/expansions of my original review in which I look at the various love stories present throughout the series, the growth we can see in plot from book one to book seven, and then a smaller one about novellas and concepts I would love to see explored in the future should Sarah J. Maas ever choose to bless us with such an offering. Needless to say, Throne of Glass has been on my mind a lot lately!

Aside from Kingdom of Ash, I have read two other fantasy books this month (including a soon to be released fantasy book that I'll have a review up for on Sunday) and brought my total read books for the year up to 94! I am so close to my new goal of 100 books for 2018 I can hardly believe it.

Alright, this weekend is a bit of a frazzled mess with what I would like to read so below is one book that I definitely plan on reading this weekend as well as a book that is coming out this coming Tuesday that I am excited to check out!

Happy reading!

Title: The Sisters of the Winter Wood
Author: Rena Rossner
Page Count: 464
Progress: 127
Format Read: Hardcover
Genre: Fantasy
Keywords: Judaism, Fairytales, Eastern Europe
Kid Appropriate: Teens

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Raised in a small village surrounded by vast forests, Liba and Laya have lived a peaceful sheltered life - even if they've heard of troubling times for Jews elsewhere. When their parents travel to visit their dying grandfather, the sisters are left behind in their home in the woods.

But before they leave, Liba discovers the secret that their Tati can transform into a bear, and their Mami into a swan. Perhaps, Liba realizes, the old fairy tales are true. She must guard this secret carefully, even from her beloved sister.

Soon a troupe of mysterious men appear in town and Laya falls under their spell-despite their mother's warning to be wary of strangers. And these are not the only dangers lurking in the woods...

The sisters will need each other if they are to become the women they need to be - and save their people from the dark forces that draw closer.

My thoughts so far:

I wish I could say I am enjoying this book so far...but I am not. It is much younger than I had anticipated and the story is less than interesting. As I'm only a quarter of the way through, there is plenty of time for it to turn around and I am hopeful!

Title: Vita Nostra
Author: Marina and Sergey Dyachenko
Translator: Julia Meitov Hersey
Page Count: 400
Genre: Fantasy
Keywords: Magic, Science, Russia
Kid Appropriate: Unsure
Release Date: November 13, 2018

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Our life is brief . . .

The definitive English language translation of the internationally best-selling Russian novel – a brilliant dark fantasy combining psychological suspense, enchantment, and terror that makes us consider human existence in a fresh and provocative way.

‘A book that has the potential to become a modern classic.’
Lev Grossman, best-selling author of The Magicians

Our life is brief . . .

While on holiday at the beach with her mother, Sasha Samokhina meets the mysterious Farit Kozhennikov under the most peculiar circumstances. The teenage girl is powerless to refuse when this strange and unusual man with a sinister air directs her to perform strange and uncomfortable tasks. He rewards her efforts with a strange golden coin.

As the days progress, Sasha carries out other acts for which she receives more coins from Kozhennikov. As summer ends, her new domineering mentor directs her to move to a remote village and use her gold to enter the Institute of Special Technologies. Though she does not want to go to this unknown town or university, she also feels that somehow it’s the only place she should be. Against her mother’s wishes, Sasha leaves behind all that is familiar and begins her education.

As she quickly discovers, the institute’s ‘special technologies’ are unlike anything she has ever encountered. The books are impossible to read, the lessons maddeningly obscure, and the work refuses memorization. Using terror and coercion to keep the students in line, the school does not punish them for their transgressions and failures; instead, their families pay a terrible price.

Yet despite her fear, Sasha undergoes changes that defy the dictates of matter and time; experiences which are nothing she has ever dreamed of… and suddenly all she could ever want.

A complex blend of adventure, magic, science, and philosophy, filtered through a distinct Russian sensibility, this astonishing work – brilliantly translated by Julia Meitov Hersey – is reminiscent of modern classics such as Lev Grossman’s The Magicians, Max Barry’s Lexicon, and Katherine Arden’s The Bear and the Nightingale, but will transport them to a place fantastical and new.