February Wrap-Up

First of all, I am going to begin with a small apology. I have been so bogged down with work ever since I cam back from Reading Week and my projects seem to be forever piling up. This pattern might continue through to April but I promise after graduation (Oh God!) that I will have lots of time on my hands to dedicate to sticking to my uploading schedule.

Now for a very late February wrap-up...
This month, as was the trend, I decided to read fantasy novels. Despite my love for Harry Potter, I've never been a real fantasy enthusiast (in terms of adult books) but I loved fantasy a child. To be honest I've always been put off by the covers and having to search in a different section of the book store, but since reading/watching Game of Thrones, I've decided to put my prejudices aside  and I'm glad I did.



The Whispering Muse - Sjon
The first book I read was The Whispering Muse written by a Icelandic author who has also written songs for Bjork. The novel is about an academic (who is studying something along the line of the Scandinavian diet of fish) who joins a shipping vessel with a mysterious First Mate, whom every night tells the crew of his voyages aboard the Argo. It was quite a short novel and it's hard to really think that much happens in the novel but despite this I really enjoyed it. This might be mainly for the Greek myth and while I was familiar with a few of the Argo myths, it has definitely inspired me to read more Greek myth.

The Ghost Bride - Yangsze Choo 
The second book I read was when I came home for Reading Week as I had given it to my mother to read before me. She enjoyed it but though that the middle was a little slow but I loved it, and way more more than I expected to love it. I felt the story to have a lot of similarities with the film Spirited Away but I don't want to go into to much detail and spoil the plot. The novel is about a young woman who comes from what was once a wealthy merchant family, but after a small pox epidemic she loses her mother and her father retires from his work. She is asked by the family, who holds her father's debt, to marry their son who had passed away and be his ghost bride, where she would be taken care of by the family but she would never have a relationship. The novel had mystery both in the real world and the spirit world, which completely sucked me in. If you are interested in reading a novel with fantasy and myth components but which isn't a full-blow fantasy novel, I highly recommend this.

The Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb
This novel I read as an ebook as I could travel home and back with it without worrying about ruining the book in one of my over-packed bags. This novel takes place in more of the typical fantasy world, like medieval Britain with a King and his lords but surrounded by more mysterious peoples. If you're looking for something Game-of-Throne-sy this is a good pick. Although once again it is not a full-blown fantasy novel and I would equally recommend it if you enjoy historical fiction. The novel is part of a series which centers around a bastard of the prince regent. When his family abandon him to the royal family he joins the king's household as an assassin. The novel was good and I really enjoyed it but I didn't absolutely love it, as it didn't feel particularly unique. I do plan on  continuing with the series however, as I'm sure it's going to get better.

The Mapmaker's War - Ronlyn Domingue
The final book I read during February was the Mapmaker's War which I have to admit was a bit of a let down. This was a typical fantasy novel with a setting similar to Robin Hobb's except that our main character the mapmaker discovers a utopian civilization near her own. I suppose the concept was interesting and follows how their medieval society responds to the discovery of a wealthy utopia but considering how short the novel was I felt it took me forever to get through and I found the pace to be rather fast (considering how short it was) and there to be very little suspense as a result. It's written in the style of the main character looking back on her life as she chronicles it and she's speaking to herself, saying things like you felt this in this moment, be honest with yourself etc. I found this style to be interesting at first but overall I wasn't really a fan of this narrative either. For one last critique, the novel had many small illustrations throughout which I found strange as they didn't add anything to the story and therefore felt redundant and slightly juvenile. If you enjoy distopian/utopian novels as well as fantasy then maybe give this a go. Otherwise I would recommend The Island if you're looking for a upotian novel with a similar community and a much better narrative.