Reading And Watching Joyously

 This book was in one of the boxes sent to me by the library, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to read it. The cover didn't appeal (it reminded me of a book I borrowed and didn't read once before, by the author of The Book Thief) and it was a detective story, which is not my favourite. It was set in a fantasy world though, one with parallel universes and ways between them, and I'd been coming across that concept a lot lately so decided to give it a go. There was an introduction that talked to reader about them potentially having doubt about whether to read the book, but that it would definitely be worth it - so that seemed to be talking to me!  I kind of liked it - I was never fully sure whether I was enjoying it or not. The parallel world concept and the way sorcerers operated was pretty cool - and there were Fae (fairies) which I always like. But the world was pretty confusing and I wasn't entirely sure how things worked through most of it. The main character was not...

I loved this book so much! It was sent to me by the library in my box and I had never heard of it. It looked interesting, a teen paranormal mystery - I was only a couple of chapters in before I just wanted to sit and read it all day. Fairies and forbidden romance are my favourite combination of topics (not fairies like Tinkerbell, but mythological fairies (Faeries, Seelie) and that's what this book had. AND it was set in Australia which I hadn't encountered before - an Australian setting for a fantasy novel. It was scary at times and often exciting. The first person narrative gave a good insight into the fear and determination and confusion of the main character, she was a very believable 17 year old. There were a couple of moments that didn't quite flow, as if the story had changed a bit and an edit had been missed, but it didn't detract from the story. Halfway through I realised that it is the first book in a series, which means there's more to come - I can't ...

 I've been meaning to read this for years. I actually borrowed it from the library a couple of years ago and started it, but didn't finish before I needed to return it). This time I listened on Audio Book, figuring I'll be able to get through the whole series more easily that way, rather than spending months reading nothing else. I didn't enjoy the introduction and nearly gave up, but once I got into the main story I became interested. I loved it actually, although the level of tension throughout the whole story was pretty high and sometimes it was a bit exhausting. The characters were well developed and their actions made sense. It's an exciting fantasy world, with elements similar to a range of other mythologies, but as a whole unique to this series. I'm looking forward to the next book.

 This is the first book in the Immortals Blood series - a fantasy series set on a world where some people (randomly) are immortal. People find out they are immortal when they die and then are reborn (at the same place and age where they died). Different lands deal with immortality differently - the book sets up the scene in each of the lands, and shows the growing discontent which is in part being fed by outside influences.  It's well written and kept me interested all the way through. Having multiple lands with different customs is a big effort and they all seem pretty consistent and well-researched. The characters were likable and the upcoming trouble kept the suspense high throughout the book - I'm very eagerly awaiting the next book which is due out in September.