Books Recommended by Bloggers, A Series

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Hello Hello!

How are you all?

If you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen my tweet asking what ONE book you would recommend I read, and the bloggers have answered! When I saw the number of people who replied to my tweet, I knew it would take me a while to read all of the books, so I’ve decided to make this into a series called “Books recommended by Bloggers”.

This post is going to be the full list of books I’ve been recommended and each month, I’ll try to read a few and review them so you can see for yourselves whether I liked the books or not! I’m really excited for this, I’ve heard about quite a few of the books I’ve been recommended, but there are also loads I haven’t and I can’t wait to see why you all recommended these books to me! So here goes nothing!

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

            Set in Barcelona in 1945, a young boy named Daniel is initiated by his father to the secret of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a library for the forgotten books of the world. He picked “The Shadow of the Wind” and enjoys it so much that he sets out on a quest to find all the other books written by the author, opening the door on one of Barcelona’s darkest secrets. It is the first book in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

            Set in Nazi Germany in 1939. At her brother’s grave, Liesel finds a book, The Gravedigger’s Handbook, and steals it. She falls in love with books and words and steals them whenever she can. But her world is changed when her foster family hides a Jew in their basement.

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

            Set in France in the 1620s, telling the story of D’Artagnan, who leaves home and travels to Paris to join the Musketeers of the Guard. It is a historical adventure novel.

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

            This book follows a young boy named Bastian who is sucked into the world of Fantastica through a book. The world is doomed and only a human can save it, so Bastian sets out on a quest to reach the tower of the Childlike Empress.

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

            Told in the first person, this book is about a geisha working in Kyoto, Japan, in the entertainment district.

Lost Boy by Christina Henry

            It is the story before Captain Hook became the villain of Peter Pan when Peter brought him to Neverland and he was his first and favourite Lost Boy.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

            Theo survives an accident that kills his mother and is taken into the wealthy family of one of his friends. He soon gets dragged into the underworld of art because of a painting that reminds him of his mother.

The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan

            The Eye of the World is the first book in this 14 high fantasy book series, drawing on themes of cyclical nature of time found in Buddhism and Hinduism, European and Asian mythology and concepts of balance and duality.

The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold

            The first book in the Fetch Philips Archives, in which we follow PI Fetch Philips in Sunder City, trying to help fantasy creatures whose magic is being lost because of him.

The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher

            The first book in the series, Storm Front follows Harry Dresden, a wizard who helps Chicago P.D. when cases don’t conform to “mortal” explanations. The police ask him to investigate a double murder committed by black magic.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

            Set in rural England in the 19^th century, this book follows Elizabeth Bennet and her family. Her parents want to see all of their daughters married off, and this book follows the development of Elizabeth while learning about manners, education, marriage, and money.

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

            We follow Zachary Ezra Rawlings who is searching for his door in a labyrinth where doors lead to rooms filled with stories. One day, he stumbles upon a book in his university’s library, retelling a part of his childhood, but the book is much older than he is. The book leads him to Mirabel and Dorian, changing the course of his life.

Steel Crow Saga by Paul Krueger

            Tala, a cursed soldier; Jimuro, an indebted prince; Xiulan, a detective and Lee, a broken-hearted thief band together to defeat a killer who defies the laws of magic.

The Wolf of Oren-Yaro by K.S. Villoso        

            The first book in the Chronicles of the Bitch Queen series, Queen Talyien tore her nation apart; and now she has to fight to unite it again and find her way home after a failed murder attempt on her life.

The Choice by Claire Wade

            This book follows Olivia Pritchard, her whole world is controlled by the government, but she has to comply to protect her family or go into the Shame Box. But after she sees an innocent woman get arrested, she can no longer accept the injustice and she has to decide whether or not to join the underground rebellion called “Cut the Apron Strings”.

Stolen: A Letter to my Captor by Lucy Christopher

            We follow Gemma, a sixteen-year-old girl who is kidnapped from Bangkok airport and taken to the Australian Outback by a man named Ty. Can he force Gemma to love him as he loves her? We follow her story in the form of a letter, from her to Ty.

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

            The first book in the Neapolitan Novels, it is the story of two friends, Elena and Lila. The lives of these two women are told, but also that of a country, transformed as much as the relationship between the two protagonists.

The Falconer Trilogy by Elizabeth May

            The first book in this series, The Falconer is set in Edinburgh in 1844 and follows Lady Aileana Kameron, who has everything a girl could dream of. Leading a double life, she can sense the faery race obsessed with killing humans, she is dedicated to killing these fae before they kill any more innocent humans. But she is also the last in a line of Falconers, the only hope to preventing a human massacre by the fae.

I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella

            Poppy Wyatt is about to marry her dream man Magnus Tavish, but during a fire drill, she loses her engagement ring, and her phone is stolen. The phone belongs to businessman Sam Roxton. They exchange text messages and emails that eventually upend Poppy’s life.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

            Set in the 1900s, January Scaller is Mr. Locke’s ward and lives in his great mansion, filled with hundreds of artifacts. One day she finds a mysterious book, telling a tale of secret doors.

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

This one has been on my list for a very long time, but I’ve never gotten around to it. I’m so glad it was recommended to me, because I think that this book as the potential to become one of my all-time favourites. I love stories about people who are sad and alone and just have to open themselves up to the world to find love and happiness. I’m glad it is on this list, now I have an excuse to get to it pronto!

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily R. X. Pan

I’ll admit that this one has been on my list for a while too, but not as “seriously” as some other books. I’ve always known that I wanted to read it, but I honestly never took the time to look into it or prioritise it. But I’ve heard such amazing things about this book that I’m sure I’m going to adore it! I really like hard-hitting books and it’s been a while since I’ve read this one, so I might be getting to this one sooner than planned!

The Simple Wild by K. A. Tucker

This one caught my eye quite a few years ago, and I added it to my Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf, but I never actually bothered reading the blurb, but I just did, and it sounds fab! It has really good ratings and reviews on Goodreads, and the second book in the series actually looks really good too. I don’t read many contemporary/romance novels, especially not with travel/wilderness, but I really want to give this one a shot.

The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

This one has been on my list ever since I’ve started watching Reagan’s videos on her YouTube channel, Peruse Project. I don’t really know what the book is about… but I know that the magic system seems incredible, and I also really want to read this book!

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

I’ve heard so much about Donna Tartt’s books, and I really want to read them! This one actually interests me way more than The Goldfinch, I really like school/academic settings, and I don’t know why but this is giving me serious Dead Poets Society vibes, I really loved the film and have the book at home. I’m really looking forward to getting to this book, I might read this one first and The Goldfinch a bit later in the year!

Those are all the book recommendations! I’m so excited to start reading these books, I’m sure they are going to be great! If you’ve read a book that you think everybody else should read in their lives, comment down below and I’ll add it to the list and work towards reading it this year!

That’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed this post, see you soon,

Ellie xx