Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl. Each Tuesday is assigned a topic.
This weeks topic: Books I Was Reading On This Day Over the Last Ten Years.
So I didn’t start tracking my reading until approximately 2019, so for the years between 2016 and 2018 I will list a book I’ve read that was published those years, and if possible in August of that year or as close to August as I can get.
Title: Empire of Storms
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Published: September 6, 2016
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Series: Throne of Glass
Synopsis:
The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those don’t.
As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.
Aelin’s journey from assassin to queen has entranced millions across the globe, and this fifth installment will leave fans breathless. Will Aelin succeed in keeping her world from splintering, or will it all come crashing down?
In 2016, as mentioned above I wasn’t tracking my reading, but one book I read from that had been published that year was Empire of Storms, the fifth book in the Throne of Glass series.
Title: The Alice Network
Author: Kate Quinn
Published: June 6, 2017
Genre: Historical Fiction
Synopsis:
In an enthralling new historical novel from national bestselling author Kate Quinn, two women—a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947—are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption.
1947. In the chaotic aftermath of World War II, American college girl Charlie St. Clair is pregnant, unmarried, and on the verge of being thrown out of her very proper family. She’s also nursing a desperate hope that her beloved cousin Rose, who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France during the war, might still be alive. So when Charlie’s parents banish her to Europe to have her “little problem” taken care of, Charlie breaks free and heads to London, determined to find out what happened to the cousin she loves like a sister.
1915. A year into the Great War, Eve Gardiner burns to join the fight against the Germans and unexpectedly gets her chance when she’s recruited to work as a spy. Sent into enemy-occupied France, she’s trained by the mesmerizing Lili, code name Alice, the “queen of spies”, who manages a vast network of secret agents right under the enemy’s nose.
Thirty years later, haunted by the betrayal that ultimately tore apart the Alice Network, Eve spends her days drunk and secluded in her crumbling London house. Until a young American barges in uttering a name Eve hasn’t heard in decades, and launches them both on a mission to find the truth…no matter where it leads.
In 2017, I wasn’t tracking my reading, but one book I read from that year was The Alice Network by Kate Quinn. I listened to the audiobook for this one. I quite enjoy Kate Quinn’s storytelling. I believe I’ve read at least one more of her books and have a few in my incredibly long TBR list.
Title: Where the Crawdads Sing
Author: Delia Owens
Published: August 14, 2018
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance
Synopsis:
For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet fishing village. Kya Clark is barefoot and wild; unfit for polite society. So in late 1969, when the popular Chase Andrews is found dead, locals immediately suspect her.
But Kya is not what they say. A born naturalist with just one day of school, she takes life’s lessons from the land, learning the real ways of the world from the dishonest signals of fireflies. But while she has the skills to live in solitude forever, the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. Drawn to two young men from town, who are each intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new and startling world—until the unthinkable happens.
In Where the Crawdads Sing, Owens juxtaposes an exquisite ode to the natural world against a profound coming of age story and haunting mystery. Thought-provoking, wise, and deeply moving, Owens’s debut novel reminds us that we are forever shaped by the child within us, while also subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.
The story asks how isolation influences the behavior of a young woman, who like all of us, has the genetic propensity to belong to a group. The clues to the mystery are brushed into the lush habitat and natural histories of its wild creatures.
I wasn’t tracking my reading in 2018, so instead Where the Crawdads Sing is a book I read that had been published in August of that year.
Title: A Map of Days
Author: Ransom Riggs
Published: October 2, 2018
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Series: Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children
Synopsis:
Having defeated the monstrous threat that nearly destroyed the peculiar world, Jacob Portman is back where his story began, in Florida. Except now Miss Peregrine, Emma, and their peculiar friends are with him, and doing their best to blend in. But carefree days of beach visits and normalling lessons are soon interrupted by a discovery—a subterranean bunker that belonged to Jacob’s grandfather, Abe.
Clues to Abe’s double-life as a peculiar operative start to emerge, secrets long hidden in plain sight. And Jacob begins to learn about the dangerous legacy he has inherited—truths that were part of him long before he walked into Miss Peregrine’s time loop.
Now, the stakes are higher than ever as Jacob and his friends are thrust into the untamed landscape of American peculiardom—a world with few ymbrynes, or rules—that none of them understand. New wonders, and dangers, await in this brilliant next chapter for Miss Peregrine’s peculiar children. Their story is again illustrated throughout by haunting vintage photographs, but with a striking addition for this all-new, multi-era American adventure—full color.
On this day in 2019 I was reading A Map of Days by Ransom Riggs. This is the fourth book in the series. I really enjoyed the movie that covered events in the first book of the series. I had heard that some things had been changed for the movie which made me want to read the books. I don’t think I’ve finished the series the last books of the series hadn’t been published yet. I’ll probably revisit the series at somepoint so I can see how it concludes.
Title: The Host
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Narrator: Kate Reading
Published: May 6, 2008
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Synopsis:
Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.
Wanderer, the invading “soul” who has been given Melanie’s body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn’t expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.
Melanie fills Wanderer’s thoughts with visions of the man Melanie loves-Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body’s desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she’s never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love.
On this day in 2020 I was listening to the audiobook for The Host by Stephenie Meyer. I enjoyed this book so much. I only wish there were more stories set in the world of this book.
Title: City of Heavenly Fire
Author: Cassandra Clare
Narrated by: Jason Dohring, Sophie Turner
Published: May 27, 2014
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, YA
Series: The Mortal Instruments
Synopsis:
Darkness has descended on the Shadowhunter world. Chaos and destruction overwhelm the Nephilim as Clary, Jace, Simon, and their friends band together to fight the greatest evil they have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Sebastian Morgenstern is on the move, systematically turning Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. Bearing the Infernal Cup, he transforms Shadowhunters into creatures of nightmare, tearing apart families and lovers as the ranks of his Endarkened army swell. Nothing in this world can defeat Sebastian—but if they journey to the realm of demons, they just might have a chance…
Lives will be lost, love sacrificed, and the whole world will change. Who will survive the explosive sixth and final installment of the Mortal Instruments series?
On this day in 2021, I was listening to the audiobook version of City of Heavenly Fire. This was during my re-read of the series before reading sequel series’ I hadn’t yet read as a refresher of what had transpired in the Mortal instruments universe.
Title: The Fellowship of the Ring
Author: J. R. R. Tolkien
Narrated by: Andy Serkis
Published: July 29, 1954,
September 16, 2021
Genre: Fantasy
Series: The Lord of the Rings
Synopsis:
In a sleepy village in the Shire, a young hobbit is entrusted with an immense task. He must make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ruling Ring of Power – the only thing that prevents the Dark Lord Sauron’s evil dominion.
Thus begins J. R. R. Tolkien’s classic tale of adventure, which continues in The Two Towers and The Return of the King.
On this day in 2022, I was listening to the audiobook version of The Fellowship of the Ring narrated by Andy Serkis. I’ve been a huge fan of Andy Serkis, ever since the movies came out and his portrayl of Gollum in them. It was one of the main reasons I went with these editions of the Audiobooks, so I could hear his Gollum voice again. He did such a wonderful job bringing all of the other characters to life as well.
Title: The Blood Traitor
Author: Lynette Noni
Narrated By: Jeanette Illidge
Published: June 14, 2022
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, YA
Series: The Prison Healer
Synopsis:
She’d failed them. All of them. And now she was paying the price.
Kiva thought she knew what she wanted – revenge. But feelings change, people change . . . everything has changed.
After what happened at the palace, Kiva is desperate to know if her friends and family are safe, and whether those she wronged can ever forgive her. But with the kingdoms closer to the brink of war than they’ve ever been, and Kiva far away from the conflict, more is at stake than her own broken heart.
A fresh start will mean a perilous quest, forcing mortal enemies and uneasy allies together in a race against the clock to save not just Evalon, but all of Wenderall. With her loyalties now set, Kiva can no longer just survive – she must fight for what she believes in. For who she believes in. But with danger coming from every side, and the lives of everyone she loves at risk, does she have what it takes to stand, or will she fall?
On this day in 2023, I was listening to the audiobook of The Blood Traitor by Lynette Noni, the third book in The Prison Healer series. I love this series so much. It’s the equivalent of comfort food for me.
Title: The Traitor Queen
Author: Danielle L. Jensen
Published: September 1, 2020
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Series: The Bridge Kingdom
Synopsis:
In the second novel of the heart-pounding Bridge Kingdom series, one woman fights to win back her throne, her people, and the love of the man she betrayed.
A queen now in exile as a traitor, Lara has watched Ithicana be conquered by her own father, helpless to do anything to stop the destruction. But when she learns her husband, Aren, has been captured in battle, Lara knows there is only one reason her father is keeping him alive: as bait for his traitorous daughter.
And it is bait she fully intends to take.
Risking her life to the Tempest Seas, Lara returns to Ithicana with a plan not only to free its king, but for liberating the Bridge Kingdom from her father’s clutches using his own weapons: the sisters whose lives she spared. But not only is the palace inescapable, there are more players in the game than Lara ever realized, enemies and allies switching sides in the fight for crowns, kingdoms, and bridges. But her greatest adversary of all might be the very man she’s trying to free—the husband she betrayed.
With everything she loves in jeopardy, Lara must decide who—and what—she is fighting for: her kingdom, her husband, or herself.
On this day in 2024, I was reading The Traitor Queen by Danielle L. Jensen, the second book in The Bridge Kingdom series. I really like this series, or at least What I’ve read of it so far. I have at least two more books in the series to read.
Title: Fourth Wing
Author: Rebecca Yarros
Published: May 2, 2023
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Series: The Empyrean
Synopsis:
Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general―also known as her tough-as-talons mother―has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.
But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away…because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.
With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter―like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.
She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.
Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.
Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda―because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.
On this day in 2025, I was reading Fourth Wing for the first time. I have since listened to the audiobook version and looking forward to the next books in the series, and a re-read of these before they come out.
Thanks for reading!
Have you read any of these?
What was your favourite book on your list from the last 10 years?
Leave a comment below and let me know!
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