familybookrecommendations
It's been a while. Things have been crazy crazy crazy, and with much of the US in quarantine right now, many are turning to books to occupy their time. So we decided to update you all on some new indie authors that we've been keeping up with via e-books! If you're stuck at home and are having a hard time getting your hands on some hard copies (since most libraries and bookstores are closed to in-person browsing right now), we've got your back.
About two years ago now, Faith and I ran out of books to read. *Gasp* It wasn't so dramatic as that, but really with all our favorite authors in between books and nothing in particular looking interesting, I instead starting digging digitally--namely, into the Amazon Kindle world. Then I bit the bullet on a Kindle Unlimited free 3 month subscription and found that my book horizons could be widened! For some reason, I ended up reading a lot of fairy tale retellings, finding it fun to see how each author could twist the story to make it different and interesting. So though I have read through many different books in the intervening two years, our favorites ended up mostly being of the retelling variety, as we found them to be the only ones to go onto our "favorites" list. So here is a list of all that we've found that are particularly fun. If you have Kindle Unlimited, this is a great list to start with and very easy to get your hands on. But you can also buy off Amazon. Once we get some extra time, we'll try to post some reviews/recaps for you all, but for now, here are the titles! Fairy tale retellings: -Classical Kingdoms Series by Brittany Fichter (clean romances/fairy tales, though it tends to be just a little more romantic than some of the others we've read; of the series, our favorites are the Little Mermaid and Cinderella retellings) -My Carolina Airman by Brittany Fichter (loosely based off of Sleeping Beauty) -The Four Kingdoms by Melanie Cellier -The Snow Queen/Timeless Fairy Tales/The Fairy Tale Enchantress series by K. M. Shea (Interconnected series based off of multiple fairy tales--pretty consistently funny, clean, good characters, clever stories) -Fairy Tale Adventures series by A. G. Marshall (Super fun, high quality with good characters; three books have come out by now but the first two are better than the third IMHO--you make your own decision!) -The Legendary Inge by Kate Stradling (SO SO good; this retelling of Beowulf has great dialogue, great characters, great peril--a smidge more violent than the others, it's probably good for ages 12+) -The Destined series by Kaylin Lee -The Andari Chronicles by Kenley Davidson (fun series, my personal favorite is Goldheart, book 2) Fantasy: -Elves of Lessa series by K. M. Shea -Second Age of Retha series by A. M. Sohma (K. M. Shea's pen name for this particular genre, it's technically not "fantasy"--it's LitRPG/MMORPG set in a fantasy video game; it's clever, fun and exciting) Urban Fantasy: -The City Between series by W. R. Gingell (Exciting, with fun characters and a unique story; as a heads up, it does have fae, werewolves, vampires, and the like, as well as blood and gore, so if you are sensitive to this, it's probably not the series for you. For the same reason, this would definitely be a series for YA and above)
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Hey everyone! Sorry that it's been a while; I've been super busy. I just graduated college with a BS in Chemistry and am heading off to medical school in July--craziness. BUT I am still always on the lookout for new, exciting books to read, and Faith and I will be posting more regularly again. :D Starting with some new updates in time for summer reading 2016.
Here are some updates on some good book series:
--John Flanagan has been busy, and a new Brotherband is out, Book 6, The Ghostfaces, and it's pretty fun. :) Still not as good as the Ranger's Apprentice, but we'll take what we can get. --The Princess Academy trilogy has closed out with The Forgotten Sisters, and Shannon Hale has crafted another fun adventure with Miri and her friends, this time with the added twist of the swamp. --The Everafters has finished with an exciting, fun conclusion in Of Giants and Ice and.... --the Quantum Prophecy series has finally caught up to its original protagonists in Crossfire, after an almost decade-long series of prequels by Michael Carroll. If you want some superpowered action, that's a series that you want to pick up. --Last but certainly not least, just in case you weren't aware the very very looooonnnngggg awaited How to Fight a Dragon's Fury is now here! Cressida Cowell has finished her sweeping fantasy epic How to Train Your Dragon, and she doesn't disappoint. Really, How to Train Your Dragon has turned into one of our favorite series over the years, full of fun, fantasy, and adventure. It can be serious, even brooding, without loosing its fun side; it has heroes that you can root for, adventures that astound, edge of your seat action, and dragons that touch your heart. The last book fills all expectations while delivering an emotional punch that lingers long after the lasts page is turned. Hey all! Happy Spring! Wow, the school year is really flying by. So this year has been really crazy with school and whatnot, but Faith and I have come up with a few more books that are super fun and real quality reads. So if you come home from school and need something to curl up with, try checking these out.
For the fantasy lover in all of us: Ordinary Magic by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd For those looking for cute, short reads: Waiting for the Magic by Patricia MacLachlan Intense action adventure? Here we come. The Ascendance Trilogy by Jennifer A. Nielson New Christian fiction with some good character building and adventure: The Ilyon Chronicles by Jaye L. Knight And look out for the new Brotherband book, Scorpion Mountain, as well as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Bryan Davis' Children of the Bard: Omega Dragon, Margaret Peterson Haddix's The Missing, and The Everafters. Also, the last book in the Princess Academy trilogy just came out, and I'm looking forward to reading it! The summaries and other books we've read will be up soon, so stay tuned! Hello! I hope everybody has been enjoying their summer! This is Faith, and I would like to mention that the sequel to Of Giants and Ice, Of Witches and Wind by Shelby Bach has just come out. I enjoyed it. :) It wasn't quite as good as the first book, but it was still very good. If you want to learn more about the series, go to Ages 10+ in Adventure/Fantasy.
Hello Everybody! Faith speaking! I hope you've been enjoying your summer vacations so far! So, the second Mission League book came out, and it's called Project Gemini. I haven't read it yet, but I'll read it soon. Remember to check up on this post again, we'll be posting more books soon!
I just added Because of Mr Terupt in the Realistic Fiction section Ages 9+. It's a touching book narrated from seven different kids perspectives, and it's one of my favorites. Hey everyone! Whatever books we put on this month will be in this post, so keep checking for updates! I just put on Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George. It's a good, light trilogy if you just want to sit down and read some fantasy. Read more about it in Drama/Romance or Fantasy. Scroll down to 9/10+. Another trilogy by Jessica Day George is The Twelve Dancing Princesses. These books are also fun, with light romance and enough danger to make it fun. They are fairy tale retellings and are great if you feel like fun, light summer reading. There is some magic, but it's not too bad. Check it out in Romance and Fantasy Ages 10+. Hey! This is Faith! I just posted two more series in the Spy section. I put on Spy School by Stuart Gibbs, a hilarious, fun spy book that old and young would enjoy! I also put on The Mission League series by Jill Williamson, about a Christian spy agency. They're both in the Spy section. I also put on A Friend at Midnight by Caroline B. Cooney. It's a book about forgiveness and how Jesus is always there to help you. It's in the Drama/Romance and Christian 10+ section. Also, a new How to Train Your Dragon is out (How to Seize a Dragon's Jewel) and we just read it. It was fun, and we all enjoyed it. The characters are developing, and I am anxious to see how it's all going to end. A special thanks to Cara for suggesting One for the Murphys by Lynda Hunt. It's a really sweet story about love and family, and I really enjoyed it. Read more about it in Realistic Fiction. So in case everyone hasn't already noticed, :) we have changed the look of our website! After a year and a half, we wanted something a little brighter, and we hope you all are happy with a little change of scenery. Have a very happy summer you all!
~Amy Hey everyone! This is Amy, and I just wanted to inform you all that the third Heist Society (Perfect Scoundrels) has come out! It was fun, but there wasn't as much scheming and clever capers. It was more of a character development plot for Kat to "steal" back her best friend from his world. As such, you can imagine there is more romance, but that aside, it was still worth reading. However, there is a short, free e-book called Double Crossed that came out a couple weeks ago that combines characters from Heist Society and the Gallagher Girls series that was very fun. :) It was clever, short, and had good characters; to be quite honest, I liked it better than Perfect Scoundrels. If you can get your hands on someone who has an e-reader (or if you have one yourself) look it up and read it.
Also, a new Swindle book is out (Hideout) and Because of Mr. Terupt has a sequel (Mr. Terupt Falls Again), although Faith says it's not nearly as good as the last one. |
Amy, Faith, and Nathan KimThrough this blog, we can keep people updated on new great books to read as they come out or as we read them. :) Archives
October 2016
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