Top Ten Books I've Read So Far In 2013

1. Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan. Gorgeous, descriptive writing telling a beautiful, harrowing, whimsical story about selkies.

2. This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers. A zombie novel focused on human relationships and emotions. So many feels.

3. Adorkable by Sarra Manning. Realistic characters + authentic romance = pure fun.

4. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin. After loving the show for two years, I actually got around to reading the first book this year. It was a bit of a slog, but worth it. Westeros is such a rich world, populated by wonderful, flawed characters.

5. Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley. An all-in-one-night story (my favourite kind) featuring a smart girl and mysterious boy wandering around the streets of Melbourne. Le swoon.

6. The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner. After enjoying the first book and being disappointed with the second in The Queens Thief series, I finally saw what all the fuss was about with this third book. I loved the twisty plot and awesome characters, especially the King of the title, Eugenides.

7. Liar by Justine Larbalestier. The kind of book that stays with you long after you’ve read it. Mostly because the unreliable narrator totally messes with your head.

8. Between the Lives by Jessica Shirvington. I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would. What could have been clichéd was actually quite lovely, and the idea of one girl living two lives simultaneously was unique and interesting.

9. In Falling Snow by Mary-Rose MacColl. A moving historical novel spanning generations and countries, with a tale of the relationships between women at its heart.

10. Alaska by Sue Saliba. Beautifully written and designed, this book is about finding yourself.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.

Review: The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

 I almost didn’t read this book. If I didn’t already own it (I ordered it at the same time as The Queen of Attolia, I probably wouldn’t have. Because while I quite enjoyed the first book in this series, the second book didn’t live up to the hype by a long shot, and I was expecting this one to be even worse. One of my main problems with The Queen was how removed the reader is from the main characters, so when I found out that The King of Attolia is actually focused on the perspective of a new, somewhat peripheral character, I was less than enthusiastic to read it. I didn’t want to go through another book where I was even more cut off from the central characters and the heart of the story.

Luckily for me, I did already own this book, because I read it and I loved it. Having Costis, a secondary character for all intents and purposes, filter events through his interpretation and limited knowledge actually makes the removed nature of the narrative seen in the previous book work really effectively here. He’s close enough that you get a lot of Gen and even a decent amount of Attolia, but removed enough from the main plot that there are plenty of twists and the fact that there are twists is plausible. Whereas in The Queen (and even The Thief, to an extent) I found it difficult to stomach not having known important facets of the main character’s feelings and personality for the bulk of the story, it was much more palatable in The King to know as much as Costis, and learn information as he did. The reader is still very much a bystander, as in the previous books in the series, but here you are also immersed in the narrative via Costis.

I really liked Costis and his budding bromance with Gen. I was frustrated with Gen at first, but I should have known better. There's always more to him than meets the eye, the clever devil. He's such a brilliant character and definietly a highlight of this series. I also really like Irene as a character - she's so complex and interesting, and her relationship with Gen is fascinating and lovely. I wish there were more scenes between the two of them - we only really see what Costis sees - but what is there is amazing and powerful. It was worth reading this series for this book alone.

Rating: 5/5

Fine Print
Published: Greenwillow Books, 2006
Get It: Book Depository