Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Top Ten Tuesday - Book Matching Recommendations

Top Ten Books to Read if you Loved ~Throne of Glass~ 

Hey all! 
Welcome to a new Top Ten Tuesday, brought to you by The Broke and the Bookish! Top Ten Tuesday (aka TTT) is a weekly blogger meme where you write lists of your top ten (insert topic here)!




This week’s theme is the top 10 books I would recommend to those who loved a popular book/author. 
So I took this and made it Top Ten Books you should read if you loved Throne of Glass! It’s cool, it’s popular, and almost everyone’s heard about it! 

So let’s get started, shall we? 

Now, people like books for different reasons - some like the love triangles, others like the action, or even the royalty, the villains, or just the story line. The books I chose for this vary IMMENSELY! I mean usually they wouldn’t even be all on the same list together! But I have reasons for each, you don’t have to agree :) 

Also, these are in no particular order!

1. Eragon, by Christopher Paolini 
~Back cover blurb~ 
~oops it’s in french~
~goodreads blurb~
"One boy. One dragon. A world of adventure.
When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself.
Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic, and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds.
Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands.

I’m linking these two stories just because they both take place in epic worlds that both should blend to make a huge world of amazingness! *-* 



2. An Ember in the Ashes, by Sabaa Tahir
~Back cover blurb~
“Under the martial empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear. It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do. 
But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from the rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy. 
There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier - and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined - and that their choices will change the fate of the empire itself”

This book fits well with Throne of Glass because of the Military Academy, as well as the harshness of the Emperor. Honestly I’m not sure how to explain it further than that. Just trust me when I say that they go well together, and this book deserves its spot on the list :) 



3. City of Bones (aka, the whole Mortal Instrument series), by Cassandra Clare
~Back Cover blurb~
“When Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder. Much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered in odd markings. This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons - and keeping the odd werewolves and vampires and line. It’s also her first meeting with gorgeous, golden-haired Jace. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in an ordinary mundane like Clary? And how did she suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know..."

I want to re-live these books for the first time again!
I think this series works very well with Throne of Glass. First, I can’t help but compare Runes and Wyrdmarks. Second, demons. Third, demon-hunting. Plus the action scenes in this series are just amazing! 



4. Graceling (also the whole series), by Kristin Cashore 
~Back Cover blurb~
“In a world where people born with an exceptional skill, known as a Grace, are both feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of a skill even she despises: the Grace of killing. 
Feared by the court and shunned by those her own age, the darkness of her Grace casts a heavy shadow over Katsa’s life. Yet she remains defiant: when the King of Lienid’s father is kidnapped she investigates, and stumbles across a mystery. Who would want to kidnap the old man, and why? And who was the extraordinary Graced man whose fighting abilities rivaled her own? 
The only think Katsa is sure if is that she no longer wants to kill. The intrigue around this kidnapping offers her a way out - but little does she realize, when she takes it, that something insidious and dark lurks behind the mystery. Somethng spreading from the shadowy figure of a one-eyed king...”

If I had to pair two books in the world, it would be Throne of Glass and Graceling. Graceling is one of my favorite series. I think the reason behind the pairing is fairly obvious when reading the blurb - they are both gifted killers in a magical world with palace intrigue and mysteries! Now go read it ;) 



5. Stravaganza, City of Masks, by Mary Hoffman 
~Back cover blurb~
“One moment, Lucien is in this world, the next moment he is transported to sixteenth-century Talia, a parallel-world country that is aways with deception, intrigue, treachery and glamour, all thrillingly spiced with danger. In a spine-tingling and dramatic revelation, Lucien discovers that he is in fact a Stravagante - somebody who, with the help of a talisman, can transport himself in time and place. But that is not all - in Talia it appears that Lucien alone can save the city of Bellezza from disaster...”

Not enough people know about this series in my opinion. It’s so amazing and unique! *-*
I’m matching this book with Throne of Glass because they are actually pretty similar on a broad scale. There’s assassins, palace intrigue, deception and treachery. It’s probably one of my favorite MG/YA series! 



6. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins 
~Back cover blurb~ 
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. 
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister’s place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to death before - and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices  that weigh survival against humanity and life against love”

Hands up if you wish you could discover this series for the first time again!! *shoots hand up to the sky* 
This one is more relatable to Throne of Glass through it’s action. It has all kinds of weapons and fighting and struggle and it’s just amazing!! 



7. The Selection, by Kiera Cass 
~Back cover blurb~
“For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon. 
But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. I means turning back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her, and leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn’t want. 
Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she beings to realize that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined” 

More royalty, more competitions, but another point that relates it to Throne of Glass is the love triangle, in my opinion *cough team Maxon cough*. However, it is still very different. But to me, for some reason, it makes sense to mention them together :) 



8. Cinder, by Marissa Meyer 
~Back cover blurb~
"Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl...
Sixteen-year-old Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past and is reviled by her stepmother. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyal and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect the world’s future. Because there is something unusual about Cinder, something that others would kill for." 

Hmm this one’s another more subtle choice. What made me choose this is Cinder’s uniqueness, much like Celaena’s uniqueness. They are totally different. In fact they are so different that it makes them unique, which the two books revolve around in a really interesting way! (Please let me know if I’m not making any sense XD ) 



9. Red Queen, by Victoria Aveyard 
~Back cover blurb~ 
“Mare Barrow’s world is divided by blood - those with red and those with silver. Mare and her family are lowly Reds, destined to serve the Silver elite whose supernatural abilities make them nearly gods. Mare steals what she can to help her family survive, but when her best friend is conscripted into the army, she gambles everything to win his freedom. A twist of fate leads her to the royal palace itself, where, in front of the king and all his nobles, she discovers a power of her own - an ability she didn’t know she had. 
Except... her blood is Red. 
To hide this impossibility, the king forces her into the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his owns sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks her new position to aid the Scarlet Guard - the leaders of a Red rebellion. Her actions put into motion a deadly and violent dance, pitting prince against prince and Mare against her own heart." 

For me this was an obvious choice - castles, royalty, unique magic.. but also fights and competitions to see who’s the better magic-user... It’s really worth the read! I like to think that Mare and Celaena are distant cousins or something :) 


So yep I have 9 this week - what book would you add to the list? Let me know! :) 
(also this took me over an hour to type out... 

8 comments:

  1. I need to read The Selection urgently. Seen it on nearly everybody's list !
    Heres my TTT

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well to be fair, I only read the first book :’) I really need to get on with the next ones!

      Delete
  2. Totally agree with you on Graceling! Throne of Glass and Graceling were two books that I immediately thought of for this topic. Most of the other ones on your list I've either read or already want to. However, I'd never heard of Stravaganza, City of Masks before, but it sounds interesting so I'm going to go check it out.

    My TTT

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Graceling is one of my faves :)
      It’s really sad that not many people have heard of Stravaganza! I mean sure it was never hyped or anything, but I still think they are worth the read :)

      Delete
  3. so many of these I need to put on my TBR list :) My TTT

    ReplyDelete
  4. Graceling, Red Queen and Cinder are all on my TBR!
    My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2015/09/29/top-ten-tuesday-24/

    ReplyDelete

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