Recent reading

[luzula]

Nyckeln [The Key] by Mats Strandberg and Sara Bergmark Elfgren (audiobook, #3 in the Engelsfors trilogy)
YA fantasy. Oooh, these just get better and better. I remember after the first one I wasn't even sure whether to go on, but I'm so glad I did. I love that they're such an ensemble story, and that there are shades of gray, and that characters that seem bad turn out to be good and vice versa. Also we finally get the long-built-up F/F relationship! I also like that they're so unabashedly tropey at times--for example, there's a five-way body swap and it is so satisfying.

Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan (#3 in the Memoirs of Lady Trent)
These books are delightful. *happy sigh* I love how Isabella just takes on everything that comes along--why yes, she will have a marriage-of-convenience with a woman in a strange-to-her culture if it helps her look at DRAGONS. Also, being a biology geek, I actually care about the taxonomy issues. Looking forward to the next book, which will be out in April.

Both series recommended!

Comments

[isis]

Ooh, I should look for that first - I assume an English translation exists!

[luzula]

I think the first two are out in English, and the third one will be out soon! Yeah, I'd love to hear what you think of it.

[tamsin]

I got the first Lady Trent book for christmas. It sounds like fun, I'm going to read it soon.

[luzula]

I thought the first one was okay, but they get a lot better in book 2 and 3, IMO.

[nonesane.livejournal.com]

Oooh, Voyage of the Basilisk sounds interesting! Will have to add that to my to-read list :)

Also, glad to hear the Engelfors triolgy goes strong to the end! My mother loves that trilogy and really wants me and my sister to read it (which we are, though slowly, as I'm reading it out loud to her and we have to do that via Skype). Enjoying myself so far and am looking forward to getting to know the characters even better in the second and third book!

(Sorry for posting this twice - hadn't realized the computer had logged me out :/)

[luzula]

Oooh, Voyage of the Basilisk sounds interesting! Will have to add that to my to-read list :)

It's #3 in a series, though, so be sure to read the other two first!

Yeah, the Engelsfors trilogy got a lot better for me in book 2 and 3. It's got such a large cast of characters, so it took a little time for them to get established.

[nonesane.livejournal.com]

I checked my Goodreads and apparently I had marked #1 in this series as to-read already - so it must be good ;)

And I agree about the loads and loads of characters when it comes to the Engelfors trilogy. 6 main characters is a lot to juggle at once. But I'm still definitely enjoying the first book and that it gets even better further on makes me smile. Have you seen the movie based on the first book?

[luzula]

No, I haven't! I've heard that the books are better, and it always takes me a long time to get around to watching movies anyway.

[nonesane.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm sure the books are better, seeing as they have more room for character development. But the movie was actually quite good, especially seeing as it's an urban fantasy movie filmed in Sweden. My mother liked it a lot, and she'd read all the books when we watched the movie. I hadn't read a single one, but the movie made me want to. Not because the movie was bad, but because I liked the characters and plot and wanted to know more about them. So if you have the chance to watch it someday, I recommend it :)