The Sword and the Dagger is an epic novel set during the time of the Crusades. Princess Elaine of Tripoli is betrothed to Prince Conrad of Antioch, but she cannot stand the idea of being married to a young man as imperious and sententious as him. Meanwhile, Conrad insists that the marriage must occur in order to unite their Christian kingdoms against enemies lurking east of their home. However, Rashid, a Muslim assassin, is ordered to kill Elaine. In a poorly attempted assassination, Rashid is caught and thrown in the dungeons, but Elaine demands he explain why he tried to murder her.
Kaz Brekker is the worst of the worst in the Barrel, where all the thieves and thugs lie. His harrowing past has made him cruel beyond belief, and he’s known for being able to steal anything. When a prospering merchant offers him thirty million Kruge to hold the biggest heist of his life, he has no other option but to take it. Forming a team with a marksman who loves high risks, a treasonous convict barely surviving, a nationalistic witch with heartrending powers, a wealthy dealer’s son, and an assassin that survived the pleasure houses, Kaz sets his eyes on his biggest job yet.
Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins, is the final novel in The Hunger Games trilogy. After being rescued from the Quarter Quell, Katniss must adapt to life in District Thirteen while mourning the loss of Peeta. Katniss, forced to be the face of a revolution that she does not lead, suddenly finds herself in the middle of political chaos as the rebels of District Thirteen aim to overthrow the Capitol.
The fifth book in George R.R. Martin’s famous A Song of Ice and Fire series was just okay. This novel is essentially a repeat of the events from A Feast for Crows but from different characters’ perspectives. I was excited to revisit some of my favorite characters that I didn’t get to hear from in the last book, but they didn’t really add anything to the story. Daenerys had the most exciting scenes, in my opinion, but even she didn’t further the storyline; basically, in over 1,000 pages, nothing was accomplished.
Dragonslayer follows the story of three children and their experiences with dragons in the land of Pyrrhia. Wren was left by her village as a sacrifice for the dragons. She runs away and finds a lost dragon, and the two of them travel the world together. Leaf is distraught by her sister being eaten by dragons, and swears revenge against them. He sets out to become a dragonslayer and protect humans from what happened to his sister. Ivy thinks her father, Dragonslayer, is not trustworthy.
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is a story about friendship in the face of adversary, a story about loyalty to others, a story about destiny. Tolkien’s world building and character development is extremely well executed. Bilbo Baggins as a character works extremely well with the obstacles presented to him and the characters that he meets, allowing the reader to get engaged with the story and with Bilbo.
Illuminae follows Kady Grant and Ezra Mason, two teenagers living on the planet Kerenza in the year 2575. They broke up the day before a fleet of BeiTech ships attack their planet, where they are forced into three different ships; the Alexander (where Ezra ends up), the Hypatia (where Kady ends up), and the Copernicus. The Alexander is damaged and unable to make a wormhole gate, meaning the three ships have to travel six months to the nearest jump station, the Heimdall.
This fantasy novel by Rick Riordan (Book 3 in The Trials of Apollo series) is a book that lifted my spirits and crushed my soul. In The Burning Maze, we go back to Meg’s roots and the “people” there help Lester (Apollo) and his friends defeat the burning maze. Lester and his friends help him get on the enemy’s ship to steal a valuable object.
Steelheart is an amazing book written by Brandon Sanderson. There is no way to predict what is going to happen in this novel. It is action packed, funny, and a good overall book.
