With many thanks to HarperVoyager UK, I have two Advance Reading Copies of Mark Lawrence’s upcoming novel, THE GIRL AND THE STARS, to offer to random winners of this give-away.
To participate simply comment below this post and answer any (or all three) of the following three questions:
1. Which of Mark’s books have you read so far and what did you like about them?
2. What other book(s) did you most enjoy this year? (Published this year or previously.)
3. Where do you most often look for book recommendations and based on what do you decide to buy/read a book? (For example: Goodreads reviews, Amazon reviews, favourite blogger reviews, recommendations from friends, family or your favourite authors, library, Facebook groups, Reddit, sample reads or listens, book cover, blurb, article about or interview with the author, popularity, just having that feeling upon seeing it in a bookshop, etc.)
The giveaway will end on 19th December 2019 and as usual, I will ask Mark’s help with randomly selecting the winners.
This is, as always, an international giveaway, anyone can enter!
Wishing you the best of luck – Agnes
Please note: your email address will be required for the submission but will NOT appear on the website!
(Alternatively you can also log in with your WordPress/Facebook/Twitter account)
Pre-order links for The Girl and the Stars on Amazon US and UK
US cover reveal interviews and more information on the book:
About ‘The Girl and the Stars’ by Mark Lawrence (no spoilers)
The Girl and the Stars US Cover Reveal
that thorn guy 
The Broken Empire Trilogy, Red Queens War Trilogy, Book of the Ancestor Trilogy, Mazarkis Williams Trilogy, Road Brothers. I enjoy the gritty feel of the stories, the characters, and I find the prose style unique among authors. ML is one of my favorite authors.
Other favorites this year: Jenn Lyons Ruin of Kong’s, Name of All Thing.
Most often I get book recommendations from my Facebook group or my favorite cousin.
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1) I love the Ancestor series! So, obviously, I’m looking forward to this new series in the same world. 2) This year I also enjoyed The Wanderers by Chuck Wendig and Dark Age by Pierce Brown was brutal and amazing! 3) I subscribe to a lot of things, so it’s hard to say what most inspires me to buy and read a new book.
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I have read every one of Marks books, starting with Price of Thorns, my favorite parts of the books are always the protagonist and the world building. My other favorite series was Ed Macdonald The Ravens Mark series. I get my recommendations from other authors or Amazon reviews.
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Hello! I hope your day is going well. :>
I’ve read all of Mark’s books so far, save for Dispel Illusion which is next on my TBR. I’m currently re-reading the Red Queen’s War trilogy because I needed me a dose of Jalan’s antics after a rough month of november.
Another series I have enjoyed immensely this year would be V. E. Schwab’s Shade of Magic trilogy. Her world building is fantastic and so are her characters. Loads of interesting twists without anything feeling out of place or like a crutch, if that makes any sense. It will go on the “to be reread” pile with all of Mark’s books. I also -finally- read Patrick Rothfuss’s Kingkiller Chronicles books, and I am now in the club of “c’mon, release the 3rd one alreadyyyyyy!”.
Regarding where I find new books to read, I use Goodreads a lot but I am also part of a few Facebook groups where I’ve found some gems. Otherwise, i do randomly browse local book shops and Amazon frequently (it is actually how I discovered Mark a few years ago. Picked up Prince and King of Thorns for a very long bus drive across Canada and I was hooked instantly… And had to wait for Emperor). Because just looking at books and collecting a humongous TBR pile is almost just as fun as reading itself. Almost. 😂
That’s about it I believe? Yup that’s all for now. Happy holidays in advance! :]
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I’ve read the broken empire, red queen’s war and book of the ancestor trilogies and I’ve read one word kill and limited wish. I love Snorri and Karl’s relationship and adventures but it’s Nona and co who speak to me. If anyone asks me for book recommendations I always start with red sister. It is beyond a sci fy adventure it’s about human beings and their relationships with dark humour, danger, and girl power.
Most of my book recommendations come from my husband if I’m honest but friends and good reads are another source for me plus I could spend hours checking book genres in bookshops.
My favourite book from another author this year was the slow regard for silent things by Patrick Rothfuss as I love Auri. Merry Christmas xx
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I have read all of Marks books! My fav being Prince of Thorns – the world building in all of your books are amazing especially in Holy Sister!
A few fav books I’ve read this year Dark Age, Dark Dawn, Starsight. Im a huge fantasy fan.
Fingers crossed, would love to win The Girl and The Stars 👏🏼
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1) never read any of Mark Lawrence’s previous books but this has me interested as my kind of thing! 2) I have read Bloodprint series, nevernight series, reaper at the gates, kingdom of souls, game of thrones, Heart so fierce and lonely, Starsight, gosh can’t think of others 🤔 3) I generally get ideas from Instagram amazon recommendations and good reads
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Just finished reading the Holy Siter minutes ago and immediately loom for you in FB. I need from Mark Lawrence. That is how great he is. Saw his post on FB and this giveaway. Thats why Im taking chances in this one. By the way, The Holy Sister is the best book I have read this year.
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1. I’ve read everything except books 2 & 3 of Impossible Times. I have Limited Wish on audio.
2. A Little Hatred.
3. I have a couple friends who have similar tastes in reading. We always let each other know when we’ve read something particularly good. Then there are authors like Mark and a few others who can always be counted on for a good read.
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1. The Books of The Ancestor. Nona lead me to Mark’s wonderfully crafted world and its been a special interest of mine since.
2. I read a lot on Kindle Unlimited so many lesser known or self publicised authors. Nalini Singh is a big favourite of mine, but anything fantasy or shifter based hits the spot.
3. I’m in a few book groups and autistic groups where we share favourite books. I push Mark every chance I get 😂😂
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1 – I’ve read the book of the ancestor trilogy and am starting on the broken empire.
2 – Jennifer Lynn Barnes (debutants), L. E. Modesitt Jr (imager Series), Lois Bujold McMaster (anything she writes), Penny Reid (Winston brothers), W. R. Gingell (city between Series)
3 – Goodreads mostly but also amazon reviews and suggestions from bloggers and authors I follow
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1. The Broken Empire trilogy, Red Queens War trilogy and have just started One Word Kill.
2. Am really enjoying Josiah Bancroft’s Tower of Babel series, John Gwynne’s Of Blood and Bone trilogy. RJ Barker’s Bone Ships, Robert V.S. Redick’s Master Assassins, Mike Shackle’s We Are the Dead, Peter McLean’s Priest series, Ed McDonald’s Raven’s Mark series, Sebastien de Castell’s Greatcoats series. I’ve read a lot of great books this year.
3. Mainly Goodreads. I do pay attention to what my favorite authors like and enjoy trying new authors.
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1. Started with Red Sister which was the first fantasy book I ever read. It hooked me into the genre and since then I have read The Book of the Ancestor Trilogy, The Broken Empire Trilogy, Prince of Fools. Currently reading One Word Kill. The humor and the strong characters are what I enjoy the most in Mark’s books.
2. I am still ticking off my old TBR, so haven’t read any other books published this year. But from the ones that I have read, I have enjoyed “The Stand” the most.
3. Goodreads and /r/fantasy on reddit.
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So far I’ve read Red Sister but I am completely enamored with it already. I love Nona. I cannot wait to dive into Grey Sister and the rest of the series as well as this coming companion.
Some books I’ve enjoyed were Blood Heir, Dark Age, Dark Dawn, Ninth House, and many more. This year has mostly been a good reading year.
I watch a very limited amount of booktubers or people who do booktube. I found Mark’s books through YouTube, actually. The one girl I watched actually convinced me because she literally raced the entire time about how wonderful it was for her. So I gave it a try and I DEFINITELY agree. Other than that if I see a book on Instagram enough and the cover intrigues me, I usually give it a try.
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I have read all of Mark’s books except for Dispel Illusion which I plan to buy in paperback. I saw the cover for Prince of Thorns and was intrigued and the blurb’s description of Jorg as a “charming, immoral boy leading a band of outlaws” sold me. Then the prose had me gushing and Jorg still stands at one of my favourite protagonists. There’s a beautiful darkness in his character that I really relish. The fact the book begins pretty much with Jorg scaring away the dead already let me know I would be in for a treat.
The Red Queen’s War trilogy was a welcome return to the universe of the Broken Empire, revealing more of the cogs and wheels beneath this gritty world, but it was Jalan who shone and these books still stand as the funniest books I’ve had the pleasure of reading.
The Holy Sister trilogy combines that dark, clever charm I’ve come to expect with Mark Lawrence, with a boarding school setting (love it) though with the twist the girls are being trained in deadly arts. Nona is a captivating protagonist and beneath her dark outer shell is a girl struggling in an unrelenting world and that feeling of trying to belong and find your place is really relatable. That plus cool assassin-nun shenanigans and I’m in love. And Holy Sister contains a spine-tingling moment I’ve adored in Emperor of Thorns and The Wheel of Osheim.
The Impossible Times trilogy is very different from his other books but I’ve enjoyed the twisty nature of it and the eighties British setting. Very interested to see how Nick’s story ends and I love that I can read such a different kind of series from Lawrence which has me excited for his future explorations into different settings and genres.
There’s just a way Lawrence writes that’s unlike anyone else and I feel like I’ve tapped into this hidden wavelength where you just click with his words and you revel in that specialness. Lawrence has established himself as one of the few authors I’ll buy any book they release and The Girl and the Stars I am supremely keen for. Love being able to gush about Mark Lawrence’s work here. I could go on much longer but his books will forever remain top-shelf masterpieces for me.
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1. I started with the Broken Empire trilogy, and read the Red Queen’s War and Books of the Ancestor as they came out. Still waiting on Limited Wish but I loved the first two Impossible Times books.
2. What other book(s) did you most enjoy this year? (Published this year or previously.)
2. I’ve been really enjoying Josiah Bancroft’s Books of Babel, so I was pleased to be able to read books two and three this year. I’ve also been getting more into graphic novels, finally reading Watchmen and Scott Pilgrim.
3. Goodreads is a great source for recommendations, but usually from seeing books that authors and people I follow are reading, more than the built-in feature. Asking friends what they enjoy reading is always great as well.
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1. I’ve read the Broken Empire Trilogy and am currently reading the Second installment of Red Queen War trilogy. What I love the most about the books that Mark Lawrence writes is the way that he creates his characters. They seem raw and real, they are not perfect like some of the characters in books nowadays and this brings a plus to his books.
2. I really enjoyed reading this year a book by Michael G. Manning “Secrets and Spellcraft”. I love the way he creates his world, plus some of the internal monologues of the character are downright hilarious.
3. I have lots of places where I find books that I enjoy. Sometimes is on an audio book site where I just browse the contents, see the description of the book, or I look at recommendations that Goodreads shows me and I go from one page to another until I find something that I consider I might like. One more way would be just browsing through a library.
One more thing that I need to add as a side note. I love what you did with the cover of the book. It’s simple yet beautiful. 🙂
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1. I’ve read all The Bronen Empire books, One Word Kill and Dispel Illusion. I’ve bought Red Sister, but made a mistake by buying beautiful hardcover that is too hard for carrying around in transport, so right now it waits holiday time and looks pretty on my bookshelf. The thing that I instantly liked about Mark’s books is the courage to write about characters and situations that will put off significant portion of people…and then I fell in love with the prose. It is magnificent.
2. It is not a recent book, but I enjoyed Flowers for Algernon the most.
3. I prioritise recommendations made by people with similar taste, either by people I know in real life or people I find online. I also browse Reddit and Goodreads often, and I look for random reviews that might interest me in something. Furthermore, I tend to read/buy books that are considered famous/classic in the genre if they look like my cup of tea. If I really liked one book by author, there is high probability that I will read others too.
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I’ve read the Broken empire series and the red Queen’s war series so far and they are some of my absolute favourites ever. I love how different they are from other novels in the genre, and how they play with unusual characteristics for characters. I am a bit scared by how much I love Jorg, but I have decides to ignore it. I love the plot and the tiny details and the characters and it’s just a world I love losing myself in from time to time
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1) I’ve read all of the Book of the Ancestor series and the Impossible Times one (currently reading Dispel Illusion) and also Prince of Thorns. Mostly I like the story and the characters and the feeling of entering a new universe while reading.
2) This year I really enjoyed Red White and Royal Blue, The Tea Dragon Festival and Firestarter
3) For recommendations I always look to Goodreads, Twitter, and my friends’ opinions
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1) I’ve read the The Broken Empire Trilogy and the Red Queens War Trilogy. What I like about them is the adult feel whilst not being unecessary violent. It’s refreshing to have a genre between YA and grim. I’ve started The Broken Empire just after my deception of The Painted Man using rape as a scenaristic convenience
I am also at a point in my life where I want book to finish well AND to identify to mature characters (The First Law is still fine – Dark but not sexist !). Also, Bonus point for the post-Apocalypse settings. I really love to see our world being altered.
2) Unsurprisingly I keep liking ALL Brandon Sanderson books. Specifically enjoyed Children of the Nameless because it mixed two of my favourite things in life: Reading and playing Magic: The Gathering
3) Mostly Goodreads recommandations. Or simply reading all books from one particular author. I’m also curious about Amazon sales (I own a Kindle), it’s often a nice way to buy the first book of a good series for cheap
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1) Hi! I’ve only read Red Sister so far, but I LOVED IT SO MUCH. I think that his world-building and character development are just amazing.
2) I’ve loved Kingdom of Souls, House of Salt and Sorrows, and The Bee Keeper of Aleppo
3) Twitter/Bookstagram/GoodReads Reviews all entice me to buy books lol
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I l mostly decide to read books through discovering them on Goodreads, recommendations of family and friends or by browsing in a book store and being appealed by the cover and the description in the back. 🙂
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1. Read all of ML‘s books, except 2 and 3 of Impossible Times. Soon though 😉 I enjoy the characters, the rush of action, the clever plot twists, the big and small nods to science and the prose makes the books so quotable!
2. Sanderson‘s new Sci-fi ‚Starsight‘
‚Where The Crawdads Sing‘ Owens
The Red Rising books (a new discovery for me and just excellent)
The Children of Time books by Adrian Tchaikovsky – breathtaking!
‚The Grey Bastards‘ ! Thank you SPFBO!
And so many more. It’s been a great reading year..
3. Since I have been actively using Goodreads (for the past two years) I’ve made some friends there and followed some authors who are posting reviews of their reads and I’ve had such an influx of book recommendations that I can be sure are on point with what I enjoy.
And recently I’ve taken to follow the SPFBO and it has opened a whole new self published world!
Then my brother and I have an extremely similar taste in books, so often we recommend each other books and at times we have found to be reading the same new book at the same time without knowing about it!
Most other people around me don’t tend to read books in English and especially not sci-fi/fantasy. So I end up being the one to recommend new books to them whenever they’ve been translated to German. It’s good fun 😉
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I’ve read all your books except the Impossible Times series, on my TBR list though. I remember reading Prince of Thorns and being stopped in my tracks and having to read some parts again and again, the prose is so beautiful. It is the finest book I’ve read in many, many years.
Other books that stand out this year have been a few you recommended. Michael McClung series, John Gwynnie’s Faithful and Fallen series, Kings of the Wyld was a standout and Sebastian de Castell’s greatcoats was a wonderful romp.
I’ve taken to using the FB Grimdark readers and writers site as my shopping list. Great list compilations there and really brilliant recommendations. I also look on good reads to see who you’ve reviewed well, you haven’t let me down yet.
Good luck with your new book, I’m really looking forward to reading it.
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1. I’ve read Red Sister and One Word Kill most recently and loved both! One Word Kill was so fun.
2. I think my favorite book this year is Dark Age by Pierce Brown but I also loved King of Scars from Leigh Bardugo.
3. I usually find recommendations from Twitter and Goodreads.
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1. Read them all. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every one. Nona Grey is brilliantly realised but I can’t quite get past my love of Jorg as a character, so Prince of is still my favourite
2. Favourite book this year is The Spider by Leo Carew – really good world building
3. Find books through Amazon recommendations and from the new books lists from Goldsboro Books and UK Bookworm (the latter are a particular delight to deal with!)
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1. I’ve read all of Mark’s other series. I think he builds the most fascinating worlds.
2. I started and finished the “Books of Babble” series this year and they are among my top five series.
3. I usually find books through the /r/fantasy subreddit. I read “Senlin Ascends” based off of Mark’s suggestion.
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I’ve read all of Mark’s books so far and I’m torn between Red Queen’s War and Impossible Times for the number one spot. I can’t decide!
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1, All of them. For me, it’s the characters, I love the challenging aspects of each character taken on by ML, rarely have I read them done so well.
2, Lancelot by Giles Kristian. Absolutely marvellous book.
3, FB groups for both Grimdark and Historical Fiction.
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1. The Broken Empire Trilogy and the Red Queens War Trilogy. Love Grimdark and Mark is right up there with the best!
2. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham.
3. Facebook group for Grimdark readers and writers and the SFF Chronicles Forum
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Broken Empire and Red Queen’s war. Also Road Brothers
I love how the two perspectives of the same world are completely different.
I love how his writing made me feel compassionate with such a hateable character as Jorg, and I really loved Kashta’s backstory
I look for recommendations on the grimdark Facebook group.
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1. The Book of the Ancestor Trilogy. I really enjoyed the prose and the overarching story, also warrior nuns? In what universe is that not awesome?
2. The Priory Of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
Gideon The Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Seven Blades in Black by Sam Sykes
3. Twitter is where I tend to find a lot of the books I’ve read recently but also just looking at the recommendations on other books I’ve read and people recommending them to me. Most of the time if the cover, title or an author I know grabs my attention I’ll give it a read.
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I’ve read the prince of thorns series and red Sister and loved both for their grittyness and strong characters!
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I haven’t read any of his books yet, but I own a few eek! lol I discover books to read usually through goodreads.
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The Impossible Times trilogy. First two Murderbot Diaries.Various places (Amazon, Mysterious newsletter, Good reads..)
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1. All except Dispel Illusion at this point, though I have it on good authority that will be a Christmas gift! I really enjoyed the grittiness of his books and the fast-paced plots, up until I started reading Book of the Ancestor. I think that’s now my favourite trilogy thanks to the characters and how well developed they felt, especially the friendships. Something about Nona & co. just gripped me.
2. I discovered Josiah Bancroft’s Senlin Ascends this year, then preceded to devour the other two in the series. Also, took a tour around the Discworld with some of Terry Pratchett’s older books (trying to read these in chronological order). Other notable reads include: Holy Sister by you know who, The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard, Aching God by Mike Shel, the whole Powder Mage trilogy by Brian McClellan, as well as a His Dark Materials trilogy reread, and This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal Eh-Mohtar & Max Gladstone (beautiful, beautiful, prose).
3. Twitter, Reddit /r/fantasy, my friend Kirstie (who introduced me to Prince of Thorns circa 2012 and many other books since then), Amazon’s “you might also be interested in” feature, Googling “fantasy books with x” when absolutely desperate. Sometimes I check Goodreads to read a blurb/some reviews, but I find the whole interface pretty unusable for sussing out new reads.
(Leaving a reply doesn’t seem to be working for me, but if they’re moderated… I’m sorry for leaving about 5 – I’ll give up after this one).
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Ah yes, of course this is the one that would actually work. Figures!
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1) The Broken Empire Trilogy
2)Outrun the Wind
3)Bookstores, I’m usually drawn to book titles
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I have The Broken Empire trilogy, Red Queen’s War trilogy and Book of the Ancestor trilogy (Grey and Holy Sister is first edition hardback). Book of the Ancestor is definitely my favorite. Nona is one of the best characters I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. Having Asperger’s myself, Nona really home for me ways no other character really has before.
I discover John Gwynne this year and loved his Banished Land books. Especially the two from Of Blood and Bone. I also read the First Law trilogy and The Books of Babel (thanks to you, Mark!) and loved them.
I find most my recommendations from Facebook posts and from authors I’m friends with on Facebook. Goodreads is another source I use to dive deeper into potential reads.
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I’ve read the book of the ancestor trio logo and just bought prince of thorns, excited to dive in!
I adored Gideon the ninth this year! Great book!
Booktubers, goodreads ratings, recommendations from authors I follow on social media.
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I’m torn between Serpent & Dove and DarkDawn as my favorite reads this year! But even narrowing it down that much is tough! So many good reads this year!
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Loved, loved, loved the “Sister” books! The stories and settings are fantastic. My hubby found recommendations online and now working through other novels.
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1.The broken empire. Red queens war. Book of the ancestor. That the characters feel so real.
2. Throne of glass ,Crown of Midnight, heir of fire by Sarah J Maas.
3. Rarely do.
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Facebook, Twitter, Booktube, reviews, emails from authors/publishers is where I find most of my book recommendations and I decide whether to buy based on whether the plot interests me or not.
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I’ve read all of Mark’s Broken Empire, Red Queen’s War and Ancestor trilogies, as well as Road Brothers and Limited Wish. I love how he plays with our perspectives of the characters, almost tricking us into liking some very unsavoury folks 😂
I’ve also enjoyed the Nevernight Chronicles and A Little Hatred recently.
I get recommendations from Facebook groups, friends and occasionally magazine reviews.
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I have read all of the holy sister books all of the prince of thorn books and the prince of fools trilogy! Loved them all. I loved the characters especially in the red sister trilogy i lived zole and darla especially. All are unique stories in their own right and made me finish them within a week which is rare for me!
A recent book i loved was Bloody rose by nicholas eames! It was loads of fun as well as emotional at times.
I usually get recommendations on books from fantasy faction and facebook book groups as well as my uncle who also loves fantasy books. I also look on whats new in bookstore websites! Now give me the book i never win!!
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1. Broken Empire series. First two of Red Queens War, First two of Ancestor Trilogy and first two of impossible times. Yes I am starting to see a trend where I do not finish series even though I love the books, working on that.
2. Hard to remember all the different books I have read this year to remember which was my favourite, if I had to say off the top of my head I loved the Last Sun by KD Edwards, Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden and War by Michelle West.
3. Most of my recommendations I see from Facebook groups or reddit fantasy. Blurb tends to the main thing that will get me to read a new author. If I have read author previously then how I enjoyed their previous work will determine whether I buy or not.
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1. I’ve read the Broken Empire trilogy, Prince of fools, and Book of the Ancestor trilogy. I’m currently reading One Word Kill and have the rest of the books waiting to be read. The Broken Empire trilogy was pure awesome (needs to be made into a movie), Prince of Fools is way to funny and the Ancestor trilogy is one of my favorites reads of this year.
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Prince of Thorns is a recent purchase and read but I have been meaning to get at it for a long while now.
Gridmark Fiction Readers & Writers has been an amazing source of excellent writers and amazing recommendations. I’m very happy to be apart of the group and continue to read more of it’s fantastic writers.
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1. I really liked “Prince of Thorns” and am currently reading “Red Sister”. The thing I like most about Mark’s books I’ve read is that they are a mixture of fantasy and post-apocalyptic-dystopia.
2. I really liked “The Dragon Republic”. Non-traditional settings are always fun and it’s always interesting to see my people portrayed as the villains.
3. Goodreads mostly. Also Twitter and YouTube lately.
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Which of Mark’s books have you read so far and what did you like about them?
The Broken Empire, The Red Queens War and Road Brothers. What I really loved was the Red Queens War being as fresh and exciting as The Broken Empire was. Mark, as he puts it, writes from his fingertips and tells the story without plotting a pre-planned sequence. I love the mornings I was late for work because I was busy reading through breakfast.
2. What other book(s) did you most enjoy this year? (Published this year or previously.)
This year I thoroughly enjoyed Oathbringer and The Burning White. Two amazing, epic novels brimming with some of the richest world building I’ve had the pleasure of reading.
3. Where do you most often look for book recommendations and based on what do you decide to buy/read a book?
I look to Facebook groups involving my favourite authors. I like to see their own opinions, and the opinions of fans who clearly share my taste. It does me well.
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I’ve read them all and bloody love them. Keep it up champ
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1) The broken empire, the red queen trilogy and I started Red Sister. I believed Jorg is one of my favorite characters from all times, the character development through the book is tangible, like you can see him growing up, but it’s not predictable, so he surprised me until the very end. From the Red Queen, Jalan’s point of view always made the story easier to follow, and mixing that story with Jorg travel was something I loved. In general, I would say that what I love the most about all these books is how the story is tell. Whatever they tell you, is there for a reason. Nothing is there too early, just at its proper time. And when I read, it’s like watching a movie, that’s the real power it has. The story is so well connected that you can see it inside your head.
🙂
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I’m torn between Serpent & Dove and DarkDawn as my favorite reads this year! But even narrowing it down that much is tough! So many good reads this year!
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I love Red Sister. In fact, I named my cat Nona because of this book. I love the characters and the decisions that Nona makes. Earlier this year I read Rod Duncan’s The Outlaw and the Upstart King. As an MFA student I participated in a podcast about new books from smaller publishers and this has given me access to lists of upcoming books from publishers like Your.com, Angry Robot, and many others.
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1. All of them. I enjoy the close POV, with the twists and turns, and the tangible character development. The world building built up with a less is more approach. And the prose at a sentence level is great.
2. A Little Hatred was my favourite book this year.
3. Twitter or reddit. Similar groups of people/reviewers.
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1) I’ve read all of Broken Empire and Book of the Ancestor. What I loved about Broken Empire was how you switched back and forth in the timeline to build Jorg’s character. I also loved the clever plot twists. For Book if the Ancestor, it is how deeply you write the characters. They have such amazing complexity and detail and you end up feeling so much for them.
2) I started reading Phedre’s Trilogy (Kushiel’s Dart and Kushiel’s Chosen this year. Quite loved them and am looking forward to more of it. I also finished Malazan this year. A brilliant series.
3) I spend a lot of time in Fantasy Faction FB Group and love to see what people are reading. I also keep an eye on what pops up in Goodreads and in the nominated books for the various awards. Just finished Priory of the Orange Tree and loved the duality of magics and now see why it’s been so highly recommended. I also am part of a Malazan FB group. Clearly I love FB groups huh? But I know you spend time on there sir. Looking forward to more of your work!
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1 I have read all his books. I’d read a shopping list Mark wrote 😊
2 Laini Taylor’s Muse of Nightmares – fabulous world building, and I loved the characters; and Jodi Taylor’s St Mary’s stories, which cannot be read on the train, due to laughing too much!
3 A combination of Goodreads recommendations and reviews. If I live forever, I’ll still never read all my To Read list.
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Where do you most often look for book recommendations and based on what do you decide to buy/read a book?
I usually get recommendations from book blogger friends who have the same taste as me. Or from Goodreads. I’ve found that editors/publishers/publicists are also great at recommending books on Twitter.
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I’ve read most of your books now I think since Prince of Thorns apart from Bound and the Impossible Times series which will be my Christmas holiday reading!
Other books I’ve read this year would be Bloodchild, the final book in Anna Stephens wonderful series – and listened to the entire Wheel of Time audio book series to prepare myself for the tv show. I also revisited Osten Ard and read Tad Williams’ Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series from the beginning and the new Last King of Osten Ard books (a bridge novella and 2 books – waiting for final one now!)
I tend to read authors I’ve read before but occasionally pick up a suggestion from amazon or from a friend
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1. Read The Broken Empire trilogy and Prince of Fools. Rest of the trilogy already here, everything else is a top priority on my never-ending wishlist. What I love most? Well, everything, but mostly the marvelous writing and the ability to make me feel for the characters even when they don’t seem to be good people.
2. Two books I really loved this year were The Whisper Man and The Taking of Annie Thorne. Super scary, super addictive and super good.
3. Any place is a good place to find a good book, but mostly I roam around Goodreads, blogs and Twitter. If it is from an author I love, sounds like a good story or someone whose taste is similar to mine recommends it, then I want it.
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1. The broken empire series, prince of fools and during the dance. I love the writing style, character building and love an anti hero
2. I finished the game of thrones series this year and loved it. Also really like the short story the slow regard of silent things by Patrick Rothfuss
3. I look around on goodreads, use the recommend section on amazon and have a few good people who have similar book likes to me that recommend different authors and books. I’m also a sucker for good cover art …
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1. The broken empire series, prince of fools, the book of the ancestor trilogy, One Word Kill, and many of his short stories (via wattpad). Prince of Thorns was the book that got me hooked on fantasy; Mark’s books are dark and different and simply wonderful. One of my favourite authors.
2. This year, my top books were Michael R. Fletcher’s Manifest Delusion series, The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins, and Neil Gaiman’s Death comics.
3. I am very active on goodreads and commit most of my free time to finding new books to read (though I should be doing work) using the site.
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I’ve read all of Marks books except the final two of the Impossible Times trilogy.
Book a this year, too many to list but Holy Sister and A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie are my favs.
Get recommendations from authors I follow online and other readers. Tend to avoid review sites (except The Wertzone which is always 100% reliable).
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Reblogged this on aquavenatus and commented:
Enter to win an ARC of Mark Lawrence’s next book, “The Girl and the Stars”!!!
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Mark Lawrence here is the author of one of my favourite books, The Prince of Fools. Ever since I’ve come across this book two years ago, I’ve loved it. Probably why it took me two years to read it: I never wanted it to end. And I’ve read the rest of the trilogy, as well as The Broken Empire trilogy and Book of the Ancestor trilogy. But Prince of Fools will always hold a special place in my heart.
Some of my favourite books of the year are:
– The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
– Circe by Madeline Miller
– The Faithful and the Fallen series by John Gwynne
– The Nevernight Chronicle trilogy by Jay Kristoff
I come across my books through Goodreads’ reviews and cover shopping at my local bookstores. So far it’s worked pretty well for me!
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I look for recommendations online and from my friends in real life. I’m not hard to convince though. 🙂
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Just recently read The Broken Empire and absolutely loved it! Great characters and wonderful story developments that kept me wanting more. New to the Grimdark world but love the grittiness and a more realistic rendering of what accompanies these world’s. Finding so much reading suggestions that have been spot on through a couple Facebook pages I have been following.
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I have read only the Book of the Ancestor series, but am planning on reading all the other series because I heard they are all somewhat Connected. Some other great books I’ve read this year is The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang, Doctor Sleep by Stephen King, and Bright we Burn by Kiersten White. I get my recommendations from goodreads and Facebook groups mostly!
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1. One Word Kill & Prince of Thorns
2. Godsgrave
3. Fantasy Faction
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1. Most of his books
2. Godsgrave, A Time of Blood, The Poison Song, Foundryside, The Rage of Dragons, Starsight.
3. Friends, Blogger reviews, Goodreads reviews, blurb & cover
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1. Just literally finished Dispel Illusion. Mark continues to baffle me with how seamlessly he can answer questions and yet present more questions to his mythos.
2. Great year for conclusions with The Burning White, Blood of Empire and of course, Holy Sister.. Starsight was amazing as predicted, and I fiercely enjoyed Seven Blades in Black.
3. Goodreads primarily, favorite authors recommendations from their blog or twitter. I love what they write, so I’ll more than likely love what they like to read.
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1. All of his works barring his One Word Kill trilogy, I have a flight to the UK for Christmas and I have saved them especially for my journey.
2. Burning White was an incredible finish to a 5 part masterpiece. I also loved A Little Hatred, taking us back to such a fun world.
3. Family actually, one of us will often go to a bookshop and pick something up that looks like a fun read and report back. When the family go through a bit of a drought I head to Reddit to see their recommendation list but for the most part it’s a family affair.
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Read Holy Sister, like the word building. This year, I also enjoyed David Hair’s novel, Hearts of Ice; Cold Iron by Miles Cameron; A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie. My go-to for new novel discovery is our local Indigo bookstore, where I read the book jacket descriptions & a few pages.
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World building
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1. Have read all but Dispel Illusion, waiting for the paper back! And just finishing Road Brothers.
2. Some other favourites this year – the lighthouse keepers daughters, books of babel series by josiah bancroft, bands of mourning by sanderson and the bear and the nightingale by k arden
3) I find recommendations on my kobo app and make selections based on goodreads reviews. A handful of authors are automatic purchases, like Mark Lawrence and Guy Gavriel Kay . I don’t need to know anything about their books, I know they’ll be great!
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Forgot to add in #1 – I love Mark’s books because of the exceptional characters and the world building, and the storylines that keep me turning the pages.
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I think I most enjoyed Elantris by Brandon Sanderson this year. I chose this year to finally read Brandon Sanderson and I think the thing I loved most was the connection I felt with his characters. I am Bipolar, and really deal with a lot of depression, so Elantris just … idk .. spoke volumes to me about that topic. It felt so personal, like it was written just for me. This is what I love about Fantasy as a genre… it’s way of taking reality and speaking about topics in a more natural and real way than the “real world “….
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1. Prince, King and Emperor, Fools, Key and Wheel, Red, Grey and Holy. All have amazing characters, are quick paced, full of humour and kick ass. (can’t wait for Dispell Illusion to come out so I can read that trilogy!).
2. This has been a good year, I discovered Michael R Fletcher who is quickly climbing up my favourite authors list. A Little Hatred was amazing and a great start for a new trilogy by Abercrombie, Weeks finished his Lightbringer series with Burning white, read all the Greatcoats book by Sebastien de Castell and discovered Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series among other thing.
3. Friend who read, but mostly it’s the Fantasy Faction group and Grimdark group on Facebook.
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And Road Brothers, I’ve read Road Brothers to.
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I’ve read the book of the ancestor . And what I loved was the world building and the amazing female character and the relationship b/w them .
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I’ve read the Broken Empire (twice), Red Queen’s War, Book of the Ancestor, One Word kill. and Road Warriors. My favorites are Broken and Red Queen’s for the first-person narration, characters, action, grit, and brutal humor.
My favorite books this year were One Word Kill, Never Die by Rob Hayes, The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Geisbriecht, A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie, and The Hod King by Josiah Bancroft. I also finished rereading (for the sixth time or so) the entire Solar Cycle by Gene Wolfe,and I reread the amazing Well-Built City Trilogy by Jeffrey Ford. I also read Permanent Record by my hero Edward Snowden.
Most of my recommendations come from Grimdark Readers and Writers on Facebook, Grimdark Magazine reviews, and publishers and reviewers that I follow on Facebook.
Thanks.
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I have read the Broken Empire, Red Queen’s War and Book of the Ancestor Trilogies and the Road Brothers book of short stories; Brother Sim’s Story was my favourite of those. I’ve finished One Word Kill and Limited Wish from the Impossible Times Series and I have Dispel Illusion on pre order for 31st of December (so excited) and The Girl and the Stars for next year (hope to get an early look). I loved the world building in all of the books but particularly Abeth in the Book of the Ancestor and The girl and the Stars. There’s a brilliant tragedy in the narrowing of the corridor and the world as it once was dying beneath the ice.
Jorg was the first character I was introduced to and despite his very dark character and lack of any real redeeming qualities, I came to empathise with him as his back story unfolded. Sometimes I think he might be my favourite book character of all time. I enjoyed Jorg and the Broken Empire trilogy so much that I didn’t think I would be able to form an attachment to another of Mark’s characters but along came Jalen and what a character he turned out to be. Mark had me laughing at Jal’s humour, cowardice and bravery and his wondering as to how he had come to be a national hero. The contrast with poor, noble Snorri was brilliant … Particularly laughed at Jalen trying to impress Catherine by agreeing to deal with her young brother-in-law just as he had dealt with the young upstarts back at the Red Queens Palace, while as a reader I was aware that said young brother-in-law was the sociopathic killer, Jorg who was anything but what Jal envisaged.
The first person narrative suited Jorg and was just brilliant so I wasn’t sure I’d like Red Sister when I realised it was to be written in third person but Mark can change up his writing style to suit the book and I soon came to love Nona and her fellow students, and all of the sisters. I loved the introduction of the four races and their powers and how Nona and Zole’s many powers made them such impressive fighters. Red Queens War and Impossible time series return to first person narrative allowed Mark’s humour to shine through again. I thoroughly enjoyed Nick’s quips about his cancer and his foot in mouth moments having not long before beaten breast cancer myself. Nick’s desire to make the right move forward so that he became the Nick that survived long enough to come back and have hair resonated with me. I could never pick a favourite character, trilogy, book or part as I love them all. I am so excited for the Girl and the Stars.
Personally wondering if impossible times is a prequel to the other series and the Girl and the Stars is where Nick’s discoveries eventually lead. The earth is dying. Will “watch me” be heard in Dispel illusion and the Girl and the Stars? I cannot wait to see.
I have read a lot of other books this year but my favourites have been re-reading David Gemmel’s, Drenai Series. I do not know if I prefer waylander, Druss, Skilgannon or Tenaka Khan I definitely have a soft spot for skillgannon, like Jorg … not sure what that says about my taste in men. I also loved “The Bee Keeper of Aleppo” and the Neopolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante and the Perfect Series by Helen Fields. I read a lot.
I get my book recommendations from Good Reads, Amazon and my eldest daughter who is now also an avid Mark Lawrence fan. My 14 year old has read One Word Kill and Limited Wish and can’t wait to read Dispel Illusion. She is half way through Red Sister but is a little young to meet Jorg and Jalen yet.
If I was trapped on a dessert island with enough food and water to survive and my children, I’d be happy to stay put if I had a complete set of Mark Lawrence and David Gemmell books.
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1. I have read all of his series- Broken Empire trilogy, Red Queens War, Book of Ancestors, and Impossible Times. I have also read a number of his short stories.
I love his writing style and how every sentence sounds like poetry.
2. I read Books of Babel by Josiah Bancroft and Lady Astronaut by Mary Robinette Kowal series this year and throughly enjoyed them
3. I would mostly read a new book by the author I have previously read and enjoyed.
I also follow Fantasy Faction and its facebook group regularly for recommendations.
A higher Goodreads rating can often move a book up my TBR pile.
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I follow some bookstagrammers on Instagram and when I like a book they post, I read the reviews on Goodreads. If I’m still interested in reading it after reading the reviews I add it to my TBR list 🙂
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Hey there! I’m a big fan of your works and I can’t wait to read your next book! Merry Christmas to you and yours!
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Idk where my comment went, it looked like wordpress lost it when it prompted me to login and I had to do a password reset, so hopefully I’m not duplicating what I just tried to post:
1. I’ve read all of Lawrence’s series except for the Impossible Times series. I love his characters, many of them feel real and multidimensional. From Jorg to Jal to Nona, they’re all complex characters with complex relationships.
2. I haven’t been able to read much this year because I started grad school. I actually read the Red Queen’s War and Broken Empire series this year. I also read the Memories of Ice from the Malazan series (maybe I’ll return to this someday) and Murakami’s Norwegian Woods. I started the Fionavar Tapestry series but had to put that on hold because of grad school. Hopefully I’ll be able to pick it up again this winter.
3. I mostly get book recommendations from reddit and twitter.
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1. All except Dispel Illusion and Road Brothers.
2. Outside of the 3 books I read by a certain Mr Lawrence (not D.H.), my favorites this year were:
A. Books 2 & 3 of Josiah Bancroft’s The Books of Babel
B. Finally read The Vorkosigan Saga, and several of those were excellent
C. Reread Sherwood Smith’s Inda, which was even better the second time.
3. Certain friends on Goodreads, plus a handful of groups on Facebook. And some of the groups on Goodreads also help books bubble up to my attention.
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I’ve read the Broken Empire trilogy, Red Queen’s War trilogy, Book of the Ancestor trilogy and Road Brothers.
I especially enjoyed the fantasy mixed with Scifi elements of the Broken Empire, I loved that it was set in the distant future of our own world, I’ve never seen anything quite like that before and thought it was brilliant. In Red Queen’s War I particularly loved Jalan and found him hilarious, a fantastic antihero. Book of the Ancestor was possibly my favourite and I was particularly happy with how well Mark handled the LGBTQ elements; the lesbian relationships were sensitive and realistic without being fetishised and I LOVED that it had a bisexual main character! As a bisexual woman myself it was great to see some bi representation, and from a character I found likeable and relatable.
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1) The Book of the Ancestor trilogy, one and a half Broken Empire books and One Word Kill. I love Mark Lawrence’s prose style and way the voices of his main characters shine through in the narration.
2) I read Worm by Wildbow this year. It’s quite an undertaking and needs some editing to fix the pacing in some parts, but it’s still one of the best things I’ve read in a while.
3) I primarily find books via recommendations by my friends or by the fantasy subreddit. I use Goodreads and Amazon reviews as a secondary filter.
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I have read Red Sister, Grey Sister, Holy Sister and Prince of Fools. I absolutely fell in love with Nona in Red Sister and honestly continued reading the series for her. I thought the entire book was full of wonderful world building and Abeth was an interesting planet to read about, so I would definitely like to enter back into that world with The Girl and the Stars. I love how Mr. Lawrence incorporates some science fiction into his fantasy books as well, with the little bits of technology thrown in.
2. I really enjoyed The Ruin of Kings and The Name of All Things by Jenn Lyons. I think the series is such a refreshing take on fantasy and I never expect what is coming. Nothing about her story or her characters is predictable and that’s what makes it fun!
3. Mostly I am recommended books by my friend who reviews a lot of early release copies since she is a blogger. She will often get arcs, mostly through netgalley or edelweiss. She has never once recommended a book to me that I didn’t love. Sometimes I find out about other upcoming releases through the amazing book community on twitter, either through bloggers or even publishers hyping up new upcoming releases. My favorite place to order books from is Goldsboro. They always have amazing limited editions that I can’t resist buying.
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I’ve read the Book of the Ancestors trilogy. Aiming to find a copy of One Word Kill to enjoy during the holidays.
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1. Red Sister
2. Grey Sister
3. One Word Kill
4. Limited Wish
5. Bound
I love Mark’s world building and his ability to make extremely complicated systems and ideas seem simple.
I really enjoyed “Things Can Only Get Better” by David M Barnett And James Oswald No Where To Hide and No Time To Cry.
I use twitter for recommendations as well as amazon reviews and the main thing that makes me pull a trigger on the book is cover art.
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Loved the broken throne
The others are in my backlog!
This year I have most enjoyed reading through Robin Hobb with my wife together. We take turns reading aloud and its been great.
Mainly hear about new books from bookshops, twitter or reddit.
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I purchased two M.L. books and they are on my tbr. My two main sources for books are Goodreads and Twitter. However, I browse Netgalley & Edelweiss as well. This year I kept a close eye on the SPFBO and it turned out to be an amazing resource in the genre.
Thanks for the chance 🙂
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I read Prince and King of Thorns and loved the darkness of it. Loved the real consequences of actions. But even more I loved One Word Kill. Just read it recently and absolutely adored it! The characters were so lovely (Simon 😍) and loved the quantum theory bits that where included. So intriguing!
Other fantastic books were The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, Blackwing and The Sword of Kaigen 🖤
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1. All og them. They are… different and superb.
2. John Gwynne’s A time of Blood
3. Facebook
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1. I’ve read all Mark’s book but Red Sister is my favorite one. All were fun, but this one engaged me emotionally.
2. The Hod Kiing by Josiah Bancroft, A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie, The Sword of Kaigen by ML Wang.
3. Goodreads, r/fantasy.
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1. Broken Empire, Red Queen’s war, Book of the ancestor. Number of short stories.
2. White Sand 3, Starsight, The burning White
3. Friends mostly.
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1) I’ve read everything Mark’s published. I love the humour, characters, and action. 2) Read a lot of good books this year, but had the most fun reading Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir 3)I mostly hear about books on twitter, and follow up on Goodreads to check them out.
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I’ve read all of his books except Road Brothers! This month I’ve also enjoyed Sanderson’s latest, Starsight, and am working my way though Brent Weeks’ latest, The Burning White. I used to ask my dad for book recommendations, but since he passed unexpectedly I’ve had a harder time picking books. I’m always waiting for the next release from authors I know and like. Other than that, I read a lot of Amazon and Audible reviews.
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Hmm. I had to make a list for 1: Prince of Thorns, King of Thorns, Emperor of Thorns; Road Brothers; Prince of Fools, The Liar’s Key, The Wheel of Osheim; Red Sister, Grey Sister, Holy Sister; One Word Kill, Limited Wish, Dispel Illusion; During The Dance.
2. has a lot of strong contenders. Specific shout outs to Frohock’s “Carved from Stone and Dream”, Gailey’s “Magic for Liars”, Barker’s “The Bone Ships”, Gladstone’s “The Empress of Forever”, Gladstone (again!) and El-Mohtar’s “This is How you Lose the Time War”, Tchaikovsky’s “Children of Ruin” and Hurley’s “The Light Brigade”. But we were really spoilt for choice this year.
3. Recommendations tend to come off other book bloggers and authors on Twitter, as well as Reddit and some word of mouth/blog reviews.
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Read them all apart from One Word Kill trilogy which is high on my tbr pile. Love everything about all from world building to characters.
Currently loving the Nevernight books by Jay Kristoff, highlights of the year for me are the works of Anna Stephens and Cameron Johnston.
Find new titles through Twitter, Goodreads and Facebook mainly, following publishers and editors is always good for a heads-up
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1. During the dance was a beautiful quick read that broke up the epic…
2. Oathbringer – Brandon Sanderson that I had a recommendation from
3. Goodreads…!
Man I want this copy…! 😂😂
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I’ve been a fan of Marks right from the beginning. Read Prince of Thorns and have patiently awaited each release ever since. My favorite trilogy is The Red Queen Books. Jalan is an all time favorite character, but he’s not complete without Snori. I really hope to read about their adventures in future publications!
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1 I’ve read the Book of the Ancestor trilogy and absolutely loved it. I would die for Nona, although I don’t think it would be necessary. I’m so excited for the Girl and the Stars! Can’t wait for more set in this world!
2. Red, White and Royal Blue was probably my favourite read of the year. Also loved Priory of the Orange Tree.
3. I usually look on social media—Instagram, Twitter and YouTube— and then I look at my friends’ reviews on Goodreads.
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1) I enjoyed “Holy Sister” the most of Mark Lawrence’s books (so far), and it’s because of how each character fought in the battle(s). Each one used their unique skill to topple their enemies. One nun un particular fought like a total badass!
2) Shortlist of other books I enjoyed in 2019: “The Gutter Prayer” by Gareth Haranhan, “Gods of Jade and Shadow” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, “Realm of Ash” by Tasha Suri, “The Nevernight Chronicle” trilogy by Jay Kristoff, a YA novel called “In the Key of Nira Ghani” by Natasha Deen, and “Middlegame” by Seanan McGuire.
3) In short, I look for book recommendations on: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, friends, word of mouth, family, friends, librarians, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads.
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Status: EXCITED!
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