Liked This? Read That! 4

Hello hello and welcome or welcome back to my little bookish corner of the internet. Today I’m bringing you a fourth post in my Liked This? Read That! series, which I’ve been writing for a while now, and I’ve got four more suggestions, each based on a brilliant book, recommending another brilliant book. Remember these can be read in reverse as well, so even if you’ve read the second book of the two, the first one might be of interest!

Here are the links to the previous editions of these posts:
Liked This? Read That!
Liked This? Read That! 2
Liked This? Read That! 3

Circe
This is a book I read prior to starting my book blog, but it is a book that’s stuck with me across the years. Written with stunning power and beauty, it’s still one of my favourite books ever. It’s absolutely gorgeous on the outside, and the construction of the story is incredible, and I loved every single page. It’s one of those I absolutely will have to reread at some point.

Ariadne
I was lucky enough to be sent a copy of Ariadne as a proof before it came out earlier this year, and it was an absolute joy to read. I recommend this connected to Circe for more than just the surface reasons of them both being ancient historical myths. Both books are about forgotten, vilified, women. Both books have been incredibly well researched. Both books are an absolutely force to be reckonned with. And I love them both.

Sadie
I listened to the audiobook version of Sadie earlier this year. It worked particularly well as an audiobook because it contains things like a podcast segment, and different interviews with a selection of characters. It’s so well structured as an audiobook that you can almost believe that it’s real, getting lost in the story, and get absorbed in the story entirely.

This Lie Will Kill You
Although not set up in exactly the same way, This Lie Will Kill You is another story that is a present with a haunted past that keeps coming back to meet the characters throughout the pages of the book. It was one that was particularlly thrilling and kept me guessing throughout, right up to the very last page, and had a very satisfying ending, which, admittedly, isn’t the same as Sadie. However, they are both the kind of book that will keep you on the edge of your seat!

Shadow and Bone
Okay so firstly thing first: I haven’t watched Shadow and Bone on Netflix, and I haven’t finished the Grishaverse series. I couldn’t get into the second book of the initial trilogy, although I will give it another go at some point, so I’m basing this recommendation on the first book! This is a book about discovering magic, discovering your worth, and discovering what you want your place in the world to be.

Among the Beast and Briars
I absolutely loved this wild card of a book we read as a group a few months ago. It’s a clever, beautiful, fantastical book, that is all about the same motivations as the above. Among the Beasts and Briars takes a girl who is wondering about her place in the world and forces her into an adventure of self discovery, ready to explore herself and the world around her despite her fear. These might not seem like immediate companions, but they do have more in common than it seems.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Aristotle and Dante captured my heart when I met them in May, and I can’t wait to read the upcoming – long awaited for many – sequel to be released later this year. The story of falling in love as two boys in the 80s really captured my little gay heart, and I was quite emotional at different points throughout the book. There’s so much that can be taken from this story, from finding your inner strength, to relying on the strength of another when you don’t feel like you have any.

Dangerous Remedy
Dangerous Remedy and its sequel Monstrous Design have become firm favourites of mine this year. Following a group of misfits as they try to navigate Revolutionary Paris, this found family story looks at love in all its shapes and forms. Two of the main characters, Ada and Cam, are women in love when it is illegal to be so, and again, like Ari and Dante, they have to trust each other, and their friends, beyond all reason – and trust love even more.

So they we are! Four more recommendations based on brilliant books, all of which are well worth reading, and I hope you find something here that you will enjoy. Come back soon for daily posts!