The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

A street kid from Boston, Magnus Chase is used to surviving on his wits. On his sixteenth birthday, his life completely changes - he finds out he is the son of a Norse god and the only one who can find a powerful weapon that has been lost for centuries. With the help of a ragtag group of Valkyries, dead heroes, Norse gods, elves and dwarves, Magnus finds himself travelling through the nine Norse realms to face his deepest, darkest fear and stop Ragnorak - the Norse apocalypse.

There was a lot I liked in this book. The Sword of Summer, like all of Riordan's books, is so imaginative and the weaving together of the modern world and ancient Norse mythology is deftly done. Magnus as a narrator is sarcastic and sassy and frequently hilarious, and the supporting characters are wonderfully diverse. However, I didn't love this book. Even though the mythology is different, The Sword of Summer felt very similar in style and plot to Riordan's other books. I also can't help thinking that if Percy Jackson, Jason Grace and Magnus Chase were in a room together, I would have problems telling them apart... Rick Riordan writes a good protagonist, but they are usually the same protagonist with a different name and hair colour.

This is still a solid book, however, and a promising start to a new series. It's not particularly original, but I liked the characters and The Sword of Summer was a diverting read on a rainy Sunday evening. If you like middle-grade fantasy or are a fan of Rick Riordan, you won't be disappointed.

Read On: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief was the first book in Rick Riordan's universe. The next book in the Magnus Chase series is The Hammer of Thor.

The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah

If I have learnt anything in this long life of mine, it is this: In love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are.

Vianne and Isabelle are two very different sisters. Vianne, the oldest, is married to her childhood sweetheart and lives with their daughter in the French countryside. Isabelle is younger, tempestuous and recently expelled from convent school. When the Nazis invade, both sisters are caught up in the chaos and each survives - and fights - in their own way.

I started reading The Nightingale with a frown. As I read about Vianne cooking soup for her husband and Isabelle falling in love with a man she'd met for ten seconds, I thought this was going to be the kind of historical romance my gran reads; in other words, a story about women waiting at home for their men to come back from the war. OMG, was I wrong! This is a story about women fighting and surviving World War Two in their own way. I'll be honest - I found both sisters borderline insufferable at first - Vianne all holier-than-thou while Isabelle is irritatingly rebellious even if it puts other people in danger. But they grow through the story and become more sympathetic as the choices they make change them, for better or for worse. The most powerful aspect of The Nightingale, however, was the way that Kristen Hannah captured the realities of wartime. All through the book, I got an overwhelming sense of deprivation and hopelessness as supplies dwindled and a community slowly turned against each other in a desperate battle of survival. Also, the ending caught me totally off guard and I'm not ashamed to admit I had a little sob.

Men think wars are all about them. The Nightingale shows women fighting a war in their own way and making sacrifices of their own. I enjoyed it a lot, and recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction from a female perspective.

Read On: All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is another highly-rated book set in France during WW2.

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

Roshar is a world shaken by violent highstorms and led by men who wield shardblades - the ancient weapons of the mysterious and long-disappeared Knights Radiant. On the ruined landscape of the shattered plains, Dalinar Kholin tries to unite the squabbling high princes of Roshar against a puzzling foe while being troubled by ancient visions. In the same war, Kaladin struggles to save his fellow slaves in a conflict where they are considered expendable. Lastly, a young scholar, Shallan, is apprenticed to Dalinar's heretic sister - and plans a daring theft.

The Way of Kings is a big, sprawling fantasy novel with lots of twisting plot lines, hundreds of characters and a story that shifts back and forth in time. It was confusing at first as I was launched straight into the action with no explanation of what was going on and bombarded with lots of words that I didn't know the meaning of - brightlord, oathpact, stormlight etc - but within a few chapters I was hooked. The world-building is staggering - Roshar is a world with a rich history, unique landscapes and challenging weather - and for a book that exceeds 1,000 pages, the pace barely lags. However, my favourite aspect of the book was the characters. They are so complex and real and human and they all have to face difficult decisions and the consequences. Dalinar is doubting his own sanity and trying to be an honourable man. Kaladin is struggling with the responsibilities of leadership. Shallan is torn between a genuine love of learning and family duty. The choices that each makes are what propels this book forward to a satisfying conclusion - and springboard to the next book.

I think Brandon Sanderson may be my new favourite author. I loved this book, and it fully deserves its glittering rating on Goodreads. Seriously, if you love fantasy, check out this book.

Read On: I've already ordered the next book in what is planned to be a ten-book series (eek!), Words of Radiance. A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin is another fantasy series with hundreds of plot lines and thousands of characters.

Half a King by Joe Abercrombie

There was a harsh gale blowing on the night Yarvi learned he was to be a king. Or half a king, at least.

Half A King tells the story of Yarvi - the King of Gettland's youngest son and the not-so-proud owner of a crippled hand. When his father and brother are killed, Yarvi finds himself on a throne he never wanted. Things go downhill from there until Yarvi finds himself miles from home and plunged into one life-threatening situation after another. Unable to grip a shield or properly wield a sword, he gathers a strange fellowship of drifters and outcasts and vows to get his revenge.

Joe Abercrombie is one of my favourite authors and Half A King is very much a typical Abercrombie offering. It is a gripping, dark fantasy that grabbed my interest from the first page as the plot twists and turns right until the end. Yarvi himself is the kind of flawed but sympathetic character that Joe Abercrombie writes so well. He screws up, he makes terrible decisions, he betrays people and is breathtakingly ruthless, and yet his actions feel completely realistic and understandable. The secondary characters are also very well written. They are as strong, flawed and complicated as the main character, and each one helps drive the plot forward, often in unexpected directions.

This is a great Y.A. fantasy. It's a Viking saga and a coming of age story in a world which is cold, brutal and savage, and a book about the importance of friendship and finding one's place in the world. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy or Y.A.

Read On: Half a World is the next book in the trilogy, so I'll definitely be reading that one. If you want to go darker with something aimed at a more adult audience, read The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie.