Ten Of The Most Unique Books I’ve Read

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Ten Of The Most Unique Books I’ve Read

Burning Midnight by Will McIntosh

Burning Midnight was this totally phenomenal sci-fi about these ‘magical orbs’ that give your superpowers… but those superpowers come at a cost with a twist i doubt anyone will be able to predict. Totally original and an amazing read.

See my review here.

 

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Sure, another book about vampires. But what if these vampires were ‘good’ and had magical powers, and needed protecting from the ‘bad’ vampires by vampiric half-breed guardians? And what if the books revolved around the friendship of a vampire princess and her guardian BFF? And what if the BFF was also in a forbidden relationship with her totally hot Russian personal trainer?

Also, they made a movie.

 

A Dog’s Purpose by W Bruce Cameron

A dog lives. He dies. He lives again. And through his lives, he learns what a dog’s purpose is. Heartbreaking and totally awesome all at once, told from the point of view of the dog.

See my review here.

Also, they made a movie. Warning: you may cry.

 

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

I think this is a remarkable book because it is written about a secretive women’s society by a man.

It’s about a young girl with blue eyes sold to a geisha house, who one day (after a lot of hard work, including managing difficult political situations and living with her biggest rival) becomes the most famous geisha in Japan… but geisha cannot marry, and the girl has been in love with someone since she was a child.

I’m not an expert on geisha, so I can’t say how historically accurate it is, but it’s entertaining and believable enough to be a real memoir.

And guess what? They ALSO made a film!

 

The Hork-Bajir Chronicles and Ellimist Chronicles  by KA Applegate

I’m pairing these together because they are both books about alien cultures written from the alien point of view.

The Hork Bajir Chronicles tells the story of the first peaceful and not-too-bright Hork Bajir to be enslaved by the parasitic Yeerks, who will later attempt to conquer Earth.

The Ellimist Chronicles tells the life story of the mysterious intergalactic weasel known only as ‘Ellimist’, and how his life ends up playing a part in the Animorphs war.

They are simply amazing in terms of worldbuilding and alien culture, and I have never read anything quite like them.

My review of the Hork Bajir Chronicles.

My review of the Ellimist Chronicles.

 

The Time Master series by Louise Cooper

Nothing I can say will possibly do this series justice. I am OBSESSED with this entire world. I want to lose myself in it. I can’t possibly convey the story of outcast master mage Tarod and why his best friend the High Initiate tries to murder him, or the love story between Tarod and Cyllan, or the evil that is scheming Sashka, or the sheer awesomeoness that is Tarod’ biggest secret. The secondary characters are MAGNIFICENT. I just… gah. I love this series. I LOVE THIS SERIES. There has NEVER been ANYTHING I have read that is like this. Louise Cooper just knows how to tell a damn good story. I’ll shut up now. (yes the covers are stupid but the insides are sooooo good.)

 

The Old Kingdom Series by Garth Nix

I have this ‘thing’ where I HATE ZOMBIES. I can’t stand them. I can’t watch The Walking Dead or I Am Legend or Dawn of the Dead or anything… I can only just stand Shaun of the Dead and that’s because I close my eyes at all the zombie parts… so I hate zombies and I would NEVER voluntarily read about them…

Except for this series.

This story is about Sabriel’s fight against the dead to save her father and become the new Abhorsen, a kind of good necromancer who sends the dead back to death. Then it’s about Lirael, who is an outcast among seers and is sent on a journey as the new Abhorsen-in-Waiting, and then it shoots into the past and then back tot he present because Nix’s audience wanted MOAR. And it’s Australian fantasy and it’s so good and I can’t even convey HOW GOOD IT IS just go read it already.

My review of Sabriel.

My review of Lirael.

My review of Abhorsen.

My review of Clariel.

My review of Goldenhand.

The Isles of Glory trilogy by Glenda Larke

There’s something about Australian high fantasy. I don’t know if it’s because Australian feel separated from the rest of the world because we live on an island or what, but there’s something in the feel and the uniqueness of Australian fantasy, and this trilogy is one of my favourites.

It’s set on an island archipelago where people don’t interbreed, and it’s about a halfbreed outcast woman who can see magic, and how she’s at the mercy of those who wield magic, and she works for them, and she gets involved in their politics, but she makes her own decisions, and there’s strong female friendship and horrible stuff the author doesn’t helicopter her characters out of and it’s just really good and yes, the covers are pretty random but they hide a fabulous world of incredible different cultures from each island and it’s just really good.

My review of The Aware.

 

Ember By Bettie Sharpe

Yes, this is a Cinderella retelling, but it’s the best one in the world. It explains why only Cinderella’s foot would fit the shoe, how she caught the eye of the prince, what the real story about the stepmother and stepsisters is. It’s short, only a novella, but it’s amazing.

 

The Vampire Stalker by Allison van Diepen

A girl’s literary crush (or ‘book boyfriend’ as we in the biz call it) steps through a portal into her dimension… I mean, lots of girl book bloggers talk about their ‘book boyfriends’ but this is LITERALLY a Book Boyfriend. It’s a cool, unique plot and definitely one of the most unique YA vampire books I’ve ever read. PS he’s not the vampire.

See my review here.

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Nemo
Nemo

About Nemo

A lover of kittens and all things sparkly, Nemo has a degree in English Literature and specialises in reviewing contemporary, paranormal, mystery/thriller, historical, sci-fi and fantasy Young Adult fiction. She is especially drawn to novels about princesses, strong female friendships, magical powers, and assassins.

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