Welcome to day three of Five Fall Favorites — the annual autumn celebration of all things bookish!
If you’ve read my previous two posts (Day #1 and Day #2) this week, feel free to skip on down to today’s theme. And if not, here’s a brief recap!
Every day this week (6 days in all), I and a group of other book bloggers will be sharing posts centered around certain bookish themes, and packed full of some of our favorite book recommendations from the past year. I’ll link to a number of those blogs at the end of this post, but for even more links and information, you should check out our hosts’ sites!
Five Fall Favorites is hosted this year by Katja at Little Blossoms for Jesus and Kate at Once Upon an Ordinary (click on their blog names, or the graphics below to visit their blogs). Thank you both so much!
Giveaway
In addition to book recommendations, there’s also a giveaway again this year!
Two winners will be drawn (one international, and one in the U. S.), and contacted after the week is over. Check out the prize graphics below to see what you could win!
To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is click HERE!
FREEBIES
Lastly, every day this week, certain participating bloggers will be sharing freebies of their books! These books will only be free for a couple of days at most, so be sure to snag your copies right away! A list of the freebies each day will be available at either of our host’s blogs (HERE or HERE).
Today’s Theme
Today’s theme is Nature – I’m excited about this one!
I really enjoy books that focus on nature and very immersive outdoorsy settings, so narrowing down the options today was surprisingly difficult. I’m especially fond of forest or ocean settings, but many of the recent recommendations I have are actually more winter-centered, or set in the mountains, so that’s a neat change. What kind of settings in nature are your favorites?
All the books I share this week are ones that I’ve either read in the past year, or are currently reading/re-reading, so please feel free to leave any questions you might have about the books below, and I’ll do my best to answer.
Also, I’ve reviewed many of these more thoroughly on Goodreads, so if you’re interested in reading my thoughts – and other reviews – you can find the Goodreads link under each book, or by clicking on each book’s title. I’m slightly behind in my reviews, but hoping to catch up in the next week!
Let’s hop in!
MANDY
Author: Julie Andrews Edwards
Genre: Historical fiction
Target Audience: MG (Middle-Grade) +
What Stuck Out to Me: This has been one of my favorite middle-grade books for years, and it fits the nature theme so well, since a lot of the book is spent tidying up a special place in the woods. I really enjoyed tales of “making a place your own” when I was younger, like in The Boxcar Children, so this was right up young Bella’s alley.
I also really enjoyed the emphasis on family, and finding where you belong. This is a story about an orphan who is loved in different ways by different people, and eventually finds her home, and maybe that’s predictable in this kind of book, but it sure is touching.
I recently lent this book to my younger sister and she loved it just as much as I did when I was a kid, so consider it my little sister approved too, haha.
When I think of peaceful, sweet, and easier reads, this comes to mind right away. I love the cute forest setting, and the routines of keeping it in order, and especially how it leads to so many good things for our little protagonist. I love the honesty of being a child, and the way so many of us thought and felt, even in different home situations. And I love the portrayal of the adults in her life that come to care for her in the way she needs. Overall, just a very cute and touching story.
Tricky Content: A child lies, steals, and sneaks away from her home routinely, sickness
I’d Recommend It To: Readers aged 8+ who enjoy sweet stories about family, belonging, Boxcar Children vibes, and lovely nature settings.
Here’s the link to add it on Goodreads!
OF TRUTH AND TREASON
Author: Jaiden Phillips
Genre: Fantasy fairy-tale retelling of Mulan
Target Audience: NA (New Adult)
What Stuck Out to Me: I couldn’t put this one down! I’ve never read a Mulan retelling before this, but I really enjoyed this one. The world-building and vivid settings in particular were so captivating! I felt like I was traveling with the characters, in the snow, the mountains, the battles, walking alongside my own tiger…etc. Each element felt very well-described and immersive. I really liked the bonds between tigers and warriors especially.
The setting is the main reason for its inclusion today. The snowy mountain settings felt so vivid that I just had to include it here.
The plot moved quickly for the most part, keeping me super engaged. Both protagonists had their own battles to work through, their own internal struggles with the Lord to navigate, and I liked seeing how each of their journeys helped the other, even when they didn’t realize it. There were also some really clever twists on Mulan’s tale, and I found myself eager to read on just to spot more of them.
Honorable mention here is my favorite character — Draykon! Could he have taken matters a bit more seriously sometimes? Sure, but he did when it counted, and he was an absolute breath of fresh air otherwise. This story is pretty intense for most of it, so he lent some much-appreciated levity. Plus, he was a really good friend, and a good person to top it all off. I’d like to read more of him! Overall, just a great, challenging adventure of a story with excellent characters.
Tricky Content: Grief from loss of a parent, lots of fighting and battle scenes, injuries/wounds, betrayal, humiliation
I’d Recommend It To: Readers 12+ who enjoy fast-moving books with prominent Christian themes, battles and journeys, mysterious plots, and characters who push one another to growth.
Here’s the link to add it on Goodreads!
ON THE EDGE OF THE FORGOTTEN SEA
Author: Alissa J. Zavalianos
Genre: Christian fantasy
Target Audience: YA (Young Adult)
What Stuck Out to Me: I’m due for a reread of this one as my memory is notoriously bad, and I’m about to start my ARC of the sequel (which I’m also so excited for!), but I do remember being so immersed in the beautifully-described world/s!
As this is a portal fantasy (side note: I feel like I don’t read nearly enough of those), we get several different settings, and both were so interesting! I remember having such a vivid sense of the settings while reading, practically able to feel the ocean breeze and hear the wildlife.
The story itself here was so intriguing, with neat elements incorporated from The Little Mermaid, and with lovely prose reminiscent of Narnia or a fairy tale of its own. I especially enjoyed getting to know the characters, as all of them were so layered and battling some incredibly difficult trials. Their journey of coming together was sweet, and as always, the clean romance was appreciated. I was rooting for them.
Oh, and of course the themes were so lovely. Forgiveness, trusting the Lord’s plan, healing, love…all well-incorporated and made the book that much better. If this sounds like your type of book, I highly recommend trying it!
Tricky Content: Kisses, fights, near-drowning, sea-monster battles, deaths, injuries, fairy tale magic (curses)
I’d Recommend It To: Readers 12+ who enjoy portal fantasies, immersive worlds, sweet clean romance, and touching Christian themes.
Here’s the link to add it on Goodreads!
THE HOBBIT
Author: J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Fantasy
Target Audience: YA (Young Adult)+
What Stuck Out to Me: Had I planned this better, I really should have included this in a list for yesterday’s Hobbit Day, but ah well. I thought of it for the nature prompt, because I read this fun graphic novel version of it this year, and seeing the pretty illustrations of Middle-Earth was so cool!
Obviously this graphic novel version is pretty different than just reading the novel, but sometimes the books themselves intimidate me, so this was a great way to refresh myself on the story when I didn’t have the full time to dedicate to the book.
Of course, the story is excellent. I have fond memories of my mom reading this book aloud to my siblings and I, and oh how tense we were during the riddle scene with Bilbo and Golumn! (Side note: Golumn is extra creepy in these illustrations, ha.) The scenes with all the dwarves showing up to Bilbo’s home, and also the trolls, were also extra fun to read.
I plan to reread the full novel again soon, but if you’re looking for a neat new way to experience the story, I can recommend this! The illustrations are well-done, and even my eight-year-old sister has read this and enjoyed it. A good story is good in any format, it seems.
Tricky Content: Battles and fighting, tobacco smoking and alcohol drinking, death, peril, injuries
I’d Recommend It To: Readers 10+ who enjoy fantasy adventures, compelling action and battles, Lord of the Rings (of course), and classic themes.
Here’s the link to add it on Goodreads!
WISHTRESS
Author: Nadine Brandes
Genre: Fantasy
Target Audience: YA (Young Adult)
What Stuck Out to Me: I’m pretty sure I’ve recommended this one at least two other years for Five Fall Favorites but when I think of books with immersive atmospheres and beautiful nature, this one definitely comes to mind! Even the cover communicates that, and trust me, the world is so cool.
Pun intended? There were times I could practically feel the frostbite and howling winds, so vivid were the descriptions of the wintery settings. The worldbuilding itself was so unique, and I’m so excited that the author recently announced an upcoming sequel so I can dive back into the world soon!
The prose here is absolutely beautiful too, and I was hooked from the very beginning. I love all of the characters, except for the ones I’m meant to hate. Myrthe, Bastiaan, Runt, Anouk…the entire cast is so fascinating and realistic, and I really like all the interweaving among relationships and past events. How everything ultimately connected by the end was stunning. There were many times when I actually stopped and gaped at the book because I couldn’t believe how a connection worked out.
Though I tend to be picky, the romance was a thumbs up from me too! This was very sweet, and I enjoyed watching the two protagonists grow together. The ending wraps up far better than I thought it would and I like the bittersweet hopefulness. And as always, the themes are powerful — subtle but hard-hitting.
Tricky Content: Brief non-detailed kisses, deaths, illness, magical elements (more so the world vs spells, etc.), references to a girl being sold as a prostitute, violence and fighting, tension
I’d Recommend It To: Readers who enjoy rich and vibrant fantasy worlds, lovely character growth, adventures/journeys, wintery settings, and deep themes.
Here’s the link to add it on Goodreads!
Because there are so many bloggers participating in Five Fall Favorites, we’ve been split into teams! There’s no competition – only the opportunity to ensure everyone’s posts are shared.
I’m part of Team Mouse (see the adorable graphic below), and I highly encourage you to check out the rest of my teammates’ posts for their recommended books today. That’s where I’m headed!
Here’s the list of bloggers in Team Mouse (click each name to visit that site):
- Kate @ Once Upon an Ordinary
- Meagan @ Blooming With Books
- Skai @ Inspirational Skai
- Virginia @ Books by Virginia
Thank you so much for joining me today! Have you read any of the books I shared? Are there any that stick out to you? I’d love to hear from you, so drop a comment below, and we’ll meet again tomorrow for Five Fall Favorites day #4!
Remember to go enter that giveaway HERE!