Happy Sunday everyone!

I hope you have been having a good week wherever you are and whatever you’re doing. This week has left me particularly exhausted so I was really glad for the weekend to be here as it has given me a chance to slow down, take a breath and try and finish my books for the OWLs Magical Readathon! I’ve been participating with two friends which has been brilliant motivation to try and stick with the TBR I set myself. I’ve also been making sure to catch up with other friends which resulted in a 2 hour WhatsApp video call on Saturday morning! We clearly needed it to chat through all that has been going on!

Speaking of friends, this week’s Six for Sunday is all about the books on my TBR because of someone else’s recommendation and these have all come from my nearest and dearest book lovers. For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is a weekly list-based meme created by Steph @ALittleButALot and has a different weekly prompt based on a monthly theme. All synopses from Goodreads.

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Dune by Frank Herbert

Set in the far future amidst a sprawling feudal interstellar empire where planetary dynasties are controlled by noble houses that owe an allegiance to the imperial House Corrino, Dune tells the story of young Paul Atreides (the heir apparent to Duke Leto Atreides and heir of House Atreides) as he and his family accept control of the desert planet Arrakis, the only source of the ‘spice’ melange, the most important and valuable substance in the cosmos. The story explores the complex, multi-layered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion as the forces of the empire confront each other for control of Arrakis.

This book was gifted to me for Christmas by one of my friends called Phil. We all co-host a Film Club together where we live and he often gets me books to bring out the inner sci-fi fan in me. As this is coming to movie theatres very soon, or was until Covid-19 hit, I definitely think I want to read it before it comes out in the cinemas.

The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant [pre-order]

Les Misérables meets Six of Crows in this page-turning adventure as a young thief finds herself going head to head with leaders of Paris’s criminal underground in the wake of the French Revolution.

In the violent urban jungle of an alternate 1828 Paris, the French Revolution has failed and the city is divided between merciless royalty and nine underworld criminal guilds, known as the Court of Miracles. Eponine (Nina) Thénardier is a talented cat burglar and member of the Thieves Guild. Nina’s life is midnight robberies, avoiding her father’s fists, and watching over her naïve adopted sister, Cosette (Ettie). When Ettie attracts the eye of the Tiger–the ruthless lord of the Guild of Flesh–Nina is caught in a desperate race to keep the younger girl safe. Her vow takes her from the city’s dark underbelly to the glittering court of Louis XVII. And it also forces Nina to make a terrible choice–protect Ettie and set off a brutal war between the guilds, or forever lose her sister to the Tiger.

My friend and fellow Potterhead @Megalynreads (stop by on Twitter and say hello) suggested this book in our reading group. With a love for fantasy and musicals this ‘Les Mis meets Six of Crows’ retelling went straight onto the pre-order pile. It’s released in June this year and I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy!

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.
True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

I know this book has good standing in the bookish community but it is one I simply have not got around to reading. When our teaching WhatsApp group shared their reads during lockdown, one of my fellow teachers recommended that I should pick it up soon and also suggested the audiobook as well.

Spare and Found Parts by Sarah Maria Griffin

Nell Crane has always been an outsider. In a city devastated by an epidemic, where survivors are all missing parts—an arm, a leg, an eye—her father is the famed scientist who created the biomechanical limbs everyone now uses. But Nell is the only one whose mechanical piece is on the inside: her heart. Since the childhood operation, she has ticked. Like a clock, like a bomb. As her community rebuilds, everyone is expected to contribute to the society’s good . . . but how can Nell live up to her father’s revolutionary idea when she has none of her own?

Then she finds a mannequin hand while salvaging on the beach—the first boy’s hand she’s ever held—and inspiration strikes. Can Nell build her own companion in a world that fears advanced technology? The deeper she sinks into this plan, the more she learns about her city—and her father, who is hiding secret experiments of his own.

This is another Phil recommendation which he also gifted to me – we often have arguments disagreements about artificial intelligence so I think this is part of his plot to turn me into a robot sympathiser – gotta say though, after recently finishing Clockwork Prince I’m not sure I’m going to be on the side of the robots any time soon!

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

‘Armageddon only happens once, you know. They don’t let you go around again until you get it right.’
People have been predicting the end of the world almost from its very beginning, so it’s only natural to be sceptical when a new date is set for Judgement Day. But what if, for once, the predictions are right, and the apocalypse really is due to arrive next Saturday, just after tea?
You could spend the time left drowning your sorrows, giving away all your possessions in preparation for the rapture, or laughing it off as (hopefully) just another hoax. Or you could just try to do something about it.
It’s a predicament that Aziraphale, a somewhat fussy angel, and Crowley, a fast-living demon now finds themselves in. They’ve been living amongst Earth’s mortals since The Beginning and, truth be told, have grown rather fond of the lifestyle and, in all honesty, are not actually looking forward to the coming Apocalypse.
And then there’s the small matter that someone appears to have misplaced the Antichrist…

Another one of my friends Stephen absolutely loves Terry Pratchett and as this is a crossover between him and one of my all-time favourite authors, Neil Gaiman, then I couldn’t resist downloading this on audiobook when it came up on special offer in the iBooks store.

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

Probationary Constable Peter Grant dreams of being a detective in London’s Metropolitan Police. Too bad his superior plans to assign him to the Case Progression Unit, where the biggest threat he’ll face is a paper cut. But Peter’s prospects change in the aftermath of a puzzling murder, when he gains exclusive information from an eyewitness who happens to be a ghost. Peter’s ability to speak with the lingering dead brings him to the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who investigates crimes involving magic and other manifestations of the uncanny. Now, as a wave of brutal and bizarre murders engulfs the city, Peter is plunged into a world where gods and goddesses mingle with mortals and a long-dead evil is making a comeback on a rising tide of magic.

Hannah, one of my longest friends and fellow Potterhead (and sister of Megalynreads) suggested this series to me. I think I set her off on the Sarah J Maas train so after sharing our love of all things Rowling (therefore by proxy Robert Galbraith) she though I’d really enjoy this series so I can’t wait to get started on them too!

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That brings me to the end of this week’s Six For Sunday. Have you read any of these? Which one should I get started with first? Feel free to share your own Six For Sunday links below for me to check out.

Have a good week everyone. Stay safe!

T xx