Top Ten Tuesday #25 - Places Books Have Made Me Want To Visit

Top Ten Tuesday is a Meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where I will be picking from their top tens and attempting to reveal what my thinking is behind these choices.

Places books have made me want to visit:

1. Oslo/ Norway
The Witches, by Roald Dahl was one of my favourite books to read growing up. I loved this strange country where witches lurked around every corner and the funny, fierce old woman who lived there. I have always wanted to visit it. Also, Northern Lights  was another favourite, and it made me want to go there to experience the Aurora Borealis, so I'm twice as hungry for it.

2. Rural France
Lansquenet Sous-Tannes. I'm not even sure if it's a real place, but it feels real to me. First mentioned in Chocolat by Joanne Harris, it then features throughout a few more of her books, including my favourite, Five Quarters of the Orange. Although I have been to France before, I want to have the incredible experience of eating in patisseries and chocolateries and meld it all with a market village life along the banks of a beautiful river with gypsies living along the banks and irritable old ladies settling in shops for a mug of chocolat chaud.

3. New Orleans
The Casquette Girls is something I read quite recently, and I really enjoyed it! I want to put a city to a name now and stroll around in the historic french quarter. I want to see voodoo shops and street celebrations and really take in the history and the eerieness of the place. Oh, and did I mention it's the setting for Disney's The Princess and the Frog?

4. Narnia
It's quite not as dangerous as the likes of Westeros and you don't get stuck there, unlike Neverland. No time passes when you're there, so you can go off an have an adventure, see some mermaids and a giant friendly lion and come back to your boring life again. Plus, there are so many magical entities that I would love to spend time with! Hell, once I wished I was a Dryad.

5. Madrid
It's not often I get funny notions of going to big cities, but Carlos Ruiz Zafon's novels truly take me to Madrid, and I would love to see it and experience life there. It sounds like a great holiday destination with a lot of history and it can get a bit creepy at times I am sure.

6. Ancient Europe, Greece and Rome
Any Ben Kane novel can take me to this point in time, as well as the excellent David Gemmel series, Troy. I'm not really one for danger, and this is rife with it, so perhaps I would lay low. I think it would be incredible to go back to this time and see how people did things then. I love the mythology of these times and I think we could learn a lot from the way these people lived.

7. Ingo
I wish I was away in Ingo... I really do. This beautiful but treacherous undersea world, thought up by Helen Dunmore,  is filled with merpeople, and I love the idea that you can become one, and that people are actually able to breathe underwater if Ingo wants you to.

8. The Bayou
Ok, this is not dissimilar to New Orleans, but instead of going to the city, I would want to see the Bayou in all its glory. This was inspired by Teardrop, which focuses much more on the power of water and the Bayou feels like an extension of this power, as it floats in the background only to become part of a main event later on.

9. Italy, Rome and Venice
This is derived from Dan Browns novels, Angels and Demons, and Inferno. I am pretty obsessed over history, and it really liked the way the mystery fits in with the actual stuff in real life. I have been to Rome and seen a few of the landmarks in the book. Let me say they are stunning and well worth going to see.

10. Neverwhere
Who wouldn't want to travel to Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, an alternate version of our London, where nothing is as it seems and some things have been taken pretty literally. Black Friars really does have Black Friars in it while The Angel, Islington is an angel named Islington. I need to read this book again.

Kyra_x

Review: Teardrop - Lauren Kate

Eureka never cries, not even when her mother dies in a freak tidal wave/car crash. She has always kept her emotions in check. What she doesn't realise is that there are a lot of people invested in her emotions, and some would kill just to ensure no tears escape her eyes.

Wow, this is a book with some clout. It has emotion, atmosphere, a bit of slow-burning romance and a lot of high stakes. The idea is really good and something that I have been long pondering writing about myself, as it is all to do with the legend of Atlantis and ancient powers being passed down the bloodlines of descendants from those times, therefore placing it in a thoroughly modern setting.

Speaking of the setting, I loved the fact that it is set on the Bayou. The whole place is so far removed from the landscape I live in that it truly felt magical.. maybe I've been watching too many Disney movies recently, I don't know. Anyway, as someone who has never been there, the descriptions were perfect, sometimes beautiful but never overdone.

Now, Eureka. Weird names are a bit hit or miss for me, but this one I can deal with. She was a nice character, full of passion and quite forthright. She doesn't let anyone tell her what to do and does things her way. Although she is brutally flawed and she struggles with depression, she is so completely human that you truly understand her emotions and her actions. As for the other characters, I very much liked Cat for her vivacity and lightness to an otherwise sullen plot, and Brooks came into his own a bit later in the story. Ander really didn't gel with me though, so I am looking forward to getting to know him a little bit more.

While I'm on the subject of Ander, I am not keen on the love story. Yes, they took a while to get together, and as I said, it was slow burning which I usually like. But there was an element of inevitability and insta-love in there that, to be honest, made me squirm to read.

Considering this is fantasy, the story is very involved with eureka's normal life and delves really nicely into her daily struggles as well as the bigger issues. It never flinches away from uncomfortable or unhappy situations. Betrayal, death, stalking, car crashes, natural disasters and relationships are all in there. So although this is a YA, I think adults will enjoy this too as there is much truly teen-style content.

A smooth pace and a great idea, this book is quite satisfying despite the ending hanging open. Looking forward to the next book, Waterfall.

Teardrop on Goodreads
Teardrop on Amazon.com

Kyra_x

The Reading Pile #5

So this month I've cut back on the buying because I went overboard on my requesting. I've picked up a lot of copies to review with deadlines, so I think I won't be signing up for tours unless the book is something I am dying to read and review. Let's get this show on the road!

Netgalley:

Between the Lives - Jessica Shirvington

I couldn't help it! It looks so cool and it's a fairly similar concept to the book I'm writing, so I had to check I'm doing something original.

Teardrop - Lauren Kate

Again, the concept for this book is really intriguing, and kind of confusing, I can't wait to get sunk in to this!

For Review:

The Earl of Brass - Kara Jorgensen

I know, I've already posted this review, but I wanted to mention it because I love supporting people, and this author is self-published, which to me is a really great thing. Let's bring more books into the open!

In a Right State - Ben Ellis

Snap with this book, the author is again self-published. I know a lot of bloggers don't have time thanks to the masses of emails they get, so it's nice that I was able to say yes to few authors this month.

Guarding Angel - S.L. Saboviec

After hosting the Blitz on Guarding Angel, I was elated to find an email waiting for me asking if I'd like to review the book. I jumped at the chance because it simply sounds awesome and the writing style of the author is stunning.

Blog Tour Copies:

Perfected - Kate Jarvik Birch

This novel sounds wonderful, with all that I loved about Wither being taken to new, different heights.

The Artful - Wilbert Stanton

I've already raved about the idea to change the classic tale of Oliver Twist into a dystopia. I think this is going to be a really good read.

Not Quite Dead - Lyla Payne

Ghosts of 18th century lady-pirates, drinking problem, family issues, handsome mayors and personal threats. This certainly sounds like my kind of book.

Massive thankyou's this month go to:

Hatchette Children's books (Orchard Books)

Random House UK

Kara Jorgensen

Ben Ellis

S.L. Saboviec

Everyone working with Xpresso Book Tours (Entangled Teen, Curiosity Quills, Lyla Payne)

Kyra_x