The Happy Place 5: Five Book Recs From Five Friends
The Happy Place 5 is a monthly series where a few friends and I post 5 of our favorites books for a certain topic or theme. The name is from a Discord group that I am a part of. We created the space to have a positive environment for a handful of close friends. All of us are bookworms, and many of us are bookstagrammers and bloggers. So we decided to start a blog post series together! I’ll link my friends blogs and posts for this month’s topic at the end of this post.
Hello and happy September! Today for The Happy Place 5, we’re talking about book recommendations that we’ve gotten from our friends. One of my favorite things about the book community, be it bookstagram, book blogging, or Twitter, has been meeting people! Naturally, since these people all love books and have read different things than me, I’ve ended up VASTLY INCREASING MY TBR.
I’m just sad that I don’t have all the time in the world to read everything haha. So anyway, today I want to highlight a few books I’ve read because of some of my dear friends! I picked only five books, but there are actually more than five friends. This is because a couple of these books I can’t remember who recommended it first, but I know all of them were shouting at me to read it hahaha.
Alanna: The First Adventure
- Author: Tamora Pierce
- Target audience: Young Adult
- Series info: Quartet (completed)
- Genre: Fantasy
Obviously I have to start with a recommendation from the person who got me into reading fantasy – and reading in general. My mom!! I talked about my reading journey and how my parents got me into it here if that’s something you’re interested in. But yeah, Tamora Pierce has been one of my mom’s favorite authors for a while, so naturally she got me into the books as well. I actually took her copies of all the books with me to college – sorry mom!! Don’t worry, I eventually got my own copies and returned the books to her haha. I want to say THANK YOU to her because Tamora Pierce has been so formative for me in my reading journey. I don’t think I’d be here reading SFF without having read TP!
Goodreads summary:
And so young Alanna of Trebond begins the journey to knighthood. Though a girl, Alanna has always craved the adventure and daring allowed only for boys; her twin brother, Thom, yearns to learn the art of magic. So one day they decide to switch places: Thom heads for the convent to learn magic; Alanna, pretending to be a boy, is on her way to the castle of King Roald to begin her training as a page.
But the road to knighthood is not an easy one. As Alanna masters the skills necessary for battle, she must also learn to control her heart and to discern her enemies from her allies.
Filled with swords and sorcery, adventure and intrigue, good and evil, Alanna’s first adventure begins – one that will lead to the fulfillment of her dreams and the magical destiny that will make her a legend in her land.
The Goose Girl
- Author: Shannon Hale
- Target audience: Young Adult/Middle Grade
- Series info: First in a quartet (completed)
- Genre: Fantasy
Actually, speaking of Tamora Pierce, this is a book I read because of two friends that I met while bonding over TP. Gretal and Sakina are two amazing people, and I’m so thankful that bookstagram and TP brought the three of us together. You can find them on bookstagram: @booksandbreadcrumbs and @aforestofbooks, and on their blogs: Books and Breadcrumbs and A Forest of Books.
Goodreads summary:
Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree, spends the first years of her life listening to her aunt’s stories and learning the language of the birds, especially the swans. As she grows up, Ani develops the skills of animal speech, but she never feels quite comfortable speaking with people.
So when Ani’s mother sends her away to be married in a foreign land, she finds herself at the mercy of her silver-tongued lady in waiting, who leads a mutiny that leaves her alone, destitute, and fleeing for her life. To survive, Ani takes on work as a royal goose girl, hiding in plain sight while she develops her forbidden talents and works to discover her own true, powerful voice.
Assassin’s Apprentice
- Author: Robin Hobb
- Target audience: Adult
- Series info: First in a trilogy (completed)
- Genre: Fantasy
Though Shari (who goes by Ri now) has been busy being a badass art student and hasn’t been blogging much, it wouldn’t feel right to write a post like this without mentioning a book that she influenced me to read. She, along with the rest of the “Hobb squad” have always gushed about Robin Hobb’s books, and I’m so glad I listened to them. Thank you Ri (and Steph and Maraia) for getting me into the Realm of the Elderlings! Oh PS, follow Ri’s art journey here!
Goodreads summary:
In a faraway land where members of the royal family are named for the virtues they embody, one young boy will become a walking enigma.
Born on the wrong side of the sheets, Fitz, son of Chivalry Farseer, is a royal bastard, cast out into the world, friendless and lonely. Only his magical link with animals – the old art known as the Wit – gives him solace and companionship. But the Wit, if used too often, is a perilous magic, and one abhorred by the nobility.
So when Fitz is finally adopted into the royal household, he must give up his old ways and embrace a new life of weaponry, scribing, courtly manners; and how to kill a man secretly, as he trains to become a royal assassin.
Empress of Forever
- Author: Max Gladstone
- Target audience: Adult
- Series info: Standalone
- Genre: Science Fiction
I mentioned this one in my Sapphic Book Recs post just a few days ago! I read this 100% because of C, also known in the book community as Crini. Find her blog here, and her instagram here! She’s one of the friends who started this blog post series with me!! She is honestly the queen of queer sci-fi, and I will literally read anything she recommends.
Goodreads summary:
A wildly successful innovator to rival Steve Jobs or Elon Musk, Vivian Liao is prone to radical thinking, quick decision-making, and reckless action. On the eve of her greatest achievement, she’s trying to outrun those who are trying to steal her success.
In the chilly darkness of a Boston server farm, Viv sets her ultimate plan into motion. A terrifying instant later, Vivian Liao is catapulted through space and time to a far future where she confronts a destiny stranger and more deadly than she could ever imagine.
The end of time is ruled by an ancient, powerful Empress who blesses or blasts entire planets with a single thought. Rebellion is literally impossible to consider–until Vivian arrives. Trapped between the Pride, a ravening horde of sentient machines, and a fanatical sect of warrior monks who call themselves the Mirrorfaith, Viv must rally a strange group of allies to confront the Empress and find a way back to the world and life she left behind.
Flight, Vol. 1
- Author: Kazu Kibuishi (editor)
- Target audience: test
- Series info: First in a series of comic anthologies (completed)
- Genre: Fantasy
I started with family, so I’ll end with family. My brother had bought this graphic novel anthology, and he loved it and told me to read it! So I did. Because I’m a great sister. Never mind that he was telling me to read The Expanse series for literal years until I finally did. NEVER MIND THAT. Anyway, he’s always been more into comics, graphic novels, and manga than I have, so I really like seeing what his recs are!
Goodreads summary:
Flight Volume One features stories by professionals and non-professionals alike, all playing on the theme of flight in its many incarnations. From the maiden voyage of a home-built plane to the adventures of a young courier and his flying whale to a handful of stories about coming of age and letting things go, this first volume of Flight is full of memorable tales that will both amaze and inspire.
What are some recommendations that you’ve gotten from friends? Have you enjoyed them?
This is so sweet! I love getting recommendations from friends
me too, it’s the best 🙂
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