Fantasy AdventureAThon Team Mermaid TBR!

As part of my 2019 reading goals, I’m making sure to participate in at least one readathon every month.  This month, I’ve decided to participate in the Fantasy AdventureAThon because it looks like a lot of fun!  The best way to learn more about the readathon is to read its introduction post by the wonderful Novel Thoughts, but I’ll do a quick introduction for those who want more information.

Fantasy AdventureAThon is a readathon occurring from the 25th to 31st of March.  What makes this particular readathon unique is that it has a map and team system.  Using the map and a corresponding key, participants pick reading challenges to complete based upon which fantasy team they wish to join.  Based on the challenges, I decided to pick Team Mermaid because it fits the books I have the best.  There’s also going to be a light competition happening between the four teams (fairy, unicorn, dragon, and mermaid) to see who can read the most books and participate in social media competitions.  Overall, as someone who plays lots of video games, a readathon that effectively turns my reading habits into a game is one I definitely want to participate in!

I’m not the best at sticking to a reading list when I do readathons, but I’m going to try my hardest to stick to this list as closely as possible because there are a lot of books that I want to get to soon.  The ultimate goal for me is to read seven books in seven days and I’m fully committed to making this happen.  Let’s jump into the books I’ll be reading for the Fantasy AdventureAThon!

Fellowship – Read the Group Book

I’ve been meaning to pick this up A Darker Shad of Magic for years, and thanks to this readathon, I’m actually going to read it!  This is a fantasy series revolving around different parallel Londons that have different amounts of magical energy.  V.E. Schwab is on a list I made of ten authors I can’t believe I haven’t read yet, so it’ll be great to cross another person off the list!

Cliff – Read a book with a nature word in the title

When I do readathons, I always try to pick a few short titles that may fall out of my normal comfort zone.  Sea Prayer is an illustrated poem and the cover immediately caught my eye.  This book was written by Khaled Hosseini because of the Syrian refugee crisis and I’m sure that this will be an emotional read.

Toad – Read a book with green on the cover

I may be the only person in the book-loving world who hasn’t read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and I would like to correct this grave error immediately.  Since I’ve never read a Taylor Jenkins Reid book before, I’m just assuming that I will love this based upon the countless recommendations that I have received.  This title follows the titular Evelyn Hugo as she recounts her life through all of her marriages, all the while discussing her one true love.  There’s always a little fear of the hype getting to me when a book is this beloved because I will go in with my expectations set too high, but I’m hoping that this is not the case here.

Fate – Read a book set in the past

My dad read The Tattooist of Auschwitz and really enjoyed it.  While our book tastes are generally pretty different, I like to occasionally pick up something he has enjoyed so we can discuss it together.  This title is a fictionalized retelling of Lale Sokolov’s life, who is put in Auschwitz and forced to tattoo the other prisoners with their identification numbers.  I don’t read nearly enough historical fiction given that I usually love it, so I’m excited about the opportunity to pick up something new.

Bewilder – Read a book with a plot twist

I have an odd relationship with Megan Abbott’s writing.  Nearly every reviewer that I trust the opinions of hate her books and that made me hesitant to give her a try.  When I finally went in with low expectations, however, I realized that I love her writing style and am now trying to read everything she has written.  Give Me Your Hand is my third thriller from her and I hope I love it just as much as the previous titles that I have read.  Since I try not to read too much into thrillers, I can’t give a plot synopsis here, but one of the reviewers on the back of the book called it “twisty”, so I feel that it counts for this challenge.

Adventure – Read the first book in a series

Sarah J. Maas is another author on my list of shame, and Throne of Glass has been on my Kindle for years.  I think that I have been a little intimidated by this series because the hype surrounding it has been intense and I’m not certain if I will actually enjoy it or not.  This is a fantasy series about a young woman Celaena, who has been imprisoned and promised her freedom if she participates in an arena battle with the strongest combatants across the land.  While I’m not sure that I have great expectations going into this, I think it’s time to give it a try and see if Throne of Glass is for me.

Potion – Read a book while drinking a drink

I read a lot while drinking tea, so I will probably end up completing this challenge during every one of these books.  Still, I am committed to reading seven books in seven days, so I have to make sure I pick a title for this prompt, as well.  Therefore, I’ve decided to try and catch up with the Saga series with volume eight.  This is one of my favorite graphic novel series and I can’t wait to get back into the action of this science fiction Romeo and Juliet.

All right, that’s it for my Fantasy AdventureAThon reading list!  If I manage to get through all seven books before the end of the seven days, which I don’t find overly likely, I will read a few other challenges for one of the other teams in order to keep my reading momentum going!  While I didn’t post a video for my reading list because I didn’t have the ability to film this week, I will be filming reading vlogs and write reading updates throughout the readathon.

What books are you reading for the Fantasy AdventureAThon?  Let me know in the comments below!