WE TREASURE YOU! #3 Jacqueline Carey

Hello everyone! How are you? And how is your May going? I hope that all is well! Today I am back with this meme that I love! The last month I haven’t posted it because I was thinking about posting two of them in this month, to celebrate Wyrd and Wonder with some of my oldest or neglected reading, so ready to start?

This meme is here to share with you all some of the books that I have loved but that I haven’t reviewed or that I have read a lot of time ago. Because all of them deserve to be shared!

Today’s post would be longer than usual, sorry not sorry, because I would talk to you about an author and not just a book. Jacqueline Carey is a very prolific author, she wrote a lot of books, and she tried out different kind of fantasy, so in her writing, we can find something to satisfy everyone! I haven’t read everything she wrote, but I have read some of her books, and some of them I loved, some of them I liked a lot, and some of them I enjoyed. It is true that I am not in love with all of her books, but the ones I love are masterpieces (to me, obviously!) and so here I am, to share them all with you! (In no particular order, sorry!)

Phedre’s Trilogy

This is the series that made me discover this author, and it was love at first sight. I fell in love with this series, and since then I reread it quite some times. The first time I have read it I was in high school and since then my tastes in books have changed, but I keep loving this series so much. We have amazing worldbuilding, a solid plot with intrigues, action, and so much in it, and we have characters that are real, and that would conquer your heart. And Phedre is such a unique and strong character, in the most unusual ways! I haven’t managed to write a review for this series, but I’ll leave you some good reviews, so you can check them out, because this series has a ton of interesting things going on, and it is one of the better representation of the reasons I love so much fantasy (and the short answer is: because it is such a complex and complete genre who address everything, literally).

–Ordinary Times (I really recommend this review, because it is full of food for thoughts, and it is a brilliant comparison between this series and another really famous one)
–Romance Novels For Feminists
–Speculative Chick
–Karina Reads

Imriel’s Trilogy

This trilogy is the sequel of the previous one, and I haven’t finished it. It is not that I have dropped it, it is just that, even after all these years, this is not Phedre and Jocelyn’s story and so… it is like I am somehow disappointed with that, even if we see them around. It is just that sometimes you love someone or something so much that nothing could really compare. And this is the case. I don’t know how far I went with this series because since we are speaking about a lot of years ago (a lot, a lot, a lot) I have started this series in Italian and… they did with this series an awful thing. It is an awful thing, but sadly it is not uncommon: they split the volumes. So in the original, we have three books, but in Italy, we have six of them. Awful, right? They didn’t do it with the first trilogy, but they did it with this one. Don’t ask me why. Anyway… this series is good, and I hope to get back to it, sooner or later, but it is not as fantastic, amazing, all-encompassing, wonderful, and magical as the first one.

Naamah’s Trilogy

This is the last trilogy in the Kushiel’s universe, and I haven’t read it yet, since I have not finished the previous one, but I would read it, sooner or later, and I am really looking forward to going back to this universe!

Agent of Hel

With this trilogy, we don’t change only the world in which the story is settled, but the literary genre, too. If Kushiel’s Dart and sequels are epic fantasy, this series is an Urban Fantasy trilogy with a lighter setting and plot. It is a very fast reading, with compelling worldbuilding that involves all different kinds of magical creatures and folklore. It is really different from the other series mentioned before because in this one the structures of the genre are fully respected, even if it is original. I am not saying that this one is boring or unoriginal, not at all! But it doesn’t break the established traits of the genre. But this is fun. And it is captivating. I loved this series, really, it is refreshing, original, and highly enjoyable. Try me!
I wrote a review for this one, but sadly it is in Italian, so I’ll leave you some other reviews if you want to know more about this amazing series!

–Dear Author
–Fantasy Book Critic
–My Bookish Ways

Santa Olivia

With this duology we have something new again. It is fantasy, yes, and it is sort of Urban-Fantasy too if we want to stretch it a bit, but we have some sci-fi element and some dystopian one. Not really but almost, if this can make sense to you. But it is different from the previous ones, it is because the genre is different, the writing is different, the worldbuilding and the premises are different. All things are different and original. But one thing we cand depend on is amazing characters. Especially amazing female characters. And this series just break my heart time and again. It was a rollercoaster of feelings, and I love these books with a passion. I don’t have the words to say to you how amazing these are, really! I can just say… go and read it, damn it!

–ShanShelves
–The Book Smugglers
–The Lesbrary

The Sundering Series

This is another duology, and this is epic fantasy. I don’t know a lot about these books, because, sadly, I haven’t read them yet. But I really hope to read them, sooner or later, because the plot and the premises seem just too good to pass. And I loved so many of her books, that it is a guarantee, right???

Stand Alone

Last but not least, we have two stand-alone books. Miranda and Caliban is a Shakespear’s retelling, and it is original. I have read this one, and I enjoyed it, but I have to confess that this is my least favorite book between all the other Carey’s ones. But it is not bad, it is just more slow-paced than the other, and I enjoyed the story but not as much as I was expecting. My expectations were really high, as to say that it could have been more a question of expectations than the book’s fault. And if you want to read an interesting retelling of The Tempest you just have to read this one!
Starless is another fantasy book, and if I am not mistaken, this is another epic fantasy book. I don’t know for sure, because I haven’t read it yet, but I hope to read it before 2020 ends, so… let’s hope, right??

 

And that’s all folk! It was a long post, sorry, but this author is really a prolific one, and I am so not complaining here! I haven’t read all of her books, sadly, but I obviously want to, because so far I enjoyed (and almost always loved *_*) all the ones I have read. Ok, ok, aside from one, all the other were masterpieces! This author is just so talented and so full of ideas, and amazing characters!

So… what about you? Did you read some of her books? What do you think? Let me know!!! I have to confess that now I want to re-read Phedre’s trilogy, argh!!!!

Happy reading!
S.