Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves created and hosted by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up! For more info on what Shelf Control is all about, check out Lisa’s introductory post, here.
A Winter’s Promise
by Christelle Dabos; translated by Hildegarde Serle
Long ago, following a cataclysm called “The Rupture,” the world was shattered into many floating celestial islands. Known now as Arks, each has developed in distinct ways; each seems to possess its own unique relationship to time, such that nowadays vastly different worlds exist, together but apart. And over all of the Arks the spirit of an omnipotent ancestor abides.
Ophelia lives on Anima, an ark where objects have souls. Beneath her worn scarf and thick glasses, the young girl hides the ability to read and communicate with the souls of objects, and the power to travel through mirrors. Her peaceful existence on the Ark of Anima is disrupted when she is promised in marriage to Thorn, from the powerful Dragon clan. Ophelia must leave her family and follow her fiancée to the floating capital on the distant Ark of the Pole. Why has she been chosen? Why must she hide her true identity? Though she doesn’t know it yet, she has become a pawn in a deadly plot.
As I’m taking part in Wyrd & Wonder throughout May, I’m going to share solely fantasy books on Shelf Control throughout the month. That’s nothing particularly out of the ordinary, of course, but the odd piece of historical fiction or non fiction has the tendency to pop up from time to time.
What intrigues me most about A Winter’s Promise isn’t necessarily the plot, but the fact that it’s a translation from the original French. If a YA fantasy novel has become so popular that it’s been translated into multiple languages, I want to get in on that! I’ve seen great reviews for this one so far, too, and I think that cover is beautiful.
One of my reading goals for 2019 is to read at least one translated novel, so really it’s about time I got to this one – especially with the English translation of the sequel due out this year!
Do you read much translated fiction? What are some of your favourite translated books?
This week I’m joining in with Lipsy @ Lipsyy Lost & Found to talk about the books I’ve been reading recently!
Now
Red Sister is the first in a fantasy series featuring assassin nuns and I’ve been wanting to read it since I first heard about it, but I’ve struggled to get into it thus far. I decided to give the audiobook a try and I’m now almost a quarter of the way through it and enjoying it a lot more as an audiobook! All of my reading this week is contributing towards the Booktube SFF Awards; Grey Sister, the second book in this series, has been shortlisted for the Fantasy category, so I’m planning to move on to that audiobook once I’ve finished this one!
Then
I finished up the O.W.Ls Readathon on the very last day with Record of a Spaceborn Few, which has been shortlisted for the Science Fiction category, and also sees me finishing the readathon with all 12 O.W.Ls under my belt! I really enjoyed this book – keep an eye out for my review!
Next
Muse of Nightmares made the YA shortlist and I’m really looking forward to this one after loving Strange the Dreamer earlier this year. Laini Taylor’s writing is gorgeous and I can’t wait to see how this duology ends!
Muse Of Nightmares looks really good. Enjoy your reading this week!
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Thanks Chrissi! I’m looking forward to finishing up this duology.
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I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that’s been translated. But you’re right! For a book to be translated into English, it must be amazing.
Genesis @ Whispering Chapters
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I definitely haven’t read as many translated books as I’d like!
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Oh, I need to read A Winter’s Promise too! I’ve been trying for a while… I took it out from the library a while back, then ran out of time and had to return it, then bought a Kindle edition when there was a price drop… still haven’t read it.
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It’s good to know I’m not the only one! I really want to try and read more translated fiction this year. 🙂
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