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.

The Magicians’ Guild
by Trudi Canavan

“We should expect this young woman to be more powerful than our average novice, possibly even more powerful than the average magician.”

This year, like every other, the magicians of Imardin gather to purge the city of undesirables. Cloaked in the protection of their sorcery, they move with no fear of the vagrants and miscreants who despise them and their work-—until one enraged girl, barely more than a child, hurls a stone at the hated invaders…and effortlessly penetrates their magical shield.

What the Magicians’ Guild has long dreaded has finally come to pass. There is someone outside their ranks who possesses a raw power beyond imagining, an untrained mage who must be found and schooled before she destroys herself and her city with a force she cannot yet control.

Much like Maria V. Snyder, Trudi Canavan is one of those fantasy authors I always saw on the shelves when I was a teenager but never reached for, and to be honest I’m not confident now that I’d enjoy this book as much as I might have if I’d read it when I was 15. I still really want to give Canavan a try, though, and, if I’m being completely honest, I love reading a really familiar, really tropey fantasy from time to time!

Are there any authors you think would have loved as a teenager that you still haven’t read?

This week I’m joining in with Lipsy @ Lipsyy Lost & Found to talk about the books I’ve been reading recently!

Now

I could feel myself heading towards a slump after some disappointing reads this month (which I suppose it karma for all the amazing books I read in April!) so I decided to reach for Gail Carriger, who I can always rely on to cheer me up when I’m in a bit of a book funk. The 5th Gender is the first in a new sci-fi series by her, but it’s essentially an LGBT+ sci-fi cosy mystery romance and it’s so cute. This book won’t be for everyone at all, but this is exactly the kind of book I need right now.

Then

As a lot of you know, I fell in love with Daughter of the Forest last month so I couldn’t wait for more Marillier and wanted to devour the next book in the Sevenwaters series. Considering Son of the Shadows is another book that’s over 600 pages it didn’t take me long to read at all, but unfortunately I really, really didn’t like it. Look out for my review coming soon! I don’t know yet if I’ll be continuing with this series – I’m starting to get the feeling that Daughter of the Forest should have remained a standalone.

Next

I really want to tackle the beast that is The Priory of the Orange Tree for Wyrd & Wonder because I’m sure I’m going to love it, but I need a bit of time to get out of how disappointed I was with Son of the Shadows before I pick it up. Hopefully I’ll be in the mood to pick it up next!

What have you been reading recently?