Goood afternoon 👋
I hope you’re having a lovely start to the weekend 🙂
I love my books; however, I only realised a few months back that I don’t chat about them on the page as much as I probably should. So, with that in mind, a message I sent some of my cousins lately has given me the idea for today’s blog – a spotlight on some of the books I’ve been enjoying lately, and why.
Hello and Welcome to Sweeney’s Blogs!
I’ve always loved getting lost in a book – whether it’s when I’m feeling stressed, before heading to bed, or during something else entirely, there’s no feeling quite like it. Over the last couple of years, I’ve been trying to mix up my usual book choices, some of which, I’ll be sharing more on the page moving forward.
However, for today, what are three books that I have really enjoyed reading recently?
🎭 A Stage Set for Villains by Shannon Spann:
This dark fantasy book was one I had a load of fun reading. If you’ve read the Caraval series by Stephanie Garber, it’s certainly got a simlar vibe, although, I preferred a lot of the twists in this book.
The book follows a character called Riven, who is dying from an unknown disease. The only way to “cure” this illness is to enter a magical travelling circus, known as “The Playhouse”, and become one of its players, who have mysterious abilities.
I love the world-building, and how deeply ingrained the theatre was to, not just the characters, but the entire plot, structure and flow of the book.
⚔️ Red Rising by Pierce Brown:
A sci-fi masterclass, focusing on a futuristic Earth where people are split into social classes based on power. A Red (who are the miners) man, Darrow, sees his family get killed, and goes on a mission to bring down the Golds (the elites).
The Red Rising series is currently six books long, with the final book, Red God, being drafted by Pierce as we speak. It’s easily become one of my favourite series of all time, with character-building, twists, and the changing politics keeping everything so engaging.
If you haven’t heard of the Red Rising books, or have been waiting to give them a go – I highly highly recommend giving them a read, you won’t regret it – all six of the books are incredible.
💧 There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
Where do I even begin with this book?
A story all about a raindrop, which connects each of the stories in such a poetic, memorable and meaningful way. I swear that everything Shafak writes reflects the beauty, the mystery and the craziness of life. She really does have a way with words.
A book filled with heartbreaking turns, really detailed history and such poignant and important lessons. Boy, am I glad to have had the pleasure of reading this.
Would 100% rate. It’s not the fastest book to read; however, it is so worth it.
You might have seen that I have done a somewhat similar blog to this back in March, looking at five of my recommendations to read during spring 2026 – these books still fully hold up now, there’s no set time limit on them 😊
So, there we have it – a bit of a different blog for today. What do you think? Would you be interested in seeing more book reccos here on the page?
Thanks a lot for reading, and I hope you have a great rest of your weekend ☀️
James
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