Monthly Book Series: January

So I wanted to start something new on my blog this year, something that I really love and can commit to on a regular basis and something that really ties in with what I am doing everyday anyway.

One of my New Years Resolutions is to read at least one book a month. I have chosen to do this as I want to fall back in love with reading, I am such a huge book worm but over the past couple of years life has taken over and I just haven't picked up a book in a long time that I have really gotten stuck into!

So what is my first book you ask? A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin.

So, lets start. This book is part of a series, 'A Song of Ice and Fire' there is currently 5 books in the series but Martin has said he plans to write 7. It falls into the political strategy and epic fantasy genre. The main theme running throughout the book is family, honour, the throne/royalty and treachery, andI think these are going to be key things that continue throughout all the books.

Tyrion Lannister is probably my fave character. He's a dwarf who is part of a well respected family. He is seen as the outsider because of his disability, rejected by his father because of this very reason, which I think gives him a very different perspective on life, he's pretty straight up and forward in his attitude which can be pretty dang funny. Basically, he won't take no shit. He has a big effect on Jon Snow's attitude, Eddard Stark's bastard son, due to being an outsider also, he makes Jon realise that he must decide his own way in life and not be held back his fathers family name and being a bastard child. I equally love Arya Stark, even as one of the younger children of Eddard I feel she doesn't act the innocent or the child, she tries to break the boundaries that being a women would mean for her and she's not afraid to say no to anything that would be against her views and values, she holds family close, and see's herself closer to Jon her half brother, than her full sister Sansa, who could not be more opposite to Arya.

At first I really struggled to get into this book, I have a very busy lifestyle so I can't sit down and read for a couple of hours unless I do that at like 10pm which isn't ideal, so I just get half an hour here and there, so I think that's part of the reason. What I struggled with is being introduced to A LOT of characters straight away. Which if you have previously followed the TV show, shouldn't be a problem. But I haven't followed the show at all so it was getting a little confusing for me as the names of characters are pretty similar to one another an I had no face to give those names to, but you get used to it and learn the personality traits etc etc which differentiate each of them.

I loved seeing the book unfold and how the different characters and families and events all tied to one another, it was a really interesting book and quickly became something I didn't want to put down and would reach for at any possible moment!

I would highly recommend this book to any of you that love a challenge, love something that's a little different, and includes not only the drama of war and conflict but having some romance in there as well! But holy crap there is so much graphic detail, whether that be someone being murdered or good, old-fashioned sex. Just a little pre-warning for ya there!

Have you read this one already? What are your thoughts? 

Happy reading my lovelies!

Charlotte Rose

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