Blogger Book Nook #9 // Time Machine

I swear 2018 is going really quick, like can you believe it’s already May. This month is going to be a busy and hopefully fun one, I’m going to be creating some great memories this month with Yasmine. A new month means there’s a new Reading Challenge created by the Blogger Book Nook. This month’s Reading Challenge is a little different and something special.

May is the birthday month for both Tabitha and Abbey, Happy Birthday to the both of you! Meaning they wanted to pick their favourite genre Historical Fiction. Hop in your time machine and pick a read that’s set in the past – whether it’s as early as the 90’s or if you go back thousands of years, the choice is yours! I’m excited to indulge in a book of this genre, as it’s definitely an interesting genre.

We receive our monthly Reading Challenge from either Abbey or Tabitha, two of the kindest girls, on the Facebook page. Here we have some great conversations and are able to talk books! This is also the perfect opportunity to get to know new bloggers, ones that have a similar interest, books and reading.

Right, let’s get on with May’s Reading Challenge.

If you missed my Introduction to: Blogger Book Nook you should definitely check that post out here, before reading May’s Reading Challenge! I don’t want to fill this post up with too much of that as it’s all there for you to enjoy. For each Reading Challenge, Abbey and Tabitha come up with five questions for us to answer in relation to the prompt.

1) If you could time travel either to the past or the future, which would you pick and why?
Hmm, I suppose it could be good to travel back in time, maybe go back to some historic moments in time or just enjoy some periods like the twenties or fifties. I wouldn’t want to ruin the future, that should be kept a secret, so for me, it would be travelling to the past.

2) Historical novels aren’t always accurate in their details – is this something that bothers you? Why / why not?
I am a massive fan of Assassin’s Creed, it’s one of my favourite gaming series, of course, not everything is accurate here. It mostly is and this makes for fun gaming, I love learning about the past this way. I don’t think I’ve ever read a historical novel, I can’t name one of the top of my head! Unless you do count the Assassin’s Creed books.

3) Is there one specific historical era that especially interests you? What novels set in that time would you recommend?
When I was growing up, I loved learning about the Tudors, this was by far my favourite historical era. I suppose it still is as everything is so beautiful about that era, there’s a lot of history there like King Henry VII and his many wives. History was one of my favourite subjects growing up and I especially loved learning about the Tudors. I’m not sure if there are any novels based in this time though?

4) Which historical figure (fictional or real!) would you most like to have dinner with?
Going back to my love of Assassin’s Creed, I suppose it would be nice to have dinner with Ezio Auditore da Firenze, the main character from the Third Crusade. I loved him as a character in the franchise, I swear he would be an interesting one to have dinner with. You never know what could happen until it does!

5) Do you find historical fiction an appealing genre? Why / why not?
I’ve never really indulged in novels set in historical settings, I wouldn’t grab one of those off the shelf if a Young Adult novel was next to it. I would be more than happy to read one if someone has recommended it, it could make for an interesting read. I suppose it also depends on what time period the book is based in.

I wanted to do a little twist on May’s Reading Challenge, instead of reading a book from a different period, I wanted to go back in time and re-read a book I previously was addicted to! I’m talking about The Awakening (The Vampire Diaries #1), when I started watching The Vampire Diaries when it first came out all the way back in 2009, I wanted to see if the novel series was the same / completely different.

I was addicted to the television series, I actually re-watched that when they added every episode and season onto Netflix, perfect for that binge-watch evening. Now if you like for reviews of this novel series, you’ll be surprised to see some really bad and low reviews. Despite everyone loving the television series, for myself, I fell in love with the books and wished I had read them before watching.

The characters were completely different to their portrayal in the television series but I found I got along a lot better with them in the book. These were very addicting to read and with having two books in one, there wasn’t so much of a finish like with a normal book. Like most books, The Awakening ended on a cliffhanger, but if you’re reading the new two-book edition, you get to jump right into The Struggle!

It has a good buildup of creepy events, a tragic backstory, high school drama, a creepy atmosphere, a haunted house scene, a mysterious power, and vampires! Elena is determined, Bonnie is adorable, Meredith is snarky, Matt is a nice guy, and Stefan is somehow not as bad as I remembered. This was top-notch YA back in the day! I recall enjoying going back in time and reading this again.

I actually forgot how much I loved the characters and the writing of L. J. Smith, I would even say it’s better than The Twilight Saga, for me the characters are so much lovable. It was a little strange at first as some of the characters and the actual storyline were different to the television series but just like that, I was able to get sucked back into the world of Elena, Stefan and Damon.

I hope you have enjoyed this post! What one Historical Fiction genre book
do you love? I am always on the search for new recommendations. Just maybe I’ll
add them to my Goodreads Bookshelf.