top ten tuesday: books for mythology nerds

 Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is: "April 12: Ten Books Every X Should Read (up to you! Examples: every history nerd, memoir lover, ballet lover, feminist, college student, etc etc.)" I chose to do my list for people who love mythology of all sorts– Greek/Roman, Egyptian, Norse, Indian, etc – because I am obsessed with mythology myself, always have been!

1. Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series– Rick Riordan 

Okay, I'm just going to go ahead and cover my bases here with the Rick Riordan series. Riordan is technically middle grade, but read one of his books without cracking up and then get back to me on that label. Percy is the OG demigod up in here: he's a bamf, even when he's like 12. This series has five books. If you haven't read it already... literally where have you been? One of my all time favorites EVER. 

2. The Heroes of Olympus Series – Rick Riordan

Just when you THINK you're done with Percy... NOPE. Uncle Rick gave us this beautiful and amazing and expansive follow up series of five books which follows Percy and Annabeth and Nico and Grover and our fave gods, then gives us some incredible new characters as well. Five books in this one also, a close runner up to the first series. 

3. Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard Series– Rick Riordan

 This is Riordan's most recent addition to his canon of mythology, this one following Norse gods and demigods instead of the Greek/Roman/Egyptian ones that he has explored in the past. There is only one book out currently, with the second, The Hammer of Thor, coming out later this year. Though I did not fall directly in love with this one quite like I did with the Greek and Roman series, it was still AWESOME and hilarious, in true Riordan fashion. 

4. The Covenant Series– Jennifer L. Armentrout 

More Greeks, more demigods here, but YA instead of MG this time. This series is very similar to the Vampire Academy series, but I honestly love them both. I read Covenant before VA, and I seriously fell head over heels in love with the characters. Five books in this series, mythology less directly involved, more implied and effused. 

5. The Song of Achilles– Madeline Miller

The story of Achilles and Patroclus, from the time that they meet as youths, until both of their untimely demises in the Trojan war. (that's not a spoiler, it's literal, mythological fact) Sweet, adorable, cute, stabby... what more could you want? Patroclus is a cinnamon roll, too good, too pure for this world. Achilles is a sinnamon roll. This is all we need to know. 

 

6. The Chaos of Stars – Kiersten White 

Hello, Egyptian mythology! Welcome, take a seat here with your Greek and Norse counterparts. This is a standalone novel where the main character is the daughter of Isis, Egyptian goddess of marriage and many other things. This book is super romantic, and honestly pretty short, but definitely one of my faves. It could be a quick beach read for you this summer! 

7. Cruel Beauty – Rosamund Hodge

 I don't know if I'm cheating here, because honestly this isn't *about* Greek mythology, specifically. It is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. BUT! It is super interesting and different because there are elements of Greek and Roman culture woven into the tapestry of this fairy tale retelling. It is a lot more subtle than the rest of the books on this list, but it's beautiful and captivating, so I included it.

8. The Wrath and the Dawn – Renée Ahdieh

 Also don't know if this one is cheating... but I don't really care, because it feels like it belongs here, to me. This book is a retelling of 1001 Nights, which, in itself, is a little hazy over whether it is classified as a "classic book," a "legend," or a "myth." I like to think of it as a Middle Eastern, Persian myth, and this book has other elements of that culture as well. Gorgeous, gorgeous writing, beautiful characters, engaging plot. LOVE it. 

9. The Grisha Trilogy – Leigh Bardugo 

Though this is set entirely in a fantastical world called Ravka, there are definite influences of Russian culture upon it. There are also echoes of Russian myths, such as that of the Firebird, so if you're looking for something with definite allusions to Russian folklore, this is your book. Also, just a kickass series all around.

10. The Raven Boys Series – Maggie Stiefvater 

Here we come to the last book on our list, which includes some elements of Welsh mythology! Something new and different for us. I know there is like a cult following for this series, but I'm totally not caught up yet, I haven't read Blue Lily, Lily Blue yet!!! So no spoilers. I'm waiting til I get my hands on The Raven King to finish this series. 

I hope you enjoyed this list :) link me to your posts this week!

xx

Caroline