Top Ten Tuesday: Books that Feature Travel

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week has a different theme & you can find all the details about how to join in HERE.

Today's theme is Books that Feature Travel and I have to admit that I initially thought I was going to struggle to come up with 10 books to include. I haven't actually read many road trip books but when I sat down to think of it I managed to come up with plenty of stories that involve travel in some form or another.

Anyway, lets have a look at a few of my favourites (links will take you to my reviews):

The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien

You don't get many journeys more epic than the one that Bilbo Baggins takes with Gandalf and the dwarves when they travel across the mountains to take back their home! Full of adventure, magical creatures, dragons and treasure this is a book I've read many times over the years and I really enjoyed the recent film adaptation too. I'm looking forward to watching the next two movies.

The Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean M. Auel

Jean M. Auel's Earth's Children series has been one of my favourites since I was a teenager (the less said about the 6th and final book the better though!) and I've lost count of the number of times I've read them. The series is set around the time of the last ice age (35,000 years ago) and follows a young girl Ayla as she travels across whole continents in search of a place to call home. I love this series for the rich historical data but more for the emotional journey that Ayla goes on as she grows up and finds her place in the world.

From What I Remember - Stacy Kramer & Valerie Thomas

From What I Remember is a more traditional road trip story that shows how one of the school's hottest guys Max ends up in Mexico with geek girl Kylie. The book is absolutely hilarious and I loved every minute of it!

Tiger's Curse - Colleen Houck

Colleen Houck's Tiger series follows Kelsey on a journey across India as she tries to help brothers Ren and Kishan break a 300 year old curse. You get to visit various temples and the jungle, learn about some of the Indian gods and goddesses and fall in love with not one but two gorgeous Indian princes who have been cursed to spend the majority of their time living as tigers.

Between Shades of Gray - Ruta Sepetys

Between Shades of Gray is the heartbreaking story of a young Lithuanian girl called Lina and her family as they are captured by Soviet guards and forced to travel across Europe to a Siberian work camp in the Arctic circle. Set during WWII and based on true stories this book highlights the atrocities committed by Stalin and is an incredibly emotional read but it is a book that I can't recommend highly enough. If you haven't come across this book before take a few minutes to watch this video of the author Ruta Sepetys as she talks about the inspiration behind the story but make sure you have tissues to hand because you're sure to need them!


Ruta Sepetys discusses her upcoming novel, Between Shades of Gray from Penguin Young Readers Group on Vimeo.

A Conspiracy of Alchemists - Liesel Schwarz

Liesel Schwarz's steampunk adventure takes you across Europe stopping off at London, Paris, Venice and Constantinople. Main character Elle is a dirigible pilot so you'll get to fly in an airship but you also enjoy a luxury ride on the Orient Express!

Demons of the Ocean - Justin Somper

If you enjoy books aimed at a slightly younger audience or are looking for a fun family read then I'd definitely recommend Justin Somper's Vampirates series. Sail the seven seas with twins Grace and Connor in this futuristic world where the seas have risen and the waters are controlled by both pirates and vampirates (yes, you did read that right vampirates - vampires who are also pirates!)

Poison Princess - Kresley Cole

I love Kresley Cole's adult books so I was excited to get my hands on her first YA novel Poison Princess last year. Set in the future after an apocalyptic event that Evie had been having visions of before it happened this is a fab story and something that's really unique. Main characters are based on the Major Arcana cards found in a Tarot deck and each have different powers and abilities. Evie teams up with sexy Cajun Jack to try and search for answers and they travel across the country looking for the other main players.

Fire and Thorns - Rae Carson

Fire and Thorns is a fabulous fantasy adventure that follows princess Elisa when she is sent far from home to marry a man she has never met. Follow her epic journey across the desert as she fights to find a place for herself in a new country when she doesn't know who her enemies are.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

My last pick is a little bit of a cheat because although The Night Circus travels the world the focus of the story is much more on what is happening inside the circus than outside of it. It is such a beautiful novel that I couldn't resist including it anyway though and I can't recommend it highly enough!

So what books did you include on your list? Did we have any of the same picks? Leave me a link to your post in the comments and I'll stop by and check it out!

Review: A Conspiracy of Alchemists - Liesel Schwarz

When dirigible pilot Elle Chance accepts an unusual cargo in Paris she finds herself in the middle of a deadly war between the Alchemists and Warlocks.

The Alchemists will stop at nothing to acquire the coveted carmot stone and its key, and Elle must do everything in her power to thwart their diabolical plans.

Embarking on a perilous cross-continental adventure with the mysterious Mr Marsh, Elle is forced to question everything she ever knew about herself to fulfil her destiny and prevent a magical apocalypse . . .

The Chronicles of Light and Shadow:
A Conspiracy of Alchemists
A Clockwork Heart

Visit Liesel Schwarz's website for more information

Review:
Elle is not your average young lady, she isn't interested in ball gowns or finding the perfect husband and would much rather be independent. She loves to fly and ever since training as a dirigible pilot she has enjoyed travelling across Europe in the ship she is so proud of. When she is employed to carry a mysterious item from Paris back to London she suddenly finds herself caught up in a battle between the Alchemists and Warlocks. Both sides are determined to get hold of her cargo and they will stop at nothing to make sure they come out on top. Elle is forced to join forces with her employer Mr Marsh to prevent the end of the world as she knows it but the deeper she is pulled into the upcoming war the more she starts to discover about her own past and realise that her future will never be the same again.

A Conspiracy of Alchemists is a fantastic steampunk adventure story that will take readers on a journey across Europe, taking in Oxford, Paris, Venice and Constantinople by both air and by train. Liesel Schwarz has created a detailed world where the human realm is closely connected to the realm of shadows, a world that is filled with alchemists, warlocks, nightwalkers and even absinthe fairies who live amongst the human population. This was such a fun story to read and you never knew quite what the author would throw at you next which kept me on my toes as I was reading.

Elle was a great character, I love stories about strong women who aren't afraid to stand up for what they believe in. Elle is a woman of science, she loves to learn and as the daughter of a prominent scientist she has inherited his love of physics. She is also very practical and is able to turn her hand to any technical gadget she comes across. One thing she doesn't believe in is magic, she is much more interested in things that she can see and prove with science. She has no interest in the world of alchemists and warlocks until she is dragged into the whole mess against her will. Elle doesn't have much choice other than to work with Marsh but that doesn't mean she is going to blindly put her trust in him, he is going to have to prove himself to her as they get to know each other better. I liked the way that Elle refuses to just accept what she is told, she needs to find ways to prove things for herself and you have to admire the way she so stubbornly clings to her beliefs.

Marsh has to be my favourite though, he is a complex character who has a lot of secrets and it takes a long time for Elle to start to get to the bottom of them (in fact I'm pretty sure he has plenty of surprises still to come as the series continues). The deeper you dig into Marsh's background the more you start to understand why he has such a hard outer shell and why he plays his cards so close to his chest. As he gets to know Elle you really start to see a softer and more protective side to him and I loved the slowly developing romance between them.

The romance is just a small part of the story though and the plot is focused on the animosity between the alchemists and the warlocks. I loved the detailed descriptions of the various settings throughout the book, it was easy to picture yourself flying alongside Elle and Marsh in her dirigible or sitting next to them on the Orient Express but it was the towns that the author brings vibrantly to life. Although I'm glad to learn that this is the start of a series I'm happy to say that the story did work well as a stand alone. I'm sick to death of series that end on such major cliffhangers that you don't even feel like you've read the whole book so it was nice to see an ending so well handled. If you enjoy steampunk or fantasy stories then I'm sure you're going to love A Conspiracy of Alchemists, it's an impressive debut and has left me excited to read more from Liesel Schwarz in the future.

Source: Received from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Hardback / Kindle: