| #T5W - Books That Aren't Set In/Inspired By The Western World |

Top 5 Wednesday is group that was created by Lainey and is currently hosted by Samantha. A topic is posted every month wherein if you want to, you can post about your top 5 picks for said topics.

The topic for July 19th is "Books That Aren't Set In/Inspired by the Western World" which includes books that are set or inspired by places outside the Western World (outside of North America and Western Europe).

OTHER JULY TOPICS

I had a hard time choosing books for this topic. I think I just managed to find exactly five books that match it. For fun, I decided to add another list - a list of my favorite Mangas since they are not set in the Western World. 

LIST OF BOOKS

     

1. STRANGE THE DREAMER BY LAINI TAYLOR

SUMMARY: Lazlo is an orphan and a junior librarian. He has been obsessed with the Lost City of Weep all throughout his life and his dream is to go find it.

The setting and the world created by Laini Taylor in this series is unique and I really can't tell what place inspired it. She has a way of creating strange but beautiful places. It has been described wonderfully in the book and been a joy to read about. Especially Lazlo's version of it. The history she made about the lives of the people there are very interesting but very heartbreaking to read about.

     

2. SPHINX'S PRINCESS BY ESTHER FRIESNER

SUMMARY: SET IN EGYPT; It tells about the fictional story of the Egyptian princess Nefertiti.

The book is set in Ancient Egypt. Nefertiti was arrange to marry Prince Thutmose, the heir of the Pharaoh. It was interesting to learn about the politics in Egypt during that time. Nefertiti was an interesting character to read about. She was fierce, smart, and compassionate. I love the romance in this book and the way it developed.

     

3. THE WRATH AND THE DAWN BY RENEE AHDIEH

SUMMARY: SET IN MIDDLE EAST; It is a retelling of the A Thousand and One Nights.

This is a very interesting book to read about. It was written beautifully and the backstory was heartbreaking. The development of the romance between the characters were very lovely to read about. I loved Jalal and Despina. I haven't read the sequel yet but I plan to in the near future.

     

4. SOUNDLESS BY RICHELLE MEAD

SUMMARY: SET IN ANCIENT CHINA; In a village where people can't hear and has a difficult terrain, starvation occurs because the food supplies they are getting from other places started to lessen. Fei decides to leave her village and get help from other places.

This is a very short read. I liked the adventure that Fei and Li Wei had in order to help their village. I don't know why people did not like this because it had an interesting story.

     

5. DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE BY LAINI TAYLOR

SUMMARY: SET IN CZECH REPUBLIC AND THE FICTIONAL WORLD OF ERETZ; A 17-year-old student from Prague becomes entangled with the war between Seraphims and Chimaeras in the world fo Eretz.

Another Laini Taylor book. The way Laini described Prague was really beautiful and it made me want to go there. Eretz was also beautiful. It had a variation of type of characters and I wanted to know more about it. The story this book had was deep and very interesting.

LIST OF MANGAS

     

1. FUSHIGI YUGI GENBU KAIDEN BY YUU WATASE

SUMMARY: Takiko Okuda is transported to the Country of Hokkan after she opened the Universe of the Four Gods. There she became the Priestess of Genbu who had adventures along with the Seven Warriors of Genbu.

This is a prequel to Fushigi Yugi. I like this more than the original story. It has more depth and the story had more challenges. Takiko didn't make stupid decisions like Miaka and her bond with her warriors was much more wonderful and heartbreaking to read about.

     

2. OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB BY BISCO HATORI

SUMMARY: Haruhi Fujioka is forced to join the Host Club after she breaks an experience vase they had.

I really had a lot of fun reading this manga. It was fun to read. The bond that developed between the members of the Host Club was very heart warming to read about. The development of the romances were aso wonderful to read about. Seeing them grow throughout the manga will make you really happy.

     

3. BRIDE OF THE WATER GOD BY YUN MI-KYUNG

SUMMARY: Soah was chosen to be sacrificed to the Water God after a devastating drought. Rather than dying, she gets transported to the realm of the Water God.

I decided to read this after learning that TvN will make an adaptation out of it (apparently it is a retelling not an adaptation). It was very beautiful to read about. The drawing of the characters were really fabulous. The politics that the realm of gods had were really complicated. The love that Soah and Habaek had for each other was very heartwarming and heartbreaking to read about.

     

4. HANA TO AKUMA BY HISAMU OTO

SUMMARY: A demon adopted an abandoned baby and for fourteen years he had lived with her.

To be honest, if you think hard about the story of this manga it gets a little creepy. However, since it was beautifully written, you will love it. The development between Hana and Vivi were adorable and lovely to read about. Hana is such a precious child and it was wonderful to see Vivi with her. Other characters that were introduced added more fun to the manga like Felten and Eleanor. The ending is very heartbreaking though.

     

5. ABSOLUTE BOYFRIEND BY YUU WATASE

SUMMARY: Thinking it was just a joke, Riiko Izawa creates and orders her 'perfect lover' from a website called Kronos Heaven.

This is a fun manga that has a rather absurd story. It was fun and heartbreaking to read about. The development between the characters were really enjoyable.