Happy Bastille Day

Posted July 14, 2021 by Brin in Memes, Top 5 Wednesday / 1 Comment

Top 5 Wednesday was originally created by Lainey @GingerReadsLainey – you can join the Goodreads group HERE

Bastille Day

Today’s prompt is centred around ‘Bastille Day’ – In honour of this French holiday, what are your top 5 French books? They could be anything relating to France. Maybe they were originally written in French, took place in France (or a fantasy world inspired by it), or even had themes of love or something far-fetched like that. Stretch it as much as you need to!

When trying to come up with 5 books set in France I really had a hard time – not because there is a drought of books set there but rather that I haven’t actually read all that many! I’ve tried to come up with 5 books across various genres…

1. Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey

I adore this series of books set in a fictional land called Terre D’Ange which is based on Renaissance-era France. The series counts among my very favourites and this is the book that started it all. I pretty much recommend this to anyone who enjoys romantic fantasy though it isn’t for the faint of heart either (though not quite as dark as some get there are some disturbing elements – fair warning).

2. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

I have a sneaky feeling this will make it on a lot of people’s lists about books set in France! This cute and fluffy YA book is super-sweet and a very enjoyable read. I enjoyed the whole trilogy to be fair but this is the one that sticks in my mind the most.

3. Daughters of the Grail by Elizabeth Chadwick

I went on a historical fiction kick about ten years ago and discovered Elizabeth Chadwick’s books. This was one of my favourites and is one I highly recommend to historical connoisseurs and newbies to the genre alike! It’s a good gateway book and definitely worth a read (the setting is one of its strongest points!)

4. Discretion by Karina Halle

I am a huge fan of Karina Halle’s writing but I hadn’t read a book of hers for a year or two when I discovered this series of books beginning with Discretion. The book is primarily a romance but it also has suspense elements which I really loved too (and a hot French hero!)

5. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

This book (and series!) has it all for me – fairy tale retelling set in a futuristic setting (with cyborgs! and magic! well, kinda…) it ticks all of my boxes plus it has a really amazing romance too. This instalment is mainly set in France and it’s lushly detailed and an amazing read!!