Rereading A Book You Once Loved

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Hands up who loves rereading books?

Rereading a book that I’ve previously loved is something that I wish I did more often. Some years I’ll do really well and reread quite a few books that I’ve previously given 5-stars to, and some years I won’t get in any rereading at all. It completely depends what books are out that year, and what I’m excited to read.

In 2019 I reread so many books that I had loved in the past and even reread a book that I had read for the first time just months prior (that was The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee), which was definitely a first for me. But not all rereads are going to be as awesome as you remember them being, not even those that you gave 5-stars to previously. I thought today we’d take a look at some of the books I’ve reread in the past year or so and find out if I loved them just as much the second time through.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

First read: 2016

Second read: 2019 (audiobook)

The Grishaverse, as it’s called, is a wonderful place. It’s terrifying and magical and full of wonderful cultures and characters. When I first read Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo back in 2016, I fell deep into the stories she created. The second and third books, Siege and Storm and Ruin and Rising respectively, were quickly read afterwards and I loved them just as much as the first one. I actually reread all three books in this series in 2019, but I read them all on audiobook, which was a fun experience. Looking back at my review of Shadow and Bone, I suspect I didn’t enjoy it the second time as much as I did the first, and I think I know why.

It’s because of Six of Crows.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

First read: 2017

Second read: 2019

The Six of Crows Duology (the second being Crooked Kingdom) is one of my favourite duologies/series of all time. I love me a good heist story, and a heist story set within in the Grishaverse was exactly what I never knew I needed in my life. I read this duology after I read the Shadow and Bone series, which is how they were published, and how I suggest you read them too. Six of Crows is set after the events in Ruin and Rising but there are a few characters which overlap, and a few things mentioned in the duology that happened in the series. So how was my reread? Was it as good the second time? For sure yes. I think I had forgotten all the reasons why I loved these books; I just remembered that I loved them. Sometimes I catch myself thinking about these books, and I wonder if I should read them again …

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

First read: 2017

Second read: 2018 (audiobook)

There’s just something about Mackenzi Lee’s writing. How she’s so good at creating wonderful, quirky storylines set in historical England I’m not quite sure, but she does it, and she does it so well I had to reread Monty, Percy and Felicity’s adventures around the continent in The Gentlemen’s Guide to Vice and Virtue. The second time I read this was in audiobook form, and the narrator was Christian Coulson, who plays a young Tom Riddle in the Harry Potter movies. He’s superb as Monty, by the way. I also reread the second in this series, The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy as I mentioned before, just a few months after reading it the first time, again, on audiobook.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

First read: 2012

Second read: 2018

The year was 2012, and I had just moved to England to a house with a library about a 10-minute walk away. It was a glorious time. It was also the year ~~the world was going to end~~ I discovered dystopian novels and really entered the world of Young Adult books. Unwind was one of those stories I picked up in the library that year, and my first introduction to Neal Shusterman, an author who would later become one of my favourites in this genre. I loved Unwind the first time I read it. I remember being wow-ed at the concept (kids being ‘unwound’ so their body parts could be used for other people) despite it being a bit gruesome, and couldn’t wait to pick up the next in the series. Spoiler alert: I never got round to it. Fast forward to 2018 and I found a Kindle pack of the series and thought it was prime time to keep reading. But I had to reread Unwind again before I read any of the others.

I enjoyed it the second time around, but I don’t think as much as the first time. I probably dropped it by a star, and I never ended up continuing the series. Maybe one day…?

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

First read: 2013

Second read: 2020

Again, in my ‘I live next to a library’ enthusiasm, I borrower The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson when I was in England and loved it. For whatever reason, I never got around to reading the next one, The Madness Underneath, so in 2020 I decided that I’d pick up The Name of the Star again in the hopes that I would then read the second one. Time will tell if I do that. I did really enjoy this paranormal story, and it was a fun reread, trying to remember whodunnit and the twists and turns that came with the book. The first time around I gave it 5-stars but I think I dropped it by a star this time around. Perhaps I’ve just grown up a little in seven years.