
Top 5 books with shields
Hello friends!! Welcome to Top 5 Tuesday!! This week’s topic is top 5 books with shields!! Yes, we’re back on scavenger hunts ― and I’m happy to say these are the last lot until next year.
Last week we had swords, so this week we’re doing shields. It’s a nice juxtaposition. At first I thought “oh, what have I done?!” But again, shields were surprisingly easy to find. Maybe because a shield is usually the basis for a coat of arms. And I have a LOT of fictional royalty books.
If you missed the July-September 2022 topics they are out now! Top 5 Tuesday was created by Shanah @ Bionic Book Worm, and is now being hosted here @ Meeghan reads.

top 5 books with shields
The Spare — Miranda Dubner

The second son of the Queen of England has certain responsibilities. Dress well, smile at public events, uphold the family honor, be straight.
At sixteen, Edward Kensington had been convinced that hiding his bisexuality was a small price to pay to protect his mother and siblings from yet another tabloid scandal in the wake of his parents’ high-profile divorce. But over ten years later, even a closet the size of Buckingham Palace feels small, and his secrets have only gotten harder to keep. Like being in love with his bodyguard ― a man by the name of Isaac Cole.
Then he’s outed by the press.
The official schedule has no time for an identity crisis, even though every member of the royal family seems to be having one at once. Eddie’s estranged father shows up. His sister flirts with the reporter hired to write their grandmother’s biography. His older brother, harboring a secret of his own, is more reluctant than ever to take up public-facing duties, and Her Majesty is considering going out on a date. And now the Public Relations Office has set Eddie the task of finding himself a suitable fiancée.
But when Eddie learns that Isaac returns his decidedly inconvenient feelings, keeping calm and carrying on becomes impossible. Prince Charming never wished harder for a men’s size 12 glass slipper, but life in the spotlight isn’t a fairy tale, and there are some dragons not even a prince can fight alone. For any one of them to steal a happily ever after, the Kensingtons will have to pull together for the first time since the Second World War.
Hold on to your tiaras. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Court — Tracy Wolff
NOTE: The blurb below is for book 1 of the Crave series, Crave.
My whole world changed when I stepped inside the academy. Nothing is right about this place or the other students in it. Here I am, a mere mortal among gods… or monsters. I still can’t decide which of these warring factions I belong to, if I belong at all. I only know the one thing that unites them is their hatred of me.
Then there’s Jaxon Vega. A vampire with deadly secrets who hasn’t felt anything for a hundred years. But there’s something about him that calls to me, something broken in him that somehow fits with what’s broken in me.
Which could spell death for us all.
Because Jaxon walled himself off for a reason. And now someone wants to wake a sleeping monster, and I’m wondering if I was brought here intentionally ― as the bait.

We All Fall Down — Rose Szabo

In River City, where magic used to thrive and is now fading, the witches who once ruled the city along with their powerful King have become all but obsolete. The city’s crumbling government is now controlled primarily by the new university and teaching hospital, which has grown to take over half of the city.
Moving between the decaying Old City and the ruthless New, four young queer people struggle with the daily hazards of life ― work, school, dodging ruthless cops and unscrupulous scientists ― not realizing that they have been selected to play in an age-old drama that revives the flow of magic through their world. When a mysterious death rocks their fragile peace, the four are brought into each other’s orbits as they uncover a deeper magical conspiracy.
Empire of the Vampire — Jay Kristoff
From holy cup comes holy light;
The faithful hand sets world aright.
And in the Seven Martyrs’ sight,
Mere man shall end this endless night.
It has been twenty-seven long years since the last sunrise. For nearly three decades, vampires have waged war against humanity; building their eternal empire even as they tear down our own. Now, only a few tiny sparks of light endure in a sea of darkness.
Gabriel de León is a silversaint: a member of a holy brotherhood dedicated to defending realm and church from the creatures of the night. But even the Silver Order could not stem the tide once daylight failed us, and now, only Gabriel remains.
Imprisoned by the very monsters he vowed to destroy, the last silversaint is forced to tell his story. A story of legendary battles and forbidden love, of faith lost and friendships won, of the Wars of the Blood and the Forever King and the quest for humanity’s last remaining hope:
The Holy Grail.

Akarnae — Lynette Noni

Dreading her first day at a new school, Alex is stunned when she walks through a doorway and finds herself stranded in Medora, a fantasy world full of impossibilities. Desperate to return home, she learns that only a man named Professor Marselle can help her… but he’s missing.
While waiting for him to reappear, Alex attends Akarnae Academy, Medora’s boarding school for teenagers with extraordinary gifts. She soon starts to enjoy her bizarre new world and the friends who embrace her as one of their own, but strange things are happening at Akarnae, and Alex can’t ignore her fear that something unexpected… something sinister… is looming.
An unwilling pawn in a deadly game, Alex’s shoulders bear the crushing weight of an entire race’s survival. Only she can save the Medorans, but what if doing so prevents her from ever returning home?
Will Alex risk her entire world ― and maybe even her life ― to save Medora?

FYI, I have built an actual database of everyone who I have ever discovered that has joined in with a Top 5 Tuesday topic. Which means, I will be able to come and visit blogs every week to find your posts. So you won’t necessarily need to link your posts below (unless you want to). But, if you’re new or I’ve not found your blog, please drop a comment below with a link to your post, and I will add you!
PARTICIPANTS
Your Book Friend
Tay’s Infinite Thoughts
The Punk Theory
Wicked Witch’s Blog
Less Than Three D
Book Are 42
Becky Bookstore
DB’s Guide to the Galaxy
What are your top 5 books with shields?



11 Comments
Kaya @ afictionalbookworm
i’ve never heard of arkenae but i’m adding to my tbr immediately!! great post💜
meeghan
THANK YOU!! 🥰🥰
Janette
Gorgeous covers again. Empire of the Vampires is my first choice for this week. I loved that book! https://witchyreading.wordpress.com/2022/08/23/top-5-tuesday-books-with-shields/
meeghan
I still need to read Empire of the Vampire!! I’m hoping I’ll fit it in closer to the release of book two… I don’t deal well with cliffhangers 😂
Janette
It’s brilliant but it is quite long.
dbsguidetothegalaxy
ooh ehehe I’m eyeing The Spare now. Have you read it? I didn’t know Lynette Noni had another series but APPARENTLY the Goodreads ghost!DB added it?? in 2020???? Do we even know how many books will be in the Crave saga/series? When do I start trying to read it? Now or when it’s all finished? 😂
meeghan
I HAVE read the Spare (surprisingly). I really loved it, but it’s more like the show The Royals than it’s like Red, White and Royal Blue, because it’s about the whole family, not just the couple. But I loved that about it.
Ghost DB clearly has excellent taste, and you should listen to her more often 😂
And… I think Crave will finish next year (2 more books out to my knowledge). And, while I enjoyed the first 2 books, the series is definitely taking an odd turn. Maybe don’t start it yet?! I’ll let you know if it’s worth it.
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thepunktheory
All those covers look gorgeous!
meeghan
They do!! Now I just need to spend more time reading the rest of them 😂
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