Happy Friday bookish people! How are you all doing so far this year? I can’t believe it is July already. Over halfway through the year. I am really looking forward to the chances I have to read this month, I will be travelling a bit so lots of time for these books!
Happy Thursday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day today. Today I am bringing you a book spotlight of Sealed Empire by Norbert Zsivicz as part of @BreakevenBooks book tour.
Synopsis:
First published: 01. Sept. 2021, Budapest.
English translation digital release: 22. Nov. 2022, London.
385 pages (Kindle edition)
-Norbert Zsivicz first book, the Hungarian Literary Award winner Sealed Empire now available in English by the famous translator Tamás Pétersz (Game of Thrones).
Blurb
Ser Edward, an experienced sailor, embarks on perhaps the most daring expedition of the Kingdom of Esenworth so far. His mission is to try to earn the blessing of the Reverend Sven, who is none other than his love’s father, probably the most influential man in the realm. But on his journey beset by fierce storms, he and his men encounter something that could shake to the core not only their faith, but their very concept of the world as well. Meanwhile, far from the oceans, his love, Emma, is trying to disentangle herself from the spider’s web of intrigue and scheming, into which she is being drawn ever deeper by Erick the new king.
And the dark clouds just keep gathering above – ancient beasts, stranger than ever, appear at sea, on land and even in the skies more and more frequently. They roar with a metallic screech, their eyes glow with an unnatural light, their skin hard and rigid as armor.
Can order be upheld in this age blind to divine prophecy, in the largest kingdom of the North, where the monarch’s mind is coming undone just like reality itself?
Our heroes must struggle ceaselessly to understand the hidden secrets of their world and their own origins. But what are they going to do once they have the answers?
Author Bio:
The book you will be reading is the fruit of many years of work and was, strangely enough, finished during the pandemic. Let me offer you a behind-the-scenes glimpse into my Sealed Empire so that you can get to know me a little bit better.
My name is Norbert Zsivicz, I was born in 1992, Szeged, Hungary. Now I live in London.
Ever since childhood, fantasy/science-fiction literature has had a huge impact on me. I used to pore over various comics in my parents’ grocery shop even before I could read. Thanks to my father, during my primary school years I probably saw more science fiction films than all my group mates combined. Add to this, there was a video rental shop next door, where I loved passing the time.
As soon as I learned to read, I started devouring books indiscriminately – fantasy, western, history but also romantic novels. I could perhaps be best described as a geek, since I keep up with the latest video games and films as much as I enjoy retreating with a good book. On the other hand, I love the outdoors and socializing, getting to know new people, places, cultures and flavours.
The concept of the Sealed Empire was born in my head about six years ago, shortly after I moved to London. I had experimented with several versions before finding the ideal style and the appropriate age for the novel. In the next five years expanded this mysterious world of mine with many characters and subplots.
I am determined to finish each of the five planned volumes of this series as soon as possible, while also aiming to keep them all equally compelling. Even a film adaptation is not inconceivable in the future. For all this, I will need your opinion, help and inspiring power. So, jump in, enjoy reading, and have fun in the World of Sealed Empire!
If you would like to see more content about this book check out this schedule:
Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day today. I am here today doing a book spotlight for The Dreams That Bind Us by Maximillian Lopez as part of @BreakevenBooks book tour.
Synopsis:
This sci-fi thriller explores the possibility that when we dream, we’re merely glimpsing into an alternate reality. Three strangers bound together by a shared dream fight against the current of fate. Can they come to terms with the truth? Are we the only versions of ourselves? Are you the best version of you to exist? They must find each other without losing themselves. Two universes hang in the balance as external forces vie for control of their ability to peer into an alternate reality. Will Corey, Selene, and Joseph find answers to the mystery placed before them? Or will the search for an answer lead them toward a darker fate?
Max grew up dreaming impossible dreams of an alternate life other than the one he had in a small town outside of San Antonio, Texas. Shortly after high school, he joined the Marine Corps where he traveled to Foreign Lands. Throughout his budding Marine Corps career, he studied military radar technology and decided to leave the Marine Corps after a memorable eight years to work in the civilian Radar Technical Community at Saab Defense Inc. in Syracuse, NY. During the following eight years, he met his beautiful and intelligent wife, Shirley. Eventually, Max and his growing family wanted to move away from the snow so he accepted a position working as a Government civilian for the US Navy specifying in emerging naval radar technology. Currently, Max resides with his wife, two handsome boys, and a small white Lhasa Apso named Tesla in Virginia Beach, Va.
If you would like to see more content from other bookish people about The Dreams That Bind Us check out this timetable:
Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day today!
Today I am bringing you a book review for Northranger, a graphic novel by Rey Terciero and illustrated by Bre Indigo. I do not usually review graphic novels so, usually I give star ratings to four categories but instead I am going to write a little bit about my overall thoughts.
First, thank you to Harper 360 for sending me a copy of this graphic novel, I enjoyed pushing myself out of my comfort zone to read this in May. It is something I never would have bought for myself.
Northranger is a graphic novel about a young man who goes with his father to work on a farm/ranch for the summer and they realise that things might not be quite as they seem, the family there have a lot of secrets. It also has LGBTQ+ representation.
Firstly, I thought the illustrations in this graphic novel were gorgeous and captured all the expressions that were needed for the story to feel very real. In terms of the plot, I was hooked in by the mystery aspect and without saying too much and spoiling everything I will say I was overall disappointed with the way the mystery panned out, it could have been more and I just think there was something, I am not entirely sure what, missing.
Blurb/Synopsis:
In this swoony and spooky teen summer romance graphic novel set on a Texas ranch, sixteen-year-old Cade Muñoz finds himself falling for the ranch owner’s mysterious and handsome son, only to discover that he may be harboring a dangerous secret.
Cade has always loved to escape into the world of a good horror movie. After all, horror movies are scary–but to Cade, a closeted queer Latino teen growing up in rural Texas–real life can be way scarier.
When Cade is sent to spend the summer working as a ranch hand to help earn extra money for his family, he is horrified. Cade hates everything about the ranch, from the early mornings to the mountains of horse poop he has to clean up. The only silver lining is the company of the two teens who live there–in particular, the ruggedly handsome and enigmatic Henry.
But as unexpected sparks begin to fly between Cade and Henry, things get… complicated. Henry is reluctant to share the details of his mother’s death, and Cade begins to wonder what else he might be hiding. Inspired by the gothic romance of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey and perfect for fans of Heartstopper and Bloom comes a modern love story so romantic it’s scary.
Happy Friday bookish people! Today I thought it would be fun to share with you some of the books I have read that I would recommend that gives me the feeling of summer, let me know if you agree or disagree with this books!
Death and Croissants by Ian Moore
Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson
Lying About Last Summer by Sue Wallman
Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan
The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton
Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today. Today I am bringing you a book review for A Pen Dipped In Poison by J M Hall. I hope you all enjoy it.
As usual, I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little bit about each one. WARNING: This book review will probably contain spoilers, so read at your own risk.
A Pen Dipped In Poison Plot:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 2.5 out of 5.
This novel is the second in a series following three women, Thelma, Pat and Liz, who get caught up in different situations. I say this because I was sold this book on the idea that the first book featured a murder and so I thought this one would too. It did not, the novel frequently hints at scenarios that could lead to murder or lead to a body, that kind of thing but then these scenarios end up being nothing at all. This annoyed me because I felt very misled by the novel, and not in the good way.
The first half of the novel, where members of the school staff start receiving poison pen letters I enjoyed, it built itself up very well but unfortunately I feel that the second half just deflated, there was barely any mystery to solve and overall I felt it was very underwhelming.
A Pen Dipped in Poison Characters:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Contrary to what I thought of the plot, I enjoyed the characters this novel revolves around. They each had their own stories outside of the mystery and I liked how this was shown to intertwine with each other. Particularly I liked how they were shown to be such good friends yet they keep so much from each other. I would read another of the books in this series, just to read some more of these characters.
A Pen Dipped In Poison Writing and Dialogue:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
For me, the writing in this novel was fine. It didn’t stand out to me in a good or a bad way. The only thing that stood out was the anger coming through the words about the way schools are being turned into, and run as, businesses.
A Pen Dipped In Poison Overall:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Blurb/Synopsis:
Signed. Sealed. Dead?
Retired schoolteachers Liz, Pat and Thelma never expected they would be caught up in a crime even once in their lives, let alone twice.
But when poison pen letters start landing on the doorsteps of friends and neighbours in their Yorkshire village, old secrets come to light.
With the potential for deadly consequences.
It won’t be long until the three friends are out on a case yet again…
The second totally addictive and page-turning cosy mystery featuring these very unlikely sleuths. Fans of Agatha Christie and Midsomer Murders will be hooked.
Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today.
today I am doing the Fae book tag that I found on metaphors and moonlight.com but was created by Jordan Reads.
A faerie bargain: pick a book in which a character makes a bad deal or is blackmailed – I instantly thought of Throne of Glass for this answer, the competition is definitely a bad deal.
changeling: pick a book in which a character is dropped into a new world- pages and co by Anna James, I would love to be dropped into a bookish world like the characters in this series.
Wings or magic: pick one or the other and lost three books with that trait – wings! Just so I could choose Good Omens and Crescent city.
animal companions: pick a book in which there is a talking animal – spellslinger by Sebastian de castell
fated mates: pick a book in which there is a mating bind or true love – once upon a broken heart by Stephanie Garber
the spring court: pick a book in which plants feature in a large role – the stardust series by Tanya landman
the summer court: pick a book in which the ocean features a large role – a fatal crossing by Tom hindle
the autumn court: pick a book in which fire plays a large role- set fire to the gods
the winter court: pick a book in which a character almost freezes to death- what an interesting question, I literally can’t think of any book I have read that features this.
that’s it for this book tag, I hope you all enjoyed it, what would you have answered for the questions?
Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all doing good today. I am actually writing this post a lot earlier than usual, it’s actually the 21st May as I’m writing this, so I’ve still got time to read more books – two in particular that I am taking on holiday with me.
But for now, here are the books I have read so far in May!
First I read Northranger, a graphic novel that I am grateful to have been sent by publishers, and I thought it was okay, considering I don’t love graphic novels.
Next, I started Murder Before Evensong by Richard Coles- I won’t be writing a review for this book because I DNFd it after 100 pages, I got the feeling that the book was trying to sound too clever and the murder took way too long to happen, I found it boring.
Then I read A pen Dipped In Poison which I will be reviewing here this month so make sure to come back and see what I thought of this book.
Finally, I read Vera Wang’s unsolicited advice for Murderers which has been my favourite read for the month of May so far.
So, I have read four books this month definitely which is not bad at all and I still plan on reading the london seance society and I hope you’re listening this month.
