Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day today.
Today I am bringing you my answers to the Totally Should’ve book tag!
Gotten a sequel – Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
This book was left on an unacceptable cliffhanger! I was so annoyed when I read the end, I needed a sequel immediately and of course there wasn’t one. I think there is definitely more to explore with these characters that could fill a sequel.
Had a spin off series – The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
I loved this book and for me I thought there was a lot of room to go back and share more stories, maybe in a spin off series, from the apothecary when it was being used by women looking for ways to be rid of their husbands, like a series that would come before this book.
Author who should write more books – Erin Morgenstern
Erin Morgenstern is one of my favourite authors and I would love to get more books by this author.
Should have ended differently – Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Only because of that one character’s death, I personally feel that was out of place and I would have liked the ending better if it hadn’t happened.
Been a movie franchise/Had a TV series
These are two separate questions but because I am giving the same answer for both I put them together. That answer is pretty simple: all of them!
Only had one point of view
I am honestly struggling to think of an answer for this on so I’ll unfortunately have to pass on this question
Had a cover change – The Left Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
I love this book, I love this author, I do not like the cover on the one that I own. It just doesn’t fit the weird, whimsical story.
Should have kept the original cover – The A Court of Thorns and Roses series
I did not like the changed covers and now my editions don’t match because of the cover of A Court of Silver Flames!
Stopped at one book – Spin the Dawn
Without giving away any spoilers, I enjoyed Spin the Dawn a lot with the competition and magic plotline, even the little bit of romance in it but I didn’t like the plot twist event that happened near the end and is consequently the main plot in the second book, I just don’t think it needed it at all.
That’s it for this book tag! I hope you all enjoyed it!
Happy Friday bookish people! Today I am bringing you an Easter themed book tag that I found on My Reading Escape.wordpress.com
I hope you will all have a wonderful Easter weekend with however you will be spending it, I will probably be spending mine eating a lot of chocolate and using my new coffee maker.
1. Easter Egg: Book that feels like a hidden gem
I have to choose The Lady in the Tower by Marie Louise Jenson for this one because it is a wonderful book that I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone else talk about
2. Bloom: Debut Novel You Loved:
I chose The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant for this book because I received it in an Illumicrate box and I read it in one sitting. It is a retelling of Les Miserables set in a beautifully described France.
3. Chocolate Bunny: Book so good you didn’t want it to end
I chose Caraval because it is one of my favourite books and as the prompt says, I didn’t want it put it down! This series is so magical I wanted to keep reading it for as long as I could.
4. Cheap, Cheap, Cheap: Book you bought for super cheap:
I actually was given this book for free by a really lovely bookseller, I was given a few of the little world book day books and this was one of them, I have already read it.
5. Jelly bean: Book you thought was sweet:
This book has a lot of lovely, sweet themes so Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell was the first book I thought of for this prompt.
6. Easter Basket: Filled with many surprises:
For this one I am choosing the entire A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas because although I have only read the first book, I have heard that there are many surprises throughout this series and I am excited to read them.
7. Rabbits: Books you wish would multiply (have a sequel):
I chose House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A Craig because ever since finishing it I really wished there had been a sequel, I just felt there were questions left unanswered.
8. Hunt: Book that was hard to get hold of:
I had to look everywhere for this book, there was only one bookshop that had it and the drive was over an hour, then when we got there I forgot to look for this book (I know, I couldn’t believe I did this either) and so I had to order it.
So that’s the end of this Easter book tag! I hope you all enjoyed it!
Happy Saturday bookish people! Merry Bookmas day 25, It is Christmas Day! I hope wherever you are and whatever you are doing today that you are having a wonderful time. I thought as something a little short and fun for today’s post I would share some of the book characters I would choose to spend Christmas with. What characters would you choose to spend Christmas with if you could?
Julian and Scarlet
Julian de Santos and Scarlet Dragna from the Caraval series by Stephanie Garber and I absolutely love these characters. Scarlet is probably in my top three of female characters and I think they would bring some fun to Christmas.
Thomas Cresswell and Audrey Rose Wadsworth
From the Stalking Jack the ripper series by Keri Maniscalco. Their relationship with each other is one of the things I love about these characters and to a Christmas celebration I think they would bring some Victorian traditions which would be interesting.
Rhysand and Feyre
From the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas. Rhysand would definitely cause some mischief and it would be great fun I think.
Kellen, Nephania, Ferrius and Reichus
From the Spellslinger series by Sebastien de Castell. Reichus would be creating an absolute mess eating all the party food. Nephania would be trying to keep everyone calm. Ferrius would be doing card tricks and maybe some card reading and Kellen would be trying to do a little of everything.
So, that’s the book characters I would love to have over at Christmas and a bit about why!
Happy Tuesday bookish people! merry Bookmas day 21! This month is speeding by. I’m bringing you another book tag. Today’s is the Christmas Cuisine Book Tag which I thought was a very interesting idea to turn into a book tag. I found this tag on narrativeparadise.com
Yule Log – A beautiful edition of a book
For this one I chose the Shadow and Bone Collectors edition because I already had two copies of this book but it was so beautiful that I had to buy this one as well.
Gingerbread House – A struggle to read but worth it
For this one I chose A Curse so Dark and Lonely because the first 50 pages I had no interest in it at all, I was bored to be honest but once I got into the story i was much more engaged and I gave the book five stars.
Roasted Chestnuts – read fondly at Christmas
I chose A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett because it has that hopefulness that I always associate with Christmas so it’s a book I like to read around this time of year.
Turkey – A character everyone else loved but you only pretended to
Tella in caraval. I did not like her character and even in Legendary where she was more bearable I still didn’t like her.
Pavlova – A book you’re most looking forward to reading next
I have to say House of Sky and Breath the next book in the Crescent City series because I loved the first book and I am very intrigued as to where the author is going to take the series next.
Ham – A book that makes the ordinary extraordinary
I can only think of one book for this and that is Miss Peregrines Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.
Christmas cake – A book that had everything in it
And here I will put Crescent City by Sarah J Maas because it really does have everything, magic, intriguing plots, werewolves, angels, brilliant characters, romance. there’s so much in this book.
Prawns – The most popular book you read this year
I think the most popular book I’ve read this year is A Court of Thorns and Roses – so many people are always talking about this book and I am glad that I finally got around to reading it.
Sachertorte – An intimidating book
I have to choose City of Brass for this one because I was so intimidated by it that I read 200 pages and stopped reading, I definitely intend on going back to it sometime soon though.
Vitel Tone – Sceptical but surprised
Get a Life Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert was the book that surprised me the most this year.
Stollen – Same old plot line but did it better
I think the Postscript murders works for this one because it has the same premise as a lot of mystery books that came out at the same time but it was still such a good book that made itself stand out against the others.
Parkanalaatiko – A book you need right now
Play of Shadows by Sebastien De Castell, I want everything he has ever and will ever write right now.
Ciorba De Perisoare – A book you bought without needing to read the blurb
Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber, she is an instant buy author for me. Plus the book is beautiful.
Risalamande – A book with a surprising plot twist
The Appeal. I won’t say any more than that.
Mince Pies – A book you would never sell even if you don’t re-read it
Happy Monday bookish people! Merry Bookmas day 13! I am really excited to be writing this post. I will be talking about what the best and the worst books are that I read each month. I had to think very hard about which books I wanted to feature because some months there were lots of books that I enjoyed and then I had to choose between them which one I liked most and that was hard. Then other months there were books that I really didn’t like so it was overall quite a balanced year.
January
For my favourite book I read in January I was trying to decide between two options, both were fantasy books and they were very different to each other. I ended up choosing A Court of Thorns and Roses as my favourite book of January because it’s a book I still think about and not just because I haven’t continued with the series yet.
For the worst book I read in January I chose The Sisters Grimm by Menna Van Praag, actually I didn’t even finish the book this year. I Dnf’d it at about the halfway point of the book. I don’t know if I just wasn’t in the mood for it at that point or if I just found the plot a little boring but I do plan on giving the book another chance at some point.
February
My favourite book in February was Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell which surprisingly is a contemporary romance and not at all what I was expecting but I really loved it.
My least favourite book in February was What A Way To Go by Julia Forster. There was nothing about the book that I liked, that doesn’t mean that someone else won’t love this book it just wasn’t for me.
March
My favourite book was The Strange Case of the Alchemists Daughter by Theadora Goss which I saw some of my favourite youtubers talk about and so I read it and loved the premise, I am excited to continue the series.
My least favourite book of March was Skyseed by Bill McGuire. It’s another book that just wasn’t a genre or plot that I enjoyed.
April
My favourite book for this month was Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin and I can’t believe it took me so long to read that book because it is definitely a contender for my overall favourite book of the year.
My least favourite book was Mirrorland by Carole Johnston. I couldn’t sleep after reading this book I just found it way too scary for me so I didn’t end up enjoying it.
May
My favourite book of this month was Get A Life Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert. Another romance, I am surprising myself by reading outside of my comfort zone this year.
My least favourite book this month was Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch. So, I’m not loving every book I read that is outside my comfort zone. I didn’t really like the characters in this book and that made it a struggle for me to read it.
June
My favourite book was The Hatmakers by Tamzin Merchant. It’s a fantastic middle grade book that I would highly reccomend.
My least favourite book was I Hope You’re Listening by Tom Ryan because I hit a chapter that felt too disturbing for me, there was something about it that didn’t sit well with me so I Dnf’d it for the moment.
July
My favourite book of July was A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn. It was nice to read a murder mystery that is set in Victorian times and I ended up realising I love books set in this period of time.
My least favourite book was Pumpkin by Julie Murphy. Now, I liked the book but it wasn’t a stand out book for me.
August
My favourite book was The Appeal by Janice Hallett because it was so different and engaging and one of the best mysteries I read this year.
My least favourite book this month was The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels. There was a lot about this book I liked, such as the pirate style assassin Ned who I loved but there was something missing for me but I can’t pinpoint exactly what.
September
My favourite book of this month was A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder by holly Jackson without a doubt. I loved this book and I am still thinking about this book now months later.
My least favourite book of this month was The Woman In The Woods by M K Hill. The mystery itself would have been okay but the characters were so hard to like.
October
My favourite book of this month was City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab, it was a reread but I enjoyed it just as much the second time around.
My least favourite book was Once Upon A Crime by Robin Stevens. I am not the biggest fan of short stories so I liked the writing but I needed more from the stories.
November
My favourite book of this month was Take A Hint Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert – another romance book!
My least favourite book of this month was the Howling Hag Mystery by Nicki Thornton. The plot was too predictable for my liking, even as a middle grade book.
December
Now, I’m writing this in December so I am gong to say what I predict will be my favourite and least favourite books of the month. I think my favourite book will be either Eliza and her Monsters or All of us villains. My least favourite book I predict will be In the Crypt with a Candlestick.
That’s it for the best and worst books for 2021, I hope you all enjoyed it!
Happy Monday bookish people! And Merry Bookmas day 6. Are you getting excited for Christmas yet? I’m starting to feel the excitement but I’m not fully there yet but making all these blog posts is helping to raise my Christmas cheer, I hope they are doing the same for all of you! Today I am bringing you my answers to the Christmas Stocking Tag, the unfortunate thing is I can’t remember whose blog I saw this tag on.
You get up on Christmas morning and your stocking is full. You take it down and start to unwrap the treats inside. The first thing you see is…
An orange – Which book is refreshing and vibrant both inside and out?
For this I have to go for Caraval by Stephanie Garber because the world is just so magical and entrancing and as the question says, refreshing.
2. A bag of chocolate coins – which book have you bought recently that was expensive but totally worth the price?
I chose the special edition of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V E Schwab because I only bought it last week and I couldn’t help myself, this edition is so beautiful I would have regretted it if I hadn’t bought it.
3. A bath bomb – tell us about a book with explosive action scenes?
For this I instantly thought of A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer and I’m not completely sure why. There are lots of big action scenes in this series and it’s the main thing that I remember from the first book. I haven’t read the rest of the series yet.
4. A pack of playing cards – a series that won you over?
The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman. I read the first book and though I enjoyed it I still wasn’t too sure whether I would enjoy the whole series or not, then I read the second book – The Masked City and I realised I would love this series.
5. A candle – A character who is a symbol of hops? I will be honest here, my brain went completely foggy and I couldn’t think of any character that is a symbol of hope to me.
6. Socks – a book that encompasses all the distinctive tropes of it’s genre?
I think Take A Hint Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert encompasses a lot of the tropes of it’s genre, I’m not very up on my contemporary adult romance tropes but I know a big one is fake dating and that is definitely in this book.
7. A Notebook – An authors writing process you find interesting? For me it is Sebastien de Castell, his books are so fantastical and interesting that his writing process must be the same.
8. A bedside clock – Took you a long time to pick up but was worth it?
I had to pick A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas for this because it took me forever to pick it up but once I did, I couldn’t put it down.
That’s it for this book tag. I hope you all enjoyed it! Tomorrow I am bringing you my favourite book covers of 2021.
Happy Friday bookish people! I have been seeing a few different videos on BookTube where people look at the book series’ they have started and not finished yet. It got me thinking about how many series’ I’ve started and so I am making this post to share them with all of you! As you can tell by the title, there’s quite a few of them.. 25 actually which seems like a lot, well, it IS a lot but I honestly thought there would be more.
Let’s get onto the book series’ I’ve started and not finished!
The Spellslinger Series by Sebastien De Castell
I don’t know if there is a title for the series overall but I’ve just called it the Spellslinger series because the first book is called Spellslinger. My progress on this series is pretty good actually, I’ve read Spellslinger, Shadowblack, Charmcaster and Soulbinder so I only have two more books in the series left to read. And then I can start on the Way of the Argosi series which is like a spin-off series. I really like the blend of serious fantasy and comedy in these books and I find I can read them very quickly and enjoy every page. Also, on Monday I won the chance to be part of a zoom meet and greet with Sebastien De Castell which I am so excited for!
The Invisible Library Series by Genevieve Cogman
Again, I don’t know if The Invisible Library series is what these books are called but the first one in the series is called The Invisible Library. I haven’t read as many of this series as I would have liked to by now. I have read The Invisible Library and The Masked City. I’ve had the Burning Page on my TBR before but I didn’t get around to reading it. This series follows Irene who is a librarian spy, it is such an interesting premise for a character and the books have a variety of other fantasy creatures like Fae and Dragons.
Shadow and Bone series by Leigh Bardugo
I think I read this in the wrong order because I read the Six of Crows duology first – and loved them! – so when I read Shadow and Bone I felt I knew the world quite well. I have only read the first book in this series so far but I did enjoy it, especially the villain of the series, I do think this is a series I will get to eventually but it’s not one I’m in the mood to finish right now.
A Darker Shade of Magic series by V E Schwab
I got the first book in this series from a special edition box that Illumicrate did and it is a beautiful edition of the book. I loved the idea of having four different Londons and being able to travel between them. I have only read the first book in this series because the second and third ones are quite long but I am hoping to get to A Gathering of Shadows soon.
The Way Of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry
This series is set in Edinburgh and is a dark mystery series. I have read The Way of All Flesh, the first book in this series. I loved the atmosphere the book had and the mystery was eerie and dark and the reader is thrown right into the centre of the tension when the novel opens. I am looking forward to continuing this series over the Winter months hopefully.
The Brown Sisters Trilogy by Talia Hibbert
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This series follows the three Brown sisters, Chloe, Dani and Eve and their romantic exploits. This is a genre I rarely read and if I do read it I don’t usually enjoy it. I read Get A Life Chloe Brown earlier this year and it surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. It wasn’t a five star read but it was still good. I have the second and third book in this series on my TBR for November so maybe I will get this series finished this month.
Ship Of Shadows by Maria Kuzniar
I was put on the book tour for the second book in this series, Secrets of the Stars so I bought the first book in the series Ship of Shadows as well and read that before the tour. I’ve put this series on the list because the way Secrets of the Stars ended I think there is going to be at least one more book in the series.
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas
This is a series I am very excited to continue with very soon. I own all the books in this series but so far I have only read the first one, A Court of Thorns and Roses. A Court of Mist and Fury is on my November TBR and I can’t wait to be back in the world of Feyre.
Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
In this series I have read Three Dark Crowns, the first in the series and I liked it but I didn’t love it. I want to continue the series but it’s not very high on my priority list. I liked the sibling dynamic of the first book and the magic elements.
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series by Holly Jackson
A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder follows Pippa and Ravi, who she meets in the first book, as they try to solve mysteries that from what I can gather steadily get more intense as the series goes on. I loved the feel of the mystery in the first book and I am looking forward to diving back into this series with the second book sometime soon.
The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden
This series is so dark and mysterious and filled with folklore and superstition. I loved the Bear and the Nightingale, the first book in the series and I have been waiting for the winter nights to come again to curl up with a hot chocolate and continue this series.
Scythe series by Neal Shusterman
I read Scythe, the first book in this series a few years ago and I remember really enjoying the worldbuilding and the competition element of the first book and I want to continue the series but as with a few of the others it’s not high on my priority list because I don’t anticipate it being a five star series for me.
The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix
From this series I have read Lirael which is the second book in the series technically but Sabriel is sort of a prequel to the series. My partner was the one who got me to read this series and I ended up loving it. I don’t own them all yet but I am steadily buying up the series and looking for any chance to put them into my monthly TBR’s.
Caraval by Stephanie Garber
This is one of my favourite book series’ I have read so far. I loved the first book, Caraval, and then I liked the second book, Legendary but not as much and I am excited to read Finale and finish up this amazing series. I’m worried the ending of the series will disappoint me but I am hopeful it won’t.
The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss
For this series I have read the first book and I have started the second book, European Travels for the Monstrous Gentlewoman. I loved the different characters in this series and how the author has made it so the different characters are interjecting into the writing process.
Cursebreakers series by Brigid Kemmerer
I have read A Curse So Dark and Lonely from this series and I liked how it was a Beauty and the Beast retelling but it was so much more than that at the same time. I’m scared to read the rest of this series because of the reviews I have seen and how people say that it breaks their hearts. I cry so easily anyway so I will definitely cry at these books I think.
The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
I have read the Raven Boys, the first book in this series and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I hoped I would. I still intend to read the rest of the series but I’m not in any rush to do so.
Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
I have read Truly Devious, The Vanishing Stair and The Hand on the Wall which is the main three from this series and I thought that would be the series finished but then the fourth book, The Box in the Woods, came out recently and of course I bought it because I loved the series and I am excited to continue with it.
Stalking Jack the Ripper series by Kerri Maniscalco
This is another of my favourite series’ and I have read the first three books in it. I have read Stalking Jack the Ripper, Hunting Prince Dracula and Escaping from Houdini. My favourite of them was Hunting Prince Dracula and I didn’t enjoy Escaping from Houdini as much as the others but I am excited to finish the series soon.
The Prison Healer series by Lynette Noni
For this series I have read The Prison Healer and liked it and I think it has potential to be a great series. I own The Gilded Cage but I haven’t read it yet and Blood Traitor hasn’t been released yet.
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
I really enjoyed the mystery in the Thursday Murder Club and the original premise of a group of elderly people being the investigators. I love the comedy in the series too. I recently bought The Man Who Died Twice and I’m hoping to read it very soon.
The Kingdom of the Wicked series by Kerri Maniscalco
I loved Kingdom of the Wicked the first book in this series, especially the character of Wrath and the dialogue between him and Emilia. I am so looking forward to reading the second book in this series.
Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin
I read Serpent and Dove on my way to Hampshire earlier this year and I loved it, I gave it five stars but I haven’t gotten around to continuing the series yet.
Dangerous Remedy by Kat Dunn
I have read the first book in this series and I enjoyed the premise of it and the found family aspect. It slightly reminded me of Six of Crows in that way and with the heist. I am looking forward to reading the second book and I love the title of the third book in the series: Glorious Poison.
The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh
This is the final series of my list of the book series’ I have started and haven’t finished yet. I read The Beautiful, the first book in the series and honestly I don’t remember a lot of what happened in the book but I do own the second book and I want to read it soon.
That’s it for this blog post, I hope you enjoyed reading about what series’ I have started and I haven’t finished reading yet, let me know if you have read any of these book series’!
Happy Friday bookish people! I’m back with another book tag! I was tagged in this by @moonraa23 (sorry if I’ve spelt this wrong) on Twitter, so thank you to them.
The idea of this tag is – telling you all five of the books on my TBR that I find intimidating and why. It was very difficult to get it down to just five, there’s a lot of books that anticipate me for many different reasons. Also, I will say the book title and then I will give you the synopsis of the book and then the reason that it intimidates me.
Let’s get to the first one!
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas
Feyre survived Amarantha’s clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can’t forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin’s people.
Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.
So… I read A Court of Thorns and Roses at the beginning of this year and loved it and I’m very excited to pick up A Court of Mist and Fury but it intimidates me. Simply because I’ve heard so many good things about it and especially about Rhysand that I’m worried about reading it even though I’m 99% sure I’m going to love it.
Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
Evangeline Fox was raised in her beloved father’s curiosity shop, where she grew up on legends about immortals, like the tragic Prince of Hearts. She knows his powers are mythic, his kiss is worth dying for, and that bargains with him rarely end well.
But when Evangeline learns that the love of her life is about to marry another, she becomes desperate enough to offer the Prince of Hearts whatever he wants in exchange for his help to stop the wedding. The prince only asks for three kisses. But after Evangeline’s first promised kiss, she learns that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she’s pledged. And he has plans for Evangeline that will either end in the greatest happily ever after, or the most exquisite tragedy…
This book isn’t out yet, I can’t wait for it to be published! I absolutely loved the Caraval series and that’s why I’m intimidated by this one, I’m hoping I’m going to love it at least as much but we shall see once I get it in my hands and get around to reading it.
Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee
From Harper Lee comes a landmark new novel set two decades after her beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece, To Kill a Mockingbird. Maycomb, Alabama. Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch—”Scout”—returns home from New York City to visit her aging father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise’s homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town and the people dearest to her. Memories from her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt. Featuring many of the iconic characters from To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set a Watchman perfectly captures a young woman, and a world, in a painful yet necessary transition out of the illusions of the past—a journey that can be guided only by one’s conscience. Written in the mid-1950s, Go Set a Watchman imparts a fuller, richer understanding and appreciation of Harper Lee. Here is an unforgettable novel of wisdom, humanity, passion, humor and effortless precision—a profoundly affecting work of art that is both wonderfully evocative of another era and relevant to our own times. It not only confirms the enduring brilliance of To Kill a Mockingbird, but also serves as its essential companion, adding depth, context and new meaning to an American classic.
I really enjoyed reading To Kill A Mockingbird, luckily I didn’t read it for school otherwise I might not have enjoyed it as much. I was surprised when they brought out this book and I’m not sure on it because To Kill A Mockingbird worked perfectly as a stand-alone so I want to read it but I also don’t.
Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M Danforth
Our story begins in 1902, at The Brookhants School for Girls. Flo and Clara, two impressionable students, are obsessed with each other and with a daring young writer named Mary MacLane, the author of a scandalous bestselling memoir. To show their devotion to Mary, the girls establish their own private club and call it The Plain Bad Heroine Society. They meet in secret in a nearby apple orchard, the setting of their wildest happiness and, ultimately, of their macabre deaths. This is where their bodies are later discovered with a copy of Mary’s book splayed beside them, the victims of a swarm of stinging, angry yellow jackets. Less than five years later, The Brookhants School for Girls closes its doors forever—but not before three more people mysteriously die on the property, each in a most troubling way.
Over a century later, the now abandoned and crumbling Brookhants is back in the news when wunderkind writer, Merritt Emmons, publishes a breakout book celebrating the queer, feminist history surrounding the “haunted and cursed” Gilded-Age institution. Her bestselling book inspires a controversial horror film adaptation starring celebrity actor and lesbian it girl Harper Harper playing the ill-fated heroine Flo, opposite B-list actress and former child star Audrey Wells as Clara. But as Brookhants opens its gates once again, and our three modern heroines arrive on set to begin filming, past and present become grimly entangled—or perhaps just grimly exploited—and soon it’s impossible to tell where the curse leaves off and Hollywood begins.
A story within a story within a story and featuring black-and-white period illustrations.
A murder mystery set in a school sounds amazing to me, and it reminds me of a more adult version of Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson a little bit but I’m intimidated by this book – not only because it is massive, but also because it might be too much of a thriller for me.
The Six Tudor Queens series by Alison Weir
I won’t give you a synopsis here because this is a whole series not just a single book. So, this one I’m intimidated by because I love books set in the Tudor Period and Philippa Gregory is one of my favourite authors but I’ve read all her books so I needed some new Tudor historical fiction and I’m hoping Alison Weir can give me that.
That’s it for this tag, I hope you all enjoyed it!
Happy Friday bookish people! It’s a bit miserable where I am this morning but luckily I get to spend the next three days reading for a readathon challenge – hosted by MegWithBooks on YouTube, so I’ll be happy.
Today I’ll be doing the Rip it or Ship it challenge, I’ve seen a lot of people do it on YouTube and I thought why not try and do it on my blog. So I wrote down the names of two or three characters from each book I’ve read that I thought would work, put them all in a bowl and picked out two each time until there were none left…. I ended up with 40 pairs. Now, that’s quite a few so I’m only putting fifteen up today and maybe if you all enjoy it I’ll put up some more rounds later.
Onto the pairings!
1. Kellen (Spellslinger series) and Sameth (Lirael)
I would have to Rip this pairing (just imagine I’m tearing up the names..) because they are both quite similar characters, both find themselves in the middle of nowhere, in danger, with an animal sidekick who’s there to help but doesn’t do much helping.
2. Nathanial (Sorcery of Thorns) and Alina Starkov (Shadow and Bone)
I have chosen to ship this couple. Because Nathanial can be quite snarky especially when you’re first getting to know him and Aline would be having none of that which I think he’d like, plus both of them technically have a form of magic which I think would be nice for their pairing.
3. Jaren (The Prison Healer) and Mary Jekyll (The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Duaghter)
Definitely not. This wouldn’t work at all. Mary Jekyll, although she does many unladylike things, sees herself as a Victorian lady and considering her opinions in the books Jaren would not be gentlemanly enough for her, she’d probably end up slapping him and goodness knows she wouldn’t be found in a prison – which is the only way they’d meet because that’s where he is..
4. Cardan Greenbriar (The Cruel Prince) and Cecelia Bassingthwaite (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels)
This is an interesting one. I think I’m leaning more towards shipping it because their personalities probably would work well together, he would definitely be surprised by her and the fact that she goes wherever her mind takes her.
5. Nesta Archeron (A Court of Thorns and Roses series) and Thomas Cresswell (Stalking Jack the Ripper)
Yes! I ship this. Nesta could well be a bit much for him to handle but they both have very fierce personalities and their wits would battle well I think.
6. Emilia (Kingdom of the Wicked) and Blue Sergeant (The Raven Boys)
Absolutely not. Rip it. Emilia has gone through a lot so far (and I think she’s got a lot more hardship coming her way too) and I don’t think that her and Blue would mesh together, their opinions on things would be too different.
7.Julain Santos (Caraval) and Sherlock Holmes (The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter)
Hmm….. I love Julian but he is very mischievous and kind of lies a lot which I don’t think would go down well with Sherlock Holmes so rip it.
8. Eli Ever (Vicious) and The Darkling (Shadow and Bone)
I have to ship this simply because can you imagine these two together? They’d destroy the world.
9. Scarlett Dragna (Caraval) and Dorian (The Starless Sea)
If I didn’t ship Dorian with the person in the Starless Sea that is perfect for him I would probably ship him with Scarlett, she can be fiery and I think he could calm her when needed.
10. Lirael (Lirael) and Mal (Shadow and Bone)
Okay, ignoring the age difference here for a minute I think their personalities would go well together and they have a similar upbringing in that they don’t know their parents and they’ve been brought up in communities that have shaped them into the people they are.
11. Irene (The Invisible Library) and Jesper Fahey (Six of Crows)
Yes, I ship this. A librarian spy and a sharpshooter? Of course I’m going to ship this.
12. Cath (Fangirl) and Zachary (The Starless Sea)
I could see this working. They both really like books and are both quite introverted.
13. Kai (The Invisible Library) and Wrath (Kingdom of the Wicked)
I love a bit of chaos, I’d ship this. A dragon and a demon – what could go wrong…
14. Inej Ghafa (Six of Crows) and Reid Diggory (Serpent and Dove)
I think this would work. He would want to try and be over protective of her but I can’t see her liking that but I can see them working it out. If she doesn’t just stab him first.
15. Feyre Archeron (A Court of Thorns and Roses) and Jude Duarte (The Cruel Prince)
I could see these two being friends, and being a bit of a force if they worked together, they are quite similar.
That’s it for this challenge, I hope you all enjoyed it!
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