Happy Friday bookish people! I know it has been a long time since I did one of these but I am bringing back my Friday First and Last segments where I take random numbers, one corresponding with a first sentence from a book and one that corresponds with the last sentence in a different book, I put them together and see what I can make from them. And yes, it took me a very, very long time to write out all the sentences and put them with a number.
I used to do five of these per post but I am only going to be doing three each time for the moment and see how that goes.
So, onto the first set of sentences!
Numbers 333 – which I think was from The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman and number 111 -from The Six Tudor Queens: Anne Boleyn by Alison Weir
Which creates “Well let’s start with Elizabeth shall we, her skin was rather sallow” – this is quite the pairing. It sounds like an insult you’d get when you were in high school or on one of those roasting shows. If somebody started a book with this I’d think this book was going to have a character with a lot of attitude about them.
Number 424 – from The Library of the Unwritten by A J Hackwith and number 121 – I can’t actually remember what book this one is from because I didn’t write it down next to it
Which gives us “This is my last entry in the librarians log, we dreamed of carving our dragons”
This one also works really well together. It turns what could be an uninteresting statement into a fantastical, want to know more story. I would love to read a book about a librarian who had a relationship with some sort of dragon, I can imagine it being there in the corner of the library, turning the pages with it’s dragon paws and trying not to sneeze and burn the pages.
And finally, number 18 – from The Upside of Unrequieted by Becky Albertalli and number 36 – from Radio Silence by Alice Oseman
Which gives us “I’m on the toilet at the 9:30 club, I hope somebody is listening”
… okay, first I have to say these numbers are chosen at random and I have no idea what to say about that last one other than if I was in that character’s position I would hate for somebody to be listening.
Okay, That’s it for this set of first and last sentences, I hope you all enjoyed it!
Happy Monday bookish people! And Happy Valentine’s day! Today I wanted to bring you some of my opinions on the couples – or characters that are often shipped together in some cases- in some of the books that I have previously read.
There may be spoilers in this post so read at your own risk.
Dangerous Remedy by Kat Dunn – Camille and Ada
Camille and Ada are already dating when the book begins and there is a lot of tension growing between them throughout the book and I enjoyed the relationship because they seemed to be struggling through real problems that readers can relate to even though it is a fantasy book.
The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh – Celine and Sebastian
These two have an enemies to lovers thing going on which I really enjoyed. They are both very strong and feisty characters that bounce off each other. I think their relationship fits well within the plot and doesn’t take over. I am looking forward to seeing how these two characters develop in the rest of the series.
Optimists Die First by Susin Nielsen – Petula and Jacob
This was one of the first books I read that fit properly within the contemporary romance genre. It has a simple enough story but it is full of heartache and delving into characters with mental health issues that are also trying to navigate a relationship. I liked the build up to Petula and Jacob getting together but their relationship throughout the rest of the book was difficult to read about because I didn’t completely understand the struggles they were experiencing.
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton – Ned and Cecelia
Again these two characters start off as enemies which I love in books, also the reason they meet was one of my favourites in the books that I read last year. Their personalities lend to some very sassy dialogue and I enjoyed their pairing. The only thing is that both of them love their freedom and don’t seem the type to be in committed long relationships.
To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo – Lira and Elian
To be honest this book didn’t get much emotion from me, it was an average rating from me and so I didn’t feel that much for either of these characters or their relationship. I feel that the two characters were thrown together to make it into a Little Mermaid retelling but actually neither of them fit together well in my opinion.
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern – Zachary and Dorian
I don’t feel like I saw enough of this couple. The Starless Sea is my favourite book ever and I would enjoy any couple that was written into it. It was great to see LGBTQ representation in this book and the only way to describe the way this couple was portrayed is enchanting.
Not Here To Be Liked by Michelle Quach – Eliza and Len
This is another book that I struggled to get any enjoyment from. I felt that the whole romance was forgotten generally or just used to forward the author’s views on feminism and the place it has in relationships. I really like Len as a character but I didn’t feel that Eliza was fleshed out more than a 2D character.
The Upside of Unrequieted by Becky Albertalli – Molly and Reid
I love this pairing. Reid was one of my favourite male characters until I properly started reading fantasy and he’s nerdy and sweet and exactly the type of man I like in books, and in reality actually. Molly is a very interesting character and I enjoyed being taken along with her as she discovered so much about herself and what she wanted.
Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco – Thomas Cresswell and Audrey Rose Wadsworth
One of my all time favourite couples. Thomas Cresswell is charming and intelligent and completely annoying but I love him. Audrey Rose is also incredibly intelligent and full of fire and personality, she lets nobody stand in her way and that sets them up for very interesting moments.
Caraval by Stephanie Garber – Julian and Scarlett/ Tella and Legend
Okay so there are two main couples in the Caraval series of books. The first is Julian and Scarlett, which I think are probably my favourite book couple ever. They start as enemies – do you see the trend starting here?- and develop feelings later but I love that Scarlett struggles to trust him, it fits perfectly with the plots and if there was a lot of tricks happening I would have trouble trusting him too.
Then there is Tella and Legend. Currently, I haven’t read the third book yet, I don’t love them as much. I think they would make a good pairing, he offers her the enchantment and the mystery that she craves but they don’t have as much of a spark in my opinion.
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell – Cath and Levi
I don’t usually like romance books but this one I ended up loving. Cath reminds me of myself in a lot of ways, particularly her shyness and then Levi is cheeky and cute and I would honestly love to find a Levi in real life to be with, you just know that no matter what he would be there for her.
Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco – Wrath and Emilia
Emilia is a headstrong witch who, when her sister is murdered, decides to investigate for herself and summons a demon, Wrath. Wrath is so morally grey that I never know if he’s on the good side or the bad and this just draws me to him, the same as it does for Emilia and I think they challenge each other both physically and mentally which is great to see in book characters.
The Lady in the Tower by Marie Louise Jenson – Eleanor and Phillip Stanton
Another pairing that starts off as enemies, I really can’t help but have a type. I love the historical nature of the relationship, the bending of the boundaries. He is so charming and charismatic that I can’t help but like him even when the main character doesn’t. I liked the way this was a slow burn and you saw the moment when it all changed for Eleanor and she realised her feelings.
I am going to leave this post here as I have included a lot of great pairings but if everyone enjoys this I have plenty more couples to make a part 2 or part 3!
Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day today. I am bringing you a list of books that I have either read, want to read or have seen recommended that have LGBTQ+ representation.
Pumpkin by Julie Murphy
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen
The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
Dangerous Remedy by Kat Dunn
Girl Serpent Thorn by Melissa Basherdoust
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M Danforth
Master of One by Jaida Jones and Dani Bennett
Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth
The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski
Simon vs the Homosapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
You Should See Me In A Crown by Leah Johnson
That’s it for this post, I hope you all enjoyed it! Let me know some of your recommendations in the comments below!
Happy Tuesday Bookish people! I’m a day late with this one but it’s finally the end of May. This month has been a difficult one, there’s been good parts to it of course but there’s also been some horrible parts. Nevermind, June is a new month and hopefully it will be a great one!
This month I will admit now, my TBR was mostly forgotten about. I had quite a few book tours I was taking part in and towards the second half of the month I was losing my motivation to read because of what was going on in my life.
So, onto the wrap up.
My May TBR:
The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni – I did read (start with a good one, however, this does not continue..)
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton – I did not read
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik – I did not read
Watch Her Fall by Erin Kelly – I did not read
Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch – I did not read
Lore by Alexandra Bracken – I did not read
Six Tudor Queens: Katherine of Aragon – I did not read
Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert – I did not read
Turtles All The Way Down by John Green – I did not read
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – I did not read
A Masked City by Genevieve Cogman – I did read! (surprised you there didn’t I)
A Gathering of Shadows by V E Schwaab – I did not read
Radio Silence by Alice Oseman – I did not read
Yes, No, Maybe so by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Seed – I did not read
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel – I did start this but I didn’t manage to finish it within the month
So.. my TBR went pretty terribly, I read two and started another. But I did read other books that weren’t on my TBR which were: The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss (which I loved!), Love Is What You Bake Of It and Love by Design by Effie Kammenou, Things To Do Before The End Of The World by Emily Barr and You Had It Coming by B M Carroll.
Altogether I read eight books this month which isn’t bad I suppose but it felt like I had a terrible reading month. Hopefully I’ll enjoy my reading more in June… I’m about to post my June TBR so check that out too if you are interested in seeing what I’ll be reading in June.
That’s it for my May Wrap Up, I hope you all enjoyed it!
Happy Friday bookish people! Today I’m bringing you my May TBR and I am telling you now my TBR game was not kind to me this month. I just kept getting doubles on the dice and by the end I had 18 rolls to do… oh dear.
April.. didn’t go the way I planned and I ended up not reading very much. If you’d like to see what I did read go and check out my April Wrap-Up. I’m hoping that May will be a much better month for me so fingers crossed!
As well as my very long TBR I also have some books I need to read for my spots in book tours which I’m hoping to get read first and then concentrate on my TBR.
I also have a lot of contemporary on this month’s TBR, anyone who knows me will know that I do not really like contemporary.. so how did I end up with so many on my TBR? Well, I put the contemporary space on my game board so that I covered every genre and with all the rolls this month I kept landing on it… maybe I’ll find a new genre to like but I doubt it.
My May TBR:
First, Usually I would put pictures of the books on my TBR however, today for some reason it’s not letting me put the pictures in so I’m going to have to just list them and then see what is happening later.
The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni – I picked this one up because the cover is so beautiful! And also, the back of the book just said something like ‘keep her alive we are coming’ and that hooked me right in.
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton – I have had this book on my shelves since it came out. I loved his book the Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle so I have high hopes for this one.
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik – I got this book in one of my Illumicrate boxes and it is so lovely, it has a gold cover and blue sprayed edges. It’s dark academia which is something that I am getting into quite recently.
Watch Her Fall by Erin Kelly – a psychological thriller set in a ballet company just sounds amazing!
Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch – the first of many contemporaries this month.. I don’t know much about it but hopefully I will enjoy it.
Lore by Alexandra Bracken – I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book so of course it’s straightaway on my TBR.
Six Tudor Queens: Katherine of Aragon the True Queen by Alison Weir – I love Historical Fiction especially the Tudor ones and I have read all of Philippa Gregory’s books to date so I needed some new Tudor stories and this is what I went with.
Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert – I have seen a lot of good things about this book and I actually won my copy in a competition on Twitter.
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green – again I don’t know much about this at all but I’m hoping it will be a good read.
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – I will get around to reading this at some point! I keep putting it on my TBR and then not reading it..
A Masked City by Genevieve Cogman – A librarian spy… I don’t need to say anything else about this.
A Gathering of Shadows by V E Scwab – I read A Darker Shade of magic a little while ago and it’s about time I read the second book in the series.
Radio Silence by Alice Oseman – there’s a lot of books this month I know nothing about but it is another contemporary.
Yes, No, Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Seed – It’s got a lovely bright yellow cover…
That’s it for my May TBR! Check back at the end of May to see how well or how badly I did with my reading!
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