Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a lovely day. Today I am bringing you my review for Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett. If you’ve read it let me know what you thought of it.
Blurb:
All strays are welcome here.
Agnes Aubert is very fond of making lists. These lists kept her afloat when she lost her husband two years ago. And now, as the founder of a cat rescue charity, her meticulous organization skills feel like the only thing standing between her beloved cats – His Majesty, Banshee and sweet elderly Thoreau, to name a few – and utter disaster.
But when Agnes is forced to move the charity, she soon discovers that her new shop is being used as a front; right under her feet is the lair of the decidedly disorganised – not to mention self-absorbed and infuriatingly handsome – Havelock Renard.
Havelock is everything Agnes doesn’t want in her life: chaos, mischief, and a little too much adventure. But as she gets to know him, she discovers he’s more than the dark magician of legend, and that she may be ready for a little intrigue, perhaps even romance. After all, second chances aren’t just for rescue cats. . .
My review:
I have a very love hate relationship with cosy fantasy novels. I picked up this book because I enjoyed Heather Fawcett’s Emily Wilde series and I saw people were loving this book. I wanted to know if I would enjoy this one too. Yes, I did. I loved it. I loved the cats. Actually I felt very betrayed by one of them. IYKYK. I loved the character of Agnes and her sister throughout. It’s nice to see a different sibling dynamic to what is usually shown. I also like how this author does romance. It’s there and it makes you feel, properly feel, but it is very subtle and not in your face. I think this author may become an auto-buy for me.
Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today. I am bringing you my review for Flirting with Murder by Amanda Sellett. let me know if you have read it and what you thought of it.
Blurb:
The Agathas meets Thursday Murder Club in Amanda Sellet’s next YA novel, a cozy mystery with a splash of romance.
Some people visit Florida for theme parks and beaches. High school junior Virginia Tillis is there for murder. Accidents, electrocution, tainted hand lotion: every victim meets a different end at her grandmother Lainey’s rococo pink condo. Such is life (and death) when you roll with a crew of theater retirees who roleplay murder mysteries from the comfort of their own home in a game they fondly call Killing Me Softly.
But this summer, fictional murder has given way to the very real death of the building’s beloved owner and his dramatic last testament has the vultures circling, from estranged relatives to sleazy property developers, dead set on getting the most from his will.
Adding to the tension for Virginia is the appearance of Felix, the cute guy she met at the airport who turns out to be the grandson of one of the condo’s residents. With his charm and musical theater chops, he’s the person Virginia most wants to beat at Killing Me Softly. That is, until the day they discover an actual dead body while playing the game, forcing them to work together to figure out whodunit.
In this comedic mystery about finding the Watson to your Holmes, Virginia and Felix must banter their way from rivals to co-detectives in time to save their eccentric grandparents from a shocking disruption to the community they’ve always loved.
My review:
I picked up this book because I have read a romance by this author before and really enjoyed that so when I saw they were writing a cosy crime novel I had to get it. Once I had it, I found I was hesitant to actually read it because I thought the mystery side might be lacking to get the romance good. This was not the case. Both the romance and the mystery shone in this book in my opinion, I was very invested in both sides of it. The end of the mystery was also a big surprise, not something that I imagined and I am looking forward to seeing more of this kind of novel from this author.
Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today. I am bringing you my book review for The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. If you have read this book let me know in the comments what you thought of it.
Blurb:
Cold cases get hot in this unputdownable mystery from Jennifer Lynn Barnes, no.1 New York Times bestselling author of The Inheritance Games series. Perfect for fans of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.
Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified programme that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.
What Cassie doesn’t realise is that there’s more at risk than a few unsolved murders – especially when she’s sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own. Soon, it becomes clear that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes, danger looms close. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive . . .
Born smart. Born tough. Born FBI.
My Review:
The Naturals is one of those books that I have heard great things about for years, especially from people who love similar books to me. I was hesitant to read it because I didn’t love this author’s other series, The Inheritance Games. I did enjoy reading this book. It is a quick, easy read. The plot and the mystery itself was very middle of the road for me. I didn’t find it shocking or twisty, it was quite predictable in my opinion. But I did love the way the author builds the characters and their relationships to each other within this book. I have since bought the next book in the series and I do want to continue.
Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a lovely day. It is August and that means it is time to share the books that I hope to read this month.
Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas
The Ornithologists Field Guide to Love by India Holton
Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a wonderful day. How is everyone’s summer going so far? It is now the summer holidays in the UK so my family all have some time off in the next few weeks which will be nice.
How was your reading in July? Mine was one of my worst months so far this year but at the same time significantly better than I thought it would be.
This is my wrap up for the month of July.
From my TBR:
The Cut by Richard Armitage – I did read this. Well, I read some of it. I DNF’d it around 100 pages because it is told in split perspective and within 100 pages I had been in at least five different people’s heads and it is told in two different times, one present and one past. It was far too confusing.
Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett – I did read this and my review for this book is coming on the 20th August.
When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A Parker – I did not get to this book in July. I have kept it on my TBR cart though as I would still like to read it soon, maybe even in August.
The Antique Hunter’s Murder at the Castle by C L Miller – I did read this. Another solid book in this series.
The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – I did read this and my review is coming on the 13th August.
I Know You Did It by Sue Wallman – I did read this. I thought it was quite good but not one of my favourites of her books.
The Dreadfuls by A Rae Dunlap – I did read this and loved it. It is definitely a new favourite book. It puts an interesting spin on the retelling of Jack the Ripper.
Flirting With Murder by Amanda Sellett – I did read this and my review is coming on the 17th August.
The Sinister Booksellers of bath by Garth Nix – I did read this and although it has taken me a while I am glad I have finally read another in this series.
The Conference of the Birds by Ransom Riggs and The Desolations of Devil’s Acre by Ransom Riggs – I did read these two books. The final two books in the Miss Peregrines series and both of them I gave five stars to.
Outside of my TBR I also read: Murder on Devil’s Ridge by Irina Shapiro, The Secret Detective Agency by Helena Dixon and Death on the Lively Sea by Katy Watson.
This means I read all but one of my TBR and altogether I read 13 books this months which I am very pleased about. My favourite read of July was a toss between The Dreadfuls and Flirting With Murder. My least favourite read was obviously The Cut.
What were your favourite and least favourite reads of July?
Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you’re all doing well today. It is time to reveal what books I am hoping to get to read in July!
If you have read any of these books, let me know what you thought of them!
The Cut by Richard Armitage
I am meeting this author soon at an event so I want to read this book in preperation.
Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett
I have read the Emily Wilde series by this author so I want to try more of her books and see if I enjoy those also, I am not usually into cosy fantasy so this will be interesting.
When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A Parker
I just recieved the second book in this series so I thought July is the right time to get stuck into this fantasy world and see if I enjoy it.
The Antique Hunter’s Murder at the Castle by C L Miller
This is the third installment in this series and I am looking forward to seeing how this book goes with a focus on one of the characters who has been in the sidelines up until now.
The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
I have heard so many good things about this book and this series so I am excited to get into it.
I Know You Did It by Sue Wallman
Sue Wallman’s YA thrillers are enjoyable one sitting reads for me so I hope that this one is no different.
The Dreadfuls by A Rae Dunlap
This book is a new take on the Victorian era and the Jack the Ripper mystery. I am always interested in reading more of these.
Flirting With Murder by Amanda Sellett
I read one other book by this author a while ago and it was a romance book where this is a romance cross mystery so I hope that this will have a good blend of both genres and won’t focus too heavily on one or the other.
The Sinister Booksellers of Bath by Garth Nix
This is the second book in this series. It has been a while since I read the first one but I remember loving it and I love Garth Nix’s writing so this should be a good read.
The Conference of the Birds by Ransom Riggs
This is the fifth book in the Miss Peregrine’s series and I have just read the fourth book which made me excited to continue and hopefully finish the series this month.
The Desolation of Devil’s Acre by Ransom Riggs
This is the final book in the Miss Peregrine’s series and I am really looking forward to finishing it off.
Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today. I am bringing you my book review for The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke. If you have read this book, let me know what you thought of it.
Blurb/Synopsis:
A PROPULSIVE DEBUT MYSTERY FROM EVELYN CLARKE, THE BRILLIANT AND DIABOLICAL CREATION OF CAT CLARKE AND V.E. SCHWAB
Six authors.
One private island.
Seventy-two hours to write the ending that will change their lives.
Arthur Fletch, one of the world’s bestselling novelists, is a reclusive genius known for his iconic protagonists and fiendish twists. When six struggling authors are invited to spend a weekend on his private Scottish island, they arrive to discover a shocking secret: Arthur Fletch is dead . . . and his last book is unfinished.
Desperate to publish the novel, Fletch’s agent and editor have summoned these writers in the hope that one of them will imagine a worthy ending for this final book. To sweeten the deal, they are offering an irresistible prize: in addition to ghost-writing the last chapter––for a mind-boggling sum––they will also help the lucky writer successfully re-launch their own career, guaranteeing future bestsellers. The catch: the writers have just seventy-two hours to finish Fletch’s magnum opus.
It’s the perfect plot. All it needs is a killer ending.
My Review:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
I wasn’t sure whether to get this book to begin with or not. As it is more of a thriller than a mystery and I don’t read that many thrillers. However, I noticed recently that I love reading books about writers and the thriller style books that I have enjoyed, all centre around writers – like the Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz – and this one was no different.
I loved how the book built on itself. Introducing each of the writers, getting to be inside their heads and not knowing who could be trusted, or what each of them would do to win. I could definitely feel my heart racing throughout. Ultimately I only gave this book four stars because the ending was a tiny bit predictable but I think very in line with the thriller style.
The writing itself was the best thing and in my opinion there was no way of telling that it was two writers not one. It was smooth and drew me in straightaway.
Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a lovely day today. It is now June and I am going to share with you some of the book releases this month. As always, this list will not be an extensive one, it will be just a few of the books that I know are coming out this month. Also, I will give the release dates but they will be the UK release dates.
The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden – 2nd June
With her country’s future and her own life at stake, an orphaned duchess must journey into a world of myth and there discover a power that may be her salvation—or her demise—in this enchanting new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the Winternight Trilogy and The Warm Hands of Ghosts.
Anne of Brittany was a child when her realm was invaded, her home besieged, and her royal father driven to his death.
Now her treasury is empty, her land occupied by her enemies, and she is ordered, under threat of renewed war, to become queen of her conquerors and marry the King of France.
This marriage means her country’s annexation. But Anne promised her father that Brittany would never be conquered.
Defiantly, she betroths herself in secret to France’s greatest enemy. But in a world where courts may spy on each other by magic, there is only one way to solemnize this illicit union.
Anne takes her court deep into a legendary forest, where the court diviners’ skill cannot reach. The world thinks they are only a hunting party, coursing after unicorns. But that is a lie, a trick, a feint. No one in living memory has seen a unicorn. All Anne wants is this secret wedding, which is her only hope of salvation.
But when against all hope a unicorn appears and a stranger out of legend stumbles from the trees and falls at her feet, Anne is plunged into a world of enchantment where a doomed sovereign might find the power to change her own and her country’s destiny—or be lost in the shadows forever.
This Immortal Heart by Jennifer Saint – 4th June
The epic, captivating tale of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, who must reconcile her mind and heart when she is drawn against all odds to Ares, the god of war, from the internationally bestselling author of Ariadne and Hera.
From the moment Aphrodite emerges fully formed from the sea, she is devastatingly beautiful and imbued with ancient power. Driven by passion yet strategic in how she moves through the halls of Olympus and the earthly realm alike, the free-willed goddess wields unparalleled influence over every living being.
When fate brings her face to face with Ares, she bristles at this surly, hot-tempered warrior who’s seemingly her disliked by everyone and devoted to stirring up conflict. Yet these gods are no more immune to the dizzying highs and lows of love and loss than anyone else, and soon, they are irresistibly drawn to one another.
As their love affair spans mortal lifetimes, Aphrodite begins to question the gods’ games and her role in them. But there’s only so much room for fire and passion in Zeus’s kingdom. Before long, she must test her devotion to her own divine purpose—and to a love that can only lead to ruin.
Harvest Season by Brynne Weaver – 9th June
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Brynne Weaver comes the second book in the devilishly steamy Seasons of Carnage trilogy where dark romantic comedy meets thrilling suspense—and where love is ripe for ruin.
It’s time to reap what you sow.
Cape Carnage is blooming with secrets, and they’re ready to harvest. But every time Nolan Rhodes digs one up, another grows in its place. Harper isn’t who he thought she was. Arthur might be more sinister than he first thought. And Sheriff Yates? The man is everywhere he turns. When true crime fanatics descend on the town looking for answers about the death of their leader, Nolan finds himself at the center of a search and rescue operation for missing people he knows are already dead. Cape Carnage teeters on the brink of chaos. And the harder Nolan tries to keep it together, the closer Harper comes to unraveling.
Harper Starling has risked everything to bury her trauma in Cape Carnage. But now that Nolan has unearthed her past, her whole life seems ready to break apart. And who can she trust? The enigmatic man she’s falling in love with? He came to kill her. The serial killer mentor she’s vowed to protect? He’s become an unpredictable menace. The woman in the mirror? She might be the most dangerous of all.
Loyalties are tested. Bonds are bent to a breaking point. And love? That might be the deadliest trap of all.
Harvest Season is a dark romance with mature themes. Please check content warnings at the beginning of the book.
Tropesick by Lauren Okie – 18th June
In this lush, slow-burning romance, two childhood neighbors, connected by a shared tragedy, unexpectedly reunite to ghostwrite a love story for a reclusive author. Spending the summer at her secluded Hamptons estate, they soon discover that dozens of classic romance tropes, including the ones they’re crafting on page, are mysteriously playing out in real life.
Katie Caruso is a completely normal twenty-five-year-old girl. At least, for the past eight years, she’s tried to be. She likes glitter and sequins and flirting with cute boys at New York City bars. She’s also a ghostwriter for Meredith Bradford, the bestselling romance novelist of all time. But then Tyler McNally walks back into Katie’s life, and that bedazzled facade crumbles at her platform-sneakered feet.
Katie and Tyler haven’t seen or spoken to each other since the overdose death of Katie’s older brother, a standout MLB pitching prospect. Tyler was her brother’s best friend, and Katie—naturally—was the girl next door. But now, Tyler is a sleeve-tattooed, Ivy League-educated aspiring literary fiction novelist, nine years sober . . . and Katie’s writing partner for the summer.
As genre conventions require, Katie and Tyler soon find themselves removed from Manhattan and instead writing their love story in “forced proximity” at Meredith’s isolated Southampton home. As the summer unfolds, the tropes Katie and Tyler have written into their novel begin to play out in their own lives. Call it destiny, fate, or magic It’s clear their love story is unfinished. This time, though, they’ll fight for their happy ending.
The Defence by Rob Rinder – 18th June
At MP-turned-wellness-guru Adrian Wells’s glitzy launch event for a bath salt that promises to reverse ageing, someone is about to turn up the heat. . .
As Adrian lowers himself into the architectural copper tub to showcase his miracle product in front of countless influencers, it soon becomes clear that something is amiss.
The bath salt has been poisoned. And now Adrian is dead. His long-suffering assistant Jules is the prime suspect.
Barrister Adam Green is tasked with Jules’s defence, and he quickly realises that there were many more people with a score to settle against Adrian.
Can Adam win the day, or is he in too deep?
The Raven at the Ash Door by K A Linde – 18th June
Can love survive an unbreakable curse?
Kierse McKenna’s magic is bound to a man she hates―one who has spent lifetimes fighting the man she loves.
To end this binding, Graves―her winter god, her monster―will stop at nothing. He discovers that the only hope of freeing Kierse is to locate a stone relic of legend, rumored to lift any curse.
The only problem? The stone has been missing for a century.
And the Oak King is on their trail.
Now Kierse is trapped at the heart of a centuries-long battle while the rest of the world comes unraveled. The Fae Killer is hunting. The peace with monsters is fracturing. And as the very rules of their myth start to shift, escaping the Oak King’s hold may demand more than stolen artifacts and clever heists.
For Kierse and Graves, it may mean risking the only thing they have left to lose.
Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all doing well today. It is now June, which means it is time to talk about what I will be reading this month. I have noticed this year that I have been reading mainly mystery books and not much fantasy so I tried to make my TBR for this month a bit more fantasy heavy.
What are you planning on reading in June?
Map of Days by Ransom Riggs
Malevolent Seven by Sebastien de Castell
How to Cheat Your Own Death by Kristen Perrin
The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig
Murder at the Palace by N R Daws
The Bookshop Below by Georgia Summers
Sabriel by Garth Nix
Assassins Apprentice by Robin Hobb
King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
The House Saphir by Marissa Meyer
A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft
Have you read any of these? What did you think of them?
Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you are all having a wonderful day. It is time to go over what I managed yo read in May.
May was definitely a busy month, I’ve had some health things going on and also I was finishing up my PhD thesis – which I have now sent in, so I should officially have my Doctorate very soon. Fingers crossed. In between all of this, I was enjoying my reading for this month. So far this year I have had amazing luck, most of the books I have got to I have loved or at least liked, there have been some disappointments and a few DNF’s but overall my reading is going well. I have noticed that although fantasy is my favourite genre, out of the nearly 60 books I have read so far this year, less then 10 have been fantasy. Which is a surprise.
How was your reading in May? Did you find any new favourite books?
First I will mention the books from my May TBR:
A Case of Life and Limb by Sally Smith – I did read this and I enjoyed it. This is the second book in the Gabriel Ward series, following Lawyer Gabriel Ward as he ends up tasked to solve different mysteries. Gabriel as a character is very endearing to follow. I am excited to continue this series when book three comes out.
It’s Not What You Think by Clare Mackintosh – I did read this. I was recommended it while I was in a bookshop browsing and I thought the premise sounded interesting, but this was actually my least favourite read this month. As the book goes on it becomes heavily political and I did not enjoy that.
Manslaughter Park by Tirzah Price – I did read this. I am glad to finally have read the last book in the Jane Austen Murder Mystery series. In my opinion this was my least favourite of the trilogy but I still thought it was a nice read.
Tea and Alchemy by Sharon Lynn-Fisher – I did read this. I bought this on a bit of a whim, I loved the cover and when I read the premise I was intrigued by the idea of a tea leaf reader. I will be sharing a full review of this later in the month but I loved this book.
The Corpse Played Dead by Georgina Clarke – I am currently reading this and I plan on finishing it today so this one also counts. This is the second book in the Death and the Harlot series.
The Beast of Littleton Woods by T E Kinsey – I did read this and that brings me up to date with the Lady Hardcastle series until the next one comes out.
Traitors Blade by Sebastien de Castell – I did read this also. I had been putting off starting this series because I loved his other books and I was worried I wouldn’t enjoy this one as much but I loved the travelling/adventuring style of this novel.
So, from my TBR I read all the books I had and outside my TBR I also read three nonfiction books (a surprise for me as I don’t read much nonfiction): The Waiting Game, The Five by Hallie Rubenhold and Life Inside by Linda Calvey. I also read: An Archive of Romance by Ava Reid, and The Ending Writes Itself. This means I read 12 books this month. My favourite was Tea and Alchemy and my least favourite was It’s Not What You Think.
Have you read any of these books, what did you think of them?