Tag: books

Book Reviews

Book Review: Lirael by Garth Nix

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Happy Monday bookish people! This is book review three of seven for today and is for Lirael by Garth Nix.

I got this book while in a bookshop with my partner and he suggested that I read it. Originally, he picked it up and handed it to me to read the blurb and I put it back on the shelf saying that I’d pick it up another time. Instead, my partner bought it for me so I read it on the drive up to Hampshire last weekend.

In this book review I will give star ratings for four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Lirael Plot:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

This book was so easy to fall into. The story, the world, the characters, everything about it kept me engaged in what was happening. I haven’t read the first book in this series yet but I definitely plan on getting the whole series now. I read this book extremely fast, even by my standards, it only took me three hours or just over and it’s a 500 page book. I couldn’t wait to see where each chapter would take me. I enjoyed getting to see a different viewpoint in some chapters when it changed between Lirael and Sameth but I was hoping to see more of Sameth’s viewpoint.

Lirael Characters:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

The character of Lirael is one of the best female reads in any books that I have read, she is emotionally strong and it was nice to see this develop throughout the book. Plus, she is in the library a lot of the time and I couldn’t relate to that more. Sameth, now what can I say about him, to be honest I found him a little annoying and he complained a lot but I also saw a lot of qualities in him that I can see developing and creating a very strong male lead.

Lirael Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I love Garth Nix’s writing, I read another of his books last year and loved it so much, he has a way of writing effortlessly clever, humorous and heartwarming fantasy novels. I am looking forward to reading many more of his books.

Lirael Overall:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Originally I gave this book four stars but I could not stop thinking about this book so I had to change it to five stars, it’s now one of my favourite books of all time.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Lirael has never felt like a true daughter of the Clayr. Now, two years past the time when she should have received the Sight that is the Clayr’s birthright, she feels alone, abandoned, unsure of who she is. Nevertheless, the fate of the Old Kingdom lies in her hands. With only her faithful companion, the Disreputable Dog, Lirael must undertake a desperate mission under the growing shadow of an ancient evil.

In this sequel to Sabriel, winner of the Aurealis Award for Excellence in Australian Science Fiction, New York Times best-selling author Garth Nix weaves a spellbinding tale of discovery, destiny, and danger.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it.

Book Reviews

Book Review: Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

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Happy Monday bookish people! This is the second of the book reviews I will be posting today. This is a book review for Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch. I bought the trilogy (Love and Gelato, Love and Luck, Love and Olives) a while ago and finally got around to reading the first one in July.

In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Love and Gelato Plot:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I loved the setting and the descriptions of each place throughout this book, the imagery used made me feel like I was there experiencing the location. I originally picked up this book because I hadn’t slept the night before and I needed something nice and light, it did provide this although there were also themes of grief, loss and finding where you belong which I thought gave the story another layer. Outside of this I didn’t find the romance to be hooking me in any way and I did think about putting the book down at points.

Love and Gelato Characters:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

The characters in this book could be better in my opinion. They have motivations other than just the romance which is something I enjoyed about this book however, their actions were very predictable. I thought the book could have been shorter and better developed.

Love and Gelato Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

The writing of this book worked well for me, it didn’t feel forced in any way and each chapter led into the next smoothly.

Love and Gelato Overall:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I could only give this book three stars because I found myself becoming less interested in the characters and the plot the longer I was reading. However, it did fulfill my need for a light read when I needed it.

Blurb/Synopsis:

“I made the wrong choice.”

Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is go back home.

But then she is given a journal that her mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that inspires her, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept for far too long. It’s a secret that will change everything she knew about her mother, her father—and even herself.

People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it.

Book Reviews, Uncategorized

Book Review: Pumpkin by Julie Murphy

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Happy Monday bookish people! Today is Monday which means it is time for me to upload another book review, and today I won’t be uploading just one – I’ll be posting seven! The first of which was one of my first reads of July, Pumpkin by Julie Murphy. I picked this book up after I saw some of my favourite booktubers talking about it and I thought it would be an interesting read, which it was.

In this book review I will give star ratings for four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Pumpkin Plot:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I really enjoyed the sweet and heartwarming themes in this story. I was lulled into this story by it’s defying stereotypes of prom king and queen, but there is so much more to it. It covers friendship, acceptance, sibling relationships and on top of all this romantic relationships. In a small book I felt a wave of different emotions and of course, it didn’t take me long at all to read through it. The romance itself, although predictable, was sweet and I did find myself smiling sometimes.

Pumpkin Characters:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Waylon is the main character that the story follows and he is a great protagonist, he is relatable and fun. I felt everything he did right along with him and although I couldn’t relate to the things he was going through I did relate to being an outsider and my experiences at school weren’t the best, I found myself wishing I had the confidence he did. Clementine, twin sister of Waylon, was also a great character but I wish she was in the book more than she is.

Pumpkin Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The writing in this book was very smooth and kept me swept along with the story. There’s not much more for me to say here because it wasn’t the best writing I’ve read but it also is very far from the worst I’ve read.

Pumpkin Overall:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I gave this book four stars because I enjoyed it, despite it being a contemporary romance, and I liked the representation that the book provides.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Waylon Russell Brewer is a fat, openly gay boy stuck in the small West Texas town of Clover City. His plan is to bide his time until he can graduate, move to Austin with his twin sister, Clementine, and finally go Full Waylon, so that he can live his Julie-the-hills-are-alive-with-the-sound-of-music-Andrews truth.

So when Clementine deviates from their master plan right after Waylon gets dumped, he throws caution to the wind and creates an audition tape for his favorite TV drag show, Fiercest of Them All. What he doesn’t count on is the tape accidentally getting shared with the entire school. . . . As a result, Waylon is nominated for prom queen as a joke. Clem’s girlfriend, Hannah Perez, also receives a joke nomination for prom king.

Waylon and Hannah decide there’s only one thing to do: run—and leave high school with a bang. A very glittery bang. Along the way, Waylon discovers that there is a lot more to running for prom court than campaign posters and plastic crowns, especially when he has to spend so much time with the very cute and infuriating prom king nominee Tucker Watson.

Waylon will need to learn that the best plan for tomorrow is living for today . . . especially with the help of some fellow queens. . . .

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have any of you read this book? What did you think of it?

Monthly TBRs

August TBR!

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Happy Saturday bookish people! July is coming to a close and I’m hoping August will be a great month, not just for reading but also for experience. Next week is my partner’s Father’s birthday and I’m going down to Cornwall for that weekend. Hopefully that will be lovely, I think it will be.

So, in July I ended up reading thirteen books and starting two others and I’m hoping this good reading will continue in August.

Again I’ve given myself a large TBR and that is before any book tour books, let’s get into it:

August TBR:

  • An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson – I started this one a while back but I’m excited to get back to it in August.
  • Get A Life Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert – I’m not that keen on contemporary but I won this in a giveaway and I’m willing to give the book a go.
  • The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis – I don’t know much about this book but from the blurb it looks good.
  • The House in the Cerulean Sea by T J Clune – I’ve seen so many good things about this book and I can’t wait to read it.
  • Legendary by Stephanie Garber – I absolutely loved Caraval, the first in this series, and I’m not sure if I will love this one as much because it follows Tella and honestly I didn’t like her much in the first book.
  • The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow – Witches are a common theme in books I enjoy so I hope that will continue with this one.
  • Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard
  • Rivers of London by Ben Aaronivitch – a supernatural detective just sounds amazing
  • Soulbinder by Sebastien De Castell – I’m very excited to continue with this series.
  • The Appeal by Janice hallett – this looks like a very unusual murder mystery and I’m looking forward to reading it.
  • The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman – I’m actually halfway through this book already, I started it a while ago and I’m excited to finish it.
  • The Way of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry – another murder mystery that should be a good read.
  • These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan – the blurb of this sounds so good.
  • Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angelles – this is set in a circus and has a competition in it, it gives me a similar feeling to the night circus and I’m looking forward to it.
  • The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton – this one sounds like a light but still intriguing book.

That’s it for my August TBR! Have you read any of these books? Are any on your TBR?

Monthly Wrap Ups

July Wrap Up!

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Happy Saturday bookish people! It is the end of July… this month has felt like a long one for me. I submitted my new PhD application at the beginning of this month and I’m not sure how I feel about it, the first time I sent in an application I wasn’t confident exactly but this time any confidence I might have had was completely gone. Anyway, I also got to see family in July which was really nice!

So in terms of reading for the month of July: Once again I did not complete my TBR, I’m not surprised about this at all because I had a couple of book tour reads I had to do and I spent four days in Hampshire and I mostly mood read for that. I packed five books and read four over this weekend so even though I didn’t read much off my TBR I still read a lot of books, I think my final number was fifteen. I’ll know for sure at the end of this wrap up.

Let’s see what I did and didn’t read this month!

My July TBR and thoughts:

  • A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – I did not get around to reading this (again) I will read it at some point but I need to be in a certain mood and have time to really get engrossed in the book, I mean Rhysand is in it so I’m definitely excited to read it.
  • A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn – I read this one! I took this one with me to Hampshire and read it in the hotel room on one of the evenings, I really enjoyed this book and of course now I want the whole series. I will be putting up a review of this book very soon.
  • An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir – I didn’t read this book. I am still very interested in this book I just didn’t have enough time this month.
  • Blood and Honey by Shelby Mahurin – I read Serpent and Dove in June and loved it, however I wasn’t ready to go back into this world yet so I will read this one in a couple of months time.
  • European Travels for the Monstrous Gentlewoman by Theodora Goss – I have started reading this one but I have not finished it yet.
  • The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V E Schwaab – I haven’t read this one because I have a feeling it will make me cry and I didn’t feel like crying too much in July.
  • The Killings at Kingfisher Hill by Sophie Hannah – I didn’t get around to reading this one either.
  • King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo – I feel like I should read the final installment in the Shadow and Bone series first so I haven’t read this one.
  • Legendborn by Tracy Deonne – another one I haven’t read this month.
  • Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch – I have read this one. I wanted a light and fluffy read, I didn’t quite get this but it was an okay read.
  • Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M Danforth – big books strike again, I didn’t read this because it is a huge book.
  • Pumpkin by Julie Murphy – I read this one, this was my first read of the month, I really liked this one. I will have a review up for this book soon too.
  • Save the Date by Morgan Matson – I don’t read very much contemporary so I’m not surprised that I didn’t get around to this one.
  • The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden – again I was very much mood reading this month so I didn’t get to this one.
  • The Plague Letters by V L Valentine – I thought this book would be a bit dark for me this month so I didn’t read this one either.
  • Threadneedle by Cari Thomas – I didn’t read this one.
  • Finally Turtles All The Way Down by John Green – I di not read this one either.

So, from my TBR I read three books and started one other. Outside of my TBR I read some other books, these were:

That is my reading for this month, I read 13 books and started two others so overall this was another good reading month. I am actually pretty confident I will reach my 100 books challenge for 2021.

Book Quotes

Favourite Book Quotes – top 100, 20 – 11

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Happy Friday bookish people! I’m back with the next set of ten in my top 100 favourite book quotes series. We are getting so close to the end of this! I don’t know about anyone else but I’ve been enjoying making the lists (I LOVE lists, anyone else? No? Just me, okay…) and talking through my choices for my top 100. So, today’s is numbers 20 – 11 so when I said we are close to the end, we are really really close, as in next week will be the top ten….

But first, at number 20 is a book I got a special edition of…

A Darker Shade of Magic by V E Schwaab

20. “I’d rather die on an adventure than live standing still” – this is a very well known quote I think and every time I hear it I wish I was a more adventurous person, although that will never happen because I quite like being in my comfort zone and alive.

Up next is a quote from a book I only rated three stars…

Ever Cursed by Corey Ann Haydu

19. “We’re goddamn witches, don’t tell us we can’t”

At 18 is a quote from a sequel….

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

18. “Fear is a pheonix, you can watch it burn a thousand times and still it will return”

At 17, is the first book in a duology…

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

17. “The heart is an arrow, it demands aim to land true”

Up next is a quote from a book I haven’t read yet but I love the series….

Queenslayer by Sebastien De Castell

16. “I’ve discovered that a death sentence can be some what liberating for someone who’s spent their life curtsying”

At 15 is the finale in a trilogy..

The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

15. “I have plucked snowdrops at midwinter, died at my own choosing and wept for a nightingale, now I am beyond prophecy”

Next is a quote from a book I do not own yet…

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout

14. “You’re an absolutely stunning murderous little creature”

At 13 is a quote from one of my favourite books…

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

13. “Roses have both petals and thorns”

At 12 is a book from one of my favourite series’…

Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco

12. “You are yours to give” – just yes.

And finally for this list of ten, a book with a library in it…

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

11. “It was always wise to be polite to books whether or not they could hear you”

That’s it for this weeks ten, I cannot wait to bring you my top ten next week!

Where'd I Leave It Wednesday

Where’d I Leave It Wednesday: Portsmouth Historic Dockyard – HMS Warrior

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Happy Wednesday bookish people! I’m back with another Where’d I leave it Wednesday and today’s story comes from this past weekend when I went up to Hampshire to visit some relatives. On the day after we travelled up we went to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard – which I really enjoyed by the way and this is some of the things that happened along the way.

The day started off early. I had barely slept the night before, I was in a hotel and I rarely sleep the first night in a hotel anyway but that night there were trains passing by constantly, there was a nearby clock tower going off every hour and my Father’s snoring was louder than a school fire alarm. So I was running on about two hours of sleep and I was in the shower just after six in the morning. We had a breakfast delivered to our hotel door, there was a pot of fruit, a pastry and a yoghurt with a bottle of orange juice.

By half past nine we had met my great aunt and her husband at the train station and so commenced an hours trip to the dockyard. It went faster than I thought, usually on trains I read but there wasn’t enough room so I ended up looking outside the window at all the blurring colours. It looked like a watercolour painting.

When we got to the Dockyard we sat for a a moment to get ourselves comfortable again after the train trip and had a delicious cup of coffee. I am biased, I like coffee even though I shouldn’t drink it for a few reasons. Then the day properly began. While having our drinks out of the window we could see the masts of a huge ship, it turned out to be HMS Warrior.

My journey on this ship began uphill, literally I had to walk up a steep ramp to get onto the ship. The ship had been kept pretty much as it had been when it was being used – or so the men walking around told us. It was very interesting to see the difference between how the sailors and the officers would eat, sleep and generally live. The men on board, telling us about the history of the ship, was dressed how the sailors would have been at the time which added to the whole effect of being on the ship.

The problem with the ship was the rope ladders. If you’ve ever been on this ship, or one similar, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. Small wooden steps that you have to climb down one foot at a time with your feet turned sideways, instead of banisters there is rope that swings and moves all over the place as you climb down them. There were many sets of these stairs and they just kept going further down into the ship. It was down near the bottom where I slipped. My foot didn’t get a good enough grip and it fell off the step, I only stayed on the ladder because I gripped so hard to the rope on the side. It shook me up quite a lot. I was happy to climb back out of that ship pretty soon after.

After that we went to the Mary Rose exhibition and I made a friend in Henry VIII… but you’ll have to check back next Wednesday for that story.

blog tours, Book Reviews

Book Review: A Case of Royal Blackmail by Sherlock Holmes

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Happy Monday bookish people! I’m back from my trip to Hampshire to see family and today is my stop on the book tour for A Case of Royal Blackmail by Sherlock Holmes. Thank you to Anne Cater, Random T Tours and Unicorn Publishing for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.

In this book review I will give star ratings for four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

A Case of Royal Blackmail Plot:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

This book was interesting to me because I’m a fan of the original Sherlock Holmes novels and I wondered how this one would compare. While I was intrigued by the case in this novel, that was to do with the Prince of Wales later King Edward VII, and I really wanted to know how the end was going to be figured out I didn’t enjoy it as much as I have Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. The mystery itself was one that I enjoyed, it had various threads of other mysteries interweaved in the narrative. I also loved the appearance of Oscar Wilde, being an English student this really appealed to me.

A Case of Royal Blackmail Characters:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

This for me was where the book was slightly disappointing, the story itself was good but because Sherlock Holmes is such a beloved character and he is known for being with Dr Watson I felt the gap where that other character should have been and it threw me off a little bit. I also felt that it was strange that it was supposedly Sherlock himself writing about one of his cases. However, it did feel authentically like Sherlock Holmes and it did keep the Victorian era setting and language very well.

A Case of Royal Blackmail Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

As I said above, I think the author did very well to make the dialogue and the writing feel like the traditional Sherlock Holmes that everyone knows.

A Case of Royal Blackmail Overall:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I gave this book three stars overall because as a book, distancing it from previous Sherlock Holmes works, it was very well written and filled with tension and mystery. However, I’m not able to forget about Conan Doyle’s original stories and it didn’t quite live up to my expectation in that way.

Blurb/Synopsis:

In Oscar Wilde’s Amethyst Tie-Pin, the 24-year-old Sherlock Holmes recounts how he untangled the web of blackmail and deceit surrounding the ‘complex romantic endeavours’ of the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, those of Lillie Langtry and her various suitors and the morass of ‘scandal sheets’ and libel cases surrounding the Prince’s court of the time, while at the same time solving the mystery of Oscar Wilde’s missing amethyst tie-pin.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!

blog tours, Book Reviews

Book Review: No Number Nine by F J Campbell

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Happy Friday bookish people! I’m so happy that today is my spot on the book tour for No Number Nine by F J Campbell. Thank you to Literally PR for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.

In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

No Number Nine Plot:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This book was very different to books that I usually read, I loved how the backstory of Pip gets revealed throughout the story. It kept the tension throughout the story about what would happen next and what secrets are people hiding. This book had intriguing character relationships and a plot that both flowed and constantly changed. I thought it was the perfect timing to read this book, especially with it’s links to Olympics and the Tokyo Olympics about to start. Although there was a dramatic undertone to this book I liked that the romance subplot was well developed and fit into the plot seamlessly. It also gave the book points for tension, which I think it is quite obvious I like in books.

No Number Nine Characters:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I really felt for Pip throughout this book, there were things she could have done differently but still it seemed like nothing could go right for her. When the book begins we know she has lost her sister and this gives Pip an interesting character dynamic because it is the catalyst for some of the events throughout the book. I’m not going to talk about any of the other characters in particular because I don’t feel I can without giving some spoilers but I will say that they each added layers to the story.

No Number Nine Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

For the most part the writing style of this book was something I enjoyed, it was clear and well written. The part I didn’t enjoy was that some sections are written in the style of a drama script. This confused me as I didn’t feel there was any need for it to be written in this way and it disconnected me from the characters in the scene.

No Number Nine Overall:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I gave this book four stars because I enjoyed the reading of it and I would be interested in reading other books by this author.

Blurb/Synopsis:

What do you do when your amazing, beloved sister dies?

Hide in your room for two years.

Sleep with a very, very wrong man.

Leave home and start a new life, lying to everyone you meet including your kind employer, your curious friends and the man you love?

Pip Mitchell’s an expert at making seriously bad decisions. But when her past, present and future collide at the Sydney Olympic Games, she’s going to have to decide whose side she’s on – or she’ll lose everyone she loves.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!

Book Quotes

Favourite Book Quotes: 30 – 21

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Happy Friday Bookish people! I’m back with the next set of ten quotes in my top 100 favourite book quotes series. I hope you’ve all been enjoying it so far, I can’t wait to share with you what my top ten is, but we aren’t quite there yet. Only two weeks to go!

At 30 is a quote from a popular series with Fae in..

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

30. “kiss me again, kiss me until I am sick of it”

Up next is from a great murder mystery/thriller….

An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena

29. “one may smile and smile and still be a villain”

The next quote is from the ‘Queen of crime’….

Dead Man’s Folly by Agatha Christie

28. “if the foundations are rotten, everything’s rotten”

At 27 is a quote from one of my favourite books…

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

27. “every good story needs a villain”

Now a quote from a beautifully dark book…

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

26. “wild birds die in cages”

At 25 is from a duology…

Vicious by V E Schwaab

25. “plenty of humans were monstrous and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human”

Up next is a quote from a book I haven’t read yet…

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

24. “I turned my nightmares into fireflies and caught them in a jar”

Now a quote from a very unusual murder mystery…

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

23. “we are never more ourselves than when we think people aren’t watching”

At 22 is a book that I found very humorous….

The Left Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

22. “Fantasy writers, they’re the bane of our existance”

And finally from the third book in one of my favourite series’….

Escaping From Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco

21. “most stories are too good to be true that’s what makes them enchanting”

That’s it for this week’s quotes, I hope you all enjoyed it!