Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day today, it is the first of August and that means it is time for my monthly wrap up of what I did and what I read in July.
I don’t know about any of you but July was crazy busy for me, every time I thought I would have a day to myself to relax it got filled with something else and so heading into August I’m pretty much exhausted constantly. And now it is the summer holidays, so I’ll be even busier. Anyway, nevermind. I still managed to get some good books read in July and hopefully I will be able to do the same in August.
From my July TBR:
Us In Ruins by Rachel Moore – I have not read this. I am at the end of the month and it is this and one other book left on my TBR, I just don’t have enough time to get to it this month.
Ignite Me by Taherah Mafi – I am currently reading, and enjoying this book. Actually as I am writing this I plan on finishing this book tonight.
A Corruption of Blood by Ambrose Parry – I did read this. The third book in the series following Dr Will Raven in Edinburgh, The series has taken a turn I was not expecting and I am currently unsure if I like where this seems to be going or not but I guess we will see.
Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas – I did not read this. I have kept it on my book cart because there is still a chance I will get to it by the end of this month but if not I might find time next month.
A Deadly Night At The Theatre by Katy Watson – I did read this. The next installment in the Three Dahlias series. I enjoyed how this time we saw the three women a bit at odds with each other, it made them seem more human in a way which I liked although some of the plot felt a little forced it was still a great book.
The Painted Dragon by Katherine Woodfine – I did read this and I did not really enjoy it. This is the third book in the series, there is a fourth but I don’t think I am going to read it.
Murder at the Village Fair by Helena Dixon – I did read this. This is book 12? maybe? of the Miss Underhay series and as with all the others, a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Outside of my TBR I also read Murder at the Highland Castle by Helena Dixon. This means I have read six books this month which I am pretty pleased about, it could have been better and I could have rushed those last two books but I hope to enjoy both of them so, perhaps I will read them in August.
One thing I have been doing recently is I have a book journal where I write down what books I have read and when and this new one that I got online has monthly pages that you fill in which books are your favourite and least favourite of the month which then goes into a chart to show the best book of the year.
My favourite book this month was….. A Deadly Night at the Theatre by Katy Watson
My least favourite book was….. The Painted Dragon by Katherine Woodfine, unfortunately I just do not get the same enjoyment from this series as I used to.
Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today and a lovely summer. I can’t believe it is summer already, half the year is gone.
Today I am sharing my TBR for the month of July, there are so many books that I want to read right now it was hard to choose. What are you looking forward to reading in July?
Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all doing well today. How was your June? Mine was so full I barely had time to myself. Some good things happened though, I saw Iron Maiden and Halestorm play live, I saw a couple of theatre shows and I read some good books.
Did you read any good books this month, what were they?
Today I am bringing you my wrap up for the month of June!
From my TBR I read:
Murder At The Beauty pageant by Helena Dixon – I did read this. It’s number 11 or maybe number 12 in the Miss Underhay cosy mystery series. Each installment is a brilliant short mystery with characters you love no matter what. It’s always a delight to delve into another book in the series.
Murder At Traitors Gate by Irina Shapiro – I did read this. This book is the second in the Bell and Tate series, a historical mystery series set around Victorian time in London I believe. I like that this series can balance the lightness of the character’s relationships with the darkness of the crime. It has a gothic feel to the series which I love.
To Sway A Bard – I did read this. I thought I was going to enjoy this a lot more than I did. It had all the great parts it needed: a thief character, a sheriff who is hunting the thief, enemies to lovers, a high stakes adventure, royalty, banter. But for me it was not taken as far as it could have been, it felt a little underdeveloped. I still enjoyed it but not as much as I hoped I would.
A Witch’s Guide To Love And Poison – I did read this.
A Rivalry Of Hearts by Tessonja Odette – I read half of this book before deciding to DNF it. Not because there was anything wrong with it because there wasn’t. It was well written and well plotted, the romance was good, I liked both the main characters but I got bored and having to read another half that would have been much more of the same wasn’t appealing so for now I have DNF’d it. I might come back to it later.
Fall Of The Argosi by Sebastien de Castell – as I am writing this I have not started this yet, however there are twelve more days left in June so I am pretty sure I will be able to have read it by the end of the month.
Vera Wong’s Guide To Snooping On A Dead an by Jesse Sutanto – I did read this. I enjoyed it. The second in the vera wong mystery series following a chinese mother who owns a tea shop and keeps getting herself involved in murder investigations.
So, by the end of the month I should have managed to read all seven of the books that were on my TBR for the month AND outside of it I have also read the new Rob Rinder book, The Protest which was one of my most anticipated reads for this year.
Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a lovely day today. I am bringing you my book review for Crown Of Midnight, the second (or maybe third if you include The Assassin’s Blade) in the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas.
Blurb/Synopsis:
“A line that should never be crossed is about to be breached.
It puts this entire castle in jeopardy—and the life of your friend.”
From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.
Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.
Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena’s world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie… and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.
My book review:
Okay, it has taken my years to get around to this book. I read Throne of Glass a while ago and I never carried on, for good reason really because I was trying to get hold of hardback copies of the books so it would be easier for me to read and now I have got the whole series in hardback. I’ll be reading them around one a month until the end of the year.
I remember thinking that Throne of Glass was good, I liked the trials element of it, not as keen on the love triangle but it was tolerable. But this book was better. I did think that the first half of the novel dragged a little bit, it felt half like a recap of the first book and half a set up for this one but once the action got started there was so much going on that I had to keep reading. I liked the way that Caelena didn’t just immediately start on her destiny, she fought against it a little bit and I liked that. I felt sorry for Chaol in this book, with how he is battling against what he wants and his loyalty to the crown – i think that is going to be an intriguing plot to develop throughout the next books.
Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today. As I’m writing this I have to say I’m feeling the stress right now but at least picking what books I am going to read next is a fun thing to be doing. Gets me excited about my books, anybody else?
What do you guys plan on reading this month?
MY JUNE TBR:
Murder At The Beauty Pageant by Helena Dixon
Murder At Traitors Gate by Irina Shapiro
To Sway A Bard
A Witch’s Guide To Love and Poison
A Rivalry of Hearts by Tessonja Odette
Fall of the Argosi by Sebastien De Castell
Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping On A Dead Man by Jessie Q Sutanto
Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a lovely day today. It is the end of June. I honestly don’t know where this month went. I have been so busy trying to meet my PhD deadlines that the month has flown by. How has the month been for all of you?
I did manage to read a bit this month, not as much as last month but I got through some pretty good books and I did manage to finish my TBR so I’m happy with that.
From my TBR I read:
The Ballad Of Never After by Stephanie Garber – I enjoyed this book a lot more than Once Upon A Broken Heart so I’m glad about that because I loved her Caraval series then when I wasn’t sure on Once Upon A Broken Heart I was worried, but unnecessarily because the second book was much better.
Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas – I finally got around to reading this book after far too long. I have to say the first half of the book was dragging a little bit but once the action started kicking in I was more intrigued, and I got sucked into the story and I can’t wait to keep going with the next book in the series. I will be posting a book review on the 23rd June.
Library Of Shadows by Rachel Moore – I wasn’t sure about this book going into it but I was pleasantly surprised. If you want to see all my thoughts about this book I will be posting a book review on the 13th June.
The Murder Hypothesis – again, another book that I wasn’t sure about when I picked it up but I thought it was good, for a YA mystery it was intriguing, nothing overly special or groundbreaking but an enjoyable read.
The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton – another book that has been on my shelf for a while that I have been meaning to get to, and of course I loved it. It was actually in line for my favourite book of the month, it just missed out on that accolade.
In Want of A Suspect by Tirzah Price – the continuation of Lizzie and Darcy’s story that started in Pride and Premeditation. I loved the first book, it was one of my favourite books that I read in that year, and this second book was just as good, I have to say that the romance in this novel wasn’t quite as good as in the first book in my opinion but it was still good. This was my favourite read of May.
Outside of my TBR I also read: The Mysterious Affair of Styles by Agatha Christie which I was a little bit underwhelmed with, it was okay but not the best of her novels. And I also read Murder At The Charity Ball by Helena Dixon which is maybe the tenth book in the Miss Underhay series? A solidly good book all round.
So, that means this month I read 8 books which is a pretty good effort with how my month has been going. How many books did you get through this month? Which book that you read was your favourite?
Happy Monday bookish people! How are you all today? I hope you are all doing good.
In April I finally got around to reading Capturing The Devil by Kerri Maniscalco, the final book in the four book series which includes: Stalking Jack The Ripper, Hunting Prince Dracula, Escaping From Houdini and then Capturing The Devil. I read Stalking Jack The Ripper a while ago now and completely fell in love with the book, the series, and Kerri Mansicalco’s writing. Honestly, I love everything she writes and with finishing this book I can happily say I have read all of her published novels which is a nice achievement.
Blurb/Synopsis:
In the shocking finale to the bestselling series that began with Stalking Jack the Ripper, Audrey Rose and Thomas are on the hunt for the depraved, elusive killer known as the White City Devil. A deadly game of cat-and-mouse has them fighting to stay one step ahead of the brilliant serial killer—or see their fateful romance cut short by unspeakable tragedy.
Audrey Rose Wadsworth and Thomas Cresswell have landed in America, a bold, brash land unlike the genteel streets of London they knew. But like London, the city of Chicago hides its dark secrets well. When the two attend the spectacular World’s Fair, they find the once-in-a-lifetime event tainted with reports of missing people and unsolved murders.
Determined to help, Audrey Rose and Thomas begin their investigations, only to find themselves facing a serial killer unlike any they’ve heard of before. Identifying him is one thing, but capturing him—and getting dangerously lost in the infamous Murder Hotel he constructed as a terrifying torture device—is another.
Will Audrey Rose and Thomas see their last mystery to the end—together and in love—or will their fortunes finally run out when their most depraved adversary makes one final, devastating kill?
My Review:
This series follows Audrey Rose Wadsworth and Thomas Cresswell as they encounter different dangers, learning about themselves and each other in the process. In this final novel they go up against the murderer H H Holmes and his infamous murder castle. Without spoiling anything I can say that this book is a fantastic finale. You’ve followed these characters journeys from London, to Dracula’s castle, to a ship with Houdini and now to America, I grew so attached to these characters that there were points in this book I was literally holding my breath, I couldn’t see how they were going to make it out this time. You get to see all the woven threads come together, all these links back to the first novel – Stalking Jack the Ripper – and you get to see how it all ends. There are so many twists and turns the pages turn themselves, I couldn’t stop reading. Audrey Rose is a very strong willed female character and in this final book you see the effects of everything she has been through catching up to her and that, although realistic and necessary, was sad to read. You care for the characters so you can feel their emotions while you are reading, Kerri Maniscalco for me is one author that can make me cry and terrify me at the same time.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Have you read this series? What did you think of it?
Happy Monday bookish people! How are you all doing today? I hope you are all well. As promised in my April Wrap Up post, today I am bringing you my full thoughts about Phantasma by Kaylie Smith. This book has got so many good reviews and I couldn’t stop hearing about it and everyone seemed to love it, then I saw it marketed as an older version of Caraval meets Throne of the Fallen which are two of my favourite books so I needed to read it.
Blurb/Synopsis:
Caraval meets Throne of the Fallen in this spicy dark romantasy where a necromancer needs help from a dangerous phantom to win a deadly competition, only to find their partnership puts her at risk of breaking the game’s most vital rule: don’t fall in love.
When Ophelia and her sister discovers their mother brutally murdered, there is no time to grieve: Ophelia has inherited both her powerful death-driven magic and enormous debt on their home. Circumstances go from dire to deadly, however, when Ophelia’s sister decides to pay off the loan by entering Phantasma—a competition where most contestants don’t make it out alive and the winner is granted a single wish.
The only way to save her sister is to compete. But Phantasma is a cursed manor, with twisting corridors and lavish ballrooms, and filled with enticing demons and fatal temptations. Ophelia will need to face nine floors of challenges to win… if her fears don’t overtake her first.
When a charming, arrogant stranger claims he can protect and guide Ophelia, she knows she shouldn’t trust him. While Blackwell may not seem dangerous, appearances can be deceptive. But with her sister’s life on the line, Ophelia can’t afford to turn him away. She just needs to ignore the overwhelming, dark attraction drawing them closer and closer together.
Because in Phantasma, the only thing deadlier than losing the game is losing your heart.
My Review:
Phantasma follows our main female character called Ophelia, at the beginning of the novel Ophelia and her Sister are dealing with the loss of their mother and after her sister disappears Ophelia in a bid to find her ends up becoming entangled in the dangerous trials of Phantasma. As I mentioned, before going into this book I had heard all of the hype and I was anticipating a five star (which I didn’t get) but at the minimum I was hoping to have a fun time reading it. I’d also heard so many people talk about Blackwell and how he was their new book boyfriend. I have to say that for me, although I enjoyed his character, he wasn’t consistent. There were many times where he’d completely change his actions from what had been said and, although this could work for his character and the plot points, this just confused me. I also struggled with his name which is a silly complaint to have but I kept tripping over it when reading which was taking me out of the story. I also thought that the trials element was there in a way that was intriguing but I wish there was more to them, and to the search that was happening in between the trials we barely got any of that because the space was given to the romantic plotline instead. Overall, I enjoyed this book but it didn’t live up to the expectations I had of it from what I’d seen others say about it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Have you read Phantasma? Let me know what you thought of it!
Happy Friday bookish people! How are you all doing today?
Today I am bringing you a small list of some of the book releases happening in May.
The Tenant by Freida McFadden – 6th May
There’s no place like home…
Blake Porter is riding high, until he’s not. Fired abruptly from his job as a VP of marketing and unable to make the mortgage payments on the new brownstone that he shares with his fiancee, he’s desperate to make ends meet.
Enter Whitney. Beautiful, charming, down-to-earth, and looking for a room to rent. She’s exactly what Blake’s looking for. Or is she?
Because something isn’t quite right. The neighbors start treating Blake differently. The smell of decay permeates his home, no matter how hard he scrubs. Strange noises jar him awake in the middle of the night. And soon Blake fears someone knows his darkest secrets…
Danger lives right at home, and by the time Blake realizes it, it’ll be far too late. The trap is already set.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden knocks at your door with a gripping story of revenge, privilege, and secrets turned sour…
The South Wind by Alexandria Warwick – 8th May
Princess Sarai of Ammara has less than three months to live before death claims her. Cursed as a child to die on her twenty-fifth nameday, she will do whatever it takes to secure her realm’s future, including an arranged marriage to Prince Balior, a handsome young noble from a neighboring kingdom. But another man vies for her attention as well: Notus, the South Wind, god of the desert breeze, and Sarai’s ex-lover.
Sarai is determined to stay away from the god who betrayed her and honor her father’s plan. But Prince Balior has an agenda of his own, and as Sarai learns more about her betrothed, she realizes he might be a dangerous threat to her people. So despite her hatred for Notus, she fakes their engagement to escape the arranged marriage and unearth Prince Balior’s true motives surrounding his obsession with the menacing labyrinth that sits in the palace’s grounds.
But darker forces are at work, and time is running out. Together with Notus, Sarai must face the horrors dwelling inside the labyrinth to save herself and her realm—but in order to succeed, she must confront her pain and the monsters she carries within herself…
The South Wind is a brand-new standalone fantasy romance novel featuring a fake engagement and second chance romance from TikTok sensation Alexandria Warwick. Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Scarlett St. Clair and Raven Kennedy.
A Curse Carved In Bone by Danielle L Jenson – 13th May
A shield maiden fights to break the shackles of prophecy—and to overcome the betrayal of the man who broke her heart—in this searing conclusion to the Norse-inspired fantasy romance duology that began with the bestselling A Fate Inked in Blood.
The secret of her divine heritage revealed, Freya finds herself on a path that will see thousands of lives lost to the magic in her blood. Desperate to avoid this dark fate, she risks an alliance with Skaland’s greatest enemy to seek answers from the seer who foretold her future—the same seer who sent Bjorn to kill her.
While Freya still seethes with rage over Bjorn’s betrayal, the blood oaths that bind her demand that she keep him close as she hunts for a way to avert the looming war. Her magic draws her to the front lines of an old enmity, embroiling her with Nordeland’s Unfated—children of the gods who serve the king she was raised to fear. The same king who, unlike Bjorn, is now willing to fight at her back. For despite the desire that burns hot between Bjorn and Freya, his growing distrust of her chosen path threatens to drag them further apart.
As war approaches, gods and mortals must choose their weapons. Yet the fiercest battle will be the one Freya wages within herself. With the magic of two goddesses burning in her veins, she must weave the threads of destiny to decide her own fate: Will she be the shield that protects her people or the curse that destroys them?
Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde – 20th May
𝑯𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒆
When I was eleven, my family moved next door to his. When I was thirteen, he was my first crush. When I was sixteen, we fell for each other. And when I was nineteen, we broke each other’s hearts.
Six years later, I’ve landed an internship with a big-name interior designer in a new city. Unfortunately, that city just so happens to be the one he plays hockey for.
I thought Chicago was big enough to avoid him, until I get the surprise of a lifetime and unknowingly move in right next door. Even worse? The renovation project I’m assigned to in hopes of turning that internship into my full-time dream job…
It’s 𝘩𝘪𝘴 house.
But how am I supposed to update his bachelor pad into a family home when we can’t even stand to be in the same room?
I may have loved Rio DeLuca once, but I’m not that same girl anymore.
𝑹𝒊𝒐
I never thought I’d be the only single one left in my friend group. But after years of trying to find love, I’ve concluded it may not exist for me anymore.
That is, until I accidentally hire Hallie Hart to renovate my house and our jaded history has me rewinding memories I’ve kept secret for years.
You see, there’s something that my friends don’t know.
That connection I’ve been looking for since I moved to Chicago, that one person some search their entire lives to find… I had already found her when I was twelve years old.
And now the only girl I’ve ever loved is moving into the house next door.
Again.
Malevolent Eight by Sebastien De Castell – 22nd May
The stakes have never been higher.
The world is teetering on the brink of annihilation. The Lords Celestine and the Lords Devilish, celestial and infernal beings locked in an age-old enmity, have at last found the perfect battlefield for their apocalyptic Great the mortal realm.
Cade Ombra, former Glorian Justiciar turned mercenary wonderist, leads a band of emotionally unstable mages in a desperate bid to prevent the impending clash of divine and diabolical titans. Failure will leave humanity to be conscripted into an eternal war, serving as foot soldiers doomed to oblivion.
The mission seems impossible, but Cade and the Malevolent Seven aren’t exactly pacifists, so they’re determined to bring peace no matter how many people they have to kill first. With wit as sharp as their blades and a moral compass that points only toward survival, they’re ready to cut down anyone in their path to stop the war before it begins.
Prepare for a whirlwind of dark magic, irreverent humour and relentless action in The Malevolent The Bad, The Worse and The Wicked. The fate of the humanity hangs in the balance, and only the most malevolent can hope to save it.
Damned by Genevieve Cogman – 22nd May
For a former English maid, the stakes have never been higher . . .
Damned is the final book in the Scarlet Revolution series, a spellbinding adventure of magic, vampires and mayhem from the bestselling author of the Invisible Library series.
1794. Eleanor, former English maid, is a member of the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel – and now a promising mage. With a vampire plot thwarted in Paris, the League’s next daring rescue is that of the Pimpernel’s beloved wife, Lady Marguerite, imprisoned in her London townhouse on unjust charges of treason and espionage.
But Lady Marguerite’s captivity is only the first threat from the League’s vampiric enemy. With the King known to be ill, possibly mad, England is not as it should be. Vampires conspire to take control over the whole country whilst challenging Eleanor and the League at every turn.
But then, using her growing magical powers, Eleanor uncovers a devastating, centuries-old secret. It is one so steeped in blood, that it will change not only England, but the entire vampire world, forever . . .
Discover where Eleanor’s journey first began in the Sunday Times bestseller, Scarlet.
The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig – 20th May
From BookTok sensation and NYT bestselling author Rachel Gillig, comes the next big romantasy phenomenon: a gothic, mist-cloaked tale of a prophetess who is forced beyond the safety of her cloister on an impossible quest to defeat the gods with the one knight whose future is beyond her sight.
Sybil Delling has spent nine years dreaming of having no dreams at all. Like the other foundling girls who traded a decade of service for a home in the great cathedral, Sybil is a Diviner. In her dreams she receives visions from six unearthly figures known as Omens. From them, she can predict terrible things before they occur, and lords and common folk alike travel across the kingdom of Traum’s windswept moors to learn their futures by her dreams.
Just as she and her sister Diviners near the end of their service, a mysterious knight arrives at the cathedral. Rude, heretical, and devilishly handsome, the knight Rodrick has no respect for Sybil’s visions. But when Sybil’s fellow Diviners begin to vanish one by one, she has no choice but to seek his help in finding them. For the world outside the cathedral’s cloister is wrought with peril. Only the gods have the answers she is seeking, and as much as she’d rather avoid Rodrick’s dark eyes and sharp tongue, only a heretic can defeat a god.
No One Was Supposed To Die At This Wedding – 29th May
The second in a witty, USA Today bestselling series following author Eleanor Dash as she goes from wedding guest to murder mystery investigator at her best friend’s wedding on Catalina Island.
Attending your best friend’s wedding should be a piece of (wedding) cake, but not for Eleanor Dash, bestselling author of the Vacation Mysteries series. Because murder seems to follow her every time she goes on vacation and is definitely her uninvited plus-one to the special occasion.
Emma Wood, Eleanor’s best friend since childhood, is starring in the movie adaptation of When in Rome, Eleanor’s first novel. Emma is also marrying Fred Winters, a major movie star and Emma’s co-star, who just happens to be playing Connor Smith, Eleanor’s ex and leading man of the series.
Filming wraps and they invite the whole cast and crew to their wedding at nearby Catalina Island. There may be a storm headed their way—because of course there is—but nothing will stop their nuptials . . . that is until Emma receives a note that says “Someone is going to die at the wedding.”
Eleanor is a professional at this point, and she’ll do everything she can to uncover the murderer so true love can prevail . . . before it’s too late for her and the rest of the storm-trapped wedding party.
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