Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you are all having a wonderful day today. It is August, the middle of the summer holidays in the UK, and time to pick what books I will be reading this month. Or hopefully reading at least. I have a few things to be doing during the month: my PhD work, redecorating the dining room, taking a trip to see family in Hampshire, it is going to be a busy month. Which means I need some good books to get me through it. For some reason, summer months I get really into reading fantasy, their covers give Autumn vibes, but I love reading them in summer so you won’t be surprised to know the bulk of my reading is fantasy this month.
A Curse For True Love by Stephanie Garber
Fearless by Lauren Roberts
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
This Monster of Mine
Knife Skills for Beginners by Orlando Murrin
A Novel Murder
How To Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin
I have also put together a small list of books I would also like to get to but only if I have time, which are: Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas which was on July’s TBR but I ran out of time, A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J Maas, Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent, The Stolen Heir by Holly Black, A Gift of Poison by Bella Ellis and the Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping.
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!
