Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you have all had a great start to your September. And I hope you all had a wonderful August. Mine was pretty busy with my nieces and hospital things going on. I also had great news come in which is that I finally got the confirmation of passing my PhD. I am officially a Doctor. It’s taken a while but I have got there in the end.
Now with all that said, I did get quite a bit of reading done in August. Of course I am writing this a little before the end of the month, 8 days or so, and I will get a few more books read from my TBR as I am going away for a week tomorrow and it is a car journey so I’ll be reading in that time.
How has everyone’s reading been in August? Any new favourite books? I started the Ernest Cunningham series by Benjamin Stevenson, loved it, immediately read the sequel and got the third so I could read it soon.
August Wrap Up:
from my TBR:
Wildewood by Jessica Thorne – This is one of three books that I am taking away with me so I should definitely get this book read by the end of the month.
Library of the Dead by T L Huchu – I did read this. Honestly, I thought the plot itself was interesting but the writing style was a problem for me and I did find myself skimming it rather than reading by the end.
The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love by India Holton – This is the second of three books I am taking away with me so I should get this read by the end of August also.
Love and Luck by Jenna Evans Welch – and this is the third book I am taking away with me and should read by the end of August.
Grimm Curiosities by Sharon Lynn Fisher – I did read this. I loved her book Tea and Alchemy earlier in the year and I enjoyed this one also.
Murder at the Book Festival by Jane Bettany – I did read this. I got this book in a blind date with a book. I thought it was good but I don’t think I would pick up the rest of the series.
Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas – I did not get around to reading this. I want to read all her books in preparation for ACOTAR 6 but I want to read other books more at the moment so we shall see if I get around to it or not.
No Women Were Harmed by Heather Mottershead – I am currently reading this.
The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson – I did read this. I am glad I have made progress in the Truly Devious series. I liked this book but not as much as the original trilogy.
A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales – I did read this. Another book I thought was good but I am unsure if I would like to continue in this series or not.
Henry Tudor Must Die by Gillian Laine – I did start reading this but I soft DNF’d it at 100 pages. I think I will try it again but I’m not sure.
The Library After Dark by Ande Pliego – I DNF’d this book within a few chapters. The writing style was not for me.
Murder in a Yorkshire Village by Helena Dixon – I did read this. Another solid book in the Kitty Underhay series.
Outside of my TBR I read: Murder at the Dolphin Hotel by Helena Dixon, Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone and Everyone on this Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson.
Overall, including the three I will have finished by the end of August, I have read 15 books in August.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?
Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a lovely day. Today I am bringing you some of the August releases. As always this is not an exhaustive list, it is a few of the books I have seen and some that I am interested in.
A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett – 4th August
An unthinkable crime. A fatal conspiracy. A suspect without a trace.
The heir to one of the Empire’s most powerful families sits in jail, accused of murder. His hands are covered in his victim’s blood, and he can neither deny his guilt nor explain his actions.
If the great detective Ana Dolabra – along with her assistant Dinios Kol – cannot save him, the farming canton of Sapirdad will explode into war, plunging the Empire into famine and chaos.
But this murder is only the latest in a subtle web of death, woven by a mastermind with an ancient weapon at his disposal.
Ana and Din have faced terrible crimes before. But as they pursue their adversary through wild ranges, sprawling ranches, and reeking slaughterhouses, even they are not prepared for the horrifying secret behind their opponent’s powers . . .
Eccentric yet brilliant detective Ana Dolabra must prove a man’s innocence to stop a civil war in the third book of the series that began with the award-winning The Tainted Cup.
The Unknown by Riley Sager – 4th August
A hundred years ago, five women disappeared. Now, it’s happening again . . .
Struggling actress Marin Keane is shocked when she lands a role in a major film about the unsolved mystery of New Avalon, an island on sprawling Lake Faraday in Vermont.
New Avalon isn’t an ordinary island. A century ago, it was a commune for spiritual mediums – until, in 1926, they vanished. The only trace of them left was five dresses hanging from the branches of an old oak tree. One for each missing woman.
The stories say that when a séance went wrong, something supernatural took them all.
One by one . . .
When Marin and her castmates visit the island, they begin to realise that even now all is not right with New Avalon. Strange noises are heard in the night, and mysterious symbols are found, left by the island’s previous occupants.
And then the disappearances begin again.
One by one . . .
As panic and superstition rise, Marin must uncover the island’s terrifying secret to prevent its dark history from repeating itself . . . and escape the island alive.
Adversary to the Villain – 6th August
HR Update: The position of “adversary to the villain” has been filled. Evie Sage does not recall applying.
Evie has always tried to be helpful, loyal, and only mildly involved in treason. But with a dangerous prophecy threatening the very magic of Rennedawn – not to mention the race to claim its necessary artifacts before King Benedict does – things are starting to feel… less like a career path and more like a serious problem.
The prophecy won’t stop pointing in Evie’s direction. The Villain’s magic keeps choosing her. And honestly, if you’re going to be accused of evil anyway, you might as well commit.
Unfortunately, the more Evie leans into her alleged villain era, the more her boss starts acting like the hero of a completely different story. Trystan is getting closer – closer than is wise, advisable, or even remotely professional – and looking at her like she’s already chosen a side. His.
Which is deeply inconvenient, because if Evie can’t save the kingdom’s magic, she might just become its greatest threat.
Cross Check by Chelsea Curto – 26th August
Amelia Green is making a name for herself as an assistant coach in the NHL. A woman who isn’t intimidated by the people who try to pull her down, she handles the attention on her without batting an eye. What she didn’t account for was the hockey player who keeps showing up in her life.
Grant Everett is the newest player on the DC Stars roster and adjusting to life in the NHL. A guy who loves his teammates, he’s never one to break the rules. But after an accidental run-in with the league’s most talked about coach, Grant can’t stop thinking about Amelia no matter how off-limits she is.
He should stay away from her. He’s supposed to stay away—she’s older. She’s not looking to date, and he’s someone who wants to settle down.
Years of friendship and fighting their feelings turns to something more after one night together, and they never look back. Except… hiding a relationship from the league isn’t easy.
Between secret meetups and Amelia landing a new job as the head coach of the league’s newest expansion team, she and Grant are forced to confront their future. Is there a chance their relationship can withstand the scrutiny from those on the outside, or are they a quick cross check away from disaster?
Immortal Rose by Alexandra Bracken – 22nd August
From Alexandra Bracken, the New York Times bestselling author of Lore, comes a stunningly original adult fantasy. Set in a sumptuous world ruled by magical perfume, this achingly romantic, slow-burn love story will shatter your heart and leave you breathless.
Members of the ancient Rosebourne family have a strange gift born of a fairy ancestor: the ability to infuse fragrance with magic capable of manipulating mind, body, and emotion.
When a shocking murder leaves the kingdom of Albion vulnerable to a coup, royal spymaster Hugh Thornton seeks the one person who can help: Viola Lockwood, the last living Rosebourne and secret heir to a fraught legacy.
Livid at the silver-eyed aristocrat who had her thrown in jail to force her compliance, Viola nevertheless comes to an agreement with him. In exchange for crafting Immortal Rose, the singular perfume capable of saving Albion, illegitimate Viola can seize the life – and fortune – that should have been hers.
As Hugh and Viola race to find the perfume’s lost fairy ingredient, hidden deep in Albion’s dark underbelly, neither can deny the scorching attraction building between them – especially as the attempts on Viola’s life grow increasingly brazen.
But a terrible truth lurks in the heart notes of their kingdom – and while every bargain has a cost, Immortal Rose may demand more than Hugh and Viola can ever pay.
Bedeviled by Laura Thalassa – 18th August
the Bewitched series, a deliciously witchy romantasy.
“My queen, my wife, my lovely Selene… You who saved me, died for me. Waited eons for me so we could exist in this moment… I am yours forever.”
It’s been two thousand years since Selene Bowers first fell in love with Memnon Uvagukis, the sorcerer king of the Sarmatians. So when, at present, an unbreakable vow forces Selene to marry this soul mate she once died for, it is in many ways a dream made real.
Unfortunately for her, neither she nor Memnon are able to bask in the moment for long. Not when demons keep ambushing her, and her husband’s magic appears to slowly be consuming him. And not when, despite eliminating the prior threats to Henbane, the coven still teeters on the brink of shutting down.
And then of course there’s Eislyn, an age-old menace who lurks somewhere in the shadows. She led to Selene and Memnon’s demise long ago, and now she threatens their existence once more. It seems she wants something from them, something she’s been waiting millennia for, and if Memnon and Selene don’t figure out what that is and stop her for good, she just might get it―and destroy them in the process.
Wings of Reverie by Anna Bright – 4th August
Centuries after the events of the TikTok sensation and #1 New York Times bestseller Wings of Starlight, comes a new lush romantasy, where two fairies must battle a dangerous magic – and their growing feelings for each other – in order to save their home in the Winter Woods.
One day when Pixie Hollow frost-fairy Periwinkle travels too close to the forbidden border where Spring meets the Winter Woods, she unknowingly discovers a thread of a lost magic and, for the first time, begins to dream. While Periwinkle’s dreams start sweet, they slowly morph into more disastrous visions of the Pixie Dust Tree destroyed.
One night, deep in the Winter Woods, after waking from sleepwalking, Periwinkle is confronted by a sparrow man who says he knows two secrets: one that Peri has been dreaming and two that the Winter Woods is in terrible danger. Weaver claims to be a dream-talent, the last of his kind in Pixie Hollow, and with Periwinkle’s help he says he can spin her dreams into dream-thread which can save the dying Pixie Dust Tree. In order to do so, the two will need to embark on a quest to find a magic spindle and scissors in the legendary lost fairy workshops of dream-talents past.
Peri begins a reluctant journey with Weaver, the infuriatingly handsome stranger. Together they will face obstacles, monsters, and an unspeakable danger deep within the Winter Woods. Along the way, Peri will begin to question everything she thought she knew. But in Winter even beautiful things can hurt you, and Weaver is no exception.
Murder in a Yorkshire Village by Helena Dixon – 18th August
A stream of bikes speeding along the road in the annual cycle race. And one in a ditch upside down, wheels still spinning… with a body lying next to it. Can Kitty Underhay get to the bottom of this?
England, 1938. Kitty Underhay is enjoying a stroll in the Yorkshire town where she and her husband Matt are visiting his family. As she stops to take in the rolling hills, she suddenly sees a most unexpected sight. There’s a bike in the ditch just along the road… and the cyclist is dead.
Abandoning her plans for a picnic with Matt, the pair start to piece together what happened. But there’s more than meets the eye to the man now pushing up daisies. The victim is no stranger; it appears he has unexpected Devon connections. Why is he here? And who is behind his murder? Has his ex-girlfriend hit the brakes? Or could it be the woman he was courting in secret? And the other cyclists aren’t faultless either…
But just as Kitty and Matt set the wheels in motion and the investigation picks up speed, there’s another murder, shaking up the quiet country town further. Then Kitty and Matt realise that they too have been marked by the killer, and the duo need to unearth the connection between the two murders immediately…
Can Kitty and Matt catch the killer before they get to the finish line? Or will it be game over for both of them by the end of the race…?
A Deadly Scandal by Felicity Epps – 27th August
Sisterhood, séances and solving murder, perfect for fans of Bridgerton and Laura Wood!
An occult device leaving threatening messages. A dinner party featuring a fatal main course. Was it a tragic accident, or is something foul at play? The Society of Free Spirits invites you to investigate, in this YA crime series with a supernatural twist.
17-year-old Ada Hawthorne would much rather be hunting for ghosts than for a husband. So when the Society of Free Spirits is invited to host a séance investigating the Spirit Hand – an occult device haunting its owner with threatening messages – Ada can’t wait to show off her spiritualist talents to London’s elite.
But then a guest is fatally stabbed with a hatpin during the séance, and Ada ends up with more on her plate than a fancy dinner!
The society’s reputation is hanging on by a thread, and Ada can’t afford her family name being dragged through another scandalous gossip column. But when visions of the ghost appear and demand that the murder be solved, Ada and her friends have no choice but to engage in some less-than-ladylike behaviour to uncover the mystery. They’ll soon learn that in high society, everyone’s watching – including the ghosts.
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 Friday bookish people! I hope you are all well today. As we are getting to the summer months I wanted to share some of the books that make me think of summer and some covers that do the same.
As it turns out all of the books in this list are actually murder mysteries. I didn’t realise that as I was writing it but it does sort of make sense to me. I love a quick, fun, cosy mystery in the summer.
Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you are all doing well today. It is time to share some of the books that are coming out in February. As usual, this list is not long or inclusive of every title that is being released, it is just a selection of the books I have seen.
Throne of Nightmares by Kerri Maniscalco – 10th February
A princewho prefers games of the head to those of the heart.
Prince Sloth hates leaving his enchanted library. But when a forgotten deity threatens the very fabric of the Underworld, he’s thrust into a race against time. He must find the Book of Nightmares – an ancient artifact that has the power to break worlds – before it unleashes a deadly game to free its master, the Goddess of Night. When a betrayal leaves him marked, and desperate, his path collides with a young woman who possesses the legendary Phoenix Tear – a portal stone unlike any other.
A librarian who is all sweet sunshine . . . until she burns.
Lore Brimstone has always loved getting lost in a book – but she never meant literally. Yet, after visiting a traveling caravan, she quickly finds herself transported to a terrifying but oddly familiar world – with a calculating prince at her side. Realizing they are living out her favourite novels one by one, they face off against an increasingly dark magic as they try to survive the story.
A twisted tale that means they can’t trust themselves – or their hearts.
As Lore and Sloth navigate the pages of her beloved novels gone wrong, she must channel her inner main character to defeat the Book of Nightmares before the wall between the gods and mortals comes crashing down, dooming them all.
A Dark Forgetting by Kristen Ciccerelli – 12th February
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Crimson Moth (published as Heartless Hunter in North America) weaves an epic love story of a magical girl, the boy she left behind, and a deadly curse.
‘Lush, dark, and romantic. I could have remained lost in the woods forever’ Isabel Ibañez, #1 New York Times bestselling author of What the River Knows
‘A tale comprised of deep emotion, sizzling romance, and a gripping mystery’ Tricia Levenseller, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Shadows Between Us
Sing us a song of the forest, of the Wood King who rules there, and the tithe he demands…
No matter how far Emeline Lark runs, the song of the forest reaches her, luring her away from her dreams of the stage and back to her small town and its superstitions.
But every superstition is rooted in truth, and when her grandfather goes missing Emeline will be forced to return to Edgewood and the forest beyond.
There, even Hawthorne Fell, a brooding tithe collector, cannot dissuade her from her path – a path that will lead her into the court of the fabled Wood King himself – and into a bargain with the deadliest price.
A Stage Set for Villains – 13th February
The gods are dead. All that’s left are the Players . . .
The performers of the Playhouse are as worshipped as they are feared, their enchanting shows bending hearts, minds, and even reality itself. Vicious, godlike, lethal. Eighteen-year-old Riven Hesper knows the dangers better than anyone, after her own encounter with a Player resulted in a curse that is slowly killing her.
When the Playhouse announces the spectacle of a lifetime – a chance for one mortal to steal a Player’s immortality – Riven sees her last chance to live. Desperate for answers, she infiltrates the competition. There, she finds Jude, the Playhouse’s brilliant, merciless Lead Player, whose charm is as dangerous as his Craft, and strikes a deadly bargain to save her life.
But with time running out and the Playhouse’s secrets unraveling into a disturbing picture, Riven faces a grim possibility: she might not be the hero of her story after all. In fact, she may be the villain.
Because the Playhouse doesn’t just tell stories. It rewrites them.
And Riven’s might end in blood.
I’m Not the Only Murderer in my Retirement Home – 17th February
RETIREMENT WILL HAVE TO WAIT.
When former serial killer Carol takes her place in a luxury retirement home, she begins to find her feet with a small new group of friends. If she can only keep her past hidden, maybe she has a chance at happiness.
That’s when she discovers that, absurdly, every other one of Sheldon Oaks’ residents was involved in the law somehow. It’s not long before her true identity is leaked, and when a former police commissioner resident is murdered, naturally all eyes turn to her…
Now she must solve the case to prove her innocence – just as her new friends start their own investigations into whether there is more than one killer at Sheldon Oaks.
Murder at Sea by Helena Dixon – 23rd February
A glorious ocean liner setting sail, sunset on the horizon, and champagne on deck. All seems shipshape… until Kitty discovers a body on board. Time for some sleuthing!
Devon, 1938. Kitty Underhay is enjoying a well-deserved rest when her very upset cousin Hattie suddenly bursts in. She sobs that the gentleman she had been seeing, Richard Westonholme, seems to have vanished, taking all of her jewellery with him. As Hattie describes Richard, he sounds eerily familiar, and Kitty and her husband Matt board a ship in hot pursuit – only to find him lying in a lifeboat… dead.
As they’ve set sail, the murderer has to be on board too, but there are suspects as far as the eye can see. Could Richard’s wife have something to do with the murder? What about the rich heiress and her guardian? And is the steward hiding something fishy?
Kitty and Matt are all too aware that the clock is ticking while the suspects are trapped with no escape. Can they net the killer before the ship docks? Or will one of them be dead in the water before they reach dry land?
Cleopatra by Saara El Arifi – 26th February
YOU KNOW MY NAME.
BUT YOU DO NOT KNOW ME.
Your historians call me seductress, but I was ever in love’s thrall.
Your playwrights speak of witchcraft, but my talents came from the gods themselves.
Your poets sing of my bloodlust, but I was always protecting my children.
How wilfully they refuse to concede that a woman could be powerful, strategic, divinely blessed to rule.
Death will silence me no longer.
This is not the story of how I died. But how I lived.
Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett – 17th February
From Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author Heather Fawcett comes a healing and heart-warming fantasy with magic shops, rescue cats and a second chance at love.
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. .
Books and Bewitchment by Isla Jewell – 3rd February
In this warm-hearted, witchy rom-com a young woman works to create the bookstore of her dreams, only to discover a powerful magic that’s been lying dormant—and a forbidden love she can’t resist. Perfect for readers of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches and The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic.
Rhea Wolfe lives a simple, if mundane, life in small-town Alabama with her pet cockatoo, Doris. But when her estranged grandmother dies, leaving everything to her—including a magical heritage Rhea never knew she carried—she finds herself in Arcadia Falls, the quaint mountain town her mother made her swear never to set foot in. When she plans to turn the defunct video store she’s also inherited into a bookstore, Rhea’s lucky that resident handyman Hunter Blakely is more than happy to help—and more than easy on the eyes. It’s just too bad he’s the grandson of her grandmother’s sworn rival in witchcraft.
Yet as Rhea makes plans for the bookstore of her dreams, she learns that her grandmother made a terrible choice, one that could ruin her own chance at happiness. As she gets ever closer to solving the mystery of what exactly is happening, each clue points to Arcadia Falls’ magic hanging in the balance. To keep her new home safe, Rhea must step into her enchanted birthright and harness her newfound powers… before it’s too late.
The Sun and the Starmaker by Rachel Griffin – 17th February
There once was a village so far north that most considered it the top of the world… and in that village, the Sun fell in love with her Starmaker. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Nature of Witches comes a whimsical and sweeping romantic fantasy.
Nestled deep in the snowy mountains of the Lost Range, the village of Reverie is a small miracle. Beyond the reach of the Sun, Reverie is dependent upon the magic of the mysterious Starmaker: every morning, he trudges across a vast glacier and pulls in sunlight over the peaks, providing the village with the light it needs to survive.
Aurora Finch grew up on tales of the Starmaker’s magic, never imagining she’d one day meet him. But on the morning of her wedding, a fateful encounter in the frostbitten woods changes everything. The Starmaker senses a powerful magic within her and demands she come study under his guidance. With her newfound abilities tied to the survival of the village, Aurora is swept away to his ice-covered castle and far from everything she’s ever known.
The Starmaker is as cold and distant as the mountain itself, leaving Aurora to explore his enchanted castle alone. Yet the more she discovers about the sorcerer, the stronger their attraction grows, pulling her closer to the secrets he refuses to share. But a deadly frost approaches and Aurora must uncover what the Starmaker is hiding before she is left in an endless winter that even the Sun cannot touch.
Happy Friday bookish People! I hope you are all having a wonderful day today. It is 2026 and that means I can finally do a big wrap up of 2025.
Best book of the year: Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco – the final book in the Stalking Jack the Ripper series.
Worst book of the year: The Veiled Kingdom by Holly Renee
Most Read Author: Helena Dixon (The Miss Underhay mystery series) – 16 books!
Amount read in each genre: Crime – 54/Fantasy – 45
Average star rating: 3.9 stars
How many books by male authors: 11
How many books by female authors: 88
Reading goal: originally it was 50, but I managed to pass that in July so I upped it to 75, which I also passed.
How many books did you read: 99
How many pages did you read: 33,970
Longest book: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
Shortest book: Graveyard Shift by M L Rio
Best book covers of 2025: Us In Ruins, An Enchantment of Ravens, In Want of A Suspect, Fate of the Argosi, The Mythmakers
New book boyfriends: Rook from an enchantment of ravens – a Fae Prince of course, Inspector Sebastien Bell from Irina Shapiro’s Tate and Bell mysteries – a man who is not cowed by a woman’s intelligence, Gluttony from Throne of Secrets, Arbuthnot Swift from Murder by Candlelight – a bit lazy and sometimes careless but excellent at solving mysteries, Duke Max from The Agency for Scandal, and of course, the one and only Xaden Riorson from Fourth Wing. He is up there with the best.
Happy Friday bookish people! How are you all today? I hope you are all well. We are so close to the end of the year now, the time of cosy reading is here and with more time on my hands I have been thinking about the books I haven’t managed to read yet this year that I am still wanting to get to.
What books do you want to get to before the end of the year?
The Dog Sitter Detective’s Christmas Tail by Antony Johnston
A festive murder mystery where I have enjoyed the rest of this series, I will be putting this on my December TBR.
Queen of Shadows – Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Maas
At the start of this year I wanted to finish the Throne of Glass series and the A Court of Thorns and Roses series and so both of these are on this list.
The Ripper of Whitechapel by Yvette Fielding
I am intrigued what this will be like because of who it is written by, and it is only a short book so I am excited to read it.
Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco
I have started rereading the stalking jack the ripper series and I remember this second one being my favourite of the series so I am excited to get back into it.
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J Maas
I would love to be able to finish this series before the end of the year, I read the rest at the beginning of the year and then I took a pause because I wasn’t sure if I would like Nesta in this book but enough is enough, it is time to finish the series.
Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber
I can’t wait to read this! Stephanie Garber is easily one of my favourite authors and I love everything she writes, I have been itching to read this since I got my hands on a copy.
Bloodlines by Richelle Mead
I recently got hold of second hand copies of this series. I remember absolutely loving it when I was younger so I’d like to do a reread and see what I think of it now.
A Quiet Life in the Country by T E Kinsey
I recently bought this book after being recommended it, and I would like to read it soon so that I know whether or not I would like to continue with the series into next year.
A Death in Diamonds by S J Bennett
Another mystery series I have loved all the books in so far, but I have been putting this one off as I need to be in the right mood to read it, but I would like to finish up this series before the end of the year.
Murder at Midwinter Farm by Helena Dixon
I have read and loved all of the Helena Dixon, Miss Underhay series so far and this book is coming out before December so I will be buying and reading that immediately.
Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all well today. September has been and gone in a whirlwind and that means it is time to share my wrap up for the month.
In terms of reading, it has been a mixed month. Good, when thinking about the amount of reading I managed to get through which I was surprised, though pleased, about. Not so good because I had a couple of DNF’s this month, they were books I had thought potential DNF’s but it was still a shame that I didn’t manage to get through them.
How was your reading this month? Any new favourite books?
My Wrap Up!
From my TBR:
The Killer Question by Janice Hallett – I did read this. I have read, and loved, all of her books so far and this one was no exception. I felt that the build up took a little while to get going but around a third in you do get hooked into the action. It was interesting to have it all centred around a pub quiz as I love a quiz myself. The end had a twist I did not see coming at all.
Murder In The Countryside by Helena Dixon – I did read this. Another quick, fun, cosy mystery.
Us In Ruins by Rachel Moore – I did read this. I will share my thoughts in a review coming on the 13th October.
Listen For The Lie by Amy Tintera – I did read this and if you’d like to see my review that will be coming on the 20th October.
I Hope You’re Listening by Tom Ryan – Unfortunately, I did DNF this one, it took me seven days and I only got through 118 pages of it and I was not engaged in the story or the mystery of the missing girl.
The Wolf And The Woodsman by Ava Reid – Again, unfortunately, I couldn’t get into this book and I ended up deciding to DNF it.
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard – I am currently reading this book and I plan to finish it before the end of the month.
Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas – I am also halfway through this book currently and I plan to finish this book also by the end of the month.
Outside my TBR:
A Gift of Poison by Bella Ellis
Murder In New York by Helena Dixon
Murder On The Cornish Coast by Helena Dixon
Murder At The English Manor by Helena Dixon
Murder In Paris by Helena Dixon
So, in September I read 11 books and I did DNF 2.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?
Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today. It is September, and that means it is time to talk about the books I am planning on reading this month.
The Killer Question by Janice Hallett
Murder in the Countryside by Helena Dixon
Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas
Us In Ruins by Rachel Moore
Listen For The Lie by Amy Tintera
I Hope You’re Listening by Tom Ryan
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid
This month is a bit of a mix for me, its some books that I am excited to get reading but also others that I have had on my shelves for years and I need to get to them to see if I like them, I have less excitement for these but I still want to give them a chance.
What are you reading in September? Have you read any of these books, what did you think of them?
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