Tag: jennifer l armentrout

Book Reviews

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout Book Review

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Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day today. Throughout March and April I tasked myself with finally reading From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout and I can tell you, after all the hype surrounding it I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy it but I actually did.

THIS BOOK REVIEW WILL MOST LIKELY CONTAIN SPOILERS, IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THIS BOOK, GO AWAY, READ IT AND THEN COME BACK TO MY REVIEW.

Blurb/synopsis:

A Maiden…

Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers.

A Duty…

The entire kingdom’s future rests on Poppy’s shoulders, something she’s not even quite sure she wants for herself. Because a Maiden has a heart. And a soul. And longing. And when Hawke, a golden-eyed guard honor bound to ensure her Ascension, enters her life, destiny and duty become tangled with desire and need. He incites her anger, makes her question everything she believes in, and tempts her with the forbidden.

A Kingdom…

Forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals, a fallen kingdom is rising once more, determined to take back what they believe is theirs through violence and vengeance. And as the shadow of those cursed draws closer, the line between what is forbidden and what is right becomes blurred. Poppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being found unworthy by the gods, but also her life when every blood-soaked thread that holds her world together begins to unravel.

My Review:

From Blood and Ash is a fantasy romance novel following Poppy, otherwise known as Penellophae or the Maiden. She is rarely seen, she is not allowed to talk to anyone and basically not allowed to be a person until time comes for her ascension. After a series of attacks she is assigned a new personal guard called Hawke and he makes Poppy question everything she has been taught.

Poppy was such an interesting character to follow, you are with her through every emotional rollercoaster and let me tell you there are a lot of them. The first 100 or so pages were feeling like a slow read for me, I wasn’t sure if I would finish the whole book because there was a lot of worldbuilding and introducing the characters but I pushed through and I am glad I did because the second half of the book had a lot of drama going on.

Armentrout does a great job with her characters, I loved them, I hated them, I felt for them and if I could, some of them I would have reached into the book and slapped them. Now, the ending – the betrayal! I could not believe it.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

Monthly Wrap Ups

April Wrap Up!

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Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all doing well. What a month April was, I realised during the month that I needed to take some time off from working to relax and try to not be so stressed. I think that worked a bit but not as much as I had hoped, generally I feel very tired at the moment but anyway, life goes on. As far as reading goes, April wasn’t a bad month. I was happy with me reading not only because I got quite a bit in but the books I was reading I really enjoyed.

So, let us see what books I did read!

From my April TBR:

  • The Whispering Dark by Kelly Andrews: I did not read, I was looking forward to this one but I decided to prioritize series for the moment so I didn’t have time to read this one.
  • Way of the Argosi by Sebastien de Castell: I did not read this one either which is a shame because I really wanted to, I love Sebastien’s writing and I can’t wait to get back into this series.
  • The Stolen Heir by Holly Black: I did not read this one
  • Shatter Me by Taherah Mafi: I DID read this one, finally, after so many years of it being on my TBR and wondering if I’d like it or if I should unhaul it. Spoilers for the book review: I loved this book.
  • Kingdom of the Feared by Kerri Maniscalco: As of a few days before the end of the month I am currently reading this and I plan on finishing it before May – again, loving this book and I can’t wait to see how this series ends.

From outside of my TBR I finished From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout which I started from my March TBR but I didn’t quite finish before the end of March. Another book I loved so, all together I read three books this month and loved all of them.

What did you read in April? Any books that you loved?

Monthly Wrap Ups

March Wrap Up!

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Happy Monday bookish people!
March went by fast didn’t it! A lot happened this month and I didn’t get much chance to read, just in general I was feeling very mentally tired for a bunch of different reasons and that didn’t help motivate me to read.

So, on with the wrap up!

My March TBR:

  • Helle and Death by Oskar Jensen – I did not read this book, now the thing about this book is that I have seen a lot of people talking about it and it does sound good but I am putting off reading it because it feels like an obligation, it will be useful for my PhD as it has some of the same aspects I am writing but I’m not drawn to it at the moment. Hopefully I will get to it soon.
  • You’d Look Better As A Ghost by Joanna Wallace – I did not read this book but I am very excited to get around to reading this book.
  • Knife Skills For Beginners by Orlando Murrin – I did not read this either.
  • From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout – I am currently reading this and seeing as it’s only the 21st of the month when I am writing this I should definitely be able to finish this book by the end of the month.
  • Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel – I also read this book, it took most of the month because this book is huge but I enjoyed it and a review will be coming soon.

That’s it for my TBR but outside of it I also read Dawn French’s new memoir ‘The Tw*t Files’.

So this month I read three books, not many but pretty good considering the month I have had. What did you all read in March?

Monthly TBRs

March TBR

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Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today.

March is a good month, and I’m not just being biased because it is my birthday month, it is the month when spring starts and all the flowers come out.

These are the books I want to try and read in March:

  • Helle and Death by Oskar Jensen – I have seen a lot of people excited about this book and it features a lot of the elements I am discussing in my PhD so I am looking forward to reading it.
  • You’d Look Better As A Ghost by Joanna Wallace – I love the sound of this one just by the title
  • Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel – I love a Tudor historical fiction and I started reading this a while back but never finished it because of everything going on back then but now I am in a better place and I am excited to read it.
  • From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout – a good fantasy to clear the palate from all the crime fiction I have been reading.
  • Knife Skills for Beginners by Orlando Murrin – a new cosy style crime fiction book

That’s what I want to read in March, what are you all planning on reading next month?

Monthly Wrap Ups

October Wrap Up!

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Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a wonderful day today.

October was quite the month for me, I had a stall at Cardiff Comic Con and I got some really good progress done on my PhD, I am exhausted but it is going to be worth it – I think!

Anyway, so my reading went down this month because all my free time is taken up with work but I still enjoyed a couple of books this month.

  • Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber – starting off good, I managed to read this one and I enjoyed it, if there isn’t a book review up by now there will be one soon.
  • Kingdom of the Feared by Kerri Maniscalco – I did not manage to read this one.
  • From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout – I didn’t manage to read this one either.
  • Assistant to the Villain – I am currently reading this one so I have started it in October and I should, should, be able to finish it before the end of the month.
  • A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid – I didn’t own this one at the time and so I couldn’t read it because I didn’t get it and I can’t get it on my library app at the moment.
  • Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo – I did not read
  • Mrs Death Misses Death – I did read this one!
  • The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi – I did not read
  • Devil Makes Three by Tori Bovilano – I did not read this
  • Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller – I did not read this

So, off my TBR I managed to read three books: Once Upon A Broken Heart, Mrs Death Misses Death and Assistant to the Villain. Outside of my TBR I have also read an ARC this month – Last Girl Breathing by Court Stevens which I will be posting a review for on the 6th November.

What did you guys read in October? And what did you think of them?

Monthly TBRs

October TBR

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Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all doing well. Today I am bringing you my TBR for October, I am hoping that this month I will be able to find time to read and enjoy them as much as I did in September.

Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

Kingdom of the Feared by Kerri Maniscalco

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout

Assistant to the Villain

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Mrs Death Misses Death

Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

Devil Makes Three by Tori Bovilino

Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

Have you read any of these books?

What are your reading plans for October?

Monthly Wrap Ups

November Wrap-Up!

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Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today. I am bringing you my November Wrap Up today. It was one of those months where I felt like I read a lot but I actually only read a little bit, do you ever have those types of months?

Anyway onto the wrap up!

  • The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – I did not read this but I do have a reason, it’s literally on the top shelf of my bookcase and I can’t reach it without a step ladder which I also can’t get to at the moment.
  • The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas – I think we can safely say none of us are surprised I didn’t read this, romance is not my go to genre.
  • Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead by Elle Cosimano – I did read this! And I really enjoyed it so look out for my book review coming soon.
  • The Girl’s I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe – I did not read this.
  • Emma by Jane Austen – Okay so I started reading this in November and I am currently reading it now, It is also on my December TBR so it is a bit of a crossover into both months.
  • The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley – I did not read this.
  • City of Brass by S A Chakraborty – I did not read this.
  • Finale by Stephanie Garber – I did not read this either.
  • Crownbreaker by Sebastien De Castell – I am still currently halfway through this book.
  • Amy and Rogers Epic Detour by Morgan Matson – Another romance of course I didn’t read it.
  • From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout – I did not read this
  • Gallant by V E Schwab – I did not read this either.

So, that was the books on my TBR and I read one of them…oops. But outside my TBR I also read Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, I borrowed the audiobook from my library for my trip to Liverpool and that was really enjoyable.

What did you read in November?

That’s it for my wrap-up I hope you all enjoyed it!

Monthly TBRs

November TBR!

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Happy Friday bookish people! October flew by didn’t it? So much has happened in the past month, and don’t worry I haven’t forgotten about my October Wrap up, that will be coming on Monday instead.

So, of course the biggest thing that happened is that my sister got married! She has just got back from honeymoon and while she was gone I have ben catsitting for her which has been fun.

And in amazing news, I matched with a guide dog! She will be moving in with me next week and then it is ten days of training before she graduates as my official guide dog! Of course I will be updating you all on here about my journey throughout this month.

Anyway, onto my November TBR!

November TBR

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas

Finlay Donovan Knocks Em Dead by Elle Cosimano

The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe

Emma by Jane Austen

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

City of Brass by S A Chakraborty

Finale by Stephanie Garber

Crownbreaker by Sebastien De Castell

Amy and Rogers Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout

Gallant by V E Schwab

That’s it for my November TBR, have you read any of these? Let me know!

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!