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October Wrap Up!

November 3, 2025October 22, 2025 theblindscribe

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

October is over, Halloween has happened, and Christmas is on the horizon, which means it is time to talk about the books I managed to read in October.
Honestly, I am surprised by how many books I managed to read, considering I have been finishing up my PhD this month at the same time. I thought I would maybe read one or two, but I also ended up in hospital at the beginning of the month so that gave me some more reading time that I wasn’t expecting.

What was your favourite read of this month?

What I read from my TBR:

Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas – I have not yet read this, mainly because I am still slowly making my way through Queen of Shadows, I am getting there and I will probably have managed to start Empire of Storms before we reach the end of October (I’m writing this on the 22nd)
The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent – I have not read this yet either. Again, I have been waiting for some free time to sit down and read because I think when I start this one that I will want to sit there and read until I finish it. Again, I am hopeful I will have managed to start this one before the end of the month but we will see.
Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson – I have read this one, actually I finished it last night and I surprised myself with how much I enjoyed it.
Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz – I did read this, it took me a while to get through it but I got there eventually.
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo – I am currently reading this book so I should manage to finish it before the end of October.
Hex Appeal by Kate Johnson – I read this, it is a book out of my comfort zone as it is a romcom novel but I surprisingly enjoyed it, there was more to the plot than just the romance which was nice.
The Thirteenth Child by Erin A Craig – I have not read this one yet but I am looking forward to it, I enjoyed House of Salt and Sorrow by the same author.
Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman – I did read this one. It was a very original book which I very much enjoyed.
The Coven by Harper L Woods – I did read this one. It was a disappointing read for me, I expected more because the premise sounded so good but it did not deliver unfortunately.

So, I read six books this month, which considering how much work I have been doing and not so much free time, I am quite happy with six books read.

Monthly TBRs

October TBR!

October 6, 2025September 24, 2025 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you are all doing well today. It is October, the colder weather is drawing in quickly and I for one am feeling all comfy and cosy in jumpers, curled up with books and tea. Spring might be my favourite season because of all the flowers but Autumn has to be a close second.

Anyway, what are you all up to at the moment? I am spending October finishing up and submitting my PhD which has been a long time coming, but during that I have a lot of waiting around time in between – waiting for feedback etc. So, that means a lot of free time to be reading and I’ll need a good TBR.

What are you all planning on reading in October?

TBR

Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas – I am enjoying my trip through the Throne of Glass series and I have just finished Queen of Shadows and will be moving onto the next book. I will not be doing the tandem read, one huge book at a time is enough for me.
The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent – I have been looking forward to reading this one for a while and I think October is the right time to be reading about vampires.
Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson – this book has been on my bookshelf for years and I haven’t got around to it yet but I have loved both of her other books and loved them so I have high hopes for this one.
Close To Death by Anthony Horowitz – I find his books to be very hit and miss, some I enjoy and some I do not so we shall see how this one goes, the premise looks enjoyable.
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo – oh, here we go. Another book I have had for a long time, I need to read it to see if it is worth finishing off the series.
Hex Appeal by Kate Johnson – a romance with a little bit of magic involved, I am not usually a fan of romance novels so this could be light and fluffy to break up all the fantasy but I might not love it.
The Thirteenth Child by Erin A Craig – this one looks really dark and gothic so I am excited about that but I don’t know a lot about the actual premise, it will be a nice surprise.
Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman – I have been excited for this since I got it but I have been waiting for the right time to read it and I think October might be it.
The Coven by Harper L Woods – what better time to read a spooky, witchy book than halloween.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?

Uncategorized

25 to read in 2025

January 17, 2025December 15, 2024 theblindscribe

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all good today, a bit of a warning, this might be a long one.

I have been seeing these lists everywhere and I thought it would be fun to do my own. So, these are the 25 books I want to prioritize in 2025. I have chosen these books because they are either: oldest on my TBR, continuing series I have started which is one of my goals for the year or they are books I feel like I should have got to by now.

The ACOTAR series (yes, I am counting the books I have left to read – A Court of Wings and Ruin, A Court of Frost and Starlight and A Court of Silver Flames – as one together because I really want to finish this series in 2025)

I Hope You’re Listening by Tom Ryan

Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco

The Gilded Cage by Lynette Noni

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber

The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V E Schwab

The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid

Sabriel by Garth Nix

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Assassins Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

Map of Days by Ransom Riggs

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Traitors Blade by Sebastien de Castell

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

City of Brass by S A Chakraborty

Where Dreams Descend by Janelle Angeles

Us in Ruins by Rachel Moore

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

The Painted Dragon by Katherine Woodfine

That’s the ones on my list, what books do you want to read in 2025?

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?

Book Tags

Summer Vibes Book Tag!

August 23, 2024July 29, 2024 theblindscribe

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today. I found this tag on Confessions of a Serial Reader but they said the first person who did it was Deana @thecomfyreader

Onto the tag!

The beach – a book set somewhere tropical

I chose Love Him To Death by Tanya Landman. Amateur sleuths poppy and graham end up with Poppy’s Mum at a celebrity wedding on an island and things start going wrong…

Music festival – a book with a focus on music

The Dog Sitter Detective Takes the Lead by Anthony Johnston, the main character Ginny is hired by a rockstar musician to look after his dog while he goes away on tour and then they all get caught up in the murder

Watermelon – a book with a juicy secret

Most of the books I read have juicy secrets but the one that jumped to mind was Last Girl Breathing, it was an intense thriller filled with secrets, honestly you wouldn’t see the twist coming.

Water park – a book set near or on the water

A Fatal Crossing by Tom Hindle, I haven’t read it yet but I know it is a murder mystery set on a boat so that works for water.

Ice cream – a guilty pleasure book or genre

I chose romance as a whole genre because it is not something I read much so when I do it feels a bit like a guilty pleasure read

Picnic with friends – a book about friendship

I chose The Jewelled Moth by Katherine Woodfine because the main group is four characters and I love reading about their friendship

Road trip – a book that takes you on an adventure

What else could I pick but the Lord of the Rings, the ultimate adventure.

Sunburn – a book that you regret reading

I chose The Cat Who Caught A Killer, one of the worst books I have read, I did not enjoy it at all and I could not suspend my disbelief enough for a talking cat helping her solve mysteries I just couldn’t.

Summer Dress – a book that is light and cute

Plus One by Kelsey Rodkey, it is a sweet romance, I liked it a lot

Mosquito – a book with an annoying character

This might be controversial but I had to choose Mal from Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Monthly Wrap Ups

June Wrap Up!

July 1, 2024June 25, 2024 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today. It is nearly halfway through the year and June is coming to an end.

What a month it has been! I have spent most of my time buried under edits of my novel, I have been working on it almost non-stop this month and I have just sent off a query to an agent, so fingers crossed for that. Because of that the month has gone by very quickly, and I have got some reading done which has been nice, no stand out reads, they were all average and one DNF which was a surprise, I thought that book was going to be a five star.

How has your reading been this month? Did you read any books you would recommend?

My Wrap up:

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo – I did not read this book this month
These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan – I was hoping to get around to this book this month but I didn’t, I had to prioritise books that will help with my PhD so most fantasy books aren’t getting read at the moment.
The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber – Same as above, another fantasy book I did not get around to reading
Belladonna by Adalyn Grace – This is a book I am very excited to get around to reading but I didn’t read it this month.
Tempest of Tea – I did not read this book this month
The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young – I did not read this
Uprooted by Naomi Novik – I started to read this book but I ended up DNF’ing it after 115 pages, it was dragging for me. I might pick it up again in the future and try and read it but not right now.
The Devil Makes Three by Tori Bovalino – I did read this book, it was good but very creepy – I will give more of my thoughts in my review coming in July
How to Survive Your Own Murder – I am currently readying this book, I should be finished and have started another book by the end of this month
Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood – currently I have not read this book but I should have a few days at the end of this month where I start this book

Outside of my TBR I also read the second in the Dog Sitter Detective series. So, overall I read three books (four if I get to Love on the Brain), and I DNF’d one book which is quite a productive reading month foe me. I can only hope July will be just as good or even better.

Monthly TBRs

June TBR

June 7, 2024May 24, 2024 theblindscribe

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all doing well. We are getting into the summer months, the warm weather and longer days make it the perfect time for enjoying escaping into the worlds in our books so today I am sharing with you my June TBR!

What are you all reading this month?

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristin Perrin

Love on The Brain by Ali Hazelwood

Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal

The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young

The Devil Makes Three by Tori Bovalino

Uncategorized

Books with Disability Rep!

April 12, 2024March 22, 2024 theblindscribe

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day today.

As you may know if you have been following my blogs for a while I am registered as severely sight impaired which means I have a disability and I was thinking the other day that there aren’t many books that I know of with visually impaired characters (if you know of any, please let me know!) so, I thought I would share a few of the books that I have read and enjoyed which have disability representation.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Kaz brekker, one of the main characters in the Six of Crows duology has a leg injury and uses a cane to walk.

Get A Life Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz

This book *technically* has representation in it of visually impaired people, I won’t tell you anything more here because, well spoilers, but it’s not definitely disability rep.

Okay, so when I started this I thought there would be at least five books on this list but – there’s not. Out of the books I have read that have disability rep, this is it. Well, I think that makes my point about not having enough rep in books. Again, let me know if you know of any because I would love to read more!

Book Tags, Uncategorized

Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases of 2024

December 15, 2023November 29, 2023 theblindscribe

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

what 2024 book releases are you most looking forward to?

Here are my top 10 2024 releases:

The Prisoners Throne by Holly Black

Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping

The Antique Hunters Guide To Murder

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J Maas

The Disappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

Play of Shadows by Sebastian de Castell

A Fragile Enchantment by Alison Saft

The new book by Annie Garthwaite!

Monthly Wrap Ups

October Wrap Up!

November 3, 2023October 19, 2023 theblindscribe

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

October 6, 2023September 29, 2023 theblindscribe

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.