Tag: margaret rogerson

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My Least Favourite Books of 2025

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Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today. I have been doing something a bit different this year. In my reading journal there is a space to put your favourite and least favourite read of each month and I thought today I would share my least favourite reads this year.

January – An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

This book had a stronger romantic element rather than plot element, compared to margaret rogerson’s other books – both Vespertine and Sorcery of Thorns are some of my favourite books. I enjoyed Isobel, the main character and I liked how the story and the romance progressed but as I say, compared to the author’s other books I went into it with higher expectations.

February – This Is Not A Game by Kelly Mullen

I used this book for a chapter in my PhD, however I did not enjoy it. I felt it was trying to take elements of the cosy and the traditional mysteries but did not mesh them well.

March – The Village Library Demon Hunting Society

This book has to be one of my least favoruite of the year, even now in November of the same year I read it I can’t remember much of it, all I remember is how much I disliked reading it, I remember being both frustrated and confused and thinking there was no plot.

April – The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

Having seen the TV show for this book and loving it, I had high expectations for this book and this author who I have read and enjoyed previously. However, I did not love it, I thought it was okay but a little but clumpy and dragged put in places.

May – The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

This is probably my least favourite Agatha Christie book, there’s not much I can say other than I found it a little bit boring.

June – How to Sway A Bard

This book was too short. The premise was excellent, but it wasn’t given enough time and attention to make it amazing.

July – The Mystery of the Painted Dragon

This is a young, middle grade mystery series and it is the third book in that series. I enjoyed the series but I decided to not continue with the fourth book after this one.

August – A Novel Murder

Honestly, I didn’t even reach 100 pages into this book, I did not like the self-pitying main character and I couldn’t imagine growing to like them so this was easily one of my least favourite books of the year.

September – I Hope You’re Listening by Tom Ryan

I finished more than half of this book but I struggled with getting into the story, it just didn’t hold my interest.

October – The Coven by Harper L Woods

This book had a very intriguing premise, it lacked substance for me and felt very rushed but it was still quite enjoyable.

November – The Ripper of Whitechapel by Yvette Fielding

This was a short, engaging, middle grade book which I found good but maybe only a three star read while everything else I read in November was a four or above.

I do not have an answer for December yet as I am still reading for this month, but this is the least favourite books for each month so far this year.

Book Reviews

Book Review: Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

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

Today, I am bringing you my book review for Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson.

Blurb/Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Sorcery of Thorns and An Enchantment of Ravens comes a thrilling new YA fantasy about a teen girl with mythic abilities who must defend her world against restless spirits of the dead.

The dead of Loraille do not rest.

Artemisia is training to be a Gray Sister, a nun who cleanses the bodies of the deceased so that their souls can pass on; otherwise, they will rise as spirits with a ravenous hunger for the living. She would rather deal with the dead than the living, who trade whispers about her scarred hands and troubled past.

When her convent is attacked by possessed soldiers, Artemisia defends it by awakening an ancient spirit bound to a saint’s relic. It is a revenant, a malevolent being that threatens to possess her the moment she drops her guard. Wielding its extraordinary power almost consumes her—but death has come to Loraille, and only a vespertine, a priestess trained to wield a high relic, has any chance of stopping it. With all knowledge of vespertines lost to time, Artemisia turns to the last remaining expert for help: the revenant itself.

As she unravels a sinister mystery of saints, secrets, and dark magic, her bond with the revenant grows. And when a hidden evil begins to surface, she discovers that facing this enemy might require her to betray everything she has been taught to believe—if the revenant doesn’t betray her first.

My Review:

The first thing I will say about this book is that it is an underrated masterpiece. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into it, I had read both of Margaret Rogerson’s other books: Sorcery of Thorns which I loved, and An Enchantment of Ravens which I thought was okay but ended up being my least favourite book that I read in January of this year. Having mixed feelings about her books I was shocked to enjoy this one so much. An Enchantment of Ravens is very romance heavy, very little plot, Vespertine is all plot and no romance, and Sorcery of Thorns is in the middle as a mix of both of them.

Vespertine follows Artemisia and basically it is her and the voice of the being that has supposedly ‘posessed’ her as they attempt to solve the mystery of what is happening in their land. I loved the banter between the two characters, both of them are willful and stubborn and they slowly reveal their backstories to each other as they are forced into a working relationship. You are also slowly introduced to other characters who you become both trusting and nervous about, I especially loved the Captain Enguerrand.

This novel focuses a lot on the challenge of Artemisia having the weight of all these people on her, every choice she makes has an impact and being inside her head you see how her thoughts are battling, it is deeply emotional.

The other thing I loved is that it is written in a way that Margaret Rogerson could return to this world and I hope that she does.

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

Monthly Wrap Ups

October Wrap Up!

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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!

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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?

Book Reviews

Book Review: An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

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Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today. I am bringing you a book review today for one of the oldest books on my TBR. Honestly, it has been on my shelf for years and I finally read it. The book is An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Every enchantment has a price.

With a flick of her paintbrush, Isobel creates stunning portraits for a dangerous set of clients: the fair folk. These immortal creatures cannot bake bread or put a pen to paper without crumbling to dust. They crave human Craft with a terrible thirst, and they trade valuable enchantments for Isobel’s paintings. But when she receives her first royal patron—Rook, the autumn prince—Isobel makes a deadly mistake. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes, a weakness that could cost him his throne, and even his life.

Furious, Rook spirits Isobel away to his kingdom to stand trial for her crime. But something is seriously amiss in his world, and they are attacked from every side. With Isobel and Rook depending upon each other for survival, their alliance blossoms into trust, perhaps even love . . . a forbidden emotion that would violate the fair folks’ ruthless laws, rendering both their lives forfeit. What force could Isobel’s paintings conjure that is powerful enough to defy the ancient malice of the fairy courts?

Isobel and Rook journey along a knife-edge in a lush world where beauty masks corruption and the cost of survival might be more frightening than death itself.

My Review:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

An Enchantment of Ravens is a beautiful story following our main female character Isobel, a painter of the fair folk, who accidentally paints an emotion on the face of the Autumn Prince, Rook.

I enjoyed the way the world formed within this book, with seperate courts for spring, summer, autumn winter. I also particularly liked the character of Isobel. In the beginning she does not trust the fair folk and this does continue throughout the book which I liked, she had strong principles which was good to see. I have to see this is a short book and I felt like there were parts that could have been developed better, like Isobel’s sisters and her backstory is never gone into even though it is a standalone book and those things are what her character was created by. I also thought it was a bit insta love for my taste, I enjoyed it overall I just thought it could have been built up to better.

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

Book Tags

The Book Boyfriends Book Tag

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Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all doing well today. Seeing as it is Valentine’s Day today, what else could I bring you except a post celebrating some of my favourite book boyfriends. I have to say, it was hard to choose. I made a list of them all and then picked the best ones for the questions and it was a long list.

I found this Tag on Got Meghan’s Blog if you want to check out how they answered the tag.

  1. The Most Romantic Boyfriend: LORD PHILLIP STANTON from The Lady in the Tower by Marie Louise Jenson. Phillip is a bit of a rogue for most of the book but by far out of my fave book boyfriends he would be the most romantic. He is a Lord in the Tudor period brought up on chivalry and how he should treat a lady.
  2. A Dark and Moody Bad Boy With A Good Side: KAI from Powerless by Lauren Roberts. He is the epitome of dark and moody especially for the first half of the book but deep down he’s a softie, he just doesn’t want everyone to know that.
  3. Paranormal Boyfriend: WRATH from Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco. I wasn’t sure who to put to start with then I remembered, he’s a prince of hell so a demon of sorts. Which I am saying counts, okay.
  4. Boy You’d Be Friends With Benefits With: JULIAN SANTOS from Caraval by Stephanie Garber. Now, I wouldn’t be friends with benefits at all but for the purpose of this tag it would be Julian. I love him and he had to make it onto this list somewhere, so I put him here because he dresses like a cross between a circus performer and a pirate.
  5. Your Soul Mate: THOMAS CRESSWELL from Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri maniscalco. You can’t convince me otherwise. He is my favourite book boyfriend by a mile.
  6. Boyfriend You’d Venture Anywhere with: NATHANIAL HAWTHORNE from Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson. He’s magic, it would make life interesting.
  7. Boyfriend You Want to be Stranded on a Desert Island With: KELLEN ARGOSI from Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell. He literally spends most of the series trekking across a desert trying to survive so he must have picked up some skills from all of that which could help us.
  8. Most Badass Boyfriend: RHYSAND from the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas. I don’t think I need to explain this one, if you’ve read the series then I am sure you will understand.

That’s my answers! Who are some of your favourite book boyfriends?

Monthly Wrap Ups

January Wrap Up!

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Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you are all doing well. It is time to bring you my January wrap up.

How was your reading in January? Any new favourite books?

I had a pretty good month, as I am writing this it’s only the 16th of January so I have some more time to read more, and there’s one book I am planning on reading by the end of the month that I think might be five stars.

From my TBR:

  • Way of the Argosi by Sebastien de Castell – I read this FOUR STARS
  • An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson – I read this FOUR STARS
  • Murder at the Belltower by Helena Dixon – I read this FOUR STARS
  • A Forgery of Roses by Jessica S Olson – I read this FIVE STARS
  • A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas – I am currently reading this but I already know it is going to be FIVE STARS
  • Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas – I did not read this one and only because I don’t want to read two Sarah J Maas books in a row so I am going to finish the ACOTAR series and then continue with the Throne of Glass series.

Outside of my TBR I have also read Murder at Elm House by Helena Dixon and… I plan on reading Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros before the month is over.

Uncategorized

25 to read in 2025

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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?

Monthly TBRs

January TBR!

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Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you are all doing well today.

It is 2025! Can you believe it? 2024 was such a long year, both in good and bad ways and I am hopeful that 2025 will see better books and better things in general. Do you have any goals for 2025? Reading or otherwise I’d love to hear about them. A goal for me is to make progress in my series’, I have a habit of reading the first book, buying the whole series and then they just sit there on my shelves waiting for me to read them while I read newer and shinier ones instead. I want to do better with that this year.

Today I am bringing you what I will be reading in January:

Murder in the Belltower by Helena Dixon

Forgery of Roses by Jessica S Olson

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas

Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

Way of the Argosi by Sebastien de Castell

What are you reading in January?

Monthly Wrap Ups

October Reading Wrap Up!

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Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all doing well today. It is the first of November and the cold weather has arrived which means it is time for my October Reading Wrap Up! Enjoy!

What I read from my TBR:

  • Murder at Enderley Hall by Helena Dixon – I did read this! This is absolutely my new obsession. It is the second book in the Miss Underhay mystery series. Kitty Underhay and her Grandmother run the Dolphin Hotel and Kitty ends up getting involved with investigating thefts and murders alongside an ex-military man named Matthew Bryant. I love this series, I am planning on reading one a month so I should finish the series in around eighteen months….
  • Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft – I did not read this, I am interested in the premise but this month there were other books I was more excited about.
  • Throne of the Fallen by Kerri Maniscalco – As I am writing this post, I am currently 100 pages into this books so I should get it finished by the end of October. Another book that I am loving, it follows Envy, the brother of Wrath from the Kingdom of the Wicked series, he is a prince of sin and I am very intrigued so far about what Envy needs the main female character, Camilla, for.
  • A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn – I did not read this, again there were other books I wanted to read more.
  • Belladonna by Adalyn Grace – I did not read this. Honestly, in September and October I have been redecorating parts of my house and I am not sure where I have put my copy of Belladonna so I wasn’t able to read this in October.
  • A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik – similar to Belladonna, I didn’t read this because my copy is hidden away on my bookshelves for the time being.
  • Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson – I have not read this yet but I am hoping to still get to it by the end of October, I am going on holiday so I will have some travel time to do some reading.
  • Shadowscent: The Darkest Bloom by P M Freestone – Same as Enchantment of Ravens I have not got to this book yet but I am still hoping to by the end of this month. Fingers crossed.

Outside of my TBR, I also read The Examiner by Janice Hallett, The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman and also, (I haven’t yet, as I am writing this my copy will be arriving tomorrow but I will be reading it immediately), Spectacular by Stephanie Garber.

Overall, that means I have read 5 books and hope to finish two more on top of that by the end of the month. I am happy with that, I didn’t realise I had read as much this month as I have.

How has your reading been this month? Any new favourite books? Let me know in the comments!