Happy Tuesday bookish people! Merry Bookmas day 7. Today I am going to be showing you what I think are the best book covers of 2021, now I’m not just showing books that were published in 2021, I’m not even sure if there are any published in 2021 on my list, but the books that I have read in 2021. I have chosen my top ten and it’s a collection of books I wanted to read and books I was on a book tour for.
Up first is…
House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A Craig
This book is a retelling of the twelve dancing princesses and it has one of the most beautiful covers of all the books I own.
How The King of Elfhame Learned To Hate Stories by Holly Black
This is a companion to the Cruel Prince series by Holly Black and depending on the version there are white, black and purple covers that I’ve seen.
Ever Cursed by Corey Ann Haydu
This is an interesting books about witches and the power of women
The Hatmakers by Tamzin Merchant
This is a middle grade book that has a beautiful dust jacket and a beautiful cover under the dust jacket
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
The colours on this cover are fantastic
Instructions For Dancing by Nicola Yoon
This cover fits the book perfectly – I have posted a book review for this book on this site this year as part of a blog tour
Secrets of the Stars by Maria Kuzniar
Charmcaster by Sebastien De Castell
The illustrations on these covers are so detailed
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holt
and finally…
Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain
That’s it for my favourite book covers of the books that I have read so far this year, I hope you all enjoyed it.
Happy Friday bookish people! I have been seeing a few different videos on BookTube where people look at the book series’ they have started and not finished yet. It got me thinking about how many series’ I’ve started and so I am making this post to share them with all of you! As you can tell by the title, there’s quite a few of them.. 25 actually which seems like a lot, well, it IS a lot but I honestly thought there would be more.
Let’s get onto the book series’ I’ve started and not finished!
The Spellslinger Series by Sebastien De Castell
I don’t know if there is a title for the series overall but I’ve just called it the Spellslinger series because the first book is called Spellslinger. My progress on this series is pretty good actually, I’ve read Spellslinger, Shadowblack, Charmcaster and Soulbinder so I only have two more books in the series left to read. And then I can start on the Way of the Argosi series which is like a spin-off series. I really like the blend of serious fantasy and comedy in these books and I find I can read them very quickly and enjoy every page. Also, on Monday I won the chance to be part of a zoom meet and greet with Sebastien De Castell which I am so excited for!
The Invisible Library Series by Genevieve Cogman
Again, I don’t know if The Invisible Library series is what these books are called but the first one in the series is called The Invisible Library. I haven’t read as many of this series as I would have liked to by now. I have read The Invisible Library and The Masked City. I’ve had the Burning Page on my TBR before but I didn’t get around to reading it. This series follows Irene who is a librarian spy, it is such an interesting premise for a character and the books have a variety of other fantasy creatures like Fae and Dragons.
Shadow and Bone series by Leigh Bardugo
I think I read this in the wrong order because I read the Six of Crows duology first – and loved them! – so when I read Shadow and Bone I felt I knew the world quite well. I have only read the first book in this series so far but I did enjoy it, especially the villain of the series, I do think this is a series I will get to eventually but it’s not one I’m in the mood to finish right now.
A Darker Shade of Magic series by V E Schwab
I got the first book in this series from a special edition box that Illumicrate did and it is a beautiful edition of the book. I loved the idea of having four different Londons and being able to travel between them. I have only read the first book in this series because the second and third ones are quite long but I am hoping to get to A Gathering of Shadows soon.
The Way Of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry
This series is set in Edinburgh and is a dark mystery series. I have read The Way of All Flesh, the first book in this series. I loved the atmosphere the book had and the mystery was eerie and dark and the reader is thrown right into the centre of the tension when the novel opens. I am looking forward to continuing this series over the Winter months hopefully.
The Brown Sisters Trilogy by Talia Hibbert
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This series follows the three Brown sisters, Chloe, Dani and Eve and their romantic exploits. This is a genre I rarely read and if I do read it I don’t usually enjoy it. I read Get A Life Chloe Brown earlier this year and it surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. It wasn’t a five star read but it was still good. I have the second and third book in this series on my TBR for November so maybe I will get this series finished this month.
Ship Of Shadows by Maria Kuzniar
I was put on the book tour for the second book in this series, Secrets of the Stars so I bought the first book in the series Ship of Shadows as well and read that before the tour. I’ve put this series on the list because the way Secrets of the Stars ended I think there is going to be at least one more book in the series.
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas
This is a series I am very excited to continue with very soon. I own all the books in this series but so far I have only read the first one, A Court of Thorns and Roses. A Court of Mist and Fury is on my November TBR and I can’t wait to be back in the world of Feyre.
Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
In this series I have read Three Dark Crowns, the first in the series and I liked it but I didn’t love it. I want to continue the series but it’s not very high on my priority list. I liked the sibling dynamic of the first book and the magic elements.
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series by Holly Jackson
A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder follows Pippa and Ravi, who she meets in the first book, as they try to solve mysteries that from what I can gather steadily get more intense as the series goes on. I loved the feel of the mystery in the first book and I am looking forward to diving back into this series with the second book sometime soon.
The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden
This series is so dark and mysterious and filled with folklore and superstition. I loved the Bear and the Nightingale, the first book in the series and I have been waiting for the winter nights to come again to curl up with a hot chocolate and continue this series.
Scythe series by Neal Shusterman
I read Scythe, the first book in this series a few years ago and I remember really enjoying the worldbuilding and the competition element of the first book and I want to continue the series but as with a few of the others it’s not high on my priority list because I don’t anticipate it being a five star series for me.
The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix
From this series I have read Lirael which is the second book in the series technically but Sabriel is sort of a prequel to the series. My partner was the one who got me to read this series and I ended up loving it. I don’t own them all yet but I am steadily buying up the series and looking for any chance to put them into my monthly TBR’s.
Caraval by Stephanie Garber
This is one of my favourite book series’ I have read so far. I loved the first book, Caraval, and then I liked the second book, Legendary but not as much and I am excited to read Finale and finish up this amazing series. I’m worried the ending of the series will disappoint me but I am hopeful it won’t.
The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss
For this series I have read the first book and I have started the second book, European Travels for the Monstrous Gentlewoman. I loved the different characters in this series and how the author has made it so the different characters are interjecting into the writing process.
Cursebreakers series by Brigid Kemmerer
I have read A Curse So Dark and Lonely from this series and I liked how it was a Beauty and the Beast retelling but it was so much more than that at the same time. I’m scared to read the rest of this series because of the reviews I have seen and how people say that it breaks their hearts. I cry so easily anyway so I will definitely cry at these books I think.
The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
I have read the Raven Boys, the first book in this series and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I hoped I would. I still intend to read the rest of the series but I’m not in any rush to do so.
Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
I have read Truly Devious, The Vanishing Stair and The Hand on the Wall which is the main three from this series and I thought that would be the series finished but then the fourth book, The Box in the Woods, came out recently and of course I bought it because I loved the series and I am excited to continue with it.
Stalking Jack the Ripper series by Kerri Maniscalco
This is another of my favourite series’ and I have read the first three books in it. I have read Stalking Jack the Ripper, Hunting Prince Dracula and Escaping from Houdini. My favourite of them was Hunting Prince Dracula and I didn’t enjoy Escaping from Houdini as much as the others but I am excited to finish the series soon.
The Prison Healer series by Lynette Noni
For this series I have read The Prison Healer and liked it and I think it has potential to be a great series. I own The Gilded Cage but I haven’t read it yet and Blood Traitor hasn’t been released yet.
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
I really enjoyed the mystery in the Thursday Murder Club and the original premise of a group of elderly people being the investigators. I love the comedy in the series too. I recently bought The Man Who Died Twice and I’m hoping to read it very soon.
The Kingdom of the Wicked series by Kerri Maniscalco
I loved Kingdom of the Wicked the first book in this series, especially the character of Wrath and the dialogue between him and Emilia. I am so looking forward to reading the second book in this series.
Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin
I read Serpent and Dove on my way to Hampshire earlier this year and I loved it, I gave it five stars but I haven’t gotten around to continuing the series yet.
Dangerous Remedy by Kat Dunn
I have read the first book in this series and I enjoyed the premise of it and the found family aspect. It slightly reminded me of Six of Crows in that way and with the heist. I am looking forward to reading the second book and I love the title of the third book in the series: Glorious Poison.
The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh
This is the final series of my list of the book series’ I have started and haven’t finished yet. I read The Beautiful, the first book in the series and honestly I don’t remember a lot of what happened in the book but I do own the second book and I want to read it soon.
That’s it for this blog post, I hope you enjoyed reading about what series’ I have started and I haven’t finished reading yet, let me know if you have read any of these book series’!
Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day so far. Today I am bringing you the third round of my Friday First and Lasts segment. For today’s round I will be giving you three first and lasts which I hope you will enjoy!
Up first is:
No Number Nine by F J Campbell and The Secrets of the Stars by Maria Kuzniar
“Philippa Mitchell was eighteen when she left England/ it was her home” – This one actually works really well together, which surprised me but I like the sentence that it created.
Next is:
As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson and Modern Faerie Tales by Holly Black
“Dead-eyed that’s what they said wasn’t it?/ Consider it done” – ooh now this one works so well together! It gives me a very strong murder mystery from the POV of the murderer vibe, that’s probably a little strange but there you go. And both books were written by a Holly which shouldn’t make me as happy as it does.
My final one for today is:
Last Chance Books by Kelsey Rodkey and Get A Life Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
“There’s a bird in the store/ with a wry smile he said seriously “I know”” – okay. There’s so much to say about this one. It does work, grammatically but honestly, if there was a bird in a shop that I was in just flying around and someone with me just said ‘I know’ I would be so irritated with them… although maybe that does work for this one..I’m not sure, let me know what you all think.
That’s it for this week, I hope you all enjoyed it!