Tag: naomi novik

Monthly TBRs

June TBR!

theblindscribe

Happy Thursday bookish people! Today I am bringing you my TBR for June. This month there is a month long readathon created by Maddie at BookBrowsingBlogs on Youtube, the readathon is called whateveryouwantathon and there are four different teams with dome different prompts. I am following the prompts of the Sunset Scholars.

My June TBR:

  • A book featuring dragons: I chose Uprooted by Naomi Novik, I don’t think I have any books with actual dragons in – except for Lord of the Rings – but from what I remember of the synopsis this book has a character called the dragon.
  • Red on the cover: I chose Mad Woman by Louisa Treger
  • Host Fave: I chose The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
  • Less Read genre: I chose Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan
  • Shiny Cover – I chose Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
  • Previous TBR: Nine Lives by Peter Swanson
  • The/An/Of/A/And: Lockwood and Co by Jonathan Stroud
  • Under 300 pages: I chose the first graphic novel for A Darker Shade of Magic
  • Continue a series: Finlay Donovan Knocks ’em Dead by Elle Cosimano
  • Academia: A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee
  • 2021 release: I chose The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex
  • A different format: I chose the second A Darker Shade of Magic graphic novel
  • Book about Books: I chose Book Lovers by Emily Henry
  • Recently Hauled: I chose Beggars Abbey by V L Valentine
  • Favourite Genre (Fantasy!): I chose The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi
  • One word title: I chose Lore by Alexandra Bracken
  • S’s on cover: I chose Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian

There are also a few prompts that are things like cozy reading time and complete a personal reading goal which I didn’t put in the list because they can be completed with any of the books.

That’s it for my June TBR, I hope you all enjoyed it! What are you reading in June?

Uncategorized

Signed Books That I Own

theblindscribe

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day today. I thought it might be fun today to share what some books I have, that I have signed, are.

I would just like to say that I am not trying to brag about the books that I have I just thought it might be fun to share which books and where I may have gotten some of them.

The Devil Makes Three by Tori Bovalino

I got this book as a wonderful signed edition from my monthly Illumicrate boxes

The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis

I also got this book in a book box!

Dangerous Remedy by Kat Dunn

I also got this one in an Illumicrate box, I read it and loved it and now I own the second one in the series.

Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody

My friend ordered me this book from online because they had found a hardback copy and then when it arrived it was a great surprise to find out it was also signed

The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant

I got this amazing book in my Illumicrate box too.

Mrs England by Stacey Halls

I managed to grab a signed edition of this book from my local waterstones

Haven’t They Grown by Sophie Hannah

I found this book in a charity shop and it turned out to be a signed hardback and it was an amazing bargain

A Line To Kill by Anthony Horowitz

I got this from a company called Forbidden Planet, I was just scrolling through their website and I ended up ordering a lot of books (oops!) and I managed to get a signed copy of this book from there.

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

I got this one in my Waterstones, it didn’t say it was signed and I was very happy when I got home and saw it was signed

Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow

I got this book and Once and Future Witches by the same author in my monthly book boxes

As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson

I got this one in my local Waterstones

Under the Whispering Door by T J Klune

I found a signed copy of this one in my Whsmiths and I was really excited to find this one

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff

I got this book in a recent Illumicrate box

The Desolation of Devil’s Acre by Ransom Riggs

I managed to preorder a signed copy of this book from waterstones

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

I got this book in my Illumicrate box too

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen

I got this beautiful book in my Illumicrate box

One Of Us Is Lying/One Of Us Is Next/Two Can Keep A Secret by Karen M McManus

I got these books signed when I met Karen M McManus at YALC in 2019 which was amazing!

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

I also got this in my Illumicrate box

The Mapmakers by Tamzin Merchant

My local waterstones luckily had a signed copy of this book

This Woven Kingdom by Taherah Mafi

I also got this one in my Illumicrate box

Terciel and Elinor by Garth Nix

I was looking everywhere for a signed copy of this book and I finally found one in Whsmiths

A Darker Shade of Magic by V E Schwab

I bought the special Illumicrate box for this book and along with some other items it got me a signed copy of this book

That’s it for this blog post, I hope you all enjoyed it! Do you have any signed books?

Monthly TBRs

March TBR

theblindscribe

Happy Tuesday bookish people! I am happy to be bringing you my March TBR today. I have a good feeling about March, I am hoping to get a lot of reading done, there’s so many good books on my TBR that I desperately want to pick up. Also, it’s my birthday on the 25th of March! I’ll be 23 and I had actually forgotten how close it was, I hadn’t made a list and so I was trying to think of the books I wanted and put them on an Amazon wishlist here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/3H1PW8BGD9KF7/ref=nav_wishlist_lists_1

Anyway, onto the TBR!

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

I have heard so many good things about this book and even though I am not usually the biggest fan of romance novels, I am willing to give each one a try though so we shall see if I enjoy this one or not.

Last Chance Books by Kelsey Rodkey

Again, another contemporary romance book but I mean it has books on the front so at least I will enjoy the setting, also it has enemies to lovers from what I have read and I do enjoy that trope.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I loved The Starless Sea by the same author, it’s my favourite book and this seems to have the same magical realism so I am hopeful that I will really enjoy this book.

The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton

A historical murder mystery set on a boat. Of course I want to read this book.

Kingdom of the Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco

I am so excited to continue this series, Emilia is one of my favourite female protagonists and Wrath is such a good morally grey character. I love it!

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas

This is a book that I have been putting off for ages, well ever since I finished A Court of Thorns and Roses but I am excited to read it because I have heard it is the best book in the series.

City of Brass by S A Chakraborty

I have already started this book a year ago but I put it down for some reason and I haven’t thought about picking it up again until now.

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

This is another book that I have heard really good things about so I am excited to read this one.

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow

Witches in a historical setting, I am very excited about this book.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T J Klune

This books kind of reminds me of the Umbrella Academy but a bit more peaceful so that’s why I was drawn to this book to start with.

The Girl in the Tower by katherine Arden

this is the second book in the bear and the nightingale series and I absolutely loved the first book so I am really excited to continue this dark and wintery series.

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

I have recently been enjoying books with an academic setting so hopefully I will enjoy this book.

Bone Spindle by Leslie Vedder

This books sounds very interesting to me and a friend has read it and enjoyed it which makes me want to read it even more.

Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell

This looks like a very cute middle grade book. Plus I love the cover, it is very inviting.

The Burning Page by Genevieve Cogman

This is the third book in the Invisible Library series, I really love Irene and Kai from this series and I can’t wait to see what adventures they are going to go on next.

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J Maas

This is one of my most anticipated books of this year so I am nervous to read it, it is also huge so it might take me a while but I am very excited, I am trying my hardest to not see any spoilers for it.

That’s it for my march TBR, I hope you all enjoyed it! What are you planning on reading this month?

Monthly TBRs

January TBR!

theblindscribe

Happy Tuesday bookish people! It’s the first month of the new year and it is time to share what I hope to be reading this month. I feel like I want to read a lot this month so far, I am hoping this will continue throughout the month and I’ll have a great month to start the year.

My January TBR:

  • The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi – I am really excited to read this book, I bought it with some vouchers I got for Christmas and it should be arriving today.
  • Furyborn by Claire Legrand – I’m not sure what I will think of this book but I want to read more outside of my comfort zone this year
  • Queenslayer by Sebastien de Castell – I am so close to finishing this series and I think this book will be another great one just like the rest of the series.
  • Act Your Age Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert – I will say at the time of writing this that I have actually finished reading this book and completed the Brown Sisters trilogy!
  • Daughters of Night by Laura Shepard-Robinson – A good Victorian mystery, that’s just what I want to read right now.
  • Shadowscent by P M Freestone – this is another book that I am not sure what to make of it yet but I hope I will enjoy it.
  • The Plague Letters by V L Valentine – a historical murder mystery, it sounds so different and intriguing and I am excited to get into it.
  • Nevernight by Jay Kristoff – I am hoping that I will be able to get into this book easily.
  • Killings at Kingfisher Hill by Sophie Hannah – I read one of the books in her Poirot series and enjoyed it so hopefully the rest of the series will be the same.
  • The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton – I loved his other book and a murder mystery set on a boat sounds intriguing.
  • Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas – It is time I got around to reading this book.
  • Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody – I love any book to do with a circus or carnival so I have high hopes.
  • European Travels for the Monstrous Gentlewoman by Theodora Goss – I have already started this one and just like the first book in the series, I am already immersed in the world.
  • Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte – I don’t actually know much about this book.
  • Hunting Party by Lucy Foley – I started reading her other book and ended up putting it down so I hope I will have better luck with this book.
  • Pages and Co 2 by Anna James – this is a lovely series of books that I am excited to continue.
  • The Burning Page by Genevieve Cogman – another series that has a brilliant world that I want to get back to.
  • Finale by Stephanie Garber – finally I am hoping to finish up the caraval series!
  • A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik – I’ve heard mixed things about this book but I am still interested in reading it.
  • Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare – this is an intimidating book but I am excited to get around to it
  • Empire of the Vampire – another book I’m not sure about but I have heard great things.
  • Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty – I am excited to read more mysteries this month.

That’s it for my January TBR, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?

Monthly Wrap Ups

October Wrap-Up!

theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! It is the first of November and that means it is time to share with you my wrap up for the month of October.

October was once again a really busy month for me, I officially started my PhD course and I have had to sort lots of things out in preparation for my Masters graduation while also dealing with some issues with my health. It has been a long feeling month that is for sure, but we are now in November and I am feeling great about reading and the books I have chosen (my November TBR post will be going up later today!).

So, in October I was planning on reading lots of spooky books and mysteries and… well, I didn’t do as well with my TBR as I’d hoped. I wasn’t feeling the books I had on my TBR when it came time to read them and then now – the first day of November I am really in the mood to read them. That is very annoying.

Anyway, let’s get into what I did and didn’t read in the month of October!

October TBR and Thoughts:

  • A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik – I did not read, I was very excited this book was finally on my TBR but I just didn’t get a chance to pick it up.
  • Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody – another book I was so excited for but didn’t get around to.
  • Act Your Age Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert – I didn’t read this one but it has been moved to this month’s TBR…
  • Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco – I NEED to get around to reading this soon but I didn’t manage it in October
  • City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab – I did read this one, I actually read this entire trilogy this month
  • Cream Buns and Crime by Robin Stevens – I also read this one
  • The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton – I did not read this one
  • Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff – I’ve heard such good things about this one but I haven’t read it yet
  • Good Girl Bad Blood by Holly Jackson – I didn’t get to this one
  • Legendborn by Tracey Deonn – I’m disappointed I didn’t get to this one it was the perfect month for it
  • Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T A Willberg – This is the one I’m now really in the mood to read so I’m just going to do it, I’m going to read it in November
  • Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – I am so scared to read this because I heard it’s classed as a horror so I didn’t read it in Ocotber
  • Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo – I did not read this one
  • Once Upon A Crime by Robin Stevens – I did read this one
  • One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M McManus – I did not read this one
  • People of Abandoned Character by Clare Whitfield – I didn’t get around to this one but I am very excited to read it soon
  • Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price – I did not read this one
  • Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch – I didn’t read this one
  • Take A Hint Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert – I didn’t read this one
  • The Devil Makes Three by Tori Bovalino – Another book I was too scared to read
  • The Painted Dragon by Katherine Woodfine – it turns out this book is from a series and I don’t have the first ones in it and I’m not sure if I need to read them first
  • The Winterhouse Mysteries by Ben Guterson – another book that it turns out is in a series and I didn’t read because I don’t have the first few to read before this one
  • The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava reid – I did not read this one

So, out of my TBR I read five of the books which isn’t great but it isn’t awful either. Outside of my TBR I also read the first three books in the Araminta Spook series by Angie sage which takes my October total to eight books. Considering everything that has happened this month I’m pretty happy with that total. Although I definitely plan to read more in November so we will see how that goes.

That’s it for my October wrap-up I hope you all enjoyed it! Let me know how you all did with your October reading.

friday first and lasts

Friday First and Lasts Round 2

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Happy Friday bookish people! Today I am bringing you the second round of my newest series Friday First and Lasts. The series in which I take the first sentence of one book and combine it with the last series of another book to see what we get.

For this round I will be giving you three sets of first and lasts, the books up first are:

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik and Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T A Willberg

“I decided that Orion Lake needed to die after the second time he saved my life/ however long it took” – This sentence actually turned out really well. It creates a very dramatic line.

Up next are the books:

Capturing The Devil by Kerri Maniscalco and Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

“A blast of frigid air greeted me as I unlatched the carriage door and stumbled onto the street/filled with thoughtless joy I turned Priestbane to follow” – this one doesn’t work quite as well as the first set, but it still works and has a good flow to it.

The final set for today are from the books:

The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict and The Gilded Cage by Lynette Noni

“Snow is falling/and then she would be dead” – This is the one that probably works the least out of the three sets but it has an intense and sinister ring to it that I quite like.

That’s it for today, I hope you all enjoyed it! If you’ve got any good ones, please leave them in the comments below, on my Instagram @the_blind_scribe or on Twitter @oliviatempleto6.

Monthly TBRs

October TBR

theblindscribe

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a lovely day! It is finally time to share my October Tbr! It is the month for all things spooky and I thought I might as well join in with that and get out all the books that fit the season.

So, this month my TBR game was horrible to me and I got so many doubles. I always start by doing twelve rolls and after all my doubles I ended up with 25 books on my TBR. Yes, I’m worried about this too.

Onto the books I will be reading in October!

October TBR:

  • Once Upon A Crime by Robin Stevens – I found this in a charity shop and I’m excited to read it
  • Cream Buns and Crime by Robin Stevens
  • The Winterhouse Mysteries by Ben Guterson
  • The Devil Makes Three by Tori Bovalino
  • The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid
  • Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco – I’m so excited to read the final installment of this series
  • Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T A Willberg
  • A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
  • Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff
  • The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
  • City of Ghosts series by V E Schwaab
  • Take A Hint Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert
  • Act Your Age Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert
  • Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
  • The Painted Dragon by Katharine Woodfine
  • Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
  • One of us is Lying by Karen M McManus
  • Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson
  • Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody
  • Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
  • Legendborn by Tracey Deonne
  • People of Abandoned Character by Claire Whitfield

So that’s my TBR for the month of October and I’m excited but scared to start on it. I hope you all enjoyed reading about it!

Monthly Wrap Ups

May Wrap Up!

theblindscribe

Happy Tuesday Bookish people! I’m a day late with this one but it’s finally the end of May. This month has been a difficult one, there’s been good parts to it of course but there’s also been some horrible parts. Nevermind, June is a new month and hopefully it will be a great one!

This month I will admit now, my TBR was mostly forgotten about. I had quite a few book tours I was taking part in and towards the second half of the month I was losing my motivation to read because of what was going on in my life.

So, onto the wrap up.

My May TBR:

  • The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni – I did read (start with a good one, however, this does not continue..)
  • The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton – I did not read
  • A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik – I did not read
  • Watch Her Fall by Erin Kelly – I did not read
  • Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch – I did not read
  • Lore by Alexandra Bracken – I did not read
  • Six Tudor Queens: Katherine of Aragon – I did not read
  • Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert – I did not read
  • Turtles All The Way Down by John Green – I did not read
  • A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – I did not read
  • A Masked City by Genevieve Cogman – I did read! (surprised you there didn’t I)
  • A Gathering of Shadows by V E Schwaab – I did not read
  • Radio Silence by Alice Oseman – I did not read
  • Yes, No, Maybe so by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Seed – I did not read
  • Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel – I did start this but I didn’t manage to finish it within the month

So.. my TBR went pretty terribly, I read two and started another. But I did read other books that weren’t on my TBR which were: The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss (which I loved!), Love Is What You Bake Of It and Love by Design by Effie Kammenou, Things To Do Before The End Of The World by Emily Barr and You Had It Coming by B M Carroll.

Altogether I read eight books this month which isn’t bad I suppose but it felt like I had a terrible reading month. Hopefully I’ll enjoy my reading more in June… I’m about to post my June TBR so check that out too if you are interested in seeing what I’ll be reading in June.

That’s it for my May Wrap Up, I hope you all enjoyed it!

Monthly TBRs

May TBR!

theblindscribe

Happy Friday bookish people! Today I’m bringing you my May TBR and I am telling you now my TBR game was not kind to me this month. I just kept getting doubles on the dice and by the end I had 18 rolls to do… oh dear.

April.. didn’t go the way I planned and I ended up not reading very much. If you’d like to see what I did read go and check out my April Wrap-Up. I’m hoping that May will be a much better month for me so fingers crossed!

As well as my very long TBR I also have some books I need to read for my spots in book tours which I’m hoping to get read first and then concentrate on my TBR.

I also have a lot of contemporary on this month’s TBR, anyone who knows me will know that I do not really like contemporary.. so how did I end up with so many on my TBR? Well, I put the contemporary space on my game board so that I covered every genre and with all the rolls this month I kept landing on it… maybe I’ll find a new genre to like but I doubt it.

My May TBR:

First, Usually I would put pictures of the books on my TBR however, today for some reason it’s not letting me put the pictures in so I’m going to have to just list them and then see what is happening later.

  • The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni – I picked this one up because the cover is so beautiful! And also, the back of the book just said something like ‘keep her alive we are coming’ and that hooked me right in.
  • The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton – I have had this book on my shelves since it came out. I loved his book the Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle so I have high hopes for this one.
  • A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik – I got this book in one of my Illumicrate boxes and it is so lovely, it has a gold cover and blue sprayed edges. It’s dark academia which is something that I am getting into quite recently.
  • Watch Her Fall by Erin Kelly – a psychological thriller set in a ballet company just sounds amazing!
  • Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch – the first of many contemporaries this month.. I don’t know much about it but hopefully I will enjoy it.
  • Lore by Alexandra Bracken – I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book so of course it’s straightaway on my TBR.
  • Six Tudor Queens: Katherine of Aragon the True Queen by Alison Weir – I love Historical Fiction especially the Tudor ones and I have read all of Philippa Gregory’s books to date so I needed some new Tudor stories and this is what I went with.
  • Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert – I have seen a lot of good things about this book and I actually won my copy in a competition on Twitter.
  • Turtles All the Way Down by John Green – again I don’t know much about this at all but I’m hoping it will be a good read.
  • A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – I will get around to reading this at some point! I keep putting it on my TBR and then not reading it..
  • A Masked City by Genevieve Cogman – A librarian spy… I don’t need to say anything else about this.
  • A Gathering of Shadows by V E Scwab – I read A Darker Shade of magic a little while ago and it’s about time I read the second book in the series.
  • Radio Silence by Alice Oseman – there’s a lot of books this month I know nothing about but it is another contemporary.
  • Yes, No, Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Seed – It’s got a lovely bright yellow cover…

That’s it for my May TBR! Check back at the end of May to see how well or how badly I did with my reading!