Tag: review

blog tours, Book Reviews

Book Review: Alice Shaken and Definitely Stirred by Paula Smith

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Happy Wednesday bookish people! Today is my spot on the book tour for Alice Shaken and Definitely Stirred by Paula Smith. Thank you to Love Books Tours for my copy of this book to read and review.

In this book review I will give star ratings for four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Alice Shaken and Definitely Stirred Plot:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I will start by saying this book is not my usual genre, I do not enjoy romance all that much however this book was quite uplifting and I enjoyed that there was a particular focus on family and friend relationships not just romantic ones. I felt that the first half of the book was emotional and without saying too much about it, didn’t feel very uplifting but this did change within the second half. I did have a favourite out of the potential romances in the book – and I was very happy when Alice ended up with him. What I particularly liked about it was that there were obstacles that felt real, like they were things that would happen in reality in relationships and romance books don’t always have this.

Alice Shaken and Definitely Stirred Characters:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I’m only going to talk about the main character, Alice, here because if I mentioned anything about the potential romances I’d end up giving too much away. So, Alice, I felt that she was a relatable characters in some aspects – like her relationships with her family and her dislike of her own image – but I also found myself disliking her for most of the book. She was very caught up in her own life and with everything that happened to her it was understandable but it felt for a while like her character wasn’t going to develop in any way, luckily though it did.

Alice Shaken and Definitely Stirred Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

It took me a while to get into the writing style, for the first few chapters the writing to me felt quite forced and so it took me longer to read through it, however by the halfway point I had gotten into the writing style a lot more.

Alice Shaken and Definitely Stirred Overall:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I gave this book three stars overall. It was an enjoyable book, it just wasn’t to my tastes.

Blurb/Synopsis:

This uplifting romantic comedy takes you on Alice’s journey, interweaving her relationships with real-life characters and dreams involving her favourite romantic screen idols.

Lamenting the loss of her long-term partner and having been made redundant, Alice makes a New Year’s resolution to get on with life, and definitely without a man. But things don’t quite go to plan. As her Aunt Betty says, ‘Men, dear, are like buses, there are none on the horizon then three come along at once.’ Alice certainly is shaken and definitely stirred.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it.

Book Reviews

Book Review: Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

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Happy Monday bookish people! This is my book review for Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco.

In this book review I will give star ratings for four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Kingdom of the Wicked Plot:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

There are two halves to the plot of this story, the princes of hell and the witches and the other half is the murders of girls in the town but both of these halves intertwine throughout the novel. Each action has a knock on effect. I loved how this story played out, the uniqueness of the princes of hell being based on the seven deadly sins. I was desperate to keep reading this book and to stay in the world, discovering new things in every chapter. The only thing I did not like was the ending to the murder, the identity of the killer, I personally thought it could have been better if it had been someone else.

Kingdom of the Wicked Characters:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Emilia is the main protagonist in this story and she is strong-willed and family oriented. I loved being able to see her develop within this book, she got stronger and learnt to find her own way. The main prince of hell within this book was Wrath and my goodness, I knew Kerri Maniscalco creates brilliant male leads (hello, Thomas Cresswell) but Wrath is in a level of his own.

Kingdom of the Wicked Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I really enjoy Kerri Maniscalco’s writing, it just works for me. There is nothing about it that I do not like.

Kingdom of the Wicked Overall:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I gave this book four stars overall because, I love it but I think I will love Kingdom of the Cursed even more.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Two sisters.

One brutal murder.

A quest for vengeance that will unleash Hell itself…

And an intoxicating romance.

Emilia and her twin sister Vittoria are streghe—witches who live secretly among humans, avoiding notice and persecution. One night, Vittoria misses dinner service at the family’s renowned Sicilian restaurant. Emilia soon finds the body of her beloved twin… desecrated beyond belief. Devastated, Emilia sets out to find her sister’s killer and to seek vengeance at any cost—even if it means using dark magic that’s been long forbidden.

Then Emilia meets Wrath, one of the Wicked Princes of Hell that she has been warned against in tales since she was a child. Wrath claims to be on Emilia’s side, tasked by his master with solving the series of women’s murders on the island. But when it comes to the Wicked, nothing is as it seems…

That is it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!

Book Reviews

Book Review: The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman

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Happy Monday bookish people! This is my book review for The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman, it is the second book in The Invisible Library series.

In this book review I will give star ratings for four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

The Masked City Plot:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The series is about a librarian spy called Irene and her librarian partner Kai, in this book Kai gets kidnapped and Irene must get him back. The plot of this book is full of action and very fast paced, it is intricately created and kept me guessing the whole way through.

The Masked City Characters:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I love Irene’s character, she’s feisty and prepared to defend herself physically and intellectually if needs be. Kai is more charming and their conversations are very witty. I love the way they interact with each other in the first book and in this one. The characters are one of the most important features of this series and Irene is one of my favourite female leads.

The Masked City Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

There’s not much I can say here, the writing is okay for me. Some of the language that is used can stumble me for a minute but mostly its clear and well paced.

The Masked City Overall:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I gave this book four stars because I am loving this series and I can’t wait to read the third one.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Librarian-spy Irene is working undercover in an alternative London when her assistant Kai goes missing. She discovers he’s been kidnapped by the fae faction and the repercussions could be fatal. Not just for Kai, but for whole worlds.

Kai’s dragon heritage means he has powerful allies, but also powerful enemies in the form of the fae. With this act of aggression, the fae are determined to trigger a war between their people – and the forces of order and chaos themselves.

Irene’s mission to save Kai and avert Armageddon will take her to a dark, alternate Venice where it’s always Carnival. Here Irene will be forced to blackmail, fast talk, and fight. Or face death.

That is it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it.

Book Reviews

Book Review: A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn

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Happy Monday bookish people! This book review is for A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn. I read this book while I was in the hotel room in Hampshire, it was a lovely evening read for me.

In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

A Curious Beginning Plot:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This was a very unique murder mystery. It had the feeling of an old Agatha Christie, a cosy mystery with a strong female lead and a brooding male lead. There are plenty of secrets to discover within this mystery, I couldn’t be sure who I could trust throughout this novel.

A Curious Beginning Characters:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This was only the first book in a series and this showed in the characters. They were being set up to have a relationship, although which type I don’t know yet, they have their own secrets and there is sometimes tension between them but this makes them realistic. Veronica is quick witted and stubborn and Stoker is just as stubborn and passionate, he is also much more distant from people than Veronica. I am looking forward to seeing how these characters can develop.

A Curious Beginning Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The writing of this novel was difficult for me to get into at the beginning because it was written to fit the Victorian time period that it is set during but once I got used to it the writing became smooth and fit the story beautifully.

A Curious Beginning Overall:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I gave this four stars overall because I enjoyed the mystery element and the characters of this novel and I am interested in seeing how this series continues.

Blurb/Synopsis:

London, 1887.

After burying her spinster aunt, orphaned Veronica Speedwell is free to resume her world travels in pursuit of scientific inquiry—and the occasional romantic dalliance. As familiar with hunting butterflies as with fending off admirers, Veronica intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime.

But fate has other plans when Veronica thwarts her own attempted abduction with the help of an enigmatic German baron, who offers her sanctuary in the care of his friend Stoker, a reclusive and bad-tempered natural historian. But before the baron can reveal what he knows of the plot against her, he is found murdered—leaving Veronica and Stoker on the run from an elusive assailant as wary partners in search of the villainous truth.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it.

Book Reviews

Book Review: Charmcaster by Sebastien De Castell

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Happy Monday bookish people! This is book review four of seven for today. This one is for Charmcaster by Sebastien De Castell, it is the third book in the Spellslinger series.

In this book review I will give star ratings for four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Charmcaster Plot:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This is the third book in the series so I have already been immersed in the world Castell has built and this book continued the beautiful imagery that the first two presented. I loved the uniqueness of this plot and how it tied in details from Shadowblack and Spellslinger, it felt so comfortable for me to be back in this world.

Charmcaster Characters:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

As I said above, I was already immersed in this world so I knew the main characters Kellen, Ferius and Reichus very well by this point but there were some characters brought back from the first book that I felt added to the enjoyment of this book.

Charmcaster Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I love Sebastien De Castell’s writing style, he is effortlessly witty, charming and creates complex plots and characters. He also created a very flawed protagonist who really should not still be alive at this point but of course I’m glad he is.

Charmcaster Overall:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This book, the same as the other books in the series, is a four star for me because I enjoyed every moment of it and I can’t wait to begin the fourth book in the series which is on my August TBR.

Blurb/Synopsis:

The third book in the page-turning Spellslinger fantasy series.

‘I was getting almost as good at running away from enemies as I was at making them in the first place. Turns out, I wasn’t running nearly fast enough.’

Kellen has begun to master his spellslinging and the Argosi tricks for staying alive, and he and Reichis have found a career that suits them both: taking down mercenary mages who make people’s lives miserable. But Ferius is concerned that Kellen is courting disaster . . .

Perfect for fans of The Dark Tower, Firefly, Guardians of the Galaxy, Terry Pratchett, Ben Aaronovitch and Jim Butcher.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it.

Book Reviews

Book Review: Lirael by Garth Nix

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Happy Monday bookish people! This is book review three of seven for today and is for Lirael by Garth Nix.

I got this book while in a bookshop with my partner and he suggested that I read it. Originally, he picked it up and handed it to me to read the blurb and I put it back on the shelf saying that I’d pick it up another time. Instead, my partner bought it for me so I read it on the drive up to Hampshire last weekend.

In this book review I will give star ratings for four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Lirael Plot:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

This book was so easy to fall into. The story, the world, the characters, everything about it kept me engaged in what was happening. I haven’t read the first book in this series yet but I definitely plan on getting the whole series now. I read this book extremely fast, even by my standards, it only took me three hours or just over and it’s a 500 page book. I couldn’t wait to see where each chapter would take me. I enjoyed getting to see a different viewpoint in some chapters when it changed between Lirael and Sameth but I was hoping to see more of Sameth’s viewpoint.

Lirael Characters:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

The character of Lirael is one of the best female reads in any books that I have read, she is emotionally strong and it was nice to see this develop throughout the book. Plus, she is in the library a lot of the time and I couldn’t relate to that more. Sameth, now what can I say about him, to be honest I found him a little annoying and he complained a lot but I also saw a lot of qualities in him that I can see developing and creating a very strong male lead.

Lirael Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I love Garth Nix’s writing, I read another of his books last year and loved it so much, he has a way of writing effortlessly clever, humorous and heartwarming fantasy novels. I am looking forward to reading many more of his books.

Lirael Overall:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Originally I gave this book four stars but I could not stop thinking about this book so I had to change it to five stars, it’s now one of my favourite books of all time.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Lirael has never felt like a true daughter of the Clayr. Now, two years past the time when she should have received the Sight that is the Clayr’s birthright, she feels alone, abandoned, unsure of who she is. Nevertheless, the fate of the Old Kingdom lies in her hands. With only her faithful companion, the Disreputable Dog, Lirael must undertake a desperate mission under the growing shadow of an ancient evil.

In this sequel to Sabriel, winner of the Aurealis Award for Excellence in Australian Science Fiction, New York Times best-selling author Garth Nix weaves a spellbinding tale of discovery, destiny, and danger.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it.

Book Reviews

Book Review: Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

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Happy Monday bookish people! This is the second of the book reviews I will be posting today. This is a book review for Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch. I bought the trilogy (Love and Gelato, Love and Luck, Love and Olives) a while ago and finally got around to reading the first one in July.

In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Love and Gelato Plot:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I loved the setting and the descriptions of each place throughout this book, the imagery used made me feel like I was there experiencing the location. I originally picked up this book because I hadn’t slept the night before and I needed something nice and light, it did provide this although there were also themes of grief, loss and finding where you belong which I thought gave the story another layer. Outside of this I didn’t find the romance to be hooking me in any way and I did think about putting the book down at points.

Love and Gelato Characters:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

The characters in this book could be better in my opinion. They have motivations other than just the romance which is something I enjoyed about this book however, their actions were very predictable. I thought the book could have been shorter and better developed.

Love and Gelato Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

The writing of this book worked well for me, it didn’t feel forced in any way and each chapter led into the next smoothly.

Love and Gelato Overall:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I could only give this book three stars because I found myself becoming less interested in the characters and the plot the longer I was reading. However, it did fulfill my need for a light read when I needed it.

Blurb/Synopsis:

“I made the wrong choice.”

Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is go back home.

But then she is given a journal that her mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that inspires her, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept for far too long. It’s a secret that will change everything she knew about her mother, her father—and even herself.

People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it.

Book Reviews, Uncategorized

Book Review: Pumpkin by Julie Murphy

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Happy Monday bookish people! Today is Monday which means it is time for me to upload another book review, and today I won’t be uploading just one – I’ll be posting seven! The first of which was one of my first reads of July, Pumpkin by Julie Murphy. I picked this book up after I saw some of my favourite booktubers talking about it and I thought it would be an interesting read, which it was.

In this book review I will give star ratings for four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Pumpkin Plot:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I really enjoyed the sweet and heartwarming themes in this story. I was lulled into this story by it’s defying stereotypes of prom king and queen, but there is so much more to it. It covers friendship, acceptance, sibling relationships and on top of all this romantic relationships. In a small book I felt a wave of different emotions and of course, it didn’t take me long at all to read through it. The romance itself, although predictable, was sweet and I did find myself smiling sometimes.

Pumpkin Characters:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Waylon is the main character that the story follows and he is a great protagonist, he is relatable and fun. I felt everything he did right along with him and although I couldn’t relate to the things he was going through I did relate to being an outsider and my experiences at school weren’t the best, I found myself wishing I had the confidence he did. Clementine, twin sister of Waylon, was also a great character but I wish she was in the book more than she is.

Pumpkin Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The writing in this book was very smooth and kept me swept along with the story. There’s not much more for me to say here because it wasn’t the best writing I’ve read but it also is very far from the worst I’ve read.

Pumpkin Overall:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I gave this book four stars because I enjoyed it, despite it being a contemporary romance, and I liked the representation that the book provides.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Waylon Russell Brewer is a fat, openly gay boy stuck in the small West Texas town of Clover City. His plan is to bide his time until he can graduate, move to Austin with his twin sister, Clementine, and finally go Full Waylon, so that he can live his Julie-the-hills-are-alive-with-the-sound-of-music-Andrews truth.

So when Clementine deviates from their master plan right after Waylon gets dumped, he throws caution to the wind and creates an audition tape for his favorite TV drag show, Fiercest of Them All. What he doesn’t count on is the tape accidentally getting shared with the entire school. . . . As a result, Waylon is nominated for prom queen as a joke. Clem’s girlfriend, Hannah Perez, also receives a joke nomination for prom king.

Waylon and Hannah decide there’s only one thing to do: run—and leave high school with a bang. A very glittery bang. Along the way, Waylon discovers that there is a lot more to running for prom court than campaign posters and plastic crowns, especially when he has to spend so much time with the very cute and infuriating prom king nominee Tucker Watson.

Waylon will need to learn that the best plan for tomorrow is living for today . . . especially with the help of some fellow queens. . . .

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have any of you read this book? What did you think of it?

Monthly Wrap Ups

July Wrap Up!

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Happy Saturday bookish people! It is the end of July… this month has felt like a long one for me. I submitted my new PhD application at the beginning of this month and I’m not sure how I feel about it, the first time I sent in an application I wasn’t confident exactly but this time any confidence I might have had was completely gone. Anyway, I also got to see family in July which was really nice!

So in terms of reading for the month of July: Once again I did not complete my TBR, I’m not surprised about this at all because I had a couple of book tour reads I had to do and I spent four days in Hampshire and I mostly mood read for that. I packed five books and read four over this weekend so even though I didn’t read much off my TBR I still read a lot of books, I think my final number was fifteen. I’ll know for sure at the end of this wrap up.

Let’s see what I did and didn’t read this month!

My July TBR and thoughts:

  • A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – I did not get around to reading this (again) I will read it at some point but I need to be in a certain mood and have time to really get engrossed in the book, I mean Rhysand is in it so I’m definitely excited to read it.
  • A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn – I read this one! I took this one with me to Hampshire and read it in the hotel room on one of the evenings, I really enjoyed this book and of course now I want the whole series. I will be putting up a review of this book very soon.
  • An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir – I didn’t read this book. I am still very interested in this book I just didn’t have enough time this month.
  • Blood and Honey by Shelby Mahurin – I read Serpent and Dove in June and loved it, however I wasn’t ready to go back into this world yet so I will read this one in a couple of months time.
  • European Travels for the Monstrous Gentlewoman by Theodora Goss – I have started reading this one but I have not finished it yet.
  • The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V E Schwaab – I haven’t read this one because I have a feeling it will make me cry and I didn’t feel like crying too much in July.
  • The Killings at Kingfisher Hill by Sophie Hannah – I didn’t get around to reading this one either.
  • King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo – I feel like I should read the final installment in the Shadow and Bone series first so I haven’t read this one.
  • Legendborn by Tracy Deonne – another one I haven’t read this month.
  • Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch – I have read this one. I wanted a light and fluffy read, I didn’t quite get this but it was an okay read.
  • Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M Danforth – big books strike again, I didn’t read this because it is a huge book.
  • Pumpkin by Julie Murphy – I read this one, this was my first read of the month, I really liked this one. I will have a review up for this book soon too.
  • Save the Date by Morgan Matson – I don’t read very much contemporary so I’m not surprised that I didn’t get around to this one.
  • The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden – again I was very much mood reading this month so I didn’t get to this one.
  • The Plague Letters by V L Valentine – I thought this book would be a bit dark for me this month so I didn’t read this one either.
  • Threadneedle by Cari Thomas – I didn’t read this one.
  • Finally Turtles All The Way Down by John Green – I di not read this one either.

So, from my TBR I read three books and started one other. Outside of my TBR I read some other books, these were:

That is my reading for this month, I read 13 books and started two others so overall this was another good reading month. I am actually pretty confident I will reach my 100 books challenge for 2021.

blog tours, Book Reviews

Book Review: A Case of Royal Blackmail by Sherlock Holmes

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Happy Monday bookish people! I’m back from my trip to Hampshire to see family and today is my stop on the book tour for A Case of Royal Blackmail by Sherlock Holmes. Thank you to Anne Cater, Random T Tours and Unicorn Publishing for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.

In this book review I will give star ratings for four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

A Case of Royal Blackmail Plot:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

This book was interesting to me because I’m a fan of the original Sherlock Holmes novels and I wondered how this one would compare. While I was intrigued by the case in this novel, that was to do with the Prince of Wales later King Edward VII, and I really wanted to know how the end was going to be figured out I didn’t enjoy it as much as I have Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. The mystery itself was one that I enjoyed, it had various threads of other mysteries interweaved in the narrative. I also loved the appearance of Oscar Wilde, being an English student this really appealed to me.

A Case of Royal Blackmail Characters:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

This for me was where the book was slightly disappointing, the story itself was good but because Sherlock Holmes is such a beloved character and he is known for being with Dr Watson I felt the gap where that other character should have been and it threw me off a little bit. I also felt that it was strange that it was supposedly Sherlock himself writing about one of his cases. However, it did feel authentically like Sherlock Holmes and it did keep the Victorian era setting and language very well.

A Case of Royal Blackmail Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

As I said above, I think the author did very well to make the dialogue and the writing feel like the traditional Sherlock Holmes that everyone knows.

A Case of Royal Blackmail Overall:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I gave this book three stars overall because as a book, distancing it from previous Sherlock Holmes works, it was very well written and filled with tension and mystery. However, I’m not able to forget about Conan Doyle’s original stories and it didn’t quite live up to my expectation in that way.

Blurb/Synopsis:

In Oscar Wilde’s Amethyst Tie-Pin, the 24-year-old Sherlock Holmes recounts how he untangled the web of blackmail and deceit surrounding the ‘complex romantic endeavours’ of the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, those of Lillie Langtry and her various suitors and the morass of ‘scandal sheets’ and libel cases surrounding the Prince’s court of the time, while at the same time solving the mystery of Oscar Wilde’s missing amethyst tie-pin.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!