Happy Friday bookish people! It is the end of April already, this year is going way too fast for my liking. April was an incredibly busy month for me and I didn’t get very much reading done at all.
I started taking part in book tours this month which is really fun, I love getting to promote other books that I might not have usually picked up. I also finished up all my assessments (except the final dissertation) for my Master’s Degree which I’m happy about. I wasn’t so happy with the pieces I wrote but nevermind it’s been submitted now.
I think you can guess that I didn’t read most of my April TBR, I did read a couple of books that were not on my TBR though.
My April TBR:
All The Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace – I did not read
Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin – I did not read
Wicked Saints by Emily A Duncan – I did not read
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – I did not read
Furyborn by Claire LeGrand – I did not read
The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter – I have started, I don’t think I will have it finished by the end of April but I have started it.
The Cousins by Karen M McManus – I have read! and I have a book review up for it.
Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angelles – I did not read
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – I did not read
Blood Heir by Amelie Wen Zhao – I did not read
Master of One by Jaida Jones and Dani Bennett – I did not read
The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller – I did not read
Save the Date by Morgan Matson I did not read
So… I did terribly on my April TBR. I read one book and started another, however, I read three other books this month that were not on my TBR which were:
The Making of Robert Moony by Jane Gilley County Lines Road by Jane Gilley Cosmic Queries by Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
All three of these books I have written book reviews for and put them up on my blog already.
So I read four books in April and have started one other, I haven’t done that bad, not great but also not as badly as I thought.
That’s it for my April Wrap up, let me know if you’ve read any of the books that were on the TBR!
Happy Tuesday bookish people! It is time for another book review. I would usually put up book reviews on a Monday however yesterday was my Partner and I’s first anniversary so I spent the day with him. Today’s review is of a book that I have had on my shelf for forever, I have the whole series on my shelf but it took me so long to get around to it. Then finally I did and I loved it.
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.
Plot:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
The plot of this book intrigued me, I kept seeing it described as a Beauty and the Beast retelling, and after reading it I agree it does have some similar elements which I enjoyed. I read this book in one sitting because I couldn’t put the book down until I’d found out what happened next – and then until I found out how it ended. If I’d had to I would have stayed up all night to finish it.
Personally I felt that the first 100 pages of the book is slow and didn’t keep me that interested but after the pace begins to pick up my interest returned as well. I felt that the plot had enough substance that there was always something happening, no page felt out of place in the story. Where the beginning was slow, I also felt the ending was slightly rushed, the big event at the end of the book I personally feel would have been better had it been explored further. Saying this I still enjoyed it and I did not predict most of the things that happened throughout the book.
Characters:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
There are plenty of characters in this novel, some have larger parts than others however all are important to the story. Starting with the antagonist of the novel, it was unclear for most of the book who the real antagonist was as there were a few possible contenders. I think the villain was just the right amount of cruel and mysterious for this book while leaving space for one of those other contenders to become the antagonist in later books in the series.
The main protagonist, Feyre, is sharp-minded, fierce, and loyal. She is a character that I felt connected to because of how relatable she is. Feyre’s family is briefly mentioned however from what I know, they become more important throughout the series. The character of Tamlin, I did not like him at all to begin with in this book. I felt he was distant and cold and as a reader I had no connection to him but as the book went on little pieces of information about him and his backsotry were given and by the end of the book I liked him better than I did at the beginning. I will admit that because the series has been around for a while and is popular on booktwitter, booktube and bookstagram I have heard things about this character that has influenced my opinion on him throughout the firs book.
Finally, Rhysand, he is exactly the kind of character I always get drawn to, cheeky and witty, he isn’t in the first book that much however I already know I’m going to love him in the next books of the series.
Writing and dialogue:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
The writing in this book is cleverly weaved with interesting dialogue. It is clear, fast-paced and easy to read. The dialogue is one of the main features that made me enjoy this novel as much as I did. It felt natural and completely fitted each of the characters.
Overall:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Overall I gave this book four stars because I enjoyed it and I am very excited to get the next book in the series onto a TBR as soon as I can.
Blurb/Synopsis:
Feyre’s survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price …
Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre’s presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.
That’s it for my book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!
Happy Wednesday bookish people! It’s already April and the spring flowers are starting to bloom. I read a very good amount of books in March, twelve I think, and I’m hoping April will be just as successful. I’ve already read one of the books off my April TBR yesterday and I enjoyed it. Once again I’ve given myself a huge TBR, because of course. Outside of my TBR I have some books to read for some exciting book tours that I can’t say anything about just yet…
Onto my TBR!
Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles – I’ve realised pretty recently that anything to do with circus elements and I’m already excited for the story so this could end up being a new favourite!
The Cousins by Karen M McManus – I read this yesterday evening because I was drawn in by the blurb and I really enjoyed it, I ended up giving it four stars and if you’re interested in reading my thoughts on it I’ll be putting a book review up very soon.
The Strange Case of the Alchemists Daughter by Theodora Goss – I saw Meg With Books on YouTube talk about this series and I thought the premise sounded so interesting, I can’t wait to start reading this series!
Furyborn by Claire LeGrand – I’m not sure on this book, it’s a chunky book.. anyone else find big books intimidating?
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – after reading A Court of Thorns and Roses earlier this year I’m so looking forward to reading the next book in the series – I need more Rhysand!
Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin – Oh I’ve been looking forward to this one! I’ve heard such good things about it and also from what I’ve heard the dialogue between Lou and Reid sound very cheeky, which I know I’ll love, and it’s enemies to lovers (one of my favourite tropes).
Wicked Saints by Emily A Duncan – I must admit I don’t know much about this book, at all. I don’t know the plot or the character names… this is going to be an interesting read..
Blood Heir by Amilie Wen Zhao – Again I don’t know much about this book but I got it in one of my previous Illumicrate boxes and the cover caught my interest.
Save the Date by Morgan Matson – after how much I liked Fangirl I’ve decided that I obviously need to give contemporary books more of a chance so hopefully I’ll enjoy it.
The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller – this book caught my attention because of the first line and I think the protagonist is going to be unusual and probably morally grey. I love morally grey characters.
Master of One by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett – I’m thinking this could be a five stars for me because Fae, and it gives me big Six of Crows vibes…
All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace – Pirates. That’s all I’m going to say about this one.
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – I love a good mystery book and I’ve heard really good things about this one.
That’s it for my April TBR, let me know if you’ve read any of these and what you thought of them! At the end of April I will post a wrap up and we will see how well I did or not.
Happy Friday bookish people! I hope everyone has nice days planned for themselves, I have some work to do for a University assignment and a transcript to write but I might be able to squeeze some reading in later. It’s been almost a week since I’ve had chance to read anything and I’m feeling the effects.
Today’s post is the Bookshelf Tag! I had a really good time answering the questions in this tag, it made me look at my bookshelf for a looong time.
Describe your bookshelf and where you got it from? well, my room is small, like really really small. There’s enough room for my chest of drawers, my bed and a tiny walking space. That’s it. Literally my wardrobe is in the hallway so there’s no room for a bookshelf in my room. My Dad built shelves all around the walls of my room so that’s where my books are – and of course in my new book cart I got yesterday for my birthday!
How do you organise your books? Okay, here’s something about me – I love organising, anything lists, books, documents, EVERYTHING so I change how I organise my books all the time. Currently they are split into two halves – books I’ve read in alphabetical order then moves into books I haven’t read in alphabetical order. I don’t know how long it will stay like this…
What’s the longest book on your shelf? With 984 pages it has to be Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Maas which I actually have two copies of
4. What’s the shortest book on your shelf? It’s actually a book that I’m borrowing from my partner, and I have had it for many months, called The Oubliette (I think? I might even have the title wrong! oh dear…) it has under 300 pages.
5. Is there a book that you received as a birthday gift? Well, yesterday being my birthday (I now have to remember I’m 22) so I got a few books there: I hope you’re listening by Tom Ryan, Cosy Crime Short Stories, Detective Short Stories, the Caraval Collectors Edition, the Throne Of Glass Collectors Edition, Paris by Starlight and All the Tides of Fate by Adalyn Grace. I’m very excited for all of them.
6. Is there a book from a friend on your shelf? My friend got me Paris by Starlight for me for my birthday so I guess that counts, otherwise I actually don’t think there is. There’s lots of books that were recommended to me by my friends but none they actually got me.
7. The most expensive book on your shelf? I have a beautiful version of Les Miserables by Victor Hugo with gold page edges and it’s so nice I don’t let anyone touch it. I’m not sure exactly how much it cost but I think it was about £50…
8. The last book you read on your shelf? Ooh this was What A Way To Go by Julia Forster and I must say I did not enjoy this book very much at all.
9. Do you have a complete series? Yes, many, but the one in particular that is coming to mind is the Stalking Jack the Ripper series by Kerri maniscalco. I LOVE this series, I’m pretty sure it’s always going to be one of my favourite series’ and also one of my top OTPs.
10. What’s the newest addition to your shelf? The Caraval Collectors Edition. It took me ages to put it on my shelf because I didn’t want to let go of it, I love it so much. It has a chapter in Julian’s POV and it’s all I’ve ever wanted.
11. The oldest book on your shelf? That would be Robinson Crusoe but the less said about that the better.
12. What’s a book you’d hate to let out of your sight? All of them. If you take my books then you’re honestly risking your life.
13. Most beat up book? I’m actually not sure, there’s an awful crack down the spine (and in my heart!) of my copy of The Cruel Prince by Holly Black.
14. Most pristine book? All the ones I haven’t read yet, and there are many many books I haven’t read yet on my shelves…
15. A book that doesn’t belong to you? A Deal With the Elf King by Elise Kova, it’s actually my mum’s but she keeps it on my shelf.
16. A book that is your favourite colour? Well, my favourite colour is forest green so.. ooh the Strange Case of the Alchemists Daughter by Theodora Goss is really close to my favourite colour!
17. A book that’s been on your shelf the longest and you still haven’t read it? Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. I even did a module about Austen on my University course and still didn’t read it.
18. Any signed books? I have many signed books. Where I live it’s very difficult to just go and get books signed so whenever a book I want has a signed edition to buy I’ll always choose the signed one if I can.
That’s it for today’s tag! I hope you all enjoyed it! My next post is going to be some book reviews so come back for them if you’re interested.
