Tag: Seige and Storm

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!

theblindscribe

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, Uncategorized

Book Review: Lives of Saints by Leigh Bardugo

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Happy Easter Monday bookish people! I hope everyone is having a great day. Today I’m bringing you another book review. I think by now I have every book by Leigh Bardugo because I very much enjoy her writing and her characters, so of course when Lives of Saints came out I had to buy 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: 3 out of 5.

This book being a collection of short stories about each of the different saints in the world of the Grisha there isn’t a particular plot to give a star rating to. So for this category I’ve given it an average three stars because some of the stories I enjoyed more than others, as is normal with short story collections.

Characters:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

The same with this category, each story has different characters so I couldn’t give it more than three stars because some of them I liked better than others. However, every story had clearly defined and interesting characters that I thoroughly enjoyed reading about.

Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I can’t comment much on the dialogue other than it fit the stories it was included in very well. The writing style was excellent, and I expected it to be because of how much I always enjoy Leigh Bardugo’s writing.

Overall:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I gave this book four stars overall because of the enjoyment I had reading it. As a collection of short stories that are a companion to the Grisha Trilogy and the Six of Crows duology it is well written and gives useful background to the stories. I was glad that it lived up to my expectations that I have for anything Leigh Bardugo. It is not essential reading for the series but if you enjoy the world Leigh Bardugo has created then this may be a great read for you.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Enter the world of the Grishaverse and Shadow and Bone, soon to be a Netflix original series!

Dive into the epic world of international bestselling author Leigh Bardugo with this beautifully illustrated replica of The Lives of Saints, the Istorii Sankt’ya, featuring tales of saints drawn from the beloved novels and beyond. Out of the pages of the Shadow and Bone trilogy, from the hands of Alina Starkov to yours, the Istorii Sankt’ya is a magical keepsake from the Grishaverse.

These tales include miracles and martyrdoms from familiar saints like Sankta Lizabeta of the Roses and Sankt Ilya in Chains, to the strange and obscure stories of Sankta Ursula, Sankta Maradi, and the Starless Saint.

This beautiful collection includes stunning full-color illustrations of each story.

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