Tag: taherah mafi

Book Tags

Valentine’s Day Book Tag

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Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all doing well! It is almost Valentine’s Day and I am sure many people will be celebrating. Personally, I don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. This year I wouldn’t anyway as the relationship I was in, ended in December but even if we were still together it’s not an event I usually celebrate, I think if you want to show you care for someone you should do it any day of the year not just a socially sanctioned day.

Anyway, today I am answering a Valentine’s Day Book Tag that I found on Booksare42.com, just for a bit of fun. Let me know some of your answers too!

  1. Name a stand alone book that you love

Honestly, I don’t read that many standalone books. Most of what I read are series. As with many of these questions I am going to go with the first book that came to my head and that is Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson, it was one of my favourite books of last year and I still find myself thinking about it at random times throughout the day. It definitely captured a piece of my soul.

  1. Name a dystopian book that you love

For this question, I’m quite predictable. I was there for all the Hunger Games and the Divergent era. I loved both of them. In terms of more recently what I have been reading, I only recently started reading the Shatter Me series by Taherah Mafi which I think counts as dystopian and I am really enjoying that, I am currently reading book four Restore Me.

  1. A book that you love that no one else talks about

Lets see, I really enjoyed The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner and I never see anyone talking about that book. It was short but pulled me in from the very first page.

  1. Your favourite book couple

This is probably the hardest question here. I love a lot of book couples: Feyre and Rhysand, Xaden and Violet, Thomas Cresswell and Audrey-Rose Wadsworth. The list could go on forever. I think my top choice though, has to be Julian and Scarlet from Caraval by Stephanie Garber, I adore this couple. They’re not perfect but I love them to pieces.

  1. Name a book that other love but you haven’t read yet

Ah, there are a lot of these. I’ll go with an obvious one, Alchemised. I own it, thanks to my friend who bought it for me for Christmas. Fun Fact: I only had to pick it up in its wrapping paper and I knew what book it was from the weight of it. I am put off by it being fanfiction originally and being said to be so dark but I do want to give it a fair chance.

  1. A book with red on the cover

It probably came to my mind first because it is on my February TBR but Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo has some red on the cover. I am excited to finally be finishing the series this month, I didn’t love the first book but I did love Six of Crows so I decided to continue with it and I did enjoy the second book, so now I will finish the series.

  1. A book with pink on the cover

Probably not the best choice for a romantic, loving day but I suppose it is technically a romance? But Butcher and Blackbird was the book that came to mind first with pink on the cover. Honestly, I don’t have very any pink books so I’ll have to stick with this one. I haven’t read it yet, I’m a bit scared about the serial killer element but I have heard good things so I will eventually read it.

  1. If you had a box of chocolates which fictional boy/girl would you give them to?

Ooh, tough question. Same as choosing a fictional couple, there are so many choices for me. I think I am always going to have to go with my favourite man though, Thomas Cresswell from the Stalking Jack the Ripper series by Kerri Maniscalco. He wouldn’t appreciate the chocolates, he’d probably pull a face and walk away but I’d still try.

  1. If you are single on Valentine’s Day which book will you read and which TV show/Film will you watch?

I will be reading one of my February TBR books, most likely A Death in Diamonds by S J Bennett, the fourth book in her Majesty the Queen investigates series. I am currently rewatching old Merlin episodes so that’s probably what I will be watching that day too.

  1. Finally, if you were in a bookshop and shot by Cupid’s arrow, what new release will you love?

I already know the answer to this one! As I am writing this I am waiting for my pre-order of this book to arrive. I will read absolutely anything this author puts out. It is of course, Throne of Nightmares by Kerri Maniscalco. This is the third book in the Princes of Sin series, the spin off to the Kingdom of the Wicked trilogy. Each book in this series follows a different prince of sin, we have had envy and gluttony so far I think, but this one is Sloth! He has a castle full of libraries and books, I have been waiting not at all patiently for this book. I am literally going into hospital for a big operation two days after it releases so I will be taking that one with me to take my mind off everything.

Monthly Wrap Ups

January Wrap Up!

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Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day today. It is February and that means it is time to discuss what I read in January. I had my Phd Viva exam in the middle of January (which I passed!), so I was worried that I wouldn’t get much reading done this month but I was happily surprised that I had a good month of reading, sprinkled with some disappointing reads too.

From my TBR:

  • Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber – I am currently reading this, I am only a few chapters in so far but I am curious to see where the story will go next.
  • Restore Me by Taherah Mafi – I have not yet read this, but I still have a week until the end of January as I am writing this so I should have plenty of time to get this one read also.
  • A Disaster in Three Acts by Kelsey Rodkey – technically, I did read this. Unfortunately it was a DNF for me quite quickly as the main character was too unlikeable for me to become invested in the story.
  • A Matter of Murder by Tirzah Price – I did read this, it was my first full read of January and I very much enjoyed the conclusion to the Lizzie and Darcy duology.
  • A Season for Scandal by Laura Wood – I loved this book, it is my first and so far only five star read of this year and I am excited to continue with the rest of this series.
  • Bloodlines by Richelle Mead – I did read this, it was a nice, quick reread for me.
  • Book of Night by Holly Black – Again, technically, I did read this. This was another DNF for me, it was taking too long to get into the story and I was losing any enthusiasm for it.
  • The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts by Robert Thorogood – One of my most anticipated reads of the year, it did not disappoint, it was a strong read for me this month.
  • The Mythmakers by Tamzin Merchant – I read this.

Outside of my TBR I also read: In the Market for Murder and Death Around the Bend, books 2 and 3 in the Lady Hardcastle Mystery series by T E Kinsey. This means I managed to read 9 or hopefully if I can read Restore me in time, 10 books this month.

What books have you read in January? Which ones did you enjoy?

Monthly TBRs

January TBR!

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Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you are all having a wonderful day today. Can you believe it is already time to be sharing my TBR for January 2026?! This year, in my reading journal, I have a 100 book challenge so I tried to fill it with books I am really excited to read and I will be trying to choose from that sheet when I am building my monthly TBR’s.

What I will be reading in January:

Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber

A Season of Scandal by Laura Wood

Book of Night by Holly Black

A Disaster in Three Acts by Kelsey Rodkey

Restore Me by Taherah Mafi

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

A Matter of Murder by Tirzah Price

The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts by Robert Thorogood

What’s on your January TBR? What are you excited about reading?

Uncategorized

The Best Fantasy Fiction So Far This Year

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Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today. Following on from last week where I shared the top ten crime fiction books I have read so far this year, today I am doing the same thing but this time it is with Fantasy books. Crime and Fantasy are my top two genres to read, I do read books from other genres but these two are my favourite.

So far this year I have read 22 fantasy book (actually 23 because I am currently reading Ignite Me by Taherah Mafi but when I made this list I hadn’t started this book yet). My least favourite of those 22 so far was To Sway A Bard. This is a short novel about a thief who is planning a heist and the Sheriff who is trying to stop her. Hoesntly, the premise sounded amazing, exactly what I love to read but the actual book did not go the way I hoped so it’s down at the bottom with my least favourite reads of the year.

So, the top 10 fantasy books I have read so far this year are:

In number 10:

The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber. This is the second book in the Once Upon A Broken Heart series. The first book was okay, I didn’t love it but I did love Stephanie Garber’s writing and her other series, Caraval, is one of my all time favourite series, so I wanted to keep reading. This second book was much better than the first. I enjoyed how the characters developed and that there seemed to be a more engaging plot in this book. I did not like the ending, that’s why it’s in tenth place here, it has a trope that I really hate to see so I am hesitant about going into reading the third and final book in this series.

In number 9:

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros. I won’t write any thoughts here, I will put them altogether with the other books in the series which (spoiler alert) are higher up on this list.

In number 8:

Way of the Argosi by Sebastien de Castell. This is the first in the spin off, prequel series, that goes with Castell’s Spellslinger series – another of my all time favourite series’. In Way of the Argosi we follow a young Ferrius and we see how she starts on the path to becoming an Argosi. I really enjoy how the writer builds the layers for characters in this series. She starts out as a scared young girl and we really get to go along on the journey with her as she figures out how strong she is and as she learns what is the best thing to do. I thought without Kellen in it I would not enjoy this series as much, I don’t usually enjoy prequel’s because I sort of know how they end but this one surprised me, I loved it and I hope to finish all three books by the end of the year.

In number 7:

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas. I started this year with the idea that I was going to finish ALL of the Sarah J Maas books on my shelves, because I own all of them and I had only read the first book in each of her series’ – A Court of Thorns and Roses, Throne of Glass and Crescent City House of Earth and Blood. So, I had big goals for this year to get through all 13 other books that I owned in these series’. At this point, it is August and I am making progress in this goal but I’m not sure I’m going to make it but hey, we shall see. I did read Crown of Midnight. Which, to begin with was very slow going. It was a little boring with all the information you get at the beginning but then once the action gets started it hooks you in and I started to really enjoy it and I am excited to get around to Heir of Fire next.

In number 6:

Unravel Me by Taherah Mafi. This is the second book in the Shatter Me series which follows Juliette, a girl who has been in prison for a long time because if she touches you then you die is basically the premise. I enjoyed the first book but I loved the second book. The writing is done in a way that you really feel like you are inside Juliette’s head, feeling what she is feeling and there are so many parts that are absolutely heartbreaking.

In number 5:

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros. I did warn you this one was coming and yes, the first book in the series is up higher on the list and I will give my thoughts with that one.

In number 4:

Throne of Secrets by Kerri Maniscalco. This is the second book in the princes of sin series, the spin off of the Kingdom of the Wicked trilogy. This one follows Prince Gluttony and his rivalry with a newspaper journalist. I did enjoy this one, it wasn’t as good as the rest of Kerri’s books in my opinion, a bit too cinderella-y for me but I still enjoyed the tension and the way the mysteries are done in the plot. Also, it has dragons. The next book in this series follows Prince Sloth and I cannot wait for this book to come out, I will devour it the day I get it. Unfortunately that won’t be until February.

In number 3:

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas. As I was saying, I planned to read all of her books that I had not read yet, this year. So, I have currently read four out of five of the ACOTAR series and ACOWAR is so far my favourite out of the series. I like the balance between battle and romance within this book, although I do kind of think the series could have ended nicely here I appreciate getting to spend more books with the characters.

In number 2:

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Here it is. Okay, honesty. I spent two years refusing to read this book, I didn’t think I would like it and it got so popular so quickly I was cautious about it. Then I got a cheap copy of the first book and I absolutely loved it. And now I have multiple t-shirts, seven dragon soft toys, a bunch of pins and other merchandise and I have read all three books in the series… I might like the series a little bit.

In the top spot, number 1 is:

Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco. This is the fourth and final book in the Stalking Jack the Ripper series. It follows Audrey Rose Wadsworth and Thomas Cresswell as they uncover different mysteries like Jack the Ripper, a killer who mimics Dracula, a circus with Houdini in it and this final book they come up against the serial killer H H Holmes. I adore this series. I love everything about it.

What are some of your favourite fantasy books you have read so far this year?

Monthly Wrap Ups

July Wrap Up!

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Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day today, it is the first of August and that means it is time for my monthly wrap up of what I did and what I read in July.

I don’t know about any of you but July was crazy busy for me, every time I thought I would have a day to myself to relax it got filled with something else and so heading into August I’m pretty much exhausted constantly. And now it is the summer holidays, so I’ll be even busier. Anyway, nevermind. I still managed to get some good books read in July and hopefully I will be able to do the same in August.

From my July TBR:

  • Us In Ruins by Rachel Moore – I have not read this. I am at the end of the month and it is this and one other book left on my TBR, I just don’t have enough time to get to it this month.
  • Ignite Me by Taherah Mafi – I am currently reading, and enjoying this book. Actually as I am writing this I plan on finishing this book tonight.
  • A Corruption of Blood by Ambrose Parry – I did read this. The third book in the series following Dr Will Raven in Edinburgh, The series has taken a turn I was not expecting and I am currently unsure if I like where this seems to be going or not but I guess we will see.
  • Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas – I did not read this. I have kept it on my book cart because there is still a chance I will get to it by the end of this month but if not I might find time next month.
  • A Deadly Night At The Theatre by Katy Watson – I did read this. The next installment in the Three Dahlias series. I enjoyed how this time we saw the three women a bit at odds with each other, it made them seem more human in a way which I liked although some of the plot felt a little forced it was still a great book.
  • The Painted Dragon by Katherine Woodfine – I did read this and I did not really enjoy it. This is the third book in the series, there is a fourth but I don’t think I am going to read it.
  • Murder at the Village Fair by Helena Dixon – I did read this. This is book 12? maybe? of the Miss Underhay series and as with all the others, a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Outside of my TBR I also read Murder at the Highland Castle by Helena Dixon. This means I have read six books this month which I am pretty pleased about, it could have been better and I could have rushed those last two books but I hope to enjoy both of them so, perhaps I will read them in August.

One thing I have been doing recently is I have a book journal where I write down what books I have read and when and this new one that I got online has monthly pages that you fill in which books are your favourite and least favourite of the month which then goes into a chart to show the best book of the year.

My favourite book this month was….. A Deadly Night at the Theatre by Katy Watson

My least favourite book was….. The Painted Dragon by Katherine Woodfine, unfortunately I just do not get the same enjoyment from this series as I used to.

What were your favourite reads of this month?

Monthly TBRs

July TBR!

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Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today and a lovely summer. I can’t believe it is summer already, half the year is gone.

Today I am sharing my TBR for the month of July, there are so many books that I want to read right now it was hard to choose. What are you looking forward to reading in July?

Us In Ruins by Rachel Moore

Ignite Me by Taherah Mafi

A Corruption Of Blood by Ambrose Parry

Heir Of Fire by Sarah J Maas

A Deadly Night At The Theatre by Katy Watson

The Painted Dragon by Katherine Woodfine

Murder At The Village Fair by Helena Dixon

Monthly Wrap Ups

April Wrap Up!

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Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today. What a month April was. For me personally, there were many highs and lows to do with family and learning how to juggle those things alongside my PhD was difficult but here we are finally at the end of the month and things have settled down a bit. Anyway, in terms of reading I had a good month. I finished my TBR and I got through a couple of extra books too which was surprising alongside everything else but a nice bonus. It was also a good month for enjoying the books I was reading.

What was your favourite book that you read in April? I have started making a list of my favourite book that I read in each month of this year and then in December I’ll be able to see what my top ten books of the year could be. So far the list is: January – Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, February – Murder By Candlelight by Faith Martin, March – Finlay Donovan Jumps The Gun by Elle Cosimano and April – Capturing The Devil by Kerri Maniscalco.

What I read in April: from my TBR –

  • Finlay Donovan Jumps The Gun by Elle Cosimano – I had written my TBR for April around the middle of March and it turned out that I had time to squeeze this one into my March reading instead. I had been putting off this book for a while because I wasn’t sure if I was going to continue the series after book two, it was starting to feel a bit samey but I decided to read it and I ended up loving it and subsequently bought the next two books in the series which i am excited to get to.
  • Phantasma by Kaylie Smith – I did read this. After all the hype I was excited but apprehensive to get to this one because I had heard so many opinions, mostly positive, and I thought it probably wouldn’t live up to the hype. I will be posting my full review of this book on the 12th May.
  • The White Queen by Philippa Gregory – I did read this – there may be some historical inaccuracies within the novel but as a lover of history from the 1400s to the 1600s I still enjoyed this novel.
  • Capturing The Devil by Kerri Maniscalco – as you can see from above I did read this and it was my favourite read of April (though it was a close race between this one, unravel me and murder at highgate cemetary). This was the final book in the Stalking Jack the Ripper series and I will be posting my full review of it on the 19th of May.
  • Reckless by Lauren Roberts – I did read this and I did enjoy it, I see where the negative reviews are coming from with the lack of substance to the plot but I generally just enjoy being in this world with these characters and that cliffhanger was quite something. I am looking forward to reading the final book in the series and seeing what happens.
  • Murder At The Country Club by Helena Dixon – I did read this and like all the other books in the Miss Underhay series it was fantastic.
  • Unravel Me by Taherah Mafi – I did read this. This is the second book in the Shatter Me series. This series has a way of sucking you in. I had some issues with Juliette’s character in this book and how little she stood up for herself but I also recognise that she needs the time to grow into that and I have a feeling it is going to happen in the third book. Otherwise I loved this book, its nearly 500 pages and I devoured it in a day easily.

Outside of my TBR I also read: Murder On Board by Helena Dixon, Murder At Highgate Cemetary by Irina Shapiro and Graveyard Shift by M L Rio that I was gifted for my birthday. Overall this means I read 10 books in April which I am very pleased with. There was only one that was a bit of a slog to read but everything else I really enjoyed, hopefully my reading in May will be just as good!

Uncategorized

April Book Releases

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Happy friday bookish people! It is time to bring you a list of some of the book releases of April.

There are two releases on the 1st of April: the first being Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez and the other is Vera Wong’s Guide To Snooping

On the 3rd of April there is one release: Fearless by Lauren Roberts

On the 8th April there is a release of the second book in the Phantasma series: Enchantra by Kaylie Smith

On the 15th April there are two releases: Watch Me by Taherah Mafi and Wild and Wrangled by Lyla Sage

and finally on the 24th April: Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

Monthly TBRs

April TBR

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Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today. It is already April, I don’t know about anyone else but that has snuck up on me. What are you planning to read this month?

For this month I have tried to put together books that are a mix of genres so that I can have something fresh in between the big fantasy books.

My April TBR is:

Finlay Donovan Jumps The Gun by Elle Cosimano

Unravel Me by Taherah Mafi

Phantasma by Kaylie Smith

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

Capturing The Devil by Kerri Mansicalco

Reckless by Lauren Roberts

Murder At The Country Club by Helena Dixon

Book Reviews

Shatter Me by Taherah Mafi Book Review

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Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day today.

Today I am sharing my book review for Shatter Me by Taherah Mafi. I have had this book for years, and it was getting to the point where I was thinking this had to be the year I would either read it or it would be time to let it go. Then I got hold of the beautiful Illumicrate edition of the first book and so I decided FINALLY I would read it – and it was worth every moment.

Blurb/Synopsis:

I have a curse
I have a gift

I am a monster
I’m more than human

My touch is lethal
My touch is power

I am their weapon
I will fight back

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war—and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

My Review:

What a book this was! Shatter Me follows a girl called Juliette, when the book begins you find out she has been imprisoned for a long time and her parents gave her up basically, all because she has a power that she can’t control.

I honestly thought I wasn’t going to enjoy this book because it is a bit of a dystopian and that has never been my genre but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. This book manages to get the best balance between action, friendship, loyalty, and keep the characters realistic. I liked that Juliette wasn’t created as some kind of superhero character, she had flaws and she had human emotions and I loved that. I really can’t say much about the plot without spoiling anything but I can say that this book did not go the way that I thought it would, you start to think you have everything figured out then you are immediately hit with a huge twist.

If you were on the fence about reading this book I would highly recommend it!