Tag: the appeal

Bookmas 2021

Merry Bookmas Day 21 – 21st December – Christmas Cuisine Book Tag

theblindscribe

Happy Tuesday bookish people! merry Bookmas day 21! This month is speeding by. I’m bringing you another book tag. Today’s is the Christmas Cuisine Book Tag which I thought was a very interesting idea to turn into a book tag. I found this tag on narrativeparadise.com

Yule Log – A beautiful edition of a book

For this one I chose the Shadow and Bone Collectors edition because I already had two copies of this book but it was so beautiful that I had to buy this one as well.

Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo - COLLECTOR'S EDITION - FairyLoot

Gingerbread House – A struggle to read but worth it

For this one I chose A Curse so Dark and Lonely because the first 50 pages I had no interest in it at all, I was bored to be honest but once I got into the story i was much more engaged and I gave the book five stars.

Roasted Chestnuts – read fondly at Christmas

I chose A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett because it has that hopefulness that I always associate with Christmas so it’s a book I like to read around this time of year.

Turkey – A character everyone else loved but you only pretended to

Tella in caraval. I did not like her character and even in Legendary where she was more bearable I still didn’t like her.

Pavlova – A book you’re most looking forward to reading next

I have to say House of Sky and Breath the next book in the Crescent City series because I loved the first book and I am very intrigued as to where the author is going to take the series next.

Ham – A book that makes the ordinary extraordinary

I can only think of one book for this and that is Miss Peregrines Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.

Christmas cake – A book that had everything in it

And here I will put Crescent City by Sarah J Maas because it really does have everything, magic, intriguing plots, werewolves, angels, brilliant characters, romance. there’s so much in this book.

I think the most popular book I’ve read this year is A Court of Thorns and Roses – so many people are always talking about this book and I am glad that I finally got around to reading it.

Sachertorte – An intimidating book

I have to choose City of Brass for this one because I was so intimidated by it that I read 200 pages and stopped reading, I definitely intend on going back to it sometime soon though.

Vitel Tone – Sceptical but surprised

Get a Life Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert was the book that surprised me the most this year.

Stollen – Same old plot line but did it better

I think the Postscript murders works for this one because it has the same premise as a lot of mystery books that came out at the same time but it was still such a good book that made itself stand out against the others.

Parkanalaatiko – A book you need right now

Play of Shadows by Sebastien De Castell, I want everything he has ever and will ever write right now.

Ciorba De Perisoare – A book you bought without needing to read the blurb

Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber, she is an instant buy author for me. Plus the book is beautiful.

Risalamande – A book with a surprising plot twist

The Appeal. I won’t say any more than that.

Mince Pies – A book you would never sell even if you don’t re-read it

Literally all of my books!

Bookmas 2021

Merry Bookmas Day 13 – 13th December – The Best And Worst Books 2021

theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! Merry Bookmas day 13! I am really excited to be writing this post. I will be talking about what the best and the worst books are that I read each month. I had to think very hard about which books I wanted to feature because some months there were lots of books that I enjoyed and then I had to choose between them which one I liked most and that was hard. Then other months there were books that I really didn’t like so it was overall quite a balanced year.

January

For my favourite book I read in January I was trying to decide between two options, both were fantasy books and they were very different to each other. I ended up choosing A Court of Thorns and Roses as my favourite book of January because it’s a book I still think about and not just because I haven’t continued with the series yet.

For the worst book I read in January I chose The Sisters Grimm by Menna Van Praag, actually I didn’t even finish the book this year. I Dnf’d it at about the halfway point of the book. I don’t know if I just wasn’t in the mood for it at that point or if I just found the plot a little boring but I do plan on giving the book another chance at some point.

February

My favourite book in February was Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell which surprisingly is a contemporary romance and not at all what I was expecting but I really loved it.

My least favourite book in February was What A Way To Go by Julia Forster. There was nothing about the book that I liked, that doesn’t mean that someone else won’t love this book it just wasn’t for me.

March

My favourite book was The Strange Case of the Alchemists Daughter by Theadora Goss which I saw some of my favourite youtubers talk about and so I read it and loved the premise, I am excited to continue the series.

My least favourite book of March was Skyseed by Bill McGuire. It’s another book that just wasn’t a genre or plot that I enjoyed.

April

My favourite book for this month was Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin and I can’t believe it took me so long to read that book because it is definitely a contender for my overall favourite book of the year.

My least favourite book was Mirrorland by Carole Johnston. I couldn’t sleep after reading this book I just found it way too scary for me so I didn’t end up enjoying it.

May

My favourite book of this month was Get A Life Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert. Another romance, I am surprising myself by reading outside of my comfort zone this year.

My least favourite book this month was Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch. So, I’m not loving every book I read that is outside my comfort zone. I didn’t really like the characters in this book and that made it a struggle for me to read it.

June

My favourite book was The Hatmakers by Tamzin Merchant. It’s a fantastic middle grade book that I would highly reccomend.

My least favourite book was I Hope You’re Listening by Tom Ryan because I hit a chapter that felt too disturbing for me, there was something about it that didn’t sit well with me so I Dnf’d it for the moment.

July

My favourite book of July was A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn. It was nice to read a murder mystery that is set in Victorian times and I ended up realising I love books set in this period of time.

My least favourite book was Pumpkin by Julie Murphy. Now, I liked the book but it wasn’t a stand out book for me.

August

My favourite book was The Appeal by Janice Hallett because it was so different and engaging and one of the best mysteries I read this year.

My least favourite book this month was The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels. There was a lot about this book I liked, such as the pirate style assassin Ned who I loved but there was something missing for me but I can’t pinpoint exactly what.

September

My favourite book of this month was A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder by holly Jackson without a doubt. I loved this book and I am still thinking about this book now months later.

My least favourite book of this month was The Woman In The Woods by M K Hill. The mystery itself would have been okay but the characters were so hard to like.

October

My favourite book of this month was City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab, it was a reread but I enjoyed it just as much the second time around.

My least favourite book was Once Upon A Crime by Robin Stevens. I am not the biggest fan of short stories so I liked the writing but I needed more from the stories.

November

My favourite book of this month was Take A Hint Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert – another romance book!

My least favourite book of this month was the Howling Hag Mystery by Nicki Thornton. The plot was too predictable for my liking, even as a middle grade book.

December

Now, I’m writing this in December so I am gong to say what I predict will be my favourite and least favourite books of the month. I think my favourite book will be either Eliza and her Monsters or All of us villains. My least favourite book I predict will be In the Crypt with a Candlestick.

That’s it for the best and worst books for 2021, I hope you all enjoyed it!

Bookmas 2021

Merry Bookmas Day 11 – 11th December – Books That Surprised Me In 2021

theblindscribe

Happy Saturday Bookish people! And Merry Bookmas day 11. Today I wanted to share some of the books that have surprised me throughout this year. There have been quite a few books that have done this actually, for lots of different reasons. I will try and show a picture of each book, give the title and give a little bit of information about why the book surprised me.

I’ll start with two books from the same series…

The first two books that I want to mention are Get A Life Chloe Brown and Take A Hint Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert. These two books are part of the Brown Sisters trilogy, I can’t include the third book yet because I haven’t read it but I imagine it would give me the same reaction. I was surprised by these two books because they are adult romance books and romance has never been a genre that I have enjoyed all that much. However, Talia Hibbert’s books have a good balance between wit and the actual romance, she also includes a plot in the books which made it easier for me to enjoy. I also loved some of the characters. If you are interested in my full thoughts about these two books I have posted reviews of them both.

Another book that surprised me was…

The reason I was surprised by this book is because it is written almost completely in email correspondence. I knew this before reading the book and it made me think that I might not enjoy the book as much because I couldn’t see how the mystery would still have those character relationships and the tension that I like in a book. I was wrong because I ended up loving the book and thought that using emails was a brilliant choice on the part of the author.

Another mystery that surprised me was…

Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz surprised me because it is a large book and I hadn’t read anything by this author before. I was surprised that I was kept engaged in the complex and long mystery. It was one of my favourite books that I have read this year. I have a review of this book posted if you want to know my full thoughts on the book.

A historical book that I was surprised by is…

A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn. This book is, the first book in a series, about a woman, I believe in the Victorian period, who is thrown into the middle of a mystery. I wasn’t sure I would enjoy this book because I hadn’t read many historical mysteries but now it is a genre I actively look for when buying books.

Up next is a book that was bought for me..

Lireal by Garth Nix. This is a book that surprised me because it was recommended to me by my partner. He had showed it to me in the shop and I looked at the synopsis and thought it might be an okay book but I didn’t really feel like reading it but my partner bought it for me so then I had to read it. And of course, he was right, I loved the book and I ended up giving it five stars.

Up next is…

Pumpkin by Julie Murphy. I got this book after seeing lots of great reviews about it and I thought well, it sounds okay so I’ll give it a go. I was surprised I liked it because again it’s not my preferred genre but I did end up liking it.

The next one is part of a series…

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman. I have only read the first two books in the series so far but I was surprised by them because of the premise of the series. If it is a book about books or librarians I’m almost guaranteed to love it. But I was less sure about this book because it combined librarians with the supernatural world of vampires and fae and spies. I was imagining a retelling of James Bond but it was nothing like that but I ended up enjoying it and continuing with the series.

The next book is a stand alone I put off reading…

Fangirl : Rowell, Rainbow: Amazon.co.uk: Books

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell is another book that is way out of my usual genre, I had to fulfill a prompt for a readathon and I ended up picking Fangirl because it is a book about a girl who loves writing stories and fanfiction which to me is more relatable than some other romance/contemporary books. I was surprised that I actually became very emotionally invested in the characters, especially Cath and I gave the book five stars.

The final book for this list is…

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden surprised me because it is based on folklore and is a very dark book, there is a dark and cold atmosphere to the story. But I found the whole book to be beautiful, whimsical and magical. One of the best books I have read.

That’s it for the books that have surprised me in 2021, I hope you all enjoyed reading about it. What books have surprised you in 2021?

Monthly Wrap Ups

August Wrap Up!

theblindscribe

Happy Thursday bookish people! I’m sorry this post is going up so late, it is now the second of September and a few things have changed this week, the main thing being that I moved in with my partner! So I’ve spent the last few days packing up most of my things and then yesterday moving into the new place. But I’ve got some time now where I can finally put up this post and right after I’ll be posting my September TBR post so check that out too if you’re interested.

onto the wrap up!

The month of August was really busy for me, I finished and submitted my dissertation, I went for a job interview which I’m hoping to get and of course I moved out of my old house. Honestly, I’m surprised I managed to read as much as I did this month.

Olay, let’s get it out of the way, I did not finish my TBR, but I did read a few books outside of my TBR. Let’s see what I did and didn’t read this month!

August TBR and thoughts:

  • An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson – I did not read this, I wanted to get to it but in the end there wasn’t time.
  • Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert – I read this one! I surprisingly really enjoyed this book and if you want my full thoughts I have written a review of this book.
  • The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis – I did not read this.
  • The House in the Cerulean Sea – I didn’t read this one either.
  • Legendary by Stephanie Garber – I read this one! I loved Caraval so much and although I didn’t love Legendary as much it was still a great book.
  • The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow – I did not read this.
  • Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard – I didn’t read this one either, there were some big books on my TBR so I didn’t get to most of them.
  • Rivers of London – I wanted so badly to get to this one but I didn’t manage it.
  • Soulbinder by Sebastien De Castell – I read this one and loved it, I don’t have many left in the series and I’m so sad about that.
  • The Appeal by Janice Hallett – I read this one and thought it was a very interesting take on a murder mystery, you can see my review post if you’re interested in all of my thoughts.
  • The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman – I read and loved this book, Kai and Irene are quickly becoming two of my favourite fictional characters.
  • The Way of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry – I read this one and I’m excited to get to the sequel soon.
  • These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan – I did not read this.
  • Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angelles – I didn’t read this one either.
  • The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton – I read this one!

So that was my TBR and I ended up reading seven of the books but on top of that I also read:

  • Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horrowitz
  • Girl, 11 by Amy Suiter Clarke
  • The Gauntlet and the Fist Beneath by Ian Green
  • Alice Shaken and Definitely Stirred by Paula Smith
  • The Turnout by Megan Abbott

Overall I’ve not done too badly this month, I read 12 books and I’m pretty proud of that. So, that’s it for this wrap up, I hope you all enjoyed it!

Book Reviews, Uncategorized

Book Review: The Appeal by Janice Hallett

theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! It’s Monday again which means it’s time for more book reviews. This weekend I was taking part in the 1000 doors readathon where I intended to read nine books, I did not manage this I actually only managed five before I got too tired.

The first of these books was The Appeal by Janice Hallett.

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.

The Appeal Plot:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I loved how unique this plot was, you as the reader get to see the case exactly how the detectives are seeing it as they try to solve the murder. I was shocked by the end of this book because although part of it was exactly what I thought it would be but I didn’t predict it all which I loved. Discovering the story through the ‘evidence’ found after the murder made this a very unique mystery and I enjoyed trying to figure it out.

The Appeal Characters:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Because of how this book was laid out each of the characters felt like they had their own personal voice and I liked that because it felt more intimate than some mystery books do, I felt like I got a lot more background into the characters for me to base my opinion on.

The Appeal Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I loved the uniqueness of the writing in this book. It was laid out in emails and text messages and not only did this make it easier for me to understand the characters and their motivations but also splitting it up into chunks made the complex plot manageable.

The Appeal Overall:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I gave this book four stars overall. I liked the uniqueness of the writing and the complex details of the plot but I do think some of the aspects could have been slightly less predictable.

Blurb/SYnopsis:

IN A TOWN FULL OF SECRETS
SOMEONE WAS MURDERED.
SOMEONE WENT TO PRISON.
AND EVERYONE’S A SUSPECT.
CAN YOU UNCOVER THE TRUTH?

Dear Reader,

Enclosed are documents relating to the events surrounding the Fairway Players’ staging of All My Sons, and the tragic death of one of its members. Another member is currently in prison for the crime. We have reason to suspect that they are innocent, and that there were far darker secrets that have yet to be revealed.

We believe that the killer has given themselves away. It’s there in writing, hidden in the emails, texts, and letters. In the events surrounding the charity appeal for little Poppy Reswick, and the question of whether that money was truly being used to fund her life-saving cancer treatment. Will you accept the challenge? Can you uncover the truth? Do you dare?

The standout debut thriller of 2021 that delivers multiple brilliant twists, and will change the way you think about the modern crime novel. 

Monthly TBRs

August TBR!

theblindscribe

Happy Saturday bookish people! July is coming to a close and I’m hoping August will be a great month, not just for reading but also for experience. Next week is my partner’s Father’s birthday and I’m going down to Cornwall for that weekend. Hopefully that will be lovely, I think it will be.

So, in July I ended up reading thirteen books and starting two others and I’m hoping this good reading will continue in August.

Again I’ve given myself a large TBR and that is before any book tour books, let’s get into it:

August TBR:

  • An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson – I started this one a while back but I’m excited to get back to it in August.
  • Get A Life Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert – I’m not that keen on contemporary but I won this in a giveaway and I’m willing to give the book a go.
  • The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis – I don’t know much about this book but from the blurb it looks good.
  • The House in the Cerulean Sea by T J Clune – I’ve seen so many good things about this book and I can’t wait to read it.
  • Legendary by Stephanie Garber – I absolutely loved Caraval, the first in this series, and I’m not sure if I will love this one as much because it follows Tella and honestly I didn’t like her much in the first book.
  • The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow – Witches are a common theme in books I enjoy so I hope that will continue with this one.
  • Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard
  • Rivers of London by Ben Aaronivitch – a supernatural detective just sounds amazing
  • Soulbinder by Sebastien De Castell – I’m very excited to continue with this series.
  • The Appeal by Janice hallett – this looks like a very unusual murder mystery and I’m looking forward to reading it.
  • The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman – I’m actually halfway through this book already, I started it a while ago and I’m excited to finish it.
  • The Way of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry – another murder mystery that should be a good read.
  • These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan – the blurb of this sounds so good.
  • Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angelles – this is set in a circus and has a competition in it, it gives me a similar feeling to the night circus and I’m looking forward to it.
  • The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton – this one sounds like a light but still intriguing book.

That’s it for my August TBR! Have you read any of these books? Are any on your TBR?