Happy Monday bookish people! Welcome to my first post of 2023, I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year.
as we all know last year was definitely a rollercoaster, and I was extremely busy so reading took a backseat for much of the year. I am hoping this year that I will be able to read much more so fingers crossed.
January TBR
Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson
A Gathering of Shadows by V E Schwab
Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T A Willberg
A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi
Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
House in the Cerulean Sea by T J Klune
Love in the time of serial killers
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
the unexpected everything by Morgan matson
that’s it for January’s TBR, I am excited for it so hopefully I will get to read a few of them at least. Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?
Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today. I am bringing you my November Wrap Up today. It was one of those months where I felt like I read a lot but I actually only read a little bit, do you ever have those types of months?
Anyway onto the wrap up!
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – I did not read this but I do have a reason, it’s literally on the top shelf of my bookcase and I can’t reach it without a step ladder which I also can’t get to at the moment.
The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas – I think we can safely say none of us are surprised I didn’t read this, romance is not my go to genre.
Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead by Elle Cosimano – I did read this! And I really enjoyed it so look out for my book review coming soon.
The Girl’s I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe – I did not read this.
Emma by Jane Austen – Okay so I started reading this in November and I am currently reading it now, It is also on my December TBR so it is a bit of a crossover into both months.
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley – I did not read this.
City of Brass by S A Chakraborty – I did not read this.
Finale by Stephanie Garber – I did not read this either.
Crownbreaker by Sebastien De Castell – I am still currently halfway through this book.
Amy and Rogers Epic Detour by Morgan Matson – Another romance of course I didn’t read it.
From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout – I did not read this
Gallant by V E Schwab – I did not read this either.
So, that was the books on my TBR and I read one of them…oops. But outside my TBR I also read Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, I borrowed the audiobook from my library for my trip to Liverpool and that was really enjoyable.
What did you read in November?
That’s it for my wrap-up I hope you all enjoyed it!
Happy Friday bookish people! October flew by didn’t it? So much has happened in the past month, and don’t worry I haven’t forgotten about my October Wrap up, that will be coming on Monday instead.
So, of course the biggest thing that happened is that my sister got married! She has just got back from honeymoon and while she was gone I have ben catsitting for her which has been fun.
And in amazing news, I matched with a guide dog! She will be moving in with me next week and then it is ten days of training before she graduates as my official guide dog! Of course I will be updating you all on here about my journey throughout this month.
Anyway, onto my November TBR!
November TBR
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas
Finlay Donovan Knocks Em Dead by Elle Cosimano
The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe
Emma by Jane Austen
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
City of Brass by S A Chakraborty
Finale by Stephanie Garber
Crownbreaker by Sebastien De Castell
Amy and Rogers Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout
Gallant by V E Schwab
That’s it for my November TBR, have you read any of these? Let me know!
Happy Friday bookish people! Next weekend is Mother’s Day and so I thought why not have a look and see if there are any Mother’s Day themed book tags around and I found one on YouTube by blissful and bookish so that is what I will be doing for you today.
Best Friend: Pick characters in a book whose friendship you admire the most:
For this one I went with Irene and Kai in The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman. To begin with they don’t really get along and it was great seeing the friendship start to develop and what I like most about it is that they have seen the worst of each other and still they are there when the other needs them.
Comfort: what’s a book that always puts you in a better mood:
For this one I chose Lady in the Tower by Marie Louise Jenson because it is one of my favourite books and no matter what mood I am in or what has happened it always makes me feel calmer when I read it.
Doesn’t Give Up: What’s a book that you were tempted to DNF but instead finished:
I chose The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater because I didn’t love the book and I found it took me a long time to read it but I don’t like to DNF books so I pushed on and I did end up giving it three stars and I will read the rest of the series.
Selfless: What’s a book that you had to sacrifice for:
I went with the Queen of Nothing because I sacrificed having a complete set of paperbacks because I couldn’t wait to read the final book in the series so I bought it in hardback as soon as it came out.
Love: What’s your favourite love story:
I had to go with Caraval, the characters of Scarlett and Julian, by Stephanie Garber. Definitely my favourite love story even though it isn’t a romance book.
Homemaker: If you could live with a fictional family whose home would you go to:
I would go and live with the Brown Sisters in Talia Hibbert’s novels because they seem very supportive and fun and I don’t know anyone quite like them in real life.
Forgiving: name a character you hate but would eventually have to forgive:
I had to go for Eli Ever from Vicious by V E Schwaab, although don’t actually have a reason for it, I just think I would end up forgiving him.
Teacher: name a book that has taught you thins that will stay with you forever
I chose Stalking Jack the Ripper because it taught me that you don’t have to fit yourself into society’s expectations.
Dedication: what’s a book that you would like to dedicate to your mum and why:
I struggled with this one, I was looking for a title that would resemble this question but I couldn’t find one so I went with a book series that I think my mum would enjoy reading which is the Clockwork Angel (Infernal Devices) series by Cassandra Clare.
That’s it for this book tag, I hope you all enjoyed it!
Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day today. I thought it might be fun today to share what some books I have, that I have signed, are.
I would just like to say that I am not trying to brag about the books that I have I just thought it might be fun to share which books and where I may have gotten some of them.
The Devil Makes Three by Tori Bovalino
I got this book as a wonderful signed edition from my monthly Illumicrate boxes
The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis
I also got this book in a book box!
Dangerous Remedy by Kat Dunn
I also got this one in an Illumicrate box, I read it and loved it and now I own the second one in the series.
Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody
My friend ordered me this book from online because they had found a hardback copy and then when it arrived it was a great surprise to find out it was also signed
The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant
I got this amazing book in my Illumicrate box too.
Mrs England by Stacey Halls
I managed to grab a signed edition of this book from my local waterstones
Haven’t They Grown by Sophie Hannah
I found this book in a charity shop and it turned out to be a signed hardback and it was an amazing bargain
A Line To Kill by Anthony Horowitz
I got this from a company called Forbidden Planet, I was just scrolling through their website and I ended up ordering a lot of books (oops!) and I managed to get a signed copy of this book from there.
The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
I got this one in my Waterstones, it didn’t say it was signed and I was very happy when I got home and saw it was signed
Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow
I got this book and Once and Future Witches by the same author in my monthly book boxes
As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson
I got this one in my local Waterstones
Under the Whispering Door by T J Klune
I found a signed copy of this one in my Whsmiths and I was really excited to find this one
Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff
I got this book in a recent Illumicrate box
The Desolation of Devil’s Acre by Ransom Riggs
I managed to preorder a signed copy of this book from waterstones
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
I got this book in my Illumicrate box too
Little Thieves by Margaret Owen
I got this beautiful book in my Illumicrate box
One Of Us Is Lying/One Of Us Is Next/Two Can Keep A Secret by Karen M McManus
I got these books signed when I met Karen M McManus at YALC in 2019 which was amazing!
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
I also got this in my Illumicrate box
The Mapmakers by Tamzin Merchant
My local waterstones luckily had a signed copy of this book
This Woven Kingdom by Taherah Mafi
I also got this one in my Illumicrate box
Terciel and Elinor by Garth Nix
I was looking everywhere for a signed copy of this book and I finally found one in Whsmiths
A Darker Shade of Magic by V E Schwab
I bought the special Illumicrate box for this book and along with some other items it got me a signed copy of this book
That’s it for this blog post, I hope you all enjoyed it! Do you have any signed books?
Happy Monday bookish people! Today I want to show you the books being published in 2022 that I am very highly anticipating. This is a really fun post to make, I also love looking at other people’s version of this so I hope you all enjoy looking at mine just as much as I like looking at other people’s lists.
House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J Maas
Belladonna by Adalyn Grace
Play of Shadows by Sebastien de Castell
The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
This Woven Kingdom by Taherah Mafi
Glorious Poison by Kat Dunn
Gallant by V E Schwab
An Impossible Imposter by Deanna raybourn
Bloodmarket by Tracey Deonn
Scarlet by Genevieve Cogman
All the Queens men by S J Bennett
Chain of Thorns by Cassandra Clare
The Blood Traitor by Lynette Noni
The mapmakers by Tamzin Merchant
I was going to add pictures of the books, even though not all the covers have been released yet, but for some reason my laptop did not want to do that today so instead you’ve got just a list of the books, I hope that’s okay!
Are any of these on your list of anticipated 2022 books?
Happy Sunday bookish people! And Merry Bookmas day 12! I thought it would be really fun to do another book tag today. I found the questions over at thesassygeek.wordpress.com.
Let’s get into the book tag!
You’re A Mean One Mr Grinch – Name A Villainous Character You Can’t Help But Love
For this one I had to choose Victor Vale from Vicious by V E Schwab because he’s a morally grey character and as a reader you’re never really sure if he’s a good guy or a bad guy and I really liked that. I also really liked his dialogue and his interaction with other characters – he is what made the book enjoyable for me.
All I Want For Christmas Is You – Which book do you want to see under the tree this year?
I have quite a few different books on my wishlist but one of the books I really want is The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi.
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer – Name a character that overcomes major obstacles and learns to believe in themselves
There are so many characters I could choose for this but I eventually chose Zaf from Take A Hint Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert because at the beginning of the book Zaf has so much anxiety and he has ideas of what he wants to do but there are things holding him back and by the end his character has really grown and I loved that.
Santa Clause is Coming To Town – Which character is on the naughty list and which character is on the nice list?
I’d put Tamlin from A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas on the naughty list and Elizabeth Scrivener from Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson.
Frosty The Snowman – Melts your heart?
For this I thought of Cath and Levi from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell because I felt there were lots of similarities between Cath and myself and it was nice to see the romance in this book even though usually I don’t like romance at all.
Feliz Navidad – Choose A book that takes place in a country other than your own
Again, there were so many books I could choose for this one. I settled on The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden because it is one of my favourite books that I have read.
It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year – Which holiday themed book do you use to spread Christmas joy?
I’ve struggled to think of an answer to this question because I haven’t read any holiday themed books yet.
Sleigh Ride – A fictional character to spend the holidays with?
I haven’t got a reason for this choice but my mind instantly went to Rhysand from A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas
Baby It’s Cold Outside – A book you didn’t like and that you would sacrifice to a fire to keep yourself warm?
First of all, I wouldn’t put any books into a fire but a book that I didn’t like is a good question. I would say We Are Blood and Thunder by Kesia Lupo because I just did not like that book at all, I actually gave it to my best friend and they enjoyed it so I’m glad I gave it to her.
Do You Hear What I Hear – Which book do you think everyone should read?
Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco!
That’s it for this Christmas Song book tag, I hope you all enjoyed reading my answers. What would you all have put for your answers, let me know in the comments!
Happy Monday bookish people! And Merry Bookmas day 6. Are you getting excited for Christmas yet? I’m starting to feel the excitement but I’m not fully there yet but making all these blog posts is helping to raise my Christmas cheer, I hope they are doing the same for all of you! Today I am bringing you my answers to the Christmas Stocking Tag, the unfortunate thing is I can’t remember whose blog I saw this tag on.
You get up on Christmas morning and your stocking is full. You take it down and start to unwrap the treats inside. The first thing you see is…
An orange – Which book is refreshing and vibrant both inside and out?
For this I have to go for Caraval by Stephanie Garber because the world is just so magical and entrancing and as the question says, refreshing.
2. A bag of chocolate coins – which book have you bought recently that was expensive but totally worth the price?
I chose the special edition of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V E Schwab because I only bought it last week and I couldn’t help myself, this edition is so beautiful I would have regretted it if I hadn’t bought it.
3. A bath bomb – tell us about a book with explosive action scenes?
For this I instantly thought of A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer and I’m not completely sure why. There are lots of big action scenes in this series and it’s the main thing that I remember from the first book. I haven’t read the rest of the series yet.
4. A pack of playing cards – a series that won you over?
The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman. I read the first book and though I enjoyed it I still wasn’t too sure whether I would enjoy the whole series or not, then I read the second book – The Masked City and I realised I would love this series.
5. A candle – A character who is a symbol of hops? I will be honest here, my brain went completely foggy and I couldn’t think of any character that is a symbol of hope to me.
6. Socks – a book that encompasses all the distinctive tropes of it’s genre?
I think Take A Hint Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert encompasses a lot of the tropes of it’s genre, I’m not very up on my contemporary adult romance tropes but I know a big one is fake dating and that is definitely in this book.
7. A Notebook – An authors writing process you find interesting? For me it is Sebastien de Castell, his books are so fantastical and interesting that his writing process must be the same.
8. A bedside clock – Took you a long time to pick up but was worth it?
I had to pick A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas for this because it took me forever to pick it up but once I did, I couldn’t put it down.
That’s it for this book tag. I hope you all enjoyed it! Tomorrow I am bringing you my favourite book covers of 2021.
Happy Monday Bookish people! This is my second review for today, the first being City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab – the first book in the Cassidy Blake series. Tunnel of Bones is the second book in the Cassidy Blake series.
In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little bit about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.
Tunnel of Bones Plot:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
This second book takes place in Paris and it was very nice for me because I have been to Paris once and I recognised a few different areas and that made it even more spooky for me and added to the atmosphere. Also there was a part where they visited the catacombs and that was one of my favourite scenes in the book because of how it forced the characters to react. This one felt darker than the first book in the series which I enjoyed.
Tunnel of Bones Characters:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
I have mentioned some of my thoughts of the characters in my review of City of Ghosts and the two main characters are Cassidy and Jacob and the main thing I like about them is the friendship, in this second book the dynamic of that friendship is changing a little bit and it gave the book a dramatic element.
Tunnel of Bones Writing and Dialogue:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
I’ve also said this in my review of City of Ghosts but I love the writing of Victoria Schwab and I get along with it very easily so this series is very fun to read.
Tunnel of Bones Overall:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
I gave this book four stars overall because I enjoyed it just as much as the first book in the series and I gave that book four stars so I gave the same rating to this book.
Blurb/Synopsis:
Trouble is haunting Cassidy Blake . . . even more than usual.
She (plus her ghost best friend, Jacob, of course) are in Paris, where Cass’s parents are filming their TV show about the world’s most haunted cities. Sure, it’s fun eating croissants and seeing the Eiffel Tower, but there’s true ghostly danger lurking beneath Paris, in the creepy underground Catacombs.
When Cass accidentally awakens a frighteningly strong spirit, she must rely on her still-growing skills as a ghosthunter — and turn to friends both old and new to help her unravel a mystery. But time is running out, and the spirit is only growing stronger.
And if Cass fails, the force she’s unleashed could haunt the city forever.
That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!
Happy Monday bookish people! It’s time for another book review. This week I was updating my list of what books I have and haven’t written reviews for yet and I realised I had written a review for Bridge of Souls, the third book in the Cassidy Blake series by V E Schwab but I hadn’t written reviews for the first two books in the series. So today I will be posting reviews for City of Ghosts and Tunnel of Bones.
In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little bit about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.
City of Ghosts Plot:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
This series follows Cassidy Blake and her best friend Jacob. Jacob is a ghost who has attached himself to Cassidy after something happens. This book is one of the first middle grade books that I have read since being an adult and it reminded me of how good the genre can be when it has a well thought out and intriguing plot. Cassidy’s parents are like a middle grade most haunted type thing, they travel to different cities and do documentaries about the history and the ghostly myths of places that are supposedly haunted. I loved the uniqueness of this part of the plot, I liked the irony of Cassidy seeing ghosts and her parents not knowing but they are doing a ghost show. The atmosphere of this book is perfectly balanced between the serious spooky nature of the towns and the things Cassidy and Jacob have to face and the relationships of family and friends.
City of Ghosts Characters:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
The two main characters are Jacob and Cassidy. I have some similarities to Cassidy in that she can’t help herself but get dragged into different scenarios because of her curiosity and that would definitely happen to me, I have no control over my curiosity whatsoever. Jacob provides an interesting dynamic because he’s so real and they have a great friendship but as a reader you are being constantly reminded he is a ghost and Cassidy is being reminded too.
City of Ghosts Writing and Dialogue:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
I haven’t got much to say here other than I love V E Schwab’s writing, I think I own nearly every single one of her books and her middle grade series is just as good. I don’t find the writing is too young for me or too simple which makes the reading experience enjoyable.
City of Ghosts Overall:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
I gave this book four stars overall because I thought it was a great beginning to an interesting series.
Blurb/Synopsis:
Cassidy Blake’s parents are The Inspecters, a (somewhat inept) ghost-hunting team. But Cass herself can REALLY see ghosts. In fact, her best friend, Jacob, just happens to be one.
When The Inspecters head to ultra-haunted Edinburgh, Scotland, for their new TV show, Cass—and Jacob—come along. In Scotland, Cass is surrounded by ghosts, not all of them friendly. Then she meets Lara, a girl who can also see the dead. But Lara tells Cassidy that as an In-betweener, their job is to send ghosts permanently beyond the Veil. Cass isn’t sure about her new mission, but she does know the sinister Red Raven haunting the city doesn’t belong in her world. Cassidy’s powers will draw her into an epic fight that stretches through the worlds of the living and the dead, in order to save herself.
That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!
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