Book Tags

Read or Unhaul 2023

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today.

I have seen a lot of different videos on youtube of people choosing books to try and make themselves read them that year and if they don’t then they have to unhaul them. This sounds like a great idea to me because it might help with getting me to read the books that I have been putting off.

these books are going to be:

  • The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon – I have the whole series and it still interests me so I hope to get around to it in 2023
  • The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros because I see it on my shelves but I can’t remember anything from the story or what it is about
  • Set Fire to the Gods by Sara Raasch and Kristen Simmons – this is another book that I have the two books from the series and I have put it in my TBRs all the time but never gotten around to reading it so maybe this will make me read it.
  • The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater – the second book in the raven boys series, I read the first one and I didn’t love it so I either need to continue the series or give them to someone else who would enjoy them.
  • Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor because it is another book I have had for years and wanted to read and just never gotten to it.
  • Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, the longer it takes me to read this series the more things I see about it that make me put it off more.
  • Where Dreams Descend – I love the cover of this book and it is all about the circus so I am pretty sure I will love it but I just need to read it to find out for sure.
  • The Damned by Renee Ahdieh, I liked the first book in the series but the ending ruined it for me so I haven’t wanted to keep reading but I own the series so I think I should.
  • The Sisters Grimm by Menna Van Praag – I started to read this book but I couldn’t get into it so I am hoping if I come back to it I will enjoy it more.
  • Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo – I definitely need to continue this series with the second season of the show coming.

So, that’s it, that is the ten books I either need to read or unhaul by the end of next year.

Monthly Wrap Ups

August and September Wrap Up!

Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day today. My goodness it has been a busy couple of months, and being that busy has meant my reading has taken a backseat.

In August I started three or four different books and I was just… bored quite honestly, I couldn’t get through them and I don’t think that is anything about the books themselves I think it was my tired brain. So, I decided not to do an August wrap up and now it is October so I am going to do the books I have read in August and September all in one big wrap up!

So, August!

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – I did not read this book

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard – I was not in a fantasy mood at all.

Ninth House by leigh Bardugo – Same point as above

A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn – I did not read this book either but I am very excited to get around to it hopefully soon

The Library of the Unwritten by A J Hackwith – Another book I did not read in August (this was a very common theme this month)

Kingdom of the Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco – I did not read this. I don’t know why I put so much fantasy in my August TBR because I obviously wasn’t going to eat it.

Assassins Apprentice by Robin Hobb – I did not read this book either

Crownbreaker by Sebastien de Castell – this is one of the books that I started reading, I got about halfway before I stopped

Six Tudor Queens Katherine of Aragon by Alison Weir – I did not read this book either

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J Maas – there was no way I was going to read this book in August

By the Book by Amanda Sellett – I actually did read this one, in August and September

The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett – I did not get around to this but I am excited to.

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas – I did not read this

Small Favours by Erin A Craig – Another book I did not read

The Shadows between us by Tricia Levenseller – I did not read this either

Last Chance Books by Kelsey Rodkey – I did not read this

The Falconer by Elizabeth May – I did not read this either

So, also in this month I read The Very Nice Box (review is already up) and Closed Casket by Sophie Hannah which brings my total books to 3.

September!

Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price – I did read this and by the way, I loved it!

The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton – I am currently reading this so technically I read this in September

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – I did not read this

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo – I did not read this

Dance of Thieves by Mary E Pearson – I would have liked to get around to this one but unfortunately I did not

It sounded better in my head by Nina Kenwood – I did not read this

Down comes the night by Alison Saft – I did not read this

Hunting Party by Lucy Foley – I did not read this.

So in two months I read five books which is pretty good considering everything else I have been doing.

What was your August/September reading like? let me know in the comments!

Monthly TBRs

August TBR

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day today. Today I am bringing you my August TBR, there’s a lot of fantasy on it this month which I haven’t been reading a lot of in the past few months so we will have to see how that goes but overall I am pretty excited about the books on my TBR for the month.

August TBR

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn

Library of the Unwritten by A J Hackwith

A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

Kingdom of The Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco

Assassins Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Crownbreaker by Sebastien De Castell

Six Tudor Queens by Alison Weir

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J Maas

By the Book by Amanda Sellet

The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas

Small Favours by Erin A Craig

The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

Last Chance Books by Kelsey Rodkey

The Falconer by Elizabeth May

That’s it for my August TBR, I hope you all enjoyed it!

Monthly Wrap Ups

August Wrap Up!

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!

Monthly TBRs

August TBR!

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?

Monthly Wrap Ups

June Wrap Up!

Happy Wednesday bookish people! So we’re here, it is finally the end of June. This month has been completely up and down for me in terms of my general life but in terms of reading I think it might have been my best month of the year… I did not complete my TBR but I was part of a bunch of book tours for this month so I was prioritizing them.

Also this month I was taking part in the Whatever-You-Want-A-Thon which was created by Maddie at Book Browsing Blog on YouTube. This was so much fun to be part of, I was part of team dreams and drama queens and I think it was one of my biggest motivations to read this month.

Onto the wrap up!

My June TBR and Thoughts:

  • Charmcaster by Sebastien De Castell – I read the first chapter.. I’m not going to count this as reading because the first chapter is only about ten pages.
  • Deadly Curious by Cindy Astley – I did read this one! You can find my book review of it here:https://theblindscribe.com/2021/06/14/book-review-deadly-curious-by-cindy-astley/
  • The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater – I did not read this book.
  • Fable by Adrienne Young – I did not get around to this book.
  • The Hatmakers by Tamzin Merchant – I did read this book! My review of it is here: https://theblindscribe.com/2021/06/07/book-review-the-hatmakers-by-tamzin-merchant/
  • I Hope You’re Listening by Tom Ryan – I started this book while travelling to Bristol and back during this month but I wasn’t in the right mood for how dark this book is so I stopped reading at the halfway point.
  • Incendiary by Zoraida Cordova – I did not read this.
  • Master of One by Jaida Jones and Dani Bennett – I did not read this either.
  • The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – I didn’t read this.
  • One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake – I didn’t read.
  • Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard – I did not read.
  • Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin – I read this! and LOVED it, I can’t believe it took me so long to get around to reading this.
  • Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri maniscalco – This was a reread but yes I did reread this! You can find my review here:https://theblindscribe.com/2021/04/26/book-review-stalking-jack-the-ripper-by-kerri-maniscalco/
  • The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner – I read this one also!
  • Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M McManus – I did not read.

So from my TBR I read 5 books and I started another two… that’s not bad. On top of this I read some book for book tours which were: Happy Ever After: Financial Freedom (Review here:https://theblindscribe.com/2021/06/03/book-review-happy-ever-after-financial-freedom-isnt-a-fairy-tale-by-the-seven-dollar-millionaire/ ), The Maidens by Alex Michaelides (Review here: https://theblindscribe.com/2021/06/17/book-review-the-maidens-by-alex-michaelides/), Embers by Josephine Greenland (Review here:https://theblindscribe.com/2021/06/18/book-review-embers-by-josephine-greenland/ ), Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon (Review here:https://theblindscribe.com/2021/06/21/book-review-instructions-for-dancing-by-nicola-yoon/ ), Murder at Rosings by Annette Purdey Pugh (Review here:https://theblindscribe.com/2021/06/25/book-review-a-murder-at-rosings-by-annette-purdey-pugh/ ), Fake News by C J Dunford (Review here:https://theblindscribe.com/2021/06/25/book-review-fake-news-by-c-j-dunford/ ) and Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone (Review here:https://theblindscribe.com/2021/06/27/book-review-mirrorland-by-carole-johnstone/ ).

I read 12 books and started another two so June was a pretty good reading month, hopefully July will be just as successful. That’s it for my June wrap up, I hope you enjoyed it!

Book Quotes

Favourite Book Quotes 80 – 71

Happy Friday bookish people! Have you seen any of your favourites on this list yet? We’ve still got a long way until we are in my top 10. Anyone else excited for that or is it just me? and really I shouldn’t be excited because I compiled the list and I know what’s in my top 10 already… nevermind, I’m still excited!

Today is numbers 80 – 71. There’s some interesting ones in this section although we are getting to the point now where there isn’t much I can say about each of the quotes so for this one I’m just going to list them. Enjoy!

At 80 we have a quote from a book that is on my TBR this month…

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

80. “I’d walk into the burning heart of Hell itself to find you” this quote is so dramatic I love it.

up next is a quote from a series that it has recently been announced will be turned into a TV show…

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

79.”I could set this world on fire and call it rain”

As will be common throughout these book quotes lists the next one is from a book I haven’t read yet..

Incendiary by Zoraida Cordova

78.”Crooked smiles for crooked hearts”

Number 77 is from a sequel…

King of Fools by Amanda Foody

77.”love always carved the deepest wounds”

Number 76, I have so many quotes from this book all throughout my top 100…

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

76.”let’s make this fight worthy of a song”

The next quote is from a series of books I’m not sure if I like them or not..

The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater

75.”dream me the world, something new for every night”

At 74 is a quote from the same book…

74.”what a strange constellation they all were”

Getting close to the end of this section now.. at 73 is a quote from a series I recently started…

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas

73.”remember that you are a wolf and you cannot be caged”

next is a quote from another book I haven’t read yet…

The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson

72.”a lion fears only the fox”

and finally for this set of quotes at 71 is….

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

71.”a dream dirty and bruised is better than no dream at all” – can you tell I like quotes and books with themes of dreaming?

So that’s it for this weeks quotes, I’ll be back next Friday with 70 – 61 which include books like Serpent and Dove, Crescent City and The Wrath and the Dawn.

Monthly TBRs

June TBR!

Happy Tuesday bookish people! It is the first of June and that means it is time to show you what I am planning on reading for this month.

So… May went okay it didn’t go terribly or brilliantly – I managed to read eight books, if you are interested in my May Wrap Up you can find it here: https://theblindscribe.com/2021/06/01/may-wrap-up/

Once again for June I have a mountain of books on my TBR – for a couple of reasons. First, my TBR game just loves giving me doubles and so many extra books – I always begin with twelve but end up with more. Secondly – and I am VERY excited about this… in June I am taking part in Whatever-You-Want-A-Thon. A readathon that has been created by Book Browsing Blog on Youtube. I am part of the team Dreams and Drama Queens. That team name is very fitting for me.. anyway, there’s all sorts of prompts and points you can get for different books – if you’re interested in it go and check out her channel on Youtube where she explains it all.

As well as my TBR books I also have some books to read this month for book tours and for publishers so we will see how well I do.

So onto my TBR for June!

  • Charmcaster by Sebastien De Castell – I am looking forward to reading this one, it is the third book in the spellslinger series and I have enjoyed both Spellslinger and Shadowblack.
  • Deadly Curious by Cindy Astley – a murder mystery set in Victorian London, it sounds like a very interesting premise.
  • The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater – I’m not looking forward to reading this one as much. This is the second book in the Raven Boys series, I thought the first book was okay but not brilliant and I do want to continue with the series so hopefully this will make me push through.
  • Fable by Adrienne Young – I’m so excited to read this one. The cover is beautiful, it gives me pirate themes… I’m excited.
  • The Hatmakers by Tamzin Merchant – I got this book for Easter from my parents and it is going to be the first book I read this month, I’ve been dying to read it since I got it but I hadn’t been able to get it onto a TBR until now.
  • I Hope You’re Listening by Tom Ryan – this book sounds so interesting, a girl witnesses her best friend be abducted and later hosts a cold case podcast type show where she is anonymous, there’s all sorts of secrets surrounding everything and it sounds like it could be a new favourite.
  • Incendiary by Zoraida Cordova – I can’t actually remember what this book is about but it has been on my Tbr for a while so it’s time I got around to reading it.
  • Master of One by Jaida Jones and Dani Bennett – I have had this one on quite a few TBRs and not gotten around to it so hopefully I will this month.
  • The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – I loved The Starless Sea, also by this author, and anything circus I’m drawn to so hopefully I will enjoy this one.
  • One Dark throne by Kendare Blake – I’m not excited to read this one, it’s another series that I thought the first book was okay and I want to continue the series but I’m not very excited about it.
  • Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard – The cover is beautiful, the plot sounds interesting… it is a very big book though.
  • Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin – I need to read this book, it sounds great and I’ve seen a lot of people recommend it.
  • Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco – this will be a reread for me, I’m buddy reading it with some other whatever a thon people which I am very much looking forward to.
  • The Lost Apothecary by Sarah penner – this book sounds very different to anything I’ve seen before so I’m looking forward to reading it.
  • and finally Two Can Keep A Secret by Karen M McManus – I’ve read the cousins by the same authot and enjoyed it so I’m hopeful for this one too.

That’s it for my June TBR, I hope you all enjoyed it!

Book Tags

The Last Ten Books Tag

It is Friday! And that only means one thing – Today I’m doing a Book Tag! (Friday’s won’t always be for Book Tags but I do love doing them). The Book Tag I am doing I found on @LousBookStuff and it is ‘The Last Ten Books Tag’! It was a really fun tag to do because it made me think about my answers – and how many books I’m buying because there’s a lot of them (I’m not sorry!) So.. here it is!

  1. The Last Book I Gave Up On:
    Now this would be Lies Like Poison by Chelsea Pitcher. I very rarely give up on books – I have to finish them or I’ll be noticing them on my shelves all the time, they’d be looking at me like YOU! How dare you not finish reading me! And I just can’t handle that. So I read This Lie Will Kill You by Chelsea Pitcher first and I enjoyed it but it scared me so much that I didn’t sleep that night … so I did what any book obsessed person would do – I picked up Lies Like Poison. I put it down after two chapters and the week after I gave it away to my friend who loved it so there’s a happy ending in there somewhere.

2. The Last Book I Reread:
The Lady In The Tower by Marie Louise Jenson. This is one of my favourite books ever. I’ve read it so many times that the book looks a bit, well… battered but I never get tired of this story. And Lord Phillip Stanton, yep, definitely won’t get tired of his character.

3. The Last Book I Bought:
Do Pre-orders count? I’ve just pre-ordered Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo, Gods and Monsters by Shelby Mahurin and Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard. If they don’t count (they should) the last book I bought was the Wolf Hall boxset – and they are beautiful!

4. The Last Book That I Said I Read But Actually Didn’t:
I don’t do this… I mean if I’ve said I’ve read a book then I’ve read it and I could easily summarise it for anyone who asks.

5. The Last Book I Wrote Into The Margins Of:
I didn’t write into the actual book but I did write on bright pink sticky notes and put them into the margins… I’m going to say that counts. Oh, and the book was Howdunnit: A Masterclass In Crime Writing.

6. The Last Book I Had Signed:
That would probably be my February Illumicrate book – A Dark And Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth. I cannot wait to read this book! The cover is gorgeous and the story sounds so good!

7. The Last Book I Lost:
I don’t lose books – or at least I haven’t so far in my 21 years of life. I hope I haven’t just jinxed that…

8. The Last Book I Had To Replace:
This would by my copy of The Hunger Games. I lent it to a friend when I was in Secondary School and she left it in her bag and she left her bag outside, it rained, and I was left with a very badly water damaged version of it. So I bought a new copy.

9. The Last Book I Argued over:
I don’t think I’ve ever done this – not that I can remember at least.

10. The Last Book I Couldn’t Find:
Hmm.. I know where all my books are. There is a strict organizational system in place with my books (there kind of needs to be when you’re Visually Impaired).

So that’s it for today! I’ll be putting up a VERY exciting blog post later today so watch out for that and next Friday I’ll be doing something a little different which will hopefully go to plan. I hope you enjoyed my Book Tag. As for tagging other people I’d say anyone who wants to do it consider yourself tagged!