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Book Releases June

Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a lovely day today. It is now June and I am going to share with you some of the book releases this month. As always, this list will not be an extensive one, it will be just a few of the books that I know are coming out this month. Also, I will give the release dates but they will be the UK release dates.

The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden – 2nd June

With her country’s future and her own life at stake, an orphaned duchess must journey into a world of myth and there discover a power that may be her salvation—or her demise—in this enchanting new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the Winternight Trilogy and The Warm Hands of Ghosts.

Anne of Brittany was a child when her realm was invaded, her home besieged, and her royal father driven to his death.

Now her treasury is empty, her land occupied by her enemies, and she is ordered, under threat of renewed war, to become queen of her conquerors and marry the King of France.

This marriage means her country’s annexation. But Anne promised her father that Brittany would never be conquered.

Defiantly, she betroths herself in secret to France’s greatest enemy. But in a world where courts may spy on each other by magic, there is only one way to solemnize this illicit union.

Anne takes her court deep into a legendary forest, where the court diviners’ skill cannot reach. The world thinks they are only a hunting party, coursing after unicorns. But that is a lie, a trick, a feint. No one in living memory has seen a unicorn. All Anne wants is this secret wedding, which is her only hope of salvation.

But when against all hope a unicorn appears and a stranger out of legend stumbles from the trees and falls at her feet, Anne is plunged into a world of enchantment where a doomed sovereign might find the power to change her own and her country’s destiny—or be lost in the shadows forever.

This Immortal Heart by Jennifer Saint – 4th June

The epic, captivating tale of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, who must reconcile her mind and heart when she is drawn against all odds to Ares, the god of war, from the internationally bestselling author of Ariadne and Hera.

From the moment Aphrodite emerges fully formed from the sea, she is devastatingly beautiful and imbued with ancient power. Driven by passion yet strategic in how she moves through the halls of Olympus and the earthly realm alike, the free-willed goddess wields unparalleled influence over every living being.

When fate brings her face to face with Ares, she bristles at this surly, hot-tempered warrior who’s seemingly her disliked by everyone and devoted to stirring up conflict. Yet these gods are no more immune to the dizzying highs and lows of love and loss than anyone else, and soon, they are irresistibly drawn to one another.

As their love affair spans mortal lifetimes, Aphrodite begins to question the gods’ games and her role in them. But there’s only so much room for fire and passion in Zeus’s kingdom. Before long, she must test her devotion to her own divine purpose—and to a love that can only lead to ruin.

Harvest Season by Brynne Weaver – 9th June

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Brynne Weaver comes the second book in the devilishly steamy Seasons of Carnage trilogy where dark romantic comedy meets thrilling suspense—and where love is ripe for ruin.

It’s time to reap what you sow.

Cape Carnage is blooming with secrets, and they’re ready to harvest. But every time Nolan Rhodes digs one up, another grows in its place. Harper isn’t who he thought she was. Arthur might be more sinister than he first thought. And Sheriff Yates? The man is everywhere he turns. When true crime fanatics descend on the town looking for answers about the death of their leader, Nolan finds himself at the center of a search and rescue operation for missing people he knows are already dead. Cape Carnage teeters on the brink of chaos. And the harder Nolan tries to keep it together, the closer Harper comes to unraveling.

Harper Starling has risked everything to bury her trauma in Cape Carnage. But now that Nolan has unearthed her past, her whole life seems ready to break apart. And who can she trust? The enigmatic man she’s falling in love with? He came to kill her. The serial killer mentor she’s vowed to protect? He’s become an unpredictable menace. The woman in the mirror? She might be the most dangerous of all.

Loyalties are tested. Bonds are bent to a breaking point. And love? That might be the deadliest trap of all.

Harvest Season is a dark romance with mature themes. Please check content warnings at the beginning of the book.

Tropesick by Lauren Okie – 18th June

In this lush, slow-burning romance, two childhood neighbors, connected by a shared tragedy, unexpectedly reunite to ghostwrite a love story for a reclusive author. Spending the summer at her secluded Hamptons estate, they soon discover that dozens of classic romance tropes, including the ones they’re crafting on page, are mysteriously playing out in real life.

Katie Caruso is a completely normal twenty-five-year-old girl. At least, for the past eight years, she’s tried to be. She likes glitter and sequins and flirting with cute boys at New York City bars. She’s also a ghostwriter for Meredith Bradford, the bestselling romance novelist of all time. But then Tyler McNally walks back into Katie’s life, and that bedazzled facade crumbles at her platform-sneakered feet.

Katie and Tyler haven’t seen or spoken to each other since the overdose death of Katie’s older brother, a standout MLB pitching prospect. Tyler was her brother’s best friend, and Katie—naturally—was the girl next door. But now, Tyler is a sleeve-tattooed, Ivy League-educated aspiring literary fiction novelist, nine years sober . . . and Katie’s writing partner for the summer.

As genre conventions require, Katie and Tyler soon find themselves removed from Manhattan and instead writing their love story in “forced proximity” at Meredith’s isolated Southampton home. As the summer unfolds, the tropes Katie and Tyler have written into their novel begin to play out in their own lives. Call it destiny, fate, or magic It’s clear their love story is unfinished. This time, though, they’ll fight for their happy ending.

The Defence by Rob Rinder – 18th June

At MP-turned-wellness-guru Adrian Wells’s glitzy launch event for a bath salt that promises to reverse ageing, someone is about to turn up the heat. . .

As Adrian lowers himself into the architectural copper tub to showcase his miracle product in front of countless influencers, it soon becomes clear that something is amiss.

The bath salt has been poisoned. And now Adrian is dead. His long-suffering assistant Jules is the prime suspect.

Barrister Adam Green is tasked with Jules’s defence, and he quickly realises that there were many more people with a score to settle against Adrian.

Can Adam win the day, or is he in too deep?

The Raven at the Ash Door by K A Linde – 18th June

Can love survive an unbreakable curse?

Kierse McKenna’s magic is bound to a man she hates―one who has spent lifetimes fighting the man she loves.

To end this binding, Graves―her winter god, her monster―will stop at nothing. He discovers that the only hope of freeing Kierse is to locate a stone relic of legend, rumored to lift any curse.

The only problem? The stone has been missing for a century.

And the Oak King is on their trail.

Now Kierse is trapped at the heart of a centuries-long battle while the rest of the world comes unraveled. The Fae Killer is hunting. The peace with monsters is fracturing. And as the very rules of their myth start to shift, escaping the Oak King’s hold may demand more than stolen artifacts and clever heists.

For Kierse and Graves, it may mean risking the only thing they have left to lose.

Monthly TBRs

June TBR!

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all doing well today. It is now June, which means it is time to talk about what I will be reading this month. I have noticed this year that I have been reading mainly mystery books and not much fantasy so I tried to make my TBR for this month a bit more fantasy heavy.

What are you planning on reading in June?

Map of Days by Ransom Riggs

Malevolent Seven by Sebastien de Castell

How to Cheat Your Own Death by Kristen Perrin

The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig

Murder at the Palace by N R Daws

The Bookshop Below by Georgia Summers

Sabriel by Garth Nix

Assassins Apprentice by Robin Hobb

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

The House Saphir by Marissa Meyer

A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft

Have you read any of these? What did you think of them?

Monthly TBRs

May TBR!

Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you are all doing well today. It is May and that means it is time to talk about what books I hope to read this month.

What books are you all thinking of reading in May?

MAY TBR:

A Case of Life and Limb by Sally Smith

The Beast of Littleton Woods by T E Kinsey

Tea and Alchemy by Sharon Lynn Fisher

Traitor’s Blade by Sebastien de Castell

Manslaughter Park by Tirzah Price

It’s Not What You Think by Clare Mackintosh

The Corpse Played Dead by Georgina Clarke

Monthly Wrap Ups

April Wrap Up!

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all doing well today. It is the first of May and that means it is time to share my wrap up for April.

How was your reading in the month of April? I personally read way more than I thought I would, I managed a reread while on a trip away and I found some new series to continue and some new favourite books.

I will start with the books that were on my April TBR:

  • Winterbourne by Elisabeth Wolf – I did read this. It was not at all what I thought it was going to be, I will be sharing my full review for this book on the 11th May
  • Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett – I did read this. This is absolutely one of my new favourite books and I will be sharing my full review on the 18th May
  • Pages and Co 6: The Last Bookwanderer by Anna James – the final book in the Pages and Co series, I did read this and I finally finished this series. For me, each book in this series got better. I enjoyed the first three books but I loved the final three books.
  • Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T A Willberg – I did start reading this book but I DNF’d it around 100 pages. It started going in a really strange direction that took it away from what the synopsis had described and that put me off the book completely.
  • The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder by C L Miller – I did read this and I will be sharing my review on the 15th May
  • The Key in the Lock – I did start reading this but unfortunately this was another DNF. I did not get along well with this story, the pacing, the writing and the story itself being a little boring were things that made it not very enjoyable.
  • Rotten to the Core by T E Kinsey – I did read this and I love the Lady Hardcastle series.
  • Voices of the Dead by Ambrose Parry – I did not read this. This is the fourth book in the series and there were some things that happened in the third book that I didn’t like so much, especially with the way the synopsis suggested they play out in this book so I am putting it off for a little bit longer.
  • Blackthorn – I did not read this. I still want to but I haven’t been seeing the best things from others who are reading it. If you have read it and loved it then let me know!

From my TBR I managed to read: 7 books which is great on its own but I also managed to read books that were not in my TBR: The Carnival Murders by Irina Shapiro, A Fire at the Exhibition and An Assassination on the Agenda by T E Kinsey, The Enchanted Wood and the Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton and I reread Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Mnaicalco. This means I managed to read 13 books in April.

Book Reviews

Book Review: A Grave Inheritance by Felicity Epps

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today. I am bringing you my book review for the book A Grave Inheritance by Felicity Epps. Have any of you read this book? If you have, let me know what you thought of it.

Blurb/Synopsis:

A Waterstones YA Book of the Month! Perfect for fans of Bridgerton and Laura Wood.

Mysterious deaths in the family. A young woman left to inherit a fortune. Was it ghostly intervention… or murder? The Society of Free Spirits invites you to investigate, in this YA crime series with a supernatural twist.

After her father and older sister both die suddenly, Dolores is left with the family’s inheritance, and a large house she’s sure is haunted. Teaming up with her occult-obsessed neighbour, Ada, and the mysterious spiritual medium, Violet, the three girls plan to dispel the bad spirits from Dolores’ home.

But when Dolores uncovers a clue that suggests her sister Edith’s death wasn’t due to natural causes, what starts as an investigation into ghostly apparitions develops into the unravelling of something far more sinister. . .

Ghosts. Murder. The patriarchy. One should never underestimate what a trio of free-spirited young women can handle.

My Review: 4.5 stars

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Now, this book. This book was brilliant. It is listed as YA, which I guess fits with the age of the characters within the book – the main group of girls anyway – but it does not feel like YA. The writing is mature and gripping.
I was hooked as soon as I saw the description for this book, murder, possible ghosts, seances. Yes, that is just the type of thing I like. I have developed a great love for books that have a gothic tone to them and this book provides that from the very first line.
In this book you follow Delilah. As a main character she is interesting. At the beginning, as in the first few chapters, you wonder why she is the focus of the novel as she seems to be struggling and it is hard to see how she gets herself into a position to lead the story, but that was the great thing about this book. As a reader we get to watch as Dolores takes back her life and the strength she musters. You also get to see her developing relationships outside her natural set up – a little bit of a found family element which I loved.
This was my favourite book that I read in March and I would honestly recommend it to everyone.

Book Reviews

Book Review: A Case of Mice and Murder by Sally Smith

Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a wonderful day today. I am bringing you my review of the first in the Gabriel Ward mystery series, the first book being called A Case of Mice and Murder by Sally Smith.

Blurb/Synopsis:

The first in a delightful new mystery series set in the hidden heart of London’s legal world, introducing a wonderfully unwilling sleuth, perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Nita Prose.

When barrister Gabriel Ward steps out of his rooms at exactly two minutes to seven on a sunny May morning in 1901, his mind is so full of his latest case—the disputed authorship of bestselling children’s book Millie the Temple Church Mouse—that he scarcely registers the body of the Lord Chief Justice of England on his doorstep.

But even he cannot fail to notice the judge’s dusty bare feet, in shocking contrast to his flawless evening dress, nor the silver carving knife sticking out of his chest. In the shaded courtyards and ancient buildings of the Inner Temple, the hidden heart of London’s legal world, murder has spent centuries confined firmly to the casebooks. Until now . . .

The police can enter the Temple only by consent, so who better to investigate this tragic breach of law and order than a man who prizes both above all things? But murder doesn’t answer to logic or reasoned argument, and Gabriel soon discovers that the Temple’s heavy oak doors are hiding more surprising secrets than he’d ever imagined . . .

My Review: 4.5 stars

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

I was not sure about this book to begin with. I was intrigued by the blurb but in general books that featured lawyers heavily haven’t been my favourites although those have all been thrillers, except for the series by Rob Rinder which I do love. So I was worried that the main character in this novel would be off-putting and a bit info-dumpy. However, I was proven wrong. I like Gabriel Ward, he is very logical and organised both in his character and his mindset and therefore, the way the crime and the subsequent investigation is presented is also very logical and organised. I don’t think that will work for everyone but it did work for me and it was his personality that drew me in very quickly. I thought the murder itself was very unique and intriguing. Each lead took me in a different direction and I couldn’t predict where the story was going to go next which was something I loved about this book.

Have any of you read this book? What did you think of it?

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April Book Releases

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all having a lovely day today. As I do every month, today I am going to share some of the book releases happening this month. Just to say, this is not a complete list only a few that I have seen around and the dates I give are based on the UK release dates.

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews – 2nd April

A page-turning, unforgettable fantasy set in a city peopled with ruffians, spies, malcontents and murderers. Experience out-of-this world adventure and dangerous politics as Maggie tries to survive waking up in her favourite fictional world.

A heart-pounding epic from No. 1 New York Times bestselling author duo Ilona Andrews.

When Maggie wakes up cold, filthy and naked in a gutter, it doesn’t take her long to recognize Kair Toren. It’s a city she knows intimately from the pages of a famously unfinished dark fantasy series – one she’s been obsessively reading and re-reading, while waiting years for the final novel.

Her only tools for navigating this gritty world of rival warlords, magic and mayhem? Her encyclopaedic knowledge of the plot, the setting and the characters’ ambitions and fates. But while she quickly discovers she cannot be killed (though many will try!), the same cannot be said for the living, breathing characters she’s coming to love – a motley band that includes a former lady’s maid, a deadly assassin, various outrageous magical creatures and a dangerously appealing soldier. Soon, instead of trying to return home, she finds herself enmeshed in the schemes – and attentions – of duelling princes, dukes and villains. This all while trying to save them and the kingdom of Rellas from the ending she’s seen on the a cataclysmic war.

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me is the beginning of the most epic adventure yet from genre powerhouse writing duo Ilona Andrews. For fans of Samantha Shannon, Sarah J. Maas, Danielle L. Jensen and isekai portal fantasy.

Release Me by Taherah Mafi – 8th April

The searing second volume in a new series set in the #1 global bestselling Shatter Me universe ten years after the fall of The Reestablishment.

Rosabelle Wolff had a plan. Now she wants revenge. To save her sister she needs to get back home and destroy the system that created her. Rosabelle’s greatest strength is her ability to deaden her mind and body; it’s the only way to survive the surveillance state of Ark Island. But lately her heart has been beating harder; her thoughts are spiraling; her defenses are coming undone.

And there’s only one person to blame.

James Anderson had a plan. Now he has nothing but problems. Rosabelle might be the ally they need in a fight against The Reestablishment, but no one wants to trust an enemy assassin. It doesn’t help that Rosabelle’s not much of a talker, doesn’t work well in groups, and kills people on instinct. Taking her side has cost James nearly everything—but keeping her alive might help save his world.

If only he could convince his older brother.

Aaron Warner Anderson has a headache. Something dark is coming, and Rosabelle’s arrival is just a prelude. In her, he sees shades of himself he can’t trust, and he can no longer get a read on the girl. She’s a dead battery, emanating no emotional feedback. At least not until James walks into a room…

Volcanic tension, breathless reveals, breakneck action—and a dystopian world that never stops raising the

Welcome back to The New Republic.

Flirting With Murder by Amanda Sellett – 21st April

The Agathas meets Thursday Murder Club in Amanda Sellet’s latest YA novel, a cozy mystery with a splash of romance.

Some people visit Florida for theme parks and beaches. High school junior Virginia Tillis is there for murder. Accidents, electrocution, tainted hand every victim meets a different end at her grandmother Lainey’s rococo pink condo. Such is life (and death) when you roll with a crew of theater retirees who roleplay murder mysteries from the comfort of their own home in a game they fondly call Killing Me Softly.

But this summer, fictional murder has given way to the very real death of the building’s beloved owner and his dramatic last testament has the vultures circling, from estranged relatives to sleazy property developers, dead set on getting the most from his will.

Adding to the tension for Virginia is the appearance of Felix, the cute guy she met at the airport who turns out to be the grandson of one of the condo’s residents. With his charm and musical theater chops, he’s the person Virginia most wants to beat at Killing Me Softly. That is, until the day they discover an actual dead body while playing the game, forcing them to work together to figure out whodunit.

In this comedic mystery about finding the Watson to your Holmes, Virginia and Felix must banter their way from rivals to co-detectives in time to save their eccentric grandparents from a shocking disruption to the community they’ve always loved.

The Antiquarian’s Object of Desire by India Holton – 23rd April

When two history professors and best friends are forced to fake hate to protect their reputations, chaos ensues, in the next rollicking historical-fantasy rom-com from beloved author India Holton.

Magical-antique experts Amelia Tarrant and Caleb Sterling have been best friends forever, although lately each has begun secretly wishing for more than friendship. But when rumors about their relationship spread, they’re forced to fake being enemies to protect their reputations and keep their jobs.

The resulting arguments spark havoc across Oxford University, and when they cause an explosion while fighting over a magical antique, it’s the final straw for their exasperated faculty head. He dispatches them to a job in Cumbria where even they can’t get into trouble.…

Which proves just how wrong one man can be. In a stormbound old manor house, Amelia and Caleb face magical mayhem and rampaging ghosts that make the previous havoc look mild in comparison. Most troublesome of all, though, is the secret of how they feel about each other. When it comes to tackling deadly antiques, hiding the truth in their hearts could destroy them for real.

The Thorn Queen by Sasha Peyton-Smith – 23rd April

Wed to one brother.
In love with the other.

BridgertonThe Selection, and The Cruel Prince collide in this Victorian-inspired romantasy; the sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller The Rose Bargain.

Having won the hand of the faerie King Bram, Ivy is now Queen of England.

But with his ascension to the throne, Bram unleashed the fae into the human world. After hundreds of years of being kept from their favorite playthings, the Others are looking to make up for lost time—and they do, with wicked revelry that sweeps through the country.

To survive, Ivy acts the sweet, devoted wife. Behind the smile, she plots to banish her husband, save her sister Lydia, and reunite with the love of her life, Emmett.

Yet Emmet and Lydia are trapped in the Otherworld, where fae games are deadlier than ever—and a queen must play most viciously of all. Or see herself dethroned.

Forbidden romance, deceptive bargains, and lethal court intrigue intertwine in this mesmerizing, fae romantasy sequel that will captivate fans of Once Upon a Broken Heart and Belladonna.

Thistlemarsh by Moorea Corrigan – 23rd April

Faeries disappeared over one hundred years ago, as suddenly as slipping through a doorway. It was only the very foolish, or the very determined, who held out hope for their return.

Welcome to Thistlemarsh—a ramshackle estate where an impoverished orphan and a beguiling Faerie collide in an enchanting novel of love, revenge, and ruin.

In the wake of World War I, the world is a decidedly unmagical place for Mouse Dunne. She once dreamed of becoming a Faerie anthropologist, but with one telegram, her world shattered. At the Battle of the Somme, her cousin’s body disappeared into the mud, and her brother was left with debilitating shell shock. It was time, she knew, to put aside childish dreams.

When Mouse receives news that her uncle has left her the Faerie-blessed Thistlemarsh Hall, a dilapidated manor in the English countryside, she must leave her brother’s side and return to her childhood home to claim her birthright. But there is a catch in her uncle’s If Mouse does not rehabilitate the crumbling house in one month’s time, she will forfeit her inheritance and any hope of caring for her brother.

It quickly becomes clear it’s impossible to repair the manor in the allotted time, until a mysterious Faerie appears with a proposition. He offers to restore Thistlemarsh…for a price. Mouse knows better than to trust a Faerie—especially one so insufferably handsome and arrogant—but she is out of options. There are dark and magical forces at work in the house, and Mouse must confront the ghosts of her past and the secrets of her heart or lose Thistlemarsh, and herself, in the process.

How To Cheat Your Own Death by Kristen Perrin – 28th April

From the gritty streets of 1960s Soho to the lofty galleries of present-day West London, two interlocking mysteries decades apart unfold in this latest instalment in the award-winning, New York Times bestselling Castle Knoll Murder Mystery series

Some secrets are deadlier than others

1968:
 Frances Adams is loving her new London life, and she’s stepped into a world of glamour thanks to her new friend, Vera Huntington–a magnetic socialite as mysterious as she is provocative. Vera dances around London like she owns it, taking Frances with her.

Present day: When Annie Adams heads to London to visit her famous artist mother, Laura, the last thing she expects to find is a dead body. Least of all for it to be Laura’s new protégée, left in an alley with her heart surgically removed from her chest.

Annie is no stranger to murder–after all, she’s solved a few already. And something about this case feels familiar. She’s read about one just like it in the journals of her late great aunt Frances, whose friend Vera was killed in the 1960s in the exact same way.

As Annie investigates, threats pile up on Laura’s doorstep, and it soon becomes clear that she’s next. With her mother’s life on the line, can Annie find the killer before it’s too late?

Monthly TBRs

April TBR!

Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you’re all doing well today. It is April and that means it is time to talk about what books I am hoping to read in April.

What are you planning to read this month?

APRIL TBR:

Pages and Co: The Last Bookwanderers by Anna James

Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T A Wilberg

Antique Hunters Guide to Murder by C L Miller

Blackthorn by J T Geissenger

The Key in the Lock by Beth Underdown

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

Winterbourne by Elisabeth Wolf

Voices of the Dead by Ambrose Parry

Rotten to the Core by T E Kinsey

Monthly Wrap Ups

March Wrap Up!

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today. It is the beginning of April, where has the time gone, and that means it is time to reflect on last month’s reading. March was an emotional month, a lot of ups and downs, but I managed to get a nice amount of reading done. Fingers crossed, but so far this year overall the books I have been reading have been great and I have found new favourites so hopefully, this will continue for the rest of 2026.

How was your reading in March? Did you have any stand out reads?

What I read in March:

From my TBR:

  • The Mourning Necklace by Kate Foster – I did start to read this but about halfway through I did soft DNF it. Not because there was anything wrong with the book, there wasn’t. I was actually enjoying the story but it was a little slow going and at the time I had a lot going on in my life so it was a combination of pacing and outside of reading events that led to this DNF. I am sure I will finish it in the future though.
  • Death and the Harlot by Georgina Clarke – I did read this. This was a book that I wasn’t sure about, the premise sounded intriguing and I love a period mystery but it did take a minute to get into the action of the story. Once it did though I read it in one sitting and I really enjoyed it.
  • A Case of Mice and Murder by Sally Smith – I did read this. I have recently discovered that a trope I enjoy in books is following a character who is a lawyer. This was such a fun mystery book and I am really looking forward to the second book.
  • A Grave Inheritance by Felicity Epps – I did read this. Not only did I read it, but it turned out to be my favourite read of March! I had no five stars this month but A Grave Inheritance and A Case of Mice and Murder were both very close.
  • The Burning Issue of the Day by T E Kinsey – I did read this. The next installment in the Lady Hardcastle mystery series, and another solid book for the series. (spoiler: I read another two of this series in March)
  • Murder on the Prince Regent by Irina Shapiro – I did read this. Actually it was one of my favourites in the Tate and Bell series so far. I do enjoy a mystery set on a boat.
  • A Game of Scandal by Laura Wood – I am currently reading this book and I am enjoying it but not as much as the second in the series.

Outside of my TBR I also read: A Fatal Obsession by Faith Martin, Death Beside the Seaside and The Fatal Flying Affair both by T E Kinsey, and I read Message Not Found by Dante Medema.

That means I did complete my TBR this month and I managed to read 11 books this month. I am very pleased with that amaount.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?

Book Reviews

Book Review: Gallant by V E Scwaab

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

Today I am bringing you my book review for the short novel Gallant by V E Schwaab. If you’ve read this book, let me know your thoughts down below. I’m interested because I saw lots of people’s opinons on this book ranging from the negative to the meh side of things before I read it and I think seeing these opinions are part of the reason I put this book off for so long despite loving most books by this author. Then I read it and I was annoyed at putting it off for so long because I really enjoyed it.

A darkly magical and thrilling tale of a young woman caught between the world and its shadows, who must embrace her legacy to stop the approaching darkness. The Secret Garden meets Crimson Peak, perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman, Holly Black and Susan Cooper.

Fourteen-year-old Olivia Prior is missing three things: a mother, a father, and a voice. Her mother vanished all at once, and her father by degrees, and her voice was a thing she never had to start with. She grew up at Merilance School for Girls. Now, nearing the end of her time there, Olivia receives a letter from an uncle she’s never met, her father’s older brother, summoning her to his estate, a place called Gallant. But when she arrives, she discovers that the letter she received was several years old. Her uncle is dead. The estate is empty, save for the servants. Olivia is permitted to remain, but must follow two rules: don’t go out after dusk, and always stay on the right side of a wall that runs along the estate’s western edge. Beyond it is another realm, ancient and magical, which calls to Olivia through her blood…

My Review:

As I said, I put this book off for ages and I regret that now because I sat down and didn’t move again until I had finished the book. I really enjoyed it. It has this secluded, tense, gothic atmosphere surrounding it and everything is a bit confusing and mysterious – maybe there’s something wrong with me because I love that feeling where you are confused alongside your main character.
I especially loved that aspects that perhaps shouldn’t feel alive, very much did. For example, the house Olivia arrives at – Gallant – it’s just a house but it seems to be full of its own life and its own ideas that makes it feel like a living, breathing thing. In such a short book it is very clever to be able to give that feeling. This books gave me the feeling of a lighter version of A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid, which I also love.