Happy Tuesday bookish people! Merry Bookmas day 7. Today I am going to be showing you what I think are the best book covers of 2021, now I’m not just showing books that were published in 2021, I’m not even sure if there are any published in 2021 on my list, but the books that I have read in 2021. I have chosen my top ten and it’s a collection of books I wanted to read and books I was on a book tour for.
Up first is…
House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A Craig
This book is a retelling of the twelve dancing princesses and it has one of the most beautiful covers of all the books I own.
How The King of Elfhame Learned To Hate Stories by Holly Black
This is a companion to the Cruel Prince series by Holly Black and depending on the version there are white, black and purple covers that I’ve seen.
Ever Cursed by Corey Ann Haydu
This is an interesting books about witches and the power of women
The Hatmakers by Tamzin Merchant
This is a middle grade book that has a beautiful dust jacket and a beautiful cover under the dust jacket
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
The colours on this cover are fantastic
Instructions For Dancing by Nicola Yoon
This cover fits the book perfectly – I have posted a book review for this book on this site this year as part of a blog tour
Secrets of the Stars by Maria Kuzniar
Charmcaster by Sebastien De Castell
The illustrations on these covers are so detailed
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holt
and finally…
Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain
That’s it for my favourite book covers of the books that I have read so far this year, I hope you all enjoyed it.
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 Friday bookish people! And Merry Bookmas day 3. Today I thought it would be fun to do something a little different and whenever I think of something fun I always think of quizzes. That might be because I’m a bit of a strange person but hey, nevermind, Bookmas day three is a Christmas book themed quiz! Leave your answers in the comments below!
In A Christmas Carol, what is the name of Scrooge’s clerk? A – Jacob Marley, B – Bob Cratchit, C – Tiny Tim
In which Children’s Classic is it always winter but never Christmas? A – The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, B – The Little White Horse, C – The Wolves of Willoughby
In what year was the poem The Night Before Christmas published? A – 1823, B – 1876, C – 1901
McFly’s Dougie and Tom wrote a Christmas book, what was the title of the first book? A – The Monster That Ate Christmas, B – The Dinosaur That Pooped Christmas, C – The Alien That Zapped Christmas
When the Grinch steals Christmas what is the first thing to go? A – The tree, B – The Stockings, C – The Presents, D – The decorations
In Little Women which sister is the first to wake on Christmas day? A – Amy, B – Beth, C – Meg, D – Jo
Who was the second ghost to visit Scrooge? A – Christmas past, B – Christmas Present, C – Christmas Future
In the Polar Express what is the first gift of Christmas wished for by the boy? A – A silver bell for the reindeer, B – A snowflake that will never melt
Who is the author of The Snowman? A – Charles Dickens, B – Cornelia Funke, C – Raymond Briggs
How many sizes does the Grinch’s heart grow? A – 3, B – 4, C – 2
So that’s all the questions I have for you, as I said above I would love to see your answers in the comments below. I will be back tomorrow, hopefully, with a collection of The Night Before Christmas poems.
Happy Thursday bookish people! And a very Merry Bookmas. It is the second day of December and the second day of my everyday blogging that I plan to do in December and so far I am doing pretty well, but we are only two days in.. Anyway, today I am going to be showing you some of the best bookish themed advent calendars I have seen on Etsy, and I will also show you the two that I got for myself. By the time that this post goes up they probably won’t be available anymore but I would still like to show you what is/was on offer because it might be useful for next year.
The Cozy Librarian – Bookish Advent Calendars: Science Fiction and Fantasy, Teen Fiction, Classic and Literary Fiction
This is priced at around £69 but I believe it changes for each book genre. Each box includes 12 wrapped books, mostly used but still in good condition. They include a mix of paperback and hardback books and offer each of the genres that I mentioned above.
This advent calendar is priced at £79.99 and it includes 12 books, 6 teas and 6 hot chocolates. The genres include: crime/thriller, romance, historical fiction, Christmas and mindfulness. I like that they include such a variety of genres. Each advent calendar is prepared individually so if you want a specific genre or hot drinks you can message the seller and try and work something out.
EmilyCromwellDesigns – A very merry 12 days of bookmas advent calendar box
This box is priced at £51.28 and it includes 12 individually wrapped and numbered gifts, such as 4 laminated bookmarks, 1 ornament, 2 magnetic bookmarks, 1 pen, 1 sticky notes pad, 1 sticker, 1 notepad and 1 magnet. These items are so beautiful and colourful I had to include it in my little round up.
ScintillareBySunidhi – personalised 12 days of Christmas bookish advent calendar
This box is priced at £22.37 as a starting price but again I think this one changes depending on if you want the personalization or not. All 12 gifts are individually wrapped and include items such as keychains, popsockets, coasters and more. The personalised option offers you a book stamp which says “belongs to (name’s) library”.
Now onto one of the advent calendars I got for myself, the other one I can’t find the listing for anymore so it must be sold out but it is a fantasy advent calendar and includes fantasy books, hot drinks and other items. The other one I got myself was…
This box cost me £24 because I chose the option that included twelve gifts and one book, which I think is the advent day 12 gift. It arrived a few days ago and although I haven’t opened it yet the little touches that came too were really lovely and I am very excited to start opening them up.
That’s it for today’s Bookmas blog post, I’ll be back tomorrow, the 3rd December, with some fun Christmas book trivia.
Happy Wednesday bookish people! And a merry bookmas! As I announced last week I am going to be posting every day in December and this is the first of these posts. Of course I had to start my blogmas/ bookmas with my TBR for December so I hope you all enjoy reading about what I plan to read in December and the thoughts I already have about the books.
My December TBR:
Well Met by Jen de Luca – This month I have included lots of books that are outside of my comfort zone in my TBR and this is one of them. It mentions a Renaissance fair and that sounds very unique and interesting.
The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman – I read his first book either this year or last year, I can’t quite remember and it was very enjoyable so hopefully the second book lives up to it.
Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia – I am interested in reading this book because it has been compared to Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and I loved hat book.
Kingdom of The Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco – I love Kerri Maniscalco’s work and Kingdom of the wicked is no different, I can’t wait to be back with Wrath and Emilia.
Dance of Thieves by Mary E Pearson – The description makes me think of Six of Crows a little bit so I have high hopes for this one.
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – again this book is on my TBR, I will read it eventually!
Not Here to be Liked by Michelle Quach – I’m not usually drawn to this genre but the synopsis really interested me and I’m not completely sure why.
All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody – this is like a very dark version of the Hunger Games mixed with family gangs.
Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson – I love her books and a fantasy book about magic and nuns sounds amazing.
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood – again, another book outside of my comfort zone but I am looking forward to giving it a chance.
In The Crypt With A Candlestick by Daisy Waugh – a 1920’s themed murder mystery makes me think of Agatha Christie which I love so hopefully I will enjoy it.
The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood – this is written by the writer of Death In Paradise which is one of my favourite TV shows so hopefully this book is good too.
Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber – I love the Caraval series and this book follows one of the characters from that so I’m excited to read it.
Truthwitch by Susan Dennard – this is a book that I have heard a lot about so I want to get around to it soon.
Traitors Kiss by Erin Beaty – I don’t know much about this book other than it has a lovely cover.
The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict – this is a festive themed book that I am excited to read
It sounded Better In My Head by Nina Kenwood – I don’t know much about this book either, other than it is outside my usual genre
Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian – it’s set in an ice cream shop, I don’t need to know anything else about it.
Good Girl Bad Blood by Holly Jackson – I loved A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder and I can’t wait to read the second one in the series
Mistletoe and Murder by Robin Stevens – another festive themed book that I am very glad I managed to get onto my TBR.
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling – I have seen so many good things about this book and I know it has comedy in it so I should enjoy it.
Murder In Midwinter – a collection of crime short stories set in winter should be a nice change of pace.
That’s it for my December TBR, have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?
Happy Monday bookish people! It is getting to the end of November and it is time to share my November wrap-up with you all. This month has gone by so quickly because I’ve had so much to do. This month has been for getting everything ready for Christmas and at last it is all done, prepared, ready. I’ve also been making all my posts for December because as I announced last week I will be trying to post every day in December, it has been fun but a lot of work. I haven’t finished them yet but I’ve done most and I am attempting to finish them today. On top of that I’ve been unwell for at least half of November and that has left very little time to read.
So, let’s talk about what I did and didn’t read and what I thought of the books!
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – I did not read this book this month, I wasn’t in the mood for a long fantasy book but I have moved this book to my December TBR
Vampire Brat by Angie Sage – one of the books in the Araminta Spook series and I did read this book. I liked it but it isn’t my favourite of the series.
Truthwitch by Susan Dennard – I did not read this book but I have moved this one to my December TBR
Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas – I did not read this book
These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan – I did not read this book, it’s another fantasy that I just wasn’t in the mood for this month
The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson – I didn’t read this book
The Howling Hag Mystery by Nicki Thornton – I did read this book, it was interesting but not all that enjoyable for me
The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White – I did not read this book
The Devil Makes Three by Tori Bovalino – I did not read this book
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon – I didn’t read this book either
Take A Hint Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert – I did read this book! and it surprised me, I have posted a book review for this book if you are interested in my full thoughts
The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson – I did not read this book
Shadowscent The Darkest Bloom by P M Freestone – I did not read
Rose by Holly Webb – I wanted to get around to this book but in the end there wasn’t enough time
Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch – I am currently reading this book and I will finish it before the end of the month and I am enjoying it a lot.
Pages and Co by Anna James – I did read this book and I enjoyed it so much I want to get the rest of the series.
Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T A Willberg – this is another book I wanted to get to but in the end I didn’t
Last Chance Books by Kelsey Rodkey – I did not read this book
Ghostsitters by Angie Sage – another book from the Araminta Spook series and I did read this
Fable by Adrienne Young – I did not read this book
Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody – I did not read this
Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare – I did not read this
By the Book by Amanda Sellett – I did not read this book
Act Your Age Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert – I did not read this book either
So I ended up reading five books off my TBR and I am in the middle of a sixth book from my TBR, outside of my TBR I read You’ll Be The Death of Me by Karen M McManus for a book tour so that makes my overall total for the month 7 books which I’m pretty pleased with.
Happy Saturday bookish people! Today I am so excited to be posting my book review for You’ll Be The Death of Me by Karen M McManus as part of the book tour hosted by TheWriteReads.
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.
You’ll Be The Death of Me Plot:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
This is another fantastic YA thriller/mystery by Karen M McManus. It is full of perfectly crafter twists that will throw you off for the entire book. I found myself trying to work out the mystery and every time I thought I was getting close some new theory or information was thrown out so I let my intuition guide me and just enjoyed the fast paced novel. I was drawn into the story from the very first chapter until the last page. The only part I didn’t enjoy a much was the ending, there were certain parts of it that I felt were tied up a little too neatly for the characters and the plot of this book.
You’ll Be The Death Of Me Characters:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
There are three main characters in this book, Ivy, Cal and Mateo. They used to be best friends in Middle School but in the beginning of this book they aren’t friends anymore – you find out the reason as the book goes on. Each one of them have their own personal problems and each of them have their own secrets which adds a brilliant tension to the novel. Ivy is a very headstrong female character and I liked how she grew throughout although some of her progression was lost at the end of the novel because of parts of the ending. Cal was a character I disliked from the beginning, to me he was selfish and naïve and caused some of the problems that the characters later had to overcome. Mateo felt like a leader to me, he had this mature, older nature to him that Ivy and Cal didn’t have but again, his secrets led to problems that shouldn’t have been there – which was part of the tension of the novel. One thing I didn’t like was that the characters didn’t always receive realistic repercussions for their actions.
You’ll Be The Death of Me Writing and Dialogue:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
I love Karen M McManus’ writing, I own all her books and I have read two of them, The Cousins and One Of Us Is Lying. The mysteries are consistently intriguing and well structured.
You’ll Be The Death of Me Overall:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
I gave this book four stars overall because it was an enjoyable and pulse-raising read.
Blurb/Synopsis:
Ivy, Mateo, and Cal used to be close. Now all they have in common is Carlton High and the beginning of a very bad day.
Type A Ivy lost a student council election to the class clown, and now she has to face the school, humiliated. Heartthrob Mateo is burned out–he’s been working two jobs since his family’s business failed. And outsider Cal just got stood up…. again.
So when Cal pulls into campus late for class and runs into Ivy and Mateo, it seems like the perfect opportunity to turn a bad day around. They’ll ditch and go into the city. Just the three of them, like old times. Except they’ve barely left the parking lot before they run out of things to say…
Until they spot another Carlton High student skipping school–and follow him to the scene of his own murder. In one chance move, their day turns from dull to deadly. And it’s about to get worse.
It turns out Ivy, Mateo, and Cal still have some things in common. They all have a connection to the dead kid. And they’re all hiding something.
Now they’re all wondering–could it be that their chance reconnection wasn’t by chance after all?
From the author of One of Us Is Lying comes a brand-new pulse-pounding thriller. It’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off with murder when three old friends relive an epic ditch day, and it goes horribly–and fatally–wrong.
That’s it for my book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!
Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all doing well. Today’s post is more of an information dump than what I usually post. I wanted to let you all know about what my plans are for this blog in December – and yes, I have given myself a lot of work to do because I plan to post every day in December. I’ve already started making and scheduling the posts so I won’t have to be stressed every day in December about whether or not I can make the posts in time, so as long as technology works as it should there will be a post from me every day. Fingers crossed.
I am going to list here what is currently the plan to be posted each day!
My December TBR
Bookish Advent Calendars – ones I saw on Etsy that looked interesting
Fun christmas bookish trivia – a quiz!
A collection of Night Before Christmas parodies
The best drinks to curl up with in winter – including some recipes
The Christmas Stocking Book Tag
The best books of 2021 – I love looking at these so I had to include my own
Cosy books to read at Christmas
Which book should I read over Christmas? – another quiz!
Bookish Christmas gifts
Books that surprised me this year
The Christmas song book tag
The best and worst books of each month in 2021
Books I wish I had got to this year
Goals and things I’m looking forward to in 2021
Books on my Christmas wishlist
Bookmas trees
Bookish naughty or nice tag
Bookshelf tour – I am still debating if I should just take pictures or if I should try and video it, what do you think?
Bookish Christmas quiz – yes another one!
Christmas cuisine book tag
Christmas films I reccomend
Books with a Christmas theme
Christmas Family traditions
Book Characters Who I’d love to spend Christmas with
Winter book tag
2022 most anticipated books
The jingle bell book tag
End of year book tag
My book of the year for 2021
My stats for 2021
So, that’s what my December posts are going to look like! Are you excited for them? What post are you most looking forward to seeing on my blog?
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!
Home | The Blind Scribe 