Tag: Young Adult

Book Reviews

Book Review: Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

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Happy Monday bookish people! This is the second of the book reviews I will be posting today. This is a book review for Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch. I bought the trilogy (Love and Gelato, Love and Luck, Love and Olives) a while ago and finally got around to reading the first one in July.

In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Love and Gelato Plot:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I loved the setting and the descriptions of each place throughout this book, the imagery used made me feel like I was there experiencing the location. I originally picked up this book because I hadn’t slept the night before and I needed something nice and light, it did provide this although there were also themes of grief, loss and finding where you belong which I thought gave the story another layer. Outside of this I didn’t find the romance to be hooking me in any way and I did think about putting the book down at points.

Love and Gelato Characters:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

The characters in this book could be better in my opinion. They have motivations other than just the romance which is something I enjoyed about this book however, their actions were very predictable. I thought the book could have been shorter and better developed.

Love and Gelato Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

The writing of this book worked well for me, it didn’t feel forced in any way and each chapter led into the next smoothly.

Love and Gelato Overall:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I could only give this book three stars because I found myself becoming less interested in the characters and the plot the longer I was reading. However, it did fulfill my need for a light read when I needed it.

Blurb/Synopsis:

“I made the wrong choice.”

Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is go back home.

But then she is given a journal that her mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that inspires her, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept for far too long. It’s a secret that will change everything she knew about her mother, her father—and even herself.

People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it.

Book Reviews, Uncategorized

Book Review: Pumpkin by Julie Murphy

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Happy Monday bookish people! Today is Monday which means it is time for me to upload another book review, and today I won’t be uploading just one – I’ll be posting seven! The first of which was one of my first reads of July, Pumpkin by Julie Murphy. I picked this book up after I saw some of my favourite booktubers talking about it and I thought it would be an interesting read, which it was.

In this book review I will give star ratings for four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Pumpkin Plot:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I really enjoyed the sweet and heartwarming themes in this story. I was lulled into this story by it’s defying stereotypes of prom king and queen, but there is so much more to it. It covers friendship, acceptance, sibling relationships and on top of all this romantic relationships. In a small book I felt a wave of different emotions and of course, it didn’t take me long at all to read through it. The romance itself, although predictable, was sweet and I did find myself smiling sometimes.

Pumpkin Characters:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Waylon is the main character that the story follows and he is a great protagonist, he is relatable and fun. I felt everything he did right along with him and although I couldn’t relate to the things he was going through I did relate to being an outsider and my experiences at school weren’t the best, I found myself wishing I had the confidence he did. Clementine, twin sister of Waylon, was also a great character but I wish she was in the book more than she is.

Pumpkin Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The writing in this book was very smooth and kept me swept along with the story. There’s not much more for me to say here because it wasn’t the best writing I’ve read but it also is very far from the worst I’ve read.

Pumpkin Overall:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I gave this book four stars because I enjoyed it, despite it being a contemporary romance, and I liked the representation that the book provides.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Waylon Russell Brewer is a fat, openly gay boy stuck in the small West Texas town of Clover City. His plan is to bide his time until he can graduate, move to Austin with his twin sister, Clementine, and finally go Full Waylon, so that he can live his Julie-the-hills-are-alive-with-the-sound-of-music-Andrews truth.

So when Clementine deviates from their master plan right after Waylon gets dumped, he throws caution to the wind and creates an audition tape for his favorite TV drag show, Fiercest of Them All. What he doesn’t count on is the tape accidentally getting shared with the entire school. . . . As a result, Waylon is nominated for prom queen as a joke. Clem’s girlfriend, Hannah Perez, also receives a joke nomination for prom king.

Waylon and Hannah decide there’s only one thing to do: run—and leave high school with a bang. A very glittery bang. Along the way, Waylon discovers that there is a lot more to running for prom court than campaign posters and plastic crowns, especially when he has to spend so much time with the very cute and infuriating prom king nominee Tucker Watson.

Waylon will need to learn that the best plan for tomorrow is living for today . . . especially with the help of some fellow queens. . . .

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have any of you read this book? What did you think of it?

Monthly TBRs

August TBR!

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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

July Wrap Up!

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Happy Saturday bookish people! It is the end of July… this month has felt like a long one for me. I submitted my new PhD application at the beginning of this month and I’m not sure how I feel about it, the first time I sent in an application I wasn’t confident exactly but this time any confidence I might have had was completely gone. Anyway, I also got to see family in July which was really nice!

So in terms of reading for the month of July: Once again I did not complete my TBR, I’m not surprised about this at all because I had a couple of book tour reads I had to do and I spent four days in Hampshire and I mostly mood read for that. I packed five books and read four over this weekend so even though I didn’t read much off my TBR I still read a lot of books, I think my final number was fifteen. I’ll know for sure at the end of this wrap up.

Let’s see what I did and didn’t read this month!

My July TBR and thoughts:

  • A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – I did not get around to reading this (again) I will read it at some point but I need to be in a certain mood and have time to really get engrossed in the book, I mean Rhysand is in it so I’m definitely excited to read it.
  • A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn – I read this one! I took this one with me to Hampshire and read it in the hotel room on one of the evenings, I really enjoyed this book and of course now I want the whole series. I will be putting up a review of this book very soon.
  • An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir – I didn’t read this book. I am still very interested in this book I just didn’t have enough time this month.
  • Blood and Honey by Shelby Mahurin – I read Serpent and Dove in June and loved it, however I wasn’t ready to go back into this world yet so I will read this one in a couple of months time.
  • European Travels for the Monstrous Gentlewoman by Theodora Goss – I have started reading this one but I have not finished it yet.
  • The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V E Schwaab – I haven’t read this one because I have a feeling it will make me cry and I didn’t feel like crying too much in July.
  • The Killings at Kingfisher Hill by Sophie Hannah – I didn’t get around to reading this one either.
  • King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo – I feel like I should read the final installment in the Shadow and Bone series first so I haven’t read this one.
  • Legendborn by Tracy Deonne – another one I haven’t read this month.
  • Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch – I have read this one. I wanted a light and fluffy read, I didn’t quite get this but it was an okay read.
  • Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M Danforth – big books strike again, I didn’t read this because it is a huge book.
  • Pumpkin by Julie Murphy – I read this one, this was my first read of the month, I really liked this one. I will have a review up for this book soon too.
  • Save the Date by Morgan Matson – I don’t read very much contemporary so I’m not surprised that I didn’t get around to this one.
  • The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden – again I was very much mood reading this month so I didn’t get to this one.
  • The Plague Letters by V L Valentine – I thought this book would be a bit dark for me this month so I didn’t read this one either.
  • Threadneedle by Cari Thomas – I didn’t read this one.
  • Finally Turtles All The Way Down by John Green – I di not read this one either.

So, from my TBR I read three books and started one other. Outside of my TBR I read some other books, these were:

That is my reading for this month, I read 13 books and started two others so overall this was another good reading month. I am actually pretty confident I will reach my 100 books challenge for 2021.

Book Quotes

Favourite Book Quotes – top 100, 20 – 11

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Happy Friday bookish people! I’m back with the next set of ten in my top 100 favourite book quotes series. We are getting so close to the end of this! I don’t know about anyone else but I’ve been enjoying making the lists (I LOVE lists, anyone else? No? Just me, okay…) and talking through my choices for my top 100. So, today’s is numbers 20 – 11 so when I said we are close to the end, we are really really close, as in next week will be the top ten….

But first, at number 20 is a book I got a special edition of…

A Darker Shade of Magic by V E Schwaab

20. “I’d rather die on an adventure than live standing still” – this is a very well known quote I think and every time I hear it I wish I was a more adventurous person, although that will never happen because I quite like being in my comfort zone and alive.

Up next is a quote from a book I only rated three stars…

Ever Cursed by Corey Ann Haydu

19. “We’re goddamn witches, don’t tell us we can’t”

At 18 is a quote from a sequel….

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

18. “Fear is a pheonix, you can watch it burn a thousand times and still it will return”

At 17, is the first book in a duology…

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

17. “The heart is an arrow, it demands aim to land true”

Up next is a quote from a book I haven’t read yet but I love the series….

Queenslayer by Sebastien De Castell

16. “I’ve discovered that a death sentence can be some what liberating for someone who’s spent their life curtsying”

At 15 is the finale in a trilogy..

The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

15. “I have plucked snowdrops at midwinter, died at my own choosing and wept for a nightingale, now I am beyond prophecy”

Next is a quote from a book I do not own yet…

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout

14. “You’re an absolutely stunning murderous little creature”

At 13 is a quote from one of my favourite books…

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

13. “Roses have both petals and thorns”

At 12 is a book from one of my favourite series’…

Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco

12. “You are yours to give” – just yes.

And finally for this list of ten, a book with a library in it…

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

11. “It was always wise to be polite to books whether or not they could hear you”

That’s it for this weeks ten, I cannot wait to bring you my top ten next week!

Book Quotes

Favourite Book Quotes: 30 – 21

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Happy Friday Bookish people! I’m back with the next set of ten quotes in my top 100 favourite book quotes series. I hope you’ve all been enjoying it so far, I can’t wait to share with you what my top ten is, but we aren’t quite there yet. Only two weeks to go!

At 30 is a quote from a popular series with Fae in..

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

30. “kiss me again, kiss me until I am sick of it”

Up next is from a great murder mystery/thriller….

An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena

29. “one may smile and smile and still be a villain”

The next quote is from the ‘Queen of crime’….

Dead Man’s Folly by Agatha Christie

28. “if the foundations are rotten, everything’s rotten”

At 27 is a quote from one of my favourite books…

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

27. “every good story needs a villain”

Now a quote from a beautifully dark book…

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

26. “wild birds die in cages”

At 25 is from a duology…

Vicious by V E Schwaab

25. “plenty of humans were monstrous and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human”

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

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

24. “I turned my nightmares into fireflies and caught them in a jar”

Now a quote from a very unusual murder mystery…

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

23. “we are never more ourselves than when we think people aren’t watching”

At 22 is a book that I found very humorous….

The Left Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

22. “Fantasy writers, they’re the bane of our existance”

And finally from the third book in one of my favourite series’….

Escaping From Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco

21. “most stories are too good to be true that’s what makes them enchanting”

That’s it for this week’s quotes, I hope you all enjoyed it!

Book Quotes

Favourite Book Quotes: 40 – 31

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Happy Friday bookish people! I am back with the next ten quotes in my top 100 favourite book quotes series. It’s getting so close to revealing what quotes have made it into the top ten now, but you’ve got to wait just a little bit longer for that…

Onto the quotes!

At 40 is a quote from one of my favourite authors…

Traitors Blade by Sebastien De Castell

40. “The archer is the true weapon; the bow is just a long piece of wood”

Next is a quote from a sequel I haven’t read yet…

Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim

39. “I know that for every dawn, dusk must unravel it’s darkness” – although it seems slightly pessimistic I also think this quote is very lyrical.

At 38 is from a book I was very excited to read…

Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow

38. “Behind every witch is a wronged woman” – I love this quotes, and this book.

Next is a quote from a book on my July TBR…

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

37. “I remember you” – short and simple but has so much meaning behind it.

At 36 is from a book I got a special edition of…

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

36. “Once upon a time an angel and a devil fell in love – it did not end well” – This quote really sets the scene for the book and also slightly makes me think of the TV show Lucifer for some reason.

Next is from the second book in a very popular series…

A Court of Mist and Fury – Sarah J Maas

35. “To the stars who listen and the dreams that are answered”

At 34 is from a book I’m anticipating to be a five star read…

Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

34. “Desire fame and the city will make you a tragedy”

Up now is from a sequel I started to read and then put down for now…

Legendary by Stephanie Garber

33. “A kiss worth dying for”

At 32 is a book I read very recently…

Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin

32. “Wicked are the ways of women, especially a witch”

Up last for this week is from a book I rated three stars…

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

31. “Three dark sisters all fair to be seen, two to devour and one to be queen”

That’s it for this post, I hope you all enjoyed it! Next Friday I’ll be sharing the next ten so come back then.

blog tours, Book Reviews, Uncategorized

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

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Happy Monday bookish people! This is my second post today, I must be in a productive mood this rainy Monday. I’m here to show you all the wonderful book mail I received from Macmillan Kids UK last week. As you can probably guess from the title of this post… it was Any way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell, the final book in the Carry On series which includes Carry On, Wayward Son and Any Way the Wind Blows.

Here it is!

It came all wrapped up and honestly it felt a little but like Christmas to receive it, I didn’t end up eating the biscuit (my Dad got there first!) but I did use the tea and they were delicious.

That’s it for today, I’m looking forward to reading this book and sharing my thoughts on it here!

Book Reviews

Book Review: Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin

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Happy Monday bookish people! I told you I was bringing you two book reviews today, this is the second one. I finally got around to reading Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin, it’s only taken me about two years since I bought it… anyway, I got the chance to read this on a trip to Hampshire in June which was nice, I immersed myself in the world of witches and Chaussers and completely ignored anyone trying to talk to me.

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.

Serpent and Dove Plot:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Oh my goodness I loved this plot. Every moment of the story felt important in some way for the progression of the story. I am pretty much interested in anything that has witches in it so this book appealed to me immediately. The conflict between the witches and the chaussers/religion was an interesting part to this book – actually I would have enjoyed a bit more of this but that’s just because I love a good enemies to lovers style story. So, the romance in this book… I went into this book knowing that was one of the main features of this novel and I’ll admit I didn’t hate it but I did enjoy the fantasy elements and the moments of magic more than anything else.

Serpent and Dove Characters:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Lou is a fantastic female lead for this book, she’s strong and has a bit of sass (which I like because it gives good dialogue) and she has very particular morals/ideals which gives conflict to the plot but also makes me love her character, one of her main character conflicts is loyalty which gave her character depth. I sometimes thought that some of the things she did didn’t quite fit with her character. It didn’t take away from the book much though.

Coco is amazing, I am looking forward to seeing a lot more of her and some of the other background characters a bit more in the rest of the series.

REID. He’s in my top ten of male book characters now. He grew on me throughout the book. There are some things about his character that I think are going to be a bit too obvious, like it’s been written in for a plot reason rather than a character reason and I would have liked a bit more internal conflict from him.

Serpent and Dove Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Five stars. Definitely. Shelby Mahurin’s writing worked well for me, it is one of my favourite writing styles within young adult fiction that I’ve read. I liked that she split the chapters into different characters’ points of view.

Serpent and Dove Overall:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Again, five stars was easy for me to give to this book. If I could have I would have picked up Blood and Honey straightaway.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Bound as one to love, honor, or burn.

Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.

Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou’s, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.

The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou’s most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.

And love makes fools of us all.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!

Book Quotes

Favourite Book Quotes 50 – 41

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Happy Friday bookish people! I’m back with my next installment of my favourite book quotes top 100. We are getting so close to finishing this list. I’m probably more excited than anyone reading this and I know what the top ones are because I chose them. We are past the halfway point and getting into some of my absolute favourite quotes, but some of them are coming from books I haven’t read yet.

Lets get into the quotes!

Up first is a quote from a book I’m very excited to get around to reading..

And I Darken by Kiersten White

50. “her spine was steel, her heart was armour, her eyes were fire” – this is such a lovely quote, it just feels very powerful, which is how I’m imagining the whole book will feel.

Up next is a quote from a book that I gave three stars…

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

49. “I want revenge and then I want my crown” – this quote is actually said by one of my favourite characters in this book.

At 48 is a quote from a little mermaid retelling…

To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

48. “In my heart I’m as wild as the ocean that raised me”

At 47 is a quote from a book I’ve already mentioned in this list…

And I Darken by Kiersten White

47. “she wanted a garden of evergreens, a garden of stones, a garden of swords” – this quote is just beautiful, the calmness of the garden and evergreen language compared to the stones and swords.

Up next is a quote from a book about witches…

Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow

46. “I am fearful and something to be feared” – I can’t wait to get to read this book.

At 45 is a quote from a book that is on my July TBR..

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

45. “you will burn for you are an ember in the ashes” – fun fact I have a cushion cover with this quote on, it does not currently have a cushion in it but soon!

The next quote is from a book that has one of the most beautiful covers on my shelf…

Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim

44. “until the fire in the sun grows cold and the light of the moon is no more, until time blots out the stars” – MAIA AND EDAN!! that’s all I’m going to say about this.

At 43 is a quote from a very unique book…

The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss

43. “with pockets women could conquer the world” – yes, yes we could.

Up next is from another book on my TBR for this month…

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas

42. “death incarnate, night triumphant”

And the final one for today’s list is from a very popular series…

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

41. “she had often wished for adventure, for old spells and wicked kings” – me too.

That’s it for this week’s list and I’ll be back next Friday with the next ten, I hope you all enjoyed it!