Top 5 Wednesday: Top of the TBR

Hey guys! So today I’m bringing back a post that I haven’t done in a really long time because I thought this group was dead in the water, but it turns out someone revived it last month and I had no idea! I hope this group does return for good because I had a lot of fun participating when it was active. This week showcases those books that you wanted to read in the first half of the year but never got round to. So let’s get into it!

• 

• 

• 

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas: I want to say I bought this book last year and regretfully I have yet to actually pick it up. Given everything that is going on in the world right now, this book is more relevant than ever and I shouldn’t continue to let it sit there on my shelf unread. It does not deserve that and I will be reading it soon.

Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater: Please someone shout at me if I don’t read this book by the end of the year! It was one of my most anticipated and I’ve heard nothing but good things about it so I honestly don’t know why I haven’t read it yet. Ronan was one of my favourite characters and I’m so excited that he has his own trilogy. I definitely think his story isn’t over yet.

REVIEW: Queenslayer by Sebastien de Castell (Spellslinger #5)

Title: Queenslayer by Sebastien de Castell
Pages: 400
Published by: Hot Key Books
Publication date: 2nd May 2019
Genre: Fantasy
Format: Hardback
Amazon UK – Waterstones

Synopsis:

A royal conspiracy. An unbreakable curse. An outcast mage will face an impossible choice…

An innocent mistake sends Kellen to the hangman’s noose and his only way out is to agree to murder an eleven-year-old queen. But Kellen soon discovers the child monarch is much shrewder than anyone realises – and in a great deal more danger.

Can an outlaw spellslinger and his squirrel cat business partner unravel a treasonous plot without bringing down the most powerful empire on the continent?

July 2020 TBR

Hey guys! It’s officially July and that means a new TBR! I have a stack of unread books on the shelf behind my bed so I’ll be concentrating on these this month. I’m going to try and get through as many as I can, but I’ve set myself a target of 10. I think that is doable so let’s get into it! Here’s what I want to read:

• 

• 

Crownbreaker by Sebastien de Castell: I’ve said enough about this series already, you don’t need to read even more about it! It’s time to finish it and I hope it’s a good ending for such an awesome series.

He Started It by Samantha Downing: I loved Samantha’s first book so I was really excited to get my hands on her newest book. I believe this one is about family secrets and always being there for one another despite how bad some of those secrets are. But it also comes down to trust and whether the ones closest to you the most dangerous. It sounds like another dark thriller so I can’t wait to get stuck in!

June 2020 Wrap Up

Hey guys! Today I am sharing with you my June wrap up and I read a lot of books this month. I read 10 books and two short stories. I only set out to read six this month so to actually end up doubling that is crazy! This lockdown is working wonders for my TBR pile. Here’s what I read:

• 

• 

The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson: My first one star rating of the year, unfortunately. I really didn’t enjoy the first book in this series and I wasn’t expecting to like the second one, either. At the same time, I did not expect it to be even worse than the first one. There wasn’t really any plot and the main character turned into a complete idiot and decided to leave her loved ones to live with a stranger she just met? That doesn’t make any sense. The cliffhanger at the end wasn’t enough to convince me to read the third book and I believe this series is unfinished and has been for a few years now. So even if I did like these books, there’s no point continuing the series.

ARC REVIEW: The Wives by Tarryn Fisher

Title: The Wives by Tarryn Fisher
Pages: 352
Published by: HQ
Publication date: 25th June 2020
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Format: Paperback
Amazon UK – Waterstones

Synopsis: 

You’ve never met the other wives. None of you know each other, you see your husband only one day a week. Thursday. But you don’t care, you love him that much. Or at least that’s what you’ve told yourself…

And then, one day it all changes.

You thought you were fine with this, with only having a fraction of a husband. But you can’t help yourself, you start to dig. Begin tracking them down, the other days… Who is Monday and why does she have bruises on her arms? Is she being abused? By who? Her husband? Your husband? What else is he keeping from you? And who is he, really?

Book Covers: Old vs New

Hey guys! Today I’m going to be talking about book cover changes! Most books will eventually go through a cover change and sometimes, unfortunately, it happens right in the middle of a series. Often I am incredibly happy that I finally have a beautiful copy of my favourite books. Other times, however, I wonder what the hell they were thinking. I am going to share with you some of my favourite cover changes and some of the most frustrating changes.

• 

• 

The Eldest Curses by Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu

So first up is the cover change for The Eldest Curses trilogy! The original cover is the one on the left and I’m not sure why they decided to completely revamp the cover but it’s happened before the release of the The Lost Book of the White, which is the second book in the trilogy. I personally love the new cover and think it’s a lot more appealing than the first one. I have nothing against the first cover; I really like that one too but compared to the new one, it’s a little plain. I do hope the third book has Alec and Magnus on the cover together but I doubt that will happen. Also, I like how the publisher is offering a reversible dust jacket for the second book so you can either stick with the old cover or showcase the new one.

WWW Wednesday!

Hey guys! Today I am sharing with you a WWW Wednesday post. I’ve deviated from my TBR this month (surprise, surprise) but only because I’ve been reading a lot and can throw in a few other books! I’ve read seven books so far and I’m confident that I can easily read a ton more.

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words.

To take part, all you have to do is answer the following questions:

1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you’ll read next?

• 

• 

Currently reading

Are You Watching? by Vincent Ralph: I picked this up spontaneously and I’m so glad I did because it’s actually really suspenseful! It has such a unique plot and the chapters are so short and punchy. The main character Jess applies to be part of a YouTube reality series where once a week she allows herself to be filmed, from the minute she wakes up until midnight. She’s hoping that with the help of the thousands of people watching, she can catch her mother’s killer, who was murdered by the Magpie Man ten years ago. It’s been pretty gripping so far and I’m looking forward to seeing how it progresses!

Mid-Year Freak Out Book Tag 2020!

Hey guys! It’s time to share my favourite book tag again! Can you believe we’re in mid-June already? I love doing this tag and I’m so pleased to able to post it finally. This year so far I’ve read 44 books and I’m just over halfway through my Goodreads challenge.

I’m not the far ahead compared to last year and honestly working from home hasn’t given me that much of a boost. The only good thing is that I’ve managed to read my thicker hardback books that were like 600 pages. Here’s my best and work books of 2020 so far:

• 

• 

1) Best book you’ve read so far in 2020

It has to be House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas. This book was incredible and so surprising! I had no idea what to expect from it, I just knew I had to read it as soon as it came out. Best decision ever! There was a whole cast of characters that meant there was never a dull moment. I loved Bryce and Hunt and was rooting for them the whole way through. I was really surprised by how much I ended up loving this.

2) Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2020

I’ve read some new series this year but the sequels weren’t particularly earth-shattering. The only sequel I loved was Shadowblack by Sebastien de Castell and that was a reread. It was so deserving of five stars and I loved it just as much as the first time I read it. It’s intense but also entertaining, has serious characters but then sarcastic ones to balance it out. It’s one of my favourite fantasy series.

Book haul – 2020

Hey guys! Today I’m sharing with you some more books I’ve purchased this year with my own money and I’m actually surprised by how many I’ve bought in 2020. I’ve managed to acquire 16 books so far this year (this doesn’t include multiple copies) and I’m really excited to share my most recent buys with you. I’ve also decided to include some of my own pictures! They’re not very good, but since I wanted to talk about the multiple copies I thought it would be best to take my own.

• 

• 

• 

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas: I had to share pictures of my stunning copies of House of Earth and Blood. I ordered both Waterstones editions – the hardback with exclusive red sprayed edges and the tour edition. I love both these editions so much and I’m so glad I was able to get my hands on a copy of the tour edition. I read this book when it came out and I loved it so much. I can’t wait for the second book to come out.