February 2023 wrap-up!

Hey, everyone! After a rubbish start to the year, I managed to turn it around this month and ended up reading eight books! I am very pleased with the amount I’ve read and I actually enjoyed most of them! Here’s what I read:

This Woven Kingdom and These Infinite Threads by Tahereh Mafi: First up, I read these two beautiful books and ended up rating them both five stars! I was completely captivated by the story and the characters. Both books end on massive cliffhangers and I’m gutted I’ll have to wait another year for the third book! Tahereh is an incredible writer and I would highly recommend her books to young adult and fantasy lovers.

January 2023 wrap-up!

Hey, everyone! I’m sharing my January wrap-up with you today and I wish I could say that I’ve had a great start to the year but that is sadly not the case. I’ve had a lot going on in my personal life that’s prevented me from reading as much, so I only read three books in January and I’ve already had my first DNF. The positive side is that I mostly liked the books I read so I guess it was successful in terms of enjoyment. Here’s what I read:

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman: I’ve had a copy of this since the paperback was released and I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to read it. I thought it was a really fun read and the characters were still just as loveable. The mystery was even better than the first book and I loved that we got to find out more about Elizabeth and her mysterious past. The only thing that annoyed me was Joyce’s diary entries. I noticed that when a particular scene happened, for example, all the characters are gathered together discussing their theories, Joyce’s diary would then repeat everything that happened in that scene. It really annoyed me. When I eventually get round to reading the third book, I think I’ll take a break before reading her diary entries and treat them as a recap of what’s just happened. Hopefully that will avoid me getting annoyed with Joyce because I do really like her quirky personality.

November and December 2022 wrap-up!

Hi everyone! Apologies for my lack of positing but I’ve been in a horrible reading and blogging slump. I’m hoping I can get back into it this year and I’m starting with sharing my November and December wrap-up. My reading was pretty rubbish in November but I managed to pick it up again in December. Here’s what I read:

November wrap-up

The Child Left in the Dark by J.M. Briscoe: This is such a great sequel and really builds on the characters. You find out a lot more about Bella and her past when she fled the ARC. It also delves deeper into Ariana, her emotional state and how she’s coping with everything that has happened. It’s a very thrilling read and I can’t wait to find out how this trilogy ends!

The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber: I did enjoy this and thought it was a magical read, however, it’s not captured my attention as much as the Caraval trilogy did. I expect Jacks and Evangeline will end up together by the end of the series but I just can’t root for them. Jacks treats Evangeline so horribly and it felt abusive at times. Evangeline deserves so much better. I’ll still read the third book but, sadly, this is not one of my favourites.

BLOG TOUR: The Binding Room by Nadine Matheson

Title: The Binding Room by Nadine Matheson
Published by: HQ
Publication date: 7th July 2022
Genre: Crime & Thriller
Amazon UK

Synopsis:

In this room, no one can hear you scream…

The Serial Crimes Unit are called in to investigate when a local pastor is found stabbed to death. As DI Henley assesses the crime scene, she discovers a hidden door that conceals a room set up for torture – and bound to the bed in the middle of the room is the body of a man.

When another body is found, also tied down, Henley realises there’s someone out there torturing innocent people and leaving them for dead. But why?

There’s nothing that connects the victims. They didn’t know each other. Their paths never crossed. But someone has targeted them, and it’s up to Henley and the SCU to stop them before they find another binding room…

ARC REVIEW: Throw Me to the Wolves by Lindy Ryan and Christopher Brooks

Title: Throw Me to the Wolves by Lindy Ryan and Christopher Brooks
Published by: Black Spot Books
Publication date: 24th May 2022
Genre: Horror/Science fiction/Fantasy
Format: eBook
Amazon UK

Synopsis:

Some evil wants to live forever.

Ten years ago a witch sacrificed Britta Orchid’s family and turned her into a werewolf. Selena Stone’s spell failed, and she was never seen again. Until now.

Officer Aaron Labaye has discovered Selena’s remains in the house where Britta’s family died, and dragged Britta back to Louisiana to aid the investigation, hoping her past will break the case. Britta has a hard time resisting the handsome rookie, especially when he shows her a new drawing by her murdered little brother: Britta in her wolf-form.

As an unseen hand sets events in motion, Britta has to help Labaye dig into the murders old and new. The bloodthirsty ghost of her brother, a jealous member from her pack, and a former friend with a serious prejudice against wolves all stand to stop Britta as she fights to finally get the truth about that night ten years ago. But, as she looks harder than ever into her own dark past, Britta will confront more than just her own demons as she fights for peace for herself and for her family. She can’t hide anymore, but must find her place in a world she’s avoided—and discover what it truly means to be a wolf.

ARC REVIEW: Such a Good Wife by Seraphina Nova Glass

Title: Such a Good Wife by Seraphina Nova Glass
Pages: 336
Published by: Titan Books
Publication date: 12th January 2022
Genre: Crime & Thriller
Format: Paperback
Amazon UK – Waterstones

Synopsis:

Melanie Hale is a devoted mother and a loving wife, but there are the parts of herself that she keeps hidden. She’s exhausted and unfulfilled. So much so that one night, after a writers’ group meeting, Mel begins an affair with a local author named Luke. Suddenly she’s transformed into a role she doesn’t recognize—a woman who deceives with unseemly ease. A woman who might be capable of just about anything.

When Mel finds Luke’s dead body in his lavish rented house, she realizes just how high the stakes have become. Not only does she have to keep her affair a secret in order to preserve her marriage, but she desperately needs to avoid being implicated in Luke’s death. But who would want to kill him? Who else in her life is keeping secrets? And most terrifying of all, how far will they—and she—go to keep those secrets hidden?

January 2022 Wrap Up!

Hey guys! Today I’ll be talking about the books I read in January and I actually had a great start to the year. I read seven books and three of them were Illumicrate books I’ve received in my monthly subscription. One of my reading goals this year is to read all of my Illumicrate books from 2021 so I’m happy that I was able to read three of them in January. Here are all the books I read:

Every Line of You by Naomi Gibson: This was the first book I read and I loved it. It’s a YA sci-fi thriller and the start is a bit slow, but it ramps up in the second half and I ended up racing through it. It gets a lot darker than I was expecting and has some brilliant twists that I didn’t see coming. It follows Lydia who creates an AI called Henry as a way to cope with the trauma she’s been through, but Henry soon becomes more powerful than Lydia predicted and he will do anything to protect her – including hurting and killing people. Lydia is definitely a morally grey character and I genuinely found myself torn between wanting her and Henry to succeed and wanting them to be stopped. I’m not sure if this is a standalone or not but I wouldn’t mind reading a sequel! I’d love to see what happens next with Lydia and Henry because that ending definitely left me wanting more.

REVIEW: Our Trespasses by Michael Cordell

Title: Our Trespasses by Michael Cordell
Pages: 247
Published by: TCK Publishing
Publication date: 15th October 2021
Genre: Paranormal/Thriller
Format: eBook
Amazon UK

Synopsis:

Drowning in a meaningless existence flipping burgers, Matthew Davis suddenly collapses from a powerful psychic connection he shares with his twin brother, Jake. The pain is violent and immediate, and Matt knows exactly what it means… hundreds of miles away, Jake has been viciously killed. But instead of severing their connection, the murder intensifies it and Matt begins to suffer the agony of Jake’s afterlife.

Hell bent on solving Jake’s murder in order to break the connection, Matt travels to his troubled hometown of Hatchett, Nebraska, where an old lover and savage new enemies expose the festering wounds that Jake left behind.

Matt tries atoning for Jake’s sins, but when a demon infests the connection between the two brothers, Matt must find a way to sever their bond before his world, and ours, become engulfed in the flames of hell.

Review of 2021!

Hey guys! Happy New Year! Today I’ll be looking at my reading year for 2021 and seeing how I did with my goals. I hope you enjoy!

So my reading goal was 80 books and I managed to surpass it by one. It’s not as many books as the past couple of years, but considering how challenging it has been with lockdowns and all the restrictions, I’m pleased that I managed to hit my goal of 80.