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.

ARC REVIEW: This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede

Title: This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede
Published by: Hodder & Stoughton 
Publication date: 28th June 2022
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Format: eARC
Amazon UK

Synopsis:

Her gift can save . . . or it can kill.

Three weddings. Three funerals. Alessa’s gift from the gods is supposed to magnify a partner’s magic, not kill every suitor she touches.

Now, with only weeks left until a hungry swarm of demons devours everything on her island home, Alessa is running out of time to find a partner and stop the invasion. When a powerful priest convinces the faithful that killing Alessa is the island’s only hope, her own soldiers try to assassinate her.

Desperate to survive, Alessa hires Dante, a cynical outcast marked as a killer, to become her personal bodyguard. But as rebellion explodes outside the gates, Dante’s dark secrets may be the biggest betrayal. He holds the key to her survival and her heart, but is he the one person who can help her master her gift or destroy her once and for all?

ARC REVIEW: Batman: Nightwalker: The Graphic Novel by Marie Lu

Title: Batman: Nightwalker: The Graphic Novel by Marie Lu
Pages: 208
Published by: DC Ink
Publication date: 1st October 2019
Genre: Fantasy
Format: Paperback
Amazon UK – Waterstones

Synopsis: 

A ruthless new gang of criminals known only as Nightwalkers is terrorizing Gotham, and the city’s elite are being taken out one by one. On the way home from his 18th birthday party, newly minted billionaire Bruce Wayne makes an impulsive choice that puts him in their crosshairs and lands him in Arkham Asylym, the once-infamous mental hospital. There, he meets Madeleine Wallace, a brilliant killer…and Bruce’s only hope. Madeline is the mystery Bruce must unravel, but is he convincing her to divulge her secrets, or is he feeding her the information she needs to bring Gotham City to its knees?

Illumicrate Blood & Blades: The Darkdawn Edition Unboxing!

Hey guys! I am super excited to share with you my unboxing of Illumicrate’s Blood & Blades! I was absolutely thrilled with this and I loved all of the items so much. They did such a fantastic job with this box and I can’t wait to see what they do next!

Before I get into this I just want to show some appreciation for the artwork for this box! It looks awesome! Normally I bin the spoiler booklets/cards but I’m tempted to keep this one? I wish they made this into a print as well!

REVIEW: Catwoman: Soulstealer by Sarah J. Maas (DC Icons #3)

Title: Catwoman: Soulstealer by Sarah J. Maas
Pages: 384
Published by: Penguin Books
Publication date: 9th August 2018
Genre: Fantasy
Format: Hardback
Amazon UK – Waterstones

Synopsis:

When the bat’s away, the cat will play.

Two years after escaping Gotham City’s slums, Selina Kyle returns as the mysterious and wealthy Holly Vanderhees. Batman is off on a vital mission and Gotham is at the mercy of the new thief on the prowl. Joined by the cunning Poison Ivy and notorious Harley Quinn, she wreaks havoc across the city.

Selina is playing a desperate game of cat and mouse. But with a dangerous threat from the past on her tail, will she be able to pull off the ultimate heist?

Top 5 Wednesday: Books You Liked With Tropes You Usually Hate

Hey guys! I got so excited when I saw this topic because I remember writing a post earlier in the year discussing trends I hate but now we get to praise some books for these very tropes/trends! Admittedly, I got really excited when I was writing this post and went into a lot of detail! I included a crime thriller series so I didn’t feel like I was just attacking YA books because they get a lot of stick for tropes! I really hope you enjoy! By the way, this post will have spoilers!

Love Triangle: The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

I despise love triangles and I grimaced when I realised The Infernal Devices had a love triangle. I was fully preparing myself for three books of eye-rolling and groaning but I was actually very surprised. This is probably the only love triangle I have come across that I actually liked and it didn’t tear apart the fans. Will, Tessa and Jem have such a strong bond and it’s so easy to love all three of them that the love triangle honestly does not matter. Personally, I am a fan of Jem and Tessa together but I was happy for Will too! Both fans got what they wanted and I can’t believe Cassie actually managed to pull that off. These three are some of my favourite characters, especially Jem. I’m so glad the love triangle didn’t taint my adoration for these characters.

August TBR!

Hey guys! Here’s my late August TBR, oops! I really should start posting my TBRs earlier because I’ve already finished one book this month and I’m nearly halfway through another. I plan on reading 6 books this month and so far so good! I actually extended my reading challenge to 50 books but I’ve already read 40 so I may need to extend it again, ahh!! Anyway, here is my August TBR:

Sherlock Holmes: The Devil’s Dust by James Lovegrove: This is the one I am nearly halfway through! I actually was a bit hesitant to read this because the last Sherlock Holmes book I read by James Lovegrove bored me to tears, I didn’t like it at all. But this one is actually pretty good, which I was really surprised by! I love the plot and I love how well he seems to have captured Sherlock and Watson. There’s a lot of sarcastic comments which are making me smile and laugh and I love that! The mystery is only just beginning so I can’t wait to read more and see Sherlock start to unravel everything!

The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Devil and the Four by Sam Siciliano: Two Sherlock Holmes books in one month! Good job I am a fan of his! This one looks very interesting, it seems different to other ones I have read and there’s no mention of John in the synopsis. It doesn’t look like he is in this and instead there’s a cousin. That’s intriguing! I’ll be picking this up as soon as I finish The Devil’s Dust so I hope it’s good!

WWW Wednesday!

Hey guys! I realised before I started writing this that I haven’t done a WWW Wednesday post since January! That’s crazy! I thought I’d bring it back this week and give it a little love while I update you all on what I’ve been reading recently and my plans for the rest of the month! Lets get into it!

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:

I was sent an ARC for review by the publisher, so big thank you to them! I absolutely love the cover, it’s so beautiful and it sounds really intriguing. I love the supernatural and I love crime thrillers, so two of my favourite things in one book is awesome! I’m honestly not very far in yet so I don’t have much of an opinion but my curiosity is piqued. So far it seems good though and I can’t wait to get further in. I’m definitely interested in the supernatural side of the story. It’s only 250 pages so hopefully I’ll finish it over the next couple of days and have a review up for it soon!

Annoying book cover changes!

Hey guys! I have been wanting to do this post for a really long time but I’ve never found the time to write it until now! I’ve just always felt so annoyed when a publisher has randomly changed the covers halfway through a series and I feel like venting about it! I hope you enjoy and I’m curious to see if you agree with me on any of these!

1) An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

This has by far been the most annoying series for cover changes. I love these books but the covers are so damn mismatched. I really wish the publishers would just make up their minds because this series looks a complete mess. All of the books are different sizes too! Reaper is the biggest book and then Torch is so tiny in comparison! It’s like the small UK hardback size and it just bugs me. I just want to throw them all out and buy matching covers but I have looked everywhere and these are currently the only UK covers, ugh! I could buy the American ones but I can’t make up my mind if I like them or not. I swear I’ll be so mad if the fourth book is different AGAIN.