I had a whole bunch of ideas for what else I was going to post about this week (because I aspire to have more than one post up a week and I am so fed up of posting reviews, I love these books but it’s so hard to get a proper conversation going with folks). but then I remembered it was Thanksgiving in the US. I, obviously, do not celebrate but just take full advantage of the Black Friday sales which follow. The origins of Thanksgiving are awful, we won’t go into but come on guys, you all saw Addams Family Values, you know how that all went down, but I appreciate the sentiment of being thankful and thinking of those around us at this time of year. As such, I wanted today’s post to be all about the bloggers I love and how awesome they are. I also thought this would be a great way to celebrate things I love. I mean, I can show my appreciation for awesome games, awesome books, awesome anything really so here we go.
Nick @ The Infinite Limits Of Love
So Nick’s blog is both the best and the worst. She writes great reviews, she is the best at writing posts highlighting new releases and the books she’s excited about. And sometimes, she’ll have pictures of food either on her blog or Instagram which make me hungry which is totally unfair, but also great. She convinces me to spend way too much money on books because her excitement for books she loves is just contagious. Seriously, she can just give a book the nod and I’m there at the till ready to buy. She has that power. I’d like to say she uses it responsibly… but I mean, it’s questionable. I suppose she uses it for good because she is excellent about supporting the authors she loves on twitter and on her blog. She’s good people (most of the time… except when she shouts even though she lies and says I shout at her, I don’t. Honest).
I will always follow what Nick’s up to and even though my bank balance would rejoice at her taking a break… I would probably cry about it because she does what I wish I could do when it comes to blogging and on twitter and she is just the best. Also, she always seems to know what’s going down on twitter and I know I need to read up when I see a savage tweet from her on my timeline.
Sam @ We Live and Breathe Books
Sam blogs with a whole bunch of people but I honestly did not realise that at first when I first visited her blog because she is so prolific! I wish I could read as much as Sam does, each Sunday she leaves me envious with the sheer number of books she’s managed to get through in the space of a week. And it honestly feels like she is always on Twitter. I have never known a blogger so frequently like all the posts I link on Twitter (which is an auto-tweet because I am too damn lazy to set anything up to share things properly). I spend a lot of time questioning when Sam manages to sleep, it’s concerning. And finally, a blogger who gets my travel woes! If anything, I am always feeling for her because what is wrong with her trains?
I feel like Sam is the blogger who makes me want to write reviews and read more YA because she is predominantly a reader of contemporary YA and is definitely the blogger I turn to when the mood strikes for that.
Rowena @ Weendizzle
If you’re looking for a blogger who is genuinely nice then stop right here (yes, all bloggers are genuinely nice but some are more obvious about it than others). I swear, every time she comments on my blog she makes me feel like I’ve had a hug from a friend and a good pep talk and gossip. She always makes me smile on both her blog and in my comments. When I realised I was quite obviously becoming a romance blogger hers was a blog I stumbled across (no idea how/when/why and no one cares about that) but I was immediately drawn in as she’s read so much romance! She also talks about new books/old books/books I’ve never heard of and she’s always talking about something new. And one thing I love is she isn’t afraid to reread and talk about a reread on her blog, that’s not something you see too often. And if you want a blogger into their sports, she’s the one. I feel like she has a team for everything and at minimum, there is one member of her family playing a sport at any one time.
Genesis @ Whispering Chapters
So Gen is a newer blogger on my list. I’ve not followed her blog forever, and I actually think she’s a new addition to my reading list this year, but she shoved her way on to my favourites list quite quickly.
I’m not sure what made her an instant favourite. It could be her reviews, she reads a lot of romance but still has a mix of other things, but I think it’s the fact she is fun and I love the actual look of her blog (does that make me shallow). I’m not going to lie to you, I judge your blogs as soon as I first visit them. If it’s the first time I’m stopping by I get stupid judgey and then feel bad about it later, but if a blog is pretty I’m more likely to hang around for a couple posts ( I won’t stay long if it’s pretty and has no substance, though). I think she definitely drew me in with a pretty blog and I stayed just because I liked her posts. And also she posts the best pictures on Sunday, I feel like she always something to tell folks about by Sunday and I love hearing about her family (which I want to join simply because they seem to be all about parties and food). She has a super pretty Instagram feed as well. Like so pretty! If I was better at Instagram hers would be what I want to try and be like. Instead, my Instagram is for scrolling through when bored with an occasional picture of what I’m up to… like super occasional.
Kelly @ Diva Booknerd
If there is anyone I curse about almost as much as Nick then it’s Kelly. I don’t think she knows I do it, but she blogs about some really interesting YA and a few MG reads too. She writes these fantastic reviews that are really in-depth and analyses the book (way more mature than my flaily reviews where I just sort of word vomit at you and close with ‘buy it!’ at the end). She writes all this brilliance about these books I’ve never heard of and gets me all excited to read them… and then I learn they’re OzYA books that aren’t released in the UK (or even the US) and that the only way I can get a copy is by hoping and praying Amazon gets the book in stock or paying to fly to Australia to buy it. It actually makes me want to shout at her with every review I read from her just to ask why she would tempt me with things I can’t have but her reviews are honestly so good I can’t even hate her for it.
God, this sounds like the weirdest celebration of a bloggers’ brilliance ever. Honestly, she writes reviews I wish I could. I don’t think about books in the same way she does when reading and I certainly don’t have the memory for them, She gets so in-depth, I swear, I didn’t analyse text that closely at uni… this is probably why I didn’t do better… that and really I went to uni to delay the inevitable need to get a job.
Also, she always writes the nicest comments. I can’t say enough good things about someone who writes nice comments. They don’t have to be long but if they leave you smiling and kind of wanting to give someone a hug then they must be good and Kelly totally does that.
Tania @ My Lovely Secret
Tania is honestly such a nice blogger. I’ve seen her blog loads and then fall by the wayside a bit as life gets in the way. She reads such different books to me but she always reads interesting books. She reads a lot of fantasy and I always enjoy her reviews. She also does recommendation posts, like Nick, and I love a blog which mixes things up with content because I am terrible for just posting review after review interspersed with some discussions. I always enjoy stopping by and seeing her thoughts on things and reading her life updates (never forget the importance of a good life update in blogging, we all love to read them as it feels like a good catch up).
Laura @ Boats Against the Current
So… I don’t follow a lot of UK bloggers (if you know of any good ones I should be following please link me I will check them all out) but Laura is one I feel like I’ve followed for a while. Like way back when I was reading more YA and fantasy stuff and I got sucked into her blog. She reads a legit mix of books and I always find myself stopping by. She is also working on writing and I love her updates where we hear about her writing/life/TV etc. You get a full update and it’s great. And she's one of the few bloggers I see who writes posts to help others get ideas of what to blog about. I’ve referred to many of her posts when I’m stuck in a blogging rut to get inspiration. Also, I stopped by the other day and she was talking about Pokemon. The way to my heart is simple, books, food, Pokemon and Sims. It’s like the big 4 things I love to see on blogs. There’s other stuff, like talk about travelling and share pictures and I’ll be sucked in. Talk about clothes and makeup I’ll probably be sucked in. But outside of books, Pokemon and Sims, and gaming in general, these are the things I like to read about.
Amber @ Du Livre
Amber is another newer addition to my reading list but she earned a place for all the romance she reads. I feel like since I started following her blog has slowed down some… but she is expecting a baby (which is a dumb phrase, what else would she be expecting?) so she has been hella busy and she’s been stuck in a bit of a reading rut. But even so, she gets me excited to read and she tells folks about her travels with work, her family, etc. Her blog is always fun to visit, though.
Veronika @ Wordy & Whimsical
I’m back with another blogger who is genuinely nice and always makes me smile when she comments. Veronika is honestly the nicest and she writes some excellent posts. Her reviews are good, but her discussions and that are excellent. So she did Dear Authors, Pls Stop and that post was so on point with the things we need to stop seeing in fiction. She wrote a kickass post which really hit the nail on the head about why I hate Mal in the Shadow & Bone series. She just gets it! I mean, she is not as super on the romance train as me yet I still feel like our tastes are so similar. I read her reviews and her posts about books and I’m like, I need to read that. She’s a quieter influence on my reading than Nick but she still has me piling books onto my TBR.
Kristen @ Metaphors and Moonlight
And one final blogger I almost forgot (sorry!). I have been following Kristen for a good long while now and I’ve seen her ups and downs but hers is a blog I will always return to (even if she isn’t getting to blog as much lately). I know I’ve featured some bloggers with very different tastes to me on here already but Kristen’s usual books don’t usually even fly across my radar. She reads a lot of fantasy/sci-fi and she has long been a champion of indie published books. She loves a good supernatural creature in her reading and honestly, she has added a whole bunch of weird and wonderful books to my TBR over the years. I just love her blog. She is open and honest on there about health problems she’s having and I always want to go give her a big hug and shout at a few doctors when she’s giving us an update but although she feels like she’s being super negative I’m always impressed she’s managed to stay pretty positive about things. She posts her own artwork (they are really good) and she plays the Sims! Like I said, gaming is always going to bring me back to your blog. She hasn’t been able to do any in a while but I loved her little sims updates and the stories she creates for them.
***
I feel like I’ve missed people! I’m certain there are at least ten other blogs I wanted to talk about and I’m willing to bet I’ll post this and be like, why the hell did I forget you? And then be sorely tempted to go edit this post. I will resist and commit to my selection but feel free to shout at me in the comments and say ‘I thought we were friends’. I mean, there are plenty more blogs which should probably have been featured and I forgot but this post has been slowly developing over weeks! It’s been slow progress but I wanted to talk about the blogs I enjoy and who I visit regularly because it’s always good to show a little appreciation for everyone’s hard work.
Also, whilst putting this post together I realise how useful a blog button is for folks having something to feature and link back to. How did I not realise this? Why did no one tell me of the usefulness of blog buttons? I’d say I’m off to create one but let’s not make me a liar. Ask me about it again in six months and I may have gotten around to it.
Which blogs do you love? Give me all the blog recommendations below of blogs I should know about already and if you have a favourite UK blogger please let me know some because why don’t I follow more?
Source: Netgalley
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Dystopian
My Rating:
While most of the world has drowned beneath the sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse, Dinétah (formerly the Navajo reservation) has been reborn. The gods and heroes of legend walk the land, but so do monsters.
Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last best hope. But what Maggie uncovers about the monster is much more terrifying than anything she could imagine.
Maggie reluctantly enlists the aid of Kai Arviso, an unconventional medicine man, and together they travel the rez, unravelling clues from ancient legends, trading favours with tricksters, and battling dark witchcraft in a patchwork world of deteriorating technology.
As Maggie discovers the truth behind the killings, she will have to confront her past if she wants to survive.
Welcome to the Sixth World.
I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
This book was spectacular.
I could not get enough of this book, but it did take me a little while to get into it. In fact, I was not in the mood for this book when I first started it but it was an ARC due for the end of November and I knew that I needed to get to reading it. When I started it, I knew the writing was good, I got the vibe from the book, but I still felt a little meh about it as I wasn’t in the mood and wasn’t sucked in to the story. By Thursday/Friday I did a mega 180 attitude change and I was hooked.
I started this after DNFing To Kill A Queen. I was so excited about reading that book, I had hyped it up in my mind and it fell totally flat. I’m saying this because I was in a negative mood starting this book so I did need to work to get out of that mood and it may have influenced my initial thoughts on this one. Once I gave this book a proper chance and stopped dipping in and out of it, I was hooked and it was so good. I’d been excited to read it before, ever since it was released in the US, in fact. It has been on my radar and I’m so glad I braved it and requested this because this was so worth it and I’m just glad I got approved!
My negative mood was not the only thing stopping me from getting totally into this book. This is book is set in the Dinetah (the former Navajo reservation) and most of the characters are Native Americans from various clans and it is written by Rebecca Roanhorse who is a Native American author. I admit, I know nothing about Native American culture and so I need a whole education, but I was thrown by the various words and terms in the book which were Navajo but I didn’t know them or understand them and I hope that the finished book has some kind of glossary of terms which can be used for reference when reading because I kind of needed that. I will be going to the shop to try and get a physical copy so I will check that out in the final copy. My arc didn’t and it would have been nice… it wasn’t a deal-breaker, though. I mean, I figured it out, I’m a smart cookie, but it relied on my ability to remember words. It wasn’t a must-have but it would have been nice.
Now I’ve gone on about the background a little maybe I should talk about the character and the actual book. The book focuses on Maggie, a monster hunter. She defined herself as a hunter and a killer, especially a killer. She was a bit of a recluse and was hurting after her mentor (and the man she loved) abandoned her with no word almost a year ago. She had a whole heap of emotional scars from her past and was quite happy being left alone. She was dragged into a monster mystery when a clan called upon her for help when a girl was kidnapped from her bed by a monster and they wanted Maggie to rescue her. Once she got dragged into this mystery she needed to follow it through and find out who started all of this. Especially when she found the monster and didn't recognise what kind of monster it was so turns to Tah, the one man who she thinks may have an idea of what monster she found. That's when it got good. She goes to Tah who introduced her to his grandson who he thought could help unravel the mystery. Especially as he had skills (the full extent of said skills to be revealed later in the book and I will not spoil it for you).
Kai was a total babe who was both good-looking, a nice guy and a broody mystery (yes he can be all of those things at once stop with your judgey judgey faces). Once he started helping Maggie well I was hooked. I didn't actually like him at first, like Mags I was wary of this slick-talking good-looking man and why he was being so genial with her but he won me over fast. He was just a genuinely good guy and me and Mags weren't used to such things. I mean, the man had secrets but I totally didn't guess those and I was shocked as Maggie when we found them out. But even after the secrets were revealed, looking back he was still a good guy who wanted to support Maggie in seeing better things about herself because she was so negative about herself and this was due to past trauma and the terrible influence of her mentor on her mindset and self beliefs.
The book follows Maggie trying to find out where this monster she killed came from and who is behind those who keep coming. I admit I was surprised by the whodunnit… but also not because it made more sense than who Maggie originally thought did it. This book also looked at Maggie examine her past a little more and some of the many emotional scars that have been left behind and with the answers which came at the end of the book you just know there'll be more exploration of that to come because there were even more emotional wounds revealed by the whodunnit and that ending! Hot damn. I need more answers because I have a lot of questions. Luckily the second book is out in the UK on Thursday alongside the first so guess who's headed to Waterstones for a little shopping!
Look, this is probably a terrible review but your girl here has realised she's a shoddy reviewer sometimes but this book was good and I am so ready to return to this world. I adored the Native American history intertwined with this story and I really feel like the world of this book with The Big Water and the lead up to the creation of this world is realistic and relevant to today.
And writing that paragraph all set to wrap up this review I realise I haven't even mentioned worldbuilding (see, shoddy reviewer) the world of this book was basically a post-apocalyptic world where the sea levels have risen (sound familiar) and the US has shrunk. There was a large native reserve which had walls around it (inspired by the US building a wall to the south…yes, seriously) and this land had the Dine people living within. Look, I can't remember the specifics and I'm thinking maybe I've missed chunks of history which either weren't revealed yet or I just full-on forgot but the things is the world flooded, the US shrunk and the map got all kinds of rewritten because of it. For some reason water is a scarce resource there was something about fuel being hoarded and that's all I remember. God, I'm the worst.
I think I loved this book so much because apart from the good story and awesome characters the world just felt real. This felt like a future which could happen and it was scary. I mean, I’m less certain the magic and monsters are likely to happen in the future (but never say never) but this bleak future is possible.
Have you read this book or this series? And if not have I convinced you to give it a shot?
I really need to stop writing my Sunday posts the same day. It takes up so much time and I have so much blog catch up to do from comments to writing actual posts. I feel like I used to have time management skills and I use them in my job but when it comes to blogging all of that goes right out of the window.
It’s been a quiet week this week. There’s been no work drama, but they did finally announce the Christmas party and release the menu (why yes we are having redundancies and a Christmas party, I’d have a problem with it but I need a night out and I’d already booked my hotel room for the party so I’m not complaining). I actually have now broken up from work for a week (does everyone say broken up when it comes to holiday from work? I feel like the more I blog the more I question if a phrase is a universal phrase or just a weird British thing… and don’t even get me started on regional differences when it comes to things, that would be a blog post in itself). I plan to spend my week Christmas shopping and trying to get organised when it comes to the house. Also, I need to get my hair cut because it is a mess, I meant to call them Friday and forgot and forgot again Saturday so now I have to wait until they open Wednesday… or treat myself and go to the fancy salon down the road from me… but I always feel like I don’t fit in there. But yeah, no exciting plans for next week but hopefully I’ll be finished with my Christmas shopping in time for Black Friday where I can treat myself to something (I’m eyeing up a new iPad because I kind of want one I can use with an Apple Pencil because I want to get back into drawing… but that’s a whole other thing).
This week has been the laziest of lazy weeks. I’ve not seen friends. I’ve barely blogged. I’ve been chilled and not really read loads or anything and just been relaxing. Honestly, I’ve spent most of my time playing Stardew Valley on the Switch. It’s weirdly addictive and very relaxing just maintaining your farm. Doing a little fishing. Doing a little mining. Progress could be faster but I think that’s what keeps you playing, you make that little bit of progress and you want more. I am planning on playing some Sims 4 again, as well. Basically, I’ve been all about gaming this week but chilled relaxing gaming.
What I’ve Been Reading
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It’s been another slow, not great, reading week. I finished Get A Life, Chloe Brown and it was amazing! Loved it in every possible way. I then began reading Recurve which has been on my Kindle a while and it was meh. It’s short but by 25% I just was not feeling it. It was very tell tell tell, rather than you seeing stuff happening and so I felt too distant from it. It wasn’t terrible and it was an original concept the writing just didn’t work for me. And then there was Kill the Queen. I was so psyched to read Kill the Queen and I DNFed before the royal family even all got killed because it was so predictable. I saw it a mile off and I don’t want my fantasy to be predictable. Was I being too judgey? Should I give it a second chance? I don’t know. Thankfully, Trail of Lightning was there to save a day. I had to force myself to start reading as it’s an ARC which is being published here in the UK on Thursday so I was like read it and then you’ll have read all of your November ARCS (I know, go me). I am so glad I did, it was brilliant. I was speeding through just to find out what happened and I will be reviewing next week… I will also be waiting outside of my local bookshop next Thursday to try and get a physical copy of it and get my hands on the next book.
New To Me
Only one new purchase this week and that was my preorder of Queen of Nothing. I am getting ready to read the whole series with the release of that book so wish me luck.
And I finally got approved for the arc of Headliners on Netgalley! I am so excited for this book to come out and I worried I wouldn’t get approved as my Netgalley rating has looked better but I did! A reread of the whole series is in my future.
And that was my week, boring as it may be. What have you been up to? What have you been reading? And please tell me if I’ve been too judgey about my DNFs this week.
Get A Life, Chloe Brown (The Brown Sisters #1) – Talia Hibbert
Published: 5th November 2019
Source: Netgalley
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
My Rating:
Talia Hibbert delivers a witty, hilarious romantic comedy about a woman who's tired of being 'boring' and recruits her mysterious, sexy neighbour to help her get a life - perfect for fans of Sally Thorne, Jasmine Guillory and Helen Hoang!Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek with a goal, a plan and a list. After almost - but not quite - dying, she's come up with seven directives to help her 'Get a Life', and she's already completed the first: finally moving out of her glamorous family's mansion. The next items?- Enjoy a drunken night out.
- Ride a motorcycle.
- Go camping.
- Have meaningless but thoroughly enjoyable sex.
- Travel the world with nothing but hand luggage.
- And... do something bad.But it's not easy being bad, even when you've written step-by-step guidelines on how to do it correctly. What Chloe needs is a teacher, and she knows just the man for the job.Redford 'Red' Morgan is a handyman with tattoos, a motorcycle and more sex appeal than ten-thousand Hollywood heartthrobs. He's also an artist who paints at night and hides his work in the light of day, which Chloe knows because she spies on him occasionally. Just the teeniest, tiniest bit.But when she enlists Red in her mission to rebel, she learns things about him that no spy session could teach her. Like why he clearly resents Chloe's wealthy background. And why he never shows his art to anyone. And what really lies beneath his rough exterior...
This was my second attempt at reading a Talia Hibbert book and I have to say the second time was most definitely the charm. This book! This book convinced me I was probably wrong and should go back and try and reread that first book I tried because it seems it was most likely me not the book with the issue.
All the stars to this book.
I was charmed from the beginning with this one. We met Chloe on a normal walk right before she almost gets hit by a drunk driver and see the very immediate aftermath for Chloe. She realises that she is boring and she needs to do something to get out of her rut of carefully structured routine and what better way than to write a list? I mean, when your immediate reaction of figuring out how to get a life is writing a list to be less boring… that just shows you what kind of person Chloe is. She is structured even in her quest to be more exciting and break from routine. And she has to be. She suffers from chronic pain and her fibromyalgia has meant she has had to form structure and routine in order to get through her day to day and that is brilliant, but it has also meant she has become rigid and has lost some of the spontaneity she used to have. Seeing her slowly break from her shell and realise that routine is good, but having fun is also good, especially when you have someone there to support you if you push yourself too far.
And Red! That man deserved a big hug because he had gone through a lot. He is actually the super at the flats Chloe moves into in her first step to getting a life and the two end up winding each other from the very beginning. Red can’t help but poke and prod at her because he can tell she has some kind of issue with him. And Chloe’s issue? That damn spark she felt from the first time they shook hands and his general cheerful manner to everyone. The man was nice to one and all, too nice! So her need to be extra sarcastic struck out and the two were sniping at each other with every meeting. That is until Chloe realises Red can be of some assistance conquering a few items on her list. She then forms a mutually beneficial plan that has the pair growing closer together and boy was that a treat to read.
Red and Chloe on the page together were just the best. Like I said, they poke and prod and have their sarcastic bickering and it is just so much fun to read. I was grinning practically the whole time reading this book because they were just so much fun. Even before they gave in to the chemistry brewing between them you could tell they were going to be the best together. Red was there driving Chloe out of her comfort zone and Chloe helped Red do better and pursue his career. They were meant to be. And that’s before I even start telling how hot the sex is between them. Look, all I’m gonna say is if a couple is about ready to bang in the street they must be good together (and the author must be talented at having me believe they would be up for that because I’m sorry, UK streets be shady and you know some idiot would interrupt being all ‘wahey what you pair up to’ because English me, and especially drunk English men are idiots). But the thing is yes they have chemistry but they still made each other laugh even when they were in bed together. That is relationship goals right there.
It may have taken me a while to finish this book but it was so worth it. My only regret is waited so long to read something by Talia Hibbert and thought I might not give her a second chance. Here's hoping the rest of her books are as good.
Have you read this or any of Talia Hibbert’s books? Which should I try next?
It’s a late Sunday post today because I’ve had a busy few days and Sunday morning is the first chance I’ve had to sit down and turn my laptop on. I know you guys won’t mind but I always like to explain myself anyway.
This week has been another weird week. Work hasn’t been bad, though, no terrible news for you there. We are all waiting for more news on a work Christmas party but since they’ve been giving us continual bad news I think they’re waiting to reveal anything more. So far, we had the date confirmed almost two months ago and then had nothing further. I currently have a hotel room booked along with a few other people on my team, so it may be a case of us all having a really good night out that night instead. I think we would all like that. It would be a great way to let off some steam, but I would like some confirmation on the Christmas Party. I’ve been putting off sorting my outfit and I hate rushing about last minute.
We saw our first sprinklings of snow on Thursday! It was exciting but also… not fun because that just proves how cold it is outside! Also, it came on a day where it pretty much rained all day. It was miserable and I was going out to meet friends and that just made me want to go home and curly up in my fluffy pjs. I didn’t, but Thursday definitely drove me to wanting to cancel. Because of the heavy rain my train got cancelled and that just had me in such a bad mood getting a taxi home. Thankfully, meeting up with friends that evening was exactly what I needed. Catching up and unwinding over a couple of drinks was perfect. I’m always so glad I've managed to keep in touch with a couple of school friends and we even put a date in the diary in a couple of weeks. Normally it takes us about three months to arrange another meet up.
My weekend has been taken up with two things: Christmas shopping and home improvements. Unfortunately, the home improvements aren’t on my house. That whole process is dragging out with various queries to the seller and we won’t get into that, but it’s frustrating to say the least. No, these home improvements are at home on my mom’s house. my step dad decided he would lay the new laminate flooring in the hallway and landing. He did a plastering course and replastered the walls, he painted the walls and now he’s laying flooring and putting the skirting boards back on the wall. This has taken about a month but it looks like it’s almost over! It has meant I spent no time with my laptop Saturday as I usually would, though. That means I’ll be playing catch up Sunday and that is never fun, I predict a slower blogging week for me. My other distraction has been Christmas shopping. I am so far behind this year and I have ne friend I am really struggling with what to buy her as all my ideas I feel like I’ve got her variation of that previously. I’ll think of something but it’s tough. I’m finally making a dent in my shopping, though. I made the mistake of heading to our local shopping centre, I suppose what you Americans out there would call a mall, and I should never go on a Saturday. I went early but it got so busy and by midday I was ready to murder someone. I remember why I don’t like heading into actual shops and started doing more of my Christmas shopping online. Even though the shops were frustrating and slightly rage inducing, it did help me get a few ideas of what to buy for people and that was the whole point of my mission.
What I’ve Been Reading
I don’t know what has been wrong with me this week but I’ve not been in the reading mood. I started reading No Judgments and couldn’t get into it at all. I ended up skimming through to the end to see if it would grab my attention… and it didn’t. It’s sad as I used to love Meg Cabot but that book just… it didn’t work for me. It wasn’t bad but there was nothing stand out about it either. I loved the cute animals, Gary was cute (the cat… the toothless cat) but the two MCs did nothing for me. I could tell from the start they were alluding to things with Bree and her past that I wasn’t going to enjoy and Drew just came across bland. I felt like he was meant to be grumpy at the start and would warm to Bree as the story progressed, but I just felt nothing. he was bland, beige, boring. Ugh, it was a me thing, I’m sure others enjoyed it and I probably would have if it came out when I was reading Cabot’s other books. I guess my tastes have changed. but you’re not here for a review of that book. I did start reading Get A Life, Chloe Brown as well. I am loving it but I’m not even halfway in and I started reading Wednesday? Thursday? I don’t know, I’ve been reading a for a few days and that’s all I know. Hopefully I’ll finish it during the rest of my Sunday, we’ll see.
New To Me
I’ve not bought that many books. I’ve tried to be really good (tried). No ebooks have been purchased, but one physical book snuck into my shopping on Saturday. It was a hardcover for £5 people! I couldn’t resist, I did text my brother first, though, I’d originally thought it could be a Christmas present for him but he had already read it. But I knew I needed to buy as it was a special edition and he enjoyed that series and friends on Goodreads have enjoyed it. Look, my Joe Abercrombie book was a bargain and you can’t convince me otherwise.
What have you been up to this week? Please tell me I’m not alone in not finishing or even being close to finishing Christmas shopping.
Source: Kindle First
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
My Rating:
Tracy Crosswhite has spent twenty years questioning the facts surrounding her sister Sarah’s disappearance and the murder trial that followed. She doesn’t believe that Edmund House—a convicted rapist and the man condemned for Sarah’s murder—is the guilty party. Motivated by the opportunity to obtain real justice, Tracy became a homicide detective with the Seattle PD and dedicated her life to tracking down killers.When Sarah’s remains are finally discovered near their hometown in the northern Cascade mountains of Washington State, Tracy is determined to get the answers she’s been seeking. As she searches for the real killer, she unearths dark, long-kept secrets that will forever change her relationship to her past—and open the door to deadly danger.
I love when a book comes out of nowhere and surprises me by being an enjoyable read. I do feel wrong calling a mystery about a woman's murdered sister an enjoyable read but it was. I was hooked from the beginning and was dying to unravel the mystery of whodunit. Turns out I would never have guessed but that's what makes it so fun!
I got this book years ago as a Kindle First read and this freebie sat unread ever since. I actually began reading the first chapter thinking I'd DNF within a few minutes.
I was wrong.
What I should have learnt by now is that I am often wrong and should never trust my instincts on a book. But I might learn. One day. I'm glad I gave this book a shot though
Tracey has never let the disappearance of her sister go. She knows she is probably dead but as the body has never been found and the trial to convict a man of the murder never sat right with her when the evidence was so circumstantial. When she gets the call to say a body has been found she knows that is her sister and she knows she can finally get the closure she needs by proving who actually did it.
Yes, this book probably does follow the usual plot of other mysteries. The MC is a woman on a mission. You know she'll be the one seeing the truth and older folks will be out to stop her. And there's a minor and cute romance. But I didn't care.
I admit the big reveal at the end threw me a little. It was unexpected (at least to me) but I didn't totally believe it and did kind of wish there was a different answer to it all. But the reveal was believable and I was surprised and I think that's kind of the most important thing with a mystery. I want to know who did it in the end. I don't want to have figured it out halfway through cos it's just not as fun. You don't get the same kind tension to figure it all out then.
I enjoyed it and was so pleasantly surprised. I can only hope I can stumble across more winners like this as I clear up my kindle shelves. I'll definitely continue the series.
What was the last book you assumed you wouldn’t like and ended up really enjoying?
This time we have a new feature here on the blog and it links up with me clearing off my shelves. I wanted to talk about the books which have bit the dust and been placed on my digital ‘Never going to read’ shelf or the physical books which have been moved to the charity shop pile. I really wanted to create a way to celebrate these books and feature them on the blog because they may be moving off of my reading list but I still wanted to read them at some point and it’s unfair for them to not at least have a quick mention to you guys.
This time around I’m trying to keep the number of books low. I’ve probably cleared off more books than this lately, but I am featuring the more recent removals. I’ve been trying to work from old to new when it comes to clearing off my shelves as the older books are the ones which are now less suited to my current reading tastes. I’ve moved on and some of these books may not be very me anymore.
These two books have been on my shelf for a while. A loooong while. In fact, I bought the first book way back in 2014 and I bought it because dragons! Do I need to say more? It sounded like a really cool idea and I was excited to read… and then didn’t. I had actually forgotten what this series was about and so read the summary of each book in this series and even now it does sound pretty exciting. This is a fun concept and I think if I’d read these books when I first purchased Talon I would have loads of good things to say, but unfortunately, I didn’t. Now, I just feel like this series is a big commitment and one I am not ready to undertake and the summaries sounded fun… but not something I would be ready to invest my time into reading anymore. Julie Kagawa is also an author who I’ve read before and found her writing often doesn’t really work for me.
It’s sad to see these ones go… but if I’ve not read the first book in almost 6 years then it’s really not going to happen, is it?
Never Never Series – Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher
This is another series which I bought a loooong time ago and honestly, I think I only bought it because Colleen Hoover’s name was on it. The vague description for the first part did nothing for me and I saw a couple of bloggers mention it… and I probably shouldn’t have bought them. Colleen Hoover has slowly drifted off of my TBR list since 2015. I don’t hate her books, I actually really enjoyed some of her past ones… but I kind of feel like her high drama reads aren’t for me and they are filled with a whole heap of angst, as well. I just, can’t motivate myself to read as the books I look forward to reading are a bit lighter and that is not something that comes to mind when I think Colleen Hoover. It was time to admit I wasn’t reading this series and place them on the ‘Never gonna read shelf’.
A Thousand Perfect Notes – C.G. Drews
I feel terrible saying I’ve placed this on the charity shelf. I think we all know this book from Cait at Paper Fury. I have loved her blog for a good long while so when she announced she was writing a book I, like many others, wanted to read it/I actually ended up getting it in an Illumicrate box and I was so excited… and I never picked it up. I tried a few times to start reading and I could hear Cait’s voice coming through with what little I read, but it also felt like it wasn’t a book for me. I didn’t connect with it and it’s probably a case of a book coming to me after I’d moved on from that genre/type of book. If I read this a few years ago it might have totally worked for me, but sadly it wasn’t me now. I finally admitted defeat a few weeks ago and some other lucky person can discover this in a charity shop and feel the joy of reading I didn’t get to have.
The Girl of Ink & Stars – Kiran Millwood Hargrave
This book was a case of being shallow and buying for looks. The cover is beautiful, isn’t it? And then the inside is even prettier with maps and the pages have pictures around the edge and the book just feels beautiful in your hands. Honestly, it is just the nicest book to look at… but the writing just isn’t for me. This kind of sits in a middle ground between Young Adult and Middle Grade and if I had taken the time to read up about this book I would have known it completely didn’t work for me and is not to my usual tastes. I held on to this book for so long for the sheer prettiness of it and I knew it was time to place it on the charity pile as I just know someone will discover this book and will hopefully give it the love and appreciation it deserves.
Have you ever gone through your shelves and admitted defeat on reading some books? And have you bought books for the pretty rather than reading what the book itself was about?
Source: Netgalley
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult
My Rating:
For Penny Lee high school was a total nonevent. Her friends were okay, her grades were fine, and while she somehow managed to land a boyfriend, he doesn’t actually know anything about her. When Penny heads to college in Austin, Texas, to learn how to become a writer, it’s seventy-nine miles and a zillion light years away from everything she can’t wait to leave behind.
Sam’s stuck. Literally, figuratively, emotionally, financially. He works at a café and sleeps there too, on a mattress on the floor of an empty storage room upstairs. He knows that this is the god-awful chapter of his life that will serve as inspiration for when he’s a famous movie director but right this second the seventeen bucks in his checking account and his dying laptop are really testing him.
When Sam and Penny cross paths it’s less meet-cute and more a collision of unbearable awkwardness. Still, they swap numbers and stay in touch—via text—and soon become digitally inseparable, sharing their deepest anxieties and secret dreams without the humiliating weirdness of having to see each other.
I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I got approved for this Netgalley read days after it was published and it was frustrating as it meant I had to pick it up pretty much immediately. This meant I was not in the mood to read it straight away but I knew I needed o give it a read and I’d wanted to read it as soon as the reviews rolled in when it was published in the US a while back.
Like I said, I was very much not in the mood to read it but nevertheless I persisted and after a bit of skim reading by 30% I was feeling invested and by 70% I was like I need to finish but sleep is important and I pushed through and had a terrible nights sleep by 100% worth it.
There are some things to know here. First off, not a whole lot happens in this book. Like, there are big emotional reveals and exploration of what family means and there's some examination of mental health, addiction, and a bunch of other stuff, but in terms of the actual story, not a lot happens. I struggled with that when I first began reading. I love big character exploration and development but I do struggle when there's not a whole lot of plot and don't realise it going in. Once I adjusted to the slower pace, though, I really grew to love it.
I struggled to connect to the two MCs. Penny was very rigid and I struggled with how quick she was to cut off her mom and people in general. She obviously had some anxiety and later some big things are revealed which help to explain her trust issues when it comes to people but I didn't get her for a while which explains why I was slow to get into this book. Sam was another one I struggled with too. I didn't get why he was so hung up on his ex. It was very obvious to me she was toxic and they shouldn't be together but I appreciated how the big showed him reaching some conclusion in the relationship and he took the steps to move forward. But that meant I struggled with his character too. Especially as he had some addiction and possible mental health problems I don't feel like were fully addressed. A lot of the time the way Sam spoke about himself and his mood I was frustrated as I knew there was more going on I was sad we didn’t get to see more of him getting help. It’s the same way Penny suffered from anxiety, it was mentioned but never addressed. You didn’t see her speaking to anyone about it and I would have liked more promotion for getting help from a therapist in this rather the characters coping alone.
But those are minor grumbles. They didn’t stop me enjoying the book, it just meant I was slower to fully start enjoying it.
Penny and Sam’s story was beautiful. Seeing their friendship slowly develop was brilliant and I loved how quickly they became close with their weird little jokes and the back and forth via text. Yet, you still got to see each of their stories. Penny is adapting to life away from home and her mother. She has spent so long building up to college as being the time she can change and begin to make friends and become herself and get some distance from her mom so it’s a big shock to the system. Penny pushes people away a lot so it was nice seeing her grow closer to Sam and let him in. And then it was nice to see her letting folks in. And Sam found himself connecting with people again who weren’t his toxic ex and finding his passion. He has such a bad time of it with his ex and his mom and that really held him back. I was thrilled seeing him pursuing his passions and getting out of his funk of working and sleeping at the coffee shop. He isolated himself and I loved seeing him let Penny in and much like Penny it looked like they were both ready to move forward and let others in too.
I did like seeing Penny and Sam have their person. There is nothing better than reading a book where you see a character being able to call another for them to show up straight away in an emergency and this was basically the whole concept of this book with both Sam and Penny finding their person they can call.
This probably is a bit of an all over the place review, but this book was so quiet and good and I just enjoyed every page (or at least, every page at the 30% mark).
Have you read this, what did you think? And what quieter slow read somehow sucked you in without you expecting it?
Welcome to the end of another week. A slower blogging week but I am buzzing with ideas (like, actually, there are so many notes posts written up with half-finished ideas on them) and so I’m feeling good at the end of this week. I mean, there are plenty of reasons I should be, but we’ll get to that.
First off, I feel like we always need to open with work news. And this week at work there things going down. We’ve heard rumours of a couple of managers and supervisors who have mysteriously left work after being pulled into a meeting and they’ve not returned to the office. We suspect an email will go around soon notifying us they are leaving and it’s shocking because these are people who are well-liked and people who have been with the company for years. It seems like it’s all going down right now. And talking about emails, we also had an email going around that one of the teams have been sold to another company as of the 1st December (I work in insurance and the different teams work at selling different kinds of insurance which is why a team could be sold to another insurance company… it’s weird). Anyway, with the sale of that department, it means the other team which work in the same office as they are facing redundancy as the company cannot justify keeping the office open for just one team. It’s horrible, it’s no one based in my office but these are people I speak with on a regular basis and it’s never fun having that email come through as it’s leading to a lot of people to raise questions about what that means for everyone else. So yeah, I thought the mood in the office couldn’t get any lower after the Christmas hours were released… I was wrong. So yeah… fun times.
And other things set to bring me down? Well, there were some long phone calls to be had when it came to the house this week. I’ve been chasing stuff up and it’s exhausting, but with the bad news at work it’s more of a push to get my house sorted so at least if the worst were to happen and I lost my job I’ve got my house through and I have savings to keep me going for now, if I need to. Yeah, sorry, I know I’m really bringing you down here but these are the practical things I’ve had to think about.
While this week has been out to bring me down I have been working hard to stay happy. I mean, I’ve been trying to think of blog things and I’ve been reading a bit but the thing which has truly been making me happy? I finally started watching Queer Eye on Netflix and that show is so wonderful! I mean, it makes me tear up and hits me in the feels, but it’s the feel-good show I need in my life. The fab five really work hard at helping people be their best self and have the confidence to be that person too. Those guys are so nice! So yeah, let it be known Nick was right and I should have started watching far sooner.
I also had a great Saturday night hanging out with some friends. A friend has recently bought a new house so we visited to see that and she cooked for us. She made veggie burgers and then she made the nicest dessert. It was this vegan cookie dough and it was delicious. I was stuffed with good food which is the best way to be. We then sat around and played board games like the cool 20 somethings we are. I took around my ancient Cluedo board and we had a laugh playing that because it turns out you can forget how to play games but we had fun anyway.
What I’ve Been Reading
So, I just read one book this week. And it was an ARC but I was feeling less motivated to read after finishing The Bromance Book Club last week. I was stuck with what to read even Emergency Contact I wasn’t in the mood for when I first started it. Thankfully, by 30% I was enjoying it because I was really concerned I wasn’t going to like it.
New To Me
I did a little bit of book shopping this week too (I know!) but also I forgot a couple of books last week (oops). I bought the latest Illustrated Harry Potter because of course, I did. I need that book on my shelf and will have a complete collection. I also got The Kingmaker even though I’ve not started reading it yet. The Mortal Word was on offer and I liked the start of this series so I am determined to keep reading (although I did need to catch up on it). And then I preordered The bromance Book Club… and then it’s featured in my ARCs since I forgot to list my ARCs which I had in as well… I know.
I also completely forgot to tell you guys about my new ARCs! I know! How do you forget those? I know it’s a bit of a mix with mostly romance. I got a couple of these ARCs right near their release dates so I haven’t read and reviewed them yet but I’ll get there. I am so psyched to start Get A Life, Chloe Brown so fingers crossed I enjoy it. And that Period book so far has been a really interesting read which has totally made me realise I spend way too much time hiding my period than accepting it and moving on… but that can wait for the review.
And that is my week. What is your favourite board game? And what have you been reading lately?
If you’ve read any post from the past few weeks (couple of months?) then you will know I am buying a house. Yes, it’s all very exciting (terrifying) but it involves lots of big decisions and big expensive purchases because I own nothing! And I thought this would be a great time to link up a bunch of bookish home stuff that I hope to have in my lovely new home… you know… if I won the lottery and money was no issue.
I don’t know if I’ve ever told you guys this but I went from living at uni all independent with housemates to moving back home with my mom. The idea was that I’d save for a couple of years after I found myself a job and then be moved out… and that just didn’t happen. It took me forever to find a job after uni because it turns out having practically no work experience and a BA in History is not the best way to make yourself employable. Who knew? Yeah, so I should have used more forward planning or had any kind of plan for my future. Don’t judge me! I just followed the expected path and studied something which interested me… honestly, there a few things I’d do differently looking back on it but I had a great time at uni so I can’t regret that. Anyway, the point is I ended up living at home for far longer than I’d hoped to but it got to the point where it made more sense to save a big house deposit and buy somewhere rather than moving out to rent somewhere and I am honestly so happy I did. Sure, it’s not the coolest still living with your mom but when have I ever claimed to be cool?
Anyway, because I moved back home the small amount of home shit (yep, getting technical here) which I accumulated has slowly been thrown away or merged with the stuff we already have at home it means I get to have a fully fresh start. Everything will be new and this time I’m not doing it on a student budget and can actually buy nice things. And since this is me I thought it would be fun to see what home type things I could find which had a bookish theme… or possibly just a general geeky/nerd theme. I love doing things like this.
I have to say, I had an absolute blast finding things for this post and I created a whole Pinterest board and I will probably keep adding to it. But now to share some of the great ideas I want in my future home.
Mugs
I know I don’t really need more mugs. I have a lot of them, but who could resist these bookish/blogging mugs? I am very tempted to treat myself to the ‘Go Away I’m Blogging’ one because that would be so cute. And those two Matilda ones I want so much, I almost bought them as gifts for some people but I didn’t think they were quite that into reading to justify it.
Coasters
Where would mugs be without coasters? need to keep those rings off of my coffee table (which I don’t own yet). I mean, some of these are more motivational than others and I actually have the Nope one as a mug but really, that image is appropriate it any and all formats. I do love a good coaster and at home, we have some which I adore. How have I become a person who has strong feelings about coasters?
Cushions
Since we’re talking about drinks let’s look at the cushions I want to cosy up on in my living room when I’m drinking these drinks. I could have found hundreds of cushions so I am only including a few (you don’t me to find these for you, do you?). These are some cute ones I found, though… I didn’t want to get lost in Redbubble… I wouldn’t have finished this post if I did.
And then I started losing direction because there are so many rooms to try and buy for! But I found tea towels and oven gloves that had me about ready to spit out my drink laughing. There are bookends (because these are essential in any book lovers home). And can I say that that book lamp has been on my wish list for so long! It is just ideal for any reader and I don’t even care that I tend to read more ebooks, I like that I could have that by my bedside and have a physical book on the go and have a reading light to read by.
Do you have anything you’ve always wanted to have in your home? And is there any exciting thing I’ve missed you want to recommend to me?
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