R.J. Jacobs blew me away with This Is How We End Things, so I decided to pick up two more books of his, Alway the First to Die and Somewhere in the Dark. Always the First to Die intrigued me upon r…
Over the last few months, I have seen too many stories and “dramas” regarding white women targeting women of colour to better the reception of their books or race-bait as a person of co…
Overall mood: eager. We’re back on the reading train this month! I’ll warn you know, this is a lot summary as I’ve managed to read 18 books (I know!) this month. I am adding a few…
This one I’m going to pose as a question, because what does make a good book? There are the building blocks for good writing, of course, and I’m sure we’ve all seen authors come o…
With cosy fantasy becoming more popular and sought after, I have started to label things as “cosy” within their respective genres. Becky Chambers’s The Long Way To A Small, Angry …
We’re back in Ketterdam with our favourite motley crew, The Dregs, and the situation is dire. Still riding on the high of the infamous Ice Palace heist, our crew are now faced with trouble. I…
I mentioned at the beginning of the year that I had a lot of books on my bookshelf that I hadn’t read yet or wanted to reread, and I donned these as my physical TBR. Six months later, what pr…
The Chestnut Man is the adult crime fiction thriller to read. It has a series of murders that get more gruesome the deeper into the story we go, at times giving you that visceral reaction from the …
A stunning book unlike any other, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak has been around for almost two decades now. In that time, it has proven to be a novel of distinction, and I strongly believe it stan…
It has been over a year since I read The Dark Artifices Trilogy by Cassandra Clare, but I wanted to hold off on writing this review because I wanted to get through the original series first. That t…
Half the year has flown by since I published my reading goals for 2024 post. I have a loose idea of the numbers, though I don’t go into any fancy percentages with genres or tropes, so letR…
Deanna Raybourn’s A Grave Robbery is the ninth book in the Veronica Speedwell series, but I fear it may be the last I read. While this series has interesting characters and strong personaliti…
Returning to university in 2024 feels like a different world to my undergraduate studies and master’s year. It’s more than just the workload being different – more pedantic and te…
Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone Trilogy is a YA staple for many, introducing the fantastical world of the Grisha, the small science, and the Darkling to its many readers. My recent reread of …
I’ve been writing bookish things on this blog for over a year. Honestly, time flies and it feels like it was only last week that I was posting every day of October (something I will talk abou…
The cover got me to request this book from the library in the first place. Once I found out New Zealand author Deborah Challinor wrote Black Silk and Sympathy, I knew I needed to read it and do it …
Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney was one of the first books I read this year and I feel confident in saying that it’s been a kick in the right direction for my reading as both a reader searching …
As the final book in William Ritter’s Jackaby series, The Dire King had a checklist to complete. It needed to wrap up a rather busy but interesting story, tie up plot lines and character arcs…
This one is my favourite so far and that was made abundantly clear with my recent reread. Andrea Penrose’s Wrexford and Sloane series just continues to grow and improve with each release. Mur…
My heart has been ripped from my chest countless times while reading Mockingjay, the final book in Suzanne Collins’s phenomenal The Hunger Games trilogy. It is a concise novel, but that doesn…
The Only One Left has been floating around social media for a while now, popping up on “anticipated reads of the month” posts and all sorts for what seems like months. It’s been o…
Now this one was a fresh, interesting idea. Anna Lee Huber’s Lady Darby Mystery Series continues with A Wicked Conceit and I’m glad reading the blurb on the back did just enough to enti…
I’ve been wondering for some time now when we will get some explanation in regards to the way Lord Gage speaks of and treats his family. He has been such a prevalent character in the latter h…
I’m a historical fiction fanatic. More specifically, the murder mystery side of historical fiction. I can and will read other historical fiction books but my heart lies with the slightly grue…
I read this many moons ago but there is something that’s calling me to reread the His Fair Assassin trilogy. Robin LaFevers’s Grave Mercy is a historical fiction young adult fantasy nov…
First, I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone and anyone who has read my blog posts throughout the year. I never thought that I would actually get around to doing this so for it to already…
T. Kingfisher’s A House With Good Bones is a horror novel with a decent premise, a likeable narrator and a plethora of creepy details and affinities that flesh out all compelling horror books…
A book hasn’t made as much of an impact on me as this in such a long time. I mean it with my whole heart and soul when I say Charlotte Lobb’s Hannah and Huia is something words cannot d…
Almond is the kind of book you will not regret taking the time to read. I first saw it as a book recs reel of foreign authors, then as one for shorter books you can read in a day. Considering I lov…
The Last Heir to Blackwood Library is my first Hester Fox book, though after this is certain won’t be my last. The setting is 1925 London and a woman finds herself the sole heir to an old est…
Now this book had me invested but not in the way you may think. Anna Lee Huber’s Lady Darby Mystery Series continues with A Study in Death, the fourth novel in her collection, and it brings w…
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio has been big on TikTok for years now, especially within the Dark Academia sphere. This massive cult following and the short-form content style of TikTok compounded t…
This book is the one that solidified my stance on the ACOTAR series. A Court of Frost and Starlight is the novella set after the war and as novellas are, it is a short read. Unfortunately, there ar…
After being recommended this by my aunt (thank you very much Aunty G) I have found a renewed interest and love for WWII stories. I previously found the titles I’ve picked up to be a little to…
What a joy this read was! Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson is a breath of fresh air. We have a very unique narrator, a narrative style and delivery unlike anything I h…
While reading A Stroke of Malice, Anna Lee Huber’s eighth novel in the Lady Darby Mystery Series, I couldn’t help but laugh at a line spoken between characters to the point of “th…
I find myself lost for words to describe this beautiful book filled to the brim with incredible storytelling, compelling themes and symbolism, and, above all, a real sense of purpose and characteri…
As Death Draws Near, the fifth novel in Anna Lee Huber’s Lady Darby Mystery Series, started off on an interesting foot. We have a sudden summons to Ireland, the return of a troublesome charac…
Andrea Penrose continues to put out incredibly engaging, twisted tales that I cannot help but sink my teeth into. Murder at the Serpentine Bridge has everything you could possibly want – a po…
With how large of a genre fantasy is and given how themes and tropes often lead to similar stories sharing the limelight I cannot help but think about this book. Graceling by Kristin Cashore is som…
I knew as soon as I saw On Call I needed to pick it up. I love Adam Kay’s This is Going to Hurt and Ineke Meredith’s On Call is New Zealand’s version. I also can’t help but …
I promise I will be as objective as possible in this review. I have seen and heard of a lot of reviews on all points in the spectrum when it comes to A Court of Thorns and Roses. A lot, in all hone…
I loved Lavender House and I love Bell in the Fog even more. Lev AC Rosen is a brilliant writer and has captured the world of 1950s America from a queer lens with such vivid detail and truth. While…
