Category: sunday summary

Sunday Summary – 26th January 2020

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Hello, bookworms – I’m back with another Sunday Summary post! I hope you have had a lovely week? For personal reasons, mine has been very busy and consequently, the blogging and reading ended up on the back burner this week. From unexpectedly visiting neighbours and blogging in the evenings to appointments and such during the day, it’s been mad.

Even today has been totally different; I normally visit my parents on a Sunday but instead, I was helping my friend Vicky Quayle with her travel consultancy stall at a wedding fair. This is a plug, guys. Totally check her out – she can organise anything, whether you are local or not!

Amongst all this, I still managed to share a few posts this week! Firstly, I shared a guest post for 133 Hours by Zach Abram on Monday. In that post, the author talks about the event that inspired the book and how he had to alter the perspective to fit his main character, a twenty-five-year-old woman. Secondly, I shared another promo post on Tuesday. This post was for The Profit Motive by David Beckler. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to read and review this book for the tour, however, I have downloaded a sample to try it!

On Thursday I shared a review of Agricola’s Bane by Nancy Jardine. This is the fourth book in The Celtic Fervour series and I have really enjoyed reading them. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Agricola’s Bane isn’t the last book of the series, which I expected it was. I can’t wait to see how Nancy wraps the story up. On Friday I shared another Shelf Control post, one of my regular Friday features. This week’s featured book is a sinister mystery novel set in a historical plague-ridden London. If that intrigues you, you can find out which book I am talking about by following the link above!

 

Books Read

This week hasn’t been the best for reading progress, but never mind! As I said above, I have had some other things on my plate that unfortunately take priority. So, this week I’ve only read around 15% of Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson. That takes me to just over a quarter of the way through. It’s not that much progress compared to my normal reading speed, but I’m definitely hoping to get back on track next week.

As much as progress has been lacking for Gardens of the Moon, I have actually done well with listening to Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff. I have definitely listened to more than usual this week! I’m over halfway to the end now – both a good thing and a bad one! Once it’s over… it’s over!

 

Books Discovered

I found a book I really liked the sound of on an email from Bookbub with daily deals. Wolf of Wessex sounds very similar to something else I read and enjoyed previously, so I have added it to my list to read. I won’t be getting around to it anytime soon, mind, but you can never have too many books lined up…

 

Coming Up…

My first blog post of next week is due to be published tomorrow. I am taking part in the blog tour for Two by K. J. McGillick, which you may remember I read last week. I am really looking forward to sharing my thoughts on this book, so I hope you can check that post out!

In a bid to catch up with my reading, I am going to take a few days off the blog and share my next post on Friday. As always, when I don’t have any obligations I share a regular feature post. This week, it’s the turn of a First Lines Friday post. Which book will I be featuring? Your guess is as good as mine right now!

Normally I post Sunday Summary’s at the end of the week, but I actually have a blog tour on Sunday. I have read a number of books by Jennifer Macaire already (The Road to Alexander series). Sunday’s review is for a related series, but instead of focussing on the life of Alexander the Great, this one is set in a completely different time period. If you want the details, you can find them in my review next week.

As a result, my Sunday Summary post will be shared first thing on Monday.

That’s all from me for this week’s Sunday Summary post – hopefully next week I’ll have a little more to talk about! What have you been reading? Let me know in the comments!

 

 

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Sunday Summary – 19th January 2020

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Hello, bookworms! It’s the end of another week, so of course, it’s time for another Sunday Summary post!

It’s been quite a busy week with plenty of blog tour posts to keep you entertained. On Monday I published my review of Million Eyes, a sci-fi conspiracy thriller novel. If you like science-fiction with elements of time travel, then I definitely recommend checking out my review!

Tuesday’s post was also a review, this time for The Violinist’s Apprentice by Isabella Mancini. This book also has elements of time travel but differs from Million Eyes in that it has a more historical fiction feel, with a focus on Italy in 1660 throughout.

I took a break from reviews on Friday and shared a First Lines Friday post. I featured a book that is on my TBR from a well-known author I am looking forward to trying!

Then on Saturday, I shared yet another review; this post was sharing my thoughts on a book read last month, Sixty Minutes by Tony Salter. This particular book is an exciting contemporary psychological thriller with a diverse variety of characters.

 

Books Read

Two was the first book I finished this week. I had not long started this book as of last week’s Sunday Summary post, but this didn’t take me long to read. Being familiar with a number of the characters from previous books made this really easy to get into. K J McGillick also has a really easy-to-read style of writing, so it’s no wonder I blitzed this.

The next book I picked up was A Crown in Time by Jennifer Macaire. I’ve read several books of hers in the last year or so, but A Crown in Time is a new interlinking series with a common theme to The Time for Alexander books, being time travel governed via the Tempus University. I actually finished reading this yesterday and I really enjoyed the focus of a different time period (the Crusades). The main character of the books couldn’t be more different from each other either. It was refreshing!

I started reading Gardens of the Moon yesterday as well. The oldest book on my TBR has finally been picked up. Seriously, I added this to my list over five years ago now – it’s overdue, majorly! I’m currently 11% of the way through the book, which is about sixty-odd pages.

I’ve listened to more of Darkdawn this week and even put in half an hour to an hour in the evenings before going to bed for a change. I did it on a whim on Friday night and it was actually a great way to wind down before going to sleep. So much so, I did it again on Saturday night too! Now, don’t try to tell me I’m not a twenty-something-year-old woman with an exciting nightlife, okay?!

 

Books Discovered

I’ve been pretty good this week and only added one book to my TBR. Following my blog post for Tony Salter’s Sixty Minutes, I added his debut novel to my reading list. I really like the sound of it and since I enjoyed the writing style of Sixty Minutes, I think I’ll enjoy this one too!

 

Coming Up…

I’m back on the blog tour blitz next week! My first post is scheduled for tomorrow, so we’re jumping straight into it! I’m excited to be sharing a guest post written by Zach Abrams about his book, 133 Hours. You may recall I reviewed another book of his, Ring Fenced, not too long ago! I would have liked to read and review 133 Hours too, however, I already had a lot of reviews for other blog tours I’d agreed to at this point.

I’m sharing a second blog tour post on Tuesday. I know – so many tours lately! I can’t help myself, honestly. This post is a promo, as again, I had no more time for reviews. This post will be featuring a book called The Profit Motive by David Beckler.

That’s me done for blog tours this week, so I’ll be sharing a lighter, fun post on Friday. It’s time to take a look at the TBR again and feature the next book on the list. This week’s book is a historical fiction novel with a sinister mystery plotline in the plague-ridden city of London.

 

Top Blog Posts of the Week

https://comfortreads13.wordpress.com/2020/01/16/book-review-long-bright-river-by-liz-moore-new-release/

 

And that’s a wrap for today’s Sunday Summary post! What have you been reading?

 

 

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Sunday Summary – 12/01/2020

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It’s Sunday again guys! Where does the week go? You know what that means though – it’s time for another Sunday Summary post!

I arrived a little late to the party on sharing my reading list for January. I had a number of year-end review posts I wanted to share last week, which I did. So, I didn’t get around to sharing my monthly TBR until Monday this week.

On Tuesday, I finished the last of my 2019 posts by sharing my top reads of the year! Unfortunately, I couldn’t include all 30 of my five-star reviews, so I managed to narrow it down to four standalone books and one trilogy. Not bad going really.

Friday’s post was a promo feature post for an author and series I have featured previously here on Reviewsfeed. Victory Day is the latest book in the Battle Ground series by Rachel Churcher, set in a dystopian UK post-Brexit and Scottish Independence.

 

Also, as a side note, I hit 1000 blog subscribers this week! Now I’ve said that, it had best not go down haha! It does fluctuate, but I have proof – here! I promise it happened and I am so happy!

 

Books Read

Last week was absolutely mad. I had a few shorter reads, as well as coming to the end of one audiobook and starting another. There’s less content this week, but I’m still really happy with my reading progress. I’m still two books ahead of schedule for my Goodreads challenge and in good stead to complete my TBR for the month!

Picking up where I left off in last week’s Sunday Summary, I have been reading Agricola’s Bane by Nancy Jardine. I was 16% through the book as of last Sunday and I finished this one on Friday. After reading this I was really excited to find out that this isn’t the end of the series, so that’s a bonus too!

Yesterday I started my current read, Two by K. J McGillick. Not long ago I read and reviewed the first book in this trilogy. This second book has loose ties to the first book and characters in common, so it’s good in that it’s easy to understand how it follows on. Equally, you don’t have to remember each and every detail of it because the important stuff is summarised as well. As always, I am really enjoying this and I’m looking forward to sharing my review later this month!

Oh, Darkdawn. I’ve really enjoyed listening to this audiobook this week. A lot of the threads from the previous books are all finally coming together and it’s great! I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the narrative style. I still have 18 and a half glorious hours to go until the conclusion. Question is, so I savour or devour them?

 

Books Discovered

 

I have been good as gold and not added a single book to the TBR this week. Neither have I bought any. Do I get a gold medal because that really is an achievement!

 

Coming Up…

 

Next week, my blog is going to be full of blog tour posts and reviews. I’m taking part in three tours over the course of the next week and my first post is tomorrow. In tomorrow’s review, I am sharing my thoughts on a time-travel conspiracy thriller novel, Million Eyes. That post is all scheduled and will be published in the morning, so I hope you can take a moment to have a read!

My next blog tour post will be shared on Tuesday. In this post I am also publishing a review; however, this one is for The Violinist’s Apprentice. This book also has elements of time travel, so if you like this kind of thing then my blog content will definitely be up your street!

I’ll take a brief break on reviews to share a more casual post on Friday. It’s been so long since I drafted one of my regular First Lines Friday/Shelf Control posts that I couldn’t remember which of the two I wrote last. I last shared a Shelf Control on the 20th December, so this week I’ll prepare a First Lines Friday post and try to encourage you to add another book to the TBR. Like you need help with that, bookish friends!

I’m back with a book review on Saturday as well guys! Thankfully I read some of these books last month to make my life easier, and Sixty Minutes was one of those books. I’ve had plenty of time to get my thoughts together for this review and I’ll be sharing them with you then.

Last, but certainly not least, we’ll be back here again this time next week with another Sunday Summary post.

 

Top Blog Posts of the Week

https://thebelgianreviewer.wordpress.com/2020/01/01/10-most-anticipated-reads-of-2020/

http://readerdad.co.uk/2020/01/07/the-god-game-by-danny-tobey/

https://theorangutanlibrarian.wordpress.com/2020/01/12/best-books-of-the-last-decade/

https://bibliophagistreviews.wordpress.com/2020/01/12/book-review-to-be-taught-if-fortunate-by-becky-chambers/

That’s all from me in this week’s update! What have you been reading?

 

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Sunday Summary – 05/01/2020

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Good evening readers! It’s the end of another week and time for another Sunday Summary post.

With Christmas over, I’m now back and enjoying the fresh start that comes with New Year! My first post of the week, year and decade too focussed on my goals and reading aspirations for 2020! I have really enjoyed reading other bloggers reading goals for the New Year as well.

On Friday I shared my review of 2019; the books I read and whether I met the goals I set myself. I didn’t complete both of them, but I managed the main one! Again, I’ve read quite a few of these posts by other bloggers too. They must be a popular topic as I have had more likes on that post than a lot of posts I have written previously! So, thank you guys!

 

Books Read

Last week things had been pretty quiet on the reading front, as I was spending a lot of time with family over the festive period. This week, however, has been a COMPLETELY different story! Sorry guys, this is a long section!

In last week’s Sunday Summary, I shared my current read at the time, Million Eyes. I was only a few percent through the book and mentioned that I needed to get my skates on with it. It’s safe to say I got my skates on – I finished the book within two days and just before the end of 2019!

The next book on my list is one I was hoping to finish in December, but ended up overlapping into January… just! After reading Million Eyes I started Fires of the Dead by Jed Herne. As a novella, it isn’t too long a book, although still plenty that there is ample storyline to it. This is a nice short fantasy story with a variety of characters, an interesting magic system and an unexpected ending. I really enjoyed reading it!

I quickly moved on to my first official read of January, although I haven’t published my list yet… soon friends! The Violinist’s Apprentice is the next unread book on my list of upcoming blog tours. And yeah, I’ve read this one in its entirety this week too. It combines a couple of genres I have enjoyed together before: science-fiction (time travel) and historical fiction. The Violinist’s Apprentice has a well-developed protagonist, beautifully descriptive narrative and a fast-paced plot, so I really enjoyed this one too!

Finally, I’ll briefly mention my current read, which I started this morning. Those that follow my blog may be aware that I have been reading and reviewing Nancy Jardine’s Celtic Fervour series of books. I’ve just started the last book of the series and I’m currently 16% through this book.

Now… onto the audiobooks! On Friday I finished listening to Cilka’s Journey and oh my gosh, I’ll have a lot of fantastic things to say when it’s time to review it! I loved it. It’s a terrible story and as with The Tattooist of Auschwitz, is based on a real woman’s tragic story. It focuses on a Jewish woman who is imprisoned in Auschwitz/Birkenau. Being a young 16-year-old girl in such a place, you can only imagine what happened to her there. She is then imprisoned after the war for, “sleeping with the enemy”… like she had a choice! Terrible story, but well written!

This is the last one… I promise! After finishing Cilka’s Journey, I started listening to Darkdawn! I haven’t listened to much though.

 

Books Discovered

I have read a couple of posts this week that have prompted a couple of additions to my To Be Read pile.

The first book is The Keepers by John Marrs; I think the premise of the story is really interesting and relevant in an increasingly technological world. As a new release this year, there isn’t a published cover for it yet.

The second book is non-fiction and may just help with my blogging. Perhaps not too. There are mixed reviews as to whether it’s helpful or not, but I guess it depends on how experienced a blogger you are. I don’t profess to know everything and/or do what’s best in terms of marketing it. I just write what I want and when I want to and if people like it, then that’s great! Maybe I’ll learn something new?

 

Coming Up…

I have quite a few blog posts to schedule in next week before the main onslaught of blog tours begin.

It’s already several days into January and I haven’t as yet shared my TBR for January! I know I’m late, but I wanted to get my end of year review/ New Year posts out of the way first! If you are keen to find what I am reading this month, I’m sharing the list on Tuesday.

An additional post I have promised to share is my Favourite Reads of 2019. I have seen quite a few of these style posts by other bloggers, for best and worst books. I haven’t read any “bad” books in 2019, so I am just going to share a “best books” post on Thursday.

The first of my blog tour posts will be shared on Friday. I have been promoting a number of Rachel Churcher’s Battle Ground series books. Friday’s post is for the latest in the series, Victory Day.

As always, I’ll be rounding off the week with my Sunday Summary post!

 

Top Blog Posts Read This Week

https://donjimmyreviews.wordpress.com/2019/11/29/ultimate-book-tag/

https://mistysbookspace.wordpress.com/2019/12/30/most-disappointing-reads-of-2019/

https://thehermitlibrarian.wordpress.com/2020/01/01/the-hermit-librarian-2020-goals/

https://bibliophagistreviews.wordpress.com/2020/01/05/monthly-wrap-up-december-2019/

https://stacked-reviews.com/2019-in-books-reflection-time/

https://booksnest.co.uk/post/4-years-of-being-a-creator-on-instagram-what-ive-learnt-my-struggles-and-successes/

https://gemsbooknook.wordpress.com/2020/01/03/the-golden-rules-of-blogging-by-robin-houghton/

https://thebelgianreviewer.wordpress.com/2020/01/01/10-most-anticipated-reads-of-2020/

That was a long one, but I can finally say that’s all from me in this week’s Sunday Summary post! What have you been reading? What resolutions have you set yourself for 2020? Let me know in the comments!

 

 

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Sunday Summary 29/12/2019

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It’s been a week since I last published a post, which was last week’s Sunday Summary post! I’ve actually really enjoyed the break over the festive period. I have spent a lot of time with family this week – so much so they must think I have moved in by now!

Have you enjoyed Christmas? Did anyone get any nice gifts? I was very, VERY fortunate to have been gifted a new Kindle as I was looking to upgrade (THANK YOU AGAIN!!!). Also, I received Amazon vouchers to go towards books and a Waterstones voucher too.

I received plenty of non-bookish presents too! From kitchen appliances (I have been eyeing up my parents’ stuff for months) to personal gifts, I have done very well! Thank you to everyone! Of course, presents aside, the best part of Christmas was being able to spend it together!

 

 

Books Read

I’m glad I chose to take a break from blogging over Christmas because honestly, I wouldn’t really have had time for it anyway. As it stands, I only did a cursory bit of reading in the evenings it wasn’t too late by the time I got home.

My main area of progress was in finishing Sixty Minutes by Tony Salter, which I read here and there over the course of the week. I only finished this yesterday evening, having gotten within five minutes of the end at the hairdressers earlier in the day. Typical!

On Christmas Eve I started reading A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I had forgotten how different Charles Dickens’ narrative style is compared to a lot of modern works. Some time ago now I tried a sample of A Tale of Two Cities and didn’t get on with it. I think knowing the story will help me along with it. I’m looking to finish this particular story in this book before the end of the month. I did read one of the other shorter works also included in this book as a curiosity, but that’s not the goal.

This morning I started reading Million Eyes by C. R. Berry. I’m only a few percent into the book but it’s going to be my main focus for the next few days. I have a blog tour post for the book coming up next month, so I should get my skates on!

It’s been so long since I listened to Cilka’s Journey (five days) that I very nearly forgot to add it to this week’s summary! I’ve only listened to about an hour of this; I only commuted back from work a couple of days this week. Not much progress, but it still counts!

 

Books Discovered

I may have been away from my computer screen blog-wise, but I’ve still been browsing social media and picking up emails. As a result, I have seen and added two books to my To Be Read list this week.

The other day I picked up an email with a deal for The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson. I’ve bought this book as I don’t read much in the way of self-help, yet I think this is one such book I’ll get on with. Well. Very well, in fact.

The second book of this week was actually added today. I saw a promo post for The Choice by Claire Wade and fell in love with the synopsis of the book immediately. I haven’t purchased this one yet but I’ll get it nearer the time I choose to read it.

 

Coming Up…

It’s 2020 in a matter of days, which means I have plenty of ideas for blog post material! I have quite a few blog tours planned for later on in January, so for the first couple of weeks, I’ll be taking the opportunity to fit them in.

Kicking off on Wednesday 1st January, I’ll be posting about my 2020 Reading Goals/Challenges for the year ahead. On Friday I’ll be taking a brief break from my regular First Lines Friday/Shelf Control posts so I can review how I fared in my reading challenges for 2019 and discuss my final book stats.

And last, but not least, I’ll be wrapping up the week with my Sunday Summary post next Sunday!

 

Top Blog Post Reads of the Week

Stephen Writer – Top 10 Books I Read in 2019

Maxxes Booktopia – Most Anticipated Reads of 2020

A Whisper of Ink – 2019 worst books

Laury Reads – Top 5 Fave Book Bloggers

That’s a wrap for today’s Sunday Summary post! Have you had a good Christmas? Did you get any lovely gifts?

 

 

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Sunday Summary – 22nd December 2019

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Good evening everyone and welcome to today’s Sunday Summary – I hope you have all had a really good week? Mine has been really busy in the run-up to Christmas and I imagine a lot of folks are in the same boat! I can’t believe it’s next week… Before we jump into the excitement of next week, let’s take a look and re-cap the week just gone!

Considering the number of things I have had on outside of blogging, I’ve managed to fit in quite a few blog posts. My blogging week began with a Top Ten Tuesday post. It’s the first I have drafted for about two months now and I really enjoyed a more casual post. I also took the opportunity to look back at my blogging journey by discussing the Top Ten Bookish Changes in my Life since my blog began in 2017.

After looking at my backlog of reviews, I found an outstanding audiobook review for Scythe by Neal Shusterman, which has been outstanding since April. Yes, friends, April – you read that right! I have just finished listening to the sequel, Thunderhead, so it was the opportune time to revisit my thoughts on the first book of the series.

Friday’s Shelf Control post explored an unusual classic feminist fiction novel on my To Be Read list. It’s not generally the sort of material I am in the habit of picking up, however as it explores the history of the Feminist movement I would like to read it!

 

Books Read

I feel like I have taken a bit of a break from reading this week. With appointments, Christmas lunches, family coming home for Christmas and other festive plans, as well as the blogging, I’ve been a busy bee! That’s not to say I haven’t had time, because I have. I think with cramming in a lot of reading last week, I just wanted to do some other things. I don’t even feel guilty about it either. I’ve enjoyed adopting a more relaxed pace with it.

In terms of physical reading, I have only read about 20% of Tony Salter’s Sixty Minutes this week. Mostly today, in fact. I do plan to read more of this before going to bed tonight, now I am back in a reading mood. It’s not a very long book and very easy to read, so I’ll have it finished nice and quickly I imagine.

I have made more progress on Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris, though. More than usual. I had some extra commute time on Monday with an impromptu appointment, and my car share buddy was off work on Friday. It may not seem like much, but it equates to an extra hour and a half of the audiobook listened to. That means I am over halfway through the audiobook now and it feels like I have only just started it. I am really enjoying it. I loved The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka’s Journey is living up to the standard of that book!

 

Books Discovered

So, I have a confession to make.

I got very lucky this week. For Christmas, my company donated 6 x £25 vouchers to a prize draw in which all employees were put into. I won one of those vouchers on Thursday. It never happens to me, but yes, I won! Well, it’s not that I never win anything… I won our Christmas Jumper competition on Wednesday as well! It’s just rare!

I had that voucher spent in about three hours, no word of a lie. That lunchtime I went to my local Waterstones and had a field day! A lot of books I liked the sound off were on offer too, so in all I put about £4 towards this lot!

There are a couple of books by authors I love in here. Stephen King’s Outsider is a reasonably new addition to the TBR, but the premise of the novel sounds great. Some of you may recall that Brandon Sanderson’s novel Starsight has not long been published with Gollancz. I really liked the sound of it, so I picked up its predecessor Skyward to start the series for myself.

There are a couple of new authors here too, because I do like to try new things. I picked up The Silence of the Girls as I enjoyed reading a similar book, Circe, earlier this year. To this day I don’t understand the hype of Circe, but it was still a reasonably good read.

I have never heard of The Ember Blade or its author, Chris Wooding. The synopsis sounds interesting though, and you can’t go far wrong with fantasy novels in my book! I didn’t look at the time, but this book has good reviews on Goodreads. A couple of authors I love, Ed McDonald and Edward Cox have rated it 5* as well, so I have every confidence I’ll enjoy it! It will be nice to try something new.

 

Coming Up…

I don’t think I need to tell you, but it’s Christmas next week! I have a lot of time planned with family, so I have taken the decision to take a brief blogging break for the festive season.

I’ll still be reading and publishing my weekly Sunday Summary next Sunday. I’m going to take the time to chill with the family, recharge my batteries and have a think about some of my plans ahead of the New Year.

That’s all from me in today’s post. I hope you have enjoyed this week’s Sunday Summary post!
What have you been reading this week?

 

 

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Sunday Summary – 15th December 2019

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Good evening everyone and welcome back to this week’s Sunday Summary instalment! Have you had a good week? Between going back to work, getting ready for Christmas and reading/blogging, I definitely haven’t been bored!

My first post of the week was a book review of Moroda for L. L. McNeil. I received a copy of Moroda in exchange for review. After being really conscious that I had promised to read the book in October/November, but finished it earlier this month, I managed to get a quick turnaround on reviewing it. If you are a fan of classic fantasy novels and haven’t taken a look at my review yet, I really recommend it! The book, (and the review) that is.

The next day, Wednesday, I shared yet another book review. This time, my post was for the blog tour of After Whorl: Donning Double Cloaks by Nancy Jardine. This is the third instalment of the Celtic Fervour series, which is predominantly historical fiction with the odd element of romance. Thankfully the later books of the series have less romantic emphasis than the first book. If you know me or read my blog regularly you’ll know that just isn’t my cup of tea! I love the history behind the novels as I am a newbie to the history of the Roman invasion of Britain. It’s never too late to learn something new!

Friday’s featured novel in this week’s First Lines Friday post has a little of a festive theme to it. I almost featured the book a couple of weeks ago; however, I decided to save it for December as it does have Christmas ties. This is also a fabulous historical fiction novel. I’d go so far as to say that it’s my favourite Netgalley download ever!

 

Books Read

I have some fantastic news to share with you all – this week… last night in fact, I completed my Goodreads Reading Challenge for 2019! I’ve read 70 books. Somehow, I’ve managed to beat my all-time record and with two-and-a-half weeks to spare! I’m amazed, but I’m also not done yet! If I finish this month’s TBR then my new record to beat will be 74 books. Do you think I can do it?

I also really like that the book that completed the challenge was the conclusion to Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone series, Dreams of Gods and Monsters. I don’t normally devour books like this, but it was worth it! Her writing is so funny, engaging, entertaining. I just love it! I’ve been reading this all week, pretty much, between everything else going on. Sometimes I put myself down a little if I have spent all week on a book (bear in mind my average is 1 book every 5 days). I shouldn’t though. I think I had read about 100 pages when I wrote last week’s Sunday Summary, so that means I’ve still read 500 pages this week alone!

This week I started a new audiobook – Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris. I listened to The Tattooist of Auschwitz last year. It was fantastically written, yet hauntingly devastating to hear what horrors people had to live through. The reminder at the end that it was a work of fiction but based on a real experience had me in tears. Cilka’s Journey is the same, but focuses on the treatment of women in Auschwitz/Birkenau and also in Soviet Russia after being convicted of assisting the Nazi’s later on. I have listened to nearly three hours of the audiobook already… which is a little more than average.

 

Books Discovered

I have been too busy to be looking for books, however, I have managed to acquire a couple this week. Lauren, the author of Moroda really liked my review published this week and has asked if I will read and review the next two books in the series, Palom and Amarah. I enjoyed the book, the fantasy world and the characters. Naturally, I said yes!

 

Coming Up…

It has been a little while since I drafted a Top Ten Tuesday post, so that’s my first post for next week coming up! For this post, I actually want to pick a topic that The Artsy Reader girl posted a few weeks ago – Top Ten Changes in my Bookish Life!

I have a few book reviews to catch up on and since I am finished with blog tours for the year, it makes sense to get some of those outstanding reviews done! On Thursday I am reviewing Scythe by Neal Shusterman, as I finished listening to the audiobook in April this year. Yep, it’s a late review guys. Sorry! Having just listened to its sequel though, I’m in the right headspace to review this.

On Friday I’ll be taking another look at the TBR pile and telling you about the next book on the list; what it is, what interests me about it and why, overall, I want to read it. I hope you can check-in for this post!

So, that’s all from me in this week’s Sunday Summary update! What have you been reading? Have you set a reading challenge or have you completed it? Let me know in the comments!

 

 

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Sunday Summary – 8th December 2019

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Sunday evenings come around too fast! It always feels like I barely finish one Sunday Summary and then here I am sat starting another. I hope you have had a good week? Mine has been great as I have been enjoying the last of my time off for the year and getting Christmas shopping finished. I have even gotten most of it wrapped. Look at me being organised! I think this time last year I had barely started…

In between drafting Sunday Summary posts, I have managed to squeeze a few others in. Last week, immediately after drafting last week’s update I had to jump into writing a review for Awa and the Dreamrealm by Isa Pearl Ritchie. I published that post first thing on Monday.

December’s reading list was published on Wednesday 4th, although it had been decided well in advance of that date. I have a lot of tours coming up in January, so I have to start my reading now to get myself prepared. I do have a couple of books of my own choice in there too. In that post, I also talk about why there aren’t many festive books on the list, so if you haven’t checked out that post yet here is the link to it.

Lastly, on Friday I shared the next Shelf Control post in my regular feature. Not only did I talk about a book that I was gifted nearly three years ago now, but I also learned it was part of a series. I had no idea before writing that post! It’s a classic science-fiction novel and I seem to be getting on with those really well at the moment. I should probably pick it up soon!

 

Books Read

Whilst I say in one breath that I am doing well with science-fiction novels of late, I have had to set one aside for now. I have been enjoying reading Howling Dark but [the_ad id=”9291″]I just don’t think I have time to pick it up again this month. That said… if I do manage to finish this list early then I’ll pick this up again. I have a couple of short(er) books on the TBR, so maybe?

Instead, I began the week by finishing off another carryover from last month, Moroda by L. L. McNeil. I basically started reading this on the last day of November as I had promised the author to read it in October/November time. I am really pleased with myself as I read this quite quickly. Fingers crossed I’ll be reviewing it very shortly for her too.

After Moroda, I picked up my first read of December. I was keen to leave behind a bad month of reading (or lack of progress) and start this month’s TBR in earnest. Again, After Whorl: Donning Double Cloaks was only in my hands for a few of days before I finished it. I was excited to start the month reading this as I have already read and enjoyed the first couple of books in the series. It’s almost a reassurance that I’m starting in a good place.

The latter end of the week has been spent with my head buried in the concluding novel to the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by Laini Taylor. This is my current read and I am LOVING IT! It’s a shame I have to go back to work tomorrow instead of sitting at home and reading this…

Tell you what else I did get done this week – I finished listening to Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman. I typically listen to audiobooks in the car and I expected to finish it in the couple of journeys I made. I think I listened to the last three minutes or so at home, so I really wasn’t wrong! It also surprises me how long it took me to listen to – about seven weeks! I’m so slow with audiobooks.

 

Books Discovered

It amazes me that I have spent a week off work, shopping and generally mooching around and yet I have not added a single book to the TBR this week. I have been good (spending my money on everyone else!)

 

Coming Up…

As I am pretty late to getting to read Moroda, I’m keen to get my review live as soon as possible! So, with that in mind, my intention is to have my thoughts on this fantasy novel published on my blog first thing on Tuesday.

I have been reading After Whorl: Donning Double Cloaks this week as I have a blog tour post scheduled for Wednesday 11th. In that post I’ll be linking to my reviews of the earlier books in the series The Beltane Choice and After Whorl: Bran Reborn, as well as share my views of the latest instalment. I hope you can tune in for that!

As always, I’ll be preparing a First Lines Friday post for you to round up the working week. I don’t like to choose my featured book of the week too early in advance. I’ll be picking it on Thursday when I sit down to write this post. No spoilers for you to ruin the surprise, I’m afraid!

 

 

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Sunday Summary – 1st December 2019

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Good evening everyone and welcome to today’s Sunday Summary post! I can’t believe it’s December already! I have spent the day helping my parents put their Christmas decorations up; I’ll be doing mine in the next few days. Where has this year gone?

So, what have I been up to this week? Well, aside from using some days off work to have a good tidy up and a clear out, I have been doing a little bit of reading in between. On Tuesday I shared my review of Ctrl+S by Andy Briggs as part of the blog tour with Gollancz. I am really glad I asked to take part in the tour, even though I ended up reading this rather hastily in order to get my post live on time. This one at least wasn’t my fault!

Thursday’s post was a promo post for book four of the Battle Ground series by Rachel Churcher. I featured the third book on my blog a little while ago and it was a pleasure to feature the series once again, on publication day of book four, no less.

On Friday I shared another First Lines Friday post. This week I featured a book on my To Be Read list (TBR). I’m looking forward to reading this book; I also happened to feature another book of similar genre by the same author in my recent Top Ten Tuesday – New Releases I am Excited About post.

 

Books Read

I’m disappointed with this month’s reading progress, but it can’t really be helped. I got off to a slow start with finishing Imaginary Friend, my last read in October, on the 9th November. I’ve had things going on which have hampered my progress too. I’m trying to finish one book tonight, but even with that in mind I have had to drop one book on this month’s list and I am going into December having only part-read another.

As of last week’s Sunday Summary post, I have made as much progress as I can on a few books. I finished Ctrl+S on Sunday night as I only had a few pages left. From there, I picked up Howling Dark by Christopher Ruocchio again as this is the book I set aside to read Ctrl+S. I got to page 231 towards the end of the week, which from 55 is pretty good going.

Yesterday I set the books aside once again in favour of a review request I promised for October/November time. Obviously, it was the last day of November and I hadn’t touched this book at all yet. I am impressed with how I have done with this one; since last night I have read 69% of the book, which roughly equates to just over 280 pages. This book is my priority over the next couple of days in order to get a quick turnaround on a review for the author.

Progress on Thunderhead has been a little slower this week with only a couple of commutes from work as part of my normal routine. I visited my friend Vicky on Friday, so I listened to this travelling to and from her house. That equates to two work commutes when I think about it. I have less than two hours left on the audiobook so I am confident I will be finishing it this week!

 

Books Discovered

I have a few additions to this section, even though I haven’t been particularly looking for anything new as such.

I had a bit of an unpleasant beginning to this week and so I decided to buy myself a book to cheer myself up. I’m collecting classics in paperback, and I was going to buy it very soon anyway. I’ll give you a hint: it will be appearing on this month’s reading list in a couple of days.

When featuring Fighting Back by Rachel Churcher on Thursday, I said that I planned to pick up and read the series although I couldn’t for the tour. Rachel kindly let me know that books one to three were available to download for free as it was publication day for book four. Naturally, I downloaded them!

 

Coming Up…

Next week is going to be busy for me. I have a few planned blog posts already – one I will be drafting immediately after this one! Tomorrow I am publishing my review of Awa and the Dreamrealm by Isa Pearl Ritchie. My post is part of the blog tour organised by Rachel’s Random Resources.

On Wednesday I’ll be sharing December’s reading list. Considering I made such an effort to read seasonally in October, I only have one Christmassy book on this list. I’m not a festive cheese person, so it’s not just because I have lots of reading to do ahead of next month’s blog tour mayhem! No prizes for guessing what it is now, I might have already mentioned it in this post…

It’s the turn of a Shelf Control post on Friday. So, I’ll be looking at the next book on my TBR list and sharing just why I want to read it. I was gifted a copy of the book I’ll be featuring nearly three years ago now for my birthday. It fits in well with the recent sci-fi theme I’ve had with my reading and blogging. It’s also a bit of a classic. Any idea what it might be?

That’s all from me in today’s Sunday Summary! I hope you have enjoyed this week’s post. Let me know in the comments – what have you been reading this week?

 

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Sunday Summary – 24th November 2019

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It’s Sunday evening again friends, so it can only mean it’s time for this week’s Sunday Summary post! Have you had a good week? Mine has been pretty good. I took a slightly more chilled stance on the blog posting this week in an effort to catch up with some reading. Turns out, I needed that time!

My first blog post of the week was published on Tuesday. For a bit of fun, I decided to take part in the Autumn Book Tag! It’s been a little while since I have written one of these posts and I really enjoyed doing so!

Then, on Friday I published my next Shelf Control post – this week I featured Age of Myth by Michael J. Sullivan. If you want to check out why Age of Myth is on my TBR then you can check out that post to find out more!

 

Books Read

Through no fault of my own, I have had a shift in priorities this week. I began where I left off in last week’s Sunday Summary post with reading Howling Dark by Christopher Ruocchio. This is no small book, so I was hoping to make good progress this week. As it is, I feel I am already behind on my reading.

I then received an email about a blog tour that I signed up for, giving me a week’s notice for my tour date. It was a genuine mistake that I hadn’t had it confirmed earlier. Truthfully, I had forgotten about it too. I received my copy of the book to review a couple of weeks ago. So, I have been reading Ctrl+S by Andy Briggs most of the week! As things stand, I only have 40 or so pages left to read so that is tonight’s job after I publish this post.

As always I have been enjoying listening to my audiobooks and Thunderhead is getting really good right now! I have just less than four hours to go to the end and I cannot wait to see how things unravel. As it happens, I have some time off work imminently so I have more time to listen to this. I basically have my headphones glued in when I am home nowadays, so it gives me an excuse to listen to something!

 

Books Discovered

I signed up to a website called BookSirens about a month ago. As is well-documented on my blog, my thoughts on Netgalley aren’t all that positive. I have no objection to using the site for tours and books from specific publishers, but I don’t really rate it otherwise. In terms of looking for other ARCS, I don’t actively use it.

I signed up to BookSirens as it seemed a lot more user-friendly, looked more appealing and I liked the look of a number of books on there. At the time I signed up I couldn’t commit to reading any books due to blog tour commitments. After a couple of weeks of registering and not signing up to any reviews, they kindly sent me an email to get some feedback from me on whether I had any problems. I explained that I had some other review obligations elsewhere, which was totally fine with them. I actually really like this personal touch – there is no way you would get the same from Netgalley!

Well, this week I signed up to my first review after an email notified me that some books now had a longer window to review them in! I started small with a novella called Fires of the Dead by Jed Herne. I have until February to read and review it, but I would like to get it done sooner if I can!

 

Coming Up…

I have a couple of blog tours to take part in next week, which is really exciting!

I mentioned Ctrl+S earlier in the post, as I have had to hastily read the book in advance of the tour. My tour slot is on Tuesday next week (26th November) and I am really looking forward to sharing my review. If you like the sound of a near-future science-fiction novel about the use (and abuse) of virtual reality, then stay tuned!

A little later in the week, I am taking part in another blog tour post! On Thursday I am promoting the latest book in the Battleground series, Fighting Back by Rachel Churcher.

A First Lines Friday post will be taking its place on the blog on… well, that’s obvious. Friday. I really enjoy writing these posts and I hope you enjoy reading them too!

 

Top Blog Posts Read This Week

Jack’s Bedtime Reading – Book Review: The True-Bastards

That Book Gal Blogs – Book Review: The Girl and the Stars

Emma’s Chapter – Six for Sunday – Books You’d Throw in the Fire

The Orangutan Librarian – How to Deal with Doubt

 

That’s all from me in today’s Sunday Summary! Im off to finish CTRL+S before bed!

What are you reading?

 

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