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Spooky Book Recs for You and Your Book Club in 2025!

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If you’re looking for recommendations for your spooky book club read, look no further! I’ve read a number of spooky books over the years, and these are my recommendations for a meaningful conversation.

I’m reading God of the Woods by Liz Moore for our next book club meeting. Whilst I’m yet to try it, Meg has already devoured the book in audio format and can’t wait to chat about it!


Spooky Book Recs

Dark Academia

If We Were Villains

If dark academia is a genre you and your book club love to read, If We Were Villains is a spooky book that’s right up your alley.

A group of talented theatre students, specialising in Shakespearean performance, find themselves embodying the characteristics of Shakespeare’s traditional heroes and villains. However, their last year at the school will challenge the roles and dynamics of the group, with deadly consequences.

Even if you aren’t a fan of Shakespeare, or like me struggle to understand the language, it’s not strictly necessary. I think this is the kind of book that is approachable for readers regardless of their understanding… but for those that do, maybe there are hints and Easter eggs that can make the narrative more interesting.

I really enjoyed this story, and I hope you do too!


Horror

Imaginary Friend

Imaginary Friend may be a stretch for most book clubs due to the length of the book. At just over 700 pages, I’d recommend this spooky book to committed, die-hard horror fans.

It’s disturbing anyway, but especially because the protagonist affected is a child. It’s honestly a seriously spooky read. I read this book 6 years ago now. Whilst reading the book in sunny Spain didn’t quite fit the vibe (my home town wet and windy weather is much more appropriate), Imaginary Friend has a strong, sinister atmosphere.

 

Classic

Pet Sematary

A supernatural horror classic from the King is Pet Sematary. Admittedly, this was one of the first horror books I read and I loved it!

Pets are a relatable subject for a lot of people. I never really grew up with them, but even still, the affection for family pets is something we are all familiar with. Maybe I should re-read the book now I do have a cat…? Or not 😂 My boy has nothing in common with Church!

Even then, this book held its power over me. It’s a spooky book with an unreliable narrator. If that’s your cup of tea, you’ve just found your next read!


Short and Sweet

Carrie

At 272 pages, Carrie is both a well-known classic and a short book. If your book club can’t make a huge time commitment for your next read, Carrie is ideal!

Stephen King is a well-known author and an interesting pick. The only caveat is that this book touches a lot on religion and extreme parental discipline. If you want to discuss these themes in your group, make sure you know each other well and it’s a safe space to share views.


Psychological Thriller

The Housemaid

Psychological thrillers are a huge and popular genre. I love it, so I was pleased when my book club picked The Housemaid earlier this year.

In the shoes of then Millie and then Nina, immerse yourself in a twisty story where the apparent suburban dream is not all it’s made out to be. Again, fans of unreliable narrators will have a great time with this story! It’s dark and leaves you questioning everything you think you know.

If you and your book club want a short, fast-paced spooky book, The Housemaid is perfect. It’s also a series. If you are the type of reader to binge read a series, that’s an option here too!


Summary

Hopefully you’ve found a spooky book recommendation in today’s post! If not, have you read any of these books? Would you have any other spooky book recommendations for readers!

If so, drop a comment below with your recommendations!

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Sunday Summary – 21st September 2025

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For the second week in a row, my recent break has paid its dividends! In today’s Sunday Summary, you’ll see I have a number of updates and books to catch you up with progress on! 

Before I get into the books I’ve read over the course of this week, let’s catch up on the blog posts I’ve shared over the internet.

My first post was a book review for Wolf of Wessex by Matthew Harffy. If you enjoy historical fiction, you’re having a field day with content right now. Not only am I talking about historical fiction in terms of these backlist reviews, but I’ve also been reading a lot of historical fiction this week. More on that in a bit! 

On Friday, I returned to more modern fiction and featured a legal thriller by a big-name author I am yet to try. This author has three books currently on my TBR and I’ve still not read a single one of them yet. A few of these are featured in my Shelf Control posts now, so I imagine it won’t be long before one of them finally comes around. If you’re intrigued to know who that is, take a look at my latest post.

 

Books Read

 

Betrayal of Mercia 

I finished my audiobook listen of Betrayal of Mercia earlier today! 

As I mentioned in my last Sunday Summary, it’s the first time I’ve picked up a book in this series as an audiobook. It was really interesting to experience this book in this new format. Historically, I’ve kept up with the series by reading the advanced review copies before the books come out. It gives me a unique opportunity to provide a review of the books in this format. 

I really enjoyed Betrayal of Mercia. The book takes on a slightly different form in that there is significantly less travel in the book than I remember from earlier instalments. However, that makes sense in the widest storyline and it was interesting to delve deeper into the allegiances of powerful characters and how that impacts other people’s actions. 

I’m also glad I finished it because it means I can start reading Shield of Mercia as soon as I finish my current read. That’s also another historical fiction book, this time by the well-known Bernard Cornwell. By the time I finish all these books, I’ll definitely have read my share of historical fiction for a little while… 

 

The Pagan Lord 

I’ve enjoyed going back to Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon stories series in picking up The Pagan Lord this week. Admittedly, I didn’t read this book for the first few days of this week. The vast majority of my progress has come later in the week. However, when it started, it happened quickly! 

As books go, The Pagan Lord isn’t actually that long. I read decent-sized chunks of the book per sitting as opposed to chipping away at it. The only reason I would say progress is a little slower than usual is that I borrowed this book via Libby from my library. That means I’m reading the book on my phone, which is probably my least favourite way to do so. However, my eagerness to return to the series and getting into the book has enabled me to get past that.

 

Algospeak

After finishing Betrayal of Mercia earlier today, I started listening to the British short Algospeak by Adam Aleksic. 

I downloaded an Audible copy of this book a few months ago now as I was interested in the subject. I had a place to study linguistics at university but ultimately made the decision not to go. That said, I still have an interest in the subject and particularly how social media has had its influence on language in more recent years.

My only gripe with this book so far is that although I’m not uninvolved with social media and technology, it made me feel a little bit like a dinosaur. If you are from Gen Z, you’ll probably find some of the topics and commentary a bit more relatable. However, from an educational standpoint, I’m enjoying the book so far.

As of this Sunday Summary, I’ve already listened to a couple of hours’ worth of the audiobook and I have around 2 1/2 hours left. Needless to say, I’m optimistic. I’ll be able to polish this off early next week and start another audiobook before the end of the month! Will I get to finish it though? That’s the million-dollar question!

 

Books Discovered

For the second week in a row, I haven’t added any new books to my reading list and I’ve managed to tick some off via completions! 

Is this the start of a run on getting my TBR below 200 books? Place your bets now 😂

 

Coming Up… 

Blog 

I was looking around online for some inspiration for a spooky book club read for our work book club. I’ve now chosen the book we’re gathering to discuss in October. However, that sparked a content idea though. I want to share my book recommendations for spooky book club reads. That’s going live on Wednesday. 

On Friday I’m back with a First Lines Friday feature. My most recent First Lines Friday features have all had a theme. As of drifting this Sunday Summary, I have no particular theme in mind for this post. Perhaps I’ll share a book coming up on my October TBR? I won’t commit myself, but we’ll see. 

Finally, you know what’s coming last. This time next week I’m back with another Sunday Summary update and fingers crossed, I’ll be much closer to the end of my monthly TBR. I’ve already surpassed my reading list in some ways. However, we’re just a couple of books left, I can’t get lazy. Check out next week’s Sunday Summary to see if I keep up the pace. 

 

Patreon

On Patreon, I’m planning to step up the content and post as regularly there as I do here. Next week will be a bit crazy as I’m posting two sets of content. Going forward though, my blog content will broadly be historic Patreon content. So, if you want to see my posts exclusively before everyone else, please subscribe to me there. I’m also launching my book club Discord chat for subscribers, so there are plenty of perks to enjoy! 

As a sneak preview, I’m posting my review of Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff, a Shelf Control post, and a more in-depth and personal Sunday Summary there. 

That’s all for me and today’s Sunday Summary update, though! 

What have you been reading?

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Sunday Summary – 14th September 2025

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Another week has come and gone! I can’t believe how fast this week has flown. So yes, I’m back here again with another Sunday Summary update, and it’s a good one! I hope you’ve had a good one too? 

It’s mostly been a return to normal this week. After our trip to Iceland last week, we had Monday off to relax and catch up with the usual house admin. Washing… it’s always there for you, no? 

Otherwise though, it’s been a case of getting and into routine. Work and home, books and blogging. So, what’s been on the agenda this week? 

My first post went live on Monday. No rest for the wicked here! With us being nearly a third of the way through the month, I figured it was time to share my September 2025 monthly TBR. And, I’m in a really good place with that reading list! Although it looked ambitious, I’m ahead of where I need to be to complete it by the end of the month. More on that below 😌 Who knows, I may even get some extra in. Let’s not get ahead though! 

On Friday, I shared the final book I’m reading towards my ChatGPT book recommendations challenge/post. I’m planning to pick these books up in October, so ahead of that timeline I’ve teased the final book in my First Lines Friday. If you’ve yet to take a look and fancy a dark, gritty fantasy where delusions shape reality, go take a look at that feature. 

On Patreon, I shared my review of The Anxious Generation. This is a non-fiction I recommend everyone read. It’s really informative and backed up by science, but in an interesting and engaging way. 

 

Books Read

 

Sensitive 

In last week’s Sunday Summary I confided my confidence that I’d finish the remaining 2 hours I had of Sensitive soon. 

And that’s true. I chipped away at this audiobook whilst commuting to and from work; I finished it about halfway through this week. 

It’s been a good listen and I recommend it to anyone and everyone. No doubt we all have someone sensitive in our lives, or are sensitive ourselves and maybe don’t yet recognise it. It was a really validating read. 

 

A Witch’s Guide to Love and Poison

This week I also finished A Witch’s Guide to Love and Poison. You may recall this is the book club read over at the Cottagecore Fantasy Book Club. 

It’s the first time I’ve finished a club book early,  and I’m not the only one. It puts me in a great place to prompt readers and discussion about the book. It’s a habit I want to continue; it’s much less stressful than making apologies for being behind 😂

I enjoyed this book. Although there is a romance element to two of the main characters development arcs (and this isn’t something I love in my books), it was okay. Obviously if you love this sort of thing, great! 

The mystery was interesting, although somewhat predictable. However, there was a comfort in seeing broadly where the storyline was going. The details and finer points of the storyline were the interesting and less predictable points. 

 

Gran Familia 

In the last 24hrs, I’ve read a manga I’m planning to feature on my blog later this month! I don’t read manga very often, but I enjoyed picking something up that’s very different. 

As I’ve read more in the way of traditional prose lately, I blitzed Gran Familia. The book is only around 200 anyway, but being image-based, it was really quick to read. In fact, I read most of the book today. I’m looking forward to sharing more about this book on my blog soon. 

 

Betrayal of Mercia 

The next audiobook I’ve made progress with this week is Betrayal of Mercia. 

It’s the first time I’ve picked up a book in this series as an audiobook. Admittedly, that’s because I’ve always kept up with these books and read advanced reader copies for the tours. I somehow missed this instalment, and for ease, I figured to try the audio. 

So far, it’s going well. Personally, I find the archaic names easier to read than listen to, but at the same time, I’m familiar with most by now to catch on. It’s a small thing though, and I’m enjoying the story so far. 

So far I’ve listened to two and a half hours of the audio and I’m looking forward to listening to the rest (hopefully) next week! 

 

The Pagan Lord 

Finally, the last historical fiction book I’ve picked up this week is The Pagan Lord. I’ve only just started this book, so I don’t have a lot to discuss with you other than my eagerness to return to the series. It’s also the only physical book on my TBR left other than the sequel to my current audiobook. Naturally, I need to finish that before I read Shield of Mercia. 

I’m not going to let that slow me down, though. If I need to pick up another read in the meantime, I have plenty to choose from! The other consideration is that I’ve borrowed this digitally from my library, so I don’t have forever anyway. 

 

Books Discovered

Overall, this week is amazing for progress! I’ve ticked several off the list and not added anything new either. 

I need more weeks like this… 

 

Coming Up… 

My first post next week will be a book review. There’s a real historical fiction theme here, because the next book due review is Wolf of Wessex by Matthew Harffy. I hope you’re looking forward to my review as much as I am sharing it! 

On Friday I’m breaking back into my old schedule of sharing a Shelf Control post. It’ll be nice to take another look at my TBR, or reading list, with you so I can share why I’m excited for my next book. 

Finally, you know what’s coming. Next week I’ll wrap-up with another Sunday Summary. Let’s hope I have as much reading progress to share in next week’s instalment. 

Thanks for reading today’s Sunday Summary instalment. If you’re still here, thank you so much! 

What have you read recently? 

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Monthly TBR – September 2025

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My monthly TBR post is a little later than usual. If you read yesterday‘s Sunday Summary, you’ll know that I’ve just been away. However, now I’m back into full swing and I have a great list of books I’m planning to read in September. Make yourself comfy, and then we can go through the list of books I have been and I’m due to read this month. 

Have you read any of the books featured in this monthly TBR? 

 

Fixed Reads 

 

The Atlantis Covenant

The first book on this monthly TBR was the Atlantis Covenant by Rob Jones. If you are a regular reader here, you’ll know I read this book early as I had a blog tour obligation on the 4th of September. 

If you are a fan of Indiana Jones and like this kind of high-stakes action with history and archaeology combined, go check out my review of this book! 

 

The Giver

The next book on my list was The Giver. You may recall this book was on my August TBR as we were picking it up for our workbook club. Due to summer holidays, we ended up pushing this meet-up back to tomorrow. In the end, I ended up reading this quite last minute. However, I was able to read the book in just a couple of sessions whilst travelling.

I really enjoyed this children’s dystopia. Although this book is aimed at a younger audience, it didn’t oversimplify the dystopian setting or the message behind the book. It was a really easy and interesting read. And, as you can tell by the way, I’m discussing this book, it’s the second I’ve already ticked off this list.

 

Sensitive 

Switching to audiobooks, my next and current read is Sensitive. 

Admittedly, this book is near completion as well. I have just a couple of hours of audio left and I expect I’ll make light work of it. 

I’m interested in reading this book as I am pretty sure I fit into the classification of a ‘highly sensitive person’. As the book iterates, there are different ways people can be sensitive and some overlap with other traits. I’m pretty confident I’m an emotionally sensitive person, so it’s been validating to know my feelings and experiences aren’t unique. 

We’re getting to a useful section of the book shortly – the authors share strategies for sensitive people to put into practice. That’s one of the main takeaways I’m looking for from this book, so I’m keen to progress with this audiobook! 

 

A Witch’s Guide to Love and Poison

Another fixed read for the month is the Cottagecore Fantasy Book Club read, A Witch’s Guide to Love and Poison. As progress goes, I’m already halfway through this book as of sharing this monthly TBR. 

Whilst I’m already ahead, I’m going to prioritise this book so I can encourage conversations about the book in the Discord group. For the last couple of books, I’ve been behind and it’s made the job a little easier. As I picked this up as an ‘easier’ read whilst away, I’m going to keep going. 

 

HR Disrupted

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to HR Disrupted last month. As it’s a loan, I can’t put this book off. 

It’s also a short one, so it’s carried forward from August but will absolutely be read soon! 

 

Betrayal of Mercia 

Ahead of another upcoming blog tour review next month, I need to catch up on the prior book of the series. 

Somehow, I missed reading Betrayal of Mercia as part of the publication blog tour at the beginning of the year. In fairness, I’ve been doing a lot less in the way of tours, so it’s not a surprise I missed this email. 

Regardless, I didn’t miss the email for book eight, Shield of Mercia. So, first things first, I’m revisiting the series with Betrayal of Mercia and then heading into book eight. 

 

Mood Reads 

 

The Pagan Lord

Another carry forward, but this time originally featured in my July TBR, is The Pagan Lord. 

Historical fiction is more prominent towards the end of this monthly TBR. This isn’t the first historical fiction on this list. But, in practice, I think I’ll start with this well-loved and reasonably short seventh instalment in Bernard Cornwell’s The Saxon Stories series. 

 

Gran Familia

In a completely different change of pace, I’m hoping to read a manga and feature/review the book ahead of its official publication at the end of the month. 

As it’s a 200-page manga, I expect it will be a very quick read. It’s also a complete change of pace to the other books on this monthly TBR. I don’t read manga very often, but I think it’ll be nice to introduce some to my reading and my blog content. 

Stay tuned for more about this manga in due course. 

 

Shield of Mercia

If I get time at the end of the month, my aim is to start Shield of Mercia ahead of next month’s blog tour review date. It’s early next month that I’m due to review this book. So, it makes sense to start as early as I can! 

 

Summary 

I have a large number of books on September’s TBR, but thankfully they are shorter than a lot of the books I have on my wider reading list… 

Have you read any of the books featured in this monthly TBR? 

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Sunday Summary – 7th September 2025

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Welcome to today’s Sunday Summary, fellow readers! I hope you’ve had a great week? 

It’s been a really busy one for me. I’ve been on holiday for the last few days— not that you’d really know it from the blog schedule. I don’t like to announce these things ahead of time, but I’ve had a fun few days in Iceland this week. 

Even still, I managed to keep the blog schedule pretty normal and fit in some reading on flights. Shall we take a look at what I’ve shared? 

My first post of the week was my monthly wrap-up for August 2025. Knowing I had a busier schedule later this week, I was keen to get this out the door early. If you want to catch up on how I got on with my August TBR and 20 Books of Summer Challenge, that’s where to look. 

Next, I published a blog tour review of The Atlantis Covenant on Thursday. Did I regret my life choices trying to draft and schedule this post whilst on terrible WiFi in a UK hotel during an overnight stay at the start of my holiday? Yes. I certainly did. Battling to get this post scheduled contributed to my only getting four hours’ sleep ahead of a 2:30 am start the following day… 

 

Books Read

 

The Atlantis Covenant 

This week, with my blog tour post due imminently, I prioritised reading the remaining 75% of The Atlantis Covenant. I finished the book on a flight to the UK on Wednesday. In the nick of time, it’s fair to say! 

I enjoyed this book, and fans of Indiana Jones and high-action books will get along with this read nicely. Obviously, if you’re intrigued, you can find my full review here. 

 

Sensitive

I started strong this week and made a further three hours’ progress with Sensitive. Whilst I didn’t listen to any of the audiobook whilst I was away, I’m happy with my progress. 

As of this Sunday Summary update, I have just two more hours of audio left. With how easily I made progress with this audiobook last week during ‘normal’ scheduling, I reckon I’ll polish this off soon. 

 

The Giver 

Whilst away, and after reading The Atlantis Covenant, I picked up The Giver. If you recall, I popped this book on my August TBR as our book club is meeting to discuss it next week. 

With plenty of downtime today on an hour coach ride and a two and a half-hour flight, I pretty much blitzed the whole thing! 

I’m a huge fan of dystopia and this book was a very easy read for me. You can tell this book is geared towards a younger audience, but it didn’t oversimplify the genre either. It was perfect light reading and I’m looking forward to discussing this book with my peers on Tuesday. 

 

A Witch’s Guide to Love and Poisons

Another read I’ve picked up this week is A Witch’s Guide to Love and Poisons. This book is the Cottagecore Fantasy Book Club pick for September. 

The last couple of months, I’ve been behind with these reads. Keen to get ahead of the game this month whilst I decide on the rest of my TBR, I’ve read half of this book. 

I’m intrigued by the underlying mystery of what is happening to the Unwanted Girls, although I have some theories. If you are a romance fan, you’d also enjoy the dynamics between Bisma and Xander about now. Although it’s not really my jam, it’s not dominating the narrative or deterring me from reading the rest of the book.  

 

Books Discovered

I didn’t last very long in my travels before I bought some books. Shock, right? 

In our local airport departure lounge, I picked up Katabasis and Never Flinch. 

More topically, I also picked up a small book in Iceland on its volcanic history. At least that one won’t take long to read… 

 

Coming Up… 

We’re nearly a third of the way through September, so I suppose I should get around to posting my September TBR, no? That’s my plan at least! Although it’s a little late, I’ll draft this post as if we were starting near the top of the month. Some of the books will already be ticked off the list, but there’s plenty more to follow! 

On Friday, I’ll tease the last of my ChatGPT book recommendations I’ll be reading shortly. I’ve already shared the first two, so I hope you’re keen to see what this third and final book is! 

Sunday sees the return of my Sunday Summary update post. In the next week, I hope to share even more reading updates with you. Stay tuned to find out more about the books I pick up. 

Thanks for reading today’s Sunday Summary! I’ll be back online very soon to share my September TBR, so stay tuned! What are you reading? 

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Blog Tour Review: The Atlantis Covenant- Rob Jones

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Hello readers! If you’re a huge fan of Indiana Jones, historical artefacts and high-stakes action, The Atlantis Covenant is the book I’d recommend for you! And good news – I’m reviewing it today as part of the ongoing blog tour with Rachel’s Random Resources. Buckle up and let’s get to it!

Before I give you the details, as always, a huge thank you to Rachel, Boldwood Books and the author, Rob Jones. It’s been a little while since I took part in a tour, but reading this fun, high-stakes book has inspired me to get back in the game.

Also, full disclosure here that I received a copy of the book in order to provide my review. However, this is an unbiased review and my views expressed are my own.

Now… let’s see more about the book!


The Atlantis Covenant – Rob Jones

Genre: Action/Thriller

Pages: 344

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Original Publication Date:  31 Aug 2025

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟


Goodreads – The Atlantis Covenant

 

The greatest mystery of all time is about to be revealed.

When world-famous archaeologist and ex-soldier Max Hunter finds a mysterious artifact in a tomb beneath the Gates of Nineveh, his lifelong dream of finding Atlantis comes one step closer.

But he’s not the only one looking for it…

His discovery unleashes a high-speed hunt for the lost civilization between a mysterious Swiss foundation, the FBI, and the world’s most secretive society.

From the dangers of the Iraqi desert to Cuba and the jungles of El Salvador to the enigmatic Valley of the Kings in Egypt, Hunter faces a race against time and murderous enemies who will stop at nothing to claim the greatest prize in history. As he fights for his life, it soon becomes apparent that his enemies are searching for something altogether more sinister than the lost city…

Hunter must use his unique ingenuity and knowledge to decipher the clues and find Atlantis – and its lethal treasures – before they fall into enemy hands.


Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/AtlantisCovenantbook

 

My Thoughts

Plot

If you are a fan of very fast-paced, action-driven books, The Atlantis Covenant is right up your alley! With danger lurking around every corner, Max Hunter and the FBI find their lives on the line as they look to uncover the truth of the lost city of Atlantis.

This is arguably a very plot-driven book. That’s not to say that aspects of world-building (history) and character development suffers, because they don’t. However, the motivation to read on each chapter is to uncover what happens next.

And there’s action in almost every chapter. Old rivalries and archaic, powerful forces come into play, and the secrets of Atlantis aren’t safe. With both sides racing to beat each other to discover the truth, everything is to play for…

Although this first book does naturally leave us on a bit of a cliffhanger into the next in the series, the action that takes place in The Atlantis Covenant is wrapped up in full. Looking at the synopsis for the next book, it doesn’t directly follow on from this first. I’m pretty confident that each of these could be read standalone. Whether you’re a fan of series or solo books, The Atlantis Covenant caters to all.

 

Setting

The Atlantis Covenant takes us across the globe. From the seas of Cuba to jungle rainforest, Egypt and The Valley of the Kings and to Arctic climes, the book features archaeological sites on every corner of the planet.

The jet-setting in this book is exciting to read about. As someone who really enjoyed history growing up, getting to hear about well-known sites such as the Valley of the Kings makes this thriller more interesting. I really enjoyed the archaeological aspects of this book and the emphasis this has on the storyline and places visited. It gives the book a lot of grounding, even when events carry us off rapidly to the next revelation (and inevitable gunfight).

I appreciate this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. If that’s you, that’s okay. The relevance to the storyline is explained but not explored in any great length of detail. It gives context to the plot and moves on.


Characters

Throughout The Atlantis Covenant, we meet a variety of characters. From military men to goth girl hackers, the group pull together to help in his quest discover Atlantis and its secrets. The characters draw upon a wide variety of experience and skills, and not all from altruistic origins.

Now, I do confess, I do have one niggle about how some characters are introduced in this book. Pretty early on, I recognised a pattern of male characters being introduced for the action they’re involved in and women being introduced by their appearance. I wasn’t a big fan of this double-standard, but credit where it’s due, this stops after the first few chapters.

I really enjoyed the diversity of the characters that made up the main group. However, I can’t dismiss the wider cast introduced in this book either. Over the course of the book, we are introduced to a significant number of characters. So maybe even still, I am no trouble keeping trying (or at least, on which side they are).


Narrative Style

The Atlantis Covenant is fast-paced. Punchy. Full of action and eager to get there. Chapters are nice and short and snappy to fit this pacing. It works very well with the narrative and is a big driver to encouraging you to read ‘just one more chapter’ over and over.

Even though I personally lean towards a preference for longer, more detailed chapters, this was perfect for the book. It didn’t detract from my personal experience in the slightest and complemented the narrative.

As a result, The Atlantis Covenant is a pretty quick read. Having struggled and DNF’d another book right before this one, it was the fast-paced and engaging remedy I didn’t know I needed!


Summary

The Atlantis Covenant is a high-action, fast-paced novel. If you are a huge fan of Indiana Jones films, this book is just like these. With a balanced blend of action intertwined with archaeology, history, and conspiracy, this book piques my interest in the best of ways!

The good news is, you can continue to read the series already. If you want to read on, The Revelation Relic is the next book to whet your appetite.


Author Bio

Rob Jones has published over forty books in the genres of action-adventure, action-thriller, and crime. Many of his chart-topping titles have enjoyed number-one rankings, and his Joe Hawke and Jed Mason series have been international bestsellers. Originally from England, today he lives in Australia with his wife and children.

Social Media Links –  

Facebook: @RobJonesNovels

Twitter: @AuthorRobJones

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Monthly Wrap-Up – August 2025

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Hot off the press, I’m here to share my reading progress in today’s monthly wrap-up! I hope you enjoy today’s catch up post and can take some book recommendations away. 

In my August TBR I shared an extensive list of books I hoped to pick up. As usual I didn’t get around to it all. My plans also had to change a little as I agreed to take part in a blog tour later this week after sharing the TBR. 

Shall we take a look at what I did get to? 

 

Books Read 

House of Frank 

My first carryover from last month was the July Cottagecore Fantasy Book Club read, House of Frank. I only had a third of the book left and I was determined to finish it even after the readalong was officially finished. 

It was a pretty decent read and I’m glad I got to see the final character progression. The book didn’t end entirely as I expected, so it did have a little twist. Whilst I did enjoy the book, it was a pretty average read. 

In fairness, even at this state of affairs it fared better than the August book… but more on that below.

 

Stormdancer 

Even closer to the finish line than I was with House of Frank, I completed the final two hours of audio for Stormdancer in early August. 

I enjoyed this book a lot and I’m really interested to see where the rest of the series will take us. The good news is that I have the other two books in audio format so I can pick these up at my leisure. The steampunk and Asian fantasy mash-up is truly an interesting genre to read. Honestly, I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. Then again, so far Jay Kristoff hasn’t put a foot wrong and I’ve enjoyed all his books.

The first book ends on quite a cliffhanger. What happens next? I can’t wait to find out! 

 

If We Were Villains 

This book has been sat on my bookshelf for the longest time. I found out this month why I’d been holding out on myself! 

If We Were Villains is a fantastic, suspenseful read. Although the book and narrative owes a lot of its influence to Shakespeare, you don’t need a wealth of knowledge on his plays to enjoy this book. Sure, I think there are probably smart references and Easter eggs fans could pick up on. From someone not well-versed though, it really doesn’t affect your overall enjoyment of the book. 

This is quite an interesting one. Whilst from the beginning we think we know what happened (the tale is told by a single narrator after the event, after all), that turns out not to be the case at all really. It was an interesting way to play out the narrative. Fans of dark academia books will definitely love this one!

 

The House Witch

I have a DNF to share this month, which was August’s Cottagecore Fantasy Book club read. 

In all, The House Witch was fine, but I lost steam with it. It’s quite long-winded and takes time to get going. A few of us in the group agreed that the book read like an indie, even though it has been traditionally published. 

I was struggling with motivation to pick up the book. Eventually, I decided it wasn’t worth trying to force myself through it so took the decision to write-off the couple hundred pages I read. It’s a shame, as that’s effort that doesn’t count towards any of my stats. But, I made the right decision as reading progress picked back up again with a fresh read, and a very drastic change of pace… 

 

The Atlantis Covenant

The final book I picked up physically at the end of August is The Atlantis Covenant. As I mentioned near the top of this post, I signed up for this blog tour at quite short notice, well, at least for me. Rachel dropped me an email asking for help with the tour and I did like the sound of it. So, I agreed to read it for the tour! That tour date is in just a few days time. In the spirit of not leaving things too late, I picked this up with a few days left in August. 

As of drafting this monthly wrap-up post, it is still a current read but I am 60% through and the reading time estimate puts me at less than two hours to complete the book. It’s significantly faster paced and action-packed, which is a direct contrast with The House Witch. Think if Indiana Jones was a book, that’s the kind of experience I’m having right now. It’s fun and there are some interesting theories coming up in the narrative. Will they be true, or is there another twist yet? I suspect there is! I’ll be reading this in the next day or so in order than my blog tour post is ready to go live early on Thursday. 

Stay tuned!

 

Tyrant’s Throne 

This monthly wrap-up includes updates on two more audiobooks yet, so don’t be too hasty with scanning down the post! 

In August I listened to Tyrant’s Throne in its entirety. It feels like it’s been a while since I completed an audiobook within a calendar month. However, this was the final book of its series and after listening to Saint’s Blood pretty recently, I was keen to get to the end of this book! 

Often when I’m finishing a good series, I get sad towards the conclusion and start putting up resistance to actually finishing the last book. However, as I shared in my Sunday Summary yesterday, I didn’t get to that point with this book for the best of reasons! I’m so glad I finished the book and I hope to see more stories from Falcio, Kest and Brasti in future. 

 

Sensitive

The final audiobook and book to feature in this monthly wrap-up post is Sensitive by Jenn Granneman and Andre Solo. 

I started this relatively short audio with jut a couple of days left in the month. The other intended reads on my August TBR are owned in other formats already, so I didn’t start audiobooks of those deliberately. Instead, I turned to my 20 Books of Summer Challenge for inspiration and chose Sensitive. 

As of this monthly wrap-up I’ve already listened to a healthy chunk of this audiobook. As at the end of the month, I officially carried over just under five hours of the audiobook to listen to. In practice, I’ve listened to a couple of hours today, so I have a little under three hours. I expect I’ll make light work of it so I’ll be starting a  new audiobook soon! 

 

Summary 

So, I picked up no less than seven titles at some point over the course of August. In terms of my 20 Books of Summer Challenge, I finished the season having read seven of the original books in total, as well as DNFing and subbing out another. I had hoped for more progress, but then again, I couldn’t always allow for book club or blog tour commitments in my reading list. I’ve still read a decent amount over the last three months. The unread books on this list aren’t going away. I’m putting them on a ‘priority’ list and I want them all finished before the end of the year. 

 That’s everything to catch you up on in this monthly wrap-up update! 

Have you read any of the books in today’s post? 

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Sunday Summary – 31st August 2025

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Happy Sunday friends! I hope you are as excited for today’s Sunday summary as I am. I have some great book updates to share with you, and as always, to catch you up on the content I’ve shared earlier in the week.

First, let’s catch you up on the blog content I’ve shared so far this week. My first post of the week was a book review for The Adventures of Amina-al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty. If you are looking for a swashbuckling feminist eastern fantasy, look no further! Take a look at my thoughts and what I make of this book in my review.

On Friday I break from my usual scheduling to bring you another First Lines Friday. In that post, I featured another upcoming fantasy novel I’ll read as part of a ChatGPT recommendations challenge. 

On Patreon, I shared my audiobook review of Saint’s Blood by Sebastien de Castell. As you’ll see, this isn’t the last you’ll hear of Sebastien de Castell in this post. If you want to read my thoughts of the series up until the third book of the series, subscribe to my Patreon account to read my detailed review! 

 

Books Read

 

Tyrant’s Throne

As of my last Sunday Summary, I only had around two hours of audio left of Tyrant’s Throne. 

I’ve been listening to this audio whilst commuting to and from work this week. I loved this book so much and I was excited to see how the story ended. Sometimes with a great series, I get to a point where I don’t want to finish it and I start slowing down with reading progress out of fear of getting to the end. 

That wasn’t the case here, but for the best of reasons! I was so captivated by the storyline as it went down a completely different avenue than I expected. I’m also glad to hear that the author Sebastien de Castell has plans to revisit the characters Falcio, Kest and Brasti again. 

 

The Atlantis Covenant 

I’ve got an upcoming blog tour commitment for The Atlantis Covenant by Rob Jones. With that in mind, I’ve been blitzing this book this week. 

It’s full of action and a very quick, easy read. Over the course of today along I’ve read over 25% of the book. I’m enjoying this busy novel. It’s very reminiscent of Indiana Jones so if that’s your bag. There’s action, danger and intrigue in every chapter. I’m looking forward to finishing the book and sharing my review with you next week! 

 

Sensitive

Late this week, I started listening to Sensitive. With no more audiobooks on my August TBR, I turned to my 20 Books of Summer Challenge list for another book. 

So far I’ve listened to an hour of this audiobook. It’s not a long audiobook, so I’ve only got 5 hours left to listen to at 1.2x speed. 

It’s been an informative read so far. I’m also glad I picked this up on audio format. As books go, it’s an easy listen and my go-to kind of book for audio format. Whilst I’m not going to complete this book on time for the 20 Books of Summer challenge, I’m glad I’ve made a solid start and I’m looking forward to listening on in the coming days! 

 

Books Discovered

It’s been another quiet week in terms of book acquisitions. There’s nothing to let you know about in terms of books added to the reading list. 

 

Coming Up… 

Early next week, I’m sharing my monthly Wrap-Up for August 2025. Find out just how much progress I’ve made in my 20 Books of Summer challenge and my August monthly TBR. 

On Thursday, I’ll be back with my review of The Atlantis Covenant as part of the upcoming blog tour. I hope you can join me to see what I make of this high-action book. 

Finally, I’m back with another Sunday Summary this time next week. I’ve got some time off work later next week, so I’m hoping I’ll have some time to enjoy my current reads after finishing The Atlantis Covenant. 

What are you reading this week? 

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Book Review: The Adventures of Amina-al-Sirafi – Shannon Chakraborty

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Hello reading friends! Today I’m excited to bring you a long-overdue review for The Adventures of Amina-al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty. I read this book in April/May 2023, so a little while ago!

This book fell in the middle-of-the-road for me. There were some aspects I loved, but others that introduced resistance to my reading experience. Read on to find out more!

 

The Adventures of Amina-al-Sirafi – Shannon Chakraborty

Genre: Non-fiction

Pages: 492

Audience: Adult

Publisher: HarperVoyager

Publication Date: 02 Mar 2023

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟

 

Goodreads – The Adventures of Amina-al-Sirafi

 

A pirate of infamy and one of the most storied and scandalous captains to sail the seven seas.

Amina al-Sirafi has survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon to retire peacefully with her family to a life of piety, motherhood, and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural.

But when she’s offered a job no bandit could refuse, she jumps at the chance for one final adventure with her old crew that will make her a legend and offers a fortune that will secure her and her family’s future forever.

Yet the deeper Amina dives, the higher the stakes. For there’s always risk in wanting to become a legend, to seize one last chance at glory, to savour just a bit more power…and the price might be your very soul.


My Thoughts


Plot

The plot of The Adventures of Amina-al-Sirafi manages to be whimsical with a high page count. For some, this fun and lightheartedness may suit. It’s an aspect of the story I was less keen on, if I’m honest.

It was a perfectly acceptable read, but not a book I rushed back to in order to finish it quickly. Perhaps the whimsy wasn’t quite what I was expecting, and therefore I didn’t enjoy this quote so much.

Otherwise, as plot goes, I enjoyed the sea-faring, derring-do action of the narrative.


Setting

The Adventures of Amina-al-Sirafi is an eastern fantasy. It’s always refreshing to read fantasy with these inspirations, especially as someone who has read a lot of, and grown up with, westernised fantasy novels on tap.

I loved the focus on non-western religious cultures. It was a new take for me and not what I expected from this fantasy novel. Its ties to well-known religions in real life helped give the book some grounding — much needed if you ask me. It also gave me an opportunity to get insight into Muslim religion and culture in a place I didn’t expect. Every day is a school day… and I felt this was a great touch for this book.

 

Characters

I love that the narrative is led by a strong woman. Piracy was typically a man’s game. Flying in the face of patriarchy, this spin on events is quite unexpected (especially considering some of the cultures featured in the book), but welcome.

Even in fairly modern fantasies, female narrative voices are only just starting to take centre stage. The Adventures of Amina-al-Sirafi does this – and does it well!


Narrative Style

Considering the whimsical nature of this narrative, the book took me longer to read than anticipated. It’s about a 500-page book, so not exactly small. Even so, I found the fanciful plot line at odds with some of the other elements in this book. Although this book is marketed at adults, I would argue some of the plot devices smack more of a young adult target audience.

 

Summary

The Adventures of Amina-al-Sirafi is a fun, adventurous and light-hearted read.

Whilst I wasn’t captivated enough by the book to motivate me to continue on with the series, I had fun at the time.

If you are looking for fantasy with positive multicultural and female rep, this book will still be up your alley.

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Sunday Summary – 24th August 2025

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Good evening friends and welcome back to another Sunday Summary update post. I hope you’ve had a fabulous week and weekend? If you’re living in the UK, your weekend isn’t over! I can’t believe we’re already at the final bank holiday of the year before Christmas. Did I just say the C-word? Apparently, I did!

Swiftly moving on to another topic, let’s get into the blog post I shared so far this week. The first post that went live on my post was a Top Ten Tuesday instalment. If I want to do two of these in a row, but I was really excited for this week’s topic. This week, I shared some of my favourite reads with a high page count. If you’re looking for an epic fantasy chunky book rec, that Top Ten Tuesday would be the ideal place to start. 

On Friday, I shared a teaser of a book I am reading as part of our upcoming reading challenge. It’s in really well with my Top Ten Tuesday post, as it happens. This week’s featured book is also a chunky epic fantasy read that I’m looking forward to reading in the next month or so. This is the first book of the series I’m yet to read, but I’m looking forward to trying it. 

 

Books Read

The House Witch 

This week I’ve continued with The House Witch, our monthly pick over in the Cottagecore Fantasy Book Club. As of last week’s Sunday Summary, I’d gotten to chapter 17, which was only a week behind schedule.

I have lost steam with this book. I’ve picked this book up and only read a handful of pages multiple times this week. Whilst I have made more of a solid effort and spent over 40 minutes reading the book today, I’ve subsequently decided to DNF this one. Now, there is nothing wrong with the book, but this traditionally published book feels like an indie book. It lacks polish and, if I’m entirely honest with you, I think it could be a lot shorter than it is.

I DNF’d this book at just under 50%, but it feels like events were only just starting to take shape. This book has a lot of potential, and I haven’t disliked what I’ve read so far. However, my lack of motivation to pick this book up is at risk of putting me into a book slump. Whilst I have plenty of other books I want to pick up this month, I’ve decided I’m going to put this one down.  

 

Tyrant’s Throne

As of last week’s Sunday Summary, I was 45% into Tyrant’s Throne by Sebastien de Castell. Audiobook progress has been significantly better this week than my ‘traditional’ reading. I have really enjoyed this audio and the turn the story has taken. If you ask me whether I’d anticipated the book would go down this route, the answer would’ve been absolutely not! However, I love the way it’s turned out and it’s explored a new facet of narrative that I didn’t think I could expect from this book.

Over the course of this week, I have listened to nearly seven hours of audio. As of this Sunday Summary post, that puts me at around two and a half hours left before I finish this book. I can’t wait to finish it! Whereas last week I said I hadn’t gotten to a point yet where I was both excited and lamenting finishing this book, that is starting to creep in. However, my drive to see through this narrative and see where events take us far outweighs any reservations I have about finishing the series. 

 

The Atlantis Covenant 

A last-minute addition to the reading list, I’m picking up The Atlantis Covenant by Rob Jones. 

If you’ve read my blog for some time, you’ll know I’ve taken part in a number of blog tours for books published with Boldwood Books. In short, I agreed at lesser notice than usual to help with the blog tour for this book. I’ve only just started it, but I’m hoping the change of genre and pace will be a welcome one! 

 

Books Discovered

It’s fair to say I’ve added more than enough to my reading list in recent weeks. With this in mind, I’ve been good and not added or purchased anything you need to know about. 

 

Coming Up… 

So, the last section of this post is all about what’s coming up soon! The answer is a lot, but not all of it blog-related. 

I’m sticking to my usual schedule and kicking off with my first blog post on Tuesday or Wednesday next week. Given I’m due a book review here, I’ll share my thoughts on The Adventures of Amina-al-Sirafi. 

In a break from tradition, I’m sharing another First Lines Friday post next week, teasing the second book I’m reading in my ChatGPT book recommendations challenge. 

Finally, this time next week I’m back with another Sunday Summary update! It’ll officially be the end of the month and the final week of 20 Books of Summer. I hope you can join me to see where I get to in that challenge! 

Until next time, happy reading! 

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