Tag: bookblog

Top Reads of 2020!

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We’re well underway into January, and I’m hoping to read as many great books in 2021 as I did last year – if not more! Today’s post is all about sharing the book love and talking about my favourite reads of 2020.

I shared a similar post last year and I enjoyed having the opportunity to feature all my top reads in one place. It’s also a great way for you, readers, to get a lot of recommendations all in one post. I hope your TBR’s can handle it!

I’ve picked my top 5 books/book series of 2020 and I list them in descending order:-

 

The Dark Chorus – Ashley Meggitt

The Dark Chorus by Ashley Meggitt | Goodreads

Oblivion awaits the Angel’s salvation

The Boy can see lost souls.

He has never questioned the fact that he can see them. He thinks of them as the Dark Chorus. When he sets out to restore the soul of his dead mother it becomes clear that his ability comes from within him. It is a force that he cannot ignore – the last shard of the shattered soul of an angel.

To be restored to the kingdom of light, the shard must be cleansed of the evil that infects it – but this requires the corrupt souls of the living!

With the help from Makka, a psychotically violent young man full of hate, and Vee, an abused young woman full of pain, the Boy begins to kill.

Psychiatrist Dr Eve Rhodes is seconded to assist the police investigation into the Boy’s apparently random ritualistic killings. As the investigation gathers pace, a pattern emerges. When Eve pulls at the thread from an article in an old psychology journal, what might otherwise have seemed to her a terrible psychotic delusion now feels all too real…

Will the Boy succeed in restoring the angel’s soul to the light? Can Eve stop him, or will she be lost to realm of the Dark Chorus?

 

I really enjoyed the characterisation and themes of The Dark Chorus. It’s rare to find stories with children/young adults as the main characters that also have sophistication to the narrative. The Dark Chorus alludes to themes that some people might not like to read, but if you’re not shy then I definitely recommend this book!

 

 

The Dead Tell Lies – J. F. Kirwan

The Dead Tell Lies: an absolutely gripping mystery thriller by J.F. Kirwan | Goodreads

Greg Adams, a criminal psychologist at Scotland Yard, specialises in bringing serial killers to justice. He tracks down a spree serial killer nicknamed the Divine, who has already killed six teenage girls and is about to kill a seventh. Greg works out the location where he is hiding and joins a raid. The police capture the Divine and save the girl, but on the very same night, Greg’s wife is brutally murdered by another serial killer, known as the Dreamer.
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A year later, unable to bring the killer to justice, Greg has quit his job and is ready to end it all, when he receives a phone call from a man who tells him the Dreamer is dead, and that he didn’t kill Greg’s wife, Kate.
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Greg returns to Scotland Yard to work for Superintendent Chief Detective Donaldson in the hope he can re-examine the case with the help of two new detectives, Finch and Matthews.
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As Greg delves into the case further, he becomes more convinced that the Dreamer wasn’t the man responsible for his wife’s murder.
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But if it wasn’t the Dreamer, who was it?
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In order to solve the mystery around his wife’s murder, Greg is going to have to delve even deeper into the mind of a terrifying psychopath. And this time he might not make it back in one piece…

 

This is an intense psychological thriller and it was that good, I read it in a matter of days!

For me, the best indicator of a good psychological thriller is how obsessed you become about trying to work everything out. If it occupies your mind even when you have to put down the book to do the mundane things, you’re on to a good start. Find one that keeps you on the edge of your seat and guessing until all is revealed, and you are onto a winner!

The Dead Tell Lies is definitely one of these books – if you love a thriller this might just be something you would like to read.

 

 

Darkdawn – Jay Kristoff

Darkdawn (The Nevernight Chronicle, #3) by Jay Kristoff | Goodreads

The epic conclusion to the internationally bestselling Nevernight Chronicle from New York Times bestselling author Jay Kristoff.

The greatest games in Godsgrave’s history have ended with the most audacious murders in the history of the Itreyan Republic.

Mia Corvere, gladiatii, escaped slave and infamous assassin, is on the run. Pursued by Blades of the Red Church and soldiers of the Luminatii legion, she may never escape the City of Bridges and Bones alive. Her mentor Mercurio is now in the clutches of her enemies. Her own family wishes her dead. And her nemesis, Consul Julius Scaeva, stands but a breath from total dominance over the Republic.

But beneath the city, a dark secret awaits. Together with her lover Ashlinn, brother Jonnen and a mysterious benefactor returned from beyond the veil of death, she must undertake a perilous journey across the Republic, seeking the final answer to the riddle of her life. Truedark approaches. Night is falling on the Republic for perhaps the final time.

Can Mia survive in a world where even daylight must die?

New York Times and internationally bestselling author Jay Kristoff’s writing has been praised by critics and readers alike and has won many awards, including four Aurealis Awards, an ABIA, and David Gemmell Morningstar and Legend awards.

 

I had no idea how this series was going to wrap up. Nevernight and Godsgrave were amazing… so good I was worried Darkdawn would let me down with the ending.

It was fantastic – I needn’t have been worried. I did have quite a book hangover for a day or two though. I didn’t know what I could pick up next because there was no way it was going to be able to compete!

 

Mistborn Books 4-6 – Brandon Sanderson

The Alloy of Law (Mistborn, #4) by Brandon Sanderson | Goodreads

Shadows of Self (Mistborn, #5) by Brandon Sanderson | Goodreads

The Bands of Mourning (Mistborn, #6) by Brandon Sanderson | Goodreads

(Synopsis for The Alloy of Law)

Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is now on the verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the first steel-framed skyscrapers racing for the clouds.

Kelsier, Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, and the rest are now part of history—or religion. Yet even as science and technology are reaching new heights, the old magics of Allomancy and Feruchemy continue to play a role in this reborn world. Out in the frontier lands known as the Roughs, they are crucial tools for the brave men and women attempting to establish order and justice.

One such is Waxillium Ladrian, a rare Twinborn who can Push on metals with his Allomancy and use Feruchemy to become lighter or heavier at will.

After twenty years in the Roughs, Wax has been forced by family tragedy to return to the metropolis of Elendel. Now he must reluctantly put away his guns and assume the duties and dignity incumbent upon the head of a noble house. Or so he thinks, until he learns the hard way that the mansions and elegant tree-lined streets of the city can be even more dangerous than the dusty plains of the Roughs.

 

I couldn’t pick just one of these books, so I have all three books of this second Mistborn series on my Top Reads list. Mistborn was the series that introduced me to Brandon Sanderson. Since reading that trilogy I have gone away and read more of his books and loved them all.

Revisiting the universe of the Mistborn with this follow-up series was like meeting up with an old friend. There are a lot of aspects of the original trilogy that are touched on in these books. Equally, they also have a bit more of a modern touch which I enjoyed. The update to the magic system originally constructed in the first series is very clever but also very feasible; it adds to the overall concept of progress/development we see across the two series.

I think I actually prefer the setting and characters of this second half of the series. It’s one I’m sure I’ll re-read again in future.

 

This is Going to Hurt – Adam Kay

This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay | Goodreads

The Sunday Times Number One Bestseller and Humour Book of the Year
Winner of the Books Are My Bag Book of the Year
Winner of iBooks’ Book of the Year

Welcome to the life of a junior doctor: 97-hour weeks, life and death decisions, a constant tsunami of bodily fluids, and the hospital parking meter earns more than you.

Scribbled in secret after endless days, sleepless nights and missed weekends, Adam Kay’s This is Going to Hurt provides a no-holds-barred account of his time on the NHS front line. Hilarious, horrifying and heartbreaking, this diary is everything you wanted to know – and more than a few things you didn’t – about life on and off the hospital ward.

 

This is Going to Hurt is one of those rollercoaster books. It had me howling with laughter one minute and crying the next. It’s also reaffirmed the respect I have for the staff in the NHS and just how much we owe to them for keeping us all going.

This is Going to Hurt was actually recommended and loaned to me by a work colleague. I hadn’t planned to pick it up last year at all, but I’m glad I did. I also went on to read Adam Kay’s later published novella, Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas too. As soon as I had read This is Going to Hurt I planned reading the novella in December.  It’s a book you end up thinking about long after you’ve finished reading it. Well, if you’re me at least.

It’s fair to say from this list that I really did pick up some great books last year… and from a diverse range of genres too! If you haven’t read these already, I am sure any one of these books could appeal to you!

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Top Reads of 2020 post! If you have read any of these books, let me know in the comments! Alternatively, what was your favourite read of 2020? Please let me know!

 

 

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Sunday Summary – 10th January 2021

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Hi everyone and welcome to today’s Sunday Summary weekly update post! I hope you are all keeping well?

This week has been… unusual, to say the least. In fact, no, that’s an understatement. This time last week everything was normal here on the Island. This weekend, we’re back in full lockdown. It’s crazy how quickly it’s happened, but fingers crossed the decisiveness of the Government is the right decision to eradicating it again. So, aside from a food shop, I’ve been home since Wednesday.

On a more positive note, I have been able to put my time to good use both here and in terms of reading. On Thursday I shared my 2020 Wrap Up post, in which I looked back at my reading goals for last year and how I did with them. I’ll give you a spoiler – I didn’t do great… but for good reasons. Hop on over and check that post out if you haven’t already!

Yesterday I took part in a blog tour and provided a promo spotlight post for When the Children Come by Barry Kirwan. It’s a sci-fi novel suitable for young adult and adult readers. I read a thriller by the same author last year (under the pen name J. F. Kirwan) and honestly, it’s up there as one of my top reads of the year! I have no doubt When the Children Come is just as good, so it was a pleasure to be able to take part in the tour.

 

Books Read

As of last week, my current read was Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham. It’s still a current read, but I must confess I have shelved it for a few days having only read 12-13 pages or so since last week’s update.

When the news hit on Tuesday evening that we would be going into lockdown, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I tried to pick up Midnight in Chernobyl as a distraction but didn’t get very far at all. Then, I tried knitting, but my heart wasn’t in that either. I put on an episode of A Game of Thrones (I’m re-watching the last season, slowly) but after 20 minutes I gave up on that too.

In the end, I went up to bed quite early for me and started to read Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J. K. Rowling. Re-reading these books is one of my goals for this year, and I needed something light-hearted. It worked, and I managed to read about 50 pages or so that night before going to bed. I’ve carried on reading it over the course of the week, and I actually finished the book yesterday evening.

I still wasn’t quite in the mood to return to Midnight in Chernobyl yesterday, although I think I’ll be able to pick this up again now. So, after much debate and telling myself that no, I couldn’t do another re-read of A Game of Thrones  1) again and 2) as well as Harry Potter, I picked up Fire & Blood by George R. R. Martin instead. Fire & Blood is a book about the history of the universe A Game of Thrones is set in, covering the 300 years before events of the main series. I felt it was a good compromise and I’ve really enjoyed what I have read so far. I’m 61 pages into this 700-page behemoth, but I love it!

 

Books Discovered

There aren’t any new books on the TBR this week, I’m pleased to say. I have been reading more blog posts by other bloggers again (a habit I got out of), so this might change in the weeks to come. But for now, no news is good news!

 

Coming Up…

In an effort to get through some of the backlog of reviews I have, I am going to be sharing another book review with you next week. This particular book is a copy I received in exchange for a review. It’s very reminiscent of Harry Potter. My reading of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone this week has reminded me that I still haven’t reviewed Chimeborn, written by Daniel Curry. So, I think it’s time I share my review with you all!

As it’s the beginning of the year and we are still thinking about the progress and such I made last year, I also want to share a post about my favourite reads of the year. I hope you can tune in for that one too!

As always, I’ll conclude the week with another Sunday Summary post.

 

That’s all from me for now though! Have a good week, stay safe and I’ll hopefully see you around!

 

 

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2020 Wrap Up Post

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2020 was a crazy year. I don’t think that’s a stretch of the imagination for absolutely anybody at this point. It also, strangely, ended up being one of my busiest years personally. Unfortunately, not as much in terms of blogging and reading as I had hoped, but that’s okay. I’ve come to the realisation that in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter.

Before I get into my blogging and reading progress of the year, I’d like to tell you a little bit about the other things I ended up doing in 2020 as well. Ultimately, this played a part in the amount of time I had to commit to blogging and reading.

 

Background

At the end of 2019, I decided that I wanted to move house. I’m not going to go into the ugly details, but let’s just say they were external forces that drove me to that decision. Moving house is a huge undertaking at the best of times, but I ended up moving in May 2020, during the middle of lockdown here on the island. We were delaying the move as per guidelines, but unfortunately again, other factors meant it had to go ahead. That meant my family couldn’t help me as they had planned to, and whilst I was able to use a removal firm on the day, the rest was up to me. There were many tears on the day and my parents had to watch me bawl my eyes from the doorstep (unable to come in but dropping off some food) once I got here, but with the help and advice of my mum and dad I got it together and within a couple of weeks of moving in I had everything straight.

But that’s where the rest of the work began. The house I ended up moving into had some very interesting decoration, to say the least! Pretty much none of it was to my taste, so within a couple of months of moving in I started redecorating. What can I say, I had holiday to take from work and nowhere to go with it!

Whilst I had anticipated moving, I hadn’t really considered that I’d end up spending so much free time working on the house after I moved in. It’s not a problem, and ultimately I’m happier because I’ve spent the time making this place mine. It does mean, however, that it ate into my free time for reading and played a part in my not reaching my goal of 80 books last year.

What I also didn’t expect was how lockdown would affect me. When it was first announced, I was obviously upset that I couldn’t see anyone. But, I stupidly thought to myself, right I’ve got all this time to kill – I’ll read more. How I can laugh at myself in hindsight. What I didn’t expect was how much of a distraction lockdown would be and actually… I couldn’t concentrate on reading all that much. At least, not to start with. Some days were better than others.

So you see, there were multiple factors that contributed to my not reaching my already very ambitious goal of 80 books last year. I thought I would be disappointed with myself if I didn’t, but strangely I’m not. I know I read at every opportunity I could and wanted to, and equally, I didn’t force myself to read things I didn’t want to either. When I wanted to do something different I enjoyed other hobbies… saw my friends and family (sorry, feel bad for saying it but it’s true) and did the things I wanted.

My other challenges also flopped a little. Whilst I started off well, reading less also took its toll on my attempt to read more of the older books on my TBR. I was still signing up for blog tours and such, and so these took priority and my challenge fell off the radar. My final challenge was to read more from my local library. Ha! With covid, that went down the pan too. I did check to see if I could borrow electronic editions, but most of the time they weren’t available at my library. Maybe I’ll be better at this throughout this year (once it re-opens again)? 

Anyway, there’s the background. And now, onto the books I read last year! My final end of year stats are:

I think I DNF’d the highest number of books I have ever recorded in a year in 2020. I think this is in part because I started to go through my TBR and my reading tastes have changed since I added the books several years ago. That’s not always the case… in fact, some of the best books I read last year were added to my TBR four or five years ago!

There were definitely more hits than misses. All in all, I think there was a pretty good proportion of books that I knew I was going to love and some more adventurous read that I want to try. Some of those worked, but those I put down definitely fall into that category.

To summarise this year wrap up post, here is a list of all the books I read last year and their star ratings: –

 

2020 Books

Have you read any of the books on this list? Or any of them on your TBR? Let me know in the comments!

 

 

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Sunday Summary – 3rd January 2021

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It’s my first Sunday Summary post in a couple of weeks and I’m glad to be back and sharing my regular updates with you all. I had a lovely break over Christmas and I’m grateful for taking the step back for a week or so. I’m feeling refreshed and ready to get back into it, so let’s jump in and talk about what I have been up to in the last couple of weeks since my last Sunday Summary post!

In the last couple of weeks, I have shared two posts with you. On Christmas Eve I shared The Joy of Christmas Book Tag. I had a lot of fun writing this particular post and it was a nice way to wrap up blogging and get into the festive spirit for the holidays! I then took the planned break and shared my next post with you just a couple of days ago, on New Year’s Day. It’s customary to create and share New Year goals, and that’s what Friday’s post was all about.

If you haven’t checked out either of those posts, please follow the links and have a look!

 

Books Read

I’ve had to go back as far as the 13th December to give you an update on what I have read recently, as I didn’t have any reading progress to report at all in my last Sunday Summary post. I’ve made a lot more progress since then!

In the last couple of weeks, I managed to finish Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, which was the book I was currently reading at the time of my last update. The book wasn’t entirely what I expected based on the TV series, but I can see what it has drawn from. Book lovers everywhere might dislike me for saying this, but I think I preferred the TV series. It had a bit more of a plot behind it if you ask me.

At the same time as reading Brave New World, I also picked up Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas by Adam Kay. Whilst I wasn’t intending to, I actually managed to read this in a couple of hours one night. It was saddening and hilarious and everything I expected based on his previous book, This is Going to Hurt. Honestly, if you haven’t read these books I really think you should. You’ll discover a newfound respect for the NHS and what they have to put up with. Now more than ever, I think this is important!

Lastly, I have picked up a third read in the last couple of weeks. I am currently around 38% through with the book. Goodreads says it’s only 26%, but given that pages 373 to 538 includes the acknowledgements, glossary, index etc, they aren’t part of the story.

 

Books Discovered

A couple of days after Christmas I went into our local chain store bookshop and happened across a book called Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon by James Hibberd. The book itself is about the filming of A Game of Thrones and all the backstage business. I’ve enjoyed reading some non-fiction novels recently and I think this will be an interesting read. Plus, you know, it’s Game of Thrones related. Of course I’ll love it!

 

Coming Up…

Next week I want to take a look back at my reading progress and blogging in 2020. It became my busiest year in my personal life, which contributed to not meeting some of the goals I set myself last January. I hope you can tune in to my end of year wrap up post.

On Saturday I’m sharing a promo post for When the Children Come by J. F. Kirwan. You may recall I read one of this particular author’s books last year, The Dead Tell Lies. This year I’m not really signing up for many blog tours and offering reviews, but since I really enjoyed his last book I still wanted to feature him again on my blog.

In addition, I’ll also be back with another Sunday Summary post to end the week as usual.

 

That’s all from me this week! Have a good one and I’ll see you in the next post!

 

 

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2021 Reading Resolutions / Goals

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Hi guys! Happy New Year! I can’t believe I’m writing my first post of 2021 already. Last year seems like a bit of a blur. I’ve enjoyed a lovely break over Christmas and I’ve had plenty of time to think about my goals for 2021 and today’s post. 

Before I get into this year’s goals, I’d like to take a quick recap over 2020. I’ll probably be writing a more detailed post on this in the next few days, but I think it’s only appropriate that I briefly talk about last years goals. This is the first year that I’ve not met my reading goal, but to be perfectly honest, I’m still proud of the number of books I managed to read in the circumstances. I ended up taking on far more than I ever imagined when I set my goal in January. Yet despite this, I still managed to complete 55 books last year, as well as ending the year reading Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham. I also DNF’d a surprising number of books this year. It’s rare that I give up on a book, but this year I’ve DNF’d a total of 5 books.

Inevitably, I have been thinking about my goals for this year. It’s funny because as a person I’m not a huge celebrant of New Year. Call me miserable if you wish, but I’m just the kind of person who is all too aware that the 1st of January is just another day. And most likely, it’s just like the last. Obviously, things are a little bit different with my blog, as setting new goals is kind of ‘the done thing’. If I’m honest, I started thinking about the goals I’m setting back in November and over the last couple of months I’ve convinced myself that this is the right thing to do. So, here are the ‘reading goals’ I’m setting myself for 2021: –

 

Goodreads Challenge

I have taken part in the Goodreads Reading Challenge for the last six years. Granted, 2014 and 2015 were distinct flops. This was before I started blogging and getting into reading full time, and so I only read 10 books out of the target 55 I set myself over the course of the two years.

Since getting back into reading and then beginning my blogging adventure, I’ve had a lot more success. I have met my reading goal every year until 2020. Admittedly, that goal of 80 books was very ambitious when I set it. I did that deliberately because I’ve always underestimated myself in the previous years. If I hadn’t taken on things that I ended up doing in 2020, I might just have reached it. I don’t beat myself up for not reaching it though. Towards the end of the year, I burned out. I am fully prepared to admit that to myself now. Between all the different things I ended up juggling, it all became a bit too much for me. Something had to give, and ultimately it was the reading aspect of my blog that ‘suffered’.

I worry that if I were to carry on in this manner, I’d end up not reading at all. Of course, I don’t want that to happen, so I’m doing something I never expected I’d do as a book blogger. I’m going against the grain and not setting myself a reading goal in 2021. That may sound a bit odd to you, but it’s the right thing for me. I’ve decided that I need to get back to my grassroots, and that’s reading what I want, at my own pace, and doing it for the enjoyment of it. It’s easy to forget that it’s supposed to be a hobby, as blogging ends up becoming like a job. It’s a full-time commitment, and when you’re trying to do other things like hold down actual paid employment, study and complete renovations on your home (to name just a few examples), it’s a lot of work. There are so only so many hours in a day.

The point of setting a Goodreads challenge is that it is supposed to be that – a challenge. This year, I don’t want to put that pressure on myself and risk a prolonged burnout. It’s as simple as that. I don’t see any point in setting myself a ‘challenge’ that isn’t going to be a challenge… hence why I’m not setting myself a goal at all.

 

TBR

Last year‘s goal of trying to chip away at the TBR ended up being a bit of a flop. I started off well, reading a couple of books a month. However, my problem is that I keep adding new ones as quickly as I read others. I was also taking on blog tours last year, which meant that I wasn’t reading enough of the TBR to counteract the books I was adding.

So, this year’s goal is to only read books on my TBR. I already know I’m not going to religiously stick to this one. I’m sure there will be new shiny books and catch my eye and I want to fast track them and read them there and then. The sentiment behind this goal is that I want to read exclusively off my TBR as much as possible and bring the number of books on that list down – significantly more than in previous years!

With this in mind, I’ll also be taking part in fewer blog tours – at least the number I provide reviews for. I will probably still take part, but I’ll be providing promotional posts or extracts as opposed to reviews. This means I can spend my time actually reading the books on my TBR without distraction or deadline. For the most part, I have deliberately not been signing up to them this year. There is one exception, and that is for a book by an author I have read a lot of historically. I have really loved her books to date and I didn’t want to miss out on providing a review for the second book of a series I’ve already started. I’ll be taking part in that tour this month, but aside from that, I have no obligations to review for a blog tour.

 

Review Requests

Technically, I haven’t really been taking many review requests over the last few months. Although, being the person I am, if someone approaches me with a really good book and say there is no time deadline, I can’t help myself to say yes. I love a good book – what can I say!

Well, now I’m saying this. I’m not taking any review requests in 2021, no matter how good the book sounds or whether there is a time deadline or not. I ended up taking on a couple of books towards the end of last year that were ‘non-time-sensitive’, and yet I still ended up getting chased on them. This is exactly what I was looking to avoid when I initially closed myself off to new review requests. My lesson has been learnt, so for this year, I won’t be taking any at all. I’ll honour the ones I have, and that is all l. At least, until next year.

 

Re-read: Harry Potter

My last goal of the year is to re-read the Harry Potter series. 

I had said to myself that I was going to do this sometime after I finished my re-read of A Game of Thrones. Now feels like the perfect time to do so. Harry Potter was one of my favourite book series’ growing up. I read Harry Potter throughout my teenage years, and they have a huge part to play in my developing a love of reading. As I am taking the opportunity to re-capture that essence and love of reading without the demands of competing against myself, or trying to reach that next target, it feels like the right time to re-visit one of the very series’ that kindled my love for reading in the first place. 

 

Have you set yourself any reading goals this year? What are your ambitions for 2021? Please let me know in the comments!

 

 

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The Joy of Christmas Book Tag

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Hi guys and welcome to today’s book tag post. Today I am taking part in The Joy of Christmas Book Tag, and I hope you enjoy the festive-themed post today – on Christmas Eve no less!. I imagine all the hustle and bustle is now over and done with, so sit back, relax and enjoy today’s read on all matters bookish and Christmassy!

 

Anticipation: the Christmas excitement is real, what book releases are you most anticipating?

I’m not actually looking at any new releases at the moment. I set myself a goal in the beginning of 2020 to read more of my existing TBR, however, this didn’t really come to pass. At least, not as much as I was hoping to. I’ve deliberately not been actively looking for anything new to read because I’m already aware my list is over 200 books long, and that it’s just a ridiculous amount of reading to get through.

 

Christmas Songs & Carols: What book or author can you not help but sing it’s praises?

Are you seriously going to make me only pick one?! I don’t actually think I can. There are so many brilliant authors I have come to discover since blogging, and those I’ve read across the years but it’s impossible to pick just one. The purpose of my blog is to sing all of their praises!

George R R Martin, Brandon Sanderson, Laini Taylor, J R R Tolkien, J. K. Rowling, Adam Kay, Bernard Cornwell and Ben Aaronovitch… they’re just a shortlist of all favourite established authors.

As for indie or lesser-known authors, I have come to love Jennifer Macaire, Jo Wesley, J F Kirwan and K J McGillick. Jennifer McCaire and KJ Mcgillick are authors I have gone back to again and again having been introduced to them during blog tours. Joe Wesley and J F Kirwan have wowed me with one-off, outstanding reads!

 

Gingerbread Houses: What book or series has wonderful world-building?

I love my world-building, so this is something I look at in every single book I read. I think the best world-building I have read in the last year or two has to be Ed McDonald’s Raven’s Mark trilogy. It’s a fantasy trilogy with a completely unique world, magic system and set of characters to boot. I’ve already decided it’s a series that I’m going to re-read at some point. I knew that as soon as I’d finished it. What does that say about how good it is?

 

A Christmas Carol: Favorite classic or one that you want to read?

I’m actually reading a classic at the moment, although not particularly Christmas themed. The classic I’m reading is Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. I’m just about halfway through at the moment. It has been on my TV are for several years now, so it was about time I got round to it.

I did pick up another Christmas read, which I read last night. Whilst it’s not a ‘classic’ or heralded read at the moment I really think it should be in time. I was introduced to Adam Kay and This is Going to Hurt this year and after reading that book, I discovered there was a Christmas novella. I have just read this And it really highlights the pressures placed on the NHS at any time of the year, but particularly Christmas. If you haven’t read that book yet, honestly I recommend you do! It is absolutely hilarious and equally thought-provoking at times. It could be upsetting to son as some of the stories are heartbreaking, but it’s all part of what NHS staff are expected to deal with day in and out. It’s an eye-opener.

 

Christmas Sweets: What book would you love to receive for Christmas?

Getting books for Christmas is always exciting, so to be honest anything would be well received. If I’m completely honest though, I’m not particularly focused on what is under the tree this year. If ever we needed a reminder about what Christmas is truly about, this is the year. Buying and receiving gifts is lovely, but ultimately it’s the people around the tree that matter. Our Christmas will be a little bit strange this year as due to travel/border restrictions, my sister is unable to spend it with us. That’s all I’m thinking about this year.

 

Candles in the Window: What book gives you that warm fuzzy feeling?

This is a hard one. I wouldn’t say any particular book gives me a warm fuzzy feeling, but perhaps more genre and circumstance combined. I love being sat at home, in a warm house, curtains drawn, a cup of tea in hand (probably a biscuit or two as well!) and a crime/thriller/mystery book. that is the perfect combination for me.

 

Christmas Trees & Decorations: What are some of your favourite book covers?

I really like the simplicity of the covers for Laini Taylor’s strange the dreamer duology. For more complex artwork, I really like the covers on Edward Cox’s the relic Guild trilogy.

I also really like the covers for The Raven’s Mark trilogy by Ed McDonald. Like the relic Guild covers, they all tie together well across the series. They look cohesive, whilst having their own unique cover for each individual book too.

 

Christmas Joy: What are some of your favourite things about Christmas And/Or some of your favourite Christmas memories?

My favourite things about Christmas are: –

  • being around family
  • the food (can’t lie!)
  • Watching people open gifts I have bought for them
  • The food – did I mention this already?!

 

I’m sure that Christmas of 2020 won’t be the Christmas that a lot of people are hoping for. I know this is certainly the case in our family. Having said that, the situation could be a lot worse. We all have our health, and the ability to speak to each other across the distance and so whilst it’s not the same, we can all be a part of each other’s Christmas this year.

Wherever you are, I hope you can make the best Christmas you can out of the circumstances we are living with and I wish you all the best of starts for 2021. I’m going to be taking a brief break from blogging until the new year, And so I will see you at the beginning of next year with my reading list for January as well as setting out my 2021 goals and reviewing my reading journey of 2020.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

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Sunday Summary – 20th December 2020

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Hi guys and welcome to today’s short Sunday Summary weekly update! I won’t be keeping you too long in this one (for reasons that will become apparent), but I do hope you enjoy catching up with what’s been going on here over the last week.

I’ve shared a few blog posts this week, kicking off with my first post on Monday. In Monday’s post, I shared an extract of Chroma by Oscar Wenman Hyde as part of the blog tour organised with Rachel’s Random Resources. I really enjoyed reading the extract of the book when putting my post together and I hope you do/did too!

Next, I shared my latest audiobook review which was for Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. My review details my thoughts on the second book of the duology. If you haven’t given it a read already, please take a moment to check it out.

Lastly, I shared a Shelf Control post on Friday. This week’s featured book is a classic horror that I think a lot of you will either have read already or also have on your list like me. I’ve read a number of other books by this author and loved each one, so I have no doubt this week’s featured book will be just the same!

 

Books Read

I think it’s the first time in all my Sunday Summary updates I’ve published (ever!) that I haven’t picked up a book all week. As I am sure you can understand, Christmas is just around the corner and so I’ve been busy getting things ready. I’ve also been doing my blog posts in between, so all my evenings have been busy!

I’m taking my last week off work next week, and with most of my preparations done I expect I’ll be back to my usual reading habit next week.

 

Books Discovered

Last week’s addition of a book to my TBR has, blessedly, remained a one-off. Nothing new to see here!

 

Coming Up…

I’m planning on taking another little break from blogging between Christmas and New Year. I’ll be taking the time to reflect on everything I have done and read in 2020 ready for a wrap-up post in the New Year.

Before that though, I have time to sneak in one more post. Since it’s my last of the year, I want to make it something fun… and festive related! I’ve seen a cute post called The Joy of Christmas Book Tag that I want to do.

So, that really is all in today’s update! This is my last Sunday Summary post of the year, but I’ll be back with another update of all my reading news on the 3rd January 2021.

Until then, stay safe, stay home and I hope you have the best Christmas you can in the circumstances!

 

 

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Shelf Control #26 – 18/12/2020

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It’s Friday… and welcome to another Shelf Control post. I have a great and popular book coming up in today’s post, so I hope you enjoy today’s post.

Shelf Control is a meme run by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies. It’s a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up!

For more info on what Shelf Control is all about, check out Lisa’s introductory post.

Today’s featured book is a CLASSIC horror. You can probably guess the author just from that! I have a copy on my bookshelf waiting (begging) to be read. I very nearly picked it up a couple of months ago but didn’t. Soon, I think I will. Soon.

Shall we check out today’s featured book?

 

The Shining – Stephen King

The Shining by Stephen King | Goodreads

Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he’ll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote…and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted five-year-old.

 

My Thoughts…

I have really come to love Stephen King. Just a few short years ago, I hadn’t even picked up a single book of his. I know, hindsight is a wonderful thing and I honestly want to shake myself for that mistake!

I’ve picked up a few of his horror novels in the past and I can’t wait to give The Shining a go. It has so many good reviews from my friends on Goodreads, and knowing his writing style, I trust it’s going to be a good read. Stephen King is the kind of author you can go back to again and again with the confidence that you will like his books. At least, he is for me. A lot of them are very different in style and setting, but he has managed to pull off every single book I have read to date. I have given each book I have picked up a minimum 4-star rating.

Have you read The Shining? What did you make of it? Let me know in the comments!

 

 

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Audiobook Review: Crooked Kingdom – Leigh Bardugo

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Hi guys and welcome to today’s review of Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. Crooked Kingdom is the second book of the Six of Crows duology. If you haven’t yet read my thoughts on the first book, Six of Crows, you can find a link to that here!

And now without further adieu, here are my thoughts on the second instalment of the series!

 

Crooked Kingdom – Leigh Bardugo

Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows, #2) by Leigh Bardugo | Goodreads

Welcome to the world of the Grisha.

Kaz Brekker and his crew of deadly outcasts have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn’t think they’d survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they’re right back to fighting for their lives.

Double-crossed and badly weakened, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz’s cunning and test the team’s fragile loyalties.

A war will be waged on the city’s dark and twisting streets – a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of the Grisha world. 

 

My Thoughts…

Crooked Kingdom is one of the best audiobooks I have listened to, to date. A charismatic cast accentuates brilliantly-written characters, who together attempted one of the most daring and epic heists of all time in Six of Crows and won. Life should be cosy in this sequel, with all their newfound riches, and yet they find themselves back in the deep end almost immediately. The result? Another exciting, action-packed fantasy novel full of betrayal, backstabbing, and the usual shenanigans we can expect from Kaz and his crew.

I listened to Six of Crows back in 2019, finishing the audiobook in September. I then moved on to Crooked Kingdom reasonably quickly. I’m not a big listener of audiobooks, however, completing crooked kingdom within six months of listening to the first audiobook is quite speedy for me. It’s not my main way of reading! I enjoyed the first book so much that I wanted to jump into this sequel and experience the action and adventure I knew I could expect, and I wasn’t disappointed!

As in the first book, I enjoyed the narrative being broken down into chapters narrated by different characters. This gives variety to the story and provides different perspectives at different times to add depth to the narrative. Each character has their own distinctive personality, quirks and traits. Some are definitely better (as individuals) than others but this is also something else I enjoyed. More often than not, fantasy novels are littered with altruistic characters. So, to come across some more devious, nefarious or just downright out for themselves is a refreshing change. Many of the characters have developed since the first instalment of this series. Some who have grown on me most include Kaz, Mattias and Nina. Each character has their flaws, but this makes them all the more relatable to us as listeners.

The dynamic between sets of characters adds intrigue to an already tense situation. They have already pulled off the impossible and yet further trouble looms; rising tensions and conflict between them threaten to jeopardise their lives.

You know me, I am a huge fan of magic systems within fantasy novels, and Crooked Kingdom did not disappoint in this respect either. Crooked Kingdom is my second read by Leigh Bardugo, and I sense that there is a whole range of novels also set in the same universe as this book. Despite not having read these, I didn’t find it made any difference to my understanding of the universe and the magic systems involved in this series. If anything, it has made me want to pick these up all the more!

I really enjoyed listening to this duology, and I have high expectations about reading other books by Leigh Bardugo. Sometimes that can be a risk if the books don’t live up to expectation, however, from my experience of the six of crows trilogy I don’t think I have any reason to doubt her writing style and the stories not working for me. This is why it is good to listen to recommendations and try new authors. These are the first two books I have read/listened to by this author and I am very grateful to have had the chance to read other reviews before taking the plunge. I hope others can find my review useful and please, if you have not read these books already, you won’t regret it!

 

 

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Blog Tour: Extract of Chroma – Oscar Wenman-Hyde

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Hi guys and welcome to today’s blog tour post! Today I have the privilege of sharing an exclusive extract of Chroma by Oscar Wenman-Hyde with you. I really liked the sound of the book but unfortunately didn’t have the time to read and review the book myself. Instead, I am sharing a small snippet of the book with you, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

If you want to read more after the extract, I’ll provide the details of the book for you.

Happy reading!

 

Extract

The following extract is from Chapter One of Chroma. Before the chapter, the book starts with three opening monologues on the Roberts family, Jean, Paul and Riley. Chapter One is the first time you get to meet Riley’s best friend Eli, and he tells you just as much about Riley as he does himself. These moments were heavily influenced by my childhood shenanigans, especially the description of the school and the low hung back packs!

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Riley stands in the entrance of Lydean Junior School with his best friend Eli. They are both wearing the cutest rocket designed backpacks, with the shoulder straps lowered all the way down so that the bag hangs at the back of their knees. They still think this is how the cool kids do it, but if you take a good look around the playground, this phase seems to have worn off. Maybe their parents finally told them off for bad posture. Sadly, Riley and Eli didn’t get the memo and continue to rock the look like it’s two thousand and fifteen.

Riley’s mother Jean has just dropped him off and due to the rural nature of Lydean, it is not unusual to drop off an eight-year-old before the bell rings. In this town, everyone knows each other and looks out for one another.

The school itself has been built inside an old chapel, originally by the name of Christ Church in the eighteen hundreds. It has brick walls, moss growing around the edges, and a large dungeon looking wooden door which the children enter through. There are several teachers and playground assistants patrolling the playground, as dozens of kids already start to use their energy on football, tag, and for the girls, a gossip, they’re never too young! But Riley and Eli are different from the other children, they stand alone, just the two of them, whilst the other children all mingle with much larger friendship groups.

These two are clearly the outcasts and prefer to stand by the entrance of the school. They aren’t eager to go in, but they know that if anyone tries to pick on them or make fun of Eli’s weight, like they so often do, then most likely, a teacher will see it and give that so-called child a detention.

A detention in junior school doesn’t necessarily mean anything, because all they miss is five minutes of lunch time, but for a child that’s an eternity, because the other children have already adapted the hierarchy and decided who will be tag first. If a child misses even five minutes, then how do they know who to run from? They don’t. They’d be walking onto the playground, tiptoeing out onto the gravel as if they were coming out onto the German frontline, which is an even scarier thought for year fours who have just started learning about world war two.

For some children, this instils a sense of bravery, the ones that thrive in this situation are the ones most likely to go into a life of fighting, whether that be the military, pro-wrestling or just a back-alley brawl, after they’ve got hammered down the pub.

Eli and Riley want none of it, they just want to be left alone and live freely without the aspect of war and junior school politics, they don’t even want girlfriends, girls are gross! The two of them just want to nerd out on movies, tell each other stories, and eventually, without even meaning to, grow up without any damage. A difficult path to go down with the brutality of school.

Eli is a very unique person, and even though he acts like a movie buff try hard in front of Riley, he hasn’t seen half the movies Riley has because his mother isn’t as willing to bend the rules of cinema certificates, and we can’t blame her, a movie is an eighteen for a reason and Eli is only seven. However, that doesn’t stop him from further fuelling Riley. The thought of someone that knows much more than him is exhilarating, because every day is a surprise, and without even watching a zombie film, he already knows all the ways to kill one. The easy option is to stab it straight in the head, or if you want a bit of fun, you chop off all its limbs and then do it, but that would take skill and bravery, a job more suited to Riley.

However, much like Riley, none of these images or thoughts change Eli, he knows it’s all just part of his best friends’ imagination. Plus, if the apocalypse that Riley always goes on about does happen, Eli is sure he’ll be safe because he’ll have the most experienced and knowledgeable best friend in Lydean to look after him.

Eli’s mother Cecilia isn’t as keen on the Roberts family, but there’s not much she can do about it. Similar to Riley, Eli has no other friends. He is constantly being bullied for his weight, that his mother seemingly keeps encouraging with fish finger or turkey dinosaur dinners, with cheesy chips and beans. In her eyes, that is the perfect meal for a child, and Eli agrees, you can’t get much better than turkey dinosaurs!

But the real reason is that she just can’t cook, she’s tried again and again but always ends up coming back to the effort lacking, frozen food option, and anyway, if it makes Eli happy and fuels his appetite then it can’t be that bad.

One of the reasons why his mother Cecilia lets him continue to hang out with Riley, and let him be influenced by his madness, is because she knows how alone Eli has been since his father left their house a couple of years ago. She knows she can’t get him through it alone, and she believes that it is important for Eli to have a strong male figure in his life, even if that is an eight-year-old boy. Also, with the current circumstances of Riley’s family, she knows that Riley needs Eli just as much. Two boys with big imaginations need a big level of distraction from all the sadness they feel inside, and luckily for them, two brains are better than one.

 

 

Chroma – Oscar Wenman-Hyde

Chroma by Oscar Wenman-Hyde | Goodreads

When Riley watched Chroma, the latest movie by Armani Manora, he had no idea how much his life was about to change. Riley’s parents, Jean and Paul, are currently getting divorced, and they have managed to keep the situation hidden from Riley, until now.

They were unaware of the effects this was having on Riley’s emotional and mental well-being, and as tensions rose at school and at home, he was visited by a voice in his bedroom. Before too long, he began a journey that was not only dangerous, but eye opening.

Chroma explores the rapidly changing family dynamic throughout divorce, and how a child’s imagination can take them to unknown places. It is emotional, insightful and a moving story which not only teaches us how to be an adult, but how to be a child.

 

Purchase Links

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chroma-Oscar-Wenman-Hyde-ebook/dp/B08H5S1JTZ 

US – https://www.amazon.com/Chroma-Oscar-Wenman-Hyde-ebook/dp/B08H5S1JTZ

 

Author Bio

Oscar Wenman-Hyde is a writer living in Gloucester, UK. Born and raised in the quiet towns of North Devon, Oscar would spend the majority of his time as a child writing and directing short films with his brother and neighbours. From here, Oscar’s passion led him to explore all aspects of his creativity, by graduating with a BA Hons in Songwriting at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. He now finds joy in all mediums of writing and although he has worked and trained in many areas, he is always inspired by film and remains grounded in storytelling.

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