Tag: bookblog

Reading List – May 2020

Posted on May 4, 2020May 2, 2020 by fantasyst95

Hey everyone! It’s a bright, sunny May day and today we are going to talk about my reading list for May… of the lack of one.

It’s rare that I don’t set a TBR. I think in the history of my blog (since I started doing it seriously in the second half of 2017), I have deliberately not set a TBR once. On that occasion, it was to give me a chance to mood read for a change and a bit more freedom in my reading choice. This month though, I can’t commit to reading all that much.

If you’re my friend, a family member or a regular reader of my blog, you will know that there’s a pretty big change coming up in my life. Provided all goes to plan and there are no last-minute hiccups, I’m going to be moving later this week. Of course, it’s all up-in-the-air thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Not only that but because of it it’s very likely I am going to be dealing with most of it on my own. My mum and dad will be helping where they can by dropping food off to me, but if the rules don’t relax then they can’t help me get sorted anywhere near as much as they want to!

Naturally, I have been planning for this and juggling my blogging/reading for weeks. I’ve been doing bits here and there so it’s been manageable, but now I’ve had to step it up and my reading has almost stopped completely. I’m now behind schedule for my Goodreads challenge, but I’m not worrying about it too much. I have plenty of time to make it up. In the grand scheme of things, even if I don’t read much over the next couple of weeks I’m still in a good position to catch up at a better time. I won’t get that far behind. It’s not worth putting any pressure on myself over it!

I’ve been living in boxes waiting for this to happen for months, so once I’m the other side I am getting sorted as soon as possible! I’m planning for the whole thing to take me about a week, which is going to take us until mid-month before I’m anywhere near being in a position to read a little more and enjoy some downtime. Don’t get me wrong, I’m hoping to be able to pick up a book to wind down in the evenings. I just don’t know how much reading I’ll get in. I’m not the most physically fit person in the world (largest understatement of the year!) so let’s be honest – I’m going to be knackered! I might just want to sleep instead.

I’m posting this to say that you shouldn’t be surprised if things are a little quiet from me in the immediate future. I’m going to read what I can, share blog posts when and where I have the capacity to write or schedule them and keep you up to date with everything that’s going on.

Fingers crossed I can get a wriggle on and be back to my usual routine soon.

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Sunday Summary – 3rd May 2020

Posted on May 3, 2020 by fantasyst95

Hey guys and welcome back to another Sunday Summary post! This week’s post is actually going to be a pretty short one, so let’s just jump right into it!

I only published one blog post this week (aside from this Sunday Summary post), and that was a review of Magical Intelligence by M K Wiseman. This was a blog tour post that I signed up for a little while back. I was one of the first bloggers to take part in the tour as it started on the 30^th April. If you have read my post and want to check out more, the tour runs until the 6^th May and there are plenty of other bloggers taking part!

Books Read

The best way to describe my reading progress this week is negligible. I have picked up both The Women’s Room and Boom Time this week, but probably for no more than 30 minutes each. I’ve been really distracted lately and my reading motivation was already suffering thanks to current circumstances. What free time I have had, I’ve spent doing some other more engaging hobbies. I’m particularly enjoying making all kinds of crochet squares that will come together to make a throw once they’re finished. Learning new patterns has been fun! Aside from that, I’ve bee getting out where I can for walks to get outside. Isn’t funny how you enjoy it so much more when you are restricted?

Not only that, but I have been spending a lot of time this week (and weekend) packing and cleaning the place up. It was my last weekend here to tackle the big jobs in getting ready to move. Needless to say, reading has almost gone out of the window at the moment. I’m in a pretty good headspace now so once this post goes live I’m going to sit and read for a bit. I can’t really say how much I am going to get done in the next week or so.

Books Discovered

There are no new additions here again this week – I think we’ve already clarified that I’ve been a little busy with other things!

Coming Up…

I already had in the back of my head that next week is going to be mental for me. With that in mind, I have already drafted a post for tomorrow. Typically I share a reading list post at the beginning of the month, but this one is a little different.

I’m also going to draft and schedule a Shelf Control post for Friday. They are a regular feature here and really easy to write, so I can prepare this in good time and get on with everything else I need to.

I’m also planning on catching up with you all next week in another Sunday Summary post. I’m really sorry I can’t promise much, but hopefully I can have a bit of a bookish update for you.

That’s all from me today! I hope you have made better reading progress than I have. What are you reading right now?

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Blog Tour Book Review: Magical Intelligence – M. K. Wiseman

Posted on April 30, 2020June 22, 2022 by fantasyst95

I’m really excited to be taking part in the blog tour for Magical Intelligence by M K Wiseman. Today kickstarts the blog tour for Magical Intelligence, which will be running up until its publication next week! As a huge fan of fantasy, magic and the concept of wizard spies, I have been looking forward to reading this book and sharing my thoughts with you about it.

Before I start these posts I always like to take the time to thank both Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for organising the tour and to the author for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review!

Would you like to find out a little about Magical Intelligence before we jump into my thoughts of the book?

Magical Intelligence – M K Wiseman

Goodreads – Magical Intelligence

When you are a member of Britain’s first team of wizard spies, every mission might be your last. But as the dawning of the 20th century draws ever nearer, magic grows weak. Violectric Dampening, the clash of man-made electricity with the Gifts of magekind, threatens M.I.’s existence. And if that isn’t enough, they’ve now been discharged from their own government. Obsolete. Distrusted.

And now hunted by one of their own.

Myra Wetherby has always feared her so-called fits, strange visions of people and places that she cannot explain. It is the emotional manipulation, however, a strange empathic connection to those around her, which threatens her very sanity. A danger to her family, Myra runs away, falling straight into the hands of the newly ousted Magical Intelligence team. Who just so happen to need an ability like hers.

Which makes Myra one of them . . . whether she likes it or not.

Purchase Links – Amazon UK Amazon US

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-LocPwqQiU

My Thoughts…

The first thing that caught my attention about the book was the plotline. I love how it revolves around magic and how scientific discovery (electricity) has a negative impact on wizardry. Those of you that read my other reviews may remember that one of my favourite things about fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson is that his magic systems have a physical element or limitation to them. I love when magic interacts with the world we know and love. It lends a sense of realism to what is going on; it has rules and that way it can’t be used to make a plothole problem disappear randomly. For this reason, I really enjoyed the concept behind this story.

Myra is an Empath. She has the ability to experience other’s emotions as well as manipulate them. I really liked this power in our protagonist. I would say I am quite an empathetic person so even though she is a teenage girl, we have common ground and that makes her relatable. As I am sure all women can tell you, handling emotions as a teenage girl is no walk in the park. It’s a confusing, ever-changing mess – just like Myra’s emotions for a good portion of the book. But again, this all adds to her being an overall relatable character.

The age and circumstance are perfect for allowing Myra to mature and really show off her development as a person and with her powers. Having grown up being misunderstood, Myra finds a sense of belonging amongst a ‘family’ she never knew existed. I’m looking forward to seeing how she grows throughout the rest of the series, as well as find out more about her past. There are a few little hints, but a lot of mystery as to how she ended up on her own. Hopefully, all will be revealed!

The Violectric Dampening also serves to build and differentiate a number of characters within M.I. Some of the wizards within the group are more prone to it than others. As Myra quite literally lands herself in the action from one of her visions, she is chucked in the deep end. We are introduced to a number of different wizards and magical abilities that, up until now, have served them in serving the Crown. Now working in an unofficial capacity to protect their magic from one threatening it, they train Myra to control her abilities as well as teach her about their own to aid them in their difficult mission.

Magical Intelligence is a fun read for fans of fantasy, magic and action-packed adventure! I really enjoyed the unique storyline, the setting and how well this whole package comes together. Thanks again to the author for the opportunity to read and review the book!

Author Bio

M. K. Wiseman has degrees in animation/video and library science – both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Today, her office is a clutter of storyboards and half-catalogued collections of too, too many books. (But, really, is there such a thing as too many books?) When she’s not mucking about with stories, she’s off playing brač or lying in a hammock in the backyard of her Cedarburg home that she shares with her endlessly patient husband.

Social Media Links –

Website: http://mkwisemanauthor.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FaublesFables/

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/FaublesFables

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/faublesfables/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7073540.M_K_Wiseman

Sunday Summary – 26th April 2020

Posted on April 26, 2020 by fantasyst95

Hey everyone! You know what time it is – time for another Sunday Summary post! Another week has absolutely flown by!

I decided this time last week that I wanted to draft up two reviews this week. With that in mind, I started the week with an audiobook review for Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. I have recently listened to the sequel, Crooked Kingdom, so I figured now was the right time to get my thoughts together on the first book. My second review of the week was for Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. I adored this book when I read it in October last year – so much so, I binge-read the rest of the trilogy before the end of the year! I cannot recommend the books enough, I honestly can’t!

On Friday I shared another First Lines Friday post. This week I decided to change things up and featured a book that is still on my TBR at the moment. I really like the sound of this historical fiction novel and have read other similar ones by other authors. I’m sure it’ll be just as good as the others I have read.