Tag: bookblog

Reading List – November 2018

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November’s Reading List is going to be a slightly unusual one. Why? Well, compared with previous months, there is going to be a distinct lack of books on it! Here me out.

For over a year now I have been planning out which books I am going to read on a monthly basis; sometimes I’ll be scheduling these a couple of months in advance. The system works, I’ll give it that. I haven’t missed a deadline for blog tours or other fixed commitments.

It’s just that sometimes, (but not always), it can feel stifling.

Don’t get me wrong. I love books and reading and that hasn’t changed, but I want to try allowing myself a little more flexibility. There are moments when it feels like I am running my hobby like a military operation. In October I read three books outside of my TBR as I had the time to do so; and do you know what I enjoyed most about that? Being able to pick anything I wanted. ANYTHING!!! The freedom felt amazing!

So, I want to try something different with my TBR this month. The idea is to set only a couple of books to read now. Then, I’ll allow myself to pick up what I want, when I want it, for the rest of the month! I’m hoping I’ll read more that way. If the speed I went through books this month is anything to go by, then I expect I will. Of course, I will keep you up to date via my weekly Sunday Summary posts.

So, which books am I committing to in November?

 

The Mansions of Murder – Paul Doherty

Mansions of Murder

Goodreads – The Mansions of Murder

Synopsis

A murdered priest, a missing body, stolen treasure: Brother Athelstan tackles his most challenging investigation to date.

October, 1381. Brother Athelstan is summoned to the church of St Benet’s in Queenhithe to investigate the murder of a priest. Parson Reynaud has been found stabbed to death inside his own locked church. Other disturbing discoveries include an empty coffin and a ransacked money chest. Who would commit murder inside a holy church? Who would spirit away a corpse the night before the funeral – and who would be brave enough to steal treasure belonging to the most feared gangleader in London?

Meanwhile, the death of one of Athelstan’s parishioners reveals a shocking secret. Could there be a connection to the murdered priest of St Benet’s?

Athelstan’s investigations will lure him into the dark and dangerous world of the gangmaster known as The Flesher, whose influence has a frighteningly long reach …

 

There is a particular reason I am setting myself the task of reading this book this month. That is, it’s been outstanding a review on Netgalley for around six months now. Oops! It’s the last book I have to read and review there. I don’t really use the service anymore – I can’t say I warmed to it. Before, I was quite adamant in saying I was going to delete my account once I had fulfilled my obligations, but I’ve changed my mind. Best to keep my options open, yes? I don’t see myself using Netgalley all that frequently going forward, however.

I had actually intended to read this book back in March, but didn’t get around to it. It also made it onto July’s TBR… but guess what? It’s still unread. Not for much longer.

 

A Game of Thrones – George R. R. Martin

Goodreads – A Game of Thrones

Synopsis

Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall.

At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.

Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

 

I have been playing around with the idea of re-reading this series for so long, I think it’s time to bite the bullet and get on with it. I don’t need to tell fans out there that the last season of the TV show airs next year. That’s my target – I want to have re-read the books by then! It’s only just shy of around 5,000 pages… no sweat…

 

Source: Giphy

 

So, that is LITERALLY all I am including on the list! I have some other books in mind – ones I have only part read and another ARC that I am all-too-aware I have had for a few months now! Once caught up with these though, I’m as free as a bird!

Fellow bloggers, how do you manage your time? Does a TBR work for you? Do you find it helpful, or can it be restricting? I’m really interested in your thoughts. Obviously we all work in different ways and I am trying to work out what is best for me right now.

 

Book Review: The Hidden Face – S. C. Flynn

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***I was kindly provided with a copy of The Hidden Face by the author in exchange for a review. All the opinions stated are my own***

Goodreads – The Hidden Face

A face without a face – an unmasking that leaves the mask.

Once every few hundred years the sun god, the Akhen, takes on human form and descends to earth. Each Unmasking of the Face of the Akhen ends one era and begins another; the last one created the Faustian Empire. Where and when will the Face next appear, and who will he – or she – be?

Dayraven, son of a great hero, returns to Faustia after years as a hostage of their rivals, the Magians. Those years have changed him, but Faustia has changed as well; the emperor Calvo now seems eccentric and is controlled by one of Dayraven’s old enemies. Following the brutal murder of his old teacher, Dayraven is drawn, together with a female warrior named Sunniva, into the search for an ancient secret that would change the fate of empires.

The Hidden Face is an epic fantasy novel drenched in the atmosphere of the early Middle Ages and in Kabbalistic riddles and is the first book in the Fifth Unmasking series.

 

My Thoughts…

The Hidden Face is a new, promising fantasy series. In a land shaped by political conflict and the influence of a God, the setting of this novel is rich in history and warfare. The novel begins with a prophecy. Dayraven and Sunniva are tasked with protecting its secret; the timing and identity of the next Unmasking. It isn’t my favourite trope of the genre, but I can tell a lot of time and planning has gone into the development of the plot and the prophecy (past and present).

 

The prophecy in itself is unique, which does diversify it from many other books of its type.

 

There are a number of vastly different characters in The Hidden Face. They all have an interest in the prophecy in order to better their own personal positions. Each has been written well; every character’s motive is clear and their actions consistent with their current scenario. Many of these characters are only really emerging in this first book, but they still stand out as unique individuals. Furthermore, what makes them more interesting is that their history and relationships with one another turn out to be more complex than first meets the eye.

Whilst not an overly long read, I will admit that it took a little while for me to become absorbed in The Hidden Face. In order to understand current events, there is a degree of setting the scene and introducing the main players to the conflict. Once acquainted with these details I found making progress with the present storyline a lot easier.

In my opinion, I think the book would benefit from the world-building being interspersed within the narrative a little more. The early chapters of the book aren’t heavy reading, but chopping between places and characters frequently to set the scene stalls the action from getting going straightaway.

 

As I have said already though, once the story was set the action is gripping and fast-paced. I blitzed reading the rest of the book and enjoyed watching events unfold.

 

I really enjoyed the book and I think this series has a lot more to offer! A further two books are expected in the series, with the second book expected to be published mid next year.

 

About the Author…

S C Flynn was born in a small town in South West Western Australia. He has lived in Europe for a long time; first the United Kingdom, then Italy and currently Ireland, the home of his ancestors. He still speaks English with an Australian accent, and fluent Italian.

He reads everything, revises his writing obsessively and plays jazz. His wife Claudia shares his passions and always encourages him.

S C Flynn has written for as long as he can remember and has worked seriously towards becoming a writer for many years.

THE HIDDEN FACE (November 2017) is his second novel and the first in the Fifth Unmasking epic fantasy series.

Sunday Summary

Sunday Summary – 21st October 2018

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It’s Sunday night and the end of another week. Whereas in previous weeks I have been delighting in the fact that I have time off work to enjoy, rest assured karma is biting me right now. Yes, I’m back to work tomorrow.

I can hear you all laughing at me now – and good for you! I would too… were I not in my shoes.

No really, I do enjoy my job. It may come as a surprise, but working with numbers actually strikes up a good balance against my love of reading and writing my blog.

So, what have I been doing with my time off? Well, reading of course! That… and talking about books. On Wednesday I reviewed Breachers by Anthony Thomas for the Blog Tour organised by Fiery Seas Publishing. As I stated in my review, it’s one of the easiest five-star reviews I have given this year! If you haven’t taken a look at that review yet, I’d appreciate it.

On Friday, I published a long overdue review of The Relic Guild by Edward Cox. I read this book back in August, but since I have had so many blog tours on the go, I just haven’t had the time to commit my thoughts to… webpage. You get the idea. This is another positive review and a book I would really recommend for anyone who loves Fantasy (particularly magic).

I’ve also been doing a lot of work behind the scenes on my blog. When I say a lot, I mean A LOT. When I migrated my blog to a self-hosted site earlier this year, I came across problems – 260(ish) broken links to media files that didn’t import properly. Yep, it was that big a problem.

Well, those are all fixed now! It took hours of manual changes, but it’s done! I also noticed a lot of the formatting on those pre-migration posts isn’t great so I am fixing a lot of those too. That’s a work-in-progress at the moment, but less urgent. I’m pleased anyway! It’s kept me busy and I had no way of making time to fix the links otherwise.

 

Books Read

Ahead of Wednesday’s blog tour review I was due to post for Breachers, I finished reading this book on Monday. I don’t like to have things so last minute for tours. If there is one thing this worked out well for though, was keeping everything fresh in my head for the review. I think maybe I should be better at making notes as I read, or drafting reviews sooner, because on this occasion this review was incredibly easy to write!

This week also saw me return to reading The Hidden Face by S. C. Flynn. I put this book down about a third of the way through last week to ensure I could review Breachers on time. Once I re-commenced reading this book, I finished it within a few days. It is a fast paced book, whilst still managing to fit in plenty of history behind the events taking place in modern day.

The next two reads this week weren’t on my list for this month. I confess I picked them up rather on impulse. First, I started reading The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. I received an ARC of this book from Orion Books a few months ago now, in anticipation of publication in February next year. You have to get a copy. I devoured this book in less than 24 hours, no word of a lie. I am so glad I picked it up.

My next unplanned read is Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett. Yes, folks, I’m back to reading Pratchett again. I just love the Discworld series so much that I need to pick up one of these books occasionally. In borrowing an ebook copy of this title, I also got to test out my new Kindle tablet, so it’s a win-win situation really! I’m 90% though this book as we speak, but I’ll finish that tonight no sweat.

 

Books Discovered

After last week’s performance of binge buying books, I have been far more restrained.

I saw an offer for Stephen King’s Bag of Bones, advertising the e-book as only 99p for a limited time. So, I bought it. I justified it by arguing that by using by gift card balance, I wasn’t TECHNICALLY spending my actual money.

Not strictly true I know, but I needed something… okay?!

 

Coming Up…

down the tbr holeThis week I have a little breathing space on the blog tour front – yay! Haha! For a bit of a change, I have decided to take a look at my ever-growing TBR again and potentially weed out some books I no longer want to read. It feels like it’s been a while since my last post, so this is definitely overdue!

I will be posting another book review this week; however, this will be a throwback review of an old book or series. I have so many books that I’ve read before starting my blog – it doesn’t make sense to omit featuring them!

 

 

In addition to the posts I am planning on publishing this week, I’ve decided I am also going to trial setting some reading goals here. I want to see if that works for me anyway. Compared to last year, I have read quite a bit less. I know it isn’t a competition, but I feel I need a little kick up the backside encouragement some weeks. Maybe accountability might work for me!

So, tonight I am going to finish Interesting Times. I’ve already committed myself to that. In terms of reading progress, I am aiming to pick up and finish Another Kind of Magic by Elizabeth Davies. I am reviewing this book in the upcoming Blog Tour, so I want to give myself plenty of time to read this in advance (and make notes!) As the cover isn’t being revealed until the 25th October, I can’t share this with you now. You’ll just have to wait and see!

In addition to Another Kind of Magic, I am also looking to make a start on The Swan Keeper by Milana Marsenich. This is the last book on the list for this month; if I can manage to make a start on this by the end of the week then I’ll be in a good position to read this before the end of the month! It’ll be the first time I’ll have made it through all the books on my list in a month for a little while, not to mention the couple of extras I picked up too!

I look forward to updating you next week! Happy reading!

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Book Review: The Relic Guild – Edward Cox

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My review of The Relic Guild by Edward Cox feels well overdue. I mean, I read this book towards the end of August! It’s a shame in a way that I have had so many other blogging commitments, meaning I couldn’t get around to writing this before now.

Better late than never, right?

 

The Relic Guild

Goodreads – The Relic Guild

Magic caused the war. Magic is forbidden. Magic will save us.

It was said the Labyrinth had once been the great meeting place, a sprawling city at the heart of an endless maze where a million humans hosted the Houses of the Aelfir. The Aelfir who had brought trade and riches, and a future full of promise. But when the Thaumaturgists, overlords of human and Aelfir alike, went to war, everything was ruined and the Labyrinth became an abandoned forbidden zone, where humans were trapped behind boundary walls a hundred feet high.

Now the Aelfir are a distant memory and the Thaumaturgists have faded into myth. Young Clara struggles to survive in a dangerous and dysfunctional city, where eyes are keen, nights are long, and the use of magic is punishable by death. She hides in the shadows, fearful that someone will discover she is touched by magic. She knows her days are numbered. But when a strange man named Fabian Moor returns to the Labyrinth, Clara learns that magic serves a higher purpose and that some myths are much more deadly in the flesh.

The only people Clara can trust are the Relic Guild, a secret band of magickers sworn to protect the Labyrinth. But the Relic Guild are now too few. To truly defeat their old nemesis Moor, mightier help will be required. To save the Labyrinth – and the lives of one million humans – Clara and the Relic Guild must find a way to contact the worlds beyond their walls.

 

My Thoughts…

I received a copy of The Relic Guild from Gollancz in exchange for a review, so firstly, a huge thank you to the team. It was one of many exciting book-post packages I received this summer!

Aside from the synopsis, the first thing I look at when deciding if I like a book is the author’s narration style. It’s make-or-break for me; it always has been. I have a natural preference for books narrated in the third person. The narration is also clear and descriptive, balancing the action of the story with descriptions of the Great Labyrinth and Labrys Town etc. The narrative also interchanges between two time periods; the War, which took place forty years previous and the present day. Chapters for each respective time period are clearly marked, making the story easy to follow.

The Relic Guild introduced a whole new concept of magic to me. The members of the Relic Guild are some of the last able to wield magic… and they each have different abilities. These abilities are almost second nature, or like a sixth sense, to the characters. Their attitude to the power differs greatly from each other too. In addition to this: weaponry, portals and other elements of the Labyrinth draw on external forces of magic. I have never found a book that as both “types” of magic, yet Edward Cox makes them work side by side so well.

I love the idea of the Labyrinth. It’s a magical place shut off from the rest of the world. In the centre, the remaining citizens live together in Labrys Town. Out in the maze surrounding the town, danger lurks around every corner. No-one can enter nor leave. Well, so they believed. Yet forty years on from the war he lost, Fabian Moor is out for his revenge against the Relic Guild. He may not be stuck in the Labyrinth, but he is a massive threat all the same.

There are a number of characters that have a crucial role to play and they are all distinct, well-developed people. Each member of the Relic Guild has a unique relationship with one another. With the exception of Clara, all were part of the War forty years ago. Clara, a former prostitute of Labrys Town has been hiding her gift. She is the first gifted person to be identified since the War, so she is a welcome surprise when the Relic Guild rescues her from danger. There is a lot of history, grudges and camaraderie between these characters and that is reflected well throughout the book. They feel like a community, a family even, as you would expect from such a close-knit group.

The citizens are protected by the Resident, who also happens to be head of the Relic Guild. His ever-watchful eye puts them in a position to observe the danger and attempt to protect the Labyrinth as disaster unfolds. The war isn’t over.

It has only just begun.

 

Blog Tour Review: Breachers – Anthony Thomas

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I have been looking forward to the Breachers Blog Tour since February. FEBRUARY! I’ve had a little while to wait, but it has been worth every minute!

Breachers was introduced to me when I took part in a cover reveal tour, organised by Fiery Seas Publishing. What sold the book to me was the inclusion of an anti-hero, aka Jason Conners.

I don’t find this very often in the books I read. The exceptions to that statement are Mark Lawrence’s The Broken Empire series… or I could make a case for Patrick Rothfuss’ The Kingkiller Chronicles. That’s five books, if you count each published book of the series (so far, anyway). I’ve read hundreds. The fact that I have rated all of these books a minimum of four stars (mostly five though) says it all.

WE.NEED. MORE. ANTI-HEROES!

 

Breachers

By Anthony Thomas

Fiery Seas Publishing

Science Fiction

September 18, 2018

 

 

Jason Conners is the last person you’d expect to run into a burning building, unless of course there was something inside worth stealing. Call him what you want: criminal, thief, asshole, but hero? Absolutely not. Jason’s questionable behavior and disturbing antics can only be attributed to one secret.

He can change the future, but with great power comes great responsibility? Hell no. His ability makes him the best thief in the city, and nothing is off-limits. Until Jason’s carefree attitude gains the attention of the Rogues, and the government.

The Rogues want him to stop catastrophic events from taking place, and the government has their own agenda. When the hunt begins, Jason is caught in the crosshairs and learns that breaching is not as limitless as he thought.​

Can this anti-hero give up a life of easy money and become the savior the Rogues need, or will it cost him everything—even his immortality?

 

My Thoughts…

As well as a profound love for anti-heroes, which I hope I have established by now, I am also making a conscious effort to read more science-fiction. I found Breachers to be a very approachable read, even though it is not a genre I pick up all that frequently. The concept of time travel can be difficult to work with – it can either get very technical, very confusing or both. Anthony Thomas has written it in such a way that “breaching”, or time traveling, only steps the timeline back a little. No complicated loops, no “I must not interrupt previous events or meet myself” etc. Rewind the action like you would a VCR and don’t make the same mistake again.

I would like to clarify I am old enough to remember those. No doubt the thought crossed your mind!

I laughed out loud so many times whilst reading Breachers. Jason’s upbringing and lifestyle make him more than familiar with the shadiest sorts of people…. himself included, really. Consequently, the humour and language and subject matter is mostly crude but incredibly funny. That is my sense of humour, so I get on with this really well.

You cannot help but love the characters. Even as a minor character, I love Wilson’s backstory and how he came to team up with Jason. He’s a techno geek and a social lack-wit to boot, but he’s adorable… and far too innocent for the life he’s living. It makes for some bloody hilarious shenanigans though! Jason is definitely the wiser of the two, though far more reckless. Guess that’s a perk of being able to undo your latest death though. Later, we meet other “Breachers”. They all have distinctive personalities and relationships of their own; they didn’t really feel like secondary characters, in my opinion.

I loved reading Breachers – it was well worth the wait! I had no idea how it was going to end, which encouraged me to read on even more! It is a fantastic debut novel and this is one of the easiest five-star reviews I have given this year.

Purchase Links:-

FIERY SEAS BOOKSTORE 

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

KOBO

 

About the Author:

 

Anthony Thomas settled in the city of sin, though part of him will always remain in the small farming town in Northern California. When he’s not hunched over a keyboard, Anthony enjoys spending time with his wife, daughter and two dogs.

 

Social Media:

Website http://www.anthonythomasbooks.com/

Twitter  https://twitter.com/anthonythomasAU

 

Sunday Summary

Sunday Summary – 14th October 2018

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Usually, I would be lamenting the fact that it is Sunday night. Not this week.

Call me a bitch if you like (go ahead, I’ve been called worse), but since I’m not at work tomorrow, I don’t care that it’s Sunday!

 

Okay, I know I’m a bitch. I’ll deal with it.

So, what have I been up to this week?

Aside from reading, shopping and just generally dossing around, I’ve been doing some work behind the scenes on my blog. There has been a slight appearance change to bring everything into line; I am pleased with the result! Also, I have been working on some broken links caused by the migration of my blog from wordpress.com to wordpress.org. I still have a way to go on these. I’m hoping to invest more time into this next week, so next weekend it should be resolved!

As a result of this, I only managed one blog post this week. On Wednesday I shared my thoughts on a local event I attended a couple of weeks ago. As part of the Manx Litfest, I saw a re-telling of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, performed by Ben Haggarty and Sianed Jones. It was a fabulous performance.

 

Books Read

I’ve made good headway on a few books this week!

I started the week practically devouring the rest of Muse of Nightmares – not surprising really! I finished this on Monday night. It didn’t last long at all!

Next, I moved on to reading The Hidden Face by S. C. Flynn. I am reading this book at the request of the author in exchange for a review. It’s interesting so far! There is a fair bit of history to events, giving depth to the world the novel is set in. The characters are also unusual, and some shrouded in mystery. I’m about a third of the way through the book at the moment and I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes!

As I am taking part in the Blog Tour for Breachers by Anthony Thomas next week, I’ve also picked this up this week. I took part in the cover reveal back in February and since then I was hoping to get my hands on a copy! When I was invited onto the current blog tour, I was elated! I have nearly finished this book – I’m at 77%. It’s not an overly long one compared to others I have been known to read, but I am sure as hell enjoying it! You can look forward to my full review really soon!

Last, but certainly not least, I’ve made further progress on Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff. As I have had some time to work on a painting project I’m doing, I’ve been listening to Godsgrave at the same time. It’s a combination that works for me – I can’t really explain it. I listened to several hours of the audiobook though, so I can’t complain!

 

Books Discovered

I bought far too many books this week.

Okay, ignore the statement above, because there is no such thing. I bought six though, haha! A bad week for my wallet. Oh well!

On Monday, I was having a crappy day. It was just one of those… we all get them, right? I went into the bookstore “for a look”, which didn’t really go to plan. I came out with a copy of Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman and If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio. Both of these books were already on my TBR, so I justified it that way…

On Friday, I ventured into the bookstore again, gift voucher in hand. I knew I was going to end up buying a few books on this trip – in fact; I had been looking forward to the chance all week. The weather was absolutely awful, but I still ventured out anyway – #dedication. When I left, it was armed with a copy of;

  • The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
  • Th1rt3en by Steve Cavanagh
  • Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  • The Shining by Stephen King

A successful haul, in my opinion! I might have to lay off for a while now though… or not. Best not to make promises I can’t keep!

 

Coming Up…

 

So, as I mentioned above, I am taking part in the Blog Tour for Breachers by Anthony Thomas. My review is going live on Wednesday 17th, so I hope you can take a few moments to read my thoughts on this thoroughly enjoyable book!

 

 

 

 

I am planning on writing a second review this week, as I am aware it is a little overdue. Back in August, I read The Relic Guild by Edward Cox, however, I am yet to share my thoughts about it with you.

 

 

 

 

I’ll also be doing some more work behind the scenes to bring my blog up to speed and hopefully improve the site!

I’ll look forward to seeing you around!

Sunday Summary

Sunday Summary – 7th October 2018

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I’m writing my Sunday Summary. That means another weekend is over. Seriously… they go WAY TOO FAST!!

Not to rub it in… Okay, I am totally rubbing it in, but I have some long overdue time off coming up! So, next week is a really short one for me work-wise. Hopefully my next Sunday Summary will be chock-a-block with progress. I’m going to stay optimistic on that point, okay? We’ll see!

So, back to this week – what has happened? Well, I shared this month’s reading list with you all! I have some exciting books on the list, so if you haven’t taken a look yet, please do! On Friday I took part in a much-anticipated blog tour for A Stain on the Soul by Elizabeth Davies. This is the second book of the Caitlin series. In a few weeks time, I’ll be reviewing the next book – Another Kind of Magic. I received my copy on Monday and I cannot wait to read it at last! A Stain on the Soul leaves us on quite a cliffhanger; I cannot imagine how things are going to pick up.

There is also a little something that didn’t happen – sorry guys! I promised a post about the recent re-telling of Frankenstein on Friday. I’m going to make that up to you next week. If I am entirely honest, I had planned that for Friday, forgetting that was my blog tour date. Next week, I promise!

Now, onto a more positive note: what books have I been reading this week?

 

Books Read

It is hardly surprising that after re-kindling my love for the tale of Frankenstein, I picked up the book. Is it on my reading list? Nope. Oh well, the heart wants what the heart wants. I cannot and will not deny myself. I finished the second half of the book this week, with a little less fire and enthusiasm I’ll admit, but I am glad I read it. It isn’t the easiest book to read, but not having to analyse it to death like I did when I was fourteen is a huge help!

School really knows how to be a killjoy when it comes to reading.

This weekend, I moved on to Muse of Nightmares! I picked this book up on Tuesday after work. I practically ran… but only PRACTICALLY. I don’t run. I was fast walking at a push, really.

 

But anyway, I got it, and I started reading this on Friday and have pretty much been flying through it since! Even though I have been out a lot of the day today, I am still 75% through it. I’ll be highly surprised if I haven’t finished it by this time tomorrow night. I know what I am like, after all…

 

Books Discovered

Technically I acquired my copy of Muse of Nightmares this week, after a long wait, so I’ll include it here. As I’ve already talked about that above, I won’t linger on it here!

I also purchased a copy of The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories. Not only is this appropriate for the time of year, but it also features stories from authors I like. George R. R. Martin, Neil Gaiman, and Stephen King are just three of the contributors. I’ll look forward to reading these!

 

Coming Up…

So, what posts can you expect to come up next week?

Well, as promised, I’ll be writing a post about the recent event I attended, a re-telling of the story of Frankenstein. It was amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I am also determined to finish the Mystery Blogger post I started several weeks ago! Now, I’ll have the time to mull it over, so I am going to finish it… even if it kills me. Overdramatic much!

I am also using my free time to do some work in the background. Most of it probably won’t even be noticed, but I have some tidying up to do. I experienced some gremlins when I migrated by blog a few months ago, so I’ll be batting them over the head with a stick, figuratively speaking of course. I am also hoping to make a slight change to the appearance of my blog, but fixing the problems are priority… and there’s a few of them.

Fingers crossed I’ll have it all fixed soon!

What books are you reading?

Throwback Thursday Mini Review: Harry Potter series – J K Rowling

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I for one feel privileged to have grown up reading the Harry Potter books. I read these in my teenage years; so I grew up with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and friends as they venture through a vast world of magic.

I never got my Hogwarts letter, and I am TOTALLY bitter about it.

 

Harry Potter’s life is miserable. His parents are dead and he’s stuck with his heartless relatives, who force him to live in a tiny closet under the stairs. But his fortune changes when he receives a letter that tells him the truth about himself: he’s a wizard. A mysterious visitor rescues him from his relatives and takes him to his new home, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

After a lifetime of bottling up his magical powers, Harry finally feels like a normal kid. But even within the Wizarding community, he is special. He is the boy who lived: the only person to have ever survived a killing curse inflicted by the evil Lord Voldemort, who launched a brutal takeover of the Wizarding world, only to vanish after failing to kill Harry.

Though Harry’s first year at Hogwarts is the best of his life, not everything is perfect. There is a dangerous secret object hidden within the castle walls, and Harry believes it’s his responsibility to prevent it from falling into evil hands. But doing so will bring him into contact with forces more terrifying than he ever could have imagined.

Full of sympathetic characters, wildly imaginative situations, and countless exciting details, the first installment in the series assembles an unforgettable magical world and sets the stage for many high-stakes adventures to come.

My Thoughts…

The series paints a wonderful, exhilarating and magical world. It is written incredibly well, so magic could live in our world without us “muggles” knowing about it! Though not without its downside, the world beyond Platform 9 ¾ is fraught with danger. He Who Must Not Be Named makes a formidable wizard and undying foe. The series is so well known, I don’t feel I even have to say that much about it. If you don’t know it, you either don’t care or live under a rock.

Whilst there are discrepancies over exact numbers, I cannot believe J. K. Rowling had so many rejections by multiple publishers. To think how prominent and successful the series is now, it is hard to fathom why they didn’t snatch the opportunity with both hands. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, I guess.

Naturally, I am going to show a preference for the books, but the films are great too. They are totally enjoyable to watch and pretty true to the books, so that’s a big thumbs up from me!

Whilst advantageous that I was of a similar age to the characters when I read the books, I know they are loved by many – of all ages and walks of life. My gramps read/listened to the books and still enjoyed them at 70! I think this series will stand the test of time. I only hope my grandchildren will still be talking about them. That is many MANY moons off yet… I hope.

 

Sunday Summary

Sunday Summary – 2nd September 2018

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I look forward to writing my Sunday Summary every week. It’s a time to sit down and review what I’ve been doing and gauge how everything is. It’s my organisation time, if you like.

Some weeks are better than others. There are times when I manage to make progress on three or four books. Other times it’s only one, or hardly at all. Last week wasn’t such a great week for reading. Family was visiting, which took out some of my time, but I was in a bit of a slump.

I am hoping that the progress I have made this week is enough to break me out of it. I don’t really have time to be in a slump, with so many blog tours coming up in the next couple of months! I’ve come to think that maybe the belief that I have overstretched myself was one of the causes of my slump. I’m feeling better about it now though – I know when I am due to be reviewing the books on my list and I am confident I can do it!

 

Looking back to what has happened this week, I posted another Down the TBR Hole post on Wednesday. I managed to take three books off the list, so it was time well spent! It is getting to the point where the books on the list were added not too long ago, so I anticipate that going forward, I’ll be taking fewer books off the list than I have historically.

Yesterday, I published my reading list for September; if you want to see which books I am reading for upcoming blog tours, check out that post!

 

Books Read

 

When I lamented to you about my lack of progress last week, I told you that I had only read the first few chapters of Three Bloody Pieces. I’m pleased to say that I have made a lot more progress this week. I have so nearly finished it; I am going to call it done. There is one chapter left, and I am going to read it tonight. It’s so near as damn it!

I am also back on the audiobooks, after a couple of weeks break. I’ve started a bit of an arty project (again) and listening to these at the same time is perfect! I am picking up where I left off with Nevernight, by listening to Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff. I’ve listened to about 15% of the book in the last couple of days, which is good progress!

 

Books Discovered

 

I have been VERY good this week. There is literally nothing to report here. I haven’t added a single book to the list or even bought any…

*faints*

 

 

Coming Up…

toptentuesdayI enjoy writing Top Ten Tuesday posts… and I’ve been having a think about what topic I could feature next. Rather than focussing on books themselves, I’ve decided that this week, I’ll share my Top Ten favourite, go-to authors. I think I might struggle to narrow this down to ten…

 

I’ll be continuing my throwback mini-series on Thursday, with a review of another book or series I have read and am yet to review. I hope you can spare a few moments to join me for that!

 

Reading List – September 2018

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Good evening folks… I hope you are having a great weekend!

A new month is upon us once again, so it’s time to dust off the shelves and see which books I’ll be reading in September! Ironically, I’ll actually be reading the books on my list for Blog Tours mostly this month, so the TBR isn’t taking much of a dent. Shall we have a look at which books I’ll be reading/featuring on my blog soon?

 

The Barefoot Road – Vivienne Vermes

Goodreads – The Barefoot Road

 

Vivienne Vermes’ debut novel is a gripping read which will appeal to readers who enjoy historical fiction, thrillers and evocative themes. The book begins with a young woman found, emaciated and unconscious, in the mountains surrounding a village in Transylvania. When it is discovered that she is of an ethnic group which was violently driven out of the regions many years before, old wounds are reopened as the villagers are reminded of their role in the bloodshed.

An uneasy peace is maintained until a young married man falls in love with the girl, and tension begin to rise within the community. The mysterious disappearance of a child causes this tension to mount into hysteria, driving the story to its chilling outcome.

 

I’m looking forward to taking part in the upcoming tour for the novel, which has been organised by Rachel’s Random Resources. My review of the book will be published on 23rd September. I hope you can join me for that.

I was drawn to the book by the synopsis, in particular, the mystery of the girl and what kind of hysteria is associated following her presence in the town.

 

 

Ragis – Donna Migliaccio

Ragis

Goodreads – Ragis

 

Kristan Gemeta is teetering on the brink of madness.

His sister Melissa has defied him. His friend Olaf has betrayed him. The Wichelord Daazna’s ghostly laughter mocks him when he’s awake and robs him of his sleep at night. Even the protective powers of his legendary Stone are turning against him.

And now his companions, his ship and its precious cargo have been taken hostage. Kristan must give chase, in an unseaworthy vessel manned by an angry centaur crew. Ahead lie unfriendly waters, an ominous destination and a confrontation Kristan dreads.

In his despair, Kristan longs for the one person he has always trusted: his beloved Heather. But she’s far away, about to step into a trap that will endanger not just her command, but Kristan’s life.

 

I first featured this series on my blog at the beginning of this year… and I have really come to love it! Ragis is the fourth installment – anyone who wants to brush up on the earlier books can do so by reading my reviews of Kinglet, Fiskur and StoneKing by following the links.

I love epic fantasy, so being a part of the Blog Tour for Ragis was a no-brainer for me! I’m reviewing this book as a part of the tour on 25th September.

 

 

A Stain on the Soul – Elizabeth Davies

Caitlyn is resigned to another lifetime of being a familiar – the witch’s lifetime that is, not her own – and has found a degree of peace in her role as the Duke of Normandy’s protector and spy.

That peace is shattered when she returns to England and comes face-to-face with her past, and with a man who she desperately hopes will become her future.

 

I am reading the first book of this series, Three Bloody Pieces at the moment. As yet, the cover has not been revealed for this book, but that is being published later this month! The Blog Tour is taking place in October, but to make sure I have plenty of time to read this, it is on September’s TBR.

 

 

Desolation – Jesper Schmidt

Goodreads – Desolation

 

Just as Aea had finally found happiness in her troubled life, everything starts to fall apart. When she discovers that her sister, Isota, is still alive, Aea ventures to save her, well aware that every Duian who leaves the forest realm of Thaduin will inevitably catch a deadly disease, the Field Blight. Aea finds herself in a race against time.

Arkum’Sul really wants nothing but to be left alone. Being the sole survivor of his race, and the son of a dragon god, makes such desires difficult to fulfill.

Meanwhile, Ayida, another Duian, resides in the Bronze Tower, far north of Thaduin, where she has grown to become a powerful spellcaster. However, it requires all of her skills to heal herself of the Field Blight daily. This place is the heart of the Magio Order, a dominant organization of female magic-wielders, where Ayida has tried for decades to ascend from Apprentice to the rank of Sienna… and failed every time. As she makes another attempt, all goes horribly wrong.

Will the world of Erisdün survive as ancient myths and reality become one?

 

I’ve had an ARC copy of this book to read for some time…but something else always managed to creep up and take priority. Well, enough is enough! Described as a “fast-paced fantasy, with dragons, demons, and magic”, I really hope to enjoy reading this one!

It’s waited long enough…

 

 

Another Kind of Magic – Elizabeth Davies

“I am a cat. But I am no ordinary cat. I am a witch’s familiar. I am also a woman, with a woman’s heart and a woman’s frailty.”​

Two hundred years have passed since Caitlyn was trapped by dark magic and she has known many mistresses. This time the witch she is enthralled to is Joan, wife to Llewelyn, Prince of Wales.

For Caitlyn, this mistress appears no different from any of the others she has been forced to serve. That is, until Llewelyn captures William de Braose and holds him and his men prisoner, and Joan falls for William and risks everything, including Caitlyn, to fulfil her desire.​

Caitlyn, meanwhile, has her own cross to bear in the form of the gallant and reckless Hugh of Pembroke…

 

This is the third book in the Caitlin series, and again, no cover has been revealed as yet. This is due to come out in October, with my review on the blog tour coming at the very beginning of November. I figure I am as well continuing with the series whilst it is fresh in my mind. That also means that I can have my review prepared in plenty of time for the Tour!

 

 

The Eye of the World – Robert Jordan

the eye of the world

Goodreads – The Eye of the World

 

The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, an Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

 

Yes, this is on the list AGAIN!

I managed to read about half of the book last month, so I am pleased with that much. It’s a long book, okay? It’s also quite difficult to follow. I found myself picking it up and reading other books in between last month, just because I needed the breaks to digest what was going on. Hopefully, I’ll be able to do the same this month and work my way to the end!

 

So… that’s the list! What are you reading this month?