Tag: bookblogger

Sunday Summary – 7th December 2025

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It’s a soggy Sunday here, but that won’t put a dampener on today’s Sunday Summary catch-up! Whether the weather is as miserable where you are as it has been here, or if you’ve got off lightly, I hope you’ve had a great week.

This week I’ve posted more than average on the blog. With the timing of a blog tour coinciding with the beginning of the month, I’ve had an increase in post obligations. That said, I’ve managed the extra post pretty easily, and I hope you have enjoyed finding out what I’ve been up to.

My first post that went live was my monthly wrap-up for November. In the end, November was a great month of reading progress. If you have yet to check out that post, or are interested in the books I read last month so you can maybe pick up a recommendation or two, here’s a link so you can take a look for yourself.

Next, I shared my blog tour review for a book called Death of a Billionaire by Tucker May. If you are looking for a fun, lighthearted murder mystery, this would be a great pick for you. I read this book very quickly and the lighter tone was very much needed. I’ve been reading a lot of heavy fantasy. The change of genre and tone were much appreciated.

On Friday, I shared my last monthly TBR of the year. With final reading goals to meet, I’ve planned December‘s reading list around hitting those final milestones. Final books in series? Check. Books on the Goodreads Fall Challenge? Check.

 

Books Read

Empire of the Dawn 

I’ve still not really read much of Empire of the Dawn this week. However, with the conclusion of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! tonight, I’ll have less in the way of TV obligations to keep up with and hopefully more time to pick up a physical read. 

I’ve toyed with the idea of getting a digital copy of this book from my local library. Sometimes, I think having a big heavy hardback can get in the way of me getting some reading done. However, I can’t borrow it that way, so I’ll persevere with my physical copy. 

 

A Crucible of Souls

Progress with my audiobook listen of A Crucible of Souls has gone much better. In fact, I have listened to several hours of the audiobook today whilst putting up Christmas decorations. That, and redecorating my Christmas tree every time the cats pull the ornaments off. I have a suspicion I’ll have ‘redecorated’ the tree about 50 times before the 1st of January… 

With progress at around the 75% mark, I’m now intrigued as to whether the narrative of this first instalment of the series will end. Caldan is doing pretty well for himself after his exile from the monastery he grew up in at the beginning of the book. Honestly, I think he’s having too good of a time at the moment and I’m wondering if it’s all going to come crashing down on him. He’s clearly an exceptional person who was undiscovered because of his cloistered circumstances. For a person of his naivety, I can’t help but think at some point somebody is going to take advantage.

Regardless of how the book pans out, with a little under five hours left of progress to make, I anticipate finishing A Crucible of Souls next week. Then, I can tell you more! 

 

Death of a Billionaire 

As of last week’s Sunday Summary, I picked up at the beginning of the week with priority going to finishing the last 80% of Death of a Billionaire.

With a review deadline of Wednesday, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I pushed on with this book so I had plenty of time to write my thoughts before that post went live on Wednesday. Not that it was difficult to finish! On the contrary, the change of genre, pace and tone was exactly what I needed. After reading a lot of heavier and longer books of late, I appreciated something shorter and with plenty of humour laced throughout.

This Sunday Summary isn’t the place where I’m going to outline all my thoughts. I’ve done so already in my blog tour review post. If you want to find out more, that’s the place to go.

 

Books Discovered

With a couple of book acquisitions last week, I’ve behaved and have nothing new to add to my reading list. The only update in today’s Sunday Summary is that I actually took a couple of books off my list when looking ahead to an upcoming post next week. It may not be exciting news, but I have plenty enough of my reading list to be getting on with without forcing myself to pick up something I’m no longer interested in. 

 

Coming Up… 

It’s been nearly a month since I shared my last book review with you that wasn’t for a specific commitment. And everyone knows I have a backlist longer than my TBR. Okay, well not quite, but it’s significant! Next on my list of books to review is Starsight by Brandon Sanderson. If you know a fan of young adult sci-fi, you won’t go wrong with this series if you need some Christmas present inspiration 😉 It’s well documented I love Brandon Sanderson, so my review won’t come as a surprise. 

On Friday, I’ll share my next Shelf Control post. If you haven’t seen this before, it’s a series I have ongoing on my blog. In the series, I look at upcoming reads on my TBR to make sure what’s on there is still relevant. This week, I’ve got a sinister thriller lined up for you. 

Finally, this time next week I’m back again with another Sunday Summary. I’ve got plenty of books on my final TBR of the year, so hopefully I’ll have plenty more reading progress to share! 

That’s all from me right now though. Enjoy your week ahead! 

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Blog Tour Review: Death of a Billionaire – Tucker May

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When the nights are drawing in, a funny murder mystery definitely lifts the spirits. If you’re in the market for a quick and engaging whodunnit, Death of a Billionaire will be perfect for you! 

Before I get stuck into this review in earnest, thank you to Tucker May and Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the opportunity to read and review Death of a Billionaire. Whilst I was provided with a copy of the book for the purposes of providing my review, my thoughts are my own. 

Now, let’s dive in, shall we? 

 

Death of a Billionaire – Tucker May

Genre: Murder Mystery

Pages: 268

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Tucker May Books

Original Publication Date: 14 Nov 2025

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟

Goodreads – Death of a Billionaire

Ever dream of killing your boss? Alan Benning knows how you feel.

The problem: his billionaire boss actually winds up murdered. And the whole world thinks he did it.

When globetrotting tech billionaire Barron Fisk is found dead on the floor of his swanky Silicon Valley office, all evidence points to Alan.

Alan must venture into the glitzy, treacherous world of tech billionaires to clear his name by sortingthrough a long list of suspects with motive aplenty. If he can’t find the real culprit, Alan’s going down.

The clock is ticking.

Who killed Barron Fisk? The truth will shock— and change— the entire world.

Fans of Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club series, Carl Hiaasen’s tales of high-stakes hijinks,or Ruth Ware’s page-turning mysteries will love Death of a Billionaire.

Purchase Link

 

My Thoughts… 

Plot 

Do we all dream of murdering our bosses? I can’t say I do, but then again, I am pretty boring by a lot of people’s standards. Alan Benning, however, despite the same reputation, finds himself accused of his CEO’s murder. So begins Death of a Billionaire. From here, the book almost comically lays out all the potential suspects and why they have a motive to see the late Barron Fisk off. 

The book also has a good twist at the end. I had my suspicions from quite early on as to the identity of a mysterious anonymous narrator. And I was close, so close. Tucker May is clever in unveiling the big reveal at just the right time! 

Generally, the book is well paced, and revelations, stake outs, and parodied corporate boardroom drama drive the plot forward. Death of a Billionaire isn’t shy on the action, which is what I really enjoyed about this narrative. 

 

Setting

Aside from being a little futuristic in technology, the world of Death of a Billionaire is much like our own. It’s fun and approachable, regardless of whether you are technically minded or have a lot of interest in technology. Let’s be honest, in our world 30% of smartphone users are loyal to one of the tech brands in the world. Hint, their logo and name are fruity… It’s therefore not a stretch for one brand to dominate the market in this fictional world. 

The spectrum of characters in the book allows us to see people and settings from all demographics. Rich, poor, people of colour – it’s a diverse place! I also like to see this wider representation, so kudos that Death of a Billionaire does this well. 

 

Characters

The suspects in Death of a Billionaire are all comically shady in some way. It was a fun jaunt to pick apart their stories and get under the hood with their relationships to Barron Fisk. He, and some of the other characters in this book, are far from noble or even nice. It’s hard to feel sorry about what happened to him. The police investigation tears apart the lives of those closest to Fisk, some deserving, others less so. 

Barron Fisk is not a likeable character, so Tucker May has done a fantastic job of maintaining that personality and facade of Fisk whilst keeping us readers invested in his murder investigation. 

 

Narrative Style 

The book is short and snappy. With concise chapters and lots of action to match, you’ll be whiling away the page count before you know it! The plot does a lot of the work to get you compulsively turning the pages, but this does help you along 😉

Combine that with the humour and unique disdain shown to us readers by the narrator, and you get a fun, quirky read. Death of a Billionaire was fantastic as a light palate cleanser around some longer, heavier books. Its tone and joviality are refreshing. Truthfully, it was the type of book I needed right now.  

 

Summary 

Are you after a lighter, humorous murder mystery where everyone is a suspect and probably should be for a good reason? If so, pick up Death of a Billionaire and you won’t regret it! I shared that I’d just started this book in my Sunday Summary a few days ago, and I finished it quickly.

 

Author Bio

Tucker May was raised in southern Missouri. He attended Northwestern University, where he was trained in acting and playwriting. He now lives in Pasadena, California, with his wife, Barbara, and their cat, Principal Spittle. He is an avid reader and longtime fan of the Los Angeles Rams and Geelong Cats. Death of a Billionaire is his debut novel.

Social Media Links – 

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

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/tuckermaymysteries.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556491591135

Sunday Summary – 30th November 2025

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This week’s Sunday Summary follows another week off work. Don’t take this the wrong way, I’m not rubbing it in. If you feel that way, you can laugh at me because I’m back tomorrow. Bag packed? Check. Lunch organised? Yup. Jokes aside, it’ll be nice to get back into my normal routine.

The routine that hasn’t really changed is my blog schedule for this week. Whilst I’ve been off, I’ve kept up with posting online as usual. This week, my first post was a final review of my 2025 resolutions and a list of books I could pick up in December to meet my outstanding goals. As of that post, I have actually already completed one of my goals due by the end of the year! If you haven’t read that post and you want to find out what’s coming up in the very near future, you can check that out now.

On Friday, I set myself a challenge to feature a young adult novel in my First Lines Friday feature. In the end, I featured the first book of a series loved and plan to re-read in future. Whilst young adult isn’t a genre I gravitate to very often, I did enjoy this one. I even confess in that post that I could get behind the relationship between the protagonists – that’s not something I say lightly! 

 

Books Read

Empire of the Dawn 

Progress with Empire of the Dawn has admittedly been slow. I’ve enjoyed picking up this book in the couple of instalments I have, but honestly, I think I’m holding myself back. Empire of the Dawn is the final instalment of Jay Kristoff’s Empire of the Vampire trilogy. The only reason I can give for my resistance picking up this book is that I’m not looking forward to finishing it and the series being over. 

I’ve enjoyed every aspect of the book I’ve read so far and to continuing with it. I’ll have to put my big girl pants on and just accept that it’s the final book and I won’t find out what happens unless I read it! Even when it’s over, I can always re-read it… 

 

The Housemaid’s Secret

You may recall in last week’s Sunday Summary post, I shared that I’d listened to just over 25% of The Housemaid’s Secret. Well, it’s fair to say I made pretty light work of that book! Having listened to such a long audiobook before picking up this one, finishing Freida McFadden‘s second instalment in her housemaid’s trilogy was a breeze! 

As I mentioned in last week’s post, whilst I’ve been off work, I’ve been doing some work around the house. More specifically, I’m updating my kitchen. Because I’ve been doing physical work, I’ve been occupying myself with audio to keep myself entertained. I’ve also been doing a lot of crafty projects in my downtime, and listening to audio works really well for me at the same time. 

As a result, I devoured The Housemaid’s Secret. The plot and characters in the book really helped this along. It was an easier read because it was a lot shorter, but it is also engaging and an interesting story to listen to. Truthfully, I expected nothing less. I felt the same about the first instalment of the series, The Housemaid. If you read or checked out my 2025 resolutions review post earlier this week, you may have spotted the sequel to the series on that list as a potential December read.

Watch this space… 

 

A Crucible of Souls

After devouring The Housemaid’s Secret, I started A Crucible of Souls by Mitchell Hogan. This is the second book I’m reading as part of a ChatGPT recommendations challenge I’ve set myself. 

So far, I’m getting on pretty well with the book. For a debut, it reads really well and I’m hoping the action in the book starts to pick up pace very shortly. As of this Sunday Summary post, I am a third of the way through this audiobook. It’s interesting, and there are elements of the plot that have us intrigued because they are unresolved at the moment. The main character Caldan is also a little bit of a mystery. Who is he, and is he going to draw unwanted attention by his abilities? Time will only tell. 

 

Death of a Billionaire 

Finally, I picked up Death of a Billionaire by Tucker May today. I am reviewing this book as part of a blog tour which kicked off earlier this week. My review is due on Wednesday, so naturally this book is taking priority in the immediate future. 

As things stand, it’s a pretty short and easy read. I’m enjoying the humour and I’m intrigued as to who the mystery narrator is. Their overt opinions and distain for a lot of people, the reader included, has me asking questions as to who it is and why they presenting themselves that way. It’s not the sort of thing you see in a lot of books, but it has me intrigued! I have a suspicion already, but it remains to be seen whether that turns out to be the case! 

As of this Sunday Summary update, I’m 20% into Death of a Billionaire. Naturally, I’ll be sharing more about this book on Wednesday, so I hope you can check in with me then. 

 

Books Discovered

I popped into town on Friday to do some Christmas shopping, and of course I had to take a look in our local Waterstones. Armed with some vouchers, I picked up Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad and Come to This Court and Cry. 

No prizes for guessing I combed through the history section… as sad as it is, I love reading about World War II and the associated events, history and people affected. I’m looking forward to reading these books in this category. 

 

Coming Up… 

I may be back to work next week, but there is no rest for the wicked here! I have a full week of content planned, and I’m excited to share each of these posts with you 😊

My first post will go live tomorrow as it will officially be the beginning of December. I can no longer complain about premature Christmas music or mince pies being on sale. With it being the end of the month, I’m looking forward to sharing my monthly wrap-up for November and sharing the books I’ve read over these last few weeks. Progress has felt really good, so I hope to have plenty of content in that post for you.

Next, on Wednesday I’ll be sharing my review for Death of a Billionaire, as I’ve previously alluded to. December 3rd is my official stop date, so that’s a hard deadline to meet.

On Friday, I’ll share my December reading list in my usual monthly TBR format. I’ve already got several books planned which has been shaped from my 2025 resolutions review post. I’ve got some cracking books to finish up the year with. If you are intrigued to see what those will be, I hope you can check in with me later this week.

Finally, this time next week I’ll be back with my next Sunday Summary instalment. No doubt I’ll be a little bit tired and fed up because I’m planning to put up my Christmas decorations. Good luck to me – I have no idea how the cats are going to react to the Christmas tree. However, I have my suspicions and it may not be pretty 😂 

Like I said, no rest for the wicked! 

What have you been up to this weekend?

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First Lines Friday – 28/11/2025

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What’s fun about today’s First Lines Friday is that I set myself a challenge for this post. And, for today’s post, I’ve succeeded in finding a young adult book I’m delighted to feature. 

I started this series back in 2019, of all places, in some Spanish sunshine – quite a contrast from the setting outlined in today’s intro! If you’ve read young adult books, maybe you can work out today’s book from the protagonists name. Also, a fun fact for you. I was inspired to dye my hair blue because of this character. 

Do you recognise who or what I’m referring to in this First Lines Friday? If so, let me know in the comments! Otherwise, take a look at the opening below and I’ll share more on the book after! 

 

Walking to school over the snow-muffled cobbles, Karou had no sinister premonitions about the day. It seemed like just another Monday, innocent but for its essential Mondayness, not to mention its Januaryness. It was cold, and it was dark – in the dead of winter the sun didn’t rise until eight – but it was also lovely. The falling snow and the early hour conspired to paint Prague ghostly, like a tintype photograph, all silver and haze. 

On the riverfront thoroughfare, trams and buses roared past, grounding the day in the twenty-first century, but on the quieter lanes, the wintry peace might have hailed from another time. Snow and stone and ghostlight, Karou’s own footsteps and the feather of steam from her coffee mug, and she was alone and adrift in mundane thoughts: school, errands.

 

 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone – Laini Taylor

Genre: Fantasy 

Pages: 418

Audience: Young Adult

Publisher: Little Brown Books

Publication Date: 27 Sept 2011

Goodreads – Daughter of Smoke and Bone

 

Around the world, black hand prints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”, she speaks many languages – not all of them human – and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

 

My Thoughts…

I’m not going to go too far into Daughter of Smoke and Bone in this First Lines Friday post. I have reviews for every book in the trilogy on my blog if you want find out more: –

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Days of Blood and Starlight

Dreams of Gods and Monsters

More meaningfully perhaps, is that I’ve featured this book on lists of books I want to re-read, must-read fantasies and books guaranteed to put an end to your book slump. I’ve got physical copies of the books and I’m keeping them to re-read in future! 

What I really got behind in this series, and I don’t say it everyday, is the relationship between Karou and Akiva. I’m not a romance girly, but these star-crossed lovers stole my heart. If Laini Taylor can defrost my heart, I believe anyone can root for this ‘ship. 

Have you read Daughter of Smoke and Bone? Is it in your reading list after today’s First Lines Friday?

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2025 Reading Goals… 1 month to go!

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I have a fraction over 1 month to go to complete the 2025 Reading Goals I set myself at the beginning of the year. Before I drill into each goal, my impression is that progress towards my 2025 reading goals is good. However, the purpose of today’s post is to get into the detail on that and see if I am on track and if not, make plans in my December TBR to get me there.

Shall we take a look at where I’m at?

 

2025 Reading Goals

Read 45 Books

Back when I set my resolutions, I set my goal at 45 books. I’d read 42 in 2024 throughout the year. Hoping o push myself just a little, I set that target a fraction higher. 

As of this 2025 reading goal review, this is the goal I’m the least worried about as I’ve already done it! I thought I hadn’t quite finished this goal as of this post, but I realised when reviewing progress towards my series goal that I’d not marked The Giver by Lois Lowry as read although I finished it in September. So, I’ve already got this goal finished. Having a number helps motivate me. However, I’m going to enjoy reading at a little more of a leisurely pace in December. 

 

Complete Goodreads Challenges Throughout the Year

With new Goodreads Challenges available this year, my plan was to invest time and energy this year on targeted reading towards these goals. 

As of drafting this 2025 reading goals post, I got three challenges between January and May (Community Favourites), three between May to July (Seasonal Challenge) and four achievements for the Summer Challenge. 

The final challenge this year is the Fall Challenge, and I’ve got four achievements to date. This is a goal I’d like to invest some time in. So far this year, progress has been a coincidence and I’ve not given it as much time and attention as I’d have liked. So far, some Fall challenges I could easily progress with are Spine Tinglers and Fiction Faves. I’ve already got books on my TBR for each award. I plan to pick up The Burning Girls and Yellowface in December to get these awards before the end of the year. 

 

Finish or get up-to-date on 10 series 

Of the 45 books I’ve completed so far this year, 24 have been part of a series. You can tell I’m a big series reader at the best of times. The bigger question, however, is whether I’ve completed or got up to date on the ten series goal.

So far this year, I’m up-to-date or finished 7 series and I’m actively finishing an eighth (Empire of the Dawn by Jay Kristoff). It’s solid progress, and there are some books I can include on my December TBR to boost that number. I recently listened to The Housemaid’s Secret, leaving just The Housemaid is Watching in Freida McFadden’s series. 

The only other quick-win book I have on the list, though debatable, is The Doors of Midnight by R.R. Virdi. I say debatable, as the book is over 800 pages! However, it’s the only other book on my list where I have just one book unread in the series. I’m going to try my damned hardest to read both books in December to meet my series completion goal. 

 

Read Out of my Comfort Zone

My last goal is a little less tangible to quantify. I set myself the challenge to read outside of my comfort zone; I would say I have. I’ve read books with our work book club and through The Cottagecore Fantasy Book Club that I wouldn’t necessarily have picked up myself (Shuggie Bain, House of Frank, A Witch’s Guide to Love and Poison). Also, I’ve read books on American Politics (A Promised Land), which is a topic I usually steer clear of. Finally, I’ve read books about food and sustainable weight management, educating myself on arguably sensitive topics for me but I’ve got something useful out of it. 

Whilst I haven’t read lots of books that are out of my comfort zone, my primary goals of 2025 have involved prioritising books that are. It’s why they’re on my TBR in the first place. However, I’m glad I’ve made space for some new and different books. If I want to add one more book in December that fits this bill, Deep Wheel Orcadia works. It’s on my TBR, but I added it because it’s different. What makes this different is that it’s the first science fiction verse novel written in the Orkney dialect. It’s also accompanied with a translation to English, so I can still read it. I’m intrigued, and it’s not a long read so definitely achievable! 

 

Summary 

I’m happy with my assessment that my reading goals are going very well. It’s been fun to look at where I am to date, as well as make some plans for how I can boost progress with some of my goals. 

Have you completed any 2025 reading goals you set yourself?

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Sunday Summary – 23rd November 2025

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Today’s Sunday Summary brings plenty of reading progress. I’ve enjoyed the week off work, and the good news is, I’ve got another one next week! I’ve enjoyed doing some jobs round the house, and reading… of course! 

On the blog, I shared a book review for Stephen King’s The Waste Lands. I’ve enjoyed reading this series so far, and The Waste Lands is probably my favourite book so far! 

On Friday, I shared a Shelf Control post. In this series, I look at upcoming books on my TBR. Friday’s feature was a historical fiction classic that’s nearly 1000 pages long. 

 

Books Read

 

The Shadow of What Was Lost

Last week, I shared in my Sunday Summary that I was about 50% through the book. It’s a long audiobook, and I had approximately 14hrs audio left. I wasn’t sure if I’d manage to listen to it all this week. Progress so far was pretty slow. However, I shouldn’t have doubted myself! 

I’ve spent a good portion of the week doing household jobs that allow me to listen to audio as well. That, and working on a large cross-stitch project! I love listening to audiobooks at the same time. Thankfully I’m not having to wrestle kittens off my work too frequently anymore and the two hobbies go side-by-side very well 😂

I finished The Shadow of What Was Lost yesterday and I have lots of thoughts! The epilogue did so much for convincing me to pick up the sequel. I’m looking forward to documenting my thoughts on this one properly. 

 

Empire of the Dawn 

Another finish I was hoping for this week, but didn’t quite get to, was Empire of the Dawn. 

I’ve read the book spasmodically over the week. And I’m enjoying it! However, with the jobs I’m doing at home at the moment, I’ve not done much in the way of conventional reading. I was also out watching Wicked: For Good last night. 

My focus will be to finish Empire of the Dawn next week. As of this Sunday Summary, I’m about 20% through. I’m intrigued where the story is going to take us. 

 

The Housemaid’s Secret

The final book I’ve progressed with this week is one I started today – The Housemaid’s Secret. Just as I was settling down to read Empire of the Dawn, one of the kittens decided to fall asleep on my arm and rendered holding a hardback book impossible. 

So, I started my next audiobook instead! It’s been a good few months since I listened to The Housemaid earlier this year. My efforts to continue series whilst they’re still fresh in my mind motivated me to start The Housemaid’s Secret. 

Already, I have listened to 2 hours and 30 minutes of the housemaid secret so far. If you are a stats boffin, that puts me at 26% progress in one sitting. Not bad, eh? I always feel like progress goes really quickly when I pick up a short audiobook straight after a lengthy one 😂 When you consider this audiobook is just under 10 hours long, it’s only a fraction over a third of The Shadow of What Was Lost in terms of page count. Big difference! 

I’m actually enjoying the shorter and more faster post read. I do enjoy a lengthy epic, but sometimes something short and sweet (and a thriller to boot) helps pick up the pace.

 

Books Discovered

It’s another quiet week here in terms of new additions to my monthly TBR. I actually took a book off my reading list when prepping for Friday’s Shelf Control post. It’s fair to say things are moving in the right direction… 

 

Coming Up… 

Next week is the last week of November. Please tell me where that’s gone! I’ll have to start mentioning the C word before long 😂 

Before that though, I’ve got plenty of non-festive related content to share with you. I’m pointedly avoiding this week’s Top Ten Tuesday post theme to get away from the festivities – how bad is that? 

My first post of the week will be a recap on where I’m up to with my reading goals this year and an opportunity to set my final intentions for the last month of the year. How close am I to my reading goals? Is there anything I can do to get myself over the finish line with some of these before the end of the year? That post is all about setting out my intentions. I hope you can check in with me and celebrate my progress so far. 

On Friday, I’ll return with a First Lines Friday feature post. I’m in the mood to set myself a challenge for next week’s post. Sometimes I like to make my life difficult, okay? 😆 For next week’s First Lines Friday, I’m challenging myself to feature a book that is either for a young adult or new adult audience. Most of my reading list falls outside of these two genres, so I’ve got my work cut out for me to feature something interesting that meets these criteria.

Last, but certainly by no means least, I’ll be back the same time next week with another Sunday Summary. Fingers crossed, I’m able to use my time off work to get a lot more reading done before I’m back to the daily grind. 

That’s all for me in this Sunday Summary update, however. How have you spent your weekend? What projects do you have ongoing at the moment, bookish or otherwise? 

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Shelf Control #97 – 21/11/2025

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Today’s Shelf Control post features a book I’m really looking forward to picking up. It came recommended to me by a former colleague and close friend. I then got a second recommendation for the book from one of the regular readers at our work book club. Put it this way, she confided that she reads the book once a year, every year. If that’s not a recommendation, I don’t know what is! 

Before I share details of the book, here’s a recap of what my Shelf Control regular feature post is all about. 

Shelf Control is a meme run by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies. It’s a celebration of the unread books on our shelves! The idea is to pick a book you own but haven’t read and 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.

If you want to read more about the Shelf Control feature, check out Lisa’s introductory post.

 

Pillars of the Earth – Ken Follett

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 976

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Penguin Books

Publication Date: 01 Oct 1989

Goodreads – Pillars of the Earth

 

Ken Follett is known worldwide as the master of split-second suspense, but his most beloved and bestselling book tells the magnificent tale of a twelfth-century monk driven to do the seemingly impossible: build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known.

Everything readers expect from Follett is here: intrigue, fast-paced action, and passionate romance. But what makes The Pillars of the Earth extraordinary is the time the twelfth century; the place feudal England; and the subject the building of a glorious cathedral. Follett has re-created the crude, flamboyant England of the Middle Ages in every detail. The vast forests, the walled towns, the castles, and the monasteries become a familiar landscape. 

Against this richly imagined and intricately interwoven backdrop, filled with the ravages of war and the rhythms of daily life, the master storyteller draws the reader irresistibly into the intertwined lives of his characters into their dreams, their labors, and their loves: Tom, the master builder; Aliena, the ravishingly beautiful noblewoman; Philip, the prior of Kingsbridge; Jack, the artist in stone; and Ellen, the woman of the forest who casts a terrifying curse. From humble stonemason to imperious monarch, each character is brought vividly to life.

The building of the cathedral, with the almost eerie artistry of the unschooled stonemasons, is the center of the drama. Around the site of the construction, Follett weaves a story of betrayal, revenge, and love, which begins with the public hanging of an innocent man and ends with the humiliation of a king.

 

My Thoughts

Historical fiction is always a safe genre for me. I love medieval historical books at the best of times – long ones even better! I’ve read similar themed books in the past – Dunstan by Conn Iggulden is probably the closest I’ve read to date and it was a good read. 

This book has been recommended to me not once, but twice, and by two people whose reading tastes I trust. The only thing that makes me a little nervous about this books is that it is purportedly a character-driven book. Generally, I prefer some action in my books to help keep the plot moving forward. However, if this is done as well as the recommendations I’ve received suggest, then this won’t be a problem. 

Given the size of the book, it’s unlikely I’ll get to this one before the end of the year. However, I can see myself picking up this book next year sometime – preferably sooner rather than later. It’s a classic, and a book from a much-loved genre. Maybe I need to set myself a challenge reading list next year. If so, this book will 100% be on it! I’ve given myself an idea now… 

Have you read Pillars of the Earth? Would you recommend this book? 

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Books Review: The Waste Lands – Stephen King

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When I started reading The Waste Lands, I’d had a couple of slower reads right before it. It’s not the best mindset to go into a book in, but it happens. Thankfully, The Waste Lands is a sequel to a series I’d loved to date. It felt like a safe option – and rightly so! 

Picking up this book coincided with time off work and long story short, I demolished the book in a matter of days and broke my slump. Stephen King is a pretty safe bet for me in that regard. The Waste Lands was fun, and I particularly enjoyed the ending. 

 

The Waste Lands – Stephen King  

Genre: Fantasy / Horror

Pages: 581

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton 

Publication Date: 23 Jun 2003

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Goodreads – The Waste Lands

In the third novel in King’s epic fantasy masterpiece, Roland, the Last Gunslinger, is moving ever closer to the Dark Tower, which haunts his dreams and nightmares. Pursued by the Ageless Stranger, he and his friends follow the perilous path to Lud, an urban wasteland. And crossing a desert of damnation in this macabre new world, revelations begin to unfold about who – and what – is driving him forward.

 

My Thoughts

Plot 

I started The Waste Lands at a bit of a disadvantage – it had been 4 years since I read The Drawing of the Three. I’d read some recaps prior to starting the book to be on the safe side. However, if you are in this boat, fear not! The book naturally recaps what has happened to date anyway. Although I had prepared myself in case this wasn’t a feature of the book, it wasn’t necessary. It’s a feature I valued a lot picking up this book. 

The plot of this book has a natural and interesting progression as well. Much like the earlier books in the series, The Gunslinger and The Drawing of the Three, there’s a lot of travel. We also see more characters in this book. It helps set a wider scene for Roland, Jake, Eddie and Susannah. To date, the narrative has felt a little centred on them without too much context or interaction in the wider world of Mid-World. I enjoyed the increased world-building in The Waste Lands, it’s fair to say!

 

Characters 

Roland gets quite complex in The Waste Lands, because he’s suffering as a result of end in the second book. He’s created a paradox, and his personal timeline is impacted as a result. 

Even though our dark, moody gunslinger is the main character, he’s far from a lone beacon in a dystopian world. Eddie and Susannah are coming along in their character arcs, and things get really weird with Susannah. No spoilers here folks! The wider narrative scope and the cast that comes along with it make for interesting reading. Tick tock and the creepy man in Lud are notable on progress with the story and are standouts. 

The character that stole the show for me, however, is Blaine. It’s a mad invention, and one you can only expect from Stephen King. However, it was a fun, nail-biting cliffhanger to the story! Not everyone loves how The Waste Lands ends. Not everyone loves the cliffhanger, and having read Wizard and Glass, it would have made sense just to finish this part of the story. However, it made me pick up Wizard and Glass a lot sooner than the four year gap I left between books 2 & 3. 

 

Setting 

Mid-World is a creepy, Western themed post-apocalyptic world with unusual links to a world not unlike our own. It’s dark, with shattered remains begging you to ask the question of what has happened to Mid-World. That’s no doubt a revelation for a later book, but it captures the interest of us readers early on, and gives us ample time to speculate!  

I really love this setting and the complexities of the ties to other worlds. It’s an interesting aspect of the narrative, that makes the book more relatable through association to worlds we know. 

 

Narrative Style 

Although The Waste Lands is a long book, it’s pretty compulsively readable! Well, I read the nearly 600 page book in four days. Now, I was off work at the time, but even still. It’s unlike me to consistently read 150 pages a day without a deadline. 

I like big and long books, so whether a chapter is long or short doesn’t make much difference to me. The intensity of the action and pacing of events make The Waste Lands a very compulsive read. 

 

Summary 

The Waste Lands was a fun sequel to pick up. We’ve already seen a lot of character progression in the series, and The Waste Lands was a perfect continuation of both plot and character-driven narrative. I love that Stephen Kling’s horror and thriller genius fits into a fantasy. It’s a way he gets to touch one of my favourite genres. It makes The Dark Tower a strong contender for one of the most memorable series I’m reading to date. 

Have you read The Waste Lands, or other books in The Dark Tower series? 

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Sunday Summary – 16th November 2025

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This Sunday Summary is one I’ve been looking forward to writing. Why? Because it finally coming around means I’m now off work for Two. Whole. Weeks! Yes! I’ve got all the time for reading, crafting, doing some random jobs round the house and generally enjoying a slower pace. 

But, before I get too hot on what’s happening next week, I suppose I should update you on my news from the week just gone, right? That’s the point of my Sunday Summary after all! 

In terms of content, this week I shared a Top Ten Tuesday of books I enjoyed that were out of my comfort zone. This is a fun one if you’re looking for a diverse list of reads and need some inspiration. On Friday, I shared a First Lines Friday and the opening lines to my current read. 

 

Books Read

 

The Shadow of What Was Lost

Progress has been a little slow with The Shadow of What Was Lost up until now. This week though, I’ve tripled last week’s meagre hours progress. And, as I’ll be spending a good chunk of time home in the next couple of weeks, it’s prime time for audiobook listening! 

Events I’ve listened to today have taken the story in a direction I wasn’t expecting. However, I’m keen to see where it leads. Naturally, I expect to make a lot more progress in the next seven days. I’m coming up 50% through, with under 14 hours left. Can I do it in a week? We’ll see! 

 

The God of the Woods 

In last week’s Sunday Summary, I shared that I was pushing for completion of The God of the Woods ahead of book club. 

Thankfully, I finished The God of the Woods the night before and it was a great read. It was also well received at the club, so it was a good choice all round. 

The mystery was twisty yet somewhat resolved how I wanted it to. The narrative was cleverly written and I was engaged all the way through! 

 

Empire of the Dawn 

The final book to share progress with in today’s Sunday Summary is my current read, Empire of the Dawn. I’m looking forward to reading more of this book. With a bit of a rush to finishing the God of the woods, I stepped back a little from reading in the last couple of days. That’s no reflection on this book though! 

At 50 pages in, I am back up to speed with what has happened to date and I can’t wait to see where his final book takes us in Gabriel’s story. 

Needless to say, I’m excited picking this up coincides with my time off work. It’s a hefty book over 750 pages. Will I get it finished next week? I sincerely hope so! 

 

Books Discovered

I’ve not added any more books to my reading pile this week. Whilst that’s not the most exciting news for you, it’s not a bad thing for me 😅 

 

Coming Up… 

I feel like I’m overdue a backlist review. With that in mind, my plan is to share my thoughts on a classic fantasy horror from Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series. The Waste Lands is the third book of the series and I hope you like reading my review. 

On Friday I return with a Shelf Control post. In this series, I feature upcoming books on my reading list and why I’m looking forward to reading them. I’m excited to look forward at what is coming up on my TBR – fingers crossed you are too! 

Finally, I’m back with another Sunday Summary post at the end of next week. I’ve got no excuse for a lack of reading progress, although I don’t expect that to happen in the slightest! 

What is the name of the book you last finished? How do you rate it? 

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First Lines Friday – 14/11/2025

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Today’s First Lines Friday features a HIGHLY anticipated new release. The third and final book of a much-loved trilogy, it’s one in both excited and scared to read. I’m confident I’ll love this book. 

If you haven’t guessed which book I’m referring to (my monthly TBR might give it away), then take a look below to find out more! 

 

IT WAS THE twenty-seventh year of daysdeath in the realm of the Forever King, and his murderer was still waiting to die. 

The killer stood again at a thin window, watching his finale arrive. Tattooed hands were clasped at his back, stained with blood, both fresh and merely remembered. His room stood high in the reaches of his lonely tower, battered by a tempest just as sleepless as he. His door remained locked like a secret. His heart, locked tighter still. 

From his vantage, the killer studied the procession below, his eyes the grey of the storm above. The figures wending towards the gatehouse were few, antlike; tiny black spots crawling on a plain of frost. But their coming was a portent, shaking the stones beneath him like no earthly thunder could, and their arrival told him that his departure was not too distant now. That this game, like all good things, must soon see its end.

 

Empire of the Dawn – Jay Kristoff

Genre: Gothic Fantasy 

Pages: 768

Audience: Adult

Publisher: HarperVoyager

Publication Date: 06 Nov 2025

Goodreads – Empire of the Dawn

 

From New York Times bestselling author of the Empire of the Vampire and Empire of the Damned, Jay Kristoff, comes the epic conclusion to the #1 internationally bestselling series.

From holy cup comes holy light;

The faithful hands sets world aright.

And in the Seven Martyrs’ sight,

Mere man shall end this endless night.

Gabriel de León has lost his family, his faith, and the last hope of ending the endless night—his surrogate daughter, Dior. With no thought left but vengeance, he and a band of loyal brothers journey into the war-torn heart of Elidaen to claim the life of the Forever King.

Unbeknownst to the Last Silversaint, the Grail still lives—speeding towards the besieged capital of Augustin in the frail hope of ending Daysdeath. But deadly treachery awaits within the halls of power, and the Forever King’s legions march ever closer. Gabriel and Dior will be drawn into a final battle that will shape the very fate of the Empire, but as the sun sets for what may the last time, there will be no one left for them to trust.

Not even each other.

 

My Thoughts…

I don’t pick up many books immediately after publication, but Empire of the Dawn is an exception. I loved Empire of the Vampire and Empire of the Damned. They are well written and I love the length of the books. They’re long, but immersive! 

They’re also darker than a lot of other fantasy I’ve read. The narrative style also suits me. Naturally, with the being the final book of the series, I’m both keen (and nervous) to reach the conclusion. It’s one of those where I’m worried it won’t live up to expectations, but I probably shouldn’t be. Jay Kristoff hasn’t let me down yet! The synopsis promises drama as well. 

Thanks for reading today’s First Lines Friday post. Have you ever picked up a book as soon as it’s released? If so, what was it? 

As always, I want to hear your thoughts – on this book – or any other you’ve been so excited to read you picked it up straight away!

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