I’m overdue picking up the sequel I feature in today’s Shelf Control post. I started this series by a new-to-me author over six years ago now. I really enjoyed it too! It’s a young adult magical fantasy with a lot of West African cultural representation. I’m trying to branch away from Westernised fantasy for a change, and this book fits the bill.
Before we get into it, here is what this Shelf Control feature is 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.
Full of magic and danger, Children of Virtue and Vengeance is the breathtaking sequel to Tomi Adeyemi’s ground-breaking, #1 New York Times-bestselling West African-inspired fantasy Children of Blood and Bone.
After battling the impossible, Zélie and Amari have finally succeeded in bringing magic back to the land of Orïsha. But the ritual was more powerful than they could’ve imagined, reigniting the powers of not only the maji, but of nobles with magic ancestry, too.
Now, Zélie struggles to unite the maji in an Orïsha where the enemy is just as powerful as they are. But with civil war looming on the horizon, Zélie finds herself at a breaking point: she must discover a way to bring the kingdom together or watch as Orïsha tears itself apart . . .
My Thoughts
If you want to see what I made of Children of Blood and Bone, you can find that review linked here.
I’m looking forward to picking up this second instalment of the series. It’s fair to say that it’s well overdue. Given that I’m trying to branch out and read more non-westernised fantasy, it’s an ideal book to pick up and read. It would also be a quick one to catch up with and count towards my progress in series goal this year.
I loved the magical element to the first book the series and I gather this only expands from there. I confess I will have to catch myself up on the plot of the first book before picking up the second, but I’m not going to re-read the first to do so. Given it’s quite unique compared to other books I have read so far, I think a quick refresher of the plot will bring everything back fresh in my mind.
Have you read Children of Virtue and Vengeance; would you recommend it?
Good evening folks and welcome to this Sunday Summary weekly update. I hope you’ve had a good week and weekend? Yesterday was a beautiful day here, but it couldn’t be more opposite today. Ideal for a day of staying in and reading… but alas I’ve been busy!
This week I’ve also been busy catching you up on my reading progress in July, as well as sharing my planned reading list for August. Have you read any of the books on this month’s TBR? Take a look and find out.
Books Read
The Power of Habit
My main read of the week was The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. As of my last Sunday Summary I had only just started the book. I’ve only read 100 pages or so this week, but it’s a good read so far.
I like how this book breaks down habits by individual, corporate and societal level. This week I completed the personal section and I’m a good way into the corporate element of the book.
What I’ve read so far has given me food for thought on how I can make changes where I want to in my life. This book still has plenty to offer and I’ll be reading more of that in the next week.
The Other People
I’ve made a solid 35%-40% progress in listening to The Other People this week.
As of this Sunday Summary I’m now 85% done. With just over an hour and forty minutes of listening time left, I think I’ll finish this book in the next day or so!
So far I’ve loved the storyline and how the different story threads have come together. I feel like there’s still time for a shock revelation or extra connection to be revealed, but we’ll see if that actually happens or not. I have a theory but whether it comes to anything or not is to be revealed…
Books Discovered
The best kind of news is that there is none! I’ve not added anything new to my reading list this week.
I’ve not exactly taken anything off via completions either, but I have made progress closer towards that so we’re moving in the right direction!
Coming Up…
It’s been a while since I shared my thoughts on a book. With this in mind, the first post I intend to share with you next week will be a book review. In next week’s review, I feature Golden Son by Pierce Brown.
Friday’s regular feature is a Shelf Control post. Those of you who are regular readers will know that this series is where I feature upcoming books on my reading list. This week, I’ll feature the sequel to a YA magical fantasy series I started over 6 years ago!
My final post of the week is my usual wrap-up of the week – Sunday Summary.
I hope you can join me for any or all of these posts. Until next time, have a great week!
I’m excited to share my upcoming reading list in this monthly TBR post. I always look forward to planning my reading and sharing the fantastic books I’ve got coming up on my blog.
This month’s list looks a little longer, but I also have some shorter than average reads. Do I think I’ll complete this TBR by the end of the month? Unlikely. However, I’m going to try and stretch myself as always!
Shall we get into this monthly TBR and take a look at what’s coming up?
Fixed Reads
The Power of Habit
The Power of Habit is a carryover from July, but I’m already a good way through this relatively short book.
This book weighs in at just under 300 pages. It’s quite an easy read too, so I should fly through the remainder of it.
So far I’m enjoying the easy writing style, multiple interwoven anecdotes and threads to explain and reiterate the author’s points. I’m hopeful that I can learn from this book and have the ability to be more mindful and influential of my own habits in future.
The Other People
My only other carryover this month is my audiobook listen of The Other People by C.J. Tudor.
I’m even closer to completion with this book. I’m now about 80% done and eager to get to the end and see how the story comes together. I’ve only got just over 2 hours listening time to go; I’m going to try and finish it before the weekend!
The Midnight Library
My last fixed read of August is a re-read of The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.
There is a new book club at work and this is the selected read. We’re meeting to discuss it on the 13th, so I’ll be getting a wiggle on with it. Thankfully it’s only a short one, and not a new story to me. It shouldn’t take long to read, and I’ve heard it’s better second time around!
Mood Reads
A lot of this monthly TBR has been set with my 2024 reading goals in mind. If you want to recap what those are, check out my Resolutions post I shared in January.
Wolves of the Calla
The first of the books on this TBR which aims to continue/complete series is Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King.
Wolves of the Calla is the fifth book in his The Dark Tower series. I’m enjoying the series so far, although I didn’t expect the last book, Wizard and Glass, to be on as much of a tangent from the ‘current’ storyline as it was. I’m hoping we pick up where we left off and the context we learn in the prior book makes sense in this next instalment!
Wolves of the Calla is the longest book on this reading list at a whopping 800 pages. Depending on how I go, I may end up reading this in tandem with other books and take a little longer to work my way through it. I’ll make a start and see how I get on!
Defiant
The second series related book I plan to pick up is Defiant by Brandon Sanderson. It’s the final book of the Skyward series and the only book I didn’t get to on my July TBR.
I think finishing this series will be bittersweet. I’ve loved it so far and of course I want to know how it all comes together. At the same time, I suspect I’ll be sad at the same time that once I’ve read it, it’s done. Finito.
It’s a good job there are plenty more Sanderson books I haven’t read yet, right?!
Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon
I featured Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon in my last First Lines Friday post and I am so intrigued by the beginning that it’s inspired me to read it. As a bonus, it contributes to my reading goal of more non-fiction.
I love A Game of Thrones and everything about it! The series as it is, all the backstory and lore and now (with any luck at least), the behind the scenes of filming the TV show.
It’s very unlike anything I’ve read before, so it will be something entirely new to me!
Undoctored
Having read two of Adam Kay‘s books already (This is Going to Hurt and T’was the Nightshift Before Christmas), I’m looking forward to picking up.
My experience of his books so far is that he is great at combining an interesting non-fiction topic with lots of humour. If non-fiction isn’t normally your cup of tea, I would strongly recommend you trying this anyway. Adam’s humour goes along way towards making these books both fun and an emotional rollercoaster. When reading both of his prior books I could be laughing one minute and crying the next.
He has a very candid way of expressing himself and really highlighting where there are major problems with the national health services in the UK through his own experience.
Breathtaking
Another medical based non-fiction book I plan to pick up in August is Breathtaking. For some people, the pandemic may be just a little too recent to read about. However, I’ve never wanted to shy away from such a difficult subject.
If you watched the TV documentary of the same name, I have every reason to believe that you would like this book also. It is because I watched that four part series that I realised it was based on a book. Naturally, I added it to my reading list.
It’s a relatively short book, so it should be quite a quick read. It’s a topic I also find compelling even though it is an event in all of our lives that has changed the way we live.
Summary
I have a fair bit of variety in this monthly TBR and I’m looking forward to picking up each and every book. Whilst the list is on the side of ambitious, I’m hopeful I can make as much progress as possible in the coming weeks. They all sound like great books and I’ll share them with you in my upcoming Sunday Summary posts to let you know how I’m getting on.
Have you read any of the books on this monthly TBR? Would you recommend any of them to myself and/or fellow readers?
In today’s Sunday Summary post I have a few reading updates to share with you, as well as what’s coming up on the blog. So, I hope you’re comfortable with a cuppa. Now, let’s get into it!
The first post I shared this week was a Top Ten Tuesday. In that post, I shared my recommendations on debut books I really enjoyed – so I hope you do too!
Next, I completed my challenge in my First Lines Friday post and featured a non-fiction I’m excited to pick up soon! It’s about one of my favourite topics, and the book is in my Summer TBR too. Win-win!
Books Read
Master of Sorrows
In last week’s Sunday Summary I shared that I was progressing well with Master of Sorrows and that I only had 200 odd pages left. This week I can report full completion and I’m already looking forward to the sequel.
I had no idea where the ending of the book was going to take us. As it stands, I think there is plenty of scope for the story and I still don’t know what will happen next!
Master of Sorrows is the first book I’ve read by this author. I’m hoping he brings out more in future – I’m a big fan of his writing style.
The Other People
In last week’s Sunday Summary I was 25% into The Other People. At that point I already understood why this was a favourite of my mum’s.
As of this week’s post I am now just shy of 50% into the audiobook and it keeps getting better. Now the story is starting to flesh out some detail (albeit leaving plenty as a mystery) and I desperately want to know what’s going on!
I’m listening to this audio at every chance I get, so I’ll be keeping up with this over the next week or so! Stay tuned for further thoughts next week.
The Power of Habit
The final book I started this week is The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. I’ve only just started this today so I can’t say a whole lot about it right now, other than I’m looking forward to getting into it.
Books Discovered
I have another good week of no news on the acquisition and TBR front. I have plenty enough to get on with…
Coming Up…
We’re rapidly coming up to the end of July and the beginning of August. Firstly, where the heck has that gone?!
With this in mind, my content next week is going to include my monthly wrap-up for July and my August monthly TBR. I was late posting the last one due to holiday so I’ll be prioritising getting this one out to you and giving myself the best chance of getting through my reading list as I can!
Last, but by no means least, I’ll round off the week with another Sunday Summary weekly update. Find out what I’ve been reading, and what else is coming up on the blog in that next post.
Until then, happy reading! Have a great week and I’ll see you in the next one!
In today’s Top Ten Tuesday post I have the pleasure of sharing my list of ten debut novels I enjoyed and would love to pass on to my fellow readers. If you’ve landed on my blog, hopefully you have some overlap in reading tastes to me so some of these recommendations appeal!
I’ve broken down the recommendations by genre, which I hope helps you find the type of book you are looking for. Unsurprisingly, I have most in the fantasy genre, but also a few mysteries and non-fictions as well.
Let’s take a look!
Fantasy
The First Binding – R.R. Virdi
I have only read one book by R.R. Virdi so far, but I will be following his future releases.
I discovered The First Binding through taking part in a blog tour with Gollancz. If you love epic fantasy novels but want something a little different to the traditional Western style, then I can’t recommend The First Binding enough!
The First Binding has a traditionally more Eastern, Silk Road type setting. Combine that with a story structure like other favourites in the fantasy genre (Patrick Rothfuss’ the Name of the Wind and Jay Kristoff’s Empire of the Vampire), you can see why I’m a fan.
Elantris – Brandon Sanderson
Brandon Sanderson is one of my favourite all-time authors, so I’m ecstatic to be able to share his debut novel I enjoyed immensely!
Elantris isn’t the first book of his I read – far from it in fact. I started with his Mistborn series and delved into other works from there. Although Elantris was written earlier, I don’t think that shows too much. It’s a fantastic stand-alone novel, although I do believe there may be a sequel in the pipeline…
Blackwing – Ed McDonald
I also discovered Ed McDonald because of a publisher-driven blog tour. I’ve featured the latter two books of this series (Ravencry and Crowfall) on the blog and I’ve even re-read them once already.
The grittiness of the world and the magical elements to the story appeal to me. The main character, Ryhalt, is far from admirable. He’s a bitter alcoholic, yet in a curmudgeonly way that we can’t help but let him grow on us readers.
Although a trilogy, there is plenty of detail in the stories to get stuck into. It’s an approachable and immersive read. Although I haven’t picked them up yet, I’m looking forward to trying his latest series, The Redwinter Chronicles, soon!
The Lies of Locke Lamora – Scott Lynch
I read this series as a teenager and loved it! As it happens, I want to pick up this trilogy again. There are a real mix of dates online for a release of a fourth book in the series. However, as the new release may be early next year, I want to pick this up again ready for that. It’s been far too long for me to pick it up without a recap!
Mystery/Thriller
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle – Stuart Turton
The premise of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a unique one. We witness the murder of the titular character from the bodies/perspective of a new individual every day. Aidan can only move on once he’s identified the killer.
I thought the execution of each character perspective (how they are written – there’s only one murder here!) was fantastic and I thoroughly enjoyed the story. I hope you do too!
The Chalk Man – C. J. Tudor
I’ve recommended The Chalk Man to quite a few people by now. If you haven’t read my review of the book, you can find that here.
I’m pleased to feature C.J. Tudor in this post as she is an author I have gone back to several times since reading her debut. In fact, I am currently listening to a book of hers, The Other People, right now.
If you enjoy books in the mystery or psychological thriller genre with dual timelines and plenty of 11th hour twists, The Chalk Man is a book I would strongly recommend for you!
The Appeal – Janice Hallett
The Appeal introduced me to books written in mixed media format. I absolutely loved it in this book, and I’ve gone onto read several others in the same style since!
If it’s something you haven’t read before I strongly recommend giving it a go. It’s unique – and the ever-changing format keeps your brain engaged whilst making the reading experience a little different. What I particularly enjoyed about The Appeal and this reading format is that you end up reading just as much between the lines. It’s a book I was thinking about even when I wasn’t reading it. If that’s not a compliment, I don’t know what it is!
Historical Fiction
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow – Zoulfa Katouh
I picked up As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow as part of a book club online. Honestly, I went into this book without too much in the way of expectation as it wasn’t something I would’ve picked up otherwise. How wrong I was! I’m glad I pushed myself out of my comfort zone because this was one of my favourite reads of 2023.
The book is very cleverly written and I love the perspective it gives. The love of the characters for their home country Syria shines through. It’s not a perspective I read very often, but it’s one I look forward to picking up again!
Non-Fiction
Unmasked – Ellie Middleton
Unmasked is a great practical guide to understanding neurodivergence and how everyone can be a little more accommodating for those who think differently.
Not only that, but it’s a great insight into author Ellie and her life and experiences. She offers the advice she has collected over the years through experience and trial and error. Not everybody should have to struggle, and it is for that reason Ellie wants to try to help those who currently receive little support from the world.
This is Going to Hurt – Adam Kay
This is Going to Hurt is about demonstrating the dire straits in which the NHS finds itself. However, that is not all. It is a book that will have you in stitches one moment and crying the next. It’s a heart wrencher!
If you enjoy narratives that dig deep to combine both humour and sensitive topics, Adam Kay strikes up the perfect balance. I have since gone on to read his seasonal sequel, T’was the Nightshift Before Christmas. It’s just as good!
Summary
These are some of my favourite debut novels I enjoyed. Now I ask you – what is yours?
Good evening reading friends and welcome back to another weekly Sunday Summary update post from yours truly! It’s been a productive week and I’m really happy with what I’ve read and shared in the last week.
My first blog post of the week was a discussion post asking how many books is too many? After a recent, sizeable book haul in Liverpool it’s a question I’d been asking myself.
Friday’s feature was a Shelf Control post in which I shared a book I would cast aside all my TBR for, if only it was out yet. It’s also from one of my favourite series of all time; can you guess what it is?
Books Read
Obsidio
In last week’s Sunday Summary I shared that I had around 200 pages left of Obsidio to read. I polished those off pretty handily!
Obsidio has been a very easy read and I’ve enjoyed the conclusion of the series. The mixed media format has been fun to read at a time when I’ve been busy and it’s kept it light and interesting. I’ve enjoyed this collaboration between Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman a lot!
Master of Sorrows
After a couple of weeks of shelving this read, I picked it up again after finishing Obsidio. I only had to skip back a couple of pages to the beginning of my chapter to pick this back up, so that was nice and easy.
Over the last few days of this week, I’ve read another 150 pages of the book already. It’s the most I’ve read for a few days and the story is getting really interesting. The combination of current events and the stories about the Gods and their history are a fun combination and appeal to me a lot. I love delving into the history of the fantasy worlds I’m reading about!
I’m hopeful that I’ll be progressing with and wrapping up this book very soon! If the last few days are anything to go by, I expect nothing less!
The Other People
Having finished You Coach You last week, I’ve started a new audiobook this week. For a change, I’ve picked up a fiction read in this format – The Other People.
Already I can see why this is my mum’s favourite C.J. Tudor novel. I’ve listened to 25% of the audio this week alone and I’m hooked to find out what on earth is going on!
Given I’m quite early in the story there are a lot of threads and no indication as to what it what yet. I’m not convinced it’s going to be as simple as you can be drawn in to believe – having read C.J. Tudor before, I highly doubt that’s the case anyway!
Books Discovered
I’m sticking to my ban this week and I haven’t purchased a single book. I’ve also kept my head down and not added anything new to my reading list either 😁
Coming Up…
I’m looking forward to the content I have prepared for next week. For once I’ve decided this ahead of time rather than putting it together as I’m typing this post.
My first post of the week will be a Top Ten Tuesday post and feature debut novels I’ve read and enjoyed! Having read extensively and taken part in blog tours before, I have a great opportunity to share my list with you!
Friday’s post is a First Lines Friday. I’m setting myself a challenge to feature a non-fiction book in that post. It’s been a while since I’ve set criteria for the post; it makes it more fun and challenging to find the right book! I have an ulterior motive doing this – I need to step up my non-fiction reading little to meet my goal before the end of the year. I’m hoping this will inspire me to pick one up very soon!
As always, I’ll be wrapping up the week with another Sunday Summary post to share what I’ve been reading and all my updates with you!
If you’re still here, thanks for reading my Sunday Summary! Until next time, have a great week, and happy reading!
Whereas most Shelf Control posts feature me waxing lyrical about being excited to pick up an available read on my TBR, this post is different. I would literally shove my whole TBR aside to pick this up next book. There’s just one problem – it’s not published yet!
As always, I share a reminder of what the Shelf Control feature is all about before we get stuck in.
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.
George R.R. Martin and the A Song of Ice and Fire series, I love unconditionally. I’ll read the series again and again. To date, I’ve already read the first book four times, the second book three times and the rest of the series twice. It’s also one of the only series I own physical, digital ebook and audiobooks of. I’ve also shared content including my favourite quotes from the series.
Fair to say I’m a bit obsessed?
I’m unapologetic too. In the time it will take for the series to be finished (and I refuse to think this won’t happen, okay?), I’ll have re-read it once or twice more. At least they’re not short books, so each re-read will take a while!
I’m looking forward to this next instalment, however long it takes. I’d rather it be done right than rushed. I’m especially interested to see how The Winds of Winter compares with the TV series and whether there is any material difference.
It’s been a couple of weeks since I checked in with you for a Sunday Summary update, as I was on holiday last weekend. I hope you haven’t missed me too much! In reality, I only took a week or so I was break from blogging and I was back to the usual schedule this week. Let’s recap what I’ve shared since my last Sunday Summary update.
Before my holiday last week, I shared my Monthly Wrap-Up post recapping progress made in June. I read more than I thought I did last month, so I’m not disappointed with progress. I hadn’t taken into account progressing with carryovers from May. So in the end, I did reasonably well.
My first post of the week this week was my Mid Year Check In post. In this post, I took a look at the resolutions and reading goals I set myself in January and updated you on my progress. I have some action steps to take to try and meet some of my goals before the end of the year. I don’t expect to complete my Goodreads Challenge this year, but I will try to get as close as I can!
Next, I shared my Monthly TBR for July on Friday. That reading list includes the books I’m carrying over from June, with just a couple of new ones to give myself a chance to catch up. If you’re interested to see what I’m going to be reading in the next few weeks, that is the post to take a look at.
Books Read
Obsidio
In my Sunday Summary post a fortnight ago, I shared that I had started Obsidio and that I was only around 50 pages in. I took this book with me when we went to Liverpool mainly so I had something to read on the boat. I didn’t expect to read too much whilst I was away so there was no pressure from my side to do so.
I’ve continued with this book this week as it’s a nice and easy one to pick up. At work, quarter end is quite a big deal and it’s one of my busiest periods. Being able to pick up an easy read with multiple media formats has kept my brain interested. It’s also a lot more approachable to pick up and read in short bursts, as that’s the time I’ve had available.
As of this post, I have read a further 350 pages since my last update. I’m now down to just 200 until the books conclusion. I’ll be pushing on with this in the next couple of days and I’m looking forward to the end of the series (mostly!). I will be sad when it’s done though!
You Coach You
In this Sunday Summary update I get to share completion of my audiobook listen of You Coach You by Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis.
I really enjoyed this audiobook, so much so that I followed through with my promise to get a physical copy. It’s definitely a resource I’m going to go back to again and again, and I might even keep it at work handy.
If you’re interested in self development and career progression, I cannot recommend this book enough! Not only that, but Helen and Sarah also publish lots of free material via their podcast and worksheets. There’s no financial commitment to benefit from their insight! If you want to try them material before investing in a book like this, I would definitely point you to their podcast, The Squiggly Career.
Books Discovered
I am here to confess my sins, and this section could potentially be quite a long one. When shopping in Liverpool last week I had the pleasure of a Waterstones store 3X bigger than at home, and only a stones throw away from our hotel room. You can guess what’s coming right? A book haul!
I bought no less than 11 books in that store alone, as well as one in The Works, and one in Tesco for my mum. Then, I grabbed myself a couple off Amazon and finally I picked up one in Tesco for me when I was back home!
I’m not going to beat myself up too much because I saved for that shopping trip and I might as well buy something I love! I may have to lay off buying books for a while a year though…
I picked up anything and everything… from Fantasy to non-fiction, with a good deal of historical (fiction and not) thrown in. It’s fair to say I picked up a variety.
Coming Up…
With being back home and the majority of my work commitments now covered, I will be back to my usual level of commitment when it comes to both blogging and reading next week.
My first post of the week will be a discussion post. With the subject of how many books I’ve acquired recently on my mind, I ask the question, how many is too many?
On Friday, I’ll be back with a regular Friday feature. This week, that’s a Shelf Control post. In that post, I’ll feature an upcoming read on my TBR, why I added it to my list and why I’m looking forward to reading it.
Last, but certainly not least, I’ll be back with another Sunday Summary update at the end of the week. Fingers crossed, I’ll have fewerno new books added to the list…
Good evening friends and welcome to this Sunday Summary catch up! It’s the end of another week and honestly, they are absolutely flying by. We’re at the end of June already! Next week is going to be hectic with work as it’s quarter end, but I do have a little holiday to look forward to.
With that said, check out the coming up section in today’s Sunday Summary below as I’ll let you know about changes to my blogging schedule there. For now though, let’s get into what I shared this week:-
My first post of the week was a book review for Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez. I really enjoyed this non-fiction book (with an obvious feminism slant) and it was a real eye-opener in terms of the variety of ways in which women are disadvantaged in today’s society. If you’re interested in this kind of book, above is a link to my review so you can take a look for yourself.
On Friday I shared the next instalment in my First Lines Friday series with the opening lines to the last instalment of a young adult sci-fi series I am currently reading. The author is also one of my favourites of all time. If you’re a regular reader, you may be able to guess who this is. If not, go check out that post here!
Books Read
Master of Sorrows
I confess that I haven’t read much this week. Reading has been pretty much limited to my lunch hours, and even then I ran errands on a couple of those days.
Progress in Master of Sorrows this week amounts to only 70 odd pages. However, in the 70 pages also I have read I feel like the story has progressed quite a bit and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in Annev’s final test.
I would have read more of this book this week, but for the fact that I accidentally left it at work twice. I couldn’t pick it up in the evening like I intended twice! Instead, I ended up picking up a second book to read at home…
Obsidio
Obsidio was on my June TBR anyway, so I picked this up on both occasions when I left Master of Sorrows at work.
As such, I’ve read just shy of the first 50 pages of this last instalment in The Illuminae files series. I’m also enjoying this one already. We have some new faces to the story and I hope all the characters we’ve met to date come together for an epic conclusion.
I have the advantage of Obsidio and Master of Sorrows being very different from each other. Where Master of Sorrows is a traditionally written adult fantasy novel, Obsidio is a young adult science-fiction written in mixed media format. Both have been very easy to keep track of in tandem. My intention is to prioritise Master of Sorrows as that was always my original read. However, if I do fancy a change there will be no problem whatsoever in picking up Obsidio in between.
You Coach You
Progress in You Coach You amounts to another hour’s listening time this week.
It’s not a lot of progress, but at least I did pick it up a bit. In some senses, I feel like this book isn’t the type you want to rush through anyway. If you really want to make the most of the content, you have to take the time to go through it and reflect on each chapter rather than just jumping into the next one.
Once I’ve listened to this book, I plan to download the extra content that comes with it and have a go at the exercises in areas I think I would benefit from. I may even end up purchasing myself a copy of this book so I can refer back to it again. It’s that kind of resource book you want to keep hold of!
Books Discovered
I was little naughty and bought myself one book this week, which isn’t too bad. However, I was also gifted three in a series. At the same time, this was already on my reading list so it saves me purchasing a copy later. I’ll justify it anyhow 😁
The book I bought was The Tw*t Files by Dawn French. I bought it on a whim on the basis that it sounded hilarious, but it will also be a good read in terms of building self-confidence. It seems we all muck up from time to time. If someone famous can do it, then so can I!
The series I was gifted is Thomas Harris‘s Hannibal Lector trilogy. I already had Red Dragon on my reading list to pick up at some point in the future. Naturally, enjoying this book would go onto purchasing the rest of the series. My work friend Brita previously owned these books. Rather than taking them to a charity shop, she offered them to me first in case I was interested.. .and I was!
Coming Up…
Next week, due to work commitments and then a long weekend away, I only plan to share one post with you. As it’s the beginning of July, I will conclude June by sharing my monthly wrap-up post. After that, it feels like a good place to stop and enjoy my short break. I honestly don’t know how well I would be able to juggle blogging on the holiday in any case.
Instead, I will be back with you a week later with my monthly TBR for July, a half yearly review of progress in 2024 so far, and finally a Sunday Summary. That will all be in the week commencing the 8th of July. After that, we should be back to usual scheduling!
That’s all from me though in this Sunday Summary post. Thanks for reading!
Welcome to another First Lines Friday post! In my Sunday Summary post last week, I shared that I was keeping the subject of this First Lines Friday feature open to a decision nearer the time.
I’ve decided for this post to share an upcoming read. As of this post, I have read three out of the four books in the series, with just this last one to catch up on until I can mark the series as complete!
So, without further ado, let’s get into this First Lines Friday feature shall we?
I floated in a void of nothing.
And felt like I belonged there.
So strange. I was a creature of flesh and blood. I knew that. Yet my soul – part of it at least – felt more at home here. In a vast void of meaningless time. The nowhere.
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson comes the final book in an epic series about a girl who will travel beyond the stars to save the world she loves from destruction.
Spensa made it out of the Nowhere, but what she saw in the space between the stars has changed her forever. She came face to face with the Delvers, and finally got answers to the questions she’s had about her own strange Cytonic gifts.
The Superiority didn’t stop in it’s fight for galactic dominance while she was gone, though. Spensa’s team, Skyward Flight, was able to hold Winzik off, and even collect allies to help with the cause, but it’s only a matter of time until humanity–and the rest of the galaxy–falls.
Defeating them will require all the knowledge Spensa gathered while in the Nowhere. But being Cytonic is more complicated than she ever could have imagined. Now, Spensa must ask herself: how far is she willing to go for victory, if it means losing herself–and her friends–in the process.
My Thoughts…
Defiant is on this year‘s Summer TBR as I want to catch up with and finish this last instalment of the series.
For just a couple of months last year, I was up-to-date until Defiant was released in November. I’m not mad though! I am really enjoying this series to date even though I’m older than the target audience. Angsty teenager is a difficult character type to get right and for me to get on with. I’ve always been a bit of an old soul so I’ve struggled to relate to this kind of character before.
Not Spensa though. Is she incredibly feisty, spontaneous and a little bit reckless? Absolutely. Is this kind of person I would normally jive with? Not really. However, she works really well for me.
To be fair, there isn’t a Brandon Sanderson novel yet that I’ve not loved. I hope I haven’t jinxed it, but I’m quietly confident this will be another fantastic read.
Thanks for reading today’s First Lines Friday post! Have you read Defiant yet?
Genre: Magical fantasy
I floated in a void of nothing. 
here. In a vast void of meaningless time. The nowhere.
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