Tag: If We Were Villians

Monthly Wrap-Up – August 2025

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Hot off the press, I’m here to share my reading progress in today’s monthly wrap-up! I hope you enjoy today’s catch up post and can take some book recommendations away. 

In my August TBR I shared an extensive list of books I hoped to pick up. As usual I didn’t get around to it all. My plans also had to change a little as I agreed to take part in a blog tour later this week after sharing the TBR. 

Shall we take a look at what I did get to? 

 

Books Read 

House of Frank 

My first carryover from last month was the July Cottagecore Fantasy Book Club read, House of Frank. I only had a third of the book left and I was determined to finish it even after the readalong was officially finished. 

It was a pretty decent read and I’m glad I got to see the final character progression. The book didn’t end entirely as I expected, so it did have a little twist. Whilst I did enjoy the book, it was a pretty average read. 

In fairness, even at this state of affairs it fared better than the August book… but more on that below.

 

Stormdancer 

Even closer to the finish line than I was with House of Frank, I completed the final two hours of audio for Stormdancer in early August. 

I enjoyed this book a lot and I’m really interested to see where the rest of the series will take us. The good news is that I have the other two books in audio format so I can pick these up at my leisure. The steampunk and Asian fantasy mash-up is truly an interesting genre to read. Honestly, I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. Then again, so far Jay Kristoff hasn’t put a foot wrong and I’ve enjoyed all his books.

The first book ends on quite a cliffhanger. What happens next? I can’t wait to find out! 

 

If We Were Villains 

This book has been sat on my bookshelf for the longest time. I found out this month why I’d been holding out on myself! 

If We Were Villains is a fantastic, suspenseful read. Although the book and narrative owes a lot of its influence to Shakespeare, you don’t need a wealth of knowledge on his plays to enjoy this book. Sure, I think there are probably smart references and Easter eggs fans could pick up on. From someone not well-versed though, it really doesn’t affect your overall enjoyment of the book. 

This is quite an interesting one. Whilst from the beginning we think we know what happened (the tale is told by a single narrator after the event, after all), that turns out not to be the case at all really. It was an interesting way to play out the narrative. Fans of dark academia books will definitely love this one!

 

The House Witch

I have a DNF to share this month, which was August’s Cottagecore Fantasy Book club read. 

In all, The House Witch was fine, but I lost steam with it. It’s quite long-winded and takes time to get going. A few of us in the group agreed that the book read like an indie, even though it has been traditionally published. 

I was struggling with motivation to pick up the book. Eventually, I decided it wasn’t worth trying to force myself through it so took the decision to write-off the couple hundred pages I read. It’s a shame, as that’s effort that doesn’t count towards any of my stats. But, I made the right decision as reading progress picked back up again with a fresh read, and a very drastic change of pace… 

 

The Atlantis Covenant

The final book I picked up physically at the end of August is The Atlantis Covenant. As I mentioned near the top of this post, I signed up for this blog tour at quite short notice, well, at least for me. Rachel dropped me an email asking for help with the tour and I did like the sound of it. So, I agreed to read it for the tour! That tour date is in just a few days time. In the spirit of not leaving things too late, I picked this up with a few days left in August. 

As of drafting this monthly wrap-up post, it is still a current read but I am 60% through and the reading time estimate puts me at less than two hours to complete the book. It’s significantly faster paced and action-packed, which is a direct contrast with The House Witch. Think if Indiana Jones was a book, that’s the kind of experience I’m having right now. It’s fun and there are some interesting theories coming up in the narrative. Will they be true, or is there another twist yet? I suspect there is! I’ll be reading this in the next day or so in order than my blog tour post is ready to go live early on Thursday. 

Stay tuned!

 

Tyrant’s Throne 

This monthly wrap-up includes updates on two more audiobooks yet, so don’t be too hasty with scanning down the post! 

In August I listened to Tyrant’s Throne in its entirety. It feels like it’s been a while since I completed an audiobook within a calendar month. However, this was the final book of its series and after listening to Saint’s Blood pretty recently, I was keen to get to the end of this book! 

Often when I’m finishing a good series, I get sad towards the conclusion and start putting up resistance to actually finishing the last book. However, as I shared in my Sunday Summary yesterday, I didn’t get to that point with this book for the best of reasons! I’m so glad I finished the book and I hope to see more stories from Falcio, Kest and Brasti in future. 

 

Sensitive

The final audiobook and book to feature in this monthly wrap-up post is Sensitive by Jenn Granneman and Andre Solo. 

I started this relatively short audio with jut a couple of days left in the month. The other intended reads on my August TBR are owned in other formats already, so I didn’t start audiobooks of those deliberately. Instead, I turned to my 20 Books of Summer Challenge for inspiration and chose Sensitive. 

As of this monthly wrap-up I’ve already listened to a healthy chunk of this audiobook. As at the end of the month, I officially carried over just under five hours of the audiobook to listen to. In practice, I’ve listened to a couple of hours today, so I have a little under three hours. I expect I’ll make light work of it so I’ll be starting a  new audiobook soon! 

 

Summary 

So, I picked up no less than seven titles at some point over the course of August. In terms of my 20 Books of Summer Challenge, I finished the season having read seven of the original books in total, as well as DNFing and subbing out another. I had hoped for more progress, but then again, I couldn’t always allow for book club or blog tour commitments in my reading list. I’ve still read a decent amount over the last three months. The unread books on this list aren’t going away. I’m putting them on a ‘priority’ list and I want them all finished before the end of the year. 

 That’s everything to catch you up on in this monthly wrap-up update! 

Have you read any of the books in today’s post? 

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Sunday Summary – 17th August 2025

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Hello friends! It’s the end of another week (and weekend… again 🙄), so I’m back with today’s Sunday Summary catch-up. I have some fun books I’ve been reading, and I can’t wait to share those with you! As always though, before we get that far, let’s recap what posts I’ve shared with you in the last seven days.

The first post of the week was a Top Ten Tuesday instalment. This week, the topic was Books Guaranteed to Put an End to Your Book Slump. In this post, I feature some firm favourites I turn to when I’m in a slump and need a pick-me-up. If you ever find yourself in this position, maybe one of these books can drag you from the abyss?

On Friday, I shared an interesting dystopian novel with an extreme take on diet culture. It’s an odd topic for a dystopian to lean into, but I love the sound of it. I reckon this could make for good discussion in the context of diet culture too. As and when I get to reading it, I’ll let you know if that is truly the case!

On Patreon, I shared my review of Samantha Shannon’s A Day of Fallen Night. As prequels go, I think A Day of Fallen Night ticked all the right boxes. I also love that you can read the books pretty much standalone, or in any order. If you want to find out more of my thoughts of this book, consider subscribing to me on Patreon for early access to my reviews of recent reads!


Books Read


If We Were Villains

As planned, I finished If We Were Villains early this week. It wasn’t quite Monday – it ended up being Tuesday.

I really enjoyed how the events of the book played out and the narrative style. My only regret is that I left it so long to pick up this book! Even if you aren’t a big fan of Shakespeare (and I’m not overly – it’s hard to understand!), that doesn’t especially matter. It contributes to the narrative, but doesn’t dominate it. It can be read without understanding the full context of the plays, characters and lines. I have a suspicion those more in-the-know on Shakespeare probably got more in the way of foreshadowing and ‘easter eggs’ from the plays and characters portrayed. Even without that level of appreciation myself – I had a great time!


The House Witch

This week I’ve made a real effort to catch up on the Cottagecore Fantasy Book Club read, The House Witch. As of last week’s Sunday Summary, I’d only just started the book. This week, I’ve made an effort to catch up on where I *should* be with it. I set the schedule and yet I’m not quite keeping up with it 😅

As of this Sunday Summary, I’m nearly on track! I’ve got to chapter 17, which is only a week behind schedule. I’ve already read 120 pages or so in the last few days and I plan to read more tonight as I wind down for the evening.

So far I’m enjoying the book. I hope we get to see more of the character dynamic between Fin and his father. I feel like that’s what the book is building up to and it’ll make for an interesting dynamic.

 

Tyrant’s Throne

As of last week’s Sunday Summary, I’ve come on leaps and bounds from the 1.5 hours of Tyrant’s Throne I’d listened to. Over the last seven days, I’ve listened to a further 5 and a half hours. In terms of overall progress, that puts me at around 45% progress.

I’m intrigued as to where this book is going to go to round up the series. Already, the events of the book have taken a turn I didn’t expect. We’re at what I suspect to be a pivotal point in the story right now – and it could go one of two ways. As final books in a series go, this one of up there for unpredictability and for having me hooked to get to the end. I’m not even lamenting the fact that I only have 9 hours of audio of the book/series yet! Usually, I find myself in a mixture of eagerness to get to the end, but also sadness it’s about to end. For this one through, I’m that gripped my events I want to listen on!

Whilst I may not finish this audiobook next week, I hope to get as close as I can!


Books Discovered


Whilst my wallet hasn’t suffered this week, I have added a few books to my TBR. I’m lining myself up to start a new challenge after 20 Books of Summer is over. I’m not going to spoil anything on that too early, but in short, I’ll be picking up three reads that weren’t on my TBR from ChatGPT recommendations. More on that challenge to follow.

On Facebook this week, I read about a book called I Know I’m in There Somewhere: A Woman’s Guide to Finding Her Inner Voice and Living a Life of Authenticity. It’s not a super-long read, but I think it could be an interesting one to pick up.


Coming Up…

Last week I kicked off my blog content with a Top Ten Tuesday, and the same applies this week! However, this week’s topic is books with a high page count. As you know, an epic fantasy lover like me will have plenty of those to share. Tune in on Tuesday for a list of chunky book recommendations! I promise to feature more than just fantasy books 😊

On Friday I’ll return with a First Lines Friday feature. In that post, I’ll tease one of the three books I’m reading for my aforementioned upcoming reading challenge. I hope you can take a look at what’s coming up for that reading list.

Last of all, I’ll return with another Sunday Summary post this time next week How many books will I finish next week? Hopefully a few more than this week!

What are you reading?

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Sunday Summary – 10th August 2025

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Another Sunday Summary graces your screens on account of the fact that another week is over. Aren’t they flying by? In today’s post I have a great line up of current reads to update you on, as well as a couple of new books purchased. 

Before that though, the first port of call is always to catch up on the content I’ve shared so far this week. That way, if you missed anything, you have a chance to catch up! 

The first post of the week was my August TBR. Naturally the books I’ve been reading derive from this list and it’s been a great start to the month. I’ve made a good start so far this month, so I’m optimistic 🤞🏻 let’s hope that’s not famous last words…

On Friday I published a First Lines Friday post featuring an author I’m listening to currently. If you read my August TBR you’ll have a better chance of guessing the author. However, when it comes to books, he’s written several. Take a look and see if you can guess which it is. 

I’ve reviewed another recent read on Patreon this week. If you are curious about Little Fires Everywhere – maybe to decide whether to read it for yourself, or to compare notes, please consider subscribing to gain early access to reviews for all the books I’m reading! 

 

Books Read

 

Stormdancer

Stormdancer was always going to be a pretty quick finish this week. As of last week’s Sunday Summary, I only had a couple of hours of the audiobook left. 

Naturally, being this close to the conclusion I rapidly picked this up at every opportunity to get to the end. I really enjoyed the book and I’m curious about how the story will continue. The good news is I already have the audiobooks! 

 

If We Were Villains

As of last week’s Sunday Summary, I’d started the first 40 pages of If We Were Villains and was already intrigued. 

It’s fair to say that sentiment has held! I’ve been reading If We Were Villains throughout the week. Admittedly, I held off posting tonight to try and get the book finished this evening before this Sunday Summary went live. I’ve fallen a little short, but I only have 60 pages left! 

The story is really compelling and I’m looking forward to finishing this book. Fingers crossed I can finish it tomorrow! I really need to know how it all ends! 

 

The House Witch 

As part of the Cottagecore Fantasy Book Club, I’m reading along with The House Witch. Admittedly I’ve only just started this book. Currently, my plan is to read this little by little throughout the month. The chat is set up with a rough timeline week on week to discuss, so at least I have some benchmarks to aim for. 

At the end of this week, in theory, I should have read up to and including chapter 17. I haven’t, my next priority will be catching up on this book before picking up another read! 

 

Tyrant’s Throne

Finally, the last book I’ve started this week is Tyrant’s Throne by Sebastien de Castell. 

This is the fourth and final book in his The Greatcoats series. With finishing series being a priority in this year‘s resolutions, you can see why I’m excited to read and finish this book. I’m glad that I picked this up so soon after finishing Saint’s Blood. It had been some time since I picked up this third book in the series. Not wanting to end up in the same position as last time, I’m keen to finish the series whilst events are straight in my head. 

As of this Sunday Summary I’ve listened to one and a half hours. It made a good introduction. I’m looking forward to listening more over the next week! 

 

Books Discovered

I popped into town yesterday and a window-shop turned into a couple of purchases. 

The God of the Woods, Waterstones current book of the month, caught my attention. As well, Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT and the Race That Will Change the World also appealed to me. 

Both these books were part of Waterstones ‘but one get one half price’ offer, so it would have been rude not to, right? 

 

Coming Up… 

 Next week I plan to start the week with a Top Ten Tuesday post. The subject of next week’s feature is ‘books guaranteed to put an end to you book slump’. It’s an interesting topic. It happens to all of us, and I’m glad to share my guaranteed books to pull me out of it. Hopefully they can help anyone else in the same situation. 

On Friday, I’ll be back with a Shelf Control post. In this week’s instalment of the feature, I share a dystopian novel that caught my eye and I’m interested to try! 

Finally, next Sunday I’ll update you on my reading progress over the next seven days in my Sunday Summary regular feature. I hope you’re looking forward to this next one already! 

On Patreon, I’m planning to share my review of Samantha Shannon’s A Day of Fallen Night. If you’re interested in my thoughts on this prequel, make sure you’re following me on Patreon. 

Until then, happy reading and I’ll see you around! 

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Monthly TBR – August 2025

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It’s the beginning of August and I’m with you today to share my monthly TBR. It’s the final month of the 20 Books of Summer Challenge. Whilst I fully expected to be a little behind with this challenge as it was a stretch goal, I’m hoping to read as much as I can from that list before the end of the month.

When I shared my monthly wrap-up post just a few days ago, I was very close to completion with both of my current reads. It feels like great progress to share in this post that I have finished both of those books. They won’t feature in this TBR, but mentally it helped set me up for what I can only hope to be success with this monthly TBR. 

So, shall we actually get round to talking about the books on the list?

 

Fixed Reads 

 

The Giver

Starting off with my book club commitments, the first book I need to read is The Giver by Lois Lowry. Following on from The Measure, The Giver is also set in a dystopian world and was very clearly one of the inspiring stories behind this book. When talking about it in our book club discussion last week, Meg recommended picking up The Giver as it’s a great book itself. However, we also decided it would be interesting to see how this book influenced The Measure. 

The good news is The Giver is quite a short read. This book is actually aimed at a middle grade or young adult audience. As a result, its page count only sits at around 240. That should be plenty easy to get through! 

 

The House Witch

Next, I am picking up The House Witch with the Cottagecore Fantasy Book Club, over the course of this month. I came to the party late last month. Consequently, I ended up bingeing House of Frank in order to catch up. Instead, I’ll be picking up The House Witch incrementally so I can contribute to the discussion on a weekly basis. 

As a result, you’ll see me chipping away at this slowly over the course of the month. That is, unless I get carried away and binge the whole lot early on. We’ll see how my experience goes of the book 😌

 

If We Were Villains 

The next book I’m including in this early section is If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio. I’m including this as a fixed read on this monthly TBR because I have started already. As of this monthly TBR post, I have read around 100 pages so far. Although I can be very hit and miss with Shakespeare, its influence on the narrative isn’t putting me off. In fact, it’s been nice to read a book that dabbles with Shakespeare but isn’t so heavily that I’m put off.

If you are unfamiliar with the premise of the book, If We Were Villains is about a group of theatre students in their final year of education. The school of arts they attend specialises in Shakespeare. Now, I haven’t got to the juicy bit where someone gets murdered. Not yet. However, the parallels of tragedy between Shakespeare’s writing and what inevitably comes to pass are starting to weave their way into the narrative. I’m excited to see what happens and so I imagine this book will be read pretty quickly! 

 

HR Disrupted

I often talk books at work, and a conversation with our HR lady has resulted in my borrowing HR Disrupted from her. She started explaining to me what an HR Disruptor is and what it means in terms of breaking the traditional moulds and practices of HR. I was intrigued, and you know me 😉 I’ll read books on pretty much any subject! 

This is a fixed read this monthly TBR as naturally I want to return the book to its rightful owner ASAP ☺️

 

Mood Reads 

 

The Pagan Lord

Regretfully, I didn’t get to The Pagan Lord, which was on my monthly TBR for July. This is a carry forward, and I’m still looking forward to continuing with this series.

This TBR is a little on the long side, and I will admit that it is ambitious. However, with some shorter books on the list, The Pagan Lord among one of those, I’m hopeful I can catch up with my Goodreads reading challenge. I’m looking forward to reading this 300-page book to get myself back into the Last Kingdom, also known as the Saxon Stories series by Bernard Cornwell. 

 

The Dragon Republic

Another carryover from my July TBR is The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang. I’m looking forward to this second instalment in The Poppy War series. 

I’m planning to pick this one up later in the month. Whilst momentum is strong, I want to try and blitz my shorter reads. The Dragon Republic is about 650 pages – it’s not short by any means. If my experience of the first book is anything to go by, it’ll be a slower and more detailed read. 

 

Tyrant’s Throne 

A final book of a series I’m looking forward to listening to this month is Tyrant’s Throne by Sebastien de Castell. 

It’s also my main audiobook of the month! Naturally, I hope I can finish this in good time and squeeze in another 20 Books of Summer entry before the end of August. The audiobook is 16 and a half hours at x1.2 speed, so not unachievable… 

Having just listened to Saint’s Blood, I’m eager to finish the series whilst events are fresh in my mind. 

Summary 

With a total of seven books, 2200 pages, and 16 and a half hours of audio on this month’s TBR, I’m optimistic for a productive month of reading. 

I’ve already made a great start finishing two carryovers from July that aren’t featured in today’s monthly TBR; I’ve wrapped them up already! Let’s hope we can keep the momentum going! 

What are you reading this summer? 

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Sunday Summary – 3rd August 2025

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We’re back with another weekly round-up in this Sunday Summary. I hope you’ve had a great week? As always, I’ll catch you up on the posts I’ve shared, as well as what I’ve been reading.

My first post of the week was my Firsts of 2025 book tag post. It was a fun way to look back at some of my milestones of 2025. If you haven’t yet seen the post, there’s a link above if you want to check it out!

My second post of the week went live on Friday. As it was the first of the month, I came in hot with my monthly wrap-up for July. It was a decent month of reading, although I didn’t get through my whole TBR.

Elsewhere, on Patreon, I reviewed All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. In that post, I shared that there were aspects of the book I enjoyed, but there were others I struggled with too.


Books Read


House of Frank

In last week’s Sunday Summary, I shared I was 65% through House of Frank. I also shared I was optimistic to finish the book and share completion in today’s post.

The good news is I can share that I finished the book! It was a good read and I enjoyed this cosy fantasy. It was different to the books I’ve read lately and I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts on the book in the cottagecore fantasy book club I moderate!

Stormdancer

Stormdancer was the second book I hoped to have finished this week. This didn’t quite come to pass, but I now only have two hours of the audiobook left. I’ll be very surprised if I don’t finish it in the next week!

I’m really enjoying this audiobook and the unusual genre combination. What more, events are leading up to a conclusion now and I have no idea how this book will wrap up! I thought I did, but the narrative has just pulled the rug from under Yukiko’s feet and I want to see what happens next ASAP!


If We Were Villains

I’ve started If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio today, but only just. So, I don’t have a whole lot of progress to note. However, it’s good for you to know what’s coming up on my reading list so you know what book I’ll be updating you on in the next week! As of this Sunday Summary, I’ve read the first 40 pages and I’m intrigued. Let’s hope that continues.

I’m looking forward to getting into this fully. It’s been on my TBR shelf for quite some time…


Books Discovered

During book club on Wednesday, I was recommended two books by my colleague Meg. The first is the book we’re now reading for August – The Giver by Lois Lowry. The second book is called The Five People You Meet in Heaven.

The third book I’ve added is called The Wealth Ladder. As regular readers will know, I am picking up more non-fiction than ever. As well, I think this will be a useful and informative read.


Coming Up…

With early August hot on our heels (where has THAT gone?!), my first post of the week will be my August TBR. It’s my last chance to progress with my 20 Books of Summer Challenge. I hope you can take a look with me to see what’s coming up on my reading list soon.

On Friday, I’m back with another First Lines Friday instalment. The last time I shared this post, I set myself a challenge. This time, I’m keeping things open and interesting.

Finally, next Sunday I’m back with another Sunday Summary update post. As always, I’ll keep you informed on the books I’m reading, reviewing, and what I’ve posted online.

Until then, happy reading and I’ll see you next time!

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Monthly TBR – July 2025

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The books in today’s monthly TBR are all part of my 20 Books of Summer Challenge. It shouldn’t be a surprise, in a broad sense, what I’ll be reading over the next few months. In my recent Top Ten Tuesday post, I shared which books on that list I’m prioritising soon. 

The culmination of both these lists is my July Monthly TBR. Take a look at the books coming up on this month’s list – I’m very excited to pick each and every one of these up! 

 

Fixed Reads 

 

The Anxious Generation  

The first of my carryovers from June is The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. As of my monthly wrap-up post, I’d read the first 60 pages. As of drafting this monthly TBR, I’m another 100 pages along. Progress therefore stands at about 50%. 

The Anxious Generation has proven to be an interesting and relatively easy read. For a non-fiction, informative book, it’s not dry. The facts and figures are easily spelled out and backed up. Perhaps I’m biased by the subject matter meaning so much to me. Either way, I’m really enjoying The Anxious Generation so far and hopefully I’ll blast through the last half before the end of the week! 

 

Saint’s Blood

The second and final carryover onto this monthly TBR is my audiobook listen, Saint’s Blood. I’m even closer to the finish line with this book, with just 45 minutes listening time left as of drafting this post. I will absolutely finish this book tomorrow at the latest! 

Saint’s Blood has been a great listen and I’ve loved getting back into this series. With just one book left after this one is finished, it makes sense to pick the sequel up soon and finish the series. That way it’s fresh in my mind, and it’s a tick in the ol’ box for my series completion resolution 😅

 

The Measure 

I’ve convinced book club to pick up The Measure this month. I was a little worried about squeezing in book club reads on top of my Summer Challenge TBR. However, it was my turn to pick a book and so I made it work to my advantage! 

I think this will be a good fit for the group as well. The story type appeals to the reading tastes of several in the group. That’s a great start. Also, I think this will have some really interesting talking points for our meet-up. 

Win-win! 

 

Mood Reads 

 

The Pagan Lord

I’ve convinced my boyfriend Shane to start watching The Last Kingdom. We’ve recently finished watching Vikings (which he introduced me to), and he’s liking it so far. 

I reviewed Death of Kings recently and shamed myself a little over how long it’s been since I picked up the series. It’s quite a long one, so not a likely candidate for a finish this year. Pagan Lord is book seven of the series. I think there are 13 in total off the top of my head. That’s no reason not to make progress with it though! 

At around the 300-page mark, The Pagan Lord will make for a good recap to the series. I have watched the series, so I should be able to pick up the storyline quickly enough despite the reading gap. It should also be a relatively quick read – helpful to getting caught up with my reading goal! 

 

If We Were Villains

The oldest book on this monthly TBR, in terms of how long it’s been on my TBR, is If We Were Villains.

I’ve had a copy of this on my bookshelf for years. It’s finally time to get to it! Although I’m not a big Shakespeare fan, I do love literature and drama. This combination means I’m looking forward to this book. In the past, I’ve enjoyed dark academia books. If We Were Villains falls into this category. It all bodes well – let’s just hope the book lives up to my expectations. 

 

The Dragon Republic

Whilst events of The Poppy War are fresh in my mind, I want to pick up the sequel. As the second book of a trilogy, progress with The Dragon Republic means I’ll have just one book left in the series once it’s done. Naturally, I’ll then look to finish the trilogy this year! That’ll be another series ticked off my list ☺️ 

The Poppy War was a great read. It wasn’t the fastest because the story was quite dense. Not in a bad way. I enjoyed taking my time over it. I don’t know if The Dragon Republic will be the same. Having laid the groundwork, events could go either way. Things could speed up now the world-building is established. Equally though, if there is more to lay down it could be a repeat of the same. I’ll just have to see how it goes. If I expect the latter then I won’t be disappointed if reading progress is a little slower.  

 

Alan Turing: The Enigma

Another chunky read on this monthly TBR is in the form of an audiobook. I’ve deliberately chosen to listen to the book for this reason. As I’m so close to finishing Saint’s Blood, I should have plenty of time to listen to Alan Turing. 

I added this book to my reading list after watching The Imitation Game. I’m intrigued to learn more about the person who had such an important influence on history. What shocked me most was how Alan Turing was treated after all he did to end WW2. I’m hoping this is covered in the book, because it’s a significant part of Mr Turing’s story. I’ll let you know in due course whether it does and what my thoughts are on the book. 

 

Summary 

I have a good number of books on this monthly TBR. However, given I’m close to finishing the carried over books from June, I think this is achievable. Even if I have a repeat of this month and get very close, I’ll be happy. 

What books are coming up on your reading list? 

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Shelf Control #30 – 30/04/2021

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Hello everyone and welcome to today’s Shelf Control post! I’m sorry if this post is a little brief, but I’ve spent the day at work, then done my weekly shop and come home to cut my grass before some bad weather comes in over the weekend. I first sat down at 9 o’clock this evening!

Shelf Control is a regular feature I started last year and I have got back into sharing these posts regularly again. It’s a meme run by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies. It’s a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up!

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

Read on to find out about today’s featured mystery novel!

 

If We Were Villains – M. L. Rio

Goodreads – If We Were Villains

Oliver Marks has just served ten years in jail – for a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day he’s released, he’s greeted by the man who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happened a decade ago.

As one of seven young actors studying Shakespeare at an elite arts college, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingenue, extra. But when the casting changes, and the secondary characters usurp the stars, the plays spill dangerously over into life, and one of them is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless.

 

My Thoughts….

I am a huge fan of theatre; something you have probably picked up from my blog before. If not then I’ll say it again now. As a former performing arts student (among other subjects as part of my A-levels) I have an appreciation for the art and I used to really enjoyed myself! I haven’t done it so much since I left school but I do like to go and watch. Having a book based around a set of performers is something that’s right up my street!

The one aspect that probably isn’t quite so ‘me’ is that the actors are studying Shakespeare. I really don’t get on with Shakespeare; it’s gobbledygook to me! Seriously though, does it make sense to anyone? I don’t think it will impact my enjoyment of the book though. It is obviously going to have some bearing on the narrative but I’m hopeful that this will be for the most part, minimal, and that you don’t have to understand too much about Shakespeare and his plays itself to know what’s going on! The premise of the book sounds really interesting and I can imagine the character relationships getting quite complex. We’ll have to see, but I can’t wait to pick up and find out.

I’ve almost picked this book up a couple of times, but experimentally only to see whether I’m going to get on with it or not. From what I read I’m hopeful! Have you read If We Were Villains? If so, what are your thoughts? As always, I would love to hear from you!

 

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