2025 Reading Challenge discussion

I'll be aiming for 61 books this year. It's an odd number, yes, but I always set my goal for one less than the previous year, so as I don't feel as if I'm competing with myself haha!

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Member's Corner

61/61

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Currently Reading
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Physical



eBook



Audiobook



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Female: 38
Male: 20
Non-Binary: 2

Good luck with the "arbitrary" 62. My brain shutdown for a second there thinking "at least make it 60 or 65" :D

Have a great 2023, Ashleigh!

Review for Truly Devious

4/5.

Book one of 2023 kicked off nicely. This book was selected between my matched twin on 2023 Reading Challenge’s TBR Twins. Like most books I pick up, I went into this not knowing anything about it. I barely knew it was a mystery before pressing ‘play’ on the audiobook.

I felt as if it started off strong, drawing me in almost immediately. The beginning started in the 1930s, where we were introduced to Dottie, a young, highly intelligent girl who is always getting into mischief at her school. She is then approached by a celebrity called Albert Ellingham, who invites her to a school for gifted students – free of charge.

Dottie spends her first few years there, before she encounters a mysterious stranger and then is never heard from again.

We then jump to present times, where we meet Stevie, a girl who is interested in true crime stories, detective stories and is determined to solve the mysteries at Ellingham Academy as well as escape her irritating right-wing extreme-leaning parents. She has done her research and has virtually gotten to know a few people already – Janelle and Nate. Once arrived, she gets to know other students such as Ellie and David who are second years and a famous YouTube star, Haze.

In the midst of trying to solve the mystery of Dottie and the disappearance of Albert Ellingham’s wife and daughter in 1936, Stevie is also swept into a present day case when a student at the Academy turns up dead one day. This sets Stevie on a path to try and solve who killed her classmate, and perhaps the two mysteries, decades apart, are related.

I found myself invested throughout this story, trying to solve the mysteries along with Stevie. There was a pull towards both, and neither felt ‘bland’ or predictable and were tricky to solve. In fact, my reading buddy and I both said that we didn’t see the ending coming, and neither of us are actually convinced the case is solved – after all, there are four more books.

What took me by surprise was that the book ended on a cliffhanger. I didn’t realise that the mystery was going to stretch across the remainder of the books and thought each book would introduce a new case. However, I am not displeased by this revelation. I found there to be a lot of great world building in Truly Devious and am excited to see it expanded across more books – to see how the characters, the relationships and the revelations develop along with the story.

There was a lot of depth to Truly Devious, and if you have read and enoyed The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, I’d highly recommend this series too. Despite the situations being entirely different, the vibes of the story felt similar. I’m excited to read the rest!

Review for United as One

3.75/5.

This book took its sweet time in reaching me, as I put a request through my library and it took them a while to approve it, then a longer while to get it! But I finally managed to get my hands on a copy right at the end of December last year, so naturally this was my first physical read of 2023.

I loved seeing the team back together again! If you read some of my other reviews on the later books, you would see that I was becoming frustrated with the books having the group separated and not fighting together (like the badass stuff they did in Fall of Five). But, naturall, as the title suggests, United As One had the gang back fighting together to the end.

We begin with the aftermath of The Fate of Ten, with an angsty John and the rest feeling and looking defeated, but safe. Daniela and Sam are there and continuing to fight the battle against Setrakus Ra.

I found this book was a lot higher stakes than a lot of the others, maybe save Fall of Five (my favourite, if you can’t tell!). This was the end, the crunch. Earth has been invaded by the Mogadorians and innocent people are dying every day. The Garde must finally face and destroy him or Earth (and themselves) will be destroyed. With the higher stakes, of course comes sacrifices, and I found the sacrifices made in this book to be both believable and heartwrenching all at once. I thought we were going to lose some more characters, and we did, but perhaps not as many as I expected.

This leads me to the end of the book (and the series). I was rather happy with the way it all ended. While it wasn’t the way I expected, I think it was fitting to end in a way which was positive and happy, and yet not an entirely happily ever after. Right until the end, characters were still struggling in the aftermath of the climax. I thought this was nice to see – that no matter the outcome, no matter what happens, the trauma remains.

Over all, I am satisfied with this series. Is it my favourite series in the world? No. Will I miss the characters? Yes, absolutely. I am keen to read all the novellas and spin off series eventually!

Review for Things We Do in the Dark

4/5.

Things We Do In the Dark by Jennifer Hillier took me by surprise in the most pleasant kind of way. While I’ve enjoyed most of the thrillers picked by The Global Book Nook over the past year, it’s still a genre I hesitate on before starting, and this one was no exception. It is just not my comfort zone and I’ll still hesitate about adding this genre to my TBR, though I must admit that over the months, it’s getting easier to do so.

There was nothing exceptional about this book, or the way it was told. Some would even argue that it didn’t have the ‘action’ or ‘twists’ that most thrillers have, and that is very true. This book was not your ordinary thriller where it had a ‘whodunnit’ focus. Yes, this was a major aspect of the book but without giving away any spoilers, it did not focus on that.

Hillier chose to focus on a damaged and irreperable relationship between mother and child which impacted their lives in the years to come. There was death, deception, abuse and a childhood that absolutely no child should have to endure, ever.

For me, it was this plot line and the characters that made the story for me. The characters, Paris, Ruby, Drew, Elsie, Zoe… they all had personality. No two characters felt the same and they all came with an interesting back story which maintained my interest. In fact, I was rather invested the whole way through that my waking thoughts were all focused around the characters. It wasn’t the plot, but the characters. They were just so developed that I became incredibly invested in what they were doing it was seeping into my waking moments.

I’ve had nothing but good things to say about this book, you ask. So why the four stars? Why not five?

The ending. I hate to say this, because this book is truly a wonderful read, but I felt the end was resolved a little too quickly, which took away from how I felt for the rest of the book. The first 80% was great, but the ending just fell a bit flat for me. Is it the worst ending I’ve ever read? Absolutely, positively not. I will emphasise how much I enjoyed this book. And maybe because my enjoyment of the rest of the book was great, my expectations for the ending were too high. It’s still a good ending and in a way, fitting for the story, but it felt a tad rushed.

This was my first Jennifer Hillier book and it has made me a fan. I look forward to checking out more of her books.

Review for The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

4.25/5.

This is a book that has been floating around the socials a bit, but not one I knew much about, or took much interest in reading. I didn’t know what it was about, and truthfully didn’t care to find out. But it was a book that made my “12 Books by 12 Friends” list for 2023, and some fellow readers on The Global Book Nook happened to be reading it in January anyway, so I joined in on their buddy read!

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. We begin the story with a nameless man waking up in a forest, injured and with no memory of who he is, why he’s there, or what happened. The only thing that he can remember is the name “Anna”. This was immediately intriguing and drew me into the book, because I wanted to know who this man was and what his story was.

I usually like to try and solve the mystery in a book, but it became obvious early on that this one was going to be too convulated for me to even try and attempt, so I stopped trying and just started reading. And I’m glad I gave up, because not in a million years was I ever going to figure this story out. This went in entirely opposite directions to what I would have even contemplated.

There were so many twists and turns, so many revelations and so many unexpected things happening that it is a book that required my entire focus to even keep up with it. But I thoroughly enjoyed the journey it took me on, even if I can set it aside and look at a few faults that occurred throughout, but mostly towards the end.

I have never read a groundhog day style book before, and going into this, I admittedly didn’t even know this book was had that trope in it. So that was a pleasant surprise to find. While convuluted, the mystery was engaging and had me invested, and as I already stated, there was absolutely no way I was going to solve it. No wonder it had been left unsolved!

The idea of this was incredibly creative, too. Almost too creative at times. I admire Turton for writing this, becaause I have no doubt this would have taken a lot of brain power to work around and ensure it all made sense.

For the most part, it did. I congratulate him for figuring it all out. After finishing the book, I was left with a few questions that I felt were unanswered or not explained well enough. I try to keep my reviews spoiler free so I don’t want to go into details, but the ending’s motivation felt a bit weak. I would have liked to have seen a little more backstory into the revelation of the mystery. We were built up to it, and while it was surprising, I just needed more reasoning for the outcome than what I felt we got.

So many questions left unanswered, which I think felt a little bit of a let down after such a fabulous read up until that point.

And that’s not saying it was bad, I just thought a little more explanation needed to be present to make it more believable. The idea was there, I just needed more.

But for anyone who enjoys a good mystery, definitely have a go at this one! I’m thankful to the person who recommended me this, because I wouldn’t have read this otherwise. Loved it!

Review for North and South

2.5/5.

North and South was 2023 Reading Challenge's January read. Immediately I knew this book wasn’t up my alley, as classics don’t appeal to me, but in all honesty I’ve never actually read one. I have just never been interested in reading them. So, I thought this might be my chance to give one a go. The plot sounded mildly interesting, so why not?

There was honestly nothing wrong with the book itself, I was just one hundred percent the wrong person to be reading it. As someone who is used (and enjoys) action, adventure and lots of plot development, this book simply didn’t cut it for me. Whilst I understand this was the type of book that was written in its time, and I found the writing to be nice, it just wasn’t enough to hold my interest.

What I did like about this book was the writing style. It had a real timely feel to it (which is obviously because it’s a classic) and I appreciate that. Authors back then just had a way with words that authors today don’t. There are many words that just aren’t used these days, or have different meanings. So, I appreciated the writing here.

But I found the characters incredibly boring, and to a point, unlikeable. The main character, Margaret, was not someone I liked. Perhaps that was how women were back then, but I found her whiny, self-centred and privileged in the way she went about things. While I suspect that might have been the point – and watching her develop – it wasn’t enough for me. She grated on me throughout the whole book and I found myself not caring about her.

I also found the plot boring and a little beyond my understanding. There were times were I was unable to follow along or had no idea what was happening. There were other moments where I found myself zoning out and thinking about other things. I was just unable to follow what was happening.

This book did have some unexpected sadness that I wasn’t expecting, too, and maybe that’s the reason Margaret was bitter a lot of the time. She was admittedly hard done by in life.

A well-written book, but not for me.

Review for A Diamond in My Heart

3.75/5.

The first book in this series, A Diamond in my Pocket intrigued me when I first read that last year. The concept was interesting and had enough fantasy in it to hook me. Though I didn’t love the first book, I liked it well enough to want to pick up the second book in the series.

I enjoyed this one more, I think. It admittedly took me a little while to get into as I tried to remember the events of the previous book and what happened. But I felt the author actually did a decent job of throwing in little reminders here and there to add that spark that I needed. While I couldn’t remember everything, my mind started to recollect events and remember.

A Diamond in my Heart picked up almost exactly after the events of book one ended. Callie has returned to her normal life, back with her parents, going to school again, but with a secret: her powers still exist thanks to a diamond shard lodged inside her heart. She is able to do more than anyone else, but can’t tell anyone.

And then someone she’s known for years suddenly has powers of his own, and danger for both Callie and her friend looms right around the corner. Years fly by for Callie and she is no longer a teenager, but a young adult in college.

And then everything goes bad. One day, Callie is whisked away from college to fight a battle she never intended to fight. There, she meets a long lost love, plus others like her – Diamond Bearers.

I enjoyed this book for the most part. The story was engaging and held my interest. I found Callie likeable, along with the other characters. I enjoyed the fact that the author put in elements of doubt for some of the characters – are we supposed to trust them, or are they just using Callie for their own gains? The answer to those questions were not answered in this book, so hopefully they will be in later ones.

The story itself is well thought out and I was able to tell that the author had put a lot of thought and planning whilst writing.

I do think this book needed a little more editing, especially towards the end. The first 70% of the book I didn’t notice any errors, but as the book went on, I noticed some typos, missing words and grammatical errors. This didn’t take away from the book for me, but it was annoying to see – especially as they seemed to become more frequent as the book went on.

I’m definitely interested in reading book three and look forward to it. Not my favourite series by any means, but one I am enjoying nonetheless.

Review for An Arrow to the Moon

3.75/5.

An Arrow to the Moon is the first book this year that was selected randomly off my Goodreads Want to Read shelf. Each year I select some books at random and read them. This was a book that I was unfamiliar with – no one had talked about it, I hadn’t seen it on social media platforms, so I went into this relatively blindly. Especially coming out from a disappointment on These Violent Delights, I was hesitant about reading another Chinese-inspired retelling of Romeo and Juliet.

I found this book sweet. It was an easy read – easy to follow, easy to invest in, and I powered through the pages, completely invested in what was happening. I really liked the developing romance which occurred between Luna and Hunter. It felt sweet and innocent, and just like how two teenagers might dance around each other – especially if their parents were opposed to them dating. There were times where I felt my heart melt a little, because it was all just so sweet.

While reading this, I couldn’t help but compare it to These Violent Delights, which I read late 2022. The stories were completely different, the characters were completely different, but I definitely found this book to be more relatable than These Violent Delights. I think the modern-day setting helped, and that I found the characters more relatable. Despite myself not being of Chinese origin, I am a primary teacher living in a very multicultural city in Australia, and a lot of the students I teach are from Chinese backgrounds. It was intriguing to read about how children of Chinese-born parents lived in a westernised country, and I felt this was educational.

The lives of Luna and Hunter definitely seemed to come from real life experiences from Pan. Although I don’t know for certain, I do suspect that many elements of the day-to-day life of the characters were based on true or similar events to Pan’s upbringing. In a way, I felt it to be very educational.

So, I’ve offered nothing but praise for this book, so why such a low rating, you ask. It’s the writing style. I will put it out there that the writing wasn’t bad by any means. In fact, quite the opposite. But the style of Prose Pan uses is one that has never gel’d with me. Think Night Circus, All the Light We Cannot See, The Snow Child… the flowery prose is not for me and never has been. Those books listed I couldn’t enjoy as much as I wanted to because of the writing. So, if you liked those books, then I daresay you’ll enjoy this one too.

I will emphasise that the author’s writing just wasn’t for me, and the writing itself is far from bad. Pan told a wonderful story, to the point I binged the last 120 pages in one day (a rarity for me). The mystery build up and the ending surprised me, as I didn’t actually know what was going to happen. Perhaps someone with more knowledge of Chinese mythology might have picked up on the clues, but I didn’t.

I just cannot do the writing style. And that’s on me. Otherwise, a wonderful story.

Review for Soul of the Fire

5/5.

My first five star read of 2023, and I’m not at all surprised it came in the form of a Sword of Truth book. This series as a whole is so well thought out. There are so many characters, worlds, lands and storylines to follow, and yet Terry Goodkind makes them simple to follow. Even if I don’t understand it at the beginning, I trust that everything will make sense in the end, and I am never let down.

Soul of the Fire is probably my favourite book in the series to date. Yes, I’ve got many more to go, but this series just seems to get better. In this book, we were introduced to the world of Anderith, a somewhat isolated nation with values and a political system of their own. They are lead by the Sovereign, who is believed to be chosen by the Creator, but we all know that the true leader is the Minister of Culture, who makes all the decisions.

Throughout this book, we learn a lot about Anderith. How their name has changed many times over its thousands of years of existence, how they were once overcome by the ‘evil’ Hakens, but came back to claim their culture and henceforth enslaved the Hakens, forbidding all men to wield a sword and ‘schooling’ children about their own evil nature. I found this supposed history fascinating, especially because it contradicted with what Kahlan knew of the war, but neither was ever told as being the truth.

Anderith is also home to the Dominie Dirtch, a powerful weapon that has supposedly kept invaders out since the time of Joseph Ander, whom the nation is named after.

Anderith and the points of view that came from Anderiths and Hakens, was what made me love this story for me. I loved reading from even Dalton, who wasn’t a nice person to Fitch, the lowly enslaved Haken who dreams of a better world. The concept just intrigued me so much that I really hope this nation’s presence is in future books. It also reminded me a lot of current political climates, which is interesting, considering this was written over 20 years ago!

As a whole, I also felt the plot progressed nicely throughout and in my opinion, took an unpredictable, but believable turn at the end. I enjoyed the rawness of Richard’s emotions to the point that I think the choice he made at the end was one that many of us would take. There was nothing ‘heroic’ about it, but something a fed up person who’d taken on a lot would do. And I appreciated it a lot.

I also enjoyed all the other characters’ involvement in this book – from Ann, to Zedd, to Kahlan. Each played an important role to the outcome of this story and was very well done!

I’m very excited to read Faith of the Fallen, the next book in the series. I’ve heard that that one is the favourite one of a large portion of the fandom, so am excited to see if it lives up to my built-up expectations!

Review for The Tattooist of Auschwitz

5/5.

I’ve definitely had this book sitting on my shelf for at least a decade, staring at me but never being picked up. So, when it was suggested to me as a 12 Books by 12 Friends, I finally found a reason to read it!

February is shaping up to be a good month for me, because we have another 5 stars.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a raw, challenging book. We go into this knowing that the story is based off a real-life survivor of the camp called Lale. This is his story, his reality, and it brings to light the true horrors of exactly what happened during this time. Even though this is a fictional story, just knowing that these moments were at least how Lale remembered them is truly horrifying to think about and really brings into perspective the ‘troubles’ we face in today’s society.

It’s difficult to imagine after reading this just how some people in this world likened being asked to stay at home to stop the spread of a virus to the lives of millions of people who were brought into a concentration camp and didn’t make it out alive. People who were brought, stripped and sent to the gas chambers all within a day without any explanation or reason.

Lale survived the camp because of his willingness to do what was necessary to do so. This meant becoming the person who branded identification numbers of fellow Jews and other prisoners to get himself more food rations and protection throughout the camp that many others didn’t get. He shared these rations where he could, ensuring that those in the most need got additional nutrition to what was being offered.

His life for three years was gruelling. He worked day in day out without rest, surviving on minimal food and nutrition, sometimes well into the night, having to get up early the next day to start all over again. He saw many friends led to their deaths in his time there, witnessed babies and children gunned down by Nazi soldiers because one spoke out of place. It was a brutal place to survive, and even more tumultuous to escape.

Among the horror, there were heartwarming moments with Lale’s relationship with Gita. To think that he was able to find some form of happiness amidst the destruction of his people was in itself a heartwarming part to read. And also made me wonder how many others out there had similar experiences, but their relationship didn’t last as long. Were they able to tell their stories, or were they killed before they had the chance?

The way Lale managed to get out of Auschwitz was not what I thought. He didn’t simply waltz out and begin his life over. Even after, he spent much time away from home, a prisoner of the Russians and lots of travelling and hiding in forests. The trials he faced paints a true picture of heroism in a man we wouldn’t even know existed had it not been for this story.

More stories need to be told where possible. Ancestors of survivors need to tell me so we are able to learn about the people who existed there and what it was like.

This was a necessary read, and yet truly heartbreaking. I could not imagine going through this.

Review for Malice

4.5/5.

Malice was a book selected between myself and by February twin on TBR Twins, and I am so glad we picked it because I believe this is officially my favourite book of 2023 to date. There was so much to love about this. Firstly, I loved the fairytale setting. I have honestly not read many retellings in my life, especially ones based on fairytales, so I was excited to go into this.

I loved this book from the moment it started. Firstly, the narrator for this one was fabulous! She used different voices for the characters, which really brought them to life. I admittedly thought that the author got the wrong fairytale here, because the book definitely started out like a Cinderella retelling, which confused me a little. Alyce, the main character was a Vila living amongst Graces. She was shunned from her ‘sisters’ and when the Graces were invited to the ball at the palace, her ‘sisters’, the Graces, prevented her from coming. But Alyce finds a way with the help of others, to arrive, disguised, in a carriage.

Such Cinderella vibes in the beginning, that I had idea where this book was going to go, but I was in for the ride.

This book just kept getting better by the moment, and the parts I thought was the Sleeping Beauty inspired parts were actually not the Sleeping Beauty parts at all. I felt as if this was a deliberate misdirection from the author so we could be hit with a big punch of a twist at the end. And I absolutely LOVED the twist at the end. I did not see it coming in the way that it did, but it worked. It worked so well.

I am so glad I was able to read a queer/sapphic book too. I am ashamed to say that it is not a genre I venture into frequently. Not because I don’t enjoy them, but because of my OCD insisting that I pick books through random generators, and the random generators never pick them! But I am grateful I got the chance, and look… favourite book of the year.

There were a few small, tiny, nitpicky details that made this a 4.5 and not a 5, but they were so minor I can’t even remember what they were. It was just such an enjoyable read, darker than I anticipated, but I liked that it was darker.

It is one that has stuck with me, one that I keep thinking about. One that I want to read again!

Review for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

4.5/5.

This has to be the funniest book I’ve ever read. Right from the very first line, down to the last line, I couldn’t stop laughing. The humour in this book was right up my alley, and I loved every second of it. To have Stephen Fry narrating, too, I think added to the amusement. He relayed it very well.

This book starts off on Earth, with Arthur Dent chaining himself in front of his house to stop them from knocking it down. By the end, Arthur is somewhere many, many light years away on a planet he doesn’t know, surrounded by other life forms he doesn’t know either.

What I enjoyed about this book is its simplicity. It was written over 40 years ago, and in my opinion, it has stood the test of time. There are moments that occurred in this book that are still relevant to today’s society. There are parts that I felt even predicted the future, like powerful computers and powerful engines. There is nothing complex about reading this, and it certainly isn’t supposed to be scientifically accurate, such as Andy Weir’s books. We were here for the laughs, and that was what we got.

Reading this, you are also not going to get a diverse set of characters. Most of the characters felt similar and spoke in similar ways, but they said some hilarious things, which counteracted it. It is evident throughout all of this that Adams put all of his attention into creating a humerous noverl rather than an in-depth one. If you are looking for an in-depth scifi, then this book is certainly not for you.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy also pokes fun at many things. From religion, to humanity, to people’s imagination of alien lifeforms. Nothing was safe in this book. Even the concept of mass extinction and the destruction of Earth was written in a humorous light.

This doesn’t make the writing bad at all. In fact, I found the writing to be marvellous! It carried most of the way though, introducing us to many concepts in a short period of time. As a wannabe writer, I am actually kind of jealous at how easy it seemed to come to him to put a novel together. I wish I had such patience and talent, but the words don’t always flow for me.

I gave this 4.5 instead of 5 because there were small moments throughout that I did feel the humour dragged ever so slightly. Just a few small moments throughout that took away the moment.

Besides those few short moments, brilliant, and I am so glad I got the chance to read this! I have zero regrets!

Review for Faith of the Fallen

4.25/5.

Faith of the Fallen took me a long time to read. It was my first time reading this series in physical format – I had listened to all previous books on audio – and I did not plan my time as I should have to get through it. I eventually ended up switching to audio for the last 40% thereabouts to try and get through it a little faster.

That is not to say I didn’t enjoy it, because I very much did! I obviously just get through it easier on audio! I went into this book with slightly higher expectations than the previous books because in the Sword of Truth fandom, this is regarded as the majority of people’s favourite book of the series. I am not sure if I agree with this sentiment – but I am not sure if I can pin point my favourite in the series. I think Soul of the Fire maybe? But this was still a very good book.

I had seen the odd post in a Facebook group I am part of to gage small amounts of this book to work out how it would end, but I was still in this one for the ride. Once again, we were introduced to new characters and new places – this time more in the Old World. The birthplace of the Imperial Order, and it was once again fascinating to see the way people lived here. What amazes me about Goodkind’s writing is he can think up and create so many different places with a completely different lifestyle and culture.

The city of Altu’Rang is no different in its creativeness. The people here have been brainwashed into believing that they are only worthwhile if they put everyone else before them, and to not do as such incurs great consequences. People must only earn a certain amount of money – no more than anyone else – they must not take a job from anyone else, or do the work that belongs to others. They must go on a list to await accommodation and not complain about their homelessness in the meantime.

And then along comes Richard, who will not stand for this and turns everything on its head, of course.

There was a lot of solid messages throughout this book, the quote above being one of them. This message was powerful and a big focus throughout the book. Your life is your own. Rise up and live it.

This was empowering to the people of this world, and a lovely part to see in the book. I think it can be adjusted to suit the real world as well.

I also very much enjoyed the altering POVs, and the message that your beliefs can change with the more knowledge you have. Just because you have been taught or told one thing, you do not need to always believe that. I think this book sent a strong message that it was okay to do what you believed was right, not what you were told was right.

Excellent book, as usual, and I can’t wait to start the next!

Review for The Unnaturalists

4/5.

Yet again, I went into a book blindly. Didn’t even read the blurb, just picked it up as it was the book chosen between myself and my twin for March TBR Twins. I think all I knew about this before starting was that it was a steampunk-inspired novel.

What I wasn’t expecting, and what I found to be a pleasant surprise, was the abundance of magical creatures in this book. The Unnaturalists is a book centred around all kinds of mythical creatures – from Sphinxes to Manticores to dragons. I had no idea that that was going to be a major aspect of this book, but it was the reason I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Was this book the most cleanly written? No, not at all. There were many parts that didn’t read smoothly. There were even times where I suspected a plot hole was evident, or I wasn’t able to follow what was happening. There were quite a few moments that I wished there was a greater explanation or more world building.

In saying all that, though, I was hooked all the way through. There was something about this story that captivated me and encouraged me to keep on reading. I rather enjoyed the characters – especially Vespa and Bayne. They were probably my favourite, and I admit, I kind of appreciated the side romance in the story too. There was a lot of mystery surrounding Bayne and I like a mysterious man.

I also loved the idea of the setting. A New London, run on steam and what is known as mythwork, which is never entirely clarified as to what it is. It remains a sort of mystery, though there are heavy implications as to where it comes from and what it is. I definitely found this book creative and engaging with great storytelling moments. I loved the author’s knowledge of mythical creatures and her descriptions of them. I definitely found myself Googling at times to get mental images of what some of the creatures looked like.

It will be one that stays with me for a bit, and I will miss the characters until I get to book two. I enjoyed this more than I anticipated.

Review for The Trouble with Hating You

4.25/5.

The Trouble With Hating You is a contemporary romance written by American author Sajni Patel. It tails the lives of two young adults, Liya and Jay, who have been forced into a meeting by their parents for a potential arranged marriage. But, neither want that. Liya is career-oriented, working her way up in the world, while Jay is a successful lawyer who doesn’t want to upset his beloved mother.

The book is based around an American-Indian community in Houston, Texas, which I imagine is inspired from the author’s own experiences growing up in this area. There are many beliefs and traditions that both Liya and Jay aim to reject, but find it difficult to break from their more traditional families.

They are living in the twenty-first century and want to act as such, but all their families want is for them to be happy – and by happy, they mean married.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Not being American or of an Indian culture, I do not know if this is an accurate representation of the culture in America or not, but I still found it a great read. I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t read contemporary romance to be surprised by the plot. In my experience, most books follow the same basic plot and that is not why I read them, so the ending was predictable in that sense.

But I absolutely adored the love/hate dynamic between the duo. I felt it was written really well and the heated bickering between them had be all up and determined to read on. This is my trope. I’ve never been able to pin point my favourite trope, but this is the one. Love/Hate. I think back to all the fictional couples I’ve enjoyed most over the years (books, tv, movies) and they always this same dynamic. Not always a slow burn, but the denial, the constant fighting/arguing/bickering and playfulness that comes with the senseless arguing is what I am drawn to, and this book had that. So, naturally, I was hooked. It was intense and plausible and I loved the way it all came about.

I found both characters to be enjoyable for the most part. Another aspect I have found I enjoy in romance is when both characters are stubborn. It’s always fun to see who is going to give in first. But, damn, these two were stubborn as hell I had doubt throughout it was actually going to happen. Especially Liya – she could be infuriating. She had solid walls built around her (for good reasons which I won’t disclose here) but… wow. She was one strong woman. I certainly liked her, but she drew out my frustration, that’s for sure!

And Jay, the sweet, tender man. The one who falls first. YES. This had all my favourite tropes and hit them on the spot. I loved it.

And the ending was just so sweet, my teeth hurt afterward. It was a happy ending, of course, and the way it unfolded was just so damn beautiful.

I actually can’t wait to read First Love, Take Two, which focuses on one of Liya’s best friends, Preethi and a mentioned-only character. The backstory of this relationship in The Trouble With Hating You actually intrigued me, so I’m very interested in seeing this take centre stage!

This is probably my favourite romance I’ve read!

Review for Revenge, Murder in Three Parts

2.75/5.

I read a few reviews from others after finishing this book and I feel as if I missed the meaning behind it. Like always, I went in relatively blindly, with very little knowledge about what it was going to be about. From the beginning, I was a bit shocked by it, as it started off with abuse and domestic violence. I wasn’t expecting that!

I will be honest and say that I didn’t like any of the characters here. While I think the dreary setting was intentional, it just didn’t cut it for me. Even Yannie, the main character, I found to be boring, annoying and I found myself not even rooting for her, perhaps when I should have. And let’s not talk about her brother, Shan, or his wife, Evelyn, or Shu Yin. The only mildly interesting character in this book was Shan and Evelyn’s teenage daughter, Cat. She had some spark, some personality, and I appreciated that about her.

I feel bad saying that about this book, because it was actually well written. I found Lim’s writing style to be fluent and relatively easy to understand. I get the feeling that the cultural aspects within the book are based off personal experiences, which I always love to see in a book. It makes me think that that aspect is accurate, and I appreciate that and find it educative! I believe this book was set partly in Singapore and partly in Australia, though the Singapore part is never truly emphasised.

I think part of my unenjoyment of this book was my disengagement from the characters. From what I can gather through a little research of the book and author, this is a book about rage and culture, and I just couldn’t relate. That is terrible, but the truth. I could not gel with any of the characters, their emotions and what they were going through in my apparently priveleged life. I just… didn’t like them.

I didn’t understand the purpose of this book either. It went over my head, I think, and that obviously affected my enjoyment of it. I think maybe one day, if I feel inclined, I need to go back and read this again and think about it a little more. Perhaps as a physical book or ebook, so the narrator’s voice was not influencing it either. Some narrators are just easier to listen to than others.

The epilogue, in my opinion, also dragged a little too much for my liking. I actually liked the way the book ended prior to the epilogue, and whilst I can see the purpose of it, I thought a lot of it unnecessary. In my opinion, it felt a lot like unnecessary info dumping and is the reason I didn’t give this book a full three stars.

This was a well-written book, but sadly, I do not think I was the target audience for it.

Review for Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

3.75/5.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow is one of those books that made me feel as if I was the only person not to have read it yet. I saw it everywhere, so when it was chosen as The Global Book Nook's March read, I was excited to give it a go. Because I rarely read even the blurb of a book before diving in, I actually didn’t even know this was a book about video gaming. My husband is a gamer, and after finish this I kind of felt like I understood his world a little more.

The gaming aspect of this book was phenomenal. I felt as if I learnt a lot about the gaming industry and the process that goes into developing a game. Game development has always been an interest of mine. Not the programming and coding side, because that is something I don’t understand, but the storytelling side. I think it would be fascinating to write a story game one day!

I also liked how this book stretched across a long period of time. I think it was necessary for this book to see the highs and lows of a gaming business and how it affected the characters as they got older.

There were many highs and lows throughout this book. The characters were definitely three-dimensional and had a lot of backstory, a lot of baggage and many issues growing up.

Personally, relating to the characters was something that I found the most difficult when reading this book. Sadie, Sam and even Marx lived completely different lives to me. They grew up in different environments so removed from my own that I found it very difficult to relate to any of them. None of their struggles were something that I ever experienced in my childhood or current adulthood and at times, I found myself disliking them a lot.

They lacked a lot of communication skills with one another. Even as their relationships progressed I felt that there was always the underlying issue of miscommunication. Sadie and Sam considered themselves to be best friends, but barely shared anything in their lives with each other. Then they would get upset with each other because they wouldn’t attempt tp resolve this.

Whilst I don’t doubt that this is how some friendships work in the world, I found it very frustrating to read about – like I wanted to bang their heads together, throw my arms up in the air and walk away shaking my head. I am technically a private person. I struggle to divulge my feelings and thoughts to others, but this was extreme even for me.

It got to a point where I actually didn’t like either of them, and that didn’t even change at the end. I liked neither Sam or Sadie and for me, that ruined the book a bit. There was no character development. They stayed the same from the beginning to the end and I didn’t like that.

I definitely didn’t hate this book, and as mentioned above, the gaming aspect of this story was fascinating! I felt as if I learnt so much. I just didn’t find the character relatable or likeable and that dampened the story for me, unfortunately.

Review for Spellbreaker

3.75/5.

I had not heard of this book until it was selected as The Global Book Nook’s April group read, but then when I looked into it I felt it was going to be right up my alley. I love historical fiction, I love fantasy, and historical fantasy has been a niche genre I’ve enjoyed ever since I read I, Coriander by Sally Gardner back in my teen days! But it’s really hard to find books that fit into this category.

I’ll start with saying that I really enjoyed the concept and setting of this book. The idea of having a built in, accepted magic system in a 19th century England was really interestiing. I appreciated the way the story began and the way it set up the rest of the book. I thought it was really creative.

I also enjoyed the author’s writing. It was sweet and easy to follow and I liked that.

Over all, I felt the story was enjoyable, though nothing special.

There was aspects in this book that I felt were rushed, or unfinished. I would have liked to have seen the world fleshed out a little more. At times, the magic system was a little confusing to understand and a little more detail surrounding that would have been really helpful. This ties into me feeling as if the characters were also underdeveloped. They felt like shells with some personality, but nothing to really hold onto. I didn’t feel as if I truly knew either of the main characters, Elsie and Bacchus. I enjoy books that delve deep into character development and for me, this one missed the mark.

The romance felt off to me and forced and if the characters had been kept as friends without drifting into romance, I think it would have made more sense. It seemed irrelevant to the plot as a whole and would have been more meaningful had they been very good friends instead.

The ending was also a small disappointment because a character’s name was thrown in who had seemed irrelevant up until that point. While I can see that the aim was the ‘shock factor’ by bringing back a seemingly irrelevant character, I do feel it needed a little more reminder!

I’m still interested in reading Spellmaker, and I hope that a lot of the questions are answered by the conclusion of book two!

I finished A Man Called Ove but due to being in the process of a huge move, I have not had time to review it and I am not sure I will find the time to back track!

I gave it 3.75/5.

Review for Daisy Darker

4/5.

Rock Paper Scissors was a favourite read of mine last year so I certainly had very high hopes heading into Daisy Darker. The twist of Rock Paper Scissors was what made me love it so much and so I went into this book expecting the twist to be big or shocking, and I was mildly surprised.

One of my very first reactions to reading this was that Daisy Darker had very similar vibes to And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. The setting and initial plot felt very similar – a group of people being called to a house on an island, and then people start dying. I found out whilst reading it that Feeney was, in fact, inspired by that book so it made sense that I was able to see the similarities.

The book started with all members of the Darker family being called to Nana’s house on October 30 to celebrate her 80th birthday, which is on Halloween. Many years ago, Nana was told by a psychic that she’d only live to her 80th birthday, so wishes to celebrate what she believes to be her final one with her family.

There is Frank, Nana’s son, his ex wife Nancy, their three daughters Rose, Lily and Daisy, and Lily’s daughter, Trixie. All gather in order to celebrate.

Naturally, things do not go accordingly to plan and deaths start occurring.

Reading this kept me on my toes all the way through. There was mystery weaved all the way through the book and I really enjoyed speculating as to what exactly was going down, who was behind it and how everything would unfold. It kept me up at night, diving through the pages, just to reach the end and learn what happened.

I really enjoyed the intrigue that was throughout the story. I appreciated the flashbacks that intertwined the story, and still didn’t help solving the end at all, but was all relevant nonetheless.

The only part I thought could have been worked on was the ending itself. Not the twist, but I do wish she’d panned it out a little more, taken a little extra time to explain it some more. I thought the story was so well set up, but the end felt a tad rushed and didn’t sum everything up as well as I would have liked.

Beyond that, however, I thought this was a great book and I am definitely a fan of Alice Feeney as a thriller author.

Review for Warbreaker

4/5.

It has been years since I have read a Brandon Sanderson book. This has nothing to do with lack of enjoyment, because Sanderson is one of the greatest fantasy authors out there, but more on how I read by random selection. So, I was so happy when Warbreaker came up in a selection for a TBR Twin.

I dove into this with so much enthusiasm, having adored the first Mistborn trilogy. And, I liked this book. I will say that whilst reading this I was also moving house, which was both a blessing and a curse. I was able to listen a lot whilst unpacking, but also, my heart and head were not wholeheartedly dedicated to the story, which I think partially affected my enjoyment of this book.

Brandon Sanderson is the master of fantasy world building. At least in modern times. His ability to create worlds which are filled with so much life is astounding, and it always feels so immersive to read it. He also has a talent for building fantastic magic systems that are so different to your standard world of magic.

If you think of 80s and 90s fantasy, you think of wizards, sword and sorcery, medieval-type worlds. I do enjoy those stories, but I also appreciate being immersed in something different too. In the Mistborn series, magic is derived from metal. People are able to access their power through using different types of metals.

Warbreaker is not very different in being a unique magic system – this time with breaths. Breaths in this world is something that almost everyone is born with. It allows them to draw power from colours around them. But, people can also giveaway their breaths and also buy some, almost like a black market.

With the addition of gods, who have more power than any human, and require a devotee to donate their breath (what people to believe to be their soul) to their god.

I also found the fact that gods had the ability to die intriguing. It made them more ‘human’, which I believe to be the point.

Another thing in this book I found to be immersive was the characters. Sanderson’s characters are so well rounded that they’re likeable, but with flaws, and interesting to read about.

I know I shouldn’t have, because they’re not connected in any way, but I couldn’t help but compare this to Mistborn, and the part I felt that let me down was it just didn’t have that bam impact that I got from Mistborn. Is this because it was written as a standalone (with the potential of book two, but not confirmed)? Possibly. Things were rounded up, but at the same time, a lot of questions were left unanswered.

This doesn’t make me hate the book by any means. It was still brilliant, but in comparison to what else I’ve read of his – not my favourite.

Review for A ​Sky Beyond the Storm

3/5.

I don't know about anyone else, but finishing a series is always a good feeling. For me, there's a sense of accomplishment as well as excitement about moving onto other books and series and seeing what other worlds I am able to explore.

Sabaa Tahir's Ember in the Ashes quartet is a fantasy series inspired by Pakistini culture, set in a world very unlike our own. A Sky Beyond the Storm is the final book in the series, and takes place approximately a year after the end of A Reaper at the Gates. We are in a full-fledged war against the Nightbringer and the Commandant.

I will be really honest when I say I did not enjoy this book. At least not as much as the first three. Yes, my mind has not been entirely with it as I move house and settle into my new life in a new place with a new job, but I felt as if this book dragged. There was a lot that happened that I just didn't care about. I found my brain tuning out, thinking about other things, wondering what book I was going to read next. I was disappointed.

I felt that there was just too much that happened to fully process and in a way, I was no longer interested in the plot or the direction the story was taking. Part of it, I admit, is I lost interest when Elias became more of a supernatural being. This is a personal preference - I am always turned off books that delve into the supernatural. I'm interested in the concept, but for me it's a topic I'm more interested in reading nonfiction, or real life encounters about. I dislike characters being supernatural. Call me weird, but I just cannot get into books like that. So, it lost me a bit there, I will admit.

What I did enjoy, though, was the ending. Despite my lack of enjoyment for most of the book, I found the ending to be satisfying, and wrapped up the series nicely. I enjoyed the outcome for all the characters, and I believe it was set up from the beginning that this was how it would end. I definitely found myself to be more engaged with the ending than the rest of the books.

Over all, I found the series to be interesting and enjoyable. This book, however, was my least favourite of the 4.

Review for Legends & Lattes

4/5.

This book had been on my want to read list for quite some time. I saw so many people post about it, and being a fantasy lover, I just had to get my hands on it at some point. And, I finally had an excuse to read it when it was chosen as May’s group read with The Global Book Nook.

This book was everything it promised to be. Low stakes fantasy, a fantasy coffee shop. There were no surprises, nothing unexpected and I loved the book for this.

The book begins with an orc named Viv quitting her job as a hunter/killer/whatever she was and heading to a town called Thune in order to set up a coffee shop. Coffee is a gnomish delicacy and no one in Thune has heard of it before. She buys a rundown old livery and seeks help from all places in order to set up her dream.

Throughout this book, we meet not only Viv, but a succubus called Tandri, a hob called Cal and a little rattkin called Thimble – all relevant and essential to the setup and running of Viv’s little coffee shop, which is named Legends & Lattes.

This is something I really enjoyed about the book – that it was heavily character driven rather than plot. The plot almost felt unimportant, and it was the relationship between the characters that was the most important aspect – I know this was completely intentional and the point of the story and I thought it was so well done!

The unique cast of characters made this story what it was, and watching the relationships develop between them just warmed my heart so much!

Of course, we couldn’t have a book without a little drama, and the characters certainly faced their challenges – personally and on a much larger scale. I enjoyed the little difficulties, whilst maintaining a regular life at the same time. It felt relatable in a way – no big battles or horrible magical creatures getting in the way. It was just mostly regular challenges such as the challenge of setting up a business!

In saying that, I did miss the super amount of action, which I love in fantasy! I also felt the ending (the epilogue) was a touch unnecessary and the book would have been fine without it, hence the 4 stars.

But over all, a wonderful cosy fantasy and I’m excited for book 2!

Review for Book Lovers

5/5.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry is officially my favourite book of the year so far, to date! This is a book that has obviously been floating around for a bit. Emily Henry’s name has popped up frequently over the last few years, so I have of course been interested. Romance as a genre has been difficult for me to get into, but I have found contemporary romance to be one of my absolute favourite genres! I just love modern day romances – I guess they’re more relatable for me!

This was my first ever Henry novel despite being one of the top authors of her genre currently, and I am so glad I was able to pick it up. The title alone was enough to hook me! I’m a reader, so of course I would be interested in a book with a title calling me out. I admit that it was the title that interested me initially.

From the very beginning, this book had me hooked. I loved Nora from the get-go. Yes, she was rigid in what she did, but that was why I liked her so much – because that was me. No, I’m not a literary agent, but my life is ruled by lists and plans and being at places on time, and sticking to a routine. It’s not always enjoyable, but no matter how often I try to get myself out of it, I get back into another one because my brain cannot handle the freedom of having no plan. I couldn’t even do anything else until I wrote this review!

So, yes, Nora, for me, was such an enjoyable character.

I found Charlie to be great, too. He was fun, also a bit rigid in a different way, and the perfect match for Nora – which was the point, of course! And Libby! Yes! The whole relationship dynamic between Nora and Libby was fantastic. And I loved that Nora was willing to do anything for her sister, but drew the line with a man, despite being in love! I really liked that!

I also very much appreciated that Nora wasn’t willing to completely change herself to be with Charlie. It could have been so easy to do things in a different way to ensure their relationship would be easier, but she didn’t – and Charlie never asked her to. And she never expected him to change for her, either. There was so much respect between the two, and I liked that very much. They were able to remain their own people.

This book was just perfection for me. I thought it was well-written, well-told and with likeable and enjoyable characters. I thought the ending was brilliant and was exactly what I wanted.

I will add that I also admire how Henry played the tropes into the book. It was heavy on tropes, but with the characters being ‘book lovers’ it was easy to explain that away in a fashion that made sense to the story! In my opinion, that was clever!

Review for Glass Sword

4.25/5.

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard was surprisingly enjoyable. I rememeber not thinking much about Red Queen, book 1 in the series, so went into this one with limited expectations. But it was better than I anticipated!

I was immediately captivated by this book and the way all the characters banded together. I enjoyed how it wasn’t always sunshines and rainbows even between the characters on the same side. They had their own differences and there was plenty of reasons for them to mistrust each other. I really enjoyed reading that throughout, as it kept the story interesting as they planned to fight against the common enemy – Maven and his mother, Queen Elara.

I also found the progression of the story to be suitable for book two in a series of four. There were a few action scenes, but mostly it was about the characters building their army and recruiting. This sounds boring, but it really wasn’t. I thought Aveyard did a great job at adding drama and little moments to these bigger moments that kept my interest piqued all the way through.

The world that has been created here as always been of interest to me. I love the mix of magic and technology that is more similar to our world (electricity, flying machines like planes and jets, trains), but set in a fantasy setting. There might be other books similar out there, but nothing I’ve come across before. It is wonderful to read.

I also felt that the characters really grew and developed throughout this story. Yet they stayed true to their natures throughout. The protagonist, Mare, was strong-willed, filled with determination – a girl who didn’t even change for love, which was great – and yet also kind-hearted and good-natured. I also like that she, along with everyone else, had flaws.

Characters whose opinions did change felt natural and like it was coming. It was set up nicely.

Over all, I found this story to be more enjoyable than Red Queen and am glad I chose to continue with the story!

Review for Lessons in Chemistry

5/5.

What a perfect read this was for me! I absolutely love books that challenge misogyny and sexism, and Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus had it all. I was hooked from the very first page until the very end, and enjoyed just about every moment it had to offer.

I admit that upon starting this book I thought it was going to be a romance. Which isn’t a bad thing, but also not what I was expecting from it. I was hoping it to be a book about sexism and misogyny and to read about the book challenging it, as well as some scienc-y stuff in it. And that was exactly what it was!

Yes, there was some romance scattered within, and yes it played a pivotal role in the story, but it wasn’t necessarily about that either.

This book is about Elizabeth Zott, a female chemist who knows more than most and is very good at her job, but struggles to be taken seriously because she is a female. Most of the men around her treat her as someone with a ‘feeble female brain’ that doesn’t understand big words or big ideas. And yet, when she is no longer around to do the work she finds a lot of this so-called ‘smarter’ men on her doorstep asking for help.

This made it the perfect social commentary for readers about the struggles women in the 1950s and 1960s faced in the world. Women, at the time, weren’t even allowed to do anything with money unless their husbands signed off on it, because obviously women weren’t smart enough to know what to do with money.

It’s horrifying to think that a lot of these discriminatory aspects are factual to real history. Women were expected to stay home and raise children. It was considered ungodly to live with a man while not being married. And unwed mothers… oh no!

I found Elizabeth to be the perfect character to teach not just the fictional women in the story, but also any women reading this, that they are worthy. That they are just as smart, just as capable and just as useful as any man can be.

This book just might be my favourite read of the year! I loved it!

Review for The Orphan's Tale

3.75/5.

The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff is set towards the end of WWII, where Jews are still being persecuted and have had many rights stripped from them. It follows the lives of two women – Noa, a young Dutch girl who is kicked out of home after becoming pregnant to a German soldier, and Astrid, a German Jew who has lost her family.

Despite coming from entirely different backgrounds, the women find their way to a travelling circus – Astrid a seasoned performer and Noa needing a place to feel safe.

The book realistically portrayed the struggles of WWII fiction that I like and had a wonderful premise. What I struggled with was the likeability of the characters, especially Noa. Astrid’s inability to trust was very understandable considering she was trying to protect her life as a Jew, but I just found Noa to be too naïve for my liking. There were a lot of times throughout the book where she was selfish and did things for herself without thinking of others, and I found that irritating.

Yes, at the end she was not so selfish, but I found the jump in character to be a little jarring and was even more of a put off for her. I found Astrid’s aggressiveness more fitting for her character, which I enjoyed.

What I enjoyed was that the focus was friendship. I was really enjoying that, and then about halfway through the book a romance was introduced which was even more of a put off for me and irritated me. The introduction of romance, which I sensed the author was trying to make significant, turned me off. And again… Noa. Ugh. Selfish.

The romance from Noa’s side was not essential to the story and it could have unfolded the same without it and I think would have made the story more enjoyable for me, too.

This book wasn’t bad, as such, it just wasn’t my favourite. There are plenty of other books out there about WWII that are much more enjoyable! And if you want WWII romance, I recommend In Another Time.

Review for A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking

4.5/5

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking was not even a book on my radar until it was selected as June’s group read for The Global Book Nook. I have heard a lot about T. Kingfisher’s writing, and her sense of humour, but this was my first time trying it for myself. And I loved it!

In a way, it reminded me of a more chilled and even lower stakes fantasy of Legends and Lattes. While Legends and Lattes was aimed more at adults, this book was written for a younger audience, with the main character, Mona, being only 14.

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking was a thoroughly enjoyable, pallette cleansing book. While there were moments of higher stakes throughout, the book for the most part remained calm as Mona and her trusted ally, Spindle, sought to solve a mystery and save their kingdom… with bread.

One thing I appreciated about this book was the humour added throughout. Yes, some serious moments ensued, but it was written in a lighthearted manner that made me laugh out loud. Witty comments, thrown in phrases and the general overall tone of the book, had a humorous nature to the story.

I also felt that T. Kingfisher developed the voice of a fourteen-year-old nicely. Mona showed bravery and determination, but she was also naïve and afraid, and I think the voice of her was very well done.

The magic system in this world was also amusing. Mona, herself, used her magic on bread. She could stop it from burning, make it come out perfect, but that was really the only power she possessed. Another character, Molly, possessed the ability to raise dead horses and other characters had similar minor powers that were completely unusual for a magic system.

The book also implied that you were more than your label and I liked that message. Mona considered herself a baker above a wizard, and even thought she was a weak wizard at that; but throughout the book, her character developed, and she started to believe in herself some more.

Considering this was aimed towards a teenage reader, I felt it was a lovely message to send – believe in yourself!

A very enjoyable book and suitable for all ages!

Review for The Bear and the Nightingale

2.25/5.

I so, so badly wanted to like this book. Russian folklore is something I know quite literally nothing about, and so I was interested in learning about another culture’s stories. Sadly, this was where it let me down. I don’t feel that there was enough in this story that was readable for someone who doesn’t know anything. I equate this to Madeline Miller’s books, Circe and The Song of Achilles. They were great books for someone who already had a basic knowledge of Greek mythology, but confusing for someone (like me) who knew nothing.

It is time for me to accept that books like this just aren’t for me, and that is okay.

This book had a few interesting moments. There were small patches in the book where I was engaged – a few pages here and there – but for the most part I was struggling to picture the setting and the characters in my head, which is unusual for me. I am usually able to grasp a solid image very early on.

Another aspect that made this a challenge for me was the unlikeability of the characters. At least from my perspective, I didn’t find any of the characters all that appealing, and for me to enjoy a book, I do need to become attached to characters. All my favourite books I have characters I think back fondly of, even now.

Vasya a lot of the time was irritating. Yes, she was a child, but as the main character of the story there were times where I just could not have cared less. A lot of eye rolling. Alyosha was possibly my favourite, but even then he won’t be making my top five.

I did actually enjoy Pyotr, as I felt he was a character completely ingrained in the time period, but also had his own thoughts and feelings. It almost felt as if he was torn between what he thought was right and what was expected and that dilemma made him the deepest character in the whole book.

I am interested in giving book 2 a go, but not any time soon. I think I need to sit down and contemplate and reflect more on this book before I pick up number two. I hope that that one will be more enjoyable to read.

Review for A Court of Thorns and Roses

4/5.


I was so late to the party with starting this series, it's embarrassing. But I can now say that I have read A Court of Thorns and Roses, which I am glad for. I had high expectations for this book, due to my love for fantasy stories like this one.

And I did enjoy it. Especially once we reached the faerie kingdom. The concept of the different courts fascinated me, and I especially enjoyed how the dress code and personalities of the characters were influenced by them. I also found the ideas and the plot to be intriguing, especially the ending.

There were times where I felt the book was moving a little slow; where things just weren't progressing as fast as I hoped for. But then the end happened, and I was hooked. It was packed with action and high stakes that made me feel a little emotional!

As for the characters, I liked them. There were a lot of instances throughout the book that I thought they felt rather bland, and yet I enjoyed them enough to become emotionally attached.

In particular, I enjoyed Lucien. I have seen a lot of talk about A Court of Thorns and Roses to know at least who the main characters are - Feyre, Tamlin and Rhysand. I never saw anyone mention Lucien, but as the book progressed, I became rather fond of him. Those feelings didn't change all the way through, and I finished the book considering him my favourite character.

I, of course, also enjoyed Tamlin and Rhysand as well. They were both opposites of each other, but had their positives and their negatives - strengths and flaws, which I loved.

One of the biggest issues I took with the book was the writing. I didn't particularly enjoy the style and personally, didn't think it was that great. However, I have been assured that it improves as the books go on, so that is something.

Over all, an enjoyable read. A favourite? No, but I liked it well enough to read on in the future.

Review for Neon Gods

4/5.

Neon Gods by Katee Robert was a huge surprise read for me and was a close contender for being a favourite of the year for me. This book was chosen randomly off my TBR and I went in expecting very little. StoryGraph had it labelled as erotica being a sub genre, and that's not usually something I am into, so I wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did.

Granted, I did not enjoy the erotica all that much. StoryGraph wasn't lying when it said it was going to be in it. There was a lot of smut, and if that is something you enjoy, then you're going to like this book a lot.

What was surprising was that the smut was backed up by a very interesting and well-written plot. The opening of this book had me hooked, and I was immediately fascinated by the story that was brought up. If you read my reviews of Circe and The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, I make it very clear that Greek gods is not my specialty in knowledge. Where I found those books were not for beginners in the world of Greek mythology, I found Neon Gods to be a book that was easy to understand. I wasn't confused by the relationships between the 'gods' and it was easy to follow. Though, I do not expect this book was intended to be overly complicated. I got the sense Robert went in with the intention to write smut and came out with an enjoyable plot too!

The most exciting aspect about this book, however, was the setting. I cannot rave enough about the setting. Neon Gods is perhaps one of the most creative and unique retellings I've ever read, set in a world that is different to anything I've ever read.

Set in a tech-savvy, modern day Olympus, the 'gods' use phones, drive cars, have computers and TV screens. They have meetings with each other over video, and even practice safe sex with the use of condoms. Perhaps die-hard Greek mythology fans may dislike the complete turnaround, but I absolutely loved it. If there is an award for favourite world/setting od 2023, this will handsdown get it from me.

Another aspect I enjoyed was that the 'gods' weren't 'gods', but took on the role like they were applying for a job. It was truly fascinating and my favourite setting I've ever read. I loved it!

The 4 stars is for the smut, as it was a bit much for me and took away so enjoyment for me. Other than that, this book was brilliant and I will endure more graphic sex to read the rest of the series!

Review for Belladonna

5/5.

Belladonna is quite possibly the biggest surprise book of the year for me (so far). Like everything I read, I went into this knowing nothing about it. It was July’s group read for the Global Book Nook, which I participate in every month.

The result ended in me finding a book I absolutely loved. It was a total surprise to enjoy this as much as I did, but I really thought it was a great book. The even bigger surprise for me was the supernatural romantic elements in it. These are usually themes in a book that turn me off and I think had I even known it contained that, I probably wouldn’t have been interested at all. I’m glad I didn’t, because then I would have been missing out.

I will state that I did listen to the audiobook, which may have altered my opinion. I very much enjoyed the narration, which I believe enhanced my enjoyment.

What I also enjoyed were the characters. I felt they were all perfectly balanced between flawed and possessing likeable qualities which made them well-rounded characters. I don’t think there was a character in this book that I didn’t like, for one reason or another. To me, my enjoyment of characters makes or breaks a book for me. However, characters don’t always have to be ‘good’ as such – they just need to be well developed. In my opinion, Belladonna had that in abundance.

The book also had romantic elements, unravelling in ways I did not anticipate. I enjoyed the build-up. For me, unless I am reading a romance, the romance needs to be present, but on the side. Belladonna was shrouded in mystery and had a very engaging mystery plot, which took up about 75% of the plot. 25% of it was romance, which was the perfect balance for me.

This book may not be for everyone, as I know that many people would prefer the plot to be reversed in that sense, but it felt as if it was perfectly aligned to my tastes. I’m very glad I read this, and it is definitely a contender for my favourite book of the year.

Review for King's Cage

4/5.

King's Cage is the third installment in the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard. It continues on from where Glass Sword left off - with Mare being taken hostage by Maven and kept in his palace with round-the-clock guards. She is taken under the pretense of being a danger to the world in which Maven wants to build, but it is heavily implied that Maven has an obsession with Mare and wants to keep her around for that.

Personally, I enjoyed the progression this book made with the over-all story. We were introduced to some more perspectives from different characters - Cameron and Evangeline - which I felt opened their development some more. They became more complex characters with their own thoughts and feelings. I particularly enjoyed Evangeline. In fact, reading from her POV was probably my favourite from all three and I do hope there's more of her in the final book, War Storm. She is a lot more complex than Mare ever gave her credit for, which I suspected, and I am glad it came into fruition.

The ending to King's Cage was a bit of a surprise, and I am now curious to see where it leads to in the final book. It set things on a path that may unfold as I expect or may not. I've been pretty good at guessing all the plot twists so far in this series, but I'm not yet sure I know where this one will go.

The book also took a lot predictable fantasy directions, including the big one of there being a big battle at the end. This is not a criticism, because as a fantasy reader, it is expected, but I did enjoy it nonetheless.

I'm now excited to see how it all ends in the final book!

Review for The Fiery Cross

5/5.

The Fiery Cross is the fifth installment of the Outlander series. We now find Jamie and Claire in the Carolinas, 1760s, on the brink of the civil war with no way to stop it. They have their family all here and are doing their best to make a life for themselves.

This book was long. I Googled it and discovered that it was actually the longest book in the series. I was admittedly rather intimidated starting it despite wanting to continue the story, but I have reached a point in this series where Gabaldon could write about the deep scientific description of some obscure physics concept and I'd be interested.

She writes about the every day drabble of their lives and I am certainly here for it. From Jamie and Claire lying in bed discussing pigs, to Brianna writing in her diary, this book has everything. I know people bang on about Jamie being dreamy and he sure is. Like seriously, I'd marry him in a heart beat. The height, the red hair, the accent... hell yeah.

I really enjoyed how this book gave us more of an understanding of Brianna and Roger, and not just Jamie and Claire. Of course, there are always dramas in this series. Always something going on, something happening to someone, and they're always put in danger. I suppose that might reflect the times in which it is set - they were in constant danger and fearing for their lives.

The book is a bit crass and upfront, particularly around difficult topics including pregnancy, sex and rape, but I think in places it's also relatable to modern times despite when it was written and when it is set. Even today people - women - are still struggling with these aspects in life many centuries later.

I enjoyed the ending of this book immensely. It finished on a note that makes me very interested in reading the next one as soon as possible. And finishig the series. I want to know how it all ends!

This was one of my favourites in the series despite its length.

Review for Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life

4/5.

Indistractable by Nir Eyal is the first non-fiction read of the year, and quite possibly my only. It is also the first self-help I've read in a fair few years. I know people steer away from self-help a lot, but on a personal level, if it's about something that relates to me, I enjoy them.

What I feel that people don't understand about self-help books is that not every aspect in it is going to relate to every single person. Authors of this sub-genre try and cater to the broader audience and cover everyone. This is exactly how I felt reading Indistractable.

I grabbed this book off Audible a few years ago now as one of the 'Editor's Extras' picks. I felt at the time that learning how to not become distracted was something I needed. Fast forward a few years and I needed this more than ever. In my life, I am incredibly distracted by everything around me - from my phone, the TV and even my own thoughts. As a parent, this was not good.

I found Eyal's parent perspective to be one of the most relatable aspects in the book. Things he said about becoming distracted by his phone and having to do something now when interacting with his daughter is something I do. I don't mean to, I really don't, but I do and I am sure I am not the only one to do so.

Him talking about this and ways he talked about to navigate these distractions was something I found very useful. Every day since reading that part I have consciously thought about what I am doing.

Eyal talks about scheduling time for everything in your life - including sitting on the couch and scrolling Facebook - and that is now what I'm doing. I function off a schedule, but in the past, I always felt bad that I had to actually schedule time to spend with my family. But after reading this, I've realised it's okay to do that. I need to do that. It isn't that I don't want to spend time, it is that I am just so easily distracted by other things around me.

Since reading this, I have already spent more quality time with my daughter and every day, it is feeling more natural and I am becoming less distracted of the things around me.

The book also discussed eliminating distractions in relationships and work places. While the work place one was not specifically suited to me, as it was aimed at office jobs, which is not the type of job I do, I have felt that going to work, using a schedule, has actually made work go smoother. I am calmer, less stressed about other things going on in my life, that I can think more clearly at work. For me, taking on board some suggestions from Eyal has started a flow-on effect in all aspects of my life.

Does this mean that Eyal had all the answers? No. There are plenty of other books out there on similar topics, perhaps based on different areas of research. This is just one perspective, one style, and at the moment it is working for me. I am taking on board and manipulating areas of this book to suit me and my lifestyle and I am finding it to be helpful for the moment. I am admittedly thrilled to be scheduling everything I do. For me, it allows me to stay on track of what I need to do and prioristing the more important things. I am spending less time on my phone and more time doing things I enjoy.

If you are someone who finds yourself aimlessly scrolling social media and not knowing how to stop, I do recommend this book. Again, this is only one perspective from one author, but in my opinion, it's a decent start to changing the way I do things.

Review for The Picture of Dorian Gray

2/5.

Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray follows a young man called Dorian Gray and his desire to maintain his youth and beauty after having a portrait painted of him. It follows his life over eighteen years and how he begins as a kind-hearted youth and transforms into a hateful, spiteful man.

Reading this book was yet another attempt at finding a classic that I enjoy, but I am going to have to look once more, because this one didn't hit the spot. Quite frankly, I was bored most of the way through it. In all honesty, I'm not sure I even understood the message this book was trying to tell us. There was a lot that I just missed, and I really think that dampened the whole book for me.

In saying that, as I was reading I did some research on the book itself and discovered that Oscar Wilde was considered a criminal for homosexual acts, and thinking about it, there were definitely many homosexual elements in this story, hidden behind many socially-acceptable aspects of the time.

I also learnt that the book caused some controversey at the time, and I can also see why. While the gay aspect wasn't obvious, the book touched on other taboo topics such as suicide rather explicitly, which I can see why it would have ruffled some feathers in 1890.

Honestly, I found reading the history of the book more interesting than the book itself. Although it was the purpose of the book, I really despised Dorian. He was a truly awful, hideous character. He may have been pretty to look at, but he was truly awful on the inside, and I really couldn't get past his awful character to enjoy the story.

The remainder of the characters - Basil, Harry - I found dull. I think I've reached the conclusion that it is the dullness of the story and characters in classics that I really struggle with. Yes, people wrote about what they knew, but it's so difficult for my millenial brain to comprehend the high class upper society of the 19th century. It seems like such a dull, boring life to have lived. I find it difficult to relate to and I really struggle.

I wil try again with another book in the future, but this one wasn't for me.

Review for Caraval

4.25/5.

Caraval is set in a fantasy world and focuses around two sisters - Scarlet and Donatella - who are desperate to escape the violent hold their father has over them. Ever since she was a child, Scarlet has been sending letters to Legend, a mysterious figure who travels around with a mysterious circus/game called Caraval. For many years, Scarlet is ignored, then suddenly she receives a letter from him, inviting her and her sister to join in on Caraval.

It is a chance to escape, to never see their father again.

But, of course, things don't go accordinly to plan.

I really enjoyed the fantasy world that Stephanie Garber created here. It was definitely full of mystery, and the set up - everything not being as it seems - was full a spetacular worldbuilding.

Throughout this book, she gives great depth to all her characters - from Scarlet, the protagonist, to her mysterious love interest, Julian, and the other characters such as Donatella, Legend and Dante. From the very first line to the very last, I was hooked.

What I enjoyed about this book was how it kept me guessing the whole way through. A lot of the characters were morally grey. Until the very end (and for some I'm still not sure) I felt as if I didn't know the true nature of any characters and their motives. There is still a lot to unpack with a lot of them, with more questions than answers regarding book one. It makes me excited to read the next book.

I'm looking forward to picking it up.

Review for The Storyteller

2/5.

The Storyteller is a book with a lot to unpack from hit, and I'm honestly not sure I have the ability to do it correctly, but I'm going to try. It is a modern-day story of two teenagers - Anna and Abel. Set in a small beachside town in Germany, it details how two people - polar opposites in their upbringing - form a bond and fall in love.

We have Anna Leeman, an only child of Linda and Magnus. Anna has grown up in a big house with everything she has always wanted and asked for. On the contrary, Abel Tannetek is the school's drug dealer who is also the primary carer for his six year old sister, Micha, after their mother disappeared. Despite their differences, the pair fall in love.

The first about two-thirds of this book, I found deeply immersive. I found myself growing attached to the characters and becoming invested in their lives and their relationship. I found myself going to bed and waking up thinking of this book. It affected me deeply and emotionally.

I also enjoyed reading a book that was set in Germany, originally written in German and translated, and details the modern teenage life of kids in Germany. Sadly, most school-based characters are in the US, so I found it very fascinating to read something that wasn't based there.

About two-thirds of the way through the book, after being unable to stop thinking about this book, these characters, something occurred that really soured my enjoyment of the book. Although I tried to forget about it, tried to see reason, my brain was simply unable to forgive and forget and this book was not the same for me after.

If you asked me to rate the first two-thirds, it would be four stars. But unfortunately, it is going down as a two because I was left devastated, but not in a good way.

After expressing my disappointment in what happened, I was told by a lot of people that 'it is the author's book, their choice', which... no kidding. But I have every right to feel disheartened by it. It isn't even the topic itself that upset me, it was the way it was handled. I did not enjoy it and it ruined the rest of the book for me.

I just felt so let down by a book that up until that moment, I had been very much enjoying and after this, I wasn't interested in reading, but also determined to reach the end.

On Goodreads, this book has many five stars, and if basing this solely off the plot, world and character development, it's a beautifully sad story. In my opinion, however, it doesn't send the best message to its target audience - teens. In my personal opinion, it is a book that needs to have some discussion around after if teens are to read this.

The author excelled in character building, but I did not appreciate their attitude towards specific events that occurred in the book.

Review for In the Lives of Puppets

4/5.

In the Lives of Puppets felt almost like a reverse Pinnochio retelling as well as elements of Frankenstein, which I found fascinating. We are brought into our known world, far into the future where everything has been taken over and controlled by robots - humans are all but extinct.

Then, in a forest in a small house, a young man named Victor lives with his robot father and robot friends. Victor likes to fix things - mostly, he likes to fix robots.

This is the second book I have read by T.J. Klune and after finishing this, I think I felt much the same as I did after reading The House in the Cerulean Sea - Klune writes some really heartwarming books with interesting characters. However, being someone who prefers a little more action in her stories, I have found that both books have left me feeling a little lacklustre.

That by no means, means the book is bad. I gave it four stars. The plot itself follows a merry band of travellers on an adventure to the City of Electric Dreams in order to save someone in which they love. I don't live in the US, where this book is set, but it was interesting seeing familiar cities mentioned, but with different names. The imprint of humanity has been wiped out, but there are still aspects the robots have adapted the reflect human existence.

I found the book to be rather clever - a world governed by robots with a human protagonist desperate to be like all those around him (did I mention a reverse Pinocchio?). There's even a whale, which they need to escape least it swallows them.

I also found the characters to be endearing and enjoyable. One thing I do appreciate about Klune's writing is his sense of humour and diverse characters. Victor is asexual, but the book still harbours romance and I appreciate that. Being someone who is not aromantic, but asexual, it is difficult to find a book where a character is just one. But this book hit that mark and I really appreciated it. It is okay to be romantic and asexual - people like that exist.

Then there is Nurse Ratched, an old medical machine that Victor has rebuilt. A robot that was created by humans to assist in hospitals and given an abundance of medical knowledge. Next is Rambo, a very anxious, excitable vacuum cleaner who is loyal to a fault, but posesses many human traits - is afraid of death, loves old movies and has a desperate need to be liked by everyone.

Giovanni, Victor's father, is a robotic creater, and Hap is a decomissioned human killer who Victor brings back to life, not knowing who or what he is working on.

Living in the forest, Victor has been sheltered from what is happening in the rest of the world and lacks knowledge about the robot take over.

The ending, in my opinion, was slightly bland. I finished it only a few days ago and don't even really remember anything special that happened. I know this is the style of Klune's writing, but I needed a bit more of a punch to make it memorable.

Over all, a good book, but no stand out for me.

Review for They Both Die at the End

4.25/5.

I finished yet another book that everyone but me has read. I'm slowly getting through them all, and They Both Die At the End was such a bittersweet book that got me thinking.

The book takes place across a 24 hour period where our two protagonists - Mateo and Rufus - receive the much-dreaded phone call from Death Cast. Death Cast is a service that calls people to inform them they will die within the next 24 hours and to say their goodbyes to family and friends.

No one knows how they will die, just that they will.

I found the concept of this book to be fascinating and terrifying at the same time - I loved the concept of finding out when you might die, but at the same time absolutely horrifying to know that you might in fact find out when you might die.

Mateo and Rufus are from different worlds, but at the same time are both lost and lonely teenagers who are terrified about knowing they are going to die. They form a friendship through an app called Last Friend and aim to make each other's day the best they've lived.

Throughout the book I often found myself wondering if their deaths were caused by the knowledge they were going to die, which is such a trippy concept. What if Death Cast didn't exist? Would the people who got the calls actually die still? If they hadn't got the call, would they have stayed at home that day and therefore not died?

I'm not convinced Death Cast was the greatest invention this world ever came up with and is perhaps the cause of most of the deaths.

The fact that this didn't seem to be addressed in the book, nor was it something that really occurred to me while reading is a little unsettling.

Mateo and Rufus were both likeable characters and I enjoyed reading about them. I enjoyed the friendship they spent most of the book forming and the touch of romance at the end. I also loved the intermittent POVs between them, how the book was set across 24 hours and the other POVs in between of semi-connected characters. I don't read many books in such a short time frame, so it was a nice change.

To sum up, likeable characters and an enjoyable plot, but I have issues with Death Cast that were not addressed in the book.

Review for Hot Blooded

4.5/5.

Hot Blooded was a book that I was very hesitant to read. While I enjoy cosy mysteries and thrillers, this led more along the police procedure route, which is a genre I've tried before but never really enjoyed. It was a book suggested on the 12 Books by 12 Friends last year and I was dreading starting it.

However, this ended up being a book I was super invested in, basically from start to finish. I really enjoyed the way Lisa Jackson divulged information - slowly or not at all, but also in a way to keep the readers hooked. The way the story unfolded made me want to keep reading so I could find out what happened at the end.

There were times where I admittedly became frustrated at the main character, Sam. It was emphasised at the beginning of the book that she has a PhD and was intelligent and independent, yet at times she made some really stupid decisions and seemed to have poor judgement - especially when it came to romance. She was a relationships psychologist and yet didn't seem to have any sense for herself.

In saying that, I found all the characters to be interesting and unique and with alternate motives. There was a bit of selfishness between some characters and more in others. It made guessing who the culprit was very hard.

Another thing I will say is I do think more build up to finding out who the actual culprit was might have helped. Personally, I felt more focus on the character was necessary to have a big impact, and it left me feeling a little disappointed in the end. But I then think Jackson was able to wrap it up nicely in the end.

I wasn't even sure if I'd want to continue the series, but now I'm super excited to go on and read more books by Lisa Jackson.

Review for Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone

2.75/5.

The title of this book was intriguing, but for me, that was where the interesting stuff ended. My first shock was that this book was set in Australia. Being Australian myself and having lived near where the book was set, I shouldn't have been as shocked as I was, but it's actually rare to come across a book that is written by an Australian author and fully set in Australia - so it took me off guard.

I did adjust to that fairly quickly though and soon the book just turned into a large pile of confusion. While the book itself wasn't bad, I felt as if there was too much going on at once to fully become invested in it.

From the very beginning, the reader is slapped in the face with a long list of characters, all connected but all with different agendas and purpose for being there. There is brothers, step-sisters, ex wives, in laws, step parents, biological parents, resort owners, police officers and more I'm probably forgetting. Pretty much all of these characters are introduced in the first few chapters, which, in my opinion, made the beginning very overwhelming.

The author did do a recap after the first part, which helped in the moment, but I soon got lost again.

What took away from my enjoyment of this book was definitely the confusion I felt. It didn't ease up, even at the end when everything was 'solved'. Even as things started to be explained, I didn't feel invested and it felt as if my mind was still trying to play catch-up from the earlier chapters and make sense of what was happening. By the end, I just didn't care at all.

While the writing style was interesting, the narrator constantly breaking the fourth wall with the reader, I'm not sure it always worked. There were many occasions where I felt as if Stevensen tried way too hard to throw us off the scent, that rather than misdirecting us, he just added more confusion to what was already a confusing story.

Personally, I would have liked to have seen this book written more in line with a standard mystery/thriller. The plot, hidden beneath all the misleading and humour, was there. There was a lot to unpack and I think if it had been written in a more usual style, this story would have been more engaging. Instead, I felt as if I was left with a lot of characters thrown in my face and to process. I never got the opportunity to connect with any of them, which is something I like to do. By the end, I barely knew who was who and couldn't even make sense of what had happened to any of the characters.

This book wasn't for me, I'm afraid, despite my enjoyment of mysteries.

Review for The Hobbit

3.5/5.

The Hobbit (and the Lord of the Rings) are the books that are considered the fantasy books. If you like fantasy, you need to read these books. That is what I kept hearing, and like a lot of times, I've not. As a lover of fantasy, Tolkien is not an author I've read until now. My only interaction with this world have been the original movies and even then, it's been many years since I've watched them.

The Hobbit introduces the little hobbit, Bilbo Baggins of Bag-End, who leads a relatively normal, hobbit-like life of peace and plenty of food. He is content with how things are. That is, of course, until he receives a visit from a wise old wizard named Gandalf and a little while later thirteen dwarves who are set on an adventure across the lands to retrieve treasure that once belonged to them.

Bilbo, not an adventurer, wants nothing to do with this but it somehow brought into the fold and sets off with the dwarves and Gandalf to a mountain where the dwarves' treasure is fiercely guarded by a dragon named Smaug.

This was a sweet read with a lot of fun moments. I wasn't expecting the tongue-in-cheek narrative that followed Bilbo and aspects of humour scattered throughout. It was written in a very light-hearted way that took me a bit by surprise, but it was also nice.

I will admit, though, that the book didn't grab me. Although being light-hearted, there was nothing incredibly exciting about this book that kept me hooked. I found the writing style difficult to stay focused on and my attention drifted often and I had to reel myself back in. I am not opposed to characters journeying and travelling in fantasy book. It's part and parcel with epic adventures such as this book and it's not something I tune out of, but there was something about the way this was written that didn't grab me.

In all honesty, the book was... boring in places, the characters hard to understand. My brain is not cut out for old-fashioned language.

For me, this book was a book I liked, but didn't love.

Review for Luna Caged: Behind the Wall

2.5/5.

The premise of this book was a really intriguing one. It begins with Luna being told that 'girls' (as no 'women' live here) exist only to serve 'men' (as no 'boys' live here) and they are regularly told they are dumb and stupid and don't have the capacity to learn like the men do.

Most of the girls accept the notion, but there's always one who questions, and that person is Luna. Beyond the wall is evil and diseased with people dying - so they've been told. And despite Luna initially believing this, she wants to see it for herself rather than just taking the world of the Elders - the leader of the group.

There was a lot of potential with this book, but I felt it missed its mark. The story was there, but I thought the development of the plot needed some additional work to pan it out some more. I was interested enough in the story to keep reading, and I definitely want to read the second book to find out how it ends, but it was definitely rushed in places. I couldn't even tell you what any of the characters look like. The only thing I know about the way they dressed was that the girls could only wear skirts and dresses and the men were allowed to wear pants. And the fact that there's a wall that they can't get past.

This was a very fast read - I read it in two days, which is incredibly quick for me - but I would have been happy to have seen the book made longer with better developed character and plot. I think things happened way too fast, that relationships between characters were brushed over and not built up to a point where I cared enough about them.

Another part I found a little difficult to read was the repetitive nature of the book. The first half especially had Luna thinking about something (usually the same few thoughts) and then thinking how 'this isn't right' all. The. Time. And she never really did anything about it, took action, for the majority of the book - just kept thinking how the way the girls were treated wasn't right. This occurred throughout most of the book and I think the repetitive phrases could have been discarded and put to more plot development.

In saying all that, the idea of the story was definitely there and it was incredibly interesting to read, which I liked. I'm keen to read book two to find out how it continues!

Review for The Diamond of Freedom

3.75/5.

This series by Lorena Angell keeps hooking me in as I'm reading it, but then I forget about it, and then I pick up the next book and am promptly immersed in the world again. It is a fairly simple, complex-free series which is easy to read, easy to follow and also possesses an interesting and unique magic system that requires actually having stones inside your body in order to possess powers.

It took me a while to remember what occurred in book two before I could get fully invested in the story, but once I did, I found myself really enjoying the progress.

Not only did we see the return of characters such as Calli, Chris and Maetha, we saw some new characters such as Deus Ex who appeared vaguely at the end of book two as a side character. She became more prominent this book and was very interesting as it was never certain where her allegiance lies and the book left it open-ended still.

This story progressed really nicely, leading into the next book. It left us on a cliffhanger that had my jaw almost on the floor, because as part of me suspected it potentially could happen, I never actually really thought that it truly would. So when I finished, that left me feeling rather shaken.

This is a type of series that is good to read in the moment. The story is enjoyable and it's rather well-written, which I enjoy for an author who publishes more in the indie line. It's by far not one I will dwell on until I pick up the next book, but enjoyable in the moment.

Definitely a series worth reading if you're after something fun, easy to read but with an enjoyable and interesting plot then this is a great series!

Review for The Pillars of Creation

5/5.

I will be going against the general consensus with my review of this book. Pillars of Creation by Terry Goodkind is considered a least favourite book among the fans of the Sword of Truth series due to the absence of Richard and Kahlan until the last 10% or so. Which, I can understand.

For me, however, I have become more invested in the world than specific characters, so being introduced to new characters and following them along instead of Richard and Kahlan was something I very much enjoyed. From the beginning, I was intrigued by the characters of Jennsen and Oba and it was interesting to see how their upbringing helped shape their approach to their futures.

Jennsen was raised in a loving home, just herself and her mother. She was raised with the knowledge that she was a daughter of Darken Rahl and her mother did everything in her capabilities to protect Jennsen. Opposite to Jennsen, is Oba, whose mother was abusive and neglectful and didn't tell him who his father was. This set Oba on a path of self-destruction and entitlement he thought he was owed.

Do I see the point of this book in the series? No, not really. Except for the introduction of the holes in the world, there was nothing really in this book to indicate why it got its own story. This could have been introduced as part of another book, following Richard and Kahlan.

Did I thoroughly enjoy reading from a new perspective? Absolutely, I did! This book stood out to be as one of the most enjoyable in the whole series so far. This could quite possibly be my favourite book of the year for me. I don't know why, but it was just a book I very much enjoyed and I kept thinking about it and was excited to pick back up when I wasn't reading it.

I'm assuming Richard and Kahlan will be the focus again in Naked Empire, but I do hope that Jennsen and Oba will make an appearance again in it as well.

This was such an enjoyable read. Thank you, Terry!

Review for The Unhoneymooners

4/5.

The Unhoneymooners is another book ticked off on my 2023 list of 12 Books recommended by 12 Friends. Every time I shared something about it being an upcoming book, someone would say how much they loved it, or it was their favourite by Christina Lauren, so I went into this with fairly high expectations. I have a love-hate relationship with contemporary romance. I want to hate it, but I don't.

This book began with Olive's identical twin sister, Ami, getting married. The wedding turns to disaster when everyone except Olive and her nemesis, Ethan, get food poisoning and Olive and Ethan are forced to go on the non-refundable honeymoon that Ami won.

Olive isn't looking forward to it, because she has to endure ten days of Ethan Thomas, the man she hates and who hates her.

So they think.

If I'm being honest, there was absolutely nothing unique about this book that made it stand out to other books of the same genre. It was predictable and followed the same path as many other books. I don't say this as a bad thing - I don't go into this genre expecting to be blown away by twists. I'm here to invest in the love lives of two fictional characters.

The book followed a fairly standard formula of enemies to lovers, and I enjoyed it. They spent some time pretending to hate each other, bickering, and then eventually, they gave in.

It was an enjoyable read.

What I did find difficult at times was the pointlessness of the plot on occasions. The plot didn't always progress and in my opinion, there was a lot of pointless aspects to the story that could have probably been cut. There were points that happened that didn't impact the plot at all.

That is probably my biggest criticism of this book - there was very limited plot progression, even for a romance.

Other than that, I found it to be a fun read. The characters were fun, I love me some good bickering and pretending not to be madly in love, so I appreciated the dynamic.

Over all, a fun, light-hearted read, which I'm glad I read!

Review for 1984

3.5/5.

1984 by George Orwell is quite literally a book I should have read in high school, but never did. My English teacher in year 11 and 12 went on an Orwell kick and we were assigned Animal Farm and this one to read (at separate times). I remember reading Animal Farm and getting through it (and have since read it again) but I distinctly remember not reading this one. I don't know why, but I had an aversion to assigned books. I like to dictate when I read and what I read and I was the same back then.

So, this year, 13 years after finishing school, I decided now was the right time.

This is a book that everyone talks about, a true classic in literature and perhaps the start of true dystopian futures. People also talk about how elements of this book reflect present times, and I've always been curious to see just what occurred in this story and how it is similar to today's world.

And yes, it does. There is a lot in this book that has come true, and the one that stood out to me is the erasure of the past. People don't realise it's happening, but it is - from erasing language from older books to denying that events didn't happen. That is a truth that is with us today.

The book itself I found to be okay. There were a few too many tangents for me, but as a whole, I enjoyed this book.

One aspect I wasn't prepared for, nor was I expecting, was Orwell's openness about sex. I know sex was a thing back when the book was written, obviously, but it surprised me that a book published in 1949 was allowed to have such open writing about it. Most books until recent times (and I mean last 10 years) didn't seem to have much sex, so the fact that it was published with that freedom, both surprised and impressed me. I think that also showed Orwell's personality and beliefs.

The ending of the book also surprised me, though it shouldn't have. I have just been reading too much modern writing that the expectation of a happy and resolved ending was stuck in my mind. I just assumed the same would have occurred here, yet it didn't and I like that the more I think about it. It was more fitting for the story for the ending that occurred, to occur.

Orwell was clearly a thoughtful man with deep-held beliefs on political matters and I think he projected that in this book nicely.

I enjoyed this book and am glad I read it. I can tick it off my list!

Review for A Breath of Snow and Ashes

4/5.

It never ceases to amaze me how Diana Gabaldon can continue to write such lengthy books with so much information, detailing the day-to-day lives of Claire, Jamie, Brianna and Roger, with them meeting the same perils each time, and I still love it.

I know very little about this time period and have no idea if what she writes is accurate, but she writes it in the most convincing way that I thoroughly believe this is exactly how people of the 18th century from the Scottish Highlands lived (minus the time travelling).

A Breath of Snow and Ashes continue to follow Claire and Jamie, along with their daughter and her family, as they draw ever so closer to the American Civil War. Of course, it wouldn't be an Outlander book without twists and turns, kidnappings and shooting being present in their 'happy' lives.

I will admit that at times the books are ridiculous. The amount of times something happens to this family involves a lot of suspension of disbelief and yet, I am here for it all. Gabaldon is simply an incredible writer and her storytelling is phenonomonal. Not to mention the fact that I listen to the audiobooks of this series and Davina Porter is an incredible narrator. She really brings the characters to life with her voices.

This particular book wasn't my favourite in the series, but it was still great. I particularly enjoyed the ending and how we have branched into a new chapter of their lives. It makes me very curious as to how the story in the next book will unfold.

This book is quickly becoming my favourite series of all time. I can't get enough!