Password-protected posts contain heavy spoilers and are there to prevent accidental spoiling. They can each individually be accessed with the password "SPOILME(#of the post)". That means if the post is numbered #0000, the password is SPOILME0000 - SPOILME all in caps, no space in between.
Enter at your own risk. And have fun!
Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Gilion @ Rose City Reader for sharing the opening lines of the book you want to feature.
The Friday 56 was started and hosted by Freda @ Freda’s Voice and is currently being temporarily hosted by Anne @ My Head is Full of Books for sharing a couple of lines from page 56, or Chapter 56, or at 56%, or however you want to interpret the number 56, of your featured book.
Note: For Blogspot users, I am unfortunately not able to comment on your posts if you don’t have Name/URL enabled on the comments. I’m not being snobbish, I promise! I’d love to leave comments if you’d consider enabling it. Thank you!
My Featured Book
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
They killed my mother. They took our magic. They tried to bury us.
Now we rise.
Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.
But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.
Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy.
My Book Beginnings:
Pick me. It’s all I can do not to scream. I dig my nails into the marula oak of my staff and squeeze to keep from fidgeting. Beads of sweat drip down my back, but I can’t tell if it’s from dawn’s early heat or from my heart slamming against my chest. Moon after moon I’ve been passed over. Today can’t be the same.
My Friday 56:
As we tear through the streets lined with pastel-colored buildings, two troops of royal guards fight to take us down. Their shouts grow loud. Their footsteps pound even louder. With swords drawn, they close in, only a few paces behind.
My Thoughts
I am currently at Chapter 24, about 40% into this book and I’m enjoying it very much. I thought the book beginning and the Friday 56 quotes were really strong quotes that keeps the reader engaged, and I realized that I feel that way about the whole book so far. It’s really exciting and fast-paced, and filled with constant tension, it never stops! I want to keep reading but I’ve got adult responsibilities (boo!) and gotta get them done before coming back to the book.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? What do you think of it?
Books from the Backlog is hosted by Carole @ Carole’s Random Life and features neglected books that’s been sitting on your TBR for a while.
I’ve decided to choose which books to feature according to how far down they are on my Kobo sorted by recent. I’ll also feature physical books I own eventually, but it’s a bit harder to determine which ones are older, though I’m sure it doesn’t matter all that much.
This week’s neglected book
Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
Ariadne, Princess of Crete, grows up greeting the dawn from her beautiful dancing floor and listening to her nursemaid’s stories of gods and heroes. But beneath her golden palace echo the ever-present hoofbeats of her brother, the Minotaur, a monster who demands blood sacrifice.
When Theseus, the Prince of Athens, arrives to vanquish the beast, Ariadne sees in his green eyes not a threat but an escape. Defying the gods, betraying her family and country, and risking everything for love, Ariadne helps Theseus kill the Minotaur. But will Ariadne’s decision ensure her happy ending? And what of Phaedra, the beloved younger sister she leaves behind?
Hypnotic, propulsive, and utterly transporting, Jennifer Saint’s Ariadne forges a new epic, one that puts the forgotten women of Greek mythology back at the heart of the story, as they strive for a better world.
– Goodreads
Why did I add this book to my bookshelf?
I was on a Greek mythology binge and a friend recommended I try this book, so I added it to the TBR but I satisfied my binge and moved on to different books before I could get to this. I’m sure I will come back to Greek mythology again, but there are so many great books in the genre, and so many other Greek myth characters I want to read about.
What are your thoughts? Have you read this book? Would you recommend it?
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Books On My Winter 2023-2024 To-Read List. I don’t typically read a lot of Christmas-themed or winter-themed books on purpose. If they happen to be set in winter or at Christmas, that’s fine and I enjoy them, but I don’t seek them out, so my winter TBR are just regular books I want to read. I do love watching a lot of cheesy Christmas-themed movies during the season though!
Below are the books I hope to read this winter. Many are library books that I’m on the waitlist for, and I’m estimating that they’ll be getting to me this winter, so fingers crossed!
Top Ten Books on my Winter 2023-2024 To-Read List
Top-Bottom, Left-Right:
The Switch by Beth O’Leary – I read and loved a couple of her other books but I haven’t gotten around to this one yet.
Holly by Stephen King – I really enjoyed the Mr. Mercedes series where we first got to know Holly, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of her here.
Light Bringer by Pierce Brown – I am stuck in limbo waiting for this one to get to me because it’s Book 6 in the Red Rising series, and I was in pain seeing my beloved characters suffer in Book 5. I need to know what happens next!
Slewfoot by Brom – I don’t actually know what this is about. I just heard a lot of good things about the book and author. I did just recently read a different book by this same author and didn’t like it, so I’m tempering my expectations.
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett – It’s the title that got me for this one. I would’ve read it even if it was an actual nonfic encyclopedia. In fact, I’d probably want to read it more if it was a real encyclopedia of faeries!
Watership Down by Richard Adams – This has been on my TBR for ages and ages. It’s one of those books you take for granted because it’s a classic and you know it will always be relevant so you can read it any time.
A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid – Not sure if I should be embarrassed to admit that Bookstagram is responsible for this one.
The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson – Also this one. What can I say? I’m weak and easily influenced!
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross – I actually have a different book by this author on my TBR, A River Enchanted, but yes, Bookstagram is making me want to read this first. We have already established I’m weak.
The Glass Chateau by Stephen P. Kiernan – This is one of my favorite authors and I’ve read everything he’s written so far, except this one which is his latest. His books are beautiful and profound and beautiful and lyrical, and did I say beautiful? I cannot recommend him enough.
I am very much looking forward to these books! Have you read any of them? I’d love to hear your thoughts. What books are you excited for this winter?
London, 1887. As the city prepares to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, Veronica Speedwell is marking a milestone of her own. After burying her spinster aunt, orphaned Veronica is free to resume her world travels in pursuit of scientific inquiry—and the occasional romantic dalliance. As familiar with hunting butterflies as with fending off admirers, Veronica wields her butterfly net and a sharpened hatpin with equal aplomb, and with her last connection to England gone, she intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime.
But fate has other plans, as Veronica discovers when she thwarts her own abduction with the help of an enigmatic German baron who has ties to her mysterious past. Promising to reveal in time what he knows of the plot against her, the baron offers her temporary sanctuary in the care of his friend Stoker, a reclusive natural historian as intriguing as he is bad-tempered. But before the baron can deliver on his tantalizing vow to reveal the secrets he has concealed for decades, he is found murdered. Suddenly Veronica and Stoker are forced to go on the run from an elusive assailant as wary partners in search of the villainous truth.
The Reason
I enjoy historical fiction and mysteries with female detectives at the helm, so of course I had to try this one.
The Quotes
“I abhorred weakness of any kind but most particularly in my tea.”
“That is the hallmark of a good partnership, you know – when one partner sees the forest and the other studies the trees.”
“One cannot innovate new improvements without understanding old failures.”
“I have often regretted my speech, never my silence.”
The Characters
I want to like Veronica and Stoker, but I don’t think that they are likeable characters and I can’t decide if that’s by design. Veronica is outspoken, intelligent, and courageous, and she appears cool and calm on the outside, but then there are moments when she seems completely foolish and immature. I feel like I would’ve thought it brilliant if it was by design and Veronica was able to see her faults and own to them, but it doesn’t seem that way.
My Thoughts
This was a really great story and I loved how smart it was. I also really loved how the story unfolded and the secrets that were revealed. It was a little slow at the middle, and I’m not completely sure the traveling show part was necessary at all except as a plot point for the “fake dating”, but it got really intense near the end.
My Feels
I’m missing the feels for this book. I like the story and the idea. I love the way the information was deduced, I love the little tidbits of knowledge about butterflies and other stuff Veronica and Stoker were well-versed in. And while I’m not completely in love with Veronica and Stoker, I thought they were interesting characters. I just don’t like them enough to continue with the series.
My Rating
3/5 stars. This is a solid good book. Just not for me.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings.
Birthday Celebrations
I didn’t get a lot of reading done this past week because it was my husband’s birthday and we did several activities to celebrate, but I did manage to finish one book. We had a nice Sichuan meal. The food was so good, but honestly, not nearly spicy enough. It was our first time at this restaurant and we had the fish, prawns, and pork, but they’ve got lots of other great stuff on the menu and we’re definitely going back for more.
Our local zoo is very good and mindful about wildlife conservation, and the animals always seem happy and well taken care of. There are both indoor and outdoor spaces for the animals that need them and they can easily move between the two when they want depending on the weather.
It was my first time seeing the polar bears, but the otters were the stars of the show this trip. They were very active and frolicking around in the water, playing with seashells and each other. It was so fun to watch. It hadn’t been snowing when we went to the zoo so it looked nice and balmy in the pictures, but it was quite cold and I’m sensitive to the cold so I’m all nice and bundled up.
There were lots of other animals at the zoo too, of course, but we only visited the North American animals section of the zoo this time because it was closed the last times we went and we had already seen the other sections. We are definitely going back as often as we can though, because it’s always such a joy to see the animals playing, or just doing their own thing, and some of them even like performing for the crowd. We’ll be going back again for the Zoolights when it snows, because my husband wants to see them in the snow.
It did snow later in the week, and we went out to see Christmas lights last night. I love how beautiful they all look. My favorites are the peacock, and the big Christmas tree. There are lots of places in Calgary going all out on Christmas lights decoration, and we’re going back for the Zoolights, but we’re going to see if we can visit some other ones too. The Christmas lights are some of the best things about the winter season.
I don’t have much planned this week because I was too busy to think, but I do plan to do the weekly memes, and hopefully start reading the books I intended to read last week – Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree, and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.
I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
Peter is quick, daring, and full of mischief—and like all boys, he loves to play, though his games often end in blood. His eyes are sparkling gold, and when he graces you with his smile you are his friend for life, but his promised land is not Neverland. Fourteen-year-old Nick would have been murdered by the drug dealers preying on his family had Peter not saved him. Now the irresistibly charismatic wild boy wants Nick to follow him to a secret place of great adventure, where magic is alive and you never grow old. Even though he is wary of Peter’s crazy talk of faeries and monsters, Nick agrees. After all, New York City is no longer safe for him, and what more could he possibly lose?
There is always more to lose.
Accompanying Peter to a gray and ravished island that was once a lush, enchanted paradise, Nick finds himself unwittingly recruited for a war that has raged for centuries—one where he must learn to fight or die among the “Devils,” Peter’s savage tribe of lost and stolen children.
There, Peter’s dark past is revealed: left to wolves as an infant, despised and hunted, Peter moves restlessly between the worlds of faerie and man. The Child Thief is a leader of bloodthirsty children, a brave friend, and a creature driven to do whatever he must to stop the “Flesh-eaters” and save the last, wild magic in this dying land.
The Reason
Another one of his books – Slewfoot – came highly recommended, so I went to check him out and saw that most of his books had high ratings. I went on Libby to borrow a whole bunch of his books and this one just happened to be the first one available.
The Quotes
“Men who fear demons see demons everywhere.”
“Everything comes with a price. Everything. Some things just cost more than others.”
“Both sides so blinded by their fear and hate of each other that they couldn’t see they were all fighting for the same thing.”
The Characters
Well, this is a mash up retelling of a few different stories, but most notably, Peter Pan and the Mists of Avalon, so we see some familiar characters, but also a lot of new ones.
I want to state upfront that I’m having a lot of trouble with this review because I am a character-driven reader, and I hated the character inconsistencies in this book. I wanted so badly to DNF by the time I was 75% in, but I also wanted to give it a chance because of the great ratings.
My Thoughts
To give credit where it’s due, I think the story idea is really good and I love how creative Brom got with fitting in the Peter Pan story with the Mists of Avalon, and a bunch of other Scottish folklore. I also liked that he didn’t shy away from the darkness and gory, and I think that the story in general was very well-written.
In trying to stay objective, I think that if I wasn’t a character-driven reader, and if character motivations and inconsistencies wasn’t such a big deal to me, I might have really liked this book. But I don’t.
My Feels
This book made me angry, and not in a good way. It’s mostly my own fault because the longer I stay with a book I don’t like, the angrier I get, and maybe I should have DNF’d earlier but I ended up finishing it instead because of the sunk-cost fallacy and wanting to mark it as finished.
The Issues
I’m going to put them in spoiler tags because I’ve got rants and they give away a lot of the story. Click on the arrows to read more, but only if you’ve already read the book or don’t care that you get spoiled. You’ve been warned!
Nick
Nick ran away because he was in an unsafe environment that his mother put him in and he was originally very angry with his mother. During a conversation with the Devils, they said something about him being a bad person for leaving his mom in that unsafe situation (that she put him in), and he began to feel guilty and wanted to go home to her. First of all, it’s not Nick’s responsibility to take care of his mother, but the other way around, but that’s another story and not really part of the character inconsistencies. What I didn’t like was that in the beginning of the book, Nick knew that it was a situation his mother put him and rightly blamed her for it and it was a reason for him to run away. Then later in the book, he started thinking he was the bad person for leaving his mom behind, and it became a reason for him to want to go home. His change of heart didn’t feel organic or reasonable, it felt like a plot point.
Not to mention the whole time he kept complaining about being there in Devil Tree and wanting to go home, he never actually tried to go home and kept inserting himself into situations and helping people whom he said he didn’t care about. I just didn’t connect to his character motivations, like there was no reason for him to do whatever he did.
The Devils
Leroy killed one of the Devils (I forget her name and I can’t check it because I listened on audiobook) and framed Nick for it. The rest of the Devils were upset because they liked Nick and didn’t want it to be true, but if it was true, they had to go after Nick for justice. Later on, they did find out that it wasn’t true, and instead of being happy, they were disappointed that they couldn’t get to kill him?! That doesn’t make sense at all. Again, I don’t get the character motivations.
It also didn’t make sense to me that they used Nick’s guilt about leaving his mother to make him stay with them. They tell him he’s a bad person for leaving his mother, so he wants to go home. But then they use the fact that he left his mother to guilt him into staying with them. It just doesn’t make sense, it’s counterproductive!
Leroy
As a character, Leroy just doesn’t make sense. He was a bully, and a blustering one at that, but yet he was so meek when it came to challenges? He was picking fights with everyone and everything, you’d think his fake bravado would at least get him fighting in the real world. He might not be good enough to win fights, and I can totally see him taking the credit for Nick’s fight, yes, but not running from fights. Especially when we find out later that he ran away because he killed his father! And not to mention he’s the one I’d have expected to take the Captain’s offer of water in exchange for betraying the Devils. His character is just all over the place for me.
I should also say here that after Leroy framed Nick, Nick was obviously not a huge fan of Leroy and wished him dead in not very kind ways. And yet, not long after, when Leroy was actually dying and Peter wanted to leave him behind, Nick defended Leroy and condemned Peter for being heartless. I mean… there was no reason for Nick’s change of heart, it felt like he just wanted to be contrary.
Peter
Was he a good guy? Was he a bad guy? I don’t even know. He believed in Nick, until he didn’t, because it was a convenient plot point. He was strong and resilient and independent, until he became weak and in thrall to the Lady’s every wish, because it was a convenient plot point. Look, I like character arcs, but there are no character arcs here. I don’t even know if there are any real characters here, they’re all just puppets and caricatures.
There are actually lots of other issues but I don’t want to get into them because the more I do, the more upset I’ll get. I actually still intend to read Brom’s other book, Slewfoot, because it was the original recommendation and there are 12 years in between the two books and authors can improve. But I’m also going to be more discerning and allow myself to bail at the first sign of character inconsistencies!
My Rating
2/5 stars. I’m sorry, I just can’t get past all the issues.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
Books from the Backlog is hosted by Carole @ Carole’s Random Life and features neglected books that’s been sitting on your TBR for a while.
I’ve got a lot of them so I’m not even sure where to start. But I ended choosing one that has been on my mind for a while, and that I keep wanting to go back to.
This week’s neglected book
The Rook by Daniel O’Malley
“The body you are wearing used to be mine.”
So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by bodies all wearing latex gloves. With no recollection of who she is, Myfanwy must follow the instructions her former self left behind to discover her identity and track down the agents who want to destroy her.
She soon learns that she is a Rook, a high-ranking member of a secret organization called the Chequy that battles the many supernatural forces at work in Britain. She also discovers that she possesses a rare, potentially deadly supernatural ability of her own.
In her quest to uncover which member of the Chequy betrayed her and why, Myfanwy encounters a person with four bodies, an aristocratic woman who can enter her dreams, a secret training facility where children are transformed into deadly fighters, and a conspiracy more vast than she ever could have imagined.
Filled with characters both fascinating and fantastical, The Rook is a richly inventive, suspenseful, and often wry thriller that marks an ambitious debut from a promising young writer.
– Goodreads
Why did I add this book to my bookshelf?
I’ve actually read this book before and I remember loving it and rating it five stars, but it’s only the first book in a series and I haven’t read the next books. I’d forgotten much of the details in this one so I wanted to reread it before getting to the next books. In fact, I had gotten all three books in the series in 2022 and meant to read them but it’s now December 2023, and I still haven’t read them! At this point, I’d be happy if I got to them anytime in 2024!
What are your thoughts? Have you read this book? Would you recommend it?
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is a freebie and it’s my first one on this blog so I’m going with Top Ten Reasons I’m Happy to be Book Blogging Again!
I love the book blogging community. I book blogged for many years before I stopped 10 years ago due to things getting hectic IRL, and while I continued to follow book lovers on other platforms, there’s really nothing quite like the book blogging community.
One of the things I loved most about book blogging were the weekly memes! I actually did TTT more than 10 years ago before I stopped blogging.
I love doing the memes, but I also loved seeing what everyone else was doing. I loved discovering new books, new ideas, and most of all, new friends.
I also love the reading challenges, and following along with everyone else’s progress and achievements. I love that the challenges help me to expand my own reading.
As you can see, I used the word “love” a lot when I talk about books and book blogging. That means I’m passionate about it, and you should always do what you love!
I’ve still been reading a lot, but had no one to talk to about the books I’ve loved. Which makes me sad. Starting a book blog again means I can talk about books here, and that makes me happy!
Sometimes I’ve hated the books I’ve read and want to complain about them but had no one to complain to. Which makes me frustrated. Now I can complain here, and that makes me happy too!
I’ve got a really bad memory when it comes to books I’ve read and I desperately needed a place to write down my thoughts and organize my reading plans and challenges.
I actually started a physical book journal in an effort to organize my reading, but I found it difficult to keep up with when I had to write everything by hand! Plus, it’s not very interactive. Unlike a book blog.
Some of my best memories are of when I used to blog. I had so much fun and made so many reader friends. I hope to make new memories, and new friends, and maybe reconnect with some old friends.
That’s my first TTT post! I’m so happy to be book blogging again. What do you love about book blogging? Let me know!
Inspired by the true World War II history of the few bookshops to survive the Blitz, The Last Bookshop in London is a timeless story of wartime loss, love and the enduring power of literature.
August 1939: London prepares for war as Hitler’s forces sweep across Europe. Grace Bennett has always dreamed of moving to the city, but the bunkers and blackout curtains that she finds on her arrival were not what she expected. And she certainly never imagined she’d wind up working at Primrose Hill, a dusty old bookshop nestled in the heart of London.
Through blackouts and air raids as the Blitz intensifies, Grace discovers the power of storytelling to unite her community in ways she never dreamed—a force that triumphs over even the darkest nights of the war.
The Reason
Well, you know, I can’t resist books about books and bookshops, so of course I had to borrow it when I saw it on Libby.
The Quotes
“Books are what have brought us together. A love of the stories within, the adventures they take us on, their glorious distraction in a time of strife.”
“You can’t save the world, but keep trying in any small way you can.”
“There was a special scent to paper and ink, indescribable and unknown to anyone but a true reader. She brought the book to her face, closed her eyes and breathed in that wonderful smell.”
“No one told her finishing the book would leave her so bereft. It was as though she’d said goodbye for the last time to a close friend.”
The Characters
Grace Bennett is the main character but I found myself loving all the other characters very much as well. Even the side characters came very much to life for me. Madeline Martin has such a way of writing the characters that makes each and every one of them stand out distinctly and individually. And yes, there is also a cat! I love it!
My Thoughts
This book gives me so much Anne of Green Gables vibes, which might sound weird because it’s definitely a lot darker. But it has that feel-good thing going on for it, even in the face of horror, death, and disaster, with the war going on. Grace, her friends, and their community face so much loss and grief, but through it all, they come together through the love of books and stories. There were some parts where the author writes about the feelings of guilt for doing well or having fun while others weren’t, and always wanting to do more to help but feeling like it’s never enough. The characters also talk about the importance of preserving books and stories, and making sure that all stories are told, not just the ones the people in power want to be told. So many powerful messages in this book delivered so beautifully.
My Feels
This book totally punched me in the feels. I sobbed so much near the end because it was such a testament to the power of community and people coming together, supporting one another, through hardship and suffering. I see them all at different parts of the book, taking turns being the ones to support others and then needing support from others, and I thought that was so beautifully written and shown, about the power of community. I also love how the bookshop was such an important part of that support system. I have always felt for myself that books and stories have been crucial to my growth and development as a human being living in this world, and sometimes crucial to my survival. I feel that sentiment illustrated so well in this book and I am just completely in love with everything this book has to offer.
My Rating
5/5 stars. No question. In fact, I feel like this may be one of the books I come back to over and over again. I highly recommend it to any and all book lovers, and anyone who believes in the power of community and the resilience of people. This book is a testament that even in the face of the darkest of times, there is still hope and love and magic to be found. It is an absolutely beautiful book.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings.
This past week was my first week book blogging again, so there’s that! There’s nothing much to show on my blog just yet, but I wanted to do a post anyway to commemorate my first week. Plus, although I haven’t posted much yet, I did spend a lot of time browsing other book blogs and book memes, and even signed up for a couple of reading challenges which I’m really excited for!
Planning to get started on The Classics Club challenge by
Reading Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Reading Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree
Writing a review for The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin
Honestly, I’m still new to book blogging again so I don’t know if I can do all that I want to do, especially since the coming weeks are busy end-of-year ones, but I am excited to be here again and I’m going to keep reminding myself that even if I can’t do it all, I’m happy just to be blogging again!
