Tag: book lists

July 2023 Wrap Up

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Honestly, since I have started my 30 Books in 30 Days Challenge, I cannot remember a single book I read in July.

  • I read 10 books this month
  • Genre: 5 fantasy, 2 sci-fi, 2 mystery and 1 contemporary
  • Gender of authors: 8 women and 2 men
  • Race of authors: 4 white authors, 3 asian authors, 2 black authors and 1 mixed race author (author has personally not specified)
  • Age range: 6 adult, 3 YA and 9 middle grade
  • Format: 7 paperback, 2 ebooks and 1 hardback.

Challenges

  • Prompt: Low Fantasy
    • Every Heart a Doorway – Seanan MacGuire
    • The Gilded Wolves – Roshani Chokshi
    • Masters of Death – Olivie Blake
    • Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies – Heather Fawcett
    • Mountains Made of Glass – Scarlett St. Clair
  • Sequel Challenge:
    • Sailor Moon, Vol.2 – Naoko Takeuchi
    • Death on Gokuman Island – Seishi Yokomizo

Mountains Made of Glass – Scarlett St. Clair (2 stars)

This book started off so strong. That first chapter was so good! But the decline afterwards was quite apparent. I felt a bit disappointed as I felt the first chapter showed some incredible writing and beautiful prose which then just disappeared by chapter 2. I also felt the romance was very toxic and very rushed and the story just lacked depth.

Death on Gokuman Island – Seishi Yokomizo (3 stars)

Look a me continuing on with this series despite me saying I wasn’t going to… This was definitely better than the last two books that I read. Really engaging characters and plot with an ending I truly did not see coming. I also felt Yokomizo had a great sense of place within this work. I could truly picture the island and the post war atmosphere.

The List – Yomi Adegoke (4 stars)

What a book. This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire way through. One of the things I was most aware of was how Adegoke would handle the main topic of the book. I was interested to watch how Ola, a world-renowned feminist who has been very vocal online about calling out harassment, etc., how would she react to something that directly impacted her own personal life. I think Adegoke managed to highlight a variety of different points of view as well as add nuance to her characters and did a great job writing the complexities that come with voicing and standing up against harassment. Reading the countdown to the wedding was intense and I couldn’t look away as I watched these characters make drastic decisions left right and center. I had my own personal theory about how this book would end and I nearly got it all right but Adegoke added in one final point before I turned that last page.

Masters of Death – Olivie Blake (4 stars)

So, the biggest standout element of this novel for me was the characters. I did not hate a single character. They were all super fun, entertaining, interesting, and layered. It didn’t matter the amount of page time they got I genuinely just enjoyed every character big or small. Along with these amazing characters was some genuinely hilarious dialogue. The dialogue in this book is witty, smart, and laugh-out-loud funny. That doesn’t mean this book doesn’t have its impactful and emotional moments. Blake is still able to bring out her beautiful prose and poignant moments with just a lot more laughs in between. I also loved how Blake structured this story. This book is told through multiple POVs, multiple narration styles, and different time periods. At times you don’t know why you are meeting this character until 50 pages later. This was written in such an interesting way that I couldn’t put it down and would feel sad if my bus pulled up to my stop and I had to carry on with my day.

The Gilded Wolves – Roshani Chokshi (4 stars)

I may have actually liked this more than Six of Crows! Another great YA heist book with a diverse and dynamic cast and amazing interpersonal relationships. I preferred the alternate historical road and the story’s use of technology and puzzles. I am super looking forward to the sequel which I have ordered.

Every Heart a Doorway – Seanan McGuire (5 stars)

A book that subverted all the tropes surrounding portal fantasies and I ate every page up! Despite it being less than 200 pages, this story did more work and raised the bar higher than some of these other 500+ fantasy books I have read. Great characters, fresh ideas and immaculate execution. Loved it!

The books I did not mention:

June 2023 Wrap Up

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After January I never thought I would beat those numbers. I thought I had peaked too early but June proved to be the best month ever!

  • I read 23 books this month
  • Genre: 15 fantasy, 4 mystery, 2 sci-fi, 1 romance and 1 non-fiction
  • Gender of authors: 15 women, 4 men and 1 non-binary author
  • Race of authors: 13 white authors, 3 asian authors, 3 black authors and 1 jewish latina author
  • Age range: 10 adult, 9 middle grade and 4 YA
  • Format: 11 paperback, 7 ebooks and 5 hardback.

Challenges

  • Prompt: Middle Grade
    • Hilda – Luke Pearson
    • Luna and the Treasure of Tlaloc – Joe Todd-Stanton
    • Onyeka and the Rise of the Rebels – Tola Okogwu
    • Ember Shadows and the Fates of Mount Never – Rebecca King
    • The Tea Dragon Society – Kay O’Neill
    • The Case of the Lighthouse Intruder – Kereen Getten
    • Howl’s Moving Castle – Diana Wynne Jones
  • Sequel Challenge:
    • Onyeka and the Rise of the Rebels – Tola Okogwu
    • Blue Exorcist, Vol.2 – Kazue Kato
  • Short Story Challenge:
    • The Six Deaths of the Saint – Alex E. Harrow

As is now usual for my wrap ups I will only be talking about the books where I feel that I have loads to say.

We Should All Be Feminists – Chimimanda Ngoni Adiche (3 stars)

I loved this TedTalk when it first came out around 2012. But as I have grown and my knowledge of feminism has changed and grown. I felt this book was only just scraping the surface of what needs to be discussed. It tackles one of the core foundations of feminism but it was not in depth enough for me and not very inclusionary of LGBTQ+, Trans and Non-Binary people.

The Case of the Lighthouse Intruder – Kereen Getten (3 stars)

A super cute and exciting mystery for young audiences. I loved the main character so much. Her determination, her intelligence, everything. I also felt that the book did a great job tackling topics such as bullying and financial difficulties.

A Wizard of Earthsea/The Tombs of Atuan – Ursula K. Le Guin (4/3 stars)

I read the first two books in the Earthsea series on holiday. I really enjoyed A Wizard from Earthsea and I felt very average feelings for The Tombs of Atuan. For A Wizard from Earthsea, I loved the characters, I loved the setting and I loved the coming of age story. I did feel that the story ended very abruptly. For The Tombs of Atuan, I loved the setting and the main character and her crisis of faith moment but the writing was just not engaging at all and I ended up skim reading the ending.

Ember Shadow and the Fates of Mount Never – Rebecca King (4 stars)

I CANNOT BELEIVE it took me this long to read this book. This book was soooo good. It had super strong Alice in Wonderland meets Labyrinth vibes. Super whimsical yet it handled the emotional moments so well. I loved this book so much!

Gwen and Art are Not in Love – Lex Croucher (4 stars)

Back on my romance grind. Now way too many romance books are called rom coms yet they aren’t funny. This book however put the comedy in romantic comedy. It was a historical rom com with a lot of emphasis on the legend of King Arthur which I found to be really interesting. The dialogue was hilarious and witty and I loved the platonic banter between Gwen and Art. My favourite enemies to friends.

Onyeka and the Rise of the Rebels – Tola Okogwu (4 stars)

My favourite kids book from last year finally got a sequel and it was just as good. Black Panther meets X-Men. It was action-packed, funny, exhilarating. Again, it tackled those harder topics so well and I loved our core group of kids. It’s always the series I recommend to children. So good! The anxiety rep in this book was especially good.

The Six Deaths of the Saint – Alix E. Harrow (4 stars)

This book was super hyped on twitter early 2023 and I only just got round to reading it. I get the hype, I understand why it is loved so much. So much happens in such a small amount of pages and it is heartbreaking!

Thornhedge – T. Kingfisher (4 stars)

My first ever T. Kingfisher novel and it did not disappoint. A really nice way of re-telling the Sleeping Beauty fairy-tale but in a more gothic and gory twist. I felt that one of the strongest elements of this story was the imagery Kingfisher created with her writing. I could just picture everything perfectly with the way she described things.

Herc – Phoenicia Rogerson (4 stars)

One of my new favourite greek myth re-tellings. Funny, heartfelt and just as easily heartbreaking. This story is told through multiple POV from people in Herc’s life and I enjoyed every second of it. I also learnt so much about Herc’s myth that I didn’t already know which was super fun!

Hilda series – Luke Pearson (5 stars)

So, I read 6 Hilda comics last month and they were the cutest thing I have ever read. The art design is absolutely incredible, the stories are wonderful and whimsical and I love the blend of the modern day alongside fantasy and how they fit and work together. Hilda is an amazing and witty character full of brains and empathy. My favourite comics had to be the last two the Night of the Trolls ones. SO GOOD!

The books I read but did not mention:

  • Hooky – Miriam Bonastre Tur (DNF)
  • Lemon – Kwon Yeo-Sun (DNF)
  • Howl’s Moving Castle – Diana Wynne Jones (DNF)
  • The Mimicking of Known Successes – Malka Older (2.5 stars)
  • Uncle Paul – Celia Fremlin (3 stars)
  • The Tea Dragon Society – Kay O’Neill (3 stars)
  • The Hunter’s Guild: Red Hood, Vol.1 – Yuki Kawaguchi (4 stars)
  • Cards on the Table – Agatha Christie (4 stars)
  • Blue Exorcist, Vol.2 – Kazue Kato (4 stars)

June 2023 TBR

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April was a weird month for me and May was good but I didn’t do as great with the theme as I had hoped. Again, I have learnt nothing from the previous month so here is my overly ambitious June TBR. This month’s theme is Middle Grade.

  • Title: Onyeka and the Rise of the Rebels
  • Author: Tola Okogwu
  • Series: Onyeka #2
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Middle Grade
  • Genre: Sci-fi


Plot for Book 1: Onyeka has a lot of hair­—the kind that makes strangers stop in the street and her peers whisper behind her back. At least she has Cheyenne, her best friend, who couldn’t care less what other people think. Still, Onyeka has always felt insecure about her vibrant curls…until the day Cheyenne almost drowns and Onyeka’s hair takes on a life of its own, inexplicably pulling Cheyenne from the water. At home, Onyeka’s mother tells her the shocking Onyeka’s psychokinetic powers make her a Solari, one of a secret group of people with superpowers unique to Nigeria. Her mother quickly whisks her off to the Academy of the Sun, a school in Nigeria where Solari are trained. But Onyeka and her new friends at the academy soon have to put their powers to the test as they find themselves embroiled in a momentous battle between truth and lies…

  • Title: Howl’s Moving Castle
  • Author: Diana Wynne Jones
  • Series: Howl’s Moving Castle #1
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Middle Grade
  • Genre: Fantasy


Plot: In the land of Ingary, where seven-league boots and cloaks of invisibility really exist, Sophie Hatter attracts the unwelcome attention of the Witch of the Waste, who puts a curse on her. Determined to make the best of things, Sophie travels to the one place where she might get help – the moving castle which hovers on the nearby hills. But the castle belongs to the dreaded Wizard Howl whose appetite, they say, is satisfied only by the hearts of young girls…

  • Title: Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor
  • Author: Xiran Jay Zhao
  • Series: Zachary Ying #1
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Middle Grade
  • Genre: Fantasy


Plot: Zachary Ying never had many opportunities to learn about his Chinese heritage. His single mom was busy enough making sure they got by, and his schools never taught anything except Western history and myths. So Zack is woefully unprepared when he discovers he was born to host the spirit of the First Emperor of China for a vital mission: sealing the leaking portal to the Chinese underworld before the upcoming Ghost Month blows it wide open. The mission takes an immediate wrong turn when the First Emperor botches his attempt to possess Zack’s body and binds to Zack’s AR gaming headset instead, leading to a battle where Zack’s mom’s soul gets taken by demons. Now, with one of history’s most infamous tyrants yapping in his headset, Zack must journey across China to heist magical artefacts and defeat figures from history and myth, all while learning to wield the emperor’s incredible water dragon powers. And if Zack can’t finish the mission in time, the spirits of the underworld will flood into the mortal realm, and he could lose his mom forever.

  • Title: The School for Good and Evil
  • Author: Soman Chainani
  • Series: The School for Good and Evil #1
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Middle Grade
  • Genre: Fantasy


Plot: This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil. But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Woods, they find their fortunes reversed—Sophie’s dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School For Good, thrust amongst handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication. But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are…?

  • Title: Hooky
  • Author: Miriam Bonastre Tur
  • Series: Hooky #1
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Middle Grade
  • Genre: Fantasy


Plot: When Dani and Dorian missed the bus to magic school, they never thought they’d wind up declared traitors to their own kind! Now, thanks to a series of mishaps, they are being chased by powerful magic families seeking the prophesied King of Witches and royals searching for missing princes. But they aren’t alone. With a local troublemaker, a princess, and a teacher who can see the future on their side, they might just be able to clear their names…but can they heal their torn kingdom?
 

  • Title: Hilda: The Wilderness Stories
  • Author: Luke Pearson
  • Series: Hilda #1-2
  • Format: Hardback
  • Age Rating: Middle Grade
  • Genre: Fantasy


Plot: Explore the magic, folklore, and mystery of Hilda’s world as she rides fluffy woffs through the sky, dodges trolls through the forests, and catches up with giants the size of mountains. With the help of her lovable deerfox friend Twig, the grumpy (but no less loveable) Wood Man, and with a backpack full of cucumber sandwiches, there’s nothing to stop Hilda from exploring the wilds and getting into sticky situations…

  • Title: Hilda: The Trolberg Stories
  • Author: Luke Pearson
  • Series: Hilda #3-4
  • Format: Hardback
  • Age Rating: Middle Grade
  • Genre: Fantasy


Plot (Spoilers): Leaving their home in the wilderness, Hilda, Twig and her mother have moved to the big bustling city of Trolberg. Hilda must find a way to fit into this new and very different way of life by building new friendships with humans – and creatures. Soon, she discovers the city is just as mysterious and filled with adventures as the wilderness. There is no shortage of unexpected twists, turns and new friends in this bind-up edition. A perfect gift for Hilda fans and any young adventurer in your life!

Now the 3 books are not on theme.

  • Title: The Gilded Wolves
  • Author: Roshani Chokshi
  • Series: Gilded Wolves #1
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: YA
  • Genre: Historical Fantasy


Plot: It’s 1889. The city is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. Here, no one keeps tabs on dark truths better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. When the elite, ever-powerful Order of Babel coerces him to help them on a mission, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance. To hunt down the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin calls upon a band of unlikely experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian banished from his home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in arms if not blood. Together, they will join Séverin as he explores the dark, glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the course of history–but only if they can stay alive.

  • Title: Cards on the Table
  • Author: Agatha Christie
  • Series: Hercule Poirot #15
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Murder Mystery


Plot: Mr. Shaitana was famous, as were his parties. He was also a man of whom everybody was a little afraid. So, when he boasted to Poirot that he considered murder an art form, the detective had some reservations about accepting a party invitation of cards and viewing Shaitana’s private art collection. Indeed, what began as an absorbing evening of bridge was to turn into a more dangerous game altogether…

  • Title: Murder Before Evensong
  • Author: Reverend Richard Coles
  • Series: Canon Clement #1
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Murder Mystery


Plot: Canon Daniel Clement is Rector of Champton. He has been there for eight years, living at the Rectory alongside his widowed mother – opinionated, fearless, ever-so-slightly annoying Audrey – and his two dachshunds, Cosmo and Hilda. When Daniel announces a plan to install a lavatory in the church, the parish is suddenly (and unexpectedly) divided: as lines are drawn, long-buried secrets come dangerously close to destroying the apparent calm of the village. And then Anthony Bowness – cousin to Bernard de Floures, patron of Champton – is found dead at the back of the church, stabbed in the neck with a pair of secateurs. As the police move in and the bodies start piling up, Daniel is the only one who can try and keep his fractured community together… and catch a killer.

April Wrap Up 2023

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Not my best month, no 5 star novels and I didn’t get to my entire April TBR 😦

  • I read 17 books this month
  • Genre: 13 fantasy and 4 mystery
  • Gender of authors: 6 women and 6 men
  • Race of authors: 7 white authors, 4 Asian authors and 1 collection of varied authors
  • Age range: 11 YA and 6 adult
  • Format: 9 paperback and 8 ebook

Challenges

  • Prompt: Mystery
    • The Ashes of London
    • Moriarty the Patriot, Vol.2
    • The Cloisters
    • Final Acts
  • Sequel:
    • Moriarty the Patriot, Vol.2

Final Acts edited by Martin Edwards (DNF)

This was just a super uninspiring murder mysteries with slow pacing and engaging writing. Which is a shame as I loved some other collections I have read.

Scarlet by Genevieve Cogman (DNF)

Nothing particularly bad about this fantasy re-telling of The Scarlet Pimpernel. I just couldn’t stay engaged and for a fantasy book promising vampire aristocrats there weren’t many at all!

Soggy Landing by Alec McGovern (2 stars)

I couldn’t actually tell you what this graphic novel was about. I really liked the art style but that was about it! The plot was all over the place and not cohesive at all and it felt gory and sexual for no real reason.

Twin Crowns by Catherine Doyle & Katherine Webber (3.5 stars)

A super fun and action-packed fantasy romance with major Parent Trap/Princess and the Pauper vibes. I loved the world-building, the romance (Team Shen) and I thought the magic was super cool. I will say it took some time for the plot to properly going at first and a bit too much telling and not enough showing for certain aspects of the narrative.

At Midnight edited by Dahlia Adler (3.5 stars)

Overall, I had a really great time reading these stories and I loved the amount of love, representations and magic I saw in these pages.

Sugarplum – 2 stars
In The Forest of the Night – 5 stars
Say My Name – 3.5 stars
Fire and Rhinestone – 3 stars
Mother’s Mirror – 3 stars
Sharp As Any Thorn – 2.5 stars
Coyote in High Top Sneakers – 4 stars
The Sister Switch – 3 stars
Once Bitten, Twice Shy – 3 stars
A Flame So Bright – 3.5 stars
The Emperor and the Eversong – 5 stars
HEA – DNF
The Littlest Mermaid – 2 stars
Just a Little Bite – 5 stars
A Story About a Girl – 5 stars

The Cloisters by Katy Hays (3.5 stars)

A book for academia fans and art fans everywhere. A really engaging story following a young art historian as she works at the prestigious The Cloisters renowned for its collection of medieval and Renaissance art. This started off super strong and I was so absorbed in the story and the interpersonal dynamics of the main characters but unfortunately this book ended in a super predictable and cliched way for my personal liking.

The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor (4 stars)

A really detailed and engaging historical crime novel. I will say that the mystery definitely takes a back seat in order to bring the historical fiction side of the novel to be highlighted. I would have preferred more mystery content but our two main characters are super captivating that I didn’t mind. My favourite part of this whole novel was the atmosphere. This book is set during and just after the Great Fire of London and Taylor did a great job weaving the terror and grief throughout the novel. You felt just as suffocated.

The Promised Neverland Series Vol.15-20 by Kaiu Shirai (5 stars)

What a way to end the series!!!! I want to give a standing ovation to this series and the author. So masterful. But… if I have to be picky I will say that Vol. 20 includes one of my least fave tropes and while I think it was the only answer to the tricky puzzle the author put himself in. I am still not a fan of the trope. Apart from that one tiny thing. 10/10! I cried.

Other books I read but couldn’t form coherent thoughts about at this current moment in time:

  • Yona of the Dawn. Vol.1 by Mizuho Kusanagi (4 stars)
  • Moriarty the Patriot, Vol.2 by Ryosuke Takeuchi (4 stars)
  • Fierce by Mathieu Burniat (4 stars)
  • A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin (4 stars)