Tag: bookblogging

The Plague Letters Review

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London, 1665. Hidden within a growing pile of corpses, one victim of the pestilence stands out: a young woman with a shorn head and pieces of twine delicately tied around each ankle.

Symon Patrick, rector of St. Paul’s Covent Garden, cannot say exactly why this corpse amongst the many in his churchyard should give him pause. Longing to do good, he joins a group of medical men who have gathered to find a cure for the plague, each man more peculiar and splenetic than the next. But there is another – unknown to The Society for the Prevention and Cure of Plague – who is performing his own terrible experiments upon unwilling plague-ridden subjects.

It is Penelope – Symon’s unwanted yet unremovable addition to his household – who may yet shed light on the matter. Far more than what she appears, she is already on the hunt. But the dark presence that enters the houses of the sick will not stop, and has no mercy…

Shadow and Bone Review

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Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee. Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

March 2021 Wrap Up

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Started off the month a bit rocky as I DNFed my first book of the year. But I ended up ending on a good note. I also didn’t complete on of my challenges, this was the first time since I have started my blog. I always try to prioritise my challenges but I too many other books lined up that I wanted to read more of.

  • I read 5 books this month.
  • I DNFED my first book of the year this month.
  • I didn’t complete my ONTD challenge for the month.
  • Genre: I read 2 thrillers, 2 fantasy and 1 steampunk.
  • Gender of authors: 3 men and 2 women
  • Race of authors: 4 asian and 1 white.
  • Age range: I read 3 adult, 1 middle grade and 1 I was not sure of the age range.
  • Format: I read 3 paperbacks, 1 ebooks and 1 webcomic.

Bullet Train – Kotaro Isaka (DNF)

So, this was an ARC given to me by _ and personally it just didn’t capture me. If felt a little bit like a chore to pick up the book each time. Not much to say about this book.

City of Secrets – Victoria Ying (3 stars)

I am trying to venture more into graphic novels and such and I picked up this fun middle grade GN. I loved the art style and the characters in this book. I felt the setting and the friendships were really good as well. It did feel slightly rushed but it wasn’t a major factor in my enjoyment of the book.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask and A Link to the Past Manga – Akira Himekawa (4 stars)

I preferred this book over the Ocarina of Time one I read in Feb. I felt that the first game (Majora’s Mask) was adapted super well but I wish that it was longer. I felt that the story itself was over too quickly. The ALttP game was my favourite, maybe it’s because I never played it so it was a fresh new story for me to read but I felt that the characters were great, there was some brilliant world building and as per the art was beautiful.

PIGPEN – Carnby Kim (4 stars)

So, I started this webcomic back in January and only got round to finishing it in March but it was sooooo good. It went to places I didn’t expect, the art was super creepy and I loved the colour pallet. I highly recommend it.

Red Seas Under Red Skies – Scott Lynch (4 stars)

This took me such a long time to finish but I really enjoyed it. I loved the world-building, the friendship between Locke and Jean, the female characters in it were so much better than the last book and I just enjoyed getting lost into the world and the story.

Red Seas Under Red Skies Review

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Thief and con-man extraordinaire, Locke Lamora, and the ever lethal Jean Tannen have fled their home city and the wreckage of their lives. But they can’t run forever and when they stop they decide to head for the richest, and most difficult, target on the horizon. The city state of Tal Verarr. And the Sinspire. The Sinspire is the ultimate gambling house. No-one has stolen so much as a single coin from it and lived. It’s the sort of challenge Locke simply can’t resist… but Locke’s perfect crime is going to have to wait. Someone else in Tal Verarr wants the Gentleman Bastards’ expertise and is quite prepared to kill them to get it. Before long, Locke and Jean find themselves engaged in piracy. Fine work for thieves who don’t know one end of a galley from another. 

PIGPEN Review

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A relaxing getaway in paradise, or a death trap? A young man wakes up on a breathtaking beac, but he has no idea who he is or how he got there. Try as he might to piece it all together, untangling this mind-bending mystery won’t be easy when every clue leads to more maddening questions… and the family that welcomes his into their home is not what they seem.

City of Secrets Review

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Ever Barnes is a shy orphan guarding a secret in an amazing puzzle box of a building. Most of the young women who work at the building’s Switchboard Operating Facility, which connects the whole city of Oskar, look the other way as Ever roams around in the shadows. But one of them, Lisa, keeps an eye on the boy. So does the head of the Switchboard, Madame Alexander . . . a rather sharp eye. Enter Hannah, the spunky daughter of the building’s owner. She thinks Ever needs a friend, even if he doesn’t know it yet. Good thing she does! Lisa and Madame Alexander are each clearly up to something. Ever is beset by a menacing band of rogues looking to unlock the secret he holds–at any cost. And whatever is hidden deep in the Switchboard building will determine all of their futures.

February 2021 Wrap Up

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Well, this was a very successful month for me. I didn’t read as many books as last month but I really enjoyed the ones I did read. I also read my first 5 star novel this month which was amazing.

  • I read 5 books this month.
  • I continued with all my challenges.
  • Genre: I read 2 classic murder mysteries, 1 sci-fi and 2 fantasy.
  • Gender of authors: 4 by women and 1 was by a variety of authors.
  • Race of authors: 2 white, 2 asian and 1 was by a variety of authors.
  • Age range: I read 4 adult and 1 I was not sure of the age range.
  • Format: I read 2 paperbacks, 1 ebooks and 1 manga.

Death Going Down – Maria Angelica Bosco (2.5 stars)

So, this was my first step into Argentinian Literature, I read this novel as part of the ONTD Reading Challenge. I found it to be a really easy read. The novel didn’t blow me away but I still enjoyed reading it and I would consider reading more of Bosco’s novels.

Lord Edgware Dies – Agatha Christie (4 stars)

This was a solid addition to her series. While it wasn’t as good as some of her other work I still had a great time reading it. I read this book as part of my sequels challenge and I do hope to read the next book in her series before the end of the year. I found that I enjoyed Hastings the most in this book out of all the others books he’s been in. He felt like a great sidekick to Poirot where in other books he’s been a liability to him.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Manga – Akira Himekawa (4 stars)

I have read some mangas before but they had all be apart of the same series. So, this was the first time I had tried a completely different author. I felt that this was a solid adaptation from a video game which had so much content and I really enjoyed the art style. I did wish that some of the dungeons are expanded upon in the manga and I found that some of the pages were too busy but it didn’t ruin my enjoyment.

Star Wars: From A Certain Point of View – Various Authors (3 stars)

I don’t read many short story anthologies but I was really interested in reading these stories set in the Star Wars universe. I decided to rate each story out of 5 and then average out the scores for my overall rating. Overall, I loved how creative and imaginative the authors were and how they could get me invested in this new characters in just a handful of pages!!!

The Poppy War – R.F. Kuang – (5 stars)

This was the book I was most anxious for! I had seen such great things from this trilogy and I desperately wanted to enjoy as much as everyone else did. Thankfully, I loved it! Such amazing world-building, I was super invested in the main character Rin and I was just so connected to the story. I believe this book to be a must read if you want to read more fantasy!