Tag: fantasy

April 2024 Wrap Up

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  • I read 14 books this month
  • I DNFd 3 books this month
  • Genre: 3 sci-fi, 3 memoir, 2 fantasy, 2 romance, 2 murder mystery, 1 thriller, 1 non-fiction
  • Gender of authors: 7 women and 4 men, 2 not stated, 1 non-binary author
  • Race of authors: 8 white authors, 4 asian authors, 1 black author and 1 Indo-Caribbean author
  • Age range: 12 adult, 3 new adult and 2 YA
  • Format: 6 paperback, 6 ebook and 2 hardback
  • 4.4 stars average rating for the month

DNFS

  • The Two Deaths of Ruth Lyle – Nick Louth
  • Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea – Rebecca Thorne
  • Eve – Cat Bohannon

The Butcher of the Forest – Preemee Mohamed (3.5 stars)

This is a super short horror fantasy about a haunted forest and the dangerous journey a woman goes on to free children from the forest’s clutches. Loved all the folklore and horror elements but despite this book being under 200 pages I found the pacing to be quite slow.

A-DO, Vol. 1 – Amano Jaku (4 stars)

This was a vibrant, action-packed and tense start to what I think will be a highly praised and exhilarating series. Fans of Akira will love this! The illustrations were so well done and perfectly represented the pace and chaos in this series. The characters are intriguing and I am excited to learn more about them and especially more about their powers. I am excited to see where the rest of the series goes.

My Love Story with Yamada-kun, Vol.1 – Mashiro (4 stars)

This was a super sweet and engaging contemporary romance in the era of modern gaming. The first volumes of manga series I take super seriously as they are make or break. We all know I am a solid DNFer so if I don’t enjoy them straight away it’s a no-go. This was easy reading, with a super engaging main character who I just want to see good things happen to and hilarious illustrations. I am excited to see more development in the romance as it’s very early days in their story but I did want a bit more from our love interest. I loved all the gaming references and all the scenes set in the world of the game. It was probably my favourite part of the volume.

A Magical Girl Retires – Park Seolyeon (4 stars)

For Sailor Moon fans who want a more realistic look at what being a magical girl is like. This book is for you! Satirical, witty, and fast-paced this book just captured me from the first chapter. I loved following our main character’s journey as she learns all about 21st-century magical girls and threats to the world as we know it. Our MC is super relatable and reflects modern issues and I felt like I would honestly react so similarly to her in most of her situations. I loved the illustrations in this book – they just paired so beautifully with the story and the vibe of the novel. That being said I do wish it was longer as I wanted the story to be drawn out and a bit more developed.

The Spook’s Apprentice – Joseph Delaney (4 stars)

This seemed like a book that I thought might just not be for me. This was purely due to the fact that I am not the target age or audience for this book so going into this young YA novel I was expecting to maybe not love it. I WAS WRONG. A perfect balance of fantasy and horror with a protagonist that you just want to see succeed and overcome every obstacle in his way.

Night Shift – Annie Crown (4.5 stars)

I picked this up after a very long and busy day at work looking for an easy and fun read and boy did I get that. I ended up reading over 200 pages in one setting on my day off as I just couldn’t put it down. For all my girlies who love romance novels, and poetry and just love to romanticise their life this book is for you! This was just a super engaging read with two great characters who you just want to see succeed.

The Trees – Percival Everett (4.5 stars)

If you have ever watched the movie Blackkklansman by Spike Lee and loved it, you would love this book. This satirical thriller following the investigation into multiple interconnected deaths in Mississippi was a book I flew through. I literally could not put it down. Percival Everett’s writing style is perfect for me. Too the point, doesn’t waste a single word, incredibly punchy dialogue, exciting plot. Ugh loved it.

Homebody – Theo Parish (5 stars)

This is a vibrant, accepting and reassuring graphic memoir about Theo’s journey into accepting themselves and their non-binary identity and the journey they took to get there and feel at home within their body. The illustrations in this GN are some of the most beautiful and engaging pieces of artwork I have seen in a graphic novel. Not only was I engaged in the story but the imagination that went into visualising this story was phenomenal. My favourite has to be the D&D section. Since this memoir is being published for the younger generation I feel that this book documents the journey so beautifully and clearly for young people who may be navigating a similar path. Even myself, who thought I knew quite bit about what it’s like being trans and non-binary, due my friends, learnt a lot! A book I would highly recommend!

It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth – Zoe Thorogood (5 stars)

Words cannot begin to adequately describe the genius, the heart and the baring of the soul that went into the creation of this graphic memoir. The creativity of the use of multiple forms, the loose time structure, varying art style just puts this above many visual stories I had read over the past couple of years. I have not seen anyone do something so raw and vast both emotionally but creatively. I was completely blown away by the book!

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone – Benjamin Stevenson (5 stars)

This book feels as if The Gentleman and Knives Out had a baby. A meta-narrative, family saga, murder mystery, and criminal dealings all rolled into a snowstorm on a ski resort! I had so much fun reading this book – probably the most fun I have ever had reading a crime book. The writing style in this book is wholly unique, for all my books about books fans you will love this, I loved the narrative voice of Ernest as a character but also as an author. I loved how the story was structured adhering to Ronald Knox’s 10 Commandments for crime writing. The constant referring to the text as a text with jokes about editors and chapter/page numbers. It was just such a refreshing read.

Reading Lessons – Carol Atherton (5 stars)

As someone who had complicated feelings about school and English, I was intrigued to see how I would feel reading a book about all the boring books I read and studied in school. Will this change my thoughts about any of the books? Will it make me appreciate my English classes more? Overall, yes. I thoroughly enjoyed dissecting these stories and learning that we can still learn something from these texts even today many years/decades/centuries later. While in school I hated analysing texts, now as an adult and a bookseller who reviews and promotes books for a living, I love diving in and seeing what I can take away or notice from a story. I liked looking at these texts from different lenses and I enjoyed hearing all the anecdotes that Atherton shared about her time in the classroom both when she was a student and as a teacher. My favourite section had to be the one on A Kestral for a Knave. It nearly had me crying on my commute home!

The Ferryman – Justin Cronin (5 stars)

Now this is my kind of sci-fi. I feel this book has a mass appeal to many audiences. The sci-fi fans, the thriller fans, the character-focused fans, and people who love to focus on the nitty-gritty of interpersonal relationships. This book has it all. I flew through this book at what felt like lightspeed. It’s a great sign that a book is phenomenal if all I can think about is getting back to reading it. Working? Thinking about the book. Food shop? Thinking about this book. Part of this is down to how easily this story flows. We follow two characters in this novel, one in first person and the other POV in 3rd person, and the way Cronin seamlessly weaves his way around these differing POVs and narrative styles is amazing. You just get so lost in the story that so much time has passed and the sun is setting.

March 2024 Wrap Up

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  • I read 14 books this month
  • I DNFd 1 books this month
  • Genre: 3 fantasy, 2 non-fiction, 2 thriller, 1 gothic, 1 sci-fi, 1 dystopian, 1 murder mystery, 1 contemporary, 1 romance, 1 classic
  • Gender of authors: 10 women and 4 men
  • Race of authors: 7 white authors, 5 asian authors, 1 black author and 1 Iranian author
  • Age range: 7 adult and 7 YA
  • Format: 8 paperback, 4 ebook, 1 audiobook and 1 hardback

DNFS

  • Freakslaw – Jane Flett

Heracles and Other Plays – Euripides (2.5 stars)

This collection started off so strong with Alcestis – that play was funny and poignant. Heracles was boring up until Heracles then it got interesting. Heracles’ Children was boring and Cyclops was a painful read.

BFFS – Anahit Behrooz (3 stars)

This was talking all about the ‘radical potential in female friendships’ but it just felt like an analysis of female friendship in media. I didn’t really feel the author actually tackled the topic she set out to do.

Fragile Animals – Genevieve Jagger (3 stars)

People need to stop telling me there are vampires in stories but then make the book focus on literally everything BUT THE VAMPIRES. Most of the introspective self-reflection was just boring except for the moments she talks about her mum’s affair and all the vampire stuff. Which all makes up about 30% of the book.

Miss Miyazen, Would Like to Get Closer to You, Vol.1 – Akitaka (4 stars)

This was such a super cute and wholesome slow-burn romance manga. Consisting of only 4 volumes I am expecting the slowest of slow burns. I really liked the characters and found their interactions to be sweet and at times hilariously awkward but not in a way that makes you cringe on the inside. The snapshot way of showing their blossoming relationships was done really well and I could dip in and out of this volume with ease.

The Reappearance of Rachel Price – Holly Jackson (4.5 stars)

Having read AGGTM first and then following up with this afterward you can see the immense development and progression in Jackson’s prose. I flew through this story reading 150 pages per sitting because not only was this easy to follow but the pacing was so quick and exciting that I just couldn’t stop myself from turning the page. The words flowed so seamlessly and I would blink another 20 mins had passed and I had been absorbed in this novel. While this is a YA book I do believe this has universal appeal for thriller fans out there and I will be recommending this to anyone who loves true crime docs, complicated family dynamics, and a realistic angsty main character.

Abroad in Japan – Chris Broad (4.5 stars)

I have been slowly getting more and more into non-fiction and this is defo a top one on my list. This was a really funny, heartfelt tale of a man’s 10 year experience living in Japan. I had such a fun time reading this and learning so much about Japanese culture and lifestyle. I really enjoyed reading this from a British persons’ point of view as most travel content I see are from American people so having the references and comparison from a culture I understand made for a great reading experience.

Is Love the Answer? – Uta Isaac (5 stars)

This was beautiful coming of age story discussing sexuality, romance and attraction. I was super invested in our main character’s story and her coming to terms with who she is. I was a big fan of the message of things changing over time and giving yourself the space to change and grow as you get older. I loved the asexuality representation and I feel that manga should be read by everyone!

Blue Lock, Vol. 1 – Muneyuki Kaneshiro (5 stars)

Going into this I assumed it was going to be an easy-going but highly competitive football tournament. What I was not expecting was a slightly dystopian, highly tense and highly exhilarating competition in which a whole footballer’s life could be ruined if they lose if they don’t make it to the top. This made a sport that I don’t really understand, easy to digest and something to be invested in. The characters are super interesting and I kind of like the fact that the stakes are so high. I will 100% continuing this series. I NEED to know how it ends!

The Potting Shed Murder – Paula Sutton (5 stars)

This book just solidified for me that the cosy murder mystery subgenre is the best crime subgenre that exists in our universe. It just ticks all the boxes for me. I do actually have a whole review dedicated to this book so check it out!

The Cruel Prince – Holly Black (5 stars)

I’m going to be honest here… a lot of people compared this book to ACOTAR which I thought was very average and because of that I waited forever and a day to pick this book up. I didn’t want another ACOTAR experience. But this was a SO GOOD. The characters, the political writing, the gorgeous and vibrant world-building, the angst. UGhhhhh I do genuinely highly recommend this book.

April 2024 TBR

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New Releases

  • Title: Reading Lessons
  • Author: Carol Atherton
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Non-Fiction (Literary Criticism)
  • Pages: 389
  • Publication Date: 04/04

Synopsis: In her twenty-five years as a secondary school English teacher, Carol Atherton has taught students of all abilities, from all walks of life. But the common thread to her lessons has been the books which have appeared on syllabuses year after year. But what is it about these books that sparks conversations? And why do they still matter? From Macbeth to Lord of the Flies, and from An Inspector Calls to Noughts and Crosses, each chapter invites us to take a fresh look at the novels, plays and poems we studied at school, revealing how they have shaped our beliefs, our values, and how we interact as a society. Atherton’s love for literature shines through on every page, but there’s more to her passion than being a bibliophile. As she reflects on her career, her experiences as a pupil, and her journey to becoming an adoptive parent, Atherton emphasises the vital, undervalued role teachers play, illustrates how essential reading is for developing our empathy, and makes a passionate case for the enduring power of literature.

  • Title: The Familiar
  • Author: Leigh Bardugo
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Historical Fantasy
  • Pages: 400
  • Publication Date: 09/04

Plot: In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to better the family’s social position. What begins as simple amusement for the bored nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain’s king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England’s heretic queen—and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king’s favor. Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the line between magic, science, and fraud is never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition’s wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santangel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.

  • Title: A Magical Girl Retires
  • Author: Park Seolyeon
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Sci-Fi
  • Pages: 176
  • Publication Date: 30/04


Plot: It’s 1600, and you’ve lost your keys. You’ve scoured your house. They’re nowhere to be found. What do you do? In medieval and early modern Europe, the first port of call might very well have been cunning practitioners of “service magic.” Neither feared (like witches), nor venerated (like saints), cunning folk were essential to everyday life, a ubiquitous presence in a time when the supernatural was surprisingly mundane. For people young and old, male and female, highborn and low, practical magic was a cherished resource with which to navigate life’s many challenges, from recovering stolen linens to seizing the throne, and everything in between. In historian Tabitha Stanmore’s beguiling account, we meet lovelorn widows and dissolute nobles, selfless healers and renegade monks. We listen in on Queen Elizabeth I’s astrology readings and track treasure hunters trying to unearth buried gold without upsetting the fairies that guard it. Much like us, premodern people lived in bewildering times, buffeted by forces beyond their control. Their anxieties are instantly recognizable, and as Stanmore reveals, their faith in magic has much to teach us about how we accommodate ourselves to the irrational in our allegedly enlightened lives today.

  • Title: The Two Deaths of Ruth Lyle
  • Author: Nick Louth
  • Series: DI Jan Talantire #1
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Thriller
  • Pages: 326
  • Publication Date: 02/05


Plot: She must solve the ultimate riddle… DI Jan Talantire is called to a cottage in Ilfracombe, where the female occupant is found dead, impaled with a crucifix. The woman, who had been renting the house for a few months, is well known locally. Documents found at her house indicate her name is Ruth Lyle. The name means nothing to the young PC who found her, but DI Talantire knows that this cannot be true. Fifty years earlier, sixteen-year-old Ruth Lyle was murdered – stabbed by a crucifix, in exactly the same location. It is impossible for this to be the same woman, and yet all the records are a match. With a brutal killer at large, DI Talantire must work quickly to solve the most complicated case of her how can a woman die twice?

  • Title: Five Broken Blades
  • Author: Mai Corland
  • Series: –
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Pages: 512
  • Publication Date: 07/05


Plot: The five most dangerous liars in the land have been mysteriously summoned to work together for a single objective: to kill the God King Joon. He has it coming. Under his merciless immortal hand, the nobles flourish, while the poor and innocent are imprisoned, ruined…or sold. And now each of the five blades will come for him. Each has tasted bitterness―from the hired hitman seeking atonement, a lovely assassin who seeks freedom, or even the prince banished for his cruel crimes. None can resist the sweet, icy lure of vengeance. They can agree on murder. They can agree on treachery. But for these five killers―each versed in deception, lies, and betrayal―it’s not enough to forge an alliance. To survive, they’ll have to find a way to trust each other…but only one can take the crown.

  • Title: Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea
  • Author: Rebecca Thorne
  • Series: Tomes and Tea Cosy Fantasies #1
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Pages: 388
  • Publication Date: 09/05


Plot: All Reyna and Kianthe want is to open a bookshop that serves tea. Worn wooden floors, plants on every table, firelight drifting between the rafters… all complemented by love and good company. Thing is, Reyna works as one of the Queen’s private guards, and Kianthe is the most powerful mage in existence. Leaving their lives isn’t so easy. But after an assassin takes Reyna hostage, she decides she’s thoroughly done risking her life for a self-centered queen. Meanwhile, Kianthe has been waiting for a chance to flee responsibility–all the better that her girlfriend is on board. Together, they settle in Tawney, a town that boasts more dragons than people, and open the shop of their dreams. What follows is a cozy tale of mishaps, mysteries, and a murderous queen throwing the realm’s biggest temper tantrum. In a story brimming with hurt/comfort and quiet fireside conversations, these two women will discover just what they mean to each other… and the world.

  • Title: I Hope This Finds You Well
  • Author: Natalie Sue
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Contemporary Fiction
  • Pages: 352
  • Publication Date: 21/05


Plot: As far as Jolene is concerned, her interactions with her colleagues should start and end with her official duties as an admin for Supershops, Inc. Unfortunately, her irritating, incompetent coworkers don’t seem to understand the importance of boundaries. Her secret to survival? She vents her grievances in petty email postscripts, then changes the text color to white so no one can see—until one of her hidden messages is exposed. Her punishment: sensitivity training (led by the suspiciously friendly HR guy, Cliff) and rigorous email restrictions. When an IT mix-up grants her access to her entire department’s private emails and DMs, Jolene knows she should report it, but who can resist reading what their coworkers are really saying? And when she discovers layoffs are coming, she realizes this might just be the key to saving her job. The plan is simple: Gain her boss’s favor; convince HR she’s Supershops material; and beat the competition. But as Jolene is drawn further into her coworker’s private worlds and realizes each are keeping secrets, her carefully constructed walls begin to crumble—especially around Cliff, whom she definitely cannot have feelings for. Eventually she will need to decide whether she’s ready to leave the comfort of her cubicle, even if that means coming clean to her colleagues.

Backlist

  • Title: Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone
  • Author: Benjamin Stevenson
  • Series: Ernest Cunningham #1
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Murder Mystery
  • Pages: 371


Plot: Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once. I’m not trying to be dramatic, but it is the truth. Some of us are good, others are bad, and some just unfortunate. I’m Ernest Cunningham. Call me Ern or Ernie. I wish I’d killed whoever decided our family reunion should be at a ski resort, but it’s a little more complicated than that. Have I killed someone? Yes. I have. Who was it? Let’s get started. EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE

  • My brother
  • My stepsister
  • My wife
  • My father
  • My mother
  • My sister-in-law
  • My uncle
  • My stepfather
  • My aunt
  • Me
  • Title: Dumb Witness
  • Author: Agatha Christie
  • Series: Hercule Poirot #17
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Murder Mystery
  • Pages: 317


Plot: Everyone blamed Emily Arundell’s accident on a rubber ball left on the stairs at her home in Market Basing by her frisky terrier, Bob. But the more she thought about her fall, the more convinced she became that one of her relatives was trying to kill her. So, on April 17th she wrote about her anxieties and suspicions in a letter to Hercule Poirot. And included a request that he consult with her as soon as possible. Mysteriously he didn’t receive the letter until June 28th … by which time Emily was already dead.

  • Title: The Butcher of the Forest
  • Author: Premee Mohamed
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Hardback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Pages: 160


Plot: At the northern edge of a land ruled by a monstrous, foreign tyrant lies the wild forest known as the Elmever. The villagers know better than to let their children go near—once someone goes in, they never come back out. No one knows the strange and terrifying traps of the Elmever better than Veris Thorn, the only person to ever rescue a child from the forest many years ago. When the Tyrant’s two young children go missing, Veris is commanded to enter the forest once more and bring them home safe. If Veris fails, the Tyrant will kill her; if she remains in the forest for longer than a day, she will be trapped forevermore. So Veris will travel deep into the Elmever to face traps, riddles, and monsters at the behest of another monster. One misstep will cost everything.

  • Title: The Ferryman
  • Author: Justin Cronin
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Sci-Fi
  • Pages: 538


Plot: Founded by a mysterious genius, the archipelago of Prospera lies hidden from the horrors of a deteriorating outside world. In this island paradise, Prospera’s lucky citizens enjoy long, fulfilling lives until the monitors embedded in their forearms, meant to measure their physical health and psychological well-being, fall below 10 percent. Then they retire themselves, embarking on a ferry ride to the island known as the Nursery, where their failing bodies are renewed, their memories are wiped clean, and they are readied to restart life afresh. Proctor Bennett, of the Department of Social Contracts, has a satisfying career as a ferryman, gently shepherding people through the retirement process–and, when necessary, enforcing it. But all is not well with Proctor. For one thing, he’s been dreaming–which is supposed to be impossible in Prospera. For another, his monitor percentage has begun to drop alarmingly fast. And then comes the day he is summoned to retire his own father, who gives him a disturbing and cryptic message before being wrestled onto the ferry. Meanwhile, something is stirring. The Support Staff, ordinary men and women who provide the labor to keep Prospera running, have begun to question their place in the social order. Unrest is building, and there are rumors spreading of a resistance group–known as “Arrivalists”–who may be fomenting revolution. Soon Proctor finds himself questioning everything he once believed, entangled with a much bigger cause than he realized–and on a desperate mission to uncover the truth.

  • Title: The Trees
  • Author: Percival Everett
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Crime
  • Pages: 309


Plot: When a pair of detectives from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation arrive in Money, Mississippi, to investigate a series of brutal murders, they find at each crime scene an unexpected second body: that of a man who resembles Emmett Till. After meeting resistance from the local sheriff, his deputy, the coroner, and a string of racist white townsfolk, the MBI detectives suspect these are killings of retribution. Then they discover eerily similar murders taking place in rapid succession all over the country. The past, it seems, refuses to be buried. The uprising has begun. I

February 2024 Wrap Up

IndiaReadsALot1 Comment

The shortest month of the year is over and I read a lot more books than I thought – considering one of them was 500+ pages!

  • I read 13 books this month
  • I DNFd 2 books this month
  • Genre: 4 fantasy, 3 historical fiction, 1sci-fi, 1 murder mystery, 1 contemporary, 1 romance, 1 non-fiction and 1 multiple genres
  • Gender of authors: 9 women, 2 men and 1 various
  • Race of authors: 5 white authors, 4 asian authors, 1 black authors and 1 book had multiple Latine authors
  • Age range: 8 adult and 5 YA
  • Format: 10 paperback, 2 hardback and 1 audiobook

DNFS

  • Thieve’s Gambit – Kayvion Lewis
  • Hard by A Great Forest – Leo Vardiashivili

Love on the Other Side – Nagabe (2.5 stars)

What a disappointment. The Girl from the Other Side series is one of my favourite manga series so I was super excited to read more of his work outside of what I already know but this was just not good. The themes and content within this were disappointing.

The Divorcees – Rowan Beaird – (3 stars)

I am not a massive fan of books where all it really consists of is characters sitting around and talking. I need more plot in my books. This book was more character focused and I just started to get bored. The last 50 pages was more interesting but at that point I kind of tuned out.

If You Can See the Sun – Ann Liang (4 stars)

So, I audiobooks this and Natalie Naudus is such an incredible narrator. This was a super exciting and interesting book with a great academic rivals to lovers storyline, great conversation about wealth and class and with a sprinkling of invisibility.

The Storm We Made – Vanessa Chan (4.5 stars)

Words cannot express how important this novel is. Detailing real experiences by Malaysians under the occupation of both Britain and Japan this story was heartbreaking but necessary to bring further awareness to the horrendous treatment by occupying forces against Malaysians. This book was beautifully written with so much heart and soul put into it. You can’t help but connect instantly to the characters – you cry when they cry and laugh when they laugh. Chan did an amazing job of firmly placing you in the setting alongside the various characters and you can easily picture the different parts of the country we are witness to – both the beauty and the horror.

The Silence in Between – Josie Ferguson (5 stars)

Another war book for February. This book is truly about relationships and specifically between the mother and daughter in this novel. Both of them at the same age experience harrowing ordeals while living in Berlin. This was a hard read as it tackles humanity and it’s worst but there are glimmers of hope scattered throughout the story.

Intervals – Marianne Brooker (5 stars)

A poignant book that tackles how as a society we view death, how we can and should support disabled people and how we give people agency within their death. This book caught me at the just the right time in my personal life and I read this book in one sitting. I felt Brooker did a great job at using her own personal journey with her sick mother to convey bigger points on body autonomy, agency with death and shining a light on the staff that helped make her mother’s transition easier. It was a beautiful book tackling hard political and philosophical topics alongside one of the hardest things a human can experience, losing your closest loved one.

Song of the Huntress – Lucy Holland (5 stars)

Set in a period of history I don’t know much about I lost myself in the folklore and the realities of that time period simultaneously. I enjoyed this balance of fantasy and politics and I enjoyed seeing them blend. Holland’s writing really truly makes you feel as if you are stepping into a fairytale. Her writing was so beautiful, poetic, and raw. Holland’s characterisation was so well done. I loved and enjoyed every single POV given and you can’t help but root for the characters even as relationships between each other and the world get more complicated you just want them to succeed and find a way to live a harmonious life.

Where Sleeping Girls Lie – Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (5 stars)

I was super nervous going into this because I loved Ace of Spades by her SO MUCH. But I was NOT disappointed. My copy was about 500+ pages but I flew through the book so quickly. Literally one sitting I read 300 pages. The characterisation was great and the plot was super engaging but honestly if Àbíké-Íyímídé had just wrote a book about high school students and there was not much plot I genuinely think I would enjoy it because her characters were just sooo interesting.

Other books I read –

  • The Hope of Elantris – Brandon Sanderson
  • Sailor Moon, Vol.3 – Naoko Takeuchi
  • Relit – Various
  • Sweat and Soap, Vol.2 – Kintetsu Yamada
  • The Emperor’s Soul – Brandon Sanderson

March 2024 TBR

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February was an ok month. I DNFd more books than planned but this year I decided to stop logging those unless I read loads of it before I DNFd which meant I didn’t read as much this month as I had hoped. Hopefully, this month will be different.

New Releases

  • Title: The Reappearance of Rachel Price
  • Author: Holly Jackson
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: YA
  • Genre: Thriller
  • Pages: 448
  • Publication Date: 02/04


Plot: 18-year-old Bel has lived her whole life in the shadow of her mom’s mysterious disappearance. Sixteen years ago, Rachel Price vanished and young Bel was the only witness, but she has no memory of it. Rachel is gone, long presumed dead, and Bel wishes everyone would just move on.  But the case is dragged up from the past when the Price family agree to a true crime documentary. Bel can’t wait for filming to end, for life to go back to normal. And then the impossible happens. Rachel Price reappears, and life will never be normal again. Rachel has an unbelievable story about what happened to her. Unbelievable, because Bel isn’t sure it’s real. If Rachel is lying, then where has she been all this time? And – could she be dangerous? With the cameras still rolling, Bel must uncover the truth about her mother, and find out why Rachel Price really came back from the dead . . .

  • Title: The Potting Shed Murder
  • Author: Paula Sutton
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Hardback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Murder Mystery
  • Pages: 350
  • Publication Date: 04/04


Plot: Daphne Brewster has left London behind and is settling into her family’s new life in rural Norfolk, planting broad beans in raised beds and vintage hunting for their farmhouse. But when the local headmaster is found dead in his potting shed, amongst his allotment cabbages, the village is ablaze: Who would kill beloved Mr Papplewick, pillar of the community? Daphne soon comes to realise perhaps the countryside isn’t so idyllic after all… When the headmaster’s widow points her finger at Minnerva, Daphne’s new friend, Daphne vows to clear her name. Sneaking into the crime scene and chasing down rumours gets her into hot water with the local inspector – until she comes across a faded photograph that unearths a secret buried for forty years… They say nothing bad ever happens in close-knit Pudding Corner, but Daphne is close to the truth – dangerously close… There’s death amongst the dahlias…

  • Title: The Four
  • Author: Ellie Keel
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Thriller
  • Pages: 368
  • Publication Date: 11/04


Plot: We were always The Four. From our very first day at High Realms. The four scholarship pupils. Outsiders in a world of power and privilege. It would have made our lives a lot easier if Marta had simply pushed Genevieve out of our bedroom window that day. Certainly, it would have been tragic. She would have died instantly. But Marta didn’t push her then, or – if you choose to believe me – at any other time. If she had, all of what we went through would not have happened. I’ve told this story as clearly as I could – as rationally as I’ve been able, in the circumstances, to achieve. I don’t regret what we did. And I would do it all again.

  • Title: To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods
  • Author: Molly X. Chang
  • Series: To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods #1
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: YA
  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Pages: 368
  • Publication Date: 16/04


Plot: Heroes die, cowards live. Daughter of a conquered world, Ruying hates the invaders who descended from the heavens long before she was born and defeated the magic of her people with technologies unlike anything her world had ever seen. Blessed by Death, born with the ability to pull the life right out of mortal bodies, Ruying shouldn’t have to fear these foreign invaders, but she does. Especially because she wants to keep herself and her family safe. When Ruying’s Gift is discovered by an enemy prince, he offers her an impossible deal: If she becomes his private assassin and eliminates his political rivals—whose deaths he swears would be for the good of both their worlds and would protect her people from further brutalization—her family will never starve or suffer harm again. But to accept this bargain, she must use the powers she has always feared, powers that will shave years off her own existence. Can Ruying trust this prince, whose promises of a better world make her heart ache and whose smiles make her pulse beat faster? Are the evils of this agreement really in the service of a much greater good? Or will she betray her entire nation by protecting those she loves the most?

  • Title: James
  • Author: Percival Everett
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Historical Fiction
  • Pages: 320
  • Publication Date: 19/04


Plot: When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond. While many narrative set pieces of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn remain in place (floods and storms, stumbling across both unexpected death and unexpected treasure in the myriad stopping points along the river’s banks, encountering the scam artists posing as the Duke and Dauphin…), Jim’s agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light.

  • Title: The Sicilian Inheritance
  • Author: Jo Piazza
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Murder Mystery
  • Pages: 384
  • Publication Date: 25/04


Plot: Sara Marsala barely knows who she is anymore after the failure of her business and marriage. On top of that, her beloved great-aunt Rosie passes away, leaving Sara bereft with grief. But Aunt Rosie’s death also opens an escape from her life and a window into the past by way of a plane ticket to Sicily, a deed to a possibly valuable plot of land, and a bombshell family secret. Rosie believes Sara’s great-grandmother Serafina, the family matriarch who was left behind while her husband worked in America, didn’t die of illness as family lore has it . . . she was murdered. Thus begins a twist-filled adventure that takes Sara all over the picturesque Italian countryside as she races to solve a mystery and prove her birthright. Flashing back to the past, we meet Serafina, a feisty and headstrong young woman in the early 1900s thrust into motherhood in her teens, who fought for a better life not just for herself but for all the women of her small village. Unsurprisingly it isn’t long before a woman challenging the status quo finds herself in danger. As Sara discovers more about Serafina she also realizes she is coming head-to-head with the same menacing forces that took down her great-grandmother. At once an immersive multigenerational mystery and an ode to the undaunted heroism of everyday women, The Sicilian Inheritance is an atmospheric, page-turning delight.

  • Title: Dragon Rider
  • Author: Taran Mathrau
  • Series: The Soulbound Saga #1
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Pages: 576
  • Publication Date: 25/04


Plot: Can an orphan captive learn the secrets of the Dragon Riders to stand up and avenge his people? Jai lives as a royal hostage in the Sabine Court—ever since his father Rohan, leader of the Steppefolk, led a failed rebellion and was executed by the very emperor Jai now serves. When the emperor’s son and heir is betrothed to Princess Erica of the neighboring Dansk Kingdom, she brings with her dragons. Endemic to the northern nation, these powerful beasts come in several forms, but mystery surrounds them. Only Dansk royalty know the secret to soulbonding with these dangerous beasts to draw on their power and strength. This marriage—and the alliance that forms—will change that forever. But conspirators lurk in the shadows, and soon the Sabine Court is in chaos. With his life in danger, Jai uses the opportunity to escape with the Dansk handmaiden, Frida, and a stolen hatchling. Hunted at every turn, he must learn to cultivate magic and become a soulbound warrior if he has any chance of finding safety, seizing his destiny…and seeking his revenge.

  • Title: Freakslaw
  • Author: Jane Flett
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Fiction
  • Pages: 304
  • Publication Date: 20/06


Plot: It’s the summer of ’97 and the repressed Scottish town of Pitlaw is itching for change. Enter the Freakslaw – a travelling funfair populated by deviant queers, a contortionist witch, the most powerful fortune teller, and other architects of mayhem. It doesn’t take long for the Freakslaw folk to infiltrate Pitlaw’s grey world, where the town’s teenagers – none more so than Ruth and Derek – are seduced by neon charms and the possibility of escape. But beneath it all, these newcomers are harbouring a darker revenge. And as tensions reach fever pitch between the stoic locals and the dazzling intruders, a violence that’s been simmering for centuries is about to be unleashed…

Backlist

  • Title: The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi
  • Author: Shannon Chakraborty
  • Series: Amina Al-Sirafi #1
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Pages: 483

Plot: Amina al-Sirafi should be content. After a storied and scandalous career as one of the Indian Ocean’s most notorious pirates, she’s survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon to retire peacefully with her family to a life of piety, motherhood, and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural. But when she’s tracked down by the obscenely wealthy mother of a former crewman, she’s offered a job no bandit could refuse: retrieve her comrade’s kidnapped daughter for a kingly sum. The chance to have one last adventure with her crew, do right by an old friend, and win a fortune that will secure her family’s future forever? It seems like such an obvious choice that it must be God’s will. Yet the deeper Amina dives, the more it becomes alarmingly clear there’s more to this job, and the girl’s disappearance, than she was led to believe. For there’s always risk in wanting to become a legend, to seize one last chance at glory, to savor just a bit more power…and the price might be your very soul.

  • Title: The Cruel Prince
  • Author: Holly Black
  • Series: The Folk of the Air #1
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: YA
  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Pages: 370


Plot: Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King. To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences. As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

  • Title: Eve
  • Author: Cat Bohannon
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Science Writing
  • Pages: 624


Plot: How did the female body drive 200 million years of human evolution? 

  • Why do women live longer than men? 
  • Why are women more likely to get Alzheimer’s? 
  • Why do girls score better at every academic subject than boys until puberty, when suddenly their scores plummet? 
  • Is sexism useful for evolution? 
  • And why, seriously why, do women have to sweat through our sheets every night when we hit menopause?

These questions are producing some truly exciting science – and in Eve, with boundless curiosity and sharp wit, Cat Bohannon covers the past 200 million years to explain the specific science behind the development of the female sex.

  • Title: Magic Has No Borders
  • Editor: Sona Charaipotra & Samira Ahmed
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: YA
  • Genre: Various
  • Pages: 352


Plot: From chudails and peris to jinn and goddesses, this lush collection of South Asian folklore, legends, and epics reimagines stories of old for a modern audience. This fantasy and science fiction teen anthology edited by Samira Ahmed and Sona Charaipotra contains a wide range of stories from fourteen bestselling, award-winning, and emerging writers from the South Asian diaspora that will surprise, delight, and move you. So read on, for after all, magic has no borders.