My Reading Thoughts: July 2023

My Reading Thoughts for July ’23

July was a very welcomed month!  Work has been incredibly stressful, and I’m not sorry to say that the doors have now closed on that for six weeks. I have many plans for the holidays-apart from a spot of decorating, everything else involves reading-sitting in cafes-meeting friends, gaming and crochet.  Seeing as the holiday began on the 15th July, I was hoping to get a few more books read than I actually did, but I think decorating the conservatory, and getting outside when I was able, must have taken a little bit of a priority! 

No of books read: 5

My favourite reads were:

• A Darker Shade of Magic by V E Schwab
• A Gathering of Shadows by V E Schwab

Books that made me think:

• City of Nightmares by Rebecca Schaeffer

Unusual Activity for me:

• Reading two books from the same series in one month.

My overall favourite book was:

• A Darker Shade of Magic.

I am happy to say that this month I did read a Brandon Sanderson book for my yearly challenge!  I completed Firefight at the beginning of the month, and although it was a little slow to begin with, I really did enjoy it, if you want to read my thoughts on this book, check out this link:

A Year of Reading Brandon Sanderson: Firefight

My biggest reading distraction in June was the Shades of Magic read along, which I discovered on youtube.  It is a lot of fun, reading the Shades of Magic books, and then hearing thoughts from the author. I would highly recommend this to anyone that is interested in picking up these books.  In August I hope to purchase the third and final book, and read that in readiness for the new book- The Fragile Threads of Power, which is coming out on the 26th September.  This book will be a spin off from the original series, and I believe this is the first in a trilogy.  So if you love Shade of Magic, do be sure to check that out.  

I had planned to read the next book in the ACOTAR series, but unfortunately I didn’t get the time, and this was also the same with This Summer’s Secret by Emily Barr, and The Orchid Outlaw.  I will try and get to a couple of these in August-though at the moment I am really craving some great manga!

In June I purchased: 

• Poster Girl by Veronica Roth
• Girl, Goddess, Queen by Bea Fitzgerald
• Murdle by G.T Karber
• I Want To Die But I Want To Eat Tteokbokki by B. Sehee & A. Hur
• Point Horror The Cemetery by D E Athkins
• Point Horror Nightmare Hall The Silent Scream by Diane Hoh
• Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
• The Well of Ascension 
• The Hero of Ages
• The Bands of Mourning
• The Alloy of Law
• The Frugal Wizards Handbook for Surviving Medieval England-All the above by Brandon Sanderson
• The Mysterious Mr Quinn by Agatha Christie

I purchased a lot of books in June!! But most of these were reduced, bought in charity shops, or with book vouchers, which was a lot of fun, and a very big surprise.  I am thankful for them all, and look forward to picking these up in the future!  We have been working very hard on our new conservatory.  The old one wasn’t really a conservatory, but more of a lean-to, but I loved it very much, and it was a great place for taking photos for this blog, and for Instagram.  The past couple of months photo taking has been a lot more challenging, but I am so pleased to say we are nearly there-in fact my hubbie (who is a carpet fitter-handy!) is currently fitting the carpet as I am sat here writing this!  I just have a touch more painting to do, and it will be finished! It is going to be a great space for reading, and a chilling area, for when the anxiety goes spiralling! I’ve nick named it ‘The Zen Den’ lol! I hope to share some photos with you soon.

I hope your reading in June has been a lot of fun, thanks for stopping by! 

Shades of Magic Readalong!

Shades of Magic Readathon!

A Darker Shade of Magic by V E Schwab

Pages: 400

Published: 27/02/2015 

Publisher: Titan Books Ltd

Available from Amazon, Waterstones, WHSmiths etc

Kell is one of the last Travelers—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes—as such, he can choose where he lands.

There’s Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic, ruled by a mad King George. Then there’s Red London, where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London, ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne—a place where people fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. And once upon a time, there was Black London…but no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see—a dangerous hobby, and one that has set him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations, first robs him, then saves him from a dangerous enemy, and then forces him to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive—and that is proving trickier than they hoped.

This is a book I have had on my shelf for quite some time.  I was lucky enough to find it in my local Oxfam bookshop, and when I seen it, I only picked it up because it came so highly recommended by so many people here and there.  When I discovered the author had a new book coming out in September ….

The Fragile Threads of Power 26th September 2023

…..and had started a readathon for the Shade of Magic 3 book series, I thought why not!  This is a fab time to start reading this highly talked about series! To say that I already have the second book here, ready to read, says it all really!

I would have had this book finished in three days if I didn’t need to work in between time, but alas-no work no money for new books lol!  I loved the characters and the world. There are characters within this book, such as the prince, who I would have loved to have seen more of, and gotten to know better-but I am certain their characters will be opened up and explored more in the next book.  The villains were a lot of fun, they were brutal and scheming, and you loved to hate them! Even though our main character was described as a magician, I felt he was more of a wizard!  The world building is extremely clever, with various worlds within one world-nothing like I have read before.  The whole story idea was very different and refreshing.  

Five stars out five stars!

Read this book if:

• You like fantasy books
• You like books with magic
• You are looking for a book with usual world building
• You like books written by V E Schwab

I have read several books by this author and I have enjoyed them all, there is something about her writing style that just whisks you away, into another world easily.  The readathon videos on you tube are a lot of fun, she breaks the books into its parts, and it’s very interesting to hear her thoughts.  I am definitely looking forward to taking part in the next two books.  If you would like to join in, here is a link to her youtube channel. 

Shades Of Magic Readalong Intro

As always, thanks for stopping by!

A Year of Reading Brandon Sanderson: Firefight

A year of reading Brandon Sanderson!

June: Firefight

Well, it’s been a couple of months-unfortunately I made the decision to start reading The Way of Kings for my May read, and I ended up feeling so overwhelmed I dropped it.  Not overwhelmed by the story-I think it’s going to be amazing, but I kept looking at the size, and thinking of other books I wanted to read.  I think this whole process put me in a little bit of a reading slump!

But no matter-it’s June and I’m back on track, I decided to finish up my June month of reading by picking up the second book (or third, if you include the novella) in the Reckoners series.  This one entitled Firefight.

They told David it was impossible – that even the Reckoners had never killed a High Epic. Yet, Steelheart – invincible, immortal, unconquerable – is dead. And he died by David’s hand.

Eliminating Steelheart was supposed to make life more simple. Instead, it only made David realize he has questions. Big ones. And there’s no one in Newcago who can give him the answers he needs.

Babylon Restored, the old borough of Manhattan, has possibilities, though. Ruled by the mysterious High Epic, Regalia, David is sure Babylon Restored will lead him to what he needs to find. And while entering another city oppressed by a High Epic despot is a gamble, David’s willing to risk it. Because killing Steelheart left a hole in David’s heart. A hole where his thirst for vengeance once lived. Somehow, he filled that hole with another Epic – Firefight. And he’s willing to go on a quest darker, and more dangerous even, than the fight against Steelheart to find her, and to get his answers.

I found the start of this book to be relatively slow, the author begins building us a new city, and some new characters.  I loved the city, but I wasn’t so invested in the new individuals-fortunately a lot of the old favourites return in this sequel.  Once we hit the halfway mark, the pace improves.  I did consider putting the book down at times, just because it wasn’t holding my interest, and I was getting restless.  Now that I’ve completed the book, I can see why the beginning was important.  The ending leaves you with an OMG feeling!  This book suffers with the ‘middle of a series’ feeling unfortunately, but I really enjoyed it once the action started.  The writing, as always with Brandon Sanderson is fantastic.  I would recommend the series so far.  I finished this book at the beginning of July, and with the release of his newest book being held back a month, I have decided to wait until August to pick up my next Brandon Sanderson read.

Read this book if you like:

• Action Movies
• Great Characters
• Superhero villains
• Enjoyed Steelheart (book one)
• You are a Brandon Sanderson Fan

In August  I hope to read Brandon Sanderson’s new book 

The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England

I am really excited for this one, the reviews seem to be relatively mixed-depending on where you look.  A lot are saying this is  comical, and sci-fi based-which frankly I am there for, as I love a little giggle, and sci-fi books too.

As always, thanks for stopping by, and I look forward to speaking with you all again soon.

My Reading Thoughts for June 2023

My Reading Thoughts for June ’23

June has been a very busy month.  I’ve been out some evenings, which is very unusual for me, especially since lockdown and covid.  It has taken me a long while to recover from those events.  I went to the cinema with my daughter, attended a few book events, and had an 80’s evening with work, which I think is why I have been so tired, and I haven’t read as much as I normally do.  Work has also been very difficult, but the summer holiday is in sight, and I am looking forward to sitting in the sun with a great book!  Where will books take me during the upcoming hols? 

No of books read: 6

My favourite reads were:

• True Beauty by Yaongyi
• A Court Of Thorns And Roses by Sarah J Mass (re-read)

Books that made me think:

• Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
• True Beauty by Yaongyi

Unusual Activity for me:

• True Beauty by Yaongyi
• Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
• I did start my Brandon Sanderson book of the month, but I didn’t finish it in time to include it on my June list of completed books.

My overall favourite book was:

True Beauty

Again, I am really disappointed there isn’t a Brandon Sanderson book on this month’s list to tell you about, I have now missed two months for my challenge.  I did start Firefight, but unfortunately I didn’t finish it in time to add it to my June list of books.  However, I am happy to say I am really enjoying it, and I shall be finished over the weekend I am sure.

In June I purchased: 

• City of Nightmares by Rebecca Schaeffer
• Point Horror Prom Date by Diane Hoh
• Orchid Outlawed by Ben Jacob
• Your Not Suppose To Die to Tonight by Kalynn Bayron
• Bite Risk by S.J Wills
• Aurora’s End by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

During the month of May I attended three book events at my local Waterstones.

A book signing where I met A.F Steadman-the writer of the Skandar books!  It was fantastic to meet her.

I also attended two evening events, one with Emily Barr-who was launching her new book This Summer’s Secrets.  I always love an Emily Barr event, and it was great to go and say Hi again, as we have met previously. (Check out her books, they are brilliant!). The second was for a non-fiction book called Orchid Outlaw, written by Ben Jacob.  I was mesmerised to learn a little about British Orchids, and absolutely had to buy the book, as I was hungry for more!  Both of the above books are on my TBR for the month of July.

I am also happy to say that I have managed to pre-order a Waterstones Exclusive copy of the second Fourth Wing book The Iron Flame!  Roll on November!

I hope your reading in June has been a lot of fun, thanks for stopping by!