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Books of Amber

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Book Review: The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers

Debut Author Interview: Sam Taylor, We Are the Fire

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Monthly Wrap Up: October 2020

31/10/2020      4 Comments

Me in October

I’m not going to lie, October was a fantastic month for me personally. We got the keys and moved into our house on the 2nd, so we spent the whole month settling in. The first couple of weeks were quite hectic as we had to get all of our appliances delivered, and also get Octavia settled in. We ended up painting the bedroom, which I LOVE, and we took down a whole cupboard by ourselves. I have never felt so adult. There’s still some work to do on the house, but knowing we have the time to save up and do it makes all the difference. I’m just so happy!

Work-wise, it’s not been great. My company is in the middle of rightsizing, and the workload has also picked up slightly. I mean, a lot. I’m no longer allowed to do overtime, so trying to organise everything with my strange work hours is annoying. I’m not stressed, because there’s nothing I can do about it, but it still sucks.

Last weekend, Quill and I went to a vegan market and I had a great time! I am hoping it’ll become a regular thing in my town. I didn’t go too overboard with the purchases because I’m trying to be mindful, but I also wanted to support the local small businesses. I ended up getting a plastic free, natural deodorant, some natural sponges, some soap because I’m out of shower gel, and some muffins. All in all, it was a good trip! Next time I’m hoping to find some plants.

New on the Blog

Well, first of all, how do you like the new design? I had my previous theme for six or so years, so I felt like it was time for a change. I’m still playing around with the colour scheme and tweaking bits and pieces, but the bulk of it is sorted! I love having the Latest Posts banner at the top, and I also love the Instagram banner at the bottom! There’s a lot about it I really like. I want to update Recaptains too at some point, but that might be a way off yet. I should probably focus on this blog first!

  • Review: Inside 10 Rillington Place
  • Review: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
  • Review: The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker
  • Review: The Cheerleaders
  • Review: Incendiary

Books Read

My reading is slowly picking up again, although it’s not quite back to where it was before the house buying process started. I’m hoping that November will be a good reading month for me, especially because I’ve got some highly anticipated releases coming out!

  1. The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker by Lauren James ★★★
  2. The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling ★★★.5
  3. Exhalation by Ted Chiang ★★★
  4. Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge ★★★★
  5. Incendiary by Zoraida Cordova ★★★★
  6. The Carrow Haunt by Darcy Coates ★★★.5
  7. The Way of Kings Part 2 by Brandon Sanderson ★★★★★
  8. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James ★★★
  9. Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix ★★★
  10. Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant ★★★★
  11. The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones ★★★★
  12. Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell ★★★★

Coming Soon

Okay so I have SO MANY plans for November and December. IRL, it’s my birthday, then Quill’s birthday. It’s also our anniversary. So we have SO MUCH to do. I’ve got some time off coming up, which will be really nice. Lots of time for reading!

As for on the blog, I will be posting my Most Anticipated November Releases early on in the month. I’ve really missed doing those posts, so I’d like to start bringing them back.

I also have a REALLY exciting announcement coming up towards the end of the month! Like, REALLY EXCITING. Stay tuned for that if you’re intrigued. I’m not putting out any hints yet, but I’ve been working on it for two weeks already and will probably continue to do so right up until the deadline.

I’m planning on posting every other week day on my Booktube channel, so I’m thinking I can probably post twice a week on the blog. I’ll probably be mostly posting reviews, because I’m loving writing those at the moment, but I also want to do a couple of bigger posts too, like a NetGalley Check In.

What do you have coming up in November? Are you looking forward to winter?

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction says

    02/11/2020 at 5:17 pm

    Congrats on the new house!! I’m glad that October was wonderful for you—it’s nice to hear that someone’s feeling positive about 2020. 🙂

    Oh, by the way, I really love Recaptains—it’s a lifesaver!!

    Reply
  2. Sam @ The Little Munchkin Reader says

    03/11/2020 at 11:16 am

    What a month you had, Amber! Congratulations on the new home!

    Reply
  3. Flora Gatehouse says

    07/11/2020 at 6:43 pm

    Congratulations on your new home, Amber. I love going to local markets too. This is my first visit to your blog, but I like the look of it – it’s beautiful.
    Sounds like some wonderful things coming up too with birthdays and anniversaries. I’m glad that work reorganisations aren’t impacting your positive attitude.
    Have a great week.

    Reply
  4. Iris Marsh says

    22/11/2020 at 2:28 pm

    Congratulations on the new house! This is my first visit to your website, so I don’t know how your old theme looked, but I really like the look of your blog! 🙂
    Seems like you’ve read some interesting books, so I’m gonna have a stroll around your blog.

    Reply

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    Hello!

    Hello!

    My name is Amber, I'm 27 years old, and I've been a book blogger, reviewer, and Tuber for ten years. When I'm not reading, I love gaming, exercising, cinema trips, hiking, and exploring.

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    (This book was sent to me by the author as a gift) (This book was sent to me by the author as a gift)

Happy release day to The Effort! I'm so excited to read this apocalyptic story about people coming together to prevent a global crisis. Like I said the other day, I'm really into disaster stories lately 😊

#books #booktube #smallyoutuber #smallyoutubercommunity #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #bookish #debutauthors #21ders #debutbooks #debutshowcase #dac21 #the21ders #reading #igbooks #booksofig #igreads #book
    * ad - book provided by publisher for free in exch * ad - book provided by publisher for free in exchange for an honest review *

I'm smashing through my physical ARCs this week, which means it's almost time for me to read This is Not the Jess Show! I'm excited for this one, if a little cautious about how similar to The Truman Show it's going to be.

#books #booktube #smallyoutuber #smallyoutubercommunity #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #yabooks #bookish #youngadultbooks #booksofig #igreads #currentlyreading #igbooks #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammer
    The first week back at work put me in an unfortuna The first week back at work put me in an unfortunate reading slump, but I'm hoping Hold Back the Stars will get me out of it! I'm going to be reading this one today and hopefully forgetting about real life.

#books #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #bookish #sff #sffbooks #holdbackthestars #bookstoread #currentlyreading #reading #igbooks #booksofig #igreads #bookstagramuk #booksbooksbooks #bookgram
    * ad - book provided by publisher for free in exch * ad - book provided by publisher for free in exchange for an honest review*

I absolutely blasted through The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe this week! I was worried I was getting slumpy from too much sff so I switched to a YA thriller and WHEW, it was excellent. 

The Girls I've Been is about a girl called Nora who is the daughter of a con artist (and also bi!). She's living her own life now away from her mother, and then someone tries to rob a bank while she's inside it.

This was so fast paced and I love that it was told in a non linear format. Trigger warnings for lots of things, though. You can find the full list on the author's website but the main one for me was domestic violence.

#books #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #yabooks #thegirlsivebeen #yathrillers #yathriller #thrillerbooks #booktube #smallyoutuber #smallyoutubercommunity #reading
    Because I like to read about other apocalypses dur Because I like to read about other apocalypses during pandemics, apparently.

 I've just started The Lightest Object in the Universe and I'm intrigued! Have you read it?

#books #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #bookstagramuk #currentlyreading #dystopia #dystopianbooks #apocalypse #sff #sffbooks #bookish #booktube #smallbookstagrammer #booksbooksbooks
    *AD - book gifted by publisher in exchange for an *AD - book gifted by publisher in exchange for an honest review* 

Siri, Who Am I? was my final read of 2020 and it was a fun one. While I didn't love how the main character treated others, particularly her attitude towards sex workers, I did like how fast paced this one was and the slight mystery element mixed with Rich People Drama kept me reading. Will I reread it? No. But I enjoyed my time with it well enough.

#books #booktube #smallyoutuber #smallyoutubercommunity #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #bookreview #smallbookstagrammer #booksbooksbooks #siriwhoami #romcom #reading
    I'm supposed to be starting The Bear and the Night I'm supposed to be starting The Bear and the Nightingale on Tuesday for my weekly buddy read, but I want to read it now! I should probably finish some of the books I've already started though.

#books #booktube #smallyoutuber #smallyoutubercommunity #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #booksbooksbooks #bookstoread #tbr #tbrpile #toread #readingpile #reading #bookaddict #igbooks #booksofig #igreads #thebearandthenightingale #winternighttrilogy
    Yes, I'm still reading this 😂 I'm trying to fin Yes, I'm still reading this 😂 I'm trying to finish it by the end of the year but who knows if that'll happen? I'm enjoying buddy reading it with @ishouldreadthat though, and I'm sure she's appreciating my rants and fangirling.

#books #booktube #smallyoutuber #smallyoutubercommunity #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #wordsofradiance #thewayofkings #Stormlight #stormlightarchive #brandonSanderson #fantasybooks #sff
    I am so unbelievably excited to try this YA thrill I am so unbelievably excited to try this YA thriller this month. I am tempted to drop everything and pick it up right now but, ya know, commitments.

#books #booktube #smallyoutuber #smallyoutubercommunity #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #yabooks #youngadultbooks #thrillerbooks #smallbookstagrammer #booksbooksbooks #tbr #toberead #tbrpile #agoodgirlsguidetomurder
    I just HAD to feature one of my favourite books of I just HAD to feature one of my favourite books of the year, and the start of one of my all time favourite series before the end of 2020. I adore The City of Brass so much, and I recommend it to everyone I come across. I've reread it three times now, and in 2021 I plan to make it four!

What's your favourite fantasy series?

#books #booktube #smallyoutuber #smallyoutubercommunity #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #daevabad #daevabadtrilogy #thecityofbrass #fantasybooks #fantasyreader #fantasy #reading #booksbooksbooks #booksofig #igreads #favoritebooks #christmasbooks #vlogmas #bookmas

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