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End of an Era

Feature

Top Ten Books I Was SO Excited To Get… But I Still Haven’t Read

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. I haven’t taken part in a while, but I felt I just HAD to talk about these books that have been sitting on my TBR shelf for ages because I haven’t gotten around to them. I have been so excited to read these in the past, but I’ve put them off for one reason or another. None of those reasons are good ones…

1. Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas

I was BIG into the Throne of Glass fandom when the books were first coming out. I didn’t love Throne of Glass, but my close friend Judith was on the street team and she convinced me to continue on with the series. I really started to fall in love with it when I read Heir of Fire, and by the time I read Queen of Shadows I was obsessed. I preordered Empire of Storms as soon as I could, but then I just didn’t read it. I took a long break from Booktube and blogging just before its release and I got SUPER distracted by my new social life, so I never actually read the rest of the series.

I’m planning on marathoning the series sometime this year though when the feeling calls to me. I’m thinking in the next couple of months!

…

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April 2022 Reading Wrap Up and May 2022 TBR

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Two wrap ups in a row? Am I ok?? I’m back to talk about the goings on in April (spoiler: there weren’t a lot of them) and to talk about the books I read. April was a pretty great month all round, and I’m excited to be able to share it with you!

Life in April

Like I said, there weren’t many goings on in April. Quill and I purposefully kept our time free because the first quarter of the year was busy and stressful. I went to dinner with a friend one evening, which was lovely, and I saw some family for Easter, but otherwise it was all very chill.

We did book our tickets to Iceland, though! All being well, we’ll be going on an eleven day trip in November for our 30’s, and also for our anniversary. We still need to book the car and some of the hotel rooms, but it’s so exciting to finally be able to plan a trip and travel again.

Work-wise… I don’t want to talk about it. It’s honestly horrible right now and I feel a bit lost about everything.

Books I Read in April

April was such a good reading month! I got back into the reading groove after the slump in March, and Dewey’s Readathon topped things off at the end of the month. I love Dewey’s, and having that to look forward to at the end of the month really spurred me on.

~highlights~

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
★★★★

I picked up The Love Hypothesis because it was on sale for £2 and I had been seeing it around everywhere, so I thought why not? It ended up being a really fun romance book that I flew through. It was a nice surprise, and an entertaining break in between some non fiction and fantasy!

The Castaways by Lucy Clarke
★★★★

I found The Castaways at the library and picked it up because I’m really into island settings at the moment. Probably because I haven’t been able to go abroad in a while. I really enjoyed this thriller book about a plane crash and an isolated island setting. It was a lot of fun!

Blood Heir by Amelie Wen Zhao
★★★★

I have had this one on my wishlist since the whole controversy happened before its release and oh my god?! I really enjoyed it! It’s a fast paced YA fantasy, based around the myth and rumours surrounding Anastasia. I’m excited to read the sequels soon, as I think I’m going to fly through those too!

Evicted by Matthew Desmond
★★★★

I had to give a shoutout to this non fiction book! I learnt a lot about rental properties and landlords and poverty in the USA. It made me very angry, but it’s an excellent book.

Movies & TV

I’ve been watching a few things since we last spoke! Quill and I went to see The Lost City, which was a fun, mindless rom com. I was thoroughly entertained the entire time, and I thought Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum had weird, awkward chemistry that I totally think a historical romance author could have with her cover model.

Recently we decided to start doing documentary date nights, and we’ve started with Wild Wild Country, which is about a cult that used to exist in Oregon. It’s unbelievable that I’ve never heard of all of this before, and the things that these people got away with… We’re on episode 5 of 6 now, so I’m expecting to finish it in the next couple of days and then we’ll pick another documentary to watch!

I’ve also finished watching the first season of Narcos, which I loved. It was so intense. I think I need to go back and rewatch it at some point to really get a grasp on who all the characters are because there are so many of them.

Plans for May

The most exciting thing about May is that our porch is finally getting built! Our overhanging porch has been falling apart for months now, so I’m very excited for the building work to start. We’re getting a small porch extension and a downstairs w.c. built, and our builder expects the work to last about three weeks. I think it’s going to be tiring and stressful for me, but I’m excited for the end result!

We’re going to be buying Odeon Passes in May because there are lots of summer movies coming out soon and we figure we’ll save money this way. I’m hyped for Doctor Strange 2 (because of Wanda), and Jurassic World 3 is going to be AMAZING, I know it.

May TBR

I’m writing this on the 2nd of May and I’ve already finished two books, so I’m expecting May to be an incredible month for reading. I’m planning on reducing my TBR pile by a LOT, and in order to do so I’m reading the smallest books on my TBR. And mood reading, of course!

Tell me about how your April went! What will you be reading in May?

March 2022 Wrap Up and April 2022 TBR

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Hello my friends! I’m back. Again. While it’s true that I keep forgetting about this blogging thing (which is
quite difficult considering I’ve been at it for more than a decade now), this time it wasn’t really my fault.

First of all, I was promoted at work, and then the company decided to go through some major changes
and that has been taking up most of my time. Secondly, my hosting service announced they were
shutting down in December and I had to rush to try to find a new host for my website – or decide to let it
just die. I didn’t want to give up on eleven years of work though, so I found a new host. Which didn’t like
my certificate and made my website difficult to access. It was a whole thing.

But! Here I am, back to tell you what I was up to in March and all about my plans for April.

Life in March

March was HECTIC. Like I said before, my company is going through major changes. I was promoted a
month or so ago, which was good, but along with the promotion is a whole load of stress and a lot of
tasks to do.

Two of my closest friends came to stay towards the end of the month. One flew over from the US, and
we ended up doing ALL the tourist things that you HAVE to do when you visit the UK. We spent some
time in London and went to the Dungeons, we walked past Westminster, Number 10, Buckingham
Palace, and through Piccadilly and Trafalger Square and Camden Market.

We also went to see Six at the theatre! It’s Quill’s and my second time seeing it, and it wasn’t as good as
the first time with the original cast, but I very much enjoyed it. We’re hoping to go and see it on tour again
in a few months!

Lastly, we spent a bit of time in Birmingham and went to visit Warwick Castle. There was so. much.
walking. Thankfully I quite enjoy walking and exercise but my calves were SORE.

Books I Read in March

Because of how busy March was, I didn’t have the best reading month. Don’t get me wrong, I read some
REALLY good books, but I read half the amount that I normally would. April should be better for that,
though. I read 8 books in total and here are my

~highlights~

The River of Silver by S A Chakraborty
★★★★★

How could I not give this five stars?! I adore the Daevabad series and listening to these short stories in audio format was incredible. Muntadhir, Dara, and Zaynab are my faaaaaves. And Nahri, of course.

Galatea by Madeline Miller
★★★★.5

MADELINE MILLERRRRR. I don’t normally love short stories but this one was fantastic. I also got the cute new pocket sized edition!

The Night Shift by Alex Finlay
★★★.5

I enjoyed this one a lot! It was a good thriller for millenials, I feel, thanks to the initial Blockbuster setting. I don’t think this one is as strong as Finlay’s previous book, Every Last Fear, but it was still pretty good.

Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco
★★★

I wasn’t expecting much from Kingdom of the Wicked; I mostly just bought it for the hype and also because I wanted to recap it for Recaptains. It turned out to be SUPER fun and snarky and a little steamy. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel sometime this summer.

Movies & TV

I don’t watch much TV any more and I only go to see the occasional film, but I just HAD to mention that
we’ve been marathoning Dark on Netflix. It’s addictive and intense, and I love it so much. You all know
how much I adore time travel!

I also started watching Manifest at the request of my friend. It’s not quite as gripping as Dark, but I’m
enjoying the mystery and I’ll probably continue at some point.

Plans for April

I’m planning on doing NOTHING in April! I want to schedule some blog posts and really get back into it
again. I also need to record and schedule a bunch of videos because I didn’t do that at all in March, and I
want to keep posting on my Booktube channel consistently.

There’s supposed to be a heatwave sometime in April so I’m looking forward to that, especially because I
have some time off work.

Otherwise, I’ll be doing a couple of 24 hour readathons in April, which I’m very excited about. I’m hoping
to vlog the experience and read a tonne.

October Reading Wrap Up & November Plans

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October was an excellent month all round, really. It was quieter than recent months in terms of life plans, but I had a really great time just relaxing for most of it. And also getting a lot of reading in! This is my monthly reading wrap up where I talk about life events, books I read in October, and some reading highlights.

What Happened in October

October wasn’t all that exciting because I purposefully kept the majority of it free. I know that November is going to be a hectic month with anniversaries and birthdays, so giving myself a chance to wind down in October was definitely the best choice.

Some exciting things did happen though! 

My work book club met up at the pub for the first time in two years and I had a brilliant time. We didn’t talk about a specific book, but we ended up chatting for ages. So long that my car park time ran out and I’m now worrying that they’re going to fine me for overstaying by ten minutes! I’m looking forward to meeting up in person again soon. We’re thinking we should do a Christmas dinner as long as the case numbers don’t explode by then.

I also took part in Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon! I finished four books and I’m SO. PLEASED. with myself. I was going to post a TBR on my blog, which I did have all written up, but I just didn’t get around to formatting or posting it because work kicked my butt that week.

I’ve started doing weekly reading sprints on my Booktube channel and they’ve made Monday nights a lot more exciting! They’re also really helping me to focus on reading, otherwise I would probably just watch a load of TV while Quill is out of the house instead.

Books I Read in October

I somehow read 19 books in October?? I don’t know how I managed it. I think it’s partly because I’m now commuting again for part of the week, which is the perfect chance to listen to audiobooks. I’ve been blasting through those, and it helps that Audible has introduced the Plus programme for UK subscribers. Having some down time and so few life plans really helped as well, and of course I have to give credit to Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon for pushing me to read four books over one weekend.

Here are some of my reading highlights from October! It was hard to choose so few books out of my long list, but these are books that really stood out to me this month for various reasons.

★★★★★

Miracle Creek was a surprise hit for me! I loved the sounds of it, but I didn’t think I was going to give it a full five stars. It’s absolutely captivating and I couldn’t put it down. I’d highly recommend reading it if you like small town drama, mysteries, and some court room suspense.

★★★★

The Girl From the Well was a surprise hit for me. I didn’t get on with The Bone Witch when I first tried to read it, but I picked up TGFTW as a buddy read with Justine and Kayla. It ended up being one of the creepiest YA books I’ve ever read, and I loved it!

★★★★

This was a complete cover “buy” as I saw the book in Waterstones and was hyped when I saw it was available through my library system. I’m really into plane crashes (don’t @ me) as I find them fascinating, and I really enjoyed how fast paced this book was. After reading some reviews from flight attendants, apparently it’s also super accurate too, which I love!

★★★★

I’ve been reading through Tiffany D Jackson’s backlist this year and it’s been a Journey. I’ve got a video going up on my Booktube channel about it soon. I loved White Smoke, which was Jackson’s first take on YA horror (although you could argue that her previous books are kind of horrific too) and she absolutely crushed it. This had me on the edge of my seat and contained some of my favourite creepiest tropes.

★★★★

I knew I would enjoy Felix Ever After but after seeing some reviews say that Felix took a while to warm up to, I was hesitant. I honestly don’t know what those reviewers were talking about though because Felix was kind of a troubled sweetheart? I loved this one, and while I wasn’t a fan of the romance(s) (I knocked a star off for that), I flew through it and really engaged with all the characters.

★★★★

I was supposed to read Black Sun last year for book club but I couldn’t get into it at the time. I gave it another go and this time I really enjoyed it! I love the world building and the politics. It reminded me a little of The Bone Shard Daughter in terms of the vibe it gives off (I’m thinking mostly about the sailing).

Plans Going Forward

Like I said, November is going to be CHAOTIC. We kick off the month with our anniversary. We’ve decided to go ice skating in London, followed by some book shopping (of course), followed by FINALLY going to see Six: the Musical. I cannot express how excited I am to finally go and see it. The day after, we’re going to see the fireworks with a friend. It’ll involve standing in a massive field for a couple of hours but it’ll be great.

Then we have my birthday. I’m not sure what I’m doing for it yet, but one of my friends is coming to visit! I think we’ll end up getting takeaway and chilling. If someone could get me cake, that’d be really good.

After that, we’re going to stay with some friends for the weekend to see their new house!

And finally, the following weekend is Quill’s birthday. Again, I’m not sure what we’re doing for it, but it’ll be nice to get another takeaway and chill. Maybe with more cake?

I’ll update you all next month once we’ve finalised and completed all our plans!

Want more? Check out some of my Booktube videos from October!

September Reading Wrap Up & October Plans

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I’m back with my second monthly wrap up in a row! Am I back on track with this whole blogging thing?
Not really. I barely remember to blog, if we’re being honest. I would like to get back into the habit though
so I must persevere.

What happened in September

September was an EVENT. The major thing that happened was Quill and I went on holiday to the Lake
District. We spent a week walking around lakes and climbing mountains. We also did a bit of ghyll
scrambling, which turned out to be more fun than scary. It involved scrambling up a river into various
different pools of water, and jumping off some rocks! I also slid off a rock slide into the pool below. I
would definitely love to do something like that again.

Speaking of climbing mountains, we intended to climb up Scafell Pike on one of the days but SOMEONE
(Quill) led us off route and we ended up scaling Great End and having to walk across the ridge and then
back up Scafell Pike. It was enjoyable on the way down, at least.

The Lake District is beautiful and I would love to visit again. Next up, though, is Scotland!

We also stayed at a hotel and spa at the end of our trip and that was so, so relaxing. One of my
massages was a bit violent, though, so I can’t say I recommend that. On our last night, however,
someone was having either a birthday party or a wedding, and the hall they were in was right below our
room. We weren’t warned that this was happening, so we were kept up by our bed, walls, floor, and
windows vibrating because the music was so loud. I was a bit upset because it was a rubbish end to our
trip, especially because we were planning on setting off early the following day to pick up the cats. I
wanted more than six hours of sleep!

Books I Read in September

I read 12 books in September, and most of those were finished in the last week of the month. Going back
to the office part time meant I was finally able to listen through my Audible catalogue, and I ended up
finishing three audiobooks one after another. I’ve really missed them, but I don’t do very well listening to
audiobooks when I’m working from home.

Here are some of my bookish highlights from September.

★★★★★

I finally finished Words of Radiance and I’m thrilled! I started this book years ago and I put it on pause in order to read Warbreaker (which is apparently necessary but I think it’s actually fine to continue with Stormlight without having read it) and then I struggled to pick it up again. But I did it! I loved this one too, so that made the wait worth it. I’m excited to continue in this world, but I feel like I should give myself a bit of a break before continuing with the novellas and larger novels.

★★★★

My friend Stephanie loved this one and I can see why! This is a fantastic historical, generational story about Vietnam. I felt so connected to the main characters’ journeys. I want to reread this one now that I have more knowledge of the events that unfold, because I think having context will help massively and it may bump this one up from a four star to a five!


★★★★

Black Beauty was a childhood favourite of mine and I saw it was included in my Audible subscription. I listened to a version that was performed by a full cast, and I adored it. Who’d have thought that following a horse through his life would be so interesting? I also ended up reading about the author, who was also fascinating.

Plans going forward

October is going to be a more chilled out month by design. I’m hoping now that I’m back at the office and
have a routine, I can start working on getting my exercise routine back together. I miss working out and
running regularly!

I’m not doing any readathons this month, although I’m hoping to read a bunch of spooky books. I’ve got
quite a few in mind already.

Otherwise, I want to get back into a proper Booktube routine! I’ve taken a couple of much needed breaks
and also reduced my uploads over the past couple of months, but I feel like October could be the month
where I get back into my groove now everything is coming together.

What are your plans for October?

Want more? Check out some of my Booktube videos from September!

Book Review and Playlist: As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson

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I’m on the blog tour for the final book in one of my all time favourite trilogies! I love the A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder trilogy with my whole heart, and I’m excited to be helping promote it more than I already have. If you haven’t heard me scream about this book already, now is my time to shine. Please check out the rest of the book tour to see what fellow readers thought of As Good As Dead!

[book-info]

I have SO MANY THOUGHTS about As Good As Dead and I’m not sure where to begin. You should probably know that I discovered A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder in December 2020 after the weirdest year of our lives. I bought it on a whim, I had heard some good things about it and it was on sale so I thought “why not?”. And then MY LIFE CHANGED FOREVER.

You should also probably know that I finished AGGGTM in one sitting and I gave it five stars. It was an unexpectedly INCREDIBLE read. It was exactly what I wanted from a YA mystery. And even better? It’s set in my county in the UK and so I knew all of these real locations that Pip was talking about (and the real location that the fictional location is based on). It enhanced my experience to MAXIMUM LEVELS, so of course I loved the book.

The second book was also brilliant, although I only gave that one 4 stars (“only”) because it didn’t quite knock me off my feet like the first one did. Pip continued to go through Some Sh*t and grow as a person and her relationship with Ravi was ADORABLE. I also loved her relationship with her family. 

So, having gone through all of that in the previous two books, I was hyped for As Good As Dead. I had no idea how the trilogy was going to wrap up. I didn’t know what to expect, apart from some more mixed media goodness and a gripping mystery.

I have some mixed feelings about As Good As Dead… I’ll be honest. Not necessarily negative feelings about it, but it’s not at all what I expected. The book took a turn halfway through that completely changed the tone of the book, the series, and the characters. I was thrown. It took me months to process my feelings and get myself together.

Pip is just as wonderful in this one as previous books in the series. Over the course of the trilogy, I feel like I’ve really gotten to know her and I’ve built such a connection to this character that I feel like I have met her in person. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the final part of her journey (at least, up until college!) and I wish I could see more of her as an adult. That said, she did do a couple of things – or, rather, was driven to do a couple of things – that I wouldn’t have expected of her in this one. That’s part of the reason this book Took A Turn halfway through. 

Overall, though, I think As Good As Dead was a great read. Perhaps not the solid ending I was expecting from this series, but it definitely did a great job of keeping me on my toes, emotionally connected to all the characters, and also of stressing me out! Seeing everything come to a head was exhilarating and I loved seeing all of my favourite characters from previous books come together to help Pip out.

If I’ve completely sold you on As Good As Dead, which I’m sure I have, you can purchase it on Amazon or Book Depository, from Barnes and Noble, from Indigo or IndieBound, or from your local store!

Because I am me and I am obsessed, I also created a little playlist for As Good As Dead. I won’t go into detail about the songs that I chose, but if you know you know. Hopefully these will give off the correct vibe for the finale to the trilogy!

About the Author

Holly Jackson started writing stories at a young age, completing her first (poor) attempt at a novel when she was fifteen. She graduated from the University of Nottingham, where she studied literary linguistics and creative writing, with a master’s degree in English. She enjoys playing video games and watching true-crime documentaries so she can pretend to be a detective. She lives in London.A Good Girl’s Guide to Murderis her debut novel.

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