Review: The Bone Garden

If you like your stories spooky, dark, and full of the power of love and self-belief, then you can’t let yourself miss The Bone Garden!

My Friends Pick My TBR!

I had a lot of fun the last time I let people pick my TBR for me (way back in November 2018!), so I thought I’d give it another go! I asked Justine, Judith, my mum and my husband to choose a few things each that they wanted me to read (and then I snuck in a few myself), so let’s see what they went for…

Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton: Justine says, “I think you’ll love this. It’s a harem book with lots of politicking and backstabbing and ladies with shifting alliances.” I recently finished the first book in the series, so I’m excited to read this.

The Mortal Word by Genevieve Cogman: This is one of my sneaky picks. I mentioned in my goals post yesterday that I wanted to continue with this series, and I don’t want to lose momentum as I’ve been reading one a week so far!

The Year of the Snake by MJ Trow and Maryanne Coleman: Perry says, “It’s a New Year read and this had Year and Snake in the title!” I won this in a competition ages ago and can’t believe I haven’t got round to it yet.

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff: Mum says, “Because if you don’t like it, that’s a whole trilogy you can knock off the list. And if you do (training montages up the wazoo) you need to catch up!” Two very fair points!

Wicked Like A Wildfire by Lana Popovic: Judith says, “I want to see what you think of it, because people are mixed, but I liked the concept.” To be honest I forgot I had this, so it’s good to bring it up to the top of the list.

A Dress for the Wicked by Autumn Krause: This is my other pick, because it’s one of my oldest ARCs and needs reviewing ASAP!

An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard: Mum says, “I think you’ll know quickly if it’s for you.” Mysterious, but I’m looking forward to it.

Seafire by Natalie C Parker: Justine says, “Pirates! Reportedly good female friendships! Also, I want you to report back on it because it has been sitting on my shelf for a while.” It’s been on mine for ages too, despite buying the US edition to get it earlier than the UK publication date, and I do like pirates…

The City of Brass by SA Chakraborty: Perry says, “Taps to add one mana of any colour, but you lose 1 life.” I assume this is a Magic: The Gathering reference I don’t get, but it’s as good an excuse as any to read this, which has been waiting a while!

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor: Mum says, “So I can finally discuss and not fear spoilers. And it’s beautiful. In all ways.” I may need to read a quick recap of Strange the Dreamer before I start, but I do very much need to finish this gorgeous duology.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid: Mum says, “This is like a glossy afternoon movie, you’ll whisk through it quickly.” I’ve certainly been meaning to read it for ages, so it’s good to hear it’s quick!

Blood Heir by Amelie Wen Zhao: Judith says, “Because honestly, I don’t know if I want to read it, and that way you can just tell me if it’s worth it.” I requested this before I knew it was based on the story of Anastasia, and since that’s a bit of a pet hate of mine (along with most things set in Russia/fantasy Russia, I don’t think I’m going to like it. But I need to at least try as it’s a NetGalley ARC!

A Harmony of Fire and Earth by Antonia Aquilante: Perry says, ” You’ve got to have one “An X OF Y AND Z” title in there.” Perry has heard me rant about how boring YA fantasy titles are before! This is actually not YA, but is the sequel to an adult m/m fantasy romance I really enjoyed last year, so I’m looking forward to reading it!

And that’s it! 13 books for me to try, (mostly) on the recommendation of others. And they haven’t gone easy on me either, there are some big old books in there!

Blog Tour: Reclaimed by her Rebel Knight

You know I jump at the chance to review Mills and Boon/Harlequin’s historical romance, so I was intrigued by Reclaimed by her Rebel Knight, as I don’t think I’ve read one set in the 13th century before! It turned out to be a lovely character-driven read that showcases a far more gentle and caring relationship than the title might suggest…

Blog Tour: Lord of Secrets

I am always on the look out for fantasy with a sense of humour – not necessarily funny or satirical, but something light-hearted and entertaining, rather than depressing and stodgy. Grimdark is really not my cup of tea. So I was incredibly excited to hear about Lord of Secrets, which was described as light, funny, and heartwarming in its press release – and boy did it deliver that and so much more!

Blog Tour: Becoming Mrs Lewis

Living in Oxford, you can’t help but be beset by CS Lewis facts and stories all the time. Somehow, though, I didn’t know anything about the woman that became his wife, the poet Joy Davidman, and so I was very intrigued to read her story – but I wasn’t expecting this book to have so much of an impact on me!

Review: William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Mean Girls

But soft, what book through yonder letterbox breaks? It is hilarious, and I had so much fun!

Blog Tour: Ancestral Night

Elizabeth Bear is one of my favourite authors. I loved Karen Memory with my entire heart (steampunk Seattle noir with badass lesbian prostitutes and giant mecha sewing machines – if you haven’t read it, you gotta!), and when I was lucky enough to meet her at a Gollancz event a couple of years ago, she’s just the nicest, funniest person and I kind of want to be her when I grow up. Anyway. I was thrilled to be offered a spot on this blog tour for her newest book, Ancestral Night, which is a huge, sweeping space opera. It’s SO good. 

TBR Check In: January 2019

I’m not hugely one for New Year’s Resolutions, but I thought it might be a good idea to keep a monthly log of the various reading challenges I’m doing. This way I have a bit of accountability! I’ll aim to have these up on the 1st of each month.

Goodreads Reading Challenge

I’ve rather optimistically set this at 365 books, which would be the equivalent of reading a book a day! There are definitely days I won’t achieve this, but I’m hoping that the days that I read more than one book will balance them out.

My Owned TBR

As of January 1st, my TBR page stands at 395 books – more than I can read in a year! I’d like to cut this down by 20 books each month, if I can. Not a no-buy, but definitely more read than bought!

Review: Wicca

Another non-fiction read today! I jumped at the chance to review Harmony Nice’s Wicca, as I’m so interested in witchcraft – both the history of witches and the application of it in today’s world. This book is a beginner’s guide to Wicca, aimed firmly at the teen crowd, but it’s got a lot of good stuff in it!

Distortion Blog Tour: Victor Dixen’s Recommendations!

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that I absolutely fell in love with Victor Dixen’s Ascension, a book billed as ‘Love Island in space’, but which turned out to be a twisty, exciting thriller of a book with amazing characters (review here). The second book in the Phobos series, Distortion, was an equally amazing read which really upped the ante, and my review for that is here. I’m now eagerly awaiting the third book, and to get you all excited, I’m taking part in the blog tour for Distortion and bringing you the books that Victor himself would take with him on a one way trip to Mars!