Tag: Books

Books

My Most Anticipated 2021 Book Releases!

by imogenstypewriter3 Comments on My Most Anticipated 2021 Book Releases!
My Most Anticipated 2021 Book Releases!

It’s a new year! And that means new books to preorder and look forward to! I’ve tried to keep my list pretty small as it can be overwhelming when there are so many books coming out. I read around a book a week, so these 12 are three months worth of reading- but they all sound wonderful and hopefully, you’ll find something you like the sound of.

So… in order of release!

One Poison Pie by Lynn Cahoon

What’s a kitchen witch to do when her almost-fiancé leaves her suddenly single and unemployed? For Mia Malone, the answer’s simple: move to her grandmother’s quirky Idaho hometown, where magic is an open secret and witches and warlocks are (mostly) welcome. With a new gourmet dinner delivery business—and a touch of magic in her recipes—Mia’s hopes are high.
But her first catering job takes a distasteful turn when her client’s body is found, stabbed and stuffed under the head table. She’ll have to find out which of the town’s eccentric residents has an appetite for murder…before this fresh start comes to a sticky end…

I pre-ordered this as soon as I read the blurb because it sounds such fun! Small town witches? Murder? Meddling grandma? Cosy crime has been such a balm these days. Normally these kinds of series have 100 books out before I find out about them so I’m really looking forward to reading book one on release day!

26th January

What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo

Eleanor Zarrin has been estranged from her wild family for years. When she flees boarding school after a horrifying incident, she goes to the only place she thinks is safe: the home she left behind. But when she gets there, she struggles to fit in with her monstrous relatives, who prowl the woods around the family estate and read fortunes in the guts of birds.

I found this while looking for blurbs for the rest of this list online and couldn’t resist clicking on that cover. I knew I needed it immediately. This weird, eerie, gothic debut is going to be quite a shake-up to my usual choice of genre but I’m excited to spread my wings. I know they say don’t judge a book by its cover – but yikes! Look at that!

2nd February

All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O’Donoghue

Maeve Chambers doesn’t have much going for her. Not only does she feel like the sole idiot in a family of geniuses, she managed to drive away her best friend Lily a year ago. But when she finds a pack of dusty old tarot cards at school, and begins to give scarily accurate readings to the girls in her class, she realizes she’s found her gift at last. Things are looking up – until she discovers a strange card in the deck that definitely shouldn’t be there. And two days after she convinces her ex-best friend to have a reading, Lily disappears.

I adore Tarot so any book featuring it immediately has my attention, but I’m also intrigued by the relationships that are laid out in the blurb of this one. Feeling out of place in her family, struggling with friendships, I think Maeve is going to be really relatable for a lot of readers.

4th February

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

One cold February evening in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley in a hidden apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Once a respected healer, Nella now uses her knowledge for a darker purpose—selling well-disguised poisons to desperate women who would kill to be free of the men in their lives.
In present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband’s infidelity. When she finds an old apothecary vial near the river Thames, she can’t resist investigating, only to realize she’s found a link to the unsolved “apothecary murders” that haunted London over two centuries ago. As she deepens her search, Caroline’s life collides with Nella’s in a stunning twist of fate—and not everyone will survive.

Historical fiction is very hit-or-miss for me so I’m a little nervous about this one. It sounds wonderful! But it’ll be all down to the writing style. I’m hoping the modern aspiring historian helps with that.

2nd March

Six Tudor Queens: Katherine Parr, The Sixth Wife by Alison Weir

A woman torn between love and duty.
Two husbands dead, a boy and a sick man. And now Katharine is free to make her own choice. 
The ageing King’s eye falls upon her. She cannot refuse him… or betray that she wanted another. 
She becomes the sixth wife – a queen and a friend. Henry loves and trusts her. But Katharine is hiding another secret in her heart, a deeply held faith that could see her burn…

I’ve been reading this series since book one and I can’t quite believe it’s nearly over! I remember seeing that it was going to take six years to publish, one book a year and thinking that would take so long.
I’m really looking forward to this one as we finally get to see Henry die and the wife be the survivor, and Katherine Parr was a really interesting woman! She was regent for a while, wrote books and is the most-married English Queen ever with her four marriages.

13th May

May The Best Man Win by ZR Ellor

Jeremy Harkiss, cheer captain and student body president, won’t let coming out as a transgender boy ruin his senior year. Instead of bowing to the bigots and outdated school administration, Jeremy decides to make some noise—and how better than by challenging his all-star ex-boyfriend, Lukas for the title of Homecoming King?
Lukas Rivers, football star and head of the Homecoming Committee, is just trying to find order in his life after his older brother’s funeral and the loss long-term girlfriend—who turned out to be a boy. But when Jeremy threatens to break his heart and steal his crown, Lukas kick starts a plot to sabotage Jeremy’s campaign.
When both boys take their rivalry too far, the dance is on the verge of being cancelled. To save Homecoming, they’ll have to face the hurt they’re both hiding—and the lingering butterflies they can’t deny.

Give me lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers. Give me competing for the same prize. Give me fighting their feelings. Give me this book straight into my brain. This sounds like it’s going to be such a cute romance with a trans MC at the centre, while also dealing with things like bullies, death in the family and high school garbage. I already want them to have a happy ending.

18th May

Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean

Izumi Tanaka has lived an uneventful seventeen years in her small, mostly white, northern California town, keenly aware of all the ways in which her family is different from most of her classmates’. But then Izumi discovers a clue to her previously unknown father’s identity . . . and he’s none other than the Crown Prince of Japan. Which means outspoken, irreverent, can-burp-the-alphabet Izzy is literally a princess. 

I loved Emiko Jean’s last novel; Empress of All Seasons, which was YA fantasy. So when I saw that she had a new book coming out, I was really surprised that it’s contemporary! Described as The Princess Diaries meets Crazy Rich Asians, I have really high hopes. I loved The Princess Diaries as a teen (and when I re-read them as an adult), so this was an easy pre-order.

27th May

Meet-Cute Diary by Emery Lee

Noah Ramirez thinks he’s an expert on romance. He has to be for his popular blog, the Meet Cute Diary, a collection of trans happily ever afters. There’s just one problem—all the stories are fake. What started as the fantasies of a trans boy afraid to step out of the closet has grown into a beacon of hope for trans readers across the globe.
When a troll exposes the blog as fiction, Noah’s world unravels. The only way to save the Diary is to convince everyone that the stories are true, but he doesn’t have any proof. Then Drew walks into Noah’s life, and the pieces fall into place: Drew is willing to fake-date Noah to save the Diary. But when Noah’s feelings grow beyond their staged romance, he realizes that dating in real life isn’t quite the same as finding love on the page.

Fake-dating! Is one of my favourite tropes! I can already tell that the troll exposé is going to stress me out but I will do anything to read a fake-dating-real-feelings traditionally published novel. Not to mention the five-star review by Aiden Thomas. June feels so long away.

10th June

The Murder of Graham Catton by Katie Lowe

Ten years ago, Hannah’s husband was brutally murdered in their home, and she (conveniently) doesn’t remember a thing about that night. But the police charged someone else—a stranger—and put him away for life. And Hannah packed up her six-year-old daughter and left London behind.
But now her hard-won countryside peace is threatened. Conviction, a viral true-crime podcast known for getting cases reopened and old verdicts overturned, has turned its attention to Hannah’s husband’s murder for its new season. They say police framed the man who was found guilty, and that Hannah has more suspicious secrets than just her memory loss.

I have… complicated feelings about true-crime podcasts so I’m really looking forward to exploring them a little deeper with the help of this book. Truly a novel for the modern age of Serial, Dirty John and a hundred others. I can already tell I’m going to have to start this early in the morning, or risk being up all night reading.

10th June

Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury

A rich, dark urban fantasy debut following a teen witch who is given a horrifying task: sacrificing her first love to save her family’s magic. The problem is, she’s never been in love–she’ll have to find the perfect guy before she can kill him.

Urban fantasy. Witches. Black girl magic. Matchmaking service. Almost 500 pages. First in a series. Sign me up! It’s going to be a tough June for prioritising reads with so many promising books coming out but I might just plan a whole week off to be absolutely destroyed by this.

15th June

Dog Rose Dirt by Jen Williams

When prodigal daughter Heather Evans returns to her family home, it’s for an unhappy reason: her mother Colleen has killed herself, and Heather must pick up the pieces. Sorting through her mother’s belongings Heather makes an alarming discovery – carefully preserved letters from the notorious serial killer Michael Reave. The Red Wolf, as the press dubbed him, has been in prison for over twenty years, serving a life sentence for the gruesome and ritualistic murders of several women across the country, although he has always protested his innocence. The police have had no reason to listen, yet Heather isn’t the only one to suddenly have cause to re-examine the Red Wolf murders – the body of a young woman has been found, dismembered and placed inside a tree, the corpse planted with flowers. Just as the Red Wolf once did.

Jen Williams wrote my favourite fantasy, and I am a coward who hasn’t finished the series. It’s literally one of my 2021 goals. But now she’s written a thriller and I will follow her into any genre. She could start writing instructional manuals about road pothole repair and I would buy it. But luckily, she’s written a serial killer thriller. And it sounds incredible.

22nd July

Afterlove by Tanya Byrne

Car headlights.
The last thing Ash hears is the snap of breaking glass as the windscreen hits her and breaks into a million pieces like stars. 
But she made it, she’s still here. Or is she?
This New Year’s Eve, Ash is gets an RSVP from the afterlife she can’t decline: to join a clan of fierce girl reapers who take the souls of the city’s dead to await their fate. 
But Ash can’t forget her first love, Poppy, and she will do anything to see her again … even if it means they only get a few more days together. Dead or alive…

I’ve had this pre-ordered since June and was so sad when it got, understandably, postponed. When I finally get this sapphic YA paranormal romance in my hands, I will do a little dance.

22nd July

That’s all folks! What books are you looking forward to in 2021? Is there anything else I should be looking at?

Book Reviews, Books, Reading, Series Review

Re-Read Review: The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins!

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Re-Read Review: The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins!

When the news of the prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, came out I knew I wanted to re-read the original Hunger Games trilogy. It’s been six years since I first read the trilogy and they were really important in my journey of becoming a reader again and book blogging! My original reviews were.. sparse, and very much about my emotional response which is perfectly valid, I just wanted to do a bit of a deep dive into what makes these books so dang good in my opinion. So!

Contexts of Reading

I remember reading this series for the first time really vividly. Not so much the actual story, because I definitely forgot most of the plot points in the past six years. But my life surrounding reading this. I even remember the song I was listening to on repeat at the time. And I think that it’s really interesting that in however many years until I read this again, I might remember things like being in lockdown, playing a lot of Animal Crossing and working really hard at my last university essay. I think only a special kind of book can effect me in this way. I’ve re-read books before and mostly it’s just remembering bits of the story.

The Writing Style

I’ve mentioned a couple times this year that I’ve been struggling to read lately because I’m so focused on the act of reading. However, Collins writing style is so unique and crafted to be bare-bones that it’s incredibly easy to read. There’s no info-dumping or huge chunks of thinking, you’re just in Katniss’s head and immediately in the action. The story is left open just enough that your own thoughts and feelings can fill the gap. I thought that the pacing on the second and third books was a little weird, but by Mockingjay, I was locked in and finished it incredibly quickly.

The Epilogue

I’m not a big fan of epilogues in general. As a reader and an attempting writer, I prefer it when the ending happens and what goes next is left to the imagination. If you want the main character to live happily ever after, you decide what that looks like. But I do like the epilogue in this case, because I think that considering how much she mentions not wanting kids because they’d have to play in the games, it was important to see Katniss no longer have that fear. Plus, Collins got to talk a little about how best to teach younger generations about bad things.

The Messages

The Hunger Games trilogy are political books. Oppressed people hating other oppressed people instead of their oppressor, revolutions galore, people being used as pawns in a game they don’t understand. I mean- very applicable to almost every age of humanity.

Marking my books

I like to keep my books pretty neat and unmarked in general. I use sticky notes to mark them up for reviews and bits of writing I like. But this time I decided to underline, in pen! Mainly because I know these books are going to stick around on my shelves. I don’t have any immediate plans to re-read them, maybe I’ll wait another six years, or more, but when I do- I’ll get a little snapshot into this read and what stood out to me, and I think that’s pretty neat.

Do you re-read a lot? What is your favourite book to re-read?

Books, Wrap-up

Books I Read in September & October!

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Books I Read in September & October!

As the year wraps up, I’m determined to get on top of these wrap-ups! Today, I’m talking about the books I read in September & October. Including one that took over my life for a few days, one that infuriated me beyond belief, and one that I’ve actually been reading since Summer and finally sat down to finish…

The Stone Monkey by Jeffery Deaver

It’s been a good while since I read a Deaver! In fact, I traced it back to May 2018! Since it’s been a while, I kind of forgot how bloody masterful Deaver is at crafting a mystery. This book took me over for a few days while I flew through it. The twists, the turns, wherever you think you’re going, you’re not, whatever you think is happening, it isn’t. But it’s done in a way that you discover things at the same time as the characters, and everything makes sense.
It’s also really nice to have good disability representation, both in Rhyme being a quadriplegic and Amelia having severe arthritis. In this book there’s also talk of endometriosis and fertility issues.

A Bone to Pick by Charlaine Harris

This is a re-read for me that I started over Summer and finally got around to finishing. This series will pop up a lot in future wrap-ups because it took over my audiobook listening for a good couple months. I just love the series and this was always one of my favourites.

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

Ah, if only I knew. I read this because I knew that the TV show was coming to Netflix and I loved The Haunting of Hill House adaptation. But, I didn’t really enjoy the book and I only got through two episodes of the TV show. I can’t put my finger on why, it just didn’t meet my expectations. There were a few moments that had my skin crawling though!

An Armful of Babies and a Cup of Tea by Molly Corbally

This is a really charming and interesting memoir about 1950’s health visitors in the UK and her role in the community. I wanted to read something similar to the Call the Midwife series of books by Jennifer Worth and this was a great choice. The timing is similar and it delved into what happened to the babies after they were signed off from the midwives and onto the health visitor.
Molly is charming and headstrong, and it’s a real joy to read her experiences. I also really liked hearing about her partnership with Claire and the home they had together.
“People still wondered how it worked, especially the men, who couldn’t imagine how women exist, let alone be happy, without male company.”

Midwife on Call by Agnes Light

In comparison, Midwife on Call is a much more modern look at midwifery and maternity with the NHS as it looks at the 70s-00s. Agnes is outspoken in her opinions and her care for her patients which was really great to read, but it didn’t have the same cozy and soft vibe.
This is the one to read if you’re less squeamish and like a bit of humour with your memoir!
“I started getting labour contractions in the middle of the night and my husband awoke to a vision of me performing contortions as I tried to examine myself internally to check if my cervix was dilating.“

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

I started reading this all the way back in June and I ended up putting it down for a couple months because the pacing felt so strange. But I loved the world and the characters that I had to pick it up again and it ended up being a real blast to read. It’s great combination of urban fantasy and Wild West vibes, with a little dystopia in the mix. There’s been a climate apocalypse and now monsters and heroes and gods are all over the place. So much fun.
I’d recommend this to every urban fantasy fan as it’s so different from the usual vampires and werewolves, but scratches the same itch! I can’t wait to read the second book, and her new series.
“Everything you’ve done, your past, it’s all just a story you tell yourself. Some of it is true, but some of it is lies.”

The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse

I’ve been listening to a lot of Jeeves audiobooks in 2020. They were easy listens, funny and charming, and my library had a lot available. But, I’ve hit my limit now. I will definitely be back to read more once I’ve had a bit of time to forget the formula though.

What have you been reading lately? Have you read any of these?

Book Reviews, Books, Non-Fiction

Book Review: The Book of Forgotten Authors by Christopher Fowler!

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Book Review: The Book of Forgotten Authors by Christopher Fowler!

Books about books are my favourite thing. My favourite cosy mystery protagonist is a librarian. My favourite romance is set in a novel-writing class. I read book blogs daily. Plus, I’m an English Literature student so I spend a lot of time reading critical journals. The Book of Forgotten Authors by Christopher Fowler* is right up my street because it’s a book chock full of passion about books. 

Absence doesn’t make the heart grow fonder. It makes people think you’re dead. So begins Christopher Fowler’s foray into the back catalogues and backstories of 99 authors who, once hugely popular, have all but disappeared from shelves.

These 99 journeys are punctuated by 12 short essays about faded once-favorites, including the now-vanished novels Walt Disney brought to the screen, the contemporary rivals of Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie who did not stand the test of time, and the women who introduced psychological suspense many decades before it conquered the world. This is a book about books and their authors. It is for book lovers and is written by one who could not be a more enthusiastic, enlightening, and entertaining guide.

I’ve been reading this book for a long time (I started in 2017!). It’s a book where you could dip in and out of with ease. But sitting down for a good long session didn’t quite keep up the charm. So, ironically, I put it to one side and kind of forgot about it until I was doing a declutter. I finished it that day.

You can tell that a lot of work went into the original articles that this book is based off and it pays off. Each author has a neat little biography and the essays were easy and interesting reads. While I raised an eyebrow at some being considered forgotten, I’m sure V.C. Andrews’ Flowers in the Attic haunts many a millennial, it would be impossible not to get excited about the books and the history and reading in general!

Obviously people have different tastes so a book of 99 authors is sure to include some, or many, that I don’t find interesting or recommendable. I wouldn’t personally have chosen to include the overtly racist authors or the prosecuted sex-offender. It felt like Fowler wanted to mention these because he did the research when really these authors could just stay forgotten. Plus, I understand that publishing is, like almost everything, a male-dominated field. But I needed for there to be more diverse choices. It stands at about a quarter female, and very very white.

Overall though, I found myself with a list of authors books to add to my TBR. Some of my picks are From the City, From the Plough by Alexander Baron, a novelisation of his experience in the run up to D-day. The Wooden Overcoat by Pamela Branch, purely from the description as a mix of P.G. Wodehouse and Ladykillers. Whatever I can find by Lucille Fletcher, a noir suspense writer who seems irritatingly out-of-print. The Dr. Thorndyke detective stories by R. Austin Freeman sound like a more to-my-taste detective stories from the time of Sherlock Holmes. And Eleanor Hibberts vast historical fiction repertoire under the pen name Jean Plaidy.

If you’re like me and you feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of current releases, or publishing trends mean that your preferred style is out at the moment, I think this is a really interesting way to refresh your TBR. You’re sure to get caught up in passion for books if you pick this up.

Waterstones | Amazon | Hive

Do you have a favourite forgotten author? Or someone who deserved to be a classic?

Books

The 5 Books I Need to Read in the last 5 Months of 2020!

by imogenstypewriter1 Comment on The 5 Books I Need to Read in the last 5 Months of 2020!
The 5 Books I Need to Read in the last 5 Months of 2020!

With five months left in 2020 *gulp* I want to make a small to-be-read pile of books that I’m determined to pick up before the year is over. I’m a massive mood reader but I thrive when I have a reasonable stack of priority books to read rather than trying to pick from all my books!

Her Kind by Niamh Boyce*

1324, Kilkennie: A time of suspicion and conspiracy. A place where zealous men rage against each other – and even more against uppity women
A woman finds refuge with her daughter in the household of a childhood friend.
The friend, Alice Kytler, gives her former companion a new name, Petronelle, a job as a servant, and warns her to hide their old connection.
But in aligning herself with a powerful woman, Petronelle and her child are in more danger than they ever faced in the savage countryside…

This book has featured on not one TBR post, not two TBR posts, but three TBR posts so really I need to actually read it. I really want to! I don’t know why I haven’t apart from my piles and piles of other books. I tend to lean more towards royalty in historical fiction. But the more I read about witches, the more I want to know the trials. I don’t know if these characters actually identify as witches but either way, I’ll hopefully learn more about the Kilkenny Witch Trial.

The Bitter Twins by Jen Williams*

Since this is a sequel, I won’t post the spoiler-y blurb but here’s my spoiler-free review for The Ninth Rain.

I loved The Ninth Rain with my heart and soul. The only reason I haven’t read this is just that I’m just a massive coward when it comes to both sequels and chunky books. I did not, as I said in my review, immediately pick up The Bitter Twins. I let it sit on my shelf. It doesn’t deserve that! And I deserve to read books that I know I’ll love!

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow*

In 1893, there’s no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.
But when the three Eastwood sisters join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten ways that might turn the women’s movement into the witch’s movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote – and perhaps not even to live – the sisters must delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.
There’s no such thing as witches. But there will be.

This book hits a lot of the notes of things I enjoy: witches, suffragists and the late 19th century. I’ve picked this up a couple times but put it down because stress was getting in the way of my reading and I knew about ten pages in that this was something special. I want to savour it. But I also want to savour it soon!

The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

Born on the fringes of Bethel, Immanuelle does her best to obey the Church and follow Holy Protocol. For it was in Bethel that the first Prophet pursued and killed four powerful witches, and so cleansed the land.
And then a chance encounter lures her into the Darkwood that surrounds Bethel.
It is a forbidden place, haunted by the spirits of the witches who bestow an extraordinary gift on Immanuelle. The diary of her dead mother…
Fascinated by and fearful of the secrets the diary reveals, Immanuelle begins to understand why her mother once consorted with witches. And as the truth about the Prophets, the Church and their history is revealed, so Immanuelle understands what must be done. For the real threat to Bethel is its own darkness.
Bethel must change. And that change will begin with her…

Another witch book. I’ve created an accidental theme. This was a pre-order that I have stayed hyped for since ordering. Instead of letting it drift to the back of my mind, I checked the release date a bunch of times. Spirits? Diaries? Sinister churches? Count me in. Linda suggested I read this so I have high hopes!

Three Men on the Brummell by Jerome K. Jerome

Three Men on the Bummel records a break from the claustrophobia of suburban life some ten years later; their cycling tour in the Black Forest, at the height of the new bicycling craze, affords Jerome the opportunity for a light-hearted scrutiny of German social customs at a time of increasing general interest in a country that he loved. This account of middle-aged Englishmen abroad is spiced with typical Jeromian humour. 

I read Three Men on a Boat in February. It was actually my first time not listening to the abridged version of the audiobook… Although I did listen to that right after because Hugh Laurie does such a fantastic job. So the sequel has been one of those things that I’ve been absent-mindedly thinking about reading for a while now! 

What are you hoping to read in these last few months? Have you read any of my picks?

Audiobooks, Books, Reading

Books I Read during my Scribd Free Trial!

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Scribd is a digital library subscription service, a little like Netflix for books. It claims unlimited and what that actually means that if you read/listen to a lot, your access to certain options is limited until your next month. It also means unlimited within the collection they have, which is quite a bit, but not everything. You also get Mubi, the curated movie subscription service and FarFaria, a kids book service included. And it does a free 30 day trial. So I gave it a go and thought it’d be fun to go over what I read while trying out the service.

Books I Read on my Scribd Free Trial!

A Boy Worth Knowing by Jennifer Cosgrove
This has been on my wish list since I read Autoboyography a year ago and desperately searched for something similar. M/M romance? In high school? With GHOSTS? All a thumbs up from me so I was really excited to see this on Scribd in eBook form.

As for the book? The internal monologue could’ve done with some editing, I read it very fast so I picked up on a lot of little repetitive phrases, but the realism of a teenager telling themselves off inside their head was on point. I loved boys showing emotions, the importance of explicit consent, and as someone who spent a lot of my school time worrying about my attendance, I really loved the aunt encouraging taking a mental health day.

It was a sweet, fluffy, slightly paranormal romance and I would’ve loved it if it wasn’t for: “-I wouldn’t risk that. Not on the word of a junkie ghost.” That was just incredibly disappointing to read, I really hate that term for one, and for another this was a complete throwaway line and the drug abuse of the character was more a plot point to get to his death.

You by Caroline Kepnes

This was one of those rare occasions when the adaptation was as good/ better. I’ve never felt the need to read this after marathoning the show in one day last Boxing Day while completely ignoring my family, but I saw the audiobook and decided to listen to it. The narrator is incredibly good, similar in tone to Penn Badgley who plays Joe in the show, and creepy. I haven’t been so spooked by an audiobook since I listened to It.
I like a unreliable narrator but it can wear after a while because Joe felt frantic for the entire book. I found myself feeling physically stressed so I probably won’t read the sequel but I loved season 2 of You. I think maybe reading this physically might calm the pace.

Books I Read on my Scribd Free Trial! Charlaine Harris

Small Kingdoms & Other Stories by Charlaine Harris
I was really excited going into this as it was a short story collection of an interesting new character (at least for me) from Charlaine Harris. A high school principal with a shady past? Totally different from what I’ve read from Harris before and I loved it. The stories were short enough that I could get through one while I was winding down for bed and long enough that I really got a feel for the world and a satisfying story-arc.

Plus, Harris’s writing just works for me. Physical or audio, novel or short story (my least favourite format), I love her style and this was no exception.

After Dead by Charlaine Harris
This is the exception, however. I get that she did this ‘for the fans’ who wanted to know what came next but I am so glad I never bought this. The audiobook for this is 47 minutes. For comparison, the first Sookie Stackhouse book is nine and a half hours. And I know it’s not a novel but that is shockingly short.

This should’ve been published online for free, like Charlaine Harris has mentioned that she wanted to, not have the RRP of £8.99. Or it would’ve been a great blog tour! Think about fifty-ish blogs all posting one characters future and keen readers popping around, finding blogs they love that have the same taste as them! Although I’d feel sorry for whoever got the character who ‘contracted ghonnorea’ and that’s it!? This is both a missed opportunity and a disappointing cash grab.

This is tough to really review because I enjoyed the novella and some of the interviews, skipped the timeline for the books because I’m currently re-reading them, and found the fan club section a little weird. I don’t think this is by any means necessary reading, but I could see that it had, at least, more content than After Dead.

And finally a full novel. I dived back into Harris with my heart open and this paid off. This is her second novel and a standalone so I was blown away by how many things changed and how many stayed the same when it came to her characters and her story structure, still the same old Southern charm I loved but a bit less detective-y than I expected. I prefer it when the main character has a big impact on how the case is resolved, but this would’ve ended up the same way without her input.
I will say though, for something written 36 years ago in 1984? This was surprisingly progressive about rape culture! So overall, it was okay but not something I’m clamouring to read again.

If you want two free months, here’s a link! If you use it, I get a free month too!
Have you read any of these? Are you a Scribd subscriber?
Books, Reading

Books I Read in January!

by imogenstypewriterLeave a Comment on Books I Read in January!

After a rough 2019, I was ready for a good January and the stack of books by my bed that I really wanted to read. I ended up reading four books; one short story, a play and two 2020-release novels. The old seasonal depression caught me at the end of the month but I can actually say I enjoyed everything I read in January!

Books I Read in January!

The Embassy of Cambodia by Zadie Smith
I always like to start the year with a short book that I think I can learn from so I can go in with a new perspective. The Embassy of Cambodia was perfect for that. It’s focus was on modern-day slavery which isn’t something I’ve ever read a book about.
It’s a short story, which I normally shy away from because I find they can feel quite unbalanced, but it felt complete and easy to read even while dealing with a serious topic. The characters were quickly formed and felt real, which makes the plot all the more affecting.
This was also my first Zadie Smith and I’m definitely going to read more.
Waterstones | Amazon

The Playboy of the Western World by J. M. Synge
This is required reading for my current university module and it was a bit of a weird one because reading plays is such a different experience to other fiction. I think I’d enjoy it if I saw it performed. It’s a fun study for sure as it had a massive backlash from audiences at the time! I’m currently writing an essay on it so we’ll see if I still like it in 1500 words…
Waterstones | Amazon | Book Depository

A Messy Affair by Elizabeth Mundy*
You can read my full book review here!
Waterstones | Amazon | Book Depository

Six Tudor Queens: Katheryn Howard, The Tainted Queen by Alison Weir*
I’ve got a full review of this coming sooner the release date!
Waterstones | Amazon | Book Depository

Have you read any of these? What did you read in January?
Books, Open University, Reading

Required Reading Haul Again!

by imogenstypewriterLeave a Comment on Required Reading Haul Again!
Required Reading Haul Again!

It’s been almost two years since my first Required Reading haul and here I am again! I found a great deal from a fellow student wanting to declutter and thought, since I’m always interested in what books other universities study, that this might be interesting to do again. The module I’ve decided on is Literature in Transition: from 1800 to the Present and I started last week which is why it’s been a bit quiet on the blog!

The ‘Realities’ texts are: Bleak House by Charles Dickens, which I already had. London Labour and the London Poor by Henry Mayhew which my mother is really excited for me to read. I know nothing about Henry Thoreau’s Walden so that’ll be fun. And Mill on the Floss by George Eliot which I’ve actually already read and absolutely adored. I love looking at the contexts within a book is written so I’m really looking forward to learning more about one of my favourite books!

‘Movements’ includes: the play Playboy of the Western World by J.M. Synge, Short Stories by Katherine Mansfield, The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford which I have since found two copies I already owned on my shelves, the poems Four Quartets by T. S. Eliot, Between the Acts by Virginia Woolf and Good Morning, Midnight by Jean Rhys.

And finally ‘Futures’, which collects books published in the last 80 or so years. This includes: Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas, The Complete Cosmicomics by Italo Calivino, Oranges are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson which I read on audiobook and unfortunately didn’t get along with, Season of Migration to the North by Tayib Saleh, Stuff Happens by David Hare and Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri.

Have you read any of these? Anything I should be looking forward to?

Books, Reading, YA

My Spring Book Haul!

by imogenstypewriterLeave a Comment on My Spring Book Haul!

I’ve been buying a lot of books this year, you can see the books I got over Winter here, and I’m not reading as much as usual. I’m just bringing more and more in! I need to do some more unhauling or I’ll end up living in a house made only out of books and I live in England, it rains a lot! Books are not good sheltering material. They are fun though, so here’s what I’ve been buying.

My Spring Book Haul!

I picked up Planetfall by Emma Newman* at the Gollancz blogger event and read it in May. I liked it so much, I had to get After Atlas by Emma Newman. There are four books that are all stand-alone books set in the same universe and the synopsis of this actually appeals more than Planetfall; detectives and cults and sci-fi, oh my!
Waterstones | Amazon | The Book People | The Book Depository

Of course, I had to get The Poison Song by Jen Williams as soon as it came out. I loved the first book in this series (my review/rave is here) and decided soon after that I’d put off reading the second book until the third came out so I could binge it. Now I have this in my grasp, I can finally start.
Waterstones | Amazon | The Book People | The Book Depository

Over the next couple months, I’m trying to make a conscious effort to read more non-fiction (I have a whole post about that here) so when I saw Queen Bees by Siân Evans for £2.99 (now £2.49) on The Book People, it joined my cart immediately. I’m really looking forward to learning more about these society hostesses and their impact on the world.
Waterstones | Amazon | The Book People | The Book Depository

Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen and Anna of Kleve, Queen of Secrets by Alison Weir were books that I got proof copies of and, of course, needed the hardcovers to complete my set. I really love this series and they look so so good on my shelf. I’m thinking of doing a re-read of the whole series when the final book comes out, but there are still two queens to go!
Jane: Waterstones | Amazon | The Book People | The Book Depository
Anna: Waterstones | Amazon | The Book People | The Book Depository

My Spring Book Haul! Young Adult

Once & Future by Amy Rose Capette & Cori McCarthy, You Asked For Perfect by Laura Silverman and A Good Girls’ Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson were all pre-orders I made back in February so they’ve slowly been trickling in, and I’ve been reading them! I missed having fresh and exciting YA on my shelves. Expect to see them in upcoming wrap-ups!
Once & Future: Waterstones | Amazon | The Book People | The Book Depository
You Asked For Perfect: Waterstones | Amazon | The Book Depository
A Good Girls’ Guide to Murder: Waterstones | Amazon | The Book People | The Book Depository

Have you read any of these? What do you think of my buys?
Books, TBR

My Autumn TBR!

by imogenstypewriterLeave a Comment on My Autumn TBR!
My Autumn TBR!
Today is officially the beginning of Autumn so Happy Autumn!

My Autumn and Winter reading is always different from my Spring and Summer reading. In the darker months I feel like I can get stuck into deeper reads, whereas in the bright months I want light reads. It’s not a hard or fast rule, but it is a trend I’ve noticed for a while. So here are the books I want to read now that Summer- or what we got of it, is well and truly over.

My Autumn TBR!

I’m continuing my re-read of The Chronicles of the Invaders by Jennifer Ridyard and John Connolly that I started last month because I really want to finish this series this year. I can’t believe I’ve had the last book for over a year and haven’t read it yet. Last book fear is real!

I reached for Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth a couple months ago after finishing the series and wanting to read the source material, only to find it was blank for the first 50ish pages! Luckily the publisher was absolutely wonderful about sending me another copy and thus, it joined my Autumn TBR. I’m excited to read more in-depth about London in the 1950s.

The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell were on my Summer TBR but it just didn’t feel like the right time to read them. They’re full of dark forests and creaking ships, and that’s more Autumn to me. So I’ll be picking them up this season instead, in a different order than I thought after reading this. Especially now that two of the books are signed by Chris Riddell!

Since finishing the Harper Connolly series in August, I’ve been unfortunate in being Charlaine Harris free. I’ve not wanted to start the Midnight trilogy because the third book isn’t out in paperback yet and I’ve been hesitant to start the Lily Bard mysteries because the third book is a Christmas themed story. However, now it’s Autumn, Christmas is closer (95 days) and I think I can pace myself enough to save the Christmas book for nearer the season. So The Lily Bard Mysteries: Shakespeare’s Landlord and Shakespeare’s Champion by Charlaine Harris join the TBR pile.

I started the Lux series by Jennifer L Armentrout series as part of my Summer TBR with Obsidian and I loved it! I promptly ordered the rest of the series and in true Imogen fashion, was completely intimidated by the pile of books. I really want to dive back into the world though, Jennifer’s writing is so easy to read.

And lastly, I want to start the Lord of the Rings series with The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien. It’s about time I finally read it.

I’m hoping a shorter list, darker nights, slightly less work and more hot cocoa will make this TBR a success! Of course, this doesn’t include the books I have on my #Hallowreadathon TBR! But more on that soon…

What do you plan on reading this Autumn?