BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY
It’s my birthday this Sunday so thought I would spread the love!
One winner will get a book of your choice up to the value of £20 from Book Depository (please make sure they ship to your country).
You can enter over on Instagram:
My user name is @CJRTB_Books
Long link: https://www.instagram.com/cjrtb_books
Top Ten Tuesday is featured by That Artsy Reader Girl. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Theme – Books that Fit A Theme
My theme is my Instagram (not very original I know but what can you do when you are really busy!)
Anyways…..hope you enjoy these! You can find me on IG with user name @cjrtb_books
Disclaimer – I can’t remember where I saw this tag or even if I was tagged but I do know it was at the end of last year that I saw it and saved the questions but forgot who posted so please accept my humblest apologies creator!!!
But anyway, here we are….The Would You Rather Book tag
1 – Would you rather a series you love never get its final book, or have its final book with an ending you dislike?
Omg it’s Game of Thrones all over again!!!! But seriously I would rather have the book with an ending I dislike because, and even with GoT, I try to see the best in things!
2 – Would you rather your favourite series get a cheesy adaptation with the perfect cast, or an otherwise good adaptation with a cast you hate?
Oooh this is difficult! Probably good adaptation with a cast I hate!
3 – Would you rather cry at every book you read, or never feel strong emotions about any book you read?
Another hard one!!!! I’m not a crier at all so probably the 2nd option (which in itself is sad!)
4 – Would you rather meet your favourite author or your favourite character?
Author I think.
5 – Would you rather every book you read have romance, or never read a book with a romance again?
Romance. Give me all the romance!!!!
6 – Would you rather read a book with a great plot and unlikable characters, or a boring plot and amazing characters?
I guess boring plot and amazing characters? This is a really hard one which I have been going back and forth on! Let’s hope I never have to choose in real life!!!!
7 – Would you rather visit any bookish world you want, but only for an hour, or only visit one bookish world, but stay as long as you want?
With the first option could I keep going back?! I’d like to visit quite a few so first option with the chance of going back if I really like it for another hour!!!
8 – Would you rather never blog again, or have to post a blog post every single day?
Every single day please! I think I’d be lost never blogging again! But I do worry the content might get a bit rubbish if I had to post every day!
9 – Would you rather give up your blog and keep all bookish social media, or keep your blog and leave all bookish social media?
Oh gawd, whaaaaaaaat? Thing is platform popularity changes frequently. At the moment for me, FB is out and IG is in but WordPress has always been the constant. After having a war in my brain for a bit I’ve decided the 2nd option but I really wouldn’t want to do it!!!!
10 – Would you rather read outside on a sunny day, or inside on a rainy day?
Inside on a rainy day. Inside all the time in fact! My skin hates the sun (thanks immune system and sun allergy) so I can’t really read in the sun any longer.
Title: Clockwork Prince
Series: The Infernal Devices #2
Author: Cassandra Clare
In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.
With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them.
Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, but her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will—the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?
As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.
Will.
Will.
Will.
If I keep saying it you will understand the depth of my feeling for him now now that I understand him!
I learned a bit about myself with this book. I am fickle! Jem was my fave in Angel but after the revelations in this book I fell head over heels in love with Will and am now firmly in his camp!
So Tessa, I didn’t really like her in Angel, I thought she was rude and cruel and at the beginning I began to warm up to her, I mean it must be so hard being loved by 2 gorg Shadowhunters! But I feel for her. I really do.
Jessamine was less of a waste of space in this book but she is a horrid, selfish creature!
So anyway, this book basically broke my heart! Each book does this to me but I can’t get enough of this series. I think its turning me into a masochist!!!
20 Books of Summer……
……but I think 10 for me this year!
Cathy746 Books is hosting 20 Books of Summer again this year – check out the details here. The challenge runs from 1st June to 1st September.
I’ve done this challenge for the past 3 years and hit 20 each time, however I’ve now turned into such a mood reader that I don’t think I could read 20 off a pre-chosen list so let’s hope I can even read these!
1 Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
2 City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
3 City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
4 Untethered Kaylynn Flanders
5 Lore by Alexandra Bracken
6 A Queen of Gilded Horns by Amanda Joy
7 Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart
8 Namesake by Adrienne Young
9 Becoming his Monster by Amelia Hutchins
10 Hood by Jenny Elder Moke
Title: Rule of Wolves
Series: King of Scars #2
Author: Leigh Bardugo
he wolves are circling and a young king will face his greatest challenge in the explosive finale of the instant #1 New York Times-bestselling King of Scars Duology.
The Demon King. As Fjerda’s massive army prepares to invade, Nikolai Lantsov will summon every bit of his ingenuity and charm—and even the monster within—to win this fight. But a dark threat looms that cannot be defeated by a young king’s gift for the impossible.
The Stormwitch. Zoya Nazyalensky has lost too much to war. She saw her mentor die and her worst enemy resurrected, and she refuses to bury another friend. Now duty demands she embrace her powers to become the weapon her country needs. No matter the cost.
The Queen of Mourning. Deep undercover, Nina Zenik risks discovery and death as she wages war on Fjerda from inside its capital. But her desire for revenge may cost her country its chance at freedom and Nina the chance to heal her grieving heart.
King. General. Spy. Together they must find a way to forge a future in the darkness. Or watch a nation fall.
I didn’t not like this book, anything regarding the Grishaverse and I’m there for it shaking my pom poms but I guess I just expected this to be different, but that’s on me!
So in this book we have 3 point of views, Nikolai, Zoya and Nina and there is a lot happening!
These are just a few of my thoughts:
I think I wanted more Nikolai than this, I mean wasn’t this meant to be his book?
My Nina. My lovely, heartbroken queen. The Queen of Mourning. I mean I don’t mind that she has her happy ending, I’m really happy that she’s happy but I really wanted Matthias resurrected!!
I initially didn’t like Zoya but that had changed she has grown on me! But…..DRAGONS! Could I be more excited?! The answer is no!
There was one part where I cried out in anger, why oh why kill off someone else?!! I mean I know its a world of basically war but noooo!!!
So not much of a review but to do want to say there was the same great writing, great word building and fab banter and loved seeing old friends and old enemies!
And that SoC bit at the end!!!! Happy dance!
I’ll leave you with one of my fave lines:
‘Nikolai followed his Queen through the mountains.’
Title: Ironside
Series: Modern Faerie Tales #3
Author: Holly Black
In the realm of Faerie, the time has come for Roiben’s coronation. Uneasy in the midst of the malevolent Unseelie Court, pixie Kaye is sure of only one thing — her love for Roiben. But when Kaye, drunk on faerie wine, declares herself to Roiben, he sends her on a seemingly impossible quest. Now Kaye can’t see or speak to Roiben unless she can find the one thing she knows doesn’t exist: a faerie who can tell a lie.
Miserable and convinced she belongs nowhere, Kaye decides to tell her mother the truth — that she is a changeling left in place of the human daughter stolen long ago. Her mother’s shock and horror sends Kaye back to the world of Faerie to find her human counterpart and return her to Ironside. But once back in the faerie courts, Kaye finds herself a pawn in the games of Silarial, queen of the Seelie Court. Silarial wants Roiben’s throne, and she will use Kaye, and any means necessary, to get it. In this game of wits and weapons, can a pixie outplay a queen?
Holly Black spins a seductive tale at once achingly real and chillingly enchanted, set in a dangerous world where pleasure mingles with pain and nothing is exactly as it appears.
So, am back in this world after loving the first 2 books.
Before I started, I admit the premise of this book irked me that Roiben had to give Kaye a quest to prove her declaration to him. I would’ve told him to get on his bike and stick it!
But then I guess we wouldn’t have a story and also because I wanted more Roiben, I dived in….and in the end, I wasn’t disappointed….
‘I taught myself to feel nothing. And you make me feel.’
But…..I didn’t love this as much as the first book and I can’t even put my finger on why. The shining light for me in this book was Corny. Just fabulous.
This was dark, full of death and torture and was an enjoyable read!
Top Ten Tuesday is featured by That Artsy Reader Girl. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Theme : Book Titles That Are Complete Sentences
Just a short one today from me (and no pics, I’m sorry!) because I am running out of time to get all the stuff I need to, done. Work is hella busy at the moment so my apologies!
I’m not really sure I totally understood this but these are my offerings!
How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black
It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time by Kylie Scott
Josh and Hazels Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren
The Beginning of Everything by Kristen Ashley
I Like Big Dragons and I Cannot Lie by Lani Lynn Vale
Until the Sun Falls From the Sky by Kristen Ashley
The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn
Beneath the Haunting Sea by Joanna Ruth Meyer
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
Depends on Who’s Asking by Lani Lynn Vale
I thought I’d do a tag in May and what better than Meet the Blogger tag! I wasn’t tagged but got from Lou’s Book Stuff, check her out here.
Rules
Nominated bloggers can nominate up to ten other bloggers.
Use the same questions from the tag.
Here we go……
Who is your all-time favourite book character?
I think mine is a romance book character, Joker from Ride Steady by Kristen Ashley. I love him!
If you were stranded on a desert island, which book would you take with you? (Survival books do not count!)
I’m cheating here and choosing a series! Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas.
What’s your most unpopular book opinion?
I cant get on with dark academia. I’ve tried and I’ve tried but it’s not for me!
What’s your weirdest bookish habit?
I must know how many pages are in a book. I don’t mind if there are 150 pages or 950 but i have to know!!!!!
What character would you bring to a family event as your fake partner?
Oh gawd, maybe Rhysand. He would certainly shake things up. Especially if his wings popped out!!!
What made you decide to start a book blog?
I started out on a FB page in 2012 for just romance books and branched out to WordPress because I wanted to crow about my other preferred genre, YA Fantasy! I still have my FB blog but to be honest I’m totally disheartened with it as I pour hours into it and, because of the algorithm, no one hardly sees my posts so am thinking about giving it up.
What about reading and books do you love the most?
The feeling of reading a fab story, of being totally invested in a story in a different world. Can’t beat that feeling!
What is your field of study/desired profession/current profession?
Currently I am a project manager for an insurance company but if I could do it all again I would like to go into graphic design.
What are some book recommendations that became your favourites/obsessions?
From Blood and Ash series has become a huge obsession for me!
What is the book you shove down everyone’s throat?
No doubt, House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune. Can’t tell you how much I love it and that it’s like a breath of fresh air.
CJRTB Books 