I’m sorry I’ve been so absent! I’ve never not posted on here for more than a couple of days and I’ve never been gone for a week and a bit (it’s not long but feels like it to me!!)
In July I had a trapped nerve and slipped disc and after 6 weeks this was a lot better but unforts my back went again so have been in pain but just tried to carry on with work etc. This made me tired so I needed to drop some things and I also found my motivation and concentration went out the window….I haven’t even read!
But anyway, now my sciatica is on the out I’m hoping to find my mojo and slowly come back!
Romances that pull on your heartstrings are the best kind, whether it wrecks you or completes you! This theme is inspired by characters that fall in love without expecting to, which can lead to wholesome… or sometimes angsty entanglements.
Items inspired by Cemetary Boys, Caraval, These Violent Delights and A River of Royal Blood. Plus TWO books!
❤ Literary Tray designed by @stellabookishart with a quote from The Cemetery Boys. ❤ Caraval Pin designed by @felfiramoondesigns ❤ Pin Banner inspired by These Violent Delights, designed by @blanca.design ❤ A River of Royal Blood Pencil Case ❤ Tarot Cards inspired by Caraval designed by @morgana0anagrom ❤ Afterlove by Tanya Byrne – exclusive cover, sprayed edges and a digital signature.
BOOK OF THE MONTH
These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan
– Exclusive cover – Stencil and sprayed edges – Artwork on reverse dust jacket by @sashac_art – Signed
The August theme is DARK ACADEMIA and this month was a fandom neutral box – love those!
Reading Journal designed by @whimsical.doodles Secret Societies Book Pot with artwork by @chattynora Athena Cup and Saucer with artwork by @niallcgrant Dark Academia Page Tabs with artwork by @maya_jasmine_art Dark Academia Washi Tape with artwork by @rosdottir The Devil Makes Three Collectors Pin designed by @stacey.mcevoy.caunt
Long ago cursed by the god of lies, a poor miller’s daughter has developed a talent for spinning stories that are fantastical and spellbinding and entirely untrue.
Or so everyone believes.
When one of Serilda’s outlandish tales draws the attention of the sinister Erlking and his undead hunters, she finds herself swept away into a grim world where ghouls and phantoms prowl the earth and hollow-eyed ravens track her every move. The king orders Serilda to complete the impossible task of spinning straw into gold, or be killed for telling falsehoods. In her desperation, Serilda unwittingly summons a mysterious boy to her aid. He agrees to help her… for a price. Love isn’t meant to be part of the bargain.
Soon Serilda realizes that there is more than one secret hidden in the castle walls, including an ancient curse that must be broken if she hopes to end the tyranny of the king and his wild hunt forever.
The Queen of retellings is back….with a Rumplestiltskin retelling! Well sort of, let’s just say he is not the Rumplestiltskin from Shrek!!!!!!
And I couldn’t be happier!
I picked up this book with intentions to just read a few chapters before I commenced with adulting but then somehow all that went by the wayside and I read the book in a day! It was unputdownable and let me tell you why…..
Serilda, born of a wish to a God, with black and golden eyes, loves to spin a ‘story’…..and then a ‘story’ gets her into trouble with one person she shouldn’t have lied to! But this leads her to adventure and someone I am so glad she met!
‘So much for spinning straw into gold.’
I loved Serilda and her stories but I fell head over heels with Gild. I’m not really saying more about him but you can guess who he is!
This was a fast paced read, a bit dark which I loved and the romance was so cute. So cute in fact that I wanted to hug them both. Their vulnerability and innocence made my heart squeeze!
Add to this the fantastic world building, the great side characters and it was all finished off with a sprinkle of mystery!
But that ending!!! I didn’t know this was going to be more than 1 book…..and I need more, really soon!
It’s here! The first ever Afterlight box from Illumicrate! I was giddy with excitement!
✨ I Read Romance Books Metal Chain Bookmark with artwork from @felfiramoondesigns ✨ Bloom Nail Oil created by @awildtaleshop ✨ Shine Bright Mason Jar with artwork from @forensicsandflowers ✨ Resuable Metal Straws
The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang
This paperback has sprayed edges, a signed bookplate and a letter from the author!
This is a great box, some fab usable items and a book I’ve been dying to read with beautiful yellow sprayed edges (I don’t own any yellow books so this one will have the edges facing out in my shelf!!)
The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn’t matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.
When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it’s to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister’s death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.
To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed.
In an apocalyptic world, peasant girl Zetian sets out to avenge her sisters death by using her Qi to help power a fighting machine, a Chrysalises, for Huaxia in the war against the Hundans.
Qi is the vital essence that sustains everything in this world and keeps a boy/girl pair mentally connected in the war machines. Zetian is now the Iron Widow and gets a bit more than she bargained for in her new partner, Li Shimin, the Iron Demon.
Although I loved Zetian and her feminism, I actually thought she was a psychopath!! I loved her! I was out of breath reading it! Li Shimin I just wanted to cuddle all the time and along with them for the ride is Yizhi, calm, patient Yizhi.
The three of them and what grew into their relationship made my heart sing! The killer boy and the sweet boy and the psycho girl. A perfect triangle.
CJRTB Books 