Happy July!!!
Just a short post to wish you a great month and leave you with a couple of quotes!
“If you’re not barefoot, then you’re overdressed.” – Unknown
“July: Just take me to the Ocean.” – Unknown
Closing the Chapter – June 2021
Welcome to Closing the Chapter! I hope you had a great reading month?
In my personal life, June was a normal-ish month, work, school for my son, a couple of family birthdays which we celebrated outdoors with food (yum) and I also had my 2nd covid vaccine which made me ill again!
In WordPress news, has anyone been having issues with making a post? Mine has been driving me potty, it just wont work properly!
Another bit of news, WordPress told me I had 50k views on my site so that was fab news!
I read 7 books in June and considering I had a bit of a slump, I’ll take that as a win!
Physical/E-books
The Queen of Gilded Horns by Amanda Joy
See my review here
For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten
See my review here
Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart
See my review here.
Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
Review closer to publication date (30th Sept)
City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
See my review soon!
City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
See my review soon!
Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon
See my review soon!
What did you read in June?
TTT – Most Anticipated Books of the Second Half of 2021
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 = Most Anticipated Books of the Second Half of 2021
I’m sure I’ve forgotten some but…..
Untethered by Kaylynn Flanders
God’s and Monsters by Shelby Mahurin
Cazadora by Romina Russell
Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko
Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff
Steelstriker by Marie Lu
Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
Kingdom of the Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco
Gilded by Marissa Meyer
And my last book is Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson but I had issues getting the cover on here (why WordPress, why?!!)
Haul – June 2021 (it’s huge, my biggest ever!!!)
This is 100% the biggest haul I’ve ever had! 17 books! Considering my tbr is already huge its probably not the best but I have zero regrets!!!!
Anyway….one of the reasons it’s large is because it was my birthday at the end of May and some lovely book friends bought me presents….BOOKS! I was so happy because my friends and family never ever buy me books or bookish things so I was like a kid at Christmas!
I must apologise for the layout of this post – WordPress hasn’t been playing nice so I can’t scale pictures down, I can’t even add some pictures and I cant add some blocks in – my vein is about to pop out my head!!!!
BIRTHDAY PRESENTS
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
Crave by Tracy Wolff
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle Jenson
Josh and Hazels Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren
Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab
Renegades by Marissa Meyer
Physical/Ebooks
Threadneedle by Cari Thomas
Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard
Tryst Six Venom by Penelope Douglas
In the Ravenous Dark by AM Strickland
Arcs
These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan
A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth
For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten
Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
Fairyloot
Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart
What did you haul in June?
Audiobook Challenge 2021 – halfway update!
Here we are with the halfway update of the Audiobook Challenge for 2021!
You can see my original post here.
The achievement I went for is Socially Awkward which is 15 to 20 listens!
So far this year I have listened to 8 audiobooks which is a bit behind where I wanted to be really so I need keep up the momentum so I can complete.
Here are the books I’ve listened to:
The House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
See my review here.
Mathilda, Superwitch by Kristen Ashley
See my review here.
A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer
See my review here.
One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
See my review here.
Set Fire to the Gods by Sarah Raasch and Kristen Simmons
See my review here.
Pause by Kylie Scott
See my review here.
Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo
See my review here
Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
See my review here.
Review: Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon (I had FOMO!!!)
Title: Ice Planet Barbarians
Series: Ice Planet Barbarians #1
Author: Ruby Dixon
You’d think being abducted by aliens would be the worst thing that could happen to me. And you’d be wrong. Because now, the aliens are having ship trouble, and they’ve left their cargo of human women – including me – on an ice planet.
And the only native inhabitant I’ve met? He’s big, horned, blue, and really, really has a thing for me…
Well that was…..ummm different to what I normally read but I needed to read it as it the fomo was burning a hole in me!
So a little run down…Georgie, human, abducted by aliens who drop them off on a random planet after engine issues, goes out to seek food/help but meets Vertak, blue skinned alien with horns and glowing blue eyes and he certainly wants to help her!!!!!!
This is probably one of the weirdest things I’ve probably read apart from the caveman book (which I loved!) but I needed a bit of smut and I got it! It was fab!!!!
2nd Quarter Update: Beat the Backlist!
Beat the Backlist Challenge!
Here we are with my 2nd update of 2021 for Beat the Backlist Challenge!
You can see my original post here and my 1st update post here.
At the beginning of the year I said I wanted to read 25 backlist books. For the first quarter of 2021 I went great guns with 15 books read and in this quarter, 10, making a total of 25 so I have upped my total!!!
My new total to read by the end of the year is 40 books!
Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
See my review here.
Set Fire to the Gods by Sarah Raasch and Kristen Simmons
See my review soon!
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
See my reviews here, here and here.
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
See my review here.
Ironside by Holly Black
See my review here.
Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor
See my review here.
Review: Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart
Divided by their order. United by their vengeance.
Iraya has spent her life in a cell, but every day brings her closer to freedom – and vengeance.
Jazmyne is the Queen’s daughter, but unlike her sister before her, she has no intention of dying to strengthen her mother’s power.
Sworn enemies, these two witches enter a precarious alliance to take down a mutual threat. But power is intoxicating, revenge is a bloody pursuit, and nothing is certain – except the lengths they will go to win this game.
This Jamaican-inspired fantasy debut about two enemy witches who must enter into a deadly alliance to take down a common enemy has the twisted cat-and-mouse of Killing Eve with the richly imagined fantasy world of Furyborn and Ember in the Ashes.
One of my anticipated reads of the year….based solely off the cover!
So here we have witch factions battling for ownership of an island and we were told, trust no witch.
Filled with diversity and Jamaican influence, the world was just magical! The world building and the old tales filled me with joy! I really did enjoy it.
I must admit it was a bit slow going in places, it could’ve done with a bit more faster pacing in the first half but it certainly had me hooked towards the last half!
I loved the fact that the majority of the characters could be described as morally grey and Iraya was like a shining light for me.
Kirdan actually was my fave (oh yes how strange for me, the dark, handsome, secretive lead was my fave!!!) In the next book I need a romance between him and Iraya!
I am defo looking forward to the next book and…..trust no witch!
Best Books of 2021….so far!
Aaaah, books, don’t we just love them (hellz yes!)
What better way to spread that love by posting….well, about how much we loved them!
Each year I do a halfway through the year post and a Blogmas post about the best books I’ve read this year….so here is my halfway post!
I had four 5 star reads in January alone!
These are my ‘best books’ of 2021 (not necessarily released then, I read then!)
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
See my review here.
From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout
See my review here.
Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer L Armentrout
See my review here.
The House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
See my review here.
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
See my review here.
The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni
See my review here.
What have been your best books so far?
