Welcome to Closing the Chapter! I hope you had a great reading month?

Well here we are firmly in 2021 and my first reading update of the year!

Everything is still covidy and we are in lockdown (again) so am still working from home and also now homeschooling as schools are closed. It’s…. ummmm, challenging!!!! We also had some snow so we had a day in the garden building snowmen!

I had an ambitious January tbr so I could start the year off with a bang. I participated in the Off The Grid readathon and did a buddy read with the lovely Sophie at Beware of the Reader and Trisy at Bobos Book Bank which was such fun!

I also wanted to tick some books off my Beat the Backlist challenge and I certainly did that with 7 books read and 1 audiobook listened to!

📚 Physical/E-book

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

See my review here. 

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Fire Night by Penelope Douglas

See my review here. 

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From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout

See my review here. 

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Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer L Armentrout

See my review here. 

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Tales from the Hinterland by Melissa Albert

See my review here. 

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Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa

See my review here. 

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Skyhunter by Marie Lu

See my review soon!

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🎧 Audiobooks

The House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

See my review soon!

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

Was a DNF for me for now. I think my issue is with the audio. I think I need to read the actual words so am going to add the physical book to my wishlist and try again.

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What did you read in January?

So this worked well for January. So well in fact that I knew I needed to do myself a February reading list because I have Netgalley and KU reads building up and I want to get ahead of where I am now in the Audiobook Challenge 2021.

So here is my February Reading List!

Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas

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All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace

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All the Tides of Fate by Adalyn Grace

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Blood, Metal, Bone by Lindsay Cummings

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The Glamourist by Lianne G Smith

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These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

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Chase the Dark by Annette Marie

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🎧 The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White

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🎧 A Deadly Education by Naomi Novak

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Are you making a reading list this month?

A start to another year and probably a year of huge book buying. But this year I’m going to have no buying limits and no book buying guilt but am going to try and show a bit of restraint (I actually typed that without laughing!!!)
I bought 5 books and 2 audiobooks in January. More than I would usually get but I used the vouchers and audible credits I got for Christmas so is it really like I bought them? I think not!!!! 😂

📚 Physical/E-books

Venom by Bex Hogan

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The Glamourist by Lianna G Smith

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Graceling by Kristin Cashore

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To Have and to Hoax by Martha Waters

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Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova

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🎧 Audio

The House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

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A Deadly Education by Naomi Novak

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What books did you haul this month?

Title: A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire

Series: Blood and Ash #2

Author: Jennifer L Armentrout

A Betrayal…

Everything Poppy has ever believed in is a lie, including the man she was falling in love with. Thrust among those who see her as a symbol of a monstrous kingdom, she barely knows who she is without the veil of the Maiden. But what she does know is that nothing is as dangerous to her as him. The Dark One. The Prince of Atlantia. He wants her to fight him, and that’s one order she’s more than happy to obey. He may have taken her, but he will never have her.

A Choice…

Casteel Da’Neer is known by many names and many faces. His lies are as seductive as his touch. His truths as sensual as his bite. Poppy knows better than to trust him. He needs her alive, healthy, and whole to achieve his goals. But he’s the only way for her to get what she wants—to find her brother Ian and see for herself if he has become a soulless Ascended. Working with Casteel instead of against him presents its own risks. He still tempts her with every breath, offering up all she’s ever wanted. Casteel has plans for her. Ones that could expose her to unimaginable pleasure and unfathomable pain. Plans that will force her to look beyond everything she thought she knew about herself—about him. Plans that could bind their lives together in unexpected ways that neither kingdom is prepared for. And she’s far too reckless, too hungry, to resist the temptation.

A Secret…

But unrest has grown in Atlantia as they await the return of their Prince. Whispers of war have become stronger, and Poppy is at the very heart of it all. The King wants to use her to send a message. The Descenters want her dead. The wolven are growing more unpredictable. And as her abilities to feel pain and emotion begin to grow and strengthen, the Atlantians start to fear her. Dark secrets are at play, ones steeped in the blood-drenched sins of two kingdoms that would do anything to keep the truth hidden. But when the earth begins to shake, and the skies start to bleed, it may already be too late.

So I’m sat here trying to think what to put in my review. I’ve sat for a while trying to get my feelings together but for the first time in a long time, accurate words escape me!

Then a sense of glee came over me. Many, many people would’ve poured their heart and soul into their reviews so I do really need to??!!! I just don’t think what I will say will do this book, this series so far, justice!

But know this. I inhaled this book. I couldn’t get enough. There are quotes I want to use that I obsessed over. Feelings I wanted to try and explain and write words on how I was so caught up in this story.

So I’m not really going to say anything! I’m just going to say that this book is phenomenal. It’s been a long while since a series has made me feel this happy, this hooked and just left me with a sense of happiness.

I’ll leave you with the one quote that I remembered to take that nearly tore my heart out in a good way. An utterly, deliciously, great way.

‘Thank you.
For what?
For choosing me.’

Title: From Blood and Ash

Series: Blood and Ash 1

Author: Jennifer L Armentrout

A Maiden…

Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers.

A Duty…

The entire kingdom’s future rests on Poppy’s shoulders, something she’s not even quite sure she wants for herself. Because a Maiden has a heart. And a soul. And longing. And when Hawke, a golden-eyed guard honor bound to ensure her Ascension, enters her life, destiny and duty become tangled with desire and need. He incites her anger, makes her question everything she believes in, and tempts her with the forbidden.

A Kingdom…

Forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals, a fallen kingdom is rising once more, determined to take back what they believe is theirs through violence and vengeance. And as the shadow of those cursed draws closer, the line between what is forbidden and what is right becomes blurred. Poppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being found unworthy by the gods, but also her life when every blood-soaked thread that holds her world together begins to unravel.

‘From Blood and Ash. We Shall Rise.’

You know it’s times like this when I wish a swear was allowed in a review. A short, sharp, swift swear bomb to actually explain how I am feeling. To just express the feelings I am dealing with that only a swear bomb could do. Alas I cannot. As it is not allowed. So I’ve decided just to chuck some words down to try and explain how utterly fab this book is but I doubt even that will do it justice.

But before we get to the ‘words’ I have to say this. In the words of Buddy the Elf, I’m in love, I’m in love and I don’t care who knows it! (Sorry, had to say that to further encompass my feelings!)

Hooked
Line and sinker.
Mind blown
Obsessed
Captivating
Absolutely loved.

I do have a small criticism, there was a bit of an overuse of the…..between words in lots of places but I get it. Shielded Maiden. Probably unsure of herself but a tad irksome!

I didn’t even write any quotes of this book which is very unlike me, that’s how sucked in I was (and I’ll regret that later!)

I’m very aware there is nothing in here about plot, story or characters, just an info dump of my feelings. And I don’t care. Read it. You won’t regret it.

And can we talk about that ending. Swoon City.

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 – New to me Authors in 2020

I found these authors this year and absolutely loved their books. And may it long continue!!

Chloe Gong – These Violent Delights

Jordan Ifueko – Raybearer

Julia Kagawa – The Iron King

Tracy Deonn – Legendborn

Somaiya Daud – Mirage

Kaylynn Flanders – Shielded

Namina Forna – The Gilded Ones

Bex Hogan – Viper

Melissa Bashardoust – Girl, Serpent, Thorn

Leylah Attar – Moti on the Water

What about you?

I thought I would do this again because a) I enjoyed it when I did it for Christmas and b) its a bit challenging finding a theme and then finding all the books to fit (I’m looking at you ‘Y’!!)

My theme is Books I’ve loved but never really mention…..

J

Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

A

Archenemies by Marissa Meyer

N

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

U

Untouchable by Sam Mariano
(this is very dark so beware!)

A

Assumption by Aurora Rose Reynolds

R

Raze by Tillie Cole

Y

Yumi by Renee Ahdieh

Title: The Bone Houses

Author: Emily Lloyd-Jones

Seventeen-year-old Aderyn (“Ryn”) only cares about two things: her family, and her family’s graveyard. And right now, both are in dire straits. Since the death of their parents, Ryn and her siblings have been scraping together a meager existence as gravediggers in the remote village of Colbren, which sits at the foot of a harsh and deadly mountain range that was once home to the fae. The problem with being a gravedigger in Colbren, though, is that the dead don’t always stay dead.

The risen corpses are known as “bone houses,” and legend says that they’re the result of a decades-old curse. When Ellis, an apprentice mapmaker with a mysterious past, arrives in town, the bone houses attack with new ferocity. What is it that draws them near? And more importantly, how can they be stopped for good?

Together, Ellis and Ryn embark on a journey that will take them deep into the heart of the mountains, where they will have to face both the curse and the long-hidden truths about themselves.

My son asked me what my book was about, I hadn’t got that far into it so I’ll tell you what I told him.

In time far past there was a gravedigger and her siblings whose parents had perished. She dug the graves of the dead in a small village fenced by iron to keep in the zombie like dead people called Bone Houses in the forest. Enter Ellis, a map maker who was charting a map to a village, who is set upon by a bone house and together, Ryn and Ellis try to solve the mystery of why they are escaping the forest.

I am a scaredy cat at heart and this was spooky so am glad I didn’t read at night!! The characters Ryn and Ellis were what made this book for me! They were just so cute and adorable! It was like they fit together so well because of how they are, how their lives have been shaped and the fact they don’t really fit into a box.

The writing was so good, loved the Welsh folklore coupled with the witty bits, the gorey bits and the lesson learned is that real life people can be far worse than the not living!

Title: Rhapsodic

Series: The Bargainer #1

Author: Laura Thalassa

Callypso Lillis is a siren with a very big problem, one that stretches up her arm and far into her past. For the last seven years she’s been collecting a bracelet of black beads up her wrist, magical IOUs for favors she’s received. Only death or repayment will fulfill the obligations. Only then will the beads disappear.

Everyone knows that if you need a favor, you go to the Bargainer to make it happen. He’s a man who can get you anything you want… at a price. And everyone knows that sooner or later he always collects.

But for one of his clients, he’s never asked for repayment. Not until now. When Callie finds the fae king of the night in her room, a grin on his lips and a twinkle in his eye, she knows things are about to change. At first it’s just a chaste kiss—a single bead’s worth—and a promise for more.

For the Bargainer, it’s more than just a matter of rekindling an old romance. Something is happening in the Otherworld. Fae warriors are going missing one by one. Only the women are returned, each in a glass casket, a child clutched to their breast. And then there are the whispers among the slaves, whispers of an evil that’s been awoken.

If the Bargainer has any hope to save his people, he’ll need the help of the siren he spurned long ago. Only, his foe has a taste for exotic creatures, and Callie just happens to be one.

So this isn’t a review in the traditional sense. It basically is an info dump of my feelings, so know this before you read!

The start
Ok I love the Bargainer. He helps a girl, sets up her future, befriends her when she had no one. But it’s for a price. Their friendship ends, has to end and 7 years pass until he comes to collect.

The middle
‘How did you feel, leaving me? I ask. ‘Like my soul was ripped in two.’
Enough said. Still in love with him!
Oh and the Night King, his city in the Otherworld is called Somnia. Absolute perfection.

The Bargainers speech in chapter 23 is what really did it for me! I couldn’t put it here as I worry it would be a massive spoiler but oh my gawd. I could’ve cried! I’m going all sappy and that is so not me, The Bargainer has ruined me!!!!

The end
Oooo wow. I didn’t expect who was the baddie. And it was a crazy ride! ‘I’ll be at your side, till darkness dies.’