Category Archives: Books

My Thoughts on Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas (with spoilers!)

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This review contains spoilers for the entire Throne of Glass series, including Kingdom of Ash itself

Aelin has risked everything to save her people―but at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. Aware that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, though her resolve begins to unravel with each passing day…

With Aelin captured, Aedion and Lysandra remain the last line of defense to protect Terrasen from utter destruction. Yet they soon realize that the many allies they’ve gathered to battle Erawan’s hordes might not be enough to save them. Scattered across the continent and racing against time, Chaol, Manon, and Dorian are forced to forge their own paths to meet their fates. Hanging in the balance is any hope of salvation―and a better world.

And across the sea, his companions unwavering beside him, Rowan hunts to find his captured wife and queen―before she is lost to him forever.

As the threads of fate weave together at last, all must fight, if they are to have a chance at a future. Some bonds will grow even deeper, while others will be severed forever in the explosive final chapter of the Throne of Glass series.

First published: 2018

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My Conflicting Thoughts on Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor

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Sarai has lived and breathed nightmares since she was six years old.

She believed she knew every horror, and was beyond surprise.

She was wrong.

First published: October 2018

This book is a sequel – read my review of the first book here.

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Book Reviews: Yay or Nay?

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I was planning on writing a book review today. I haven’t written one in ages and in between all of those recipes I’ve posted recently, I figured it was high time for another review. So, I looked through the books on my “Read” shelf on Goodreads to find the perfect book to write a review about. But… I couldn’t really find one. I’ve had plenty of interesting reads recently, so that’s not the issue. I also haven’t been in a reading slump, so that can’t be it either. What is it that made me go “meh” about writing reviews on these books?

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Why How To Be a Heroine by Samantha Ellis Is the Perfect Book for Female Bookworms

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While debating literature’s greatest heroines with her best friend, thirtysomething playwright Samantha Ellis has a revelation—her whole life, she’s been trying to be Cathy Earnshaw of Wuthering Heights when she should have been trying to be Jane Eyre.

With this discovery, she embarks on a retrospective look at the literary ladies—the characters and the writers—whom she has loved since childhood. From early obsessions with the March sisters to her later idolization of Sylvia Plath, Ellis evaluates how her heroines stack up today. And, just as she excavates the stories of her favorite characters, Ellis also shares a frank, often humorous account of her own life growing up in a tight-knit Iraqi Jewish community in London. Here a life-long reader explores how heroines shape all our lives.

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What I Learned about the War from a Children’s Book: The Secret of the Blue Glass

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In a dusty library, in the quietest corner of a house in a Tokyo suburb, live the Little People: Fern and Balbo, Robin and Iris. Just a few inches high, sleeping cigarette boxes and crafting shoes from old book jackets, they need only one thing from their Humans–a nightly glass of milk, served in a sparkling blue glass goblet, by a trusted young member of the Human family.

But when the Second World War come to Japan, both Humans and their beloved Little People face a world they could never before have imagined. It will take great love, bravery, and a rather loyal pigeon, to bring their unique families back together once more…

First published: 1959 (in Japanese); this translation/edition is from 2018 by Pushkin Press

**I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

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Reading Habits: How Many Books Do You Read At The Same Time?

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One of the many things I love about being a part of the online reading community is how you get a peek into other people’s reading lives. Stripped down to its bare bones, reading is a pretty solitary hobby; you get yourself a book, you sit down (or lie down, or stand – whatever floats your boat) and you read that book. It’s just you and the characters, the story and the world of the book. It doesn’t feel lonely at all (this is something most readers will agree upon, I think), but it is something you do alone, most of the time.

And then you go online and talk about that book you’ve read with other people all over the world who also love to read. I love it! I’m very lucky to also have friends who love to read and love to talk about reading, but I’ve seen quite a lot of people within the community say how happy they are to finally be able to talk about books with other people who understand. I just think that’s wonderful.

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A Study in Grief: My Thoughts on Ready to Fall by Marcella Pixley

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Following the death of his mother, Max Friedman comes to believe that he is sharing his brain with a tumour. As he becomes focused on controlling the malignant tenant, he starts to lose touch with his friends and family, and with reality itself – so Max’s father sends him off to the artsy Baldwin School to regain his footing.

Soon, Max has joined a group of theatre misfits in a steam-punk production of Hamlet. He befriends Fish, a girl with pink hair and a troubled past, and The Monk, a boy who refuses to let go of the things he loves. Max starts to feel happy, and the ghosts of his past seem to be gone for ever.

But the tumour is always lurking in the wings – until one night it knocks him down, and Max is forced to face the truth.

Published by Pushkin Press in 2018

**I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

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Why Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor Is an Extraordinary Novel

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The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.

First published: 2017

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The End of Year Book Survey 2017

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The year is almost over, which means it’s time for the End of Year Book Survey, brainchild of the wonderful Jamie from The Perpetual Page-Turner! My reading goal for this year was to read 35 books. It was a bit lower than previous years, but I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself, especially considering the fact that at the beginning of 2017 I had no idea what my life would look like at the end of it. I managed to read those 35 books, and I’m currently half way through the 36th. I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to finish that one before the new year, though, because I’ve got over 250 pages left to read and there’s only 4 more hours in 2017, which I won’t be spending with a book unfortunately.

I had a fun reading year! Of course, there were so many more books I wish I’d read this year, but that would be the case even if I’d read over a 100 books. So, I’m pretty content! Most of my reads were 4 or 5 star ones; I guess that’s the advantage of not being able to read that many books and being extra picky about choosing my next read.

Anyway, there are about a million questions to get through, so let’s get to it!

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Festive Fortnight [13]: A Festive Book and Dessert Pairing Guide

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Christmas Book Dessert Guide

Happy Christmas Eve Eve! It’s nearly Christmas and I cannot wait. Yesterday was my last day of work for the year and now I’ve got eleven days off! There will be tons of reading and relaxing and doing absolutely nothing and it’ll probably be over before I know it. Like this Festive Fortnight – tomorrow is the last post already. I feel as if we’ve only just started!

Today I’ve got a fun post for you that involves both books and baking (the perfect combination, of course). A few years ago I posted a book and dessert pairing guide, with a graphic made by Shari’s Berries. A few days ago, they got in touch with me again about a Christmas version of such a guide. It seemed like the perfect post to include in my Festive Fortnight!

Below, you’ll find twelve books about Christmas and a fitting dessert to go with them. I’ve scoured the web for recipes for these desserts – I hope there’s something to your liking! Perhaps this will provide you with some inspiration for Christmas dinner…

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