May Wrap Up (delayed thanks to holiday)

In May 2019 I managed to read a total of  13 books.

Audiobooks -

King of Fools by Amanda Foody
Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
Length - 17h 30m
Star rating - 4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. I adore the narrator and she tells this story wonderfully. The second in the Shadow Game series really upped the anti and I loved how Enne gained confidence and her girl gang was awesome. Levi got on my nerves a little bit but Jac was the new star for me. I am in completely love with him.

Gilded Cage by Vic James
Narrated by Avita Jay
Length - 11h 52m
Star rating - 4 stars

It took me a while to get into this book but once I got about three quarters of the way through I started to very much got into it. I like that we get POV's from a variety of characters, the world set up is scarily something I could see happening too. Very good first book.

Tarnished City by Vic James
Narrated by Avita Jay
Length - 12h 54m
Star Rating - 5 stars

Well things certainly got more heated in this one. Again we get the multiple POV's which is a really clever way of showing both sides of the fight and makes it much harder to dismiss the 'bad' guys as just bad. The skilled world is just as much of a cage as the unskilled find themselves in. The politics was a fascinating aspect for me personally.

Bright Ruin by Vic James
Narrated by Avita Jay
Length - 13h 23m
Star Rating - 5 stars

Obviously being the last in a series I don't want to spoil anything so all I will say is I was very satisfied with the ending of this trilogy. I adore Luke and Silyan and their particular story was definitely my favourite, Silyan is such a complex character - far more than you first realise. Loved it. And highly recommend the audio, the narrator does an incredible job.

 Novels  -

                               

The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary
Length - 394 pages
Star Rating - 4.5 stars

My full review can be found here

                                                                         

Queenslayer by Sebastien de Castell

Length - 400 pages
Star Rating - 5 stars

This is the penultimate book in the Spellslinger series and my goodness it was a great one. Kellen really is growing as a young man and it's nice to see that throughout the last couple of books especially. I adore his relationship with Reichis and that remains one of my favourite parts of the series. A solid 5 stars and I am half anticipating and half dreading the next book as I don't want the series to end!

                                                                 

A Good Girls Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
Length - 432 pages
Star Rating - 4 stars

This came highly recommended by some friends who had read the arc last year and I was so glad I listened. I would say murder mystery type books aren't my thing but then I have read and enjoyed One of us is lying too so maybe they are. This one was brilliant, the characters were well written, the plot was incredibly well constructed and I loved the twists and turns which I mostly did not see coming. Highly recommended.

                                     

The Dragon with the Chocolate Heart by Stephanie Burgis

Length - 249 pages

Star Rating - 5 stars

This was a super cute middle grade which I read for a reading challenge and it honestly kept me hooked. I loved it and the overall positivity you got from reading it was wonderful to see. In fact I loved it so much I immediately brought the sequel which I am hoping to get to soon.

           

Superman: Dawnbreaker by Matt de la Pena

Length - 336 pages

Star Rating - 3 stars

This is the last in the DC Icons series and I was apprehensive going into it as Superman is not a favourite character of mine but neither was Batman and that ended up being the best in my opinion. Sadly for Superman it was not meant to be and I found it a little slow, boring and not overly well written. Definitely my least favourite of this series.

                   

Finale by Stephanie Garber

Length - 400 pages

Star Rating - 4 stars

The last book in Stephanie Garber's Caraval series was satisfying but didn't truly capture the wonder and magic of the first book for me. While I enjoy the characters and plot I do think the first book is the strongest of them all. I am glad I read them however and will read whatever Stephanie does next. A solid read just missing that extra sparkle.

Nocturna by Maya Montayne

Length - 300 pages

Star Rating - 2 stars

This book fell very flat for me, it felt full of rehashed storylines from other popular, and dare I say, better written fantasy stories. It was overly long, I didn't come to care about any of the characters and the repetition of the word 'maldito' made me want to throw the book across the room. Definitely not a read for me and I will not be continuing on with the series - where is it even going to go from there?

The Inquisition by Taran Matharu

Length - 407 pages

Star Rating - 4.5 stars

This was a brilliant sequel, admittedly it threw me a bit when it started as a longer amount of time had passed than I realised at first but it soon got back into the swing of things. I really love the relationships between the summoners and the demons and this book had more political intrigue going on which is a personal preference of mine.

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Length - 470 pages

Star Rating - 4.75 stars

Ensemble sci-fi is great and Jay and Amie are phenomenal at writing it so I had high hopes for this book and it did not disappoint. While it didn't have the uniqueness that Illuminae had it still had solid characters and an intriguing plot. I'm looking forward to seeing where this series goes.

                 

                                                   

Review: The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

Details:

Title: The Flatshare

Author: Beth O'Leary

Publisher: Quercus

ISBN 13: 978-1787474406

Synopsis:

Tiffy and Leon share a flat

Tiffy and Leon share a bed

Tiffy and Leon have never met...

Tiffy Moore needs a cheap flat, and fast. Leon Twomey works nights and needs cash. Their friends think they're crazy, but it's the perfect solution: Leon occupies the one-bed flat while Tiffy's at work in the day, and she has the run of the place the rest of the time.

But with obsessive ex-boyfriends, demanding clients at work, wrongly imprisoned brothers and, of course, the fact that they still haven't met yet, they're about to discover that if you want the perfect home you need to throw the rulebook out the window...

Review:

YALC 2019 Planning

At the end of April 2019 YALC finally announced their full line up of authors (link here) which of course meant I could start planning. I have learnt a lot over the years and try not to go too mad as lugging a lot of books all over London including the underground is not a fun time.

April Wrap Up

In April 2019 I managed to read a total of 13 books.

Audiobooks -

Navigating the Stars by Maria V. Snyder
Narrated by Gabra Zackman
Length - 10h 52m
Star rating - 4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. I found it lent itself to the audio really well, the narrator was great. Lyra was a strong main character, resilient and flawed meaning she came across as believable. The plot was really smart and I actually didn't guess the plot until it was revealed to our main character. The overarching plot is really interesting and I am very much looking forward to the next one.

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence
Narrated by Helen Duff
Length - 19h 36m
Star rating - 5 stars

This was a dark gritty violent novel but one with a heart. Nona is a brilliant character and I enjoyed getting to know her throughout the book. In fact each of the girls - and indeed some of the teachers too - were all fascinating characters who I very much enjoyed reading about. I like Nona's strength and how she kept true to herself while still learning and opening up a little. Looking forward to the next one.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer
Narrated by Charlie Norfolk
Length - 6h 41m
Star Rating - 4 stars

I listened to this on audio having already seen the film and thought it was a great way to absorb the story. I really liked the narrator, she made the voices very easily distinguishable which was important since this book is made up of letters. I liked the differences to the film and understood why they changed it. A really nice easy read.

Solitaire by Alice Oseman
Narrated by Holly Gibbs
Length - 7h 15m
Star Rating - 3 stars

Now, I don't read many contemporary books but decided to give this a go after finding out the main characters in Heartstopper were background characters in this one. I actually enjoyed this to start with but the main character soon got on my nerves and overall I found the plot to be pretty weak. Charlie and Nick from Heartstopper were definitely the highlights of this novel for me.

 Novels  -
                                   

Once and Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy
Length - pages
Star Rating - 3 stars

I was really anticipating this book, I am a huge fan of the Arthurian legend and couldn't wait to read this 're-telling'. But it sadly fell a little short for me. The representation was great to see and definitely needs to be in more books but I did feel that it got a little too much after a while, like other than their sexual orientation and pronoun preference I didn't feel we got to know the characters that well. Merlin I did enjoy, he was one of the stronger characters and there were some great moments but overall it was lacking for me.

                                                                           

The Binding by Bridget Collins
Length - 437 pages
Star Rating - 2.5 stars

This is the most beautiful hardback I have ever seen, not only is the dustjacket stunning but the naked book is embossed and it had sprayed purple edges. Sadly what is inside is boring, slow and dragged out. There were parts which should have been really interesting but they weren't explored instead it was a very predictable story which took an age to get anywhere. Very disappointing.

                                                                         

Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare
Length - 368 pages
Star Rating - 5 stars

This is a new series set in the Shadowhunter World which focuses on Magnus and Alec. Now I was always going to love this as they are two of my favourite characters from this series and it did not disappoint. I really liked seeing them at the start of their relationship knowing how far they have to go and to see how they interact together without the others around with them. The plot was also pretty strong too and I really had a fun time reading.

                                         

To Best the Boys by Mary Weber

Length - 321 pages

Star Rating - 4 stars

This was in a Fairyloot box and for once I actually joined in the readalong for it (though I did cheat and finish it a day early as I got so into it). I loved the main characters attitude and personality and I found all of the characters actually had distinct and unique things about them. It is perhaps a little simplified with the world not deeply explored but for a fun quick read it was spot on.

           

After Atlas by Emma Newman

Length - 369 pages

Star Rating - 4.5 stars

This had mystery, drama, science fiction and intrigue. It seemlessly merged these genres and created a unique and clever story. Emma Newman really writes interesting characters well and yet it never detracts from the tight and well thought out plot. I am really enjoying the Planetfall books and am looking forward to the next one.

                     

Sherwood by Meagan Spooner

Length - 470 pages

Star Rating - 3 stars

I had such high hopes for this book. I loved Hunted  which was Meagan Spooner's Beauty and the Beast retelling and as a Robin Hood fan I was excited for this. But it really let me down. I found Marion really boring and crap at what she was trying to do - how nobody discovered her is a miracle. Guy was confusing and it seemed like after killing off Robin (literally how the book starts) it seems she decided there had to be a romance so this would do. There was no chemistry in their scenes together and they are actually both rather horrid to each other. It really took enemies to lovers to a whole new level. Very disappointed and very sad.

 Graphic Novels/Manga  -
                                       

 

                       
Star Wars: Doctor Aphra vol 1 by Kieron Gillen

Length - 144 pages

Star Rating - 3.5 stars

This was fun and a little silly but I've come to expect that from the Star Wars comics now. I knew nothing about Aphra before I began this comic but I don't think that was too much of a hindrance, you go the gist of it all from the exposition. I'll continue on with the series I think, I like Aphra and the droids are hilarious.

                                     

                       
Lumberjanes vol 1 by Noelle Stevenson

Length - 128 pages

Star Rating - 3 stars

I found that not a lot happened in this volume, we didn't get to know the girls very well and none of them really stood out. I will give volume 2 a go but on the initial reading it hasn't grabbed me.

                                                                                       

                     
Hortense and the Shadow by Natalia and Lauren O'Hara

Length - 32 pages

Star Rating - 3.75 stars

This was a cute children's book with a nice little moral story and some incredibly beautiful drawings. Worth a look especially if you have young children.

                                                   

May the Reading Force Be With You

So during May I am going to be running a readathon based around Star Wars!

This readathon will run for the entirety of May. There are 11 challenges but it is up to you how many you want to complete. The challenges are as follows:

Owlcrate Unboxing April 2019

In this post I am going to be unboxing the April 2019 Owlcrate. (What follows will contain spoilers so please do not read if you don't want to know what is in the box)

Owlcrate is a monthly book subscription box from the USA. Each month you receive a brand new young adult novel and 3-5 bookish items along with exclusive goodies from the author.

The theme this month was The Dark Side (Spoiler filled post under the cut)

Fairyloot Unboxing March 2019

This is the unboxing of the March 2019 FairyLoot box. (What follows will contain spoilers so please do not read if you don't want to know what is in the box)

FairyLoot is a monthly book subscription box mainly focusing on fantasy YA and YA crossovers. Each month you receive a new release book, mostly hardback and 4-6 bookish items which fit in with the theme.

The theme this month was Favourites

 (Spoiler filled post under the cut)