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September Wrap Up and October TBR

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Hi guys, I hope you are all well. It’s the end of the month, which means its time for another monthly wrap up post. You guys probably know the drill by now – each month a write mini reviews of the books I’ve read and then I share some books I plan to read. I had an alright month in September, although I didn’t get as much reading done as I could have because I was playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider instead. Also I’m sorry for the lighting in the pictures – I use natural lighting and sometimes it’s not as good as I would want. Anyway, let’s get started with the wrap up.

 

 

Bridge of Birds / Barry Hughart / ★★★
Set in medieval China, this follows Number Ten Ox and Master Li as they go on a quest to save a village from a plague. While I did really enjoy this book, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the writing style. I can’t really put my finger on why but something just didn’t quite work for me. The characters are really well written though and the plot is compelling throughout. I thought the world building was good too. If you’re looking for an East-Asian inspired fantasy book, or just for something a little bit different to typical fantasy books, then I highly recommend checking this book out.

 

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Legend / book 1 of the Drenai series / David Gemmell / ★★★
The basic premise of this is a legendary warrior coming out of retirement to help defend against an incoming, conquering army. I really enjoyed the setting of this and thought that the characters were well written. My one issue with characters was the representation of women; this was first published in the 80’s and it is dated in how it portrays women. They are very much secondary characters and although they have some depth to them, I wanted more. I also wasn’t a fan of the speed at which two characters fall in love – it’s basically insta-love. Other than that, I had no issues with this book. I really enjoyed it and would recommend checking it out.

 

The Angel’s Game / book 2 of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books / Carlos Ruiz Zafon / ★★★.5
This is the sequel to The Shadow of the Wind. Although I did enjoy this book, I definitely didn’t love it as much as the first book. Once again the writing is great and it was easy to settle back into the writing style. The characters are well written and the plot is compelling. Overall this was a good book and I look forward to continuing on with this series.

 

The White Mirror / book 2 of the Li Du trilogy / Elsa Hart / ★★★.5
This is the sequel to Jade Dragon Mountain. I really enjoyed the first book so I had high hopes for this book and it didn’t disappoint. In fact, I think I enjoyed this story more than the first one. The characters are well written, the plot is compelling and I love the setting of 18th century China. The atmosphere is really well done. Basically this was an enjoyable mystery book and I will definitely be checking out the next book in this trilogy.

 

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Soulbinder / book 4 of the Spellslinger series / Sebastien de Castell / ★★★★
Another fantastic instalment to this series. I am planning to have a full review of this book up next week, so I’m not going to go into to much detail now. All I’ll say is that this is such a entertaining series and I highly recommend checking it out. The next book in the series, Queenslayer, is set to be released on the 2nd May 2019.

 

Blood of the Gods / book 2 of the Ascension Cycle / David Mealing / ★★★★
This was a fantastic continuation of this trilogy. I loved the first book so I had high hopes for this sequel and it didn’t disappoint. Mealing did a great job at building on what we know from book 1 and it was great to be back in this world. The character development was really well done and I loved the direction of the plot. I will be writing a full review of this so keep an eye out for that. I highly recommend checking this series out.

 

Circe / Madeleine Miller / ★★★★
I thought this book was fantastic. Personally, I enjoyed this book more than her previous one, The Song of Achilles. I loved how Miller brought life to Circe. All of the characters were well written and I loved how Circe is neither good or bad; she’s a mix of both.  I find Greek mythology really interesting, so I loved the setting of this book. The writing is great and I found it so easy to settle into the story. If you enjoyed Miller’s other book, then you will definitely love this book too. If you haven’t pick this book up yet I highly recommend you do.

 

Valour / book 2 of the Faithful and the Fallen series / John Gwynne / ★★★★
This book was so good. I’ve been aware of this series for quite some time and I can’t believe to took me this long to read it. I loved the direction of the plot and was engrossed in the story from very early on. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, but there is a character list that you can refer back to which is helpful. As with the first book this sequel switches between multiple perspective; each of which is distinctive. I cannot say enough good things about the first two books in this series. I have the last two books on my shelves waiting to be read. I highly recommend checking this series out.

 

That’s it for today. I’m not going to set myself a TBR for October, although I do have a vague idea of some books I want to get to. Obviously I’d like to continue reading the Faithful and the Fallen series by reading the third book, Ruin. Other books high up on my TBR include Lamentation by C. J. Sansom and A Veil of Spears by Bradley Beaulieu. I’m currently reading Dragon Sword and Wind Child by Noriko Ogiwara. There are quite a few other books that I could pick up instead though. What was your favourite book from the past month? I hope you are all having a wonderful day and I will see you next time.

 

 

Pippa

 

 

 

July Wrap Up and August TBR

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Hi guys, I hope you are all well. It’s the end of the month, which means its time for another monthly wrap up post. I lowered my Goodreads reading goal this month to 80 books as I don’t think I’ll be able to read 100 this year. It was nice to go from being behind my goal to being ahead of it. Anyway I’ve read 6 books this month, none of which is rated under 3 stars. I’m also starting to get back into the flow of blogging after my holiday :). Let’s get started.

 

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Redemption’s Blade / Adrian Tchaikovsky / ★★★
*I received a digital copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
What first drew me to this book is that it is set in the aftermath of the big event. So often we see the build up and the resolution right after but we never see what happens after. In this book we see the aftermath of such an event. I really liked this aspect of the book. The characters are quite well written, if a little flat, and I loved the diversity of the world. Throughout the 500 pages, we get to see a wide variety of races as well as reading about different areas of the world. Plot-wise this book is quite light and for me it lacked cohesion at times, but for the most part I found it to be an enjoyable read. Overall I enjoyed this book but I didn’t love it. I would recommend checking it out though, as it is an enjoyable read with an interesting premise.

 

The Clan of the Cave Bear / book 1 of the Children’s Earth series / Jean M. Auel / ★★★
This is a historical fiction book set during the Ice Age. I really liked this setting, as I’ve never read anything like this before. One of my main issues with this book was repetition. There is a lot of it throughout the 500 pages and it gets a little frustrating. At times there was also terms used that I doubt would have been used, or even known, in that time. For example at one point Auel talks about dehydration and hypothermia, but these are clearly medical terms from the modern day and wouldn’t have been used back then. I also got a frustrated at the main villains hatred of the main character – there seemed to be very little reason behind it. One last thing that bugged me a little was Ayla (the main character) and her ability to do just about anything. It’s one of those main characters who is seemingly perfect, if that makes sense. Despite all of these things, I did still enjoy this book. The plot is good, if a little slow at times and generally the characters were well written. If you enjoy historical fiction and/or are interested in this time period, then I would recommend checking this book out.

 

Crazy Rich Asians / Kevin Kwan / ★★★.5
If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, you’ll probably realise that this book isn’t the type of book I’d normally read and you’d be right. I picked this up on a bit of a whim, after seeing the trailer for the film, and I actually ended really enjoying it. It’s a little silly and over the top, but it was just the light, fun read that I needed at the time.

 

Soul of the World / book 1 of the Ascension Cycle / David Mealing / ★★★★
*I received a digital copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
This was such a good book. I had it on my radar, and then on my kindle, for quite a while before actually reading. I have a full review of this coming soon, so I’m not going into detail right now. Overall I loved this book and would recommend checking it out, especially if you enjoy epic fantasy.

 

Assassin’s Fate / book 3 of the Fitz and the Fool trilogy / Robin Hobb / ★★★★★
I’ve now completed the Realm of the Elderlings series. I thought this was a fantastic conclusion to this series. I mean it’s Robin Hobb, so you know it’s going to be good. My only minor issue was that it was a little repetitive at times but overall this book was fantastic. If you’ve enjoyed her other books, then you enjoy this too and if you haven’t pick up Hobb’s books yet then I highly recommend you do.

 

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The Hyena and the Hawk / book 3 of the Echoes of the Fall trilogy / Adrian Tchaikovsky / ★★★★★
This was one of my most anticipated books of this year and it didn’t disappoint. I loved the direction of the plot and thought this was a fantastic conclusion to this trilogy. Once again the writing is great and I don’t want to put the book down once I’ve started it.  I loved being back with these characters and their development in this final book was so well done. Basically I really enjoyed this book. I’m planning on writing a full review so this is all I’ll say about this book for now.

 

 

I’m currently reading Birdcage Walk by Helen Dunmore. I’m about 100 pages in and I’m liking it so far. In terms of my August TBR, there are a few books I’d like to get to including Iron Gold by Pierce Brown, The Queen of Sorrow by Sarah Beth Durst, The Ice by Laline Paull and Lamentation by C. J. Sansom. I may get distracted by other books though :). There are few book releases in August too. What was your favourite book in July? Have you read any of these books? I hope you are all having a wonderful day and I will see you next time.

 

Pippa

 

 

 

The Beast Player / Nahoko Uehashi

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Title / The Beast Player
Author / Nahoko Uehashi
Publication Date / 2018
Series or standalone / book 1 of 4
Page no. / 508
Overall Rating / ★★★★★

 

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Originally written in Japanese and published in 2006, this edition is translated by Cathy Hirano. At the heart of this book is a coming of age story but there is so much more to it then that. Set in a fictional fantasy world, the story starts when a young Elin’s life is thrown into disarray when her mother is sentenced to death.

 

I have to admit that the cover drew me to this book first. I am very glad it did because this book was fantastic. From the very beginning I was hooked. Once I started reading I didn’t want to put the book down and once I’d finished I just wanted more from these characters and world. Since I haven’t (and can’t) read the original Japanese editions I can’t comment on the how good the translation is, but I will say that I thought the writing was fantastic. It immerses you in this world and characters from the very beginning. At just over 500 pages this is quite a lengthy book but even in the slower moments the writing and characters mean this is a compelling read throughout. The overall pacing of this book is quite slow as it does focus more on the characters and their relationships (especially Elin’s and Leelan). There isn’t a lot of action, until towards the end of the book, so if you’re looking for a fast paced, action packed fantasy then this isn’t it, but you’ll be missing out if you don’t try out this book. I would say the first half of the book is slower then the second half. Although it does have a slower pacing and a rather meandering plot line, I personally found this to be a very compelling read.

 

One of the main strengths of this book and the characters and their arcs. When we start the book, Elin is roughly 10 years old but by the end of the book she is in her twenties. I loved that we got to see this development of the main character. Yes, there are skips in time, which I find can sometimes distance you from the character, but that is not the case with this book. She is a wonderful female protagonist and I think a lot of people will love. It was such a pleasure to see her develop from a young child to a young woman. Despite the fact we mainly follow Elin, we do get some other perspectives throughout the book. The other characters are just as well written as Elin, which is quite impressive when you think about the size of the cast. There are quite a lot of characters, but there is a character list provided if you need a little help keeping track of them all. The author did a fantastic job at developing the relationships between characters too, especially between Elin and Leelan. Another strength of this book was the lack of romance. I feel sometimes authors write in romance because they feel it has to be a part of a book, so I loved that the main character doesn’t have a love interest. It would have felt so unnecessary to the story and it was so refreshing to not have it included.

 

The world is another strength of this book. The author did a fantastic job of creating this world and slowly revealing things to the reader as the story progresses. I loved that although we focus very much on the world around Elin, we also get a wider look into the world as a whole and the cultures are all so interesting to read about. The author has a PH.D. in cultural anthropology and I think this shows in her writing. There is such depth and clarity to her world building, which makes it so enjoyable to read. The only thing I would say is that it is a shame there isn’t a map of the world included within the book.

 

Overall, I adored this book. It has gone straight onto my favourites list and I cannot say enough good things about it. From what I understand this is part of a series and there are about 4 books out in Japanese, but only one has been translated so far. I am unsure whether this translated edition is the first Japanese book or whether it’s a combination of some or all of the already released 4 books in Japanese, if that makes sense. There is another series by this author that has been translated, which I fully plan on checking out. If you are looking for a new fantasy book to read, then I highly recommend checking this one out. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Have you read this book? I hope you are all having a wonderful day and I will see you next time.

 

Pippa

 

 

 

Best Books of 2018 So Far

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Hi guys, I hope you are all well. We’re roughly half way through the year so I thought I’d share the best books I’ve read in the last six months. Since I’m writing this a few weeks before posting, I can’t tell you exactly how many books I’ve read so far but at the point of writing this I’ve read 33 book, which means I’m behind on my Goodreads reading challenge. I have eight books to share with you guys so let’s get started.
  • Under Heaven / Guy Gavriel Kay / ★★★★★ / 
  • The Beast Player / Nahoko Uehashi / ★★★★★
  • Revelations / book 4 of the Shardlake series / C. J. Sansom / ★★★★★
  • Wrath of Empire / book 2 of the God of Blood and Powder trilogy / Brian McClellan / ★★★★★
Honourable mentions: The Dragon Queen by William Andrews, Heartstone by C. J. Sansom, Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, River of Stars by Guy Gavriel Kay and The Wolf by Leo Carew.
I’m having a pretty good reading year so far and found a couple new all time favourite books. Hopefully the second half of the year will be good in terms of reading too. What are your favourite books you’ve read so far this year? Have you read any of the books I mentioned. I hope you are having a wonderful day and I will see you next time.
Pippa

Children of Blood and Bone / Tomi Adeyemi

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Title / Children of Blood and Bone
Author / Tomi Adeyemi
Publication Date / 2018
Genre / YA fantasy
Series or standalone / book 1 – Legacy of Orïsha trilogy
Page no. / 531
Overall Rating / ★★
Goodreads synopsis: Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zelie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls. But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were targeted and killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Now, Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good. Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers—and her growing feelings for the enemy.

 

So I’d been debating about whether to pick this book up for a while. There’s been quite a lot of hype surrounding this book but after hearing a lot of good things about it I decided to give it a go. Unfortunately this one didn’t work for me. Firstly, I think it’s fantastic this is an African-inspired fantasy, because that’s not something that I’ve seen a lot of in the fantasy genre. I enjoyed the setting and mythology of this book, although at times it felt quite shallow. Although I love that it introduces the reader to Nigerian mythology and culture, I can’t help but feel that it was pared down for the masses. I’m not criticising this, however I would loved to have more depth to this world. There is minimal world building in this book but it had so much potential. To me world building is an important part of a fantasy book and unfortunately it’s lacking in this book. There are so many details missing that could have given the reader a better understanding of the world and characters. Speaking of the characters, I was not a fan of the protagonist, Zélie. She consistently makes bad decisions and likes to lament the fact that no one understands her. Cue eye rolling. Amari and Tzain had potential but were underdeveloped in my opinion, and all I’m going to say about Inan is that he bugged me all the way through the book. Generally the characters and their relationships lacked depth.

 

OK, onto the main issue I had with this book – the romance. From the moment the love interest is introduced, you just knew how it was going to play out and it bugged me all the way through. To me the romance felt very forced and manufactured. There wasn’t any connection between them and I just couldn’t get behind it. They literally hate each-others guts and then within like 5 minutes of meeting they love each other. I’m sorry but no. This was a huge instance of insta-love. I don’t mind the whole enemy to lovers idea when it’s done right but this romance had no time to develop naturally. At one point Zélie is tortured and the first thing she does after being rescued is have dream sex with the love interest. Seriously? Get your priorities straight. Basically I really disliked the romance and it detracted from the story. The other main issue I had was the writing. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the short sentences and I found the writing to be so repetitive. Not only did this mean that I struggled to get into the flow of the writing, but it also meant that it dragged for me. I read a lot of long books so 531 pages shouldn’t be an issue but due to the writing this book felt longer to me. I thought about DNFing it multiple times. The pacing is uneven throughout, which also means the book drags a bit. Some parts are so slow and then it suddenly switches to about ten different things happening at once, which can be quite confusing. The plot had potential but I found it to be predictable and I wasn’t the biggest fan of how it progressed.

 

Overall I wasn’t a fan of this book. To me it felt like quite a generic YA fantasy book, although I think it is great that this is an African inspired fantasy book. Now I am definitely in the minority here. There are a ton of good reviews on Goodreads and I think if you are a big YA fantasy reader then you will enjoy this, but it didn’t work for me. Have you read this book? I’d love to hear your thoughts on it. I hope you are all having a wonderful day and I will see you next time.

 

Pippa

 

 

Charmcaster / Sebastien de Castell

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Title / Charmcaster
Author / Sebastien de Castell
Publication Date / 2018
Genre / Fantasy
Series or standalone / book 3 of the Spellslinger series
Page no. / 400
Star Rating / ★★★★

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Goodreads synopsis: Kellen has begun to master his spellslinging and the Argosi tricks for staying alive, and he and Reichis have found a career that suits them both: taking down mercenary mages who make people’s lives miserable. But Ferius is concerned that Kellen is courting disaster . . .

 

*I received a digital copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
This was a fantastic instalment to this 6 book fantasy series. I have done a review of the first two books if you want to my thoughts on them too. Having really enjoyed the first two books, I fully expected to love this instalment and it didn’t disappoint. It was great to be back with these characters and in this world. This book was fantastic from the very start and I loved the progression of the story. Charmcaster is just as fast paced and entertaining as the previous two books. I find this series kind of addictive and once I’ve started reading I don’t want to put the book down. The plot is compelling throughout and the author does a great job at maintaining the flow of the story. Although the pacing is good in this series overall, I found that the first two books start off quite slow but I didn’t have that issue with this book. From the very beginning, the pacing was good and it was maintained throughout the 400 pages. I loved that we got to see more of the world and the author does a fantastic job at building on what we already know of it. As in the previous books, the magic system is wonderfully written and so unique. It is definitely one of the main strengths of this series. I love that the protagonist isn’t the most powerful person but has to rely on his wits to keep himself alive too. Speaking of the protagonist, I love the characters in this series and their development in this instalment was great. The way the relationships develop in this book was such a pleasure to read and I love the banter between them, especially between Kellen and Reichis. Both the old and new characters are so well written and I loved learning a little about Ferius’s past. If you can’t tell I think this was a fantastic instalment to this very entertaining series.

 

Overall I really enjoyed this sequel and can’t wait to see how sees progress in the rest of the series. If you enjoy fantasy books, especially ones that are fast paced and filled with humour, then I highly recommend checking this series out. If you’ve enjoyed the first two books in the series then you will enjoy this instalment too. I know this is quite a short review but hopefully it means my review is concise. Have you read this book? Or do you plan to start this series? I hope you are all having a wonderful day and I will see you next time.

 

Pippa

 

 

May Wrap Up

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Hi guys, I hope you are all well. It’s the end of the month so it’s time to talk about all the books I’ve read. One of the books I read this month went straight onto my favourite list. I read a total of 8 books in May, which I am pretty happy with. Let’s get started.

 

Children of Blood and Bone / Legacy of Orïsha trilogy / Tomi Adeyemi / ★★
I had heard a lot of good things about this book but unfortunately it didn’t work for me. I’m planning to write a full review on this one, so expect that sometime in June or July. For now I’ll just say that I didn’t connect with the characters, disliked the romance and I wasn’t invested in the story. If you are a big fan of YA fantasy then I think you’ll enjoy this but it didn’t work for me personally.

 

 

Gather the Daughters / Jennie Melamed / ★★★
This one is quite a hard one to review and rate. Overall I thought this was a good book and it got me thinking but there were a few issues I had with it. This book is pretty dark and unsettling as it follows four young girls living in a secluded cult-like society. One of my main issues in the book is the ending. I don’t want to spoil anything but it was felt very unsatisfactory to me. In some ways I wondered at the point of this book. Yes it does get you to think about these things but it doesn’t come up with any solution and there’s no resolution at the end. The characters were quite well written, if a little flat and the writing was good.

 

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Caligula / Simon Turney / ★★★.5
*I received a digital copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
Based around the life of the third Roman emperor, Caligula, this was a fascinating read. I know next to nothing about this period of history so it’s a good thing that this book doesn’t require any prior knowledge. Although it is quite a slow read, I found it to be engaging throughout and never felt that it dragged. The politics and intrigue are so well done. I liked that fact that this is told from one of the sisters of Caligula – it provides an interesting perspective. The book was well written and I found it easy to get into the flow of the story. Overall I enjoyed this historical fiction very much and would recommend it, especially if you are interested in the time period.

 

The Moonstone / Wilkie Collins / ★★★★
This book is generally recognised as the first detective novel. I have to admit that I struggled initially to get into this book, but after a while I settled into the flow of the story. I didn’t find it to be the most compelling story, although I did enjoy seeing how it all unfolded. It dragged a little in certain places which made it quite a slow read for me. Overall I enjoyed this one but I would say I liked The Woman in White a little more.

 

Neverwhere / Neil Gaiman / ★★★★
I have heard so many good things about this author so I thought it was about time I tried one of his books. I really enjoyed this book. I wasn’t sure what to start with so I picked this one up on a bit of a whim. It was a entertaining and enjoyable read with a great cast of characters and a good story. I loved the villains, Mr Croup and Mr Vandemar – they were really quite creepy. Overall this was a very enjoyable read and I definitely plan on checking out more books by this author.

 

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Charmcaster / book 3 in the Spellslinger series / Sebastien de Castell / ★★★★
Since I’ve got a full review of this one coming next month, I’m going to be brief here. Basically I loved it. I thought this was a great instalment to this series and I cannot wait it see how things progress in the next books. Highly recommend.

 

Heartstone / book 5 of the Shardlake series / C. J. Sansom / ★★★★
This was another fantastic instalment to this series. Once again the plot was compelling, the writing is great and I loved being back with these characters. I really enjoy these books and I was so excited to see that there is a new book in this series being released later this year. If you enjoy historical fiction mixed with mysteries then I highly recommend checking this series out. I’m looking forward to continuing with the next book in the series.

 

 

The Beast Player /  Nahoko Uehashi / Translator: Cathy Hirano / ★★★★★
I loved this book. Seriously, it is so good. I have a full review of this coming, so I’ll keep this short. Originally written in Japanese, this is a fantastic fantasy book. The writing is great, there’s a wonderful cast of characters and the plot is compelling. I cannot say enough good things about this book. I highly recommend checking it out.

 

I am currently reading Wrath of the Empire by Brian McClellan, which is the second book in the Gods of Powder and Blood trilogy. I’m a couple hundred pages in so far and loving it. In terms of my June TBR I haven’t really set myself one. I’m just going to read what I feel like at the time. I do have a holiday coming up so I will be posting a TBR for that. Have you read any of these books? What was your favourite book in May? I hope you are all having a wonderful day and I will see you next time.

 

Pippa