Category: 2020 Posts

#FaeFriday – Foodie Fairies

The Biblioshelf2 Comments

Happy Friday Bibliofriends,

How has your week been? We are creeping ever closer to half term and I cannot wait to have a chance to switch off and recharge my batteries – this term has been something else! But enough of all that… let’s focus on the fairies in this week’s Fae Friday! 😍

Fae Friday is a weekly blog prompt hosted by the wonderful Kristy at Caffeinated Fae. It seems like the perfect way to spread a little more magic across the blogosphere every week.

Here are the rules:

  • Link back to this page on Caffeinated Fae.
  • If the prompt idea is from another blog, link to that blog as well.
  • Use #FaeFriday when posting to social media so we can all find each other! 
  • Participate when you can & have fun with the prompt!

October 16th prompt:

This week was created by the brilliant Nery from postcardsfromlalaland.com! Faeries are known for their love of food, so we’re wondering:

What books have such fantastic food descriptions that you’re hungry after reading them?

Not gonna lie – Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye popped straight into my mind as soon as I read this week’s prompt. The food descriptions in that book made me dedicate an entire paragraph to it in my review (which you can read here, just to check out how much I love the food in this book! 😂) – don’t blame me if you come away from it craving Asian food!

Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal is another book which, although it doesn’t necessarily make me crave the hot chilli goodness inside its pages, has to be a notable mention here for the brilliant incorporation of food into fiction. It’s quite a unique read which has stuck in my memory for a long period of time.

And finally, I could not talk about food in books without an honorary mention to Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin.
Those.
Cinnamon.
Buns.
I would not be embellishing the truth when I say that I drove all the way to the supermarket just to buy a box of cinnamon buns. The only ones that have come even close to what I imagine they really taste like in the book is Morrisons. I rarely ever shop there and even then I only got to try them once as they always seem to be unavailable every time I get to the store!

And now I am utterly starving. AGAIN! Thanks Fae Friday!! 😂🙄🙈

What are your favourite foodie books? Has any description of food in a book been so powerful that you’ve had to go out and buy it right away? As always, leave me a comment to chat!

Enjoy your weekend Bibliofriends!

T xx

#Friday56 – The Once and Future Witches

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Happy FriYAY Bibliofriends!

This week’s Friday 56 comes from The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow. I loved the atmosphere and storytelling which catapulted me straight back into 1890s New Salem and introduced me to some fierce, sassy new witches. Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit / Little, Brown Book Group for providing me with a complimentary e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hosted by Freda’s Voice, the Friday 56 is a weekly bookish prompt. It’s quite easy to do and could cover no end of different books and genres so seems great if you’re looking for a quick snippet to discover something new!

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader (If you have to improvise, that’s ok.)
*Find any sentence, (or few, just don’t spoil it)
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post here in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url.
*It’s that simple.

A girl is such an easy thing to break: weak and fragile, all alone, all yours. But they aren’t girls anymore, and they don’t belong to anyone. And they aren’t alone.

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

From the first few pages of this book, I had those 5-star read vibes and let me tell you, Alix E Harrow did not let me down! Those characters, that storyline, that slow-burn sapphic romance! I was crying my eyes out by the end as the ending certainly kept me on my toes! You really should read it! You can check out my full, spoiler-free review here.

Drop me a comment below or connect with me here:

Twitter | Goodreads | Book Sloth: @thebiblioshelf |Email: thebiblioshelf@gmail.com

Biblioshelf Musings – The Once and Future Witches

The Biblioshelf2 Comments

Hello Bibliofriends!

If you’re on the hunt for the perfect witchy read this Halloween, then look no further than The Once and Future Witches! An amazingly ethereal read, Alix E. Harrow’s new novel combines compellingly powerful female characters with a spine-tingling recreation of patriarchal New Salem and a plot that will unite witches everywhere! I loved it! Huge thanks to NetGalley, Orbit and Alix E. Harrow for providing me with a complimentary e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book: The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
Genre: Fantasy / Historical Fantasy
Publication Date: October 15th 2020
Publisher: Orbit / Little, Brown UK
Pages: 528
Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

In 1893, there’s no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.

But when the Eastwood sisters–James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna–join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women’s movement into the witch’s movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote-and perhaps not even to live-the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.

There’s no such thing as witches. But there will be.

My Musings

Right from the very first page, The Once and Future Witches had such a distinctive, atmospheric tone that I actually felt as if I had stepped into a vortex and travelled back in time to 1890s New Salem. The way the opening captures and introduces each Eastwood sister… it’s one of the best openings to a story I’ve read in a long time, it hooked me right in. Harrow’s storytelling was so sharp and effervescent; every single word and sentence meticulously crafted to transport the reader right into the hearts and minds of the Eastwood sisters – I loved it! Language and writing style are so important to me as a reader and the way Harrow told her story is by far my absolute, favourite thing about this novel. 

The story is told through the three perspectives of the Eastwood sisters and each one has their own different style linking to their personalities. James Juniper is wild, feisty and headstrong, Agnes Amaranth has a strong moral compass and an iron will to protect her own and Beatrice Belladonna calls out to every book-loving nerdigan out there. I found there was something to relate to in all of them and I was interested in reading every narrative equally rather than favouring one character over another. 

What’s more, these characters are on a mission! The way the rights of women is merged with the rights of witches – all of that anger and vengeance from oppression and the patriarchy is turned into determined action which keeps driving the storyline forwards like an ongoing march without making the storyline come across as aggressive. A slow-burn Sapphic relationship also sprinkled a little romance into the mix allowing one of the main characters to really come into her own.

The subversion of famous historical male figures was like little Easter Eggs which I loved looking out for. Iterations to the heritage of witches with the presence of the Crone, the Mother, the Maiden and Familiars sang out to my inner history geek whilst the featuring of Avalon and a quest to revive the witching ways by hiding it underneath everyday women’s work appealed to my love of treasure hunting and puzzles.

All in all, The Once and Future Witches was exactly the novel I needed to get me right in the mood for spooky season. It is also one of my favourite representations of witches I’ve read for a long time. A beautifully-written, action-packed piece of witch-lore with characters I will be championing long into the future.

Favourite Quotes:

A new witch-tale, for a new world.

Behind every witch, is a woman wronged.

That’s all magic is really: the space between what you have and what you need.

If you want to blame someone for a fire, look for the men holding matches.

You can tell the wickedness of a witch by the wickedness of her ways.

Why Should I Read This?

For a writing style and atmosphere so brilliantly crafted it will suck you into the pages and back in time.
For the incredible narratives and characters of three very different yet sassy and fierce Eastwood sisters.
For a brilliant blend of contemporary female values intertwined with the heritage of witching and the suffragists.

Find out more about this book here:

Amazon | Little, Brown Book Group | Author’s Instagram | Waterstones | NetGalley | Author’s Twitter | Author’s Website

Connect with me here:

Twitter | Goodreads | Book Sloth: @thebiblioshelf |Email: thebiblioshelf@gmail.com

#SixforSunday – Characters I’d Be Scared To Meet

The Biblioshelf2 Comments

Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

Continuing the ‘Pumpkin Spice Goodness’ theme for October’s Six For Sunday post this week, we’re thinking all about characters who we’d be scared to meet. This is such a strange one as I can be a highly anxious person at times so I’d be scared to meet various characters for completely various reasons, not necessarily just because they’re the creepy kind of scary!

For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is weekly meme hosted by Steph over at A Little But A Lot.

Characters I’d Be Scared to Meet

Patrick Bateman – American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

I mean, yes – Patrick is definitely the creepy kind of scary that I never want to cross paths with.

Pennywise the Clown – IT by Stephen King

Clowns give me the wiggins at any point (except for Tweedy the Clown, our local living legend 😍), but Pennywise is seriously scary and there’s no way I’d ever be climbing down into the sewers after my paper boat for this dude. No. Way.

Addie LaRue – The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

Addie made this list for a completely different reason to be the previous characters – due to her Faustian deal with the devil, I’d just be completely scared of being the one who forgot everything about her after meeting her, when secretly I’m wanting her to be my BFF! 😂

Shelob – The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Ginormous spider.
That’s it.
That’s the reason.

Ramsay Bolton

Taking ‘disturbing’ and ‘deranged’ to whole new levels, I think I’d rather take my chances over The Wall than with bumping into Ramsay Bolton.

Aragorn – The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Another LOTR character but a very different reason. He’s made my list of characters I’d be scared to meet because if he didn’t ask me to run away to Middle Earth with him, I’d be beyond devastated! 😂

Which characters would you be ducking behind the bookshelves to avoid meeting and what are the different reasons that you’d be scared to meet certain characters?
As always, leave your links below or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

If Lord of the Rings characters had modern day occupations – Part 2

The Biblioshelf4 Comments

Happy Weekend Bibliofriends,

Back for Part 2 of my nerdy little series reimagining the lives of my favourite Lord of the Rings characters if they lived in today’s world. If you missed last week’s episode, you can find Part 1 here.

Elrond: Yogi / Spiritual Guru

Still wanting to offer counsel and refuge, Elrond now runs his very own spiritual mountain retreat for wayward souls. ‘Dellriven’ offers a comprehensive yet flexible programme for those seeking to find some inner purpose and get their life’s journey back on track. Blessed with the gift of foresight, Elrond can also be booked for special one-on-one consultations and tarot readings providing advice from a plethora of subjects including business, relationships and even ‘12 types of cakes to satisfy your sweet tooth’.

Eowyn: Horse-Racing Presenter and Activist

Showing an affinity for horses, Eowyn was working at a popular racing yard when she was talent-spotted by Sky Sports after stepping up to present the Grand National when the main presenter was knocked out by one of the declared runners whilst on set. Showcasing her astute knowledge of horses and her passion for the sport, Eowyn is now a regular face at all of the key fixtures across the racing calendar and has even been flown to the Middle East, Australia and America to host some of the world’s most famous horse races. Being a female in an industry which is still heavily dominated by the patriarchy, Eowyn is an active feminist, has recently become a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and is about to produce her own podcast rumoured to be titled, “I Am No Man”.

Faramir: PTSD Trauma Commander and Trustee of Invictus Games

Faramir, having known the horrors of war and being of an empathic nature, set about to rehabilitate and revitalise soldiers retuning from conflicts with PTSD. His gentle nature and natural leadership qualities made him the perfect person to set up the initiative. With many successes and case stories to his name, Faramir and his team embarked upon a journey to set up other training and rehabilitation centres around the world. Most recently, Faramir has joined the Governance Committee of the Invictus Games as a trustee in the hope of shining a light on life after service for thousands of former service recruits worldwide.
P.S. He’s still madly in love with Eowyn!

There had to be a horse-racing one in there at some point didn’t there?! 😂Let me know your thoughts by dropping me a comment below about the different jobs you would have given these characters.

Next week in part 3, your featured Middle Earthers are: Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn & Arwen!

Thanks for reading,
T xx

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters – these posts are purely from my wild, at times crazy, imagination and sometimes use vague reflections of real-world truths. They are purely meant for entertainment purposes only and are not designed to cause offense or upset in any way.

#FaeFriday – Autumn Vibes

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Happy Friday Bibliofriends,

I know I said last week was ‘what a week’ but boy, oh boy, this week definitely put the WHAT in WHAT a week! I’ve been working so late at work that I even forgot to watch Bake Off on Tuesday night – just totally sat there at home and forgot the show was even on! I’ve also been letting my posts drop a little lately but hopefully this weekend I’ll find some time to get back on track!

Fae Friday is a weekly blog prompt hosted by the wonderful Kristy at Caffeinated Fae. It seems like the perfect way to spread a little more magic across the blogosphere every week.

Here are the rules:

  • Link back to this page on Caffeinated Fae.
  • If the prompt idea is from another blog, link to that blog as well.
  • Use #FaeFriday when posting to social media so we can all find each other! 
  • Participate when you can & have fun with the prompt!

October 2nd prompt:

Autumn is in the air, and the autumn court is in the spotlight. They’re celebrating the season change by gracing us with the beautiful gift that is the changing of the leaves. That is why this week’s prompt is:

What genre gives off that perfect autumn vibe to you?

For me Autumn is all about cosy nights in, leaves changing colour on the trees, sunset drives down country lanes, hot chocolate by warm fires and of course – good books!

I’m not terribly sure that I associate a particular genre with Autumn, but there is definitely something bookish which gives me all of the Autumnal vibes!

This time of year always brings the Cheltenham Literature Festival which is one of my absolute favourite things to do in our town. I usually try to attend an event each evening and then spend my whole weekends either at events or sat in the book tent reading! This year is a little different obviously with Covid, so I’ll be watching a majority of the events online on the catch-up player instead.

Normally they have a special event at the Festival every year for the announcement of the winner of the Man Booker Prize and it’s this that makes me associate Autumn with all different kinds of books from various genres. The Literature Festival always inspires me to read more broadly and explore books/authors I wouldn’t usually experience so that’s why I can’t just pick one particular genre.

What type of books or genres do you like to read during the Autumn? Do you have any local Literature Festivals that you love to attend? What are your favourite things about this wonderful season? Feel free to leave me links to your own Fae Friday and I’ll check them out!

Enjoy your weekend Bibliofriends!

T xx

Biblioshelf Musings – The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

The Biblioshelf4 Comments

Bonjour Bibliofriends,

This review of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab was one of the hardest ones I’ve ever written. I still cannot believe I had the chance to read this as an e-arc from Netgalley and Titan Books (⭐️THANK YOU⭐️ – if I could have written it in flashing neon, I would have done!). It’s my first time reading anything by Schwab and what a way to do it! 

*warning: insane bookish declarations of love will follow…* 
Reading this book put me into a bookish hangover that lasted almost two weeks – I just couldn’t bring myself to read anything else as I was so sad the book had finished – and the way it finished had me crying into my pillow at stupid AM 😂 And even though that sounds like a terrible thing to say about a book – this is the kind of book that I’m living for –
I want to have those lasting impressions
I want to feel that THIS is a story I just cannot live without
I need to have my heart a little broken by the characters and it needs to inspire such a reaction in me that it leaves an imprint on my bookish soul… *I did warn you it’d be a little bit mushy!* 

Book: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Genre: Fantasy
Publication Date: October 6th 2020
Publisher: Titan Books
Pages: 560
Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚 (ALL THE STARS or 7 stars… if you’ve read the book, you’ll know what I mean 😉)

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever-and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. 

Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world. 

But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore, and he remembers her name.

In the vein of The Time Traveler’s Wife and Life After Life, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is New York Times bestselling author V. E. Schwab’s #1 New York Times Bestselling Author genre-defying tour de force.

My Musings

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue has completely encapsulated and bewitched my heart!

I absolutely love a gimmick, or a motif/symbol/talisman which contributes to a wider plot (especially when they’re birds). In The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, the artworks at the start of each section did this perfectly – so perfectly in fact that I was looking all over the internet just to see if they are actually real world pieces. These additions reiterate the importance of artwork, creativity and the kind of need humans have to leave some sort of impression or legacy of themselves behind, just to let others know of their existence. Identity is such a powerfully resonating theme in Addie LaRue and this was a wonderful way to bind the whole plot of the novel together whilst also driving it forward both through chronological time and the story’s plotline. 

The timing in the novel is not always linear and sometimes it does jump a little backwards and forwards. I didn’t mind this at all as it added to the build up and mystery of trying to work out where the story was going, but also allowed for me as a reader to be led through the story at Addie’s pace.

I absolutely adore every single character: Henry, Luc, Estele, Bea – they all have their individual quirks and personalities, but I especially love Adeline. Her rawness and vulnerability are perfectly balanced with her fierceness and determination. I felt like I was going through her rollercoaster of emotions in my own head. Her character goes through such a turning point towards the end of the story and that kind of growth and sacrifice was satisfying to read. I picture her almost like a love-child between Blake Lively in The Age of Adaline and Drew Barrymore in Fifty First Dates.

The whole tone of the book is romantic – and I don’t mean romantic in the kind of ‘romance genre’ sense; I mean it in the pre-Raphaelite painting style sense. The whole book is just beautiful – I can’t describe it in any other way. From the way it has been written, to the way the settings are meticulously crafted and contribute to the plot, to Addie’s personality and her supporting characters, to the structuring of the artwork – it is so clear to see how much this story means to its writer, to feel the heart and soul poured into every part of Addie’s story. It is beautiful, exquisite, beguiling and tons more adjectives that I can’t even get out of my brain.

In short, there isn’t a single thing that I don’t love about this book, except the fact that it ended! And the greatest part of all, particularly considering the fate of our main character, that after closing the final page and putting the book down, even after weeks of reflecting upon this novel and this review…
I still remember Addie. 💙

Favourite Quotes:

If a person cannot leave a mark, do they exist?

“But art,” she says with a quieter smile, “art is about ideas. And ideas are wilder than memories.”

If he could have spent his whole life sitting in a lecture hall, taking notes, could have drifted from department to department, haunting different studies, soaking up language and history and art, maybe he would have felt full, happy.

Why Should I Read This?

For the exquisite, heart-stopping storyline.
For the the way artwork, history and a quest for identity are told seamlessly around a plot.
For the sheer tour-de-force and beauty of The Invisible of Addie LaRue.

This book has officially entered the ‘God Tier’ on my bookshelf; it is one of my favourite stories of not just 2020, but my entire lifetime! Please read this book! ☺️

Find out more about this book here:

Amazon | Titan Books | Author’s Instagram | Waterstones | NetGalley | Macmillan / Tor – Official book Website

Connect with me here:

Twitter | Goodreads | Book Sloth: @thebiblioshelf |Email: thebiblioshelf@gmail.com

#SixforSunday – Authors I’d Take For Coffee

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Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

We have a whole new theme for this month in Six for Sunday and it is just perfect for the season ahead! October’s ‘Pumpkin Spice Goodness’ theme has all of the Autumnal feels and I’m definitely feeling those vibes now that the wind has changed, nights are drawing in and the leaves are beginning to turn.

For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is weekly meme hosted by Steph over at A Little But A Lot.

Characters or Authors I’d Take For A Coffee

This week’s prompt is such a fascinating one as I normally wish that either I actually lived in the worlds of books, or that their characters could actually be my real-world best friends…so coffees for everyone basically! My list of characters and authors would be so immense that I’ve decided to focus on just the authors for this challenge. 

Sometimes I’m thinking about 1:1 coffee sessions in different places depending on each author; then other times this week’s Six for Sunday is breaking all of the UK Covid rules as I’m imagining a complete 7 person coffee gathering!! Because you know, clearly that 7th person will be the one to give us all Covid! 🙄 Anyway, here are my 6 authors I’m taking for coffee.

Neil Gaiman

Master of all fantasy and storytelling heritage, I could totally sit with Neil in a super cosy coffee shop, next to a roaring fire, somewhere in the wilds of Scotland to chat about fairies, the Anansi Boys, the world of Neverwhere and Loki.

V. E. Schwab

Ok if you haven’t heard me spouting off about how I have ‘just discovered’ Schwab, how irrevocably in love with The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue I am and how I now have to own Every. Single. One. of this author’s books… where have you been?! 😂 With Schwab, we’d be going for coffee in France of course, probably sat in the sunshine on the banks of a river with croissants and baked goodies!

Kevin Kwan

Heading East to a swanky rooftop bar overlooking the Singaporean skyline, Kevin is bringing us the crazy, rich, high-society gossip with him to have us giggling into our coffee cups. Who needs Hello Magazine when you’ve got a coffee buddy like Kevin?

Ernest Cline

How could I not invite the author of one of my favourite books EVER to coffee? Clearly, we’re not actually going to a coffee shop for this one – instead, we’re grabbing our eco-friendly refill cups and getting a takeout in Cline’s Delorean whilst I grill him on all of the secrets and easter eggs he has planned for us in the upcoming Ready Player Two which comes out in November. I cannot wait!

Rebecca Crunden

I am definitely taking Rebecca for coffee to say thank you for letting me read the first book in her Outlands Pentalogy series, A Touch of Death and introducing me to the thrillingly dystopian Kingdom of Cutta (you should definitely read it! Spoiler-free review here!). I’ve just purchased instalment 2, A History of Madness on my Kindle app and cannot wait to dive into it and find out what happened to Nate and Catherine! Of course, we’ll also be talking about our most anticipated reads for the rest of 2020 and discussing which exciting projects Rebecca has lined up next!

Isabel Ibañez

Forget the coffee this time, it’s only right that we’re sipping on some hot cacao with Isabel Ibañez. I absolutely adored the references to Bolivian culture in Isabel’s debut novel Woven in Moonlight which I read earlier this year. The sequel is definitely on my pre-order list and as my Peruvian adventure was postponed this year we’d have to chat about all things South American and what the future has in store for Ximena and the Illustrians!

Which characters or authors would you be taking out for coffee? Are you more of an espresso person or do you prefer your coffees frothy and sweet – or do you forgo all hot drinks?!
As always, leave your links below or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

If Lord of the Rings characters had modern day occupations – Part 1

The Biblioshelf9 Comments

Happy Saturday Bibliofriends,

I’m back with a brand-new series of discussion posts throughout the whole of October! This month, I’m thinking about Lord of the Rings characters and what types of jobs or occupations they would have if they lived in our world today. From Frodo to Faramir, Samwise to Saruman – this discussion post in four weekly parts is me doing something slightly different and creative to my normal list-based / review posts. I hope you enjoy it!

Gandalf: CEO and Owner of Olórin’s Dens

Gandalf is the owner of a chain of highly lucrative, very elite private members clubs in the most luxurious cities across the world. The Olórin’s Dens are sumptuously decadent establishments where the highest profiles in our society go to unwind and relax (The Obamas, Princess Beatrice and Lin Chi-Ling have all been spotted there on occasion); think dark-wood panelling, velvet smoking jackets and champagne only available to purchase by the magnum (at a minimum). Be sure not to accidentally wander into the speakeasy bars of the club though, you may find yourself mingling with curiously strange folk who go by the names of wizard, elf or even eat… As a side venture (and a way to fund all of his Dens), Gandalf runs the world’s most renowned fireworks company which supplies the likes of New Year’s Eve displays in London, Sydney and Singapore – it’s even rumoured he also contributed to Taylor Swift’s infamous 4th of July weekends.

Frodo Baggins: Part-Time Author / Full-Time Recluse

Since relocating to his own private Scottish highland island, Frodo has been busy writing folklore anthologies and publishing his own range of Gothic quest myths for the YA audience (under a pseudonym of course!). When he is not writing, Frodo enjoys beachcombing to look for sea glass that washes up on his misty shores. Having had his fill of adventure to last several Ages, Frodo is often so reclusive that it takes his publisher around 8-14 months just to receive any correspondence from him.

Samwise and Rosie Gamgee: Founders of the Gamgee Juice Distillery

Samwise and his wife Rosie are just about to hit the London market with their range of organic, vegan juice drinks. Having purchased their extensive Somerset farm over a decade ago, the couple have spent time lovingly nurturing their crops from seed to sapling. Expanding into the botanical trend, the pair have cultivated their very own range of micro-herbs and rare berry specimens including Jostaberries, Lingenberries and Redcurrants. A firm favourite at farmers’ markets across their local county, the Gamgees range of juices, presses and smoothies have garnered many awards and are highly acclaimed to cure mild maladies such as relief for joint aches, stomach conditions and problems with skin complexion. Samwise and Rosie are also in talks with a large London Publishing House to write a collaboration with Jamie Oliver on how best to taste-match your juices with clean, fresh recipes. 

What do you think? Can you imagine any of these characters actually doing these types of things in our modern day world? What occupations would you give them?

Next week, we’re thinking about Elrond, Eowyn and Faramir so get your ideas in for what types of jobs/lives these guys could be having in the 21st Century!

Thanks for reading,
T xx

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters – these posts are purely from my wild, at times crazy, imagination and sometimes use vague reflections of real-world truths. They are purely meant for entertainment purposes only and are not designed to cause offense or upset in any way.

#FaeFriday – Hurts So Good

The Biblioshelf8 Comments

Happy Friday Bibliofriends,

What a week this has been, in various ways of good and bad! Work has been hellish but book mail has thankfully saved the day as my Fairyloot September box AND my Fairyloot Daevabad set both arrived this week! They are all so so gorgeous and I cannot wait to dive into those reads!

Speaking of fairies… Happy Fae Friday!

Fae Friday is a weekly blog prompt hosted by the wonderful Kristy at Caffeinated Fae. It seems like the perfect way to spread a little more magic across the blogosphere every week.

Here are the rules:

  • Link back to this page on Caffeinated Fae.
  • If the prompt idea is from another blog, link to that blog as well.
  • Use #FaeFriday when posting to social media so we can all find each other! 
  • Participate when you can & have fun with the prompt!

October 2nd prompt:

Autumn is in the air, and the autumn court is in the spotlight. The autumn court is full of strange and beautiful faes who can have a slight sadistic side. This week’s prompt is dedicated to those sadists, which is why this curious wannabe fae wants to know: 

What are some of your go-to authors that make it hurt so good?

So from my first reading of the prompt I’m immediately having flashbacks to reading Fifty Shades of Grey…! Purely because of the wording within the prompt and not my dirty voyeuristic mind!!! 😂🙈😂

Moving on – I tend to cry at lots of different things in books so there isn’t really a set ‘go-to’ author that I’d pick-up when I need a good cry, however… Sarah J Maas‘ books should totally come with a free box of Kleenex or something! The amount of times she’s had me in tears… but I just absolutely love her, there’s not a single thing she’s written that I don’t want to read.

The only other thing I can really think of that I would go to for a good cry is Fanfiction. There is a particular ‘ship’ in the HP fan fiction community (it’s secretly my one true pairing and ultimate guilty pleasure) that never fails to send me sobbing but it so worth the pain just to read those stories. You can guarantee if it’s a sad ending then I’ll be sobbing! 😂

Do you cry a lot at books or stories? Which authors make all that sobbing worth the pain? Feel free to leave me links to your own Fae Friday and I’ll check them out!

Enjoy your weekend Bibliofriends!

T xx