Tag: biblioshelf

Biblioshelf Musings – The Island by C.L. Taylor

The Biblioshelf2 Comments

Hello Bibliofriends!

This week’s Biblioshelf Musings are all about a YA Mystery/Thriller set in a beautiful Thai paradise! Think phobias, secrets, lies and intrigue – this book definitely kept me on my toes and turning page after page. 

This is my first review since I can actually remember! To be honest, I wasn’t reading much towards the tail end of last year and even though my reading has picked back up again, I just haven’t been in the mood to really ‘review’ what I’ve been reading. The Island by C.L. Taylor was a Netgalley arc I received in October and read cover to cover within 2 days. It’s out tomorrow so I thought now would be the perfect time to upload and share my review. Huge thanks to NetGalley, C.L. Taylor and the publishers HQ for providing me with a complimentary e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book: The Island by C.L. Taylor
Genre: YA / Mystery
Publication Date: January 21st 2020
Publisher: HQ Young Adult
Pages: 384
Rating: 📚📚📚

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Welcome to The Island.
Where your worst fears are about to come true…

It was supposed to be the perfect holiday: a week-long trip for six teenage friends on a remote tropical island.

But when their guide dies of a stroke leaving them stranded, the trip of a lifetime quickly turns into a nightmare.

Because someone on the island knows each of the group’s worst fears. And one by one, they’re coming true.

Seven days in paradise. A deadly secret.

Who will make it off the island alive?

My Musings

When I read that this book was like Lost meets The Hunger Games – I was sold! The beautiful Thai setting was the perfect world for me to escape into when I wanted a reprieve from the cold, wintery landscape outside. I could practically see the crystal blue waters and hear the macaques and jungle birds as they drifted through the trees. 

Tropical paradise aside, it took me a little while to get to grips with who was who in the band of 6 main characters. The perspectives shift quite quickly which was a little confusing to start with but I soon got into the rhythm of it. The format definitely helped draw out the suspense because the actions and events were coming from changing viewpoints. It was tricky to decide which narrator/character was giving you the honest truth but that made me more invested in the story.

The Phobias each character had were a real plot driver to carry the story forward and reveal more clues about what was really going on compared to what was perceived to be going on. As each character had to face their phobia, you were able to whittle down who could possibly be the one behind all of the drama. Then particular events near the end have you not only questioning what you thought you knew already, but also questioning what you thought you had read. These little red herrings continue to mind-trick you into narrowing down the list of suspects and their motivations whilst also keeping you engrossed in the plot. It’s probably the setting and mystery that kept me turning the pages rather than the actual characters themselves.

References to grief, guilt and PTSD are dealt with sensitively in a way which doesn’t necessarily dive right into the traumatic heart of its core but still help to raise awareness of these conditions well enough for a teenage / YA audience.

In a way, The Island totally reminded me of Lord of the Flies in the sense that these friends are stuck on this beautiful island which seems to be filled with horrors caused by one of their own. It’s definitely the new Lord of the Flies for a modern YA generation. One thing which could be said about The Island is that it seemed (in my own mind) to be a bunch of fairly privileged teenagers on a paradise island almost bemoaning about their lot in life whilst at the same time struggling to reconnect with each other now that they’re getting older, growing apart and dealing with the aftermath of events which have led to mental health issues. If you’re looking for diversity and complex world-building then I’m not sure that this book will appeal to you, but if you’re looking for thrills, spills and a multi-layered mystery (with a hint of paradise!) then this modern day Lord of the Flies may be right up your street.

Why Should I Read This?

For a compelling mystery complete with shifting character perspectives and tropical island vibes.
For a dark, twisty set of phobias which come to life one by one.
For a layered plot filled with mind-tricks which will keep you flipping page after page.

Find out more about this book here:

Amazon | Harper Collins – Listen/Read a Sample | Waterstones | Goodreads | Author’s Twitter | Author’s Website

Connect with me here:

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

#BookTag – Characters of the Year Book Tag

The Biblioshelf2 Comments

Happy Tag Tuesday Bibliofriends!

I’ve been running out of inspiration or tags to do lately but I came across this really fun Characters of the Year tag over at Zezee with books.

Characters can really make or break a book for me so this seemed the perfect way to reminisce about all of my reads from 2020 how I felt about some of their starring roles.

FAVORITE MALE CHARACTER OF THE YEAR

Crowley from Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.
I absolutely love Crowley. He’s such a unique character with the coolest car around and great taste in music. I had so much fun reading his parts of the novel.

FAVORITE FEMALE CHARACTER OF THE YEAR

James Juniper from The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow.
She has so much sass, grit and determination. I loved how she could be so wild yet so humble. Such a fun character to read.

MOST RELATABLE CHARACTER OF THE YEAR

Addie and/or Henry from The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab.
The theme of identity lies strongly within this book and I found myself relating to both of the main characters in a way which I haven’t really related to any others in a long while. It deeply resonated with me and I think that’s one of the reasons why I absolutely adored this read.

COUPLE OF THE YEAR

January and Augustus from Beach Read by Emily Henry.
I just loved their chemistry throughout this book!

VILLAIN OF THE YEAR

Nolan Sorrento from Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.
Although he isn’t scary in the mythical beast kind of way – Sorrento is my villain of the year because of the sheer power, money and resources that he has at his fingertips. He can basically do whatever he wants and can get away with it. It’s really scary that I see him as a manifestation of some of today’s world leaders and billionaires who pretty much have all the power they need to exert their will on anyone without being stopped. 

MOST DISLIKED CHARACTER OF THE YEAR

Brent from The Mist Keeper’s Apprentice by E.S. Barrison.
Purely for his constant repetition of the word ‘aight’ and the way he sullenly complains that everything is his fault whenever something goes wrong. Unfortunately, Brent and I just didn’t bond which was a shame as the world-building in the novel was really original and quite well-written.

ROYAL OF THE YEAR

Anastasia Romanov (Nastya) from Romanov by Nadine Brandes.
This historical fantasy retelling absolutely captured my heart, as did its leading lady. I really liked the way Brandes wrote and portrayed her character to be sensitive yet determined and strong. A fabulous exiled Royal!

SIDEKICK/NON-MAIN CHARACTER OF THE YEAR

Dustin from Anna K by Jenny Lee.
Talk about championing the underdog! Dustin was one of those gems of a character who was thrust into this wild world of elite New York socialites and basically had to sink or swim. I was a joy to read his character arc with all of the complexities he had to face along the way.

SIBLING OF THE YEAR

Serina from Queen of Ruin (Grace and Fury #2) by Tracy Banghart.
I love the way Serina evolved through this duology and the strength of character she showed throughout this sequel. Without giving away spoilers, the relationship between the two sisters and the choices and decisions made at the end of the novel definitely put Serina as my top choice for Sibling of the Year.

That’s a wrap! Who were your favourite characters, villains, sidekicks, couples and siblings from your 2020 reads? Consider yourself tagged if you want to have a go at this tag yourself! As always, feel free to drop your links or send me a comment to chat!

T xx

#SixforSunday – Books I Wish I’d Read in 2020.

The Biblioshelf8 Comments

Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

How has your week been? Me and my Team are getting down with the Microsoft Teams Teaching – got to say, I love how organised and structured everything is! Must be the teeny little nerd inside me!

This week’s Six For Sunday, continuing with our ‘It’s All About Books’ theme is centred around ‘Books I Wish I’d Read in 2020’… I mean, this could be a complete randomly generated list of my TBR pile to be honest as I wish I’d been able to read EVERYTHING! 😂🙈 Anyhow, I was going to use a random generator to just select some random choices, but the minute I scrolled though my Goodreads list, the choices just kind of came to me naturally!
Disclaimer: I’ve tried my absolute hardest to ensure I’m not putting The Poppy War on this list (because it’s basically on every other post I write about nowadays)! 😬

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

Books I Wish I’d Read in 2020!

Book 1 and Book 2:

Ok, so I had to include these two on here because *whispers* – I haven’t actually read A Court of Frost and Starlight yet and now that A Court of Silver Flames is getting closer to release, the hype for this series is just rebuilding and rebuilding across all of my social media feeds and I know I’ll end up needing to read them ASAP. With Crescent City, I have not been spoiled yet at all which is amazing as I’m dying to dive into this series and with the sheer size of the book and the amount of brainpower I know it’s going to sap from me, I kind of wish I’d read it already.

Book 3:

Since Ready Player One is one of my all-time favourite books in the universe, it makes sense that I wish I’d read Ready Player Two in 2020 at the absolute minute of its release… but I didn’t. I’m kind of waiting for the paperback as my copy of RP1 is in that format and I wanted them to match (yes, I’m one of those people!), and also – I just don’t think I’m mentally ready for the sequel yet! 🙈

Book 4:

In 2020, we lost one of my favourite authors in the world. He was an absolute auto-buy (no matter the format!) and his writing voice was like nothing else I have ever read before nor will probably read again. I wanted to set myself a challenge of reading his complete Cemetery of Forgotten Books series again from the beginning and ending with the last book he ever wrote ‘The Labyrinth of the Spirits’, but other things just got in the way. It’s a weird, strange and completely somber feeling knowing that when I read The Labyrinth of the Spirits for the first time, it’ll also be the final time I get to immerse myself in his writing without knowing where the story will end up.

Book 5:

Dune – OK, so basically the only reason I wish I’d read this last year is because I really, really wanted to read the book before the movie came out. Due to Covid, the movie has been delayed so I’ve kind of already had my reading period extension and although I doubt the cinema will be opening again in the near future I really want to bump this one up the TBR pile to get through it in time!

Book 6:

I have heard no end of good things about this series and I’m really intrigued to find out what all the fuss is about! I wish I ‘d read it when it first came out so that I don’t end up overhyping myself for it!

What are the books you wish you read in 2020? Did you end up managing to clear some off your TBR shelf anyway?
As always, leave your links below to your own posts or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

#SixforSunday – Bookish Wins of 2020

The Biblioshelf6 Comments

Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

Well flipping done Boris!!! I mean, fancy having all your kids back to school for one day then telling them they can’t come back in for the rest of the term… AT 8PM ON A MONDAY NIGHT!! 😂🙈 #shortesttermever!!

That aside, we’re now using Microsoft Teams to do our online teaching and I must say I’m absolutely loving it!! I’ve never been so organised with all my files, folders and powerpoints everywhere! Obviously I wish I was still stood directly in front of my children actually teaching rather than death by powerpoint but oh well! With that in mind, spending all day on Teams and then coming home and trying to blog did not mix incredibly well and my scheduled posts went back down to big fat zero!

Onto Six for Sunday goodness! For January our theme is ‘It’s All About Boooooooks!” and this week the prompt is Bookish Wins of 2020. I got a little confused at first about what that actually meant: is it supposed to be my favourite books of 2020; good bookish things that happened in 2020? 🤔 Let’s face it, I think the pure existence of anything bookish was 2020’s greatest achievement alone! With that in mind, here are six totally random things that I consider to be a bookish win of 2020 – remember the word ‘random’ when you get to the bottom!

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

Bookish wins of 2020!

  1. Releases actually happened!!
    On a globe where everything was shut down to the extent that the canals in Venice actually ran clear, I think any book release that managed to hit the shelves in 2020 was a major achievement (side-eyeing Bond: No Time to Die – I’m still waiting!!!). I know that books sometimes take years to get to full publication stage but kudos to those people actually ensuring that they made their way from the machine and onto my bookshelves. There were some pretty amazing releases last year and I mention several of my favourites in my previous post about my best reads of 2020.
  2. People rediscovering reading during lockdown!
    It’s been said that one of most popular hobbies people rediscovered during lockdown was the joy of reading books – especially in the garden with a glass of wine… (although that was probably just me!).
  3. Bookshop.org!
    With businesses being shut down and ending up in financial difficulties, bookshop.org was one of the lights in the darkness for all of our sacred indie bookshops. I have been one of those self-confessed shoppers who bought a whole basket of books on Amazon because they were cheaper than anywhere else – but this pandemic has really brought to light the hardships faced by our independent bookshops. It has ignited my passion to perhaps buy fewer books across the year but purchase them through more rewarding channels, especially now that I have an indie bookshop in my village (when lockdown is actually over and I can visit it…).
  4. NetGalley release the Shelf app!
    OMG Netgalley’s Shelf app totally revolutionised my ability to actually read and make it through all of those arcs! I know it still isn’t perfect, especially when you normally only read e-books on an iPhone like I do (tiny-text-alert) but in my personal opinion, it really improved the productivity and experience of being able to request books on NetGalley and not have to struggle through some sort of Aldiko or Adobe app just to read them.
  5. Cheltenham Literature Festival went online!
    The Cheltenham Literature Festival is one of my favourite events of the whole year! How many times do you get to meet Salman Rushdie, Sarah J Maas or Mary Berry and have them sign your books? Or even get to sit in a tent with Matt Haig whilst there’s a howling storm outside shaking the whole damn thing – only for him to turn around and quip, “never mind Notes on a Nervous Planet – how about Notes from a Nervous Tent!” Whilst nothing can live up to spending time meeting authors face-to-face and having them sign your books, or to spend time wandering through the stacks in the book tent with a crepe or some kind of amazing street-food fayre – just having the events online or on a catch-up player so you can watch the ones that take place in the day when you’d normally be working was amazing. I’d definitely pay extra for that kind of catch-up service again this October, although hopefully we’ll be back in the tents by then!
  6. The Books themselves – my shelves are WINNING!
    Let’s face it – the books themselves are what matters right? So many awesome titles made their way onto my brand new bookshelves last year that my 2021 reading list is looking stellar! I have The Poppy War trilogy, The Daevabad trilogy, Raybearer, A Song of Wraiths and Ruin and Crescent City still to read – I know I’m leaving it mightily late with some of those! 🙈 And that’s not to mention the ones that I actually did get around to reading – Addie LaRue, The Once and Future Witches and Woven in Moonlight are still some of the favourites on there! So yeah, my 2020 book haul was a major WINNER!

I told you it was all random right?! 😉

What are your bookish wins for 2020? Would it be something to do with your own reads, a newly discovered author, a bookish event that got you shouting from the rooftops, or some other bookish news or release that made you get that winning feeling?
As always, leave your links below or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

#SixforSunday – Bookish Resolutions for 2021

The Biblioshelf4 Comments

Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

Happy New Year everyone! It’s the first Six For Sunday of 2021!! Yippee!
I really love this weekly tag that the lovely Steph (THANK YOU!🙏) created back in 2017 as it isn’t too challenging and the prompts come well in advanced so that I can keep myself organised – that feels like a luxury sometimes these day! 🙄

For this brand new month, in a brand new year our January theme is ‘It’s All About Boooooooks!” – I mean, what better theme to start 2021 off with right?

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

Bookish Resolutions for 2021!

Now, kidding aside – I suck at New Year Resolutions! I love the idea of a new beginning and the start of some good habits etc… but I can never seem to stay on track. I don’t know whether it’s my Taurean nature or just the sheer amount of time/effort/energy that adulating takes up (😂😂😂) but there’s rarely an ambitious habit that I can stick to. So who knows what’ll happen this time next year and whether I’ll have actually achieved any of these goals or not!

  1. Keep on reading!
    2020 was the first year since 2017 that I actually managed to complete my Goodreads Challenge Goal so I’m hoping to keep that up this year and not fall behind again.
  2. Stick to the TBR!
    I always end up making goals and TBR lists which I never actually complete – sometimes it’s because I’m a mood reader although occasionally it’s because other things just distract me away from the pile. There are definitely some complete series I have which I now own and want to read in their entirety this year. They are: The Poppy War by R.F. Kung (my gorgeous Illumicrate Editions! 😍); The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty and the Ember in the Ashes Series by Sabaa Tahir.
  3. Expand my reading horizons!
    This year I really want to make more of an effort to read more diversely. Quite often my TBR and shelves consist of incredibly mainstream books so this is the year I hope to change that.
  4. Visit the library!
    Now that I can actually walk to my local library, hopefully (once normality has been restored after bloody Covid!) I’ll be able to spend more time borrowing books rather than buying a load and then not having anywhere to put them. I’m so surprised I haven’t actually had an accident from tripping over a pile of books dotted somewhere around my house! 🙈
  5. Blog, blog, blog!
    Not gonna lie, having a little headspace during National Lockdown really did help me to revitalise my blog and get organised enough to keep up a steady stream of content and even think up a few ideas for some original post content. Hopefully now my job will be calming down again soon I can keep up the fun bloggishness!
  6. Getting the Bookstagram back up and running!
    I got into such a rut with my Bookstagram account as I just couldn’t keep up with the photo challenges or I felt that my background “theme” was the same all of the time and just got boring. As part of my bujo I’ve made a special Insta page so hopefully I’ll be more organised to start updating it more frequently this year! That’s the plan anyway! 😂

What are your bookish goals for 2021? Do you always stick to your New Year Resolutions or are you a bit of a drifter like me?
As always, leave your links below or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

The TIME 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time

The Biblioshelf6 Comments

Aloha Bibliofriends,

Several months ago (back last year!) I was scrolling through my news feed and the Time 100 Greatest Fantasy Novels of all time popped up! I couldn’t resist clicking on it and I knew back then in October that I wanted to do a post on it. If you love your fantasy fiction and you haven’t seen the list yet, you should definitely check it out here! Each cover takes you to a link giving more information about each novel that made the cut – very helpful for the ones you may not have heard of!

I wanted to see how many of them I had read altogether so split the 100 up into 3 different parts:
Books I’ve already read = 📖
Books currently purchased and on my physical TBR = 📚
Books I’m wishing to buy and read in the future = ✨

The run down – in chronological order:

The Arabian Nights ✨

Le Morte D’Arthur by Thomas Malory

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll 📖

Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll 📖

Five Children and It by E. Nesbit ✨

Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers 📚

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis 📚

The Palm-Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis 📖

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien 📖

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Amos Tutuola

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien 📖

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien 📖

A Hero Born by Jin Yong

The Once and Future King by T.H. White ✨

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl 📖

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

The Wandering Unicorn by Manuel Mujica Lainez ✨

Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin 📖

The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart ✨

The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin 📚

Watership Down by Richard Adams 📚

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

The Princess Bride by William Goldman 📚

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L’Engle

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter 📖

The BFG by Roald Dahl 📖

Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce ✨

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Redwall by Brain Jacques

Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner

The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Whynn Jones

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman 📖

Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie 📚

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Tigana by Guy Gabriel Kay ✨

The Golden Compass (Northern Lights) by Philip Pullman 📖

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman 📖

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

The Subtle Knife by Phillip Pullman 📚

Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling 📖

Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley ✨

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin 📖

American Gods by Neil Gaiman 📖

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling 📖

Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson ✨

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss ✨

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare 📖

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin ✨

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin ✨

Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor ✨

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern ✨

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller ✨

Angelfall by Susan Ee

A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar

The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell 📚

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro 📚

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir 📚

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin ✨

Get in Trouble by Kelly Link

The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu

Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo 📖

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh ✨

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders 📖

A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir 📚

The Wall of Storms by Ken Liu

Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi

The Black Tides of Heaven by Neon Yang

The Changeling by Victor Lavalle

Jade City by Fonda Lee ✨

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi 📚

Blanca and Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore ✨

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi 📚

Circe by Madeline Miller 📖

Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang 📚

Song of Blood and Stone by L. Penelope

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

Witchmark by C.L. Polk

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James ✨

Children on Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi ✨

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang 📚

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia ✨

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender

The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal 📚

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibanez 📖

Books I’ve already read: 22/100
Books purchased and on my TBR: 16/100
Books I want to buy/read in the future: 22/100

Total: 60/100

Normally I’m quite bad with lists so I don’t feel that this isn’t too bad for me although it could be way better – hopefully 2021 will have me ticking lots more of these off my list as part of my reading goals! Obviously one of my all time favourites Tolkien was on the list (yay!) – not gonna lie, I’m happy my favourite Harry Potter book Half-Blood Prince was on there too! I was amazed to see one of my favourite reads of 2020, Woven in Moonlight, made it onto this list as well – I’m so excited for the sequel to come out later this month! I also can’t wait to start reading The Poppy War Series which is one of the ones I definitely will be reading in 2021 – I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about it.

How did you score? How many of the 100 Best Fantasy Books of all time have you read? Were there any surprises on the list for you or novels which you feel have been tragically missed off? Which ones are on your TBR? As always, drop me a comment to chat! ☺️

T xx

#SixforSunday – Characters I Want To Spend New Years With

The Biblioshelf2 Comments

Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

How was everyone’s Christmas? I hope you all got to spend it in the nicest way possible given all of the Covid “restrictions” etc…

This week’s Six For Sunday is gearing up for one of the biggest party times of the Year with Characters We’d Want To Spend New Years With! Now, as we are still under pandemic times, I’m forgoing the rule of six and turning it into a rule of seven as I would love to go to a massive-non-socially-distanced-rave-style-mosh-pit-party with these guys! 😆

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 Want To Spend New Years With

Addie LaRue

Jesper (Six of Crows)

Gandalf – with Fireworks! (Lord of the Rings)

Peik Lin (Crazy Rich Asians)

Tyrone Lannister (Game of Thrones)

Cassian (ACOTAR)

If only fictional worlds were one big reality where I could actually play that party out in real life!!! #eclecticbunch!

Which characters would be on your invite list for a New Years Party? How do you think you’ll be spending NYE this year? Are you looking forward to finally seeing the back of 2020?!
As always, leave your links below or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

#SixforSunday – Books I Want To Buy As Presents

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Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

Our Six For Sunday theme of Festive Goodness takes on the dreaded Christmas Shopping element this week! I wish more of my friends love books as much as I do as it would make things so much easier! Nevertheless, here’s the books I be buying as presents – let’s hope Secret Santas aren’t reading this! 😂

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

Books I Want To Buy As Presents

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

I would buy everyone this book! I know it probably wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste but I love it so much; it’s my favourite read of the entire year and one of my favourites of all time.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Songteller: My Life in Lyrics by Dolly Parton

I’d have to buy two copies though… one for my Dolly-loving friend – and one for me! 😂

Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

I have a friend who I think would really appreciate the world building the plot concept in this book. It was a really good read and I can see them liking it!

The Space Between Worlds
Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline

Again, I would have to buy two copies of this and give one to a friend so I had someone to chat about it with! I have to admit, I’m so nervous about finally being able to read the sequel. The first book is one of my all-time favourites so the sequel will have a lot to live up to!

Ready Player Two (Ready Player One, #2)
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

We can list books we’d want to buy as presents for ourselves can’t we?! 🙈

Mexican Gothic
Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

The above comment works for this one too! I actually do have a friend who I would buy this for. She loves YA and I know she hasn’t got around to purchasing this one for herself yet.

The Black Flamingo

Which books would be on your own Christmas list or which books are you buying for other people this holiday season?
As always, leave your links below or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

#SixforSunday – Books I’d Like To Spend The Holidays In

The Biblioshelf3 Comments

Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

Our Six For Sunday theme of Festive Goodness is really getting me hyped up and excited for Christmas and New Year. What better way to start thinking about which books I’d want to be spending the holidays in than with this week’s S4S prompt?!

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

Books I’d Like To Spend The Holidays In

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

There’s just something about the world of Narnia which screams Christmas to me! Perhaps it’s the wintry landscape but I could definitely imagine this being a really cosy and twinkly place to spend a white christmas.

Christmas at Hogwarts

Nothing says Christmas Banquet like a Hogwarts Christmas Feast. I would love to go to Warner Bros. Studios to see the big Christmas tree in the Great Hall and sip on some butter beer whilst listening to Flitwick and his random toad choir!

The OASIS from Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

If you don’t know already, this is one of my all time favourite books in the whole universe so it’s no surprise that I’d take any opportunity I could get to go exploring all of the different sectors and worlds within the OASIS. I bet there’s even a planet where it is actually Christmas everyday just so you could sing the Wizzard song and it would actually come true for a change!

Carcassonne (Labyrinth) from The Languedoc trilogy by Kate Mosse

I really love the world building in this series. Kate’s description of the medieval towns really wants to make me visit this beautiful region of France.

Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

Party on the Heimdall anyone?? Pre BeiTech involvement obviously…!

The Shire (The Hobbit) by J.R.R. Tolkien

I can just imagine Christmas in the Shire being such a great time where everyone comes together to have a big festive gathering at the Green Dragon or the Prancing Pony! I’d definitely by up for a Christmas party there, especially if Gandalf brings his fireworks!

Where would you want to spend the holiday season?
As always, leave your links below or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

#SixforSunday – Red and White Books

The Biblioshelf2 Comments

Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

It’s finally December!! For the past few years, I seemed to have lost my Christmas mojo and it just became another time of year with an excuse to eat and drink far too much – but this year I am getting super excited for Christmas! Maybe all of the crazy lockdown life has made me grateful for a time to celebrate with family, even if it is “restricted” more this year!

Anyway, before we actually get to Christmas we have a brand new Six For Sunday theme and this month it’s all about Festive Goodness! For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is weekly meme hosted by Steph over at A Little But A Lot. This month is all about the red and white coloured books – nothing says Christmas than a little red and white striped candy came right?!

Red and White Books

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

I binge read this book in less than 24 hours. Mysterious clue-solving treasure hunt for a massive inheritance around a big grand mansion… I sure did love it! If you enjoyed the film Knives Out then you’d probably enjoy this read! You can read my review here.

The Inheritance Games
Wolf Hall – Hilary Mantel

I took the opportunity during the first lockdown to actually pick this mammoth brick up and read it. After I got over the narration style it was actually thoroughly enjoyable and incredibly well-written. I’m not sure how long it’ll take me to get around to reading the next two instalments though! 😂

Wolf Hall (Thomas Cromwell, #1)
The Truth About Ruby Valentine by Alison Bond

This was one of those books where I read the review in a Sunday magazine and just had to have it. I would trawl the second hand bookshops just looking for a copy until I finally got one!

The Truth About Ruby Valentine
Everless by Sara Holland

I loved the concept of blood and time being currency in this book as well as the folklore surrounding the Sorcerer and the Alchemist. It seemed so unique and originally described. A five-star read from me but sadly I didn’t feel the sequel lived up to it as much.

Everless (Everless, #1)
Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas

It wouldn’t be a Biblioshelf post without a something from Throne of Glass right?! 🙄

Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass, #2)
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding

What a furore this caused when it came out!! I won’t spoil it for anyone wanting to read it but I am glad that they didn’t use this book as the screenplay for the third film – this is one of those instances where I’m afraid I love the movies more than the books!

Mad About the Boy (Bridget Jones, #3)

What are your favourite red and white books covers? What kind of colours make you think of Christmas? Are you looking forward to the Festive Season?
As always, leave your links below or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx