Tag: biblioshelf

#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

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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.

Biblioshelf Musings – Hag: Forgotten Folktales Retold

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Happy Wednesday Bibliofriends,

Hag is a wonderfully relevant and apt anthology of British and Irish folktale retellings, perfect for the upcoming Halloween season. Filled with feisty female characters, atmospheric settings and morals aplenty, the fairytale lover within me thoroughly enjoyed rediscovering some of these bygone traditional tales.

Originally a podcast series, Professor Carolyne Larrington conjured up a writing experiment which tasked 8-10 inspiring British and Irish women authors to write a contemporary retelling of a forgotten folktale with a modern, feminist twist. This collection reminds me of a fresh uplift on the gothic horror genre – think Angela Carter meets Henry James’ Turn of the Screw. With particularly eerie and dark stories, the tales within are guaranteed to get you in the mood for Halloween and those darker nights by the fire.

Book: Hag by Various Authors
Genre: Short Stories / Fantasy
Publication Date: October 8th 2020
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group UK (Virago)
Pages: 288
Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

DARK, POTENT AND UNCANNY, HAG BURSTS WITH THE UNTOLD STORIES OF OUR ISLES, CAPTURED IN VOICES AS VARIED AS THEY ARE VIVID.

Here are sisters fighting for the love of the same woman, a pregnant archaeologist unearthing impossible bones and lost children following you home. A panther runs through the forests of England and pixies prey upon violent men.

From the islands of Scotland to the coast of Cornwall, the mountains of Galway to the depths of the Fens, these forgotten folktales howl, cackle and sing their way into the 21st century, wildly reimagined by some of the most exciting women writing in Britain and Ireland today.

My Musings

As someone who has spent a fair bit of time reading folk/fairytales (I even did my dissertation on them) I was pleased to see a few of the more familiar and popular creatures making an appearance here such as selkies, boggarts, fairies and mermaids. That being said, the stories they were contained within felt fresh and new, I didn’t feel like I’d read any of them before – whilst the concepts may have been familiar, the stories themselves had me gripped to finding out what was going to happen, so they felt like more than just your average retellings.

What I particularly liked in Hag, was the focus on different regions from the UK rather than just a generalisation of British and Irish tales. It really did emphasise the nature of how transient traditional stories are and how they have shaped places across our entire nation. Also, the settings of each story became more relevant and heightened; you could visualise the area you live in and the places you’ve visited. Kudos too goes to the authors who managed to incorporate some the regional accents and dialects into the speech of their stories to make them all sound incredibly authentic.

The breakdown at the end recaps for the reader the ‘original’ tales as they may have been told in anthologies from the 19thand early 20thcenturies. These short snapshots not only refresh your memory of all the stories you’ve just read, but it also helps to see just how these tales have been revamped and updated for our 21st century world – they now have a modern diversity which wasn’t necessarily present in their earlier versions.

It is highly evident to see how much effort and hard work each author has put into their own retelling. Shamefully, I wasn’t aware when first diving into these stories just how well known some of these amazing writers are and it’s made me want to add more of their own voices and writings to my ever expanding TBR pile – there is some serious writing talent within this book and it shines off each and every page in the tone of the retellings and the way the stories have been brought to life within the pages.

Complete List of Tales

Below is a complete list of the authors, their revamped retelling, the location it is heralded from and a few examples of the author’s own works. (My personal favourites are starred)

Suffolk: A Retelling (Based on the Green Children of Woolpit) by Daisy Johnson [Fen; Everything Under; Sisters]

Yorkshire: Sour Hall (Based on Ay, We’re Flittin’) by Naomi Booth [The Lost Art of Sinking; Sealed]

Norfolk: Rosheen (Based on The Dauntless Girl) by Irenosen Okijie [Butterfly Fish; Strange Gigantular]

⭐️Orkney: Between Sea and Sky (Based on The Great Silkie of Sule Skerrie) by Kirsty Logan [Gracekeepers; Things We Say in the Dark]

⭐️Stafford: The Panther’s Tale (Based on Chillington House) by Mahsuda Snaith [Thing We Never Thought We Knew]

⭐️County Galway: The Tale of Kathleen by Eimear McBride [A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing; The Lesser Bohemians]

London: The Sisters (Based on Tavistock Square) by Liv Little [Editor-in-Chief of gal-dem Magazine]

Wales: The Dampness is Spreading (Based on The Fairy Midwife) by Emma Glass [Peach; Rest and Be Thankful]

⭐️Cornwall: The Droll of the Mermaid (Based on The Mermaid and the Man of Cury) by Natasha Carthew [All Rivers Run Free; Only The Ocean; The Light That Gets Lost]

Somerset: The Holloway (Based on Old Farmer Mole) by Imogen Hermes Gowar [The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock]

Favourite Quotes:

Sad, isn’t it, how many beautiful things we have destroyed to find out truths.
– Between Sea and Sky by Kirsty Logan

The trees surround her like giants from the folktales her mother recited: dark, looming, with crooked arms.
– The Panther’s Tale by Mahsuda Snaith

And if tales of her spirit seen dancing there surfaced, it should be remembered such stories are common enough. They are almost to be expected and should be looked sceptically upon – depending, of course, on how much of the rest of this story you believed anyway.
– The Tale of Kathleen by Eimear McBride

Song for the forgotten, a few words turned towards the ocean waves the place where the legend began where for some of them it would certainly end.
– The Droll of the Mermaid by Natasha Carthew

Why Should I Read This?

For the ominous, autumnal vibes.
For the rediscovery of traditional tales from the heritage of our nation.
For the exceptional storytelling prowess of some seriously powerful female authors.

If you love your folktales / retellings / contemporary female voices or you just want something to give you spooky and caliginous chills this October then Hag may be the perfect collection for you!

Find out more about this book here:

Amazon | NetGalley| Virago | Waterstones

Connect with me here:

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

#BookTag – The Anonymous Bookaholics Tag!

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Happy Tuesday Bibliofriends,

I was tagged by the amazing Ashlee at Books Are 42 to do this super fun Anonymous Bookaholics Tag! I kind of did this in a bit of a rush, so I’m sorry if my answers come across as slightly out there or snarky…? When I get stressed out, my brain seems to resemble Roadrunner from the Looney Tunes trying to do everything at hundreds of miles per hour!

1) What do you like about buying new books?

Everything! From entering the shop, to browsing the shelves, to picking it up, to giving it a new home, to reading it, to staring at it on my bookshelves, to talking about it with friends – what book lover doesn’t like buying new books??

2) How often do you buy new books?

Erm…
To be honest, with Covid etc I haven’t been shopping in town more than I normally would but every time I go somewhere you can guarantee that I’ll HAVE to enter at least one bookshop and I will probably ALWAYS come out with at least one book. My last shopping trip was Sunday and I may have been to Waterstones and I may have bought 5 books… whoops!

3) Bookstore or online book shopping: which do you prefer?

Bookstores for the experience, online for the prices.
Again this sounds so wrong now with Covid etc but… I love being able to go into a shop and touch everything!pick up a book that looks interesting, read the blurb, skim the pages for the font style and size…

 4) Do you have a favourite bookshop?

One of my favourites is called a second hand bookshop called Moss Books in my local town. It is STACKED with books. They’re double stacked on the shelves then there are piles and piles all over the floors and so many genres! It’s my book-loving dreamworld!

5) Do you pre-order books?

I don’t as a rule but the exception to this is the Waterstones signed, exclusive version of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab (and yes, I am totally aware how much I am mentioning and loving and hyping this book!).

6) Do you have a monthly buying limit?

Um…I’m sorry, a what?? 😂

7) How big is your wish list?

You know that proverb, how long is a piece of string…? Do you see where I’m heading with this? I want so many books, in fact I want all of the books! 😂

8) Which three books from your wish list do you wish to own right now?

Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline – the wait is becoming agonising!
The entire Shades of Magic series by V. E. Schwab
The Poppy War trilogy

TAG – you’re it!! Feel free to have a go at this tag yourself and link it back to my blog if you want! Drop me a comment and let me know which 3 books you’d be wanting from your wishlist!

Have a great week people!
T xx

#SixforSunday – Devious Characters

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Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

This is the final instalment in our monthly Characters Ahoy theme this week. Who doesn’t love a Devious Character right?! They normally add lots of different creative elements to a tale and some even provide the humour in the story too! I think this was definitely the easiest and most fun list to think about this month!

For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is weekly meme hosted by Steph over at A Little But A Lot. Steph also hosts a Twitter chat for Six For Sunday each Sunday evening around 6pm but I never seem to make it as I’m always busy at that time! Maybe this month…?! 🤔

Devious Characters

Celaena Sardothian – Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J Maas
When it comes to being the most wiley and cunning, Celaena absolutely gives this off in droves. The way she plots and schemes o play various people off against one another is definitely one of the more entertaining aspects of the whole series for me.

Thomas Cromwell – Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
I finally got around to starting this trilogy off during lockdown and I am so glad I did. It’s a pretty hefty read but it was really gripping. Mantel has portrayed her main character as an absolute masterclass of strategy and wit. Cromwell knows exactly what he wants and makes no shame in doing whatever he needs to do to accomplish his goals. A very devious individual indeed!

Cardan – The Folk of the Air Series by Holly Black
Cardan…Oh Wicked King Cardan… So devious and dastardly that there were so many times during this series when my brain kept flipping between whether Cardan was really a good guy or bad guy.

Alessandra – The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller
Snarky yet sophisticated, cunning yet feminine – Alessandra put the ‘diva’ in ‘devious’. I absolutely loved this book and it was great to see a female main character taking that kind of lead for a change.

Gollum/Smeagol – The Hobbit / Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Wicked, tricksy, false – Gollum is definitely a prime candidate for the devious characters list. The way he manoeuvres Frodo in getting him exactly where he wants whilst all the time focussing on ‘the Precious’. Such a great character!

Amy Dunne – Gone Girl by Gillian Flynne
I devoured this book in very little time at all and when flicking through my Goodreads shelf and landing on this, I knew Amazing Amy would be the one to finalise my devious characters list. I was one of those readers that got completely sucked in by this book and didn’t guess any of the ‘big reveals’ towards the end which is probably why I enjoyed it so much. Anyone who has read the book or even seen the film will know exactly why sweet little Amy is here.

Who are your favourite devious characters? Do you think every good book deserves one?
As always, leave your links below or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

#BookTag – The Bookish Baking Tag

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Happy Tuesday Bibliofriends!

Do you ever have one of those serendipitous moments when you’ve just been doing something and then you read about it somewhere…? Well that happened to me just this weekend!

Basking in the glee of having the whole house to myself, I launched a massive Tesco mission to buy baking ingredients for THREE of Jane’s Patisserie’s recipes (Malteser Tiffin, Biscoff Rocky Road and Mint Aero Brownies 😍)! Mid-bakeathon, I’m scrolling through WordPress Reader and I come across this super-fun Bookish Baking Tag over on Ms. Victorious’ blog Victorious Pages and knew that I had to do it!

As if that wasn’t serendipity enough… *drumroll please*
GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF IS BACK TONIGHT!!! We’re still in the midst of a global pandemic, yet Bake Off 2020 has been saved! I’m overjoyed! 😂 Without further ado, scroll on for the awesome Bookish Baking Tag – images from Victorious Pages because they’re super nicer than anything I could make (thank you!).

To be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of blueberry muffins but as soon as I read this prompt, there was only one book on my mind – The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow. I read an arc of this (thanks Netgalley!) and the beginning was on point! It sucked me into world so fast that I already knew it was most likely going to be a 5-star read. Review coming soon!

Being from the UK and thanks to our Great British weather (the word ‘great’ is definitely a pun there) holidays to me are sunny, warm places so I would have to go with Summer at the Lake by Erica James or Beach Read by Emily Henry as I read both of them by the sea.

Can I say Gollum for this? Is that allowed? I know he was driven by the power of the ring and his greed for is it what turned him into the Gollum as opposed to Smeagol, but I don’t think he’s a definite ‘villain’ to the story.

Another Italian themed read, Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch. Florence, sunshine and ice cream – what could be more summery than that?

Gangsta Granny by David Walliams reminds me so much of growing up and reading Roald Dahl books. It’s really funny and lighthearted and reminds me of those old childhood memories when you’d be staying with your grandparents and playing games in the garden.

I remember having to read Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy for my English class and being completely overwhelmed by the size of it. I ended up taking it on holiday with me and remember being sat on the bed in our hotel room, listening to Elephunk by the Black Eyed Peas on my CD walkman and becoming so engrossed in Hardy’s world. I loved it, it’s probably my favourite classic I’ve read.

I read an amazing book called The Immortal City by Amy Kuivalainen through Netgalley and is was so engrossing. Atlantis, Venice, a secret magical archives, (hot) Gods – what’s not to like?! This was right up my street and I’m hoping there’s a sequel or something soon. I’d definitely be reading it!

Probably the book with the most feels on my shelf, A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – it that ain’t fluff then I don’t know what else qualifies!

Billed as an eco-fable, The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott tries to get us to consider how we treat and what we take from nature and the damaging affects it can have on humanity. It’s a powerful read.

When I once convinced myself to broaden my literary horizons, I decided that I had to read something by Murakami so my friend lent me their copy of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. I found it so tough to read and try to understand at the same time so it was quite an intimidating read to get my head around.

I keep hearing loads of good things about A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown – my copy of this finally arrived about a week ago so I can’t wait to get around to starting it.

There are so many books on my shelves which are there purely because of the hype but there is one book coming out very soon which I am massively hyping up. I read an e-arc of it, I have on special-signed-edition preorder and I CAN NOT WAIT to read it again – that books is The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab – it is exquisite! Review coming up at the end of this month! Honestly can’t tell you how much I love this book! 😍

TAG – you’re it!! Thanks for reading and feel free to have a go yourself and link back to my post if you love baking and books – UK people, don’t forget… BAKE OFF STARTS TONIGHT! 🙂

Enjoy your week Bibliofriends,

T xx

#SixforSunday – Brave Characters

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Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

Characters Ahoy continues this week in Six For Sunday and now we’re thinking about Brave Characters.

Bravery seems to be a “must-have” trait in all SFF books. If characters don’t start out with it, then they usually always have to pluck some up Cowardly-Lion-style before the final battle at the end of the book – at least, I haven’t seen a MC back out yet! 😂

For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is weekly meme hosted by Steph over at A Little But A Lot. Steph also hosts a Twitter chat for Six For Sunday each Sunday evening around 6pm but I never seem to make it as I’m always busy at that time! Maybe this month…?! 🤔

Brave Characters

Severus Snape – Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
Anyone who knows me properly will absolutely know that I can’t think about brave fictional characters not discuss Severus Snape. I don’t care what canon says, he’ll always be a true hero (albeit a flawed one) in my eyes!

Katniss Everdeen – The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
I think Katniss epitomises the ‘brave warrior’ style main character for me. I like the way how she shows although she’s a bad-ass, she’s also very human too and never loses her integrity and compassion no matter what is put in her path.

Jesper – Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Jesper is one of my favourite characters in Six of Crows. I could also have put Nina in here alongside him but I keep thinking back to just one of Jesper’s scenes when he is with Wylan. I won’t spoil it here, but Jesper shows a different kind of bravery which comes from having the courage to be your true self in front of someone else – that’s why he made this list this week.

Arya Stark – Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
I haven’t read all of the GoT books yet, or even finished watching the TV series but Arya is definitely a character that I think when it comes to being brave. She may be short in stature but she is mighty in her courage and ferocity to face her toughest opponents.

Circe – Circe by Madeline Miller
Circe’s bravery isn’t so much physical as it is mental. The types of things she faced whilst on her island exile and the ways she battled to try and fight her way out of exile showed a remarkable inner strength which she wouldn’t have been able to carry off without a little bravery.

Daniel – The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
I am a huge fan of all Zafón’s work and the way he crafts his characters. Daniel is brave in the way that he persistently searches for the truth and doesn’t get deterred even when things start to take more sinister, dark turns.

What do you determine as a brave character? Who would make your list of the bravest characters in fiction?
As always, leave your links below or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

Biblioshelf Musings – Beach Read by Emily Henry

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Good morning Bibliofriends,

Beach Read was exactly the type of hangover cure I needed to get me out of my 2-week reading slump. It almost comes across as two sides of a coin – funny, yet deep; romantic, yet heartbreaking – one moment you’re wanting to put yourself in January’s shoes, the next you’re glad you don’t have to live through the bereavement she’s had to face. Then on top of all that – there’s the homage to books, writing and the added bonus of practically reading books within a book. It was an utter delight from start to finish.

Book: Beach Read by Emily Henry
Genre: Romance
Publication Date: May 18th 2020
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 361
Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

He doesn’t believe in happy endings.
She’s lost her faith that they exist.
But could they find one together?

January is a hopeless romantic who likes narrating her life as if she’s the heroine in a blockbuster movie.
Augustus is a serious literary type who thinks true love is a fairy-tale.
January and Augustus are not going to get on.

But they actually have more in common than you’d think:

They’re both broke.
They’ve got crippling writer’s block.
They need to write bestsellers before the end of the summer.

The result? A bet to see who can get their book published first.
The catch? They have to swap genres.
The risk? In telling each other’s stories, their worlds might be changed entirely… 

My Musings

What made me read Beach Read? I needed a break from all of the witchy, spooky fiction and folklore I had consumed myself with over the past month. That, coupled with the fact that I wanted to cling on to those last glorious rays of summer – Beach Read seemed to offer me exactly that.

This may sound odd (complete book rambling – apologies), but the first thing I had to contend with when starting ‘Beach Read’ was that I had shamefully I knowanticipated a chick-litty rom-com taking place on a far-off tropical paradise of a popular holiday destination, when actually the novel takes place around a quaint town on the shores of Lake Michigan. Having not visited anywhere outside of Disneyworld and living in a leafy, hilly area of the UK, nearby lakes and bodies of water are nowhere near the size comparison of the type of Great Lakes in the US and Canada so I had to adjust my perception of the type of beach read I’d be reading. Chick-litty, it was not… Holiday destination, it also was not… 

January starts off by not wanting to even be at the beach house but with the introduction of next-door-neighbour-also-author Gus, Pete and Maggie (Sapphic couple), owners of a café/bookshop, we gradually get let in to the life of North Bear Shores and all of the adventures that await our protagonist. I grew to love this bunch of characters; the way they look out for each other, the stories that give us deeper insight into their histories – it was almost Goldilocks style ‘just-right’ perfection. 

The plot centres, quite brilliantly, around two authors suffering from writers’ block and the bet they enter into to embark on research trips benefitting the other’s genre and writing style. This leads to some of the most memorable, funny and moving parts of the novel. The balance between what constitutes literary fiction and what makes up the romance genre gradually get explored; the lines between them becoming blurred as two authors find their inspiration from each other and learn to face their own personal demons at the same time. A book about writers writing their novels – what more could a book-loving, aspiring author want to read?!

And then there’s the romance – my heart and stomach was swooping and diving the whole way through (and it isn’t often that books like this will do that to me). I was absolutely rooting for Gus and January – every obstacle that got in the way had me screaming at them with my silent reading megaphone in my head – two battered souls helping each other heal… It was steamy, it was heartbreaking, it was tender; but what’s more, it was real, believable and so entirely relatable which is probably why my bookish soul became so entangled with it.

I wanted to live through January and put myself in her shoes – until Emily Henry skilfully brings you back to earth and plays the dysfunctional family card. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that there is no such thing as an entirely happy family. Each one has their own vices, demons and secrets which are lived through behind closed doors. January Andrews is no different and learning the truth of her father’s actions and motivations, why things were the way they were was the big mountain she was trying to face. The tentative, nostalgic way she finally confronts this towards the end of the novel, is the part which gave me tiny tears rolling down my face whilst trying to read. It’s a stark reminder that the flip-side of love is sometimes loss and on a really personal level it harkened to my greatest fear of losing the people I love the most. That balance between joyfully finding love whilst going through the devastation of bereavement was so beautifully handled, written and dealt with. I think that’s why I was so thoroughly surprised by how much I enjoyed and cherished this book.

Favourite Quotes:

Happy endings don’t matter if the getting there sucks.

It didn’t take inspiration to dredge up a list of plot points, but to find that moment – the perfect moment that defined a book, that made it come alive as something greater than the sum of its words – that required an alchemy you couldn’t fake.

No matter how much shit, there will always be wildflowers.

We can never fully know the people we love. When we lose them, there will always be more we could have seen.

The only promise you ever had in life was the one moment you were living.

Why Should I Read This?

For a swoon worthy, heart-fluttering romance.
For the tender balance between love, loss and facing our inner demons.
For the homage to writers and books which bounces off the pages.

This is a bookishly great romance novel which goes deeper than your average ‘chick-lit’ style aspects of the genre. It’s an incredibly moving story with two highly relatable characters on their quest to get their mojo back. I loved it!

Find out more about this book here:

Amazon | Penguin| Author’s Instagram | Waterstones

Connect with me here:

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

#BookTag – The Fellowship of the Ring Book Tag

The Biblioshelf3 Comments

Happy Tuesday Bibliofriends!

In my quest for more Book Tags, I’m pretty sure I stumbled across this Fellowship of the Rings book tag over at Wyrd & Wonder who posted it as part of their month-long celebration of all things fantasy – bot now I can’t seem to find their original post… You should visit them anyway as they have tons of brilliant fantasy recs!
I absolutely love Lord of the Rings; Middle Earth would definitely have to be on my Bookish Travels Bucket List, I think Tolkien created a really classic and remarkable world. This book tag was originally created by Nandini of Unputdownable Books.

Gandalf – A book that taught you something

Atomic Habits by James Clear
It gave me some form of organization back in my life – I’m an expert at putting things off until tomorrow so it was a really helpful guide at developing some good habits and make me a little more motivated and efficient. I wrote a review about it here.

Frodo – A book that left a mark on you

Remember This When You’re Sad by Maggy Van Eijk
Reading this book gave me a kind of lightbulb moment or wake-up call and kind of symbolizes a bit of a turning point for me on a personal level.

Legolas – A book you finished in one sitting

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
When I went to visit my friend out in Lanzarote, she gave me her copy of this and told me to read it. I became so engrossed in it that I literally sat on the beach and devoured it before the day had ended.

Gimli – A book that features an unlikely friendship

Mirage by Somaiya Daud
I guess there are a couple of unlikely friendships in this depending on how you view Amani’s relationship with Maram compared to her relationship with Idris. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel to find out what happens to this trio!

Merry – A book that pleasantly surprised you

A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer
I was quite reluctant to continue with this series after the mega-twist at the end of the first book and the fact that this sequel introduced a brand-new character; but overall, I was very glad I continued reading and now I cannot wait to read A Vow So Bold and Deadly – it’s one of my most anticipated reads for 2021!

Pippin – A book that made you laugh

Spectacles by Sue Perkins
I managed to see her on tour whilst she was promoting this book. There’s a particularly funny episode to do with a car park which, when she was signing my book, I asked her to draw the example in the front of it. Never fails to make me laugh whenever I open it and see that title page!

Boromir – A book/series that you think ended too soon

Breaking the rules and having two standalones for this one:
To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo – this was so beautifully written that I could have read another 100/200 pages worth of plot and world-building before getting bored.
Descendant of the Crane by Joan He – the hurtling, rollercoaster speed of that ending, plus the strange cliffhangery, twisty ending scene – this is definitely one standalone my brain isn’t ready to leave behind. It appears I’m not alone and Joan He has actually clarified whether any sequels/standalones are in the works (you can read her brief statement here). Let’s just leave it with, ‘if it gets written, I want to read it!’

Sam – A book with memorable side characters who stole the show

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Nina, Jesper, Wylan, Matthias… 💙 Kaz who?! 😂

Aragorn – A good book with a bad/average cover
(side note: I think Aragorn actually has a lovely cover 😉)

Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix by Julie C. Dao
When Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao was released it had such an intricate, vibrant cover… then when the sequel appeared… 🤔 they didn’t match at all and after loving the first cover so much I felt that the ambiguity of the sequel’s cover didn’t match up to what a brilliant series this was.

Gollum – A book that had great potential but disappointed you in the end

Evermore by Sara Holland
When Everless came out, I was blown away by the intriguing concept of blood and time as a currency. Coupled with a folklore-style story of a Sorcereress and an Alchemist, the silent megaphones in my head were screeching ‘omg, omg, omg’ when I finished reading that last sentence. When the sequel came out – it felt as if all the sparkle and dazzle of the first book had vanished and it was like reading a sequel to a completely different story.

TAG – you’re it!! Thanks for reading and feel free to have a go yourself and link back to my post if you’re a Lord of the Rings fan! 🙂

Enjoy your week Bibliofriends,

T xx

#SixforSunday – Role Models

The Biblioshelf2 Comments

Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

We’re continuing the Characters Ahoy theme this week in Six For Sunday and this week is all about Role Models. This was probably the hardest category of all four prompts this month to write for.

Role Models are so personal to each person based on what motivates them so the characters here are all on this list because they have a quality which I deemed admirable. I’ll explain more for each individual character below.

For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is weekly meme hosted by Steph over at A Little But A Lot. Steph also hosts a Twitter chat for Six For Sunday each Sunday evening around 6pm but I never seem to make it as I’m always busy at that time! Maybe this month…?! 🤔

Role Models

Samwise Gamgee – Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Role Model Qualities: Friendship and Loyalty
Sam was the first person who came to mind when I thought of a fictional role-model. The way he cares for Frodo and sticks by him through the good times and the bad inspire me to want to be the kind of Samwise friend to all of my own friends.

Kady Grant – The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristof
Role Model Qualities: Determination and Justice
Kady’s relentless attitude and ‘never-give-up’ motivation is what gave her a place on my role models list. I love the way that she isn’t afraid to fight for what she believes in and pursues that goal right up until the very end. In today’s world of campaigns and activism for a better, more equal future for every single person on this planet regardless of race, wealth or gender, I think Kady’s character is a great role model for standing up for what is right.

Nastya – Romanov by Nadine Brandes
Role Model Qualities: Love and Resilience
Nastya’s character in Romanov was so powerful that tears were rolling down my cheeks by the final page. She is on my role models list purely because of her massive capacity for love and resilience. Brandes did a truly wonderful job of writing this character and making her come to life on the page.

Lou – Me Before You Series by Jojo Moyes
Role Model Qualities: Caring and Selflessness
Moving away from the SFF genres, Lou is the type of character that exists in our real-world lives everyday. Somewhere out there is a Lou right now, putting their own needs aside to try and better the life of someone who isn’t as lucky as the rest of us – even if it breaks their heart a little more every day. To be that caring and selfless to put another’s needs entirely before your own… what greater role model is there than that?

Yrene Towers – Tower of Dawn by Sarah J Maas
Role Model Qualities: Devotion and Inner Strength
I know some people didn’t like the Tower of Dawn element of the Throne of Glass series but I absolutely loved it. Yrene Towers is one of those peripheral characters who ends up making a monumental contribution. Her devotion to her partner (spoiler removed!) and the inner strength she shows throughout her time as a healer but also in her commitment to helping out with ‘the cause’ makes me think she’s a brilliant role model and definitely someone you’d want on your team.

Lia Mara – A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer
Role Model Qualities: Integrity and Courage
Lia Mara’s character was a really welcome surprise for me in the second part of the Cursebreakers series. I wasn’t expecting to like her as much as I did considering she was an entirely new character. The way Lia Mara fought for what she truly believed in, regardless of who she was up against showed true integrity and courage, making her a character you come to admire and trust.

Six role models – all inspiring for various different qualities and traits.

Do you have any real-world or fictional role models? Who would have made your list?
As always, leave your links below or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx