Tag: biblioshelf

#SixforSunday – Books Set In The UK!

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Happy Sunday Bibliofriends!

We have a brand new theme for March with our Six for Sunday prompts and I am so excited for Around the World in 80 Books! This week we are focussing on books set in the country where we live. Now initially, when I wrote all of the prompts in my planner I accidentally wrote down down the word ‘love’ instead of the word ‘live’ so I had to quickly go back and change my Italian themed post… I definitely don’t live in Italy! I do however live in a beautiful area of England called the Cotswolds and spend my time between here and Cornwall (lockdown permitting!). Most of the books I seem to read are predominantly SFF which take place in fictional or off-world locations but looking through my ‘Read’ pile there are still plenty of delightful books set in the UK that I can compile today’s list from.
For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is weekly meme hosted by Steph over at A Little But A Lot. March’s theme is ‘Around the World in 80 Books!’ (which sounds like some exciting travel adventure I’d definitely be signing up for!).

Books Set in England!

  1. The Agatha Raisin Series by M.C. Beaton
    The Agatha Raisin series is probably my most locally-set series that I have on my shelves as it is set in the Cotswolds and the author herself lives in a village not very far from where I live. I’ve only read the first one so far but it definitely makes me feel at home when I read it. From the characters, to the houses and scenic countryside – I’m always wondering whether some of the people we bump into have found themselves transported as a character into one of her books.
  2. The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare
    I have recently started reading Clockwork Prince just in little short bursts in reading breaks from other books. I’m really intrigued to see where this series goes as a lot of people have told me they preferred it to The Mortal Instruments which I felt was a little bit dare-I-say average… My hype-o-meter isn’t as huge for this London-based series though so I’m hoping that I’ll enjoy it (I’m just praying for more Magnus Bane moments tbh!).
  3. Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier
    There had to be a Cornish one on the list! Not going to lie, but my desire to read this stemmed completely from the Most Haunted episode at the Jamaica Inn on Bodmin Moor and then a trip to the Inn itself. I’m a massive coastal setting / pirate fan so I loved reading the book. After watching the film Rebecca and learning more about du Maurier’s time spent in Cornwall I can’t wait to read more of her books.
  4. The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles
    I read this as part of a module at university but the setting of Lyme Regis just swept me away. We visited there once on a holiday where we toured the South coast. I love the lampposts that have the fossil style decor on them. That image in the book of Sarah just standing on the Cobb completely encapsulates the whole novel for me – it’s such tragic love story and was a lot different to the kinds of other romances I was reading as a late teen / early tween!
  5. Spies by Michael Frayn
    This is one of my favourite WW2 books that I’ve read. The way the children played in the street or in the field near their houses was a little like the way I spent a bit of my childhood so I guess that I find it filled with a little bit of sentimentality and nostalgia – although we definitely didn’t have the kind of adventure they enjoyed in this novel though! 😂
  6. Hag: Forgotten Folktales Retold edited by Daisy Johnson
    Hag is a wonderful collection of forgotten folktales from around the UK retold by women authors with a feminist twist. I really enjoyed discovering some tales which were completely unfamiliar to me written by some quite well-known authors. The whole tone of the collection gave off these brilliant gothic/horror type vibes at times as well which was right up my street. You can read my review of it here.

So there are just a few books that I found whilst scrolling through my ‘read’ shelf – all of them set in particular parts of the UK. I thought at first that this task would be really hard, but actually I found myself wanting to include so many more books on my list that I remember as having typically UK settings and fill me with that sense of home – even if I do spend a majority of my time dreaming about far off shores and fictional worlds!

What books are set in the countries, cities or places where you live?
As always, leave your links below to your own posts or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

Biblioshelf Musings – Requiem by Daniel Ståhl

The Biblioshelf3 Comments

Hello Bibliofriends!

This week’s Biblioshelf Musings is of the poetry genre! I was approached by the author Daniel Ståhl to read Requiem (In Memory Of All That Should Have Been), his collection of sonnets at the beginning of this year and since I haven’t really read any poetry recently, I thought this would be a great time to dip my toe back in again. Poetry seems to offer a versatility and flexibility that you don’t always get with fiction so I was pleased to be able to go into Daniel’s collection with a really open mind to see what I found – and reader, I was mind-blown at how stunning Daniel’s writing was and sheer level of detail and effort that must have gone into creating it.

Book: Requiem: In Memory Of All That Should Have Been by Daniel Ståhl
Genre: Poetry
Publication Date: December 2020
Publisher: lulu.com
Pages: 430
Rating: 📚📚📚📚.5

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Through its 211 interwoven poems, this double-tiered recursive crown of sonnets takes the reader on an epic journey to the heart of mankind’s would-be nemesis – herself – and back again. Does her destiny await in the unexplored depths of the cosmos, or in a toxic wasteland of her own making? Does she have the will to shape her own future, or is she a slave to her myopic wants and impulses?

My Musings

Requiem is like nothing else I have ever read. Told through sonnets, the overarching story follows a she-giant through her various thoughts and contemplations as she considers what it really means to craft her own destiny and be alive.

In such brief 14 line segments of writing, Ståhl quickly builds up an atmosphere that I found incredibly intoxicating – at times its apocalyptic, in places it offers futuristic hope. The undercurrent of dystopia running through each sonnet really emphasised the internal predicaments and turmoil of the she-giant’s musings and I found myself almost picturing her standing in some Mount Doom-esque landscape just watching the world fall to bits around her – that imagery was intensely vivid and brought about by such powerful language and expression. At times, I found the whole arc of the character’s journey to be slightly on the abstract side (for my own brain!), but it was a nice feeling just be swept away by Daniel’s writing. You cannot help but be drawn into this she-giant’s story, to experience her feelings and despair and then develop this sense of empathy and desire for her to rescue herself.

“Are we witnessing the beginning of the end, or merely the end of the beginning?”

As we wind our way through each sonnet, the continuous countdown of the clock on the pages between each poem heightens that build up of tension and the sense of heading towards something that we may never come back from. In our modern days where we are only now seeing the devastating impacts our industrial and digital revolutions have on planet earth and the natural world (and having recently read David Attenborough’s A Life on Our Planet), I couldn’t help but transpose that real world sense of crisis into the narrative that Ståhl was weaving; the sense that on some futuristic level ‘this’ could be the fate of mankind made for a quite heady reading experience.

For me though, the absolute gem of this whole book was the sheer intricacy, detail and conception of the whole thing. With an English Lit degree, I’m no stranger to sonnets – but a crown of sonnets…? This was an entirely new reading experience for me and I was so grateful for Daniel’s concise breakdown and explanation at the start of his work to help me understand how this collection was constructed. Even then, my comprehension of what was actually unfolding between each crown, then each master sonnet, and how they seamlessly moulded and pulled everything preceding together took a little time for me to fully realise its impact, but when the light bulb went off… wow! By the time I got to the very final page, my excitement at the grand unveiling had reached fever pitch and my mind was well and truly blown. The dedicated and meticulous planning that went into crafting these double-tiered recursive crowns and the mechanics at how it all fits together like some grand poetic jigsaw puzzle is like nothing I have ever read before – I don’t really want to give any spoilers away by revealing more because discovering it for yourself is just so mesmerising.

Requiem really is a stunning work of art. You don’t have to be an avid poetry fan to find something here to enjoy. Whether you’re a reader looking for something different and new, you’re intrigued by how to survive a future that could be apocalyptic and dystopian; you appreciate the technical and structural aspects an author employs when crafting of a piece of writing – there is so much to be entranced by and fall in love with between the pages of Requiem. 

Why Should I Read This?

For the intriguing, structurally exquisite organisation of this poetic masterpiece.
For a fun-filled fusion of science-fiction, philosophy and poetry.
For a unique reading experience. 

Find out more about this book here:

Amazon | lulu.com | Goodreads | Author’s Website

Connect with me here:

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

‘Tis the Damn Readathon TBR!

The Biblioshelf5 Comments

Hi Bibliofriends!

I was SUPER excited when a friend messaged me literally yesterday to tell me about the ‘Tis the Damn Season Readathon based around Taylor Swift’s album that is happening this very month and hosted by some fabulous people (you can find out more specific details by watching this YouTube Video by Drinking By My Shelf). Of course, this is also the perfect excuse for me to keep playing my favourite Taylor albums on repeat again! 😂🙈

The Readathon centres around Taylor’s 9 different albums with a choice of prompts for each. The idea is you tick off each album from the bingo-board style graphic based on the house in the Lover video but you can do as many or as little prompts as you like! There’s a brilliant website set up for it (visit here) where you can find all of the prompts, info about your hosts and a link to some exciting merch. Let the Readathon begin!

My TBR

Taylor Swift

Picture to Burn – Post a pick of your book on social media: so I don’t know which book this will be yet but I’m pretty sure I can manage this at some point in March…

Fearless

Breathe – Do some meditation: I do this every week day anyway so this will be an auto-achieve.
Fifteen – Read a YA Book: At least three of my books for other album prompts are YA so that will be covered there.

Speak Now

Speak Now – Listen to an audiobook: The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley

Red

Red – Read a book with a red cover: The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher
22 – Take a dance break:This seems like so much fun that I just had to include this as well. Headphone kitchen discos are pretty much my Friday nights anyway in lockdown!

1989

1989 – Read a book with a number in the title: Eight Will Fall by Sarah Harian

Reputation

(Free choice > Blank Space Tile) – A book Taylor has referenced: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Lover

Lover – Read a predicted 5* read: All Our Hidden Gifts (ARC) by Caroline O’Donoghue
You Need To Calm Down – Self Care: With the children coming back into school like normal from 8th March I’m predicting a bit of self care will definitely be needed this month!

Folklore

Folklore – A book based on mythology or a retelling: Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar

Evermore

Evermore – TBR Jar Pick: I think I’m going to let the fates decide this one nearer the time!

Eeeeeekkk! I’m so excited to finally start this readathon! I had a reading sprint last night to finish the book I was reading (I also wanted to try and finish it whilst it was still February) so I could go straight into March cracking on with ‘Tis the Damn Readathon!

Are you taking part in ‘Tis the Damn Readathon or is it something you’re definitely going to do if you’re just finding out about it right now? What books are on your March TBR or which ones are your biggest anticipated reads for this month? Leave me a link to your TBRs and blog posts!

Take care and stay safe Bibliofriends,
T xx

#SixforSunday – Books That Made You Cry

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Happy Sunday Bibliofriends!

This week’s Six For Sunday theme is all about ‘books that made you cry’. Confession time: I am a huge cry-baby, to the point where I actually googled a few months ago whether I was some kind of empath… I just found myself being overwhelmed or crying at no end of TV, books, music – no kidding, I watched Taylor Swift’s Reputation Tour on Netflix, saw a girl crying in the audience and an actual tear came out of my own eyes!!!
So this post is almost like the ‘follow-up / B-side / sister album’ to last week’s Six for Sunday post about ‘books that made you FEEL‘. Think of it as the Buzz to my Woody, the cheese to my toast, the cookie to my dough…
For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is weekly meme hosted by Steph over at A Little But A Lot. February’s theme is ‘Read it and Weep!’ (which I have definitely done in all of my choices for this month!).

Books That Made Me Cry!

  1. Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks!
    When I read this in High School for a War Literature class it was probably one of the largest books I’d ever read. I remember being daunted by the size of it but the not having to worry as I just couldn’t stop turning the pages. It was such a tragic story and one that stayed in my mind for a long time.
  2. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
    I can never really talk about this book without majorly spoiling things but the ending broke me! I was in denial for quite a while that Bardugo could really finish a book like that – I’m still not really over it! 😂
  3. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
    Surprise surprise that this made the list! 😂 You know when you sometimes watch a horror movie and you’re yelling “Don’t do it, don’t do it!” That was what my reading voice was screaming during the final parts of this book. It was just so moving. I don’t think I’ve been so drawn to two characters like the way I was to both Addie and Henry for a very long time.
  4. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
    If I can cry at the Pixar movie Bolt then I was always going to cry over this novel! It’s weird to say that it’s a favourite because of the circumstances within the story but there was just something so familiar and endearing about the characters that you really felt like a part of the tragedy.
  5. One Day by David Nicholls
    I’ve talked about this book before because I love the concept of tracking what a friendship is like on the same day across a number of years. The ending of this book was a real distraction when I was working to an essay deadline. I genuinely didn’t see what was coming – I think the film really spoils that as the twist is made all that more obvious.
  6. Spectacles by Sue Perkins
    I was so thrilled to meet Sue and get a signed copy of her memoir when she was doing her book tour at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. If you’ve read it, I asked her to draw the smiley face inside my book which caused a fair amount of laughing. There’s one part in here though where Sue talks about losing a beloved pet and having been through that kind of pain myself it really resonated with me and I sobbed for ages. I think I had to put the book down so I could actually take a break from it!

What books made you club like a baby? Have you read any of my selections – did you find them as weepy as I did?
As always, leave your links below to your own posts or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

#SixforSunday – Books That Made You FEEL

The Biblioshelf6 Comments

Happy Sunday Bibliofriends!

This week has been half term week and it has been so lovely just to catch up with myself, my blog, my reading and my housework – with current lockdown restrictions there’s pretty little else to do anyway! 😂 The Film Club I am a part of is having its 2020 review a little later on today so I’ve been looking back over all of the different films I’ve been watching in 2020 and pick my favourites. I’m hoping to make a separate post about it soon but it has definitely given me something to do over this week!

This week’s Six For Sunday theme is all about ‘books that made you FEEL’. It was so hard to pick just six books for this prompt and I made an initial list in my blog planner of my selections. But then… I looked ahead to next week’s prompt which is all about books which made you cry and I found myself having to reshuffle a few around on my list so as not to repeat myself. Quite a lot of the books that invoke strong feelings in me usually mean that I’m bawling my eyes out! 😂 I’ve tried to pick a different range of feelings for the books in this week’s prompt as there are so many wondrous feelings our darling books give us! For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is weekly meme hosted by Steph over at A Little But A Lot. February’s theme is ‘Read it and Weep!’ (which I have definitely done in all of my choices for this month!).

Books That Made Me FEEL!

  1. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas!
    Ok, there is no list that I could write for this prompt without including this book. It should actually come with a ‘swoon alert’ on the front cover. Feyre has got to be one of the luckiest protagonists in fantasy literature – that’s all I’ll say!
  2. Romanov by Nadine Brandes
    Wow was I won over by Nastya in this story! I know next week is supposed to be about books that made us cry but I couldn’t get through the final chapter of this without bawling like a baby. The level of hope and perseverance that Nastya’s character exuded was so endearing. I don’t know if that was because I’ve studied the Romanovs before and the real-life story has always been one of the most intriguing historical mysteries to me therefore I was hoping for that happy-ever-after that the true Anastasia didn’t really have, but this book definitely left it’s mark on me and gave me lots of different feels from the start to the finish!
  3. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
    I am SO glad I finished reading this book in time to put it on my list this week. I mean, can you read this and not end up feeling something when you finish that final page?! You know sometimes when you finish a book, and you know it’s going to leave its mark on you for an incredibly long time but you having quite compiled all of your thoughts together coherently yet…? That’s me, at the minute, with THUG – it’s simply amazing!
  4. Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Maas
    So I know this is another repeat performance for this author on the list but if you’ve read this book then you’ll know there’s a scene in here of absolute sacrifice and when I first read it, I couldn’t actually believe what I had read and had to go back just to check that I wasn’t making up my own version of the story – my inner head voice was also screaming ‘no, no, nooooooooo’ at the same time. So yes, Kingdom of Ash sure as hell made me FEEL – and then some!
  5. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
    I’ve never quite felt such pity for a character quite like Eleanor Oliphant. There’s that point in the novel where you realise really clearly and explicitly what is happening – and then it sank into my own head that for some people this is real-life. A completely different set of feels to ACOMAF and KOA but similarly to THUG there was a really poignant message lying at the core of Eleanor Oliphant.
  6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
    I couldn’t grow up with these characters and that world and then not end up having feels at the end of this series. To add to that, there is that one scene where one of my favourite characters of all-time meets their ending and I’m still in a bit of denial to be honest that it actually happened.

What books gave you all the FEELS? I’m in need of some recommendations to reconnect myself to my emotions after all of this lockdown isolation – feel free to suggest some titles!
As always, leave your links below to your own posts or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

#SixforSunday – Beloved Books

The Biblioshelf3 Comments

Happy Sunday Bibliofriends and Happy Valentine’s Day if you celebrate it!

With love in the air, what better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than with a Six for Sunday post filled with my favourite, most loved books of all-time! These are probably the books (or series) that would be on my list for being stranded on a desert island, to rescue from a burning building, to put in a secure lock-box time capsule so they’ll stand the test of time… – you get the idea right? We’re talking God-Tier type stuff right here!

For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is weekly meme hosted by Steph over at A Little But A Lot. February’s theme is ‘Read it and Weep!’ (which I have definitely done in all of this week’s choices!).

Beloved Books!

  1. The Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J Maas!
    This series really kickstarted my love of reading again – and particularly my renewed enthusiasm for YA fantasy. I just love everything about these books – the characters, the plot twists, the cliffhangers, that formidable sense of knowing things will go badly and then they do! Plus, the series is so long that I’ll never get bored of reaching the end of Kingdom of Ash (with tissues for that mega cry’athon moment – if you know, you know!) and then going back to Assassin’s Blade to start all over again.

  2. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
    So continuing with the epic long books theme, Middle Earth has such a special place in my heart. Being perfectly honest, it was the films that first made got me into this series accompanied with that exquisite Howard Shore score. Reading the book after watching the films helped me to visualise things that little bit more clearly. Tolkien’s narration style is not something that I could breeze through easily and it took me about a month to get through the whole three volumes but the sense of achievement when finishing it made me love the whole thing even more. It’s definitely a classic fantasy pick and has firmly cemented itself onto my God-Tier of books.

  3. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
    I can’t quite remember where I stumbled across Ready Player One – it may have been in one of those indie record stores that occasionally sold books at half the RRP. I remember reading on the front cover that it was supposed to be a cross between Willy Wonka and the Matrix, couple that with my addiction to book-buying and the rest they say is history. I absolutely consumed the whole thing from cover to cover – the amount of pop culture references crammed into those pages, the whole treasure hunt theme, the Easter Eggs, the triumph of humanity over consumerist greed – it’s one of those books that feels like it was written especially for me. I’m so happy I found it.

  4. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
    This was the first time I’d ever read anything by Schwab and I was completely blown away. Addie’s character came straight out of those pages and right into my heart. The way the story couples magic with identity made it highly relatable and Schwab’s storytelling was so amazing that you could tell how much love she poured into her story and her characters. I could gush about how much I love about this book all day!
  5. The Shadow of the Wind / Cemetery of Forgotten Books series by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
    I’ve written quite a few times before about how Zafón is one of my all-time favourite authors. His writing style is like no other that I have ever read, it’s like he caresses ever single word that comes out of his brain and onto the page. To me, his stories have a brilliant blend of magical realism and literary fiction, couple with a devotion to books and the written word. Barcelona is definitely a place on my travel bucket list so I can go and explore a little more of the world that inspired him so much.
  6. The Harry Potter Series
    I can’t talk about my most loved books without mentioning the Harry Potter series. Whilst I don’t support the author’s personal views, I’ve tried my hardest to separate the art from the artist. I grew up reading these books. I grew up alongside Harry Potter. I found a fictional home inside the Wizarding World that I didn’t quite have in the real world and they books were a massive part of my childhood so they’ll always be a part of my favourites list.

What are your most loved books / characters /series? Feel free to gush and get your adorations out – it is Valentine’s Day after all! 😍
As always, leave your links below to your own posts or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

#SixforSunday – Books With Red Covers

The Biblioshelf2 Comments

Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

It’s February already?! On the one hand I am loving that we are getting closer to Spring (and half term!) but on the other it feels like time is flowing so rapidly and I’ve got very little to show for it. I really hit the wall reading A Vow So Bold and Deadly and I don’t think I’ve picked it up all week! 😏 I really need to push on through it as I’m hoping I’ll get to that point where everything in the story flips and then you just can’t put it down.

This week’s Six for Sunday we are starting a brand new theme which I am so excited for. February is all about Read It and Weep! Perfect for the month of love…! 😂 Anyone who knows me will know that I cry at so, so many things so I’m hoping the ‘weep’ side of the prompt comes easily this month! Today though, we are listing books with red covers. I had so much fun scrolling through my shelves and my Goodreads to find examples of these. If you read the above comment then the first pick should be no surprise! For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is weekly meme hosted by Steph over at A Little But A Lot.

Books With Red Covers!

Apart from the top one (which is my ‘currently reading’), the rest of my choices this week are books fro may ‘Read’ shelves that I absolutely loved reading and would recommend to anyone depending on their favourite/most read genres.

A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer

The Windsor Knot by S. J. Bennett

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix by Julie C. Dao

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas

Us by David Mitchell

What books do you have on your shelves with red covers? And more importantly, have you ‘read‘ any of them yet? 😂
As always, leave your links below to your own posts or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

Biblioshelf Musings – The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

The Biblioshelf8 Comments

Hello Bibliofriends!

This week’s Biblioshelf Musings is about a fantastically rich, character and culture driven YA fantasy called The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna. I first received this book as a physical ARC in June 2020’s FairyLoot box and it has taken me until now to finally get around to reading it – although what better time with its release date set for this week! With a premise of Children of Blood and Bone meets Black Panther, I definitely went in with high expectations and – there were definitely not disappointed!

Book: The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
Genre: YA / Fantasy
Publication Date: February 4th 2021
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 432
Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

The start of a bold and immersive West African-inspired, feminist fantasy series for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Black Panther. In this world, girls are outcasts by blood and warriors by choice.

Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs.

But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity–and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death.

Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki–near-immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire’s greatest threat.

Knowing the dangers that lie ahead yet yearning for acceptance, Deka decides to leave the only life she’s ever known. But as she journeys to the capital to train for the biggest battle of her life, she will discover that the great walled city holds many surprises. Nothing and no one are quite what they seem to be–not even Deka herself.

My Musings

One of the 2021 reading goals I wanted to set myself was a quest to read more diversely. Spending so much time with my head in the pages of authors such as Cassandra Clare, Sarah J Maas and Holly Black was lovely (and great for my ‘modern fantasy must-reads’ game), but with more prominent and widespread news coverage about issues surrounding race and diversity – now was as good a time as any to kickstart my goal with The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna.

There were so many things I enjoyed whilst reading this book, but the biggest one by far was the group of characters. These girls were pulled together from all across Forna’s fictional kingdom of Otera and were made up of all different heritages, classes and backgrounds. I loved the way their friendship knitted together as they showed each other their vulnerabilities and then supported and empowered each other to become fierce, strong warriors. You can’t help but have empathy for these girls, especially people like Deka and Belcalis whose sufferings are so brutally told – then admire the loyalty people like Britta, Asha and Adwapa show to Deka even at a time when they may be unsure of her motives.

The beginning of the novel is pretty much atypical of other YA fantasies – you can see what is coming and where it’s going, but when the group of alaki (the girls whose blood runs gold) get to their training camp, the author really kicks things into gear and the story begins to unfold in a riveting fashion. I loved learning about the mythology surrounding the alaki and it was on the deathshriek raids where I found the world-building to be particularly strong – there were a couple of particularly amazing scenes in temples which really appealed to the wanderlust in me! 

In her author’s letter at the end of the novel, Namina Forna explains to the reader that this book is an examination of patriarchy. She outlines the questions that she wanted to try and answer through her narrative and boy-oh-boy did she deliver on them. This story is all about the idea of the ‘Goddess’ and how women have been continually supressed by a male-dominated world, practically forcing themselves to become monsters and demons just to survive. Whilst the sad reality is that this is probably a more true-to-life reflection of what some girls and women may face in cultures and civilisations left in today’s world, the incredible storytelling of the author has managed to address this in a creative and magical plot which provides an intriguing and interesting story.

After the ending, I’m still left with so many questions about where this story goes now. Whilst I could predict parts of what happened and what was revealed at the final showdown, I’m definitely intrigued and curious to see how the next instalment plays out and what else lies in store for Deka and her fearsome group of friends!

Why Should I Read This?

For a well-paces, character-driven plot where you can really get inside the mind of Deka, the MC.
For an empowering group of women who support each to overcome the stigmas and suppression enforced on them by the patriarchy.
For a lavishly dark, rich fantasy stepped in West-African culture and magic!

Find out more about this book here:

Amazon | Waterstones | Goodreads | Author’s Twitter | Author’s Website

Connect with me here:

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

#SixforSunday – Bookish Hates

The Biblioshelf4 Comments

Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

It’s the end of January and strangely this feels like such a short month in some respects (Lockdown 3.0 I’m looking at you 🙄) but then in others it seems to have gone at a nice tranquil pace…! The snow has kickstarted my love for the great outdoors so I’ve been making sure to take myself out for a walk as soon as I get home from work. Our village has these lovely trees along the High Street which are all lit up with beautiful white fairy lights so it’s very pretty to walk around in the evenings.

This week’s Six for Sunday was quite a tricky one for me as I found the theme very broad. Today we’re thinking about Bookish Hates and I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to go for tropes I found annoying, bookish pet peeves or other random things I don’t like to do with books – so this might all be a mish-mash! For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is weekly meme hosted by Steph over at A Little But A Lot.

Bookish Hates!

  1. Reading with the dust jacket on!
    I cannot read a hardback book and keep the dust jacket on it while reading. It just keeps moving around and then I worry about finger prints all over the artwork, or ripping/creasing the cover and I’m just so pedantic over it all that I end up taking the cover off to read the book. My pernickety-ness gets even worse if the hardcover is foiled because then I have to hold it so carefully to try not to rub the foiling off! 🙈

  2. Deja-Vu
    Now this one is probably by own fault because I read so much fantasy, but do you ever have that feeling when you’re reading a book and you’re sure you’ve read it before but you know you can’t have done as the book you’re reading only just came out…? There are so many times I’ve read a plot which is just like another plot and it just puts me into a reading slump. I end up needing to go to a different genre just to get my reading mojo back.

  3. Trending Titles
    Similarly to the above, ever since a book series seems to have gone interstellar there always seems to be releases afterwards which border on plagiaristic titles. Things like ‘A Court of…’ or ‘A ___ of ___ and ___’ (insert various birds, animals, collective nouns, weapons or weather elements here).

  4. The De-Facto Romantic Interlude
    Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the odd swoon every now again when a writer does romance and does it well. But I just can’t help from eye-rolling everytime the MC suddenly falls in insta-love with their sidekick who they’re now suddenly seeing in a new light… it feels like the romance is just shoved in as a tenuous sideplot because there’s clearly nothing else those characters can do in their story anymore. Whatever happened to mutuality and just great friendships?!
  5. The Cover-Swap
    Yes I am that person that has to have matching editions of a series. It really bugs me when cover designs change halfway through a series and it makes me not want to order the books anymore – either that or secretly order a new set with all matching covers and pretend that they looked like that all along! I have also been known to trawl eBay checking ISBN numbers before I buy – damn those stock photos! 😂

  6. The Photo Cover
    Don’t ask me why but I really don’t like it when there is a photograph of a real person on the cover of a book. It puts me right off and freaks me out a little bit for some reason. Drawings on the other hand, I can totally cope with! 🙃

What are your bookish hates? Feel free to rant and offload, get all that angry angst about spilled tea, cracked spines and mis-matched book series out… you know you want to! 😂
As always, leave your links below to your own posts or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

#SixforSunday – Books I’m Excited For in 2021

The Biblioshelf2 Comments

Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

Yet another week of lockdown done and dusted! This week’s Six For Sunday, continuing with our ‘It’s All About Books’ theme is centred around ‘Books I’m Excited For in 2021’. So I’m practically super excited for my physical 2021 TBR but I feel like I’ve already mentioned those books a load of times already. My ‘anticipated reads’ game has also been way off so far, mainly because I’ve been concentrating on getting through the afore mentioned TBR and finishing series rather than starting them! With that in mind, I’ve actually gone through my NetGalley Request list and added a few of those in here too as I’m obviously intrigued to read them when they are released later in 2021…!

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’m Excited to Read in 2021!

  1. Written in Starlight by Isabel Ibanez – publishes Jan 2021
    I’m already a little confused as to whether this is a sequel or a companion novel? I purposefully haven’t read the blurb but I just remember loving Ximena’s magic and woolly animals in the first novel that I’m definitely going to have to Ibanez’s follow up. I’ve recently read some reviews digging a little deeper into the representation (or misrepresentation may be more accurate) Woven In Moonlight gave about Bolivian politics so I’m intrigued as to what this novel will be like.

    Blurb from Goodreads:
    An adventerous South American Tomb Raider! This hotly anticipated companion to Woven in Moonlight follows an outcast Condesa, as she braves the jungle to forge an alliance with the lost city of gold.
    If the jungle wants you, it will have you…
    Catalina Quiroga is a Condesa without a country. She’s lost the Inkasisa throne, the loyalty of her people, and her best friend. Banished to the perilous Yanu Jungle, Catalina knows her chances of survival are slim, but that won’t stop her from trying to escape. It’s her duty to reclaim the throne.
    When Manuel, the son of her former general, rescues Catalina from a jaguar, a plan forms. Deep in the jungle, the city of gold is hidden, home to the fierce Illari people, who she could strike an alliance with.
    But the elusive Illari are fighting a battle of their own—a mysterious blight is corrupting the jungle, laying waste to everything they hold dear. As a seer, Catalina should be able to help, but her ability to read the future in the stars is as feeble as her survival instincts. While searching for the Illari, Catalina must reckon with her duty and her heart to find her true calling, which could be the key to stopping the corruption before it destroys the jungle completely.
  2. Poison Priestess (Lady Slayers) by Lana Popovic – publishes April 2021
    I absolutely loved Popovic’s writing style and world-building in Wicked Like A Wildfire and although I’m yet to read the sequel to that duology, I’m still really excited to see what tales Popovic weaves in this second instalment of the Lady Slayers series.

    Blurb from Goodreads:
    In 17th-century Paris, 19-year-old Catherine Monvoisin is a well-heeled jeweler’s wife with a peculiar taste for the arcane. She lives a comfortable life, far removed from a childhood of abject destitution—until her kind spendthrift of a husband lands them both in debt. Hell-bent on avoiding a return to poverty, Catherine must rely on her prophetic visions and the grimoire gifted to her by a talented diviner to reinvent herself as a sorceress. With the help of the grifter Marie Bosse, Catherine divines fortunes in the IIle de la Citee—home to sorcerers and scoundrels.
    There she encounters the Marquise de Montespan, a stunning noblewoman. When the Marquise becomes Louis XIV’s royal mistress with Catherine’s help, her ascension catapults Catherine to notoriety. Catherine takes easily to her glittering new life as the Sorceress La Voisin, pitting the depraved noblesse against one other to her advantage. The stakes soar ever higher when her path crosses with that of a young magician. A charged rivalry between sorceress and magician leads to Black Masses, tangled deceptions, and grisly murder—and sets Catherine on a collision course that threatens her own life.
  3. All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O’ Donoghue – publishes July 2021
    Not gonna lie – the pretty cover drew me in and then the Tarot Cards had me sold on this one! I’m keeping my fingers crossed I get this arc request as it sounds like such a fun read!

    Blurb from Goodreads:
    Maeve Chambers doesn’t have much going for her. Not only does she feel like the sole idiot in a family of geniuses, she managed to drive away her best friend Lily a year ago. But when she finds a pack of dusty old tarot cards at school, and begins to give scarily accurate readings to the girls in her class, she realizes she’s found her gift at last. Things are looking up – until she discovers a strange card in the deck that definitely shouldn’t be there. And two days after she convinces her ex-best friend to have a reading, Lily disappears.
    Can Maeve, her new friend Fiona and Lily’s brother Roe find her? And will their special talents be enough to bring Lily back, before she’s gone for good?
  4. She Who Became The Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan – publishes July 2021
    The description of this book gave me such Mulan vibes and even better that it’s based on the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

    Blurb from Goodreads:
    Mulan meets The Song of Achilles in Shelley Parker-Chan’s She Who Became the Sun, a bold, queer, and lyrical reimagining of the rise of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty from an amazing new voice in literary fantasy.
    To possess the Mandate of Heaven, the female monk Zhu will do anything
    “I refuse to be nothing…”
    In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness…
    In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family’s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family’s clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected.
    When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother’s identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate.
    After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu takes the chance to claim another future altogether: her brother’s abandoned greatness.

    At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
  5. Rainbow in the Dark by Sean McGinty – publishes August 2021
    Yet again, I’m such a clickbait for taglines on books. Wizard of Oz meets Ready Player One *jaw drop*! I need this book in my life and cannot wait for it to come out! #praystothenetgalleygods

    Blurb from Goodreads:
    The Wizard of Oz meets Ready Player One in this darkly comic YA novel about identity, depression, giving up, and finding your way home.
    High school senior Rainbow is trapped with three other teens in a game-like world that may or may not be real. Together, they must complete quests and gain experience in order to access their own forgotten memories, decode what has happened to them, and find a portal home.
    As Rainbow’s memories slowly return, the story of a lonely teen facing senior year as the new kid in a small town emerges. Surreal, absurdist humor balances sensitively handled themes of suicide, depression, and the search for identity in an unpredictable and ultimately hopeful page-turner that’s perfect for fans of Shaun David Hutchinson, Adam Silvera, and Libba Bray’s Going Bovine.
  6. A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer – publishes Jan 2021
    This is one trilogy finale that I will be needing to read sooner rather than later! I loved the first two in the Cursebreakers series and after reading a sneak peek of AVSBAD from each character’s perspective then this one is definitely going to be added to the purchase list!

    Blurb from Goodreads:
    Face your fears, fight the battle.
    Emberfall is crumbling fast, torn between those who believe Rhen is the rightful prince and those who are eager to begin a new era under Grey, the true heir. Grey has agreed to wait two months before attacking Emberfall, and in that time, Rhen has turned away from everyone—even Harper, as she desperately tries to help him find a path to peace. 
    Fight the battle, save the kingdom.
    Meanwhile, Lia Mara struggles to rule Syhl Shallow with a gentler hand than her mother. But after enjoying decades of peace once magic was driven out of their lands, some of her subjects are angry Lia Mara has an enchanted prince and magical scraver by her side. As Grey’s deadline draws nearer, Lia Mara questions if she can be the queen her country needs.
    As two kingdoms come closer to conflict, loyalties are tested, love is threatened, and an old enemy resurfaces who could destroy them all, in this stunning conclusion to bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer’s Cursebreaker series.

What books are you looking forward to reading in 2021? What do you think will be your most anticipated read of the year?
As always, leave your links below to your own posts or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx