Tag: bookaholic

Biblioshelf Musings – Faebound by Saara el-Arifi

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Hey Bibliofriends!

This week’s Biblioshelf Musings are about Faebound by Saara el-Arifi. Normally I am such a mood reader, however in April I was taking part in the Magical Readathon so had pre-picked all of my TBR and prompts beforehand. Sometimes when I do this, I almost feel like I’m forcing myself to read something just to tick it off the list, rather than because I wanted to – however, this was definitely not the case with Faebound! I was caught hook, line and sinker from the first few pages! It gave me everything I was craving in a brand-new fantasy and I just had to give it the full 5 stars at the end! Read on to find out more in my spoiler-free review!

Book: Faebound by Saara el-Arifi
Genre: Fantasy
Publication Date: January 2024
Publisher: Del Rey
Pages: 392
Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Two elven sisters become imprisoned in the hidden world of the fae where danger, and love, lies in wait. Faebound is the first book in an enchanting new trilogy from the internationally bestselling author of The Final Strife.

A thousand years ago, the world held three beings: fae, elves, and humans. But now the fae and humans exist only in myth and legend, survived by the elves who are trapped in an endless war over the remaining lands.

Yeeran is a colonel in the elven army and has known nothing but a life of violence and hardship. Her sister, Lettle, is a diviner whose magic promises a different future for her and her sister, but the prophecies have yet come to pass.  

When a fatal mistake leads to Yeeran’s exile from the Elven Lands, Lettle, fearful for her sister’s life, follows her into the uncharted territory beyond their borders. In the wilderness the sisters encounter the largest obeah they have ever seen. Part leopard, part stag, the obeah’s magic is harnessed to make weapons for the elven war. It is during this hunt that they are confronted with the impossible: a group of fae who take them captive. Imprisoned in a new land, they must navigate the politics of the fae court all while planning their escape.

Now Yeeran and Lettle are fighting a different kind of war: between their loyalty to their elven homeland and the intoxicating world of the fae, between what duty decrees is right, and what their hearts tell them they need.

My Musings

Sometimes, you just come across a book which grabs hold of you from the very first lines – for me Faebound was that book! I haven’t really read many stories about Elves, other than Lord of the Rings so I had a pretty preconceived idea about what I anticipated an elf to be. Saara el-Arifi completely made my perceptions of the elfish shift and I am so here for how she has represented them in this book!

I adored the sisterly relationship between Yeeran and Lettle. The story was a split narrative between their two perspectives. It took me a little time to find my balance between the two, but further into the story their characteristics were so distinctive that I didn’t need the heading at the chapter beginnings to know who I was reading.

As a Colonel, Yeeran is an exceptional warrior – fierce, strong, smart, always ready for a fight and constantly with some kind of battle weapon or armour. I was thoroughly intrigued by her and the military vibes she was giving off. Add into that the Africanesque, desert style surroundings and this presented my reading brain with an aesthetic I couldn’t get enough of.

Lettle on the other hand, is almost a complete antithesis of Yeeran. Whilst Yeeran is all about strength, mettle and fighting – Lettle reads prophecies about the future. She has a more wistful and romantic outlook on life which perfectly complements her sister. Lettle’s strength comes from more than just physicality, it comes from the devotion and loyalty she feels towards those that she loves, and also the conviction of her beliefs and actions.

The plot was pacy and clearly driving towards goals and revelations. It had me turning page after page, and I was so happy when my train was delayed so I could keep reading those extra few pages! The magic style offered a familiarity that I expected with elves and the fae, whilst still bringing in this breath of fresh air about how they use their magic within their environment.

The obeahs were also thoroughly intriguing characters. I’m a little jealous that I don’t have an obeah of my own in all honesty! The role that they play within the story reminds me of the deamons from Philip Pullman’s The Northern Lights. They are characters within their own right and I loved how these personalities intertwined between the lives of the elves and fae.

Political tensions were well-written, without being dull or long-drawn out. We found out all we needed to know and there was still room for a few plot twists and revelations to see how all of the threads were coming together.

When you think of a story about Elves and Fae, you might think that you’ve heard it all before. But Saara el-Arifi has absolutely smashed that threshold with this amazing novel. I devoured every inch of the wild escapist ride it gave me and am now eagerly awaiting the next instalment to find our what on earth is going to happen to my merry band of el-Arfians!

Have you read Faebound yet or is it on your TBR list? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

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Magical Readathon 2024 – Wrap Post

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Hey Bibliofirends,

April is over, as is the first part of the Magical Readathon challenge for 2024! This readathon is so vast and wide ranging that I’m sure I’m only scratching the surface of the entirety of it, however I’m actually feeling quite OK with just keeping it as an April and August reading quest for myself. I’m guilty of piling heaps of pressure on to complete all of the elements, and usually always end up biting off more than I can chew! I probably would have been a little more successful in my goal had The Tortured Poets Department not come out, however there is no way I am blaming Taylor Swift for distracting me from my reading when she drops a 31-track album that is quickly becoming my favourite!

The Magical Readathon which is hosted by the fabulous G @bookroast! You can find out more information about the Readathon in general, my created character Nárendîl Damenor, chosen career paths and my monthly TBR in my initial TBR post here.

The End Goal

Since my mid-point review, I knew I was pretty much guaranteed to complete one of the six Callings I was aiming for – and I did! I managed to complete the four reading prompts required for the Aeldia Excavationist Calling and I am pretty chuffed about that as it was one of the newer ones. The key traits of being patient, detail orientated, analytical and curious seem to call upon my own natural strengths anyway and I am such a big fan of archaeology – it seemed like the most fitting calling of them all for me to be honest!

Completed Prompts and Books

✅ Animal Studies – A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid
✅ Conjuration – Voyage of the Damned by Frances White
✅ Elemental Studies – Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
✅ Inscription – Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura
✅ Lore – Reread The Legend of Dia
✅ Restoration – Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

The Autumn Equinox Challenge

In August for the Autumn Equinox part of the readathon, my character Nárendîl Damenor is going to have to achieve a D in Animal Studies and a Q in Restoration. This means completing 5 books which is definitely do-able in August and I’m so excited to see what the prompts are for these.

I haven’t really accessed the Guild parts of the Readathon just yet, perhaps that can be something I look into during August! Anyways, that’s all for Part One at least!

Have you taken part in the Spring Equinox part of the Magical Readathon? Did you manage to achieve your chosen calling this month? Feel free to drop me a comment and let me know where your character is headed next and what you’re looking forward to from the Autumn Equinox!

T xx

The Wrap – April 2024

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Howdy Bibliofriends!

Where on earth has April gone? I feel like the last few weeks have been such a whirlwind and May is literally here and we’re barreling towards the mid point of the whole year…!! 🤯 The first half of my month was so very productive, however this last part has kind of fallen to sh*t in terms of my reading and blogging. More on that below!!

Life Update

Initially April was fabulous because I was on my Easter holidays from school. My partner and I got to visit my parents down in Cornwall and spend some time near the sea – it was blissful. We visited Tintagel castle and I became very obsessed with Arthurian legends. We also took a trip to an aquarium in Plymouth. We seem to be cursed with our aquarium visits as the last two that we have visited, we’ve both had to leave because the fire alarm was going off – thankfully we still got to go back in and see all of the sharks and big fish. After returning from Cornwall, we did one of our 2024 day trip adventures and went to Cardiff on the train. We took a tour around Cardiff Castle and visited an amazing second-hand bookshop! I talked a little about this in my mid-month Magical Readathon review.

Then fast forward to the return to school and the absences have been bonkers, we’re all picking up extra lessons and my parallel teacher is currently on medical leave so I’m doing my best to hold up a whole year group – thankfully I have a great team of helpful colleagues who are all pitching in too.

There is another reason for the lack or productiveness on my reading and blogging part – but I thought I’d save that for the music section! 😉

The rest of this Wrap Post follows my usual format (Past Reads, Current Reads, Films/TV, Music) so feel free to skip any irrelevant parts!

What I’ve Been Reading in April

The first half of April was incredibly productive with my participation in the Magical Readathon. It definitely helped me tick quite a few books off the list!

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I loved the eerie atmosphere surrounding Hiraeth Manor and the way the surrounding waters, coastline and mists were almost swallowing up the land. The secrets surrounding the Angharad book were also mystically intertwined to the story and I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

Voyage of the Damned by Frances White ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A murder-mystery set on a ship… loved it! Everything about Ganymedes Piscero’s character was so endearing. I really bought into the whole blessings part of the storyline and trying to work out not just whodunnit, but also the unique blessings of each of the individuals. The animal references and likelihoods were also cleverly crafted.

Faebound by Saara El-Arifi ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wow didn’t I just devour this book! From the setting, to the characters, to the idea of magic and war – this book had everything I was craving in a magical escapade. I also loved this representation of elves and fae too as my brain automatically puts them in LOTR or ACOTAR vibes so it was nice to see this varied representation.

Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Looking back on this I actually want to downgrade my original rating a little as I feel 3* was too generous. I went into this hoping for a bit of a Tomb Raider style, archeologically driven storyline but about 90% of the story was centred around the character relationship and the smut. It was far too much into the romance box for my liking and I have to admit that I speed read it towards the end.

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Without spoilers… I had to reread the final two chapters again because I could not believe what I had read and if I had read it correctly. I still can’t tbh! I have no idea how this story can possibly unfold now… My mind is reeling but I am so irrevocably in love with this series!

#CurrentlyReading

I’m going to take it a little easier in May at deciding what to read. I posted a Top Ten Tuesday a couple of weeks ago about which books are kind of in the starting line, but after being so driven with the Magical Readathon, I just want to let my bookish whims roam free.

I’m currently reading The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni, as well as a non-fiction book about horse racing called The Jumping Game by Henrietta Knight. On audiobook, I’m on A Dance With Dragons to finish off the Game of Thrones, A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin.

What I’ve Been Watching

As part of a Film Club, we’re often at the Cinema at least once a week so I watch a lot of movies. I’ve been using the app Letterboxd to track what I’ve seen and give them rating. If you’re on the app and want a new follower be sure to add me! My profile name is: tillyj

I finally finished Beef! And watched quite a bit of other stuff…

Movies/TV, I’ve seen:

  • Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (Cinema) – I freakin’ love Godzilla! This movie was action-packed, and we saw it in IMAX so the images and sounds were on-point! One of my favourite films of this year so far!
  • Seize Them! (Cinema) – I liked that this was a British medieval-style comedy. Some of it was funny and had me laughing, but it was also a bit of an average watch.
  • Monkey Man (Cinema) – Don’t get me wrong, although this film is gory, violent and quite sad – the storytelling was brilliantly and poignantly done. Films in this style don’t usual capture my attention but the references to Hanuman and Indian mythology throughout sucked me right in.
  • Scoop (Netflix) – Gillian Anderson and Rufus Sewell as Emily Maitlis and Prince Andrew were phenomenal castings! They really got into the depths of their characters and for some strange reason it (almost) made me want to watch the original interview again!
  • Civil War (Cinema) – Wow, oh wow do you have to see this movie! I was blown away and gave it 4.5*! Although you might think this is about war, and whilst it does contain highly graphic depictions of war brutality, the underlying story is about the press photographers on the front line and the dangers they go to just to get their pictures and report the news. Kirsten Dunst was exquisite in her role and did so well at playing the emotionally detached, yet emotionally vulnerable journalist. Spectacular!
  • Back to Black (Cinema) – Marisa Abela did such a stellar job at taking on the role of Amy Winehouse. She showcased everything and sounded so hauntingly like the real Amy without just being pegged as a tribute act. I know there have been plenty of dividing opinions about it, but what I took away from the film was just how deeply one person could feel and the tragic circumstances of how the addictions to whatever love, alcohol or drugs affected her life.
  • Abigail (Cinema) – I can’t help but think of Matilda every time I see Alisha Weir in a film. That being said, she was fantastic as a scary-ass ballerina in this film. It was spooky but funny at the same time and the bloodiness of it all by the end had me squirming in my seat.
  • Challengers (Cinema) – There is something so brilliant in the way this film tells you a story about the lives of three tennis players and then leaves you reeling about how the tennis is almost the fourth character in the whole story. Very cleverly done and engaging!
  • Baby Reindeer (Netflix) – I literally had no idea where this was going. This was dark, twisty yet had some comedic elements at the same time… The fact that it is genuinely a true story and acted by the person who wrote it and lived through it is brilliant. A story I won’t forget in a while that’s for sure!
  • Lost in Translation (Netflix) – This is one of those films where I couldn’t quite decipher what the plot was supposed to be. I was waiting for some major event or storyline to reveal itself but it just appears to be one of those films which follows the ins and outs of a couple of characters and their major life crisis for a couple of hours. I don’t think it’s quite my type of movie!
  • Beef (Netflix) – I finally finished it – the ending two episodes ramped it right up! I couldn’t quite believe what I was seeing on my screen at one point (sliding doors – iykyk…!) I can’t help but feel like the characters got what they deserved even after all of the absurdity that it started with a honked horn and a little bit of road rage!

Music

Y’all know this is going to be about The Tortured Poets Department right??? This is the entire reason my productivity has hit the floor and I haven’t read a book or written that many blog posts since mid-April. I have been listening to this album non-stop…. I think it may dethrone Folklore as my favourite TS album! It has grown and grown and grown on me with every listen. I love it, and it’s ruining my bookish life! I’m gathering a post together about my album thoughts – 31 songs is a lot to get your head around so I don’t really want to say too much else about it here, but know that the musings are definitely coming! 🤍🖤

And that’s a wrap! How was your April? Did you have a productive month? I’m really hoping I get my reading groove back this month, especially after my little book buying splurge earlier in April. What are you all looking forward to reading in May?

As always, drop me a comment to chat! ☺️

T xx

Quarter Year Crisis Book Tag

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Hey Bibliofriends,

I’ve been a little MIA recently due to a certain artist releasing a double album (🤯), with a week’s worth of easter-egg dropping promo before it to boot. Needless to say my brain has been a little bit wrapped up in The Tortured Poets Department and therefore the reading and blogging have been slightly lacking. I have so many thoughts…!

Anyway… I found this Quarter Crisis Book Tag over on Lauren’s blog Little Bit of All That and the prompts were brilliantly centred around reviewing reading habits so far in 2024 that I thought it was a good way to remotivate me and bring me back into the zone! The original tag creator is Roisin’s Reading over at YouTube. I know we’re technically past the quarter point of the year, but I figure we’re close enough to it that this still counts!

How many books have you read so far?

So far in 2024 I have read 24 books. I’m 5 books ahead of schedule to reach my target of 65 by the time 2025 rolls around. April has been quite a successful month for me as I’ve been taking part in the Magical Readathon which you can read more about here and check out my mid-point review of that challenge as well. I’ve got 3 books on the go currently which I’m hoping to complete by the time April is done, however I fear that my audiobook is going to get a little sidelined for the rest of this month.

Have you found a book that you think might be a 2024 favourite?

Having read Fourth Wing, Iron Flame and House of Flame and Shadow in 2024 – they’re going to be very high up on my list. One book I was surprised to love as much as I did was Faebound by Saara El-Arifi. I gobbled up in in about two days! Something about the setting, characters and writing style just resonated with me and I can’t wait for the sequel!

Any least favourite book of the year?

It makes me a teeny bit sad to say this but so far, it’s either going to A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft (review here) or Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura. Although I haven’t managed to get around to reviewing ROTLH yet, I went in it for the archaeology and history but it turns out it was about 10% that and 90% smut… not quite what I had anticipated.

Most read genre?

Fantasy for the win here! It makes up a majority of my reading to be honest. Although I have also read Yellowface which is contemporary fiction, a Taylor Swift bio and I’m currently reading a non-fiction book about horseracing just to ensure that there is some variety in my reading diet!

A book that surprised me?

The Brothers Hawthorne surprised me as I didn’t think I would like this spin-off / continuation (whatever you want to call it!) after the main trilogy had ended. I am so glad I picked it up at the start of the year because it was spectacular! You can read my review here. I guess you could also say I was surprised by how much I took to the Game of Thrones audiobooks. It’s really got me back into the series and I’m currently on the final one!

A book that has come out in 2024 that I haven’t yet read?

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo has been sat tempting me on my shelf, along with A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal. They’ll most certainly be conquered within 2024 – that’s a guarantee!

One goal you made that you’re succeeding at?

Well I’m on track with my 2024 reading goal, but I’m also posting ‘quite’ regular content on my blog which was a mission I kind of rejuvenated a few months back. I’d neglected it for well over a year (maybe even two!) however, my life has recently balanced itself so I’ve been able to find time to write posts and enjoy making content again!

One goal that you need to focus on?

I find that blogging is almost two-parted. There’s the part where you churn out all of your posts and content, but then there’s the other part where you immerse yourself and engage in the community around you. I think that’s the part I need to focus on now, visiting other people’s blogs rather than focusing on my own. I also need to write constant reminders to myself to not leave it too long before actually writing a review of the books that I’ve recently read and just ploughing into the next read! 😂

Quarterly Year Crisis Book Tag is officially wrapped. What books have surprised you so far this year? Have you kept on top of your reading goals or do you have a specific goal you wish you could focus on more? Feel free to consider yourself tagged if you’d love to have your own go at this tag! As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

Magical Readathon 2024 – Mid-Point Update

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Hey Bibliofirends,

Can you believe we are halfway through April already?! It definitely feels like a ‘blink and you’ve missed it’ one. This month, I decided to do the Magical Readathon which is hosted by the fabulous G @bookroast! You can find out more information about the Readathon in general, my created character Nárendîl Damenor, chosen career paths and my monthly TBR in my previous blog post here.

Current Progress

I feel a bit like I’ve bitten off more than I can chew with trying to complete 13 prompts and books, however the challenge has definitely motivated me to try and keep up my reading pace. I’ve completed 5 out of the 13 prompts so far which is almost halfway through. Returning to work today is obviously going to slow my progress so for the remainder of the month I’m honing down on the career paths which I want to take the most.

Completed Prompts and Books

✅ Animal Studies – A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid
✅ Conjuration – Voyage of the Damned by Frances White
✅ Elemental Studies – Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
✅ Inscription – Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura
✅ Lore – Reread The Legend of Dia

The next half…

Out of the 6 Career Paths I wanted to take, they’re still all open to me as I’ve managed to complete at least one prompt in each one. I’ve kind of ordered my remaining TBR list in the likelihood of what is going to be achievable over the next couple of weeks and which career paths are the most appealing.

Aeldia Excavationist is my most likely path as I only have to complete the Restoration prompt for that career and my book pick is Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros – I’m not going to be able to stay away from that one for too long!

Abjurer and Master of Elements are the two most likely runners up. I only have to complete my audiobook of A Dance of Dragons by George R.R. Martin to finish all of the Abjurer prompts and for Master of Elements there is, Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros, Zhara by S. Jae-Jones and The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni to go…

Paths that may fall by the wayside and are being ruled out are: Star Whisperer, Craftsmage and Archmage.

That’s where my character Nárendîl Damenor is headed next on their first trip into Aeldia and Orilium! Are you taking part in the Magical Readathon this year? Feel free to drop me a comment and let me know your career paths or TBR lists! Wish me luck in the next half, I think I’m gonna need it!!

T xx

Easter Holiday Book Haul

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Happy Sunday Bibliofriends!

Today marks the last day of my Easter holiday before the Trinity Term starts tomorrow! I cannot believe we are entering the final term of the year already. I’ve had an incredibly relaxing break and got to spend a lot of it with my partner who also took some time off work. We travelled to see my parents who live in Cornwall and also did some day trips around our local area and took a mini train adventure to Cardiff.

With all of that adventuring there was plenty of secondhand book shopping to be done and it’s fair to say that I had myself a little binge and bought 8 books! Here are my purchases!

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

After saying in a previous blog post that I probably wasn’t going to read this before the film (with Blake Lively in it) comes out, I may have caved in and bought a copy. It was only £3 and the spine is still in perfect tact!

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Turns out I’ve had this on my TBR list on Goodreads since 2020! I don’t know why I never forked out for a brand new book, but I was always on the quest to find a secondhand copy. Seeing it on the top shelf of one of my favourite second-hand bookshops earlier this week was like a treasure hunting dream come true!

Temeraire by Naomi Novik

Whilst in Cardiff, we found this fabulous bookshop called Troutmark Books down one of the tiny shopping arcades. If felt like they had miles of books, I could barely see the top shelves, let alone attempt to reach them. I’ve heard that the Temeraire series is supposed to be pretty excellent and after my recent enjoyment of Ridley Scott’s Napoleon film, what better time to start reading it!

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

Funny story, I also bought this copy from Troutmark Books in Cardiff, but it felt a little like a forced buy. A few days earlier I had bought ‘One Dark Throne’ back in a charity shop and thought that that was the first book in the series (the title being ‘one’ and all…!). I couldn’t remember which Kendare Blake book I had actually purchased either! Picture me sat on the floor of a secondhand bookshop, amidst the stacks, trying desperately to get enough signal on my phone to load Goodreads and discover the order of the series – reader, I bought Three Dark Crowns anyway! Luckily for me I now own books 1 & 2 in the series! 😂🙈

One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake

See the above comment for this one! I can’t believe I purchased the sequel before the first instalment in the series but thankfully a quaint little bookshop in a ‘technically’ different country came to my rescue!

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

I have been intrigued by the premise of this story ever since the hardback came out in 2022 and it won the Book Prize. It reminds me of the type of magical realism Salman Rushdie writes about. My secondhand copy is a little battered and definitely well-read, however for the bargain price of 30p I knew that it was destined to be mine!

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell

This is not my typical genre but when I was at University I got a First for a paper I wrote all about the d’Este family and the duchy of Ferrara in Italy which this novel is about. Obviously my purchase had nothing to do with the gorgeous cover either…! 👀

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Again not something of my typical genre, but I have heard such amazing things about this writer and this book so I figured now was the perfect time to start! I haven’t seen the Hulu series yet either so I’m going to be completely unspoiled!

That’s my bargain book haul – 8 books for the total price of £18.10! Obviously I have absolutely nowhere to put these having rearranged my shelves once this month already – eek! Have you read any of these? What books have you been buying this month? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

Happy Scrabble Day!

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Hey Bibliofriends,

Writing this blog has introduced me to a whole range of new knowledge and information including the fact that today, April 13th, is National Scrabble Day! The popular word game Scrabble was invented by Alfred Mosher Butts in 1938. Alfred was born on April 13th 1899, hence why we celebrate Scrabble on this day.

As a lover of board games and etymology, it’s no surprise that Scrabble is one of my favourite board games. We haven’t played in a long time, namely because the last time my mother seemed to think she could take up to 30 minutes to decide what her next word was going to be…! 🤨

Nevertheless, in honour of National Scrabble Day, here are 10 of my favourite weird and wonderful words to spell with Scrabble tiles!

1) bedazzles = 30 points
Any kind of references to dazzling and sparkly things is going to make me happy. Bedazzles will score you a minimum of 30 points due to its double z but could net you a whopping score if combined with a triple letter or word tile.

2) mozzarella = 30 points
Following the zz theme, the cheese lover in me is always seeking ways to try and create this word!

3) queue = 14 points
We were always on the lookout for the ‘qu’ combination and the word queue was a popular choice to get rid of it!

4) jiffy = 21 points
“In a jiffy!” was always something that my Nan says when my Grandad is constantly pestering her for things! It seems to be a very British phrase and I love the sound of the word!

5) meadow = 12 points
Not necessarily a highscoring word, however meadow is one of my all time favourite words and I find it a useful way of using an ‘m’ and a ‘w’ tile together.

6) gherkins = 16 points
I used to hate gherkins as a child and would pick them out of any burger that they came in! Now my adult tastebuds have developed, I kind of love their pickly goodness!

7) jellyfish = 25 points
So the likelihood of acquiring all of these tiles is pretty slim but it’s still quite a cool challenge to try and lay it down.

8) quizzify = 41 points
Anything to do with quizzes, riddles and puzzles and I am there!!

9) bookish = 16 points
Come on, there had to be a little bookish word love in here too!

10) confuddle = 16 points
Hopefully you’ll get to confuddle your opponents with this whacky word!

Ten totally random Scrabble words that I love trying to create when playing! Happy Scrabble Day to those who celebrate! What words do you play? Have fun creating those words! As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

Biblioshelf Musings – A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft

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Hey Bibliofriends!

This week’s Biblioshelf Musings are about A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft. This review post has been sat with me for a fair while as it’s been a good couple of weeks since I finished reading it. Themes of dressmaking, the historical setting and the fact that this is a fantasy standalone had me reaching it from my shelves. The cover of my Fairyloot edition and the hidden detailing under the dust jacket were mighty fine too! Read on to find out more in my spoiler-free review!

Book: A Fragile Enchantment
Genre: YA / Fantasy / Romance / Historical
Publication Date: January 2024
Publisher: Orion
Pages: 370
Rating: 📚📚📚

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Niamh Ó Conchobhair has never let herself long for more. The magic in her blood that lets her stitch emotions and memories into every dress she makes is the same one that will kill her—sooner rather than later—and she’s determined to spend the little time she has left guaranteeing a better life for her family. When she’s commissioned to design the wardrobe for a nearby kingdom’s royal wedding, she knows this is her one chance to make something of herself.

Niamh arrives in Avaland, where young nobles are making their debuts into society during the candlelit balls and elegant garden parties that fill the social Season. The only damper on the festivities is the groom himself: Kit Carmine, prickly, abrasive, and begrudgingly being dragged to the altar as a desperate political act. Beneath Avaland’s glittery façade, unrest is brewing, and an anonymous gossip columnist has been spreading rumors about corruption within the royal family. As Niamh grows closer to Kit, an unlikely friendship begins to blossom into something more…until the columnist starts buzzing about her chemistry with the prince, promising to leave her alone only if she helps uncover the royal family’s secrets. Niamh discovers that the rot at the heart of Avaland goes far deeper than she bargained for—but exposing it could risk a future she never let herself dream of, and a love she never thought possible.

Transporting readers to a Regency England-inspired fantasy world, A Fragile Enchantment is a sweeping romance threaded with intrigue, unforgettable characters, and a love story for the ages.

My Musings

I desperately, desperately wanted to love this book. All of the themes seemed to appeal to things that I enjoy – the regency element, the creation of dresses with a hint of magic, the enemies to lovers / forbidden love vibes…. but sadly, my overall reading experience just felt a little lacklustre – which is probably why it’s been so hard for me to cobble together thoughts.

Firstly, I couldn’t quite pinpoint the roots behind the setting of this book and these characters. Supposedly inspired by regency England, there is not much within the text to actually suggest that. From Niamh’s name, my main guesses were that the Machlish were supposed to be inspired by Ireland – however asides from her surname, little else in the book hinted to the Emerald Isle. There are brief mentions of the Fair Ones and place names which have an Irish vibe, however these are not referred to in greater detail. At certain points, the characters referred to Niamh’s surname Ó Conchobhair as O’Connor which was slightly confusing. Assumedly this use of watered-down name derivatives is to try and highlight the oppression of the Machlish from those in Avaland (or the English butchering of the Irish language perhaps?!), but it wasn’t clearly pointed out or developed into the plot. All in all, although the descriptions of gardens, court life and castles were quite decorous, I felt like there was a little bit of a missed opportunity here to widen the depths of this fantasy setting and craft an incredible world based on a place which is steeped in legend, folklore and political disputes.

The characters in the story offered enough drama to keep me winding my way through the story’s pages. Niamh is pure-hearted and just wants what is best for her family. I loved the way she can magically infuse emotions into the clothing that she stitches. She is a fairly well-balanced heroine in that she stands up for the greater good but with some cajoling will also pursue her heart’s desires at the same time. Kit Carmine, the Prince of Avaland – epic character name… a little broody, secretive and possibly misunderstood by those around him. I loved the snark and sass that he offered. His darkness was the perfect parallel to Niamh’s sunny disposition. The presence of a mystery gossip writer gave me total Bridgerton vibes, but ultimately didn’t have quite the same pull and witty sarcasm as Lady Whistledown. Rosa was a character which I was very intrigued by. Her magical talents were quite at odds with everyone else’s in the story. Her character exuded peculiarity and mysticism which was an excellent buffer against all of the regency romance.

Overall, A Fragile Enchantment has a lot to offer fans of Regency, Whimsy and Romance. The plot is revealed at a steady pace to the development of the characters, there are some twists and turns along the way, as well as the big reveal of the mysterious gossip-writer Lovelace. My particular Fairyloot Special Edition was exceptionally well designed with an incredible amount of detail on the hardcover by @bluelyboo and endpapers by @sashac_art. For me personally, I just wanted a little bit more depth and intrigue from what this book was promising and it didn’t quite hit the mark.

Have you read A Fragile Enchantment or is it on your TBR list? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

Connect with me here:

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

Biblioshelf Musings – House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

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Hey Bibliofriends!

This week’s Biblioshelf Musings are about House of Flame and Shadow [Crescent City #3] by Sarah J. Maas. My brain is literally all over my kitchen floor right now after finishing this book – and I’m kinda grateful for that considering I thought I’d be finishing this book in Starbucks, whilst waiting for my car to be serviced, and everyone around me would witness the fully blown mental breakdown that often comes at the end of a Maas tale. 🙈 Luckily, Urd helped me to escape that fate! I’m not sure whether this post is going to form as an actual ‘review’ or whether I’m just going to be rambling on about my feelings and theorising about where the Hel this series goes next!

🚨 Needless to say there are spoilers ahead for the entire Maasverse so if you are not up to speed with ANY of Maas’ other books, you might want to pop back to this at a later date…! 🚨

Book: House of Flame and Shadow [Crescent City #3] by Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Fantasy
Publication Date: January 2024
Publisher: HarperTeen / Magpie
Pages: 835
Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

The stunning third book in the sexy, action-packed Crescent City series, following the global bestsellers House of Earth and Blood and House of Sky and Breath.

Bryce Quinlan never expected to see a world other than Midgard, but now that she has, all she wants is to get back. Everything she loves is in Midgard: her family, her friends, her mate. Stranded in a strange new world, she’s going to need all her wits about her to get home again. And that’s no easy feat when she has no idea who to trust.

Hunt Athalar has found himself in some deep holes in his life, but this one might be the deepest of all. After a few brief months with everything he ever wanted, he’s in the Asteri’s dungeons again, stripped of his freedom and without a clue as to Bryce’s fate. He’s desperate to help her, but until he can escape the Asteri’s leash, his hands are quite literally tied.

In this sexy, breathtaking sequel to the #1 bestsellers House of Earth and Blood and House of Sky and Breath, Sarah J. Maas’s Crescent City series reaches new heights as Bryce and Hunt’s world is brought to the brink of collapse-with its future resting on their shoulders.

My Musings

Erm, excuse me – I don’t mean to be rude… but I think my edition of HOFAS is missing a few pages… particularly towards the end… it’s missing an epilogue with a rather twisty cliffhanger…? Right?!

Not five minutes after finishing this book, I had to go on Google and just check whether or not this was the final book in this series – I never had it pegged down for a trilogy, however with that final chapter having all of this weird closure… it’s something I’m not used to as a Maas reader. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not arguing or saying that I dislike the ending, I had just hoped that we wouldn’t necessarily be having quite so much finality just yet.

My theory on this is that with four main houses on Midgard’s world, surely the next novel has to be The House of Many Waters right… so are we having another ACOTAR situation where after book 3, the main narrative now moves onto one of the side characters (à la A Court of Silver Flames)? Hmm, who do we know from the House of Many Waters who has taken on a central part in Crescent City… Tharion Ketos. I’m predicting that he’s now taking over the main storyline from Bryce and Hunt and we’re going to find out how his life pans out with the Viper, River and Ocean Queens, plus his (rather sassy) wife Sathia.

Throne of Glass stan that I am, by far my favourite reveal was about Lidia’s ancestry. It had always been hovering at the back of my mind (in the same way that any ‘stag’ symbolism has me immediately thinking of the Lord of the North), that there had to be some connection in these books with the world of Erilea. References to the shifter fae with their elongated canines had me absolutely screaming internally! I was getting major green-eyed Reaper envy of all the Prythian links and cross-overs, with hardly any references at all to my beloved Fireheart… enter The Hind! I had so many Kingdom of Ash flashbacks when Lidia strode out onto that battlefield! It even reminded me of the Yielding of the Thirteen and my eyes were immediately welling up. And omg Brann… Brannon! *kicks myself for not spotting this link sooner…* Asides from the creepy-ass ‘fertility ritual’ stuff, I am so here for this ancestry line and neeeeed to know more!

Overall, I’m satisfied with how this all played out. Nesta and Azriel got some pretty epic cameos which I loved, especially the mirroring and parallels between the two worlds and their hidden cave systems and carvings. The mists, ley lines and thin places elements are setting up so much in the way of crossovers for whatever Maas brings us next within her multiverse [clearly someone’s been watching a lot of Phase 1-3 Marvel! 😍].

The fight scenes towards the final summit with the Asteri were incredibly intense, fairly predictable SJM self-sacrificing stuff, but I enjoyed seeing Jesiba’s softer side and her forfeit for Bryce towards the end. All of the Midgardians and Princes of Hel pulling Bryce and Hunt out of that Black Hole had me in absolute floods, even if I did know deep down that Maas wasn’t really going to kill Bryce off. It was a pretty epic finale, I’m not even sure how anything on Midgard could even follow that, hence the reason for all of my procrastinating over where the supposed next book in this series goes. I can’t really imagine Maas writing up a whole novel on setting up a new Midgarian senate and energy system.

I rewatched the Today interview that SJM did when bringing out House of Flame and Shadow purely to see if I could glean anything I hadn’t already picked up on. Clearly we know that there’s still some major shit going down in Prythian, hence the giving of the Starsword over to Nesta – something tells me it’s going to become a vital weapon in a future battle. I’m also insanely curious as to the ’emotional’ secret project that SJM is working on after the next ACOTAR instalment. Any thoughts on what it is? Could we be diving back into the Throne of Glass world, maybe something about Manon and the witches…? A Princes of Hel novel? Or something entirely new?

Hopefully if you made it this far, you’ve definitely read all the Maaslore that’s currently available and I haven’t just ruined anything for you. I’m so desperate to chat about this series so if you have any thoughts, theories, major gaping plot holes which you also feel the need to talk about, as always, drop me a comment below to chat!

T xx

Connect with me here:

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

Magical Readathon 2024 – April TBR!

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Hi Bibliofriends!

A few years ago, my friends and I stumbled on this amazing Harry Potter readathon hosted by G @book_roast which centred around a 2-part challenge with the aims of earning your OWLs and NEWTs. Fast forward a few years and G has created her very own Magical Readathon complete with worlds, callings and guilds! I’m finally in the headspace where I’ve watched all of the videos and am ready to embark on my Novice Path on the way to Orilium!

What is the Magical Readathon?

If you’re brand new to Book Roast’s Magical Readathon, the best place to head to is G’s channel over on YouTube. There, you will find a beginner video to tell you all you need to know to begin your quest and the link to the G Drive containing all of the important files and information. It can be a little daunting to start off with, but after watching a couple of videos, the rest of the way is pretty easy and incredibly fun!

My Character

I’m not sure I have enough creative energies to pick my own character so I have very much gone with the ‘pick one thing’ from each list option!

I used a couple of different elvish name generators to come up with the name. I think it means ‘Fire Friend’. I chose the wildling and providence based on what I’ve been used to growing up (we live in a very green part of the country thankfully!).

I purposefully left my Calling blank at the moment. I shortlisted a number of different callings which I wanted to try and pursue and I think I’ll see which one I end up with based on my reads that I achieve during the month. Shortlisted callings are: Aeldia Excavationist, Star Whisperer, Abjurer, Craftsmage, Master of Elements and Archmage.

My Magical Readathon TBR

With my indecisiveness around which Calling I wanted to pursue, I decided to create a list of all the prompts needed for those particular choices and created my TBR list from that. The number next to each one refers to how many of the Callings feature that School of Magic as a required skill. I’ve purposely left Psionics and Divination blank at the minute as I couldn’t work out how to do a prediction bingo prompt and the likelihood of me ticking all of these off my list by the end of April is quite slim! 😂

That’s my Magical Readathon TBR and April Reading Goals all wrapped up into one! Are you taking part in the Magical Readathon? Do any of my April book choices make your monthly TBR too? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx