Tag: bookworm

Characters of the Year Tag – 2023 Reads

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Happy Thursday Bibliofriends!

I was still reminiscing about last year’s reads when I stumbled across this great Characters of the Year Book Tag on Books are 42 blog. With it being Awards Season at the moment, this tag felt like a brilliant way to celebrate last year’s reads.

Favourite Male Character of the Year

This has to go to Jacks, the Prince of Hearts from the Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy by Stephanie Garber. I really enjoyed trying to work out the motivations behind his character and the complex hero/villain vibes he gave off.

Favourite Female Character of the Year

This was quite tough as I read some pretty fierce famous characters this year. After scrolling through my reads, this accolade just has to go to Alex from When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill. I totally fell in love with her character arc. From her naivety of the world around her, to the sheer maturity, resilience and determination she imbued to try and overcome her obstacles – I absolutely devoured her narrative!

Most Relatable Character of the Year

Reading so much fantasy, this was probably the most difficult of all of the prompts to be honest. If I had to pick one character, I would say Xiomara from The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo – purely the facet of her that works so hard at trying to live up to the expectations put upon her by others. If that isn’t a relatable trait then I’m not sure what is!

Couple of the Year

Be still my beating heart… Iris and Roman from Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross were such a shoe-in for this role. I wouldn’t quite call them ‘enemies‘ to lovers, but the rivalry between them definitely adds to the building chemistry and tension. I can’t wait to find out what happens to them in the sequel which is very near the top of my 2024 Reading List.

Villain of the Year

This was another prompt which really made me think. Ian Hammond from Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton definitely caused a fair bit of villainous chaos! I was originally going to go with the dinosaurs themselves, but thought that wasn’t very fair to them considering they didn’t really ask to be brought back from extinction…! 😂

Most Disliked Character of the Year

Again, another difficult one… Sirscha from Forest of Souls by Lori M. Lee was my pick for this, only because she was a main character which I never really bonded with or bought into when reading. Something about her, and pretty much the whole novel to be honest, just didn’t click with me.

Royal of the Year

Hands down, Princess Samantha from the American Royals series by Katharine McGee wins Royal of the Year. I’m so glad I stumbled across these books. Sam brings the perfect antithesis to the rule-abiding Princess Beatrice, and whilst I could have chosen them both as Siblings of the Year (along with Prince Jefferson, of course!), Sam’s refreshing bursts of rebellion and rule-breaking add some fantastic humour to the story. I’ve really enjoyed her transformation and character journey and can’t wait to read about what lies in store for her in the remaining books.

Sidekick / Non-Main Character of the Year

I mulled over this one for ages but I think I have to give it to the entire Bestiary from Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell. This is such a wonderful book about an archipelago of fantastical creatures and the creatures themselves steal the show. From Gelifen the Griffin, to the Sphinxes and the Ratatoskas, this book was filled with so many wondrous side characters who brought this magical world so vividly to life.

Siblings of the Year

Camino and Yahaira from Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo deserve this siblings of the year award. I was so taken by this found family story and how both of the girl end up coming together and making space for each other in their respective lives. It was a really heartwarming ending to what began as quite a tragic story.

There you have it, my characters of the year from my 2023 reads! Have you read any of the books these characters came from? Which characters would make your own character of the year awards? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

#Top Ten Tuesday – New-To-Me Authors I Discovered in 2023…

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Hey Bibliofriends,

Happy Tuesday! I’m back with another Top Ten Tuesday post!

If you don’t already know, Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly, list-themed book prompt hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is all about new-to-me authors that I started reading in 2023. I had to rack my brains for this one a little bit and cycle back through last year’s reads to get the full ten!

Michael Crichton

2023 was the year I finally read Jurassic Park and The Lost World by Michael Crichton! I loved his writing style so much that my partner suggested we try and find a copy of his other novel Congo. We went on a mini treasure hunt around our local charity shops and second hand book stores coming away with a little stack of Crichton’s other works. Don’t be surprised if you see them on my 2024 Reading Wrap at the end of the year!

Katharine McGee

I’ve already explained how I came across the American Royals arc in a second-hand book shop and fell in love with the series, and although I haven’t read any other of McGee’s stories, I love the humour and with she weaves into her characters. One of my friends just gave me American Royals Book 3 and I’m really excited to see where the series goes.

Elizabeth Acevedo

I met Elizabeth Acevedo at a Literature Event last year. She was so sweet and funny so I bought a stack of her books in the signing tent. I thoroughly enjoyed the narrative verse style of her writing in The Poet X and thought that the way she merged Dominican Republic heritage with sisterly bonds in Clap When You Land was really special. Her new novel Family Lore is on my 2024 TBR.

Rebecca Ross

I know Rebecca Ross has written some quite well known fantasy stories, but the first time I experienced her writing was with Divine Rivals! I’m so glad I did as this book was totally worth the hype!

Kelly Barnhill

Again, I’ve already mentioned in other posts how much I loved When Women Were Dragons, but I didn’t quite realise just how many other stories Kelly Barnhill has written. I’m intrigued by two of her other books (The Girl Who Drank the Moon and The Crane Husband). They will definitely be on my Audible search-list this year – unless I take myself off a book buying ban first! 😂

Mariely Lares

Lares’ Mexican history fantasy Sun of Blood and Ruin had me swooning! For starters, the cover was divine, but also I’m really fascinated by Mesoamerican mythology so this was right up my street! There’s definitely going to be a sequel to Pantera’s tale and I can’t wait to see how Lares brings her pages to life next.

Adrienne Young

Adrienne Young is one of those authors who has always been on my radar, I’ve just never really picked up any of her work. I adored the undersea and nautical elements of the Fable series (World of the Narrows). Young crafted such a adventurous storyline that I’ll absolutely be reading more of her work in the future.

Roshani Chokshi

Chokshi is another author who has quite a well-know repertoire that I just haven’t picked up. I discovered The Last Tale of the Flower Bride in one of my Fairyloot boxes and loved the way she built her worlds and her characters with a little dark and magical mystery.

Paolo Coelho

I’ve had The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho on my TBR for such a long time as it’s one of those ‘1001 books to read before you die’ type novel. His writing style is quite profound and I can imagine he brings that that style into the rest of his works.

Gabrielle Zevin

I had Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow as an audiobook and really enjoyed it. Again, I wasn’t really aware just how much Zevin had published before her most recent book became a major bestseller.

That’s it! My Top Ten new-to-me authors that I discovered in 2023. Which new-to-you authors would make your list? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

#Top Ten Tuesday – Books I meant to read in 2023…

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Hey Bibliofriends,

It feels like this week has been eternal so far… like, how is it only Tuesday already?! At least that means it’s time for a Top Ten Tuesday post!

If you don’t already know, Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly, list-themed book prompt hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is all about books I meant to read in 2023, but didn’t get to. My brain has been so fried already this week, that I’m not even sure I remember what 2023 was, let alone what I thought I was going to read. Last year, I stopped blogging and therefore kinda stopped making a particular TBR – at least it wasn’t too hard picking my TTT this week! 😂

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

I remember buying this in an independent book store and literally hugging it all the way to the till… but then for some reason, I never read it. Fortunately the over-looming spoiler threats ahead of Crescent City 3 have got me currently reading this one right now!

The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni

I literally have this entire trilogy sat on my shelf. I even purchased the sequels just so that I could get a matching set and they’re still sitting there, all of them unread.

Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

Copy and paste comment as above…! The hype for this made me want to read them and see what all of the fuss was about, but alas – I never got round to it.

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

I was lucky enough to meet Samantha Shannon at a Literature Festival in Cheltenham and get a signed copy of the re-release of this book. In a way, I’m glad I waited as she recommends the updated version of this and the only one I had on my shelf at the time is one of the paperbacks which came out when it was first released 10 years ago (can you believe?!?!).

The Empire of Gold by Shannon Chakraborty

These books transport me to another place and time. I can’t wait to dive into the final instalment in this trilogy and find out what happens to my favourite characters!

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner

Seeing this cover made me swoon when this book was first release – it was total instalove. I was so happy to get it in my Illumicrate box, but then I think the size of the text kept making me put it back on the shelf. With the sequel incoming though, I’m definitely hoping to get to it this year.

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

Again, the hype surrounding this made me add it to the ‘imaginary 2023 TBR’ but yet again, the small text size made me think that it would take me ages to read it so it stayed lonely and neglected on the shelf.

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

This book appeared so many times on people’s favourite book lists and recs that it made me so curious. Coupled with the Providence Card aspect of the plot, it’s a book that’s going to be staying towards the top of my TBR.

Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquival

More of an obscure selection… This book first came across my path when I saw the Royal Opera House ballet version of Like Water For Chocolate in a live cinema relay. I immediately became swept away into the magical, Mexican, foodie-inspired world. When I found out it was based on a novel, I headed straight to our local bookshop, which is literally piled floor to ceiling with forgotten books – you can’t move without knocking some stack over. Low and behold, there it was, sitting at the back of a shelf in the ‘E’ section, a 1993 paperback! Fate had stepped in and mystically brought me to my random, obscure book. I started reading it immediately of course, didn’t I…? Well no, it’s still sat on the unread part of my bookshelf! 🙈

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernières

I can’t quite remember why I pulled this book off my shelf and put it onto my TBR pile. I’ve never seen the movie so I haven’t been spoiled for the plot yet. It seems like such a classic piece of fiction that I’d like to try it at some point this year.

That’s it! My Top Ten books that I wish I had got around to reading in 2023. You could alternatively call some of them ‘books I’m embarrassed not to have read yet!’ 🙈 What would make your list? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

2023 Reading Wrap

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Happy Saturday everyone!

How are you spending the weekend? I am off to the dreaming spires of Oxford to wander round and see if I can spot any little bookstores hidden away!

I know we’ve passed the middle of January but I haven’t quite got around to wrapping up my 2023 reading year just yet. I set myself a Goodreads challenge to complete 60 books and I literally just completed it on New Years Eve!

2023 was a fairly busy year for me but although I read 5 fewer books than 2022, I managed to read about 3,000 more pages (25,067 in total). On average, my typical book length was about 400 pages. I made my way through a range of genres including SF-F, Crime, YA and Literary Fiction.

I read Heartburn by Nora Ephron because, at some point in my memory, it had been a book pick for the Between Two Books book club. If you haven’t come across it before, they are a Florence + the Machine fan-based book club, Florence even picks some of the chosen reads for it herself! Although The Ink Black Heart was an absolute door-stopper of a book, I felt like it was a real achievement to make it all the way through to the end – I also like to think it acted as a bit of subtle weight lifting too… 😂

The Books…

First read of the year: Madly, Deeply: The Alan Rickman Diaries by Alan Rickman
Last read of the year: Congo by Michael Crichton

My Favourite Reads and Highlights!
Looking back at what I actually did read in 2023, I could rant on about why I read these particular books and even some funny stories about how/where I bought them from, but here’s just a few of my best bits!

  • Madly, Deeply: The Alan Rickman Diaries by Alan Rickman – I’m a huge Alan Rickman fan and devoured his diaries. The end-notes from Rima were almost too heartbreaking to read but I found this to be such a fascinating insight into his life.
  • Happy Place by Emily Henry – Oh how I adore Emily Henry’s writing! She has such an ability to craft a plot and characters in a way which make my heart melt!
  • Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton – One of my favourite movies, I’m so glad I took the chance on reading this. If I didn’t love the film so much, I’d say the book was better!
  • When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill – I listened to this on Audible and for some reason it completely had me hooked. I don’t think I fully got my head around the ‘women as functioning dragons in society’ part but Alex’s character completely sucked me into her narrative.
  • Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross – This was one of those reads that was definitely worth the hype! Magical typewriters, rivals to lovers, weird mystical creatures relating to some sort of world mythology… I can’t wait to read Ruthless Vows!
  • Throne of Glass rereads – This was the year I also finished my Throne of Glass rereads on Audible. It’s one of my all-time favourite series and I’m so excited for Crescent City 3 coming out later this month!
  • American Royals by Katharine McGee – I stumbled across an ARC of this in a charity shop and bought it on a whim. Boy was I glad I did! It’s one of those guilty pleasure reads and once I started, I just couldn’t put it down!
  • Darker Shades of Magic by V.E. Schwab – After my little pilgrimage to the Portobello Book Shop on a trip to Edinburgh, I finally made my way through this series! I’ve finally been introduced to Lila Bard and the infamous Kell! I’m excited to see where Schwab takes the next part of the series.

And that’s 2023 all wrapped up! Have you read anything on my 2023 list? Are some of these on your never-ending TBR? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T – The Biblioshelf 🤗

Biblioshelf Musings – The Grimrose Girls by Laura Pohl

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Hey Bibliofriends!

This week’s Biblioshelf Musings are about The Grimrose Girls by Laura Pohl. This book had me sold at ancient fairytale curses and an elite school setting so I was thrilled when my ARC request was accepted! It’s put me right in the mood for this spooky Halloween season!
Huge thanks to NetGalley, Laura Pohl and the publishers SourceBooks Fire for providing me with a complimentary e-ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Book: The Grimrose Girls by Laura Pohl
Genre: Teens and YA / LGBTQIA+
Publication Date: October 26th 2021 (UK release: November 26th 2021)
Publisher: SourceBooks Fire
Pages: 400
Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Once Upon a Time meets Pretty little liars.

Four troubled friends, One murdered girl… and a dark fate that may leave them all doomed.

After the mysterious death of their best friend, Ella, Yuki, and Rory are the talk of their elite school, Grimrose Académie. The police ruled it a suicide, but the trio are determined to find out what really happened.

When Nani Eszes arrives as their newest roommate, it sets into motion a series of events they couldn’t have imagined. As the girls retrace their friend’s last steps, they uncover dark secrets about themselves and their destinies, discovering they’re all cursed to repeat the brutal and gruesome endings to their stories until they can break the cycle.

This contemporary take on classic fairytales reimagines heroines as friends attending the same school. While investigating the murder of their best friend, they uncover connections to their ancient fairytale curses and attempt to forge their own fate before it’s too late. 

My Musings

My university dissertation was based around fairytales so I absolutely jumped at the chance to be able to review this book straight from the mention of ancient fairytale curses. The Grimrose Girls is a fast-paced adventure set in a highly prestigious boarding school; it gave me all of the dark academia vibes and its links to some of the more ancient, classic fairytales gave this story a powerfully dark and gripping atmosphere.

For me, the best thing I loved about The Grimrose Girls was that Laura Pohl sort to showcase the original fairytale stories in all of their dark, twisted glory and break the glass slipper mould of ‘Disney-fied Happy Endings’. From The Little Mermaid and Snow White to Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, the ancient curses connecting this group of characters revealed the origins of these stories in their most brutal forms. It was quite a refreshing take on a genre which I love so much.

The characters themselves were each intriguing in their individual ways. I had so much fun working out which fairytale fate each character was destined to take up, some were slightly more obvious than others. Through Yuki, Ella, Rory and Nani, we are given a range of identities and representations to connect to. Be it parental expectations, grief, sexual identity or just working out who the hell you’re supposed to be whilst growing up – there were plenty of cultural and lifestyle character facets here to bring about diversity amongst this group of girls. It was interesting to see the range of emotions each one went through as they dealt with the death of a friend and sought to reforge and re-establish their fractured friendships. Even though the setting isn’t actually a single-sex girls’ school and there a couple of male characters in the story, sometimes the catty dialogue and humorous interactions between the girls sent my mind right back to my own education at an all-girls’ school!

I have to admit, I wasn’t totally aware that this book was going to be a series when I first started reading so the cliffhanger ending right at the end was abrupt in the best possible way. Although one or two mysteries get solved within the final pages, there’s still so much more to come from this fantastic plot. I’m already eagerly awaiting the sequel as it feels like these girls are just getting started on their epic fairytale-debunking quest!

Why Should I Read This?

For the representation of original fairytales in all their twisted, brutal glory.
For a diverse range of fierce female characters who bond together to overcome an ancient evil.
For the dark academia vibes of The Grimrose Académie setting.

Find out more about this book here:

Amazon | Waterstones | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | Author’s Website | Sourcebooks Fire | NetGalley

Connect with me here:

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

Biblioshelf Musings – Midnight in Everwood by M.A. Kuzniar

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Hey Bibliofriends!

This week’s Biblioshelf Musings are about Midnight in Everwood by M.A. Kuzniar. There’s always something about The Nutcracker that signals Christmas is just around the corner so as soon as I read the blurb for the Nutcracker-esque retelling Midnight in Everwood, I immediately added it to my TBR pile! And boy, it did not disappoint! This is one of my all-time favourite reads this year. I had to give it 5/5 stars, it’s pure, delectable perfection from start to finish.

Huge thanks to NetGalley, M.A. Kuzniar and the publishers HQ for providing me with a complimentary e-ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Book: Midnight in Everwood by M.A. Kuzniar
Genre: Sci-Fi and Fantasy, Literary Fiction
Publication Date: October 28th 2021
Publisher: HQ
Pages: 384
Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

A spell-binding retelling of The Nutcracker, filled with enchanted toys, decadent balls, fierce feminine friendships and a forbidden romance. For fans of The Toymakers, Caraval and The Bear and the Nightingale.

There’s nothing Marietta Stelle loves more than ballet, but after Christmas, her dreams will be over as she is obligated to take her place in Edwardian society. While she is chafing against such suffocating traditions, a mysterious man purchases the neighbouring townhouse. Dr Drosselmeier is a charming but calculating figure who wins over the rest of the Stelle family with his enchanting toys and wondrous mechanisms.

When Drosselmeier constructs an elaborate set for Marietta’s final ballet performance, she discovers it carries a magic all of its own. On the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve, she is transported to a snowy forest, where she encounters danger at every turn: ice giants, shadow goblins and the shrieking mist all lurk amidst the firs and frozen waterfalls and ice cliffs. After being rescued by the butterscotch-eyed captain of the king’s guard, she is escorted to the frozen sugar palace. At once, Marietta is enchanted by this glittering world of glamorous gowns, gingerbread houses, miniature reindeer and the most delicious confectionary.

But all is not as it seems and Marietta is soon trapped in the sumptuous palace by the sadistic King Gelum, who claims her as his own. She is confined to a gilded prison with his other pets; Dellara, whose words are as sharp as her teeth, and Pirlipata, a princess from another land. Marietta must forge an alliance with the two women to carve a way free from this sugar-coated but treacherous world and back home to follow her dreams. Yet in a hedonistic world brimming with rebellion and a forbidden romance that risks everything, such a path will never be easy.

My Musings

The Nutcracker meets Alice in Wonderland and The Chronicles of Narnia is this beguiling wintry fairytale from M.A. Kuzniar. Whether it’s the twinkling Tchaikovsky soundtrack, the magical nostalgia of seeing Christmas through a child’s eyes or the curiously enchanted sugar plum fairies and Mouse Kings, there is just something ensorcelling about the tale of the Nutcracker in all of its numerous variations.

Whilst I’ve seen the Nutcracker ballet several times, I haven’t read the original tale of The Nutcracker and The Mouse King by E.T.A. Hoffman so cannot offer comparisons of Midnight in Everwood to the original telling of the tale. In spite of this, I was still equally blown away as to how Kuzniar has taken the most magical elements of this charming story and breathed fresh life and purpose into her reimagining.

I’m a huge fan of novels which craft a world I can imagine leaping into with my ‘literary worlds passport’ and the world-building in this novel is so on point, it’s exquisite! From frozen sugar castles, moose pulled sleighs, miniature reindeers, marzipan alleyways and ballet stage sets with mechanical moving mice, the whole creation of Everwood appealed to every single sense in my body. There was so much attention to detail in everything from what the characters ate to the elaborate costumes they wore to balls. Kuzniar’s language and descriptions were an absolute confectionary delight of storytelling which is one of the main reasons I had to give this book 5/5 stars.

The characters are truly endearing. Mariette starts off as a determined yet naive society girl who just wants to dance rather than settle down into an arranged marriage. Upon her arrival in Everwood, she gets beguiled by all of the enchantments and possibilities of that new world. When the rose-tinted glow of that kingdom finally wears off and she develops strong friendships with Dellara and Pirlipata, Mariette emerges as a fierce, confident woman who has the courage to stand up for what she believes in and follow her dreams.

Dr. Drosselmeier appears as the perfect sinister, morally grey villain. He tries so hard to ensnare her into his magical world, yet ends up providing her with the exact tools and experiences she needs to overcome him. His parody within the world of Everwood keeps you guessing as to whether his character resides within that magical world or if he is just the great orchestrator from the outside.

Captain Legat offers up the forbidden romance element of the novel and I was totally there for it! I loved all of his and Mariette’s interactions. I also liked the way he was able to stand up and be recognised as his own character within the story and even though it fell slightly into the ‘trope/predictable’ element of fantasy romances, there was certainly nothing wrong with a little indulgence.

Mariette’s friendships with Dellara and Pirlipata showcased strong females and added to the vibes of women overcoming the dominance of patriarchal suppression. This was a classic case of women uplifting other women and I really like how Kuzniar has paved the way for these characters to take up stories of their own in possible companion novels.

With background references to the suffragette movement and forbidden homosexuality in Edwardian England, Kuzniar does well to address these issues whilst keeping the narratives of the main characters as the focus in the plot.

Every little thing in this novel points to the small yet highly significant details. The deeper I look within this story and the more I research around the original tale and its ballet heritage, the more symbols, foreshadowings and allusions I pick up about how much work has gone into this masterful creation and reader, I wholly appreciate it!

Even the naming of these characters was special with Mariette linking back to the original character of Marie, whilst also sounding like a marionette. As Mariette is forced to dance for the evil King Gelum, I couldn’t help but think of her as a puppet or as the girl from the Anderson fairytale The Red Shoes. Dellara’s fairylike symbolism can be seen to take it’s influences from Antonietta Dell’Era, the original Sugar Plum Fairy. Even Captain Legat could be a reference to the Russian principal dancer Nikolai Gustavovich Legat. These are the kind of references that I absolutely live for in fiction and Kuzniar has done such a stellar job at weaving all of these references into her ode to the world of The Nutcracker.

I could probably wax lyrical about this book for ages and I’m sure there are a multitude of little pop culture / ballet references which I am yet to discover. Either way, this is truly a spectacular work of fiction. Kuzniar has taken the basis of a much loved winter fairytale and turned it into her own magical world brimming full of stories and adventure. Needless to say, if you’re a fan of the Nutcracker then you’ll probably adore this book just as much as me. However, if you’re also a fan of the types of adventures where characters visit strange, new worlds, such as Alice in Wonderland and The Chronicles of Narnia then add this extraordinary, enchanting novel to your list – it may well become a new favourite!

Why Should I Read This?

For the incredible attention to detail in each and every page. This is a purposefully thought-through tale which shows how much of a beloved story and world this is to the author.
For the amazing world-building which I could have literally eaten off the page; this really deserves to be one of those scratch-and-sniff books!
For the perfect wintry fairytale to set you up for the forthcoming festive season.

Find out more about this book here:

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

Connect with me here:

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

Biblioshelf Musings – The Violent Season by Sara Walters

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Hey Bibliofriends!

This week’s Biblioshelf Musings are about The Violent Season by Sara Walters. I first heard about this book through the SourceBooks Fire newsletter. They included a brief sampler and after reading the blurb and the first chapter or so I requested an eARC through Netgalley which was thankfully approved!
Huge thanks to NetGalley, Sara Walters and the publishers SourceBooks Fire for providing me with a complimentary e-ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Book: The Violent Season by Sara Walters
Genre: YA / Thriller
Publication Date: October 5th 2021
Publisher: SourceBooks Fire
Pages: 320
Rating: 📚📚📚📖

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

An unputdownable debut about a town marred by violence, a girl ruined by grief, and the harsh reality about what makes people decide to hurt each other. The Violent Season is a searing, unforgettable, and thrilling novel that belongs on shelf with Sadie and Girl in Pieces.

Every November, the people in Wolf Ridge are overwhelmed with a hunger for violence–at least that’s the town rumor. Last fall Wyatt Green’s mother was brutally murdered, convincing Wyatt that this yearning isn’t morbid urban legend, but rather a palpable force infecting her neighbors.

This year, Wyatt fears the call of violence has spread to her best friend Cash–who also happens to be the guy she can’t stop wanting no matter how much he hurts her. At the same time, she’s drawn to Cash’s nemesis Porter, now that they’re partners on an ambitious project for lit class. When Wyatt pulls away from Cash, and spends more time with Porter, she learns secrets about both of them she can’t forget.

And as the truth about her mother’s death begins to emerge from the shadows, Wyatt is faced with a series of hard realities about the people she trusts the most, rethinking everything she believes about what makes people decide to hurt each other.

My Musings

When I first heard about this book, it sounded like an eclectic mix of The Purge mixed with a science-fiction worthy violence-virus which infected a town each November leaving a lot of devastation in it’s wake. In truth, the main focus of this book is really about the emotions and trauma we feel when we experience pain, hurt and suffering at the hands of the people we love, or even ourselves.

This novel definitely earns it’s place amongst the thriller section of the YA genre. We are led on a spiral of events and revelations which keep twisting and turning as the novel progresses. I kept coming up with little theories about who did what or which characters I could trust but then as the plot got deeper I found myself constantly changing my mind! The pace kept me on my toes right up until the very final pages and the ending left me with with a haunting sense of foreboding which is perfectly in-keeping with the upcoming spooky season.

As the leading character, the story is told through Wyatt’s perspective and everything that happens in the story we witness simultaneously through her eyes, emotions and actions. This made her narrative particularly powerful to me as the pain and suffering she experiences comes across so raw, brutal and honest. Some of the things that her character went through made me feel for her and at times I just had to stop and think about how some of these things are the harsh reality of life for people all over the world.

In places, you experience the flip-flopping of Wyatt’s personas – from that tough-girl stance of self-belief and personal empowerment, to the crippling feelings of anxiety and doubt that you put on yourself when you’re facing inner turmoil. Walters’ writing really communicated those feelings of suffering strongly enough to make me consciously feel them.

In some ways, Wyatt almost takes on the role of unreliable narrator too, which may seem odd given that I’ve just described her perspective as brutally honest – however… Wyatt’s recollection of her Mother’s death is hazy and some parts of it have been blocked out of her mind completely. As she gradually begins to remember more and and reconnect those lost memories, we also start to find out how she genuinely believes that there is some strange and mysterious sickness causing the season of violence each November. On the one hand you want to believe her, but then on the other hand – some part of you starts to doubt whether she’s not just creating a false narrative because she can’t bear the actual reality of the truth. The depth of Wyatt’s character is so wide that I think it’s the part of this book that I liked the most.

The relationship between Wyatt and Cash takes many turns during the course of the plot. I feel it’s safe to say that this is an extremely harmful relationship which comes with several trigger warnings. This is countered slightly through Wyatt’s reconnection with Porter who, although has secrets of his own, forms as the counter to Cash.

The Violent Season is a powerful standalone thriller which transforms an urban legend into the harrowing reality of just how deeply grief, trauma and violence can affect a person, especially when it is dealt out by the ones we love the most.

Why Should I Read This?

For a slightly unreliable yet brutally honest main character who transports you from her deepest pit of pain to a place of self-love and empowerment.
For the nod to Great Gatsby in the middle of the book.
For an interesting concept of how violence can be construed as a sickness.

Read a sampler:

You can read an excerpt of this book here: https://read.sourcebooks.com/fire-a-violent-season-excerpt

Find out more about this book here:

Amazon | Waterstones | Goodreads | Author’s Website

Connect with me here:

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

The Wrap – September 2021

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Howdy Bibliofriends!

September definitely felt like a ‘blink and you’ll miss it moment’ – seriously where has that month gone?! Although the pace was fast, looking back on it there were actually so many things that happened: the return of the Magical Readathon, starting my new job at a new school and our first stable yard Open Day (post-pandemic restrictions). Overall, this September seems to be the most positive month I’ve had in ages filled with lots of wonderful times! ☺️

We’re off to see the James Bond film tonight and I’m so excited!! I also have a new Audible subscription so please send recs of audiobooks as I’m totally procrastinating on what to get with my 2 free credits – HELP! 😂🙈

Life Update

Starting at my new school has been so wonderful and such a breath of fresh air after all of the work related problems from the past couple of years. I am actually loving my job again and it’s brought about a whole new energy which I’ve really been missing. Even friends have commented and said I seem like a much more positive person nowadays! 😂 I guess it’s pretty amazing what a change of scenery and a reduction of toxicity can do for your personality!

For the first time in about two years we were able to hold our annual Open Day at the stable yard I’m a part of. It was so nice to have visitors around the yard again and show them our fabulous horses and facilities. So far, this is our best season yet as we’ve had more winners already than ever before with the biggest part of the jumps racing season still ahead of us. The good vibes are in full flow at the minute, long may it continue!

I was so happy to see the return of the Magical Readathon hosted by Book Roast! I loved it back in it’s HP form but G has really pulled out all of the stops to make this bigger, better and more unique than ever before. You can read my original TBR below or scroll down to the What I’ve Been Reading section to find out more!

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

What I’ve Been Reading

Having a readathon definitely helps my drive and determination to try and plough through the books – I think is probably my best reading month of the year so far. Despite only needing to fulfil two prompts to ‘pass’ the readathon, I always try to pick something for every prompt just in case I change my mind on the book I want to read, I’m such a mood reader at times! I’m going to write a proper wrap post for the Magical Readathon soon to go back over the prompts and challenges etc. but for now, here’s what I read in September:

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book was so much fun and the perfect ‘end of school holidays’ distraction that I needed!

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I finally started the Percy Jackson series! Greek mythology is one of my favourites so I can’t believe it took me this long to get around to it. I loved the way Riordan blended ancient Gods and contemporary worlds together. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It took me ages to finish this behemoth of an audiobook (clocking in at 19hrs long) and I’ve decided audio is definitely the way forward for me in terms of reading more of Murakami’s works. I much preferred Kafka to The Wind Up Bird Chronicle as I think I had a bit more of an understanding as to what was actually happening! Nakata’s character was adorable and the loved the speculative, magical-realism element the book had.

The Violent Season by Sara Walters (eARC)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Violent Season comes out into the world next week! I was fortunate to get an eARC of it via Netgalley. The story revolves around a sleepy little town called Wolf Ridge where every November a strange sickness takes over the town’s residents and it turns into the season of violence (hence the title). I thought it would have paranormal / The Purge style vibes but this wasn’t quite the case. It was still an enjoyable read though. Review to come next week!

You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I think this was probably my favourite read of the whole month! I listened to it on audio with narration by Julia Whelan and it had me both laughing and crying at different points! Sometimes a book just comes along for you at the right time and it becomes everything you needed in that moment – You and Me on Vacation was exactly that. I’m turning into such a fan of Emily Henry’s writing, she creates some endearing characters and storylines. You can check out my spoiler-free review here.

Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Never Have I Ever is a short story collection from Isabel Yap and is based on Filipino folktales, myths and legends. I first came across the book on the Book Riot SFF Yeah! podcast and remember having to wait weeks for it to arrive from Bookshop.org as it had to be ordered direct from the supplier. I’ve always been intrigued by mythologies and tales from different cultures. Yap has a superb writing style which mixes threads from fantasy, speculative and magical-realism genres with contemporary vibes for modern readers. It’s a remarkable anthology and definitely got me in the spooky Halloween spirit!

#CurrentlyReading

As it was only £4.99, I completely caved and purchased the audiobook of Midnight Sun by Stephanie Meyer. I was determined not to continue anything to do with the Twilight series as I read it so long ago but curiosity (and my love of bargains!) got the better of me! I can’t believe it’s over 24 hours long and I must confess that I’ve had to crank the speed up to 1.5x because Edward’s narration is a little drawn out in places. I’m loving the background into the Cullen family so far.

In a bid to try and ‘read it before you see it’ I’ve recently started Dune by Frank Herbert in the hope I can finish it before the film comes out in cinemas later this month. At over 500 pages and tilted more into the Sci-Fi part of the SFF genre, I was a little apprehensive at first but now I’m about 200 pages in and loving it. Now I have majorly high expectations for the movie! 😂

Upcoming Reads

My book haul this month is making me so excited about my upcoming reads! I got the Illumicrate edition of Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff which is so stunning – the sprayed edges, the pearlescent hardback… it’s so gorgeous I almost don’t want to read it. (if that makes any sense?!)

I’ve also got some pretty cool ARCs on Netgalley and the release dates are fast looming so I’m keen to make my way through those pretty soon:
Midnight in Everwood by M.A. Kuzniar – publication date: 28th October
The Grimrose Girls by Laura Pohl – publication date: 2nd November
Swashbucklers by Dan Hanks – publication date: 9th November
A Three Dog Problem by SJ Bennett (Book 2 of the HM the Queen Investigates sereis) – publication date 11th November

What I’ve Been Watching

TV this month has been all about Grey’s Anatomy (again!) – it’s one of my all-time favourite series so I’ve been binging my backlog including Seasons 14, 15 and 16 and I’m now trying to rapidly make my way through Season 17 before it disappears from Sky later this month. Season 16, episode 16 (Leave a Light On) had me bawling my eyes out! In one way I’m so angry and gutted that the storyline had to go in that direction but what the writers did with it was so sentimental and just felt so right for that particular character that even though I don’t like it, it’s pretty perfect really.

Money Heist is back!! I can’t believe I got to the end of the 5th episode and then have to wait another few months for the second part of the season! Another cliffhanger/resolution/ending which made me grab the tissues. I get so sucked in to these TV programmes! 😂

Has anyone seen The Chair on Netflix with Sandra Oh? It’s on my watchlist but I haven’t started it yet.

Cinema movies this month have been:
Free Guy (LOVED IT!)
Respect – Aretha Franklin biopic (I never knew how turbulent her life was)
Shang Chi and the Ten Rings (the dragon scenes were epic)
The Many Saints of Newark (Sopranos prequel film)

Pokemon Go Update

I’ve definitely lost a bit of interest in the game since school started again. I basically leave my house at 7.15am and don’t return until 6.30pm so with the nights drawing in and the weather definitely turning more autumnal by the second, I’m not able to get out and play as much as I used to. The Fashion Week event was quite fun but it was a real sprint to the line to make sure I found all of the Fashion Challengers to battle for the Timed Research. I did manage to get a hundo Chansey and a hundo Furfrou out of it though.

September’s Shiny Haul
Lugia (finally!)
Oshawott (and all it’s evolutions on Comm Day)
Galarian Meowth (spotlight hour – I was so happy to see this guy!)

My Trainer Code: If any fellow Pogo players want to add me, my trainer code is: 8327 7170 2277

And that’s a wrap! How was your September? Are you heading into Autumn or is your weather still sunny and warm? I’m totally feeling the spooky vibes of Halloween and the witching season so feel free to send some bookish recommendations my way! What are you all looking forward to reading in October?

As always, drop me a comment to chat! ☺️

T xx

The Seven Deadly Sins Book Tag

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Happy Thursday Bibliofriends,

The weekend is almost upon us which means it’s time for another little Book Tag! I found this Seven Deadly Sins tag over at What’s That Mark’s Reading!? and as a fan of all things fairly strange and occult, I knew I had to take a little pop at it.

GREED: What is the most expensive book you own? What is the least expensive book you own? 

Most expensive: I have no idea what my most expensive book is! As an Illumicrate and FairyLoot subscriber I’ve been getting a lot of signed first editions and special editions of books so it may be one of those. I also have a First Edition of a Harry Potter book but I don’t think it’s one of the ones that are worth thousands.

Least expensive: I have a number of paperbacks that neither eBay, Music Magpie or Ziffit wants to pay for so I guess at the moment they’re the least expensive ones!

GLUTTONY: What book(s) have you shamelessly devoured many times? 

The Harry Potter books – I can just keep rereading them and never get bored of them!

SLOTH: What book or series have you neglected out of sheer laziness? 

I don’t think I’ve ever neglected a book or series out of laziness. Actually, I lie – I have kind of neglected She Who Became the Sun as I just found the pace to be a little slow. I’m hoping to pick it up again soon though, it’s definitely a book I want to finish.  

PRIDE: What book(s) do you bring up when you want to sound like an intellectual reader? 

I think I turn to the non-fiction when I want to sound intelligent so it’ll probably be Atomic Habits by James Clear. It was full of so many practical tips about how to encourage building up positive habits to make your lifestyle more effective. I have a little review here.

LUST: What attributes do you find most attractive in your characters? 

I adore those complex, morally-grey type characters when you can’t work out whether they’re a hero or villain. That’s why Severus Snape is one of my all-time favourite literary characters, I even have a book called The Great Snape Debate which came out before the finale of the books – one side argued for the hero, the flipside argued for the villain. Those complexities and depth seem to add mysticism and depth which outright heroes just don’t quite conjure up for me.

ENVY: What books would you most like to receive as a gift? 

I literally adore any bookish gift. I think it’s really nice when friends pick out a book for you that they think you’ll really like and may not have bought for yourself. You can find completely undiscovered treasures that way. My Nan once bought me a copy of The Shadow of the Wind as a gift and I had never heard of the book or the author – Zafon immediately became one of favourite authors and I own multiple copies of his works.

WRATH: What author do you have a love-hate relationship with?

I don’t think I can really answer this one?! Perhaps maybe Murakami, his works are so ingenious and enchanting. I love all of their peculiar curiosities but I do find them pretty damn difficult to read and understand! 😂

That’s a wrap! What are your favourite Deadly Sins? Consider yourself TAGGED if you fancy like giving this one a go.

As always, drop me a comment below to chat!
T xx

Biblioshelf Musings – You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry

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Hello Bibliofriends!

This week’s Biblioshelf Musings is You and Me on Vacation (People We Meet On Vacation) by Emily Henry.

I remember falling head over heels with Beach Read when it first came out. Emily’s writing style and main characters had me swept so far away on that Lake Michigan beach, that when the audiobook for You and Me on Vacation was on iBooks for £4.99 I just had to hit that download button!

Book: You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry (Audiobook narrated by: Julia Whelan)
Genre: Fiction (Contemporary / Romance)
Publication Date: May 2021
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Pages: 368 (Audiobook: 10hr 45min)
Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.

Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven’t spoken since.

Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees.

Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?

My Musings

Sometimes we all need a little respite in the form of some contemporary romance and You And Me On Vacation brought me that respite in buckets. Reader, this book ‘speaks to me’ 😉 – on so many levels!

As a girl who reads predominantly SFF, I don’t know what kind of bookish chemical equations Emily Henry conjures up but she’s fast becoming a part of the romance genre that I actually like. From the realistic characters and the wish-you-were-here locations, to the plot lines that just keep me begging for more – I ate up every single word that Alex and Poppy gave me in this audiobook.

As far as two main characters go, Poppy and Alex’s friendship was so believable. They’re the BFFs that often get mistaken for a real-life couple and that throws the usual obstacles in their way with families and prospective partners. They are so genuine together and I found both characters extremely likeable. I enjoyed the way we found out about each friend’s history from the other friend’s perspective. It really allows you to see them through each other’s eyes. They just get each other! Their nuances, quirks, likes, pet hates… they are so completely in-sync with each other’s existence whilst at the same time both appearing to be completely blind to what is right in front of them. I must admit, I did find myself wondering whether I skipped the bit of the audiobook where they initially friend-zoned each other but ultimately this didn’t really matter as the novel went on. As an English Teacher and aspiring writer, Alex reminded me slightly of Gus from Beach Read so I liked the continuity of literary-loving characters throughout Henry’s books.

The structuring of the story was quite well done. With constant flashbacks to previous summers and the trips Poppy and Alex had taken, interspersed with the up-to-date ‘this summer’ happenings – we get a breadcrumb trail of clues to try and work out what the catastrophic event that caused these two steadfast friends to go their separate ways. All the time this happened, I kept internally screaming to myself, “what the hell happened in Croatia?!” I enjoyed trying to piece together the story in my head and whilst some things were entirely predictable, the anecdotes from each summer trip were filled with little twists and comedy moments.

As a travel enthusiast whose trip to Peru was kiboshed by the pandemic, Poppy and Alex’s trips to different destinations across the world helped me to fill up that little travel void ever so slightly. This shift in setting destination was definitely an element of the story which I thoroughly enjoyed.

All in all, You and Me on Vacation gave me everything I was looking for, hence the 5* rating – for me, it’s faultless. On some small level, Poppy and Alex’s story is a little relatable to my life – their predicaments were ones I could relate to and find solace in, which is probably why it resonated with me so much. Yes, some parts of the story are predictable and at times inevitable, but the journey to the ending wasn’t a straightforward path. The resolution was uplifting and satisfying whilst remaining both practical yet realistic (compared to the usual happily ever afters you sometimes get).

If you loved Beach Read, enjoy travelling the world through literary characters, or you’re just looking for a soul-clenching, heartwarming story of true love and devotion then give You and Me on Vacation a go – it just might ‘speak to you’ too.

Why Should I Read This?

For the breadcrumb plot line of summer flashbacks.
For the chemistry and charisma between two loveable main characters.
For the Flannery O’Conner side stories! 😸

Find out more about this book here:

Amazon | Waterstones | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | Author’s Website |

Connect with me here:

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