Tag: friday

#Friday56 – The Hawthorne Legacy

The Biblioshelf2 Comments

Happy FriYAY Bibliofriends!

This week’s Friday 56 comes from The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (book two of The Inheritance Games trilogy). I love this series so much! It’s so bingeworthy and full of thrills, secrets, puzzles and family drama!

Hosted by Freda’s Voice, the Friday 56 is a weekly bookish prompt. It’s quite easy to do and could cover no end of different books and genres so seems great if you’re looking for a quick snippet to discover something new!

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader (If you have to improvise, that’s ok.)
*Find any sentence, (or few, just don’t spoil it)
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post here in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url.
*It’s that simple.

It took ten minutes for our search to hit pay dirt: a remote control taped to the bookshelf, behind one of the leather-bound books. I peeled off the tape and got a better look at the remote, which had only one button.

The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

You can check out my full, spoiler-free reviews of The Inheritance Games here and The Hawthorne Legacy here.

Drop me a comment below or connect with me here:

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

#Friday56 – Six Crimson Cranes

The Biblioshelf3 Comments

Happy FriYAY Bibliofriends!

This week’s Friday 56 comes from Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim. I was blown away by the magical storytelling in this refresh of The Wild Swans! The attention to detail in descriptions was exquisite and I particularly love Kiki the sentient origami crane which was one of my reasons for choosing this part of my Friday 56 extract today!

Hosted by Freda’s Voice, the Friday 56 is a weekly bookish prompt. It’s quite easy to do and could cover no end of different books and genres so seems great if you’re looking for a quick snippet to discover something new!

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader (If you have to improvise, that’s ok.)
*Find any sentence, (or few, just don’t spoil it)
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post here in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url.
*It’s that simple.

A fine, silvery-gold thread of magic rushed out of my lips and twisted across the bird’s wings before settling there, as if stitched onto the paper. Then her wings flapped once. Twice. And she lifted, circling my face.
“Kiki!”

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim

You can check out my full, spoiler-free review of Six Crimson Cranes here.

Drop me a comment below or connect with me here:

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

#Friday56 – Can You Sign My Tentacle?

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Happy FriYAY Bibliofriends!

This week’s Friday 56 comes from Can You Sign My Tentacle? by Brandon O’Brien – a beguiling, unique collection of poetry which merges together a hybrid mix of contemporary hip-hop and folklorian Lovecraft monsters in a fun fusion of science-fiction and poetry. On the surface, it offers an entertaining, comedic chronicle; however, between the lines it offers something much more meaningful and profound.

Thank you to the publishers Interstellar Flight Press and the author Brandon O’Brien for providing me with a complimentary e-ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hosted by Freda’s Voice, the Friday 56 is a weekly bookish prompt. It’s quite easy to do and could cover no end of different books and genres so seems great if you’re looking for a quick snippet to discover something new!

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader (If you have to improvise, that’s ok.)
*Find any sentence, (or few, just don’t spoil it)
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post here in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url.
*It’s that simple.

She’s read enough lifetimes to feel just as
old as he does.
In the small spaces between lines of
postmodern poetry
he can count entire continua
clashing for a chance to sound.

From: The One – Can You Sign My Tentacle? by Brandon O’Brien

You can check out my full, spoiler-free review of Can You Sign My Tentacle? here.

Don’t forget about the Virtual Launch!

Interstellar Flight Press are holding their first ever Virtual Book Launch for Can You Sign My Tentacle? It’s a free event on Zoom so check out the details below if you’re interested!

Here’s the details! Sign up via Eventbrite to join us.

Date: August 20th at 6:00pm EST / 5:00 PM CDT

Online via Zoom/Eventbrite

You will receive info from Eventbrite on how to access the event after you register. This event is FREE to attend.

Drop me a comment below or connect with me here:

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

#Friday56 – These Violent Nights

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Happy FriYAY Bibliofriends!

This week’s Friday 56 comes from These Violent Nights by Rebecca Crunden. This 3-part story set in a fantastically dystopian version of Earth introduces us to a memorable band of characters as they seek to repair a tear in the universe and bring two warring communities together.

Hosted by Freda’s Voice, the Friday 56 is a weekly bookish prompt. It’s quite easy to do and could cover no end of different books and genres so seems great if you’re looking for a quick snippet to discover something new!

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader (If you have to improvise, that’s ok.)
*Find any sentence, (or few, just don’t spoil it)
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post here in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url.
*It’s that simple.

He was the first Suriia she’d ever met who acted… almost human.
Not sure what to make of the strange encounter, Thorn spent a few minutes testing the locks on the windows before she wandered into the bathroom. She’d never been able to take a hot shower that wasn’t filled with panic at the thought of being caught and killed.

These Violent Nights by Rebecca Crunden

You can check out my full, spoiler-free review of These Violent Nights here.

Drop me a comment below or connect with me here:

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

#FaeFriday – Favourite Books by Women Authors!

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Hey Bibliofriends!

I know it’s Saturday but better late than never right for Fae Friday?!

Fae Friday is a weekly blog prompt hosted by the wonderful Kristy at Caffeinated Fae. It seems like the perfect way to spread a little more magic across the blogosphere every week.

Here are the rules:

  • Link back to this page on Caffeinated Fae.
  • If the prompt idea is from another blog, link to that blog as well.
  • Use #FaeFriday when posting to social media so we can all find each other! 
  • Participate when you can & have fun with the prompt!
March 5th prompt:

Happy Women’s History Month! Since it’s the first #FaeFriday in March we’re going to start off with the prompt:

What are some of your favorite books written by women?  

I recently listened to the first ever episode of the podcast Breaking the Glass Slipper where they discussed how women authors were overlooked when it came down to compiling ‘top rated’ book lists for SFF and horror genres. That episode took place several years ago and although there are still gender and equality arguments out there in the publishing world today, just looking at my shelves and my anticipated reads and seeing them filled with women authors puts a smile on my face as it seems that we are inching closer to some sort of equilibrium.

When I got to thinking about my list for this prompt, I wanted to try and move away from some of the authors I continuously profess my love for (Sarah J Maas/V.E. Schwab/Leigh Bardugo etc…) and think about some of other women authors on my shelves whose books have left a special mark on my bookish heart.

  1. The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter – I first discovered Angela Carter when I was writing my dissertation at university and her book The Bloody Chamber was just so intoxicating that she fast became one of my go-to authors. That level of gruesome darkness was spellbinding and it reignited my love for fairytales and fantasy all over again.
  2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Book of Fours by Nancy Holder – I am a MaHOOsive Buffy fan and I loved the narrative Nancy wove with the slayers and the elements in this story. It was really different to the other types of Buffy books I had read.
  3. To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo – the language and vocabulary in this book was just – wow! I devoured every single word and sentence of the story and world that Christo built. It’s one of the only standalone books I’ve read that I wished were part of a series and I really need to know more and Elian’s and Lira’s kingdoms.

What are your favourite books by women authors
As always leave me your links below or drop me a comment to chat!

Enjoy your weekend Bibliofriends!

T xx

#FaeFriday – History Books by Black Authors!

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Happy Friday Bibliofriends,

It’s finally the weekend which can only mean one thing… (well lots of things really 😏) but one of my favourites is Fae Friday!

Fae Friday is a weekly blog prompt hosted by the wonderful Kristy at Caffeinated Fae. It seems like the perfect way to spread a little more magic across the blogosphere every week.

Here are the rules:

  • Link back to this page on Caffeinated Fae.
  • If the prompt idea is from another blog, link to that blog as well.
  • Use #FaeFriday when posting to social media so we can all find each other! 
  • Participate when you can & have fun with the prompt!
February 26th prompt:

It’s the last Friday in February (Black History month in the US), and this week’s prompt is: 

What are some of your favourite history books written by Black authors? 

Despite half of my degree being History based, over the years I’ve gravitated away from reading non-fiction / history books preferring to get myself lost in the pages of fictional worlds instead. I genuinely couldn’t tell you of many up and coming history writers today other than the ‘big names’ or those I studied whilst doing my degree, let alone any history writers who are Black (shameful, I know!). That being said, the prompt this week gave me the perfect opportunity to start learning, go book hunting and add some titles written by Black historians to my TBR! Some of these are more like memoirs rather than what I’d call a History book, but who better to learn from than the people themselves?

  1. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou – This is one of those classic must-reads that I have never got around to reading so this would definitely be on the list!
  2. Assata: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur – the story of the real Black Panther has fascinated me for some time so I’d absolutely like to read this one!
  3. Voices of the Windrush Generation by David Matthews – such an iconic generation of people and the impact immigration had on them, it deserves to be read.

I do have a little bonus curveball that I came across whilst browsing and I can’t include it in my list above as it is written by a white person however it does discuss Black history from one of my all-time favourite Historical periods and it’s called: Black Tudors: The Untold Story by Miranda Kaufmann.


I can’t wait to discover more so please feel free to leave me your recommendations!

What are your favourite history books by black authors? Have you read any of these on my TBR yet?
As always leave me your links below or drop me a comment to chat!

Enjoy your weekend Bibliofriends!

T xx

#FaeFriday – Black History Month!

The Biblioshelf2 Comments

Happy Friday Bibliofriends,

It has been half-term week and I have really loved having the time to catch up with my reading – and one of those books came at the absolute perfect timing for this week’s Fae Friday!

Fae Friday is a weekly blog prompt hosted by the wonderful Kristy at Caffeinated Fae. It seems like the perfect way to spread a little more magic across the blogosphere every week.

Here are the rules:

  • Link back to this page on Caffeinated Fae.
  • If the prompt idea is from another blog, link to that blog as well.
  • Use #FaeFriday when posting to social media so we can all find each other! 
  • Participate when you can & have fun with the prompt!
February 19th prompt:

February is Black History Month in the United States, which is why this week’s prompt is:

What are some of your favorite books written by Black authors? 

One of my reading goals for 2021 was to start reading more diversely and to try and celebrate all kinds of voices rather than sticking to the same-old YA fantasies. So far this year I have read three incredibly exceptional books by authors I can’t wait to read more of! They are:

  1. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
  2. Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko
  3. The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

The Hate U Give conveyed such an important and powerful message; Raybearer had an intoxicating world filled with folklore and magic; The Gilded Ones featured a stellar main character with a development arc wider than the biggest rainbow – I loved the way every single one of these stories and voices made me think more deeply whilst at the same time giving me that amazing reading experience.
I can’t wait to discover more so please feel free to leave me your recommendations! One read already on my 2021 TBR is A Song of Wraiths and Ruin so I can’t wait to get around to reading that later this year.

What are your favourite books by black authors? Have you read any of my favourites yet?
As always leave me your links below or drop me a comment to chat!

Enjoy your weekend Bibliofriends!

T xx

#FaeFriday – What book didn’t live up to the hype?

The Biblioshelf2 Comments

Happy Friday Bibliofriends,

How are you getting on with your reading goals? It’s always around this time that I feel my goals start to slip a little, however with the continuation of lockdown into March, I guess I still have no social life so I may as well keep persevering with my goals! 😂 Thankfully, it’s time for #FaeFriday again!

Fae Friday is a weekly blog prompt hosted by the wonderful Kristy at Caffeinated Fae. It seems like the perfect way to spread a little more magic across the blogosphere every week.

Here are the rules:

  • Link back to this page on Caffeinated Fae.
  • If the prompt idea is from another blog, link to that blog as well.
  • Use #FaeFriday when posting to social media so we can all find each other! 
  • Participate when you can & have fun with the prompt!

February 12th prompt:

It’s #FaeFriday and I bet you already knew what this week’s prompt would be based on last week! 😉

What book didn’t live up to the hype?

This question always fills me with a little bit of dread as it’s usually always accompanied with an 🚨 unpopular opinion alert 🚨! I also find it really awkward at having to say that book just isn’t for me – I’m too much of a people pleaser sometimes! 🙈

My immediate thoughts go to Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin. I first read this series when the book came in my Fairyloot subscription box and it was mega-hyped as the best witchy book you’ll have read in a long time… so I went into it with major hocus pocus vibes only to find that the thing I enjoyed most about the book was the constant references to sticky cinnamon buns. I know some people have major love for the series but it just wasn’t my thing at all.
I have since found my perfect witchy book that definitely WAS the best witchy book I’ve read for a long time, but that’s a different story… 😉

Other notable mentions include:
The Shadow and Bone series by Leigh Bardugo – which is so odd as I LOVE Six of Crows!
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

What books didn’t quite cut the mustard and live up to the hype for you? As always, leave me a comment to chat!

Enjoy your weekend Bibliofriends!

T xx

#FaeFriday – What book lived up to the hype?

The Biblioshelf2 Comments

Happy Friday Bibliofriends,

We’re finally in February and getting closer to Spring! Don’t get me wrong, I love how pretty everywhere looks when it’s covered in snow but I will be so glad to have the warmer weather and lighter evenings back! And hopefully less rain too! But for now, it’s time for Fae Friday!

Fae Friday is a weekly blog prompt hosted by the wonderful Kristy at Caffeinated Fae. It seems like the perfect way to spread a little more magic across the blogosphere every week.

Here are the rules:

  • Link back to this page on Caffeinated Fae.
  • If the prompt idea is from another blog, link to that blog as well.
  • Use #FaeFriday when posting to social media so we can all find each other! 
  • Participate when you can & have fun with the prompt!

February 5th prompt:

It’s #FaeFriday! That means it’s time for this week’s prompt!

What book lived up to the hype?

This is such an amazing prompt because I could think of so many possible choices and probably talk about the for ages!

One of the first ones that came to mind is the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas. I remember when I had just started venturing into the bookish social media world by signing up to subscription boxes etc… and everyone was raving about this author. So when it popped up that she was doing a live event at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, I thought I’d book a ticket and see what all the fuss was about – despite the fact that I hadn’t read any of her books! 😂 That kind of backfired on me a little bit as there was talk of a character called Sam and also one of the major spoilers from the ending of the second book so I was a little bit spoiled but also really confused when I finally did start reading the series! 🙈 Needless to say I am so glad I just went along on a whim because otherwise I don’t think I’d have necessarily picked up the books as soon as I did and I absolutely ADORE this series. It really got me back into loving reading and fantasy/YA fiction again.

Other notable mentions include:
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwa
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

What books lived up to the hype for you? As always, leave me a comment to chat!

Enjoy your weekend Bibliofriends!

T xx

#FaeFriday – Least Favourite Genre

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Happy Friday Bibliofriends,

How has your week been? We have a Wellbeing Day today for the children, parents and staff which has been fabulous as it’s allowed me to catch up with the backlog of Assignments marking on Teams as well as actually catch up with some housework (and catch up with Fae Friday!)! 🙈 I’m so excited to be doing Fae Friday again, I love how fun this tag is!

Fae Friday is a weekly blog prompt hosted by the wonderful Kristy at Caffeinated Fae. It seems like the perfect way to spread a little more magic across the blogosphere every week.

Here are the rules:

  • Link back to this page on Caffeinated Fae.
  • If the prompt idea is from another blog, link to that blog as well.
  • Use #FaeFriday when posting to social media so we can all find each other! 
  • Participate when you can & have fun with the prompt!

January 29th prompt:

It’s #FaeFriday, and it’s time to start a genre war… (not really, please be nice).

What is your least favorite genre, and why?

I covet books so much, it really is like some kind of addiction or chemical brain message which tells me I need to try and own a copy of every single book ever. So, as I’ll literally read absolutely anything, I don’t really have a ‘least favourite’ genre. I guess I could do without modern crime fiction, like murder mysteries or disappearances – only because there always seems to be so many of them on the shelves and they also always seem to have a ‘cover-type’ that can make them come across as quite generic. I’m not really incentivised to read them. It’s either that or any stories to do with family dramas, tragedy or illnesses – they’re just far too emotional for me to make it through without bawling my eyes out!

What are your least favourite genres? Which type of stories (or maybe not even stories, could you do without? As always, leave me a comment to chat!

Enjoy your weekend Bibliofriends!

T xx