Tag: hype

#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