tag tuesday

Happy Tuesday Bibliofriends!

Do you ever have one of those serendipitous moments when you’ve just been doing something and then you read about it somewhere…? Well that happened to me just this weekend!

Basking in the glee of having the whole house to myself, I launched a massive Tesco mission to buy baking ingredients for THREE of Jane’s Patisserie’s recipes (Malteser Tiffin, Biscoff Rocky Road and Mint Aero Brownies 😍)! Mid-bakeathon, I’m scrolling through WordPress Reader and I come across this super-fun Bookish Baking Tag over on Ms. Victorious’ blog Victorious Pages and knew that I had to do it!

As if that wasn’t serendipity enough… *drumroll please*
GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF IS BACK TONIGHT!!! We’re still in the midst of a global pandemic, yet Bake Off 2020 has been saved! I’m overjoyed! 😂 Without further ado, scroll on for the awesome Bookish Baking Tag – images from Victorious Pages because they’re super nicer than anything I could make (thank you!).

To be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of blueberry muffins but as soon as I read this prompt, there was only one book on my mind – The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow. I read an arc of this (thanks Netgalley!) and the beginning was on point! It sucked me into world so fast that I already knew it was most likely going to be a 5-star read. Review coming soon!

Being from the UK and thanks to our Great British weather (the word ‘great’ is definitely a pun there) holidays to me are sunny, warm places so I would have to go with Summer at the Lake by Erica James or Beach Read by Emily Henry as I read both of them by the sea.

Can I say Gollum for this? Is that allowed? I know he was driven by the power of the ring and his greed for is it what turned him into the Gollum as opposed to Smeagol, but I don’t think he’s a definite ‘villain’ to the story.

Another Italian themed read, Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch. Florence, sunshine and ice cream – what could be more summery than that?

Gangsta Granny by David Walliams reminds me so much of growing up and reading Roald Dahl books. It’s really funny and lighthearted and reminds me of those old childhood memories when you’d be staying with your grandparents and playing games in the garden.

I remember having to read Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy for my English class and being completely overwhelmed by the size of it. I ended up taking it on holiday with me and remember being sat on the bed in our hotel room, listening to Elephunk by the Black Eyed Peas on my CD walkman and becoming so engrossed in Hardy’s world. I loved it, it’s probably my favourite classic I’ve read.

I read an amazing book called The Immortal City by Amy Kuivalainen through Netgalley and is was so engrossing. Atlantis, Venice, a secret magical archives, (hot) Gods – what’s not to like?! This was right up my street and I’m hoping there’s a sequel or something soon. I’d definitely be reading it!

Probably the book with the most feels on my shelf, A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – it that ain’t fluff then I don’t know what else qualifies!

Billed as an eco-fable, The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott tries to get us to consider how we treat and what we take from nature and the damaging affects it can have on humanity. It’s a powerful read.

When I once convinced myself to broaden my literary horizons, I decided that I had to read something by Murakami so my friend lent me their copy of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. I found it so tough to read and try to understand at the same time so it was quite an intimidating read to get my head around.

I keep hearing loads of good things about A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown – my copy of this finally arrived about a week ago so I can’t wait to get around to starting it.

There are so many books on my shelves which are there purely because of the hype but there is one book coming out very soon which I am massively hyping up. I read an e-arc of it, I have on special-signed-edition preorder and I CAN NOT WAIT to read it again – that books is The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab – it is exquisite! Review coming up at the end of this month! Honestly can’t tell you how much I love this book! 😍

TAG – you’re it!! Thanks for reading and feel free to have a go yourself and link back to my post if you love baking and books – UK people, don’t forget… BAKE OFF STARTS TONIGHT! 🙂

Enjoy your week Bibliofriends,

T xx

Happy Tuesday Bibliofriends!

In my quest for more Book Tags, I’m pretty sure I stumbled across this Fellowship of the Rings book tag over at Wyrd & Wonder who posted it as part of their month-long celebration of all things fantasy – bot now I can’t seem to find their original post… You should visit them anyway as they have tons of brilliant fantasy recs!
I absolutely love Lord of the Rings; Middle Earth would definitely have to be on my Bookish Travels Bucket List, I think Tolkien created a really classic and remarkable world. This book tag was originally created by Nandini of Unputdownable Books.

Gandalf – A book that taught you something

Atomic Habits by James Clear
It gave me some form of organization back in my life – I’m an expert at putting things off until tomorrow so it was a really helpful guide at developing some good habits and make me a little more motivated and efficient. I wrote a review about it here.

Frodo – A book that left a mark on you

Remember This When You’re Sad by Maggy Van Eijk
Reading this book gave me a kind of lightbulb moment or wake-up call and kind of symbolizes a bit of a turning point for me on a personal level.

Legolas – A book you finished in one sitting

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
When I went to visit my friend out in Lanzarote, she gave me her copy of this and told me to read it. I became so engrossed in it that I literally sat on the beach and devoured it before the day had ended.

Gimli – A book that features an unlikely friendship

Mirage by Somaiya Daud
I guess there are a couple of unlikely friendships in this depending on how you view Amani’s relationship with Maram compared to her relationship with Idris. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel to find out what happens to this trio!

Merry – A book that pleasantly surprised you

A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer
I was quite reluctant to continue with this series after the mega-twist at the end of the first book and the fact that this sequel introduced a brand-new character; but overall, I was very glad I continued reading and now I cannot wait to read A Vow So Bold and Deadly – it’s one of my most anticipated reads for 2021!

Pippin – A book that made you laugh

Spectacles by Sue Perkins
I managed to see her on tour whilst she was promoting this book. There’s a particularly funny episode to do with a car park which, when she was signing my book, I asked her to draw the example in the front of it. Never fails to make me laugh whenever I open it and see that title page!

Boromir – A book/series that you think ended too soon

Breaking the rules and having two standalones for this one:
To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo – this was so beautifully written that I could have read another 100/200 pages worth of plot and world-building before getting bored.
Descendant of the Crane by Joan He – the hurtling, rollercoaster speed of that ending, plus the strange cliffhangery, twisty ending scene – this is definitely one standalone my brain isn’t ready to leave behind. It appears I’m not alone and Joan He has actually clarified whether any sequels/standalones are in the works (you can read her brief statement here). Let’s just leave it with, ‘if it gets written, I want to read it!’

Sam – A book with memorable side characters who stole the show

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Nina, Jesper, Wylan, Matthias… 💙 Kaz who?! 😂

Aragorn – A good book with a bad/average cover
(side note: I think Aragorn actually has a lovely cover 😉)

Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix by Julie C. Dao
When Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao was released it had such an intricate, vibrant cover… then when the sequel appeared… 🤔 they didn’t match at all and after loving the first cover so much I felt that the ambiguity of the sequel’s cover didn’t match up to what a brilliant series this was.

Gollum – A book that had great potential but disappointed you in the end

Evermore by Sara Holland
When Everless came out, I was blown away by the intriguing concept of blood and time as a currency. Coupled with a folklore-style story of a Sorcereress and an Alchemist, the silent megaphones in my head were screeching ‘omg, omg, omg’ when I finished reading that last sentence. When the sequel came out – it felt as if all the sparkle and dazzle of the first book had vanished and it was like reading a sequel to a completely different story.

TAG – you’re it!! Thanks for reading and feel free to have a go yourself and link back to my post if you’re a Lord of the Rings fan! 🙂