Stacking the Shelves #27

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga where we share books we’ve bought or received this week. Find out more and join in here!

Hi everyone! Today’s post is a bumper one because it’s been my birthday this week and I was lucky enough to receive some books. I’ll start with ones I pre-ordered or bought, and then move on to the others I was gifted!

Goodreads

Dive into the epic world of international bestselling author Leigh Bardugo with this beautifully illustrated replica of The Lives of Saints, the Istorii Sankt’ya, featuring tales of saints drawn from the beloved novels and beyond. Out of the pages of the Shadow and Bone trilogy, from the hands of Alina Starkov to yours, the Istorii Sankt’ya is a magical keepsake from the Grishaverse.
These tales include miracles and martyrdoms from familiar saints like Sankta Lizabeta of the Roses and Sankt Ilya in Chains, to the strange and obscure stories of Sankta Ursula, Sankta Maradi, and the Starless Saint.
This beautiful collection includes stunning full-color illustrations of each story.

I had this gorgeous edition on pre-order from Illumicrate and it arrived on my birthday! It was such a lovely present for myself.

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Goodreads

When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she’s a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training.
In her new home, Tea puts all her energy into becoming an asha-one who can wield elemental magic. But dark forces are approaching quickly, and in the face of danger, Tea will have to overcome her obstacles…and make a powerful choice.

I also had this arrive, which I ordered for the non-binary readathon in November! It’s our group book for the readathon, and I’m super excited.

Birthday Gifts

The Stalking Jack the Ripper Series Hardcover Gift Set (Hardback)

Goodreads | Waterstones

In this spine-chilling gothic murder mystery set in gritty Victorian-era London, a resourceful lord’s daughter named Audrey Rose Wadsworth and her brilliant friend Thomas Cresswell find themselves inescapably embroiled in the investigation of a ghastly serial killer known as Jack the Ripper.

My mum gifted me this gorgeous set, on recommendation from my lovely friend Amy. We are going to start reading it alongside our friend Jo tomorrow, and I’m super excited!

Pride (Paperback)

Goodreads | Waterstones

Zuri Benitez has pride. Brooklyn pride, family pride, and pride in her Afro-Latino roots. But pride might not be enough to save her rapidly gentrifying neighborhood from becoming unrecognizable.
When the wealthy Darcy family moves in across the street, Zuri wants nothing to do with their two teenage sons, even as her older sister, Janae, starts to fall for the charming Ainsley. She especially can’t stand the judgmental and arrogant Darius. Yet as Zuri and Darius are forced to find common ground, their initial dislike shifts into an unexpected understanding.
But with four wild sisters pulling her in different directions, cute boy Warren vying for her attention, and college applications hovering on the horizon, Zuri fights to find her place in Bushwick’s changing landscape, or lose it all.

The rest of the books were gifted to me from my gorgeous boyfriend, the first of which I picked up in a bookshop in the summer and he saved for me! I’m super excited to read this.

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Goodreads | Waterstones

Learn about identities, true histories, and anti-racism work in 20 carefully laid out chapters. Written by anti-bias, anti-racist, educator and activist, Tiffany Jewell, and illustrated by French illustrator Aurélia Durand in kaleidoscopic vibrancy.
This book is written for the young person who doesn’t know how to speak up to the racist adults in their life. For the 14 year old who sees injustice at school and isn’t able to understand the role racism plays in separating them from their friends. For the kid who spends years trying to fit into the dominant culture and loses themselves for a little while. It’s for all of the Black and Brown children who have been harmed (physically and emotionally) because no one stood up for them or they couldn’t stand up for themselves; because the colour of their skin, the texture of their hair, their names made white folx feel scared and threatened.
It is written so children and young adults will feel empowered to stand up to the adults who continue to close doors in their faces. This book will give them the language and ability to understand racism and a drive to undo it. In short, it is for everyone.

I also picked this up at the same time and it looks so good and it is beautifully illustrated.

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Goodreads | Waterstones

Meg, Jo, Amy and Beth – four “little women” enduring hardships and enjoying adventures in Civil War New England The charming story of the March sisters, Little Women has been adored by generations. Readers have rooted for Laurie in his pursuit of Jo’s hand, cried over little Beth’s death, and dreamed of travelling through Europe with old Aunt March and Amy. Future writers have found inspiration in Jo’s devotion to her writing. In this simple, enthralling tale, both parts of which are included here, Louisa May Alcott has created four of American literature’s most beloved women.

He also picked me up this lovely copy of Little Women! I haven’t ever read it, and I’ve really wanted to for years, especially since watching the 2019 film a grand total of four times in cinema!

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Goodreads | Waterstones

She will become a legend but first she is Diana, Princess of the Amazons. And her fight is just beginning …
Diana is desperate to prove herself to her warrior sisters. But when the opportunity comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law to save a mere mortal, Alia Keralis. 
With this single heroic act, Diana may have just doomed the world. 
Alia is a Warbringer – a descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery. Diana and Alia will face an army of enemies, mortal and divine, determined to destroy or possess the Warbringer. 
To save the world, they must stand side by side against the tide of war.

The last and by no means least, he managed to get me this rare signed copy if Wonder Woman by Leigh Bardugo. I feel so very lucky 🙂

What have you bought recently?

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Stacking the Shelves #26

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga where we share books we’ve bought or received this week. Find out more and join in here!

Hey readers! It’s another week of beautiful preorders and gifts. I’m still on a book ban and not buying books, so these are ones I’ve been super excited for!

Shadow and Bone: Collector's Edition - Shadow and Bone (Hardback)

Goodreads | Waterstones

Soldier. Summoner. Saint. Orphaned and expendable, Alina Starkov is a soldier who knows she may not survive her first trek across the Shadow Fold – a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. But when her regiment is attacked, Alina unleashes dormant magic not even she knew she possessed.
Now Alina will enter a lavish world of royalty and intrigue as she trains with the Grisha, her country’s magical military elite – and falls under the spell of their notorious leader, the Darkling. He believes Alina can summon a force capable of destroying the Shadow Fold and reuniting their war-ravaged country, but only if she can master her untamed gift.
As the threat to the kingdom mounts and Alina unlocks the secrets of her past, she will make a dangerous discovery that could threaten all she loves and the very future of a nation.
Welcome to Ravka . . . a world of science and superstition where nothing is what it seems.

This beautiful copy of Shadow and Bone came out earlier in the week. It matches the special editions of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom, and looks so pretty next to them on my shelf.

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Goodreads | Waterstones

Dive into the epic world of international bestselling author Leigh Bardugo with this beautifully illustrated replica of The Lives of Saints, the Istorii Sankt’ya, featuring tales of saints drawn from the beloved novels and beyond. Out of the pages of the Shadow and Bone trilogy, from the hands of Alina Starkov to yours, the Istorii Sankt’ya is a magical keepsake from the Grishaverse.
These tales include miracles and martyrdoms from familiar saints like Sankta Lizabeta of the Roses and Sankt Ilya in Chains, to the strange and obscure stories of Sankta Ursula, Sankta Maradi, and the Starless Saint. 
This beautiful collection includes stunning full-colour illustrations of each story.

We were treated with two Leigh books this week, with the second one being The Lives of Saints which was featured in the Grisha books themselves. Without the weird half-dust jacket, it looks really pretty!

Punching the Air (Paperback)

Goodreads | Waterstones

One fateful night, an altercation in a gentrifying neighbourhood escalates into tragedy. ‘Boys just being boys’ turns out to be true only when those boys are white. 
Suddenly, at just sixteen years old, Amal Shahid’s bright future is upended: he is convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and sent to prison. Despair and rage almost sink him until he turns to the refuge of his words, his art. This never should have been his story. But can he change it? 
With spellbinding lyricism, award-winning author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam tell a moving and deeply profound story about how one boy is able to maintain his humanity and fight for the truth, in a system designed to strip him of both.

I applied for an ARC copy of this book through work and received one. Thank you to Harper Collins for sending me a copy!

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Goodreads | Waterstones

In an Italian city ravaged by plague, Sofia’s mother carves beautiful mementos from the bones of loved ones. But one day, she doesn’t return home. Did her work lead her into danger? Sofia and her little brother Ermin are sent to the convent orphanage but soon escape, led by an enigmatic new friend and their pet crow, Corvith.
Together they cross the city underground, following clues in bones up to the towers of Siena, where – circled by magpies – the children find the terrible truth …

I recently gave my lovely colleague Jo some books that I was getting rid of but she really wanted, and in exchange she bought me this book! Thank you Jo!

I also received yet another copy of The Starless Sea from Alex, who gave me the Illumicate edition she didn’t want! Thank you Alex!

What have you bought recently?

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Stacking the Shelves #25

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga where we share books we’ve bought or received this week. Find out more and join in here!

Hi everyone! Welcome to my second recent installment of stacking the shelves, featuring books I’ve bought recently. Last week I posted about books I had been gifted/received, which you can see here!

Books I Bought in September

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Goodreads

I couldn’t resist the beautiful Waterstones edition of The Lost Book of the White, to match my other Cassie books!

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Goodreads | Waterstones

I also picked up the normal hardcover, which luckily has a reverse dust jacket to match the design on The Red Scrolls of Magic.

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Goodreads

Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.
Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou’s, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.
The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou’s most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.
And love makes fools of us all.

I ordered a copy of Serpent & Dove while I could still get hold of one! I knew I wanted to read the series so ordered this copy while there was still hardbacks available.

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Goodreads

I also pre-ordered myself a copy of Blood & Honey with some money I had on a gift card. I’m super excited to read this series and actually started Serpent & Dove last night. I’m about 100 pages in and loving it so far!

What have you bought recently?

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: The Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

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Goodreads | Waterstones

They say the thirst of blood is like a madness – they must sate it. Even with their own kin.
On the eve of her divining, the day she’ll discover her fate, seventeen-year-old Lil and her twin sister Kizzy are captured and enslaved by the cruel Boyar Valcar, taken far away from their beloved traveller community.
Forced to work in the harsh and unwelcoming castle kitchens, Lil is comforted when she meets Mira, a fellow slave who she feels drawn to in a way she doesn’t understand. But she also learns about the Dragon, a mysterious and terrifying figure of myth and legend who takes girls as gifts.
They may not have had their divining day, but the girls will still discover their fate..

I didn’t plan to read this book just before Halloween, but I’m really glad I did. It is mystical and haunting and just perfect for Autumn. I really wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, but I ended up really enjoying it. I read The Girl of Ink and Stars a couple of years ago and really liked the writing, so I was glad to delve back into her worlds.

The writing really didn’t let me down. It was so atmospheric and beautiful, and made the book fly by. This book is fairly short, clocking in at just over 300 pages, and I loved that about it. I got into it super quickly, and read 50-100 pages for a couple of days and finished it so quickly!

I thought my silence, my stillness, was a fine way to be. 

The characters really carried this story for me. I loved the relationship between the two main characters, who are sisters. I also really enjoyed reading about the romances, which included a lovely, positive f/f relationship that I adored reading about so much.

I was a little hesitant going into this book after my friend Courtney read it and was disappointed by the ending. I can really sympathise with why she didn’t like how it ended, and maybe I would have felt differently without the knowledge that I might not enjoy it. However, I didn’t mind the ending. I’m a sucker for a happy ending, but I find I appreciate a hopeful one more. And although the ending felt a little rush in the decisions of the main characters, I still enjoyed it quite a lot.

But now I realised it made me as bad as those men who took the side of a monster, who watched a locked door as children starved to death inside.

I wasn’t aware this book was a retelling about Dracula’s brides until I read the acknowledgements at the end, but knowing only added more. I can really visualise how the story has evolved into the beautiful and haunting narrative that is The Deathless Girls.


★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: Wayward Son (#2) by Rainbow Rowell

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Goodreads | Waterstones

Simon Snow did everything he was supposed to do. He beat the villain. He won the war. He even fell in love. Now comes the good part, right? Now comes the happily ever after…
So why can’t Simon Snow get off the couch?
What he needs, according to his best friend, is a change of scenery. He just needs to see himself in a new light…
That’s how Simon and Penny and Baz end up in a vintage convertible, tearing across the American West.
They find trouble, of course. (Dragons, vampires, skunk-headed things with shotguns.) And they get lost. They get so lost, they start to wonder whether they ever knew where they were headed in the first place…

Alex and I decided to buddy read this book, which I’m really happy about because it has been out for a year and I still hadn’t picked it up! I usually find it difficult to motivate myself to pick up the second book in a series so long after the first one, but I actually found reading a quick summary online was enough for me with this series. I don’t remember Carry On in much detail, but I remember enough of the characters and big plot points that it was okay!

I found this book so fun. I didn’t manage to read for a couple of days in the middle of the week due to just being busy with other things, but I managed to catch up on Thursday evening/Friday just because it was so quick and easy to read. The action was such a high for me in this book. It was so ludicrous and entertaining and it made me fly through the chapters. I remember loving the action in Carry On, and the writing style definitely continues in this one.

I’d give him all that I am.
I’d give him all that I was.

The characters were great, and I loved reading about them. Shepard, who is a new character who joins possibly around halfway, I loved. He was so quirky and fun and such a great addition to the series! I always love when the second book in a series has a new character because it just adds something new and interesting. I really liked Baz and Simon and I’ve always loved reading about their relationship. I also found it really interesting to read about them while their relationship wasn’t that perfect all the time, yet they still loved each other. Because it was real.

Alex and I had a few slight problems with this book, however, that we both picked up on. For a start, the characters just seem utterly clueless about America. I understand that some British people may not know that much about it, but there are a few comments the characters make seem really odd? For example, they don’t seem to know the drinking age is 21, or have any idea how big America is compared to England. There was also a really odd comment about animal products which as a vegan, I found incredibly strange in the wording.

I’d open up a vein.
I’d tie our hearts together, chamber by chamber.

I really enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected, but I found a few small problems with it that knocked down my rating slightly. If you’re looking for a road trip book full of magic and adventure, this book is definitely for you!

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: Double Cross (#4) by Malorie Blackman

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Tobey wants a better life – for him and his girlfriend Callie Rose. He wants nothing to do with the gangs that rule the world he lives in. But when he’s offered the chance to earn some money just for making a few ‘deliveries’, just this once, would it hurt to say ‘yes’?
One small decision can change everything . . .

I have such mixed feelings about this book. I see this book as the last in the series, purely because it was the last for so long, and Crossfire is set so long after the original four.

I really enjoyed the plot of this book so much. It was probably the most fast-paced book in the series and I flew through it quicker than any of the others. Especially the last 100 pages, they were so amazingly full of action that I didn’t want to put the book down.

That was all it took – a shower of rain, the slam of a door, the thrust of a knife or a gunshot – 

But – and it’s a big but – it wasn’t enough. I really enjoyed the plot, the action and adventure. It was a compulsive and compelling read. But it almost left no room for anything else. No room for emotion, connection, family, friendship. I didn’t really feel like I knew Tobey before this book, and I don’t feel like I know him afterward, either. I did feel for them as a couple, and I won’t lie, I did have tears in my eyes at the end of the book.

I just wish I had more time to connect to the characters, to feel more for them so that when the plot climaxed, I would connect to how it affected everybody around Tobey, himself included.

and just like that, a person could be gone with nothing but the memories of others to show that they’d ever existed.

Unfortunately, it just didn’t add enough to the original story for me at all, and the balance of emotional connection and plot was not right. I wanted a par of both of them, and even though the action and plot were exceptional, it didn’t win me over, just made the book very readable!

★★★
3 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: Checkmate (#3) by Malorie Blackman

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Goodreads | Waterstones

Can the future ever erase the past? Rose has a Cross mother and a nought father in a society where the pale-skinned noughts are treated as inferiors and those with dual heritage face a life-long battle against deep-rooted prejudices. Sephy, her mother, has told Rose virtually nothing about her father, but as Rose grows into a young adult, she unexpectedly discovers the truth about her parentage and becomes determined to find out more. But her father’s family has a complicated history – one tied up with the fight for equality for the nought population. And as Rose takes her first steps away from Sephy and into this world, she finds herself drawn inexorably into more and more danger. Suddenly it’s a game of very high stakes that can only have one winner . . .

If Knife Edge left me wanting more, Checkmate gave it to me. I was blown away by this book, and I can’t believe how different I found it from the second. The second really felt like a lull for me, suffering from the classic ‘filler’ feeling second books in series sometimes have. But in Checkmate, the action ramps up, emotions run high, I loved it.

I cannot congratulate Blackman enough for writing an absolute roller coaster of a series. The way Checkmate was structured, non-linear and flitting between Callie as she grows up and Sephy, Callie and family in recent years, is astounding. I wanted to rush through the pages in order to find out what happens, and of course, Blackman leaves you on the edge of your seat until the very final pages.

But remember this if nothing else: I love you more than there are words or stars. I love you more than there are thoughts and feelings.

As well as the plot being amazing, the characters were very well structured, too. In Knife Edge, I struggled with how Jude acted, and I felt Sephy’s feelings and more specifically, depression, were not dealt with very well. All of that goes out of the window in Checkmate, for a more developed and well rounded cast. I finally felt like I was there with them for every step, feeling everything they did. It was everything I wanted from this series, finally in my hands.

The repetitiveness in the writing has also vanished. Instead of feeling like Blackman was struggling to fill a page, I finally felt like every word meant something, every word needed to be there for the story. The only slight downside was the amount of POV’s could be confusing at times and felt like they were flitting around a lot. Despite this, I still really enjoyed it and found it digestible enough to read.

I love you more than there are seconds or moments gone or to come. I love you.

This is a story about race. A story about divide. A story about women, family and friendship and love. I cannot wait to see where the next book takes me, and I only hope it lives up to this one.

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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August Wrap Up + September TBR

Hello all! I’m back with my August Wrap Up and September TBR. I actually managed to read 10 books in August, which was weirdly my best month so far this year! I’m pretty proud of that. I also managed to read all of the books on my August TBR!

Books I Read in August

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Review | Goodreads | Waterstones

In an apartment block, the son of a black mother and a Latino father is coming of age. He’s working at his family’s restaurant, trying to dodge his brother’s fists and resenting his older sister’s absence. He’s also discovering he likes boys…
All around him his friends and neighbours experience the tumult of living in the margins. Their stories – of living, thriving and dying across the city’s myriad neighbourhoods – are stitched throughout the boy’s life to reveal a young woman caught out in an affair, the fortunes of a rag-tag baseball team and a group of young hustlers, a local drug dealer who takes a Guatemalan teen under his wing, and the fate of a camera-shy mythical beast. With brilliant and soulful insight into what makes a community, a family and a life, Lot is about love in all its unsparing and unsteady forms.

I read this as part of a blog tour and it was really interesting.

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Review | Goodreads | Waterstones

Georgia has never been in love, never kissed anyone, never even had a crush – but as a fanfic-obsessed romantic she’s sure she’ll find her person one day.
As she starts university with her best friends, Pip and Jason, in a whole new town far from home, Georgia’s ready to find romance, and with her outgoing roommate on her side and a place in the Shakespeare Society, her ‘teenage dream’ is in sight.
But when her romance plan wreaks havoc amongst her friends, Georgia ends up in her own comedy of errors, and she starts to question why love seems so easy for other people but not for her. With new terms thrown at her – asexual, aromantic – Georgia is more uncertain about her feelings than ever.
Is she destined to remain loveless? Or has she been looking for the wrong thing all along?

I was so excited to finally read Loveless and it was so good!

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Review | Goodreads | Waterstones

Enthusiastic but not desperate; calm but not dull; funny but not try-hard; sparky but not crazy; feisty but not aggressive; beautiful but relatable; elegant but not icy; confident but not arrogant; feminine but not girly; nice but not boring.
Faith Valentine has it all – fame, money and extraordinary beauty. But what she wants more than anything is a quiet life away from the cameras. Except nobody ever asks Faith what she wants, and her family’s expectations are crushing her.The world thinks she’s perfect, but is there is more to perfection than meets the eye?

I picked this up as part of a blog tour and I read it within a day!

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Review | Goodreads | Waterstones

Los Angeles, 1992
Ashley Bennett and her friends are living the charmed life. It’s the end of high school and they’re spending more time at the beach than in the classroom. They can already feel the sunny days and endless possibilities of summer.
But everything changes one afternoon in April, when four police officers are acquitted after beating a black man named Rodney King half to death. Suddenly, Ashley’s not just one of the girls. She’s one of the black kids.
As violent protests engulf LA and the city burns, Ashley tries to continue on as if life were normal. Even as her self-destructive sister gets dangerously involved in the riots. Even as the model black family facade her wealthy and prominent parents have built starts to crumble. Even as her best friends help spread a rumor that could completely derail the future of her classmate and fellow black kid, LaShawn Johnson.

I received a copy of this on Netgalley and it was so good, I’ve since bought myself a paperback copy!

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Review | Goodreads | Waterstones

Soldier. Summoner. Saint. Orphaned and expendable, Alina Starkov is a soldier who knows she may not survive her first trek across the Shadow Fold – a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. But when her regiment is attacked, Alina unleashes dormant magic not even she knew she possessed.
Now Alina will enter a lavish world of royalty and intrigue as she trains with the Grisha, her country’s magical military elite – and falls under the spell of their notorious leader, the Darkling. He believes Alina can summon a force capable of destroying the Shadow Fold and reuniting their war-ravaged country, but only if she can master her untamed gift.
As the threat to the kingdom mounts and Alina unlocks the secrets of her past, she will make a dangerous discovery that could threaten all she loves and the very future of a nation.
Welcome to Ravka . . . a world of science and superstition where nothing is what it seems.

I loved this series and I read the first one in a day!

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Review | Goodreads | Waterstones

Soldier. Summoner. Saint. Alina Starkov’s power has grown, but not without a price. She is the Sun Summoner – hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Shadow Fold. But she and Mal can’t outrun their enemies for long.
The Darkling is more determined than ever to claim Alina’s magic and use it to take the Ravkan throne. With nowhere else to turn, Alina enlists the help of an infamous privateer and sets out to lead the Grisha army.
But as the truth of Alina’s destiny unfolds, she slips deeper into the Darkling’s deadly game of forbidden magic, and further away from her humanity. To save her country, Alina will have to choose between her power and the love she thought would always be her shelter. No victory can come without sacrifice – and only she can face the oncoming storm.

I liked the second book just as much and read it quickly too!

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Review | Goodreads | Waterstones

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.
Now the nation’s fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.
Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.
Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova’s amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling’s secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

It took me a little longer to read the third book but I still enjoyed it!

Nick and Charlie - A Solitaire novella (Paperback)

Review | Goodreads | Waterstones

CHARLIE: “I have been going out with Nick Nelson for two years. He likes rugby, Formula 1, dogs, the Marvel universe, the sound felt-tips make on paper, rain and drawing on shoes. He also likes me.”
NICK: “Things me and Charlie Spring do together include: Watch films. Sit in the same room on different laptops. Text each other from different rooms. Make out. Make food. Make drinks. Get drunk. Talk. Argue. Laugh. Maybe we’re kind of boring. But that’s fine with us.”
Everyone knows that Nick and Charlie are the perfect couple – that they’re inseparable. But now Nick is leaving for university, and Charlie will be left behind at Sixth Form. Everyone’s asking if they’re staying together, which is a stupid question – they’re ‘Nick and Charlie’ for God’s sake!
But as the time to say goodbye gets inevitably closer, both Nick and Charlie question whether their love is strong enough to survive being apart. Or are they delaying the inevitable? Because everyone knows that first loves rarely last forever …

I adored Nick and Charlie so much, it was so beautiful.

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Review | Goodreads | Waterstones

When Amber runs, it’s the only time she feels completely free – far away from her claustrophobic home life. Her father wants her to be a dutiful daughter, waiting for an arranged marriage like her sister Ruby.
Running is a quiet rebellion. But Amber wants so much more – and she’s ready to fight for it.
It’s time for a revolution.

This book was so amazing, I passed it over to my mum and she loved it too!

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Review | Goodreads | Waterstones

Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people…
In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.
Separated by distance – and Papi’s secrets – the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered. And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.
Papi’s death uncovers all the painful truths he kept hidden, and the love he divided across an ocean. And now, Camino and Yahaira are both left to grapple with what this new sister means to them, and what it will now take to keep their dreams alive.

I then read another verse novel and loved this one too!

Overall, I had a really good month! My favourite was Loveless and my least favourite was Lot.

Books I Want to Read in September

Knife Edge (#2) – Malorie Blackman
Checkmate (#3) – Malorie Blackman
Double Cross (#4) – Malorie Blackman

I only want to read the rest of the Noughts and Crosses series (that I own) this month, and I might even do a random pick of some others to read!

What did you read in August and what do you want to read in September?

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: Run, Rebel by Manjeet Mann

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Goodreads | Waterstones

When Amber runs, it’s the only time she feels completely free – far away from her claustrophobic home life. Her father wants her to be a dutiful daughter, waiting for an arranged marriage like her sister Ruby.
Running is a quiet rebellion. But Amber wants so much more – and she’s ready to fight for it.
It’s time for a revolution.

It’s been a long time (I mean years) since I’ve read a book written in verse, and I don’t remember ever finding one that I really clicked with. But this one was so, so different. It was bold and hard hitting and full of hope. I loved it.

This feels like a strange thing to say, but I thought I would really feel as though I was reading verse. In a way that would drag me out of the story if I was always aware of it, but I found it so much more hard hitting and engaging than expected!

This book follows the story of Amber Rai, the daughter to two illiterate immigrant parents. Her father is abusive towards her mother, her sister Ruby has left home for an arranged marriage, and Amber is controlled by her family’s expectations for her. This means she is not allowed to do anything outside of school, including running track, and is expected to follow Ruby’s footsteps and have an arranged marriage herself.

Run, Rebel is the story of Amber’s relationship with her mother, slowly realising they can rebel. It’s the story of her friends, who Amber is jealous of because they are free to do whatever they please. It’s the story of her sister, Ruby, who is finding out who she is with a young daughter and in an arranged marriage. It is heart breaking, anger-inducing, but so full of hope. I adored it.

This was so tough to read, but I really appreciated the difficult conversations. I felt like I was learning, truly, how hard things were for Amber and her mother. Her heartache was so raw, open and honest. I couldn’t help but feel like I was right there with Amber and her suffering. I just wanted to root for her and her mother and see them rebel from such a broken home.

I also really appreciated some of the side-characters, especially the men. I found myself very grateful to have other men in relationships that offset the actions of Amber’s father. Especially Ruby’s husband and Amber’s friend David, who were both so supportive and lovely in their relationships.

I also love how this book centered around running. I’ve been running for around 6 months now and I could really relate to how Amber felt with how free running made her feel. The only small niggle I had was sometimes how Amber treated those around her – although I feel like it made her a very real and well-rounded character.

Overall, this was certainly a page-turner, and I read it in 2 sittings. It was so compelling and I couldn’t put it down. It broke my heart but left me feeling hopeful. I loved it, and I can’t wait to read more by this author!

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Let’s Discuss! August Releases I’m Excited For

Hi all! I know we’re a week into the month already but I thought today I’d talk a little about August releases I’m excited for! There are just too many I have on my shelf or I want to read to avoid shouting about them.

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Goodreads | Waterstones

Everyone knows that Nick and Charlie are the perfect couple – that they’re inseparable. But now Nick is leaving for university, and Charlie will be left behind at Sixth Form. Everyone’s asking if they’re staying together, which is a stupid question – they’re ‘Nick and Charlie’ for God’s sake!
But as the time to say goodbye gets inevitably closer, both Nick and Charlie question whether their love is strong enough to survive being apart. Or are they delaying the inevitable? Because everyone knows that first loves rarely last forever…

My copy of Nick and Charlie arrived yesterday and I’m so excited to read it. It looks so pretty alongside Alice’s other books!

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Goodreads | Waterstones

Robin Cooper’s life is falling apart.
While his friends prepare to head off to university, Robin is looking at a pile of rejection letters from drama schools up and down the country, and facing a future without the people he loves the most. Everything seems like it’s ending, and Robin is scrabbling to find his feet.
Unsure about what to do next and whether he has the talent to follow his dreams, he and his best friends go and drown their sorrows at a local drag show, where Robin realises there might be a different, more sequinned path for him . . .
With a mother who won’t stop talking, a boyfriend who won’t acknowledge him and a best friend who is dying to cover him in glitter make up, there’s only one thing for Robin to do: bring it to the runway.

I haven’t picked up my copy of Boy Queen yet, but I’m really looking forward to it because it sounds amazing.

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Goodreads | Waterstones

It’s 200 years since Cinderella found her prince, but the fairytale is over.
Sophia knows the story though, off by heart. Because every girl has to recite it daily, from when she’s tiny until the night she’s sent to the royal ball for choosing. And every girl knows that she has only one chance. For the lives of those not chosen by a man at the ball . are forfeit.
But Sophia doesn’t want to be chosen – she’s in love with her best friend, Erin, and hates the idea of being traded like cattle. And when Sophia’s night at the ball goes horribly wrong, she must run for her life. Alone and terrified, she finds herself hiding in Cinderella’s tomb. And there she meets someone who will show her that she has the power to remake her world.

I’ve heard so many good things about Cinderella is Dead and I really want to pick up a copy myself!

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Goodreads | Waterstones

Ashley Bennett and her friends are living the charmed life. It’s the end of senior year and they’re spending more time at the beach than in the classroom. They can already feel the sunny days and endless possibilities of summer.
Everything changes one afternoon in April, when four LAPD officers are acquitted after beating a black man named Rodney King half to death. Suddenly, Ashley’s not just one of the girls. She’s one of the black kids.
As violent protests engulf LA and the city burns, Ashley tries to continue on as if life were normal. Even as her self-destructive sister gets dangerously involved in the riots. Even as the model black family façade her wealthy and prominent parents have built starts to crumble. Even as her best friends help spread a rumor that could completely derail the future of her classmate and fellow black kid, LaShawn Johnson.
With her world splintering around her, Ashley, along with the rest of LA, is left to question who is the us? And who is the them?

I have an ecopy of this book through NetGalley and I’m really desperate to read it – in fact it’s next on my list after Loveless!

Which books are you excited for this month?

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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