Tag: 2020

Book Reviews

Mageborn // Jessica Thorne

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4/5 stars. WOWIE! This book took me on a wild ride. Thank you to the author and publishing company for giving me the opportunity to review this book as an ARC!

I’ll be honest, I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. I would say this gave me definite Serpent & Dove vibes; if you enjoyed that, read this! I managed this in 2 days.

Mageborn is a fantasy surrounding magic and mystery, like all the best ones are! It has the perfect smattering of enemies to romance, smut and powerful protagonist portrayal you could hope for! The book follows a simialr thread to a lot of others within this genre, mystical kingdom is under threat by [X], powerful heroine needs to help save the kingdom from [X], along the way she either meets a dashing hero or has to SAVE said hero from [X]. This is the writing cocktail I adore, and so it was completely for me. Think Sarah J. Maas-esque creation. Superb.

I would say there are two main protagonists within this read, and their perspectives are split chapter-to-chapter. This, for me, enabled the build-up of the relationship that forms between the two to become all the more hard-hitting, as you get the chance to really see how one is feeling about the other. Likewise, the writing style really helped the world to come alive for me, and I was truly engrossed from start to finish. The overall storyline delivered enough adventure and action to keep me on my toes but allowed a real exploration into the developing burdens and implications faced by the characters.

Not to be missed – well worth the read!

Annabelle xo

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The New Year’s Resolutions Book Tag

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I’m a bit late with this one as it’s almost the end of January (WHERE has the time gone?!) but figured until it hits the 31st, it’s still valid to complete. Onto the post!

  1. An Author You’d Like To Read That You’ve Never Read

I feel the list for this is pretty long actually… So I’ll select a top 3! My TBR list and bookshelf seems to be endless. I feel like Marie Lu is pretty coveted and I have her The Young Elites series waiting to be picked up; I would love to finally get round to reading the Legend series too. Kendare Blake’s Three Dark Queens series is another that is high up my list but am yet to read.. Been getting Red Queen // Victoria Aveyard vibes from the reviews – is it going to be like this and as good? And finally, Megan Whalen Turner and the Queen of Attolia series… My GOD I have heard good things and I cannot wait to see what the hype is about.

2. A Book You’d Like To Read

With the dawn of a new decade I feel it is only right to finally finish a book that has received countless renown and 5 * reviews over the past few years. Normal People by Sally Rooney defintely takes the ticket.

3. A Classic You’d Like To Read

For Christmas 2019 I received my long-desired Penguins Classics Edition of Pride and Prejudice. It. Is. Stunning. So I immediately dragged myself out to my local bookshop and purchased more Penguins Classics to add to my collection! Sense and Sensibility (Yes, I have seen the movie before reading the book – loved it) by Jane Austen is the next classic on the list. Also, after re-reading The Infernal Devices series by Cassandrs Clare last year, Will Herondale and Tessa Gray keep talking about A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens and so I feel I have to finally read this too.

4. A Book You’d Like To Re-Read

When it first came out – I read the Delirium by Lauren Oliver and the the other 2 books in the series subsequently. I loved it then but I feel like my reading style may have moved on since then, so I have it down to re-read in 2020? Is it still worth the read? I am definitely always into fantasy and dystopian YA so feel like it should still be my jam.

5. A Book You’ve Had For Ages and Want To Read

Ever since its 2017 release, I have had Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman sat in bedroom. It is so highly-raved about, I definitely need to read it this year. 3 years is long enough!

6. A Big Book You’d Like to Read

This is one I haven’t got a scooby for! A big book? What constitutes as ‘big’? I think I’ve been ruined by kindle books. I haven’t really got a clue what the size of books are all I do is download them…

7. An Author You’ve Previously Read and Would Like to Read More Of

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven rocked me to the core when I finished it, years ago. I haven’t read anything else by Jennifer Niven yet but her wiritng style was incredibly powerful and really, pure magic. Will definitely be reading more of her stuff this year.

8. A Book You Got For Christmas and Would Like To Read

I received for Christmas this year (at my own request), The King is Dead: The Last Will and Testament of Henry VIII by historian, Susannah Lipscomb. I have been fascinated with the Tudor period of British history ever since my undergraduate thesis and I find Henry VIII particualy interesting. Was he a tyrant? Was he misunderstood? With a background in theology, I can’t wait to dive into this!

9. A Series You Want to Read from Start to Finish

Good question…! How can I possibly choose?! The immediate one that springs to mind is the Fire and Thorns series by Rae Carson. I am very excited to finally get round to and and have high expecttaions. Will it live up to them, is the question?

10. A Series You Want To Finish That You’ve Already Started

I’ve got two for this one (Sorry! – too indecisive). The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski was a slow read for me initially, but now that I’ve finished it and had a few months to stew it over, I can’t stop thinking about it! I think I definitely need to read the next two installments to see what happens. Likewise, The Queen of Tearling by Erika Johansen had me hooked throughout but when I finished it I felt a bit…deflated? It took a lot to get through to the ending, so I wasn’t immediately pushed to pick up the next one. Now that some time has passed, it seems to have fuelled my appetite for the story again.

Do you have any book-base resolutions for 2020 and this new decade? I think my main one (not questioned) is to just embrace my reading and actually give myself the time to do so a bit more. I would love to hear your thoughts!

Annabelle xo

Book Reviews

The Night Circus // Erin Morgenstern

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3/5 stars. It was great! But not fantastic. Do I understand the hype? Honestly? I’m not sure.

I’m not really sure what to say about this book. It was VERY slow at the start… and I mean very. I struggled to keep with it.
I made a mental note of when it picked up: 53% (kindle).

I think that’s when Marco and Celia had their first confrontation and their romance really began, which I think is what I was searching for the whole time. The second-half of the book was definitely my favourite; and the twist at the end did have me surprised. Although the finale did leave me feeling a little bit deflated. A bit like, is that it?

Something which I admired about the book and it delivered extremely well: the world building. I loved the whole facade and adventure of The Night Circus. The tents and ‘worlds’ invented within them were incredible. The descriptive writing; beautiful. I also really enjoyed the turbulent romance between Marco and Celia. I was happy with their ending though, and found myself really feeling like they deserved to be together. Saying that, Marco was a bit pining, wasn’t he? Let Celia be the independent powerhouse that she is(!)

Something which I think the book could have done better: I enjoyed the different perspectives offered through the time-hopping, however it was a bit confusing. At times I was struggling to follow who I was reading about and where they were, and in what time. And I may have been missing the point entirely but Bailey… I found his story-line the most dull?! Anyone else or am I just being very pessimistic?

My favourite quote of the entire book: “I would have written you, myself, if I could put down in words everything I want to say to you. A sea of ink would not be enough.” The sentiment behind this is stunning and totally soppy and just what every romantic wants to read/hear/experience.

I wanted to love this but I struggled to. I would give it a solid 3/5 stars. It was good, borderline great, but the only reason I persisted with it was because of the following it has gained in recent years and its popularity with other readers. If it was a lesser known novel, I think I would have struggled to finish it.

What I will say is this – I would try it again. I have not completely given up on it, I feel like maybe it deserves a bit more of my time and possibly a different reading environment? I did try to squeeze a lot of this in on my 30mins lunch breaks with my tuna mayo sandwich!