Who doesn’t love some beautiful books?
Sorry this is so short I have had a really bad day and just can’t wait for the week to be over!
See yesterday’s post here
H x
Good afternoon 🙂
In the kingdom of Sempera, time is currency—extracted from blood, bound to iron, and consumed to add time to one’s own lifespan. The rich aristocracy, like the Gerlings, tax the poor to the hilt, extending their own lives by centuries.
No one resents the Gerlings more than Jules Ember. A decade ago, she and her father were servants at Everless, the Gerlings’ palatial estate, until a fateful accident forced them to flee in the dead of night. When Jules discovers that her father is dying, she knows that she must return to Everless to earn more time for him before she loses him forever.
But going back to Everless brings more danger—and temptation—than Jules could have ever imagined. Soon she’s caught in a tangle of violent secrets and finds her heart torn between two people she thought she’d never see again. Her decisions have the power to change her fate—and the fate of time itself.
I was expecting to enjoy this book but I had a thought that it may have contained typical YA tropes – It did not. It was perfectly unique with everything I love about YA. My full review here.
Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.
As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must … and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty.
The old gods have no power in the south, Stark’s family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne.
Part of me read this purely for the hype surrounding it. I was about 15 years old and had only just started to hear about it. I loved it, I was never bored and the world building is phenomenal. By the size of the book you expect to become confused and forget key plot points. Siprisingly the story line is so easy to follow and very memorable.
Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams. But to claim it, he’ll have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist:
Break into the notorious Ice Court
(a military stronghold that has never been breached)
Retrieve a hostage
(who could unleash magical havoc on the world)
Survive long enough to collect his reward
(and spend it)
Kaz needs a crew desperate enough to take on this suicide mission and dangerous enough to get the job done – and he knows exactly who: six of the deadliest outcasts the city has to offer. Together, they just might be unstoppable – if they don’t kill each other first.
Like Everless I expected to like this book but I did not expect to love it as much as I did. The world, the character, the plot. Leigh Bardugo you did good.
“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”
It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.
Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.
His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.
But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.
For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.
I had this book on my shelf since it was published pretty much, it then went into storage and when I found it I was in love with reading again so absolutely flew through it and the series. Since then it has been one of my favourites.
What books have exceeded your expectations?
H x
Practically everyone I know has snow today and it has been snowing all day and hasn’t settled 😦
Winter is coming. Is there more of a book based around snow? I love high fantasy at this time of year, the magical air that surrounds the place.
Such a childhood love. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is set in a permanent winter, all I’m asking for is a snow day 😉
CLASSIC can’t wait to re read this on Christmas Eve.
Currently read and I can’t tell you how much I love this book. Gives the perfect vibe of a high fantasy with all the added edge of mystery. I adore it!!
Does this list even exist without Harry Potter. The mix of magic and Hogwarts at Christmas makes this book the perfect one to read while its snowing outside.
Have you got snow? What have you been reading today?
Yesterday’s blog post here
H x
This is so late again I’m sorry I promise to try harder tomorrow!
I can’t help but love all the characters in A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) – They could equally all be seen as villains but you can’t help but love to hate them.
An Enchantment of Ravens
Spent a while thinking baout this one but 100% Lou from Me Before You – She completely starts to believe in her ablities as a person by the end of the book.
Umbridge – no way is she receiving anything from Father Christmas.
Dobby the Elf he deserves so much
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Lou from Me Before You, with Fleetfoot the dog from Throne of Glass!
Heartless by Marissa Meyer (DoN’T HaTE ME)
I’m only about 30 pages in but Everless is amazing!
Orignial tag here
I tag Sophie over at giraffe files and BookishFactory
Yesterdays Blogmas post here
H x
Hopefully I can get to finishing all these series next year!
I feel like so many of these posts aren’t Christmasy, sorry.
Are there any book series that you would like to finish?
Yesterdays blogmas post here.
H x
I have just under 45 minutes for this to still be classed as the 7th!!
Here are 4 books that are on my christmas list this year!
Two random strangers. Thirty-six questions to make them fall in love.
Hildy and Paul each have their own reasons for taking part in the psychology study (in Paul’s case it is the $40, in Hildy’s the reasons are significantly more complex). The study poses the simple question: Can love be engineered between two random strangers?
Hildy and Paul must ask each other 36 questions, ranging from “What is your most terrible memory?” to “When did you last sing to yourself?” By the time Hildy and Paul have made it to the end of the questionnaire, they’ve laughed and cried and lied and thrown things and run away and come back again. They’ve also each discovered the painful secret the other was trying so hard to hide. But have they fallen in love?
Isobel is a prodigy portrait artist with a dangerous set of clients: the sinister fair folk, immortal creatures who cannot bake bread, weave cloth, or put a pen to paper without crumbling to dust. They crave human Craft with a terrible thirst, and Isobel’s paintings are highly prized among them. But when she receives her first royal patron—Rook, the autumn prince—she makes a terrible mistake. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes – a weakness that could cost him his life.
Furious and devastated, Rook spirits her away to the autumnlands to stand trial for her crime. Waylaid by the Wild Hunt’s ghostly hounds, the tainted influence of the Alder King, and hideous monsters risen from barrow mounds, Isobel and Rook depend on one another for survival. Their alliance blossoms into trust, then love, violating the fair folks’ ruthless Good Law. There’s only one way to save both their lives, Isobel must drink from the Green Well, whose water will transform her into a fair one—at the cost of her Craft, for immortality is as stagnant as it is timeless.
Isobel has a choice: she can sacrifice her art for a future, or arm herself with paint and canvas against the ancient power of the fairy courts. Because secretly, her Craft represents a threat the fair folk have never faced in all the millennia of their unchanging lives: for the first time, her portraits have the power to make them feel.
A banished princess.
A deadly curse.
A kingdom at war.
Wil Heidle, the only daughter of the king of the world’s wealthiest nation, has grown up in the shadows. Kept hidden from the world in order to serve as a spy for her father—whose obsession with building his empire is causing a war—Wil wants nothing more than to explore the world beyond her kingdom, if only her father would give her the chance.
Until one night Wil is attacked, and she discovers a dangerous secret. Her touch turns people into gemstone. At first Wil is horrified—but as she tests its limits, she’s drawn more and more to the strange and volatile ability. When it leads to tragedy, Wil is forced to face the destructive power within her and finally leave her home to seek the truth and a cure.
But finding the key to her redemption puts her in the path of a cursed prince who has his own ideas for what to do with her power.
With a world on the brink of war and a power of ultimate destruction, can Wil find a way to help the kingdom that’s turned its back on her, or will she betray her past and her family forever?
Sent on a mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map—the key to a legendary treasure trove—seventeen-year-old pirate captain Alosa deliberately allows herself to be captured by her enemies, giving her the perfect opportunity to search their ship.
More than a match for the ruthless pirate crew, Alosa has only one thing standing between her and the map: her captor, the unexpectedly clever and unfairly attractive first mate, Riden. But not to worry, for Alosa has a few tricks up her sleeve, and no lone pirate can stop the Daughter of the Pirate King.
GoodReads
What books are on your Christmas list or wishlist?
Mocks are over thank goodness bring on Christmas!
Yesterdays post here
H x
Sorry this is soo late! One exam left and then I am done with exams till next year.
I thought I would bake Arya a pie that did not contain human flesh 😉
Ingredients
Method
This recipe was taken from Taste of Home
See yesterdays post here.
H x
What is blogmas with out some Christmas music?
Fairytale of NewYork – The Pogues ft Kirsty McColl
Christmas Lights – Coldplay
Last Christmas – Wham!
Do They Know It’s Christmas – Band Aid
Mistletoe – Justin Beiber
One More Sleep – Leona Lewis
What is your favourite Christmas song?
See yesterdays post here
H x
The Joy of Christmas Book Tag
Are you proud I am actually continuing with Blogmas (Lets see how long it lasts)
To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most—a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian’s heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever.
The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavory hobby—it’s his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she’s more than what she appears. She promises to help him find the key to destroying all of sirenkind for good—But can he trust her? And just how many deals will Elian have to barter to eliminate mankind’s greatest enemy?
If anyone has an arc for this that they want to trade or if anyone wanted to him me up let me know because I can’t wait for this!
J K Rowling everything this woman does is wonderful
A Song of Ice and Fire
I don’t know if the TV show helped with this but this series to me is so vivid and even though they are so long I can still remember what has happened.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
This answers both, I love this story and can’t wait to read it this month.
The illustrated Fantastic Beasts – It is so beautiful.
Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff because I read it Christmas last year (this book is not warm and fuzzy repeat not warm and fuzzy)
My dad would always go down supper early so when I went downstairs I could see the glow of the lights and know that Father Christmas has been ☺️
Also Christmas films especially the Muppets Christmas Carol 🙈
Are you participating in Blogmas/Bookmas? Let me know I would love to check out your site.
See yesterdays post here H x
This month I have three eARCs to read 1 book from publishers and a Christmas book and a couple to make me ball my eyes out.
Louisa Clark is an ordinary young woman living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has never been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex-Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair-bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.
Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.
I’ve read this multiple times – excited for a reread!
How do you move on after losing the person you loved? How do you build a life worth living?
Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can’t help but feel she’s right back where she started.
Her body heals, but Lou herself knows that she needs to be kick-started back to life. Which is how she ends up in a church basement with the members of the Moving On support group, who share insights, laughter, frustrations, and terrible cookies. They will also lead her to the strong, capable Sam Fielding—the paramedic, whose business is life and death, and the one man who might be able to understand her. Then a figure from Will’s past appears and hijacks all her plans, propelling her into a very different future…
For Lou Clark, life after Will Traynor means learning to fall in love again, with all the risks that brings.
I’ve read Me Before you multiple times but have never read read the sequel – now that I know there is a third one coming out I really want to finally get round to it.
Most know Androma Racella as the Bloody Baroness, a powerful mercenary whose reign of terror stretches across the Mirabel Galaxy. To those aboard her glass starship, Marauder, however, she’s just Andi, their friend and fearless leader.
But when a routine mission goes awry, the Marauder’s all-girl crew is tested as they find themselves in a treacherous situation and at the mercy of a sadistic bounty hunter from Andi’s past.
Meanwhile, across the galaxy, a ruthless ruler waits in the shadows of the planet Xen Ptera, biding her time to exact revenge for the destruction of her people. The pieces of her deadly plan are about to fall into place, unleashing a plot that will tear Mirabel in two.
Andi and her crew embark on a dangerous, soul-testing journey that could restore order to their shipor just as easily start a war that will devour worlds. As the Marauder hurtles toward the unknown, and Mirabel hangs in the balance, the only certainty is that in a galaxy run on lies and illusion, no one can be trusted.
I was soo happy when I was accepted on NetGalley to read this, so I defiantly need to read this!
Whether or not you believe in fate, or luck, or love at first sight, every romance has to start somewhere. MEET CUTE is an anthology of original short stories featuring tales of “how they first met” from some of today’s most popular YA authors.
Readers will experience Nina LaCour’s beautifully written piece about two Bay Area girls meeting via a cranky customer service Tweet, Sara Shepard’s glossy tale about a magazine intern and a young rock star, Nicola Yoon’s imaginative take on break-ups and make-ups, Katie Cotugno’s story of two teens hiding out from the police at a house party, and Huntley Fitzpatrick’s charming love story that begins over iced teas at a diner. There’s futuristic flirting from Kass Morgan and Katharine McGee, a riveting transgender heroine from Meredith Russo, a subway missed connection moment from Jocelyn Davies, and a girl determined to get out of her small town from Ibi Zoboi. Jennifer Armentrout writes a sweet story about finding love from a missing library book, Emery Lord has a heartwarming and funny tale of two girls stuck in an airport, Dhonielle Clayton takes a thoughtful, speculate approach to pre-destined love, and Julie Murphy dreams up a fun twist on reality dating show contestants.
There are two anthologies on this list this month. Who dosen’t love a love story!
In the kingdom of Sempera, time is currency—extracted from blood, bound to iron, and consumed to add time to one’s own lifespan. The rich aristocracy, like the Gerlings, tax the poor to the hilt, extending their own lives by centuries.
No one resents the Gerlings more than Jules Ember. A decade ago, she and her father were servants at Everless, the Gerlings’ palatial estate, until a fateful accident forced them to flee in the dead of night. When Jules discovers that her father is dying, she knows that she must return to Everless to earn more time for him before she loses him forever.
But going back to Everless brings more danger—and temptation—than Jules could have ever imagined. Soon she’s caught in a tangle of violent secrets and finds her heart torn between two people she thought she’d never see again. Her decisions have the power to change her fate—and the fate of time itself.
I CANNOT WAIT TO READ THIS!!
The YA event of the year. Bestsellers. Award-winners. Superstars. This anthology has them all. With brilliantly entertaining short stories from beloved young adult authors Amie Kaufman, Melissa Keil, Will Kostakis, Ellie Marney, Jaclyn Moriarty, Michael Pryor, Alice Pung, Gabrielle Tozer, Lili Wilkinson and Danielle Binks, this all-new collection will show the world exactly how much there is to love about Aussie YA.
Thank you HarperVoyager360 for a copy of this. I’m excited to find some new YA Australian authors.
In his “Ghostly little book,” Charles Dickens invents the modern concept of Christmas Spirit and offers one of the world’s most adapted and imitated stories. We know Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, not only as fictional characters, but also as icons of the true meaning of Christmas in a world still plagued with avarice and cynicism
I needed a Christmas book on this list.
What are you reading this month?
Want to see Blogmas day 1? Click here
Speak to you tomorrow
H x
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