Work and medical appointments seem to have taken over 2024 so far, and I’m once again late with my wrap up. But, better late than never I suppose!

Dark Water Daughter by H. M. Long ⭐⭐⭐⭐ stars – This adventurous pirate novel starts with a bang, opening on an exciting and intriguing scene as the protagonist faces the gallows. What drew me to this book was one of the narrators, Moira Quirk, who has been so fantastic on the previous audiobooks I’ve listened to. She was once again superb, capturing the mood and tone of every scene. The world building is creative and I enjoyed the epigraphs which provided a bit more insight into the magic. While plot and world building felt like the strongest aspects of this novel, along with the great writing and descriptions, the characters didn’t jump off the page. Some were stronger than others, but many of them were a little lacking in personality.

City of Vicious Night by Claire Winn ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 stars – I absolutely loved returning to this world and these characters in the sequel to City of Shattered Light. The author paints such a vivid picture of the world, and this instalment follows on excellently from the first book. I was gripped all the way through and couldn’t put it down.

Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – After the dramatic ending of Empire of Storms, it felt strange to step sideways with Tower of Dawn in terms of the timeline, rather than following the plot straight on into Kingdom of Ash. However, I’m glad I did read this instalment, which follows Chaol on a different journey from that of Aelin and the others in Empire of Storms. I enjoyed seeing a new part of the world we haven’t been to before and meeting both new, and some returning, characters.

I have managed to keep up with my writing and have now reached 60,000 words! I’m very much over halfway but it still feels like there’s a long way to go before I reach the end.

What books have you enjoyed this month? Chat with me in the comments!