January was a slow reading month and I didn’t actually finish any books, but in February I finished two! February was also an exciting month because I went to my first book event since before the pandemic! I went to the Norwich event on Samantha Shannon’s A Day of Fallen Night tour. It was amazing to hear her talk about her writing and world building and I came away feeling so inspired. I also got my copy of A Priory of the Orange Tree signed!

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri ⭐⭐⭐.5 – I struggled to get through this one as I found the pacing too slow for me. There was so much I loved about this book, but the pacing just held back my enjoyment and it did take me quite a while to read it. It’s a fantastic book so would still definitely recommend it, I just didn’t click with it sadly.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – I decided it was time to take a break from fantasy and read something totally different. I’ve read a few Agatha Christie novels before but not in any order. So this time I decided to read the very first Poirot novel. I was hooked all the way through and there were so many twists and turns!

While in Norwich I popped into a couple of independent bookshops and as soon as I spotted the UK paperback edition of One For All by Lillie Lainoff on the shelf, I just knew I had to pick up a copy!

After writing a lot in January, February wasn’t so good. I’ve been struggling with my current project, which is essentially a completely refreshed version of an old project I’m writing again from scratch, but although I’m writing on a clean document, I am essentially editing/redrafting what came before. I’m someone who loves first drafts and struggles with redrafting and editing, so I’m finding it challenging! But hopefully I will learn a lot from it.

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

I am very late with my January wrap up. The last few weeks just seem to have been very busy. I didn’t manage to finish any books in January! I’ve been listening to the audiobook of The Jasmine Throne and I’ve been finding the pacing a bit slow so it’s been taking me a while to get through it. I’m also halfway through reading Broken Web.

In January I had two exciting Fairyloot parcels. The Atlas Paradox, which matches the first book excellently. And the Daughter of the Pirate King set which I ordered months ago. It was worth the wait though as they are such gorgeous editions.

Although I didn’t do so much reading in January, it was a great month for writing. I wrote the most words I’ve written in one month in a long time, so I’m feeling very happy about that.

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

The last wrap up of 2022! In the last month of the year, I finished two books, both of which I loved, so it was a pretty good month.

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo (audiobook) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – I just loved being back in the world of the Grishaverse, and Leigh Bardugo always writes a great story.

Make You Mine This Christmas by Lizzie Huxley-Jones (audiobook) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – I rounded off the year with a Christmassy read! This book was super fun and entertaining, and hit the emotional beats really well too.

I got Master of Iron, the sequel to Blade of Secrets, for Christmas and I’m really excited to read this one.

I finally, finally, got back into writing in December. I’m working on a new version of an old project, and I’m 13,000 words in now, so slowly but surely making progress.

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

I didn’t get much time for reading in September so I only managed to read one book but it was a very long book! I’m hoping to have more time to read in October and make a bit more of a dent on the ever-growing TBR.

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas (audiobook) ⭐⭐⭐ – I really enjoyed the previous books in this series but this one just felt too long. I found it a bit hard to get through as the pacing just felt so slow. I also didn’t enjoy some of the tropes / story decisions in this one. So I found this read a bit disappointing.

My preorder of The Dragon’s Promise by Elizabeth Lim arrived this month and I also got the Illumicrate edition of The Oleander Sword. I haven’t actually read The Jasmine Throne yet but I didn’t want to miss out on the matching sequel! So I hope I enjoy the series.

I managed to do some writing in September but progress is still quite slow as things have been busy and I have been struggling with my health still.  

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

It’s September and that means autumn is coming! But first, let’s look back at August! I only finished one book but have two other books that I’m part way through. I realised I gushed about my new kitten last month and didn’t share any photos so here’s a cute pic of Ember! I probably won’t be posting much for the next few weeks as I have started weekly hydrotherapy for my AS which I am finding quite tiring so am resting a lot. I have four sessions and I’m really hoping they will help with my symptoms.

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches (audiobook) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – I adored this cosy contemporary fantasy romance! It’s such a lovely book and a perfect pick for autumn. It has found family, which I love! I would definitely recommend the audiobook as the narration is fantastic and I loved listening to it.

My Fairyloot edition of Violet Made of Thorns arrived and it is very pretty. I also ordered a hardback copy of Breathe and Count Back From Ten after listening to the audiobook because I loved it so much and it meant so much to me, so wanted to have a copy on my shelf.

Writing progress is still very slow! I now have pain in my arms which is affecting my ability to type, so I’ve not been writing very often. I have now finished chapter two though!

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

I didn’t end up finishing many books this month as I couldn’t decide what I was in the mood for, so picked up and put down a couple of books before deciding that actually I needed a break from SFF and decided to give a romcom audiobook a go! I think it was a good choice as it definitely stopped me from sliding into a slump.

Blade of Secrets by Tricia Levenseller ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Tricia Levenseller is now my go-to author for fun, easy-read YA fantasy, and Blade of Secrets is a fun adventure. The main character of Blade of Secrets has society anxiety and I have honestly never related to a character so much before! I felt the author did a great job of showing all of Ziva’s internal thoughts and anxieties, and I really connected with her.

The Stand-In by Lily Chu (audiobook) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 – It’s rare that I pick up a romcom, but I am so glad I decided to give this one a chance, because I loved it! I had so much fun listening to the audiobook, which is brilliantly narrated by Phillipa Soo. Although there is romance, there are also several other subplots which I enjoyed, and which gave the story layers and plenty to keep me engaged. I would definitely recommend the audiobook for this one, as I think it enhanced the reading experience.

I added a few books to my haul this month – The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake, The City of Dusk by Tara Sim, and An Arrow to the Moon by Emily X.R. Pan. I’ve ordered some new bookcases, which are due to arrive in June, and I’m excited to get to display all my books on them!

I haven’t done an update on my writing for a while as it’s been a rough few months and, well, I haven’t been able to write much. But last week I wrote two pages of my new WIP and I am so happy to be back writing again!

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