In her forest-veiled pagan village, Évike is the only woman without power, making her an outcast clearly abandoned by the gods. The villagers blame her corrupted bloodline—her father was a Yehuli man, one of the much-loathed servants of the fanatical king. When soldiers arrive from the Holy Order of Woodsmen to claim a pagan girl for the king’s blood sacrifice, Évike is betrayed by her fellow villagers and surrendered.
But when monsters attack the Woodsmen and their captive en route, slaughtering everyone but Évike and the cold, one-eyed captain, they have no choice but to rely on each other. Except he’s no ordinary Woodsman—he’s the disgraced prince, Gáspár Bárány, whose father needs pagan magic to consolidate his power. Gáspár fears that his cruelly zealous brother plans to seize the throne and instigate a violent reign that would damn the pagans and the Yehuli alike. As the son of a reviled foreign queen, Gáspár understands what it’s like to be an outcast, and he and Évike make a tenuous pact to stop his brother.
As their mission takes them from the bitter northern tundra to the smog-choked capital, their mutual loathing slowly turns to affection, bound by a shared history of alienation and oppression. However, trust can easily turn to betrayal, and as Évike reconnects with her estranged father and discovers her own hidden magic, she and Gáspár need to decide whose side they’re on, and what they’re willing to give up for a nation that never cared for them at all.
Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:
What did you read last?
What are you currently reading?
What will you read next?
We’re halfway through the month of January (can you believe?) and since last week’s check-in, I’ve managed to read seven books. I’m surprisingly reading a lot of graphic novels but I ain’t mad about it cos I enjoyed them all! 🥰 This was mostly winning, save for one that ended up being the first 1-star rating I’ve given in a while… 👀
The Wedding Setup: A Short Story by Sonali Dev ★★★★½ This short story made me upset that I hadn’t yet read anything else by Dev but I plan to rectify that right away. I loved the writing, the cultural references, the way Dev explored loss/grief, mother-daughter relationships and intercultural relationships. The romance had me swooning (Emmitt was 😍) and I had such a fantastic time reading this! Check out my review.
So, we’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s prompt is:Most recent additions to my book collection.
After years of saying “I’ll catalogue my books”, I’m happy to say I’ve made a start and I finally finished cataloguing all my eBooks yesterday! I’ve already made a fair few (eBook) purchases this year (welp! 🙈) but I’m staying on top of things and adding them directly to my catalogue after each purchase. It might seem like no big deal but I’m feeling pretty freaking accomplished right now 😂 But I digress…
After seeing so many amazing yearly wrap-ups and being tempted by others’ favourites that were already on my wishlist, I decided to treat myself since I actually didn’t go wild buying that many new books last year (ebook and otherwise). I might be making up for that this year (probably even this month alone lol, jokes, maybe).
Special thanks to Algonquin Young Readers for inviting me to be on the blog tour and for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Goodreads: Crushing Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers Release Date: 11 January 2022 Genre: Graphic Novel, Romance
Panda Rating: (4 pandas)
She’s lonely and searching for a connection. He’s lonely and afraid to reach out. Life in the big city means being surrounded by connections—making them, missing them, and longing for them. But is finding someone else really the answer to their problems?
Crushing, the stunning debut graphic novel from Sophie Burrows, is a story told in silence; a story without words but bursting with meaning; a story about loneliness and love.
Achingly beautiful, quietly defiant, and full of subtle wit and wisdom, Crushing is a unique meditation on the human condition in the twenty-first century, and a timely examination of young adult life in an age of isolation.
Sophie Burrows is an award winning British writer, illustrator and comics creator. Inspired by the everyday, she loves to tell stories which explore themes of human behaviour, mental health and relationships. In 2019 she graduated from the MA in Children’s Book Illustration course at Cambridge School of Art, and subsequently won Student Illustrator of the Year 2019 at the V&A Illustration Awards.
Her first picture book as writer/illustrator, Ig Pig and Og Frog! was released in 2020, and her debut graphic novel, Crushing , publishes in 2021. Alongside her illustration, Sophie is also an associate lecturer and teaches on the MA in Children’s Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art.
Sophie lives and works in London with her partner Daniel. Besides drawing, she also loves to cook, and enjoys being creative in the kitchen. She is an avid music lover, and often spends her spare time watching live music and going to festivals.
TL;DR: Crushingis a graphic novel that I think will resonate with many of us because we’ve all felt loneliness and do feel lonely, especially since the pandemic. The artwork was simple, beautiful and vibrant with pops of red amidst the black and white, and the style complemented the quietness of the story very well. There was no plot but we follow the lives of our two protagonists as they navigate their everyday situations, searching for opportunities and connections, and it was simply so relatable. There may not be a happy ever after just yet but it’s certainly a hopeful new beginning! 🥰
Special thanks to Amazon Original Stories for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
Goodreads: The Wedding Setup Publisher: Amazon Original Stories Published: 11 January 2022 Genre: Contemporary Romance
Panda Rating: (4.5 pandas)
Ayesha Shetty lost her brother seven years ago, the same time she lost everything else important to her: her dreams, her fierce independence, and the man she loved. Not wanting to see her mother hurt anymore, she put her wild self away and became the dutiful daughter her mother needed and took on her brother’s role in the family business.
Now her best friend’s big, fat Indian wedding is a chance to get away from her endless duties at the restaurant and maybe even have some fun (if she remembers how). But a setup arranged by her mother, with a doctor no less, is the last thing she needs. The fact that he checks all her mother’s boxes just makes everything better…and worse.
Then Emmitt Hughes shows up. Her brother’s best friend. The love she once chose over family duties and her responsibilities. The one she asked to leave, and who did. The one who knows the real Ayesha. Torn between a love from the past that could cost her the only person she has left and her sense of obligation to her mother, will Ayesha find the strength to stop thinking about what everyone else wants and finally put herself first? Or is the old Ayesha truly gone for good?
TL;DR:I’m honestly a little disappointed (in myself) that I haven’t picked up anything by Sonali Dev until this short story because I loved everything about this second-chance romance with hilarious and well-intentioned meddling BFFs, mothers, and aunties. Dev’s writing is humorous, heartfelt, and packed with emotion, and her characters were realistic and relatable. If this short story is a good indication of what her full-length romances are like then I’ve definitely been missing out and I absolutely cannot wait to read more of Dev’s books asap!
We’re back with another Sundays in Bed With… meme! This meme dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning and is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!
I’ll be spending the rest of my Sunday in bed with Now and Then by Brenda Rothert. This is a romance that I had on my Kindle from back in 2015 and apparently, I’ve read it but have no recollection at all that it existed in my library! 😂 I’m reading it now to fulfil a prompt (a book whose title begins with the last letter of your previous read) for the Popsugar Reading Challenge 2022. Ngl, I’m not loving it and I kinda wanna DNF it… but it’s not too long? (I’m really bad at DNFing but there’s still time… lol)
Now Emmaline Carson is a sharp, settled graphic designer who loves painting, cooking and girls’ night out with her older sister Layla. But then – in the years before she went to art school in Paris – she was a shy, awkward teenager with frizzy hair, a flat chest and a massive crush on the boy across the street, Cole Marlowe. Too bad her incredibly hot neighbor only had eyes for Layla. Cole is now a confident, laid-back attorney who’s even hotter than he used to be. He’s planning to stay single while working his way up the corporate ladder – until he’s knocked off course by a chance run-in with Emma. Everything is different between Cole and Emma now. He finally sees her in a way she only dreamed of, and their hot chemistry is fueled by a growing friendship. But Emma’s deception of her sister – who wants Cole for herself – and the secret Cole’s been keeping for more than a decade threaten to tear apart what’s only just begun. Because sometimes the only thing standing in the way of now is then.
Hello, friends! It’s been a while since I did a Let’s Talk Bookish post but I thought what better time to dive back into these posts than at the start of a new year, right?!
It’s time for parts 2 & 3 of the End of Year Book Survey! This part of the survey looks more at blogging and future planning but you can check outpart one for my 2021 Stats & ‘Best in Books’!
I also started watching my fair share of booktube this year and these three were my favourites:
Jess
Gavin
Jack
Favourite post you wrote in 2021?
I’m not usually good at boosting my own stuff? But there were a few posts that I really enjoyed making and two reviews that I’m particularly proud of, even though they’re a bit lot on the long, I couldn’t help gushing about the books because I loved them *so much*!
I didn’t take a lot of bookish-related photos this year but I did do a book look for my stop on the Cast in Firelight blog tour, a photo of my newly reorganised bookshelf (that didn’t last long lol) and another photo of one of the (very) few hauls I did this year!
Best bookish event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, etc.)?
There were none this year (but are there ever any events? no… lol) 🥲
Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2021?
I don’t know if I can really say whether I had a “best” moment because my blogging and reading life felt pretty low-key in 2021. I guess one of the best moments I felt was when I came back from my extended hiatus to find that there were still people following my blog? 😂 I still feel the imposter syndrome pretty often, especially when things felt really tough this year, but yeah… I’m just thankful for all of you who engage with this weird third-culture kid across the sea! ❤️
Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?
Oof, I’ve said it a million times already but this year was a weird one and I felt it on both the blogging and reading front. I planned to take a short break early on in the year which then turned into a several-month-long hiatus which I apparently really needed! It wasn’t a smooth journey diving back into blogging but I found my groove again after a while. I still question why I’m producing anything at times because my engagements weren’t what they were before, but I love this community and I’m still glad to be here. In terms of reading, I was stuck with a weird reading mood that didn’t disappear until… well, it didn’t really disappear all year! 😂 While I’d normally read a pretty balanced mix of fantasies and romances, I could hardly focus on anything except the latter all year and without them, I probably would’ve read next to nothing in 2021. 🙈 I’m planning to try reintroducing more fantasy into my life this year but if not, I’m totally okay with mainly reading romances!
Most popular post this year on your blog (whether it be by comments or views?)
As with every year so far, my reviews always get the lowest views out of all the posts on my blog. I’m also sure that because I took an extended hiatus this year, my stats dropped considerably but again, I’m just glad that anyone stuck around. ❤️
Best bookish discovery (book-related sites, bookstores, etc.)?
I gotta be honest, I didn’t really discover any new book-related sites or bookstores this year because I didn’t really do much retail therapy (surprisingly!) and outside of work, I spent very little time online and engaging. 🙈 Boring, I know!
Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
Well, I can say with certainty that I didn’t reach many of the reading/blogging goals I set for myself this year. Some of the reasons for why were out of my control and the others… Well, it just didn’t happen and that’s fine! The one goal that I did surpass was my Goodreads Reading Challenge. I set my goal for 150 books in 2021 and I ended up reading 199 (welp, that one to 200 😂). I’m happy I at least did that!
One book you didn’t get to in 2021 but will be your number 1 priority in 2022?
I’ve technically been reading She Who Became the Sun for… A long time now. It’s been on my “currently reading” list since I picked it up mid-year and I’m disappointed that I haven’t finished it yet but as I’ve mentioned, I really struggled with fantasy last year. I’m definitely going to prioritise it this year and I do hope I love it as much as everyone else seemed to!
Book you are most anticipating for 2022 (non-debut)?
Ooh, there’s not just one book I’m highly anticipating! I’ve just made a list of ten but here are ten more that I’m really looking forward to this year:
2022 debut you are most anticipating?
A Magic Steeped in Poison isn’t my most anticipated debut because it has the most gorgeous cover but it definitely doesn’t hurt! 😂
Series ending/a sequel you are most anticipating in 2022?
I’m really looking forward to reading Bound by Firelight, the second and final book in the Wickery duology.
One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your reading/blogging life in 2022?
I wrote last year that I wanted to spend more time engaging in the book community and sadly, I didn’t do as much as I’d like. So I think I’m going to keep this goal the same! I hope to be more active in the book community and engage with more amazing book lovers!
A 2022 release you’ve already read & recommend to everyone (if applicable)
I’ve only read two 2022 releases (I’m so behind please don’t judge) and one I didn’t quite enjoy and the other I absolutely loved but haven’t gushed much about yet.
If you’re looking for a sweet and adorable graphic novel to read this year I’d highly recommend Chef’s Kiss! It’s got great friendships, realistic and relatable adulting situations post-uni life, and a very sweet MM romance. Not to mention all the food!
And that’s a wrap on 2021, folks!
So, that’s the last bit of the End of Year Survey. I actually feel like there are maybe some things that I haven’t reflected on yet in this wrap-up—mostly to do with my 2021 goals—but that’s OK. Maybe I’ll do a separate post for that. I can’t believe 2021 is already over and we’ve started another new year, sadly with the same circumstances. That said, I hope 2022 gets better and is kinder to all of us!
How was your year of reading and blogging in 2021? What was your best blogging or book-related moment? Is there anything that you’re really looking forward to or something you really want to achieve in 2022?
Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:
What did you read last?
What are you currently reading?
What will you read next?
Since last week I’ve managed to finish seven books. Most of them were erotic romances, as I was chasing my 200 reads in 2021 (and still didn’t succeed but it’s fine lol)! I still find that I’ve carried over the weird reading mood from 2021 but I’m hoping that’ll fade as 2022 rolls on.
Before Girl (Vital Signs #1) by Kate Canterbary ★★★☆☆ I have an unpopular opinion for this one and I’m sad that I didn’t enjoy it. I just couldn’t vibe with the chaotic energy of the characters. I think this is definitely a me thing and not because of the book! Still plan to try another book by Canterbary though! RTC.
The Lick Series Box Set (Lick #1-3) by Naima Simone ★★★★☆ I was surprised by how much I actually enjoyed this one. It’s erotica so the sex does play a big role in the plot (and it was very kinky and steamy) but I thought the character development was done well for novellas! The third book (Only For You) about Killian was my favourite though. Defo keen to try more by this author! RTC.
So, we’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s prompt is:Most Anticipated Books Releasing In the First Half of 2022.
I’m notoriously a last-minute kind of girl so it’s no surprise that I’m writing this post the day it’s going up. I also started off making this list with less than 10 books marked on my Goodreads 2022 releases list and by the time I finished “researching”, I’d ended up with 68 releases. 😂 *phew* there are so many great releases coming out this year I don’t even know what my bank account is gonna look like if I end up getting my hands on many of them! 👀 But I digress! I had a fun time narrowing the list down to 10 11 books and, as always, it’s a random mix of Adult and YA fantasies, romances and some literary/speculative fiction. The list goes in order of release month!
dinipandareads 