February felt like it went on for longer than 28 days but I also can’t believe that the month is already over. Life was not much different in February compared to January and I didn’t get up to much. We celebrated my SIL’s birthday at the start of the month and my brother’s birthday at the end of the month, I took more bookish photos this month than I have in a while and enjoyed it, took care of my little Kiki who keeps coming back with funky lab test results but seems to be doing very fine otherwise (she’s so cheeky and chonky).
I know March is going to be so busy as I’m flying out on the 21st with my brother and SIL to meet up with my parents who will be there a week earlier than us and my cousin flying in from America the day before, for my sister’s MA graduation! 😍 I can’t believe she’s already graduating—time really flies, eh?
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:
The third installment in the heartwarming and enchanting Emily Wilde series, about a curmudgeonly scholar of folklore and the fae prince she loves.
Emily Wilde has spent her life studying faeries. A renowned dryadologist, she has documented hundreds of species of Folk in her Encyclopaedia of Faeries. Now she is about to embark on her most dangerous academic project studying the inner workings of a faerie realm—as its queen.
Along with her former academic rival—now fiancé—the dashing and mercurial Wendell Bambleby, Emily is immediately thrust into the deadly intrigues of Faerie as the two of them seize the throne of Wendell’s long-lost kingdom, which Emily finds a beautiful nightmare filled with scholarly treasures.
Emily has been obsessed with faerie stories her entire life, but at first she feels as ill-suited to Faerie as she did to the mortal How can an unassuming scholar such as herself pass for a queen? Yet there is little time to settle in, for Wendell’s murderous stepmother has placed a deadly curse upon the land before vanishing without a trace. It will take all of Wendell’s magic—and Emily’s knowledge of stories—to unravel the mystery before they lose everything they hold dear.
⚠️CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS
Sarcificial suicide, alcohol consumption, blood & injury depiction including broken bones (secondary character), recounted death of parents, brief recounting of grandparent’s murder, murder & attempted murder, physical assault
TL;DR: You know that feeling you get when you read the opening line of a book and you immediately know that you’re in good hands? That’s what I felt the moment I read the first line in Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales and I just knew I’d have a wonderful time coming back to this historical cosy fantasy following along with Emily’s faerie adventures. Returning to this world felt like coming home. I continued to love Emily and Wendell with their delightfully contrasting personalities who couldn’t be better matches for each other. Their banter still has me kicking my feet in giggly joy! I loved reuniting with old favourite characters from the previous books and being introduced to new ones who I admittedly had misgivings about, but who steadily proved those feelings wrong. From wild enchantment to foreboding and utter disbelief to absolute charm, this third book takes you on an engaging ride and presents a very satisfying conclusion to a wonderful series.
Hi friends, as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours I’m excited to share my thoughts on Unhallowed Halls by Lili Wilkinson!
Thanks to Delacorte Press for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Click the banner above or here to check out the other incredible bloggers on the blog tour!
Unhallowed Halls Publisher: Delacorte Press Publication Date: 18 February 2025 Genre: YA Horror Fantasy Rep: LGBT+, Queer, chronic illness, endometriosis
Rating: (4 pandas)
📖SYNOPSIS
A teen girl travels to an exclusive boarding school located deep within the Scottish moorlands after a deadly incident at her old school, but the wood-paneled halls of Agathion are built over centuries of secrets—including an ancient society which may have ties to demonic magic—in this dark academia fantasy perfect for fans of Curious Tides.
Page Whittaker has always been an outcast. And after the deadly incident that destroyed her single friendship at her old school, she needs a fresh start. Which is why when she receives a scholarship offer from Agathion College, an elite boarding school folded deep within the moors of Scotland, she doesn’t even consider turning it down.
Agathion is everything Page has ever a safe haven full of dusty books, steaming cups of tea and rigorous intellectual debate. And for the first time in her life, Page has even managed to become part of a close group of friends. Cyrus, Ren, Gideon, Lacey and Oak help her feel at home in Agathion’s halls–the only problem is, they’re all keeping secrets from her.
Page doesn’t know it yet, but her perfect new school has dark roots–roots that stretch back to its crooked foundation, and an ancient clandestine society with rumored ties to demonic magic. Soon, Page will be forced to learn that not everyone at Agathion is who they say they are. Least of all, her friends.
Agathion claims to teach its students history…but some histories should stay buried.
TL;DR:Unhallowed Halls is a book that I had a very fun time reading! I came for the dark academia and mild supernatural horror vibes and Wilkinson delivered on both. The intimidating structure and cold halls of Agathion combined with the fog-enshrouded moor surrounding the campus created a wonderfully gothic and eerie atmosphere that set the tone well for the story. Our MC was so easy to root for and I enjoyed the found family vibes with the “elite clique” that she finds herself taken into. While the second half of the story was a large departure from the first half, I went with the vibes and found myself enjoying the tonally different and slightly ludicrous unfolding of events. It’s batty but if you can just roll with it and suspend your disbelief, it’s a fun time (at least, it was for me)! 😂
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:
Hi friends, as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours I’m excited to share my thoughts on Rebel Witch by Kristen Ciccarelli—the second and final book in the Crimson Moth duology!
Thanks to Wednesday Books for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Click the banner above or here to check out the other incredible bloggers on the blog tour!
The stakes are even higher in this epic, romantic conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Crimson Moth duology.
A WITCH… Rune Winters is on the run. Ever since the boy she loved, Gideon Sharpe, revealed who she was and delivered her into enemy hands, everyone wants her dead. If Rune hopes to survive, she must ally herself with the cruel and dangerous Cressida Roseblood, who’s planning to take back the Republic and reinstate a Reign of Witches—something Cressida needs Rune to accomplish.
A WITCH HUNTER… Apparently it wasn’t enough for Rune to deceive Gideon; she’s now betrayed him by allying herself with the witch who made his life a living hell. Gideon won’t allow the Republic to fall to the witches and be plunged back into the nightmares of the past. In order to protect this new world he fought for, every last witch must die—especially Rune Winters.
AN IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE… When Rune makes Gideon an offer he can’t refuse, the two must pair up to accomplish dangerous goals. The more they’re forced into each other’s company, the more Gideon realizes the feelings he had for Rune aren’t as dead and buried as he thought. Now he’s faced with a terrible choice: sacrifice the girl he loves to stop a monster taking back power, or let Rune live and watch the world he fought so hard for burn.
In Kristen Ciccarelli’s Rebel Witch, the exciting conclusion to The Crimson Moth duology, love has never been so deadly.
⚠️CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS
Blood, war, death, gun and knife violence, torture, kidnapping, imprisonment (past and present), on-page sex (moderately described)
Note: I will try to keep my review of book two as specific yet generic as possible to keep from giving spoilers but since it is the conclusion of a duology, that may be hard to do. Fair warning you’re still planning to read book one!
TL;DR:Rebel Witch is a fast-paced and action-packed follow-up to Crimson Moth. I was invested from the go and I can’t recall the last time I read a book so quickly (not even a day)! The conclusion in this fantasy romance duology leans more into the romance side of things but overall, I found it a satisfying conclusion! Rune and Gideon are peak enemies-to-lovers and I LOVED everything about their dynamic in this book. The sexual tension was so intense and taut that you could have cut it with a knife and I was here for every single delicious moment. There are old/new characters and plot twists introduced that did a good job of cleanly wrapping up the loose threads, despite maybe some elements moving a bit too quickly. Or maybe it was just that I wanted more time in this world and I didn’t want the book to end? 🤭 This duology as a whole is a solid 5 stars and with the way it ends, it has successfully slotted itself into my list of favourite fantasy romances!
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:
Hi friends, as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours I’m excited to share my thoughts on The Forest King’s Daughter by Elly Blake. Thanks to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Click the banner above or here to check out the other incredible bloggers on the blog tour!
The Forest King’s Daughter Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Publication Date: 11 February 2025 Genre: YA Fantasy Romance
Rating: (3 pandas)
📖SYNOPSIS
For fans of Sarah J. Maas and Holly Black, The Forest King’s Daughter is an enemies-to-forbidden-lovers romance from the New York Times bestselling author of Frostblood.
Once upon a time, among the bloodred trees of Thirstwood, a young forest princess became friends with a lonely demon boy. He gifted her an amber ring, a worthless trinket…or so he thought…because no sooner did he slide it onto her finger than the demon queen and forest king declared war.
Years later, Cassia is a crucial force in her father’s army, wielding her ring of light that can blind and disorient hundreds of demons at a time. Then battle-hardened Zeru abducts her, planning to steal the ring back to fix his costly childhood mistake. Exhausted, terrified, and more than a little mistrusting, Cassia is forced to travel with Zeru to a place they both believed only existed in storybooks, one where their childhood friendship slowly rekindles into something much more. But it’s only a matter of time before the war they’ve escaped comes for them, and a hidden threat to forest folk and demons alike grows in the shadows.
From the author of the Frostblood Saga comes the first book in an enchanting, adventure-filled fantasy series about the daughters of the powerful forest king, sure to leave readers breathless and desperate for more.
TL;DR:This was an interesting new YA fantasy and I admit that I was hooked from the prologue. I immediately wanted to know more and see what happened in the years that passed following the giving of the ring and the declaration of war. There were a lot of interesting elements to the story that compelled me to keep reading and I’m glad that this came on my radar; however, on the whole, I admit that I wanted more from this story. This had a lot of potential to be an amazing read had it not been for some missed opportunities when it came to the POV, the world-building and character development. Having said that, I liked The Forest King’s Daughter enough to want to continue the series and see how the hinted-at prophecy unfolds.
Okay, where did January go? Seriously, this month felt like 100 days but it also passed by in a blink! 🤭 In fact, I can hardly even remember what I did in January because what was even time last month? I can’t seem to recall a thing (I’m really too young to be this forgetful). That’s why I’m going to leave it to some photos to cover the highlights, lol. It’s mostly my catto, Kiki, books and food (and my new hair!) but it does sum me and my month up nicely.
A thing I was quite proud of in January was how active I was on bookstagram. I guess you can say that I was there at the start of the rise of bookstagram and I burned out really hard when I tried to do too much. It was to the point that I stopped all of my social media and stuck to Twitter to only share my blog posts. One of my goals in the last two years has been to try and get back into the scene, regardless of how much engagement my posts get. Most years, I’ve failed at this goal after a brief reappearance but this January, I was on there a lot! Obviously, that has pros and cons as I wound up spending too much time mindlessly scrolling but I’m enjoying my time on there and while I don’t think I’ll ever get the same level of engagement as before, I like the chill low-pressure vibes. 🤭
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:
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