Hello everyone!
I hope you are all feeling suitably festive in the lead up to Christmas! Mr. Gingersnap and I have been frantically wrapping presents and getting food ready, we feel completely taken by surprise this year. Since when did Christmas get so sneaky? I swear it was August 2 weeks ago :-)
I finished my Goodreads challenge a while ago, but Mr. Gingersnap set me a different challenge too. He set me 120 books to read this year! Brutal, I know. By some miracle I've read 118 books so far and am currently in the middle of two more. I'd love to prove him wrong and finish this challenge so wish me luck guys!
Finishing two books in the next 7 days doesn't sound too bad, but you have to factor in family Christmas, work on Christmas Eve and after Boxing Day aaaannnd the fact that we still have 3 kittens growing up in our house. Lots of work and so little reading time *sigh*.
The first book I have left to finish is Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. This is the sequel to Six Of Crows set in the GrishaVerse. I'm about three quarters of the way through this book and am reading it on audiobook so hopefully I can get some reading done while I'm preparing for Christmas! This book follows the dregs as they continue on their epic heist in Ketterdam. This book features magic, wit, dastardly deeds and heart-in-mouth action!
The second book I'm still reading is A Torch Against The Night by Sabaa Tahir, the second book in the An Ember In The Ashes series. I am loving this book! I am just under halfway and cannot wait to binge read the rest one evening. Elias is one of my favourite male protagonists across all YA fantasy. This book also features magic :-P, starting to see a theme at all? This book follows Laia and Elias as they flee across the Empire racing the clock to free Laia's brother from the dangerous Martial prison, Kauf.
I have a feeling Mr. Gingersnap is going to set me an even harder challenge next year, he was muttering about my ever growing TBR the other day. Lord help me if he sets me the challenge of reading it all before buying any more books!
Who else has a few books left to finish their challenge? Let me know what your challenges were this year in the comments below :-)
xoxo
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Hello everyone!
Time for another monthly book haul, yes I know it is just before Christmas, but I'll probably check in with another haul then. Unfortunately I have been unwell for most of this month so far and have been off work recuperating. This has meant that I have had a lot of reading time as with doctors ordering me on strict rest I haven't been allowed to do much else. Anyone who knows me will understand how frustrating this is as I am usually a very active person! However, I have been able to live vicariously through my favourite book protagonists!
I have picked up quite a few books this month so far, which is a tad naughty, but hey ho it's the time of year for indulgence!
The first book I picked up was Lyra's Oxford by Philip Pullman. This book is a short story taking place after the events of His Dark Materials and follows Lyra on an adventure through Oxford after a mysterious witch's familiar appears in her room. I love this world and have been catching up on the short stories in preparation for reading The Book of Dust next year.
The next two books come as a pair, as I picked up the first and second books in The No1 Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. I loved the TV series of these books when I was younger and always wanted to pick up these books. They are a wonderful series following Precious Ramotswe after she sets up her detective agency in Botswana. They are filled with intrigue, laughter and heart warming events. I love how easy to digest these books are and they have a real feel good vibe.
This year I have fallen in love with Sebastien de Castell's writing style, having dived into Spellslinger after Mr. Gingersnap surprised me with it for my birthday. I have been working my way through his books and picked up the third in the series - Charmcaster. This author is one of the funniest writers I have read for a while and he genuinely makes me laugh out loud. This series follows Kellen, a sub-par spell-caster and his adventures with his squirrel cat companion. They are both sarcastic and deeply flawed characters, but it makes them feel so real! Pick up this series if you love the wild west, magic and rude jokes!
Next I picked up A Torch Against The Night by Sabaa Tahir. I devoured An Ember In The Ashes last week and felt an overwhelming need to continue the series as soon as possible. As usual I am late to the party with these books, but at least I can binge the first 3 books without the agonising wait for the next instalments. These books follow Laia and Elias as they navigate the dangerous world of the Martial Empire and the down-trodden scholar race. This book has magic, brutality, political intrigue and jaw dropping plot twists. If you haven't read these yet, join me in my late reading!
In honour of me going back to work this week I have downloaded my next audiobook Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. I always listen to audiobooks on my drive to and from work as I spend about 10-12 hours each week driving and I don't want to waste this precious reading time! Six Of Crows follows the dregs, a group of criminal misfits as they take on an impossible heist. Six Of Crows was a gripping new take on the GrishaVerse and I absolutely loved it, so I cannot wait to dive into the next one. These audiobooks have multiple narrators so each character has a unique voice, I especially enjoy this aspect of the books as it makes the listening experience so much more enjoyable.
The final book I picked up was Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor. I have never heard of this book and know next to nothing about it. A bookseller in Waterstones recommended it to me as a new sci-fi series to read. She described it as "time travellers who make hilarious mistakes" and as "one for the Doctor Who lovers". That had me sold!
Have you read any of these? What have you picked up this month? Let me know in the comments below :-)
xoxo
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