First Lines Friday #22

It’s time for another First Lines Friday! Hosted by Wandering Words!!

What if, instead of judging a book by its cover or its author, we judged the book by its opening lines?

Here is how it works:

– Pick a book and open to the first page.

– Copy the first few lines without revealing which book it is.

– Reveal the book!

So… do these first lines entice you?

I have just returned from a visit to my landlord – the solitary neighbour that I shall be troubled with. This is certainly a beautiful country! In all England, I do not believe that I could have fixed on a situation so completely removed from the stir of society.

Scroll down to reveal the book!

A shorter quote today but the next section mentioned Heathcliff by name and that’s just too easy! This was gifted to me by the wonderful Caitlyn from Mad Cheshire Rabbit as it’s one of her favourite classics, so I’ll have to get around to it sometime soon! She also gifted me Frankenstein which I’ve read already and really enjoyed, so I’m hopeful for this. But I’ve heard people say you either like Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre and I adored Jane Eyre… buuuuuttt I’m hoping I buck the trend. Have you read this English classic?

Delicates – a review

Delicates is the sequel to Sheets, a cute spoopy graphic novel about sheets coming to life as ghosts in a laundromat. Our main character Marjorie has become close to one of these ghosts, a young boy called Wendell. But when she returns to school she’s finally accepted by the popular girls and is scared of spending too much time with Wendell in case her secret comes out. Everyone would think she was a freak who sees dead people!!

Delicates by Brenna Thummler

Similarly, Delicates is a lovely graphic novel which is aimed at a MG/YA(Middle Grade/Young Adult) audience to talk about difficult topics. Whilst Sheets focuses on grief, Delicates focuses on mental health and bullying.

Sadly, whilst Sheets handled the topic with grace and, ironically, delicacy, Delicates seemed a little too forceful. The message seemed to be pushed so hard that at points it was literally on the page. I’m not sure if it’s just my age not being the target demographic that meant that I found this so blatant and obvious, but it did mean that the beauty of the message was lost for me. I do, however, think that it is of course an incredibly important message for young people to receive and maybe this delivery method would work for more people.

Overall I’ve given this read a low 3 stars (6.43 on CAWPILE to be precise), and I would definitely recommend for people to pick it up. The art style, in my opinion, is gorgeous and the message positive and important. I just don’t feel that it was that well imparted, but as mentioned above I’m not the target audience and this may have paid a part in this.

Publishing tomorrow March 23rd 2021, go check this book out and pick it up if it sounds interesting!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Revisiting my March 2020 tbr: did I read them?

March last year. Well, that was a helluva month that still seems to be going on. But regardless, I thought that today we could take a look at the tbr I set myself back then and see if I’ve managed to read all the books! (you can see my original tbr video here).

At first glance, I’ve only set myself 5 books to read, so fingers crossed! (although with me that means literally nothing lol).

First up, The Seeing Stone by Kevin Crossley-Holland.

This is the first book in an Arthurian retelling and it was a re-read for me. I read it!! This was a fun MG/YA fantasy, I remember wanting to read the sequel then and I still want to now!

Good start!

Book two on my tbr was An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir.

Another one I’ve read! This one I buddy read throughout the month with Caitlyn from Mad Cheshire Rabbit. She’s went on to finish the series already, as she adored the books. I found it fun but I wasn’t enamoured in the same way. I’ll definitely continue with the series though!

Book three was Nevernight by Jay Kristoff.

This one I most definitely did not get to in March, I did, however, finish it up in October last year and it was one of my favourites of 2020! It’s a slow book to get through but so well written and I adored being in the world.

Book four was Without You There Is No Us by Suki Kim.

I read this one too! I actually picked this one up on the first of t

he month and finished it on the same day. It was incredibly engaging and was enraptured learning about the vast differences in these children’s lives.

And finally. The last book on this months tbr…

Book five was City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare.

And somehow(?) I’ve read this one too!! I didn’t read it in March, I actually ended up picking this one up in July and reading it as well as City of Glass. But it’s still read so it still counts!

Well that was unexpected!!! I may have only read 3 of these actually in March last year, but they’re all off of my tbr at least! Definitely not what I was expecting to happen (and a wee bit more boring that I’d been hoping for) but I’ll have to keep popping in to do these every now and again and see if things change!

I’m going to be slowing down on my blog posts again for a wee while, going back to one a week rather than two. I know most of you won’t notice or care, but just thought I’d “announce” it somewhere. I’m active over a lot of bookish platforms, as well as having a 40+ hour a week job, job hunting, and also attempting to give myself some breathing space! (for me it’s a lot) so I’m dropping back on the blog posts a wee bit. If you want to see more from me then check out my BookTube where I post each Sunday (and at the beginning and end of each month for a wrap up and tbr) and on my bookstagram where I post every day at 4pm UK time 🙂

First Lines Friday #21

It’s time for another First Lines Friday! Hosted by Wandering Words!!

What if, instead of judging a book by its cover or its author, we judged the book by its opening lines?

Here is how it works:

– Pick a book and open to the first page.

– Copy the first few lines without revealing which book it is.

– Reveal the book!

So… do these first lines entice you?

Thirty-two hours of my life are missing.
My best friend, Lydia, tells me to imagine those hours like old clothes in the back of a dark closet. Shut my eyes. Open the door. Move things around. Search.
The things I do remember, I’d rather not. Four freckles. Eyes that aren’t black but blue, wife open, two inches from mine. Insects gnawing into a smooth, soft cheek. The grit of the earth in my teeth. Those parts, I remember.

Scroll down to reveal the book!

Black Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin

Another book I’ve owned for a while! This one was gifted to be by my lovely boyfriend at the beginning of our relationship. I was so eager to read it but didn’t want to spend the money, so he grabbed me it. And yet here I am, 4 years later, and I’ve still not read it. I randomly went off of thrillers, I don’t know why and I’m not sure how to get myself interested in them again. So for now this sits at the back of my shelf in shame.

Touch is Really Strange – a review

I had previously read Anxiety is Really Strange by Steve Haines and Forgiveness is Really Strange by Masi Noor, so when I saw this new title within this little series available on NetGalley I decided to pick it up. Touch is Really Strange, by Steve Haines, is a graphic novel which looks at how touch changes our perception of the world, as well as how it can impact our emotions.

Touch is Really Strange by Steve Haines

I thought that the main body of the novel was done well, the graphics have a beautiful but plain styling to them which I like and the information is interesting. There are footnotes to expand on details if you want the information, but if you’re there for the bare bones you don’t need to pay attention to those.

I like how the book covers physical responses to touch, as well as how touch as a sense allows us to feel our place in the world and also the emotional impact that touch such as hugs can have. The pandemic was mentioned in here, saying that it’s a difficult time for touch at the moment, which I appreciated, but it made the next section even more odd.

The end portion of the graphic novel is made up of exercises in touch to try… with a partner. Now I know that there will be a decent number of people who are living with other people right now, who might even be willing to do this. But there are large numbers of people living alone. After having mentioned earlier on in the novel that it’s difficult for those who crave touch due to the social distancing restrictions, why would you then put a bunch of exercises into the book which all involve touching someone else? It just felt really odd and out of touch. I know that this book needs to be relatable after the pandemic times, but in that case I think it would’ve been better to leave out any direct mention of it at all.

Without that weird touching section this would’ve been a 3 star read, but with that addition? I’ve dropped it down to 2 stars. But if you do happen to live with someone who would be willing to try out touch exercises with you, then give this graphic novel a go!

The Crow by Alison Croggon – a review

Onto the third part of my reread of the series which inspired my handle, I reread The Crow. The third book of Pellinor focuses on Hem, Maerad’s brother whom we meet in the first book. In this we learn more about his time traveling southwards as well as more about those who travel with him.

The Crow by Alison Croggon

After such heavy focus on Maerad in the first two books, this is a definitive change of pace as we explore the southern reaches of Edil-Amarandh and the deeply entrenched reaches of the dark which lie there. Hem is travelling with Saliman, another Bard we met in The Gift (or The Naming in the US) to the Bard’s home city of Turbansk in order for Hem to learn the basics of barding at the school there. Of course nothing could ever be this simple, and instead the forces of the dark come rushing in, leaving Hem in danger when they once thought that was Maerad’s role.

When I re-read these books more as a teen, this was definitely my least favourite and probably the one I re-read the least. I was not interested in Hem’s point of view for the story at all and because of that this re-read was quite different to the previous two for me. The first two books I know inside out, but this one there were so many aspects and plot points that I just couldn’t remember from whenever I last read it, probably almost a decade ago now. I went into this book anticipating to not really adore this one, but I was so surprised and this turned out to be a fast favourite! I’m not sure what’s changed between when I used to re-read these frequently and now but I absolutely adored reading from Hem’s pov. Not only does this of course add more dynamics to the world building within the book, but I also found myself deeply caring for Hem and his companions and on the edge of my seat at any tense moments. Of course out of the main characters I knew who would survive because they’re in the next book, but with the secondary characters who I suddenly cared about I had no idea if they would live or die and the suspense would kill me each time!

This one book spans so many different aspects of this story, from the basic lore of the world and the schooling and daily life, to underground communications, dealings with the dark, enslavement and love. I’m still so surprised that this is a “discovery” for me and I’m ridiculously happy I decided to do this re-read! Once again, this is essentially impossible to talk about in any real depth without spoilers but I urge you to go and check out the first book in this series (The Gift/The Naming) because the emotional impact of these young adult books is still strong with me today as an “adult”.

This is also leaving me really excited to read The Singing, the fourth and final book in the series, because that book switches between Maerad and Hem’s points of view and I have a feeling I’m going to appreciate that so much more this time than I have since I first read the series!

First Lines Friday #18

It’s time for another First Lines Friday! Hosted by Wandering Words!!

What if, instead of judging a book by its cover or its author, we judged the book by its opening lines?

Here is how it works:

– Pick a book and open to the first page.

– Copy the first few lines without revealing which book it is.

– Reveal the book!

So… do these first lines entice you?

Helena Marcus had not given much thought to her marriage. She was no princess, whose wedding could change the course of nations, and neither was she a creature of high society, confident that suitors might come knocking on her door, eager to make first impressions with the hope of being remembered as a mutually beneficial option after the Computer did its work at genetic matchmaking. Her parents were neither destitute nor disreputable, but rather quiet citizens of the Empire, and despite their professional accomplishments, they were, by and large, given privacy to continue their work.

Scroll down to reveal the book!

That Inevitable Victorian Thing by E.K. Johnston

What a start! Introducing straight away the concept of genetic matchmaking by a government as well as secretive researchers for parents? Right up my alley! Have you read this one? I’ve heard almost nothing about it but the synopsis along with these first lines have me hooked!

Vesuvius: History of the Volcano – a review

This is going to be a review on the shorter side today, because I know a lot fewer people will be interested in this book compared to my usual reviews. Not only is this book non-fiction, which the online bookish world isn’t as keen on (which breaks my little heart) but it’s also in the style of a kids textbook and covers the topic of Mount Vesuvius. See? Told you this wouldn’t be up your alley. But I still want to talk about why I loved this book.

Vesuvius: History of the volcano and it’s eruptions

This book doesn’t even have a listed author, because it’s just a little touristy book to pick up when you’re visiting Naples, Sorrento or Vesuvius itself. That’s where I picked this up! At the shop just before you start upon the trail up the volcano to the summit. I’ve been up this volcano a number of times, and I picked this up when I was 19 (so back in 2016) and last visited the site with my parents. It’s taken me a fair bit of time to get around to it, but I’m kinda glad about that, because it’s allowed me to have a pretty different viewpoint on this.

Since I bought this book I started and finished an MSc in GeoHazards where my thesis focus was actually on Vesuvius, and reading this after I had carried out my studies meant I could really appreciate the accuracy of the information and how scientific and detailed it was without being too complex. It reminded me of the non-fiction books I would read as a child because I was so so interested and whilst some of the information was even new to me (you tend to hyperfocus for a thesis, don’t @ me) at no point does it overwhelm the reader, nor does it talk down to them. Instead it states the facts in a clear and understandable manner whilst also being engaging for a non-fiction reader.

In essence, I was quite surprised by this book. I had expected it to be fluff, or to be boring. But no. I judged it!! Literally the only fault I had with this book was that it had been translated from Italian and clearly hadn’t been done by a native speaker because some sections were a little weird. But nothing that wasn’t understandable and it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book. If you’ve somehow made it to the end of this review and are vaguely interested, I really do recommend this little book!

War and Peace Mini Review – Book 2

We’ve finished another chapter!! This is up a wee bit late in comparison to when the events happened, but on the 10th February me and Olivia officially finished Book 2 of War and Peace! This was a shorter chapter than the last, only coming in at 70 pages compared to the previous books 85. But that 15 pages? Wow, it felt like it was so much shorter!! How odd!

So far me and Olivia are having pretty similar views on the book, in that we both didn’t enjoy this war focus chapter as much as we enjoyed the peace based one. Whilst the focus on individuals works when we’re learning about society politics during peace times, with it allowing the reader to see the nuances between different points of view and political strategies, during war it just lost me. Often the individual we’re following has no clue what is happening on a wider scale, different parties on the same side are bad at communicating with one another and being in the middle of a battle is just disorientating. Whilst all of these reasons are why I didn’t enjoy these chapters as much as the last book, I do have to say that they show, in my opinion, a really well grasped concept of war during these times. The reason I’m confused and don’t know what is going on is because the individual’s we’re following would have been and it seems to be an accurate representation of war. I did also like that when some big positive news is reported to those as the very top of command, with the rider believing he is of great import, it’s a bit of a reality check when he realises that on a grand scale their win at their battle means little to the campaign and that even when we do get to comprehend what is going on with the troops we’re following that doesn’t mean we understand anything about the larger battle taking place.

Continuing from that, what I did also find very interesting in this chapter was the soldier’s viewpoints on war throughout. Prior to being in any battles they all seem very eager to get into the fighting, wanting to prove themselves for the glory of Russia and believing it to be quite poetic. When they’re in the battle, however, for many of them that goes completely out of the window as the realities of war sink in. I also enjoyed how each character has a different point of view on war after their battle is over. Some seem to have genuinely enjoyed themselves, this is mostly the upperclassmen who were on horseback and commanding people around. Whereas those on the ground seem to fall into either re-glorifying war after the battle has ended in a manner which seems very much like a PTSD reaction, burying reality deep down in order to carry on, or they’re coming face to face with its realities and wishing that they were back home where they were safe and scared with how the war is going to continue.

From this book my favourite three characters were Rostov, Tushin, and Andrew. Andrew is Prince Andrew, one of those we met in book 1 who has moved to the battlefield. Whilst in Russian high society he seemed reserved, uncomfortable and like he just wants to sink into the background, here on the battlefield he seems vibrant and full of life. The world of commanding battles seems to do him good and he is strong, thoughtful and much happier with his life. Rostov is a general foot soldier we follow. To compare to the peaceful chapters, he’s the war chapters Pierre. We love him! We don’t know him as well as a person, because we’ve only seen him as a soldier, but he also seems like a good man, peaceful and caring, and one we’re looking forward to following in future chapters. Lastly there’s Tushin. Staff Captain Tushin leads a group of men within the Russian army (no I don’t know the proper term and no I’m not going to look it up. We were calling him Mr T in our messages just be glad I checked his name!). He seems to really care for his men and was solidly holding ground without any of the help that should’ve been provided to him. In fact he made the French believe the majority of the Russian forces were with him and his guns! (they were most certainly not).

Overall, on reflection I quite enjoyed this war book, but during the reading itself it wasn’t as enjoyable as the peace book that came before. Next up we’re returning to Moscow and to Pierre and I’m very excited! After the developments at the end of book 1 his life is going to be quite dramatically changed and I’m looking forward to seeing how he handles all of this!

The Outstanding Blogger Award

The wonderful Elaine Howlin tagged me back in 2020 to do this tag and I am far too late to properly take part. Within 2020 every blog that ping-backs the creators original post would be entered to win the Outstanding Blogger Award. Now of course I’ve passed this but that doesn’t mean I can’t do the questions!!

The Rules

Link to the creators original post

Answer the questions provided

There were also other rules about making questions and tagging people but that’s a bit redundant now, so let’s get to the questions Elaine wrote!

1. What book do you always recommend to people?

I think that we all know this is the Pellinor series! It’s a great high fantasy Young Adult series and of course it has an important place in my heart. Other than that I tend to try and make my recommendations specific to the individual, just to make the chance of them reading the book higher!

2. Why did you start your blog?

I’ve always wanted to talk to people about books, and I didn’t have any close friends who were bookish. I didn’t post very much when I first made the blog but over time I’ve become more consistent and I really enjoy reading other peoples posts as well as sitting down to collate my feelings about a book into a review!

3. What was your favourite book as a child?

This is a tough one! As a younger kid I adored Enid Blyton (from like 5-8) and then I loved The Roman Mysteries and Goodnight Mr Tom (9-14ish) and then after that it was the Gallagher Girls, Eragon and Pellinor (15-16). Then I stopped reading for a while cause school was killing me.

4. Is there any book that you prefer the adaptation of?

Not of the top of my head, but I also don’t watch many movies. There are loads I’ve enjoyed and loads I still need to watch!

5. What are you currently reading?

War and Peace! This bad boy is gunna last me the whole of 2021! I also have a few other books on the go right now that I’m spreading across months including Long Walk to Freedom and Fall of Giants.

6. Has a book ever inspired you to visit somewhere?

Simply? No. There have been books that have made me interested in visiting a country, definitely! But I’ve not acted on that as of yet.

7. Is there a new release you’re excited for?

The Mask Falling!! I’m simultaneously wanting to read it right now and also wanting to savour it because a new book wont be out for ages!

Thank you so much again to Elaine for tagging me and I’m sorry this took me so long! You guys should definitely go and check her out.