Showing posts with label book worm. Show all posts
Hiya loves!

The first book review of 2024 is Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree, and what a book to begin the year with! I have seen this book everywhere, finally bit the bullet, and decided to read it; once again, I am sad for waiting so long to pick up this gem of a book. 

 Legends & Lattes is a novel of high fantasy and low stakes. It tells the story of a retired Orc swordswoman who decides to build a coffee shop, and we witness her make it from scratch with some wholesome characters who help her along the way.

It's a cosy fantasy book, a coffee shop with a side story of a cute woman-loving woman romance. If you're looking for something chill, not too dramatic, but enough drama to carry the story, this is the one for you. 

The story is from Viv's perspective. We see her dream of opening a place that sells coffee. She first tried coffee in a distance gnome shop and decided she wanted to make her own place. That's when she comes to the riverside city of Thune and buys the residents of an old stable with a mission to open her own coffee shop. 

Viv meets Cal, a handyman who helps her build the coffee shop from the ground up. He becomes one of her dearest friends and helps her expand and rebuild the shop. He later becomes a close friend. Viv introduces the citizens of Thune to the goodness that is coffee, and she, with the help of her succubus assistant, Tandri, makes a positive reputation for themselves. Tandri and Viv run the business together, falling in love in a slowly-paced romance that gives all the feels. 

Running the coffee shop has downsides, like local mafia-esque Madrigals come knocking for rent as they do everyone in that area. Additionally, in one of Viv's previous adventures, she finds herself getting her hands on a   Scarlvert's stone, a rarity that is said to bring good fortune. A once close friend and now nemesis causes some issues over the stone.

The story is wholesome, to say the least, a tale of friendship, cosiness, and a fantasy world galore. I don't want to give too much away, but it was a lovely read, and I've already started the next one, Bookshops & Bonedust. 


Legends & Lattes

Friday 19 January 2024

 Hello book lovers!


This post is well overdue, in my whole seven years I have yet to actually discuss book tropes. If you're a bookworm like me, and I'm guessing you are, you'll have tropes that you absolutely love reading about. I certainly do, and I thought this week I'd share with you my top five! 

In the upcoming weeks, I may do a post about the tropes I can't stand. But right now, this post is dedicated to my favourite book tropes. I just want to put a disclaimer here, some of these tropes are absolutely overused but I just cannot resist them!

Best friends to lovers. I will lap up this storyline over and over again. I just think falling in love with your best friend is so perfect. I know sometimes in real life this can go terribly wrong if it's one-sided but I love it in a book when they both feel the same. It's divine, your favourite person in the world becoming your partner- what is not to love? This trope gives OG L word vibes, and I am here for it.

Back to my small town: I can't resist a storyline of leaving a hometown and coming back. I like feeling nostalgia with the characters, and as someone who has done this, I just like to read about other experiences of it. You can guarantee that where there's a small-town returnee there's an enemy lover arc just around the corner. My favourite back to the small town book would have to be Next Exit Home by Dena Blake. 

Unreliable Narrator: you probably already know that my favourite book of all time is The Great Gatsby, so naturally it makes sense that the trope of an unreliable narrator is one of my favourites. I like the mystery it leaves the reader, do you trust them or not? Especially with Nick, he spent most of the Summer drunk so it's not exactly certain things happened how he said they did. I just like that it leaves room for the imagination to wander. Now I think of it, it was probably this trope that inspired a lot of fan fiction writers. 

Underdog to Top Dog: I am a sucker for an underdog story. This trope is perfect for action/adventure-type books. I just love seeing the little guy come out on top, you know? Tris from Divergent comes to mind, I like the whole pushing yourself to achieve the unexpected. It's a great trope for developing character arcs. 

Multiple plot threads: when a story uses different points of view to interview multiple plot threads I live for it. When point of view switching is done right, it can be really effective. I don't always want to read complex stories but when I do, I like lots of things going on at once. A great example of this would be Juliet Llewellyn's Beneath the Waters. 

So, these were some of my top favourite tropes. Keep an eye out for next week's blog, I've been working on some creative writing recently that I'm really excited to share with you guys! Thank you for reading and I hope you have a fab week!

5 Book Tropes I Love

Monday 14 November 2022

 Hiya lovelies,

I am aware that I've been a little awol on the blog in recent months, and it's been frustrating me because I want to write but when I sit down to it my brain just empties. I am slowly getting back on track, but this post isn't about struggling to write but rather struggling to find the motivation to read. I've been trying to inch myself back into reading, but I've recently been in such a funk. 

I've been trying to consume books in any format to try and get back into reading: audiobooks and e-books. I hadn't picked up a book in at least a month. I crashed mid-way through The Morganville Series and my TBR pile is not getting any smaller or bigger. 

For the past couple of weeks or so I've been researching ways to help me get back into reading, and the spark is coming back but I wanted to share my findings:

Watching film adaptations of books. I've watched The Hunger Games films recently and they've made me want to reread the books. Also, watching bad adaptations can make you want to turn to the books too, no names Allegiant film.

Start short. So, looking at my TBR pile there are a few hefty books there, some part of a series and that can be daunting if you're looking to rekindle your love for reading. My answer to this? Pick up a shorter novel, I picked up Alice and Wonderland to read because it's short and sweet and was a nice way to ease myself back into reading.

Read reviews online. Book Tok is amazing for this, there's no better way to hype yourself up for reading than hearing other bookworms discussing the same book. You may even find yourself extending your TBR list!

Set aside some time. Life is busy, I know this and you know this. But like anything, setting aside some time in your day or week can really help you get back into reading. I started with an hour a week and extended that to 45 minutes a day (usually before bed).

I hope these tips have helped you as much as they've helped me. Right now, I am reading Florence Given's Girl Crush! I'm hoping to post a review of this book when I've finished. If you've got any helpful tips for getting back into reading, please comment below!


How I Got Over My Reading Frump

Monday 26 September 2022

 Hello!

It's been a little while. I know, I haven't been writing as much outside of work as I'd have liked to, but I write when I can. I'm actually taking myself away at the end of the month for a bit of a writing getaway. I've booked time off work and I hope to get lots of writing done!

I felt inspired to come to the blog and write today because of an amazing experience I had yesterday in the Metro Centre Waterstones shop. I had been out with a really good friend of mine and we popped into the shop. I was after some new queer books! 

I had a little walk around the shop and I found a teen pride section, thought this was really cool, but I was in search of adult queer books. I found a bookseller that almost reduced me to tears.

I approached her and asked if she could show me the adult queer section. I tell her that I'm after some woman-loving women's books,  and could she please point me in the right direction. She turned to me and goes, due to Waterstones policy (I was expecting the worst at this point) we don't believe in segregating queer fiction or queer writers from other writers and books. She explained to me the pride stand was part of a promotion around teen queer fiction with the recent popularity of Heartstopper. She was so lovely, and I rightly so agreed with her, that queer fiction shouldn't be separate, and I felt so seen.

I've always found queer sections in other bookstores and hadn't put much thought into it, but it made me happy that queer writers are among other writers. That is exactly how it should be. I know it was such a small interaction, but as a lesbian and queer writer myself, it was so wholesome and just made my heart warm! 

The lovely bookkeeper recommended me One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston and Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashely Herring Blake, and I bought them! I was super happy when she handed me Blake's book. I had been wanting to read it since I heard of its publication at the beginning of the year.

I'm really looking forward to reading both books, and I guess I just wanted to share this little wholesome experience on here because it was just lovely!

 I will be sharing book reviews for these books when I've finished reading them, so keep an eye out and HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!

My Recent Waterstones Experience

Sunday 12 June 2022

I finally got around to purchasing volume two of The Wicked + The Devine graphic novels and wow. Spoilers ahead!!

This one hit me with plot twists I didn’t even expect. Like the first volume, the artwork is incredible. The pages really well thought out. I liked that we had more of an inner dialogue with Laura and we explored her character more. Seeing her grieve was a story in itself, in this we see the search of the murderers from the last novel. And it takes some unexpected turns and has left me stunned!! 
We find out unexpected gods and there is quite a lot of death and malice from other gods (which is highly frowned upon) the mother of gods herself has a few secrets and it is just high levels of drama! 
This volume really changed its dynamic of storytelling, at one point there is like a ‘quiz’ different items in the protagonist’s room were labelled with a letter and you can follow the letter and discover more about the item. This was quite interesting and I loved it, it really helped explore the character’s personality as well as briefly inform us about certain things that have gone on in her life. At one point there was even a map/floor plan that seemed the protagonist did some doodles on explaining her time and whereabouts and some thoughts- this was quite a nice little addition to the story. 
I really grew to love Laura in this volume, and what I’m about to say next genuinely shook me to the core. She ended up being a 13th god (there are only supposed to be 12)  and then she was killed moments after!!! That’s how the comic ended and I’m in need of more. I am loving this series of graphic novels so much! I’m heading out next week to pick up the third volume! 
What was the last plot twist you read that left you shook?

Fandemonium (Book Review)

Tuesday 21 July 2020

I had seen this book Women Don't ow You Pretty, on my Instagram feed. The cover alone immediately captured my attention. I had been pondering on purchasing it on Amazon but decided against it because it wouldn't arrive on time for my journey back to Brighton. It was the day before I set out that I wandered into Waterstones with a friend when I came across this book, the last one. For me, that was a sign that I was destined to read this book! I had already followed the author Florence Given and immediately knew this was a pretty amazing woman! I started the book on the train, and I was immediately hooked! 
The book contains all original artwork. and it is incredible, such an esthetically pleasing book. I loved each and every one of the illustrations; they are so liberating to look at!
Through reading this book I have learned a lot about my self and having finished the book I have been doing some much-needed self-reflection. This book is so empowering as it unpacks feminism and talks about personal growth. Amongst many things, this book discusses rape culture and that ‘if it’s not a “fuck yes”, it’s a no’ the writer discusses boundaries and unpacks rape culture and setting boundaries with sex and looking out for red flags.

Given encourages us to own your shit and let people get on with theirs. I liked that she talked about how you owe absolutely fuck all to anyone and that no one owes you anything too. She emphasizes the importance of doing things for yourself. That we don’t need to conform to certain expectations but that it is also okay if we want to. It’s important that you do things for you. 
There are some really powerful chapters in this book, I think that every woman should read this. I feel so enriched and refreshed by reading this. Like my eyes have been opened a little and that I don’t feel alone about certain things and that I’m not the only person experiencing the things that I have. 

This book allowed me to recognise my own internalised homophobia as a queer person. Chapter ten addresses being queer and owning of the self. I felt myself relating to parts about feeling as though I don’t look ‘gay’ or that I’m not like the queer people I’ve met or seen. But this chapter helped me see that my personality and appearance is a separate thing to my sexuality and that they aren’t all bound together as one. It allowed me to realise that thinking that I’m not like other queer people is in itself pushing a stereotype onto others. This book also goes on to talk about accountability and to check yourself, accepting when you’re wrong and instead of making excuses you should accept what you’ve done, apologise and use this wrong as an opportunity for self-growth.

Given's book really opened my eyes, made me realise my own privilege amongst other things. The way she writes made me feel like I was having a conversation with her, the way she tells her own personal anecdotes really made me reflect on my own experiences. The book was very accessible and easy to read, as well as incredibly visually pleasing. If you're considering reading this book, even if you are not, I highly recommend that you do. I enjoyed reading this book, it allowed me to see things differently and also learn more about myself as well as perhaps looking at other things and people differently.


Women Don't Owe You Pretty (Review)

Wednesday 1 July 2020

Hello!
I  was going to keep my blog bookish this year but I just wanted to write and share my recent obsession. I think this still counts as bookish.  I haven't been able to read much this month, it has been a super heavy month but I thought a nice chat would be lovely. As some of you may know from my Instagram I love my bookshelves, I love the way books look and I enjoyed making bookish displays and pictures. Queue some shelfies!

My current bookshelf

My last bookshelf

You will notice those little figures, and those are Funko Pop Vinyls. I have been collecting for a few years but recently something has been triggered in my brain. I went from 30 to 50 in the last month or so. I find them so adorable. I have expanded my range from Harry Potter to Disney, Game of Thrones and Stranger Things. One of my favourite Funko Pop Vinyl's in my Danny Zucko from Grease, my sister gifted him to me at Christmas. It made my day, I didn't even realise they did Grease Pop Vinyls. But this started my search for more, it's safe to say I have a lot saved in my wish list for the future.


 I love how cute they look, my Instagram is spammed with them recently. Something about having the little characters around is just so adorable! I have taken a moment to chill but I just wanted to share some of them with you. I am looking into getting more characters from novels. I think that would make some pretty interesting pictures so like The Hunger Games and Alice and Wonderland. I think they would amazing. So far, the only book character's I have are my Harry Potter ones. They are my main collection and I love them dearly, it is nowhere near finished but I am so chuffed with all of them.
I am running out of space but I am moving (hopefully) into a bigger space in Summer and I cannot wait for my book nook.  Something about these figured I just feel drawn to. I cannot wait to expand my collection. Is there anything in particular that you collect?

A growing collection

Wednesday 26 February 2020

I was recommended this book by a writer who came into Uni a couple weeks back. I have seen so many young adults buy it at work, so I was quite thrilled to pick up a copy for myself. This review will have spoilers!
I didn't know that the book was made into a film, having just read the book it would be interesting to see how it has been adapted into a film. 
I really like the cover, and that the title spells out THUG. I was curious about the title from the start, you find out more about as you read. 
This book was a very intense read, I felt every emotion possible. I could not put the book down. I started reading last night at about 5/6PM and I spent the entire night attached to the pages. I finished the book about 2.30AM. I have to say, it has been a very long time since I stayed up reading a book in one sitting. 
The story was an emotional one, about a girl who witnesses her best friend be killed by a police officer. It was such a beautiful story, but also infuriating. I found myself feeling the emotions the character was going through, the frustration of not getting justice for Khalil. You see how characters react to situations, and the main character Starr finds out that her supposed to be best friend Hailey is a racist.  I feel like this is very reflective of today's society, in the novel after the murder of Khalil the media spin the story that it was his own fault and that he was a 'thug' and pretty much dehumanising him. I found this so upsetting and infuriating because this happens in real life! It is just not fair, the police officer was made out to be the victim when in reality he killed a child and pointed a gun at Starr. 
The book shows you friendship dynamics and interracial couples and even shows you why people are forced to make bad choices. Khalil was deemed a drug dealer, and that was only so because he was paying a debt for his mother so she didn't lose her life. The story of Khalil is heartbreaking.  The main character, Starr, she is such a beautiful character. In her lifetime she witnessed two of her best friends die right in front of her, Khalil (by the police officer) and when she was ten her best friend Natasha died in a drive-by shooting. She is such a strong powerful character. I am aware that these characters are not real, but they are so well created I cannot help but feel for them. 
The book was written beautifully in a first-person perspective, I was hooked from the start. I do believe the author has written another book in 2018 called the 'On the Come Up' which I will definitely be buying, I read the first chapter which is included in the back of 'The Hate U Give' and I have to say Angie Thomas is such an amazing writer! So, would I recommend this book? YES 100%!
I feel like this was such a good read for the start of the year, it's going to be a tough one to follow!

The Hate U Give (Book Review)

Thursday 3 January 2019

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