September Wrap-Up | 2022

Welcome to my wrap-up for September 2022 feat. Becca's Bookoplathon. I managed to read 14 books this month which I'm pretty happy with considering there was a solid week in September where I didn't get chance to read anything. (Let's partly blame Dreamlight Valley and partly a busy week in general). I also got through some bigger and unexpected reads thanks to Netgalley! So without further ado, here are my reviews for this month's books!

1. Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb ★★★.5

This is the first book in The Rainwild Chronicles, the fourth series in Robin Hobb's Elderling world. These books explore the the Rainwilds and are sequels The Liveship Traders series; they are set several years after the events in those books. This first book follows a group of characters (Thymara, Sedric, Alise, and Leftrin) who come together to help the struggling fledgling dragons travel to the legendary Elderling city, Kelisingra. We also get the perspective of one of the dragons on the journey - Sintara. The first thing I will say is that Robin Hobb is so skilled at writing characters the I hate. I despise Hest and Sedric so much. There was so much gaslighting and wilful misunderstanding from those characters. Hest is cruel and Sedric just pretty stupid. The way they both treat Alise is awful. It's so good seeing her stand-up for herself and I want her to continue doing so in the next book. Leftrin is really lovely (despite his backstory). I really like seeing the world from the dragon's perspective and her relationship with the humans is very interesting, but it was also very frustrating because they think so differently to humans. I do really like Thymara and I can tell there's going to be a lot of conflict between her and the group that I'm interested in seeing being developed. I will say that this book was clearly meant to be a larger book because it didn't really have a solid beginning, middle, and end - it just kind of ended at an arbitrary place with no real sense of conflict being resolved. That's the main reason this book lost a star rating to be honest. Also, not much happened in this book except bring the characters together; it was all build-up and no pay off. Overall, a solid start to this series and I hope it gets better.

2. Into Every Generation a Slayer is Born by Evan Ross Katz ★★.5

This is a book I have very mixed feelings about. On the one hand, it's about Buffy, my favourite show of all time, on the other, it kind of felt like the marketing had been misleading of what this book was about. This is a non-fiction that's described as exploring the show's cultural relevance through part oral history, part celebration, and part memoir of a personal fandom. However, it mostly feels like it's more memoir than anything else (partly to a detriment of the book).

The first 200 pages were basically a recap of every season with very little commentary on anything other than Katz's personal opinions. Entire pages were taken up with scenes and quotes of the show which, as someone who has seen the episodes numerous times, were just boring to read. The reason we're reading this book is because we love the show, we don't need a full show recap. The autobiographical commentary and opinions often made it feel more like a Buzzfeed article - especially the captions for the pictures in the book. There were also quite a few mistakes considering this is meant to be a comprehensive look at all things Buffy (one photo in the book has a caption that describes the scene being Buffy's birthday in season 6, when the picture is actually showing Buffy's birthday episode from season 5. Also, when it takes about Andrew, they refer to him as Tucker's cousin not brother?).

I will say the last 150 pages were slightly more interesting, but most of the interviews with cast members felt like they were dancing around the subject matter. Understandable if they didn't want to discuss things further, but why include it if it explains nothing at all? There were also random interviews with people not connected to Buffy at all. Despite being marketed as a 'celebration' of Buffy, so much of the book was tied to the Joss Whedon allegations (understandably), that it didn't feel like much of a celebration at all. Overall, this got the stars it did because it's about Buffy; I am happy to read/watch/listen to people's opinions on the show and what it was like filming it, but this book just didn't live up to what it was marketed as - there was no celebration, barely an oral history, and mostly a memoir sprinkled with quotes.

3. The Extremely Busy Woman's Guide to Self-Care by Suzanne Falter ★★★.5

The title of this is pretty self-explanatory as to what it is. This is a non-fiction, interactive self-love activity workbook for women with quizzes, journal prompts, and tools to guide a person on their self-care journey. I really enjoyed parts of this book; I feel like there were good tips and the journalling prompts were useful and probably things I'll refer back to at times when I need them. However, there were a few minor things that pulled this down for me. 

The first thing is that a lot of the advice required a very specific lifestyle (office working/working from home), which is fine for me, but not for a lot of people who can't just tailor their daily schedule themselves. The second is that there seemed to be an expectation of having money to do some things (vacations, hiring help, etc.) and this just isn't feasible for so many people. I would also like to put a trigger warning in for anyone who's had disordered eating because I've seen other reviewers mention this, and even I (as someone that doesn't have an eating disorder) picked up on some of the more triggering aspects of her recommended 'healthy eating'. Healthy eating looks very different to each person so cutting out certain 'bad foods' isn't always something that people can just do easily. Quite a lot of what this book was saying wasn't exactly new to me, but I think this is a good book to pick up when I feel like I'm not giving myself enough time, and I can use the advice in each chapter depending on what I need. I do recommend this if you've never given much thought to self-care before.

4. Misery by Stephen King ★★★★

Misery is a classic Stephen King horror novel that you've probably already heard of. If you haven't, this book follows Paul Sheldon, an author, who has just finished the final book in a series. He has killed Misery Chastain, the main character of his book with relief and joy. Misery had made him rich; she was the heroine of a string of bestsellers. And now he wanted to get on to some real writing. That's when the car accident happened, and he woke up in pain in a strange bed. But it wasn't the hospital. Annie Wilkes had pulled him from the wreck, brought him to her remote mountain home, splinted and set his mangled legs. The good news was that Annie was a nurse and has pain-killing drugs. The bad news was that she was Paul's Number One Fan. And when she found out what Paul had done to Misery, she didn't like it. She didn't like it at all.

This book was intense. The tension lasts throughout the whole book and doesn't let up once; it's probably the first King book I've read where I felt nervous through the entire story. I think it really helps that this horror is quite short compared his other horrors that I've read (IT and Duma Key being some examples). Despite the fact that there are only two characters in most of the book, there are no moments of boredom. That moment when Paul found the book was easily my favourite - the reveals were so well done. Annie Wilkes is a terrifying figure, partly because she also feels realistic and also because Paul couldn't fight her 'logic'. As a warning, there are a lot of torture/gory scenes, but they don't feel gratuitous; they further the story every time. To be honest, the only slower points were when we went into the Misery book and I just wanted to get back to the main story. Overall, a very scary read and I'm looking forward to seeing the film.

5. Run, Rebel by Manjeet Mann ★★★★★

Since this is YA contemporary book, I absolutely did not expect to be giving this 5 stars. However, I also had no idea with was written in verse and I've loved previous books I've read in this format (e.g. The Poet X, The Black Flamingo, etc.). This book follows Amber, a British Indian teenager, who spends her free time running. When Amber runs, it's the only time she feels completely free - far away from her claustrophobic home life. Her father wants her to be a dutiful daughter, waiting for an arranged marriage like her sister Ruby. Running is a quiet rebellion. But Amber wants so much more - and she's ready to fight for it. It's time for a revolution.

This book packs a punch. It covers topics such as racism, class struggles, exploitation, domestic violence, emotional abuse; all of this on top of being a teenager and struggling through secondary school issues with classwork, school bullies, crushes, and friendships. It really made me view my secondary school experience in a different light, knowing how lucky I was compared to people with less money, or more difficult familial situations. I don't want to say much else because it may spoil the book, but I did want to say that I felt so deeply for all the women in Amber's family and the different ways that they dealt with their situations. Amber and Ruby's anger were so well done and made sense for the characters. I think my favourite character was Amber's mum; her courage after going through as much as she did was immense. The poetry was beautiful and the form had such a big impact on the story. This was a fantastic book and I recommend it to anyone.

6. The Places I've Cried in Public by Holly Bourne ★★★★★

Oh boy, this book hit me really hard. Holly Bourne is easily my favourite contemporary writer, whether reading her YA or her Adult books. She encapsulates being a young woman in the UK so incredibly well. She conveys relationships, friendships, the pressure of college, growing up, expectations, assault, emotional abuse so well.

This book follows Amelie, a northerner who moves down south, just as she starts college. She meets Reese, a boy who immediately finds her fascinating. Amelie loved Reese. And she thought he loved her. But she’s starting to realise love isn’t supposed to hurt like this. So now she’s retracing their story and untangling what happened by revisiting all the places he made her cry. Because if she works out what went wrong, perhaps she can finally learn to get over him. This sounds like a love story, but it's the opposite. As with a lot of Bourne's books, this novel shows how relationships can be flipped on their heads and the real truth behind what a lot of women go through. Trigger warnings in this book for gaslighting, emotional abuse, rape, and physical abuse. 

My heart bled for Amelie. The decisions she makes are so realistic and the way Reese treats her is honestly so true to how I've seen so many men treat their girlfriends. College years are so fragile and it's the time when you feel so grown up but are also still learning about the world and Bourne just captures this perfectly. This is exactly the kind of book all teenagers need at that age. It also made me realise some things about my own past that I hadn't really come to terms with. Honestly, Bourne is a fantastic writer and I can't give her enough credit for the work she does.

7. The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty ★★★

I read Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty a few years ago and absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, this book was a real disappointment to me. The blurb of this book basically says: Imagine your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret - something with the potential to destroy not only the life you have built together but the lives of others as well. And then imagine that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive...

Moriarty's writing was still fantastic, as always. She writes in a very compelling way and it never feels like a chore to pick up her book, even when the story isn't as interesting. However, this book felt just a little odd? It's marketed as a thriller, but there was no plot twist (the small one we had halfway through the book was pretty obvious based on the blurb alone). Tessa's story felt weirdly out of place with the other two women and I felt like we got no real closure with what happened in her relationship or with Felicity. Cecilia was interesting, but the majority of her chapters were filled with 'should I open the letter' and then 'what should I do now that I know what was in the letter', which got very repetitive. I also don't really know why the Berlin Wall featured so heavily throughout the book.

I did like the portrayal of actions having lasting consequences that you can't foresee, especially with the Epilogue. I actually just wish we'd had more of the Epilogue. Overall, this book was a quick read, but I just didn't enjoy it as much as her other book. I think this is more of a dark contemporary novel than a typical thriller, which is what I was expecting and wanting when I picked it up. I still recommend trying Liane Moriarty's books though and I'll definitely read more of her work in the future.

8. Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb ★★★.5

This is the second book in the Rainwild Chronicles and it immediately picks up where the first book ended. I won't say much about the actual plot of this book to avoid spoilers, but I will just say my general thoughts. As always with Hobb books, I felt very frustrated with a lot of the characters and their decisions, but in the best way. I really disliked Tats in this book and it surprised me that he'd be so horrible to Thymara. I was impressed with the conversation about women's reproductive rights, but I wish more of the male characters had heard the conversations and actually listened. I do love the character development that's happening with a lot of them (Sedric especially, but also with the dragons) and I also love Alise and Leftrin and their relationship. Rapskal is fast becoming a favourite character too. I will say I was surprised that some of the characters causing the most conflict have disappeared in this book; it makes me wonder where the next two books will go. Overall, I do love Hobb's writing and I think I'll always enjoy her books, but this one was probably one of my least favourite books from her. This is mostly because the journey of the dragons is getting very repetitive and a little boring. I understand why it's needed but it just feels like not a ton is happening.

9. Once Upon a Dream by Liz Braswell ★★.5

I've heard a lot about the Disney Twisted Tales books and I was really hoping I would love this. Unfortunately, I just found the book to be very meh. This is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but with (you guessed it) a twist. I feel like this book would've had a lot more impact if we hadn't been told it was a dream from the very beginning. Knowing that, we spend the first 100 pages just waiting for Aurora to also figure it out. Then the next 350 pages were just her and Phillip walking through a wood. Aurora's character was very difficult to grasp as the reader because she herself didn't know who she really was, so I was left feeling kind of detached from her.

This was at least a quick read, but I feel like it's definitely for a very young YA audience rather than an older one, which is what I was expecting. The writing style was also quite simplistic and there were so many ALL CAPS sentences that made it feel more like a fanfiction. Overall, the plot was a clever idea but the execution didn't really have the pay-off I was hoping for.

10. Babel by R.F. Kuang ★★★★★

I am very happy to say that I adored every second of this book. You can see my full review here. It's 1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he'll enrol in Oxford University's prestigious Royal Institute of Translation — also known as Babel. Babel is the world's centre of translation and, more importantly, of silver-working: the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation through enchanted silver bars, to magical effect. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide: Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence? What is he willing to sacrifice to bring Babel down?

The entire book embodies dark academia and the atmosphere captures it perfectly: the thrill of the overworked student aesthetic, the camaraderie between students, the addiction of knowledge, and the dark undertone throughout the novel of politics, deception, and colonialism that academia is built upon. It truly encompasses dark academia but it also challenges the whiteness of it all.

I loved learning about the etymology of words and how it tied to a magic system. The friendships between Robin and his cohort were wonderful and they really embodied the bubble that people end up in while studying - especially at university. Of course, one of the most wonderful things about this book is how it challenges the racism and sexism happening at this time. The way white characters act as well is extremely realistic and hard to read because of that. I love that Kuang's characters are always challenging societal 'norms' and willing to do anything to make things right.

My only complaint about this book include wanting to see more of their time at the school in Oxford. I would've adored seeing multiple books of their years at the school so we could see the characters' friendships develop over time and also grow to love the city of university as much as Robin and his friends do. The ending was heart-breaking and I wish we'd seen just a little bit more in the Epilogue, but it was still the perfect ending for this book.

11. City of Dragons by Robin Hobb ★★★★

Next up is the third book in The Rainwild Chronicles. I actually enjoyed this a lot more than the first two books in the series. Now that we know the characters better and other characters from previous series are taking larger roles, I'm definitely finding these books more intriguing. It's fascinating how much character development has happened with certain characters; I especially like seeing Rapskal and Heeby and where they are now. Thymara and Leftrin are probably my favourite characters. Of course, I despise Hest even more in this book than I did in the previous two. It was also interesting to see more of different cultures that haven't been explored in the other series. I don't want to say too much more in case of spoilers, but it does feel like this book was a lot shorter than it should have been; each chapter was very long and the chapters follow so many characters now that it feels like not a lot happened overall. It did make for a very quick read though and I'm looking forward to finishing this series.

12. Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson ★★★★.5

I have a full review of this book here. At the dawn of their adolescence, on the eve of the summer solstice, four young girls - Helena, Leonie, Niamh and Elle - took the oath to join Her Majesty's Royal Coven, established by Queen Elizabeth I as a covert government department. Now, decades later, the witch community is still reeling from a civil war and Helena is now the reigning High Priestess of the organization. Yet Helena is the only one of her friend group still enmeshed in the stale bureaucracy of HMRC. Elle is trying to pretend she's a normal housewife, and Niamh has become a country vet, using her powers to heal sick animals. In what Helena perceives as the deepest betrayal, Leonie has defected to start her own more inclusive and intersectional coven, Diaspora. And now Helena has a bigger problem. A young warlock of extraordinary capabilities has been captured by authorities and seems to threaten the very existence of HMRC. With conflicting beliefs over the best course of action, the four friends must decide where their loyalties lie: with preserving tradition, or doing what is right.

The witchy atmosphere in this book permeates every page and character. Honestly, reading this book about all these strong women with solid female friendships just filled me with everything I needed for spooky season. This book felt like it embodied everything I wanted from a modern-day witch book. I really loved Niamh - she was so sweet and kind, but also a complete badass. Leonie's coven was great to see and it was interesting to explore the politics of this world through her newly-created coven. Dawson also explores so many important topics within this world: feminism, racism, and LGBTQA+ rights, just to name a few. She handles these topics so well and sensitively. Theo is thought to be an incredibly powerful warlock until it's discovered that she identifies as a woman; the book cleverly explores the impact her gender has on the society of witches, because it doesn't seem like they've ever thought about how trans witches or warlocks can fit into their world comfortably. Reading from the perspective of someone who is a white supremacist TERF is incredibly frustrating (mostly because of how sadly realistic that sort of character is in our world), but we also get the perspectives of progressive women who support Theo and Leonie, and that is wonderful to see.

Overall, I really loved this book and it's perfect for the autumn/witchy season. If you're looking for a fantastic urban fantasy with great queer representation then I highly recommend picking this book up. I already can't wait for the sequel, especially after that cliff-hanger ending.

13. The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith ★★★.5

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I found the characters wonderful; they were so fleshed out and their development throughout the book was incredible. On the other hand, the story itself just wasn't that compelling for me and I wasn't often drawn to pick the book up when I put it down. This book follows Claire, Leto, Brevity, and Hero Many years ago, Claire was named Head Librarian of the Unwritten Wing—a neutral space in Hell where all the stories unfinished by their authors reside. Her job consists mainly of repairing and organizing books, but also of keeping an eye on restless stories that risk materializing as characters and escaping the library. When a Hero escapes from his book and goes in search of his author, Claire must track and capture him with the help of former muse and current assistant Brevity and nervous demon courier Leto. But what should have been a simple retrieval goes horrifyingly wrong when the terrifyingly angelic Ramiel attacks them, convinced that they hold the Devil's Bible.

Claire was a fascinating character. However, I wish we'd seen more of her early character than we did because it really felt like the reveal halfway through this book was so out of place for the strict librarian she'd been characterised as. I loved Leto and his story was so interesting and sad - it broke my heart when we found out more about him. Hero was probably my favourite character overall; his twist was very well done and I loved the ending with him.

The worldbuilding in this book was also fantastic. I love the concept of the Unwritten Library being in Hell and how demons could checkout books. The idea of characters escaping their books to find their authors was brilliant and I wish we could've seen even more of that. I will say that the pacing of the plot felt a little off to me, especially near the end; it felt like the desert underworld went on for longer than it needed to. Overall, this was a great book, but not a new favourite for me. I do recommend it for anyone who likes books about books though.

14. Blood of Dragons by Robin Hobb ★★★★.5

This is the fourth and final book in The Rain Wild Chronicle series. As with the others, I won't say too much on the plot for obvious reasons. I'm happy to say that this was easily my favourite book in this series. Earlier, I talked about some of the previous books being slightly more boring, but I do think if we hadn't had as much build up as we had then this book would've had less impact so (as with all Hobb's works) I appreciate now what they did.

We saw so much history in this book that explained so much from Hobb's other series, and I'm excited to see how it ties in to the final Fitz trilogy. I loved seeing the comeuppance that certain characters had - it was *chef's kiss* perfect. When you look at how far these characters have come since the first book it truly is amazing. I will say that I grew to dislike Rapskal more and more as these books went on, which made me sad as he was a favourite character at one point. My favourite characters were Alise, Malta, Lefrit, and Chassim. I wish we had some more of certain characters though. For example, despite Sintara being a main character for so much of the series, she kind of dropped off in this one and it felt like her perspective was a little pointless overall. I'll definitely be interested to see how the world politics changes after the events in this book. It was a great finale to the series and I'm excited to continue with Hobb's books.

So, that was my September Wrap-Up. Have you read any of these books and what did you think of them? What did you read in September? Let me know below and I'll see you in the next post!

October TBR | 2022

It's October and the month of Halloween and all things spooky and spoopy. My September wrap-up will be coming in the next few days so keep an eye out for that. This month I'm not participating in any readathons but I have decided on a mixture of a few witchy books and some big fantasies that I want to get to. Because some of them are on the chunky side, I've decided to pick fewer books so there are only 9 on my TBR this month.

So, without further ado, here are the books I plan on reading in October! (Feat. wonderful bookmarks from Daisie & Bee and RaahatIllustration)

1. La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman

2. The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman

3. Fool's Assassin by Robin Hob

4. Fool's Quest by Robin Hobb

5. Assassin's Fate by Robin Hobb

6. The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

7. The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

8. Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper

9. Dreamcatcher by Stephen King

So that's my TBR for October! Let me know what you're reading and if you've read any of these books. Also, are you participating in any readathons this month? Let me know if you are!

BOOK REVIEW | Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson

Genre: Adult Urban Fantasy

Publication Date: 31st May 2022

My Rating: ★★★★.5

Goodreads Page

Blurb:

At the dawn of their adolescence, on the eve of the summer solstice, four young girls--Helena, Leonie, Niamh and Elle--took the oath to join Her Majesty's Royal Coven, established by Queen Elizabeth I as a covert government department. Now, decades later, the witch community is still reeling from a civil war and Helena is now the reigning High Priestess of the organization. Yet Helena is the only one of her friend group still enmeshed in the stale bureaucracy of HMRC. Elle is trying to pretend she's a normal housewife, and Niamh has become a country vet, using her powers to heal sick animals. In what Helena perceives as the deepest betrayal, Leonie has defected to start her own more inclusive and intersectional coven, Diaspora. And now Helena has a bigger problem. A young warlock of extraordinary capabilities has been captured by authorities and seems to threaten the very existence of HMRC. With conflicting beliefs over the best course of action, the four friends must decide where their loyalties lie: with preserving tradition, or doing what is right.

Juno Dawson explores gender and the corrupting nature of power in a delightful and provocative story of magic and matriarchy, friendship and feminism. Dealing with all the aspects of contemporary womanhood, as well as being phenomenally powerful witches, Niamh, Helena, Leonie and Elle may have grown apart but they will always be bound by the sisterhood of the coven.

**Spoiler-Free Review**

I received this book from Harper Collins UK via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've read a couple of Juno Dawson books in the past and I enjoyed Say Her Name so I was looking forward to reading a book by Dawson that wasn't a horror, but did have a spooky vibe. This 100% didn't disappoint. 

The witchy atmosphere in this book permeates every page and character. Honestly, reading this book about all these strong women with solid female friendships just filled me with everything I needed for spooky season. This book felt like it embodied everything I wanted from a modern-day witch book. I really loved Niamh - she was so sweet and kind, but also a complete badass. Leonie's coven was great to see and it was interesting to explore the politics of this world through her newly-created coven.

Dawson also explores so many important topics within this world: feminism, racism, and LGBTQA+ rights, just to name a few. She handles these topics so well and sensitively. Theo is thought to be an incredibly powerful warlock until it's discovered that she identifies as a woman; the book cleverly explores the impact her gender has on the society of witches, because it doesn't seem like they've ever thought about how trans witches or warlocks can fit into their world comfortably. Reading from the perspective of someone who is a white supremicist TERF is incredibly frustrating (mostly because of how sadly realistic that sort of character is in our world), but we also get the perspectives of progressive women who support Theo and Leonie, and that is wonderful to see.

I really enjoyed reading about the politics of the witches' world and how it fits into the world we have now. I wish we'd seen more of the world, and the main character's pasts in the war. I would love to see a book about that showing how the four women were friends and how they grew into the women they are in this book.

My only issue with the audiobook arc that I listened to was that it was sometimes difficult to distinguish which perspective you were listening to. It would take a few minutes of the narrator talking before it became obvious who it was. Some of the side characters were easy to get muddled up with as well because they weren't given enough time on the page for the reader to remember who they were  in relation to the main characters. I'm really looking forward to get a physical copy to see if it's easier to pick this up on re-read rather that listening to the audiobook.

Overall, I really loved this book and it's perfect for the autumn/witchy season. If you're looking for a fantastic urban fantasy with great queer representation then I highly recommend picking this book up. I already can't wait for the sequel, especially after that cliffhanger ending.

BOOK REVIEW | Babel by R.F. Kuang

Genre: Fantasy

Publication Date: 23rd August 2022

My Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Page

Blurb:

1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he'll enroll in Oxford University's prestigious Royal Institute of Translation — also known as Babel.

Babel is the world's center of translation and, more importantly, of silver-working: the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation through enchanted silver bars, to magical effect. Silver-working has made the British Empire unparalleled in power, and Babel's research in foreign languages serves the Empire's quest to colonize everything it encounters.

Oxford, the city of dreaming spires, is a fairytale for Robin; a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge serves power, and for Robin, a Chinese boy raised in Britain, serving Babel inevitably means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to sabotaging the silver-working that supports imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide: Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence? What is he willing to sacrifice to bring Babel down?

**Spoiler-Free Review**

I received this book from Harper Collins via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This dark academia book has been compared to both The Secret History and Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, two books that I absolutely loved. Combine that with how much I adored Kuang's Poppy War trilogy and this was a must-read for me.

I am very happy to say that I adored every second of this book. The entire book embodies dark academia and the atmosphere captures it perfectly: the thrill of the overworked student aesthetic, the camaraderie between students, the addiction of knowledge, and the dark undertone throughout the novel of politics, deception, and colonialism that academia is built upon. It truly encompasses dark academia but it also challenges the whiteness of it all.

It's obvious just how much research went into this book's creation. I loved learning about the etymology of words and how it tied to a magic system. The friendships between Robin and his cohort were wonderful and they really embodied the bubble that people end up in while studying - especially at university. Of course, one of the most wonderful things about this book is how it challenges the racism and sexism happening at this time. Obviously, this is a historical fiction, but it sheds so much light and truth on how the British Empire exploited and harmed both other nations and their people. Showing a society that was built on the shoulders of oppression while it attempts to seem progressive is so realistic and important. The way white characters act as well is extremely realistic and hard to read because of that. I love that Kuang's characters are always challenging societal 'norms' and willing to do anything to make things right.

My only complaint about this book include wanting to see more of their time at the school in Oxford. I would've adored seeing multiple books of their years at the school so we could see the characters' friendships develop over time and also grow to love the city of university as much as Robin and his friends do. The ending was heart-breaking and I wish we'd seen just a little bit more in the Epilogue, but it was still the perfect ending for this book.

Overall, I loved this book. While reading it the atmosphere felt all encompassing and I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys dark academia with an alternate historical twist.

End of Year Book Tag | 2022

This is the End of Year Book Tag, first created by Ariel Bissett. This tag is to talk about your reading plans for the last few months of the year - can you believe we're almost at the end of 2022? I know I can't. I know a lot of people do this tag in December, but a lot of the questions relate to the reading plans for the next few months so I've decided to do it now!

1. Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish?

I don't think I've DNF'd any books this year that I still intend to finish. I do have a couple of books from previous TBRs that I didn't get to yet, that I would like to read before the end of the year. One is Tales of the Greatcoats by Sebastian de Castell. This is a short story collection set in the world of the Greatcoats. I read the rest of the books in this series in January, so it would be good to finish off this series fully by reading this book before I forget everything. The other book I didn't start was The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow. Harrow wrote another of my favourite books, The Ten Thousand Doors of January, which I adored, so I'm really excited to get to this one. It's also got very autumnal and witchy vibes so it'll be perfect for this time of year.

2. Do you have an autumnal book to transition into the end of the year?

The Once and Future Witches will definitely be able to do that: When the Eastwood sisters - James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna - join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women's movement into the witch's movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote-and perhaps not even to live-the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive. This just sounds like a feminist Hocus Pocus.

Another book for this would probably have to be La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman. This is the first book in a new trilogy set in the same world as His Dark Materials. Pullman's Dark Materials series was one of my absolute favourites growing up, and I always associate that trilogy with autumn/winter. I've been meaning to get to this series for so long but I put it off because I'd heard bad things. I'm hoping I'll love it though!

3. Is there a new release you're still waiting for?

Technically I'm still waiting for Babel by R.F. Kuang, although I don't know when I'll be getting a copy of this because I'm trying not to spend too much money right now (thank you electric bills!). This sounds incredible though and I know most people will already know what it's about. For those who don't, this is an adult fiction book set in Oxford and has all the markings of a dark academia: secret society, mystery, intrigue, exploration of language, etc. It sounds like it'll be right up my street when I finally get to it!

4.What are three books you want to read before the end of the year?

Only three? Oh boy. For those who don't know, I've spent the past couple of years trying to read through the oldest books on my TBR and I've really succeeded in that. However, I do still have a few older books I want to get to in the next few months.

1. Dreamcatcher by Stephen King

In Derry, Maine, four young boys once stood together and did a brave thing. Something that changed them in ways they hardly understand. A quarter of a century later, the boys are men who have gone their separate ways. Though they still get together once a year, to go hunting in the north woods of Maine. But this time is different. This time a man comes stumbling into their camp, lost, disoriented and muttering about lights in the sky. Before long, these old friends will be plunged into the most remarkable events of their lives as they struggle with a terrible creature from another world. Their only chance of survival is locked in their shared past - and in the Dreamcatcher.

To be perfectly honest, this sounds a lot like IT or The Body, but I do love Stephen King's work and especially this kind of trope so I'm hoping I'm going to enjoy it.

2. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her? Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.

This is another dark academia book that I've really been meaning to get to. I really like Bardugo's writing style so I'm hoping I'm going to enjoy her foray into New Adult.

3. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Zachary Ezra Rawlins is searching for his door, though he does not know it. He follows a silent siren song, an inexplicable knowledge that he is meant for another place. When he discovers a mysterious book in the stacks of his campus library he begins to read, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, lost cities, and nameless acolytes. Suddenly a turn of the page brings Zachary to a story from his own childhood impossibly written in this book that is older than he is.

I first read The Night Circus by this author in 2014 and adored it. This is her second book and I bought it as soon as it came out in 2019 but I still haven't read it. This is a book about books (a trope I always love) and it feels perfect for the autumn/winter season.

5. Is there a book you think could still shock you and become your favourite book of the year?

Some of the books mentioned above, definitely. Other than those though, I'm still hoping to read the final Fitz and the Fool trilogy so I think any of those books could become a favourite.

6. Have you already started making reading plans for this year?

Of course, who hasn't? (Wait, it's not just me, right?) As I said earlier, my plan this year was to read a lot of backlist books and, while I still want to focus on the books more than 2 years old on my TBR, I think next year I want to focus more on my epic fantasy series that I've been neglecting. It'll mean I probably read fewer books overall, but I'll finally get to so many of the fantasy books on my shelf that I've been excited for, and I can't wait.

Let me know what your plans are for the rest of the year! Do you have any plans for next year yet?

August Wrap-Up | 2022 Part Two

As I said in my previous post, I read so much this month that I decided to split the wrap-up into two parts because it was so long. So, this is part two of my wrap-up - enjoy the mini reviews!

12. Starfell: Willow Moss and the Lost Day by Dominique Valente ★★★★.5

Elemental Studies - Q - Point to a book and then pick an adjacent book

Willow Moss, the youngest and least powerful sister in a family of witches, has a magical ability for finding lost things - like keys, or socks, or wooden teeth. Her magic might be useful, but it’s not exactly exciting. Until, that is, the most powerful witch in the whole of Starfell turns up at her door needing Willow’s help. A whole day - last Tuesday to be precise - has gone missing. And the repercussions could be devastating. Can Willow find the day to save the day?

This was one of the most adorable and charming middle grade books I've read in a long time. It was a fast-paced adventure and so much fun. Willow Moss was an interesting character, and I especially loved Oswin (who mostly feels like a grumpy cat). The group of characters were all unique, with the main cast even including kobolds, trolls, dragons, and a fainting man. For a middle-grade, the magic system and history was very well thought out and I loved learning more about it. Overall, this was a fantastical, fun adventure that I recommend to anyone, even if you don't normally read middle-grades.

13. The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon ★★★★

Conjuration - Q - A book with a bone on the cover/title.

This book was actually a re-read for me. I first read it in 2015 and I'd only ever read the first two books in this series. Since I'd forgotten some of the main plot points of the book, I decided to re-read it before continuing the series this month. I have to say, I'm surprised by how much I actually remembered and I really enjoyed this re-read. This book is set in the year is 2059. Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, based at Seven Dials, employed by a man named Jaxon Hall. Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people’s minds. For Paige is a dreamwalker, a clairvoyant and, in the world of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing. It is raining the day her life changes for ever. Attacked, drugged and kidnapped, Paige is caught and transported to Oxford. I don't want to say more than that about the plot because I think the part at Oxford is a really good surprise if you don't know to expect it. Overall, you can tell this is debut novel, but it's still incredibly well-written and you can see Samantha Shannon's style shining through. 

I love Paige's found-family in the Seven Dials and I wish we saw more of them in this book, however, I really like the other characters we meet in Oxford. Jax and Nick are interesting characters that I want to see a lot more of. The magic system is also very well developed but I still wish we had some more explanations about who everyone is and what they can do. I loved the dystopian aspects of this book and I'm looking forward to seeing how to story progresses in the next few books.

14. The Family Holiday by Shalini Boland ★★★

Elemental Studies - D - A sea setting

The Family Holiday is an adult thriller following two couples that decide to do a house swap for their family vacation. One family (Beth and Niall) goes to Italy and the other (Amber and Renzo) comes to England and they swap houses for 10 days. But when Beth finds a photo of her husband with Amber, she starts to question everything about her marriage so far.

The first thing I'll say is: don't read the actual blurb of this book on Goodreads, as it gives away a plot point that happens around 75-80% into the book. I did enjoy how fast-paced this novel was and I read it in nearly two sittings because of this. However, there were so many frustrating things with this book. I spent the majority of the time reading it, despising so many of the characters. In all honesty, I nearly DNF'd with how much I hated Niall and Amber. There was just so much abuse and gaslighting. The twists weren't too shocking, especially when you get Amber's POV for so much of the book (although Amber felt like a very unrealistic character to me). I feel like if we'd had Beth's neighbours point-of-view instead of Amber's, then this might have worked better. The most shocking thing actually happened in the Epilogue and I really appreciated that - it's the main thing that brought it up for me. The thriller was well-written and I'd definitely read more from this author; I liked the way Beth was portrayed in her POV, but overall this didn't stand out from other thrillers I've read.

15. Fool's Fate by Robin Hobb ★★★★★

Shapeshifting - O - Wings on the Cover

I knew this book would break me. I absolutely loved this one - an easy 5 stars to give. As with The Golden Fool, I can't say much about the plot of this one. I will say that I loved the Fool, Thick, Dutiful, and Nettle in this book. The character development so many of them go through is wonderful, and I really can't believe how far they've all come since the first trilogy. I wish we had more Fool than we did (as always), and the ending did feel a bit too neatly tied up. I also wish Fitz hadn't gone back to someone, but we can't have everything. I'm really excited to see how the dragons enter the next series and I can't wait to read more Hobb.

16. The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon ★★★★.5

Conjuration - D - Re-read a favourite

This book is the sequel to The Bone Season and it was also another re-read for me this month. I've already given a synopsis of the first book above if you're interested; since this is a sequel, I won't be going into plot details here. I enjoyed this book, but not as much as I did the first time I read it. It was still a great read and I love the seeing more of the gang politics than we do in the first book. However, I remember Paige being less frustrating than she is - she's constantly making decisions that will put her in danger, rather than waiting to act at a better time. I do love how bad-ass Paige is towards the end of the book, and that reveal on the last page is truly amazing. This is still probably my favourite book in the series because of that.

17. I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy ★★★★★

Shapeshifting - Q - A book released this year

This is a heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor - including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing mother - and how she retook control of her life. First thing's first from me, I never watched iCarly growing up and I don't think I've ever seen Jennette McCurdy in anything I've watched. However, I had heard amazing things about this memoir, so I decided to pick it up and I was definitely not disappointed. McCurdy is a fantastic writer; her humour is on point and you can really feel her tone throughout the whole book. Reading her story is so interesting and it's incredibly brave of her to show so much more of herself to the world by showing her abuse growing up and her struggles with addiction. While I feel like this book could be very triggering to some people (remember to check the trigger warnings!), I feel like it will also help some people who really need it. A brilliantly written memoir overall that I recommend to anyone whether you recognise Jennette McCurdy's name or not. 

18. Blaze by Stephen King ★★★.5

Restoration - Q - Oldest book on your TBR

As you'll have noticed from some of my previous wrap-ups, I've been trying to get through my backlog of older books, and a lot of these have been Stephen King novels. This one follows Clayton Blaisdell. His capers are strictly small time until he meets George Rackley. With Blaze's brawn and George's brains, they pull off a hundred successful cons. Then George plans the one big score every small timer dreams of: kidnapping the infant heir to a family fortune. The trouble is that by the time the deal goes down, the brains of the operation has died. Or has he? Now Blaze is running into the white hell of the Maine woods with a baby as hostage. The crime of the century just turned into a race against time.

This was actually a really quick read and I did enjoy it. The main reason this didn't get a higher rating was because it was just a very okay book overall. Not much stood out, but the story and Clayton's past was still very interesting to read about. The characters were all uniquely King's and I enjoyed the way the story alternated between the past and present. The ending was just okay. In all honesty, I never really know what I want from the ending of a lot of King's books, but this one just felt a little lacklustre. Overall, a decent, quick read, but I preferred the story in the past to the ongoing one in the present.

19. The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon ★★★★

Spells & Incantations - O - Random Colour Wheel

This is the third book in the The Bone Season series. As I mentioned earlier, I re-read the first two books so I could finally catch up on this series. I can't say too much about the plot of this book, but I will just say a few thoughts on this book. Firstly, I did enjoy the overall plot of this book and where it was leading towards; however, it was quite slow in the middle and it mostly felt like characters were just travelling from place to place. It's safe to say that Shannon is brilliant at writing characters; I especially love Nick and Eliza, and their relationship to Paige. Paige herself was (once again!) frustrating throughout the book with her decisions, but the reasons felt slightly more understandable this time. The main thing I still don't like in this series is the romance - to me, it just feels like there is literally no chemistry there at all. It sounds like being in love with a brick wall for all the emotion they show. Despite that, I do still enjoy this series and this world and I'm excited to continue.

20. The Dawn Chorus by Samantha Shannon ★★★

Art of Illusion - Q - Book under 300 pages

This is the 3.5 novella in The Bone Season series. Unfortunately, I didn't really enjoy this. I felt like the representation of PTSD was very good, which also made it slightly difficult to read, but I did appreciate that. However, as I've said above, I don't have any feelings towards the relationship in this series so the majority of this book was just so boring to me. I especially didn't care about the flashbacks to The Bone Season, because there was no tension there since we already know how that book ends. Overall, a bit of a meh addition to the series. If you like the romance, then you'll probably enjoy this more than me.

21. The Mask Falling by Samantha Shannon ★★★.5

Art of Illusion - D - Pick a prompt from last semester

Oh dear. I had pretty mixed feelings about this book. It's the fourth book in The Bone Season series and I was hoping to love it as much as The Mime Order because I'd heard great things about this one. Unfortunately, I struggled through the start of the book. The biggest issue I had with this book is the way that Paige's character has not developed at all since the first book. She is literally told not to do certain things for both her own safety and the people around her and yet she still chooses to do them anyway, and it is ridiculously frustrating to watch happen over and over (and over) again. She's literally not changed since the first book despite everything she's gone through. And, oh my god, how many times can these people keep getting captured? I definitely liked the second half of this book more than the first (and it pulled it up from a 3 star read); however, the pacing felt a bit off, with a ton of reveals happening towards the end, making it hard to keep up. I did enjoy the book by the end - a lot happened and I'm glad it felt like there was some progression with the overall plot. I think one of my biggest frustrations of this series is how big it is; it's going to be seven books long and every book seems to have some kind of reveal and betrayal, meaning we probably won't get all the answers until the final book. I'm also struggling to keep all the loose plot threads in my head so some of the reveals will probably fall flat later on. It just leaves me frustrated because I think this series would be better if it was shorter (and I never normally say that). I do have some theories of future plot lines and I'll be interested to see where it goes, but the frustration and lack of Paige's character development pulled this down for me. Oh and I still hate the romance.

22. Buffy, Volume 1: High School is Hell by Jordie Bellaire et al. ★★★★

Restoration - D - Read a book in one sitting

This is a reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in comic book form, following Buffy but in the present day rather than the 90s. For those who don't know, Buffy is my favourite TV show of all time. I adore it. I re-watch it whenever I feel rubbish and it never fails to make me laugh and cry. I'm currently re-watching the show again but with my husband this time so he can enjoy it in all its glory. I read this first volume a couple of years ago and wanted to continue the series so I picked up the first one again. The art in these books is beautiful and amazing, and the chosen colour scheme suits the tone so much. I especially love the Cover Gallery at the end of the book; I would happily have so many of these as pictures in my house. It's interesting because some of the characters look a lot like the actors that played them, while others don't at all (which can be confusing to a long-time fan). All of them also turn up in very different ways to the original show, with Spike, Dru, and Anya showing up even before Angel does. I really like seeing what they're doing with it, but it does feel a bit like reading a fanfiction because the original show is just so perfect to me. I do really enjoy these though and I'm looking forward to continuing on with both this series and the Angel comics.

23. Buffy, Volume 2: Once Bitten by Jordie Bellaire et al. ★★★

Alchemy - O - A book on someone else's worst list

Yikes, this was a bit of a let down. To be honest, I was going to group these two graphic novels together in this wrap-up, but I did have one thing I wanted to mention about this volume. I really disliked that the artist changed between volume 1 and 2. The main thing I loved in the first volume was the art style. The art in this volume didn't really match the tone of the story, and they drew everyone so different from the first volume that I found it hard to know who everyone was all the time - and that's coming from someone who's a big fan, so I don't know how hard it would be for someone new to the world. It really pulled this volume down for me sadly and I'm hoping we go back to the original artist at some point.

So, that's everything I read in August! Phew, what a lot to review. What did you read in August? How did you do in the Orilium Magical Readathon?