Everything I read in April with Mini-reviews

Hello there!

I can’t believe it’s May already! April seemed to fly by. The Spring has been kind of odd to me as I have been buried in increasing PhD pressure and weeks have flown by while each day feels endless. I feel like I’m definitely getting to the busy-busy part of the PhD and my reading & blogging habits have taken a hit. I hope that I’ll get used to the new schedule and manage to stuff in a lot of reading!

(Thanks for hanging on with me while I have had difficulty finishing posts by the way ilysm 🥺🥰)

Spring is my absolute favourite season! I love all the colours that suddenly pop out from the doom & gloom of winter – and I have been wandering around my local park doing some flower-stalking as much as possible.

My idea of the-best-time™️ (just add a book, tea, and allergy medication)

Before I get into the books, I want to share some important resources:

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#FreePalestine

Palestine is under attack, as Israel is senselessly bombing civilians and destroying homes in Gaza. Hundreds of people have died already, and we all must play in part in stopping a genocide. Many western countries are fuelling the massacre by supporting Israel and we can all stop this by amplifying the voices of Palestinians and challenging politics. This is about human lives.

• Simple explanation of what is happening in Palestine
• Find ways to donate here!
• Gaza donations
• How to help if you can’t afford to donate

Covid crisis in India and Nepal

India has been overwhelmed by the emergence of a new coronavirus variant, and it has started spreading to other countries that are struggling to cope. ICUs are full, oxygen is running out and people cannot find help even if they are running out of breath.

• Urgent need for food support in India
• Carrd on what is happening in Nepal and how you can help

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Please look into these resources, educate yourself on what’s happening and donate if you can!

Today I’m here to tell you about all the books I read in April. I had some major struggles to find time for reading, but I still managed to get through 4 books. You’ll find a tiny little bit of stats & mini-reviews for these books in this post:

• Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal (Modern retelling of Pride & Prejudice in Pakistan)
• Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger (Mystery & magical realism, a Lipan Apache main character)
• The Confectioner’s Exile by Claire Luana (Prequel novella to The Confectioner’s Guild)
• The Betrayals by Bridget Collins (Genre-bending mystery with LGBT+ rep)

WWW Wednesday 28th April 2021: Current Reading & Reading plans

Hello! Happy Wednesday!

I’m having a cozy evening drinking cold brewed tea and finishing some books I have been in the middle of for a long time! Hope you have had the best of Wednesdays so far 💫

Let’s talk about the current reads! WWW Wednesday is hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. The idea is to share your current reads, a recent read and what you plan to read next! Short and sweet, let’s get into it!

What are you currently reading?

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. ☁️ Paperback 😍 enjoying it!

What did you recently finish reading?

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 (4/5 stars) 📱 e-book

What do you think you’ll read next?

The Bright & The Pale by Jessica Rubinkowski. 📖 hardcover 🧚‍♀️ fairyloot copy

Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard. 📱 e-book 🌹 ARC

Master of One by Jaida Jones & Dani Bennett. 📖 hardcover 🧚‍♀️ fairyloot copy

What are your answers to the questions? Did you enjoy the book you most recently finished? I would love to know!

I’m so glad I have finally started finishing some books! I had multiple DNFs (= did not finish) one after each other before I finally picked up Elatsoe, and truly enjoyed it. It is a beautiful book about a Lipan Apache main character who can summon ghosts. The main story is an intriguing mystery, but multiple stories are woven into it, making the book equal measures an engrossing read and a comforting collection of stories.

Next I plan to pick up two books – either The Bright and the Pale or Master of One and Finding the Mother Tree. I was lucky enough to snatch an arc of Finding the Mother Tree and now I need to read it asap! This is weird, but I have been very intrigued by forests, trees, and especially mushrooms lately (not mushrooms as in hallucinogens but more like what even are mushrooms haha).

Thank you so much for reading! Hope you have the best of Wednesdays filled with books and cake and relaxing moments  ✨

Book Review: The Betrayals by Bridget Collins

Hello there!

I have finally gotten inspired to write a book review 🙌 I took a long hiatus from posting them because I have had difficulty getting my thoughts across in the form of a review, but buddy reading The Betrayals by Bridget Collins with Stephen @ Stephen Writes made me really eager to sit down and write. (and I’m sorry to report that I was so keen on writing a review that I did it when I was supposed to be writing a research manuscript instead oops)

Did I create this meme just for this purpose? Yes, yes I did

Stephen and I had some great discussions on The Betrayals and I feel that there was a lot to unpack! Thanks for buddy reading it with me Stephen, it was a lot of fun!

Let’s get into it!

The Betrayals by Bridget Collins

Read as an audiobook

416 pages

Genre: ???

2/5 stars

WWW Wednesday 24th March 2021: Currently Reading & Reading Plans

Hello! Happy Wednesday!

It’s time for WWW Wednesday again. I have been having a very sleepy Wednesday. I can’t wait until I get a couple days off from work next week and I can take all the naps. I also have grand plans to read many more books than what I can actually get through in 3 days 😇

Let’s talk about the current reads! WWW Wednesday is hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. The idea is to share your current reads, a recent read and what you plan to read next! Short and sweet, let’s get into it!

What are you currently reading?

The Wolf in the Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky. 📱 e-book 🥀 overdue arc 🤔 mixed feelings

Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal. 📱 e-book 😍 enjoying it!

Forest of Souls by Lori M. Lee. 📖 hardcover 🧚‍♀️ fairyloot copy 😍 enjoying it!

The Betrayals by Bridget Collins. 🎧 audiobook 🥳 buddy read 😍 enjoying it!

What did you recently finish reading?

The Murders of Molly Southbourne by Tade Thompson. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 (3.5/5 stars) 📱 e-book

What do you think you’ll read next?

The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty. 📱 e-book & 🎧 audiobook

Master of One by Jaida Jones & Dani Bennett. 📖 hardcover 🧚‍♀️ fairyloot copy

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. 📖 hardcover

What are your answers to the questions? Did you enjoy the book you most recently finished? I would love to know!

I’m enjoying so many of my current reads right now! Forest of Souls is AMAZING, and I’m enjoying Unmarriageable so much that I’m interested in picking up Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen for the first time. I’m not much of a classic reader and it is very rare for me to want to pick up a Jane Austen so Unmarriageable is definitely doing wonders. I also started a buddy read of The Betrayals with Stephen @ Stephen Writes 🥳

The only current read I’m slightly hesitant about is The Wolf in the Whale. It is a story of a young, nonbinary Inuit shaman at 1000AD. The writing is magical and the story is interesting so far, but I just found out that the author isn’t nonbinary nor has any Inuit heritage. I’m a bit hesitant about whether she can provide a respectful portrayal of the Inuit and the experience of being nonbinary when she comes from a position of power (she’s white and cis if I have understood correctly). Let me know if you have any thoughts on this – I’m not sure if I can fully enjoy the book when I’m stressing about whether the representation is good or not.

Thank you so much for reading! Hope you have the best of Wednesdays filled with books and cake and relaxing moments  ✨

2021 New Year’s Resolutions & Update on How I’m Doing So Far

Hello there!

I’m on a roll doing these New Years posts when we are well on our way into spring already. But better late than never! I’m really enjoying writing these, and today I get to talk about my New Year’s resolutions! As we are already in March, I’ll also give updates on how I’m doing with each challenge so far.

End of the year posts:

• 2020 Wrap-up: Reading Stats & Reading Challenges
• All Books I read in 2020, Ranked from Best to Worst
• Yearly TBR: 21 Books for 2021
• 2021 New Years’ Resolutions
• Top 10 of 2020 (coming soon!)

WWW Wednesday 10th March 2021: Currently Reading & Reading Plans

Hello! Happy Wednesday!

I hope you are enjoying March so far. Spring is my favourite time of the year and I love to see things coming back alive again – I’m hoping that it will also give me a blogging boost!

March has started in bookish terms for me. Last weekend I managed to finish 4 of the reads I was in the middle of for most of February, and honestly I can’t wait to read more.

Let’s talk about the current reads! WWW Wednesday is hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. The idea is to share your current reads, a recent read and what you plan to read next! Short and sweet, let’s get into it!

What are you currently reading?

A Phoenix First Must Burn by various authors, edited by Patrice Caldwell. 📱 e-book 😍 enjoying it!

First, We Make the Beast Beautiful by Sarah Wilson. 🎧 audiobook 🤔 mixed feelings

The Lives of Saints by Leigh Bardugo. 📱 e-book 😍 enjoying it!

What did you recently finish reading?

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5 stars + new favourite!) ☁️ paperback 🧚‍♀️ fairyloot copy

What do you think you’ll read next?

From What Is to What If by Rob Hopkins. 🎧 audiobook

The Kingdom of Copper by S. A. Chakraborty (#2 in The Daevabad Trilogy). 🎧 audiobook 📱 e-book

Lovely War by Julie Berry. ☁️ paperback

Master of One by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett. 📖 hardcover 🧚‍♀️ fairyloot copy

What are your answers to the questions? Did you enjoy the book you most recently finished? I would love to know!

I loved the Gilded Ones SO MUCH! It is an action-packed fantasy with amazing characters and an intriguing world. I loved how much discussion there was on equality and feminism. The characters really grew on me and I can’t wait for the sequel! Just a heads up though, the Gilded Ones is very very gory (much more so than many other fantasies I have read), so make sure to check the trigger warnings before picking it up.

I’m also loving A Phoenix First Must Burn and Lives of Saints – but sadly not First, We Make the Beast Beautiful 😕 I picked it up because the cover is amazing and I usually enjoy nonfiction about anxiety. But for some reason this one isn’t doing it for me. I don’t find the author’s account relatable and I feel that the things mentioned are a bit much (like picking up meditation and doing it for an hour everyday). I might put it down and pick up From What Is to What If. Let me know if you have read First, We Make the Beast Beautiful and if you recommend I continue 😊

Thank you so much for reading! Stay safe and hope you have a week filled with books and cake 🍰

21 Books for 2021: A Yearly TBR

Hello there! Hope you are having a great day!

I’m lightyears behind everyone else, but here I am – slowly, very slowwlyyy making my way through these beginning of 2021 posts.

Even though I know I’m late with these, I’m really enjoying writing them! I could still be doing these in May who knows haha.

Today I get to show you my 2021 TBR! I had a yearly TBR for 2020 which I did not follow at all, but I tried my best to be mindful to cater for my changing mood when selecting these 21 books. I’m also making it a goal to check up on how I’m doing with this TBR every couple of months! I chose books for this list that I want to challenge myself to read, books that I have been putting off for a long time and books that I have been excited about for some time.

End of the year posts:

• 2020 Wrap-up: Reading Stats & Reading Challenges
• All Books I read in 2020, Ranked from Best to Worst
• Yearly TBR: 21 Books for 2021
• 2021 New Years’ Resolutions (coming soon!)
• Top 10 of 2020 (coming soon!)

WWW Wednesday 10th Feb: Currently Reading & Reading Plans

Hello! Hope you are having the most wonderful Wednesday 😍

I have to say that I definitely am. I just finished a productive day of PhDing, and then a mailman brought my Fairyloot box! I’m so excited to open it up 🤩 This box’s theme is Greek mythology, and I can’t wait!

But before I dive into the magical book box, let’s talk about the current reads! WWW Wednesday is hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. The idea is to share your current reads, a recent read and what you plan to read next! Short and sweet, let’s get into it!

What are you currently reading?

A Burning by Megha Majumdar. 📱 e-book 💫 arc 🙊 not on monthly TBR

A Phoenix First Must Burn by various authors, edited by Patrice Caldwell. 📱 e-book 🙊 not on monthly TBR

The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey. 🎧 audiobook 🙊 not on monthly TBR

What did you recently finish reading?

A Heart so Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer (#2 in Cursebreakers). ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5 stars) 📖 hardcover 📚 from monthly TBR

What do you think you’ll read next?

Kingdom of Copper by S. A. Chakraborty (#2 in The Daevabad Trilogy). 🎧 audiobook 📱 e-book 📚 from monthly TBR

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna. ☁️ paperback 🧚‍♀️ fairyloot copy 🙊 not on monthly TBR

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence. 📱 e-book 📚 from monthly TBR

The Wolf in the Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky. 📱 e-book 🥀 overdue arc 📚 from monthly TBR

What are your answers to the questions? Did you enjoy the book you most recently finished? I would love to know!

I have somehow managed to only pick up books that are not on my monthly TBR! I feel like I always go a bit off rails at some point, but I’m definitely trying to become better at following the plan 😅

Thank you so much for reading!

All Books I Read in 2020, Ranked from Best to Worst

Hello there!

Today I’m ranking all the books I read in 2020 from best to worst! I had a good reading year in 2020 and managed to finish 59 books. It’s pretty fun to see them all together like this – I can’t help but notice how much fantasy I read 🤩

The list starts with my favourites of 2020 and ends in the worst books I read. Even though the last few books in the list I strongly disliked, a large majority of these books I enjoyed. In fact, everything until #49 received three or more stars from me! The top 30 were really difficult to rank as I loved so many books in 2020.

I can’t wait to show you these books so let’s get started! As there are so many, I have left all commentary out. I’ll do a separate Top10 of 2020 post soon!

End of the year posts for 2020:

• 2020 Wrap-up: Reading Stats & Reading Challenges
• All Books I read in 2020, Ranked from Best to Worst
• Yearly TBR: 21 Books for 2021 (coming soon!)
• 2021 New Years’ Resolutions (coming soon!)
• Top 10 of 2020 (coming soon!)

WWW Wednesday 27th Jan: Currently Reading & Reading Plans

Hello and happy Wednesday! Hope you have had a great week so far!

I’m having a crazy week at PhDing – I’m trying to finish a data analysis by this Sunday that I originally meant to finish by May 😨 I have been working really long hours and my comfort-loving self doesn’t enjoy it much haha. But I only need to push a little longer!

Because of the PhDing, I have also fallen behind with my end-of-the-year posts! I’m planning to try and catch-up on them after January so keep your eyes peeled 👀

Let’s talk about the current reads! WWW Wednesday is hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. The idea is to share your current reads, a recent read and what you plan to read next! Short and sweet, let’s get into it!

What are you currently reading?

A Burning by Megha Majumdar. 📱 e-book 💫 arc 🙊 not on monthly TBR

Atomic Habits by James Clear. 🎧 audiobook 🙊 not on monthly TBR

A Heart so Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer (#2 in Cursebreakers). 📖 hardcover 📚 from monthly TBR

What did you recently finish reading?

Edgedancer by Brandon Sanderson (#2.5 of Stormlight Archives). 📱 e-book 📚 from monthly TBR

What do you think you’ll read next?

Kingdom of Copper by S. A. Chakraborty (#2 in The Daevabad Trilogy). 🎧 audiobook 📱 e-book 📚 from monthly TBR

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna. ☁️ paperback 🧚‍♀️ fairyloot copy 🙊 not on monthly TBR

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence. 📱 e-book 📚 from monthly TBR

The Wolf in the Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky. 📱 e-book 🥀 overdue arc 📚 from monthly TBR

What are your answers to the questions? Did you enjoy the book you most recently finished? I would love to know!

I really enjoyed Edgedancer although it wasn’t quite as good as the full books in the Stormlight Archives series, The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance. I’m pretty excited that I can pick up Oathbringer next in the series (but I’m not yet mentally ready yikes). I’m also really enjoying my current reads! I have been picking up nonfiction lately, and The Atomic Habits really seems pretty lifechanging.

I listed 4 different books that I could pick up next because I haven’t honestly got the faintest clue about what I’ll feel like reading next. I want to fill Medieval-A-Thon prompts but my TBR for the month isn’t really working in that regard 🤔 Have you read any of these 4? I would love to hear your thoughts – which one should I pick up first?

Thank you so much for reading!