Hello Hello my lovely BookNerds! It is that time of year again where the days grow colder and the nights darker and longer. This year has been, undoubtedly, one of the hardest we have ever faced so I’m sending good, positive vibes to you all, you have all done so well in the midst of such disaster!
So while the world has turned chaotic I, like many of you, escaped into some fantastic fictional worlds. This year has been absolutely filled with brilliant books that I could gush about from dawn till dusk!
I was super busy blogging at the start of the year, however, from September my activity slowed and halted courtesy of my starting University (albeit online)! I love Uni and my Psychology course dearly, but it did make me leave my blogging a little absent, but I am back for now and ready to tell you about all of this years AMAZING reads!
So this year I read a decent amount (not as much as I could have but enough that I am happy) and I managed to read a variety of genres…. though fantasy was heavily dominant overall… but what can I say I’m a fantasy nerd! I had a few blogtours, all brilliant with several arranged by the amazing Dave @ TheWriteReads (Absolute gem!), and lots of bookish posts so let’s dive into my 2020!
December! What I Have Read!
So the last few days of December will be spent catching up on eARC reads that I have fallen behind on but other than that I have used this month to chill out a little and wind down after being super busy with assignments. And what is better than some Fae filled books to wind down with?? So in December I read the ACOTAR (A Court Of Thornes And Roses) series and am halfway through the TOG (Throne Of Glass) series by Sarah J Maas
2020! What I Have Read!
Book Reviews!
- Book Review: The Invisible Life Of Addie LaRue, by V.E. Schwab – ⭐⭐⭐⭐🌟(4.5 Stars) – Addie LaRue prayed to the Gods after Dark, and her wish for freedom became a curse. A curse to be forgotten. So Addie LaRue does everything to leave her mark upon the world, her story.
- Book Review: Legacy Of Steel (Legacy Trilogy #2), by Matthew Ward – ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨(4.75 Stars_ – Malatriant is vanquished, Viktor has disappeared and Josiri and Malachi must navigate the Councils political wars. But Josiri’s people are going misisng, the Crowmarket are getting braver, and the Hadari want war – and this time even the God’s are choosing sides.
- Book Review: Call Of The Bone Ships (The Tide Child #2), by RJ Barker – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – an epic seafaring sequel to The Bone Ships. The Keyshans are back, people are going missing and the Tide Child Crew are on a mission to find them. But deadly plots and secrets await them, and Joron has a plethora of challenges ahead.
- Book Review: The Once And Future Witches, by Alix E Harrow – ⭐⭐⭐⭐🌟(4.5 Stars) – Three Sisters bound by magic, a fight for their freedom as women and witches. Follow them as they fight for what they believe and use their magic to do it. Once upon a time there were three sisters… three sisters who have the will, the words, and the ways.
- Mini Book Review: The Ikessar Falcon (Chronicles Of The Bitch Queen #2), by KS Villoso – ⭐⭐⭐⭐🌟(4.5 Stars) – The second instalment in the Bitch-Queen series, as brutal as the last. Tali found her husband but what’s next? When trust is thin and her husband has doubts, Tali must fight for her son and her home.
- Book Review: The Bone Shard Daughter (The Drowning Empire #1) , by Andrea Stewart – ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨(4.75 Stars) – Stuck in a castle of locked doors, each hiding a secret, knowledge, the only escape is to earn the keys to freedom. Or to stealthily learnt he secrets of BoneShard Magic. But with the empire crumbling and rebels rising, more and more secrets are revealed, each more horrifying than the last.
- Book Review: The Last Prince (The Coming Of Aed #2), by E.G. Radcliff -⭐⭐⭐⭐- The sequel/prequel to The Hidden King. This time we follow Ninian as he grows up, fights to live and falls in love. Ninian’s story of meeting Aed, healing together and finding the meaning of family amidst the brutality of their homeland.
- Book Review: A Declaration Of The Rights Of Magicians, by HG Parry -⭐⭐⭐⭐🌟(4.5 Stars) – France is on the brink of revolution fighting for magical freedom, Britian is in a battle concerning the abolition of slavery, and those enslaved are fighting for freedom. But, amidst the darkness of humanity, their violence and their wars, something evil is lurking behind their every decision.
- Mini Book Review: Girl, Serpent, Thorn, by Melissa Bashardoust ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨(4.75 Stars) A Persian fairytale inspired story that is much more than it seems. Hidden in the castle, and its dark corridors is a girl, a girl who believes she is a monster. And when a bad decision opens her world to the real monsters that lurk in the dark she must choose a side.
- Book Review: Mo Dao Zu Shi, by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu – ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨(4.75 Stars) – Have you watched the Untamed and feel lost afterwards? Then let me tell you it isn’t over and you can again go back to Wei Wuian and Lan Zhan in the book the series is based off of! Demons, magic, swords and an m/m leading couple that will destroy you – honeslty just read it!
- Mini Book Review: The Sight Of You, by Holly Miller -⭐⭐⭐⭐🌟(4.5 Stars) – Could you love if you knew how it would end…When two people, closed to the world and the opportunities it provides, meet they support and love each other, encouraging the other. But he knows how it will end and he doesn’t know if he can continue to love in spite of it.
- Book Review: Circe, by Madeline Miller – ⭐⭐⭐ – A retelling of Circe’s story, he banishment, her love, her conquests and most importantly her family and her magic. Whe Circe’s witchcraft is discovered she faces isolation, but it is a small price to pay for her freedom to love and practice witchcraft.
- The Obsidian Tower (Rooks And Ruin #1), by Melissa Caruso – ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨(4.75 Stars) – cursed with a power that means she kills everything she touches, and with a promise to never unseal the door, Ryx must navigate through trickly political arguments, and deal with curious wanderers with an interest in the door.
- Mini Book Review: The Court Of Miracles (Court Of Miracles #1), by Kester Grant -⭐⭐⭐✨(3.75 Stars)- A Les mis retelling with a twist. The Court Of Miracle is made up of Guilds, and the Guilds run the town. But what happens when a Guild member will do anything for her sister, even go against the Guilds themselve.
- Book Review: The Fallen Angel (The Great Devil War #5), by Kenneth B Andersen – ⭐⭐⭐✨(3.75 Stars) – The fifth instalment in this series, the war is over but God needs help, and Philip again finds himself in the middle of a dark and deadly plot.
- Mini Book Review: The Cruel Prince (The Folk Of The Air #1), by Holly Black – ⭐⭐⭐⭐- When her parents are killed by the fae and she and her sisters are taken to live among them, Jude must learn to live among these deadly creatures, and navigate their trickery. Espeially Prince Cardan. But when a deadly plot arises, Jude finds herself trying to protect the land of those who hate her.
- Mini Book Review: A Darker Shade Of Magic (Shades Of Magic #1), by V.E. Schwab – ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Red London, White London, Grey London and Black London. With magic sealed and only Red surviving healthily with it, the Londons rulers are tense. Black London was sealed off long ago, not even those magically able to travel can go there. But when something goes wrong, things start changing.
- Mini Book Review: The Glass Hotel, by Emily St John Mandel. – ⭐⭐⭐ – A mysterious disappearnace, a deadly threat sprawled onto the glass, and betrayal at every turn. Just what has happened to the people involved.
- Mini Book Review: The Girl And The Stars (Book Of The Ice #1), by Mark Lawrence – ⭐⭐⭐🌟(3.5 Stars) – when Yaz is torn away from everyhting she knows, from the ice, from her family, she finds herself learning more than she should. And when the stars begin reacting to her, she finds out there is much more than meets the eye.
- Book Review: Legacy Of Ash (Legacy Trilogy #1), by Matthew Ward. -⭐⭐⭐⭐✨(4.75 Stars) – In a divided kingdom ruled by leaders constantly at the others throats, politics can quickly turn deadly. But when a dark magic becomes unsettled, and when war threatens the boarders, our main characters find themselves having to make tough decsions and untrustworthy deals.
- Book Review: The Silent Treatment, by Abbie Greaves -⭐⭐⭐⭐ – A couple who havent spoken in months live their lives in silence. Until tragedy strikes and they realise time may not be on their side. Follow their story and why their silence began.
- Book Review: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1), by Brandon Sanderson – ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨(4.75 Stars) – The villain has won, he sits on a throne and oppresses the people. Rebellion after rebellion has been crushed, his power undeniable. But that doesn’t stop these rebels from trying to correct the corruption in their world.
- Book Review: The Rage Of Dragons (The Burning #1), by Evan Winter -⭐⭐⭐⭐🌟(4.5 Stars) – Vengeance. Revenge. Driven by this burning rage, a man fights, trains, and battles his way to the top, to where he can exact his revenge. But in a world where magic exists and deadly plots are present, this may be more difficult than it seems.
- Mini Book Review: You Let Me In, by Camilla Bruce – ⭐⭐⭐ – A story of fae, or disappearance of murder. But do you believe the fae are real, or do you believe something else?
- Mini Book Review: The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood. – ⭐⭐⭐ – the classic dystopian tale of a world where women are ranked, classified and judged on their fertility.
- Book Review: The Hidden King (The Coming Of Aed #1), by E.G Radcliff – ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – A celtic inspired fantasy tale, infused with fae, magic, and violence. A character driven story of found family, love, identity and freedom.
- Book Review: The Tattooist Of Auschwitz, by Heather Morris – ⭐⭐⭐⭐- Based on a true story, this heartbreaking book looks at life inside Auschwitz.
- Book Review: The Lies Of Locke Lamora (The Gentleman Bastards #1), by Scott Lynch – ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨(4.75 Stars) – The Gentleman Bastards are an elite group of thieves, whose eyes are on a new target. But when Locke gets unwillingly dragged into the middle of a bigger more deadly game, the stakes rise, and the risks grow more dangerous.
- Mini Book Review: Pet Sematary, by Stephen King – ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – The Pet Sematary is where the local pets are buried, or is it? When their beloved pet dies, he buries it in the sematary, and when it returns it isn’t quite normal. Grief and loss become a battle and when the dead rise again it becomes a question of who really came back?
- Grace Is Gone, by Emily Elgar – ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – an adaptation of a real story, this book foolows the story of Grace’s disappearnce and her mother’s murder. But who would kill the worlds most devoted mother? As secrets are revealed the horrifying truth is sickening and beyond belief.
- Book Review: The Wolf Of Oren-Yaro (Chronicles Of The Bitch-Queen #1), By K.S. Villoso – ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – The Bitch-Queen is on a mission to find her husband, and yet she cannot trust anyone. Her journey is rife with betrayal, and the Queen must fight her way to her husband, and back home to her son.
- Book Review: The Starless Sea, by Erin Morgenstern – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- A Bee. A Key. A Sword. A mysterious book, and magical doors lead you on a journey more atmospheric and dangerous than anticipated. But we are all stars and stories, so dive in to see how this one ends.
- The Other You, by J.S Monroe – ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – What happens when you are convinced your loved one has been replaced with a doppleganger. What happens when no-one believes you.
- Book Review: The Fires Of Vengeance (The Burning #2), by Evan Winter – ⭐⭐⭐⭐- The fantastic sequel to The Rage Of Dragons. Tau is now the Queen’s champion but vengeance is still on his mind. Can he protect the Queen, get revenge and survive the next dark and deadly threat?
Bookclub Read!
The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – So, being the booklover I am, after joining Uni and dealing with the academic side, I hunted down the societies and immediately joined the bookclub! I am SO GLAD because our first read was this one and I LOVED IT. I haven’t written a full out review but I did rate it 5 stars! THUG is a brilliant and heart-breaking book, that is incredibly important and definitely one I would recommend to everyone!
Bookish Posts!
- End Of Year #BookTag
- Top 10 Books Of 2020
- What’s On My Netgalley Shelf?
- Books On My Library Wishlist (Part 2)
- Liebsters Award
- The Sunshine Blogger Award
- Upcoming Books I am Looking Forward To!
- WWW Wednesday (12/08/2020)
- Top 5 Books On My Library Wish List.
- May Wrap-Up 2020
- Book of Water Tag: Avatar Blogger Award
- May 2020 TBR
- The Coffee BookTag
- April 2020 Wrap-Up
- Bookish Things And Thoughts #6 (Netgalley Edition)
- 5 2019-2020 Diverse Fantasy Books That Are Amazing!
- Behind The Blogger Tag (#BookTag)
- April TBR
- March 2020 Wrap-Up!
- How Well Do I Know My Books? (With Andrew @OnMyBookShelf!)
- #5OnMyTBR – Bookish Meme
- Real Neat Blog Award
- The Awesome Blogger Award
- March TBR 2020
- February Wrap-Up 2020
- The Mystery Blogger Award
- WWW Wednesday (19/02/20)
- WWW Wednesday (12/2/20)
- February TBR (Hopefully)
- January 2020 Wrap Up!
- Series I Have/Want To Start This Year!
- Poetry: Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, William Wordsworth
- Books I Want To Borrow Or Buy!
- Christmas Book Haul 2019 + 2020 TBR
BlogTours!
- Book Review + BlogTour: The Angel Of Evil (The Great Devil War #4), by Kenneth B Andersen – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- Dave @TheWriteReads (The gem that he is) Gave me a spot on this fantastic tour for the 4th instalment of this charming, absorbing and delightful series that just seems to keep that charm!
- Book Review: We Ride The Storm (The Reborn Empire #1), by Devin Madson – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- MY FIRST ORBIT TOUR (I was SO Freaking EXCITED) Big Thanks to Nazia @ Gambit589! And this book was a brilliant read! The wit, sass, brutality. The scope, the secrets, the characters – it was phenomenal and I hihgly recommend it!
- Blogtour + Book Review: Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- JoFletcher Books gave me a spot (for which I am super thankful) on this absolutely fantastic tour! This book was creepy, gory, atmospheric and mesmerising – everything you want in a Gothic tale!
- Book Review + BlogTour: Harrow Lake, by Kat Ellis – ⭐⭐⭐⭐- Dave @TheWriteReads struck again with another fantastically chilling blogtour. This creepy and atmospheric book will keep you on your toes!
- Book Review + Blogtour: The Wrongful Death (The Great Devil War #3), by Kenneth B Andersen – ⭐⭐⭐⭐🌟(4.5 Stars) – Dave @ TheWriteReads (has such a good eye for tours!) gave me a thrilling spot on the tour for book 3 is this charming and wickedly delightufl series.
- Book Review + BlogTour: The Die Of Death (The Great Devil War #2), by Kenneth B. Andersen – ⭐⭐⭐⭐- Dave @ TheWriteReads gave me a slot on this fabulous tour, continuing on this book series! A Brilliant sequel that maintains the charm of book 1!
- #Blogtour + Book Review: Jack Janson And The Storm Caller, by Andrew Marsh – ⭐⭐⭐- @LifeBookish kindly gave me a slot for this blog tour, a fun YA adventure filled with magic, giants and a dash of real life- teen problems!
- #BlogTour #Review: HighFire, by Eoin Colfer. – ⭐⭐⭐⭐🌟(4.5 Stars) – Kicking off the month I had this tour thankd to Jo Fletcher Books! A hilarious start to the year, this book was incredibly comical and witty, with a dangerous twist!
BookPost!
A VERY BIG THANKYOU to ORbit (Nazia) for the BEAUTIFUL physical ARC’s I have received this year I am so grateful to have been able to receive and review these titles.
Titles include: A Declaration Of The Rights Of Magicians, by HG Parry; We Ride The Storm, by Devin Madson; The Bone Shard Daughter, by Andrea Stewart; The Obsidian Tower, by Melissa Caruso; The Once And Future Witches, by Alix E Harrow; and We Lie With Death, by Devin Madson.
Author Interview!
Author Interview with Claire Wade, The Choice! Have you read this book and wanted to know more? Then have a look at the delightful answers Claire Wade ever so kindly provided!
If you haven’t yet read this brilliant book and need convincing to do so then check out my review and see if it tips the scales! (Review for book here: The Choice, by Claire Wade.)
BBNYA!
So I was INCREDIBLY lucky to be a panellist for the FIRST EVER BBNYA (Book bloggers novel of the year award) and it was an honour to be a part of such a fantastic competition. A MASSIVE shoutout to the BBNYA team (Especially Dave @TheWriteReads, @readtoramble @beckyc_89 @servillasspeaks @theartsyreader1 @jenniely and everyone else who worked hard to make this a success) and to @foliosociety who were generous supporters of the contest! Being a panellist was SO much fun and I found so many great reads and fantastic new authors that I hope you all love!
To see who the finalists of the competition were and who won head on over to the BBNYA website: Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award – Finalists (bbnya.com) – be prepared to add many a brilliant book to your neverending tbr’s!
Stats!
So I have now had my little blog for just over a year… I think…. and it has been a delightful journey! I have ‘met’ so many fantastic bloggers this past year and a bit and have been so grateful for them, you have all been so sweet and fantastic!
Over the short time I have had my blog I have hit the 400 followers mark, now sitting at around 412, i think, which I am thrilled about! I never thought I would find so many blogs to connect with let alone have follow me!
Not only that but 2000 of you also now follow me on twitter, which just blows my mind! because you are all so fantastic and I can’t believe that many of you follow little ol’ me! Thank you so much for getting me to 2000 this December, truly appreciate all your support!
Aside from follower counts, I set my GR goal to 50 books this year, a moderate amount because I knew uni would take up a lot of time. So did I do it, that is the question??
I DID! I have read 58 books this year! 🥳
Like 90% of my reads were fantasy but I did read some romance, like I intended, and other genres that were Gothic/Horror, literary, dystopian etc… so I’m quite happy with that too!
Bloggers!
How could I do a yearly wrap up without inluding links to the delightfully freindly bloggers I have alluded to in my post? I can’t! So, as a treat to you all, below are links to some of those fantastic bloggers that have been incredibly sweet, friendly and just overall amazing in the community! (Not to mention they have brilliant blog posts too!) Sorry if I missed you, I love you all!!!
- Stephen Writes
- Hannah Loves To Read
- SecretWorldOfaBook
- Tessa Talks Books
- ForBooksSake
- Never Judge a Book by its Cover | A UK Book Blog
- Kerri McBookNerd
- READ TO RAMBLE
- The Strawberry Post
- Fi’s Bibliofiles
- The Book Dutchesses
- Jenny’s Review Blog
- dinipandareads
- Off The TBR
- Shelves of Starlight
- My Bookish Bliss
- Local Bee Hunter’s Nook (home.blog)
- TheWitheringBlog
- A Little Haze Book Blog
- wordforge
- Elspells
- nen-and-jen
- Not a bookblogger but a fantastic blogger nonetheless with an interesting blog centered around fibres ( and cool crafts you can do with it!) –> looseendsfibre
2021 Plans!
Hahaha so we all know I don’t actually stick to my plans…. BUT I WILL MAKE THEM ANYWAY!
In 2021 I have a few reads that are a must, mostly sequels to books I have already read (lots of sequels for new series!) My plans consist of what I got for Christmas –> Christmas Book Haul 2020 but not much else is set right now. However, my plans also consist of reading the books I didn’t get around to this year (Christmas Book Haul 2019 + 2020 TBR Which was a fair few because I’m chaotic…) .
I have a massive library wishlist to work through next year aswell, and a list of light psychology books to read (recommended by my lovely lecturers) which all sound very interesting!
But as you can see I have no set plan, I have January mostly free but then I am back to Uni so I will be reading inbetween work and assignments! I’ll likely set my GR goal to 50 again which is decent for when I am busy at least! Hopefully i’ll be able to have a better schedule to fit more blogging time in next year alongside uni 😁.
But that is the extent of my plans so far!
This year has been hard, the holiday season more so, but I wish you all a good 2021 – hopefully it will be better!
You had a great reading year. Thank you for mentioning us 💜💜. Hope we both have an amazing 2021!
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Thank you! Awhh you’re welcome, had to mention you and your brilliant blog! Yes, hope 2021 is full of brilliant reads too! 💜💜
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What a wonderful reading year and all those beautiful covers 😍. Happy New Year!
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THank you, Tessa! So Beautiful right?!? 😍😍Happy New Year, I hope your 2021 has lots of great reads!
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You’ve had a great reading year, all the best for 2021
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Thankyou! All the best to you too hope it is full of brilliant books!
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[…] KBBookreviews – Kay @ Hammock of Books – Tiction – Ridhhi @ Whispering Stories – Potterhead Aanya – Sanah @ Stories with Stardust – Erin @ Reading on a Star – Florence @ Miscellany Pages – Sofii @ A Book A Thought – Martha the Monogamist Reader – Madeline @ The Bookish Mutant – Millay @ Millay’s Musings – Katie @ Melting Pages – Cherelle @ A bolt out of the book – A Couple of B’s […]
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Aww, thank you for the mention! Here’s to a 2021 of more blogging!! 🙂
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You’re welcome, had to mention your awesome blog! Yes, heres to 2021 being brilliant for blogging! 😊
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[…] KBBookreviews – Kay @ Hammock of Books – Tiction – Ridhhi @ Whispering Stories – Potterhead Aanya – Ashmita @ The Fictional Journal – Sanah @ Stories with Stardust – Erin @ Reading on a Star – Florence @ Miscellany Pages – Sofii @ A Book A Thought – Martha the Monogamist Reader – Madeline @ The Bookish Mutant – Millay @ Millay’s Musings – Katie @ Melting Pages – Cherelle @ A bolt out of the book – A Couple of B’s – The Travelling Reader – Aaliya @ Aaliya’s Nook – Tess @ Unbound Library […]
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Happy New Year!
Looks like you had a very busy reading and blogging year in 2020!
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Happy New Year! Thanks,! Blogging is the only thing that kept me sane 🤣💜
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Only way I’ve been able to tell what day it is is because of my blogging schedule 😀
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Aha, a good way to keep track when the days meld together! 😂
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You had such an eventful bookish year!! I’m glad you have found the energy to do all that despite all the horrible events thrown at us ❤ Congrats!!
All the best in 2021!! And good luck with your uni!!
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Thank you, E 💜💜💜 hope your 2021 is a good year too, full of brilliant reads! 🥰
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