Welcome to Litsy!

This was an absolute delight! Middle grade with Rick Riordan and Harry Potter vibes. Compelling and charming with some swashbuckling thrown in, it was hard to put down and I completely understand why Barnes &Noble named it their book of the year.This was my #Bookspin book and I loved every minute!

Good potential but this one felt rushed. Pacing and storyline got really choppy halfway through and the main characters lacked depth. Some important characters are removed from the story when the author doesn‘t have time for them. If there are already planned sequels why the rush?

My May #BookspinBingo list. May! How is it May? @TheAromaofBooks

Reading to the kids with some YouTube reading ambience.#hyggehourreadathon (couldn‘t quite hold them for an hour though, 😆)

The reader is dropped in to a new land with magical creatures. Some are explained but many are not described at all. The tale drug on a bit and by the time it got to the best bits, I was ready to be done.

This one gave me all the feels! I fell in love with the world and characters. Already pre-ordered the next one!

This charming MG fantasy was my favorite for October. #12booksof2024

Thank you @jitteryjane724 for my lovely #JolabokaflodSwap package! I am excited to start this beautiful book tonight (I was hoping it would be the one I received as I love something fun to read on Christmas Eve.) The chocolate looks delicious as well—I love Andes & I‘m excited to try the cranberry dark chocolate bar too. Happy Jólabókaflód!

Thank you @MaleficentBookDragon for hosting this fun swap each year! ???

For children‘s book of the year (Barnes and noble), I expected more. It just fell flat for me. The themes of the story (power, greed, love) borderline older understanding. Surprised by the amount of death in this book. Though I guess that‘s part of the overall theme; that even through all these hardships and evil, life is still worth living for in joy. That was nice. The fantastical creatures came by overwhelmingly. Story felt over stimulating.

This delightful book includes a #potion and a magical quest as well as many impossible creatures both familiar and fantastic. #wickedwhispers

I've just listened to this amazing series of essays by Katherine Rundell, exploring what writing and stories mean to us from childhood through to adulthood.
Hugely enjoyable.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0023y8s?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

Loved it from the very first line.

#firstlinefridays
Not currently reading this book, but I couldn‘t resist sharing this find from work today.

Magical worlds will always hold on me no matter how old I get, and Impossible Creatures was one I could not pass up. Books like this help us escape the outside world and sometimes find our inner child that feels like it has been lost forever. This book is beautifully illustrated, the characters are unforgettable, and the author has a section at the end that lets you know the magical creatures better.

Book haul! 📚📚📚

I have absolutely fallen completely head over heels in love with the tagged book! It's so beautiful and whimsical! Plus it has gorgeous illustrations and lovely end papers too! 😍

A boy discovers a world hidden from our own, full of mythological creatures and a flying girl in peril in this middle grade fantasy. The hype for this is so high! I liked it but didn‘t love it, and I‘m not sure why…Was it too plot-driven rather than character-focused for me? Was it unexpectedly dark and yet not serious enough for me? Or is my shriveled old heart not fun enough for middle grades anymore? Was it the hype itself?

Katherine Rundell has been one of my favourite authors for SO LONG and I hadn‘t read one of her books in a while so I thought “maybe I‘ve outgrown her”. NOPE. Still love it. Lover her writing style and the way her characters truly seem alive. It took me a while to get through due to outside circumstances but each time I picked it up again it was so easy to get into it again and I‘m overall so glad that I stuck with it!
4⭐️

Greater than the world‘s chaos are its miracles.

“It is so difficult, to be alive. It is so difficult, and it is so beautiful.”

Christopher turned; and the iron spike in his heart unfurled, and became a victory flag.

This is a beautiful story of magical creatures and places mixed with coming of age feelings that children work through like grief, loss, friendship and love. Mal and Christopher form the heart of this story whilst magical creatures spin around them flying them to a heart wrenching finale. Young and old will love this tale.

#ChildrensStory #Fantasy #MagicalCreatures #Adventure #LibraryMouse #BookLover #BookDragon

Together, longing to turn back, knowing they must go forward, they stepped inside.

It meant this feeling. It meant burning to keep watch, for that which needed to be watched. It meant burning to keep it safe. It meant a ferocious and careful love.

There was a look in Irian‘s face of recognition: the joy of one at sea, who looks up and sees land ahead. It was the face of somebody who has suddenly felt, for the first time, the precise shape and weight of their own swiftly beating heart.

“You should have more respect for fear. It‘s the engine in all your human history, fear. Fear, married to greed, married to power.”

“This is the thing my blood keens for — to protect something worth protecting.”

Massive day of strikes here in N Ireland! It was great to see people uniting to support one another, and it was also great to have a little time to curl up with this fantastic book! I highly recommend it; probably best for ages 10- 14. However, really anyone could enjoy it. It's still super snowy and icy here, so wrapping up with hot choco and good books for the foreseeable future 💕

“To nobody-knows-what, together!”

“How much of us is what we know and what we‘ve seen?”
Christopher waited. When Irian said no more, he said: “Well?”
“There‘s no answer, only the question.”

Is humanity worth the pain it inflicts upon itself?

“Do not wait for people to be faultless before you allow yourself to adore them. Adore them anyway.”

“Stop expecting life to get easier. It never does; that is not where its goodness lies.”

“Love has fear baked into it.”

“I have a headache the size of a western island. But I will not have it said that I don‘t feed my illegal stowaways.”

“We‘re a forgetful people, humanity.”

Finished last night in bed 🛌 would have devoured it quicker if it hadn‘t been for pesky work 😆fantastic book 📖 I‘m sure it‘ll be made into a film 🎥 Rundell is a fellow at Oxford like Lewis and toilken she is a gifted story teller , this is the best children‘s book Iv read since Harry Potter ! Its a must

Happy 😃 what day of the week is it 😆finally catching up on this beautiful 🤩 edition of impossible creatures I can see the comparisons to pullmans Lara‘s Oxford. And yes 👍 Iv had a few quality streets if you don‘t have those in USA 🇺🇸 Australia 🇦🇺 Canada 🇨🇦 Europe they are one of your 5a day easential food groups in December 😂and the most amazing 🤩tin of sweets 🍬/chocs which you can also have personalised with your favs 😋

The archipelago, a hidden place, a magnificent place, a place where magical creatures live. But something is happening and some of the magical creatures are going extinct. Enter Chris and the flying girl, Mal. They go on a quest to save the animals and on their way they pick unlikely allies.

The first in what is supposed to be a new fantasy series and I‘m ready for the next book in this series.

Bonus day of reading in the sun. Not sure this has ever happened in October before. Very odd.

They only sprayed one edge 😅😅
It's very purdy though.