I don‘t often do this because international shipping is expensive, but I just had to preorder this gorgeous edition of Bridget Collins‘ next book from @Waterstones!
I loved The Binding so much, and I can‘t wait to read this.

Doing a re-read/re-listen of this in preparation for Chain of Gold, and I‘m enjoying is so, so much. I don‘t even usually like novella bind-ups, but this is most definitely the exception 🖤

The curse of the third book strikes again, to ruin another amazing trilogy ☹️
80% of it is battle, which is SO tedious.
But the worst thing is that he completely destroyed the cast of characters he took two books to build up. WTH? killed off/twisted the existing characters, introduced underwhelming new ones, and just gave the whole a book an aura of destruction and hopelessness. This book barely belongs with the previous two, it is so different.

Slow, depressing, overly angsty, and anticlimactic.
Fairly unsubtly trying to be a YA Practical Magic, which rubs me the wrong way.
I mean, one of the very last paragraphs from Nora‘s POV is basically taken out of the ending of Practical Magic in the wording and general mood, just changing the details.
NO. Naughty book. Go stand in the corner and think of all the undeserved hype you are getting.

Fairly well developed plot, original and interesting world building, and intriguing characters.

Unfortunately the writing was a tad dry and the book lacked atmosphere, so the world building wasn‘t as vivid and the characters fell a tad flat and distant, despite the creativity that went into crafting each one of them and how they fit within the world and with each other.

Still an interesting storyline and I‘m hopeful for the next book.

All three of the currently published books in the Stormlight Archive are $2.99 on kindle right now on Amazon US!! #kindledeal #kindledeals #brandonsanderson

This was a pleasant surprise.
TWK felt rushed, and this being even shorter didn‘t seem promising 😬
Instead this ended up being my favorite of the three.

It stretches redemption a bit, but it also answers questions, presents new challenges, shows different perspectives, adds dimension to familiar characters, and it ends the tale in a very satisfying way.

Magical, beautifully written, incredibly original, intriguing.
Unfortunately around 70% in, the story is nearly lost in a jumble of narrative threads, the world getting more and more confusing, to the point where I felt like I just had to let go of any pretense of story progression and just see what the author was throwing at me.

Still worth a read if you enjoy Erin Morgenstern‘s writing, and if you can master a certain degree of patience.

Finally reading this beauty and LOVING it

The premise for this sounded so intriguing, but even reading the first 30 pages proved to be a chore. The pacing was uneven and the story was all over the place, starting in the middle of the action and dropping bits of info that should have clarified but there was far too much going on. The Illumicrate edition is especially beautiful and I would have loved to have it on my sci-fi shelf, but sadly this was a hard pass for me.

I mostly read this because it is the prequel to The Girl the Sea Gave Back, which I‘ve just won in a giveaway. I probably wouldn‘t have gotten through it if it weren‘t for the audiobook: the writing is slow, overly descriptive, tending towards navel gazing. I did like the story, the moral of it, and the characters. Unfortunately the characters, despite pretty good progression, were not well fleshed-out. It wasn‘t bad, but I‘m glad to be moving on.

So much noise about this book! Half of it hype, the other half criticism.
I was mostly anxious about the fact that though I really like her writing, I‘ve only loved exact half of her books so far. What if I had shelled out extra money for the special edition and it was a letdown?
I kept expecting it to disappoint me.
But it was SO GOOD: compelling characters, intriguing setting and premise, good plot. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

(Full review on GR, Bookish Expat)

#gettingtoknowyou

❤️ Zurich, Switzerland
🧡 43
💛 hubs, Kindle Deals, charity shops, giveaways
💚 married for 22 years
💙 she/her
💜 it‘s my name 😊
(I‘m BookishExpat everywhere else, because I‘ve been an expat for 25 years and I am indeed bookish 😄)

I can imagine that this might be a fun read if you are really into D&D, because of the type of characters, themes and setting. However without that connection, I found the plot to be watery, and the writing to be kind of cringey, filled with juvenile jokes and seemingly inspired by frat parties or something of the sort. Such a disappointment. This snippet is the only thing I really liked.

I got my June OwlCrate last week and it was SO lovely!!
I adore the blue and purple palette, the library quotes on the coasters, that gorgeous Strange the Dreamer tote, and look at the purple special edition of Sorcery of Thorns!!!😍😍😍😍 I‘m in love.

I braved the heat to go to IKEA and came home, assembled my Billy and added it to my corner and now I officially have a library wall and it was completely worth the heat exhaustion 😅😍😍😍

(Ignore the tiny plant, I‘ll replace it with a taller one next week ☺️)

I just finished my first reread of this book since I first read it, 3 years ago. Rereading favorites is always mildly terrifying: what if it sucks? What if my memory of it is way better than the actual book?
Luckily, this was fantastic the second time around as well!! Sharp dialogue, good pace, and some of the best characterization I‘ve ever seen in YA. The bond I formed with this characters... it still takes me aback!! 100% recommended.

Finally getting around to reading and listening to this beauty on audio, and I am enjoying it so much!!

I love the Grishaverse to bits, and I had been sooooo anticipating this.
But it was a bit of a let-down, to be honest. The story kind of dragged on for nearly 400 pages, and the pacing felt off. I never would have imagined I could define a Nikolai book as boring 🙈
The last 100 pages *almost* made up for it: it all happens at once, and so much is revealed. I‘m sort of excited about the next book, but still a little unsatisfied by this one.

Just reread this after a number of years, and I can‘t believe how much I loved it. I loved it even more this time around! What a relatable MC, and such fun. It was also the first time I read it on the gorgeous edition I got from my swap buddy last year‘s for the #janeaustenswap!

So frustrating.
This sounded like it could be right up to my dystopia-loving alley: intriguing, dark plot summary; artfully ominous cover; female MC; “fight the establishment” vibes.
Instead, I got insta-love, an MC who keeps putting herself in situations where she needs to be rescued AGAIN AND AGAIN, lets herself be pawed by whomever is rescuing her at the time, then magically turns into Buffy Summers before the end. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Just reread this last week and I enjoyed it just as much the second time around!
I don‘t usually go for retellings, but I really really liked this one — so original, and very well-executed multiple POVs.

This was SO BAD.
The world-building is truly, absolutely, undoubtedly the worst I‘ve ever come across. Just completely nonsensical, and I kept reading hoping I‘d make sense of it, but NOPE.
I might have kept reading if the characters were relatable, somewhat compelling, but no luck there, either. The dialogue too, feel flat like a pancake.

It was a buddy read, so I stuck with it as long as I could, but after 240 pages, I‘m out.

My new favorite book in the Shadowhunter Chronicles.

Clare‘s writing has evolved since TMI; she does a great job at introducing new characters and weaving their individual stories into a more complex narrative.

Definitely character-driven, with lots of romance; but never fear: fans of the Shadowhunter universe will still get mystery, action, and everything else they love about this world.

Stevie is my soul sister.

This has the potential to become a new favorite insult. #dork

When you forget you‘re with strangers and make one of your weird obscure references.
#relatable #nopeneverhappenedtome

Sara B. Larson is killing me. Holy slow burn, Batman 😅

If you liked Shatter Me, check this out.

Finally ready to dive back into the Mistborn trilogy!

I treated myself to this beauty yesterday and so excited to start!!

Since The Boneless Mercies was such a let-down, I am deeply unsatisfied and find myself craving more Norse-inspired historical fantasy.
So I scoured my TBR shelves and remembered this beauty! Starting now.

Here‘s my beautiful UK edition... in my swap basket.
I‘m kind of sad that I didn‘t love this. It features strong, independent young women who are also decent people, and we need more of that. But they cannot carry the entire plot.
The pacing is off, with events just flowing undistinctly into one another, till there is no timeline at all.
Lots of telling and too little showing, which waters down the plot and weakens the world building.
Pity.

After a couple of false starts, finally dove into this beauty 😍

Thank you Kenji, for putting into words — and so eloquently!! — what we were all thinking.

Relatable and so apropos in these times, unfortunately.

My Laini stack!
Just finished Muse, what a good read!! Definitely a Pick 👍🏼

Starting!!

IT‘S HERE!!!

OMG it‘s even prettier in person 😍😍😍😍

Love the dedication in this book.

Powerful story, strong protagonist, great representation. I had trouble with the medium and had to push myself to finish it, but I‘d still recommend it.

Just got this lovely through a swap site and decided to add it to my prospective TBR for October.

#kindledeals

#kindledeals

So sad and disappointed with this. I pre-ordered it and had been looking forward to it for month, having read and absolutely loved The Queens of Innis Lear earlier this year.
I was expecting beautiful writing, rich world building, vivid scenes and three-dimensional characters.
I got disjointed narration, vague, mostly one-dimensional characters and a confusing story where the work of keeping everyone and everything straight did NOT pay off ☹️

I am absolutely in love with this beautiful ARC of The Immortalists that I received as a gift from the manager of the local English Bookshop!!

Starting it right now, and crossing my fingers that I love it, because I want this beauty on my shelf!

Amen.
#wordstoliveby

I won‘t lie, this was mostly a cover buy. Can you blame me? Look how pretty! The red bits are all metallic and they shine every time they catch the light. 😍

 @emmaturi was with me when I grabbed it and she looked puzzled at my impulse buy but didn‘t try to talk me out of it, for which I‘m grateful because this sounds interesting!! 😊

Finally I have my most awaited book of the year in my hands, and I kind of want to just lock myself somewhere with liters of earl grey and maybe a couple of slices of pizza and just read it cover to cover!!
But alas, I must carve out what time I can out of real life 😅

Following @ReadingMermaid‘s prompt for #shelfiesunday, here‘s a small peek at mine!

Do you see any favorites?