Category: General

Top Ten Tuesday: 2024 Releases

Posted June 25, 2024 by Nicky in General / 14 Comments

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is about the new book releases coming up in the latter half of 2024! I always feel like I have no idea, and then discover fascinating books upcoming, so let’s dive in a bit…

Cover of The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst Cover of Summer's End by Juneau Black Cover of Tour de Force by Christianna Brand Cover of The Duke at Hazard by KJ Charles Cover of A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher

  1. The Spellshop, by Sarah Beth Durst. This one sounds so cosy, I’m keen to dig in. And will get to do so soon: out 9th July!
  2. Summer’s End, by Juneau Black. No surprises that this one’s top-of-mind: it’s coming 10th July, if memory serves, and I’m very ready to return to Shady Hollow and spend some time with Vera Vixen.
  3. Tour de Force, by Christianna Brand. This one’s a funny inclusion in that I don’t want it so much for itself, but because it’s the British Library Crime Classic for July, and I’d want it no matter what. But I’m just in the perfect mood for mysteries right now, so this month finds me a little impatient!
  4. The Duke at Hazard, by KJ Charles. This one sounds like a romp, and I’m definitely in need of that. Due on 18th July, and you better believe I have it preordered.
  5. A Sorceress Comes to Call, by T. Kingfisher. I love Kingfisher’s fairytale retellings, and her style in general, so I’m looking forward to this one. Due out in August, so maybe it’ll be a birthday present to myself.
  6. Haunt Sweet Home, by Sarah Pinsker. I’ve been meaning to read Sarah’s work forever, but still haven’t got round to it. I’m determined to change that before September, which is when Haunt Sweet Home comes out — I have an eARC.
  7. The City in Glass, by Nghi Vo. I actually know very little about this beyond the title: it’s an insta-buy because it’s Nghi Vo. I haven’t always loved her work (I wasn’t a huge fan of The Chosen and the Beautiful), but she’s written some things I really love. Due out in October!
  8. Swordcrossed, by Freya Marske. The cover and description sound so fun — and a bit of a Swordspoint vibe. Plus a comparison to Legends & Lattes, which I loved. Due out in October, though I should read it sooner as I have an eARC!
  9. The Bloodless Princes, by Charlotte Bond. Very curious where this goes, after the first novella surprised me. Due out in October.
  10. Heavenly Tyrant, by Xiran Jay Zhao. We’ve been waiting for this so long! I’m definitely going to have to read the first book again to remember all the details. Coming out in December, at last.

Cover of Haunt Sweet Home by Sarah Pinsker Cover of The City in Glass by Nghi Vo Cover of Swordcrossed by Freya Marske Cover of The Bloodless Princess by Charlotte Bond Cover of Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao

I know, I know, no non-fiction — I usually find that by browsing in shops, so I don’t always know what’s coming down the pipeline. Let me know if there’s anything cool that I’ve missed…

I’m eager to hear what books other people are looking forward to, as well! I definitely need recommendations and absolutely don’t have a massive TBR pile already. Mmmhmm.

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Stacking the Shelves & The Sunday Post

Posted June 22, 2024 by Nicky in General / 26 Comments

This week I’ve been substantially back to normal, which is great! I had a couple of cranky days, I’ll admit, but definitely life is a bit more fun right now. I haven’t been doing that much reading, admittedly, and it’s mostly been rereading… but perhaps more about that below.

Books acquired this week

Just one book this week, via Unbound on Netgalley:

Cover of The Secret Life of Lego Bricks by Daniel Konstanski

I know, perhaps not my usual fare, but really my usual fare is “whatever grabs my interest”, and this one piqued it today, perhaps because I semi-recently read Adrift: The Curious Tale of the Lego Lost at Sea.

Posts from this week

As usual, it’s time for a bit of a roundup. Here’s what I’ve been posting about this week:

Other posts:

What I’m reading

It’s been a week for rereading, more than reading new stuff to review. I’ve been rereading Juneau Black’s Shady Hollow series; I didn’t read them that long ago, and really what I want to be reading is the new book. Since that’s not out yet, this will do for a start! Over the weekend, I’m hoping to also finish rereading A Coalition of Lions (Elizabeth E. Wein), which I will review since it’s been so long since I read it.

Here are the covers of the books I’ve read in the last week that I’m planning to review sometime soon:

Cover of The Winter Prince by Elizabeth Wein Cover of Worn, by Sofi Thanhauser

Luckily I have a bit of a backlog of reviews — the blog won’t run short for a while yet, fear not!

How’s everyone else doing this weekend?

Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, as usual!

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Top Ten Tuesday: Summer Reading List

Posted June 18, 2024 by Nicky in General / 20 Comments

Well, well, well — it’s been a while since I participated in a Top Ten Tuesday! I’ve been super busy with my exams, but I’m starting to get back on track and have a bit more time to chat.

And read! So here’s a glimpse at some of the items on my summer reading list.

Cover of Summer's End by Juneau Black Cover of The Duke at Hazard by KJ Charles Cover of You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian Cover of Necrobane by Daniel M. Ford Cover of A Breviary of Fire by Marie Brennan

  1. Summer’s End, by Juneau Black. No question, this is the first thought on my mind. It’s out on 11th July (in the UK at least), and I’m going to grab it on release day. I had a lot of fun reading the series so far (check out my enthusiastic reviews!), and it’s going to be perfect light reading.
  2. The Duke at Hazard, by KJ Charles. KJ’s work is an auto-buy for me, so when this comes out on 18th July, I’ll grab it straight away. I did actually request the ARC on Netgalley, but no luck so far. It sounds like a fun romp, and I’m eager to get started.
  3. You Should Be So Lucky, by Cat Sebastian. This one I already have, and it should be a fun romance read. Cat Sebastian’s work is always a good time.
  4. Necrobane, by Daniel M. Ford. This is, uh, less light reading, since it involves necromancy and all. I’m keen to start on it soon, since I enjoyed The Warden so much. It’s queued up ready on my ereader — I just want to finish one or two more of the stalled books on my “currently reading” list before I return to Aelis’ problems.
  5. A Breviary of Fire, by Marie Brennan. I love pretty much everything by Marie Brennan, and this new short story collection is pretty short, so it should be a nice pick while I’m still steadily recovering brain function after the epic marathon that was my exam period.
  6. The Bloodless Princes, by Charlotte Bond. I quite liked the first book, and I’m curious where this one will go. It should be a relatively short read, as well, which works well with my current attention span, though it won’t be light reading as such — I found the first book surprisingly grim in some ways.
  7. The Undetectables, by Courtney Smyth. With the tagline “be gay, solve crimes, take naps”, this certainly sounds like a fun romp, and I could do with that. Definitely on my shortlist for the summer.
  8. The Spellshop, by Sarah Beth Durst. It had me at the comparison to Legends & Lattes, let’s be honest, and I’ve seen it described as a “fluffy blanket” of a book. Sounds lovely, and just what the doctor ordered right now.
  9. The Hands of the Emperor, by Victoria Goddard. This would actually be a reread, but I’m holding a place for it anyway because it’s a chonker, and summer’s the perfect time to read those, before the academic year starts again. I’d like to refresh my memory for the other books in this world, and also just spend some more time with Tor and Cliopher. I loved this book. I’ve realised that inexplicably I never posted my review here, so I’ve put that in my queue to post (good thing I have a copy on StoryGraph) — though I might just wait and post a whole new review after a reread.
  10. A Coalition of Lions, by Elizabeth E. Wein. This is also a reread, albeit of a book I read longer ago. I just reread The Winter Prince, and now I’m revisiting the whole series. I feel like I remembered The Winter Prince quite well, but I don’t remember anything of the following books except that I enjoyed them (perhaps because only the first is solidly Arthurian).

Cover of The Bloodless Princess by Charlotte Bond Cover of The Undetectables by Courtney Smyth Cover of The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst Cover of The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard Cover of A Coalition of Lions by Elizabeth E. Wein

It’s a bit of a mixed bag, and I haven’t even touched on any of the non-fiction I might read, because what catches my attention can change so rapidly. I’m looking forward to all of it, though!

How about you? Any plans for the summer, readers?

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Stacking the Shelves & The Sunday Post

Posted June 15, 2024 by Nicky in General / 14 Comments

I’m freeeeeeee! Yes, my exams are over, and the academic year too. I’ll start up again fairly soon, trying to get ahead on studying for the next year, especially since I’ll be sitting one of the hardest modules. But for now I’m taking some well-deserved time off!

Reading-wise I’m not entirely back in the swing of it yet, and I need to do some catchup with comments and saying hi to folks, but I’m back.

Books acquired this week

I haven’t got much new, but I did get this month’s British Crime Classic book from my subscription, the theme of which (academic stories) seems… a little on the nose for me right now.

Cover of Lessons in Crime: Academic Mysteries, edited by Martin Edwards

I’m looking forward to digging into it, though I admit I haven’t read last week’s book yet.

Posts from this week

I didn’t do great at posting this week, missing two days, but here’s the roundup of the reviews that did go live!

What I’m reading

I haven’t been reading a ton this week, since I’ve been busy, and at least one of the books I did read I won’t be reviewing on the blog again (since it was a reread). But here’s a glimpse at the books I’ve read that I do plan to review on the blog sometime soon:

Cover of In Deeper Waters by F.T. Lukens Cover of The Brutish Museums by Dan Hicks Cover of Foreign Bodies, edited by Martin Edwards

I’m not sure what I’ll be reading this weekend, to be honest. I think I’ll probably read more of Worn: A People’s History of Clothing (Sofi Thanhauser), reread Record of a Spaceborn Few (Becky Chambers), and… otherwise completely follow my whims.

How’s everyone else doing?

Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, as usual!

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Stacking the Shelves & The Sunday Post

Posted June 8, 2024 by Nicky in General / 1 Comment

Yay, it’s the weekend!

Long week here: my first exam was on Monday. I started it at 10am, and didn’t finish up and submit it until 8:30pm — though that time includes breaks for stretching, food and rest, it was a lot of work. Two more to come, on Monday and Tuesday, and then I’m freeee.

So I’m still not caught up with comments on my blog, and might just need to call amnesty on the ones I’ve received so far and do better going forward.

Books acquired this week

…Zero! This isn’t really intentional — actually, I’m still meaning to pick some more of E.C.R. Lorac’s books to get on Kindle — but I keep forgetting.

Posts from this week

Despite everything, I’ve been keeping up with getting my backlog of reviews posted, so here’s a roundup:

And that was it for posts this week!

What I’m reading

I started the week not reading very much, really, but in the past few days I’ve got busy finishing books from the huge stack of books I technically have part-read all at the same time, plus doing a reread of a favourite (Becky Chambers’ The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet). Here’s a glimpse at the books that I finished that I’ll be reviewing on the blog in the next weeks and months…

Cover of System Collapse by Martha Wells Cover of Death Came Softly by E.C.R. Lorac Cover of The Vinyl Frontier by Jonathan Scott Cover of The Book of Looms by Eric Broudy

Now I’m just trying to have a nice chill weekend reading whatever catches my fancy — right now I’m finally getting back into In Deeper Waters, by F.T. Lukens.

How’s everyone doing?

(Probably) Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, as usual!

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Stacking the Shelves & The Sunday Post

Posted June 1, 2024 by Nicky in General / 2 Comments

Last week I didn’t get round to visiting any blogs, and I’m behind on comments again. That’s because I realised my exam is on Monday, and not a week on Monday! And our shower broke, too, so I tried to clean and tidy a lot for the Royal Visit, AKA my dad coming over to see if it was some kind of simple problem he could remedy. Sooo I’ve been a little busy, and I haven’t been doing much reading (or blogging).

Still, I thought I’d check in!

Books acquired this week

That’d be a big fat zero this time! My wife’s been offering to buy me some more E.C.R. Lorac books on Kindle, since they’re cheap, but I keep forgetting to look through the Kindle store to see which ones are actually available vs which ones I have.

So, for now, nothing added to my shelves.

Posts from this week

As usual, here’s a recap of the reviews I posted this week!

And that was it for the week — I haven’t had the energy (or time) for linkups, alas.

What I’m reading

This weekend I’m trying to chill and just do fun stuff, since I don’t really believe I’ll make much progress on studying in the last day or so before an exam. Better to show up well-rested and a bit more supple in the brain department. So I’ve spent my afternoon reading Murder on the Titania, by Alex Acks, and starting on Martha Wells’ System Collapse. Just for variety, I’m also planning on picking up one of E.C.R. Lorac’s mysteries: I try to save those for when I need ’em, but I think this qualifies.

As for what I’ve been reading that’s coming up for review on the blog, here we go:

Cover of The History of the World in 100 Animals by Simon Barnes Cover of Out of the Depths by Alan G. Jamieson Cover of Murder on the Titania by Alex Acks

Wish me luck with the exam…!

(Probably) Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, as usual!

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Stacking the Shelves & The Sunday Post

Posted May 25, 2024 by Nicky in General / 3 Comments

It’s been a weird week. I got the rest of my assignment results (I did well on that too), but somehow I haven’t ended up doing much studying even though the exams are coming up very soon. I also got vaccinated on Thursday: it’s finally possible to buy a COVID vaccine in the UK, when you’re not eligible for the free service. I lost eligibility last year when they started excluding people with milder asthma, so I was glad to be able to get vaccinated again now. So I was a bit feverish on Friday, but of course it’s worth it.

Books acquired this week

I thought I hadn’t got anything, but turns out I’d preordered Marie Brennan’s new short story collection, and I got this month’s British Library Crime Classic, so there’s that!

Cover of A Breviary of Fire by Marie Brennan Cover of Before the Fact by Francis Iles

Before the Fact is an interesting one, very different to most classic crime — I’m looking forward to digging into it.

Reviews posted this week

Time for a quick roundup, as usual!

What I’m reading

This weekend I’m hoping to finish a few of the books I’ve had on the go for a while. First on my list is The History of the World in 100 Animals, by Simon Barnes, which I’ve been tucking into today. Maybe I’ll read some more manga as well — I’ve been reading Fairy Tail as a palate cleanser from all the serious stuff, and it’s fun, but I haven’t read much of it lately even though I’m in the middle of a story arc.

As usual, here’s a sneak peek of what I’ve been reading this week and plan to review on the blog soon; not a lot, this time!

Cover of The Doctor Who Fooled the World by Brian Deer Cover of The Ruin of a Rake by Cat Sebastian Cover of Writing on the Wall by Madeleine Pelling Cover of Sleeping Beauties by Andreas Wagner

And that’s it for me! How’s everyone doing?

Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, as usual!

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Stacking the Shelves & The Sunday Post

Posted May 18, 2024 by Nicky in General / 8 Comments

Oof, it’s been a busy week. The marks from my assignments have been coming in, though not for the one I care most about, d’oh. I’ve done well so far, though!

Anyway, let’s get to the books.

Books acquired this week

Despite saying I wasn’t going to acquire anything for a while after last week’s spree, this week I was a bit meh and stressed out, so my wife treated me. I love Cat Sebastian’s work, and I’d just read Daniel M. Ford’s The Warden and been rather annoyed that I didn’t have the sequel. Sooo… my wife’s the best.

Cover of Necrobane by Daniel M. Ford Cover of You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian

And I also got a new review copy from Tor — I quite liked the first book, so I’m eager to get to this one.

Cover of The Bloodless Princess by Charlotte Bond

But other than that, I’ve been restrained! Except, oh… a new installment of A Side Character’s Love Story popped up, and I had to have it.

Cover of A Side Character's Love Story, vol 18, by Akane Tamura

I’d promise next week really will be quiet, but I had amazing results from my assignments so far, so most likely there’ll be a celebration. And celebrations ’round here almost always mean books.

Reviews posted this week

As usual, here’s the roundup of reviews posted this week:

And no other posts this week!

What I’m reading

It’s been a slightly quieter reading week, but a good one (as you can see from the sneak peek of the books I’ve finished this week and will be reviewing here soon). I particularly loved The Hands of Time and A Letter to the Luminous Deep, but really I enjoyed all of these very much.

Cover of A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow Cover of The Warden by Daniel M. Ford Cover of Hands of Time by Rebecca Struthers

Cover of A Side Character's Love Story, vol 18, by Akane Tamura Cover of A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall Cover of A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow

This weekend I’ve been digging into Brian Deer’s account of the Andrew Wakefield scam, which is raising my blood pressure much as I expected it to. At the same time, though, it’s nice to see the evidence all laid out against Wakefield. (As a reminder, I think he’s next thing to a murderer; you’ll waste your breath trying to argue with me here.)

After that… maybe it’s finally time for me to tuck in and read System Collapse, the newest Murderbot book. Or maybe I should first focus on finishing Cat Sebastian’s The Ruin of a Rake.

Either way, there’s no shortage of good books to read around here. How’s everyone else doing?!

Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, as usual!

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Stacking the Shelves & The Sunday Post

Posted May 11, 2024 by Nicky in General / 24 Comments

It’s been another week already?! Last week I ended up so busy that I didn’t share my post in the linkups, or visit anyone else. It’s quietish around here in terms of visitors/comments, as a result, which is probably good while I’m all wrapped up in preparing for my exams (Parasitology, Nutrition & Infection and Bacterial Infections), but still, I kinda miss being more active.

Anyway, last week me and my wife went off to York to meet up with a friend, so we ended up in the lovely Portal Bookshop, and also paid a visit to Waterstones so I could raid their non-fiction. So I have plenty to showcase this week!

Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, as usual!

Books acquired this week:

As usual, since I had the opportunity, I took the time to really root around and look for new reading material. Gotta stock up, after all! First up, the fiction:

Cover of Foxes in Love vol 2 by Toivo Kaartinen Cover of Foxes in Love vol 3 by Toivo Kaartinen Cover of Heaven Official's Blessing by MXTX

Cover of Thousand Autumns by Meng Xi Shi Cover of A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow Cover of A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow

I did also get physical copies of a couple of books I had as e-ARCs (and didn’t read in time, oops):

Cover of System Collapse by Martha Wells Cover of A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall

So hopefully I’ll get round to those now!

Aaand the non-fiction which is (as ever) a heck of a mix:

Cover of Petra: The Rose-Red City Cover of Dragons, Heroes, Myths & Magic by Chantry Westwell Cover of Nefertiti's Face by Joyce Tyldesley Cover of Written in Bone by Sue Black

Cover of The Doctor Who Fooled the World by Brian Deer Cover of Writing on the Wall by Madeleine Pelling Cover of Sleeping Beauties by Andreas Wagner Cover of Hands of Time by Rebecca Struthers

I’ve already read the first three, so I guess I continue to be in a non-fiction mood! With The Doctor Who Fooled the World, I joked that I decided my blood pressure was too low and I need to raise it. It really is going to infuriate me though — Andrew Wakefield is a murderer, in my eyes.

Anyway, this was quite a spree, so for a few weeks I’m going to try and focus on more reading than acquiring, ahaha. Though I don’t do “book bans” these days; I just try to make sure I’m reading more books than I acquire, and it’ll be fine.

Posts from this week:

As usual, here’s a bit of a roundup of the reviews I’ve been posting. I’m building up a bit of a backlog again, especially of graphic novels/comics and history reviews. Anyway, here’s what was posted this week!

And I did also have one non-review post:

What I’m reading:

Ever since Bookly’s readathon I’ve somehow found a lot more time in my days for reading, though perhaps not as much when I was trying to read 45 hours in ten days. So this week has been pretty full. Here’s a peek at the books I’ve read which I plan to review soon!

Cover of A Short History of Tomb Raiding by Maria Golia Cover of Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi Cover of Foxes in Love vol 2 by Toivo Kaartinen Cover of Petra: The Rose-Red City

Cover of Final Acts ed. Martin Edwards Cover of Dragons, Heroes, Myths & Magic by Chantry Westwell Cover of Nefertiti's Face by Joyce Tyldesley Cover of Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs

This weekend I have a couple of books I want to finish, but I also want to start on a couple of my new books: I’d like to read A Spindle Splintered (Alix E. Harrow) and start on Hands of Time (Rebecca Struthers). We’ll see!

How’s everyone doing?

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WWW Wednesday

Posted May 8, 2024 by Nicky in General / 0 Comments

It’s WWW Wednesday time! So, as always, that’s:

  • What have you recently finished reading?
  • What are you currently reading?
  • What will you read next?

Cover of Final Acts ed. Martin EdwardsWhat have you recently finished reading?

The last thing I finished was an anthology of short stories from the British Library Crime Classics series; this one, Final Acts, was themed around theatre. Killings on stage, actors getting themselves into trouble, in one case a clown, etc.

It was okay, though it had a repeat story in it from a different anthology by the British Library, which I find a bit disappointing. (It’s possible that this came first and the other is the repeat, or the repeat is one of the extras included at the end of some of the novels, but regardless, argh.)

Cover of Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma TörzsWhat are you currently reading?

Many, many things at once, as usual — though I’ve finished some that I wrote about last week. I’m close to finishing Ink, Blood, Sister, Scribe (Emma Törzs) at last, just by making sure I picked it up for a few pages a day even when I wasn’t feeling it. I don’t think it’ll quite come together for me, bit too slow to give a payoff, but I’m glad I’m finishing it all the same.

I have also more recently picked up Dragons, Heroes, Myths & Magic (Chantry Westwell), a book about the illustrations in medieval manuscripts. It includes examples (in full colour) from various manuscripts, along with explanations of their contents.

What will you read next?

I’m not totally sure! I should probably pick something else from the list of books I’m currently reading to focus on, in which case I suspect I’ll try to finish A History of the World in 100 Animals (Simon Barnes). I’ve had that on the go for ages, mostly just because I haven’t been picking it up — it’s a hardcover and a bit unwieldy.

What about you? Anything fascinating tempting you when you should be working?

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