It’s time for another WWW Wednesday update!
The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White
The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynne Herman
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
Tag: book blogger
❄️Winter TBR❄️
This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is the books I plan to read this Winter! I’ve gone over my previous seasonal TBR’s and I found I haven’t really been sticking to them a whole lot, I do however have a lot of fun compiling the list of book I am excited to read!
The Girl and the Stars by Mark Lawrence
Blood Heir by Amelie Wen Zhao
The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
Heart of Flames by Nicki Pau Preto
Shorefall by Robert Jackson Bennett
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
The Red Queen’s War Series by Mark Lawrence
Winterwood Review
*Spoilers Below*
This book is about a girl named Nora Walker who comes from a long line of Walker women who are rumoured to be witches. They have always lived on the edge of a haunted wood named the Winterwood that only Walker woman can traverse as finders of the mysterious objects that’s appear there.
I absolutely loved the overall premise and atmosphere of this book. I think it is definitely one of Shea Ernshaw’s strengths in her writing, I felt like I was actually there on the mountain experiencing the freezing cold along with Nora.
The history of the Walker women was super fascinating and I absolutely loved the fact that we got inserts from their history and their recipes they’ve come up with over the years. It added much needed depth and a sense of history that really reinforced the whimsical nature of these women and how each of their stories impacted Nora throughout the plot.
Nora at times I thought was a little naïve and unprepared for the situations that she walked into. Going to that party and trying to confront those boys and ending up stranded and locked in the room unable to help herself was a little frustrating at times. She definitely had the best intentions, especially when they built the fire too close to the trees, but she lacked a bit of assertiveness. Even when she was leading them to the Winterwood even though she knew they shouldn’t go in there she didn’t really do anything to prevent the situation.
The romance was a little too insta-lovey for me as well. They didn’t really know each other for that long and the fact that this girl literally went back in time to save him demonstrating how much she loved him was a tad much for me to be really convinced. If they had maybe spent a little more time together and actually cultivated a relationship I would be more inclined to believe it.
Other than that I was swept away into the story line and I just kind of enjoyed myself. The few plot twists that were thrown in there were entertaining, a few I predicted a mile away and others, especially Nora’s magical ability I didn’t see coming at all!
⭐️4/5 stars A quick, fun, kind of spooky, ominous read!
Storm Front Review
Really enjoyed this!!!
This book is the first of a series called the Dresdan Files that has 15 books in total with another 2 being released in the near future! It revolves around a wizarding detective called Harry Dresdan in modern day Chicago and the antics he gets up to helping the police with any supernatural crimes.
This is really a cult classic that I had actually never heard of until quite recently. I’ve been trying to delve a little deeper into the fantasy genre and get around to reading some of these series that have been out and beloved by the masses. So I went into this book with my expectations quite high, and was pleasantly surprised.
Harry is one the most likeable characters ever! There is something about that him that immediately endeared him to me and I was very much attached to him right from the start. He has that leap without looking mentality which I really enjoy in our main protagonists; it makes them more spontaneous and natural in a way, more realistic. I can’t wait to find out more about his background and his education with his previous master and how that deteriorated in the books to come.
The way his two seemingly unrelated cases were entangled together and the way he uncovered the truth through his reasoning’s was highly entertaining. I had no idea what direction that plot was going to go in next and given his unpredictability I was enthralled right from the start. They way that information regarding magic and their rules and regulations was presented made sense and wasn’t overwhelming in any way.
It wasn’t the most sophisticated fantasy novel that I have ever read but it didn’t have to be. It was pure adrenaline, fast paced action with a couple of cool fighting scenes. I’ve heard Harry Dresdan is quite the gunslinger in the series and that wasn’t really highlighted at all in this book so again I’m just excited to find about more about his character and what he will get up to in the series to come!
⭐️4/5 stars it felt like an episode of Law and Order with a fantastical twist!
Russian Inspired Reads
Over the last couple of years I’ve tried tried to broaden my reading horizons and pick up books with different settings and cultures from my own and I’ve come across one particular setting that I have really enjoyed which is Russian inspired reads. Most of these are fantasy books and there is just something about the atmosphere and tone of these stories that immediately had me engaged!
The Crown’s Game & The Crown’s Fate by Evelyn Skye
The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden
The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo
Uprooted & Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
Amy Leigh Reads 