Hello!

Happy 2023 everyone. I’m still tinkering away with my review for The Alchemy of Sorrow which is going to be the first review of the new year, and as I am currently laid up on the sofa after a nasty tumble last week, a book tag seemed like the perfect thing to play around with.

I came across this tag on Becky’s Book Blog so please check out her post and the rest of her blog. I’m not tagging anyone in particular, but if it catches your fancy then give it a go.

3 Read Once and Loved Authors:

• Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce is a book I still vividly remembering picking up on one of my regular library raids as a kid, and I immediately fell in love with the world and the story. I immediately read the rest of the Immortals series, and then moved on to the Song of the Lioness, Circle of Magic, Protector of the Small (which is one of my favourite series of all times) and since then I have read every book by Tamora Pierce and reread them regularly.

• Seraphina’s Lament by Sarah Chorn was a book I first heard about on the Grim Tidings Podcast during an episode on Ladies of Grimdark. I loved the sound of it and ordered it the same day. I was not prepared for how this book would eviscerate me in the best way possible, and how much it would come to mean to me. Years on this is still my favourite book, and I revisit it endlessly, sometimes just to read odd passages and lines that hit me, and other times to lose myself in it completely. I adore everything that Sarah Chorn has released into the world, but this one will forever have a special place in my heart and soul.

• An Altar on the Village Green by Nathan Hall was one I grabbed and read on release day, and I was just blown away. The worldbuilding. The Horror (in all sense of the world). The writing. Just everything about it was perfect, and again this is a book that I have read multiple times since then and has become a comfort read because I can just sink back into it so easily, and I will always pick up anything Nathan Hall writes in the future because of this book.

3 Titles I’ve Watched but Not Read:

I tend to prefer to read the source material first, but that’s not always possible. The School for Good and Evil was one that ended up as a spontaneous pick for a movie night, and was a lot of fun – and I do currently have the book out from the library so I will be reading it this month.

The Road I will admit I didn’t realise was based on a book until I watched it, and I do have a copy of the book (along with a few others by the author) which is on my loose TBR for this year.

The Wheel of Time – I considered reading before the show came out and I have started the first book, although I got sidetracked by other books so need to go back to the beginning. I do intend to try and read it at some point, although I am not sure how I will get on with the last few books, but it is not top of my priorities list even though I did for the most part enjoy the show.

3 Series I have Binged:

• The Raven’s Shadow series is one that I have binged on multiple occasions (sometimes not in order, if I am in the mood for a specific bit, which then sends me to reading all of it – yes I am chaotic). This was a series I came across at the library, while randomly browsing the SFF section in search of something new – I picked up Blood Song and had read it by the end of the day, and ended up just ordering the whole series. (And writing about it here, has me wanting to read it again…oh no).

• Clive Cussler was a holiday discovery. I had managed to not pack my book when we went away to Fuerteventura when I was 14, but luckily where we stayed had a bookcase of ‘lost books’ and I ended up picking up Trojan Odyssey by Clive Cussler and I was immediately hooked. As soon as we got back I set to work reading the rest of his books. And I still go through binges, where I will spend days just reading through his books.

• Godblind. When the itch hits me, I can’t help but read through this series – and it has happened a lot. It’s also one of the few series that I can and will listen to on audiobook too. Darksoul will forever remain as one of the books that has devastated me the most. I just love everything about this series, even when it tore out my heart – and it also has one of my favourite characters (but I will save that for the next prompt…)

3 Characters I love:

• Crys Tailorson (Godblind Trilogy – Anna Stephens) – Crys. Oh Crys. My heart was put through the wringer in so many ways with his story, and he is one of those characters that has lingered with me far beyond the reading of the book (and I was over the moon when we got some more of him via patreon). Crys is also the inspiration behind my first (and so far only, although this will soon change) book tattoo!

• Eskara Helsene (The War Eternal Quintet – Rob J. Hayes) – There was no way Eska (as divisive a character as I think she can me) couldn’t be on this list, especially with Death’s Beating Heart fresh in my mind. But I have loved every flawed, irritating, amazing part of this character since I first met her in Along the Razor’s Edge.

• Mennik ‘Nik’ Thorn (Mennik Thorn – Patrick Samphire) – Nik probably gets the title of ‘character I need to protect’ because honestly I just want to wrap him in a blanket at this point. Although I think really he needs locking in a safe room to protect him from his own decisions, and heart which seem determined to land him neck deep in trouble.

3 Current Favorite Covers:

Apparently I’m on a blue kick at the moment, but I love all these covers – and they’re just so striking! I need to get a physical copy of Through Dreams so Dark just so I can admire it, and I can’t wait to get my copy of this version of Adjacent Monsters for the same reason, while The Skin has already snuck onto my shelf (twice!!).

3 Unpopular Bookish Opinions:

1. I’ve recently discovered that I really tend to prefer the covers that indie authors choose for their books. There have been a few books that have transitioned to traditional (which is fantastic, and those books and authors deserve it), but I don’t like the new covers that the trad publisher is rereleasing them with.
2. Um… All books are books – whether ebooks, audio or any other format you want to imagine. (This shouldn’t be unpopular, but we all know that debate will roll around again sooner rather than later).
3. I can and will crack spines and turn over corners. Particularly when travelling (which with a 5-6 hour daily commute is a lot of my reading time at the moment)

3 Book Goals For the Year:

1. Accurately record books read and rereads (I missed off so many in 2022) and try and stay on top of reviews, even if they are shorter ones, as well as full blog reviews. (Yes I cheated and put 2 in one)
2. More Beta reading – I love beta reading and I have learned so much from doing it.
3. Not allow Imposter Syndrome to get the better of me.

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So there we have it, and I look forward to seeing your answers if you give it a bash.

Rowena