Tackling my TBR

I have been finding lately that having structure to my reads is helping me getting through my books and enjoy doing so. I love reading but I sometimes find it hard to find the time. I am planning to read 10% each day on work days and 25% on days off. That means I will be reading one a week. Obviously I can read more of I want to. To help I will be mixing up review books and books I bought. Here’s my system, I have been managing to keep to it so far.

1. Booksirens book

2. Netgalley book

3. A kindle book.

4. Edelweiss book

5. Netgalley book

6. Paperback/ hardback book.

7. Fairyloot book.

Explanations.

1. I have found Booksirens only in the last 6 months or so and found it a really good site, mainly small presses but I have found some really good books and I like helping the authors get some attention for thier books.
2. I always have netgalley books to read so it’s always useful to get one read.
3. I have hundreds of kindle books to get through. A lot are free books but some I have bought as well.
4. I have only recently started using Edelweiss and have only reviewed two so far but I ahve found some good books on their, even bought some of the ones I wasn’t approved for.
5. Like I said I need to catch up on a few Netgalley books so having a second one in my list will help.
6. I have bought a lot of books lately, they are piled high.
7. I know these are hardbacks but if I only read one a month or two then I will never get through them all.

Do you have a system for reading your books or do you pick them at random?

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ARC: Crush The King

Queen Everleigh Blair of Bellona has survived the mass murder of the royal family, become a fearsome warrior trained by an elite gladiator troupe, and unleashed her ability to destroy magic. After surviving yet another assassination attempt orchestrated by the conniving king of Morta, Evie has had enough. It’s time to turn the tables and take the fight to her enemies.

There is no better opportunity to strike than during the Regalia Games, a time when warriors, nobles, and royals from all the kingdoms come together to compete in various sporting events. With the help of her loyal friends, Evie goes on the attack at the Regalia, but things don’t turn out the way she hopes. Soon, she is facing a terrifying new threat, and she will have to dig deep and learn even more about her growing magic if she has any chance of defeating her foes.

Because to secure her throne and ensure her kingdom’s survival, Evie must think like a true Bellonan: she must outsmart and outwit her enemies . . . and crush the king.

Review

Just like the first two books in the series, it was full of fun, battles, intrigue, battle of wits and dancing. I loved being brought back into this world. It is so well created, I adore how the different nations have their own individual quirks, it makesit easy to follow. Evie is a fantastic character as always. Her new obstacles are probably the hardest yet and she fights them with passion and charisma. I would have liked a little more interaction with Evie and her friends, it was one of the reasons I fell in love with the first book.

The many different ways Evie dealt with everything was very clever and well written. There was no lucking out of situations and no making easy escapes. I think this shows a sign of a great writer. I found the first 40% of the book quite slow compared to the rest of the series anyway, but it picked up and I devoured the rest.

I am looking forward to seeing more in future books, if there are any but it seems to be set up for at least one more.

4 out of 5 stars

First Prize for the Worst Witch (Worst witch #8)

“I am a hopeless case – everything I do always does go wrong in the end.”

Mildred Hubble may be the worst witch at Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches, but she’s the best friend you’ll ever have.

—–

Summer term has started at Miss Cackle’s Academy, and somehow the disaster-prone Mildred has made it to Year Four.

Even though everyone knows her as the Worst Witch in the School, she’s secretly set her sights on winning the school’s highest honour.

Yes, Mildred wants to be Head Girl!

Can she stay out of trouble and prove to everyone that even the worst witch can turn her fortunes around?
Not if her arch-enemy Ethel Hallow has anything to do with it…

‘The Worst Witch is back – and it’s as subtly feminist as ever’ – New Statesman

Read the rest of Mildred’s (mis)adventures: The Worst Witch, A Bad Spell for the Worst Witch, The Worst Witch All at Sea, The Worst Witch Saves the Day, The Worst Witch to the Rescue and The Worst Witch and the Wishing Star.

Review

I love the worst witch books. I grew up watching the original series, I love reading these to relive the memories of going home from school and getting engrossed in Cackles Academy.

This one did not disappoint. Mildred was up to her old tricks, she always has the best intentions, just something always goes wrong. Her friends always try to talk her out of her mad plans but never manage. I love how her charm is even growing on Hardbroom.

I do sometimes feel a little sorry for Ethel, is often mean and cruel but she is just trying to live up to her family’s name.

I think the next enstallment is the last and I cannot wait.

4 out of 5 stars

ARC Review: Spooky Magic

Being the only witch at my school is the best thing ever! So when the new girl turns out to be a witch too, someone awful and horrid from my old life, you know there’s going to be trouble. 

My name is Evie Everyday, and I go to Wyndemere Elementary, a strictly no-witch zone. It’s hard enough keeping my witchiness a secret without Veronica showing up to ruin my wonderful new life. Worst of all, she’s better than me at everything too.

That is, until the spooky Halloween Competition. I finally have the chance to prove, once and for all, that I’m better than Veronica.

Winning should be easy. All I have to do is:

Stop myself from turning green with envy. Come up with the spookiest magic ever. Not listen to my friends. And beat Veronica.

But when everything starts to go wrong, the only way to win the competition is to make it spookier than ever. And only one person can help me… the one and only Jack-o-lantern.

Review

I recieved a free copy of this book via booksirens

I really enjoyed the first one in the series. I thought it was refreshing and really clever. The second one did not live up to expectations. It felt very rushed and very jumbled in the beginning. A lot of it didn’t make sense to me without reading it couple of times to understand what was going on.

Overall I did enjoy the story but I think it could have been slowed down a  little and explained better. The intoduction of new characters was good, it shook things up a little. It showed different sides to characters which I really liked.

3 out of 5 stars

 

Review: Eight Will Fall

In a land where magic is outlawed, eight criminals led by seventeen-year-old Larkin are sent on a mission to kill an ancient evil that plagues their kingdom. Descending into an underground realm full of unspeakable horrors, Larkin and her party must use their forbidden magic to survive what lies in wait, teeth sharp and jaws deadly.

As she fights for her life, Larkin finds a light in Amias, a fellow outlaw with a notorious past. Soon Larkin and Amias realize their fates are entwined. The eight of them were chosen for a reason.

But as the dangers multiply and her band of felons are picked off one by one, Larkin must confront a terrible truth: They were never meant to return.

Review

I recieved this from fairyloot. I am not sure I would have picked it up otherwise, but I am glad I did. It was unlike anything else I have ever read. In a good way. I liked how the empaths could gather emotions and use them as magic, it’s a clever idea and was portrayed well.

The story was easy to follow and very entertaining. I honestly had no clue where we were being led, which is very unusual. I thought the characters were interesting and I liked hearing their stories.

Larkin was a great MC, she was often centre of the action which suited her charcter and I really enjoyed seeing things from her perspective.

Most of the story took places in one place (it was a big place , but still) since there was always something to discover it was very interesting.

I would highly recommend this book.

4 out of 5 stars

Review: Protect the Prince (Crown of Shards #2)

Magic, murder, adventure, and romance combine in this second novel in the exciting Crown of Shards saga from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Estep.

Everleigh Blair might be the new gladiator queen of Bellona, but her problems are far from over.

First, Evie has to deal with a court full of arrogant, demanding nobles, all of whom want to get their greedy hands on her crown. As if that wasn’t bad enough, an assassin tries to kill Evie in her own throne room.

Despite the dangers, Evie goes ahead with a scheduled trip to the neighboring kingdom of Andvari in order to secure a desperately needed alliance. But complicating matters is the stubborn Andvarian king, who wants to punish Evie for the deaths of his countrymen during the Seven Spire massacre.

But dark forces are at work inside the Andvarian palace, and Evie soon realizes that no one is safe. Worse, Evie’s immunity to magic starts acting in strange, unexpected ways, which makes her wonder whether she is truly strong enough to be a Winter Queen.

But Evie’s magic, life, and crown aren’t the only things in danger—so is her heart, thanks to Lucas Sullivan, the Andvarian king’s bastard son and Evie’s . . . well, Evie isn’t quite sure what Sullivan is to her.

Only one thing is certain—protecting a prince might be even harder than killing a queen…

Review

I loved this almost as much as the first one in the series. It took a chapter or two to feel that way, but once I was there I couldn’t put it down. I wasn’t sure where it was going to go after the events of the last book, I was pleasantly surprised. It felt well planned out with lots of direction, nothing felt out of place.

I loved that lots of the old characters returned but we still got to meet lots of new ones, I could have done with more conversations from Serilda and Cho, I felt they were more in the background rather than being proper characters like they were in the first book.

I liked how you got to see into Lucas’s past, I found it very interesting and suits his character well. I liked meeting his family but I would have liked a little more interaction between Lucas and his family.

The action was good , very full. I do think the Mortan assassins could have planned a little better, their plans fell apart a little too easy. I think Evie makes an amazing Queen and I am very much looking forward to seeing what happens in book two.

4 out 5 stars

Review: Kill the Queen

In a realm where one’s magical power determines one’s worth, Lady Everleigh’s lack of obvious ability relegates her to the shadows of the royal court of Bellona, a kingdom steeped in gladiator tradition. Seventeenth in line for the throne, Evie is nothing more than a ceremonial fixture, overlooked and mostly forgotten.

But dark forces are at work inside the palace. When her cousin Vasilia, the crown princess, assassinates her mother the queen and takes the throne by force, Evie is also attacked, along with the rest of the royal family. Luckily for Evie, her secret immunity to magic helps her escape the massacre.

Forced into hiding to survive, she falls in with a gladiator troupe. Though they use their talents to entertain and amuse the masses, the gladiators are actually highly trained warriors skilled in the art of war, especially Lucas Sullivan, a powerful magier with secrets of his own. Uncertain of her future—or if she even has one—Evie begins training with the troupe until she can decide her next move.

But as the bloodthirsty Vasilia exerts her power, pushing Bellona to the brink of war, Evie’s fate becomes clear: she must become a fearsome gladiator herself . . . and kill the queen.

Review

I read this a few weeks ago and forgot to review, oops.

I loved this book, it was a fantastic start to a series. I found the whole premise very exciting. The battle and different types of magic was well done and kept me gueesing. Everleigh was a great character, I loved her journey and her eventual meeting with Vaslia. The different characters were a perfect balance, all complemented each other.

I found the story very inviting and lot of fun. I am a huge fan of this author and this series was no exception. I am very much looking forward to continueing the series, although I have no clue where it’s going and cannot wait to see.

If you like magic, fantasy royality, gladiator fighting and lots of intrigue, then pick up this book.

4 out 5 stars

Fairyloot Yearlong Challenge 2020

So in November I received a reading Journey from Fairyloot. It’s the first time I have ever used anything like this som I thought I would give it a go. It has a yearlong challenge at the beginning, 25 book challenge, seems like it will be worth giving it a go. Here is the categories for the challenge, I will be saying if I think it will be easy or hard for me to do.

1. Read a book you recieved in a Fairyloot box- Easy
2. Read a book with colour sprayed edges. – Easy
3. Read an own voices book. – Not sure what that means, might be hard.
4. Read a book set in your state/country- Hard if I say Isle of Man, Easy if UK.
5. Read a re-telling. – Easy.
6. Read a book in a genre you don’t often read. – Easy
7. Read a debut novel. – Easy
8. Read a book you can finish in a day – Easy
9. Read a book with the most beautiful cover you own. – Hard to decide, easy to do.
10. Read a book that was published in 2020- Easy
11. Read a book set in Winter- I have a few ideas of books that might be so easy, possibly.
12. Read a book that was made into a show or movie- easy
13. Read a book with mythology inspired elements- I’ve been reading a few of these lately so hopefully easy.
14. Read a book written by a female author- easy
15. Read a book with an LGBTQ+ protanganist- easy
16. Read a book set out in the sea- hmm might be easy
17. Read a book that is over 500pages- easy
18. Reread a favourite- super easy
19. Read a book recommended by a friend- Easy, Gillian you are up!
20. Read a book that’s famous for it’s Villain. – Easy, Voldy you might get your glory.
21. Listen to an audiobook- Hard, I never listen to them, just not interested.
22. Read a goodreads award winner- fairly easy
23. Start a new series- easy
24. Read a stand alone- Easy
25. Read 25 books- if I can get off to a good start and read some exciting books then easy.

I love the sound of this, most of them should be easy and I have at least one book in mind that will fit the categories. The hard part I think will be deciding which ones to read.

Are you planning to do this or any other challenges this year? If so which ones?