Bit of a mixed bag, but pretty good overall. I wish I‘d managed to read it on Christmas Eve like I planned, but circumstances were not having it.

This was okay? The audiobook improved it due to the great cast performances, but I found the plot rather predictable. Maybe it suffered from all the hype, idk, but I‘m kinda regretting picking up another book by TJR before I finished this one, because I probably wouldn‘t have done so.

“Sex magic is a term that invariably elicits a reaction in anyone who hears it, often with something between curiosity and trepidation.“

(Guys I had to add this book to Litsy and I'm not sure how I feel about that😅 It's writing research)

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

#two4tuesday

1. Read 24 books is my official challenge (been in a hell of a slump for the past two years), but I'd really like to do 52.

2. I want to do at least six 24in4s - preferably 12, but if I set high goals I drop them the moment I can't hit it, and if I aim low I tend to overshoot.

Trying to do this whole social media thing again 😂. Currently listening to this one. It does seem easier to follow on audio.

Listened to this one while working today - this chapter *felt* out of place despite the word ‘killers‘ being in the list on front. I think I just don‘t associate the word ‘rogue‘ with a workplace murder, but maybe that‘s a me problem.

Would have probably put this down if I wasn‘t doing a readathon, but it did start to pick up around the middle. The mystery itself, and the solution, was enjoyable, I just found the high society stuff tiresome - so my review is very much a personal taste bounce rather than a damning indictment.

Okay, so maybe I didn‘t appreciate the amount of research I was getting into when I added a prehistoric vampire to my novel…

Me: Imma start doing social media stuff again in 2023
Also me: finally gets covid after 2 years of dodging that mofo

First finished book of #20in4

I have mixed feelings about this one - it switches to screenplay at random intervals; there‘s purple prose and tortured metaphors galore; there are strange breaks to the 4th wall, for example two lines being left blank followed by “After a pause lasting two lines...”; many run on sentences, including one that lasted for two pages... and yet I didn‘t struggle to finish it. 🤨

I‘ve rearranged my day so I can start reading at midnight! #20in4

@Andrew65

Just finished this for the #tbrdeckofcards challenge (an audiobook). It was pretty good, but spoiled for me by the 2D villain of the piece, a bent cop. It didn‘t help that the narrator was holding the idiot ball on how to deal with it (my dude, you a. Have a phone you can record her threats on, and b. Are a famous kids author, with a good chance that one of her superiors‘ kids is a fan. It‘s not rocket science).

Currently on Bright Young Dead for both the #decadeschallenge (set in 1920s) and the #tbrdeckofcards (foiled cover). It‘s not really meshing but I‘m almost halfway through.

A quick read. The character voices were a bit ‘off‘ for me, but that‘s a common problem with pastiche. It filled 30 mins of #20in4 though.

Pretty good, I liked that there was actually some variety in the supernatural world (something I‘ve worked on a lot in my own stories), and I enjoyed seeing so much drawn from African folklore. It was a nice change to see urban fantasy set outside its usual geographic locations.
Back to a familiar problem with the beasties being hyped up as super-powerful, and then easily dispatched though.
Fills the six of clubs for my #tbrdeckofcards
#20in4

I can kinda see why it‘s a classic, but I just didn‘t connect with it. Still, it filled prompts in for the #decadeschallenge (set in 1910‘s), and 8 of diamonds for #tbrdeckofcards (number in the title). #20in4

@Clwojick

Just finished this and enjoyed it. Bit of an overview, but that was what it said on the tin so I‘m not complaining. I‘m glad he mentioned contributions that have been glossed over in other books (usually bc women or poc did the actual thing). This covers the six of hearts, ‘A Book About Medicine‘, for my #tbrdeckofcards challenge.

@Clwojick #20in4

The first line is literally just “Vampire.”
😂😂

@ShyBookOwl #firstlinefridays

@ErinSueMreads this is my #readingjournal #tbr page for January. I‘m doing a Mucha theme this year. 2/2

@ErinSueMreads my bujo page, as requested, although it‘s hardly original. Reading journal page to follow. 1/2

Going to try to be better about posting this year 😅 First book of 2021 🎇🎇🎇

Wow, haven‘t posted in so long. I‘m a short ways into this one and enjoying it so far.

#magicalreadathon2020 Finished all 12 of my #owls2020 with 35 minutes to spare 😂 #owlsreadathon

Blanket: check.
Lunch: check.
Book: check.
Afternoon: sorted.

Finished my read for ‘Care of Magical Creatures‘, which means only two books left to hit my goal of Alchemist in the #magicalreadathon #owlsreadathon #magicalreadathon2020

Really enjoyed this one.

Starting this one for my ‘Care of Magical Creatures‘ prompt in the #magicalreadathon2020. I started it last month, but stopped after a few pages when I realised it covered a prompt, lol.

#magicalreadathon2020

Finished this one for ‘charms‘ in the #owlsreadathon #owls2020 I‘m past the halfway mark, at the point where one more column makes a big difference, so it‘s completed the OWLs for: Auror; Graphic Designer; Healer; Hogwarts Professor; Ministry Worker, and Trader in Magical Tomes. Not bad for a night‘s work 😂

Not in the database, but I‘ve just finished this for the #magicalreadathon Ancient Runes prompt - A heart on the cover. #owls2020 #owlsreadathon

Really enjoyed this one and looking forwards to reading more in the future. It fills the Defence Against Dark Arts prompt in the #magicalreadathon2020 which means I‘ve completed the necessary #owls2020 for Quidditch Referee! Now onto the next of my potential professions 😂

Finished this one for the Herbology prompt of the #magicalreadathon #owlsreadathon #magicalreadathon2020 #owlsreadathon2020 #owls2020

Highly enjoyable.

Just finished the enjoyable Iron & Velvet, by Alexis Hall, filling in the ‘Transfiguration‘ prompt for the #magicalreadathon #owlsreadathon #owls2020

A small #haul. It‘s been rough waiting 24 hours to open the package 😅. I got a full refund on Making Money because the spine is damaged and they have no stock to send a replacement, so that‘s a bonus.

I regarded my #mysterybook from Moley & Mustard with much trepidation after seeing the wrapping, as I‘m not a big reader of romance, but it contained the tagged book, Birdsong, so I‘m quite happy as it‘s a book I‘ve been meaning to read. (Got cool stickers and a bookmark too).

Finished the Astronomy prompt for #magicalreadathon #owlsreadathon #owls2020 (Read majority of the book while it‘s dark outside)

I needed a dystopian novel for a different readathon, and I‘m not in the mood (oddly enough) so I did a reread. This didn‘t fit any particular OWLs prompt, so I read I went with Astronomy and read it at night.

Two books on the go at the moment for #magicalreadathon2020 I like to read a workbook through before I start, so I have Writing Crime Fiction for Charms (white cover). I need to read a dystopian novel for another readathon, but I‘m so not in the headspace for dystopia right now, so I‘m rereading Accidental Creatures. It doesn‘t really fit any prompts, so I‘m reading it for Astronomy (read book while it‘s dark outside).
#owlsreadathon2020 #owls2020

My #magicalreadathon2020 spread in my #readingbujo

I just like to have everything laid out and organised... aaaaand be able to see at a glance that Charms maximises my wizardly career prospects. #ravenclaw 😂

#bulletjournal #bujo #readinglog #owls2020 #owlsreadathon2020

My trailing rosemary, just doing its thing. #plantsbeplanting #garden

Kicking off the #magicalreadathon2020 with The Long Call (Defense Against Dark Arts: Book Set at the Sea/Coast). #owlsreadathon2020

I did much better in terms of my #24b4Monday this month (24 hours instead of 1 1/2 😂), and in terms of books read too. Time to see if I can get another finished before #magicalreadathon kicks off. #readinglog #bujo #bulletjournal

I started Edgar Allen Poe and the London Monster last night, but then realised it would work for a prompt for a readathon I‘m doing next month, so I picked up Broken Monsters instead #24b4Monday

Rambles about a bit (the author even alludes to this in text), but well worth a read.

Gorgeous prose, some weird bits, but overall a pick.

Oh, god, I knew that Sid James died on stage at Sunderland Empire (with its notoriously hard-to-please crowd) but never thought of this. 😅 #24b4monday

I started a couple of books last night, after finishing Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, but I think I‘m going to try to get through this one today. #24b4monday

I started a couple of books last night, after finishing Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, but I think I‘m going to try to get through this one today.

Listening to this while I sort out my bulletjournal. Doing fairly well on #24b4monday but I need to do some totting up.

I started listening to this one today, but I think I‘m going to have to return it unfinished - it‘s a ‘me‘ problem, so I‘m not classing it as a DNF. I may pick it up again in the future.

I think I need lighter, fluffier books during quarantine.

I really enjoyed this one. Doughty‘s usual brand of humour mixes really well with the kinds of questions she gets asked by children. It is aimed at kids (middle-grade), but I enjoyed it as an adult, and it does seem like it would be a good read for curious youngsters too - Doughty manages to be both matter-of-fact and gentle as she explains.

I‘m loving the illustrations in this book.

One of my reading challenges has “read a picture book or middle-grade book” as the prompt for March, so I‘m taking a slight pause from Zami to read this.