Some of the magic from the previous books eluded me in this one.
It was still incredibly tense, distressing, and harrowing.
However, most of the twists I foresaw this time around. I wasn't as taken aback by the events as I was with the previous two books.
Still, I'm anxiously trying to make time to read the next book.

I felt so drained after finishing this book I couldn't even begin to think how to review it.

I really enjoyed Plath's writing, its lyrical, captivating, and unique. I'll be on the lookout for her poetry.

👇🏻 continue below 👇🏻

I feel I might have over committed for this month 🤪

My February #BookSpin: Eragon
& #DoubleSpin: The Maze Runner

@TheAromaofBooks

I did pretty well for #Jumpstart2025
Only missed my gaol page count on two days.

This really helped me get to read every day for #StoryGraph #PageChalleng2025

Thanks for hosting @Lizpixie

January #WrapUp

4 books #OffTheShelf2025
1 #Chunkster
1 #FictionalTraveler
5 #SeriesLove2025
4 #BookChain2025
7 #LitsyAtoZ
#BookSpin & #DoubleSpin
9 #Pantone2025
1 #Classic
1 #NonFiction

I must confess the size of this book always scared me a little - I mean could one person truly be so interesting that I would want to read about him for almost a thousand pages?
The answer I'm glad to report is: Yes!
I quickly found myself so interested in the life of David Copperfield that I just couldn't put the book down.

👇🏻 continue 👇🏻

3½ ✨

I just flew through this one.
It focus on how Darin and Spiro met, and how Laia became her grandfather's apprentice.
It's not as action packed as the first one, and started off a bit slow.
My book order finally arrived and I'll start A Reaper at the Gate tonight, but in the meantime I needed a quick fix to get me in the right mindset, and this hit the exact right spot.
I'm now super stoked to get on with the series.

I've been reading really hard on this Chunkster, tugging away at it in 20 pages at a time. With some intervals going up to 100 pages a day when the story grabbed me and the time permitted.

And now I have 107 pages left... I'm so close 🤩

Thanks @julieclair for setting up #AllergicToChunksters it's really helping me chop away at these big books.

I love the inspiring message of this book, but it had just a tad too many YA tropes for my liking.
I think if I read this as a teenager I would have been much more impressed.

#OffTheShelf2025 @Librariana
#BookChain2025 #5YearsOlder
@TheAromaofBooks
#LitsyAtoZ #D @Texreader
#Pantone2025 #PearSorbet @Lauredhel

My #BookSpin list for February.

 @TheAromaofBooks

Well this was totally unexpected!
I've seen this book around a lot but never really paid attention to it. Then I saw it was an Apple TV show, and being me I obviously decided to read the book first.
Not only was it something totally different and refreshing but it was really deep, and spoke to my heart in ways I didn't expect.
In conclusion I get the hype.

#LitsyAtoZ #L @Texreader
#Pantone2025 #Hibiscus @Lauredhel

Another riveting compilation of shot stories each showing us a bit more of the man behind the white hare and wolf medallion.

I especially enjoyed the last two stories, but I'm bais because I love Ciri. I adore her feisty sprite and determination.

I am however now more than ready to be done with the short stories and be immersed in a full length novel

Informative and full of interesting titbits, but I learned that I prefer chronological narrative.

#LitsyAtoZ #M @Texreader
#NonFiction

I believe I have a new addiction.
As soon as I realised there were Graphic Novels, I just had to get them.

This is a prequel of sorts showing Elias and Hel as Fivers. And yes it was just as ingenious and innovative as the two books I've already read.
I'm not crazy about the artwork, but that won't deter me from getting the other GN that's available.

6 of the best reading years ever!
Thanks fellow Litens for making reading even more enjoyable 💞

I am a big Magnus fan and I've been waiting for this Malec story for what feels like forever. But I was disappointed with the plot, it just didn't feel believable and it was so predictable.
I did enjoy the characters showing a different side than usual, Magnus being vulnerable and Alec growing into his confidence with their relationship

I'm doing great with my #Jumpstart2025 & #StoryGraph #PageChalleng2025

So far I've read at least 20 pages a day and I'm almost done with my second audiobook

@Lizpixie

I'm sitting here wondering how to articulate what happened to me while reading this book.
I'm thinking that maybe Tahir wrote some kind of magic into the pages, because WOW!
This one started off a bit slower than the first one, and I had a moment of worry at that. But by the halfway maker all my worries were blown away. Not only did we get spectacular character development and an epic journey...
👇🏻 Continue

2½✨

The atmosphere of this book was done exceptionally well, you could feel the cold, remote emptyness. But I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would.
It started off very slow, and the dynamica of this supposed friend group just felt wrong.
The characters are mostly horrible people; I actually felt like killing some of them just to not have to listen to their POV anymore.
And in the end I felt cheated by the unreliable narrators.

My January #BookSpin : Sword of Destiny
& #DoubleSpin : The Red Scroll of Magic
@TheAromaofBooks

This is all the challenges I'm parttaking in for 2025

#BookSpin & #DoubleSpin @TheAromaofBooks
#Pantone2025 @Lauredhel
#Jumpstart2025 @Lizpixie
#StoryGraph #PageChalleng2025
#LitsyAtoZ @Texreader
#BookChain2025 @TheAromaofBooks
#FictionalTraveler @julieclair
#SeriesLove2025 @Andrew65 @TheSpineView
#AllergicToChunksters @julieclair
#ChunksterChallenge2025 @Amiable
#OffTheShelf2025 @Librariana

I'm combining #Jumpstart2025 with the #StoryGraph #PageChallenge2025 as always.
This always gives me a good start to the year!

My goal is to read at least 20 pages a day and listen to one Audio book a week.

@Lizpixie

Clocking in at 15 books for December #WrapUp

📚 6
🎧 8
💭 1

My favourite was definitely An Ember in the Ashes and Carrie Soto is back

Here's my list for the 2025 #BookSpin
I'll read whatever the next book in the series is, until I've completed the series and then changed it out with a new series or book.

@TheAromaofBooks

23h26m in just 4 days 🤩 I'm amazing myself.

#YearEnd
#20in4
#OutWithTheOldInWithTheNew
@Andrew65

4½✨

The thing about TJR is she makes you believe you are reading about a real person. Every time I finish one of her books I end-up on Google looking for the person I've just read about.
I don't know anything about tennis, but my husband did quite well when he was younger and when I told him about Carrie and the things I was reading about, he also thought I was talking about a real tennis star. That's just how gifted TJR is.

Finally got my hands on a copy...
I feel I should have waited to read this, until Volume 6 was out though. But I just couldn't stop myself.

As always Oseman's topic relevancy is so on point. I remember when I was too scared to go to university, I wish I had this as encouragement back then.
I can't wait to see how Nick and Charlie's story will end.

My initial plan was to finish The Boyfriend and An Ember in the Ashes for the year, but now I'm done with both and I'm only at 11h26m.
I need to work tomorrow and Tuesday, so I'm adding an audio book (Carrie Soto is back) and obviously A Torch against the Night to see if I can get to the 20hours
#YearEnd
#20in4
#OutWithTheOldInWithTheNew
@Andrew65

It was so easy to just fall into this book and be lost in it for hours on end.
The effortless ease of the writing, the incredible characters, the action and the very unexpected twists just made this book spectacular!

I'm glad to have the second book on my shelf already and I'm ordering the other two right now.

That's my #SugarRush complete @Bookwormjillk
But I'm adding the second book, so don't count me out yet.

3½ ✨

Well I didn't see that twist coming!
After all the hype, I decided to join the masses and see what McFadden is all about.
I enjoyed the story, but I found the writing to be a bit young - if that make sense.
It is however a compulsive and very quick read.

That's 4h07m towards #20in4 @Andrew65
And one book down for #SugarRush #ReadAThon @Bookwormjillk

I've decided to do the right thing and read out the old year and read into the New year.
So let's see if I can get the 20 hours for #20in4

@Andrew65

I'm low-key joining @Bookwormjillk in the #SugarRush #ReadAThon
I would like to finish these two books before the end of the year!

I'm currently on:
The Boyfriend - 52%
An Ember in the Ashes - 27%

My annual re-read.
This year I chose to listen to the Hugh Grant reading, it was a different experience than actually reading it.
I still enjoyed it immensely

I almost gave up on this book in the first 30%
But I'm happy I stuck to it.

I'm a big slaughter fan, in fact I re-read the entire Grant County and Will Trent series before I picked up this one. So there wasn't a year gap of me trying to patiently wait for the next book. And I think that makes a difference.
I was in this Slaughter flow and this book just wasn't what I expected to be next in the flow
👇🏼 Continue 👇🏼

This was the soppy love story I expected when I read the first book. But curiously enough it didn't repulse me as much as I thought.
I'm either getting old or Hoover have a skill not many Romance writers have.
Because I liked the journey to the soppy "and they lived happily ever after" part.
I really cared about the characters even when the 'easiness' of it all drove me nuts.

It feelt like all the books I picked this last part of the year turned out to be short story collections. I can really do with a good enticing novel about now.

Never the less, this one again had some stories I loved, some I liked and others that just wasn't for me.

It's finally my turn!
I've been itching to see how Lilly's story ends. 😁

I've been meaning to re-read this book.
Enjoyed it just as much this time around, with the added bonus of Screwtape's speech.

3½✨
I needed a book with a X for my alphabet challenge, and thought this one to be perfect. Especially at this time of the year.
I found most of the stories entertaining.

3½✨
It's been a while since I read King. But this compilation of stories made me remember why I like his work so much. From one extreme to the next, he keeps surprising me in the most unexpected ways.
N, Mute and The New York Times at Special Bargain Rates were my favourites.

3½✨

This was such a sweet little story. Not sure why but in my head it was little Lindsay Lohan playing the sisters. Maybe because it had some parent trap vibes.

The story did feel a bit to predictable and obvious, but I think Middle Grades would love it.

My reading plans for the weekend...

#CurrentlyReading

Hoover impresses me every time.
I'm not one for Romances, I very rarely read them. But my cousin insisted I read this Duoligy, so here I am reading.

I previously read Confess with a book Club and was really surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I almost had the exact same reaction this time around.
Hoover does the normal Romance things that grind my nerves: The O! So hot male characters, the love triangle, the predictability of the storyline.

3½ ✨
This is a hard one to read, the subject matter is so brutal and Slaughter portrays it so real and raw it hurts.
The set-up of this one just felt wrong to me, I didn't like the schemes and fake undercover that was set up to trick people. I like the hardcore police investigation. The criminal procedure is what got me into Slaughter, and it feels like this was just a personal vendetta to settle - a very disturbing one, but still.
My least favour

November #WrapUp

📚 4
💭 1
🎧 7

A bit late with my wrap-up, but this weekend was just crazy.
The Third Gilmore Girl was definitely my favourite.

3½ ✨

For some reason all the mystery/thrillers I pick this year are slow burns and have similar endings. Weird...

I've come to think of Jewell as my comfort read. Whenever I don't know what I'm in the mood for, or can't find a book that holds my attention; I can pickup one of her books and be content.

👇🏻 Continue 👇🏻

This is another book that stuck with me ever since I've read it. Slaughter's brilliance and the killer in this book just totally took residence in a part of my brain and won't go.

But listening to this whilst knowing who the guilty party was just hit differently. I mean, the way Slaughter set it up so perfectly. Actually I've been listening to this whole series differently, and I'm so amazed at the little clues I've picked up this time around.