August TBR | Series Crackdown & Tome Topple

For someone who finished one book in the entirety of July, I'm really being overambitious for August. Two of my favourite readathons are coming back and I'm determined to go for more than the 10 pages I managed last month. For two weeks of the month-long edition Series Crackdown, I will be focusing on the Tomes on my TBR, so I get to do both. I told you. I'm gunning for it in August.

Series Crackdown

Series Crackdown is the brainchild of Mel over at TheBookMoo. We all do it; we read the first books in a series never to pick up its sequel, or worse, we buy all the books in a series and never start them. The goal for this readathon is to dedicate a period of time to tackle those books. Usually, this readathon is 10 days long, however, this round just so happens to be the 10th incarnation, and to celebrate, Series Crackdown will be going from the 1st - 31st August 2020. 

Teams are back for this round; I will be joining Steph's (@eenalol) Team Duologies and reading the group book: State of Sorrow by Melinda Salisbury. 

What I love about this readathon is how chill it can be - I just like making things difficult for myself apparently.

For more information on who Team Captains are, or for just more information, check out TheBookMoo's blog post here, and follow the official Twitter and Instagram account.

Tome Topple

Created and hosted by Sam over at ThoughtsonTomes, TomeTopple is a readathon for all those big books that we all buy and then giggle nervously over. It is THE readathon for fantasy lovers and bibliophiles everywhere.

Starting August 8th - August 21st, the goal is to read books 500 pages or longer. And like the Series Crackdown, Tome Topple is just as chill. There are challenges that you can participate in, but because I am aiming for all of the challenges in the other readathon, I'll be focusing on reading big books and having fun.

Those books include:

• Blood Upon the Sands by Bradley Beaulieu
• The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons
• The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemison
• The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

You can find out more by checking out the announcement video, here, and the official Twitter account.

Book Haul | January 2020 (#Gifted)

Let's go 3-for-3, how about that?
Something that is finally relevant to the year we are currently inhabiting - there's a metaphor in there somewhere.
This year I am really trying to make the conscious effort of reducing the books I am buying and requesting from publishers to try and reduce the TBR pile by a lot. It was going okay... until all the publicists unleashed their secret weapon; their blogger lists.

Fragile Things: Short Fictions & Wanderings

Neil Gaiman

Goodreads
**Bought in a charity shop near work - I immediately picked it up when I realized that there was a few short stories in this one I have yet to read.**
UK Publisher | Headline
UK Release Date | 2007 (this edition)

A Blink of the Screen

Terry Pratchett

Goodreads

**At a similar time, I picked this up for 50p. Short fiction is fantastic when I'm feeling slumpy and need to shake it up a bit.**

UK Publisher | Doubleday

UK Release Date | October 29th, 2012

The Stars We Steal

Alexa Donne

Goodreads

**Received from the publisher as a gift in exchange for an honest and truthful review**

UK Publisher | Titan Books

UK Release Date | February 4th, 2020

The Golden Key 

Marian Womack

Goodreads

**Received from the publisher as a gift in exchange for an honest and truthful review**

UK Publisher | Titan Books

UK Release Date | February 18th, 2020

The Bitter Twins (The Winnowing Flame Trilogy #2)

Jen Williams

Goodreads

**I recieved a copy from the publisher when it was first published, but I then passed it onto a friend after I had read it - so I bought a smaller paperback signed when I popped into Forbidden Planet.**

UK Publisher | Headline

UK Release Date | August 8th, 2018

The Library of the Unwritten (Hell's Library #1)

A.J. Hackwith

Goodreads

**Received from the publisher as a gift in exchange for an honest and truthful review**

UK Publisher | Titan Books

UK Release Date | February 11th, 2020

Bone Grier's Moon (Bone Grace #1)

Kathryn Purdie

Goodreads

**Received from the publisher as a gift in exchange for an honest and truthful review**

UK Publisher | Katherine Tegen Books

UK Release Date | March 10th, 2020

A Queen in Hiding (The Nine Realms #1)

Sarah Kozloff

Goodreads

**Received from the publisher as a gift in exchange for an honest and truthful review**

UK Publisher | Tor Books UK

UK Release Date | January 21st, 2020

Book Haul | November - December 2019 (#Gifted)

I'm still clinging on here to try and get better at this spending once a week in the library to try and write one blog post a week. However, my chaotic way of writing 5 posts, in tidbits, at the same time has meant that part two of yesterday's end-of-year book haul is ready and waiting to be put up. 
Why wait when this was due to go up over a month ago?

November 

The Starless Sea

Erin Morgenstern
Goodreads
**I had this on pre-order the moment it was announced, luckily I had a £10 Waterstones voucher to cover the cost**

UK Publisher | Harvill Secker
UK Release Date | November 5th, 2019

The True Queen (Sorcerer Royal #2)
Zen Cho
Goodreads
**Received from the publisher as a gift in exchange for an honest and truthful review**
UK Publisher | PanMacmillan
UK Release Date | November 14th, 2019

Knight of the Silver Circle (Dragonslayer #2)
Duncam M. Hamilton
Goodreads

**Received from the publisher as a gift in exchange for an honest and truthful review**
UK Publisher | Tor Books
UK Release Date | November 19th, 2019

December

Queen of Coin and WhispersHelen Corcoran
Goodreads
**Received from the publisher as a gift in exchange for an honest and truthful review**
UK Publisher | The O'Brien Press
UK Release Date | April 6th, 2020

Northanger Abbey
Jane Austen
Goodreads
** This copy was gifted to me by one of the most generous souls, Moon, over on Twitter. Go visit her blog and give her a follow. THANK YOU. THANK YOU! **

A Throne of Swans (A Throne of Swans #1)
Katherine & Elizabeth Corr
Goodreads
**Received from the publisher as a gift in exchange for an honest and truthful review**
UK Publisher | Hot Key Books
UK Release Date | January 9th, 2019

Darkdawn (The Nevernight Chronicles #3)
Jay Kristoff
Goodreads
** I had a little Christmas money and the Waterstones exclusive edition was only £6; how would you be able to resist?**
UK Publisher | HarperVoyagerUK
UK Release Date | September 5th, 2019

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (The Tales of Dunk and Egg #1-3)
George R.R. Martin
Goodreads
**This was gifted to me by the lovely Jenn over at Jenniely - go and give her a little love over on her blog.**
UK Publisher | HarperVoyager UK
UK Release Date | October 6th, 2015

Ship of Magic (The Liveship Traders #1)
Robin Hobb
Goodreads
**I bought myself a copy (FINALLY!!) after no one in my family took the drastic hints of: can you buy me a copy of Ship of Magic for Christmas, please?**
UK Publisher | HarperVoyagerUK
UK Release Date |  September 10th, 2015 (this edition)

Book Haul | October 2019 (#Gifted)

*taps mic*
Hel - Hello? Is this thing on?
Who knew I still knew how to open blogger and click on the new post tab?
Am I really going to do this? Apparently so, because while I've been gone, I have bought and received so many fantastic books that I feel like it's a crime for not sharing them sooner. It's been four months since I last posted a book haul, so I'm going up to brake the final quarter of 2019 up into two posts: October and then November - December.

The Yearbook Committee

Sarah Ayoub

Goodreads

**Received from the publisher as a gift in exchange for an honest and truthful review**
UK Publisher | HarperCollins
UK Release Date | January 9th, 2020

The Name of All Things (A Chorus of Dragons #2)

Jenn Lyons

Goodreads

**Received from the publisher as a gift in exchange for an honest and truthful review**

UK Publisher | Tor Books

UK Release Date | October 29th, 2019

Skein Island

Aliya Whiteley

Goodreads

**Received from the publisher as a gift in exchange for an honest and truthful review**

UK Publisher | Titan Books

UK Release Date | November 5th, 2019

Happy Girl Lucky (The Valentines #1)

Holly Smale

Goodreads

**Bought during an Book Sale supporting a charity cause**

UK Publisher | HarperCollins

UK Release Date | February 9th, 2019

Josh + Hazel's Guide to Not Dating

Christina Lauren

Goodreads

**Bought during an Book Sale supporting a charity cause**

UK Publisher | Piatkus

UK Release Date | September 4th, 2018

The Unspoken Name (The Serpent Gates #1)

A.K. Larkwood

Goodreads

**Received from the publisher as a gift in exchange for an honest and truthful review**

UK Publisher | Tor Books UK

UK Release Date | February 20th, 2020

The Warrior of Altaii 

Robert Jordan

Goodreads

**Received from the publisher as a gift in exchange for an honest and truthful review**

UK Publisher | Tor Books

UK Release Date | October 8th, 2019

The Copper Promise (The Copper Cat Trilogy #1)

Jen Williams

Goodreads

**Found in a local charity shop brand new for just short of a nugget - proper please to finally repurchase a copy.**

UK Publisher | Headline Books

UK Release Date | February 14th, 2014

Tunnel of Bones (Cassidy Blake #2)

Victoria Schwab 

Goodreads

**I treated myself in Waterstones, okay?**

UK Publisher | Scholastic UK

UK Release Date | September 5th, 2019

La Belle Sauvage (The Book of Dust #1)

Philip Pullman

Goodreads

**Ditto.**

UK Publisher | Penguin 

UK Release Date | September 6th, 2018

TBR| October 2017

October is when we get full into spring and embrace all the spooky. I don't really like to read horror or thrillers and prefer the medium of film and tv to get my Hallowe'en thrills. So my October isn't really going to reflect that. But, maybe it will in its Autumnal goodness.

Books Carried Over:

• Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark
• A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
• The Ninth Rain by Jen Williams

Here are my Top 3 books I want to get to this month:

A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic #3)

V.E.Schwab

Goodreads
October is that month of spooky goodness. And books with magic that are usually quite dark count. So I'm shoving a 666 page book on here. 

Yes, the UK paperback is really the Devil's number.

Gilded Cage (Dark Gifts #1)

Vic James

Goodreads

Another book that has been dragged along with me. This book speaks Slytherin, so it gets shoved on a dark, spoopy monthly TBR.

I'm really not going over the top this month just because of the sheer mass of texts I'm going to have to read over the next semester, and I already know from last year that I won't have the energy for both.

They're perfect to snuggle up with.

REVIEW| Siege and Storm

Siege and Storm (The Grisha Trilogy #2)
Leigh Bardugo

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Find on Goodreads

Synopsis for Shadow and Bone:

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

Review:

The Cover:

My only real problem that I have ever had with these books is the change they made, from that glorious matte grey into these,  shiny editions. Meaning that only the second and third book, now, truely matches on my shelf. 

Still beautiful, though. 

I think once you read the book, that's then when the cover will make sense as a journey. The waves directing back to the palace in the background, of this art piece. Yes, art piece. I can't really elaborate more on the cover.

The Content:

I'm out of sorts in writing reviews but, let's start on characters?

Alina goes through an interesting character arc in Siege and Storm. Which is why I probably enjoyed it more than Shadow and Bone. She grows. From the weak character, she was, into someone willing to put herself forward. She grew into the role that needed to be set up for the events in book three. It's rare to find someone who is already willing to put herself on the line,  to not need any growth as a person. Especially in the events of the past book and this one. To not grow would just be a testimony of an author's inability to write. 

Even if, Mal remains a great pain in my reading ass. I understand Mal's purpose in the story, he is what grounds Alina. Which I'm not sure means I can tolerate him or it's making me more annoyed. But, he acts as a boundary, blind sighting her into the wanting of what she has now had to leave in the past. But, also not letting her fall into the world of politics, in making the same mistakes and presumptions as before. The only default I find with this is that sometimes he is a trope. Jealous over a little competition and over protective, when clearly Alina can protect herself.  Male beating his chest.

The most common opinion I can find is that the Darkling is a love among readers. Even after the revelations in Shadow and Bone, I can see why so many people continue to swoon at his feet. When he shows presence in a scene I can feel his charm, he is alluring in some respect. Yes, I, too, have fallen at his Darkling feet. 

In my mind, the plot for Siege and Storm splits itself into two parts. We have Alina's journey in the first 200 pages and then the second half towards a destination. The first I enjoyed reading more. There was an adventure to be had, moving plot and turns that kept me going. I found myself just pushing for the sake of finishing the last hundred or so pages. I knew what was going to happen, unlike how this books started out with. I think if I the plot had kept pace and not tampered off. This would have been given 4.5/5 stars, perhaps.  

I'd still recommend. Particularly to those who are treading the waters into YA Fantasy. I am still going on to the third and final instalment of the Grisha Trilogy.

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