en-US Wed, 23 Apr 2025 04:07:24 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 134915247
The city of dreaming spires.

It is the centre of all knowledge and progress in the world.

And at its centre is Babel, the Royal Institute of Translation. The tower from which all the power of the Empire flows.

Orphaned in Canton and brought to England by a mysterious guardian, Babel seemed like paradise to Robin Swift.

Until it became a prison��

But can a student stand against an empire?]]> 546 R.F. Kuang 0008501858 Dannii 5
I have absolutely no words to describe the epic nature of everything contained inside this book. I can't begin to fathom the immense enormity of undertaking Kuang begun in taking on the mammoth task of this book. For me, she succeeded in crafting something beautifully fantastical, historically illuminating, deeply well-researched and heavily layered. That Kuang is a master storyteller was never a doubt for me, after adoring the entire The Poppy War series, but this book transcends story crafting and enters into another realm entirely.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, R.F. Kuang, and the publisher, Harper Voyager, for this opportunity.]]> 4.14 2022
author: R.F. Kuang
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2022/09/26
date added: 2025/04/23
shelves: adult-books-read, dark-academia-ambition, fantastic-fabrications, historical-highness, recommended-reading
review:
Robin Swift becomes the ward of the mysterious Professor Lovell and is ripped from the only world he has ever known, in Canton, for the fog and chill of London. He is rigorously schooled in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese to prepare him for his eventual enrolment into Oxford University. There he becomes a student of translation at the infamous Babel Institute., translating other languages into English and also manifesting their lost meanings into enchanted silver bars using the magical silver-working method.

I have absolutely no words to describe the epic nature of everything contained inside this book. I can't begin to fathom the immense enormity of undertaking Kuang begun in taking on the mammoth task of this book. For me, she succeeded in crafting something beautifully fantastical, historically illuminating, deeply well-researched and heavily layered. That Kuang is a master storyteller was never a doubt for me, after adoring the entire The Poppy War series, but this book transcends story crafting and enters into another realm entirely.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, R.F. Kuang, and the publisher, Harper Voyager, for this opportunity.
]]> 177188685
She is a beautiful, affluent, self-involved, and mildly neurotic London socialite. He is Britain’s most photographed bad boy who broke her heart.

Magnolia Parks and BJ Ballentine are meant to be, and everyone knows it.

She dates other people to keep him at bay; he sleeps with other girls to get back at her for it. But at the end of every sad endeavor to get over one another, it’s still each other they crawl back to.

But now their dysfunction is catching up with them, pulling at their seams and fraying the world they’ve built; a world where neither has ever let the other go completely.

As the cracks start to show and secrets begin to surface, Magnolia and BJ are finally forced to face the formidable question they’ve been avoiding all their How many loves do you really get in a lifetime?]]> 448 Jessa Hastings 0593474864 Dannii 5 First Read: September 2023, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: April 2025, Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the first instalment in The Magnolia Parks Universe series.

"How's the weather over there, Parks?"

I understand that judging a book by its cover or only picking up a book because of the hype, when it is outside of your usual genre, aren't necessarily good ideas. But it definitely worked for me here! This book's original and self-published covers were so beautifully ornate and unique that I thought they had fantasy stories contained inside of them. The huge amount of online hype had me eager to attempt the story, despite this not being the case. I caved and bought the (in my opinion) unappealing traditionally published covers and was swept away by what was inside them.

I am not really a romance girly but this book has me rethinking everything I thought I knew about myself!

Magnolia Parks is a socialite residing in London. BJ Ballentine is her on-again-off-again boyfriend/best friend. The pair are at the centre of every gossip magazine and both fans and trolls online are eager to decipher the confusing history between the pair.

Both of these characters, as well as those of their wider friendship groups, were likable and unlikable in equal measure. They were self-absorbed, made bad choices, cared little for those outside of their immediate worlds, and were very far removed from the issues plaguing most who resided in modern-day Britain. So tell me why I absolutely adored them all and could not stop rooting for what was very clearly a toxic and doomed relationship??

This read very much like a British Gossip Girl and, asides from the relationship drama that dominated, the reader was provided with an insight to how the other half lived. Whilst I could have done without a description of what brands and trends every single character was wearing on every other page, I did find this very interesting to read about.

The romance was where my heart lay and also what the book truly focused on, however. This was tragic and heart-breaking - a true literary car-crash I could not tear my eyes away from. Any fleeting moment of happiness had me swooning, perhaps all the harder because I knew it would be ripped away from these characters moments later.

This book dominated my thoughts every waking moment whilst I was reading it and I am still obsessed with it a month after completing the book. Once my heart has recovered I will continue on with the series but for now the weather is a little too stormy over here!]]> 3.73 2021
author: Jessa Hastings
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/02
date added: 2025/04/23
shelves: adult-books-read, romantic-recollections, contemporary-cuteness, recommended-reading
review:
First Read: September 2023, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: April 2025, Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the first instalment in The Magnolia Parks Universe series.

"How's the weather over there, Parks?"

I understand that judging a book by its cover or only picking up a book because of the hype, when it is outside of your usual genre, aren't necessarily good ideas. But it definitely worked for me here! This book's original and self-published covers were so beautifully ornate and unique that I thought they had fantasy stories contained inside of them. The huge amount of online hype had me eager to attempt the story, despite this not being the case. I caved and bought the (in my opinion) unappealing traditionally published covers and was swept away by what was inside them.

I am not really a romance girly but this book has me rethinking everything I thought I knew about myself!

Magnolia Parks is a socialite residing in London. BJ Ballentine is her on-again-off-again boyfriend/best friend. The pair are at the centre of every gossip magazine and both fans and trolls online are eager to decipher the confusing history between the pair.

Both of these characters, as well as those of their wider friendship groups, were likable and unlikable in equal measure. They were self-absorbed, made bad choices, cared little for those outside of their immediate worlds, and were very far removed from the issues plaguing most who resided in modern-day Britain. So tell me why I absolutely adored them all and could not stop rooting for what was very clearly a toxic and doomed relationship??

This read very much like a British Gossip Girl and, asides from the relationship drama that dominated, the reader was provided with an insight to how the other half lived. Whilst I could have done without a description of what brands and trends every single character was wearing on every other page, I did find this very interesting to read about.

The romance was where my heart lay and also what the book truly focused on, however. This was tragic and heart-breaking - a true literary car-crash I could not tear my eyes away from. Any fleeting moment of happiness had me swooning, perhaps all the harder because I knew it would be ripped away from these characters moments later.

This book dominated my thoughts every waking moment whilst I was reading it and I am still obsessed with it a month after completing the book. Once my heart has recovered I will continue on with the series but for now the weather is a little too stormy over here!
]]> 6237768 The end is coming.

Logen Ninefingers might only have one more fight in him - but it's going to be a big one. Battle rages across the North, the King of the Northmen still stands firm, and there's only one man who can stop him. His oldest friend, and his oldest enemy. It's past time for the Bloody-Nine to come home.

With too many masters and too little time, Superior Glokta is fighting a different kind of war. A secret struggle in which no-one is safe, and no-one can be trusted. His days with a sword are far behind him. It's a good thing blackmail, threats and torture still work well enough.

Jezal dan Luthar has decided that winning glory is far too painful, and turned his back on soldiering for a simple life with the woman he loves. But love can be painful too, and glory has a nasty habit of creeping up on a man when he least expects it.

While the King of the Union lies on his deathbead, the peasants revolt and the nobles scramble to steal his crown. No-one believes that the shadow of war is falling across the very heart of the Union. The First of the Magi has a plan to save the world, as he always does. But there are risks. There is no risk more terrible, after all, than to break the First Law...]]> 670 Joe Abercrombie 0575084162 Dannii 5 First Read: January 2021, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: February 2024, Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the third instalment in The First Law series.

North and South are still engaged in a war for dominance and their battle is coming ever closer to the king's front door. But this is not the only fight being fought, as torturer Glokta knows only too keenly. The wizard Bayaz has his own mysterious agenda too, and his ongoing battle to reach it is on a perilous a precipice as all the others.

Every instalment in this fantastic and fantastical series has deeply impressed me, with this final book being no different. The same characters litter the text and all prove as witty, quarrelsome, hard-headed, and blood-soaked as ever. The whole cast were the major reason why I loved this series so much. There was no distinct hero to root for but also no clear villain. Every character was, instead, a morally grey creation who provided much intellectual nourishment and prompted much discussion between myself and the handful of others I read this book alongside.

Asides from the droll interactions between and continuous growth of the characters, scenes of high action and bloodshed also dominated the book. War arrived and Abercrombie spared his readers none of the immersion in the intricacies both on the battlefield and safely behind enemy lines, as brains become engaged in more underhanded or self-serving tactics.

I struggled to tear myself away from these pages and, with only three books of his so far read, can now indefinitely categorise Abercrombie as a life-long, favourite author.]]> 4.42 2008
author: Joe Abercrombie
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/13
date added: 2025/02/13
shelves: fantastic-fabrications, recommended-reading, adult-books-read
review:
First Read: January 2021, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: February 2024, Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the third instalment in The First Law series.

North and South are still engaged in a war for dominance and their battle is coming ever closer to the king's front door. But this is not the only fight being fought, as torturer Glokta knows only too keenly. The wizard Bayaz has his own mysterious agenda too, and his ongoing battle to reach it is on a perilous a precipice as all the others.

Every instalment in this fantastic and fantastical series has deeply impressed me, with this final book being no different. The same characters litter the text and all prove as witty, quarrelsome, hard-headed, and blood-soaked as ever. The whole cast were the major reason why I loved this series so much. There was no distinct hero to root for but also no clear villain. Every character was, instead, a morally grey creation who provided much intellectual nourishment and prompted much discussion between myself and the handful of others I read this book alongside.

Asides from the droll interactions between and continuous growth of the characters, scenes of high action and bloodshed also dominated the book. War arrived and Abercrombie spared his readers none of the immersion in the intricacies both on the battlefield and safely behind enemy lines, as brains become engaged in more underhanded or self-serving tactics.

I struggled to tear myself away from these pages and, with only three books of his so far read, can now indefinitely categorise Abercrombie as a life-long, favourite author.
]]> 38352645 Step Boldly...

Morrigan Crow is cursed, destined to die on her eleventh birthday. But, as the clock strikes midnight, she’s whisked away by a remarkable man called Jupiter North and taken to the secret city of Nevermoor.

There she’s invited to join the Wundrous Society. Mystery, magic and protection are hers �� if only she can pass four impossible trials, using an exceptional talent. Which she doesn’t have…]]> 374 Jessica Townsend 1510103821 Dannii 5
Morrigan Crow is a Cursed Child. She is responsible for failed spelling bees, broken bones, and inclement weather. She is destined to die on her eleventh Birthday and the town she resides in, as well as her family, could not be more pleased about it. Jupiter North, however, is a stranger to both Morrigan and the township and has other plans for her entirely, which prove to be just as strange as he is.

I am already a huge fan of fantastical Middle Grade stories. I find them heartfelt and absorbing creations, full of hair-raising adventure, whimsical fabrications, fierce characters, and easily alienated good and bad binaries. This featured every one of these elements but so, so much more.]]> 4.35 2017
author: Jessica Townsend
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2020/11/30
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: fantastic-fabrications, recommended-reading, adventurous-acuity, middle-grade-books-read, 2025-tbr
review:
This is the first instalment in the Nevermoor series.

Morrigan Crow is a Cursed Child. She is responsible for failed spelling bees, broken bones, and inclement weather. She is destined to die on her eleventh Birthday and the town she resides in, as well as her family, could not be more pleased about it. Jupiter North, however, is a stranger to both Morrigan and the township and has other plans for her entirely, which prove to be just as strange as he is.

I am already a huge fan of fantastical Middle Grade stories. I find them heartfelt and absorbing creations, full of hair-raising adventure, whimsical fabrications, fierce characters, and easily alienated good and bad binaries. This featured every one of these elements but so, so much more.
]]> 25786523
Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.

Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe.]]> 404 Becky Chambers 1473619807 Dannii 5
Space sci-fi often feels expansive, with the focus remaining on interplanetary politics. This element featured inside this book and yet the primary focus remained on the crew it with. Their differing species and personalities made them both a ragtag ensemble and an engaging bunch to get to know. They each had their personal demons to battle but their hearts remained concerned with each other and their fierce family bond was immediately felt.

The Wayfarer spaceship is as worn out and patched together as the crew it contains inside of it. It also retains as much fight as them, as well. I quickly learned to love both unconditionally and wanted to sob repeatedly for how wholesome, inclusive, and heartfelt a creation this book was. This has much to teach any reader about the nature of acceptance, tolerance, and embracement.]]> 4.18 2014
author: Becky Chambers
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2020/11/30
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: science-fiction-sagacity, recommended-reading, adventurous-acuity, adult-books-read, 2025-tbr
review:
This is the first instalment in the Wayfarers series.

Space sci-fi often feels expansive, with the focus remaining on interplanetary politics. This element featured inside this book and yet the primary focus remained on the crew it with. Their differing species and personalities made them both a ragtag ensemble and an engaging bunch to get to know. They each had their personal demons to battle but their hearts remained concerned with each other and their fierce family bond was immediately felt.

The Wayfarer spaceship is as worn out and patched together as the crew it contains inside of it. It also retains as much fight as them, as well. I quickly learned to love both unconditionally and wanted to sob repeatedly for how wholesome, inclusive, and heartfelt a creation this book was. This has much to teach any reader about the nature of acceptance, tolerance, and embracement.
]]> 41713778
Eleven year-old Tilly has lived above her grandparents' bookshop ever since her mother disappeared shortly after she was born. Like the rest of her family, Tilly loves nothing more than to escape into the pages of her favourite stories.

One day Tilly realises that classic children's characters are appearing in the shop through the magic of `book wandering' - crossing over from the page into real life.

With the help of Anne of Green Gables and Alice in Wonderland. Tilly is determined to solve the mystery of what happened to her mother all those years ago, so she bravely steps into the unknown, unsure of what adventure lies ahead and what dangers she may face.]]> 400 Anna James 0008229872 Dannii 5 First Read: January 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: December 2024, Rating: 5/5 stars

"Books can change minds and change worlds, open doors and open minds, plant seeds that can grow into magical or even terrifying things. Stories are things to be loved and respected at the same time; never underestimate the power of them. It's why books are often casualties of censorship; those who ban or burn books are those who are scared of what can be found among their pages."

I am absolutely enamoured with every single thing about this book. I don't think I've had such a connection with a children's story as an adult before and I have definitely found a new favourite here.

Matilda Pages resides with her grandparents in their family owned bookshop, Pages and Co. With half-term newly begun, she is looking forward to nothing more than drinking endless mugs of hot chocolate, sneaking chocolate brownies from the bookshop cafe, and immersing herself in a good book. But, much to her surprise and less so to her grandparents', the books start to immerse her!

This is the book of any bibliophile's dream. It is written with the true passion of a reader and with a great understanding of various classics. I'm not quite sure the middle grade age range this is aimed at would have a full understanding of the classic influences and nods throughout, but this adult reader appreciated them all immensely.

Tilly's character is a mixture of her two greatest literary loves - Anne from Anne of Green Gables and Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. She has the sweetest soul with the most adventurous spirit, and the combination of the two had me eager to venture with her anywhere!

I'm still in awe that James crafted a novel twisted enough to surprise this full-grown reader. There were three grand reveals along the story's journey. Two came with open-mouthed surprise from me, whilst the last was something I was anticipating for a while. As the narrative continued, I only grew more in love with everything about it and I am eager to continue on with Tilly and her adventures, wherever she may take me.]]> 4.19 2018
author: Anna James
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/11
date added: 2024/12/11
shelves: recommended-reading, contemporary-cuteness, fantastic-fabrications, fairy-tale-fancy, middle-grade-books-read, magical-realism-mastery
review:
First Read: January 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: December 2024, Rating: 5/5 stars

"Books can change minds and change worlds, open doors and open minds, plant seeds that can grow into magical or even terrifying things. Stories are things to be loved and respected at the same time; never underestimate the power of them. It's why books are often casualties of censorship; those who ban or burn books are those who are scared of what can be found among their pages."

I am absolutely enamoured with every single thing about this book. I don't think I've had such a connection with a children's story as an adult before and I have definitely found a new favourite here.

Matilda Pages resides with her grandparents in their family owned bookshop, Pages and Co. With half-term newly begun, she is looking forward to nothing more than drinking endless mugs of hot chocolate, sneaking chocolate brownies from the bookshop cafe, and immersing herself in a good book. But, much to her surprise and less so to her grandparents', the books start to immerse her!

This is the book of any bibliophile's dream. It is written with the true passion of a reader and with a great understanding of various classics. I'm not quite sure the middle grade age range this is aimed at would have a full understanding of the classic influences and nods throughout, but this adult reader appreciated them all immensely.

Tilly's character is a mixture of her two greatest literary loves - Anne from Anne of Green Gables and Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. She has the sweetest soul with the most adventurous spirit, and the combination of the two had me eager to venture with her anywhere!

I'm still in awe that James crafted a novel twisted enough to surprise this full-grown reader. There were three grand reveals along the story's journey. Two came with open-mouthed surprise from me, whilst the last was something I was anticipating for a while. As the narrative continued, I only grew more in love with everything about it and I am eager to continue on with Tilly and her adventures, wherever she may take me.
]]> 61145554
A girl has spent hers in a tiny settlement out on the Dust where nightmares stalk and no one goes.

The world has never even noticed them. That's about to change.

Their stories spiral around each other, across worlds and time. This is a tale of truth and lies and hearts, and the blurring of one into another. A journey on which knowledge erodes certainty, and on which, though the pen may be mightier than the sword, blood will be spilled and cities burned.]]> 571 Mark Lawrence Dannii 5 First Read: May 2023, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: Deecember 2024, Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the first instalment in The Library Trilogy.

"He waved an arm at the aisle stretching away from them. ‘This is power. This is where the histories are. This is where the great philosophers are. This is where the secrets that arm our soldiers with arrow-sticks are written. This is where the next secrets will be found. You think our people would have even a fraction of what they have now without the library? It wasn’t many generations ago we were fighting each other with bones and rocks, and we thought fire was a great magic …��"

Any book lover could not fail to find great joy inside these pages. The library at the centre of the story is a prison to some, a magical portal to others. It is both an escape and a home, or a means to creating both. It allows the central characters to find both themselves and each other inside of it.

Time shifts or creeps and the lines of reality are often blurred, meaning everything is to be questioned in this world. Lawrence has crafted something mind-blowingly brilliant and, because of that, it can take the reader a little time to assimilate themselves within this vast and magical world. It is definitely worth it though - for the library that both replicates the magic to be found within all libraries as well as the magic that is uniquely all its own; for the courageous, loveable, and big-hearted protagonists, Livira and Evar, who centre in this story; for the incredible storytelling and poetic writing that speaks to the soul of any reader; and for the rich world that has been created, complete with corruption, revenge plots, political intrigue, and monsters, both human and otherwise.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Mark Lawrence, and the publisher, Harper Voyager, for this opportunity.]]> 4.19 2023
author: Mark Lawrence
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/05
date added: 2024/12/05
shelves: adult-books-read, fantastic-fabrications, recommended-reading
review:
First Read: May 2023, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: Deecember 2024, Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the first instalment in The Library Trilogy.

"He waved an arm at the aisle stretching away from them. ‘This is power. This is where the histories are. This is where the great philosophers are. This is where the secrets that arm our soldiers with arrow-sticks are written. This is where the next secrets will be found. You think our people would have even a fraction of what they have now without the library? It wasn’t many generations ago we were fighting each other with bones and rocks, and we thought fire was a great magic …��"

Any book lover could not fail to find great joy inside these pages. The library at the centre of the story is a prison to some, a magical portal to others. It is both an escape and a home, or a means to creating both. It allows the central characters to find both themselves and each other inside of it.

Time shifts or creeps and the lines of reality are often blurred, meaning everything is to be questioned in this world. Lawrence has crafted something mind-blowingly brilliant and, because of that, it can take the reader a little time to assimilate themselves within this vast and magical world. It is definitely worth it though - for the library that both replicates the magic to be found within all libraries as well as the magic that is uniquely all its own; for the courageous, loveable, and big-hearted protagonists, Livira and Evar, who centre in this story; for the incredible storytelling and poetic writing that speaks to the soul of any reader; and for the rich world that has been created, complete with corruption, revenge plots, political intrigue, and monsters, both human and otherwise.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Mark Lawrence, and the publisher, Harper Voyager, for this opportunity.
]]> 944078
In the heat-ravaged south the Gurkish are massing to assault the city of Dagoska, defended by Inquisitor Glokta. The city is braced for the inevitable defeat and massacre to come, preparations are made to make the Gurkish pay for every inch of land ... but a plot is festering to hand the city to its beseigers without a fight, and the previous Inquisitor of Dagoska vanished without trace. Threatened from within and without the city, Glokta needs answers, and he needs them soon.

And to the east a small band of malefactors travel to the edge of the world to reclaim a device from history - a Seed, hidden for generations - with tremendous destructive potential. A device which could put a end to war, to the army of Eaters in the South, to the invasion of Shanka from the North - but only if it can be found, and only if its power can be controlled ...]]> 570 Joe Abercrombie 0575082011 Dannii 5 First Read: December 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: December 2024, Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the second instalment in The First Law series.

In the bitter-cold North they are preparing for war and in the sun-drenched South they are doing exactly the same. Which will prevail? If the small band in the East are successful, it will be neither of them.

This saw the characters from the first book combine on their quests together, and move on a more cohesive path to the explosive finale. Each of them remained as nuanced and darkly humorous as I have previously found them and I love how none are afraid to showcase their base, bloody, and brutal, sides. This set of characters have quickly entered into my affections, despite not a one of them becoming individuals it is easy to entirely root for. That is, however, exactly what makes them so compelling to read about.]]> 4.37 2007
author: Joe Abercrombie
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/02
date added: 2024/12/02
shelves: fantastic-fabrications, adult-books-read, recommended-reading
review:
First Read: December 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: December 2024, Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the second instalment in The First Law series.

In the bitter-cold North they are preparing for war and in the sun-drenched South they are doing exactly the same. Which will prevail? If the small band in the East are successful, it will be neither of them.

This saw the characters from the first book combine on their quests together, and move on a more cohesive path to the explosive finale. Each of them remained as nuanced and darkly humorous as I have previously found them and I love how none are afraid to showcase their base, bloody, and brutal, sides. This set of characters have quickly entered into my affections, despite not a one of them becoming individuals it is easy to entirely root for. That is, however, exactly what makes them so compelling to read about.
]]> 944073
Nobleman Captain Jezal dan Luthar, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules.

Inquisitor Glokta, cripple turned torturer, would like nothing better than to see Jezal come home in a box. But then Glokta hates everyone: cutting treason out of the Union one confession at a time leaves little room for friendship. His latest trail of corpses may lead him right to the rotten heart of government, if he can stay alive long enough to follow it.

Enter the wizard, Bayaz. A bald old man with a terrible temper and a pathetic assistant, he could be the First of the Magi, he could be a spectacular fraud, but whatever he is, he's about to make the lives of Logen, Jezal, and Glokta a whole lot more difficult.

Murderous conspiracies rise to the surface, old scores are ready to be settled, and the line between hero and villain is sharp enough to draw blood.

]]> 515 Joe Abercrombie 0575079797 Dannii 5 First Read: October 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: November 2024, Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the first instalment in The First Law series.

What does a wild and infamous killer, a poised and weak nobleman, a crippled and tortured torturer, and an elusive and wise wizard have in common? Nothing. Yet. But war is coming and they, along with a host of others, will soon be called upon to choose their sides and fight for it.

This gave me everything I desire from an epic fantasy read. The plot was bloody and brutal yet the characters had heart and humour. The world was expansive yet there was much room for further growth. The multiple storylines begun in a seemingly disparate manner and yet converged in a clever and unforeseen manner. This made me squirm on some page, with its detailed descriptions of torture, and laugh out loud on others, with the blunt and dry wit exhibited by the characters. I'm in awe and in love and still far too besotted with the magic of Abercrmobie's storytelling to pen a more coherent review, even after a second reading!]]> 4.21 2006
author: Joe Abercrombie
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/19
date added: 2024/11/19
shelves: recommended-reading, fantastic-fabrications, adult-books-read
review:
First Read: October 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: November 2024, Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the first instalment in The First Law series.

What does a wild and infamous killer, a poised and weak nobleman, a crippled and tortured torturer, and an elusive and wise wizard have in common? Nothing. Yet. But war is coming and they, along with a host of others, will soon be called upon to choose their sides and fight for it.

This gave me everything I desire from an epic fantasy read. The plot was bloody and brutal yet the characters had heart and humour. The world was expansive yet there was much room for further growth. The multiple storylines begun in a seemingly disparate manner and yet converged in a clever and unforeseen manner. This made me squirm on some page, with its detailed descriptions of torture, and laugh out loud on others, with the blunt and dry wit exhibited by the characters. I'm in awe and in love and still far too besotted with the magic of Abercrmobie's storytelling to pen a more coherent review, even after a second reading!
]]> 59661250
It is a hard life on a strange world under a red sun that never moves in the heavens, its landscape dotted with the ruins of the Ancients who came from beyond the sky. The Kingdom of the Light, Shadows, and Dark brought stability to this world for generations, but peace is dying as the kingdom crumbles. Rebellion and warfare are rife in the realm, and death in all its brutal forms stalks the land.

Aeryn, the Princess of Shadows, is second in line to the throne. As a young child, she loves stories of the Ancients and wants to see what is beyond the sky. The fighting, however, brings an abrupt end to her childhood and shatters not only the Light, Shadows, and Dark, but her family as well. She grows up amid war and loss, a smart, stubborn, and quick-tempered girl who promises her mother she would always do her best and vows to be true to her word. Childhood dreams must wait; her priorities become revenge and the throne of a restored kingdom.

Achieving any of her goals seems unlikely as obstacles are piled, one after another, in front of her. Armies fail, castles fall, and erstwhile allies betray. She makes plenty of mistakes and must learn from her errors fast enough to survive. She finds friends and allies in strange places, but there are many who see her as nothing more than a pawn in their own plays for power. The odds are not in her favor. If she fails, humanity will face a bleak future on an unforgiving world.

What is the future of a young princess beset by powerful lords and captains? What is the fate of those men when the princess decides to get even?]]> 526 Colin Alexander 1736198416 Dannii 5 4.44
author: Colin Alexander
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.44
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/28
date added: 2024/10/28
shelves: adult-books-read, fantastic-fabrications, recommended-reading
review:
Standalone fantasy stories are rare and ones as perfect as this was, even rarer. Review to follow.
]]> 40381319 A world divided.
A queendom without an heir.
An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction—but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.]]> 827 Samantha Shannon Dannii 5 First Read: May 2019, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: June 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars
Third Read: October 2024, Rating: 5/5 stars

Cancel me for any other book that does not feature dragons, queendoms, and this exact set of characters because this was PERFECTION!!]]> 4.13 2019
author: Samantha Shannon
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/08
date added: 2024/10/08
shelves: recommended-reading, fantastic-fabrications, adult-books-read
review:
First Read: May 2019, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: June 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars
Third Read: October 2024, Rating: 5/5 stars

Cancel me for any other book that does not feature dragons, queendoms, and this exact set of characters because this was PERFECTION!!
]]> 11059675 Alternate Cover Edition can be found here, here and here

HBO’s hit series A GAME OF THRONES is based on George R. R. Martin’s internationally bestselling series A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. A GAME OF THRONES is the first volume in the series.

Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.

As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must �� and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty.

The old gods have no power in the south, Stark’s family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne.]]> 819 George R.R. Martin Dannii 5 First read: June 2015
Second read: July 2018

I staved off from reading this series for far too long for fear of 'jumping on the bandwagon' and I definitely regretted not having this book in my life sooner. Sometimes the hype surrounding a book or series leads to expectations too highly placed; but in this instance, the book definitely lived up to its expectations...in fact it exceeded them!

On my second time of reading this book I found my enjoyment during my first reading had not dwindled one iota! I have also watched the TV adaptation multiple times but being intimately aware of the events that unfolded did not lead to this being a predictable or boring read. If anything, without any confusion over the multiple characters and complex geographical and political terrain that is traversed, I found myself able to delve past the events that were occurring and read the many subtle clues that were dropped. These many hints often involved events that occur in later books and the foresight Martin had, whilst writing this series, is phenomenal!]]> 4.43 1996
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.43
book published: 1996
rating: 5
read at: 2018/07/24
date added: 2024/09/26
shelves: recommended-reading, fantastic-fabrications, adult-books-read, 2025-tbr
review:
First read: June 2015
Second read: July 2018

I staved off from reading this series for far too long for fear of 'jumping on the bandwagon' and I definitely regretted not having this book in my life sooner. Sometimes the hype surrounding a book or series leads to expectations too highly placed; but in this instance, the book definitely lived up to its expectations...in fact it exceeded them!

On my second time of reading this book I found my enjoyment during my first reading had not dwindled one iota! I have also watched the TV adaptation multiple times but being intimately aware of the events that unfolded did not lead to this being a predictable or boring read. If anything, without any confusion over the multiple characters and complex geographical and political terrain that is traversed, I found myself able to delve past the events that were occurring and read the many subtle clues that were dropped. These many hints often involved events that occur in later books and the foresight Martin had, whilst writing this series, is phenomenal!
]]> 181133 317 page edition

First, there were ten—a curious assortment of strangers summoned as weekend guests to a little private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they're unwilling to reveal—and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. A famous nursery rhyme is framed and hung in every room of the mansion:

"Ten little boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were nine. Nine little boys sat up very late; One overslept himself and then there were eight. Eight little boys traveling in Devon; One said he'd stay there then there were seven. Seven little boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in half and then there were six. Six little boys playing with a hive; A bumblebee stung one and then there were five. Five little boys going in for law; One got in Chancery and then there were four. Four little boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were three. Three little boys walking in the zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were two. Two little boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was one. One little boy left all alone; He went out and hanged himself and then there were none."

When they realize that murders are occurring as described in the rhyme, terror mounts. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none. Who has choreographed this dastardly scheme? And who will be left to tell the tale? Only the dead are above suspicion.]]> 250 Agatha Christie Dannii 5 4.30 1939
author: Agatha Christie
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1939
rating: 5
read at: 2020/03/24
date added: 2024/07/01
shelves: crime-creations, mysterious-miasmas, recommended-reading, adult-books-read
review:
I've read quite a few Christie's, over the years, and none fail to amuse and appeal. Also, however, none impress me in quite the same way that this one does! This features such an astounding cast of characters, an eerie and riveting story-line, and an unguessable concluding twist that ensured I was hooked throughout and remain in awe of her genius, forevermore.
]]> 156480764
In New York City, bookseller Cassie Andrews is living an unassuming life when she is given a gift by a favourite customer. It's a book - an unusual book, full of strange writing and mysterious drawings. And at the very front there is a handwritten message to Cassie, telling her that this is the Book of Doors, and that any door is every door .

What Cassie is about to discover is that the Book of Doors is a special book that bestows an extraordinary powers on whoever possesses it, and soon she and her best friend Izzy are exploring all that the Book of Doors can do, swept away from their quiet lives by the possibilities of travelling to anywhere they want.

But the Book of Doors is not the only magical book in the world. There are other books that can do wondrous and dreadful things when wielded by dangerous and ruthless individuals - individuals who crave what Cassie now possesses.

Suddenly Cassie and Izzy are confronted by violence and danger, and the only person who can help them is, it seems, Drummond Fox. He is a man fleeing his own demons - a man with his own secret library of magical books that he has hidden away in the shadows for safekeeping. Because there is a nameless evil out there that is hunting them all . . .

Because some doors should never be opened.]]> 408 Gareth Brown 1787637247 Dannii 5
This book in one word: phenomenal! Everything about the concept enraptured me and there existed as much action as it did plot progression throughout to ensure no part felt too stodgy or too rushed. I hadn't any idea of where the book would go and did have to go back and reread the latter sections in order to process the path the book actually took. When I realised I had, in fact, read what I thought I had, I became astounded all over again with Gareth Brown's brilliance. This was utter perfection!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Garteh Brown, and the publisher, Transworld, for this opportunity.]]> 4.03 2024
author: Gareth Brown
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/02/29
date added: 2024/06/13
shelves: adult-books-read, fantastic-fabrications, magical-realism-mastery, recommended-reading
review:
Books exist and they are magic. But what if there were others, containing actual spells to allow for your transportation or the conjuring of any image from your imagination or any number of other phenomena? Cassie is about to discover this for herself but it won't be all magical outings and fairy tales as a deadly pursuit starts that will take place both through time and space as enemies untold seek to gain these books for their own immoral gains.

This book in one word: phenomenal! Everything about the concept enraptured me and there existed as much action as it did plot progression throughout to ensure no part felt too stodgy or too rushed. I hadn't any idea of where the book would go and did have to go back and reread the latter sections in order to process the path the book actually took. When I realised I had, in fact, read what I thought I had, I became astounded all over again with Gareth Brown's brilliance. This was utter perfection!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Garteh Brown, and the publisher, Transworld, for this opportunity.
]]> 20935171
We are beautiful, privileged and live a life of carefree luxury.

We are cracked and broken.

A story of love and romance.

A tale of tragedy.

Which are lies?

Which is truth?

You decide.]]> 225 E. Lockhart 147140398X Dannii 5 First Read: March 2017, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: November 2018, Rating: 5/5 stars
Third Read: April 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars
Fourth Read: December 2023, Rating: 5/5 stars

YA contemporary and thriller novels are ones I can definitely enjoy but rarely revisit. This one, however, seems to be made with something different. The writing style is somewhat plain and straight forward and many of the characters are so like other unlikable and privileged individuals that I have read about before. The concluding twist and the endless build-up of mysteries, lies, and intrigue throughout keeps me captivated every time, despite intimately knowing every detail of this short book after my fourth reread.

I literally do not know what to say about this book except that y'all need to go read it, sob like a baby, and experience the biggest plot twist of your life!]]> 3.65 2014
author: E. Lockhart
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2023/12/15
date added: 2023/12/15
shelves: contemporary-cuteness, thriven-thrillers, mysterious-miasmas, recommended-reading, young-adult-books-read
review:
First Read: March 2017, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: November 2018, Rating: 5/5 stars
Third Read: April 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars
Fourth Read: December 2023, Rating: 5/5 stars

YA contemporary and thriller novels are ones I can definitely enjoy but rarely revisit. This one, however, seems to be made with something different. The writing style is somewhat plain and straight forward and many of the characters are so like other unlikable and privileged individuals that I have read about before. The concluding twist and the endless build-up of mysteries, lies, and intrigue throughout keeps me captivated every time, despite intimately knowing every detail of this short book after my fourth reread.

I literally do not know what to say about this book except that y'all need to go read it, sob like a baby, and experience the biggest plot twist of your life!
]]> 276750 149 Angela Carter 0099588110 Dannii 5 First read: 2011, Rating: 5 stars
Second read: 2013, Rating: 5 stars

The singularly most chilling dark and inspiringly feminist collection of tales I have ever experienced!]]> 3.79 1979
author: Angela Carter
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.79
book published: 1979
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/12/07
shelves: recommended-reading, satirical-susceptiveness, gothic-grotesqueness, anthological-astuteness, classic-captivaton, fairy-tale-fancy, adult-books-read, reliable-retellings, ancient-myth-tbr
review:
First read: 2011, Rating: 5 stars
Second read: 2013, Rating: 5 stars

The singularly most chilling dark and inspiringly feminist collection of tales I have ever experienced!
]]> 302176
Only Tanith Lee could do justice to it. In RED AS BLOOD, she displays her soaring imagination at its most fantastically mischievous. Not for nothing was the title story named as a Nebula nominee. Not for nothing was the author of THE BIRTHGRAVE & THE STORM LORD called by New York's Village Voice, "Goddess-Empress of the Hot Read."

Here are the world-famous tales of such as the Brothers Grimm as they might have been retold by the Sisters Grimmer! Fairy tales for children? Not on your life!

Contents:
Paid Piper (1981)
Red as Blood (1979)
Thorns (1972)
When the Clock Strikes (1980)
The Golden Rope (1983)
The Princess and Her Future (1983)
Wolfland (1980)
Black as Ink (1983)
Beauty (1983)]]> 208 Tanith Lee 0879977906 Dannii 5 The Bloody Chamber!]]> 4.05 1983
author: Tanith Lee
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1983
rating: 5
read at: 2014/01/01
date added: 2023/12/07
shelves: recommended-reading, fantastic-fabrications, anthological-astuteness, fairy-tale-fancy, adult-books-read, reliable-retellings, fairytale-tbr
review:
Right up there with The Bloody Chamber!
]]> 63270193 A shocking thriller about a cold case, a fictional true crime series, and the family caught in the middle.

SIX EPISODES. ONE KILLER.

It was a case that gripped the nation. In December 2003, Luke Ryder, the stepfather of acclaimed filmmaker Guy Howard (then aged 10), was found dead in the garden of their suburban family home.

Luke Ryder's murder has never been solved. Guy Howard's mother and two half-sisters were in the house at the time of the murder--but all swear they saw nothing. Despite a high-profile police investigation and endless media attention, no suspect was ever charged.

But some murder cases are simply too big to forget...

Now comes the sensational new Netflix series Infamous, dedicated to investigating--and perhaps cracking--this famous cold case. The production team will re-examine testimony, re-interview witnesses, and once again scour the evidence. The family will speak. The key players will be reunited--on camera. The truth will come out.

Are you ready to see it?]]> 470 Cara Hunter 0008530033 Dannii 5 3.90 2023
author: Cara Hunter
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2023/10/26
date added: 2023/11/02
shelves: adult-books-read, mysterious-miasmas, thriven-thrillers, artistic-absorption, recommended-reading
review:
This layout made the already tense and dramatic reveals appear all the more emotional and it is now the only format I want to ingest my thriller fiction in.
]]> 51182063
Lovingly created by the illustration duo behind popular flipbook Myth Match , Good Wives and Warriors , this book contains pages upon pages of cultural folklore from around the world.

Let these weird and wonderful creatures spark your child's imagination for their own storytelling and drawing while teaching them about international cultures.]]> 128 Anna Claybourne 1786276917 Dannii 5 First Read: July 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: May 2023, Rating: 5/5 stars

This book deserves a moment of silence to appreciate how beautiful it is!

Mythopedia is exactly what it sounds like: a small encyclopedia of different mythical beasts and beings. The book is split according to world setting and I appreciated both the abundance of stories included as well as the diversity of their cultural and geographical origins.

Despite it's slim size, every single page was adorned with an abundance of vivid illustrations, which aided the descriptions and folk tales that accompanied them. Every single mythological being was afforded a helpful description and a full page illustration, as well as an extra delightful little story for some.

I found this to be both informative and interesting, but it was also the most singularly beautiful book I have ever seen. I first read this in e-arc form, but already have my physical copy pre-ordered and a space ready to display it upon my shelves. EDIT: Reread in 2023 with the stunning finished hardback!

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the authors and illustrators, the duo behind Good Wives and Warriors, and the publisher, Laurence King Publishing, for this opportunity.]]> 4.46 2020
author: Anna Claybourne
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2023/05/18
date added: 2023/05/18
shelves: artistic-absorption, anthological-astuteness, mythological-majesty, non-fiction-nuances, recommended-reading, middle-grade-books-read
review:
First Read: July 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: May 2023, Rating: 5/5 stars

This book deserves a moment of silence to appreciate how beautiful it is!

Mythopedia is exactly what it sounds like: a small encyclopedia of different mythical beasts and beings. The book is split according to world setting and I appreciated both the abundance of stories included as well as the diversity of their cultural and geographical origins.

Despite it's slim size, every single page was adorned with an abundance of vivid illustrations, which aided the descriptions and folk tales that accompanied them. Every single mythological being was afforded a helpful description and a full page illustration, as well as an extra delightful little story for some.

I found this to be both informative and interesting, but it was also the most singularly beautiful book I have ever seen. I first read this in e-arc form, but already have my physical copy pre-ordered and a space ready to display it upon my shelves. EDIT: Reread in 2023 with the stunning finished hardback!

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the authors and illustrators, the duo behind Good Wives and Warriors, and the publisher, Laurence King Publishing, for this opportunity.
]]> 17370618
Ronan is the most dangerous of all.

He's the haunted one, the darkest, the most raven.

His dreams invade reality and confuse what is true.

With magic growing stronger around them, now is a time to be wary. Before everything unravels ��

Friendships will be tested. Someone will get hurt.

And a kiss will be shared.]]> 450 Maggie Stiefvater 1407136623 Dannii 5 First Read: January 2018, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: February 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars
Third Read: April 2022, Rating: 5/5 stars

“In that moment, Blue was a little in love with all of them. Their magic. Their quest. Their awfulness and strangeness. Her raven boys.��

Same, hun.]]> 4.27 2013
author: Maggie Stiefvater
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2023/04/18
date added: 2023/04/18
shelves: magical-realism-mastery, mythological-majesty, young-adult-books-read, recommended-reading
review:
First Read: January 2018, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: February 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars
Third Read: April 2022, Rating: 5/5 stars

“In that moment, Blue was a little in love with all of them. Their magic. Their quest. Their awfulness and strangeness. Her raven boys.��

Same, hun.
]]> 15743650
But this is the year that everything will change for Blue.

This is the year that she will be drawn into the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys. And the year Blue will discover that magic does exist.

This is the year she will fall in love.]]> 420 Maggie Stiefvater 1407134612 Dannii 5 First Read: January 2018, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: February 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars
Third Read: April 2022, Rating: 5/5 stars

The Raven Boys series seems it was created with the sole purpose of revealing me as a hypocrite. Fantasy that has its roots in reality isn’t my favourite. Fantasy that features a prominent romance isn’t my favourite. Fantasy that doesn’t feature complex magic systems and dark magicians in abundance isn’t my favourite. Yet this series, despite it all, most definitely IS a favourite.

My third reading of this series has occurred four years after my initial one and I am still just as enamoured with all of these characters as I was then. This series feels like home, like comfort, and returning to it like an exhale, a release. I can't imagine ever aging or my tastes altering to a point where I don't class this amongst my favourites.]]> 4.15 2012
author: Maggie Stiefvater
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2023/04/13
date added: 2023/04/13
shelves: recommended-reading, magical-realism-mastery, mythological-majesty, young-adult-books-read, dark-academia-ambition
review:
First Read: January 2018, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: February 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars
Third Read: April 2022, Rating: 5/5 stars

The Raven Boys series seems it was created with the sole purpose of revealing me as a hypocrite. Fantasy that has its roots in reality isn’t my favourite. Fantasy that features a prominent romance isn’t my favourite. Fantasy that doesn’t feature complex magic systems and dark magicians in abundance isn’t my favourite. Yet this series, despite it all, most definitely IS a favourite.

My third reading of this series has occurred four years after my initial one and I am still just as enamoured with all of these characters as I was then. This series feels like home, like comfort, and returning to it like an exhale, a release. I can't imagine ever aging or my tastes altering to a point where I don't class this amongst my favourites.
]]> 39398593
"Falley has turned her personal experiences into public prose, exposing her queerness and the raw chasm between self-confidence and self-doubt. She's dissected moments in her own life that've helped her and her listeners comprehend a woman's existence on Earth." - Boulder Weekly

*National Poetry Slam Finalist
*Pushcart Prize Nominee

It is clear that the author is madly in love, not only with her partner for whom she writes both idiosyncratic and sultry poems for, but in love with language, in love with queerness, in love with the therapeutic process of bankrupting the politics of shame. These poems tackle gun violence, toxic masculinity, LGBTQ* struggles, suicidality, and the oppression of women's bodies, while maintaining a vivid wildness that the tongue aches to speak aloud. Known best for breathtaking last lines and truths that will bowl you over, Drive Here and Devastate Me will “relinquish you from the possibility of meeting who you could have been, and regretting who you became.”]]> 112 Megan Falley 1938912861 Dannii 5 "The morning after Orlando,
we hang our heads half-staff.

My love shrugs my arm off their shoulderand reminds me where we are:
We’re at a rest stop, we’re somewhere
in the Midwest.

The shooter’s father said his son
opened up the chest of that nightclub
and undid its pulse because he saw two men
kissing in the street. I try to kiss my love
in the street. Even after, I have a hard time
believing anyone would want me
to die for this...

It’s like killing someone for dancing,
or for praying, or for being a child—which I guess
this world also does now—while a love note in a locker
turns death threat. While a boy leaves the closet
only to lock himself in the river.

And now, even pride feels like a casket.
And now, the rainbow bleeds out.

And now, I see a man buy a rifle in a Walmart and I don’t know
whether to hold my love’s hand tighter
or to let it go.

I watch my love from the crack of the rest stop stall.
I know what a haircut like theirs can launch
in a town with this much belief
in god.

So we walk back to the car like siblings
where nothing can kill us
but the news on the radio."

I've read many poetry anthologies that I have enjoyed or that have moved me in some way and if even one single line resonates with me, from throughout the collection, then I feel it was my worth my time in having read it. Rarely do I find such a connection with every word, every line, and every poem in the way that I did here. Flawless is the one word I would use to describe this! Also, devastating!

Megan Falley tackles many topics here, such as queerness, toxic masculinity, female fear, gun crime, religion and so, so much more. Some topics were based upon her personal experiences but all managed to convey universal emotions throughout them. I spent an afternoon with tears in my eyes and a heart both full and breaking due to these impressive contents. I definitely have a new favourite poet!

"a brave woman
stood up in an ocean of alone
and said, me

and

as if she summoned
sisters from the sea,
they raised their hands
like an army of answers,
an echo that would change
the tide, quiet at first,
then amplified
by the bittersweet gift
of not only one back
to carry the burden,
and, like a trust fall

long overdue, she was caught
by the sound of thousands
of opening arms, voices
of the voiceless, speaking
me too."]]> 4.50 2018
author: Megan Falley
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2023/03/13
date added: 2023/03/13
shelves: adult-books-read, anthological-astuteness, poetic-perspicacity, recommended-reading
review:
"The morning after Orlando,
we hang our heads half-staff.

My love shrugs my arm off their shoulderand reminds me where we are:
We’re at a rest stop, we’re somewhere
in the Midwest.

The shooter’s father said his son
opened up the chest of that nightclub
and undid its pulse because he saw two men
kissing in the street. I try to kiss my love
in the street. Even after, I have a hard time
believing anyone would want me
to die for this...

It’s like killing someone for dancing,
or for praying, or for being a child—which I guess
this world also does now—while a love note in a locker
turns death threat. While a boy leaves the closet
only to lock himself in the river.

And now, even pride feels like a casket.
And now, the rainbow bleeds out.

And now, I see a man buy a rifle in a Walmart and I don’t know
whether to hold my love’s hand tighter
or to let it go.

I watch my love from the crack of the rest stop stall.
I know what a haircut like theirs can launch
in a town with this much belief
in god.

So we walk back to the car like siblings
where nothing can kill us
but the news on the radio."

I've read many poetry anthologies that I have enjoyed or that have moved me in some way and if even one single line resonates with me, from throughout the collection, then I feel it was my worth my time in having read it. Rarely do I find such a connection with every word, every line, and every poem in the way that I did here. Flawless is the one word I would use to describe this! Also, devastating!

Megan Falley tackles many topics here, such as queerness, toxic masculinity, female fear, gun crime, religion and so, so much more. Some topics were based upon her personal experiences but all managed to convey universal emotions throughout them. I spent an afternoon with tears in my eyes and a heart both full and breaking due to these impressive contents. I definitely have a new favourite poet!

"a brave woman
stood up in an ocean of alone
and said, me

and

as if she summoned
sisters from the sea,
they raised their hands
like an army of answers,
an echo that would change
the tide, quiet at first,
then amplified
by the bittersweet gift
of not only one back
to carry the burden,
and, like a trust fall

long overdue, she was caught
by the sound of thousands
of opening arms, voices
of the voiceless, speaking
me too."
]]> 15809993 The Lord of the Rings. This charming deluxe pocket-sized edition contains the complete unabridged text and features a beautiful leatherette cover and gilt-edging. The perfect gift for little Hobbits everywhere! Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid the treasure hoard guarded by Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Bilbo reluctantly joins their quest, unaware that on his journey to the Lonely Mountain he will encounter both a magic ring and a frightening creature known as Gollum.

]]> 300 J.R.R. Tolkien 0544045521 Dannii 5 First Read: April 2016, Rating: 4/5 stars
Second Read: September 2018, Rating: 5/5 stars
Third Read: September 2021, Rating: 5/5 stars
Fourth Read: November 2022, Rating: 5/5 stars

Despite being an avid fantasy fan, it took me until 2016 to first read this fantasy classic. I thoroughly enjoyed my first reading of it and found it exceeded all of my expectations. It wasn't until my second reading, two years later, that I found a firm favourite in this delightful little volume, however. My third reading, another three years after that, cemented that fact.

There is something about Tolkien's atmospheric creations that seems to emit perfectly autumnal vibes. I lined my reading perfectly with the change in seasons, beginning my journey in the Shire while the sun was shining and ending it under the mountain as the leaves were falling from the trees outside. This enhanced my immersion in the novel and brought me to a deeper level of adoration for his masterful creation.

But it was not just the setting that transfixed my attention but the characters who traversed it. The fourteen intrepid explorers travelled across Middle-Earth to take what was previously theirs and managed to get themselves into a whole host of troubles along the way. I really appreciated the sense of camaraderie there was between the group of dwarves, Gandalf, and Bilbo. Despite totalling 14 in number, I rarely got confused as to who each individual was and rooted for them all almost equally... although Bilbo does hold a special place inside my heart.

The wit in this novel was so understated. This is not a book renowned for its hilarity but the often dry humour had me chuckling along, and also served the purpose of make the trials that quickly followed feel that much bleaker.

So, with a startling setting, colourful characters, fantastic feats, and dazzling dialogue all combined, there was nothing left to fault and I will quickly continue on to journey once again in Middle Earth, in the Lord of the Rings.]]> 4.49 1937
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.49
book published: 1937
rating: 5
read at: 2022/11/10
date added: 2022/11/10
shelves: adventurous-acuity, fantastic-fabrications, young-adult-books-read, recommended-reading, classic-captivaton
review:
First Read: April 2016, Rating: 4/5 stars
Second Read: September 2018, Rating: 5/5 stars
Third Read: September 2021, Rating: 5/5 stars
Fourth Read: November 2022, Rating: 5/5 stars

Despite being an avid fantasy fan, it took me until 2016 to first read this fantasy classic. I thoroughly enjoyed my first reading of it and found it exceeded all of my expectations. It wasn't until my second reading, two years later, that I found a firm favourite in this delightful little volume, however. My third reading, another three years after that, cemented that fact.

There is something about Tolkien's atmospheric creations that seems to emit perfectly autumnal vibes. I lined my reading perfectly with the change in seasons, beginning my journey in the Shire while the sun was shining and ending it under the mountain as the leaves were falling from the trees outside. This enhanced my immersion in the novel and brought me to a deeper level of adoration for his masterful creation.

But it was not just the setting that transfixed my attention but the characters who traversed it. The fourteen intrepid explorers travelled across Middle-Earth to take what was previously theirs and managed to get themselves into a whole host of troubles along the way. I really appreciated the sense of camaraderie there was between the group of dwarves, Gandalf, and Bilbo. Despite totalling 14 in number, I rarely got confused as to who each individual was and rooted for them all almost equally... although Bilbo does hold a special place inside my heart.

The wit in this novel was so understated. This is not a book renowned for its hilarity but the often dry humour had me chuckling along, and also served the purpose of make the trials that quickly followed feel that much bleaker.

So, with a startling setting, colourful characters, fantastic feats, and dazzling dialogue all combined, there was nothing left to fault and I will quickly continue on to journey once again in Middle Earth, in the Lord of the Rings.
]]> 38525180 Sarai has lived and breathed nightmares since she was six years old.
She believed she knew every horror, and was beyond surprise.
She was wrong.

In the wake of tragedy, neither Lazlo nor Sarai are who they were before. One a god, the other a ghost, they struggle to grasp the new boundaries of their selves as dark-minded Minya holds them hostage, intent on vengeance against Weep.

Lazlo faces an unthinkable choice--save the woman he loves, or everyone else?--while Sarai feels more helpless than ever. But is she? Sometimes, only the direst need can teach us our own depths, and Sarai, the muse of nightmares, has not yet discovered what she's capable of.

As humans and godspawn reel in the aftermath of the citadel's near fall, a new foe shatters their fragile hopes, and the mysteries of the Mesarthim are resurrected: Where did the gods come from, and why? What was done with thousands of children born in the citadel nursery? And most important of all, as forgotten doors are opened and new worlds revealed: Must heroes always slay monsters, or is it possible to save them instead?

Love and hate, revenge and redemption, destruction and salvation all clash in this gorgeous sequel to the New York Times bestseller, Strange the Dreamer.]]> 522 Laini Taylor 1444789031 Dannii 5 “Once upon a time there was a silence that dreamed of becoming a song, and then I found you, and now everything is music.��

MY HEART HAS BEEN SHATTERED.]]> 4.47 2018
author: Laini Taylor
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/10/31
date added: 2022/10/20
shelves: recommended-reading, fantastic-fabrications, romantic-recollections, young-adult-books-read
review:
“Once upon a time there was a silence that dreamed of becoming a song, and then I found you, and now everything is music.��

MY HEART HAS BEEN SHATTERED.
]]> 843489
Now Annie wants Paul to write his greatest work �� just for her. She has a lot of ways to spur him on. One is a needle. Another is an ax. And if they don't work, she can get really nasty.]]> 369 King-Stephen 0340951435 Dannii 5
This is King at his best. He takes a totally innocuous subject - an ardent fan, a typewriter, a bedroom door, anything at all - and infuses it with horrifying elements ordinarily reserved for more supernatural spectres. The reader is then thrust down a rabbit hole full of ill-ease, second-guessing, and the knowledge they will never be able to trust anything again when they return to the real-world, at the novel's close, breathless and with an entirely new outlook on life.]]> 4.17 1987
author: King-Stephen
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1987
rating: 5
read at: 2022/10/04
date added: 2022/10/04
shelves: horror-hazes, recommended-reading, adult-books-read, thriven-thrillers, mysterious-miasmas
review:
Second Read: October 2022, Rating: 5/5 Stars

This is King at his best. He takes a totally innocuous subject - an ardent fan, a typewriter, a bedroom door, anything at all - and infuses it with horrifying elements ordinarily reserved for more supernatural spectres. The reader is then thrust down a rabbit hole full of ill-ease, second-guessing, and the knowledge they will never be able to trust anything again when they return to the real-world, at the novel's close, breathless and with an entirely new outlook on life.
]]> 58511615 Discover the powerful new collection from the TikTok sensation and author of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous How else do we return to ourselves but to fold The page so it points to the good part'Tender and heartbreaking... Delving back into the visceral themes that made his 2019 novel On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous a revelation' TIMEIn this deeply intimate second poetry collection, Ocean Vuong searches for life among the aftershocks of his mother's death, embodying the paradox of sitting within grief while being determined to survive beyond it. Vivid, brave and propulsive, Vuong's poems contend with personal loss, the meaning of family, and the value of joy in a perennially fractured American spirit.The author of the critically acclaimed poetry collection Night Sky with Exit Wounds, winner of the 2016 Whiting Award, the 2017 T. S. Eliot Prize and a 2019 MacArthur fellow, Vuong writes directly to our humanity without losing sight of the current moment. Bold and prescient, and a testament to tenderness in the face of violence, Time is a Mother is a return and a forging-forth all at once.'Further confirms Vuong as one of the most important poets of his generation' Andrew McMillan, author of Physical]]> 85 Ocean Vuong 1787333841 Dannii 5 "Time is a mother.

Lest we forget, a morgue is also a community center."

I can name few individuals who paint images and emotions with words, who do so as exquisitely as Ocean Vuong. Each page reads like a scream that tears the throat apart, so raw is the grief experienced here. Healing is hard fought for but beautiful in its eventual delivery. I could read this endlessly and still find a new awe-inspiring discovery, so packed with hidden meanings and bountiful imagery, is each and every page. An undoubted personal favourite and masterful wordsmith!

"Oh, to live like a bullet, to touch people with such purpose. To be born going one way, toward everything alive. To walk into the world you never asked for but then choose the room where your hunger ends—which part of war do we owe such knowledge? It’s warm in this house where we will die, you and I. Let the stanza be one room, then. Let it be big enough for everyone, even the ghosts rising now from this bread we tear open to see what we’ve made of each other."]]> 3.81 2022
author: Ocean Vuong
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2022/09/22
date added: 2022/09/22
shelves: adult-books-read, anthological-astuteness, poetic-perspicacity, recommended-reading
review:
"Time is a mother.

Lest we forget, a morgue is also a community center."

I can name few individuals who paint images and emotions with words, who do so as exquisitely as Ocean Vuong. Each page reads like a scream that tears the throat apart, so raw is the grief experienced here. Healing is hard fought for but beautiful in its eventual delivery. I could read this endlessly and still find a new awe-inspiring discovery, so packed with hidden meanings and bountiful imagery, is each and every page. An undoubted personal favourite and masterful wordsmith!

"Oh, to live like a bullet, to touch people with such purpose. To be born going one way, toward everything alive. To walk into the world you never asked for but then choose the room where your hunger ends—which part of war do we owe such knowledge? It’s warm in this house where we will die, you and I. Let the stanza be one room, then. Let it be big enough for everyone, even the ghosts rising now from this bread we tear open to see what we’ve made of each other."
]]> 58032826
And so, brimming with magic and eager to test her strength, she breaks her covenant with her mother and, with a broken hunting spear and mended armour, rides on a bony gelding to Caer Leon. On her adventures she will meet great knights and steal the hearts of beautiful women. She will fight warriors and sorcerers. And she will find her love, and the lake, and her fate.]]> 188 Nicola Griffith Dannii 5
This was such an enchanting and exhilarating read, as full of as much mythology as it was whimsy. The characters remain unforgettable and I was charmed by them the entire time I was reading this. My main source of adoration stemmed from the rawness and authenticity that was infused into every page of this: the story felt like a bleeding, beating heart, alive for the reader to devour.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Nicola Griffith, and the publisher, Tor, for this opportunity.]]> 4.27 2022
author: Nicola Griffith
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2022/01/16
date added: 2022/08/20
shelves: young-adult-books-read, recommended-reading, fantastic-fabrications, romantic-recollections, historical-highness, mythological-majesty
review:
A girl leaves her mother and the safety of their cave home before she has even learned her own name. She ventures far, learning about her own magical strength and all she needs to fear in the world as she does so.

This was such an enchanting and exhilarating read, as full of as much mythology as it was whimsy. The characters remain unforgettable and I was charmed by them the entire time I was reading this. My main source of adoration stemmed from the rawness and authenticity that was infused into every page of this: the story felt like a bleeding, beating heart, alive for the reader to devour.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Nicola Griffith, and the publisher, Tor, for this opportunity.
]]> 57402051 Axie Oh's The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is an enthralling feminist retelling of the classic Korean folktale “The Tale of Shim Cheong,�� perfect for fans of Wintersong, Uprooted, and Miyazaki’s Spirited Away.

Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Floods sweep away entire villages, while bloody wars are waged over the few remaining resources. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride�� will be chosen and end the suffering.

Many believe that Shim Cheong, the most beautiful girl in the village—and the beloved of Mina’s older brother Joon—may be the legendary true bride. But on the night Cheong is to be sacrificed, Joon follows Cheong out to sea, even knowing that to interfere is a death sentence. To save her brother, Mina throws herself into the water in Cheong’s stead.

Swept away to the Spirit Realm, a magical city of lesser gods and mythical beasts, Mina seeks out the Sea God, only to find him caught in an enchanted sleep. With the help of a mysterious young man named Shin—as well as a motley crew of demons, gods and spirits—Mina sets out to wake the Sea God and bring an end to the killer storms once and for all.

But she doesn’t have much time: A human cannot live long in the land of the spirits. And there are those who would do anything to keep the Sea God from waking��

Praise for The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea:

"Shim Cheong is Korea's most famous legend and one I've heard all my life, but as a feminist it has always been my least favorite. Axie's book retells the fairy tale and empowers the girl protagonist while still preserving the beloved classic tale, set in a fantastical world so unique and fascinating. I absolutely loved every word!" —Ellen Oh, author of Prophecy and co-founder of We Need Diverse Books]]> 336 Axie Oh 125078087X Dannii 5
Mina finds her way to the ocean floor and the sleeping god who resided in silence inside his palace there. She also makes her way to discovering the inhabitants of the teeming city beyond its hallowed walls too. Where does the answer for how to save her people lie? With this petulant god, able but unwilling to aid her? Or is it contained with souls of the Spirit Realm, so bright and seemingly full of life?

I adored every aspect of this enchanting story. It was as full of whimsy and wonder as it was action and adventure, heart and humour as it was grief and gravity. The reader was spared no emotion and many a tear, of both the happy and sad variety, were shed.

Mina was a strong protagonist whose flaws only served to make her both more authentic and more lovable. She introduced the reader to her new underwater world and invited us to explore its streets together. All that was found there was fantastical in nature and intriguing in design. I loved gaining an understanding for all that the author conjured and seeing how everything had its perfect placement inside the story.

The underwater cultures and religion were perhaps the most inventive and intriguing aspects for me, only shared with my love for the blossoming romances that featured alongside them. This romantic focus was as searingly painful in some instances as it was sweet and promising in others. As in every other area, the dualities served to bond me with all that was occurring on the page and the author's exquisite prose made each scene dance vividly inside my imagination. A faultless creation!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Axie Oh, and the publisher, Hodder & Stoughton, for this opportunity.
]]> 4.25 2022
author: Axie Oh
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2022/01/24
date added: 2022/08/15
shelves: young-adult-books-read, fantastic-fabrications, romantic-recollections, recommended-reading
review:
The Sea God once protected the islands nestled in between his watery abode but now he plagues them with deadly storms instead, only ever appeased and only ever momentarily by a bride sacrificed to him. Shim Cheong is this year's sacrifice and, as the most beautiful girl of the island, its inhabitants are hopeful she may be the last. For her true love, Joon, it is an unbearable sacrifice and so his little sister, Mina, plunges herself into the waves and takes Shim Cheong's place.

Mina finds her way to the ocean floor and the sleeping god who resided in silence inside his palace there. She also makes her way to discovering the inhabitants of the teeming city beyond its hallowed walls too. Where does the answer for how to save her people lie? With this petulant god, able but unwilling to aid her? Or is it contained with souls of the Spirit Realm, so bright and seemingly full of life?

I adored every aspect of this enchanting story. It was as full of whimsy and wonder as it was action and adventure, heart and humour as it was grief and gravity. The reader was spared no emotion and many a tear, of both the happy and sad variety, were shed.

Mina was a strong protagonist whose flaws only served to make her both more authentic and more lovable. She introduced the reader to her new underwater world and invited us to explore its streets together. All that was found there was fantastical in nature and intriguing in design. I loved gaining an understanding for all that the author conjured and seeing how everything had its perfect placement inside the story.

The underwater cultures and religion were perhaps the most inventive and intriguing aspects for me, only shared with my love for the blossoming romances that featured alongside them. This romantic focus was as searingly painful in some instances as it was sweet and promising in others. As in every other area, the dualities served to bond me with all that was occurring on the page and the author's exquisite prose made each scene dance vividly inside my imagination. A faultless creation!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Axie Oh, and the publisher, Hodder & Stoughton, for this opportunity.

]]> 36607463 222 Yung Pueblo 1974607208 Dannii 5 "there is not a single moment when change is not present. the constant of the universe, the motion of impermanence, is observably evident in the world around us and the world within us.

if we examine nature, it is clear that everything is in a constant state of dynamic change. trees are a great example: in cycles they alternate from experiences of growth to experiences of releasing, all the while alive, all the while growing. if we are refusing to grow, then we are moving against the flow of nature; the flow of change is so powerful that resisting it can only cause difficulty.

sometimes growth hurts, but it is the type of pain that is easier to endure because it is helping us come forward as a better version of ourselves."

It is the nature of an anthology to find peaks and furrows inside of it. This is even more so, in my experience, found in poetry. Here, however, I found consistent beauty, understanding, rawness, and an image of myself on every single page.

I can appreciate poetry for its many different elements and do like the understanding to other experiences they can provide, but often find I have to relate to truly adore them. Here, I saw myself both as I am and as I want to be. This was heart-breaking and hopeful in equal proportions and I can see myself returning to it many, many times over.

"as she was swimming in the ocean of wisdom
that dwells in her heart, she understood deeply
that all was a part of her, that no one was
separate from her. she whispered lightly with
newfound peace, “i am everything.�� that was
when she realized that her greatest power is,
and always was, her ability to love herself."]]> 4.18 2017
author: Yung Pueblo
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2022/01/10
date added: 2022/04/10
shelves: adult-books-read, poetic-perspicacity, anthological-astuteness, recommended-reading
review:
"there is not a single moment when change is not present. the constant of the universe, the motion of impermanence, is observably evident in the world around us and the world within us.

if we examine nature, it is clear that everything is in a constant state of dynamic change. trees are a great example: in cycles they alternate from experiences of growth to experiences of releasing, all the while alive, all the while growing. if we are refusing to grow, then we are moving against the flow of nature; the flow of change is so powerful that resisting it can only cause difficulty.

sometimes growth hurts, but it is the type of pain that is easier to endure because it is helping us come forward as a better version of ourselves."

It is the nature of an anthology to find peaks and furrows inside of it. This is even more so, in my experience, found in poetry. Here, however, I found consistent beauty, understanding, rawness, and an image of myself on every single page.

I can appreciate poetry for its many different elements and do like the understanding to other experiences they can provide, but often find I have to relate to truly adore them. Here, I saw myself both as I am and as I want to be. This was heart-breaking and hopeful in equal proportions and I can see myself returning to it many, many times over.

"as she was swimming in the ocean of wisdom
that dwells in her heart, she understood deeply
that all was a part of her, that no one was
separate from her. she whispered lightly with
newfound peace, “i am everything.�� that was
when she realized that her greatest power is,
and always was, her ability to love herself."
]]> 36360030 Things I Don't Want to Know, Deborah Levy returns to the subject of her life in letters. The Cost of Living reveals a writer in radical flux, considering what it means to live with value and meaning and pleasure. This perfectly crafted snapshot of a woman in the process of transformation is as distinctive, wide-ranging and original as Levy's acclaimed novels, an essential read for every Deborah Levy fan.]]> 187 Deborah Levy 0241267994 Dannii 5 Things I Don't Want to Know. These essays were written as a feminist response to George Orwell's Why I Write, which I was reading at the time. I adored Orwell's writing but there was something about Levy's essay-formed responses that sparked something inside of me. When I saw her next volume of essays were due to be published, shortly after this, I knew I had to read them too, and was instantly sure I was going to adore them just as much.

This second volume is far more inwardly-turned than its predecessor. Much of the short anthology deals with more personal anecdotes, from the author's life, but I still found it an equally as important creation. She shares her personal history but also, alongside this, her ideas about gender construction and stereotypes in society and her negation of the expected, grief and healing and all the stages in between, and so much more than could ever conceivably seem to be packed into just over 100 pages of writing.

Her lyrical prose and ability to portray emotion in word remained of the sublime brilliance I already knew her to possess. I did not need a prior familiarity with Levy's fiction or her backstory to enjoy this, I only needed to open my heart and allow her sorrow and her fragility, but also her knowledge and her bravery, to consume me. This is an overwhelmingly powerful collection, which is almost brutal in its emotional assault. And I unreservedly adored it for that.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Deborah Levy, and the publisher, Penguin, for this opportunity.]]> 4.28 2018
author: Deborah Levy
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/02/23
date added: 2022/02/24
shelves: recommended-reading, anthological-astuteness, non-fiction-nuances, authorial-advice, adult-books-read
review:
Towards the end of last year I picked up a collection of essays by Deborah Levy, entitled Things I Don't Want to Know. These essays were written as a feminist response to George Orwell's Why I Write, which I was reading at the time. I adored Orwell's writing but there was something about Levy's essay-formed responses that sparked something inside of me. When I saw her next volume of essays were due to be published, shortly after this, I knew I had to read them too, and was instantly sure I was going to adore them just as much.

This second volume is far more inwardly-turned than its predecessor. Much of the short anthology deals with more personal anecdotes, from the author's life, but I still found it an equally as important creation. She shares her personal history but also, alongside this, her ideas about gender construction and stereotypes in society and her negation of the expected, grief and healing and all the stages in between, and so much more than could ever conceivably seem to be packed into just over 100 pages of writing.

Her lyrical prose and ability to portray emotion in word remained of the sublime brilliance I already knew her to possess. I did not need a prior familiarity with Levy's fiction or her backstory to enjoy this, I only needed to open my heart and allow her sorrow and her fragility, but also her knowledge and her bravery, to consume me. This is an overwhelmingly powerful collection, which is almost brutal in its emotional assault. And I unreservedly adored it for that.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Deborah Levy, and the publisher, Penguin, for this opportunity.
]]> 34684623 New York Times bestseller, “a landmark in American literature�� (Chicago Sun-Times)—about seven adults who return to their hometown to confront a nightmare they had first stumbled on as teenagers…an evil without a name: It.

Welcome to Derry, Maine. It’s a small city, a place as hauntingly familiar as your own hometown. Only in Derry the haunting is real.

They were seven teenagers when they first stumbled upon the horror. Now they are grown-up men and women who have gone out into the big world to gain success and happiness. But the promise they made twenty-eight years ago calls them reunite in the same place where, as teenagers, they battled an evil creature that preyed on the city’s children. Now, children are being murdered again and their repressed memories of that terrifying summer return as they prepare to once again battle the monster lurking in Derry’s sewers.

Readers of Stephen King know that Derry, Maine, is a place with a deep, dark hold on the author. It reappears in many of his books, including Bag of Bones, Hearts in Atlantis, and 11/22/63. But it all starts with It.

“Stephen King’s most mature work�� (St. Petersburg Times), ��It will overwhelm you�� to be read in a well-lit room only�� (Los Angeles Times).]]> 1159 Stephen King 1501175467 Dannii 5 4.25 1986
author: Stephen King
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1986
rating: 5
read at: 2022/01/28
date added: 2022/01/28
shelves: recommended-reading, horror-hazes, adult-books-read
review:
I lived in a household that never censored my reading. I still, however, can not imagine my mother allowing me to read this book at the age that I did. I can vividly recall borrowing this from my local library, impressed by its size but knowing nothing of the interior, and staying awake hours after my bedtime for the rest of the week to devour its nightmare-inducing contents.
]]> 29748925
What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries - including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo's dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

In this sweeping and breathtaking new novel by National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor, author of the New York Times bestselling Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, the shadow of the past is as real as the ghosts who haunt the citadel of murdered gods. Fall into a mythical world of dread and wonder, moths and nightmares, love and carnage.]]> 536 Laini Taylor 1444788981 Dannii 5 First Read: May 2017, Rating: 5/5 Stars
Second Read: October 2018, Rating: 5/5 Stars

"There were no books to hide behind, and no shadows - only Lazlo Strange in his worn grey robes, with his nose that had been broken by fairy tales, looking like the hero of no story ever told."

Lazlo Strange is too pure for this world!]]> 4.39 2017
author: Laini Taylor
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2018/10/08
date added: 2021/12/31
shelves: fantastic-fabrications, recommended-reading, to-read
review:
First Read: May 2017, Rating: 5/5 Stars
Second Read: October 2018, Rating: 5/5 Stars

"There were no books to hide behind, and no shadows - only Lazlo Strange in his worn grey robes, with his nose that had been broken by fairy tales, looking like the hero of no story ever told."

Lazlo Strange is too pure for this world!
]]> 940450 432 Stephen King 0340952709 Dannii 5 First Read: 2014, Rating: 5 stars
Second Read: October 2019, Rating: 5 stars

The antagonist turns victim and the protagonists turns victim and that's where the real of the horror of this book lays. Good boy, Cujo. Good boy.]]> 3.77 1981
author: Stephen King
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1981
rating: 5
read at: 2019/10/21
date added: 2021/07/14
shelves: horror-hazes, adult-books-read, recommended-reading
review:
First Read: 2014, Rating: 5 stars
Second Read: October 2019, Rating: 5 stars

The antagonist turns victim and the protagonists turns victim and that's where the real of the horror of this book lays. Good boy, Cujo. Good boy.
]]> 43924017
Born on the same day, at the same time, in the same place. They’ve always shared this one day together, but as they grow up they begin to grow apart.

Everyone expects Eric to get a football scholarship, but no one knows he’s having second thoughts.
Former quarterback Morgan feels utterly alone, as she wrestles with the difficult choice to live as her true self.

Both of them are struggling to be the person they know they are. Who better to help than your best friend?

Told on one day every year, over six years, this is a story about how change pulls people apart�� and how love brings them back together.

An LGBTQ+ YA One Day perfect for fans of Love, Simon, Birthday is a beautiful love story by the best-selling #ownvoices author of If I Was Your Girl.]]> 300 Meredith Russo 1474967418 Dannii 5
I knew I was going to purchase a book from the store but had no preconceptions which one I would pick. Almost immediately upon entering, this cover and the rainbow sprayed-edges caught my eye. I read little contemporary but have seen a few rave reviews so picked it up on a whim.

The next day I had a six hour journey home from London and decided to begin reading this book. I'd like to say I did not put it down but that would be a lie. I was forced to put it down as multiple times I felt tears threatening to spill. Literally every ten pages or so the events would spiral into heart-wrenching or uplifting territory and I'd have to gaze out the window until the emotions had faded, like a bad actress from a harrowing movie.

This book is told over the course of six Birthdays and is split between the perspectives of the two best friends who share the same day of birth, Eric and Morgan. Both are born inside a male body but Morgan doesn't feel his insides match his exterior. Over the years we see their friendship sway and the focus is largely on Morgan attempting to, in cycles, deny and accept her truth.

This was a painful read and comes with a plethora of trigger warnings such as [spoilers removed] but also the most adorable and heart warming story alongside it. There were times when my soul felt crushed and this was immediately followed by a warm hug of a scene that made it all better again.

This is an incredibly important read and Russo draws from her own experiences to create a graceful and sympathetic story that highlights issues facing the trans community. I would urge everyone to read it for both this reason and for the fact that Eric and Morgan are now my favourite fictional duo and I would literally die to protect their little cinnamon roll hearts.]]> 4.22 2019
author: Meredith Russo
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/09/02
date added: 2021/07/11
shelves: recommended-reading, contemporary-cuteness, romantic-recollections, young-adult-books-read
review:
I spent the most glorious weekend traversing London and the Harry Potter Studios with a bunch of book lovers. One of my highlights was finally getting to visit the renowned Gays the Word bookstore. This isn't a review of the shop so I'll keep my ravings about it brief, but if you ever get the chance to visit do not hesitate to do so as it is an LGBT+ HEAVEN!

I knew I was going to purchase a book from the store but had no preconceptions which one I would pick. Almost immediately upon entering, this cover and the rainbow sprayed-edges caught my eye. I read little contemporary but have seen a few rave reviews so picked it up on a whim.

The next day I had a six hour journey home from London and decided to begin reading this book. I'd like to say I did not put it down but that would be a lie. I was forced to put it down as multiple times I felt tears threatening to spill. Literally every ten pages or so the events would spiral into heart-wrenching or uplifting territory and I'd have to gaze out the window until the emotions had faded, like a bad actress from a harrowing movie.

This book is told over the course of six Birthdays and is split between the perspectives of the two best friends who share the same day of birth, Eric and Morgan. Both are born inside a male body but Morgan doesn't feel his insides match his exterior. Over the years we see their friendship sway and the focus is largely on Morgan attempting to, in cycles, deny and accept her truth.

This was a painful read and comes with a plethora of trigger warnings such as [spoilers removed] but also the most adorable and heart warming story alongside it. There were times when my soul felt crushed and this was immediately followed by a warm hug of a scene that made it all better again.

This is an incredibly important read and Russo draws from her own experiences to create a graceful and sympathetic story that highlights issues facing the trans community. I would urge everyone to read it for both this reason and for the fact that Eric and Morgan are now my favourite fictional duo and I would literally die to protect their little cinnamon roll hearts.
]]> 39861972 nan 756 Brandon Sanderson 0575093374 Dannii 5
The human race has been geographically scattered, struggling to survive let alone advance, and involved in continual skirmishes with many enemies for some time, but now a new foe has appeared that puts their continued existence in immediate danger. How can the humans unite and what strength will they find to overcome this mighty enemy, who seeks to permanently eradicate or enslave them?

It goes without saying at this point, but all of the stars need to be awarded for Sanderson's ingenuity! Many previous mysteries that were uncovered or facts that were learned became understood here and I was once again left speechless at the foresight and clever plotting that went into crafting this series' over-arcing story-line.

Much of the first portion of this book was very slow in pace as the focus remained on political scheming and behind-the-scenes plotting, before a battle-heavy and action-orientated focus was allowed to dominate. I highly appreciated seeing the puzzle pieces come together and understanding for the world history, the magic system, and the differing individuals who resided in it, was granted at the end.]]> 4.67 2017
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.67
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2021/06/30
date added: 2021/07/06
shelves: adult-books-read, recommended-reading, fantastic-fabrications
review:
This is the second part of the third book in The Stormlight Archive series.

The human race has been geographically scattered, struggling to survive let alone advance, and involved in continual skirmishes with many enemies for some time, but now a new foe has appeared that puts their continued existence in immediate danger. How can the humans unite and what strength will they find to overcome this mighty enemy, who seeks to permanently eradicate or enslave them?

It goes without saying at this point, but all of the stars need to be awarded for Sanderson's ingenuity! Many previous mysteries that were uncovered or facts that were learned became understood here and I was once again left speechless at the foresight and clever plotting that went into crafting this series' over-arcing story-line.

Much of the first portion of this book was very slow in pace as the focus remained on political scheming and behind-the-scenes plotting, before a battle-heavy and action-orientated focus was allowed to dominate. I highly appreciated seeing the puzzle pieces come together and understanding for the world history, the magic system, and the differing individuals who resided in it, was granted at the end.
]]> 43708884
Here, you will find them together in this book of Charlie's most-loved drawings, adventuring into the Wild and exploring the thoughts and feelings that unite us all.]]> 128 Charlie Mackesy 1529105102 Dannii 5 First Read: December 2019, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: June 2021, Rating: 5/5 stars

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
"Kind," said the boy.

"What is the bravest thing you've ever said?" asked the boy.
"Help," said the horse.

This story is too pure for this world and I am not okay!

Each and every page features gorgeous illustrations and typography that work together to bring the reader a story both fantastical and relatable. Its characters might be mostly of the non-human variety but their struggles and emotions were as real as any the reader may face.

When the world feels too dark a place, this book is a light in the dark: it, first, invites you to find yourself within its pages and, then, becomes the beacon of light and hope needed to continue on in your existence outside of them. This is a timeless classic and one I will return to on many an occasion. ]]> 4.56 2019
author: Charlie Mackesy
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2021/06/21
date added: 2021/06/21
shelves: artistic-absorption, recommended-reading, adult-books-read
review:
First Read: December 2019, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: June 2021, Rating: 5/5 stars

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
"Kind," said the boy.

"What is the bravest thing you've ever said?" asked the boy.
"Help," said the horse.

This story is too pure for this world and I am not okay!

Each and every page features gorgeous illustrations and typography that work together to bring the reader a story both fantastical and relatable. Its characters might be mostly of the non-human variety but their struggles and emotions were as real as any the reader may face.

When the world feels too dark a place, this book is a light in the dark: it, first, invites you to find yourself within its pages and, then, becomes the beacon of light and hope needed to continue on in your existence outside of them. This is a timeless classic and one I will return to on many an occasion.
]]> 1111153 He writes like an angel, and conveys the pride and vitality of the humblest Spanish life with unfailing sharpness, zest and humour - Sunday Times

Andalusia is a passion - and fifteen years after his last visit Laurie Lee returned. He found a country broken by the Civil War, but the totems of indestructible Spain survive; the Christ in agony, the thrilling flamenco cry, the gypsy intensity in vivid whitewashed slums, the cult of the bullfight, the exultation in death, the humour of hopelessness and the paradoxes deep in the fiery bones of Spain. Rich with kaleidoscopic images, A Rose for Winter is as evocative as the sun-scorched landscape of Andalusia itself.

Cover Photograph: Irene Lamprakou]]> 122 Laurie Lee 0099479710 Dannii 5
This is an autobiographical piece covering Lee's ventures around Andalusia, an agricultural region in Spain. It gave some information about the author during this time, but it mostly read like an ode to the places he visited. They were fully depicted and vividly brought to life through attention to the most minute of details, rather than a full image of the scene as a whole ever being delivered. Every sense was used and I felt the grit between my toes and sniffed at the thick, salt-laden air as the author conjured them.

This does, however, prove a product of its time with some culturally inappropriate and sexist comments made. I also skipped over the few brief scenes involving animal torture. It was the beauty surrounding these distasteful, but mercifully scant and brief, inclusions that had me so wholly enamoured and I will close this review with a few of my favourite quotes:

"Most Spanish towns were lapped with noise, with wagons and motor-horns, donkeys and tinkers, and the ceaseless clamour of cafe conversation. But here there was an almost unearthly silence, cool and becalmed, a silence of no time. We threaded around the narrow cobbled streets, and small dogs slept in shadows as though bred only for sleep... I felt we had stepped aside from all the activity of the earth and entered a charmed and voiceless world, a world where people lived as hushed as plants, taking their life from the sun without a sound."

"It is all part of the special femininity of Seville, a mixture of gaiety and langour. For among so much that is harsh and puritan in this country, Seville is set apart like a mistress, pampered and adored... men turn to Seville as a symbol; it is the psyche of their genius, the coil that regenerates their sharpest pleasures and instinct. The miner from the Asturias and the fisherman from Cartagena, though never having set foot in it, will speak of the city with jealousy and love. So Seville remains, favoured and sensual, exuding from the banks of its golden river a miasma of perpetual excitement, compounded of those appetites that are most particularly Spanish"

"this is the city where, more than in any other, one may bite on the air and taste the multitudinous flavours of Spain - acid, sugary, intoxicating, sickening but flavours which, above all in a synthetic world, are real as nowhere else."

"As the sun sank, the bright paper landscape crumpled and contorted with savage shadows. The bare furrowed foothills of the Sierras writhed and dimpled like brains. And the snows, from the vivid incandescence of daylight, turned pink, mauve, purple, cold as slate, like the face of a dying man slowly drained of his blood."

"At first there was nothing - a profound blue darkness running running deep, laced by skeins of starlight and pale phosphorescent flashes. This four o-clock hour was a moment of utter silence, the indrawn breath of dark, the absolute, trance-like balance between night and day. Then, when it seemed that nothing would ever move or live or know the light again, a hot wind would run over the invisible water. It was like a fore-blast of the turning world, an intimation that its rocks and seas and surfaces still stirred against the sun. One strained one's eyes, scarce breathing, searching for a sign. Presently it came. Far in the east at last the horizon hardened, an imperceptible line dividing sky and sea, sharp as a diamond cut on glass. A dark bubble of cloud revealed itself, warmed slowly, flushing from within like a seed growing, a kernel ripening, a clinker hot with locked-in fire. Gradually the cloud throbbed red with light, then suddenly caught the still unrisen sun and burst like an expanding bomb. Flares and streamers began to fall into the sea, setting all things on fire. After the long unthinking darkness everything now began to happen at once. The stars snapped shut, the sky bled green, vermillion tides ran over the water, the hills around took on the colour of firebrick, and the great sun drew himself at last raw and dripping from the waves. Scarlet, purple, and clinker-blue, the morning, smelling of thyme and goats, of charcoal, splintered rock and man's long sojourn around this lake"]]> 3.93 1955
author: Laurie Lee
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1955
rating: 5
read at: 2021/06/15
date added: 2021/06/15
shelves: adult-books-read, classic-captivaton, non-fiction-nuances, authorial-advice, recommended-reading
review:
I can acknowledge that this is not a perfect book, but I read it at the perfect time for me. I couldn't rest due to the oppressive heat and so was looking for something heady and evocative to immerse my sleep-deprived self into. This definitely delivered everything I sought it out for and I flew through the brief volume, completing it as the sun rose to scorch another day.

This is an autobiographical piece covering Lee's ventures around Andalusia, an agricultural region in Spain. It gave some information about the author during this time, but it mostly read like an ode to the places he visited. They were fully depicted and vividly brought to life through attention to the most minute of details, rather than a full image of the scene as a whole ever being delivered. Every sense was used and I felt the grit between my toes and sniffed at the thick, salt-laden air as the author conjured them.

This does, however, prove a product of its time with some culturally inappropriate and sexist comments made. I also skipped over the few brief scenes involving animal torture. It was the beauty surrounding these distasteful, but mercifully scant and brief, inclusions that had me so wholly enamoured and I will close this review with a few of my favourite quotes:

"Most Spanish towns were lapped with noise, with wagons and motor-horns, donkeys and tinkers, and the ceaseless clamour of cafe conversation. But here there was an almost unearthly silence, cool and becalmed, a silence of no time. We threaded around the narrow cobbled streets, and small dogs slept in shadows as though bred only for sleep... I felt we had stepped aside from all the activity of the earth and entered a charmed and voiceless world, a world where people lived as hushed as plants, taking their life from the sun without a sound."

"It is all part of the special femininity of Seville, a mixture of gaiety and langour. For among so much that is harsh and puritan in this country, Seville is set apart like a mistress, pampered and adored... men turn to Seville as a symbol; it is the psyche of their genius, the coil that regenerates their sharpest pleasures and instinct. The miner from the Asturias and the fisherman from Cartagena, though never having set foot in it, will speak of the city with jealousy and love. So Seville remains, favoured and sensual, exuding from the banks of its golden river a miasma of perpetual excitement, compounded of those appetites that are most particularly Spanish"

"this is the city where, more than in any other, one may bite on the air and taste the multitudinous flavours of Spain - acid, sugary, intoxicating, sickening but flavours which, above all in a synthetic world, are real as nowhere else."

"As the sun sank, the bright paper landscape crumpled and contorted with savage shadows. The bare furrowed foothills of the Sierras writhed and dimpled like brains. And the snows, from the vivid incandescence of daylight, turned pink, mauve, purple, cold as slate, like the face of a dying man slowly drained of his blood."

"At first there was nothing - a profound blue darkness running running deep, laced by skeins of starlight and pale phosphorescent flashes. This four o-clock hour was a moment of utter silence, the indrawn breath of dark, the absolute, trance-like balance between night and day. Then, when it seemed that nothing would ever move or live or know the light again, a hot wind would run over the invisible water. It was like a fore-blast of the turning world, an intimation that its rocks and seas and surfaces still stirred against the sun. One strained one's eyes, scarce breathing, searching for a sign. Presently it came. Far in the east at last the horizon hardened, an imperceptible line dividing sky and sea, sharp as a diamond cut on glass. A dark bubble of cloud revealed itself, warmed slowly, flushing from within like a seed growing, a kernel ripening, a clinker hot with locked-in fire. Gradually the cloud throbbed red with light, then suddenly caught the still unrisen sun and burst like an expanding bomb. Flares and streamers began to fall into the sea, setting all things on fire. After the long unthinking darkness everything now began to happen at once. The stars snapped shut, the sky bled green, vermillion tides ran over the water, the hills around took on the colour of firebrick, and the great sun drew himself at last raw and dripping from the waves. Scarlet, purple, and clinker-blue, the morning, smelling of thyme and goats, of charcoal, splintered rock and man's long sojourn around this lake"
]]> 35898777 From an internationally acclaimed novelist, the suspenseful and heartbreaking story of a family ripped apart by secrets and driven to pit love against loyalty, with devastating consequences.

Practical-minded Isma has spent the years since her mother’s death watching out for her twin brother and sister in their North London home. When an invitation to grad school in America comes through unexpectedly, it brings the irresistible promise of freedom too long deferred. But even an ocean away, Isma can’t stop worrying about her beautiful, headstrong, politically inclined sister, Aneeka, and Parvaiz, their brother, who seems to be adrift—until suddenly he is half a globe away in Raqqa, trying to prove himself to the dark legacy of the father he never knew, with no road back.

Then Eamonn Lone enters the sisters�� lives. Son of a powerful political figure, he has his own birthright to live up to—or defy. Is he to be a chance at love? The instrument of Parvaiz’s salvation? Suddenly, two families�� fates are inextricably, devastatingly entwined.

Home Fire is a nuanced, searing, and exceedingly timely novel about love and loyalty, ideology and identity, what we choose to sacrifice for and why. With uncanny insight, Kamila Shamsie reflects our world back at us, dramatizing the complicated humanity behind the headlines.]]> 264 Kamila Shamsie 1408886790 Dannii 5 First Read: April 2018, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: May 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars

This is my sixth (and favourite) book read from the Women's Prize for Fiction longlist.

This contemporary reimagining of Antigone uses a multitude of perspectives as a nexus to explore the differing experiences a Muslim individual can face, whilst residing in Britain. The opening scene introduces the reader to Isma, as a rigorous searching of her possessions ensues before boarding her plane to America. Her embarrassment is acute, and yet she knows she must say thank you for the privilege of being subjected to this instance of everyday racism, that her ethnicity and religion elicits.

This initial scene has no bearing on the future proceedings of the novel and is just one of many instances that acted as a catalyst in exposing the colour prejudice rampant in this country. This exploration of our current political climate made me so aware of my inadvertent white privilege and not only did this open up factors of the Muslim identity, that I had no prior knowledge of, but it allowed the reader to see how casual racism enforces a division in people, and to actually feel how it effects the members it seeks to isolate.

Whilst continuing to be a powerfully political and insightful read throughout, this also delivered a heart-wrenching plot focused on a topic that needs no gender, ethnicity, culture, or sexual preference to identify it. This topic is love. This all-consuming and all-powerful emotion, in all its many forms, is fully explored. This novel opens up the intricacies of relationships between father and sons, siblings with one another, two strangers meeting in a foreign country, what is shared by two brothers in arms, growing lust entwined in bed-sheets, the shared passion of a nation, and so many more nuanced and varied instances, that are all categorised under the same four-lettered word.

Kamila Shamsie has proven herself as a writer I will forever seek more from. I found her prose to vary between the startling bleak and the ardently prosaic. I found her an author to never shy away from a controversial topic and, instead, to confront the difficult in every situation. I found her eye-opening and gut-wrenching, but also awe-inspiring and heartfelt. This novel is, in short, as close to perfection, for me, as any a book can get.]]> 4.08 2017
author: Kamila Shamsie
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2020/05/07
date added: 2021/06/14
shelves: contemporary-cuteness, literary-fiction-love, mythological-majesty, recommended-reading, adult-books-read, reliable-retellings
review:
First Read: April 2018, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: May 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars

This is my sixth (and favourite) book read from the Women's Prize for Fiction longlist.

This contemporary reimagining of Antigone uses a multitude of perspectives as a nexus to explore the differing experiences a Muslim individual can face, whilst residing in Britain. The opening scene introduces the reader to Isma, as a rigorous searching of her possessions ensues before boarding her plane to America. Her embarrassment is acute, and yet she knows she must say thank you for the privilege of being subjected to this instance of everyday racism, that her ethnicity and religion elicits.

This initial scene has no bearing on the future proceedings of the novel and is just one of many instances that acted as a catalyst in exposing the colour prejudice rampant in this country. This exploration of our current political climate made me so aware of my inadvertent white privilege and not only did this open up factors of the Muslim identity, that I had no prior knowledge of, but it allowed the reader to see how casual racism enforces a division in people, and to actually feel how it effects the members it seeks to isolate.

Whilst continuing to be a powerfully political and insightful read throughout, this also delivered a heart-wrenching plot focused on a topic that needs no gender, ethnicity, culture, or sexual preference to identify it. This topic is love. This all-consuming and all-powerful emotion, in all its many forms, is fully explored. This novel opens up the intricacies of relationships between father and sons, siblings with one another, two strangers meeting in a foreign country, what is shared by two brothers in arms, growing lust entwined in bed-sheets, the shared passion of a nation, and so many more nuanced and varied instances, that are all categorised under the same four-lettered word.

Kamila Shamsie has proven herself as a writer I will forever seek more from. I found her prose to vary between the startling bleak and the ardently prosaic. I found her an author to never shy away from a controversial topic and, instead, to confront the difficult in every situation. I found her eye-opening and gut-wrenching, but also awe-inspiring and heartfelt. This novel is, in short, as close to perfection, for me, as any a book can get.
]]> 23766623
After rescuing her lover Tamlin from a wicked Faerie Queen, she returns to the Spring Court possessing the powers of the High Fae. But Feyre cannot forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people - nor the bargain she made with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court.

As Feyre is drawn ever deeper into Rhysand's dark web of politics and passion, war is looming and an evil far greater than any queen threatens to destroy everything Feyre has fought for. She must confront her past, embrace her gifts and decide her fate.

She must surrender her heart to heal a world torn in two.]]> 626 Sarah J. Maas 140885788X Dannii 5 First Read: August 2016, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: May 2021, Rating: 5/5 stars

Rhysand content is five-star content.]]> 4.60 2016
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2021/05/06
date added: 2021/06/14
shelves: fantastic-fabrications, romantic-recollections, recommended-reading, young-adult-books-read, fairy-tale-fancy, reliable-retellings
review:
First Read: August 2016, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: May 2021, Rating: 5/5 stars

Rhysand content is five-star content.
]]> 23766634
She has left the Night Court - and her High Lord - and is playing a deadly game of deceit. In the Spring Court, Tamlin is making deals with the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees, and Feyre is determined to uncover his plans. But to do so she must weave a web of lies, and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well.

As mighty armies grapple for power, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords - and hunt for allies in unexpected places.

BUT WHILE WAR RAGES, IT IS HER HEART THAT WILL FACE THE GREATEST BATTLE.

THE THRILLING THIRD BOOK IN #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING FANTASY SERIES FROM SARAH J. MAAS.]]> 705 Sarah J. Maas 1408857901 Dannii 5 First Read: May 2017, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: May 2021, Rating: 5/5 stars

Rereading this book reminded me why this is both my favourite Maas book, as well as one of my all-time favourite fantasy stories.

Each and every single page had me feeling like this:



And then like this, right after:


]]> 4.41 2017
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2021/05/11
date added: 2021/06/14
shelves: recommended-reading, fantastic-fabrications, romantic-recollections, young-adult-books-read, fairy-tale-fancy, reliable-retellings
review:
First Read: May 2017, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: May 2021, Rating: 5/5 stars

Rereading this book reminded me why this is both my favourite Maas book, as well as one of my all-time favourite fantasy stories.

Each and every single page had me feeling like this:



And then like this, right after:



]]> 51574372
Nick’s been feeling the same, but he’s got a lot on his mind �� not least coming out to his dad, and the fact that Charlie might have an eating disorder.

As summer turns to autumn and a new school year begins, Charlie and Nick are about to learn a lot about what love means.]]> 384 Alice Oseman 144495279X Dannii 5
I was also glad that Nick and Charlie's friendship group were provided with more page space and that their own personal struggles were also featured. They were all the sweetest and purest of souls and I am willing to do anything to become part of the Paris Squad!]]> 4.67 2021
author: Alice Oseman
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.67
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2021/06/13
date added: 2021/06/13
shelves: young-adult-books-read, romantic-recollections, contemporary-cuteness, recommended-reading, artistic-absorption
review:
The focus on mental health and ED made this volume of my favourite graphic novel series an especially hard one to read. There were still the sweetest interactions depicted and hilarious dialogue inserted but, for the most part, this was a far heavier read with a variety of hard-hitting subject matters explored. I felt Oseman handled them all sensitively and expertly.

I was also glad that Nick and Charlie's friendship group were provided with more page space and that their own personal struggles were also featured. They were all the sweetest and purest of souls and I am willing to do anything to become part of the Paris Squad!
]]> 39836383 A group of three young thieves are pulled into a centuries old magical war between ancient beings, mages, and humanity in this wildly original debut epic fantasy.

The city has always been. The city must finally end.

When three thieves—an orphan, a ghoul, and a cursed man—are betrayed by the master of the thieves guild, their quest for revenge uncovers dark truths about their city and exposes a dangerous conspiracy, the seeds of which were sown long before they were born.

Cari is a drifter whose past and future are darker than she can know.
Rat is a Ghoul, whose people haunt the city's underworld.
Spar is a Stone Man, subject to a terrible disease that is slowly petrifying his flesh.

Chance has brought them together, but their friendship could be all that stands in the way of total armageddon.]]> 523 Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan 0356511529 Dannii 5
As soon as I saw this intriguing cover with its darkly connotative title, I knew had to read this book. And I couldn't have had a better person to do so with! I've been buddy reading this fantasy first with @the_nameless_thirteenth on Instagram and we have fallen in love with all of the same characters as we puzzled through the maze-like plot structure together. This is a book that definitely lends itself to being read with another, as it is truly a unique and immersive read.

The Gutter Prayer takes place inside a city divided by religion and in a world plagued by the godswar. Somehow, it is up to three young thieves - an orphan runaway, a stoneman, and a ghoul - to save them all, but to do so they must overcome their personal demons and confront their disparate familial histories first.

Hanrahan has united a gang of lovable rouges and pitted them against a harem of abominable monsters of his own unique creation. This, alongside the densely political power struggle and the abundance of diverse religions which writhe alongside each other within the city's parameters, ensured not a page passed by without some new element being revealed to the reader and some new plot twist to leave them open-mouthed and begging for more.]]> 3.83 2019
author: Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/05/29
date added: 2021/06/06
shelves: fantastic-fabrications, recommended-reading, adult-books-read
review:
Hello, new favourite fantasy!

As soon as I saw this intriguing cover with its darkly connotative title, I knew had to read this book. And I couldn't have had a better person to do so with! I've been buddy reading this fantasy first with @the_nameless_thirteenth on Instagram and we have fallen in love with all of the same characters as we puzzled through the maze-like plot structure together. This is a book that definitely lends itself to being read with another, as it is truly a unique and immersive read.

The Gutter Prayer takes place inside a city divided by religion and in a world plagued by the godswar. Somehow, it is up to three young thieves - an orphan runaway, a stoneman, and a ghoul - to save them all, but to do so they must overcome their personal demons and confront their disparate familial histories first.

Hanrahan has united a gang of lovable rouges and pitted them against a harem of abominable monsters of his own unique creation. This, alongside the densely political power struggle and the abundance of diverse religions which writhe alongside each other within the city's parameters, ensured not a page passed by without some new element being revealed to the reader and some new plot twist to leave them open-mouthed and begging for more.
]]> 40541565
Enter a city of spires and shadows . . .

The Gutter Miracle changed the landscape of Guerdon forever. Six months after it was conjured into being, the labyrinthine New City has become a haven for criminals and refugees.

Rumors have spread of a devastating new weapon buried beneath the streets - a weapon with the power to destroy a god. As Guerdon strives to remain neutral, two of the most powerful factions in the godswar send agents into the city to find it.

As tensions escalate and armies gather at the borders, how long will Guerdon be able to keep its enemies at bay?

The Shadow Saint continues the gripping tale of dark gods and dangerous magic that began with Hanrahan's acclaimed debut The Gutter Prayer.]]> 567 Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan 0356511537 Dannii 5
Guerdon was destroyed at the end of The Gutter Prayer and a partially new city placed directly atop of the old. The two are at war for dominance but the gods are circling ever closer and put the petty whims of mortals beneath them in their quest for power. Spies are sent to learn the secrets of those wishing to govern this divided city, but they become increasingly embroiled in more than mere political schemes as they infiltrate the inner-circle of the elite and the hearts of those around them.

I'm actually in awe of how convoluted the religious and political systems were in this book! Book one focused primarily on the abundance of religions that humans devoted their lives to. The dead were fed to them, lives given to their honour, temples constructed in devotion, and daily prayers made. The Gods returned these favours by imbuing their powers into select mortals, breaking their minds and bodies apart as they forced their way into the lesser beings. Wars were fought in their name and future ones forever impending.

This threat is carried over into book two. It still heavily features these religious aspects but as the reader becomes more aware of them and the world surrounding it, political schemings begin to take central focus. I found it a fascinating insight to campaigning and the vying of the power-hungry, complex and ever altering.

Beloved characters returned from the first book and took their place even more firmly in my heart. New characters were introduced and as their paths intermingled and the story-line forever upped the ante, this book set itself up for an action-packed and thrilling third series instalment I am impatient to get my hands upon!

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan, and the publisher, Orbit, for this opportunity.]]> 4.17 2020
author: Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2020/01/14
date added: 2021/06/06
shelves: recommended-reading, fantastic-fabrications, adult-books-read
review:
This is the second instalment in The Black Iron Legacy series, which is fast becoming one of my favourites!

Guerdon was destroyed at the end of The Gutter Prayer and a partially new city placed directly atop of the old. The two are at war for dominance but the gods are circling ever closer and put the petty whims of mortals beneath them in their quest for power. Spies are sent to learn the secrets of those wishing to govern this divided city, but they become increasingly embroiled in more than mere political schemes as they infiltrate the inner-circle of the elite and the hearts of those around them.

I'm actually in awe of how convoluted the religious and political systems were in this book! Book one focused primarily on the abundance of religions that humans devoted their lives to. The dead were fed to them, lives given to their honour, temples constructed in devotion, and daily prayers made. The Gods returned these favours by imbuing their powers into select mortals, breaking their minds and bodies apart as they forced their way into the lesser beings. Wars were fought in their name and future ones forever impending.

This threat is carried over into book two. It still heavily features these religious aspects but as the reader becomes more aware of them and the world surrounding it, political schemings begin to take central focus. I found it a fascinating insight to campaigning and the vying of the power-hungry, complex and ever altering.

Beloved characters returned from the first book and took their place even more firmly in my heart. New characters were introduced and as their paths intermingled and the story-line forever upped the ante, this book set itself up for an action-packed and thrilling third series instalment I am impatient to get my hands upon!

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan, and the publisher, Orbit, for this opportunity.
]]> 21100112
This is epic fantasy of the highest order with an intricate and wonderful world forming the background to carefully worked out magics and a plot of constant twists and turns. All played out by a cast of memorable characters.

Immersive and compelling this is an epic fantasy for the 21st century.]]> 564 Brandon Sanderson 0575093323 Dannii 5
This is an accurate depiction of me trying to accurately describe how incredible this book is:



The first book was packed full of magical information for the reader and the characters to learn. I had assumed that the education in this series was complete but it proved to be only the beginning as even more background and history concerning the spren, the Knights Radiant and a whole host of other entities, as well as how to manage or use them for future purpose, was imparted.

Much of this information was learnt through Shallan, one of the many protagonists that featured here. Shallan was present in the previous instalment yet her role in the overarching story-line remained unknown to me then. She was always an interesting character but here she came into her own, by overcoming the obstacles placed in her way, and became a truly lovable one. Not, however, one devoid of flaws, but this only made her more authentic and relatable.

Kaladin was the other primary protagonist. He was the individual I originally most bonded with, and who now must only take a share of my affections. The responsibilities placed upon him at book one's close were heightened here and his character was far more overwrought and overburdened because of it. I shared new information with Shallan but how to utilise them came largely from Kaladin. This made both perspectives not only highly entertaining but also as key as each other in seeing the plot through to fruition.

I remain as excited as ever to continue on with this epic fantasy adventure and am yet to find a Sanderson book that does not make my jaw drop open in awe of his brilliance.]]> 4.82 2014
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.82
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2021/05/16
date added: 2021/05/16
shelves: adult-books-read, recommended-reading, fantastic-fabrications
review:
This is the second part of the second instalment in The Stormlight Archive series.

This is an accurate depiction of me trying to accurately describe how incredible this book is:



The first book was packed full of magical information for the reader and the characters to learn. I had assumed that the education in this series was complete but it proved to be only the beginning as even more background and history concerning the spren, the Knights Radiant and a whole host of other entities, as well as how to manage or use them for future purpose, was imparted.

Much of this information was learnt through Shallan, one of the many protagonists that featured here. Shallan was present in the previous instalment yet her role in the overarching story-line remained unknown to me then. She was always an interesting character but here she came into her own, by overcoming the obstacles placed in her way, and became a truly lovable one. Not, however, one devoid of flaws, but this only made her more authentic and relatable.

Kaladin was the other primary protagonist. He was the individual I originally most bonded with, and who now must only take a share of my affections. The responsibilities placed upon him at book one's close were heightened here and his character was far more overwrought and overburdened because of it. I shared new information with Shallan but how to utilise them came largely from Kaladin. This made both perspectives not only highly entertaining but also as key as each other in seeing the plot through to fruition.

I remain as excited as ever to continue on with this epic fantasy adventure and am yet to find a Sanderson book that does not make my jaw drop open in awe of his brilliance.
]]> 21098320
WORDS OF RADIANCE takes the reader even deeper into the lives of its characters as they fight for power, freedom and their lives on the extraordinary, hurricane swept world of Rosharr.

Famed for his plotting, his wonderful characters and his intricate magic systems Brandon Sanderson is poised to take up the crown of Robert Jordan as the creator of the keynote epic fantasy series of its time with the Stormlight Archive.]]> 653 Brandon Sanderson 0575093315 Dannii 5
This is an accurate depiction of me trying to accurately describe how incredible this book is:



The first book was packed full of magical information for the reader and the characters to learn. I had assumed that the education in this series was complete but it proved to be only the beginning as even more background and history concerning the spren, the Knights Radiant and a whole host of other entities, as well as how to manage or use them for future purpose, was imparted.

Much of this information was learnt through Shallan, one of the many protagonists that featured here. Shallan was present in the previous instalment yet her role in the overarching story-line remained unknown to me then. She was always an interesting character but here she came into her own, by overcoming the obstacles placed in her way, and became a truly lovable one. Not, however, one devoid of flaws, but this only made her more authentic and relatable.

Kaladin was the other primary protagonist. He was the individual I originally most bonded with, and who now must only take a share of my affections. The responsibilities placed upon him at book one's close were heightened here and his character was far more overwrought and overburdened because of it. I shared new information with Shallan but how to utilise them came largely from Kaladin. This made both perspectives not only highly entertaining but also as key as each other in seeing the plot through to fruition.

I remain as excited as ever to continue on with this epic fantasy adventure and am yet to find a Sanderson book that does not make my jaw drop open in awe of his brilliance.]]> 4.71 2014
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.71
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2021/05/08
date added: 2021/05/11
shelves: adult-books-read, fantastic-fabrications, recommended-reading
review:
This is the first part of the second instalment in The Stormlight Archive series.

This is an accurate depiction of me trying to accurately describe how incredible this book is:



The first book was packed full of magical information for the reader and the characters to learn. I had assumed that the education in this series was complete but it proved to be only the beginning as even more background and history concerning the spren, the Knights Radiant and a whole host of other entities, as well as how to manage or use them for future purpose, was imparted.

Much of this information was learnt through Shallan, one of the many protagonists that featured here. Shallan was present in the previous instalment yet her role in the overarching story-line remained unknown to me then. She was always an interesting character but here she came into her own, by overcoming the obstacles placed in her way, and became a truly lovable one. Not, however, one devoid of flaws, but this only made her more authentic and relatable.

Kaladin was the other primary protagonist. He was the individual I originally most bonded with, and who now must only take a share of my affections. The responsibilities placed upon him at book one's close were heightened here and his character was far more overwrought and overburdened because of it. I shared new information with Shallan but how to utilise them came largely from Kaladin. This made both perspectives not only highly entertaining but also as key as each other in seeing the plot through to fruition.

I remain as excited as ever to continue on with this epic fantasy adventure and am yet to find a Sanderson book that does not make my jaw drop open in awe of his brilliance.
]]> 49504061
But when the Eastwood sisters--James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna--join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women's movement into the witch's movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote-and perhaps not even to live-the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.

There's no such thing as witches. But there will be.]]> 517 Alix E. Harrow 0316422045 Dannii 5
]]> 4.01 2020
author: Alix E. Harrow
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/02/04
date added: 2021/05/09
shelves: historical-highness, fantastic-fabrications, magical-realism-mastery, adult-books-read, recommended-reading
review:
Witches, suffragettes, and Alix E. Harrow are all the ingredients needed for the fantastical feminist read we all deserve!


]]> 28397585 'Captivating' Sunday Times 'Will utterly terrify you - in the best way possible' Buzzfeed 'While it is a mystery, the true strength of the novel comes from the honesty of the girls' portrayal' Guardian'A hypnotic debut' Elle 'We couldn't put this one down' Marie Claire This is not a story of bad things happening to bad girls. I say this because I know you, Dex, and I know how you think. I'm going to tell you a story, and this time, it will be the truth. Hannah Dexter is a nobody, ridiculed and isolated at school by golden girl Nikki Drummond. But in their junior year of high school, Nikki's boyfriend walks into the woods and shoots himself. In the wake of the suicide, Hannah befriends new girl Lacey and soon the pair are inseparable, bonded by their shared hatred of Nikki. Lacey transforms good girl Hannah into Dex who is up for any challenge Lacey throws at her. The two girls bring their combined wills to bear on the community in which they live and think they are invulnerable.But Lacey has a secret, about life before her better half, and it's a secret that will change everything . . .]]> 368 Robin Wasserman 1408707128 Dannii 5
This is one of the darkest, deepest and most dazzling books I have ever read!

Girls on Fire follows the story of the dark and almost obsessive relationship between high-school best friends, Hannah and Lacey. I mistakenly, initially took this for a preppy, happy, contemporary read (not my thing) until reviews told me otherwise. The words 'satanic', 'dark' and 'fanatical' were used and my interest was piqued. I am so glad it was as I think this may have taken the top spot for the best book I have read this year, so far!

I opened this book when my mood was low and I wanted to sink into something as dark as the growing night around me. This is an austere read and it did nothing to alleviate my disposition but it did everything to suck me right in! There was latent evil, fanatical behavior, obsessive jealousy, raw and unabashed emotion and outright immaturity demonstrated from each and every character, and yet I identified with them all and could forgive them all their wrongdoings. I fell in love with them and I fell in love with their lives. There was little inherent goodness in this book and that made me look for it all the more.

And in amongst the darkness, I found beauty. Wassermen can tell a story! His subtlety of storytelling was actually what I fell in love with, as I wasn't reading this book at all; I was experiencing it!

There is no way around it, this book is dark! It often transgresses on the taboo and is never apologetic in its language or actions. There is a rawness and realness to the writing that I can only explain felt like a feral scream clawing its way out of the author's pen. This book had to be born! This story had to be told! It might be a dark creation, but it was a necessary one all the same. And yet the dark places this book took me too never felt too...wrong, for want of a better world. This troubles me as there was nothing at all good in this book in respect to the character's individual actions and relationships with each other. And yet it was all forgivable, even when it should not have been. I can't explain how the author aligned me with the protagonists but he did!

It might have been the subtleness of the shifts between actual evil and between teen wrongdoings that allowed me to be sucked into this books madness. Its dark and sexual undertones often border on the salacious but never on the smutty. The dark path this book transgresses on is elucidated in the character's minds and the ones that aren't are the only ones that tip the hierarchy of wrongdoing.

Whatever it was, I am just as unashamedly obsessed as Hannah and Lacey.
]]> 3.53 2016
author: Robin Wasserman
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2016/04/07
date added: 2021/04/08
shelves: mysterious-miasmas, recommended-reading, literary-fiction-love, young-adult-books-read, dark-academia-ambition
review:
I received this book in exchange for an honest review on NetGalley. Thank you to the author, Robin Wasserman, and the publisher, Little Brown Book Group, for this opportunity.

This is one of the darkest, deepest and most dazzling books I have ever read!

Girls on Fire follows the story of the dark and almost obsessive relationship between high-school best friends, Hannah and Lacey. I mistakenly, initially took this for a preppy, happy, contemporary read (not my thing) until reviews told me otherwise. The words 'satanic', 'dark' and 'fanatical' were used and my interest was piqued. I am so glad it was as I think this may have taken the top spot for the best book I have read this year, so far!

I opened this book when my mood was low and I wanted to sink into something as dark as the growing night around me. This is an austere read and it did nothing to alleviate my disposition but it did everything to suck me right in! There was latent evil, fanatical behavior, obsessive jealousy, raw and unabashed emotion and outright immaturity demonstrated from each and every character, and yet I identified with them all and could forgive them all their wrongdoings. I fell in love with them and I fell in love with their lives. There was little inherent goodness in this book and that made me look for it all the more.

And in amongst the darkness, I found beauty. Wassermen can tell a story! His subtlety of storytelling was actually what I fell in love with, as I wasn't reading this book at all; I was experiencing it!

There is no way around it, this book is dark! It often transgresses on the taboo and is never apologetic in its language or actions. There is a rawness and realness to the writing that I can only explain felt like a feral scream clawing its way out of the author's pen. This book had to be born! This story had to be told! It might be a dark creation, but it was a necessary one all the same. And yet the dark places this book took me too never felt too...wrong, for want of a better world. This troubles me as there was nothing at all good in this book in respect to the character's individual actions and relationships with each other. And yet it was all forgivable, even when it should not have been. I can't explain how the author aligned me with the protagonists but he did!

It might have been the subtleness of the shifts between actual evil and between teen wrongdoings that allowed me to be sucked into this books madness. Its dark and sexual undertones often border on the salacious but never on the smutty. The dark path this book transgresses on is elucidated in the character's minds and the ones that aren't are the only ones that tip the hierarchy of wrongdoing.

Whatever it was, I am just as unashamedly obsessed as Hannah and Lacey.

]]> 55463329
All murder mysteries follow a simple set of rules.

In the 1930s, Grant McAllister, a mathematics professor turned author, worked them out, hiding their secrets in a book of crime stories.

Then Grant disappeared.

Thirty years later, ambitious editor Julia Hart arrives on a secluded island. She intends to republish these mysteries and she’s finally tracked Grant down.

But there’s something curious about his seven murderous tales.

The stories�� secrets seem to offer clues to a real crime �� a mystery that’s remained unsolved for 30 years.

Julia’s come looking for answers. But now she’s locked in a battle of wits with a dangerously clever adversary who wrote the book on murder …]]> Alex Pavesi 0655696024 Dannii 5
I did not anticipate quite how extraordinary this was going to be. The plot sounded intriguing but I was thrilled to find that every short story this fictional author wrote was also included here, on each altering chapter. Those in-between focused on the present-day fictional author and his new editor, as they battled for wits, truth, and dominance. I'm unsure which was more clever - the myriad of collected tales with their disparate and unguessable endings, or the story arc that combined them all and had me equally as floored by the grand reveals and concluding twists.

This is definitely a story with much to impart to the reader during each reading. I am already anticipating returning to this one to find the multitude of dropped clues and interwoven imagery this cleverly incorporated into every single scene and were all entirely missed by me, until the characters nudged me in the correct and offending direction.]]> 3.32 2020
author: Alex Pavesi
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.32
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2020/10/18
date added: 2021/04/08
shelves: recommended-reading, thriven-thrillers, mysterious-miasmas, crime-creations, adult-books-read
review:
Grant McAllister is a professor of mathematics who used his expertise to plot the trajectory of events in quite a different field - crime fiction. He penned a series of short tales with thrilling and murderous twists that each divulged and depicted the secrets of this genre. And then he disappeared. Decades later and he has been tracked down by Julia Hart, an editor seeking to anthologise and publish his previous work.

I did not anticipate quite how extraordinary this was going to be. The plot sounded intriguing but I was thrilled to find that every short story this fictional author wrote was also included here, on each altering chapter. Those in-between focused on the present-day fictional author and his new editor, as they battled for wits, truth, and dominance. I'm unsure which was more clever - the myriad of collected tales with their disparate and unguessable endings, or the story arc that combined them all and had me equally as floored by the grand reveals and concluding twists.

This is definitely a story with much to impart to the reader during each reading. I am already anticipating returning to this one to find the multitude of dropped clues and interwoven imagery this cleverly incorporated into every single scene and were all entirely missed by me, until the characters nudged me in the correct and offending direction.
]]> 34369803
As a young actor at an elite conservatory, Oliver noticed that his talented classmates seem to play the same characters onstage and off �� villain, hero, temptress �� though he was always a supporting role. But when the teachers change the casting, a good-natured rivalry turns ugly, and the plays spill dangerously over into real life.

When tragedy strikes, one of the seven friends is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless...]]> 422 M.L. Rio 1785656473 Dannii 5
Oliver Marks has been released from prison and only two people are there to greet him. One is the newly retired Detective Colborne. And he wants to know the truth. The truth of what put Oliver behind bars. The truth behind the lie that has haunted his entire career. And now, finally, he might be able to get it.

Oliver transports both the detective and the reader back in time to the early 1990’s. He is entering his fourth year of dramatic training at Dellecher Classical Conservatory, an elite arts college. His discipline is strictly Shakespeare, as is that of the seven friends he has shared this exclusive university experience with. This close-knit friendship group are buoyed by the knowledge of their imminent departure to the real world of theatre but are also keenly aware of the safe nest of their university home. They live together in a dramatic structure of castle-like proportions, inseparable from each other but isolated from the rest of the university populace.

As their final year progresses the group continue to perform scenes from a selection of the bard’s most infamous plays �� including ‘Romeo and Juliet��, ‘Julius Caesar��, and ‘Macbeth�� �� and the events from within also begin to play out in their everyday lives. The fights and feuds of the stage are transported into their real lives and culminate into a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions.

Our eyes into this world of prestige and the extraordinary is through that of the average and the everyday. Oliver, himself, is perfectly willing to admit his default is that of the average guy, the supporting best friend, that allows others the much-sought limelight. But it is through his unique perspective that the glamour is de-cloaked and we begin to see everything for what it really is.

The individual characters were immediately characterised by their acumen and strengths as actors. We were not introduced to those they pretended to embody or even the real-person behind their stage facade, as the individuals were too bound to their roles to ever imagine removing their masks. Too unaware, even, that they wore a mask at all. Each of the seven had a distinct role to play. They adhered to a strict set of stereotypes �� the hero, the villain, the sultry seductress, the girl next door, the good guy �� both on and off the stage. But when these roles began to merge, the structure of their friendship also began to also tilt. And with the backdrop removed, nothing was there to separate their veneer of pretence to what was going on behind the scenes.

I adored how large a focal point the language and plot lines of Shakespearean plays had on this novel. The narrative itself borrowed facets from these infamous plays but so too did the character’s dialogue. Even in their every day conversations did they purge lines from a multitude of plays and continue to word-battle with each other, even when the conversational topic were on the most mundane of subjects.

The dialogue is also often transformed into typical play format and the chapters were sequestered into acts and scenes, meaning Rio never lets the reader forget that they are audience to a performance and the characters are all simply acting their roles. The layers of deception run deep, but also Rio is completely honest about revealing this. Simply put: this is one clever novel. Reality is layered upon further realities and this offers a unique and thrilling twist on some of the most infamous of Shakespeare’s histories and tragedies.]]> 4.29 2017
author: M.L. Rio
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2017/08/13
date added: 2021/04/08
shelves: historical-highness, mysterious-miasmas, recommended-reading, adult-books-read, dark-academia-ambition
review:
I think I just found a new favourite book.

Oliver Marks has been released from prison and only two people are there to greet him. One is the newly retired Detective Colborne. And he wants to know the truth. The truth of what put Oliver behind bars. The truth behind the lie that has haunted his entire career. And now, finally, he might be able to get it.

Oliver transports both the detective and the reader back in time to the early 1990’s. He is entering his fourth year of dramatic training at Dellecher Classical Conservatory, an elite arts college. His discipline is strictly Shakespeare, as is that of the seven friends he has shared this exclusive university experience with. This close-knit friendship group are buoyed by the knowledge of their imminent departure to the real world of theatre but are also keenly aware of the safe nest of their university home. They live together in a dramatic structure of castle-like proportions, inseparable from each other but isolated from the rest of the university populace.

As their final year progresses the group continue to perform scenes from a selection of the bard’s most infamous plays �� including ‘Romeo and Juliet��, ‘Julius Caesar��, and ‘Macbeth�� �� and the events from within also begin to play out in their everyday lives. The fights and feuds of the stage are transported into their real lives and culminate into a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions.

Our eyes into this world of prestige and the extraordinary is through that of the average and the everyday. Oliver, himself, is perfectly willing to admit his default is that of the average guy, the supporting best friend, that allows others the much-sought limelight. But it is through his unique perspective that the glamour is de-cloaked and we begin to see everything for what it really is.

The individual characters were immediately characterised by their acumen and strengths as actors. We were not introduced to those they pretended to embody or even the real-person behind their stage facade, as the individuals were too bound to their roles to ever imagine removing their masks. Too unaware, even, that they wore a mask at all. Each of the seven had a distinct role to play. They adhered to a strict set of stereotypes �� the hero, the villain, the sultry seductress, the girl next door, the good guy �� both on and off the stage. But when these roles began to merge, the structure of their friendship also began to also tilt. And with the backdrop removed, nothing was there to separate their veneer of pretence to what was going on behind the scenes.

I adored how large a focal point the language and plot lines of Shakespearean plays had on this novel. The narrative itself borrowed facets from these infamous plays but so too did the character’s dialogue. Even in their every day conversations did they purge lines from a multitude of plays and continue to word-battle with each other, even when the conversational topic were on the most mundane of subjects.

The dialogue is also often transformed into typical play format and the chapters were sequestered into acts and scenes, meaning Rio never lets the reader forget that they are audience to a performance and the characters are all simply acting their roles. The layers of deception run deep, but also Rio is completely honest about revealing this. Simply put: this is one clever novel. Reality is layered upon further realities and this offers a unique and thrilling twist on some of the most infamous of Shakespeare’s histories and tragedies.
]]> 11221285
They came against man ten thousand times. To help them cope, the Almighty gave men powerful suits of armor and mystical weapons, known as Shardblades. Led by ten angelic Heralds and ten orders of knights known as Radiants, mankind finally won.

Or so the legends say. Today, the only remnants of those supposed battles are the Shardblades, the possession of which makes a man nearly invincible on the battlefield. The entire world is at war with itself - and has been for centuries since the Radiants turned against mankind. Kings strive to win more Shardblades, each secretly wishing to be the one who will finally unite all of mankind under a single throne.

On a world scoured down to the rock by terrifying hurricanes that blow through every few days is a young spearman, forced into the army of a Shardbearer, led to war against an enemy he doesn't understand and doesn't really want to fight.

What happened deep in mankind's past?

Why did the Radiants turn against mankind, and what happened to the magic they used to wield?]]> 530 Brandon Sanderson 0575102489 Dannii 5
Despite regarding this book an absolute masterpiece, I can understand the hesitancy of others to revere it in quite the same way. Sanderson spends large portions of this book informing the reader about the convoluted magical system, the geographical disparities, the social hierarchy and ruling classes, the non-human entities, the politics of war, the history that this war has ravaged upon the lands, and so, so much more. I found none of this information ‘dumped�� upon the reader but it was overwhelming to know that there was consistently some more facet about this world to learn, on every single page. I found this utterly fascinating and it only made me more immersed in this epic creation, rather than alienating me from the concurrent scenes of action.

As well as this abundance of information imparted about the kingdom, this also delivered the same amount for the three individuals who provided their perspectives into it. Interludes and flashbacks interrupted the chronological order of events to deliver the reader a slowly drip-fed understanding for who these people were and what made them the individuals the reader is initially introduced to. The characters themselves also delivered facts about their previous selves throughout their interaction with others, which meant that every area of this masterpiece was continually growing on every line, not just on every page, as I stated above!

And for all this knowledge, the action still was allowed to dominate. Scenes of battle or scenes of learning were provided the same detailed focus and despite the intricacies of both, Sanderson never left his readers feeling a step behind the events unfurling.]]> 4.79 2010
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.79
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2021/04/02
date added: 2021/04/05
shelves: recommended-reading, adult-books-read, fantastic-fabrications
review:
This is the second part of the first instalment in The Stormlight Archive series.

Despite regarding this book an absolute masterpiece, I can understand the hesitancy of others to revere it in quite the same way. Sanderson spends large portions of this book informing the reader about the convoluted magical system, the geographical disparities, the social hierarchy and ruling classes, the non-human entities, the politics of war, the history that this war has ravaged upon the lands, and so, so much more. I found none of this information ‘dumped�� upon the reader but it was overwhelming to know that there was consistently some more facet about this world to learn, on every single page. I found this utterly fascinating and it only made me more immersed in this epic creation, rather than alienating me from the concurrent scenes of action.

As well as this abundance of information imparted about the kingdom, this also delivered the same amount for the three individuals who provided their perspectives into it. Interludes and flashbacks interrupted the chronological order of events to deliver the reader a slowly drip-fed understanding for who these people were and what made them the individuals the reader is initially introduced to. The characters themselves also delivered facts about their previous selves throughout their interaction with others, which meant that every area of this masterpiece was continually growing on every line, not just on every page, as I stated above!

And for all this knowledge, the action still was allowed to dominate. Scenes of battle or scenes of learning were provided the same detailed focus and despite the intricacies of both, Sanderson never left his readers feeling a step behind the events unfurling.
]]> 9329354 Speak again the ancient oaths. Life before death. Strength before weakness, Journey before destination. And return to men the shards they once bore. The knights radiant must stand again.

Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.

It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars are fought for them, and won by them.

One such war is about to swallow up a soldier, a brightlord and a young woman scholar.]]> 594 Brandon Sanderson 0575097361 Dannii 5
Despite regarding this book an absolute masterpiece, I can understand the hesitancy of others to revere it in quite the same way. Sanderson spends large portions of this book informing the reader about the convoluted magical system, the geographical disparities, the social hierarchy and ruling classes, the non-human entities, the politics of war, the history that this war has ravaged upon the lands, and so, so much more. I found none of this information ‘dumped�� upon the reader but it was overwhelming to know that there was consistently some more facet about this world to learn, on every single page. I found this utterly fascinating and it only made me more immersed in this epic creation, rather than alienating me from the concurrent scenes of action.

As well as this abundance of information imparted about the kingdom, this also delivered the same amount for the three individuals who provided their perspectives into it. Interludes and flashbacks interrupted the chronological order of events to deliver the reader a slowly drip-fed understanding for who these people were and what made them the individuals the reader is initially introduced to. The characters themselves also delivered facts about their previous selves throughout their interaction with others, which meant that every area of this masterpiece was continually growing on every line, not just on every page, as I stated above!

And for all this knowledge, the action still was allowed to dominate. Scenes of battle or scenes of learning were provided the same detailed focus and despite the intricacies of both, Sanderson never left his readers feeling a step behind the events unfurling. ]]> 4.64 2010
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.64
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2021/03/29
date added: 2021/04/05
shelves: recommended-reading, fantastic-fabrications, adult-books-read
review:
This is the first part of the first instalment in The Stormlight Archives.

Despite regarding this book an absolute masterpiece, I can understand the hesitancy of others to revere it in quite the same way. Sanderson spends large portions of this book informing the reader about the convoluted magical system, the geographical disparities, the social hierarchy and ruling classes, the non-human entities, the politics of war, the history that this war has ravaged upon the lands, and so, so much more. I found none of this information ‘dumped�� upon the reader but it was overwhelming to know that there was consistently some more facet about this world to learn, on every single page. I found this utterly fascinating and it only made me more immersed in this epic creation, rather than alienating me from the concurrent scenes of action.

As well as this abundance of information imparted about the kingdom, this also delivered the same amount for the three individuals who provided their perspectives into it. Interludes and flashbacks interrupted the chronological order of events to deliver the reader a slowly drip-fed understanding for who these people were and what made them the individuals the reader is initially introduced to. The characters themselves also delivered facts about their previous selves throughout their interaction with others, which meant that every area of this masterpiece was continually growing on every line, not just on every page, as I stated above!

And for all this knowledge, the action still was allowed to dominate. Scenes of battle or scenes of learning were provided the same detailed focus and despite the intricacies of both, Sanderson never left his readers feeling a step behind the events unfurling.
]]> 33160963
Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn's luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the `80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn's story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique's own in tragic and irreversible ways.]]> 389 Taylor Jenkins Reid 1501161938 Dannii 5
Evelyn Hugo had my heart from the very first moment both Monique and the reader became introduced to her. She remained a formidable presence and an elusive individual until the final pages, despite the story of her life that was slowly revealed throughout the course of the book. The author did an incredible job of crafting both this elite persona and the world of old Hollywood that she invited us into.

This became a more heartfelt story than the one I was anticipating. Evelyn Hugo might have owned enviable facial features and society's 'perfect' body shape, and she might have seemed like a flirtatious and uncaring individual, with the slew of men she left in her wake, but the truth about her identity and the relationships she entered into could not be any more different than the carefully crafted image she presented to the rest of the world. Loneliness and pain were with her across every step of her journey from poor Mexican girl residing in Hell's Kitchen to blonde bombshell, seven-times divorcee, and Oscar-winning movie star, and so was I.]]> 4.47 2017
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2020/12/01
date added: 2021/03/25
shelves: recommended-reading, historical-highness, romantic-recollections, mysterious-miasmas, adult-books-read
review:
Evelyn Hugo was once an Oscar-winning movie star who graced the gossip magazine pages for her off-screen relationships as much as her on-screen actions. She is a now a reclusive former star who still shines brightly and remains enough of an enigma to have journalists clamouring for information concerning her. Monique, despite owning little notoriety and a low-grade job, is the lucky individual chosen to deliver Evelyn's story.

Evelyn Hugo had my heart from the very first moment both Monique and the reader became introduced to her. She remained a formidable presence and an elusive individual until the final pages, despite the story of her life that was slowly revealed throughout the course of the book. The author did an incredible job of crafting both this elite persona and the world of old Hollywood that she invited us into.

This became a more heartfelt story than the one I was anticipating. Evelyn Hugo might have owned enviable facial features and society's 'perfect' body shape, and she might have seemed like a flirtatious and uncaring individual, with the slew of men she left in her wake, but the truth about her identity and the relationships she entered into could not be any more different than the carefully crafted image she presented to the rest of the world. Loneliness and pain were with her across every step of her journey from poor Mexican girl residing in Hell's Kitchen to blonde bombshell, seven-times divorcee, and Oscar-winning movie star, and so was I.
]]> 49338311 The exciting end to The Poppy War trilogy, R.F. Kuang's acclaimed, award-winning epic fantasy that combines the history of 20th-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters, to devastating, enthralling effect.

After saving her nation of Nikan from foreign invaders and battling the evil Empress Su Daji in a brutal civil war, Fang Runin was betrayed by allies and left for dead.

Despite her losses, Rin hasn't given up on those for whom she has sacrificed so much �� the people of the southern provinces and especially Tikany, the village that is her home. Returning to her roots, Rin meets difficult challenges �� and unexpected opportunities. While her new allies in the Southern Coalition leadership are sly and untrustworthy, Rin quickly realizes that the real power in Nikan lies with the millions of common people who thirst for vengeance and revere her as a goddess of salvation.

Backed by the masses and her Southern Army, Rin will use every weapon to defeat the Dragon Republic, the colonizing Hesperians, and all who threaten the shamanic arts and their practitioners. As her power and influence grows, though, will she be strong enough to resist the Phoenix's intoxicating voice urging her to burn the world and everything in it?]]> 635 R.F. Kuang 0008339163 Dannii 5
Rin has battled against foreign soldiers and now has enemies far closer to home to contend with. Allegiances shift, new battle plans are made, and old players return to the stage, which is set for the final showdown to begin.

What I have so previously adored about this series so far, and what could be further witnessed here, was how unafraid Kuang was in the face of the chaos she created. At no juncture did she back away from the brutality, the bloodshed, or the barbarism. War was painted as atrocious, merciless, and riotous. There was no clear line between right or wrong, this side or that, justice or revenge. She allowed her characters, and the reader, to witness, feel, and take part in every new and emerging horror without flinching. Whether the pain was emitted or received did not matter, but she brought home the authenticity of these horrors by establishing us as complicit in it, as we read from the perspective of one so immersed in the bloodshed.

This made this both a very hard read to digest and one with many moral implications. My favourite books usually centre around characters I wholeheartedly root for. With Rin this wasn't the case. And yet, I definitely class this series as a new yet firm favourite.

Rin was not wholly good and her actions, or reactions, did not always come from the best place. She was a nuanced character still reeling from the many hurts inflicted upon her and struggling with powers, in many forms, that she was too inexperienced and headstrong to properly control. She was savage and merciless and I might have loved her for it but I did not always agree with all her actions or relish in the dark places they took her and this story. I can only bow down in admiration before an author who is accomplished enough to craft such a difficult but wholly authentic character like this.

My heart was with Rin throughout this book and it was not ready for that final scene or the epilogue that followed it! This did not feel like a final book in a series, even once I had turned to the acknowledgements. The pacing remained at break-neck speed and new realisations were discovered even when only paragraphs remained before the end. I thought this a clever and fitting closure to what has been a blood-soaked and brilliant series. I hope Kuang allows us to revisit this world again, soon.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, R.F. Kuang, and the publisher, Harper Voyager, for this opportunity.]]> 4.19 2020
author: R.F. Kuang
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2020/11/12
date added: 2021/03/18
shelves: recommended-reading, fantastic-fabrications, adult-books-read
review:
This is the third instalment in The Poppy War series.

Rin has battled against foreign soldiers and now has enemies far closer to home to contend with. Allegiances shift, new battle plans are made, and old players return to the stage, which is set for the final showdown to begin.

What I have so previously adored about this series so far, and what could be further witnessed here, was how unafraid Kuang was in the face of the chaos she created. At no juncture did she back away from the brutality, the bloodshed, or the barbarism. War was painted as atrocious, merciless, and riotous. There was no clear line between right or wrong, this side or that, justice or revenge. She allowed her characters, and the reader, to witness, feel, and take part in every new and emerging horror without flinching. Whether the pain was emitted or received did not matter, but she brought home the authenticity of these horrors by establishing us as complicit in it, as we read from the perspective of one so immersed in the bloodshed.

This made this both a very hard read to digest and one with many moral implications. My favourite books usually centre around characters I wholeheartedly root for. With Rin this wasn't the case. And yet, I definitely class this series as a new yet firm favourite.

Rin was not wholly good and her actions, or reactions, did not always come from the best place. She was a nuanced character still reeling from the many hurts inflicted upon her and struggling with powers, in many forms, that she was too inexperienced and headstrong to properly control. She was savage and merciless and I might have loved her for it but I did not always agree with all her actions or relish in the dark places they took her and this story. I can only bow down in admiration before an author who is accomplished enough to craft such a difficult but wholly authentic character like this.

My heart was with Rin throughout this book and it was not ready for that final scene or the epilogue that followed it! This did not feel like a final book in a series, even once I had turned to the acknowledgements. The pacing remained at break-neck speed and new realisations were discovered even when only paragraphs remained before the end. I thought this a clever and fitting closure to what has been a blood-soaked and brilliant series. I hope Kuang allows us to revisit this world again, soon.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, R.F. Kuang, and the publisher, Harper Voyager, for this opportunity.
]]> 28501523 195 Virginia Woolf 1784870862 Dannii 5
I spent my weekend largely immersed in the life of Clarrisa Dalloway and am already longing to spend the day with her, once again. Woolf provides such a profound insight to life and I couldn't read a page without finding a sentiment or quote that made my heart sing. She is a writer of pure emotion and this is undoubtedly a new favourite. My heart feels too full of the wonder that is Woolf!]]> 3.79 1925
author: Virginia Woolf
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.79
book published: 1925
rating: 5
read at: 2019/02/10
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: recommended-reading, classic-captivaton, adult-books-read
review:
Oh, Virginia! There truly is no writer like you!

I spent my weekend largely immersed in the life of Clarrisa Dalloway and am already longing to spend the day with her, once again. Woolf provides such a profound insight to life and I couldn't read a page without finding a sentiment or quote that made my heart sing. She is a writer of pure emotion and this is undoubtedly a new favourite. My heart feels too full of the wonder that is Woolf!
]]> 51197769 Game of Thrones meets Gladiator in this blockbuster debut epic fantasy about a world caught in an eternal war, and the young man who will become his people's only hope for survival.
Winner of the Reddit/Fantasy Award for Best Debut Fantasy Novel


The Omehi people have been fighting an unwinnable war for almost two hundred years. The lucky ones are born gifted. One in every two thousand women has the power to call down dragons. One in every hundred men is able to magically transform himself into a bigger, stronger, faster killing machine.


Everyone else is fodder, destined to fight and die in the endless war.


Young, gift-less Tau knows all this, but he has a plan of escape. He's going to get himself injured, get out early, and settle down to marriage, children, and land. Only, he doesn't get the chance.


Those closest to him are brutally murdered, and his grief swiftly turns to anger. Fixated on revenge, Tau dedicates himself to an unthinkable path. He'll become the greatest swordsman to ever live, a man willing to die a hundred thousand times for the chance to kill the three who betrayed him.



The Rage of Dragons launches a stunning and powerful debut epic fantasy series that readers are already calling "the best fantasy book in years."


The Burning
The Rage of Dragons]]> 571 Evan Winter 0316489778 Dannii 5 First Read: July 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: January 2021, Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the first instalment in The Burning series.

The synopsis describes this book as "Game of Thrones meets Gladiator" and there could be no more apt comparison. The Omehi people have been involved in generations of conflict. A few of their women are born with with the power to take energy from the afterlife and send those in their paths to the demons who dwell there. More of their men are born physically bigger, taller, and stronger. However, most of their people are doomed to the life of an average lower-class being - spending their days preparing for battle and their nights plagued by nightmares of the bitter end they are sure to meet there.

This book was battle-heavy, action-focused, and blood-drenched. The entire almost 600-pages were focused on the intricacies of war politics and training to become another body for the battlefield. This isn't my usual preferential focus inside the fantasy genre, and yet I couldn't tear myself away from these relentlessly-paced scenes.

The magic system was structured quite differently from any other I have read, and I appreciated how unique this addition was to the novel. The magic worked seamlessly alongside both the physical and political conflicts to ensure this remained as intriguing as it was engaging.

Protagonist Tao had much learning to do over the course of the novel, and I enjoyed journeying with him on this course of self-progression. Despite his initial setbacks, he remained a character I could care for. His weaknesses ensured him an authentic individual and I nearly gave myself whiplash for how many times I flinched when he threw himself headfirst into danger, time and time again.

This is the first book in what I am positive will be an entire five-star series and I am just as sure Evan Winter is an author I will read anything and everything from, in the future.]]> 4.20 2017
author: Evan Winter
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2021/01/25
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: recommended-reading, fantastic-fabrications, adult-books-read
review:
First Read: July 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: January 2021, Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the first instalment in The Burning series.

The synopsis describes this book as "Game of Thrones meets Gladiator" and there could be no more apt comparison. The Omehi people have been involved in generations of conflict. A few of their women are born with with the power to take energy from the afterlife and send those in their paths to the demons who dwell there. More of their men are born physically bigger, taller, and stronger. However, most of their people are doomed to the life of an average lower-class being - spending their days preparing for battle and their nights plagued by nightmares of the bitter end they are sure to meet there.

This book was battle-heavy, action-focused, and blood-drenched. The entire almost 600-pages were focused on the intricacies of war politics and training to become another body for the battlefield. This isn't my usual preferential focus inside the fantasy genre, and yet I couldn't tear myself away from these relentlessly-paced scenes.

The magic system was structured quite differently from any other I have read, and I appreciated how unique this addition was to the novel. The magic worked seamlessly alongside both the physical and political conflicts to ensure this remained as intriguing as it was engaging.

Protagonist Tao had much learning to do over the course of the novel, and I enjoyed journeying with him on this course of self-progression. Despite his initial setbacks, he remained a character I could care for. His weaknesses ensured him an authentic individual and I nearly gave myself whiplash for how many times I flinched when he threw himself headfirst into danger, time and time again.

This is the first book in what I am positive will be an entire five-star series and I am just as sure Evan Winter is an author I will read anything and everything from, in the future.
]]> 41955384 **THE SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**

Brilliant, heartbreaking, tender, and highly original �� poet Ocean Vuong's debut novel is a sweeping and shattering portrait of a family, and a testament to the redemptive power of storytelling

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family's history that began before he was born �� a history whose epicentre is rooted in Vietnam �� and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known, all of it leading to an unforgettable revelation. At once a witness to the fraught yet undeniable love between a single mother and her son, it is also a brutally honest exploration of race, class, and masculinity. Asking questions central to the American moment, immersed as it is in addiction, violence, and trauma, but undergirded by compassion and tenderness, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is as much about the power of telling one's own story as it is about the obliterating silence of not being heard.

With stunning urgency and grace, Ocean Vuong writes of people caught between disparate worlds, and asks how we heal and rescue one another without forsaking who we are. The question of how to survive, and how to make of it a kind of joy, powers the most important debut novel of many years.]]> 246 Ocean Vuong 1787331504 Dannii 5 “I am thinking of beauty again, how some things are hunted because we have deemed them beautiful. If, relative to the history of our planet, an individual life is so short, a blink, as they say, then to be gorgeous, even from the day you're born to the day you die, is to be gorgeous only briefly.��

Little Dog is penning a letter to his illiterate mother. Maybe she will never read his words but the catharsis of allowing them to flow upon the page, and the past pain to reveal itself, holds an unstoppable allure.

Whilst buddy reading this, and only a quarter of the way through, I made a comment about this book reading like pressing on a bruise. That sensation lingered throughout. There was pain and misery prevalent in every scene. The hurt sometimes passed by indirectly but it was always there, lingering directly below the skin, and brought back to the surface, and in fresh waves of hurt, with every repeated press upon the wound.

The emotions were felt so strongly throughout as it was impossible to view this as a work of fiction. The characters felt too real and their experiences too raw to be nothing but art. But this is not a memoir. Just a vividly recounted story of one boys youth and the innocence he quickly lost throughout it.]]> 3.97 2019
author: Ocean Vuong
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2020/03/11
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: contemporary-cuteness, literary-fiction-love, recommended-reading, adult-books-read
review:
“I am thinking of beauty again, how some things are hunted because we have deemed them beautiful. If, relative to the history of our planet, an individual life is so short, a blink, as they say, then to be gorgeous, even from the day you're born to the day you die, is to be gorgeous only briefly.��

Little Dog is penning a letter to his illiterate mother. Maybe she will never read his words but the catharsis of allowing them to flow upon the page, and the past pain to reveal itself, holds an unstoppable allure.

Whilst buddy reading this, and only a quarter of the way through, I made a comment about this book reading like pressing on a bruise. That sensation lingered throughout. There was pain and misery prevalent in every scene. The hurt sometimes passed by indirectly but it was always there, lingering directly below the skin, and brought back to the surface, and in fresh waves of hurt, with every repeated press upon the wound.

The emotions were felt so strongly throughout as it was impossible to view this as a work of fiction. The characters felt too real and their experiences too raw to be nothing but art. But this is not a memoir. Just a vividly recounted story of one boys youth and the innocence he quickly lost throughout it.
]]> 18139325 432 Bram Stoker Dannii 5 4.20 1897
author: Bram Stoker
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1897
rating: 5
read at: 2014/01/01
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: recommended-reading, gothic-grotesqueness, horror-hazes, classic-captivaton, fantastic-fabrications, adult-books-read
review:

]]> 39216574
���������� Now, in this life-changing book, handcrafted by the author over a rigorous four-year period, you will discover the early-rising habit that has helped so many accomplish epic results while upgrading their happiness, helpfulness and feelings of aliveness.

���������� Through an enchanting—and often amusing—story about two struggling strangers who meet an eccentric tycoon who becomes their secret mentor, The 5am Club will walk you

How great geniuses, business titans and the world’s wisest people start their mornings to produce astonishing achievementsA��little-known formula you can use instantly to wake up early feeling inspired, focused and flooded with a fiery drive to get the most out of each dayA step-by-step method to protect the quietest hours of daybreak so you have time for exercise, self-renewal and personal growthA neuroscience-based practice proven to help make it easy to rise while most people are sleeping, giving you precious time for yourself to think, express your creativity and begin the day peacefully instead of being rushed“Insider-only�� tactics to defend your gifts, talents and dreams against digital distraction and trivial diversions so you enjoy fortune, influence and a magnificent impact on the worldPart manifesto for mastery, part playbook for genius-grade productivity and part companion for a life lived beautifully, The 5am Club is a work that will transform your life. Forever.]]> 312 Robin Sharma Dannii 5
I like to consume self-improvement books at semi-regular intervals. Whilst many similarities might lie inside their pages and the format remains similar between each, I find the repetition of the knowledge they all impart to fuel my creativity and focus until my next mental lag, when I will begin the process of reading one all over again.

The 5 AM Club is a title I had been meaning to read for some time, given its renown and how frequently the title pops up on lists of best non-fiction books, which are written in a similar vein. I did not, however, find it like any other I had read before.

The book is structured as a series of fictional interactions between a mentor and the two strangers he begins to instruct. Their meeting is strange and his mannerisms even more so, but they, against all logic, decide to trust him, and embark on a journey of challenges and change.

The reader also becomes privy to the methods, the madness, and the miracles this mentor provides, which are slowly revealed as the book progresses. In between his snippets of personal wisdom are facets of the three individual's daily lives and quotes from a multitude of admirable historical individuals.

Yes, this book's knowledge could be condensed into twenty short pages of instruction and yes, the contents are probably available elsewhere, but it is the journey taken to gain this understanding that impacted me so strongly. As the individuals come to realise facets of their lives and their characters, I too began to understand something of myself. There was nothing that made the pair similar to myself in any way other than our shared journey to understanding, but this was enough.

This is a book I will treasure always and definitely return to again.]]> 3.86 2018
author: Robin Sharma
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2020/05/28
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: non-fiction-nuances, self-improvement-success, recommended-reading, adult-books-read
review:
The 5 AM Club is the place where leaders and victors are made. It is the special hour that exists before the sun rises and when most of the population is still asleep. This time is for a dedication to and preservation of ourselves and what we do during these sixty precious minutes can impact not only the hours to come, but the rest of our lives beyond it.

I like to consume self-improvement books at semi-regular intervals. Whilst many similarities might lie inside their pages and the format remains similar between each, I find the repetition of the knowledge they all impart to fuel my creativity and focus until my next mental lag, when I will begin the process of reading one all over again.

The 5 AM Club is a title I had been meaning to read for some time, given its renown and how frequently the title pops up on lists of best non-fiction books, which are written in a similar vein. I did not, however, find it like any other I had read before.

The book is structured as a series of fictional interactions between a mentor and the two strangers he begins to instruct. Their meeting is strange and his mannerisms even more so, but they, against all logic, decide to trust him, and embark on a journey of challenges and change.

The reader also becomes privy to the methods, the madness, and the miracles this mentor provides, which are slowly revealed as the book progresses. In between his snippets of personal wisdom are facets of the three individual's daily lives and quotes from a multitude of admirable historical individuals.

Yes, this book's knowledge could be condensed into twenty short pages of instruction and yes, the contents are probably available elsewhere, but it is the journey taken to gain this understanding that impacted me so strongly. As the individuals come to realise facets of their lives and their characters, I too began to understand something of myself. There was nothing that made the pair similar to myself in any way other than our shared journey to understanding, but this was enough.

This is a book I will treasure always and definitely return to again.
]]> 51029810
Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.

But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore, and he remembers her name.

In the vein of The Time Traveler's Wife and Life After Life, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is New York Times bestselling author V. E. Schwab's #1 New York Times Bestselling Author genre-defying tour de force.]]> 560 Victoria E. Schwab Dannii 5
Addie LaRue did what she was always taught not to. First, she allowed herself to dream and in these dreams she was free and belonged to no man. Second, she made a deal with the things that haunt the moonlit hours. The one led from the other and now Addie is a free thing but also a cursed one. She enjoys immortality and is tethered to no other human, but is doomed to be forgotten by all at the very moment she is removed from sight.

This gloomy, atmospheric, slow-burn, and intensely sorrowful storyline spoke to my whole heart. There were few glimmers of happiness presented, and each that was capable of glowing through the surrounding despondency were still dulled with the promise of future heartache. But whilst little cause for celebration occurred, the good and the kind and the hopeful, that resided in each of these central characters, continued to shine strongly through. These elements were what became the guiding lights when the ever-present sorrow threatening to descend and cover all.]]> 4.27 2020
author: Victoria E. Schwab
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2020/10/16
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: historical-highness, romantic-recollections, magical-realism-mastery, recommended-reading, young-adult-books-read
review:
Hey, Ms Schwab. Thank you for breaking my heart. Thank you for making me enjoy it.

Addie LaRue did what she was always taught not to. First, she allowed herself to dream and in these dreams she was free and belonged to no man. Second, she made a deal with the things that haunt the moonlit hours. The one led from the other and now Addie is a free thing but also a cursed one. She enjoys immortality and is tethered to no other human, but is doomed to be forgotten by all at the very moment she is removed from sight.

This gloomy, atmospheric, slow-burn, and intensely sorrowful storyline spoke to my whole heart. There were few glimmers of happiness presented, and each that was capable of glowing through the surrounding despondency were still dulled with the promise of future heartache. But whilst little cause for celebration occurred, the good and the kind and the hopeful, that resided in each of these central characters, continued to shine strongly through. These elements were what became the guiding lights when the ever-present sorrow threatening to descend and cover all.
]]> 2913377
My name is Kvothe.
You may have heard of me'

--back cover]]> 662 Patrick Rothfuss 0575081406 Dannii 5
To attempt an accurate synopsis here would be futile as there is far too much plot and action to even begin to cover in the 19641 characters I have remaining. What I will say though, is that this is undoubtedly one of the best fantasy novels I have ever read!

I was hooked from the prologue: I have honestly never read such an atmospheric and thought-provoking beginning to a novel before and I knew from that point that this book was going to be one wild ride!

As the story progresses you are introduced to a vast multitude of names, events, creatures and places with little initial explanation or backstory. It was slightly confusing and yet not an unlikable aspect of the book. It felt organic: you learnt through gossip and storytelling. It was also an evocative journey and one which is imagined using all of your senses. What you do learn straightaway is that this is a land of magic and demons. This is also a world, just like our own in some respects, where sometimes the demons are just men in disguise...

The storytelling feels almost fairytale-like, as it is mesmerizing, whimsical and almost ambrosial in quality. The journey the story took us on, however, was distinctly capricious! And the layering of story within story within story led to reality becoming a distant dream once immersed in this book.

This chimerical and anecdotic journey has me begging for more, and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel. At over 1,000 pages long, I'm sure it will give me all the Kvothe and engagement with this mystical and fantastical land that I desire!]]> 4.38 2007
author: Patrick Rothfuss
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2016/01/14
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: recommended-reading, fantastic-fabrications, adult-books-read
review:
So it's been almost two whole months since I finished reading this book and I think I needed this long to attempt to order my thoughts concerning this book of absolutely epic proportions (both literally and figuratively speaking).

To attempt an accurate synopsis here would be futile as there is far too much plot and action to even begin to cover in the 19641 characters I have remaining. What I will say though, is that this is undoubtedly one of the best fantasy novels I have ever read!

I was hooked from the prologue: I have honestly never read such an atmospheric and thought-provoking beginning to a novel before and I knew from that point that this book was going to be one wild ride!

As the story progresses you are introduced to a vast multitude of names, events, creatures and places with little initial explanation or backstory. It was slightly confusing and yet not an unlikable aspect of the book. It felt organic: you learnt through gossip and storytelling. It was also an evocative journey and one which is imagined using all of your senses. What you do learn straightaway is that this is a land of magic and demons. This is also a world, just like our own in some respects, where sometimes the demons are just men in disguise...

The storytelling feels almost fairytale-like, as it is mesmerizing, whimsical and almost ambrosial in quality. The journey the story took us on, however, was distinctly capricious! And the layering of story within story within story led to reality becoming a distant dream once immersed in this book.

This chimerical and anecdotic journey has me begging for more, and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel. At over 1,000 pages long, I'm sure it will give me all the Kvothe and engagement with this mystical and fantastical land that I desire!
]]> 24874319
A selection of Rossetti's most famous poems, from the hallucinatory 'Goblin Market' to 'In the bleak mid-winter'.]]> 64 Christina Rossetti 0141397667 Dannii 5
Goblin Market - 5/5 stars
Dream Land - 4.5/5 stars
Song - 5/5 stars
An End - 4.5/5 stars
A Pause of Thought - 3/5 stars
Sweet Death - 4/5 stars
A Birthday - 3/5 stars
Babylon the Great - 5/5 stars
On Keats - 5/5 stars
In an Artist’s Studio - 5/5 stars
The Queen of Hearts - 4.5/5 stars
A Christmas Carol - 5/5 stars
An Old-World Thicket - 3/5 stars
Spring Quiet - 3.5/5 stars
Up-Hill - 4/5 stars
Song - 4/5 stars
A Dirge - 5/5 stars
A Frog’s Fate - 5/5 stars
My Dream - 2.5/5 stars
Nursery Rhymes - 4.5/5 stars]]> 3.82 1862
author: Christina Rossetti
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1862
rating: 5
read at: 2018/04/28
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: recommended-reading, poetic-perspicacity, horror-hazes, fantastic-fabrications, classic-captivaton, adult-books-read
review:
Goblin Market is one of the most, in turns, enchanting, horrifying, beautiful, and fantastical pieces I have ever read!

Goblin Market - 5/5 stars
Dream Land - 4.5/5 stars
Song - 5/5 stars
An End - 4.5/5 stars
A Pause of Thought - 3/5 stars
Sweet Death - 4/5 stars
A Birthday - 3/5 stars
Babylon the Great - 5/5 stars
On Keats - 5/5 stars
In an Artist’s Studio - 5/5 stars
The Queen of Hearts - 4.5/5 stars
A Christmas Carol - 5/5 stars
An Old-World Thicket - 3/5 stars
Spring Quiet - 3.5/5 stars
Up-Hill - 4/5 stars
Song - 4/5 stars
A Dirge - 5/5 stars
A Frog’s Fate - 5/5 stars
My Dream - 2.5/5 stars
Nursery Rhymes - 4.5/5 stars
]]> 846136 This is an alternative cover edition for ISBN 9780099532811

One by one the boys begin to fall...

In 1914 a room full of German schoolboys, fresh-faced and idealistic, are goaded by their schoolmaster to troop off to the 'glorious war'. With the fire and patriotism of youth they sign up. What follows is the moving story of a young 'unknown soldier' experiencing the horror and disillusionment of life in the trenches.]]> 208 Erich Maria Remarque Dannii 5 4.43 1928
author: Erich Maria Remarque
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.43
book published: 1928
rating: 5
read at: 2016/04/05
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: recommended-reading, historical-highness, classic-captivaton, adult-books-read
review:
The most horrifying and heart-wrenching thing I have ever read! Review to come.
]]> 12478803 I was supposed to be having the time of my life.

When Esther Greenwood wins an internship on a New York fashion magazine in 1953, she is elated, believing she will finally realise her dream to become a writer. But in between the cocktail parties and piles of manuscripts, Esther's life begins to slide out of control. She finds herself spiralling into depression and eventually a suicide attempt, as she grapples with difficult relationships and a society which refuses to take women's aspirations seriously.


The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath's only novel, was originally published in 1963 under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. The novel is partially based on Plath's own life and has become a modern classic. The Bell Jar has been celebrated for its darkly funny and a razor sharp portrait of 1950s society and has sold millions of copies worldwide.]]> 234 Sylvia Plath Dannii 5 First Read: April 2017, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: March 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars

How do I even begin to do this book justice?

Plath's discourse on mental illness is so startling bleak that it is hard not to get dragged down by the negativity this emotes. In that way, this is a mirror of dually the protagonist Esther's, Plath's own, and the reader's emotions. These many layers build upon each other until it becomes hard to tell where each individual's feelings starts and ends, so completely was I caught up in both Esther and Plath's inner-turmoil. Their story became, too, my shared one.

This established mood permeates the entire story and becomes as much a part of the tale, as the actual plot. The utterly immersive quality of the writing is what drew me in, captivated my attention and spat me back out again, feeling utterly used, at the novel's close.]]> 3.95 1963
author: Sylvia Plath
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1963
rating: 5
read at: 2020/03/22
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: recommended-reading, classic-captivaton, literary-fiction-love, adult-books-read
review:
First Read: April 2017, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: March 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars

How do I even begin to do this book justice?

Plath's discourse on mental illness is so startling bleak that it is hard not to get dragged down by the negativity this emotes. In that way, this is a mirror of dually the protagonist Esther's, Plath's own, and the reader's emotions. These many layers build upon each other until it becomes hard to tell where each individual's feelings starts and ends, so completely was I caught up in both Esther and Plath's inner-turmoil. Their story became, too, my shared one.

This established mood permeates the entire story and becomes as much a part of the tale, as the actual plot. The utterly immersive quality of the writing is what drew me in, captivated my attention and spat me back out again, feeling utterly used, at the novel's close.
]]> 17612888
For McGrath, another death connected to this seemingly cursed family dynasty seems more than just a coincidence. Though much has been written about Cordova's dark and unsettling films, very little is known about the man himself.

Driven by revenge, curiosity, and a need for the truth, McGrath, with the aid of two strangers, is drawn deeper and deeper into Cordova's eerie, hypnotic world. The last time he got close to exposing the director, McGrath lost his marriage and his career. This time he might lose even more.]]> 599 Marisha Pessl 0091953782 Dannii 5
Night Film tells of the death of Ashley Cordova, daughter of cult horror film director Stanislaus Cordova. Through a series of collated documents and artefacts the reader and investigative journalist Scott McGrath attempt to piece together the clues that led to her tragic demise. One year on and the ending still has me reeling!]]> 3.88 2013
author: Marisha Pessl
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2017/10/31
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: horror-hazes, thriven-thrillers, recommended-reading, adult-books-read
review:
The perfect October book rec is Marisha Pessl's Night Film. I finished my read of this book on Halloween of last year and if I didn't have such a stocked reading month would attempt to do the same, again.

Night Film tells of the death of Ashley Cordova, daughter of cult horror film director Stanislaus Cordova. Through a series of collated documents and artefacts the reader and investigative journalist Scott McGrath attempt to piece together the clues that led to her tragic demise. One year on and the ending still has me reeling!
]]> 42189109
But love works in surprising ways, and Nick is more interested in Charlie than either of them realised.

By Alice Oseman, winner of the YA Book Prize, Heartstopper is about love, friendship, loyalty and mental illness. It encompasses all the small stories of Nick and Charlie’s lives that together make up something larger, which speaks to all of us.]]> 263 Alice Oseman 1444951386 Dannii 5 4.51 2018
author: Alice Oseman
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2020/05/29
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: contemporary-cuteness, romantic-recollections, recommended-reading, artistic-absorption, young-adult-books-read
review:
This was the most pure and wholesome thing I have ever read and my heart can't cope with how much I loved it! Nick and Charlie are my new favourite soft boys and deserve all the love and happiness in the world. The rave reviews for this had me almost hesitant to pick it up, so heavy was the adoration it received, but I need not have feared as it was heart-aching perfection!
]]> 24004193 An “astonishing�� book of poetry from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of American Primitive and “one of our very best poets�� (Stephen Dobyns,��The New York Times Book Review). ��Dream Work, a collection of forty-five poems, follows Mary Oliver’s Pulitzer Prize-winning poetry volume��American Primitive. The deep perceptual awareness on display in that collection is all the more radiant and steadfast here.��With this new collection, Oliver has turned her attention to the solitary and difficult labors of the spirit–to accepting the truth about one’s personal world, and to valuing the triumphs while transcending the fail­ures of human relationships. �� Oliver brings grace and empathy to the painful legacies of history, whether by way of inheritance–as in her poem about the Holocaust��-or through a glimpse into the realities of present–as in her poem about an injured boy begging in the streets of Indonesia. And yet, Oliver’s willingness to find light, humanity, and joy continues, deepened by self-awareness, by experience, and by choice.]]> 97 Mary Oliver Dannii 5 "I forgive them
their unhappiness,
I forgive them
for walking out of the world.

But I don’t forgive them
for turning their faces away,
for taking off their veils
and dancing for death ��

for hurtling
toward oblivion
on the sharp blades
of their exquisite poems, saying:
this is the way.


I was, of course, all that time
coming along
behind them, and listening
for advice.


And the man who merely
washed Michelangelo’s brushes, kneeling
on the damp bricks, staring
every day at the colors pouring out of them,
lived to be a hundred years old."

I think I just found perfection.

Oliver's collection of poems deal with disparate topics and yet every single one impressed me with their beauty of imagery, honesty of thought, and depth of emotion. The snippet above was ripped from my favourite but I could have posted stanzas at random and they would still be some of the most eloquent and emotional I had ever had the pleasure of reading.

This is the type of poetry that promotes the pure and unadulterated soaring of the heart. This entire anthology is visceral; rawness and grace combining in a fever dream of feeling, with poised perfection and lyrical beauty in abundance.]]> 4.38 1986
author: Mary Oliver
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1986
rating: 5
read at: 2020/03/04
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: anthological-astuteness, recommended-reading, poetic-perspicacity, adult-books-read
review:
"I forgive them
their unhappiness,
I forgive them
for walking out of the world.

But I don’t forgive them
for turning their faces away,
for taking off their veils
and dancing for death ��

for hurtling
toward oblivion
on the sharp blades
of their exquisite poems, saying:
this is the way.


I was, of course, all that time
coming along
behind them, and listening
for advice.


And the man who merely
washed Michelangelo’s brushes, kneeling
on the damp bricks, staring
every day at the colors pouring out of them,
lived to be a hundred years old."

I think I just found perfection.

Oliver's collection of poems deal with disparate topics and yet every single one impressed me with their beauty of imagery, honesty of thought, and depth of emotion. The snippet above was ripped from my favourite but I could have posted stanzas at random and they would still be some of the most eloquent and emotional I had ever had the pleasure of reading.

This is the type of poetry that promotes the pure and unadulterated soaring of the heart. This entire anthology is visceral; rawness and grace combining in a fever dream of feeling, with poised perfection and lyrical beauty in abundance.
]]> 198806 Alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here

Humbert Humbert is a middle-aged, fastidious college professor. He also likes little girls. And none more so than twelve-year-old Lolita, whom he'll do anything to possess. Is he in love or insane? A silver-tongued poet or a pervert? A tortured soul or a monster? . . Or is he all of these?]]> 361 Vladimir Nabokov 014102349X Dannii 5 3.88 1955
author: Vladimir Nabokov
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1955
rating: 5
read at: 2014/01/01
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: recommended-reading, classic-captivaton, adult-books-read
review:

]]> 49763606
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway - a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love - a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.]]> 390 Erin Morgenstern Dannii 5 First Read: January 2016, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: January 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars

“The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.��

And that is all the synopsis I am going to provide in this review. I knew little about this book before reading it, and it made every climacteric episode and every exhilarate moment that much more shocking. And besides, far too much happens for me to even begin to recount here.

What I will say is that this book is mystical and magical and surreal and yet believable. It is breathtaking and sublime and transcendent and otherworldly. It is dazzling and scintillating and obscure and authentic. I could use every positive adjective in the dictionary and that would not even begin to recount the sagacity of this book!

I want to live in this world and I am not, nor will I ever, be ready to say goodbye to Celia and Marco. I am eternally keeping my fingers crossed that Erin Morgenstern will grace us with a prequel or a sequel or a spin-off or something! Please? Pretty please?]]> 4.19 2011
author: Erin Morgenstern
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2020/01/03
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: recommended-reading, fantastic-fabrications, romantic-recollections, adult-books-read
review:
First Read: January 2016, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: January 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars

“The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.��

And that is all the synopsis I am going to provide in this review. I knew little about this book before reading it, and it made every climacteric episode and every exhilarate moment that much more shocking. And besides, far too much happens for me to even begin to recount here.

What I will say is that this book is mystical and magical and surreal and yet believable. It is breathtaking and sublime and transcendent and otherworldly. It is dazzling and scintillating and obscure and authentic. I could use every positive adjective in the dictionary and that would not even begin to recount the sagacity of this book!

I want to live in this world and I am not, nor will I ever, be ready to say goodbye to Celia and Marco. I am eternally keeping my fingers crossed that Erin Morgenstern will grace us with a prequel or a sequel or a spin-off or something! Please? Pretty please?
]]> 18498558 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780062259653

Something is out there, something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse of it, and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.

Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remains, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, she has dreamed of fleeing to a place where they might be safe. Now that the boy and girl are four, it's time to go, but the journey ahead will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboat—blindfolded—with nothing to rely on but her wits and the children's trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. Something is following them all the while, but is it man, animal, or monster?

Interweaving past and present, Bird Box is a snapshot of a world unraveled that will have you racing to the final page.]]> 262 Josh Malerman Dannii 5 First Read: April 2018, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: May 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars

Horror, I have found, is something that is hardest to capture on the page. Flitting shadows, creaking floorboards, and unseen things that go bump in the night seem to work well in film. In fiction, however, I often find it lacking in tension. The renown of this book piqued my interest and I held out hope that it would deliver the heightened suspense and cold sweats of terror I was longing for.

Spoiler alert: It did!

I won't delve into the particulars of the plot as this is a book best discovered blind. Just like the characters... What I will add is that this novel is an exquisite example of an author evoking all of the senses in his writing. Disembodied sounds and the texture of unknown spongy surfaces, trampled under wary feet, were the most haunting elements of the book for me. The power of this horror lay in how quietly it was delivered and the goosebumps it evoked will continue to stay with me for a long time.

I revisited this book after watching the film adaptation (which was incredible!) and in preparation for the sequel, Malorie (which I'm entirely sure will be just as good!).]]> 4.02 2014
author: Josh Malerman
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2020/05/27
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: recommended-reading, horror-hazes, adult-books-read
review:
First Read: April 2018, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: May 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars

Horror, I have found, is something that is hardest to capture on the page. Flitting shadows, creaking floorboards, and unseen things that go bump in the night seem to work well in film. In fiction, however, I often find it lacking in tension. The renown of this book piqued my interest and I held out hope that it would deliver the heightened suspense and cold sweats of terror I was longing for.

Spoiler alert: It did!

I won't delve into the particulars of the plot as this is a book best discovered blind. Just like the characters... What I will add is that this novel is an exquisite example of an author evoking all of the senses in his writing. Disembodied sounds and the texture of unknown spongy surfaces, trampled under wary feet, were the most haunting elements of the book for me. The power of this horror lay in how quietly it was delivered and the goosebumps it evoked will continue to stay with me for a long time.

I revisited this book after watching the film adaptation (which was incredible!) and in preparation for the sequel, Malorie (which I'm entirely sure will be just as good!).
]]> 29215467 Once upon a time, a girl was born. It was rather uneventful.

Her parents were happy enough: the mother glad to be done carrying it; the father glad to be done with the mystery of it all. But then one day they realized that their baby, the one they’d named Alice, had no pigment at all. Her hair and skin were white as milk, her heart and bones as soft as silk. Her eyes alone had been spared a spot of color: only just clinging to the faintest shade of honey. It was the kind of child her world could not appreciate.

Ferenwood had been built on color. Bursts of it, swaths of it, depths and breadths of it. Its people were known to be the brightest �� modeled after the planets, they’d said �� and young Alice was deemed simply too dim, even though she knew she was not.

Once upon a time, a girl was forgot.

Twelve-year-old Alice Alexis Queensmeadow has only three things in the world that matter: Mother, who wouldn’t miss her; triplet brothers, who never knew her; and Father, who always loved her. The day Father disappears from Ferenwood he takes nothing but a ruler with him, so some said he’d gone to measure the sea. Others said the sky. The moon. Maybe he’d learned to fly and had forgotten how to come back down. But it’s been almost six years since then, and Alice is determined to find him. She loves her father even more than she loves adventure, and she’s about to embark on one to find the other. No matter the cost.

It’s a kind of fairytale, a story where magic is a must, adventure is inevitable, and friendship is found in the most unexpected places.]]> 416 Tahereh Mafi Dannii 5
Alice Alexis Queensmeadow lives in Ferenwood, a place where magic is color and color is magic. She, herself, lacks any hint of pigmentation to her features. Her skin is white, her hair is white and her eyes are white: she is a bleached exception in this world of vividity. But this is not the worst of the disasters to befall her in her short life. The disappearance of her father, the subsequent loneliness she experiences at home and in her small community, and her anxiety over her forthcoming Surrender ceremony all culminate into the start of a fantastic and daring adventure.

Mafi has created one of the most unique, thrilling and bizarre of worlds that I have ever encountered in literature. Each page has some extraordinary and eccentric peculiarity to enchant and enthrall the reader. The magic system is fantastic, the characters are kooky, the writing is sublime, and all of this combines into the single greatest (and oddest) things I have ever read.

I can find nothing to fault in this crazy and wonderful adventure. Don't let the Middle Grade tag fool you; this has something to offer all those who have the ability to suspend judgement and just believe.]]> 3.96 2016
author: Tahereh Mafi
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2016/09/26
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: recommended-reading, adventurous-acuity, fantastic-fabrications, middle-grade-books-read
review:
This is one of the most beautiful, captivating and fantastical stories that I have ever had the pleasure of reading! Mafi has amalgamated a bedtime story, a classic Gothic fairy tale and a middle-grade adventure story into one enchanting and bewitching bundle.

Alice Alexis Queensmeadow lives in Ferenwood, a place where magic is color and color is magic. She, herself, lacks any hint of pigmentation to her features. Her skin is white, her hair is white and her eyes are white: she is a bleached exception in this world of vividity. But this is not the worst of the disasters to befall her in her short life. The disappearance of her father, the subsequent loneliness she experiences at home and in her small community, and her anxiety over her forthcoming Surrender ceremony all culminate into the start of a fantastic and daring adventure.

Mafi has created one of the most unique, thrilling and bizarre of worlds that I have ever encountered in literature. Each page has some extraordinary and eccentric peculiarity to enchant and enthrall the reader. The magic system is fantastic, the characters are kooky, the writing is sublime, and all of this combines into the single greatest (and oddest) things I have ever read.

I can find nothing to fault in this crazy and wonderful adventure. Don't let the Middle Grade tag fool you; this has something to offer all those who have the ability to suspend judgement and just believe.
]]> 43726481 The resistance starts here...

No one speaks of the grace year.
It's forbidden.
We're told we have the power to lure grown men from their beds, make boys lose their minds, and drive the wives mad with jealousy. That's why we're banished for our sixteenth year, to release our magic into the wild before we're allowed to return to civilization.
But I don't feel powerful.
I don't feel magical.

Tierney James lives in an isolated village where girls are banished at sixteen to the northern forest to brave the wilderness - and each other - for a year. They must rid themselves of their dangerous magic before returning purified and ready to marry - if they're lucky.

It is forbidden to speak of the grace year, but even so every girl knows that the coming year will change them - if they survive it...

The Grace Year is The Handmaid's Tale meets Lord of the Flies - a page-turning feminist dystopia about a young woman trapped in an oppressive society, fighting to take control of her own life.]]> 416 Kim Liggett 1529100585 Dannii 5 "No one speaks of the grace year.
It's forbidden.
We're told we have the power to lure grown men from their beds, make boys lose their minds, and drive the wives mad with jealousy. That's why we're banished for our sixteenth year, to release our magic into the wild before we're allowed to return to civilization.
But I don't feel powerful.
I don't feel magical."

The book opened with Tierney James or, as called by her town inhabitants, Tierney the Terrible. She refuses to abide by the laws that govern her existence and are created to allow all little girls to mature into the proper lady and wife: legs spread wide, arms to the side, and eyes up to God. Tierney has other plans and these don't involve a husband that suffocates her fire and a life that ends bleeding out through childbirth. But these plans must wait for first she has her grace year to contend with.

Once Tierney and the other Grace Year girls move on from the close confines of their town both their inner-magic and their long-constrained wills begin to manifest themselves. Their new environs breed a Lord of the Flies type mentality, where every girl is to be feared and danger lurks in even the most unforeseen of places. They only have each other for company and their very existence relies on being in the good graces of the Grace Year girls. This was exceptionally suspenseful, morbid, haunting, gory, and drama-filled. In short, everything I desired it to be and so much more!

This is the book I didn't know I needed and didn't know I was searching for. It is dark and disturbing, whilst also retaining a sense of delicacy and delight. Its characters are wild and wilful, but also so full of whimsy and wonder. This promotes women who are feminist and full of fire, but also retains elements that are fantastical and festal. It is a faultless read and every element seemed cultivated for my personal literary preferences. I think I just found myself the perfect book!]]> 4.04 2019
author: Kim Liggett
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/07/25
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: recommended-reading, satirical-susceptiveness, science-fiction-sagacity, young-adult-books-read
review:
"No one speaks of the grace year.
It's forbidden.
We're told we have the power to lure grown men from their beds, make boys lose their minds, and drive the wives mad with jealousy. That's why we're banished for our sixteenth year, to release our magic into the wild before we're allowed to return to civilization.
But I don't feel powerful.
I don't feel magical."

The book opened with Tierney James or, as called by her town inhabitants, Tierney the Terrible. She refuses to abide by the laws that govern her existence and are created to allow all little girls to mature into the proper lady and wife: legs spread wide, arms to the side, and eyes up to God. Tierney has other plans and these don't involve a husband that suffocates her fire and a life that ends bleeding out through childbirth. But these plans must wait for first she has her grace year to contend with.

Once Tierney and the other Grace Year girls move on from the close confines of their town both their inner-magic and their long-constrained wills begin to manifest themselves. Their new environs breed a Lord of the Flies type mentality, where every girl is to be feared and danger lurks in even the most unforeseen of places. They only have each other for company and their very existence relies on being in the good graces of the Grace Year girls. This was exceptionally suspenseful, morbid, haunting, gory, and drama-filled. In short, everything I desired it to be and so much more!

This is the book I didn't know I needed and didn't know I was searching for. It is dark and disturbing, whilst also retaining a sense of delicacy and delight. Its characters are wild and wilful, but also so full of whimsy and wonder. This promotes women who are feminist and full of fire, but also retains elements that are fantastical and festal. It is a faultless read and every element seemed cultivated for my personal literary preferences. I think I just found myself the perfect book!
]]> 20954521 The Vales are peaceful and the capital city Karick is quiet.

But in the gardens of the high duke's keep, dark plots are whispered and fell deeds being planned. A humble stonemason falls asleep whilst working in the gardens and upon waking, inadvertently overhears a conversation that plunges him deep into the heart of the coming storm. A young noblewoman is to be kidnapped and used as a pawn in this dark game...

Whispers of a Storm follows the stonemason and noblewoman's fortunes as they unwittingly become involved in a dangerous game of survival, as they try to find out what dark storm is about to break out across the Four Vales. Who would seek to unsettle this harmony? Why would they want to? How can the stonemason and noblewoman discover what is going to happen and more importantly, expose those behind the plot, before it is too late.

A tale of political intrigue and high adventure, Book One of The Storm Trilogy follows the fortunes of two individuals, whose personal journey of survival may yet help to save and shape the future of their homeland.]]> 538 Anthony Lavisher Dannii 5
This brings together the narratives of an immigrant stonemason and a sheltered noblewoman after the former overhears a threat on the life of the latter. Whilst pursued by a band of mysterious assassin's both characters traverse the mystical Four Vales in their attempt to overthrow evil and discern who is threatening the peace of their great country. Along the way, they find out more about themselves and the place they call home in the process.

This fantasy is epic in both the literal and figurative sense! Weighing in at over 500 pages there is a depth of description, an intensity of character development and magnitude of world building that characterizes the elite in this genre. And all three facets work together to bring this captivating and thrilling story to life.

From political intrigue and court politics to high-action adventures and pace-quickening scenes of bloodshed, this book has it all and I have exactly nothing to fault with this absolutely stellar read!

The final portion of the trilogy was released only days ago and I am so relieved that I have the next two installments to hand, as my anxiety concerning the outcome of this thrilling tale is running at an all-time high! New favourite series!]]> 5.00 2011
author: Anthony Lavisher
name: Dannii
average rating: 5.00
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2016/12/08
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: fantastic-fabrications, recommended-reading, adult-books-read
review:
I see no reason why Anthony Lavisher should not enter the literary hall of fame alongside fantasy powerhouses such as Patrick Rothfuss, George R.R. Martin and J.R.R. Tolkien after this epic fist installment in the Whispers of a Storm trilogy!

This brings together the narratives of an immigrant stonemason and a sheltered noblewoman after the former overhears a threat on the life of the latter. Whilst pursued by a band of mysterious assassin's both characters traverse the mystical Four Vales in their attempt to overthrow evil and discern who is threatening the peace of their great country. Along the way, they find out more about themselves and the place they call home in the process.

This fantasy is epic in both the literal and figurative sense! Weighing in at over 500 pages there is a depth of description, an intensity of character development and magnitude of world building that characterizes the elite in this genre. And all three facets work together to bring this captivating and thrilling story to life.

From political intrigue and court politics to high-action adventures and pace-quickening scenes of bloodshed, this book has it all and I have exactly nothing to fault with this absolutely stellar read!

The final portion of the trilogy was released only days ago and I am so relieved that I have the next two installments to hand, as my anxiety concerning the outcome of this thrilling tale is running at an all-time high! New favourite series!
]]> 39281503
After the greatest games in Godsgrave’s history ended with the most audacious murders in the history of the Itreyan Republic, Mia finds herself pursued by Blades of the Red Church and soldiers of the Luminatii legion. She may never escape the City of Bridges and Bones alive.

Her mentor Mercurio is now in the clutches of her enemies. Her own family wishes her dead. And her nemesis, Consul Julius Scaeva, stands but a breath from total dominance over the Republic.

But beneath the city, a dark secret awaits. Together with her lover Ashlinn, brother Jonnen and a mysterious benefactor returned from beyond the veil of death, she must undertake a perilous journey across the Republic, seeking the final answer to the riddle of her life. Truedark approaches.

Night is falling on the Republic for perhaps the final time.

From bestselling and award-winning author Jay Kristoff comes the thrilling and heart-breaking conclusion to The Nevernight Chronicle.]]> 512 Jay Kristoff 0008180083 Dannii 5 When all is blood, blood is all

And when one of your favourite series reaches its inevitable end, all is bittersweet. Goodbye, Mia Corvere. Thanks for the anarchy.]]> 4.27 2019
author: Jay Kristoff
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/10/07
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: fantastic-fabrications, adult-books-read, recommended-reading
review:
When all is blood, blood is all

And when one of your favourite series reaches its inevitable end, all is bittersweet. Goodbye, Mia Corvere. Thanks for the anarchy.
]]> 40040720
When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard—the most elite military school in Nikan—was even more surprising.

But surprises aren’t always good.

Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.

For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . .

Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late.]]> 544 R.F. Kuang 0008239819 Dannii 5 First Read: July 2018, Rating: 5 stars
Second Read: September 2019, Rating: 5 stars

Listen to the hype. The hype does not lie.

Rin is an impoverished orphan from the outer-edges of her realm. There is nothing particularly exemplary about her as an individual and nothing particularly note-worthy about her life in general, as sorrowful as her circumstances might be. But all that is about to change.

Eager for an interruption to her mundane existence and desperate for an alteration to her future fate, that would see her wed to the highest bidder, she, through sheer strength of will and determination alone, manages to enrol herself at the kingdom's leading military academy - Sinegrad. But, as Rin is about to find out, this refuge of her dreams is only a further test of her endurance and the true struggles of the real-world are only just beginning.

My interest for this book stemmed from the early rave reviews I had seen for it, that all featured words such as 'magical boarding school', 'dark and disturbing', and 'Chinese-inspired fantasy'. All three are buzzwords for me and I begun this with the early anticipation of finding a new firm favourite - which I did!

Whilst the early portions of this book centred around the previously-mentioned academy setting, the latter parts focused on the war that were always on the peripheries of the former. As the book progressed, Kuang continued to open up the borders of the previously limited view of the world, and the reader and Rin are invited to traverse and explore both the rocky geographical and political terrain. And it is through young Rin's experiences of the war that is raging and ravaging her kingdom that the true power of this book shone through.

This excellently and sensitively explored the horrors and emotions of war whilst still delivering the blood-shed and gore that was anticipated. I felt every death on the battlefield and never once did the author take the life of her fictional creations without also delivering the reader an emotional punch alongside it. Never before have I truly felt myself so moved by the swift death of an enemy or the lingering agony of an innocent. This was a book painful to read on times, which sometimes bordered on the triggering, but all brutality were a necessary part of telling such a powerful fantasy story and delivering such a vivid account of a war-ravaged country.

The landscape was described in evocative detail and the characters that wandered its plains were given as much life whether their presence was fleeting or long-lasting. The military focus and the politics, that were behind every swing of the soldier's swords, provided a continually compelling plot that interwove the action-dominated scenes and made all parts of this of equal interest to the reader. And it was all of this combined that ensured this to be a well-rounded story whose like is very far and few between and one I am already eager to re-explore.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, R. F. Kuang, and the publisher, Harper Voyager, for this opportunity.]]> 4.26 2018
author: R.F. Kuang
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2019/09/16
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: fantastic-fabrications, recommended-reading, adult-books-read
review:
First Read: July 2018, Rating: 5 stars
Second Read: September 2019, Rating: 5 stars

Listen to the hype. The hype does not lie.

Rin is an impoverished orphan from the outer-edges of her realm. There is nothing particularly exemplary about her as an individual and nothing particularly note-worthy about her life in general, as sorrowful as her circumstances might be. But all that is about to change.

Eager for an interruption to her mundane existence and desperate for an alteration to her future fate, that would see her wed to the highest bidder, she, through sheer strength of will and determination alone, manages to enrol herself at the kingdom's leading military academy - Sinegrad. But, as Rin is about to find out, this refuge of her dreams is only a further test of her endurance and the true struggles of the real-world are only just beginning.

My interest for this book stemmed from the early rave reviews I had seen for it, that all featured words such as 'magical boarding school', 'dark and disturbing', and 'Chinese-inspired fantasy'. All three are buzzwords for me and I begun this with the early anticipation of finding a new firm favourite - which I did!

Whilst the early portions of this book centred around the previously-mentioned academy setting, the latter parts focused on the war that were always on the peripheries of the former. As the book progressed, Kuang continued to open up the borders of the previously limited view of the world, and the reader and Rin are invited to traverse and explore both the rocky geographical and political terrain. And it is through young Rin's experiences of the war that is raging and ravaging her kingdom that the true power of this book shone through.

This excellently and sensitively explored the horrors and emotions of war whilst still delivering the blood-shed and gore that was anticipated. I felt every death on the battlefield and never once did the author take the life of her fictional creations without also delivering the reader an emotional punch alongside it. Never before have I truly felt myself so moved by the swift death of an enemy or the lingering agony of an innocent. This was a book painful to read on times, which sometimes bordered on the triggering, but all brutality were a necessary part of telling such a powerful fantasy story and delivering such a vivid account of a war-ravaged country.

The landscape was described in evocative detail and the characters that wandered its plains were given as much life whether their presence was fleeting or long-lasting. The military focus and the politics, that were behind every swing of the soldier's swords, provided a continually compelling plot that interwove the action-dominated scenes and made all parts of this of equal interest to the reader. And it was all of this combined that ensured this to be a well-rounded story whose like is very far and few between and one I am already eager to re-explore.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, R. F. Kuang, and the publisher, Harper Voyager, for this opportunity.
]]> 34503674
WINNER OF THE THE AUREALIS AWARD FOR BEST FANTASY NOVEL

Mia Corvere is only ten years old when she is given her first lesson in death.
Destined to destroy empires, the child raised in shadows made a promise on the day she lost everything: to avenge herself on those that shattered her world.
But the chance to strike against such powerful enemies will be fleeting, and Mia must become a weapon without equal. Before she seeks vengeance, she must seek training among the infamous assassins of the Red Church of Itreya.
Inside the Church's halls, Mia must prove herself against the deadliest of opponents and survive the tutelage of murderers, liars and daemons at the heart of a murder cult.
The Church is no ordinary school. But Mia is no ordinary student.
The Red Church is no ordinary school, but Mia is no ordinary student.
The shadows love her.
And they drink her fear.]]> 463 Jay Kristoff 0008179980 Dannii 5 First Read: July 2016, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: September 2019, Rating: 5/5 stars

Nevernight begun with a depiction of a mirroring of events that was one of the cleverest pieces of narrative and the most beautiful pieces of writing I have ever experienced! From that point on, I knew this was going to be a thrilling ride!

This is the journey of Mia Covere and her cat-who-is-not-a-cat shadowy companion. At the age of ten she witnessed her father unjustly hung, her mother incarcerated into a mental asylum and an attempt on her own life only thwarted by her obscure feline accomplice. Since then her life has been devoted to training in the lethal arts that will allow her access into a mysterious school for assassins. There she will train to become a 'hand' and avenge her family's betrayal and all those who have wronged her.

Mia is such a strong female protagonist that it wasn't hard to empathize and align myself with her plight. She was often sullen, stubborn and tempestuous, but that only made her become more real and relatable. Her journey was full of action and emotion and I enjoyed watching her grow, learn and mature as the story progressed.

This book gave me absolutely everything I desire from a great fantastical read - paramount world building, relatable characters, action-packed plot, stimulating narrative and a well thought out magical system. This book delivered on every front and my only negative is that I have to wait so long until the next installment!]]> 4.24 2016
author: Jay Kristoff
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2019/09/27
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: fantastic-fabrications, recommended-reading, adult-books-read
review:
First Read: July 2016, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: September 2019, Rating: 5/5 stars

Nevernight begun with a depiction of a mirroring of events that was one of the cleverest pieces of narrative and the most beautiful pieces of writing I have ever experienced! From that point on, I knew this was going to be a thrilling ride!

This is the journey of Mia Covere and her cat-who-is-not-a-cat shadowy companion. At the age of ten she witnessed her father unjustly hung, her mother incarcerated into a mental asylum and an attempt on her own life only thwarted by her obscure feline accomplice. Since then her life has been devoted to training in the lethal arts that will allow her access into a mysterious school for assassins. There she will train to become a 'hand' and avenge her family's betrayal and all those who have wronged her.

Mia is such a strong female protagonist that it wasn't hard to empathize and align myself with her plight. She was often sullen, stubborn and tempestuous, but that only made her become more real and relatable. Her journey was full of action and emotion and I enjoyed watching her grow, learn and mature as the story progressed.

This book gave me absolutely everything I desire from a great fantastical read - paramount world building, relatable characters, action-packed plot, stimulating narrative and a well thought out magical system. This book delivered on every front and my only negative is that I have to wait so long until the next installment!
]]> 36481352 455 Jay Kristoff 0008180067 Dannii 5 First Read: September 2017, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: September 2019, Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the second instalment in the Nevernight series. I had zero hesitations that this was going to be another 5 star read and am so glad that I was proved correct in that assumption.

This is the continuation of the story of Mia Corvere. She has completed her training with the other Blades of Our Lady of Blessed Murder and yet is no closer to avenging her family's deaths by kindly returning the favour to those who murdered them. On discovering those whose demise she has promised are actually under the protection of those she, herself, serves, Mia must decide where her loyalties truly lie. Is it with those she has fought with and under? Is it with the girl who betrayed her, but she still can't seem to forget? Or is it just with herself and her demon shadow companions, drinking her fear and journeying with her down the increasingly dark path her life has taken?

Jay Kristoff is such a master story-teller. His writing is so sublimely beautiful, his world so unique and complex, and his characters so vividly created that I find myself transfixed by his creations from the very first page. There is a reason he became one of my five favourite authors, after I read Nevernight, and Godsgrave confirmed his eternal place there. I hold these books as the epitome of how I aspire to write, myself, and I will forever look upon him as an individual absolutely killing his craft!

This, just like Nevernight, is such a cleverly set out novel. The timeline is forever shifting, which heightens the suspense and withholds the unveiling of vital secrets that aid the reader in learning the truths behind this novel's journey. This is a book that grasps you! Never letting go until it its ready to bombard you with its closely-held mysteries. And this it does in quick succession, over the course of the last ten percent of the book. The entire thing had a pacing that encouraged the reader to turn the pages and forego sleep in order to obtain all that was withheld. But when this finally happened I was stuck in an open-mouthed stance for minutes a time, unable to turn pages or even comprehend how I didn't grasp these subtly-placed secrets sooner.

If I seem to have waxed lyrical about the positives of this novel and seemed to avoid the mention of any negatives, that is because I could fine none. This is completely faultless prose and writing this review makes me eager to dive back into this world, again-and-again, until the release of the unavoidable heartbreak that is sure to come with the final instalment to this epic trilogy.]]> 4.43 2017
author: Jay Kristoff
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2019/09/30
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: fantastic-fabrications, recommended-reading, adult-books-read
review:
First Read: September 2017, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: September 2019, Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the second instalment in the Nevernight series. I had zero hesitations that this was going to be another 5 star read and am so glad that I was proved correct in that assumption.

This is the continuation of the story of Mia Corvere. She has completed her training with the other Blades of Our Lady of Blessed Murder and yet is no closer to avenging her family's deaths by kindly returning the favour to those who murdered them. On discovering those whose demise she has promised are actually under the protection of those she, herself, serves, Mia must decide where her loyalties truly lie. Is it with those she has fought with and under? Is it with the girl who betrayed her, but she still can't seem to forget? Or is it just with herself and her demon shadow companions, drinking her fear and journeying with her down the increasingly dark path her life has taken?

Jay Kristoff is such a master story-teller. His writing is so sublimely beautiful, his world so unique and complex, and his characters so vividly created that I find myself transfixed by his creations from the very first page. There is a reason he became one of my five favourite authors, after I read Nevernight, and Godsgrave confirmed his eternal place there. I hold these books as the epitome of how I aspire to write, myself, and I will forever look upon him as an individual absolutely killing his craft!

This, just like Nevernight, is such a cleverly set out novel. The timeline is forever shifting, which heightens the suspense and withholds the unveiling of vital secrets that aid the reader in learning the truths behind this novel's journey. This is a book that grasps you! Never letting go until it its ready to bombard you with its closely-held mysteries. And this it does in quick succession, over the course of the last ten percent of the book. The entire thing had a pacing that encouraged the reader to turn the pages and forego sleep in order to obtain all that was withheld. But when this finally happened I was stuck in an open-mouthed stance for minutes a time, unable to turn pages or even comprehend how I didn't grasp these subtly-placed secrets sooner.

If I seem to have waxed lyrical about the positives of this novel and seemed to avoid the mention of any negatives, that is because I could fine none. This is completely faultless prose and writing this review makes me eager to dive back into this world, again-and-again, until the release of the unavoidable heartbreak that is sure to come with the final instalment to this epic trilogy.
]]> 897708 "YOU'RE THE CARETAKER, SIR. YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN THE CARETAKER. I SHOULD KNOW, SIR. I'VE ALWAYS BEEN HERE..." - DELBERT GRADY OF THE OVERLOOK HOTEL

THE SHINING

First published in 1977, The Shining quickly became a benchmark in the literary career of Stephen King. This tale of a troubled man hired to care for a remote mountain resort over the winter, his loyal wife, and their uniquely gifted son slowly but steadily unfolds as secrets from the Overlook Hotel's past are revealed, and the hotel itself attempts to claim the very souls of the Torrence family. Adapted into a cinematic masterpiece of horror by legendary Stanley Kubrick -- featuring an unforgettable performance by a demonic Jack Nicholson --The Shining stands as a cultural icon of modern horror, a searing study of a family torn apart, and a nightmarish glimpse into the dark recesses of human weakness and dementia.]]> 497 Stephen King 0340951397 Dannii 5 4.19 1977
author: Stephen King
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1977
rating: 5
read at: 2019/02/09
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: horror-hazes, recommended-reading, adult-books-read
review:
I think I just found a contender for my new favourite King! Review to follow.
]]> 29779231
When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a medical student asking what makes a virtuous and meaningful life into a neurosurgeon working in the core of human identity �� the brain �� and finally into a patient and a new father.]]> 229 Paul Kalanithi 1784701998 Dannii 5
From the synopsis, and numerous 5-star reviews I have read about this book, I knew this was going to break my heart. I did not expect it to have such a profound and lasting effect on me, however. Paul’s story is a sad and, unfortunately, not a rare one. The things he suffers have been suffered before. His story has been recounted and written of before. But never have I read such a sensitive and evocative account of such a thing; of a life taken far too soon.

Paul truly came to life in these pages. I lived his joys and his successes; his heartbreak and his fears. I became a part of his family. I was invited to share details of his work life and his home love. I grew with Paul. And the story’s apex hurt me all the more because of it. I felt I got to intimately know a brilliant individual and the story’s unavoidable apex hit me like the loss of a loved one, rather than that of an actual stranger.

Paul’s story is one worthy to be told and shared, but it is the way it is delivered that really makes it stand-out. Because Paul, as well as being an illustrious surgeon and a proficient writer, was also a wonderful human being with so much to teach us all. He gracefully deals with and recounts traumatic subject matters and triggering topics, and skillfully weaves the narrative of his own life into instructions on how to make our own a better one.

This is blurbed as being a must-read for trainee doctors. But I would say it is a must-read for any human, who wishes to face all this world has to throw at us and still keep our humanity intact. It is not our closeness to tragedy that will ruin us, it is our growing ease with it that will, in an ever-increasingly violent world.

Paul invites us to share his story and his pain, and to remember that pain every time we allow ourselves to let our humanity slip. Every hurt has a human face. No story is void of characters. Paul will live on through the sharing of his story, but also in making his readers live a life filled with compassion in kindness, no matter the adversity to be faced.]]> 4.36 2016
author: Paul Kalanithi
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2017/04/29
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: recommended-reading, non-fiction-nuances, adult-books-read
review:
Paul Kalanithi was a remarkable individual. His life was dedicated to saving the lives of others and his work, in the area of neurosurgery, was renowned. But what happens to the mind of a man so used to being the savior, when he unexpectedly discovers he is to become the patient?

From the synopsis, and numerous 5-star reviews I have read about this book, I knew this was going to break my heart. I did not expect it to have such a profound and lasting effect on me, however. Paul’s story is a sad and, unfortunately, not a rare one. The things he suffers have been suffered before. His story has been recounted and written of before. But never have I read such a sensitive and evocative account of such a thing; of a life taken far too soon.

Paul truly came to life in these pages. I lived his joys and his successes; his heartbreak and his fears. I became a part of his family. I was invited to share details of his work life and his home love. I grew with Paul. And the story’s apex hurt me all the more because of it. I felt I got to intimately know a brilliant individual and the story’s unavoidable apex hit me like the loss of a loved one, rather than that of an actual stranger.

Paul’s story is one worthy to be told and shared, but it is the way it is delivered that really makes it stand-out. Because Paul, as well as being an illustrious surgeon and a proficient writer, was also a wonderful human being with so much to teach us all. He gracefully deals with and recounts traumatic subject matters and triggering topics, and skillfully weaves the narrative of his own life into instructions on how to make our own a better one.

This is blurbed as being a must-read for trainee doctors. But I would say it is a must-read for any human, who wishes to face all this world has to throw at us and still keep our humanity intact. It is not our closeness to tragedy that will ruin us, it is our growing ease with it that will, in an ever-increasingly violent world.

Paul invites us to share his story and his pain, and to remember that pain every time we allow ourselves to let our humanity slip. Every hurt has a human face. No story is void of characters. Paul will live on through the sharing of his story, but also in making his readers live a life filled with compassion in kindness, no matter the adversity to be faced.
]]> 19161852
Three terrible things happen in a single day. Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Meanwhile, mighty Sanze -- the world-spanning empire whose innovations have been civilization's bedrock for a thousand years -- collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve a madman's vengeance. And worst of all, across the heart of the vast continent known as the Stillness, a great red rift has been torn into the heart of the earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or centuries.

Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land. Without sunlight, clean water, or arable land, and with limited stockpiles of supplies, there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle royale of nations not for power or territory, but simply for the basic resources necessary to get through the long dark night. Essun does not care if the world falls apart around her. She'll break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.]]> 468 N.K. Jemisin Dannii 5 "This is the way the world ends. Again." So the synopsis states, and so this book depicts. Earthquakes send tremors through the land and decimate all measly human structures along their paths. Volcanoes erupt into the sky and ash rains down for years to come. Tsunamis make the seas as treacherous as the earth, and so when the season of death comes the only option left for humans is to find their fellow survivors and hunker down.

The hope is not to outlast this fifth season, which can stretch on for centuries or pass by in a mere year or two, but for the community as a whole to survive, along with its codes for behaviour, the history of its people, and the organisation of individuals through their various roles intact.

This dystopian landscape is viewed through three perspectives at three differing junctures, leading to a fully formed picture of the world's demise to unfold. The juxtaposition from this clever narrative structure ensured Jemisin's complex creation was unfurled to the reader as slowly as it was deconstructed. There was also another reveal, granted through this structure, that I won't spoil here but provided further proof of the brilliance of this author.

Whilst this post-apocalyptic world was an endlessly fascinating one to explore, the characters that traversed it, and the abilities held inside them, also provided another source of mystery and intrigue. Whether fleetingly glimpsed at or long-term inhabitants of the story, each individual came with their own unique personality, which helped to shape the trajectory of the coming scenes. I found those to love and those to loath and, most predominately, those who instigated a mixture of the two emotions.

This was my first insight to the wonder of Jemisin's writing but I quickly knew it would not be my last. I concluded this book and found myself beginning the sequel not more than an hour later, which is already proving just as wonderful in desgin.]]> 4.29 2015
author: N.K. Jemisin
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2020/06/16
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: recommended-reading, fantastic-fabrications, science-fiction-sagacity, adult-books-read
review:
"This is the way the world ends. Again." So the synopsis states, and so this book depicts. Earthquakes send tremors through the land and decimate all measly human structures along their paths. Volcanoes erupt into the sky and ash rains down for years to come. Tsunamis make the seas as treacherous as the earth, and so when the season of death comes the only option left for humans is to find their fellow survivors and hunker down.

The hope is not to outlast this fifth season, which can stretch on for centuries or pass by in a mere year or two, but for the community as a whole to survive, along with its codes for behaviour, the history of its people, and the organisation of individuals through their various roles intact.

This dystopian landscape is viewed through three perspectives at three differing junctures, leading to a fully formed picture of the world's demise to unfold. The juxtaposition from this clever narrative structure ensured Jemisin's complex creation was unfurled to the reader as slowly as it was deconstructed. There was also another reveal, granted through this structure, that I won't spoil here but provided further proof of the brilliance of this author.

Whilst this post-apocalyptic world was an endlessly fascinating one to explore, the characters that traversed it, and the abilities held inside them, also provided another source of mystery and intrigue. Whether fleetingly glimpsed at or long-term inhabitants of the story, each individual came with their own unique personality, which helped to shape the trajectory of the coming scenes. I found those to love and those to loath and, most predominately, those who instigated a mixture of the two emotions.

This was my first insight to the wonder of Jemisin's writing but I quickly knew it would not be my last. I concluded this book and found myself beginning the sequel not more than an hour later, which is already proving just as wonderful in desgin.
]]> 35079533 The acknowledged 'Queen of Crime', P. D. James, was a past master of the short story, weaving together motifs of the Golden Age of crime-writing with deep psychological insight to create gripping, suspenseful tales. The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories contained four of these perfectly formed stories, and this companion volume contains a further six, published here together for the first time.

As the six murderous tales unfold, the dark motive of revenge is revealed at the heart of each. Bullying schoolmasters receive their comeuppance, unhappy marriages and childhoods are avenged, a murder in the small hours of Christmas Day puts an end to the vicious new lord of the manor, and, from the safety of his nursing home, an octogenarian exerts exquisite retribution.

The punishments inflicted on the guilty are fittingly severe, but here they are meted out by the unseen forces of natural justice rather than the institutions of the law. Once again, P. D. James shows her expert control of the short-story form, conjuring motives and scenarios with complete conviction, and each with a satisfying twist in the tail.]]> 192 P.D. James 0571339875 Dannii 5 First Read: October 2018, Rating 4.5 stars
Second Read: November 2020, Rating 5 stars

My initial rating was based upon an average between the individual story ratings but, upon reflection and a second reread, I came to realise that this is one of the strongest anthologies I have ever had the pleasure of reading and deserved the full five stars. Its contents remained in my mind for a full two years after first devouring them and I am sure this will become an autumnal tradition.

The Yo-Yo - 4/5 stars - This produced less of the chills and thrills I was anticipating from this collection but was marvellous, all the same. James really evoked a sense of setting, in only 20 pages, and left the reader with many questions over the morality of the actions reminisced. Despite not thrilling in the slightest, it was a sublimely-crafted character study.

The Victim - 4.5/5 stars - This was such an intriguing story. It started with a jilted lover but didn’t end in quite the manner I expected it to, at all. James kept the reader on a leash, pulling them along as the protagonist reveals their decision for murder and the steps they took to meticulously carry it out with no backlash upon their person. What follows was interesting but not unexpected. The twist at the end, however, certainly WAS unexpected and gave this story an extra edge.

The Murder of Santa Claus - 5/5 stars - This is exactly the type of crime story I like - one full of dubious characters who all have equal motive for murder. It reminded me of a renowned Christie, something like And Then There Were None or Murder on the Orient Express, as the large cast of characters all cycled through my mind as perpetrator before being discarded for another. I was fooled, however, and the end left me with a dark-humoured grin on my face at having been deceived so entirely.

The Girl Who Loved Graveyards - 5/5 stars -What a title! From the moment I read it I was both intrigued and haunted by it. And from the outset of the actual story it did both! This, unlike the previous three titles, seemed possibly supernatural in nature and initially gave the least away, over where it would take the reader. The graveyard setting and the child protagonist lent an extra eerie glean to this one that, alongside this mystery, held me captivated throughout.

A Very Desirable Residence - 4/5 stars - Yet another story of quiet cleverness. The same wry smile that played on my lips at the ending of ‘The Murder of Santa Claus�� returned here. James really is the master of red herrings!

Mr Millcroft’s Birthday - 5/5 stars - What an excellent ending to a subtle yet brilliant anthology. I find it quite rare to enjoy every single story inside a collection and yet James managed to create six unique and yet equally as thrilling tales. The grand finale left me grinning with glee at having been deceived, yet again, and having been given no real conclusion to the tale did not deter it. It’s not every story that can make you align with a maybe murderer! James really is so wickedly clever!]]> 3.89 2017
author: P.D. James
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2020/11/03
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: anthological-astuteness, crime-creations, horror-hazes, recommended-reading, adult-books-read
review:
First Read: October 2018, Rating 4.5 stars
Second Read: November 2020, Rating 5 stars

My initial rating was based upon an average between the individual story ratings but, upon reflection and a second reread, I came to realise that this is one of the strongest anthologies I have ever had the pleasure of reading and deserved the full five stars. Its contents remained in my mind for a full two years after first devouring them and I am sure this will become an autumnal tradition.

The Yo-Yo - 4/5 stars - This produced less of the chills and thrills I was anticipating from this collection but was marvellous, all the same. James really evoked a sense of setting, in only 20 pages, and left the reader with many questions over the morality of the actions reminisced. Despite not thrilling in the slightest, it was a sublimely-crafted character study.

The Victim - 4.5/5 stars - This was such an intriguing story. It started with a jilted lover but didn’t end in quite the manner I expected it to, at all. James kept the reader on a leash, pulling them along as the protagonist reveals their decision for murder and the steps they took to meticulously carry it out with no backlash upon their person. What follows was interesting but not unexpected. The twist at the end, however, certainly WAS unexpected and gave this story an extra edge.

The Murder of Santa Claus - 5/5 stars - This is exactly the type of crime story I like - one full of dubious characters who all have equal motive for murder. It reminded me of a renowned Christie, something like And Then There Were None or Murder on the Orient Express, as the large cast of characters all cycled through my mind as perpetrator before being discarded for another. I was fooled, however, and the end left me with a dark-humoured grin on my face at having been deceived so entirely.

The Girl Who Loved Graveyards - 5/5 stars -What a title! From the moment I read it I was both intrigued and haunted by it. And from the outset of the actual story it did both! This, unlike the previous three titles, seemed possibly supernatural in nature and initially gave the least away, over where it would take the reader. The graveyard setting and the child protagonist lent an extra eerie glean to this one that, alongside this mystery, held me captivated throughout.

A Very Desirable Residence - 4/5 stars - Yet another story of quiet cleverness. The same wry smile that played on my lips at the ending of ‘The Murder of Santa Claus�� returned here. James really is the master of red herrings!

Mr Millcroft’s Birthday - 5/5 stars - What an excellent ending to a subtle yet brilliant anthology. I find it quite rare to enjoy every single story inside a collection and yet James managed to create six unique and yet equally as thrilling tales. The grand finale left me grinning with glee at having been deceived, yet again, and having been given no real conclusion to the tale did not deter it. It’s not every story that can make you align with a maybe murderer! James really is so wickedly clever!
]]> 6393407 246 Shirley Jackson 0141191449 Dannii 5 First Read: October 2017, Rating: 5 stars
Second Read: October 2019, Rating: 5 stars

It still astounds me how a decades old horror story can continue to captivate and terrify a modern-day audience, more attuned to altogether grislier, bloodier, and gorier tales.

The Haunting of Hill House is about exactly as the title described. And yet knowing all that is to come enhances instead of detracts from the building dread that begins right as the novel opens. The reader is introduced to a motley crew of intrepid explorers, advancing on the hidden Hill House as part of a spiritual experiment, and the terrors unfurl from there.

The reader is invited to view this world through Eleanor's eyes. As the most fragile and overwrought member of the group, her rising fear affects the reader's, until both are bonded in their mounting dread of what is to occur around the next corner and over the next page. Jackson expertly controls her characters into revealing none of the facts before suspense has been allowed to build to an all-time maximum, and that is truly where the excellence of this novel lays.

My first encounter with Jackson's writing was in her short story collection, Dark Tales. I found the open-ended nature of the tales contained within entirely infuriating. Here, a similar tactic is deployed and yet I found it be ultimately the novel's prowess and not its failure. There is an allure and an added fear of never really knowing where the truth in this narratives lies. This is what has continued to haunt me long after finishing this book and what makes me already eager to return and unearth the facts amongst the many deceptions.

Hill House, with its chill, atmospheric setting, enthralled me from the first page and didn't let go until the very last. The setting works in tandem with the alluring yet untrustworthy cast of characters to delivering a truly chilling piece of literature that will have you fearful of the shadows for many a night to come, after reading this.]]> 3.88 1959
author: Shirley Jackson
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1959
rating: 5
read at: 2019/10/22
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: recommended-reading, classic-captivaton, gothic-grotesqueness, horror-hazes, adult-books-read
review:
First Read: October 2017, Rating: 5 stars
Second Read: October 2019, Rating: 5 stars

It still astounds me how a decades old horror story can continue to captivate and terrify a modern-day audience, more attuned to altogether grislier, bloodier, and gorier tales.

The Haunting of Hill House is about exactly as the title described. And yet knowing all that is to come enhances instead of detracts from the building dread that begins right as the novel opens. The reader is introduced to a motley crew of intrepid explorers, advancing on the hidden Hill House as part of a spiritual experiment, and the terrors unfurl from there.

The reader is invited to view this world through Eleanor's eyes. As the most fragile and overwrought member of the group, her rising fear affects the reader's, until both are bonded in their mounting dread of what is to occur around the next corner and over the next page. Jackson expertly controls her characters into revealing none of the facts before suspense has been allowed to build to an all-time maximum, and that is truly where the excellence of this novel lays.

My first encounter with Jackson's writing was in her short story collection, Dark Tales. I found the open-ended nature of the tales contained within entirely infuriating. Here, a similar tactic is deployed and yet I found it be ultimately the novel's prowess and not its failure. There is an allure and an added fear of never really knowing where the truth in this narratives lies. This is what has continued to haunt me long after finishing this book and what makes me already eager to return and unearth the facts amongst the many deceptions.

Hill House, with its chill, atmospheric setting, enthralled me from the first page and didn't let go until the very last. The setting works in tandem with the alluring yet untrustworthy cast of characters to delivering a truly chilling piece of literature that will have you fearful of the shadows for many a night to come, after reading this.
]]> 42982328 384 Alix E. Harrow 0356512444 Dannii 5 “It is at the moments when the doors open, when things flow between the worlds, that stories happen.��

Alix E. Harrow just wrote the story of my heart. This follows January, a lonely girl who only finds solace inside the pages of books. She also finds a family inside of one too, when a mysterious book about strange people and stranger worlds is given to her in a similarly mysterious and inexplicable fashion. Through both this book, and the segments of the other, we find doorways into worlds, the worn edges where one creation brushes alongside others, and discover windows into souls, when the characters embark on the most arduous of journeys when they venture into them.

January was an absolute horror of a child and an absolute delight of a protagonist. Despite beaten by her lot in life and almost succumbing to the pressure of moulding into the person her saviour would have her become, she retains her free spirit, her wild soul, and her headstrong personality. She is joined on her adventures by the most forward-thinking and behomian of characters. I ardently longed to belong with their ragtag ensemble. My personal favourite was Bad the dog, who could always be trusted upon to behave with zero grace and dignity and deliver snubs and snarls in abundance to whomever he disliked.

I fell in head-over-heels type love with everything about this story. It exuded emotion and had me alternatively filled with tears of joy and despair. The escapist nature of the text could not fail to appeal to any bibliophile but it was the characters who shared the story, the lyrical narrative that Harrow delivered, and the heartstrings it consistently tugged upon that had me in such ardent admiration of and unrestrained love with this flawless novel.]]> 4.00 2019
author: Alix E. Harrow
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/07/31
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: recommended-reading, fantastic-fabrications, adult-books-read
review:
“It is at the moments when the doors open, when things flow between the worlds, that stories happen.��

Alix E. Harrow just wrote the story of my heart. This follows January, a lonely girl who only finds solace inside the pages of books. She also finds a family inside of one too, when a mysterious book about strange people and stranger worlds is given to her in a similarly mysterious and inexplicable fashion. Through both this book, and the segments of the other, we find doorways into worlds, the worn edges where one creation brushes alongside others, and discover windows into souls, when the characters embark on the most arduous of journeys when they venture into them.

January was an absolute horror of a child and an absolute delight of a protagonist. Despite beaten by her lot in life and almost succumbing to the pressure of moulding into the person her saviour would have her become, she retains her free spirit, her wild soul, and her headstrong personality. She is joined on her adventures by the most forward-thinking and behomian of characters. I ardently longed to belong with their ragtag ensemble. My personal favourite was Bad the dog, who could always be trusted upon to behave with zero grace and dignity and deliver snubs and snarls in abundance to whomever he disliked.

I fell in head-over-heels type love with everything about this story. It exuded emotion and had me alternatively filled with tears of joy and despair. The escapist nature of the text could not fail to appeal to any bibliophile but it was the characters who shared the story, the lyrical narrative that Harrow delivered, and the heartstrings it consistently tugged upon that had me in such ardent admiration of and unrestrained love with this flawless novel.
]]> 27191166 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781846276033

Yeong-hye and her husband are ordinary people. He is an office worker with moderate ambitions and mild manners; she is an uninspired but dutiful wife. The acceptable flatline of their marriage is interrupted when Yeong-hye, seeking a more 'plant-like' existence, decides to become a vegetarian, prompted by grotesque recurring nightmares. In South Korea, where vegetarianism is almost unheard-of and societal mores are strictly obeyed, Yeong-hye's decision is a shocking act of subversion. Her passive rebellion manifests in ever more bizarre and frightening forms, leading her bland husband to self-justified acts of sexual sadism. His cruelties drive her towards attempted suicide and hospitalisation. She unknowingly captivates her sister's husband, a video artist. She becomes the focus of his increasingly erotic and unhinged artworks, while spiralling further and further into her fantasies of abandoning her fleshly prison and becoming - impossibly, ecstatically - a tree.

Fraught, disturbing and beautiful, The Vegetarian is a novel about modern day South Korea, but also a novel about shame, desire and our faltering attempts to understand others, from one imprisoned body to another.]]> 216 Han Kang Dannii 5
The book is entirely concerned with one person, Yeong-hye, and yet we hear little in her actual perspective. We believe we know her three times over from the three altering perspectives we receive about her person, from those closest to her. I earn to know her mind as, despite troubled, she appears to be a beautiful and misunderstood soul. I felt like I shared so much with Yeong-hye, despite never having felt close to knowing her at all.

This book is short and yet is full of intricacies and complexities that said so much by saying so little. It approached far more than the simple story it seemed to tell and spoke of not just one person but a gender, an identity, an ethnicity, a class, and a region of people.

This is an intensely emotional, evocative and deeply moving story that will remain in my mind for a long time to come and is already begging to be reread. I don't possess the words to do this book justice but read this bizarre and yet brilliant, polarizing tale and tell me it doesn't speak to something inside of you.]]> 3.64 2007
author: Han Kang
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2016/07/15
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: literary-fiction-love, recommended-reading, magical-realism-mastery, adult-books-read
review:
A complex and moving lyrical masterpiece of unprecedented accolade. I cannot express how highly I rate this truly extraordinary story! I won't divulge aspects of the plot but merely attempt to relay the emotions this novel conjured in me.

The book is entirely concerned with one person, Yeong-hye, and yet we hear little in her actual perspective. We believe we know her three times over from the three altering perspectives we receive about her person, from those closest to her. I earn to know her mind as, despite troubled, she appears to be a beautiful and misunderstood soul. I felt like I shared so much with Yeong-hye, despite never having felt close to knowing her at all.

This book is short and yet is full of intricacies and complexities that said so much by saying so little. It approached far more than the simple story it seemed to tell and spoke of not just one person but a gender, an identity, an ethnicity, a class, and a region of people.

This is an intensely emotional, evocative and deeply moving story that will remain in my mind for a long time to come and is already begging to be reread. I don't possess the words to do this book justice but read this bizarre and yet brilliant, polarizing tale and tell me it doesn't speak to something inside of you.
]]> 34523174
Now, a new crew has been assembled. But this time they’re not out to entertain. Some seek to validate their life’s work. Some seek the greatest hunt of all. Some seek the truth. But for the ambitious young scientist Victoria Stewart this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost.

Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the waves. But the secrets of the deep come with a price.]]> 448 Mira Grant 0316379409 Dannii 5
Seven years ago the Imagine's 'mockumentary' film crew boarded the Atargatis and set off on a voyage to the infamous Mariana Trench. This stretch of the ocean had lain largely undisturbed by man and was the rumoured home to creatures that had previously only resided inside myth and story books. The crew were armed with nothing with cameras as they expected no real threat to emanate from the deep. This proved to be their fatal flaw.

The Atargatis was found floating, unmanned, with scratches across her hull and a desiccated interior that spoke of bloodshed and violence. No sighting of the crew was ever discovered.

Seven years later and Imagine had conscripted a new crew to charter to this mysterious stretch of water. Instead of actors and crewmen, marine biologists and linguist specialists filled the vessel, all intent on discovering the mysteries from the deep. But some of them had more to prove than mere science, however, having a more emotional investment in this mission and haunted by seven-year-old ghosts who had yet to be avenged.

This book felt like such an authentic expedition and and was littered with such seemingly sound scientific backing that Mira Grant got me legit believing in killer mermaids! Without seeming dense and impenetrable, this book largely consisted of scientific experiments and high-tech equipment that gave all proceedings the feel of reality. This consistently felt, throughout, like a high-action non-fiction read, not unlike what the original Imagine's film crew set out to create, although in a different medium.

Alongside this were individuals who felt as authentic as the work they were producing. They were as diverse as their areas of research and Grant ensured I had an equal investment in each of them. The science was intriguing but bonding so entirely with the characters ensured the reader felt every ounce of tension that exuded in every single scene.

Mermaids, for me, are not mythical creatures I ever thought to fear. Ghostly hauntings and other supernatural beings can induce the shivers but never before had I felt such a latent threat from the sea. This book, however, made me forever wary of the depths we know so little about and forever a fan of Mira Grant and how she made me aware of it.]]> 3.94 2017
author: Mira Grant
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2019/01/21
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: fantastic-fabrications, horror-hazes, science-fiction-sagacity, recommended-reading, mythological-majesty, adult-books-read
review:
Um, WOW! So I guess I believe in mermaids now!

Seven years ago the Imagine's 'mockumentary' film crew boarded the Atargatis and set off on a voyage to the infamous Mariana Trench. This stretch of the ocean had lain largely undisturbed by man and was the rumoured home to creatures that had previously only resided inside myth and story books. The crew were armed with nothing with cameras as they expected no real threat to emanate from the deep. This proved to be their fatal flaw.

The Atargatis was found floating, unmanned, with scratches across her hull and a desiccated interior that spoke of bloodshed and violence. No sighting of the crew was ever discovered.

Seven years later and Imagine had conscripted a new crew to charter to this mysterious stretch of water. Instead of actors and crewmen, marine biologists and linguist specialists filled the vessel, all intent on discovering the mysteries from the deep. But some of them had more to prove than mere science, however, having a more emotional investment in this mission and haunted by seven-year-old ghosts who had yet to be avenged.

This book felt like such an authentic expedition and and was littered with such seemingly sound scientific backing that Mira Grant got me legit believing in killer mermaids! Without seeming dense and impenetrable, this book largely consisted of scientific experiments and high-tech equipment that gave all proceedings the feel of reality. This consistently felt, throughout, like a high-action non-fiction read, not unlike what the original Imagine's film crew set out to create, although in a different medium.

Alongside this were individuals who felt as authentic as the work they were producing. They were as diverse as their areas of research and Grant ensured I had an equal investment in each of them. The science was intriguing but bonding so entirely with the characters ensured the reader felt every ounce of tension that exuded in every single scene.

Mermaids, for me, are not mythical creatures I ever thought to fear. Ghostly hauntings and other supernatural beings can induce the shivers but never before had I felt such a latent threat from the sea. This book, however, made me forever wary of the depths we know so little about and forever a fan of Mira Grant and how she made me aware of it.
]]> 26868495 Coming September 22nd
��
From the worldwide bestselling author of Eat Pray Love: the path to the vibrant, fulfilling life you’ve dreamed of.
��
Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. Now this beloved author digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity. With profound empathy and radiant generosity, she offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear. She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Balancing between soulful spirituality and cheerful pragmatism, Gilbert encourages us to uncover the “strange jewels�� that are hidden within each of us. Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work, ��embark on a dream long deferred, or simply infuse our everyday lives with more mindfulness and passion, Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.


From the Hardcover edition.]]> 276 Elizabeth Gilbert 1408866749 Dannii 5 3.88 2015
author: Elizabeth Gilbert
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2017/01/01
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: recommended-reading, non-fiction-nuances, authorial-advice, self-improvement-success, adult-books-read
review:
I think I just found my bible.
]]> 26210513 California. The summer of 1969. In the dying days of a floundering counter-culture a young girl is unwittingly caught up in unthinkable violence, and a decision made at this moment, on the cusp of adulthood, will shape her life....

Evie Boyd is desperate to be noticed. In the summer of 1969, empty days stretch out under the California sun. The smell of honeysuckle thickens the air and the sidewalks radiate heat.

Until she sees them. The snatch of cold laughter. Hair, long and uncombed. Dirty dresses skimming the tops of thighs. Cheap rings like a second set of knuckles. The girls.

And at the centre, Russell. Russell and the ranch, down a long dirt track and deep in the hills. Incense and clumsily strummed chords. Rumours of sex, frenzied gatherings, teen runaways.

Was there a warning, a sign of things to come? Or is Evie already too enthralled by the girls to see that her life is about to be changed forever?]]> 357 Emma Cline 1784740454 Dannii 5 First Read: June 2016, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: March 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars

This is historical fiction at its finest! This book aroused not just a keen sense of character and setting with its evocative imagery and poignant writing, but an entire era; an entire generation of people that are now almost lost to the world!

This is the story of the dark underworld of the 'swinging 60s', so revered in both memory and passed down recollection. This is the story of what happens when freedom is brought to a world with little conception of what can happen when that freedom is tested to its limits. This is the story of Evie Boyd: representative of a generation of those who slipped through the gaps.

The dark, disturbing and often sexual undertones of this book were penned with such a grace and beauty as to bring light to what would otherwise be an amphibological read. This compelled me from the beginning and that had as much to do with the fast-paced plot and flawed, yet real, character creation as it was to do with the allure of the writing that I felt reverberate in my heart with each well-placed phrase.

This book is a heart-wrenching story, no denying, but there was beauty present in amongst the bitterness and chaos. There was, although ill-gained and perilous, the joy experienced at the first taste of freedom. The allure of female friendship, both obsessive and life-saving, were explored. Relationships, in their conception and elimination, were often linked to the birth and death of another. Joy and pain, disaster and success - all emotions are inexplicably linked to their binary here as none can exist in its extremes without the presence of its other.

For each shadowy corner of history this book excavated, it did so with a light that illuminated the darkness within. The unfathomable depths this book dives to is beyond my feeble powers to put into words. It is as dark as it is beautiful and as powerful as it is sublime. The term unputdownable finally has its definition.]]> 3.56 2016
author: Emma Cline
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2020/03/06
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: recommended-reading, historical-highness, thriven-thrillers, adult-books-read
review:
First Read: June 2016, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: March 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars

This is historical fiction at its finest! This book aroused not just a keen sense of character and setting with its evocative imagery and poignant writing, but an entire era; an entire generation of people that are now almost lost to the world!

This is the story of the dark underworld of the 'swinging 60s', so revered in both memory and passed down recollection. This is the story of what happens when freedom is brought to a world with little conception of what can happen when that freedom is tested to its limits. This is the story of Evie Boyd: representative of a generation of those who slipped through the gaps.

The dark, disturbing and often sexual undertones of this book were penned with such a grace and beauty as to bring light to what would otherwise be an amphibological read. This compelled me from the beginning and that had as much to do with the fast-paced plot and flawed, yet real, character creation as it was to do with the allure of the writing that I felt reverberate in my heart with each well-placed phrase.

This book is a heart-wrenching story, no denying, but there was beauty present in amongst the bitterness and chaos. There was, although ill-gained and perilous, the joy experienced at the first taste of freedom. The allure of female friendship, both obsessive and life-saving, were explored. Relationships, in their conception and elimination, were often linked to the birth and death of another. Joy and pain, disaster and success - all emotions are inexplicably linked to their binary here as none can exist in its extremes without the presence of its other.

For each shadowy corner of history this book excavated, it did so with a light that illuminated the darkness within. The unfathomable depths this book dives to is beyond my feeble powers to put into words. It is as dark as it is beautiful and as powerful as it is sublime. The term unputdownable finally has its definition.
]]> 40611015
It is a time of introspection, of looking inwards. Seasonal sadness; winter blues; depression �� such feelings are widespread in the darker months. But by looking outwards, by being in and observing nature, we can appreciate its rhythms. Mountains make sense in any weather. The voices of a wood always speak consolation. A brush of frost; subtle colours; days as bright as a magpie’s cackle. We can learn to see and celebrate winter in all its shadows and lights.

In this moving and lyrical evocation of a British winter and the feelings it inspires, Horatio Clare raises a torch against the darkness, illuminating the blackest corners of the season, and delving into memory and myth to explore the powerful hold that winter has on us. By learning to see, we can find the magic, the light that burns bright at the heart of winter: spring will come again.]]> 208 Horatio Clare 1783964049 Dannii 5
What immediately struck me about this journal was the startling quality of Clare's writing. I was mesmerised from the very first page. Each and every sentence was structured with such exquisite beauty that I often found myself staring into space, just marvelling in the joy of sublime penmanship. He creates a riot for the senses with his words, and I can only compare his lyrical style as being confronted with a vivid painting and being allowed to touch its textured layers with your hands. His words seem to hold far more than they should be able to.

The other most noticeable trait is Clare's affinity with nature. He writes not as though he understands our ever-shifting natural world but with a deep-rooted respect for it, that borders on the passionate. Throughout I was reminded continually of my ardent love for Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. She writes of her moors like Clare writes of the world.

My third source of adoration stemmed from the confrontation of mental illness. There is a rawness that betrays the emotions this writer was feeling, also also a straight-forward honesty that denies any cowardice of it. He is brutal with himself, laying bare his soul for the reader. I fell in love with his writing and wondered at his ability to recreate nature's beauty, but it is here that I felt my affinity for this book stick. His candour is to be commended and, though not without its pain, this ends on a hopeful note that leave me, deep into the winter months, already longing to reread and to remind myself what the other side looks like.]]> 3.73 2018
author: Horatio Clare
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/11/25
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: non-fiction-nuances, recommended-reading, self-improvement-success, adult-books-read
review:
I don't think I have ever felt so well understood by a book! The Light in the Dark is Horatio Clare's journal of his transition through the British autumn to winter months. It goes into great detail about both his emotional and mental responses to the season's change, as well as nature's physical one. As the months progress, he also journeys backwards and shares snippets from winters past.

What immediately struck me about this journal was the startling quality of Clare's writing. I was mesmerised from the very first page. Each and every sentence was structured with such exquisite beauty that I often found myself staring into space, just marvelling in the joy of sublime penmanship. He creates a riot for the senses with his words, and I can only compare his lyrical style as being confronted with a vivid painting and being allowed to touch its textured layers with your hands. His words seem to hold far more than they should be able to.

The other most noticeable trait is Clare's affinity with nature. He writes not as though he understands our ever-shifting natural world but with a deep-rooted respect for it, that borders on the passionate. Throughout I was reminded continually of my ardent love for Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. She writes of her moors like Clare writes of the world.

My third source of adoration stemmed from the confrontation of mental illness. There is a rawness that betrays the emotions this writer was feeling, also also a straight-forward honesty that denies any cowardice of it. He is brutal with himself, laying bare his soul for the reader. I fell in love with his writing and wondered at his ability to recreate nature's beauty, but it is here that I felt my affinity for this book stick. His candour is to be commended and, though not without its pain, this ends on a hopeful note that leave me, deep into the winter months, already longing to reread and to remind myself what the other side looks like.
]]> 33229395 The first thing is that she’s my best friend.
The second is that she always knows what to say to make me feel better.
And the third thing�� might take a little bit more explaining.

84-year-old Florence has fallen in her flat at Cherry Tree Home for the Elderly. As she waits to be rescued, Florence wonders if a terrible secret from her past is about to come to light; and, if the charming new resident is who he claims to be, why does he look exactly like a man who died sixty years ago?

From the author of THE TROUBLE WITH GOATS AND SHEEP, this book will teach you many things, but here are three of them:
1) The fine threads of humanity will connect us all forever.
2) There is so very much more to anyone than the worst thing they have ever done.
3) Even the smallest life can leave the loudest echo.]]> 464 Joanna Cannon 0008196915 Dannii 5
My heart is forever broken!]]> 3.75 2018
author: Joanna Cannon
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/05/21
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: contemporary-cuteness, recommended-reading, mysterious-miasmas, adult-books-read
review:
This is my eighth book read in the Women's Prize for Fiction longlist.

My heart is forever broken!
]]> 24493739 Wuthering Heights is the tale of two families both joined and riven by love and hate. Cathy is a beautiful and wilful young woman torn between her soft-hearted husband and Heathcliff, the passionate and resentful man who has loved her since childhood. The power of their bond creates a maelstrom of cruelty and violence which will leave one of them dead and cast a shadow over the lives of their children. Emily Brontë's novel is a stunningly original and shocking exploration of obsessive passion]]> 418 Emily Brontë 1784870749 Dannii 5 First read: 2009, Rating: 5 stars
Second read: 2012, Rating: 5 stars
Third read: 2014, Rating: 5 stars
Fourth read: May 2015, Rating: 5 stars
Fifth read: August 2017, Rating: 5 stars
Sixth read: July 2018, Rating: 5 stars
Seventh read: October 2020, Rating: 5 stars

I enjoy character-driven narratives and, so, adored this novel from the first time I read it, nine years ago. The reason this has remained such a firm favourite, and why I try to ensure I reread this at least biennially, however, is that in this intense and focused character study I found myself unaccountably and entirely drawn to every unlikable individual in it. I forgave every flaw and overlooked any ordinarily dislikeable quality in my blind adoration for these passionate creatures.

I was captivated by the raging emotions that dominated, throughout. The wildness of the characters and their uncontrollable fits of frenzy and passion - their deepest of despairs and their most ardent of desires - is also mirrored by the wildness of the landscape surrounding them, creating an eternal and external, extra character in this most infamous of love triangles.

I have reread this so often that I could probably quote every single page, but yet I never fail to find something new to discover on the moors. There is a feeling of never quite being on equal footing that dominates and permeates the entire text. This is a novel that distances the reader: it denies any simple pleasure such as happy-ever-afters or a brief respite from the altering high passions and utter, all-consuming bleakness. I will never feel at home here but I will always long to.

This has remained my favourite book from first reading until now, ten years later, and I think there's no better endorsement for a book than that!]]> 3.96 1847
author: Emily Brontë
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1847
rating: 5
read at: 2020/10/20
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: recommended-reading, classic-captivaton, romantic-recollections, adult-books-read
review:
First read: 2009, Rating: 5 stars
Second read: 2012, Rating: 5 stars
Third read: 2014, Rating: 5 stars
Fourth read: May 2015, Rating: 5 stars
Fifth read: August 2017, Rating: 5 stars
Sixth read: July 2018, Rating: 5 stars
Seventh read: October 2020, Rating: 5 stars

I enjoy character-driven narratives and, so, adored this novel from the first time I read it, nine years ago. The reason this has remained such a firm favourite, and why I try to ensure I reread this at least biennially, however, is that in this intense and focused character study I found myself unaccountably and entirely drawn to every unlikable individual in it. I forgave every flaw and overlooked any ordinarily dislikeable quality in my blind adoration for these passionate creatures.

I was captivated by the raging emotions that dominated, throughout. The wildness of the characters and their uncontrollable fits of frenzy and passion - their deepest of despairs and their most ardent of desires - is also mirrored by the wildness of the landscape surrounding them, creating an eternal and external, extra character in this most infamous of love triangles.

I have reread this so often that I could probably quote every single page, but yet I never fail to find something new to discover on the moors. There is a feeling of never quite being on equal footing that dominates and permeates the entire text. This is a novel that distances the reader: it denies any simple pleasure such as happy-ever-afters or a brief respite from the altering high passions and utter, all-consuming bleakness. I will never feel at home here but I will always long to.

This has remained my favourite book from first reading until now, ten years later, and I think there's no better endorsement for a book than that!
]]> 1369391 710 Enid Blyton 0600555887 Dannii 5 4.48 1991
author: Enid Blyton
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.48
book published: 1991
rating: 5
read at: 1997/01/01
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: recommended-reading, adventurous-acuity, fantastic-fabrications, middle-grade-books-read
review:
This site wouldn't hold a true representation of my reading tastes unless I included my favourite childhood book and the writer who helped shaped me and my reading habits since I was old enough to hold a book in my hands.
]]> 26642116 Alternate cover edition for ISBN: 1780622279 / 9781780622279

Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams. But to claim it, he'll have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist:

Break into the notorious Ice Court
(a military stronghold that has never been breached)

Retrieve a hostage
(who could unleash magical havoc on the world)

Survive long enough to collect his reward
(and spend it)

Kaz needs a crew desperate enough to take on this suicide mission and dangerous enough to get the job done - and he knows exactly who: six of the deadliest outcasts the city has to offer. Together, they just might be unstoppable - if they don't kill each other first.]]> 491 Leigh Bardugo Dannii 5 First Read: April 2017, Rating: 5 stars
Second Read: May 2019, Rating: 5 stars

"No mourners. No Funerals."

There are a handful of people in this world that I would readily die to protect. There are about 1000 fictional characters that I would also do the same for! Kaz Brekker most definitely tops the list!]]> 4.56 2015
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2019/05/23
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: fantastic-fabrications, recommended-reading, young-adult-books-read
review:
First Read: April 2017, Rating: 5 stars
Second Read: May 2019, Rating: 5 stars

"No mourners. No Funerals."

There are a handful of people in this world that I would readily die to protect. There are about 1000 fictional characters that I would also do the same for! Kaz Brekker most definitely tops the list!
]]> 28933383
But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're fighting for their lives.

Double-crossed and badly weakened, they're low on resources, allies and hope.

While a war rages on the city's streets, the team's fragile loyalties are stretched to breaking point.

Kaz and his crew will have to make sure they're on the winning side... no matter what the cost.]]> 536 Leigh Bardugo 1780622309 Dannii 5 First Read: April 2017, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: May 2019, Rating: 5/5 stars

So when Crooked Kingdom was released at the end of 2016 everyone kept telling me how much I was going to love this book. And they were not wrong!

The unforgettable cast of characters from Six of Crows return in this duology's epic culmination. Criminal prodigy from The Barrel, Kaz Brekker, and his motley crew of outcast lawbreakers reunite after their initial heist's tragic ending.

The group, as well as beginning on their most recent of impossible missions, are also given more of an individual voice, as they each recount their tragic backstories. This not only gave a depth of character that heightened this already mesmerising tale, but added an emotional level that was missing from Six of Crows. The action, that made the first book so unputdownable, remained but was offset with slower moments that allowed more of an affinity to form between reader and character.

Bardugo also proved herself, yet again, as a master storyteller. As well as penning some of the most beautiful prose I have ever had the pleasure of reading, it was the order the story was recounted in, that was truly where her genius lay. For the reader does not become privy to one single fact before she is absolutely ready to divulge them. The story really benefited from this heightened suspense and made for some sleepless nights and breathless reading!

This was an absolutely faultless book that delivered enchanting writing, suspenseful plot, unique characters, rich world-building, astounding amounts of action, and the diversity that is sorely lacking in the fantasy genre. I am not ready to say goodbye to this world, and I hope Bardugo isn't either!]]> 4.60 2016
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2019/05/29
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: fantastic-fabrications, recommended-reading, young-adult-books-read
review:
First Read: April 2017, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: May 2019, Rating: 5/5 stars

So when Crooked Kingdom was released at the end of 2016 everyone kept telling me how much I was going to love this book. And they were not wrong!

The unforgettable cast of characters from Six of Crows return in this duology's epic culmination. Criminal prodigy from The Barrel, Kaz Brekker, and his motley crew of outcast lawbreakers reunite after their initial heist's tragic ending.

The group, as well as beginning on their most recent of impossible missions, are also given more of an individual voice, as they each recount their tragic backstories. This not only gave a depth of character that heightened this already mesmerising tale, but added an emotional level that was missing from Six of Crows. The action, that made the first book so unputdownable, remained but was offset with slower moments that allowed more of an affinity to form between reader and character.

Bardugo also proved herself, yet again, as a master storyteller. As well as penning some of the most beautiful prose I have ever had the pleasure of reading, it was the order the story was recounted in, that was truly where her genius lay. For the reader does not become privy to one single fact before she is absolutely ready to divulge them. The story really benefited from this heightened suspense and made for some sleepless nights and breathless reading!

This was an absolutely faultless book that delivered enchanting writing, suspenseful plot, unique characters, rich world-building, astounding amounts of action, and the diversity that is sorely lacking in the fantasy genre. I am not ready to say goodbye to this world, and I hope Bardugo isn't either!
]]> 55012382
October and her dad live in the woods. They sleep in the house Dad built for them and eat the food they grow in the vegetable patches. They know the trees and the rocks and the lake and stars like best friends. They read the books they buy in town again and again until the pages are soft and yellow - until next year's town visit. They live in the woods and they are wild.

And that's the way it is.

Until the year October turns eleven. That's the year October rescues a baby owl. It's the year Dad falls out of the biggest tree in their woods. The year the woman who calls herself October's mother comes back. The year everything changes.

Written in Katya Balen's heart-stoppingly beautiful style, this book is a feast for the senses, filled with the woodsmoke smell of crisp autumn mornings and the sound of wellies squelching in river mud. And, as October fights to find the space to be wild in the whirling chaos of the world beyond the woods, it is also a feast for the soul]]> 304 Katya Balen 1526601907 Dannii 5
This was the wildest, most whimsical, and wondrous of middle grade stories. I found the prose lyrical and evocative, the setting dazzling and magical, and the story-line both heart-wrenching and hopeful. Absolute perfection!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Katya Balen, and the publisher, Bloomsbury, for this opportunity,]]> 4.35 2020
author: Katya Balen
name: Dannii
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2020/09/02
date added: 2021/03/11
shelves: contemporary-cuteness, recommended-reading, middle-grade-books-read
review:
Autumn is by far my favourite season and every single element about this novel exuded exactly what I so adore about it. The colour scheme and natural imagery adorning the cover, the wild and free-spirited protagonist, and the forest setting all immediately spoke to me and, mere pages into the story, I knew it was going to be a new favourite. I was not wrong.

This was the wildest, most whimsical, and wondrous of middle grade stories. I found the prose lyrical and evocative, the setting dazzling and magical, and the story-line both heart-wrenching and hopeful. Absolute perfection!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Katya Balen, and the publisher, Bloomsbury, for this opportunity,
]]> 16078221
Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.

A groundbreaking work from a master, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human, and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out. It is a stirring, terrifying, and elegiac fable as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark.]]> 248 Neil Gaiman 1472200322 Dannii 5
This books is everything.]]> 3.99 2013
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Dannii
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2016/05/24
date added: 2016/05/27
shelves: recommended-reading, fantastic-fabrications
review:
I had little idea of what this story contained before reading this book and I believe that this really enhanced my reading experience so I shall keep this synopsis and description vague. This book is mythical, mystical, magical and mysterious. It is enchanting, extraordinary, exciting and ensorcelling. It is fantastical, fiendish, fascinating and fearsome. It is bizarre, bewitching, beguiling and beautiful. It is outlandish, otherworldly, obscure and oracular. It is uncanny, unusual, unearthly and unreal. It is spellbinding, spooky, spiritual and spectacular. It is poignant, peculiar, parapsychological and powerful.

This books is everything.
]]>