Tag: wrap up

May Wrap Up!

by booksteff, posted in Wrap Up

Hey Beautiful Booklovers! I’m finally getting my shit together and getting back to posting on here. I have had so much going on and this platform has suffered for it, I apologise, but for now at least I have some time to organise myself and my posts for the coming weeks. Fingers crossed all goes to plan!

Anyway, today is my May Wrap Up and I am very disappointed with how little I read but like I said…I had a lot going on, and what I did read was actually very good which is a bonus!

Let’s get to it!

1 – Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik

My Rating: 4*

This is book 2 in the Temeraire series, and by now all who have visited my insta or blog before will know I am dragon mad! I really enjoyed continuing on with this story, and will definitely continue with the series

2 – Theft of Swords (The Riyria Revelations) by Michael J Sullivan

My Rating: 5*

Short of it is that I LOVED this book! I have found a new author to fangirl over and I now have 6 of his books! I will be doing a review of this trilogy soon because I need to tell you all how awesome this is, and how much I think you should read it too!

3 – Rise of Empire (The Riyria Revelations) By Michael J Sullivan

My Rating: 5*

Same as the above, I loved it…hence the reason I devoured the series in such short succession!

4 – Heir of Novron (The Riyria Revelations) By Michael J Sullivan

My Rating : 5*

These are not small books by any means but I read all three in under a week because I just couldn’t put them down at all!

So there you have it…my small wrap up for the month of May. I know previously my wrap ups have been a lot bigger but as I said…reading was a little non-existent this month. I did read books that I am truly happy I managed to read though, so I am not as disheartened as I would have been if I only managed 2* reads.

What did you read in the month of May? Have you read any of the above? Let me know in the comments below!

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April Wrap Up!

by booksteff, posted in menu, Wrap Up

Hey Beautiful Booklovers!! Sorry I have been MIA recently…well pretty much all of April really, again sorry! If you follow me on Instagram then you will know that the reason I haven’t been able to post on here is because I had my little boy, and of course my family has taken priority as we have been getting used to the new dynamics of our household!

I am fine, had a comepletely natural and normal experience, baby is perfect – we are all besotted with him in the Book Steff household 😂! We are doing great, and now that things are becoming more “routine” I can now come back to mingling with you lovely people!

So, as stated above this is April’s Wrap Up post, and without further rambling…let’s get to it!

1 – A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan

My Rating: 4*

This was a re-read for me, and I absolutely loved it…again. Mostly because well…dragons, but also because I love the relationship of Lady Trent and her husband. I love her inability to take no for an answer! If you haven’t read this…you should definitely look into it!

2 – Daugther of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

My Rating: 4*

Again, another re-read! After finishing Warrior of the Wild last month I needed more Levenseller goodness so picked up this duology again (because apparently despite my massive tbr I’m okay with picking up books I’ve already read 🙄)! Anyway I love this duology it’s some pirate/ siren goodness!

3 – Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller

My Rating: 4*

Same as the above – a re-read that I really enjoyed!

4 – Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

My Rating: 4*

This had been on my shelf for too long, so I finally picked it up, and oh my fecking feck!! I adored this book, I loved the concept, the characters, the political manoeuvring! It was great and I needed the next book immediately.

5 – Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers

My Rating: 4*

As I said, I needed the next book, and I read it! Normally I’m not a fan when you have one book in the POV of one character then the next book follows someone else, but I have to say I love it! I needed this POV, and I didn’t even know it until I started reading this! The thing I love about these books, are that they tackle such difficult issues/ topics. This book in particular really touched on some tough topics and I loved that about it!

6 – The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke

My Rating: 2*

This was another that had been sat on my shelf for too long! I decided to pick it up and have to say I wasn’t impressed. There was no tension, because I didn’t give a bloody hoot about the characters, and to top it all off I felt like everything was just too easy for the MC!

7 – Temeraire by Naomi Novik

Temeraire (The Temeraire Series, Book 1) by [Novik, Naomi]

My Rating: 5*

Okay, so I loved it!! I loved the dragon, I loved the relationship between the MC and temeraire, and it just gave me so many feels! I will definitely be continuing in this series!

8 – Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte

My Rating: 3.5*

I enjoyed this book, it had intrigue, it had a good storyline. For me it was let down with the characters, although I didn’t by any means hate them, I found they weren’t as well developed as I would have personally liked. There were elements that let me see into the characters way of being etc, but I didn’t feel as connected to them as I would have liked. However, I will say that I wasn’t expecting the twist. I recommend this book, because I think it will be loved by many, but I personally needed a bit more.

9 – Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch

My Rating: 4*

This has been a long time coming!! I read the first book nearly a year ago now, which is madness. It was time I continued, and I was really surprised, because I honestly thought I wouldn’t like it (no idea why lol)! I wasn’t expecting the twists this story took, and can’t wait to see what the final instalment brings!

10 – A Pack of Vows and Tears by Olivia Wildenstein

A Pack of Vows and Tears (The Boulder Wolves Book 2) by [Wildenstein, Olivia]

My Rating: 4*

I am officially trash for this series and Olivia knows it all to well! The amazing Olivia Wildenstein sent me an arc of this (I previously reviewed book 1 for her as an arc and so she kindly sent me the next instalment) and I just couldn’t put the damn thing down! I don’t own many shifter stories (a I own about 3 maybe 4) but this series just has me hooked; like I said…I’m utter trash for this lol! I will do a review later – closer to pub date – that way you won’t be spoiled if you plan on reading this.

11 – Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto

My Rating: 3*

I wanted to love it, but sadly I just felt the pacing let the story down. It’s as simple as that really. I know many people have raved about this, and I can honestly say I wish I could be one of them, but it just didn’t do it for me.

So there you go 11 books later we have my wrap up, which if I’m being honest with you – I’m quite impressed with because I had a baby this month lol! Have you read any of the above? What were your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below!


March Wrap Up!

by booksteff, posted in menu, Wrap Up

Hey Beautiful Booklovers! So sorry this is a little late, but better late than never, right? Today’s post will be covering what I read in the month of March – which hasn’t been my greatest reading month, but never mind, we all have to make do with the cards we are dealt.

This month has been a slow one for me, and I also went off the rails with my TBR, I didn’t manage to complete it, and ended up picking up different reads instead. This isn’t unusual for me, if I’m being honest, I do this frequently but it is something I’m trying to do less.

1 – The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I keep forgetting that I technically finished this in March because it released at the end of February, but turns out I did. Anyway if you have been around here before you will most likely know I’ve already posted a review for this beauty- which you can access here! I loved this book it was great, and I am really gutted that it is a standalone!

2 – The Extinction Trials by S. M. Wilson

My Rating:🌟🌟🌟. 5

I did enjoy this book, and found it an easy read, but I am sad to say I didn’t by any means love it. It was interesting enough to get through (despite some of my small issues with it), but what I am still unclear on is if I want to continue with the series. This is book 1 of 3 and currently I am still not sure if I will reach for the next book. Of course, if I do pick it up you beauties will be the first to know!

3 – Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Again, you may already know I posted a review for this beauty here on my blog! I really enjoyed this book. The world was so fantastic, the character arcs were spot on, and considering the short amount of pages I was amazed at how attached I was to this story! It’s definitely one I recommend!

4 – An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

My Rating:🌟🌟

*Sigh* This was not originally on my TBR for March, but I was in a bit of a slump and felt something short would be ideal to help. This book wasn’t fantastic, and for the first third of it I was actually questioning my decision. Not a lot happens, things are rather slow to start and quick to resolve, and I just didn’t ship the romance, but that’s just me. It wasn’t as good as I would have liked it to be, and when a friend asked if she should pick it up I genuinely said “you’re not missing anything if you don’t”! I think that pretty much sums up my feelings, don’t you?

5 – Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟.5

So, I was really excited to start reading this, and as I got into it I found it wasn’t as great as I wanted it to be. I was really not finding it captivating all that much…until towards the end. That’s when things picked up for me, and made me really pay attention, and because of that ending I will continue with this series. That being said I really felt like this book suffered from ‘sagging middle syndrome’ and that bothered me a bit – hence the rating.

6 – Wintersong by S. Jae- Jones

My Rating: 🌟🌟

This is another one that I hadn’t planned on reading this month, but picked it up because I was in the mood for some magical Goblin Kings, and romance. It was a lot of romance, and whilst I was kind of expecting that what I didn’t like was that the main character had a goal, then completed said goal, and then instead of getting a new goal pottered around doing sweet FA for the plot for a couple hundred pages. 80 pages from the end I literally was like “WTF is happening? What is her goal?” I don’t like books that have a main character lacking a goal/ motivation, and in the second half of this book I really felt as though this was the case.

7 – Once and Future by Amy Rose Capetta & Cori McCarthy

My Rating: 🌟

I tried! I tried so hard to get into this bloody book, and finally decided to DNF at 40%. It just wasn’t for me at all! My rating is so low based on the fact that I didn’t actually finished it – didn’t have the will to finish it. You may love it, but it really didn’t do it for me. If you want to know my thoughts you can find my review on Goodreads!

So there you have it, my disastrously bad reading month lol! I’m hoping April will be better (fingers crossed)!

Have you read any of the above? What were your thoughts? Do you strongly agree or disagree with me on any of them? Let me know in the comments below!

February Wrap Up!

by booksteff, posted in menu, Wrap Up

Hey Booklovers! I can’t believe it is the end of February already!! That is crazy, right? I mean where does time go? In book community tradition I am coming at you today with my Feb Wrap Up! So buckle up as I have 11 books to tell you about!

1 – Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

My Rating:🌟🌟🌟🌟.5

The first one I finished this month is Robin Hobb’s Assassin’s Apprentice, book 1 in the Farseer trilogy. I’ll keep this brief – I really enjoyed this story, it was a great, and Robin Hobbs writing was lovely. I have a spoiler free review you can take a look at if your interested.

2 – Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

My Rating:🌟🌟🌟🌟

Having not read Elantris before and people saying it was a bit like marmite – I was apprehensive going into this story. Perhaps because I wasn’t expecting much I ended up being pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed the story line and characters. Sanderson really has a knack for making good strong female characters and being able to change your opinion of others at the drop of a hat.

3 – In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

I love this series. I really do, and I love how whimsical Seanan McGuire’s writing is. The stories are breathtaking, and although small I normally find they are perfect at that length. That being said, I did feel this one was a little short of what I wanted. Don’t get me wrong I still really enjoyed the story for what it was, and appreciate that Seanan McGuire is covering a large span of time, but I just wanted more of the how and why things happened. Let me be clear – the story is complete in its’ goal – the goal was not to tell me the hows and whys of that persons story, it was to convey a message of how the MC got to where she did, and it did that perfectly which is why I still gave it 4 stars.

4 – China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan 

My Rating:🌟🌟🌟

I liked this book just fine, but felt that it was lacking in the actual plot department. The majority of the time throughout reading I felt simply at a loss of why such and such was happening. It was fabulous in its’ ability to overwhelm me with the level of snobbery etc (which was the point) but I felt the story could have been better.

5 – Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Another great example of Sanderson’s ability to write amazing and well rounded characters. I loved this book – like adored it. You can find my review on the review page, but if you are thinking of reading this…read it!

6 – Master of Sorrows by Justin Call

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

So…I may have gushed about this once or twice, or a hundred times! I love this book. I love the fact there is a disabled main character, I love that there is such depth to the world and religion. I love that the characters are so conflicted, and that every step of the way you are wondering what will happen next. This is such a good book, and I am so happy that I got an arc.

7 – Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski 

My Rating:🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I adore the witcher series so it’s no shock that I rated this so highly. These books are full of magic, and craziness, and I love them so much! If you haven’t read these books, then what are you doing?

8 – Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor 

My Rating:🌟🌟🌟

I really wished I had of loved this book, but for me it was just okay. Average, and didn’t hold enough sway to make me want to read on. Perhaps it wasn’t the right time for me, or perhaps I expected more because I had heard the hype. I don’t know, but it just didn’t do it for me.

9 – Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

My Rating:🌟🌟🌟🌟

So at first I wasn’t sure about this book. It was slow to start – not that I mind that generally – but I thought that maybe I would fall victim to the hype again! Luckily for me I ended up really enjoying this book, and Laini Taylor’s writing is just lush! This world is fantastic, and the twists – oh my gosh! It was a great read.

10 – The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French 

My Rating:🌟🌟🌟🌟

This book needs to be read by more people in my opinion! I really love this book! It’s fantastic, and funny, and crazy, and GAH!! I adore it and cannot wait for book number 2 to come out! I need it! Like right now! 

11 – The Binding by Bridget Collins

My Rating:🌟🌟🌟🌟

Overall I enjoyed this book, and the romance within. The writing was lovely, the story engaging, the romance tragic and beautiful (very swoon worthy), and I really did enjoy it. However, I have to say I think I went into it thinking it was one thing, and getting something else; though I am still happy I read it. That was 100% my issue not the books. I went into it not knowing much, and thinking it was about magical book binding; in a way it was but it was more focused on the relationships than the magic itself. Again, this book is very enjoyable – I just went into it thinking it would be more about the magic, which it wasn’t. In conclusion if you are into magical realism with epic romance, this is a book for you.

I don’t want to spoil this book but oh my gosh I loved that ship!!

As you can see I had a pretty good reading month; nothing below 3 stars, and a few 5 stars, which is amazing considering how few I gave last year!

What have you read this month? Have you read any of the above? Did you enjoy them? Are there any you want to read from my list? Let me know in the comments below!