Welcome to Litsy!

I actually really enjoyed this one 😊 An intriguing book.

4.25/5

Read for prompts for:

#Buzzwordathon2022
#53BookClubReadingChallenge2022

I've been a fan of this author since I read her Shades of Magic trilogy. Some of her recent books have been a miss for me though, but this one is a definite pick.

It was such a fun mix of gothic horror and the supernatural to keep my geeky heart happy. Also, binging Stranger Things while reading this might have added to my appeal as well. 😁

I loved the included artwork too.

Got distracted by my #audiobook while making breakfast and the result is slightly disturbing yet still delicious 👀

Bk5 of June & #BigJuneReadathon & Bk2 of #JoysOfJune #readathon is done! After listening to some of Chamber Of Secrets, I picked up this recent addition & ended up reading it straight through🙌It wasn‘t the best horror/fantasy I‘ve ever read but it was compelling in its own way. The setting is what sold it I think, reminded me a lot of Crimson Peaks, the movie with Tom Hiddleston. 3.5⭐️ #BookspinBingo #Booked2022 #NewIn2022

The Prior‘s didn‘t build Gallant, but they were called to it, and generations have spent their lives, and deaths protecting it, and the world, from the horror that lies behind the wall at the end of the garden. Olivia, raised as a foundling has never known a real home, but is called to Gallant by a mysterious letter. I don‘t know why some books are called YA. Far from YA myself, I loved this well written novel.

“Home is a choice”

A fun, short read with a great setup. Fantastic writing & brilliant protagonist construction. Strong atmosphere with a gothic flare & just the right amount of darkness. There was a lot to love. Unfortunately, it still fell a little short. I needed more development & a bigger, more sweeping plot. Despite how lovely the writing was & how much I enjoyed the creep factor, it only scratched the surface. Still...worth reading? Yes. I'd read it again.

Very enjoyable, but i do wish the book were longer and had more to it...

“Traps are like locks they can be picked. They can can be opened. A trap is only a trap if you get caught.”

This was a brilliant tale. It's Gothic with some Neil Gaiman and a little Labyrinth mixed in.
Olivia has been growing up in an orphanage until she receives a letter from her uncle, who wants her to return to the family home, Gallant.
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
#BFC2022 @wanderinglynn
#Pantone2022 #ArticWolf @Clwojick
#WyrdAndWonder #ShapeShifters @imyril

Book 46/150.

My afternoon.

Reading a few beginnings of some books I‘m interested in reading next; I think I might be in a slight reading slump 🙃

I didn't finish this one. It was just taking me a long time to get into the story. I was 190 pages in and still wasn't invested in the story. The premise is great and the writing is great, I just couldn't get interested.

Loved this! Maybe more than Invisible Life.... I enjoyed the gothic elements, the eerie setting and the mystery of it all. Great book!

I‘d forgotten what books I‘d put on the sign up form and luckily had resisted all urges to buy this - as I am a complete sucker for illustrated covers with houses on them.

Thanks so much Gemma, these recipes look 🤤 especially the chocolate croissant pudding - will have to see if I can borrow a slow cooker… and Australia is just heading into winter so perfect timing for soup and mushroom wellingtons!

#RecipeSwap

I was hesitant to pick up Gallant, because I‘ve had mixed feelings on V.E. Schwab‘s work in the past. But
I‘m glad I took a chance on it because I had a lot of fun reading it. It was atmospheric and spooky from the very beginning. I do think it could have been just a little bit longer though. It seemed to end too soon. But overall, it was a fun read.

https://wildwoodreads.com/2022/05/20/gallant-review/

Ready for a short one! I've been doing such long audiobooks!

A book blog said this was one of the best fantasy books this year so far…I‘m about 100 pages in and so far I completely agree.

This book is a mood more than anything else. It paints a beautiful, dark gothic locale; both with the prose and the art within the book. However, the plot and characterization is just not fully fleshed out. It drags the first two thirds of the book with vivid imagery, then rushes through the actual story the last third. Not a bad read, just meh. The book itself is gorgeous though, especially this #illumicrate edition. 3⭐️

Current read

Gallant is a haunting, atmospheric tale. It was the perfect balance of spook and intrigue. I really enjoyed it, and it‘s a clean read for all ages too. Olivia is brave and smart. I enjoyed seeing nonverbal represented too, and the frustration of others misjudging or silencing you. Overall, an excellent book! This black and white version with black stained edges is an OwlCrate exclusive.

In one word... fabulous! The prose is what captured me, the MC and the plot held me and I want more. Good vs evil is the troupe but it was presented in a unique way. I hated to finish this one. 4.5 ⭐

I liked this one, but didn't love it as much as I had hoped. It started to drag for me about 2/3 through it, though I can't really pinpoint why... I will say that the illustrations were fantastic!

“The master of the house stands at the garden wall.”
#firstlinefridays

We spent the weekend in Savannah, Georgia, which just happens to be where my favorite independent bookstore, E. Shaver Booksellers, is located. I told myself I wouldn‘t buy much, but I kind of blacked out when we got in there. The next thing I knew I was carrying two shopping bags to my car. Here‘s what I got. Have you read any of these?

So good! I enjoyed every moment, and the narration is great. This‘ll likely be close to the top of this year‘s “best of” lists for me.

Beautiful, eerie and gothic. A super compelling and dark quick read.
It definitely gave me Secret Garden vibes; orphan, mysterious house, a cousin who is not the friendliest, huge grounds with secrets and gothic atmosphere.
Loved it

This was a complete impulsive purchase to support my local independent bookstore (Nowhere). I discovered how much I liked the author last year doing the #authoramonth challenge and this one looks so good

Books and booze on #independentbookstoreday
Drove to Carbondale, CO for White River Books and Marble Distillery, and Basalt for Bookbinders and Capitol Creek Brewery. Also stopped at Tesseract Comics in Glenwood Springs because #comicscount :)

Both of my reading buddies, Dresden and Raith, are hanging out with me in the den now. Life is good 😊 #readathon

32 oz of water down, 32 oz to go, but Dresden is literally snoring so I doubt I'll get to move anytime soon, and I don't want to wake him by yelling for the Boyfriend. Also, I haven't read a book this good in quite a while. #readathon

I rewarded myself with a new book from my wishlist for finally reading enough of my physical TBR to have some empty space on the shelves. I'm also having a dirty chai and a very late lunch/early dinner during #readathon

Super love this Owlcrate edition for Gallant, it really brings out the aura of the story

Guess she didn‘t want me reading #dogsoflitsy #puppyproblems #boxersarebigbabies

This felt more like a deliciously spooky middle grade novel than YA and I wasn't mad about that at all! Schwab's writing is fabulous and this is a richly atmospheric Gothic story. The ink drawings in the book were a perfect addition to the story. 4/5 stars

I read somewhere that this book was combo of Shirley Jackson style gothic horror and Neil Gaiman‘s warmth & whimsy. They were so right! It has that wonderful other-worldliness that I love in Gaiman (and Schwab!) but it also has a haunted ancestral home esthetic that is prevalent some Jackson (& in the work of director Mike Flanagan). But it is not a knock-off at all - It is wonderful and I was not ready to say goodbye at this end of this story.

This book was absolutely stunning! The diary entries and drawings, the writing and the designs; I am simply speechless. I REALLY enjoyed this book and loved the characters as well as the idea and overall experience of reading the journal. I also love the message behind the story and the idea that you can choose your home and your family and find a place where you belong.
4⭐️

Some stories spill out in a wave. Others come in drips. And now and then, a story sits pooled somewhere, waiting for you to find it.

If death is part of the cycle, then so is life. All things fade, and all things flourish.

“Olivia,“ he says, “you are a Prior.“

“You are nothing,“ he says, in a voice like frost.
“I am a Prior,“ answers Matthew, standing his ground.

“I will be right here,“ he says. “When you come back.“
All her life, Olivia has wondered what it would feel like to have a family.
And now she knows.
It feels like this.

Traps are like locks. They can be picked. They can be opened. A trap is only a trap if you get caught.

Real, she is learning, is a slippery thing, not a solid black line but a shape with soft edges, a great deal of gray.