Welcome to Litsy!

Oooooh thank you @Readergrrl for this perfect #jolabokaflodswap pick!! I‘m so excited!! And thank you for the perfect picks of chocolate too!!
♥️??♥️??♥️??♥️??♥️??♥️

Happy Jólabókaflód all!!

Also thank you @MaleficentBookDragon for hosting my favorite book swap!! ??

A beautifully written dark fable. The prose is luxuriant but retains a cutting edge that makes the suspenseful and mysterious scenes all the more effective.

I hung on until halfway through. The story premise is good, and I liked the unique take on vampirism, but between the slow pace and trite modern day setting, I couldn't continue.

Excellent narration by Saskia Maarleveld really brought this one to life. Collette is a longtime vampire who develops a special bond with an artistically gifted preschool student.

Finally finished listening to The Square of Sevens and The Eye of the World yesterday (whew! 😅). Giving The Prince of Thorns another chance. 🎧📚😊
#weekendreads
@rachelsbrittain

#2023readingbracket My favorite of June was God of Endings for sure but man oh man was it hard to pick between Priory & The Ferryman for overall fav. I feel satisfied with my decisions and can‘t wait to see what the second half of the year brings!

I absolutely loved The God of Endings. It is full of emotion, suspense, action, and twists and turns; I could not put this book down. Maarleveld‘s narration of this novel was phenomenal. The voices used for the characters, as well as the emotion contained within, added so much to the characters, bringing them to life. I also liked the accents used for some of the characters. The narration brought with it emotion, suspense, and entertainment.

When I started this read I was a bit reluctant because the progress was a bit slow for my personal taste. However, I found myself slowly become wrapped up in the lush descriptions and gorgeous prose and wanting to do nothing more than stay lost in this book.

Holland has created a complex mashup of genes here, but the story blends so well that the individual pieces create a masterpiece in the end.

This is one of my favorite reads this year

I FINALLY FINISHED THIS!! I was so annoyed that the immortal being that the blurb promised was a vampire that it took me the best part of a month to pick it up again 😅 I‘m so normal about things.

Part literary fiction, part gothic historical fantasy & part contemporary thriller - this was beautiful. We follow Anya from her rustic childhood in the 1830s through to her days as the artistic head of a elite art school for preschoolers in the 1980s.

A nice twist on a vampire story. History, caring, hunger and the choice would you want nothing or everything? Really good read.

@Readergrrl #LMPBC book is on its way back to you!!! What a great 4 books we had!

#LMPBC #GroupV 🧛🏻This was not the Vampire story I was expecting! These Vampires struggled with morality and our FMC thrived while taking care of others. This was absolutely beautifully written and extremely heartbreaking. I loved the two time periods and storylines we got. What a journey! I had so much fun reading all of these Vampire tales with you all! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars!

This was such a bittersweet but lovely story. I love the depictions of different kinds of love that Anya had. The writing is beautiful and flows so wonderfully. God, I loved the main character. She was so easy relate to. I loved Paul, I loved Leo. This was a great pick! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ .5/5 #lmpbc #groupv

This... is not my favorite type of book. I don't really care for vampire stories or animal violence- both of which are pretty central to the story. But the writing is beautiful, and the characters are really fleshed out, and the passage of time is handled really well...

So, if you want a unique spin on a vampire story (and don't mind dead cats), this might be worth checking out. And the audio narration is really well done (so many accents).

When I was interested in the 1980s storyline, the past storyline bored me. When I was interested in the past storyline, the 1980s storyline bored me. Also, the ending on this one? No thank you.

Ok so this was the only picture I had lol I loved this book. It was a breath of fresh air after so many stale books. I also loved the ending! Gonna send it off soon. @sweetpealsd @Readergrrl @Meshell1313 #LMPBC #groupV

I wish I would‘ve read this ARC sooner because I really enjoyed it. I knew starting the book it was a vampire novel but it was so different than I thought it would be. The chapters alternate between 1984 and flashbacks to Collette‘s journey as a young vampire. I enjoyed reading about the bond Collette forms with Leo, a troubled student in her elite preschool, and how it challenges her. This was definitely a very different vampire novel.

This is an interesting, different take on the vampire novel than what I‘ve read before. We meet Anna, turned as a child, and see her story going forward. This alternates with Collette‘s story, Anna‘s name in 1984 when she is over 100 years old, and her involvement in a local community and with a particular family. Thoughtful, reflective, introspective. I‘ve very surprised this is a debut, as this feels like an established writer‘s work.

Wow- I really loved this epic and reflective debut novel that takes an interesting approach to the vampire novel. Born Anna over a century before the 1984 storyline where she goes by Collette LaSange, she was given a new life where she must consume blood. Her story unfolds across time and many countries while she deals with a mysterious Ann new ravenous hunger of her own. A great audio performance and an engrossing tale that I just loved!

Well, which red book from the library will I start next? 🤓❤️

4.5/5⭐️ Quiet & introspective with enough suspense to keep me hooked! But it was the beautiful writing that kept the pages turning. Reminiscent of Atkinson‘s Life After Life, Anya is an immortal blood drinker compelled to protect those she loves, haunted by tragedy, and hunted by a dark entity across time and continents. Artist and teacher, Anya will stay with me for a long time. Highly recommend for those looking for something a little deeper.

Vampire stories usually run the gamut from sparkly to sexy, but this poignant and compulsively readable novel brings a truly fresh perspective. Anna, born a gravestone mason's daughter in the 18th century, is now Collette, the head of a small French preschool in the 1980s. Flashbacks reveal the tragic past connections that have led her to this increasingly unstable situation, where she must decide once and for all: is life a blessing or a curse?

Rainy day here and perfect to start this one!

This is a vampire novel written in such a modern and tragic way. I loved that this novel was from the perspective of someone who did not ask for this dark life and this immortality. The pain Collette has suffered outweighs the joy she does fine, and it creates almost an untenable situation for her. The fact that she struggles with her own personal "Good Vs. Evil" along with the idea of what humanity is makes this a personal story.

I received an ARC of this book and I found myself sucked in. Although it's a vampire story the lore is so different and as a result I found myself very intrigued. Add the writing style and voila 🌟🌟🌟🌟

This arrived today as well! As soon as I read that it was about vampires I just knew I had to read it! The writing, from the small bits I've previewed, seems really beautiful and descriptive! 🥰