5 months since my last post 😱 This was a nice read after a long reading slump. An easy to read retelling with beautiful illustrations ☺️ 🌟🌟🌟.5

Picked this one after a recent discussion about past Booker prize winners (1987 winner). I loved it. Claudia probably won't appeal to everyone but she was a fantastic character with a great story. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

It took me a while to get into this one but I really enjoyed it when it got going. Interesting characters with genuine and heartwarming connections. The historical information and scenery descriptions were great also. ⭐⭐⭐.5

I think my obsession with Greek mythology has just been reignited 😆 I really enjoyed this one! It focuses on the events immediately after the fall of Troy, mainly from the perspective of Briseis. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a good read (Crime/Mystery). The 25th anniversary of a town shooting is approaching and the main character Cassie is starting to wonder what really happened on that terrible day. ⭐⭐⭐.5

I really enjoyed the first 2 books but sadly the series took a bit of a turn and lost me. There were some plot developments I just couldn't get on board with.

I am currently discovering the music of BTS and have found some beautiful songs that try to support anyone dealing with mental health issues. This book inspired a song called Magic Shop with the lyrics below ??? ⭐⭐⭐⭐

"On days you hate to be you, on days you wish you could forever disappear,
Let‘s make a door, in your heart.
Open the door, go inside, and this will be what‘s awaiting you.
You can trust this. To console you, a magic shop."

I loved this. In this novel writer Lucy Barton (of My Name is Lucy Barton and Anything is Possible) reflects on her relationship with her ex-husband William. It is so well written and thoughtful. I love the way Elizabeth Strout uses a mixture of current events and past reminiscences to give us these fully developed and memorable characters ❤️

I have started reading the Girl Meets Duke series. I think they might be my first ever Mills & Boons 🤔☺️ Historical romance with great characters - I really enjoyed both books and I even laughed out loud. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is book 2 in the fantastic Good Girl's Guide to Murder series. Just as good as the first one, I really enjoyed it. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Listened to the audiobook of this and I really enjoyed it. Was in the mood for something on the lighter side with a bit of romance and fun. This is my first Ali Hazelwood and I would be interested to read more now ☺️

This one was devastating. I listened to the audiobook and maybe the narrator's performance made it even more heart-wrenching but I feel so sad. It is very well written and tackles important topics. Oh Alice 😢 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

The epic story of a fictional female aviator Marian Graves. I really enjoyed traveling through history over such a great length of time with characters who became so familiar to me. I loved many sections of the book but there were others I thought were not entirely necessary. It is a long book but it does span a long and interesting life. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Book 2 in the Prison Healer series, I really enjoyed this. I think I am quite invested now cause I found myself getting frustrated with the characters when they didn't realise things that were obvious to me 🤣 Now I have to wait until June for Book 3 😫 Looking forward to it though! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This review is for both books in the Dreamhunter duet. I think you pretty much have to read them both 😋 YA fantasy with such an interesting concept I had to keep reading. I was still trying to work it all out right up until the end 😆 My initial rating is ⭐⭐⭐ but this may rise upon further pondering 😊

Book 2 of the Murderbot Diaries, I enjoyed this even more than the first one! Murderbot is so relatable 😆 ⭐⭐⭐.5

This was excellent historical fiction! I loved it. The characters, the story, the setting .. I was picking it up whenever I could to keep reading! Gee I would love to visit Bletchley Park some day. (The Google search result is amusing 😆) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great book 😊

There was quite a bit I liked about this one but ultimately I found it a bit too fantastical - which is strange since I read quite a lot of fantasy books 🤣 The cover is gorgeous and the descriptions of the landscape, plants and animals were great but ⭐⭐⭐ for me.

This was a fun read with a great sense of humour. A murder mystery featuring Mona, a wizard with a talent for baking. Her sidekicks are wonderful 😊🍞🥖🍪🔪😯😆⭐⭐⭐⭐

I thought this was a sweet book. A YA romance with a touch of fantasy. Evie becomes disillusioned with love after the separation of her parents and has to work out for herself - is love really worth the risk? I really enjoyed the dance studio setting (and her instructor Fifi 😊) ⭐⭐⭐.5

I loved this! It is a big book with multiple characters across multiple time periods but I enjoyed them all. I really admire the author, just wow. Historical fiction, science fiction, Greek mythology and a love of books/stories/libraries in one book ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Glad I own this one ☺️💕

This was exactly what I was wanting in a holiday read 😊 Caroline is visiting London when she discovers a distinctive vial near the river Thames. She tries to set aside her own problems for a while to solve the mystery of the lost apothecary. A little suspension of disbelief may be required but I really enjoyed this and the cover is gorgeous 💜 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Yikes, not sure if I can say I "enjoyed" this one cause I found it a bit nerve wracking with the constant threat of danger. It was very good though and I pretty much have to read the next one ? ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you so much to my #AussieSecretSanta !! I feel very spoiled and I'm really looking forward to reading both of these books while I am on holidays 🌞😎 Perfect choices 😊 Big thanks also to @thegirlwiththelibrarybag for organizing everything! Merry Christmas everybody. xx 🎄🎅🎁 @Lizpixie @MrsMalaprop @LapReader @Jhullie @CarolynM @LeeRHarry @Flingogal @Teresereading @Freespirit

A fast paced sci-fi novella featuring Murderbot 😋 It was an easy read and I liked the characters. Even had me laughing out loud at one point ⭐⭐⭐

A sci-fi thriller written by someone who has actually been in space! I loved all the details of what the astronauts experience and even the more technical aspects of all the vehicles/machinery. Held myself back from Googling til the end 😆 I had to go for the audio book option with Ray Porter as the narrator 🧡🚀 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This one has been on my shelf for years, finally got around to reading it! The first half was good but the second half was excellent. Really enjoyed it by the end 😊 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Just a quick update. I've been borrowing the Phryne Fisher audio books from the library. They're great! Interesting mysteries and varied settings. They are quite short so they're nice little interludes between other reads 😊

It took a little while for me to become familiar with the characters but as I came to know the Casey brothers and their families I was pulled right in. I loved Jessie and Cara and I'm kind of sad to leave them now 😋 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

😍😍😍 I had not anticipated how excited this arrival would make me 😊😊 Thank you so much #AussieSecretSanta This is wonderful 😊 The countdown begins! 😁🎄🎅🎁❤💚❤💚 @MrsMalaprop @LapReader @CarolynM @thegirlwiththelibrarybag @Lizpixie @LeeRHarry @Flingogal @Teresereading @Freespirit @Jhullie

Book 9 of The Expanse. The last installment in a brilliant series. A consistently high standard the whole way through. Now I guess I'll have to go back to Book 1 😆 So many great characters 😊 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Peggy is a very relatable and endearing character. I loved her tendency to unknowingly use the wrong words - she admired her husband's "self-defaecating humour" ?? I enjoyed this one ⭐⭐⭐

This was recommended by a friend and took me completely by surprise. I couldn't put it down. A great YA murder mystery. There was one particular plot development that I didn't like but it was a very good read ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was great. A Skyward novella between books 2 and 3. I need to hurry up and read ReDawn as well now that Cytonic is here!! An excellent sci-fi series that I have been able to share with my 14yo 😊 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A very personal book for the author, exploring grief and loss. It is magical, sweet, sad and hopeful 🐞 ⭐⭐⭐

I was interested in reading Death in Daylesford only to find it is Phryne Fisher Mystery #21 😯 I might have some catching up to do! 😂 I really enjoyed the setting of 1920s Melbourne. We went for high tea at the Windsor Hotel for my Mum's birthday 😊 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved this one 😍 A retelling/reimagining of Norse mythology, it brings to life the story of the witch Angrboda. It was all woven together so well and I loved the characters. There's just something about Loki that is so interesting. ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Wow! I can't remember who recommended this one but thank you anyway! 😁 I could not put it down! Can definitely see why some have called it a YA Silence of the Lambs. A great psychological thriller. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is my third Frances Hardinge book and they are all so imaginative! Admittedly A Face Like Glass is quite strange but I did really enjoy the mystery/intrigue 😊 ⭐⭐⭐.5

The Thursday Murder Club are back with another mystery to solve! I really like these characters with their distinctive personalities and interesting backgrounds. This was great 😊

This one is gonna be hard for me to review. I read about a third of it and then stalled. A few months later I picked it up again but had to start over cause I had forgotten everything 😲 I felt myself stalling again but pushed on. It is very clever and creative, it is really very good but I did find it hard to keep going at times. Maybe just a bit too complicated for my current brain power 😁 ⭐⭐⭐

This has been in my TBR pile for ages! A YA fantasy/mystery set in Victorian times, centring around "a tree that feeds off whispered lies and bears fruit that reveals hidden secrets". I really enjoyed it. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Klara is an AF (Artificial Friend) and I really enjoyed seeing the world through her eyes. I found I had to concentrate a bit to try to work out what was really going on but I was happy to find this so thought provoking. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

😍😍😍 This came up in the audible plus catalogue and it has been many, many years since I read this classic. I loved it! Rachel McAdams did a fabulous job. ❤❤❤ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I found this on my TBR list and went in not knowing anything about it. It was really good! Took me by surprise actually. A family drama set in Yorkshire, focusing on Leah - "Then" and "Now". ⭐⭐⭐⭐

When you're on a good thing ... 🙂 Another Lisa Jewell mystery/family drama read for me that I got quite immersed in. Thanks for the recommendation @TheLudicReader ⭐⭐⭐.5 What a story!

This was very good. A family drama/mystery about the disappearance of 15 year old Ellie Mack. It kept my interest throughout. This is my first Lisa Jewell ⭐⭐⭐.5

Okay I have been in a severe reading slump so maybe this book should get extra points cause I finished it! 🎉🥳🤣 I really liked Home Before Dark too so I think I will have to check out more of Riley Sager's books 😊 ⭐⭐⭐.5

This was short and sweet. The world building was great and there were some interesting ideas. I think I just wanted more. It says "Monk & Robot #1" on Goodreads so it sounds like I will get my wish ? ⭐⭐⭐

🤯 Wow. Blake Crouch must have an incredible imagination. This was a great book. People start to experience False Memory Syndrome (FMS), remembering lives they never lived. When NYC cop Barry Sutton starts to investigate, he could not possibly be prepared for what he finds. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ What a ride 😋