August Wrap Up and September TBR

Hi guys, I hope you are all well. It’s time for another monthly wrap up. I have to admit that I’m pretty happy that we’re now technically in the Autumn months – I’m looking forward to getting all my jumpers out :). Anyway I had a pretty good reading month. I read 7 books and possibly found a new favourite series. We all know the drill by now so I’m just going to start.

 

Birdcage Walk / Helen Dunmore / ★★★

Although I love Dunmore as an author, something about this book just didn’t fully click with me. Don’t get me wrong, it was good and well written, but sometimes there’s just something missing. I think the slow pacing made it seem a bit of a chore to read it at times, so I didn’t become invested in the plot or characters. I do think that Dunmore is a great writer though – this one just didn’t quite work for me.

 

Heir to Sevenwaters / book 4 of the Sevenwaters series / Juliet Marillier / ★★★

I have to admit that I haven’t enjoyed the last two books in this series as much as I loved the first two. This was a good continuation of the series, but I didn’t love it as much as I wanted to. As with the previous books, the writing is fantastic. I enjoyed the story, but I just wasn’t that invested in the characters. I will still be continuing on with this series.

 

City of Lies / book 1 of the Poison War / Sam Hawke / ★★★

*I received a digital copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

I thought this was a good introduction to this series. However I didn’t love it as much as I hoped. I liked that these characters specialised in poison but they are not assassins – their job is protect against poison, not poisoning others. I’ve not really seen this in other books and liked that aspect of it. Although I enjoyed the plot overall, I found this quite a slow read and it dragged in places. My main issue with this one though was that I wasn’t invested in the characters. I can’t really put my finger on why but something about them just didn’t quite click with me. The world building was good, if a little lacking at times. Overall I enjoyed this and I would recommend checking it out, if especially if you are a big fantasy reader.

 

 

The Blade Itself / book 1 in the First Law trilogy / Joe Abercrombie / ★★★

While I did enjoy this book, I didn’t love it as much as I thought I would. The characters were well written, the world building is great and it use multiple perspectives well.  I just wasn’t full invested in the characters or plot. One of the characters in particular really got on my nerves – he is so incredibly selfish and vain and I really wasn’t a fan (Jezel, for anyone wondering). Overall I’m glad I read it and I did enjoy it but I didn’t love it. Something just didn’t quite click into place for me. Right now I am unsure whether to continue the series. I think I may give the next book a go and then take it from there.

 

 

The Queen of Sorrow / book 3 of the Queens of Renthia trilogy / Sarah Beth Durst / ★★★.5

I’ve really enjoyed this trilogy so far and I thought this was a great conclusion. One of my favourite things about this trilogy is the world. It has such a a unique world and it was great to be back in it with this sequel. I enjoyed the direction of the plot and I was satisfied with the way the trilogy ended. The character and relationship development in this last book was also really well done. I have to admit that I did kind of want to see more from Daleina but maybe that’s just me. Overall I thought this was great and I highly recommend checking out the trilogy. I am thinking of doing a full review of the trilogy so keep an eye out for that.

 

 

Moribito 2: Guardian of the Darkness / book 2 of the Moribito series / Nahoko Uehashi / ★★★★

This was a fantastic continuation of this series, although I’m now a little sad that the rest of the series hasn’t been translated. I have a full review of the first two books in this series coming soon, so I’m going to keep this brief. I loved the direction of the plot in the sequel and it was great to be back with Balsa, the protagonist. I find these books to be quick and super enjoyable to read. I definitely recommend checking out this author.

 

Malice / book 1 of the Faithful and the Fallen series / John Gwynne / ★★★★

I’ve had this series on my radar from quite some time but for some reason I’ve never picked it up. I am so glad that I’ve finally read it because I loved this book. It was a fantastic introduction to this series and I cannot wait to read the other books. It did take me a little while to get used to the switch in perspectives, as there are around 5 characters it switches between, but after about 100 pages I was settled into the flow of the story. I thought the characters were well written and the author does a great job at developing their relationships with each other. The world building is good, as is the writing, and there are some fantastic action scenes. Basically I loved this and I will definitely be continuing with this series as soon as possible.

 

 

I’m currently reading two books, the first is The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon and the second book is Legend by David Gemmell. I’m enjoying both so far but I’ll let you know my full thoughts once I’ve finished. I’m not setting myself any TBR for September – I’m just going to read whatever I feel like at the time. I will probably continuing on with the Faithful and the Fallen series as I loved the first book. What was your favourite book you read this month? I’d love to know what you’ve been reading. I hope you are all having a wonderful day and I will see you next time.

 

Pippa