Category: books

ARC, books, middlegrade, Review

Book Review: Escape to the River Sea by Emma Carroll

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Book Review: Escape to the River Sea by Emma Carroll

Journey to the River Sea was one of my favourite books as a child. I still have the old battered copy that I bought at a school book fair. When I knew this book was going to be a thing, I decided I was going to reread the first book and then the new one. When I was lucky enough to get an e-arc through NetGalley, I put both on my TBR and read them back to back.

Set in 1946, Rosa Sweetman has been living in Westwood after having left her home and family in Vienna as part of the Kindertransport. But now all the other children have returned home, and Rosa is still waiting. After a mysterious visitor comes to Westwood, Rosa decides she wants to join her in visiting her family in Brazil. The visitor is on a quest to find a Giant Sloth, and Rosa would love to be part of that. This trip turns into more of an adventure than Rosa knows, and she finds jaguars, a new family and herself along the way.

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Adult, ARC, books, Review

Book Review: The Wedding Season by Katy Birchall

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Book Review: The Wedding Season by Katy Birchall

I’ve only been introduced to Katy Birchall’s chick-lit this year through her first book, The Secret Bridesmaid. I picked it up in the Works one day and enjoyed it so much. As soon as I saw she had a new book on NetGalley, I immediately hit request. Having finished the book, I’m so glad I did. This book was definitely emotional in places but was so much fun, and I’d recommend it to all. Especially when I’m talking about what I think chick-lit is now.

Freya is getting married, and her wedding should be the first of eight she needs to attend that year. Until her fiance, Matthew dumps her the day before the wedding. In a broom cupboard. Freya’s heart is broken, and she doesn’t know how she’s going to handle attending all her friends’ weddings. Until her best friends, Ruby and Leo, suggest she completes a Wedding Survival Guide. At each wedding she attends, she’ll have to complete a task that will put her out of her comfort zone but be fun. The challenges may wind up getting her in more trouble than she expects, but they also allow her to learn a lot about herself and find new love.

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ARC, books, Review, Young Adult

Book Review: I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

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Book Review: I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

You all expected me to read this book, right? I Kissed Shara Wheeler is a highly anticipated book for many. I wouldn’t say I was excited as some people, but as soon as I saw it on NetGalley, I knew I had to request it. I’ve currently only read Red, White and Royal Blue, but One Last Stop is also on my TBR. I wanted to try McQuistion’s first YA book as soon as possible, and I’m glad I did. However, I didn’t love this book quite as much as I’d hoped.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler follows Chloe Green, who was shocked after being randomly kissed by the principal’s daughter, Shara Wheeler. Chloe and Shara have been academic rivals for years, but after she tries to track her down at prom, Shara promptly disappears. Now Chloe is having to follow clues alongside Shara’s boyfriend and next-door neighbour as they try to find out where she’s gone and how to bring her back. Chloe has a bone to pick, and she’s determined to prove she’s better than Shara.

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ARC, books, Review, Young Adult

Book Review: Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White

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Book Review: Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White

I’m obviously a big fan of queer books, so this was always going to be a book that I was going to read. As well as that, I’ve followed A.J on Twitter for a few years, as part of my foray into writing Twitter. I might not have written for a while, but I’ve still been following him and enjoying doing so. A.J seems like a great guy, so I also knew that I wanted to support him by writing a review.

Hell Followed With Us follows Benji, a trans teen who is on the run from the cult that has destroyed a lot of the world and transformed him into a bioweapon. All he wants to be able to do is just live his life as the boy he is, but after being cornered by monsters when trying to escape, he is rescued by teens from a local LGBTQA+ group. Their leader Nick is gorgeous, autistic and deadly, and he knows exactly who Benji actually is. But he agrees to let Benji stay, provided he can control his inner monster and help them. Benji agrees, but soon he finds out that Nick might not be telling him everything.

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Adult, ARC, books, Review

Blog Tour: Set On You by Amy Lea

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Blog Tour: Set On You by Amy Lea

I really love a good book that focuses on influencers or social media. I especially love it when the book is a romance or a chick-lit. Social media is such a big part of our lives now, and as a bookish content creator, I have at least some understanding of all the work that goes into these accounts. Set on You was no different. I was very kindly contacted by the team at Spark Point Studio at the end of last year asking if I’d like to review this book, and I’ve finally gotten around to it. I’m also participating in the UK book tour for this, so you can tell I’m very excited.

Crystal Chen is a fitness influencer who promotes body positivity and the fact you can love fitness without wanting to become skinny. During one of her regular sessions, she meets Scott, the annoyingly attractive firefighter who likes to steal her favourite squat rack. When it turns out that their grandparents are engaged, however, Crystal realises that she’s going to be spending a lot more time with Scott, and soon they wind up falling into friendship followed by something more. But just as things seem perfect, the reactions of many to a photo posted of them together on Instagram could tear everything apart.

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Adult, ARC, blog tour, books, Review

Blog Tour: One Good Thing by Alexandra Potter

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger Books2 Comments on Blog Tour: One Good Thing by Alexandra Potter
Blog Tour: One Good Thing by Alexandra Potter

A few years ago, I got into Alexandra Potter for a bit. I read a lot of her backlist and enjoyed them. And then I reached a point where I wasn’t being drawn to her books anymore. That changed when I read the summary of One Good Thing. Which, I won’t lie, I was surprised as this is a chick-lit novel that reads a lot older than I usually prefer and utilises multiple perspectives. And yet, I really enjoyed it. It was what I hoped it would be. I was lucky to get an early e-book copy to read of this through Random Things Tours, so thanks so much to Anne!

One Good Thing mostly follows Liv, a forty-something woman who has just gotten divorced from her cheating husband and decides she wants a fresh start in Yorkshire. Her new house becomes a building site – literally – and Liv realises that she has to find herself before she can really move on. By finding good things, from a dog to new friends and even helping out her neighbours, she finds joy again.

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ARC, blog tour, books, Review, Young Adult

Blog Tour: The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson

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Blog Tour: The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson

I love a good YA mystery or thriller, and this was a book that sounded so good. The Agathas is a mystery very inspired by the works of Agatha Christie. I won’t pretend to be an Agatha Christie fan myself. Honestly, years of seeing the same episodes of Poirot and Miss Marple repeatedly, thanks to my Mum, derailed any interest I might have had in them. But this book sounded like so much fun, and I’m glad that I asked to be part of this tour. Thanks again to Anne at Random Things Tours for allowing me to participate!

This book follows two teens – Alice and Iris, who couldn’t live more different lives. Alice needs to stay out of trouble after disappearing a few months ago, and Iris just needs to get out of town. Iris is hired to tutor Alice, but after a girl disappears, Alice convinces Iris to help her look into the case. When the girl then turns up murdered, they realise that there may be a lot of secrets out there that they need to uncover.

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Adult, ARC, blog tour, books, Review

Blog Tour – Sistersong by Lucy Holland

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger Books1 Comment on Blog Tour – Sistersong by Lucy Holland
Blog Tour – Sistersong by Lucy Holland

Though I’m not the biggest reader of historical fantasy, I adore books that take inspiration from myth and folklore. I’m also a history nerd who was fascinated to find a fantasy book set during the Saxon invasion. It’s not a period that you see many books set during, so I’ve been excited about this one for a while. I’ve been meaning to get to this book since it was released last year, so I was happy to get on the paperback tour with Black Crow PR.

As well as talking about the book in general, I will be talking about the use of folklore. I’m not hugely familiar with The Twa Sisters, as ballads aren’t my area of expertise, but I like how this one was retold. As well as that, we have hints of other tales from Cornwall and a nice mix of Celtic – and Norse – folktales. Some of these are seemingly original to the text, whilst others are connected with tales that we all know.

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Adult, book tag, books, Young Adult

Critical Role Campaign 3 Book Tag

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger BooksLeave a Comment on Critical Role Campaign 3 Book Tag
Critical Role Campaign 3 Book Tag

I’m back today with another book tag! I actually quite like coming up with these, and it’s fun to see other people do them. So I thought I’d pull another one together for a break between the many reviews I’m posting!

I’ve talked about roleplay a few times before, but DnD and tabletop gaming isn’t something I’ve tried yet. But I enjoyed the podcast Spellcheck DnD enough that I’ve tried checking out some other groups playing it. Critical Role is one of the biggest of these fandoms, if not the biggest. I’d always struggled to get into their games in the past until I got to campaign 3 and Bells Hells. Something about this group and their story has grabbed me, and now I’m more than a little obsessed.

With today’s tag, I’m going to be listing all the members so far of the chaotic Hells Bells and giving you prompts relating to them!

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Adult, ARC, books, Review

Book Review: Misrule by Heather Walter

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger Books1 Comment on Book Review: Misrule by Heather Walter
Book Review: Misrule by Heather Walter

I’m obviously a big fan of fairytale retellings, and I also read a lot of queer books. Both of those things meant that I was going to read Malice by Heather Walter when it came out last year. It was a book that I thoroughly enjoyed, so I thought I’d see if I could get an early copy of the sequel to read… And I did! Thanks so much to the team at Del Rey for both the ARC and finished copies of this book. I really enjoyed this book and thought it was a great ending to a fascinating duology.

Malice followed Alyce and Aurora as they tried to break Aurora’s curse. But though true love’s kiss saved Aurora once, she was put back into a magical sleep. Anyone would be able to kiss her awake, apart from Alyce. 100 years have passed, and the Briar Kingdom is now home to Alyce’s Dark Court. Over the years, she has been destroying the fae courts for her people whilst secretly trying to find a way to remove the curse from the woman she loves. Alyce would do anything for Aurora, but when she finally awakens, will she be able to love the villain Alyce has become?

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