Weekly Wrap-Up: 11/13 – 11/19

So, I’m just gonna go right out and say it. I think last week was great. It could have been slightly better, but I ended up having some annoying stomach problems over the weekend. So I didn’t finish the book review I had planned (now coming: tomorrow).

Anyway, let’s wrap-up last week.

Tuesday 11/14: Tasteful Tuesday

Last Tuesday I finally did another Tasteful Tuesday. Tasteful Tuesday, if you aren’t aware, is when I highlight an awesome looking book cover and talk about what I like about it.

Tasteful Tuesday #2

Wednesday 11/15: Shelf Control

On Wednesday, after many, many weeks, I actually participated in another Shelf Control. Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books that are just sitting on our bookshelves, created and hosted by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies.

Shelf Control #15

Thursday 11/16: White Trash Warlock Review

Last Thursday, I got around to posting my book review for White Trash Warlock by David R. Slayton, a queer, urban fantasy. I gave it ★★★★☆.

My review of White Trash Warlock

Friday 11/17: November 2023 Birthstone Books

On Friday, I participated in one of my favorite monthly posts, Birthstone Book Covers. Birthstone Book Covers is a fun post created and hosted by Leslie @ Books are the New Black. It’s November, which has two birthstones – topaz and citrine, so the covers were all gold-ish.

Birthstone Book Covers: November 2023

Books I Read Last Week

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

One Piece Volumes 13 - 14 - 15 by Eiichiro Oda

One Piece Volumes 16 - 17 - 18 by Eiichiro Oda

🎁💖 Wrapping It All Up 🎁💖

So yeah, I got quite a few posts published this past week. I had planned for one more, but sometimes life just doesn’t let you have nice things. Next week I might have less posts as usual, because of the holiday, but who knows. Maybe I’ll still somehow manage to get four posts in?

As for reading, I’m hoping to read the entirety of The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. I unfortunately didn’t have the opportunity to start it this weekend, and I want to correct that ASAP. I’m also gonna continue with One Piece, of course, and I’m hoping to finish up the arc that I’m reading this week as well.

This week, I’m also going be doing a doing a bunch of stuff to get ready for Thanksgiving. It’s one of my favorite holidays, cuz to me it’s always been a celebration of food and family (which are two things that I adore). So even though I’ll be a little busier than usual, I don’t mind too much.

I think I mentioned that I had a book haul a week or two ago, but I don’t think I ever posted a picture of said haul. Well, here it is! From top to bottom: Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett, The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, Complete Poems: 1914 – 1962 by E.E. Cummings, and The Princess Bride by William Goldman.

But yeah, that’s all for the wrap-up. Thank you so much for reading, and have an excellent day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Tasteful Tuesday #2

So, I didn’t mean for there to be such a break after restarting this post. I knew I’d be doing a different post for Halloween, cuz Halloween – but I really did intend to do this post last week. But I had the absolute worst heartburn during my free time last Tuesday, so I was unfortunately unable to. Curse you heartburn!

Anyway…

For anyone unfamiliar, Tasteful Tuesdays are when I highlight an awesome looking book cover and talk about what I like about it. That’s it, that’s pretty the point of this post.

This week I’ll be admiring a little book called Weyward, written by Emilia Hart.

Weyward by Emilia Hart

LENGTH: 329 pages

GENRES: Magical Realism, Historical, Literary, Fiction

PUBLISHER: St. Martin’s Press

RELEASE DATE: 7 March 2023

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

I am a Weyward, and wild inside.

2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.

1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha’s mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom.

1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family’s grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives—and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart’s Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.

Book Cover Rating: 🍃🍃🍃 • 3 leaves in the wind

First off, I love how colorful and filled with nature the cover is. It’s such a beautiful image. I also really like all of the different wildlife depicted here (except the beetles, ew). The art just feels so full of life.

I adore the crow (or is it a raven?) that’s front and center. It’s so cute how it holds the little leaf in its beak! Crows and ravens are just cool in general, and they always seem to be magical in literature and legends.

I also just really like the font that the title is in. I don’t know why – I think it’s a pretty basic one, though I can’t identify it – it just works so well with the cover image.

So yeah, here’s another Tasteful Tuesday. Have you read Weyward? What did you think of it? What do you think about the cover art?

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Weekly Wrap-Up: 10/23 – 10/29

Last week was crazy. I read a lot, and I got a bunch of stuff done around the house. So, lots of different kinds of progress.

I can’t believe that Halloween is tomorrow. These past four weeks have gone by so fast. Soon enough I’ll be posting October’s monthly wrap-up!

But that’s for another time. Let’s get into this part week’s wrap-up.

Tuesday 10/24: Tasteful Tuesday

Last Tuesday I brought back Majestic Mondays – but now under a new name! I’ve also moved the day of the week that I do the post – hence why I’m now calling it Tasteful Tuesday!

Tasteful Tuesday, if you aren’t aware, is when I highlight an awesome looking book cover and talk about what I like about it.

Tasteful Tuesday #1

Wednesday 10/25: A Curse for True Love Review

On Wednesday, I posted another book review. It was one of my anticipated reads of October 2023, and I devoured it within a day.

Yup, it’s the last novel in the Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy by Stephanie Garber – A Curse for True Love. I gave it ★★★✫☆.

My review of A Curse for True Love

Friday 10/27: Reading Update

For my Friday post, I did something a little different. I wasn’t feeling a First Line Friday or anything like that, but I was having a time of figuring out what to do.

I eventually decided to give the blog a reading update. As of Friday of last week, I’d read 52 books within 43 weeks. I’ve never done that before (and I’ve read even more now!). I’m not gonna gush about it here, cuz I’ve already done so in the actual post.

52 Books in 43 Weeks

Sunday 10/29: Hounded Review

Yesterday I posted another book review – the second of two last week. It was a book (and series) that I was actually excited to read, but was ultimately disappointed by, unfortunately.

Hounded was simply not for me. I don’t think it was necessarily poorly written or anything – I just think it just wasn’t my type of book. I ended up giving it ★★✯☆☆.

My review of Hounded

Books I Read Last Week

A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber

🎁💖 Wrapping It All Up 🎁💖

I know I’ve been talking a lot during this section of the post lately, but I’m going to cut it a little short this time. I’m tired and I haven’t been feeling well since last night.

This coming week I’m definitely going to post my review for The Graveyard Book. I’ve actually been saving it for tomorrow, since it’s Halloween and all – I wanted to do a spooky book review!

Aside from that, I’m gonna post my monthly reading wrap-up for October, and probably Spell the Month in Books. But I’m not sure about anything else.

But yeah, I don’t really have anything else to say. So this is the end… of this post.

As always, thank you so much for reading, and I hope that you have a great day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Tasteful Tuesday #1

It’s been a while since I’ve done a Majestic Monday. And since I’ve decided to bring back Weekly Wrap-Ups… well frankly, I just can’t do a double post day. Sorry, but I’ve tried before and it just doesn’t work. So, I’ve decided to move the post to a different day. And thus Tasteful Tuesdays was born!

For anyone unfamiliar, Majestic Mondays – or Tasteful Tuesdays now, I guess – are when I highlight an awesome looking book cover and talk about what I like about it.

This week, the book that I’m admiring is one from my TBR that I’m moderately excited about. It’s also a new release: Starling House by Alix E. Harrow.

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

LENGTH: 400 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Tor

RELEASE DATE: 3 October 2023

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Step into Starling House – if you dare…

No one in Eden remembers when Starling House was built. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the house – and its last lonely heir – go to rot.

Starling House is uncanny and ugly and fully of secrets, just like its heir. Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but it might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden.

It feels dangerously like something she’s never had: a home.

But Opal isn’t the only one interested in the house, or the horrors and wonders that lie beneath it. If Opal wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it. She’ll have to dig up her family’s ugly history and let herself dream of a better future. She’ll have to go down, down into Underland, and claw her way back to the light.

This is a sweeping gothic fairytale from Hugo, Nebula and Locus Award-shortlisted Alix E. Harrow.

Cover Rating: 🪶🪶🪶🪶 • 4 starling feathers

The book cover for Starling House is absolutely gorgeous. First off, I love the colors, so much. The purples and greens and blues and yellows on the black background are so pretty. It’s also an awesome contrast. I like contrast.

I love all the starlings on the cover, too. I’m not sure how much the actual bird is related to the book, but I love their inclusion, as well as how the shadows make them appear similar to crows. It makes it all seem a bit sinister.

The bright yellow keys and flowers are also beautiful. I adore how much they all stand out on a cover primarily made up of darker, and cooler, colors. They’re all very eye-catching, which makes me think they’re quite important. My favorite thing about the cover art is definitely the birds, though.

What do you like about the cover? Have you or do you plan on reading Starling House? What did you think of it if you have?

Thank you to everyone so much for reading, and I hope you have a majestic and tasteful day/night!

See ya ~Mar