Month: September 2019

Recent Reads: The Poppy Wars and The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????


As so rarely happens, I found The Poppy War on Kindle Daily Deals on Amazon, and bought it, and then a couple of days later, I found out the second book was on NetGalley, and then I knew it was meant to be!

The Poppy War is set in a world where some people can channel gods, which is very useful in fighting wars!  These people are known as shamens, and the Empress is one of the most famous shamens still alive.

Rin is a teenager from Rooster Province when she decides that she doesn’t want to marry the man her guardians have found for her, that might also help their business, and instead she studies for the exceedingly hard exams to get into Sinegard, which is the most elite military school.

There have been two Poppy Wars before, and whilst the the Empire is peaceful now, there is the threat of war from the Federation of Mugen.  









The Dragon Republic is set when Rin has become a very powerful shamen, who channels the Phoenix god, who wants everything to burn.  She’s addicted to opium, and feels like she has no control over her powers, or the whispers of the god.  

They are at war, and Rin’s powers have proven themselves useful to the cause.  But Rin is now joining the Dragon Warlord, and wants to turn the Empire into a Republic, and kill the Empress who betrayed her country.

These are fantasy books, with characters addicted to drugs, who are trying to find their way through horrific acts, to find some kind of life. They are quite long books, each over 500 pages long, but they are telling a good story, and one that I want to know the end of!

The Poppy War was published on 1st May 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

The Dragon Republic was published on 8th August 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow R.F Kuang on Twitter, or through her website.

If you’re interested in fantasy books with the same feel, then here’s some others I’ve reviewed:

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to HarperCollins (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: The Island by Ragnar Jónasson

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

The Island by Ragnar Jónasson is set in Iceland.  Four friends go to an island, and one of them dies.  DI Hulda comes to investigate, and starts to find links to a previous death 10 years before.

This is a dark, descriptive book, with landscape that sounds so different, but beautiful.  It’s a good nordic noir, with liars and deception twisting the path to the truth.

I enjoyed the story, and learning more about DI Hulda.  There are hints about her life with her husband and daughter, and the grief of their deaths, along with that of her mother more recently.  

Interestingly, this is the second book in a trilogy about DI Hulda, with the first book, The Darkness, being set 10 years after this book.  Reading around, I’ve found that the trilogy is written in reverse time order.  I haven’t read The Darkness, but this is such an unusual idea!

The Island was published on 4th April 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Ragnar Jónasson through his website.

If you’re interested in nordic noir crime books, then here’s some others I’ve reviewed:
The Wolf and the Watchman by Niklas Natt och Dag
The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup


I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin UK – Michael Joseph (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: Run Away by Harlan Coben

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

Run Away by Harlan Coben is an action packed book, with twists and turns that lead you to think you know what’s happening.

We meet Simon Green, a father of a drug addict, who finds her looking far worse than she ever has before, and he blames one person only, the boyfriend.

People start dying, including the drug addict’s boyfriend, and that’s when Simon has to bring his daughter home, no matter what.

This is a great thriller, that sweeps you along on the ride.
Run Away was published on 8th August 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Harlen Coben on Twitter, or through his website.

If you like thrillers, then here are some more I’ve reviewed:

The Nowhere Child by Christian White  ?????
The End of the Line by Gray Williams  ???
What She Found in the Woods by Josephine Angelini ????


I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Pan Macmillan (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: The Tea Dragon Festival by Katie O’Neill

Posted on by Pam

My review: ?????

The Tea Dragon Festival by Katie O’Neill is a lovely graphic novel about Rinn, who is non-binary, trying to find her place in the world.  There are tea dragons (little dragons that live in the village, and everyone cares for them), and a large dragon, who can change into human form, but has been asleep a little longer than he planned.

The Tea Dragon Festival was great for it’s inclusivity.  There were characters speaking in American Sign Language only, some with both ASL and voice, and some just some.  This, along with the main character, Rinn being non-binary means it’s going to be a very out of the ordinary book, which will make some children (and adults!) feel noticed.

This is the second in the Tea Dragon series, but you don’t feel like you’re missing out on information when reading it.

The art in this book is lovely!  It’s such a beautiful, relaxing read that I would recommend it to everyone!

The Tea Dragon Festival is to be published on 17th September 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Katie O’Neill on Twitter, or through her website.


I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Oni Press (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal is about a group of people who are thrown together in the search for a book.  

Zafira, a young woman who dsiguises herself as a man in order to hunt for the food so desperately needed by her village.  Deen, Zafira’s best friend, and also in love with her. Nasir, the prince who is also an assassin, and who doesn’t care about his own life.  Altair, who forever teases Nasir about his decisions.  

We Hunt the Flame is a fantasy book, set in another world, where magic has disappeared, and this book is meant to return magic.

It’s a YA fantasy novel, which does mean that you get a lot of introspection, but this didn’t take away from the book for me.  I enjoyed the journey and the characters, and as this is the first book in the series, I look forward to the next one.

We Hunt the Flame was published on 8th August 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Hafsah Faizal on Twitter, or through her website.

If you’re interested in fantasy book, then here’s some others I’ve reviewed:

The End of the Line ???
Brotherhood of Shades ???
Once Upon a River ?????
The Bear and the Nightingale and the Girl in the Tower ?????
Spinning Silver ?????
Ragnarok Unwound ????
The Salt Roads ????
Midnight Crossroad ????
California Bones ?????

And there’s more reviews if you click Fantasy in the labels!


I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Pan Macmillan (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll

Posted on by Pam


My review: ????

The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll is from the inventor of the bullet journal system, and so it goes into the background of how he came up with the system in the first place.  

It’s a really interesting read, and tells you about how it’s evolved with Ryder Carroll, and then when he let it loose into the world, how it’s evolved with others.

If you’re new to bullet journalling, then this has a very good way of setting you up, and giving you insight into why certain things are done.


I’ve been a fan of bullet journals for a while now, and so consider this post one in a series on bullet journals and other organising tools.

The Bullet Journal Method was published on 23rd October 2018,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Ryder Carroll on Twitter, or through his website.


I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to HarperCollins UK (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: Three Women by Lisa Taddeo

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

Three Women by Lisa Taddeo is about three very different women, each with their own problems to do with sex, and is a work of non fiction.

Lina is married to a man who doesn’t want to touch her.  Sloane is married to a man who likes to watch others touching her.  Maggie is a young woman who realises that the relationship she had with a teacher was actually very different to what she thought it was at the time.


These three women have told their lives to Lisa Taddeo, and so these events are recounted to us with what was said word for word, action for action.  As no one has perfect recall, some of this must have had imagination used, but used to put you in that time and place very effectively.

This is a strong, emotional and upsetting book in places, but a powerful one, that shows these women finding themselves, and understanding their own history a little more.  I did enjoy the book, but it is one of those that comes with trigger warnings!

Three Women was published on 9th July 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Lisa Taddeo on Twitter, or through her website.


I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Bloomsbury Circus (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: The Art of Love: The Romantic and Explosive Stories Behind Art’s Greatest Couples by Kate Bryan and illustrations by Asli Yazan

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

The Art of Love by Kate Bryan and illustrated by Asli Yazan gives brief overviews of artists relationships and of their art.  There are illustrations by Asli Yazan throughout, to give you an idea of the art produced by these artists.

I think of this type of book as coffee table book.  It’s there to dip in and out of, to admire how attractive it is, and to educate you a little in something new.

I found myself often googling pictures of the art as there are typically 2 illustrations per couple, and sometimes I wanted to see the real thing!

I don’t know a lot about art, and this was a great introduction to a lot of artists, and giving you a little more to understand about them, and the context of their relationship and their art.

It is a lovely book, and feels like a good starting point if you want more information about these artists!

The Art of Love was published on 2nd July 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Kate Bryan on Instagram, or through her website.

You can follow Asli Yazan through her website.

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Quatro Publishing (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!