I am a solid fan of Cogman’s The Invisible Library series – see my reviews of The Invisible Library, The Masked City, The Secret Chapter, The Dark Archive, The Lost Plot and The Untold Story. So I was delighted to get hold of first book in this intriguing series, Scarlet, and was blown away by it. I’ve been looking forward to getting hold of this one ever since. BLURB: Revolutionary France is full of blood and bite as vampires plot for power. Eleanor, once a lowly English maid, is now a member of the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, known for their daring deeds and rescuing aristocrat vampir ..read more

This is part of the weekly meme over at the Caffeinated Reviewer, where book bloggers can share the books they’ve read and share what they have got up to during the last week. It’s been a frustrating week, which is a shame because it’s also been half-term. I haven’t been very well – running a slight temperature with sore sinuses, occasional stabbing pains in the head and backache. Nothing major – but once again, I ended up in bed too tired to do anything else but read or listen to audiobooks. I’m now up and about, but still feeling very washed out. And rather depressed that my energy levels ..read more

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. This week’s Can’t-Wait offering: Elusive – Book 2 of The Scarlet Revolution series by Genevieve Cogman – release date 23rd May 2024 #historical fantasy adventure #feisty heroine #vampires BLURB: Revolutionary France is full of blood and bite as vampires plot for power. Eleanor, once a lowly English maid, is n ..read more

This is part of the weekly meme over at the Caffeinated Reviewer, where book bloggers can share the books they’ve read and share what they have got up to during the last week. It’s been a much better week. For starters, the weather has been much kinder, so I was able to go for a walk along the beach on Tuesday morning after the school run. That’s where this week’s photos come from. That last pic is of the barbeque area – the Council have left off cropping the grass and it’s currently smothered in daisy blossoms… I’ve been battling a really low mood, however. My lovely sister-in-law popped d ..read more

This is part of the weekly meme over at the Caffeinated Reviewer, where book bloggers can share the books they’ve read and share what they have got up to during the last week. It’s been a good week. On Monday afternoon, I was able to attend the monthly Swanbourne Poets meeting. As ever, it was a thoroughly enjoyable occasion. The quality of the poetry is impressive, as most of those who attend are published poets and it’s a joy to listen to their latest work. I’ve had sufficient energy this week to start properly contributing to household chores, like regularly cleaning the bathroom and doi ..read more

I thoroughly enjoy magical school/college adventures and had heard from book bloggers I respect that Gibson’s debut novel is awesome. So when this one popped up, I decided to give it a go. BLURB: Deep in the forgotten hills of Massachusetts stands Saint Perpetua’s College. Isolated and ancient, it is not a place for timid girls. Here, secrets are currency, ambition is lifeblood, and strange ceremonies welcome students into the fold. On her first day of class, Laura Sheridan is thrust into an intense academic rivalry with the beautiful and enigmatic Carmilla. Together, they are drawn into the ..read more

This is part of the weekly meme over at the Caffeinated Reviewer, where book bloggers can share the books they’ve read and share what they have got up to during the last week. If it’s appropriate, wishing you and yours a very happy Mothers Day. We are celebrating by getting together as a family at my youngest sister’s house. It will be lovely to see everyone again in happier circumstances. And it’s been a much better week. For starters, we’ve had several sunny days in a row so not only were we able to put washing on the line – it was a pleasure to open the curtains in the morning. It’s meant ..read more

This is part of the weekly meme over at the Caffeinated Reviewer, where book bloggers can share the books and blogs they have written. It’s been another very quiet week, as I continue to work towards recovering from Long Covid. There have been some developments, but I will talk about those in more detail next week. A major breakthrough is that I am now able to consistently edit my work, which is a huge deal as it gets me back in touch with my writing again. It’s been a joy to be able to spend time with Castellan, my dragon protagonist, as I’ve been going through Flame and Blame and tightening ..read more

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. This week’s Can’t-Wait offering – Scarlet – Book 1 of the Scarlet series by Genevieve Cogman – release date 11th May, 2023 #historical fantasy adventure #feisty heroine #French Revolution setting #vampires BLURB: It is 1793 and the French Revolution is in full swing. Vampires—usually rich and aristocratic—have ..read more

This is my fortnightly update on how I’m doing while coping with Long Covid now it’s been 9 months since I first got ill, which I’m adding to my Sunday Post blog, hosted by Kimberly at Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s been a rough couple of weeks. My energy levels have plummeted, meaning that I am now once again spending much of the day in bed. Getting up and showering feels like a huge mountain to climb and there are days when I simply cannot do it. The night-time sweats have also returned and as my inner ear is still draining, my tinnitus is very loud – which means I’m struggling to sleep at nigh ..read more