2025

Goodreads Monday is now hosted by Budget Tales Book Club. All you have to do is show off a book from your TBR that you’re looking forward to reading.

Happy Monday Everyone!

I hope everyone has had a good start to the week. I have had a busy day of teaching but I have also been enjoying Wimbledon on TV.

My chosen book to feature this week is one that has been sat on my Kindle for a couple of years. I remember buying it for a holiday but not getting around to reading it.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

In the early 1900s, a young woman embarks on a fantastical journey of self-discovery after finding a mysterious book in this captivating and lyrical debut.

In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place.

Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

The Weekly Brief

Hello!

I hope everyone is having a good weekend so far. I have had a good week of reading and blogging this week.

Blog Posts

Currently Reading

This is my first Miss Marple book and so far I am really enjoying it.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Mid Year Freak Out Tag 2025

Hello!

I haven’t taken part in this Tag since 2021 so I thought it was high time I took part again. I haven’t read as many books as I usually have by this time of the year but hopefully I will have some good answers.

The Mid Year Freak Out tag was co-created by Ely @ Earl Grey Books and Chami @ Read Like Wildfire.

What is the best book that you’ve read so far in 2025?

I just can’t choose between these two as they have definitely been my favourite reads of 2025 so far.

What has been your favourite sequel of the first half of the year?

This is the only sequel I have read this year so far so it is definitely my favourite. Review

Is there a new release that you haven’t read yet but you’re really excited to?

I had this preordered but as per usual it has been sat on my TBR pile since it arrived. I am planning on reading it this year though.

What is your most anticipated release for the second half of the year?

I have had this preordered for ages and I can’t wait for the release.

What is your biggest disappointment so far?

I was really excited to read this but I was really disappointed with it.

What is your biggest surprise so far?

I downloaded this book in 2018 when I fist got my Kindle and it was a 99p purchase. It has sat on there ever since but this year I decided to give it a read and I will be honest I wasn’t expecting much but I was absolutely hooked. I downloaded book 2 straight away.

Favourite book to movie adaptation this year?

Haven’t seen any sadly.

What is the prettiest book cover so far this year?

I loved the cover of this book and the pictures inside.

Who is your new favourite character?

My favourite new character that I have discovered this year is Paige Mahoney.

A book that made you happy?

I was so happy to reread this book. It made me laugh so much.

A book that made you cry?

Haven’t had one so far this year.

What are your anticipated reads for the second half of 2025?

These are definitely the two books I am most looking forward to in the second half of this year.

If you have taken part in the Mid Year Freak Out please drop me a link and I will head over for a visit.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Friday Poetry: Sheenagh Pugh

Happy Friday!

I hope everyone has had a good day. I am really looking forward to the weekend.

My chosen poem this week is by the British poet, novelist and translator who writes in English, Sheenagh Pugh (1950).

What If This Road

What if this road, that has held no surprises
these many years, decided not to go
home after all; what if it could turn
left or right with no more ado
than a kite-tail? What if its tarry skin
were like a long, supple bolt of cloth,
that is shaken and rolled out, and takes
a new shape from the contours beneath?
And if it chose to lay itself down
in a new way, around a blind corner,
across hills you must climb without knowing
what's on the other side, who would not hanker
to be going, at all risks? Who wants to know
a story's end, or where a road will go?

Sheenagh Pugh

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

20 Books of Summer 2025 – Update

Hello!

One of the things I love about this challenge is that you can substitute certain books. I have made the decision to substitute some of the books on my list because I can’t find them! I have a lot of books in piles and a lot of books in boxes because I am still trying to sort out my library and now I can’t find certain books I had planned to read. I know I own them, I just can’t find them! You can find my original list here.

So here is my new list:

Medea by Rosie Hewlett
Hera by Jennifer Saint
~~Vertigo by G. S. Jennsen~~
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
~~The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas~~
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Solaris by Stanislaw Lem
The Royal Game by Anne O’Brien
The Last Song of Penelope by Claire North
Lessons by Ian McEwan
Lady Catherine and the real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnarvon
The Princes in the Tower by Philippa Langley
~~The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie~~
The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal
The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon
~~The Shadow King by Harry Sidebottom~~

Hopefully I will manage to read these over the summer.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

WWW Wednesday: 26/6/2025

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

The rules are answer the questions below and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you will read next?

Hello!

I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I am managing loads of reading this week which is lovely.

What I am Currently Reading

I am flying through this and really enjoying it so far.

What I have Recently Finished Reading

I finished The Three Musketeers and I am really missing those wonderful friends. I needed a quick read whilst I was at school so I managed to finish the next short story in the Far Reaches series. Reviews to follow soon.

What I Think I will Read Next

As usual I have no idea what I will read next but I think one of these is a strong contender.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Mid Week Quote: Walt Disney

Hello!

My chosen quote today is by Walt Disney (1901-1966) who created the wonderful Mickey Mouse amongst other fantastic characters.

“Fantasy, if it’s really convincing, can’t become dated, for the simple reason that it represents a flight into a dimension that lies beyond the reach of time.”

Walt Disney

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Falling Bodies by Rebecca Roanhorse (Review)

Falling Bodies by Rebecca Roanhorse

Blurb

A young man caught between two disparate worlds searches for his place in the universe in a wrenching short story by New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Roanhorse.

Light-years from home, it’s Ira’s second chance. Just another anonymous student at a space station university. Not the orphan whose Earther heritage was erased. Not some social experiment put on display by his adoptive father. Not the criminal recruited by the human rebels. But when Ira’s loyalties clash once again, two wars break one on the ground and one within himself. Which will Ira stand with? Which will take him down?

Rebecca Roanhorse’s Falling Bodies is part of The Far Reaches, a collection of science-fiction stories that stretch the imagination and open the heart. They can be read or listened to in one sitting.

Review

This is the first story I have read by Rebecca Roanhorse and I was not disappointed. The story focuses on Ira. Ira’s is a sad tale, he is a human orphan who was adopted as a social experiment which means he grew up in a life of privilege but with this privilege he lost all his Earther history.

In this story humans are not the dominant species and they are trying to find ways to fight back. Humanity has been conquered and yes they are allowed to live but their history, their culture is being obliterated. This short story shows a small snippet of humanity fighting back.

This little story of just 35 pages really packed quite a punch and I really enjoyed it even if I would have preferred a different ending. I give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons and I will be definitely looking out for more books by Roanhorse in the future.

🐲🐲🐲🐲

About the author

Rebecca Roanhorse is a New York Times bestselling and Nebula, Hugo, and Locus Award-winning speculative fiction writer. She has published multiple award-winning short stories and novels, including two novels in The Sixth World Series, Star Wars: Resistance Reborn, Race to the Sun for the Rick Riordan imprint, and the epic fantasy trilogy Between Earth and Sky. She has also written for Marvel Comics and games and for television, including FX’s A Murder at the End of the World, and the Marvel series Echo for Disney+. She has had her own work optioned by Amazon Studios, Netflix, and AMC Studios.

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Goodreads Monday: 23/6/2025

Goodreads Monday is now hosted by Budget Tales Book Club. All you have to do is show off a book from your TBR that you’re looking forward to reading.

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone has had a good start to the week. I have been going through my book trolleys to see what books I have on them that I have forgotten about and I found this one lurking at the back. I might pop this one on to my Summer TBR pile.

Dirty Little Secrets by Jo Spain

Death stalked the Vale. In every corner, every whisper. They just didn’t know it yet. Six neighbours, six secrets, six reasons to want Olive Collins dead. In the exclusive gated community of Withered Vale, people’s lives appear as perfect as their beautifully manicured lawns. Money, success, privilege – the residents have it all. Life is good. There’s just one problem. Olive Collins’ dead body has been rotting inside number four for the last three months. Her neighbours say they’re shocked at the discovery but nobody thought to check on her when she vanished from sight. The police start to ask questions and the seemingly flawless facade begins to crack. Because, when it comes to Olive’s neighbours, it seems each of them has something to hide, something to lose and everything to gain from her death.

Happy Reading