Earl Grey Books

At the end of July, I put together a post in which I analysed my book-buying stats for 2023 so far. In doing that post, I realised I’d done a really bad job of actually reading the things I’d bought and decided to do something about that. So, from the 3rd to the 10th of August, I decided to try to focus on mostly reading books I’ve bought this year. So, let’s talk about how I did.

The Librarian of Crooked Lane (The Glass Library #1) by C.J Archer

I put this one of my August TBR and ended up finishing before the post even went up, which felt a little bit like cheating but also really good? I bought this one at RARE in April and was happy to finally get around to it. I really liked the setting of this one—it’s set just after WWI and there are some really interesting plot moments and tidbits about how society was changing in that moment. I did expect this to have more to do with the library, but it’s actually more about art and artists than books. I study Art History, so I still loved that but I was definitely expecting something different. I liked the mix of the mystery and the magic side, but I do feel like the mystery was the central focus and so the only parts of the magic system we saw were around that. There are a lot of loose ends there. I enjoyed the characters—Sylvia and Gabe are both interesting, but I think I’ll have to wait for the next book to see how they develop.

Sticks and Stone by Grace McGinty

I also put this one on my August TBR, and it’s one that I picked up from BABE in June. I’ve met Grace three times now and she’s one of the nicest authors I’ve ever met, so I figured it was about time I actually read something from her. I knew this was going to be intense, even though it’s an ice hockey romance, but I wasn’t quite expecting the level that it is. Nova and her three men have all been through a lot—some of it is really dark and upsetting, but on the whole, it’s a fun read. Rigby is definitely my favourite—he’s the cute golden retriever hockey player that brings them all together, and I love him for it. I think my main issue was that it started to drag a little towards the end, and some stuff probably could’ve been cut. But all in all, I had a fun time reading it and I’m excited to move onto Grace’s other books.

A Dead and Stormy Night (Nevermore Bookshop Mysteries #1) by Steffanie Holmes

I guess I was in a mystery mood because I ended up picking this one next. This was also from BABE, but I read about 50% of it a few months back. I remembered most of what had happened so it made this a really quick read. I’m reading a lot of books around books/libraries at the moment as well, and so I really enjoyed that aspect. I really like what we’ve learnt about the bookshop and the mysteries surrounding it so far, I’m excited to see that continue in the next book. I like the characters too—Morrie and Quoth are my favourites, though for very different reasons. I’m less fussed about Heathcliff, but I never liked the original Heathcliff either so no real surprises there. I’m interested to see how the characters are going to develop and the kinds of mysteries that will come with the rest of the series.

Lullaby Scars (Warriors of the Five Realms #0.5) by Hollee Mands

This was another one that I picked up from RARE. I’d been wanting to start the series ever since but just didn’t have the time until now. This is a 230-page novella so it’s a pretty good introduction into the world. There’s still a lot that’s unexplained but there was enough to keep me interested in reading the rest of the series. I really, really liked both Killian and Mailin as characters so I hope that we’ll get to see them pop up in the later books as well. From the little hints we saw of Declan (one of the leads for book one), I think the rest of the series is going to be a bit of a wild ride, but I’m so excited to continue.

To Bleed A Crystal Bloom (Crystal Bloom #1) by Sarah A. Parker

I didn’t end up finishing this one before the 10th, but I wanted to quickly mention it. I made it about 50 pages in but realised it was one I really wanted to take my time with instead. I have two other books I need to finish up for other posts before I swing back around to this one but I’m excited to continue it.

While I’d hoped to get to more, it still felt pretty good to take four books off my TBR so I’d consider this a success. I think I’ll try and repeat something like this in November or December too.