Earl Grey Books

Let me tell you, it feels good to finally get this post out. I’ve been working on this since October and as usual, I’d planned to do more but then decided I should just get this out. So here they are, and let’s get into them.

Shadowghast (The Legends of Eerie-on-Sea #3) by Thomas Taylor

With every book, this series just solidifies itself more and more as one of my favourite middle-grade series ever. These are just so much fun. I also read this at the perfect time as it takes place in the lead up to Halloween which was exactly when I happened to be reading it. Even though we were in Spring here, I still appreciated the creepy, Autumnal vibes. I also liked that this one is a little different with the creature not being a sea monster. These are set in a seaside town so it makes sense that so much revolves around the sea, but it was still nice to see something a little different. I still have a deep love for Herbie and his reluctance to get involved in any adventures even though he keeps getting pulled into them.

If The Sun Never Sets (If Love #2) by Ana Huang

Let’s just get it out of the way by saying I had major regrets about not flicking back through book one before picking this up. It’s been almost a year since I read it and so I spent a lot of this book being like ‘cool, glad you’re referencing that thing that I cannot remember’ or ‘who the hell are you again?’ That’s entirely on me. Even though I can’t remember it exactly, I think I had a similar experience with the first book—I enjoyed the start, the build up etc. and then around the 60% mark, I just get really bored. Farrah and Blake are just constantly going back and forth with ‘he broke my heart, but I love him!’ and ‘I’m not good enough for her, I ruin everything I touch but I love her!’ and that got old really quick. Honestly, when that started happening, I kind of didn’t want them to sort things out—there’s a time when you just need to stop away from situations and both Farrah and Blake should’ve stepped away long ago. Ignoring how much Farrah and Blake suck as a couple, this isn’t a bad book. I’m a little more excited for book three because at least it’s a different couple and we’re not going to cycle through the same things again (or at least I hope not).

The Secrets In Shadow and Blood (Fae Guardians #4) by Lana Pecherczyk

I was so excited to get into the vampire trilogy of Fae Guardians. I’d loved seeing glimpses of them in the previous Wolf trilogy and the whole series is a definite favourite of mine. Unfortunately, I think this is my least favourite of the series so far. The whole series is pretty dark, but this one felt like it had an extra level. Both Violet and Indigo are pretty intense characters and their relationship definitely has some dark moments too. I don’t really like darker romances so I think that’s why this book just didn’t work for me as much as the previous three did. Even though this wasn’t a favourite, I do like how it moved the series forward and I’m really interested to see where the rest of this vampire trilogy will go and the rest of the series from there. I’m a little nervous for Haze’s story in the next book, but SUPER excited to get around to Shade because I’ve heard amazing things about that one.

Wildfire (Maple Hills #2) by Hannah Grace

After finally reading Icebreaker in June, this immediately got bumped to the top of my TBR. I loved the idea of a romance set in a summer camp, though my personal experience at a summer camp was horrendous and traumatic, I had high hopes for this. Let’s just get it out of the way right at the start—I don’t think this is as good as Icebreaker. I adored Russ but Aurora kind of rubbed me the wrong way at times. At times, she felt a bit cliched as this supposedly messed up person but like everyone thinks she’s gorgeous. She did have her good moments so it wasn’t like I completely hated her, but she’s not a favourite either. I was a little disappointed in the camp aspect—I felt like it was just there to make the setting different and it didn’t really affect the story as much as I would have expected. I do still love the way Hannah Grace writes about all the different relationships in this series—I love the super supportive and found family aspect of the team. I especially love JJ and Henry, I cannot wait for them to have books of their own. I also think Hannah Grace is good at tackling difficult subjects—she doesn’t sugarcoat anything but she doesn’t overdramatise either. I’m excited to see what the rest of the series will bring.

The Man Who Died Twice (Thursday Murder Club #2) by Richard Osman

I am so glad I finally picked up this series in 2023 because it’s been an absolute joy to read. This one really held up as a sequel and I hope the rest of the series will to. The best thing about these are obviously the characters—I especially love Joyce and Elizabeth, but I also really love the friendship between Ibrahim and Ron. The cast of supporting characters are fantastic too. I also love how multilayered the crimes are and how well Osman ties everything together—there is so much that happens in here and yet it just all comes together at the end without feeling too perfect. I’m so excited for book three even though I’m looking at another 11 week wait from my library—I know it’ll be worth it.

Have you read any of these? What series have you been reading lately?