InstaReview: My Lady Jane

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[Caption] ✨Take history🇬🇧, magic and just a bit of comedy, and you’ve got the formula for My Lady Jane. Written by three authors – Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows – the story is told from three different perspective – King Edward, Lady Jane and Lord Gifford (call him G🐎). There are shapeshifters (Eðians), a dastardly plot, a jealous older sister, a lot of blueberries, a trip to France🇫🇷, quite a few misunderstandings, a tad too much of Edward’s perspective, but at its core, a love story.

It sounds like a lot, and it is a rather long book, but it went by surprisingly fast. In addition to the layer of fantasy, it takes a lot of liberties with the actual storyline of Lady Jane Grey and of King Edward. 👑

On a whole, it’s highly comical. The most endearing part of the story is the relationship between Lady Jane and G, I wish I knew who wrote their perspectives because I’d go out and buy their novels right away – especially G’s!

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✨Take history🇬🇧, magic and just a bit of comedy, and you've got the formula for My Lady Jane. Written by three authors – Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows – the story is told from three different perspective – King Edward, Lady Jane and Lord Gifford (call him G🐎). There are shapeshifters (Eðians), a dastardly plot, a jealous older sister, a lot of blueberries, a trip to France🇫🇷, quite a few misunderstandings, a tad too much of Edward's perspective, but at its core, a love story. It sounds like a lot, and it is a rather long book, but it went by surprisingly fast. In addition to the layer of fantasy, it takes a lot of liberties with the actual storyline of Lady Jane Grey and of King Edward. 👑 On a whole, it's highly comical. The most endearing part of the story is the relationship between Lady Jane and G, I wish I knew who wrote their perspectives because I'd go out and buy their novels right away – especially G's! #bookstagram #books #bookish #booksofinstagram #instabook #booklover #bookworm #igreads #ilovebooks #bookaholic #readingaddict #bibliophile #instaread #reader #reading #read #readingaddict #bookphotography #bookphoto #instareview #bookreview #bookrecommendation #amreading #myladyjane #CynthiaHand #BrodiAshton #JodMeadows #youngadult #historicalfiction #ladyjanegrey #fantasy

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A Year of Owl Crate

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Last year, I thought to try out a few book boxes because I wanted some good books to read. This month marks one year since I started Owl Crate.

Owl Crate sends a book a month in addition to a few bookish items. It’s introduced me to some wonderful new authors and bookish products, and it’s something to look out for every month.

It’s introduced me to a lovely tea shop – Adagio Teas – and the Wonderland Elixir tea blend from Riddle’s Tea Shoppe.

Great bookish jewellery – the Sleeping Beauty bracelet from The Geeky Cauldron fits in nicely with my Alex and Ani selection.

Lovely smelling candles with bookish themes.

And book page flags – which, I use all the time! I love these.

But one of my favourite boxes was this special print jacket of Heartless! I know it’s just white while the original is black, but there’s something gorgeous about this cover.

I’m really pleased with this subscription, and all the hard work the folks over at Owl Crate put into creating each one. An entire year of Owl Crate and I’m definitely looking forward to the second one.

~*~

 

InstaReview: Dream On

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The second book in the Silver Trilogy by Kerstin Gier, Dream On, continues with the dream travels of Liv and her new friends.

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From the author of my one of my favourite time-travel series, Dream On (book two in her Dream series) is a different type of travel – dream travel. Continuing from the first book, (spoilers ahead!) Liv spends time in the dreams learning to manipulate her surroundings and self with Henry. This book is a little bit sinister mystery -who's sharing Liv's personal life with Secrecy, and why is her sister sleepwalking into dangerous situations? It's also got that cheeky humour that I'm beginning to notice as Kerstin Gier's style. It keeps you tuned in and turning the pages (especially towards the end). However, it does leave quite a few loose ends which I'm assuming will be wrapped up in book three. Loved the idea of dream sharing, and very curious to see it all tied together in the last installment. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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[Caption] From the author of my one of my favourite time-travel series, Dream On (book two in her Dream series) is a different type of travel – dream travel.
Continuing from the first book, (spoilers ahead!) Liv spends time in the dreams learning to manipulate her surroundings and self with Henry. This book is a little bit sinister mystery -who’s sharing Liv’s personal life with Secrecy, and why is her sister sleepwalking into dangerous situations? It’s also got that cheeky humour that I’m beginning to notice as Kerstin Gier’s style.
It keeps you tuned in and turning the pages (especially towards the end). However, it does leave quite a few loose ends which I’m assuming will be wrapped up in book three. Loved the idea of dream sharing, and very curious to see it all tied together in the last installment. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

Philly – A Weekend

Posted in Bookish, Cultured, Gallery, Vacations by

There was a part of me that assumed I couldn’t travel on my own, and it was that part of me that I wanted to challenge. Travelling with friends is fun – as long as you and the friends are compatible travelling companions, and I’m lucky to have some good friends that are great travel buddies. Still, I wondered what it would be like to set my own pace, to wake up at 11 am and spend three hours wandering a museum or sitting in a park reading a newly purchased book from the local bookstore, simply because I fancied doing so at the time. So, when I was started feeling a deep desire to spend time alone, I took a random weekend trip to Philadelphia.

I had to set goals, I wanted to see two places of interest, the Liberty Bell and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and I wanted to visit at least one local bookstore – if I purchase something, that would be a plus!

After arriving by Amtrak on Friday afternoon, making my way to my Airbnb for the weekend (in the heart of the city!) and finding some cheesesteak at Reading Terminal Market, I decided to map out my weekend. The next day I’d try to visit the Liberty Bell and take a walk across town to the museum, then the following day it would be bookstores and shops. Continue reading →

InstaReview: Heartstone

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You’ve got your dragons, sassy heroine and dashing hero; but layer that on top of Pride and Prejudice and set it in an alternative historical time and you’ve got quite a fantastic novel.

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If you like good retellings, Pride and Prejudice, and dragons, then you'll enjoy Heartstone by Elle Katharine White. Overlaying the well-known plot is a story of Riders and their dragons🐲 (or wyverns🐉, or other mythical creatures) who defend the country from Tekari (mythical creatures who don't care much for humans). There is a lot of history there, and while I do love a good retelling, I did wonder what would have happened if the story veered just a little, and expanded outside the scope of the P&P plot. The politics could have been intriguing, and the dragon training and bonding could have made for an exciting read. However, keeping to the limits of P&P I'm pleased with the direction the book takes. Aliza is as witty and intelligent as Elizabeth, and Daired just as caring under a snooty exterior as Darcy. The addition of the dragons did add another dynamic to the story and Akarra turned out to be my favourite characters. 🐲 I would have loved to see a bit more regarding the change in character of Daired – we definitely saw a good deal in Aliza, more than we did in the original P&P books. I'd like to know more about the hobgoblins in the garden of a certain stately house and the mysterious Pan. About Carlyle and what happened to him. And how Mari could know certain things about these creatures, but the fighters didn't. I suppose White could have gone on building the world and expanding, but that might have made for a much longer book, so perhaps that was a good choice to keep it concise. However, I hope there are more stories set in this world. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ . . #bookstagram #books #bookish #booksofinstagram #instabook #booklover #bookworm #igreads #ilovebooks #bookaholic #readingaddict #bibliophile #instaread #reader #reading #read #amreading #review #igreviews #bookreview #ellekatharinewhite #heartstone #dragons #highfantasy #fantasy #janeausten #prideandprejudice #harpervoyager

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[Caption] If you like good retellings, Pride and Prejudice, and dragons, then you’ll enjoy Heartstone by Elle Katharine White.

Overlaying the well-known plot is a story of Riders and their dragons🐲 (or wyverns🐉, or other mythical creatures) who defend the country from Tekari (mythical creatures who don’t care much for humans). There is a lot of history there, and while I do love a good retelling, I did wonder what would have happened if the story veered just a little, and expanded outside the scope of the P&P plot. The politics could have been intriguing, and the dragon training and bonding could have made for an exciting read.

However, keeping to the limits of P&P I’m pleased with the direction the book takes. Aliza is as witty and intelligent as Elizabeth, and Daired just as caring under a snooty exterior as Darcy. The addition of the dragons did add another dynamic to the story and Akarra turned out to be my favourite characters. 🐲

I would have loved to see a bit more regarding the change in character of Daired – we definitely saw a good deal in Aliza, more than we did in the original P&P books. I’d like to know more about the hobgoblins in the garden of a certain stately house and the mysterious Pan. About Carlyle and what happened to him. And how Mari could know certain things about these creatures, but the fighters didn’t. I suppose White could have gone on building the world and expanding, but that might have made for a much longer book, so perhaps that was a good choice to keep it concise. However, I hope there are more stories set in this world. ⭐⭐⭐⭐