It's been nearly a month, but I've finally reached the end of Carlos Ruiz Zafรณn's Cemetery of Forgotten Books series! Following The Shadow of the Wind, The Angel's Game, and The Prisoner of Heaven, the series closes with The Labyrinth of the Spirits. At over 800 pages, this is not only the longest book in... Continue Reading →
For the past few weeks I've been working my way through the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series by the lateย Carlos Ruiz Zafรณn. Followingย The Shadow of the Wind andย The Angelโs Game, the third novel is The Prisoner of Heaven. In contrast to the other books in the series, this one is fairly short, at only 278... Continue Reading →
I'm currently in the midst of reading Carlos Ruiz Zafรณn's Cemetery of Forgotten Books series. Following my reread of his beloved The Shadow of the Wind, I've now just finished the second book in the series, The Angel's Game. While it has much in common with the first book, The Angel's Game is also wholly... Continue Reading →
I first read Carlos Ruiz Zafรณn's The Shadow of the Wind four years ago. At the time, it felt like one of the most magical, immersive stories I'd ever read. It wasn't until a couple of years later that I found out it was the first in a series, and my mom was kind enough... Continue Reading →
I've devoted the past couple of weeks to reading Asian fantasies. Following Song of the Crimson Flower and The Night Tiger, my trilogy ends with The Library of Legends by Janie Chang. Published earlier this year, I discovered it when it was announced as a Book of the Month selection in April. Its magical description... Continue Reading →
A few years ago, I read Yangsze Choo's first novel, The Ghost Bride, and adored it. So when her second book, The Night Tiger, came out, I was excited to get my hands on it. It ended up being one of my first purchases from Book of the Month after I joined in January 2019,... Continue Reading →
It's only in the past year or so that I've reintroduced YA novels back into my life, and I'm so glad I have. It's opened the doors to so many amazing books! One YA book I picked up early in my rediscovery process was Song of the Crimson Flower by Julie C. Dao, which I... Continue Reading →
I recently joined a book club with my sister, and I'm so glad I did. In my second month, it's already introduced me to an incredible novel that I hadn't heard of before: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. My sister picked this one, and I flew through it in... Continue Reading →
A couple of years ago, I picked up Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton. She's released two more books in this series since then, and has already announced another due next spring, and I knew it was time to finally settle in and give this novel my attention. That this month (from September 15... Continue Reading →
Last year, I read and loved Evie Dunmore's debut novel, Bringing Down the Duke, the first in her A League of Extraordinary Women series. I could hardly wait for the second book to come out, and I was thrilled when it was included as a Book of the Month pick for September. As soon as... Continue Reading →
A new book has been on my radar for the past few months: Transcendent Kingdom by Yaaa Gyasi. This upcoming release led me to want the author's first book, Homegoing, which was first published in 2016. While I thought about adding it to my bookshelves soon, fate stepped in to speed up the process: The... Continue Reading →
I'm ashamed to admit that when I first learned about Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust - upon becoming a July add-on for Book of the Month - it didn't immediately capture my interest. It looked like it could be good, but I wasn't sure if I'd take the time to find out. Thankfully, throughout... Continue Reading →
I was introduced to Silvia Moreno-Garcia through her 2019 novel, Gods of Jade and Shadow. I loved that book, and was thrilled to learn of her upcoming 2020 books, Untamed Shore and Mexican Gothic. The former came out in February, and now Mexican Gothic is available and already charting high on bestseller lists. My Book... Continue Reading →
One of my most anticipated books for Spring 2020 was The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. I was thrilled when it was a Book of the Month pick in June, and with the attention on #BlackLivesMatter and the need for antiracism gaining traction recently, now felt like the ideal time to read it. Summary The... Continue Reading →
Just a few weeks ago, I found out that I won an Advanced Reader's Edition of Her Last Flight by Beatriz Williams. This is the first physical book I've ever won from a giveaway on Goodreads - thank you, Goodreads, William Morrow, and HarperCollins! I finished Beatriz Williams's 2019 novel, The Golden Hour, right before beginning Her Last... Continue Reading →
It was almost exactly one year ago that I picked up the Book of the Month edition of The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams. I'd been wanting to read something by Beatriz Williams for a few months - all of her books look intriguing - and when it was a June pick on BOTM, I... Continue Reading →
Jessie Burton's The Miniaturist is one of those books that was on my radar for a long time before I finally got it. Its peculiar cover and intriguing title both caught my eye, and it went onto my long list of wanted books. Fast-forward five years, and I finally bought it as a gift for... Continue Reading →
Continuing in my reading journey through history, and following two books set in the early 1600s (The Familiars and The Mercies), my next book took me to Iceland in 1686. I first discovered Caroline Lea's The Glass Woman when I was perusing Barnes & Noble shortly before the holidays. I'd hoped to get it as... Continue Reading →
I have a goal for myself this year to travel more of the world through the books I read. I've read novels set in places as far apart as Ecuador, Nigeria, and Japan, but there are still so many countries I've never visited - in real life or even in my books. One day in... Continue Reading →
Three months ago, I was visiting my sister in Limerick, Ireland when we popped into a book store. (We actually went to several book stores during my visit; I have an obsession!) I decided I needed to get a book (or 10) as a souvenir, and the first one I chose was Stacey Halls' debut,... Continue Reading →
It was 2013 when I first learned about the infamous Elizabeth Bรกthory. My boyfriend (now husband) had introduced me to a Swedish metal band called Ghost, and their first album featured a song called "Elizabeth." I had no idea who the titular Elizabeth was, but then my boyfriend explained about the serial killer countess who... Continue Reading →
A week ago I finishedย Madeline Miller'sย Circe; immediately after, I dove right into The Silence of The Girls by Pat Barker. The two novels have much in common. Both were published in 2018, both were Book of the Month selections, and both center on famous figures from Greek mythology. More so than Circe, The Silence of... Continue Reading →
I remember when Madeline Miller's Circe first came out in April 2018. It was all over the bookstores and its shining cover drew me in. But it wasn't until January 2019 that I finally bought the book, signing up for Book of the Month to get it. Now, over a year after that purchase, I've... Continue Reading →
Amy Harmon's What the Wind Knows gently fluttered into my awareness last year when I saw it featured in some bookish email newsletters. But while the title and cover caught my eye, the summary catapulted it to the top of my to-buy list. There are three reasons... First: It's set in Ireland, and I have... Continue Reading →
Amanda's Book Corner 