“𝔚𝔦𝔱𝔠𝔥. 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔡 𝔰𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔬𝔲𝔱𝔥 𝔩𝔦𝔨𝔢 𝔞 𝔰𝔢𝔯𝔭𝔢𝔫𝔱, 𝔡𝔯𝔦𝔭𝔰 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔱𝔬𝔫𝔤𝔲𝔢 𝔞𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔠𝔨 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔟𝔩𝔞𝔠𝔨 𝔞𝔰 𝔱𝔞𝔯. 𝔚𝔢 𝔫𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔬𝔲𝔯𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔳𝔢𝔰 𝔞𝔰 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔠𝔥𝔢𝔰, 𝔪𝔶 𝔪𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔞𝔫𝔡 ℑ. 𝔉𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔞 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔡 𝔦𝔫𝔳𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔟𝔶 𝔪𝔢𝔫, 𝔞 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔟𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰 𝔭𝔬𝔴𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔴𝔥𝔬 𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔞𝔨 𝔦𝔱, 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔦𝔱 𝔡𝔢𝔰𝔠𝔯𝔦𝔟𝔢𝔰. 𝔄 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔟𝔲𝔦𝔩𝔡𝔰 𝔤𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔬𝔴𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔭𝔶𝔯𝔢𝔰, 𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔫𝔰 𝔟𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔴𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔫 𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔬 𝔠𝔬𝔯𝔭𝔰𝔢𝔰.”

Published: 02/02/23
Genre: Historical, fantasy
Page count: 381
Format read: 🎧 with a tiny bit of 📱
Other books read by this author: The short story 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 in 𝐎𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐡

The second I started this I was kicking myself for not having read it sooner. I was thrown headfirst into the worlds of Kate, Violet & Altha, three distant relatives living at different points in history. Altha is being tried as a witch in Lancaster in the 1600s, Violet growing up at a stately home in the 1940s, & Kate is trapped in an abusive relationship in 2019. 
Learning about the three women, watching their stories unfold across the different timelines & discovering their similarities & the ways in which they were linked was utterly captivating. I adored each of the women, but Violet, mother of beetles, has wormed her way thoroughly into my heart to become one of my favourite characters of all time.
A story of family, feminism, witchcraft, & revenge, 𝐖𝐞𝐲𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 is a rollercoaster of emotions & I loved every second of triumph, laughter, shock, sorrow, & pain. An utterly beautiful, utterly heartbreaking, utterly hopeful novel that I would recommend time & time again. 

“𝔚𝔢 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔪𝔞𝔨𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔧𝔬𝔨𝔢𝔰 𝔴𝔥𝔦𝔩𝔢 𝔲𝔫𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔞𝔨𝔞𝔟𝔩𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔰𝔢𝔡 𝔲𝔰 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔡𝔞𝔯𝔨. 𝔐𝔞𝔶𝔟𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱’𝔰 𝔴𝔥𝔶 𝔴𝔢 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔪𝔞𝔨𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔧𝔬𝔨𝔢𝔰.”

Published: 17/03/20

Genre: Horror

Page count: 416

Format read: 🎧

Other books read by this author: 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 & 𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 

I’ve loved everything I’ve read so far by T Kingfisher & 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐎𝐧𝐞𝐬 was no exception. Instantly engaging & intensely readable; I was hours deep before coming up for air, with no idea of how much time had passed. Kingfisher’s writing walks the perfect line between haunting & hilarious; you’ll be laughing out loud, but still wanting to switch all the lights on. The setting was mundane yet perfectly creepy (the Doll Room 👀), the pacing was just the right amount of drawn out with tons of foreshadowing, & the characters were memorable as hell; I loved narrator Mouse & her dog Bongo, Foxy & her fellow commune-dwellers, & Enid the goth barista. Overall, a fabulously frightening little novel that I fully recommend. 

“𝔚𝔥𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔰𝔬𝔟 𝔰𝔱𝔬𝔯𝔶 𝔰𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢, 𝔦𝔱’𝔰 𝔣𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔡 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔢𝔵𝔭𝔢𝔫𝔰𝔦𝔳𝔢 𝔡𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔠𝔲𝔯𝔯𝔶𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔰𝔢𝔯𝔳𝔞𝔫𝔱𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔤𝔬𝔟𝔩𝔢𝔱𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔠𝔯𝔶𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔩 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔤𝔬𝔩𝔡𝔢𝔫 𝔯𝔦𝔪𝔰. 𝔚𝔥𝔶 𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 ℑ 𝔭𝔦𝔱𝔶 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔭𝔞𝔦𝔫, 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝔰𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔢𝔢𝔭𝔰 𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔬 𝔭𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔬𝔴𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔬𝔰𝔱 𝔭𝔯𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔢 𝔰𝔦𝔩𝔨?”

Published: 24/06/25 (ARC)

Genre: Fantasy, YA, retelling

Page count: 400

Format read: 📱

Other books read by this author: None

A sapphic retelling of Swan Lake, 𝐀 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐬 is a story of bewitchment, blood, & betrayal. An easy (if you don’t worry too much about all the French pronunciations) & fun read, I fell for the characters much more than the plot, particularly Marie & Aimé, though there were some unexpected twists & turns that did keep me guessing. Overall, a compelling YA fantasy.

Thankyou to AB Poranek, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, & NetGalley for the ARC.

“𝔚𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔟𝔬𝔡𝔶, 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔬𝔫𝔩𝔶 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔱 𝔴𝔥𝔞𝔱'𝔰 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔩. 𝔈𝔳𝔢𝔫 𝔦𝔣 𝔦𝔱'𝔰 𝔩𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔭𝔯𝔢𝔱𝔱𝔶 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔰𝔱 𝔡𝔞𝔱𝔢 𝔰𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔨𝔩𝔢.”

Published: 28/05/24

Genre: Fantasy

Page count: 402

Format read: 🎧

Other books read by this author: None

Sorcerer David Aristarkhov enlists his ex-boyfriend Rhys & Rhys’s wife Moira to help him with a demon problem he’s been unable to handle alone, & feelings inevitably get complicated. 𝐄𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 was my first book by ST Gibson, & it definitely won’t be my last. I loved the writing, the setting, & the characters, each of the three completely different but complimenting one another. Moira was my absolute favourite, a goddess of a woman with patience & wisdom far beyond her years. I loved the shifting feelings & changing roles within the trio, & am looking forward to seeing what else is in store for them.

“𝔄𝔫𝔡 𝔶𝔢𝔱 𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔞𝔫𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔰𝔢𝔢𝔪 𝔱𝔬 𝔭𝔲𝔰𝔥 𝔒𝔭𝔞𝔩 𝔞𝔴𝔞𝔶. ℌ𝔦𝔰 𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔰 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔩𝔢𝔡 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔟𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔡𝔶 𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔬𝔣 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔥𝔞𝔦𝔯 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔥𝔢 𝔦𝔰 𝔨𝔦𝔰𝔰𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔥𝔦𝔪 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔞 𝔥𝔢𝔢𝔡𝔩𝔢𝔰𝔰, 𝔯𝔢𝔠𝔨𝔩𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔥𝔲𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯, 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔪𝔬𝔲𝔱𝔥 𝔩𝔦𝔨𝔢 𝔞 𝔪𝔞𝔱𝔠𝔥 𝔞𝔤𝔞𝔦𝔫𝔰𝔱 𝔥𝔦𝔰, 𝔟𝔲𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶 𝔡𝔞𝔯𝔨 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞𝔴𝔞𝔶. ℌ𝔢𝔯 𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔰 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔣𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔩𝔩𝔞𝔯 𝔬𝔣 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔰𝔥𝔦𝔯𝔱 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔥𝔢 𝔦𝔰 𝔰𝔬 𝔳𝔦𝔱𝔞𝔩, 𝔰𝔬 𝔣𝔲𝔯𝔦𝔬𝔲𝔰𝔩𝔶 𝔞𝔩𝔦𝔳𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔄𝔯𝔱𝔥𝔲𝔯 𝔲𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔯𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔰 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔰𝔱 𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢 𝔴𝔥𝔶 ℌ𝔞𝔡𝔢𝔰 𝔰𝔱𝔬𝔩𝔢 𝔓𝔢𝔯𝔰𝔢𝔭𝔥𝔬𝔫𝔢, 𝔴𝔥𝔶 𝔞 𝔪𝔞𝔫 𝔴𝔥𝔬 𝔥𝔞𝔰 𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔩𝔦𝔣𝔢 𝔦𝔫 𝔴𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔪𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔡𝔬 𝔞𝔫𝔶𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞𝔱 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔞 𝔱𝔞𝔰𝔱𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔰𝔭𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤.”

Published: 03/10/24
Genre: Gothic, fantasy 
Page count: 448
Format read: 📖
Other books read by this author: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐱 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭

Forgive this absolutely feral review, feel like I’m in a writing slump right now! A small mining town in the US with more bad luck than seems probable. A bad girl looking for a home & a bookish loner desperate to protect her from his. A house that comes to life, guarded by a flock of angry starlings & eldritch beasts that rise from the mist. A stunning novel exploring the power of imagination, the strength of longing, & what it means to be family. Stunning prose, vivid settings, immaculate vibes, & a plot that twists & turns like the tunnels into the mines. Just perfect, & I now need to go & read everything else Alix has ever written. Novels, short stories, shopping lists, you get the idea! 

“𝔓𝔢𝔯𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔰 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢 ℑ 𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔟𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔭𝔯𝔞𝔶𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔬 𝔞 𝔡𝔦𝔣𝔣𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔤𝔬𝔡, 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔰𝔪𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔤𝔯𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔰𝔭𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔲𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔯 𝔴𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔰𝔫𝔬𝔴, 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔟𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔠𝔥𝔢𝔰 𝔟𝔩𝔞𝔠𝔨 𝔥𝔞𝔦𝔯 𝔴𝔥𝔦𝔱𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔠𝔞𝔯𝔳𝔢𝔰 𝔡𝔢𝔢𝔭 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔨𝔩𝔢𝔰 𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔬 𝔰𝔨𝔦𝔫. 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔤𝔬𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔡𝔢𝔪𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔰 𝔥𝔲𝔪𝔞𝔫 𝔣𝔩𝔢𝔰𝔥, 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔰𝔭𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔡 𝔤𝔬𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔟𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔡 𝔬𝔯 𝔰𝔦𝔩𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔩𝔞𝔲𝔯𝔢𝔩 𝔠𝔯𝔬𝔴𝔫𝔰, 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔰𝔞𝔠𝔯𝔦𝔣𝔦𝔠𝔢.“

Published: 08/06/21
Genre: Fantasy, folklore
Page count: 417
Format read: 📱
Other books read by this author: None

I’ve had this book on my shelf for far too long & finally picked it up as part of my ongoing mission to make a dent in my TBR, & I’m not sure that I’ve ever been so invested in a story from the very first line. Everything about this book was wonderful, from the memorable characters & detailed world-building, to the utterly beautiful writing style. I adored the way that folklore & religion were intertwined with magic & with  language, both the old gods & the new existing through the power of stories. This is the first of Ava’s books that I’ve read & I can’t wait to devour everything else she has written & everything she has yet to write! 

“ℑ 𝔴𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔰𝔬𝔬𝔫𝔢𝔯 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔡𝔦𝔢𝔡 𝔞 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔰𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔡𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔥𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔫 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔭𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔬𝔫 𝔶𝔬𝔲.” “𝔜𝔬𝔲’𝔳𝔢 𝔭𝔲𝔱 𝔫𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔬𝔫 𝔪𝔢,” 𝔰𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔥𝔦𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔡, 𝔟𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞 𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔱𝔩𝔢 𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔦𝔢𝔯 𝔫𝔬𝔴 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔱𝔯𝔲𝔱𝔥 𝔬𝔣 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔄𝔯𝔦𝔰’𝔰 𝔞𝔯𝔯𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔬𝔭𝔢𝔫. “𝔓𝔢𝔯𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔰 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔶 𝔱𝔬 𝔡𝔦𝔢, 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔴𝔢 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔞 𝔪𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔩𝔦𝔣𝔢𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰, ℑ 𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔴𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔟𝔢 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔶 𝔱𝔬 𝔩𝔢𝔱 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔤𝔬.”

Published: 20/08/24
Genre: Gothic fantasy romance
Page count: 386
Format read: 📱
Other books read by this author: 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚, 𝐅𝐨𝐱𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞

I have adored this series, & 𝐖𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚 was my favourite of the three novels. Blythe is an absolute firecracker of a heroine, which when coupled with Aris’s wit & his flair for the dramatic, makes the bickering & banter between the two of them nothing short of hilarious. The way their relationship changes throughout the book is subtle & compelling, nudged along by the magic of Wisteria, Aris’s home, & the threads of fate that connect them. I love Blythe’s relationships with her father & cousin; her fierce loyalty to her family tested by her changing heart. I love the descriptions of Life’s powers & the garden; botanical body horror & creeping forest rot snaking their way amongst the illusion & grandeur of Fate’s magic & the writhing shadows of Death to create a romantic, gothic masterpiece.