2020/12/31
2020/12/28
BOOK HAUL:
DECEMBER
S P O N S O R E D : O N E B O O K S E N T B Y P U B L I S H E R
I N C L U D E S A F F I L I A T E L I N K S
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We've made it to the end of the year, folks! I hope you've all had a good month (despite the circumstances); I've had a super busy month with work and I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty tired out and I can't wait for the new year to start so we can put 2020 behind us.
As usual though, the last book haul of the year is sizeable, as I not only got a bunch of books myself, I also got some for Christmas, which is very exciting!
( a f f i l i a t e l i n k s + b o o k m a r k e d * s e n t b y p u b l i s h e r )
Hope you're all having a lovely day and that you're enjoying the last days of this year in whatever way you can!
2020/12/24
2020/12/23
2020/12/21
2020/12/20
2020/12/18
2020/12/17
2020/12/16
BOOK REVIEW:
THE LINE BETWEEN BY TOSCA LEE
I N C L U D E S A F F I L I A T E L I N K S
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Title: The Line BetweenAuthor: Tosca Lee
Published: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 384
Rating: 2/5
This is the first book in The Line Between series.
Summary:
A young woman is turned out of a doomsday cult, a cult she grew up in, being taught the world is about to end and as she tries to adjust to the outside world, a mysterious deadly disease starts spreading throughout the world.
Review:
I had pretty high hopes for this book and unfortunately, I'm left a little bit disappointed; I think most of that comes down to personal preference and taste more than anything else though.
My favorite thing about this book was reading about the cult and I really like the concept of having someone leave a doomsday cult only to go out in the world and find the world is actually ending. It was interesting to see the characters try to unpack all of that.
I didn't love the writing in here though; there isn't necessarily anything wrong with it, but I just wanted more. I think the characters are OK, but could've been better and I think I overall just wanted this to dig a little deeper, it felt very surface-level to me most of the time.
So sadly, this didn't really do it for me!
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
You can read more about it on Goodreads
2020/12/15
2020/12/14
BOOK REVIEW:
JUNGLE OF STONE BY WILLIAM CARLSEN
I N C L U D E S A F F I L I A T E L I N K S
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Title: Jungle of Stone: The Extraordinary Journey of John L. Stephens and Frederick Catherwood, and the Discovery of the Lost Civilization of the MayaAuthor: William Carlsen
Published: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 544
Rating: 3/5
Summary:
This is the biography of Stephens and Catherwood who went into the unmapped jungle of Central America in 1839 and discovered ruins belonging to the lost civilization of the Maya.
Review:
I love books like these; stories of adventure and exploration, of history and ancient cultures and the parts of this book that are about that, I adored. However, there is a lot else in this book as well that I maybe didn't find as interesting.
The story of these two men is fascinating and I really enjoyed getting to know them. I loved following their journey and the story of when they discovered these incredible ruins is magnificent. Catherwood was an illustrator and his remarkable illustrations are scattered throughout the book, and the precision in which they were done is incredibly impressive. I really felt the magic of having trekked into a brutal jungle to find this magic, lost place in there.
If the book had focused only on this part of the story, I would've given this book five stars. I think the writing style is really good and I like the tone of the book. My main issue with this was how much other stuff was included in this though; I was mainly interested in the Mayans, their history, the ruins, the mens discovery and what it meant, and so when the book goes into great detail about what feels like every single other thing we come across in this timeline, I felt myself growing a bit bored and impatient to get back to what I was most interested in.
Because of that, it took me a while to read this book and the reading experience ended up being a little jagged as I felt like kept getting stuck in less interesting parts. It made the book feel longer than necessary and lessened my enjoyment a bit. I think the good parts in here are fantastic, but everything in between much less so. 
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
You can read more about it on Goodreads
2020/12/13
2020/12/12
CHRISTMAS CLASSIC:
THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
I N C L U D E S A F F I L I A T E L I N K S
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The lovely The Night Before Christmas by Nikolai Gogol.
2020/12/11
2020/12/10
2020/12/09
2020/12/08
2020/12/07
BOOK REVIEW:
THE SPY AND THE TRAITOR BY BEN MACINTYRE
I N C L U D E S A F F I L I A T E L I N K S
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Title: The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold WarAuthor: Ben Macintyre
Published: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 370
Rating: 5/5
Summary:
This is the true story of one KGB agent who grew up in the Soviet Union and grew to see his nation's communism as corrupt and criminal, and therefore decided to become a double agent for the British, supplying them with information of what life was really like behind the Iron Curtain, a job culminating in being called back to Moscow and having to escape his own country.
Review:
Wow, this book was fantastic!
I had pretty high hopes for this one and it really came through; this was fascinating, well written and riveting. I had expected excitement too, but this was absolutely nerve-wracking towards the end and I was on the edge of my seat, biting my nails in anticipation for how it was all going to turn out. It's rare that I get this sucked into a nonfiction book, but this one got me.
I don't think I've ever truly thought about how interesting this part of history really is and I felt like this really brought us back in time and gave us an idea of what life was like in the 70's and 80's in both Britain and the Soviet Union and how incredibly tense the Cold War got at times. There's also something fantastic in getting to peek into the secret world of espionage and the lives of spies.
I thought this whole book was fascinating and I enjoyed every single page, but I really was surprised by how absolutely thrilling it got at the end. If you're going to read this, I would not recommend starting the final part unless you know you'll have time to finish it, because you will not want to put it down.
Overall, one of the absolute best nonfiction books I've read this year and maybe even of the most exciting ones I've ever encountered. Really educational and fun, which is the best combination. 
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
You can read more about it on Goodreads
2020/12/05
CHRISTMAS CLASSIC:
A MERRY CHRISTMAS & OTHER CHRISTMAS STORIES
I N C L U D E S A F F I L I A T E L I N K S
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2020/12/04
2020/12/03
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