2021/11/28

2021/11/25

BOOK HAUL:
NOVEMBER

 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 holiday season is just around the corner and November is coming to an end! Time always flies so fast this time of year, and I'm getting ready for the busiest time of year at work. I still got a bunch of books this month though, optimistically thinking I'll get to some of them before the end of 2021. We'll see though! If not, there's always next year. 













( a f f i l i a t e  l i n k s )
The Mummy Case by Elizabeth Peters

Hope you're all having a lovely day!
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2021/11/23

BOOK REVIEW:
THE HAUNTING OF ASHBURN HOUSE BY DARCY COATES

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 Haunting of Ashburn House
Author: Darcy Coates
Published: 2016
Language: English
Pages: 342
Rating: 3/5


Summary:
A woman moves into an infamous house on the outskirts of a little town, a house she has suddenly inherited from a family member she didn't know existed, but soon finds that there's definitely something off about the place and that somewhere, somehow, someone is watching her. 


Review:
This was quite a fun and spooky book, but it did take a while to really get going for me.

I think the premise of this book is really interesting, and I was very intrigued when I started this; we've got a main character who is sort of at the end of her wits and her only option is to move into this house with her cat (which I loved by the way), and as she's there, she finds out more about her family's past and everything that's happened in the house, all the while getting the sense that there's something wrong with the house. 

All of that is really interesting, but I felt like after the initial intriguing part, there was a lot in the middle here where I didn't feel as interested for some reason. It might have something to do with the characters, like they were fine, but probably not great and definitely not particularly memorable to me. I also think because we spend basically the entire book with just one character and she's not all that interesting, it gets a little bit boring.

It just felt very slow to me for a long time, but I kept going, and towards the end, things definitely picked up and got very exciting. I didn't know where the story was going, so I was surprised and intrigued and really enjoyed reading the last part. 

So it ended up being a bit of a mixed bag for me, but I did like the spooky parts, I liked the setting and the house and I was very sucked in towards the end (even if it took me forever to get there). 
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You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2021/11/20

BOOK REVIEW:
THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE BY SHIRLEY JACKSON

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 Haunting of Hill House
Author: Shirley Jackson
Published: 1959
Language: English
Pages: 246
Rating: 3/5


Summary:
Four strangers come together at an old house known as Hill House at the request of a doctor seeking solid evidence for paranormal phenomena. 


Review:
I quite liked this book, although at the end of it I felt a little underwhelmed, just like I did when I read We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Jackson.

My favorite thing about this book is definitely the house where everything takes place; I felt like I could really picture it and I could really feel how wrong the whole place felt. You get a true sense of how easy it is to get lost in the house; it's almost like its own character. There are several scenes where something decisively scary happens in the house, and I really liked those as well. 

I liked reading about the characters, even though I probably didn't feel a strong connection to any of them, or particularly liked them all that much. It was interesting to see how they fared throughout the book and as you read, you do question wether or not you can trust these people, or if they're really sane. 

I think I just expected this to be scarier and more exciting than I felt it was; sometimes I think the story meanders a bit and we go on tangents I didn't find particularly interesting. I'm glad I read this though, because the haunted house part of the story was excellent. 
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2021/11/19

2021/11/16

BOOK REVIEW:
A SECRET HISTORY OF WITCHES BY LOUISA MORGAN

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: A Secret History of Witches
Author: Louisa Morgan
Published: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 528
Rating: 3/5


Summary:
In this historical saga starting off in the early 1800's and ending with World War II, we follow five generations of witches, all born with extraordinary gifts which puts them in danger. 


Review:
I really, really enjoyed reading this book and felt thoroughly sucked into the story.

The book is split into five parts and in each one, we follow a woman from the same line of witches, each in their own time period. We follow mother and daughters across more than a hundred years, and I adored seeing the different women, some of which are more likeable than others, which in my book is a good thing. It was fascinating to see the relationships between mothers and daughters, and the passing on of the craft. It's a perfect blend of family saga and sorcery. 

The start of the book grabs you right away and is filled with magic, danger and great atmosphere, and I really liked the different settings we got to see. The first two parts were especially suspenseful, and I felt like the women really were in danger, being constantly hunted and having to hide. Unfortunately though, I felt like that suspense lessened as we went on; the book keeps telling us that the witches need to hide and that they're always at risk, but I didn't actually feel like they were, so it lost me a bit towards the end there.

I also think that some of the perspectives are too similar and now that I've had some space from the book, only a couple of them stand out to me. That being said, this was very entertaining, and like I said, I felt really sucked into the story. I do think the book is a tad too long, but I flew through it anyways, which doesn't always happen to me with longer books.

If you liked historical fiction stories about witches, this is definitely worth the read. 
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2021/11/13

BOOK REVIEW:
THE WITCHES OF NEW YORK BY AMI MCKAY

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 Witches of New York
Author: Ami McKay
Published: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 545
Rating: 4/5


Summary:
Set in New York in 1880, a young woman leaves her home for the big city and starts working for two witches in a very special teashop, and soon finds she herself has surprising abilities she never knew of, abilities some people find fascinating and others the work of the Devil. 


Review:
This was fantastic!

This is exactly the kind of historical fiction with witchcraft in it that I like; I loved the setting of New York in this and how electric it felt, I loved the little tea shop, I really enjoyed the different supernatural creatures we meet in here and just the magic itself was great, like both the witchcraft and the magical world, which is our world just with... supernatural stuff in it, which is my favorite. 

The characters in here were also wonderful, although it took be a bit of time to establish who was who in the beginning. Once I got to know them all though, I just loved reading about them, although some of the characters we meet are absolutely insane, because we don't just follow these witches, we also get to read from the perspectives of some of the people around them which was very interesting. I really enjoyed the exploration of the magic, but also the time, and how witchcraft of this time intersected and crashed with religion. 

This is like the perfect blend of historical fiction, the supernatural and wonderful female characters, and it was an excellent autumn read for me. It is also a bit on the longer side, but it didn't really bother me, I enjoyed pretty much every bit of it. 
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2021/11/12

2021/11/09

BOOK REVIEW:
THE RULES OF MAGIC BY ALICE HOFFMAN

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 Rules of Magic
Author: Alice Hoffman
Published: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 384
Rating: 4/5


Summary:
In this prequel to Practical Magic, we meet three Owens siblings in the 50's and 60's and follow their lives as they discover their magical powers and try to avoid the curse that's followed their family for centuries.


Review:
I adored this! I read Practical Magic last year and really enjoyed it, but I have to say, I enjoyed this one even more. 

This has a lot of the same things in it that I enjoyed in the first book; I loved reading about the Owens family, the curse, all of the magic and I love how both books explore sibling relationships and the experience of growing up and discovering yourself. In this one, I felt like everything was a bit more refined though; I thought the writing was a bit better, I loved the characters even more and we got to see loads more magic, which I absolutely loved.

I also really liked the time period this is set in and how the story explores these characters and their individual lives and struggles, but also takes a look at what was going on in the world at the time. I really felt transported into this history, but also into a magical world.

I'll definitely be reading this book again at some point, because I just love stories about witches set in our world and this is one of the best ones I've found!
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2021/11/05

2021/11/04

2021/11/02

BOOK REVIEW:
MISS BENSON'S BEETLE BY RACHEL JOYCE

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: Miss Benson's Beetle
Author: Rachel Joyce
Published: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 416
Rating: 5/5


Summary:
The year in 1950, and Margery Benson has a moment of clarity, realising she's unhappy with her life, and decides to set off on an expedition of finding an undiscovered beetle on the other side of the world, something she's dreamed of her whole life. To help her, she recruits an assistant, who turns out to not quite be the companion Margery had in mind, and together they end up risking everything to fulfil their dreams. 


Review:
What an absolute gem of a book!

I adore a story about female friendship, and this one is one of my favorite that I've read. I obviously went into this book thinking I was going to like it, but was surprised by how much I ended up loving it; I really loved getting to know the characters, seeing their past and their development throughout the story, and I loved the adventure they went on together. The two women in this book make quite a pair, and it was a delight to get to know them and read about them.

The story is funny, but surprised me with its depth. I loved how we get these two characters who are so different, but balance each other out, and how despite their differences (and maybe even because of them), they become friends. Their relationship isn't perfect, and neither are they, but that's what makes it interesting to read about. I loved the setting of this as well, and really felt myself transported as we went along.

The book also took a turn towards the end that I was not expecting, one that left me teary eyed on the couch and wanting to have a good cry (but in a good way). Again, the story really surprised me by how much it pulled me in, how much it made me care and by how it all ended. I could've spend hundreds more pages with these characters, and it's definitely one of my favorite books I've read this year. 
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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