Book Reviews

Review: The Switch by Beth O’Leary

BethRose

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5 out of 5 stars

Goodreads  | Get it here!

Review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley. Review was written in December of 2019 and may not reflect the final product. 

May, for me, is Chick Lit/Rom Com month. It’s the one month of the year that I go nutso for some good fun Romance novels and try to devour as many as possible. One title I came across was Beth O’Leary’s* debut novel, the Flatshare. It was adorable and heartfelt and everything I could want in a very English Rom Com. It was the absolute contender for my “Cutest Book of 2019” and unlikely to ever find a worthy opponent.
… I think you can see where this is going. The Switch by Beth O’Leary is every bit as adorable, heartfelt and lovable as The Flatshare is, and then some. It is far and away the cutest book for 2019 – and it hasn’t even been officially published yet so it could even get the 2020 title too!

So anyway I tweeted Beth O’Leary and now she knows how cute her book is. Because obviously I’m an authority on such things. 

But what is it about, you ask – besides all the best and most wonderful things a book should be?

Continue reading “Review: The Switch by Beth O’Leary” →

Book Reviews, Fantasy

Review: Night Spinner by Addie Thorley

BethRose

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4 out of 5 stars

Goodreads  | Get it here!

Review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley. Review was written in November of 2019 and may not reflect the final product. But I sure hope it does.

I know how it feels to lose everything. I know how it feels to be terrified and unsure. But I also know how it feels to be remade, to cloak yourself in steel and wash yourself in fire and refuse to be trampled. To stand and say ‘I am not what they make of me, but what I make of me.’

Enebish is the monster people use to scare children. She was once an elite warrior of the Empire, drawing on the darkness and stars with her Goddess-given powers to help expand their borders. But one unforgivable act – one lapse in control – and her powers make a monster of her. Disfigured and scarred from the horrific incident two years ago, Enebish is sequestered away in a distant monastery whiling away her punishment sneaking out of her rooms at night and training the King’s own falcon. And so her life goes, shunned by the monks tasked with her imprisonment and with only a heretical acolyte and the King’s falcon to call friends. Far from Enebish and beyond the monastery’s walls trouble is brewing in the Empire. Goha, Enebish’s sister and Right Hand of the King comes to her with a entente – capture the notorious rebel Temujin and her crimes will be forgive. People will no longer fear her and she can retake her place at her sister’s side. And all it will cost is one Rebel faction. Tracking down the charismatic rebel leader across the empire proves to be a worthy task for redemption, but coming face to face with the brutalities of war may be Enebish’s greatest challenge yet.

Continue reading “Review: Night Spinner by Addie Thorley” →

Book Reviews

Review: Bone Crier’s Moon by Kathryn Purdie

BethRose

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5 out of 5 Stars

Goodreads | Order it here!

Review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss. Review was written on the 16th of August 2019 and may not reflect the final product. But I sure hope it does.

 

Believe every story you hear.

 

They say Bone Criers can be found – breathtaking in white – playing their bone-flute song on the night of the full moon. They are the downfall of any man who witness them for surely they will not be able to resist their siren song and will die in the arms of a Bone Crier. Bastion’s own father was lost to him at the hands and song of a Bone Crier. Since that long past moon-lit night, Bastion has sworn to find and hunt down the women in white so no other child loses their father. And so he waits on the bridge on a moonlit night, as the legends dictate, for the creature to appear. 

Ailesse, heir to the Bone Crier’s matriarch, is preparing for her right of passage. The Bone Crier’s sacred duty can only be undertaken after a great sacrifice – the luring and murder of their amouré – their soulmate. Once a Bone Crier and her amouré complete the ritual dance under moonlight, the Crier has a year to kill him or else they are both taken by the Gods. Always needing prove herself to her clan, Ailesse is never one to do things half way. Of course she’s going to pick a bridge in full view from the city. And of course the Gods have chosen a handsome yet troubled young man with a vendetta against the creatures who murdered his father. Things get…complicated. Meanwhile Ailesse’s young partner in crime – Sabine – tries to reconcile her distaste for killing with her legacy as a Bone Crier. For the Bone Crier’s solemn duty is one of sacrifice and blood, and Sabine has no taste for blood.

I assure you this lengthy summary was needed and wasn’t in an effort to relive the book high Bone Crier’s Moon gave me.

Continue reading “Review: Bone Crier’s Moon by Kathryn Purdie” →

Book Reviews

Re-Branding!

BethRose

You may have noticed something a little different about my blog. Or my social medias. After some thought I’ve decided to change the branding of this blog from Beth Rose Read (a bad pun thought up on the spur of the moment) to Nocturne Books. 

Twitter

Instagram

The name came from a few places – I’ve always loved the sharp soft feel of it, and the way it so perfectly captures the idea of a dark night or a deep twilight. The song Nocturne, originally by Secret Garden and beautifully covered by Celtic Woman was also an inspiration. And let’s not forget it’s wonderfully magic connotations thanks to the Harry Potter series. For me it really encompasses everything deep and magical – just the thing I want to explore on this blog.

Also the domain was available 😅

Though if you were a fan of the OG blog, rest assured that the content will continue to be of questionable quality, even if the aesthetics improve.

Much love and happy reading!

nocturne logoi

Book Reviews, Fantasy, Unboxing

Fairy Loot Unboxing: July & August 2019

BethRose

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What’s this? July and August at the same time?

Did she forget to post one? Has there been some kind of space/time anomaly?

Well, no. Not exactly.

As it happens, an item going missing from a FairyLoot HQ warehouse (?) caused the July box to be extremely late, arriving only a couple of days before my August one. The themes for the July and August boxes are Magic in the City and Things are Not What They Seem, respectively. These boxes were perfect examples of a box I loved and a box I hated – can you guess which is which? The answer will probably (not) shock you!

Continue reading “Fairy Loot Unboxing: July & August 2019” →

Book Reviews, Fantasy

Review: Thorn by Intisar Khanani

BethRose

Image result for thorn intisar khanani

3.5 out of 5 stars

Goodreads | Get it here!

“Should I run so far that I reach the sea, I should not have run far enough, for the thing I run from rides on my back and in my blood and will not be shaken.” 

Review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss.

Mistreated by her cruel family and mocked in court, Princess Alyrra has always felt more comfortable in her palace’s kitchen or riding free on horseback. Longing to escape her lonely existence Alyrra accepts the politically motivated marriage proposal of a price from a far off land. Though she has never met her prince his delegates have shown her more respect and loyalty than her own people. Alyrra sets off across the lands full of hope, seeking a better life, only to have a great and fearful sorceress steal her identity and title from her, casting her out as a servant. This unexpected freedom gives Alyrra opportunity to start a new life as the palace Goose Girl, a life in which she finds real joy, love, and contentment. A stark contrast from her life as a princess. But not all is well in her new home. The dark sorceress has great and deadly plans for the prince’s bloodline and only Alyrra can stand against her and make things right. But at what cost?

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Fantasy, Unboxing

Fairy Loot Unboxing: Broody Banter, June 2019

BethRose
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June’s offerings. Or at least most of them.

Oh boy it’s already June! My job has been so busy lately that I haven’t had a chance to sit back and review something for quite a while now. In fact, the last review I did was for the May FairyLoot box! I’m currently on a two week break from work and spending my time catching up on sleep and visiting my grandparents in the north of the state. Unfortunately I don’t have my usual equipment/backgrounds but I’ve managed to make do with my grandparent’s blooming garden providing a nice green backdrop. That being said, some of my photos might be a bit all over the place brightness wise but that’s what you get when the sun is your lighting for a photo shoot!

Let’s dive into this month’s FairyLoot offering!

Continue reading “Fairy Loot Unboxing: Broody Banter, June 2019” →

Book Reviews, Fantasy

Review: A Treason of Thorns by Laura E. Weymouth

BethRose

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2.5 out of 5 Stars

Get it here | Goodreads

I am a Caretaker, and a good Caretaker puts her House first. Before king. Before Country. Before her life an her heart.

Review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss.

Seven years in exile after her father’s act of treason have left Violet Sterling bitter and longing to return to her ancestral home, Burleigh House. A sprawling grand country estate, Burleigh is no ordinary home – it is one of the remaining five Great Houses of England. Filled with magic and bound to the King, the Great Houses are responsible for the prosperity of their county. Vi’s father was Burleigh’s Caretaker, entrusted by the King with Burleigh’s key and tasked with mitigating the House’s magic. Vi loves Burleigh more than anything else, and Burleigh loves Vi. Seven years of separation, the toll from years without a Caretaker and a new danger from the Crown has threatened their bond. With time running out and the walls of Burleigh falling, Violet has to decide if she can put her House before her own life and heart – as a good Caretaker should – or if she can find her own way.

Continue reading “Review: A Treason of Thorns by Laura E. Weymouth” →