I’ve got FOUR new articles for you! | 11.02.2024
Four new articles including three huge book reviews and a round up!
👋 Hello
You’re back again are ya? Well, hello! Thank you for returning to read my initial ramblings on my reading, blogging and personal life and then a look back at the articles I’ve posted recently, an update on the books I’m reading and then finally some great books.
This week I’ve been absolutely ploughing through the articles whilst also trying to keep my TikTok regularly fed and my other social media channels regularly engaged with. I feel like there’s a GIF for this.
👨🏻💻 Latest on the website
Over the past week, as you’ll have seen me mention just a few times already, I’ve managed to write and upload four new articles. I’m not sure where I’ve found the time, but I did!
The first article I posted was a slightly revised version of the usual article I do at the end of every month on which articles did the best from my whole blog each month and they did, so this is that now!
The other three articles were reviews of Of Darkness and Light by Ryan Cahill, the second book in the brilliant The Bound and the Broken series; White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky which I read after seeing someone online saying it as the definition of love and then Golden Son by Pierce Brown which is the second book in the Red Rising saga but which let me down a little bit, despite still being an enjoyable book.
Read all of these articles below along with what I read this week and a list of some great book deals I’ve found recently right at the end!
✍️ What I’ve posted this week
What were my five most-read articles throughout January 2024
Some interesting articles on here. Nearly all of my traffic comes from Google at this point so that’s why a lot of these articles are older. Google has to learn to trust your website (using consistent posts, regular views, regular content and some consistent high-level of SEO).
I can’t say there are any surprises on here when it comes to the popular articles – Harry Potter is a very popular medium, the Atomic Habits book by James Clear was very popular and To Kill A Mockingbird is considered one of the greatest novels of all time.
Of Darkness and Light by Ryan Cahill book review
Of Darkness and Light is a success of a sequel in every sense of the word: bigger story, bigger plot, bigger consequences, more characters, wider world and ultimately a grander book. I really enjoyed Of Blood and Fire and Of Darkness and Light is the perfect sequel. It’s kept me interested in the world, I’m still enjoying the characters and am looking forward to wherever Cahill takes us next. If you’re a fantasy fan and were apprehensive about starting Cahill’s The Bound and the Broken series, you can rest assured his first book wasn’t a fluke, this is a genuinely exciting fantasy author we should all be paying attention to.
White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky book review
White Nights isn’t the most romantic novel I’ve ever read but it does do an extremely impressive job of expressing all of the moments you experience during love in such a short number of pages! Its ability to make you feel the joys, the turbulence and the heartbreak of love all in around 90 pages is very impressive. The writing is top-tier and at times can require quite a high level of concentration to stay immersed but it all equates to a book that manages to depict emotions you wouldn’t necessarily know how else to articulate in so few words. White Nights is short and sweet but it’s special.
Golden Son by Pierce Brown book review
Golden Son didn’t blow my mind or build on the series quite like I hoped, however, it was great fun and just as good as the first one, giving a final third that really picked up the action, the emotions and my general enjoyment of the book too. The dialogue is once again, superb and makes for characters that you build real opinions of. If you enjoyed Red Rising, you’ll almost definitely enjoy Golden Son but I just honestly didn’t find it as exponentially better as the rest of the internet seemed to think it was.
📖 What I’ve been reading this week
Golden Son by Pierce Brown
As you can see, I finished this this week. It was a great read and a mostly enjoyable time but I just felt like I was expecting something a bit more with all the hype that has been built around it.
As I said in my review though, if you enjoyed Red Rising, you’ll definitely enjoy Golden Son too.
The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey
This is still my physical read and the comes out on Thursday! I’m really hoping to find time to finish this over the next few days but I have a couple of hundred pages left and I am not a quick enough reader nor do I have enough time where I think this will be doable.
Either way - really enjoying it and I think things are really starting to ramp up too which has me excited!
The Housemaid’s Secret by Freida McFadden
I was a huge fan of The Housemaid and it even featured in my top ten books of the year list last year (being the only thriller to do so). So when I saw more people raving about its sequel and then popped to The Works in my local city and saw it as part of a 3 for £6 deal, I knew I had to pick it up.
I started it and finished it in about 48 hours and absolutely loved it. it didn’t quite get me like the first book did but I can solidly say I’m invested in the series and a huge fan of Freida McFadden now.
Slow Horses by Mick Herron
I’ve been meaning to pick up Slow Horses for quite some time, so when I saw it as part of the deal in The Works that I mentioned above, I knew I had to pick it up.
I’m about a third of the way through the book right now and honestly, I’m quite enjoying it. There’s a slight comedic undertone to it but there’s also a genuinely interesting story brewing.
I’m not sure Herron’s writing is really clicking with me yet but I feel like it’s something I’ll get used to eventually.
📚 Book deal
Back with some more book deals.
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