Wrap Up: December 2021

Hello readers and welcome to the last wrap-up of 2021!

Have you received some books for Christmas? I have received from myself (XD) some new books, you can find them on my Instagram page.

Mid-December I finally hit my goal for the Goodreads challenge, and I’ve finished the year with a total of 135 books read.

In December I’ve read a total of 13 books, no DNF!

5 stars:

Finally, 3 books in a month have received 5 stars: The selkie scandal is a lovely prequel/spin-off to The Lady Jewel diviner series, where we can enjoy the company of Jaq and Lord Beresford, and his jam, of course; Caos sotto il vischio (The lady’s guide to mistletoe and mayhem) is a lovely historical romance set in Scotland, full of laughter, kisses and a happy ending; Santa Inc. was a surprise since it’s really underrated but is a perfect story for Christmas, full of hope and the magic of Christmas.

4 stars:

Another surprise this month was Grace’s ghost, a heartwarming story about a lonely girl who befriend the ghost of her town.

Snowspelled has a beautiful cover, an intelligent and strong female MC, elves and romance.

3 stars:

The case of the missing hippo and Tiny T.rex and the impossible hug are 2 children/middle-grade books that all children would love. Look how cute and colourful are the covers!

Champagne widows is a historical fiction about Veuve Cliquot, the widow who has “invented” and commercialized the brand of champagne Veuve Cliquot. Really interesting if you like champagne and French history.

2 stars:

Nessie and all the water “monsters” are my favorite cryptid, and that’s why By the silver water of Lake Champlain has received 2 stars and not only one, because the story is inconclusive.

The cover of Mrs. Claus and the Santaland Slayings is totally festive and Christmassy, but I didn’t like the treatment received by Mrs. Claus by her husband’s family. They’re all mean.

I really liked the middle part of Moo, but not the beginning or the ending.

1 star:

Hello, it’s always me, not liking a super loved and hyped book like A dowry of blood. But I love the cover.

The main reason for the 1-star rating of The legend of the pumpkin thief is that is printed very poorly, I can’t comprehend how they (book depository) can sell a book like this. It’s missing a word on the cover too!!

And that’s all, I wish all of you a Happy New Year, full of beautiful books and adventures, see you again in a couple of days with the best and the worst of 2021!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Hope Santa Brings/Bookish Wishes

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018.

Today the prompt is: Books I Hope Santa Brings/Bookish Wishes.

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Here’s my Amazon wish list: https://www.amazon.it/hz/wishlist/ls/2N9JR0QRE9HDE?ref_=wl_share

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it!

My Summer and Autumn TBR wrap up

Hello readers! Today I want to show you the TBR I made for summer and autumn (and I forgot to make one for winter) and see if I managed to read it all or not. Spoilers: obviously not.

Summer TBR:

Daughter of smoke and bone: read it, 2 stars for me.

Shadow on the lens: read it, beautiful cover, weak plot, only 1 star.

Notre Dame de Paris: still TBR

La verità sul caso Harry Quebert (The truth about Harry Quebert’s affair): read it in August! 2 stars.

Amelia Fang and the Half Moon Holiday: read it between summer and autumn, 5 stars!

Autumn TBR:

Giro di Vite (The turn of the screw): not read it yet.

Sensational: read it, not good as the first one, 2 stars.

The five: regrettably still on TBR.

Yesternight: read it, love the cover, but sadly it ended so bad. 1 star.

Shutter: it was perfect for Halloween, but I didn’t have time to read it!

In the end, I’ve read 6 books on ten, not bad but it could be better!

All the photos are from my Instagram account that you can find here or in the right column.

12 days of Christmas Book Tag

And On She Reads has made this beautiful tag and graphic (look how cute!!) for Christmas, and I decided to do it. All credit goes to her. I’ve tried to nominate only books I’ve read this year.

ON THE FIRST DAY OF CHRISTMAS, MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME: A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE.
The partridge stood alone in the pear tree. What is your favourite stand-alone?

My first read of 2021 was a stand-alone: Allowed to grow old tell us the story of farm animals free to live their lives without fear or pain, all of them allowed to grow old in peace.

ON THE SECOND DAY OF CHRISTMAS, MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME: TWO TURTLE DOVES.
Love is in the air! Who is your one true pairing?

Byron and Mira from Constantine Capers! I don’t read a lot of books with romance in it, it’s not my genre, but I really like if historical fiction has some romance. Byron suffers from amnesia, it’s painful and bittersweet to see him fall in love with Mira.

ON THE THIRD DAY OF CHRISTMAS, MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME: THREE FRENCH HENS.
In the spirit of threes, what is the best trilogy you have read?

This year I’ve read a lot of series with more than 3 books, or standalone! Ra the Mighty Cat Detective is the first of a trilogy I already own.

ON THE FOURTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME: FOUR CALLING BIRDS.
Since series usually consist of four or more books, what is your favorite series?

I’ve read a lot of new favorite series this year, but I think The Time Hunters was the one I enjoyed the most.

ON THE FIFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME: FIVE GOLDEN RINGS.
One ring to rule them all! Who is your favourite Villain/Antagonist?

The dragon from Guards!Guards! by Terry Pratchett!

ON THE SIXTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME: SIX GEESE A LAYING.
Creation is a beautiful thing. What is your favourite world/world-building?

Empire of ruins has the best world-building this year: a steampunk world, travel around the world (this volume is set in Australia), evil villains and spies.

ON THE SEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME: SEVEN SWANS A SWIMMING.
Who needs seven swans when all it takes is one good animal sidekick? Who’s your favourite animal sidekick?

Khepri is the beetle friend of Ra, the cat detective, so is an insect sidekick of a pet! But they are hilarious together!

ON THE EIGHTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME: EIGHT MAIDS A MILKING.
Milk is so 18th century. Which book or series takes beverages/food to a whole new level?

It’s impossible not to mention here the famous Beresford’s plum jam. Read this series, you won’t’ regret it!

ON THE NINTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME: NINE LADIES DANCING.
Dancing is just one skill of a Lady! Who is your favourite kickass female lead?

Lady Darby was my favorite, with her tragic past, painting skills, and Scottish setting. Love it.

ON THE TENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME: TEN LORDS A LEAPING.
How about your favourite leading lad?

Captain Redmond from the Redmond and Haze series is my fave, alongside Lord Beresford from The Lady Jewel Diviner. Redmond is an American heir of a fortune and a noble title in the UK with a tragic past and medical knowledge, together with Haze they made a great couple of detectives.

ON THE ELEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME: ELEVEN PIPES PIPING.
What is your favourite book or bookish thing with musical influence? (It can be about music, reference music a lot etc.)

I can’t think of a book with music in it! Maybe A ghost in the theatre, but I can’t remember!

ON THE TWELFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME: 12 DRUMMERS DRUMMING.
Drum roll please… what is your favourite read of this year?

Basically, all the books mentioned above are my favorite this year!

Feel free to consider yourself tagged if you liked it!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Winter 2021 To-read List

Hello readers! Maybe it’s too late to join the Top Ten Tuesday train, but here I am!

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018.

Today the prompt is: Books on my winter 2021 To-read list! Here are the lucky ones!

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Will be this the year that I finally read Hogfather?? I hope so!

How many books do you have on your winter TBR?? Tell me in the comments!

Wrap Up: November 2021

Hello readers! Sorry I’m late, I was really busy at work in the past days!

In November I read a total of 11 books, with 2 DNF. No five stars for me this month.

4 stars:

I’ve received an ARC of Marlon finds a way through Booksirens. It’s a lovely book about a cat who wants to befriend a bird, perfect to read to children!

Obviously, I love food, I love cooking, but I will never be able to do all the recipes in Mary Berry’s Christmas collection.

3 stars:

Can we agree that the cover of Three sisters in black is one of the most terrifying ever seen? An interesting book about a strange tragedy that happened a hundred years ago.

River of lies has a beautiful setting, a great diverse cast of characters, but unfortunately, I didn’t understand a lot of what happened, since it’s a novella strictly connected to the main volume. My fault, of course.

2 stars:

I’ve loved Spectacle, the first book in the duology, but Sensational isn’t good as the first one. The plot is slow, the characters aren’t connected as before, seems like the author was forced to write a second book.

I loved the premises of Yesternight, involving reincarnation and past lives, but the execution was poor and the ending was terrible, one of the worst endings I ever read.

As always, I’m here to give a famous and hyped book a poor rating. Home before dark was interesting in the parts written by the father of the MC, but the plot was so similar to The Haunting of Hill House (tv show).

1 star/DNF:

Half bad was the first I’ve DNF in November, together with Mrs. Perivale and the blue fire crystal. The first was written like Twitter, I couldn’t stand it; the second was interesting because the MC is an elderly lady (she’s dressed like Queen Elizabeth on the cover?) but it lost me after a couple of chapters.

Artemis (same title as original) was the second book by Andy Weir: I’ve loved so much The martian, it broke my heart to give this book only 1 star, but it was boring, unrealistic and Weir can’t write about a female MC.

I’ve received The Poe Predictament through Booksirens, but it wasn’t good. It involves a time travel to meet young Edgar Allan Poe and how he wrote all his horror stories, but it’s just weird and not historically accurate.

And that was my reading month, hope that December will bring me better books!

How was your month? Tell me in the comments!

GoodReads Monday #3

GoodReads Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Budget tales book blog. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off.

Welcome to Borley Rectory, the most haunted house in England.

The year is 1926 and Sarah Grey has landed herself an unlikely new job – personal assistant to Harry Price, London’s most infamous ghost hunter. Equal parts brilliant and charming, neurotic and manipulative, Harry has devoted his life to exposing the truth behind England’s many ‘false hauntings’, and never has he left a case unsolved, nor a fraud unexposed.

So when Harry and Sarah are invited to Borley Rectory – a house so haunted that objects frequently fly through the air unbidden, and locals avoid the grounds for fear of facing the spectral nun that walks there – they’re sure that this case will be just like any other. But when night falls and still no artifice can be found, the ghost hunters are forced to confront an uncomfortable possibility: the ghost of Borley Rectory may be real. And, if so, they’re about to make its most intimate acquaintance.

I love books about haunted houses!