Видео

Great wrap up 📚☕🍄🎃🍂🍁

I gave belladonna & foxglove 5 stars but I COMPLETELY agree with your perspective on her cutting blythe’s story too short. each couple deserved a trilogy of their own 😢 I ended up giving wisteria 3 stars because it was entirely too rushed. loved the first half, but I felt like the second half did a major disservice to the entire trilogy. i’m not sure if you’ve heard, but it’s been leaked that she’s doing a christmas novella in the same world that releases in october of next year!

I had a great reading month. Honestly, tempest of tea was the only bad book I read. I finished off the murderbot diaries. I Went through a stack of Manga that was piling up. They were all continuations of series that I get. And I read the goblin emperor which I gave 4 stars. I genuinely enjoyed it and the only real negative was that it had such a large cast and the character names were so difficult that I sometimes didn't know who Someone was even though I had read some of their back story earlier.

oh! I had recently added Under the Surface to my Library TBR List because I saw it the "New YA" section of the online catalog. I had never even heard of it before. I've found so many new books just through the "new" library pages, I love it! They have had some really good adult new arrivals too. (some are new releases and some are backlist)

I'm done with poorly written, woke books. I've canceled my Illumicrate subscription because of that. I've also unhauled 37 books; sold some, donated the rest.

I should have DNF’d this book. I need to get better at doing that! But I personally thought that We Hunt the Flame was boring to the point of being incomprehensible, where I read a hundred pages and was like NOTHING HAPPENED!!! This was no different. Even the heist was boring. I was told so much and shown nothing.

So I actually liked this book a decent bit, but I do agree with you on a lot as well 😂 I went and checked what I wrote because I read it months ago. But I wrote that Arthur was hard (honestly somewhat impossible) to connect to. I really didn’t feel connected to her at all. But I did end up liking the plot. And I think Matteo is the wolf is what I wrote? But I don’t remember it enough to remember why and no one else seems to think that 😂

There is no shame in DNFing a book! Life is to short to waste time on books you're not enjoying. I'm glad I didn't pick it up even though I was tempted too. It sounded really interesting but then I saw the reviews and decided not to bother with it.

Everytime I watch your book reviews/wrap-ups it solidifies that we have almost the exact same taste in books lol. I will now only be taking reading recs from Mrs. Kimberly 🫡

You are so naughty! My mouth dropped when you said you DNF'd it lol. It's ok though. If we hate a book then we should know when to throw in the towel. When this book was chosen I was glad because I have two copies of it (Owlcrate and Fairyloot) and put off reading due to the lower GoodReads rating. Of course I didn't read either book I own because I prefer audiobooks. My ADD is difficult to deal with and if I listen to a book I can still fuss around with other things like I need to. I can't sit still and I'm easily distracted. So, I went into this book thinking I might not like it, but because it was the book club pick I had to read it (well not really but it pushed me to) and if I read the physical book I may have hated it. The first half was long leading up to the heist which is supposed to be the main plot but it mixes 3 POV's and 4 characters. Laith was the character that initiated the heist and one of the men to throw a wrench in Arthie's hard shell she put up. It seems that Arthie was sort of the female version of Kaz Brekker in Six of Crows and instead of Greisha magic, it had vampires and half vampires. Finding out she was half vampire wasn't a surprise. I figured she was one not long into the book. One downside to this book is I think I figured out Matteo and his part in the plot that will happen in the next book. I did like it more than I thought I would which I figured I would hate it. My not so clever theory is I think that Arthie is the wolf and that is why Matteo knows so much about her because he is keeping tabs on her and that he created The Athereum and made Penn (Arthie's creator) manage it to make sure another massacre doesn't happen. Also, unbeknownst to Matteo he grew an attraction to Arthie while keeping close tabs on her that might grow in the next book. The story glossed over Penn which was a bit annoying as he seems to be a big part of Arthie's past, so if that doesn't get more detailed in book two I will be annoyed. I put a whole long write up on GoodReads about the book, the main characters, and the gist of it. I don't always put a ton of detail in my reviews (because I'm lazy) but I took the time to dissect a book characters and put it all down in there.

I’m going to be honest, and this might be TMI, but I have such bad fibromyalgia and back pain from a previous back break that I don’t read a lot of books anymore. There are a ton I want to read, and some I’ve started, but I don’t get much done. So I really appreciate the lazy book club. The fact I can go back and feel like I didn’t miss anything makes me happy. I just wanted to tell you that. 😊 I’m also going to look into the blanket you mentioned because I’m always hot but I like being under blankets (it does seem to comfort the pain a little), so that sounds like a great item to try. As for this book, I didn’t expect to like it from the synopsis, so I didn’t even try to read it. I generally don’t like vampire and other monster books, so I don’t think I missed anything, either. It’s too bad the book didn’t work for you, but it sounds like it’s not working for a lot of people. I hope you like her other books more, when you read them.

Have not read it yet, droping further down my tbr😬

Maybe it's a love it or hate it type of book...as I have heard such good things about it. And since both Fairyloot and OwlCrate chose this book...it has to be kind of good.... maybe? It's a bummer that you didn't like it. Thanks for sharing ❤

Oh my goodness-I hated the pacing and two-dimensional characters. I give it a two stars.

I hated this book i hated all the characters, none of them were likable. There was no ending. I did go in knowing I would probably not like it because it was a heist. And I don't like it when criminals are the protagonists. I was hoping it would prove me wrong. Instead it was my first 1 star book of the year. I did switch half way through to the audio book to get through it and I thought the narration was horrible too.

I dnf'd around the time they broke into the vampire head quarters, I realised I just didn't care what happened to these characters. I feel the same way about it making me want to go read six of crows because its a much better book. The who gun thing was so stupid, they first make you think 'oh it's not magical it's just a scam' and then it is magical? It only makes sense if they didn't know it was magical, but it doesn't seem like it would be hard to figure out. I also didn't like any of the Arthie love interest stuff

"I should have expected that a book that's written badly by her would also not be my cup of tea." Lovely unintended pun. 😂 17:05

I'm a bit sad you didn't like it, but that's okay. I still haven't finished but I'm enjoying it so far.

Kimberly, yes. I hate A Court of Silver Flames. I felt she just tried to ruin Rhysand and Feyre to make people like Cassian and Nesta more. I hate the angle she took with that book. If she doesn't fix the next one back, ACOTAR will be a 3.5 book series to me. I am not putting up with that trash. P.S. Still can't stand Nesta.

Thank you for your frank criticisms of this book. At first I thought the plot of this one might be something my wife would enjoy -- a breezy modern homage to Christie's masterpiece And Then There Were None, which we both thought was superb. So glad I didn't click before seeing your video. Hard pass! Negative reviews can be just as helpful as positive ones. Thx.

When i read the synopsis of Long live evil, i was like: please, be good :D. Idea sounds so cool and i will be sooo disappointed if it will just turn out to be mehhh book. I love that Mordor bowl. All that Lord of the rings bowl collection is just something i would buy if i saw it somewhere (online shop or anything). My husband is big fan of LotR books (I love the movies and aesthetic of fandom things, like those bowls... But books... i was bored and barely finished The hobbit. That book took me 6 months to read and it's not a very big book. It was just so boring for me. We had some dramatic discusions about it but we are still together :D:D:D) I hope that your puppy will feel better soon.

Great unboxings 📚🧋🎃🍁🍂🥧🍄

I actually really loved all of the OC books. 🫣 I loved the edges on all three. The pretty purple, the goose and the stain glass! I love the colors on castle of the cursed and t kingfisher...that sunset/galaxy color scheme. LOVE. And the printed hardcover on the spellshop! So cute!

I love the August OwlCrate book cover...the aesthetic goes with the story (I'm half way through the book). The dark end pages also are due to the story. Thanks for the unboxing!

I love Owlcrate book choices. But I usually dislike the artwork because it always looks young and cartoonish to me, which is not what I want on adult books!

Spellshop doesn't have any spice, I enjoyed it - 4 stars. The original cover fits the vibe of the book better, the Owlcrate cover and artwork was a miss for me. The Scholomance series is amazing.

Yay unboxing! Sorry for your 🐶 hope he gets better real fast.

love you, thank you. needed this video so much. feeling bummed...

The horse is a thing for that T. Kingfisher book so I get that choice and the digital edges.

Watching it really carefully, trying to avoid spoilers for Fairyloot's YA box, because I left my home like 30 before the postman came with the package, so I need to wait untill tomorrow :/ I've already seen the book, but I don't want to spoil myself the items (I kinda already did too - I read somewhere about socks and I think I saw a glimpse of the plate while trying to figure out where to skip in your video xd) [and yes, thankfully it wasn't a scam!] My August LL also just arrived, and I'm honestly a bit disappointed with the customisation (recolor of the regular cover; okay edges and okay endpapers. Not really worth the money in my opinion :( I know people complained about Moonstone, but Moonstone at least had an interesting idea and changed the cover a bit) Also Locked Library is opening a new Romantasy Subscription and they will ship to US and Canada too! ---- I'm also really annoyed with no warnings for the spice in books. I generally don't like romances, and spice is a big "no" (mostly because I'm religious, but also reading descriptions of s*x kinda disgusts me). I like all the covers for the Spellshop, but the hardcover the most. Inside art is okay, but it shares the problem I recently have with most special edition characters art - it feels like the characters don't belong to the scene; they're really flat, and not even anime-style flat. Just weird. I really want to get the Phoenix Keeper. I see it's available on their website, but I'm wondering if vinted wouldn't be a bit cheaper. I will see. I'm in love with how that book looks. My reading journal is just a random bigger sketchbook that I put book reviews into in a chaotic manner. "Children of blood and bone" is a really good book. Please try it! "Long Live Evil" looks cool. I've seen a lot of people complaining, but I love this type of covers - it feels a bit like '80 fantasy covers which is my absolutely favourite style. Same with "A Sorceress comes to call" - it looks like the old style and I just love it. (well, the horse looks a bit weird). + I think "A Sorceress..." is supposed to give these fairytale vibes. Kingfisher writes books using a lot of fairy tale themes (we even talked about these books on our uni fairy tales lectures). Oh im definitely getting that Owlcrate box as soon as it's available. Mordor bowl! (my first thoguht when you said about the LOTR marathon -> what about a live stream read together?). Aww, the pin is really cute. I love that pairing, despite not being a fan of the show. Sadly I skipped my book-only, because it renews on 1st's and I usually get my paycheck on 10th of each month, and I don't really have spare "fun" money for books before that (my own fault. too much other books). I think square spines are okay for really short books. Like, novellas. 200 pages. I like the edges of the book. Covers are disappointing, I agree. Hardcover is okay. Illumicrate: really cute bowls; the knife is cool. "mistress of lies" - I love how the hardcover looks. Pretty. --- I must disappoint you, but I'm soflty DNF-ing Belladonna. I will give it another chance at some point, but I can't read any more of it. --- Edit, the next day: I've gotten the Fairyloot box, and I love it! The socks are really cute; plate and mirror are nice. I love how the book looks.

Hope your puppy is doing better! Those are so pretty! The Scholomance series is one of my current favorites too. Not that I would have been able to grab them since they sell out so fast, but I didn't realize that FL had done a special edition of them. I do own the OC version of Deadly Education but they did not do books 2 and 3. :( The Spellshop is zero spice. It's a great cozy fantasy. Love the OC edition, though I don't have it. I do have the regular version which came with purple sprayed edges. It was such a great fun read! I would say new adult. There's sort of romance in it, but it's very beginning stages. A Sorceress Comes to Call totally has kid vibes not adult. I think they missed the mark on that one. I agree that it's pretty, but it just doesn't seem to match the genre it's supposed to be. OC items are okay. All but one they've done before. The bottle holder thing is at least different but the others have been done in so many ways and times! I've not regretted dropping the items once in 6 months (well, there was a bookmark that I liked). I liked the front cover of the book, but the book itself doesn't interest me. It seems like it would have been a better fit for Oct not Aug. On the upside, OC for the most part, have been really good about replacing items like that, though I do think the customer service has dropped some recently. If you end up not liking the key, they most likely would give you points to use in their shop as that's what they do now if your book is damaged rather than get you a replacement copy. I totally get not wanting to be a hoarder but having trouble getting rid of pretty packaging! I started a crow journal...a place to put shiny things. So I'll cut out a piece of the packaging and glue it in. So I'm not keeping full boxes but have enough to look back at and ooh over, if that makes sense. Thanks for sharing!

I don’t blame you for lighting issues, but I love and value your honesty. 🙏🏻 for your puppy. 💕

Hope your pup is better. Does he like playing with the squigglies?

over 1 hour! whoaaa! i love your long videos 🥰

OC Spellshop was a huge disappointment for me. Immediately bought the standard edition with purple sprayed edges. Will keep OC for the author's signature only 😅

There is no weard spice in there. Its a feel good cosy fantasy even things that go wrong turn out well❤

the Spellshop -> 0% Spice , 5 Stars for me, OG cover is Amazing

I have started to appreciate standalones and duologies more, because I feel like there are never an end in sight for series these days…

I have the first, second, and sometimes, third books in series that I've totally lost interest in. At this point, I totally could care less what happens to Bryce or the characters of Destroy The Night, or Sue Lynn Tan's Celestial books. I'm even not looking forward to the third book of Fourth Wing, because I wasn't thrilled with the second book. I didn't care for the Hunger Games prequel. I'm so over most books now, I've begun re reading my old favorites

Ugh yessss 100% agree!! I liked the shatter me series but wasn’t a major fan I just thought it was okay. My first reaction when seeing watch me was coming out was girl whyyyy?! I put so much time into reading the first 9 books (including the novellas in that count) that I want to be able to say I’ve read the series so will probably end up reading watch me but seriously just leave the series alone atp 😭😭😭😭

Not continuation of series but I hate when Stephen King drops a character from a book he has written. He thinks you are supposed to remember that person even though he has written 4 million books!!!

As a reader, I totally get this rant. There are some series I’ve read that are so complete, I’d hate to see any continuations. I don’t feel it’s necessary a lot of the time. But I have to admit, I’m a writer too, and I kind of get why some authors might try this. Personally, I love the world and characters I’m working on, and my sister and I created generations of families and characters, so I have a lot of stories I’d love to tell with them. Assuming I ever finish, I think it would be an actual series, so I feel bad judging other authors. Lol. But I also think for some authors, the draw of challenging yourself to flesh out the world and make your own sort of multiverse is really tempting. And from a marketing perspective, even just briefly connecting your current work to a finished series that was super popular seems like an easy way to drum up interest. I hate it as a fan, though. Feels very, very much like a money grab. Honestly, I think the problem could be avoided by authors either choosing to make it clear that they are going to stick to this world they created for multiple series (like Mercedes Lackey did with Valdemar, for instance), or just not ever letting their books cross over. Just don’t spring it on people when they think a series is already finished. To me at least, that’s when I get kind of annoyed. But maybe that’s just how I view it, I don’t know. 😅

I think all of this is getting ridiculous. I finally get series done years after other people and then I hear another book is coming out. WHAT!!!

Ugh I’m getting where stand alone are my go to choice now.

Ugh, I agree. SO many series, and I DO love a standalone. I realized too late FL and IC don't do standalones and then you have to plan your life around their release schedules and then hope you get a copy. It's SO stressful! Worst are the Urban Fantasy, some of those are 18-20 books long. I get those on Kindle. Where are you supposed to put all those books?! The dog has to have some space too!

im here to know that happened at the end cuz i didnt finsh it and didnt like it, but i want to know what happened

I really agre with your points. I sometimes like direct continuations of some series, but it just rarely works out, unless the author planned it from the very beginning. There will always be something that completely breaks whatever the previous books achieved. Sequel series with new characters sometimes work, but often you still feel it's the nostalgia cash grab, not a thought-off continuation/ expansion of the universe. I'm very worried for 4th book in Inkheart world, because it's been 10+ years since the 3rd book was relased :/ And while it's not about the main character of the original thrilogy, it's about my absolutely favourite character. But also, we knew that this book is coming for at least past 9 years (i remember reading the synopsis during middle school, and it matches the blurb of the relased version). On the other hand, some authors may have planned big series, and just their publishers don't allow it at the time. But in that case you still feel that it makes sense; that it doesn't contradict anything that was said earlier. I mean - I plan a big 20 book series, but even if the first book will be awsome, nobody will sign a contract for 20 books with a debiutant. Maybe three. And then after a few years maybe they will allow me to publish another three, etc. But I have the plot for all 20 books, so even if I continue them much later, it's still the same story and not something forced. (I think my plan is to get some standalones first and build a fanbase so I can just self-publish and not worry about publishers).

Any series can be a standalone if you only read the first book. 😱