April Effy-A-Thon prompts

Here are the prompts for Effy-A-Thon in April.

A book off of someone else’s TBR

This can be off of someone’s April TBR or their Febuary or March TBR if you like to plan in advance like me. This can be off of Youtube, TikTok, a friend, anywhere works as long as it is from someone elses TBR.

Light Cover

Whether this is white, a pale cover, a book with light in the name or a picture of a light on the cover.

Favourite colour

For this prompt the book should be your favourite colour, it doesn’t have to be entirely your favourite colour just a bit. (you could stretch this however you like, for example, if your favourite colour is blue you could read Simon vs The Homosapiens Agenda because of the character blue)

Been on your TBR a long time

I would personally class this as something that has been on my TBR 1+ years but this can vary person to person so whatever you feel is a long time for yout TBR.

Author you’ve read 1 book by

not much to say about this one, its really self explanatory.

join the discord: https://discord.gg/CMfQPfh4fn

The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite – Gerard Way

This book follows The Umbrella Academy, a group of 7 siblings with powers, trying to prevent the end of the world. I decided I wanted to read the comics after binge watching the Netflix show last month and absolutely loving it.

I really enjoyed this comic, it was well written and wonderfully drawn. It was a very quick read and I got through this book in under an hour. I’m really excited to carry on with the series.

5/5 stars

Death on the Nile – Agatha Christie

I was reading this for Polarthon but I didn’t manage to finish it in time.

This is a Poirot novel solving the murder of Linnet Ridgeway while Poirot is vacationing in Egypt. I felt like tis book gave me a very similar feeling to Murder on the Orient Express and it has made me understand why this book was the one chosen to be adapted into a movie sequel to Murder on the Orient Express.

I really enjoyed this read and Christie never fails to produce a gripping, incredible mystery and i plan on reading much more by her this year.

5/5 stars

The Eye of the North – Sinead O’Hart

I read this book for Polarthon for the prompts Arctic and Polar Fantasy.

This book is about Emmeline who’s parents are kidnapped and she has to go and save them from being sacrificed to the Kraken.

This was a really fun middle grade read that reminded me of books like A Series of Unfortunate Events and His Dark Materials with all the adventure and danger.

I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Emmeline was written in a way she felt confident and ambitious while also having a voice that still felt youthful and childlike. Thing was my absolute favourite character, he was fun, funny and confident and he was such a fantastic companion and friend to Emmeline.

I really enjoyed reading this and I’m so glad I picked this up based on Jadeyraereads reccomendation, without polarthon I may not have read this book and I’m so glad I didn’t miss out.

5/5 stars

January Wrap Up | balancing the books

About midway through January I decided I need to cut down the number of books on my TBR. To successfully do this I decided to use the Balancing the books format created by Emma from DrinkingByMyShelf.

I’ve set myself some rules for this and I think they are about the same as Emma’s rules and that is if I don’t end the month with the same number or less books on my TBR than the month before I have to pick the number of books different off my TBR and read them in the next month or unhaul them.

As I started January midway through I am not going to count all the hauled and read/DNFd books as I can’t remember them all but from February I will be keeping track of everything.

So now for all my reads and DNFs for the month.

Starting TBR: 153 books

Read:

When the Blackbird Sings by Elodie Iver

I recieved the ARC of this from Elodie who is an amazing writer and an absolutely lovely person. It is the sequel to her debut novel The Violet Theory which follows Mavis Caverly a girl who’s blood contains a poison that the Queen wants to use as a weapon.

We are Okay by Nina LaCour

This book tore me apart. It is a beautiful book about love, loss and grief. Months after Marin lost her grandad she finally allows herself to admit to her best friend why she ran away from her old life. If you’re going to read this have your tissues at the ready, it will make you cry.

Delicates by Brenna Thummler

This book is the sequel to Sheets and I recieved it as an ARC through NetGalley. This series is a graphic novel series about a haunted laundrette (haunted by a friendly ghost named Wendell). Its a really lovely series with a beautiful art style.

The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

This was my first Miss Marple book and I really enjoyed it. There were twists and turns throughout that kept me hooked and Agatha Christie writes all her characters so well and with such clear differentiation that you don’t have to worry about her series getting mixed up in your head.

For the Love of Friends by Sara Goodman Confino

I recived an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This was one of my favourite books this month. This book follows Lily who has been asked to be a bridesmaid at 5 weddings all within a 2 month period and to make a bit of extra money to cover the costs she starts a blog about her experience. Its an absolutely hilarious read.

Love Almost by Hayley Doyle

This was another ARC from NetGalley, I recieved the audiobook of this book. This was a really lovely read quite sad but so wonderfully written. This is a story of loss and heartbreak that is fantastically written.

Severance by Ling Ma

I definitely picked the wrong time in life to read this book, I enjoyed it but definitely not as much as I probably would’ve a couple of years ago. This book is set in a world where an illness has wiped out most of the population of the world (I’m sure you can tell why I definitely read it at the wrong time). This was an incredibly well written book and had a fantastic story but I definitely shouldn’t have read it in the midst of a pandemic.

Thirteen Storeys by Jonathan Sims

I knew I needed to read this after falling in love with The Magnus Archives and my god it lived up to my expectations. Jonathan Sims is an incredibly creative horror writer who sends shivers down my spine. This book is about a group of people who live in the same block of flats who each receive an invite to dinner with the billionaire owner of the flats after each having their own paranormal experience. Jonathan Sims has found a way to hit on fears I didn’t know I had and its amazing.

DNFs

History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

I was really disappointed by this book having really enjoyed They Both Die at the End and More Happy Than Not but I felt like 3 books in his writing formula was becoming a bit repetitive. His stories are always the story of a depressed gay teenager and there’s nothing wrong with that but it was just getting too boring for me and it didn’t have any of the elements that kept me hooked with his other books.

Ending TBR: 153

I didn’t think I would get my TBR down this month as I started halfway through the month but hopefully I will have more of a change next month.

Thirteen Storeys – Jonathan Sims

This is a horror book that follows 13 different stories in all taking place in a block of flats. Its very creepy and has amazingly written disturbing stories.

I really liked the characters throughout this book there was a diverse range of well developed characters who all experienced their stories so differently from each other character. It was easy to tell the characters apart and it felt like they all had really well built up personalities and voices.

I thought the plot of this book was incredibly interesting and absolutely hooked me in. I didn’t want to put this book down. Jonathan Sims has such an incredible talent for writing the most gripping horror that breaks all the stereotypes of the genre.

I would absolutely reccomend this to all horror fans who want something a bit different!

5/5 stars

February TBR Polarthon and Effy-A-Thon

In February I will be participating in my Readathon Effy-A-Thon and Polarthon which is hosted by jadeyraereads.

For Effy-A-Thon I will be reading …

For a book over 500 pages:

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagahara

I don’t know loads about this book but I know it is known for tearing peoples hearts apart. I know it talks about a lot of topics like sexuality, depression, disability and many more issues.

For my least used way of reading:

Little Eyes by Samantha Schweblin (ebook)

I definitely read ebooks less than physical or audiobooks so I chose a book off my kindle for this prompt. This book is about stuffed animals with built in cameras that complete strangers can control. It sounds like a bit of a creepy read and I can’t wait to pick it up.

For my book with the least rating:

Killing Adam – Earik Beann

I don’t remember much about this book, I believe it is a sci-fi book that I got for free on Amazon. It is the book I am reading for this prompt as it only has 267 ratings on goodreads.

For a genre I don’t usually read:

How To – Randall Munroe (non-fic)

This book is scientific answers to real questions. I really enjoyed What If? by the same author last year and really enjoyed it

For a book I’ve been avoiding:

Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn

I tried to read this book in 2017 but really struggled to push through it but I really want to give it another go as I really enjoyed the movie and I have hope that I will enjoy this book on my second attempt.

For Polarthon I am team Walrus.

For the prompts Polar Fantasy and Arctic:

The Eye of the North – Sinéad O’Hart

I got this book from Jade’s polar fantasy recommendation video. I can’t really remember what it is about I remember it sounding extremely interesting.

For cold waters and dive-in:

Death on the Nile – Agatha Christie

This is a Poirot book and I am super excited to read more of Agatha Christie’s writing as it is always fantastic.

For Dark Cover:

Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn

I’m not going to say much about this one as I’ve already covered it.

Other reads.

I am doing a buddy read of The Poppy War in February with a group of friends on discord which I’m super excited for.

I also would like to get around to:

Umbrella Academy vol 1 by Gerard Way

Sadie by Courtney Summers

So that is my February TBR and I am super excited for it even if I have given myself a very busy month ahead.

Severance – Ling Ma

I read this book for Effy-A-Thon as a new to me author.

This book follows Candace Chen, one of the few survivors of Shen Flu. Let’s begin this review by acknowledging I definitely chose the wrong time to read this and it hit far too close to home.

This book was a really interesting read with a really well developed and well rounded plot.

There were 3 main timelines through this book before, during and after Shen Flu. The timelines were clearly separate so it was easy to follow what happened when.

One thing I didn’t really like about the writing style of this book was the lack of quotation marks. The book felt clunky to read due to this fact. Once I had adjusted to the writing style the book was overall a really good read.

I really enjoyed this book but would say to anyone who is quite sensitive to everything going on in the world to save it for a later date.

4/5 stars

Love Almost – Hayley Doyle

I recieved this audiobook as an ARC from NetGalley for a review.

This book follows Chloe, a woman in her late 30s dealing with the loss of her boyfriend of 5 months, Jack.

I think this book gave a really interesting perspective on loss and grieving. It really shows how every individual deals with death completely differently. When Chloe first finds out that Jack has died she laughs which shows an interesting reaction to shock.

I really loved the whole story of this book. It showed how she dealt with her loss and how others saw her through the loss of Jack. She got a huge response of how lucky she was that she hadn’t known him very long which was such a heartbreaking perspective to hear about the situation.

I really liked the narration of this audiobook, I felt like the pacing of it was absolutely perfect. I always speed up audiobooks as I feel like they’re too slow but I didn’t do that with this audiobook. It was an absolutely fantastic audiobook.

I really liked the characters in this book and I feel like they showed a huge range of responses to grief and loss.

I absolutely loved experiencing this book and would absolutely reccomend it to so many people.

5/5 stars

The Body in the Library – Agatha Christie

I read this book for Effy-A-Thon as a book that was published before I was born.

This book is the 3rd book in Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple series (though it is the first in the series I have read). It follows the case of a woman’s body found in Mr and Mrs Bantry’s library.

I really liked the characters in this book. I thought Miss Marple was a very interesting character and I really liked the differences in how she is written in comparison to Poirot, it really shows Agatha Christie’s writing talent.

The whole plot of this book was really interesting. A huge range of twist and turns throughout to keep you on your toes. There was never a dull moment throughout this book.

The writing in this book was amazing, I was absolutely kept on edge. Every time I pick up a book by Agatha Christie I completely understand why she’s stayed so iconic for so long.

I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who loves a good murder mystery.

5/5 stars