Hi all! It’s time for my first monthly wrap up. I am really happy with the amount I read this month; I took this month off writing after what was an crazy, intense university semester. I read 8 books all up.

November TRB challenge: 4/7 which I pretty happy as this was the first month I’ve actually set a TBR list as I’m more of a mood reader.

Here’s a break down of what I read this month.

I read:

• 2 YA,
• 2 classics
• and 4 historical fiction novels.

Of these novels, 3 where written by female authors and the other 5 where written by male authors.

Now onto the books!

 

 

• The Last Kingdom (#1 The Saxon Stories) by Bernard Cornwell – I adore this book! I think it is an amazing start to a series. The characters are really strong and fleshed out. I loved the difference between the Danes and the Saxons and how Uhtred is seen by both people (the Danes see him as a Saxon and the Saxons, as a Dane). I can’t wait to get to the rest of this series and see what Uhtred gets up to. Would highly recommend, Cornwell gives get insight into a part of history that was new to me.
• Bloodline (#3 Wars of the Roses) by Conn Iggluden – I think this just might be my favourite in this series, each book gets better and better. I flew through the book, Iggluden’s writing is vivid and visceral that I could easily see the story unfold like watching a movie. I enjoyed Edward IV’s character and that Warwick was shown in a different light – Iggluden is sympathetic to him and instead of Warwick being a power-hungry villain we see that his a man being pushed to the edge and forced to react. I would recommend this to anyone and everyone! If your not sure if historical fiction is for you then I would start with Iggluden as he’s writing style is beautiful and he really knows how to tell a story. I cannot wait for the final book, which comes out sometime next year.

 

• Peter Pan by J.M Barrie – Ah what can I say about this book. It’s beautiful, magical, whimsical and everything my childhood self wanted out of this book. I really enjoyed going to Neverland and Peter is a fantastic, childish character.This is one I will defiantly read again and one I will make sure to read my kids – when I have them in the way off, very distant future. If you haven’t read this one I can’t recommend this enough! Please pick it up, you won’t be sorry!

 

• Devil’s Consort by Anne O’Brien (published as Queen Defiant in US) – Eleanor of Aquitaine was an amazing women and I would recommend that you look her up because she was a serious badass. I loved reading about her and how she become this fiery women who went to war against her husband. I think O’Brien did a fantastic job of bring Eleanor’s character to life and really highlighting points in her life that make her a force to be reckoned with. I think the only downside is that there is a lot of monologue where Eleanor tells what’s happened when I think it would’ve been more interesting to read them as scenes. This is only a minor point because overall I loved this and would defiantly read again.

 

 

• The King’s Concubine by Anne O’Brien – I enjoyed looking at a Plantagenet King I haven’t read a lot about and did enjoy it. Anna Perrers is an interesting character but I admit the start, before she meets Queen Philippa, is a bit slow. Once’s she’s part of the royal household and gets involved with the court politics the story really picks up and I enjoyed it a lot.
• Ollala by Robert Louis Stevenson – This is my first Robert Louis Stevenson. I thought I would start with this one to get a sense of this writing before tackling Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. His writing style is beautiful and I loved all the gothic elements. The start was a bit drawn out but overall an enjoyable read.

 

• The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes – I enjoyed reading this book. I liked the mix of fable and religious cults. Overall I think I wanted to know more about Minnow’s life in the cult, as theses were my favourite parts. But I did really enjoy Minnow and Angel’s relationship. This was a fun read and one I would recommend.

 

• The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides – I was really disappointed with this book. I won’t go into too much detail as I full review here. However I don’t feel this book tells me what it promises in that beautiful opening line. I don’t if I missed something but I felt there was something lacking which is a shame as I’d been looking forward to reading this one.

 

That’s all for me today, let me know what you’ve read or if you have an recommendation based of these books mentioned.

Until next time, happy reading!

Dearna