A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness | Spoiler Free Review

A world of witches, daemons and vampires. A manuscript which holds the secrets of their past and the key to their future. Diana and Matthew – the forbidden love at the heart of it.

When historian Diana Bishop opens an alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, it’s an unwelcome intrusion of magic into her carefully ordered life. Though Diana is a witch of impeccable lineage, the violent death of her parents while she was still a child convinced her that human fear is more potent than any witchcraft. Now Diana has unwittingly exposed herself to a world she’s kept at bay for years; one of powerful witches, creative, destructive daemons and long-lived vampires. Sensing the significance of Diana’s discovery, the creatures gather in Oxford, among them the enigmatic Matthew Clairmont, a vampire genticist. Diana is inexplicably drawn to Matthew and, in a shadowy world of half-truths and old enmities, ties herself to him without fully understanding the ancient line they are crossing. As they begin to unlock the secrets of the manuscript and their feelings for each other deepen, so the fragile balance of peace unravels…

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir | Spoiler Free Review

What if you were the spark that could ignite a revolution?

For years Laia has lived in fear. Fear of the Empire, fear of the Martials, fear of truly living at all. Born as a Scholar, she’s never had much of a choice.

For Elias it’s the opposite. He has seen too much on his path to becoming a Mask, one of the Empire’s elite soldiers. With the Masks’ help the Empire has conquered a continent and enslaved thousands, all in the name of power.

When Laia’s brother is taken she must force herself to help the Resistance, the only people who have a chance of saving him. She must spy on the Commandant, ruthless overseer of Blackcliff Academy. Blackcliff is the training ground for Masks and the very place that Elias is planning to escape. If he succeeds, he will be named deserter. If found, the punishment will be death.

But once Laia and Elias meet, they will find that their destinies are intertwined and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

In the ashes of a broken world one person can make a difference. One voice in the dark can be heard. The price of freedom is always high and this time that price might demand everything, even life itself.

Managing Anxiety in the Covid-19 Outbreak

As you know, outside of this being a book blog, I also like to discuss Mental Health to try and help as many people as I can. In light of recent events, I thought now was a perfect time to try and help those of you who might be struggling.

Having Anxiety at the best of times is incredibly hard but during a pandemic as country after country declares national emergencies, newspapers are full of devastating stories and scary statistics and social media is filled with videos, its even harder.

There are numerous ways your mental health might be affected, and I truly believe this is a time that many people who have never dealt with mental health issues will come to understand what its like to a degree. Many people will suffer during these moments, many people will feel isolated and alone but please remember whilst we are in a dark and scary time, you are not alone. We are all in this together.

It can especially be hard for those who don’t have supportive family members as they will be on lock down with them for a long time. It can be daunting and particularly scary as no end seems in sight.

Here are some tips on how you can help manage your anxiety:

The Hogwarts Book Tag

Fellow Witches, Wizards and Muggles. Today I am coming to you with the Hogwarts Tag which I saw on Kat @lifeandotherdisasters blog. As you know I am a major Harry Potter fan, I post about it all the time so I couldn’t let this tag opportunity slip by.

Are you a Pure Blood or a Half-Blood?

In order to find this out I took this test which was suggested by Kat. I am happy to be a half-blood! 

A Very Potter Week – 20th Anniversary!

Hello everyone!

As you may or may not know Monday 26th June 2017 marks the 20th Anniversary of Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. 20 Years. Can you believe that?
20 years ago I was 2 years old and doing what I don’t know. But 20 Years ago J.K Rowling and Bloomsbury brought Harry Potter and Hogwarts alive and the story is so iconic that it is still loved today.

Can we just take a moment to acknowledge that J.K Rowling has sold more than 450 Million Copies in 79 Languages. She is the first person to be taken off the Forbes richest person list because of how much money she gave to charity, she has set up Lumos and changed a-lot of our lives. So to mark the 20th Anniversary I am going to be doing ‘A Very Potter Week!’ Leading up to the 26th June.

This week is going to be filled with fun posts and of course I will be re-reading the books. Although the books will most definitely take me longer than a week to read so it may turn into a Very Potter Month for me…  Here are a few sneak peeks on what you can expect.

If you wish to follow my rereading journey then be sure to follow me on Twitter and my Goodreads. So we can share this moment together!

I have a bunch of posts already planned but if you would like to see anything in particular then comment below with your ideas. 

Have a magical week Guys and remember DON’T LET THE MUGGLES GET YOU DOWN.

 

My Dream Reading Space/ Library

Hey Guys!

Today’s post is going to be something different and super fun.
I’m going to do a post on designing my dream reading room and library based on the company Arhaus.
Arhaus is an American company which provides an array of furniture, lighting and all your home needs. They also use natural materials which is something you don’t see very often with most big furniture retailers. I love that they use organic and natural materials.

I am not being paid or sponsored to do this post. I thought the idea was fun and I  wanted to get creative and come up with my own Dream Reading Space!