End of a Chapter | March Wrap Up and Mini Reviews 📚

Yet another book in the Witcher Series that I enjoyed reading, Baptism of Fire focuses mainly on Geralt although there’s many Ciri scenes (although these don’t move her character forward that much) and a sprinkling on Yennefer’s POV which is great.

I enjoyed reading as Geralt forms a company of sorts, and we see him intereact with a lot of different people. We also earn more about beings and monsters, and more about how Geralt sees them when he’s not being paid to kill them. This book definitely gives Geralt a lot of depth to his character.

There’s a couple of notable characters who actively take part in altering how Geralt acts which I loved. Both Milva and Regis are great additions to our cast of characters, and of course Dandelion makes an appearance too.

My *only* doubt about Baptism of Fire is that whilst a lot happened, our characters aren’t in a hugely different place at the end of the book from the start. Except maybe Yennefer, but she also got the least page time so it’s a bit of a toin coss. Did I enjoy the book? Yes. Would I say it’s the best so far? Unlikely but I would recommend the whole series still.

We also finally found out that Geralt is TRULY Geralt of Rivia ✨

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Intriguing premise as we go through one day through the perspectives of 3 best friends who are a “coven” in Moon Ridge. This small town has an old folktale of the Lady of Moon Ridge, and this is where we see the story take place as she descends to walk among the townfolk.

Firstly we have Onny who believes in magic and wants to use a love potion to get a date. I did appreciate how it’s repeatedly said that the love potion would only work on someone who would already have those feelings, and it’s not a forced romance.

Second we have Ash who is too shy to ask out the girl who’s caught his eye, who is also his neighbour. I personally found this story to be the least interesting as it’s your typical “girl next door”. However I did like the set-up in the “haunted house” and the big reveal between characters in this section.

Thirdly, True doesn’t believe in love since she broke up with her ex. So when she meets someone new and they have an adventure it comes as a surprise. This was probably the most “fantasy” orientated story, and I enjoyed reading it.

Overall, I loved the shifting perspectives and how they all fit in with one another. Platonic friendships are strong between characters too, it’s not just romantic love that is explored. And most of all, I liked how in some of the stories (trying to no spoiler it!) our character learns that they like someone else and not who had been built up in their mind as the “perfect” date.

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Outlander is a book I’ve tried reading before but just never finished. Weirdly enough, I actually got to the same part of the book I got to last time (the bookmark was still there!) and wanted to put it down again. However I did finish it this time and pushed through.

As a whole Outlander does have an interesting storyline and the mystery of how Clare travels through time. It’s also intriguing about Jamie and how he fits in with society as Callums nephew but also a Fraser and running from the English. The romance between then is also well written, and I enjoyed this “soulmate” like connection that was clear from the start.

Outlander makes me want to go exploring. Mostly from the deep descriptions of Scotland and the Highlands, but this does come at the cost of the pace of the story. There’s a lot of travel scenes, walking and by horse and this can make the book drag just a little bit.

It turns out, the scenes with Randall are the ones I just wasn’t interested enough with, and I think it’s because I watched the show and know what’s coming for his character. So I will for sure continue reading this series, but at least now I know where I’m getting stuck if I need to reset.

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Four blondes is 4 short stories of 4 different women in New York. The only link between them is being blonde and the city, and I found it overall to be underwhelming based on what I expected.

The book is reminiscent of Sex and the City in many ways, but unfortunately this includes the bad parts of it. Including the outdated ideas of the time about eating discorders, mental health, sexuality and more.

I would say that Candace Bushnell really knows how to write unlikeable characters. But she’s also able to mostly make the reader understand why they act the way they do. They’re often doing bad things with clear motives, and I enjoyed reading this (often) descent into it.

Overall it is a quick read, but I wouldn’t be running to recommend this to anyone.

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The main thing you need to know about Carved Amidst the Shadows is that at it’s heart, it’s a slow burn romance. From childhood animosity, to enemies, to lovers – we experience a whole load of emotion, grief and betrayal throughout the story.

If we wanna talk actual plot of the fantasy book, it’s mainly a bit of a mystery and a coup kind of plot based on “marks” people are born or not born with in 5 kingdoms. The carved are villainised and are in hiding, and Kaianne as our main character becomes one not by choice, and then needs to learn to survive.

I’m excited for futre books in the A Brands of Taelgir series because I want to find out the bigger picture around these marks, and how they’re a part of the kingdoms citizens from birth. I do think there’s a bigger picture not explored in this instalment, but I’m excited to learn more.

As a fantasy book, we do also get a view point from one of the Masters, a magic user, who still believes in his mission but also seems to be breaking away from The Order. I’m interested in how this adapts after the end of this book, whilst hopefully showing off more of the magic in this world.

Carved Amidst the Shadows was a fabulous high fantasy book, and I’m so invested in what’s going to happen next.

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