SEP WRAP UP | The Books & the Stats

What a month. I think I was so close to giving most of these books five stars. It has really been an exceptional month for me and I can’t quite believe it. It has also been one of my best reading months in terms of quantity as well as quality! I read 12 books, which is my joint highest month with January.

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REVIEW | Ninth House (Alex Stern #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Name: Ninth House (Alex Stern #1)
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Genres: Adult, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Gollancz
Format: Uncorrected Proof
Source: Ellie @ Faerie on the Shelf
Rating: ★★★★★
GOODREADS | BUY

Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?

Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.

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AUG WRAP UP | The Books & the Stats

We have reached the point in the year where my introduction to my wrap up is me telling you how good my intentions are and apologies. Basically, as I write this, it’s 18th August. I’m aiming to actually have this up in the first week of September this time around.

EDIT: I’m now finishing this post on 24th September, so we all know that my. good intentions mean nothing.

This month has been slow for me, but I’ve read a nice wide range of ARCs, 2019 releases and previous releases, plus covered a good few genres too! My most notable read of the month was Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan, out in November and the sequel to widely acclaimed Girls of Paper and Fire. I’m hoping to get a full review out soon, but read on for my initial thoughts!

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JUL WRAP UP | The Books & the Stats

This month, I’m writing this post on 31st July so if it doesn’t go live until mid-August, at least I started with good intentions. I’m getting better and hey, maybe this is the month that I post more than just my wrap up!

July has been busy, culminating in YALC last weekend. I don’t know yet whether I’m going to do a YALC post or not, but I will say that with that and my birthday, my July haul is off the charts. I’m never going to catch up on my TBR.

Big stat for the month though – this was my most consistently enjoyable reading month of 2019 so far with my star average being 4.63! My next closest was January with 4.42!

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MAY WRAP UP | The Books & the Stats

This is becoming a theme now, but welcome to the mess that is my life. I haven’t posted in over 20 days and that’s the longest I haven’t posted all year. I’ve said this at the start of all my wrap ups, but I’m still proud of myself that it’s only 20 days. Last year I was less consistent and my 2019 views for 5 months have already exceeded the entirety of 2018!

I’ve been having some issues with reading slumps and moods – I’ve been very much on a romance kick without having a lot of unread romance on my shelves. Also just life has been kicking me in the bum so Imi’s been absent – sorry, kids. Expect a comeback sometime soon.

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APR WRAP UP | The Books & the Stats

WELCOME to Imi hit a book slump at the end of March and couldn’t catch up with herself. This is a love letter to my book slump and how much I hate her, BUT let’s also consider the positives here. I am still doing wrap ups. It’s the fifth month of the year and I am still here. While April was not good for reading, or blog posts, the fact still remains that I’m coming back and I am still determined to continue making this better. I also have 28975982759 blog post ideas, what I lack is the time to write them.

Shout out to Lauren / Siz/ Provider of Doggo Pics / Personal PA and Nag for forcing me reminding me to write this post. This one is for you.

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ARC REVIEW | The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Name: The Priory of the Orange Tree
Author: Samantha Shannon
Genres: Adult, Epic Fantasy
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Format: Uncorrected Proof
Source: Bloomsbury
Rating: ★★★★★
GOODREADS | BUY

A world divided.
A queendom without an heir.
An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction—but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

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2019 READING GOALS | Reading outside my comfort zone & smashing my TBR

HAPPY NEW YEAR ONE AND ALL! Now that 2019 is upon us, it’s time to find out what my reading resolutions are for the year! I’m sure you’ve already been inundated with posts about 2019 reading and blogging goals but hopefully you aren’t too bored of them just yet because here’s mine.

Thanks to my ridiculous book buying habits, subscription boxes and the lovely publishers who send me review copies, my TBR is once again overrun. But this is it. This is the year when I reduce my 174 unread physical books (I counted yesterday, ouch) down. I am smashing my TBR in 2019.

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