Hello everybody!
Today, I’m taking part in Top Ten Tuesday, which is hosted by Jana and today has the theme of our favourite villains. Because a lot of my thoughts on villains are similar, I’ve decided to only do a list of six. Onto the post!
Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday: Favourite Villains”
Hello everybody!
Today, I’m going to be talking about some of the books I really like that feature witches, was an idea I got from Jenn’s fab list of October-themed prompts. Onto the post!
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The Graces- I read this when it was rainy and stormy outside, and it was the perfect choice of book for that weather. It’s about “River” (which isn’t her real name, hence the quotation) as she becomes involved with the enigmatic Grace siblings, who are rumoured to be witches. It’s so atmospheric and tense and thrilling, and I loved it so much; the narration style of us knowing nothing about River somehow adds even more to the quietly spooky vibe. The last line sent shivers down my spine, and I’m very excited for the sequel the Curses next year. I feel like I’ve been waiting on it forever!
The Apprentice Witch/A Witch Alone- these books are about Arianwyn as she’s sent to be the resident witch on the small island of Lull after failing her exam that would allow her to become a fully fledged witch rather than an apprentice who must continually prove herself in her job, and I adore these books. There are so many amazing magical creatures and I love the magic system and old-fashioned feel of the worldbuilding, and Arianwyn is a fantastic character who shows that even incredibly talented and capable people make mistakes. They’re both full of adventure and excitement and a very cosy feeling, and I’m so sad that A Witch Come True will (probably) be the last time I get to see this world. I’m so excited to see what it’s like at Christmas time in this world though!
The Witch’s Kiss trilogy- these are about teenage Merry as she must use her newly discovered powers to stop Jack, who is possessed by a wizard’s curse, from killing people, while also falling in love with him. The later books see her face different magical enemies, and I really enjoyed them all. They’re full of excellent plots with great villains and interesting mysteries that kept me reading on, the second book has a killer cliffhanger, and there’s a lovely sibling relationship between Merry and her older brother. I’m also a big fan of Finn in books 2 and 3 as he really makes me laugh!
The Witches- this, along with Matilda, is my favourite Roald Dahl book. The witches were pretty terrifying to young me, mainly due to their varied ingenious ways of murdering children, especially the Grand High Witch, and I really enjoyed how brave and adventurous the main character was too. I hate the film version with a passion though.
Witch Girl- this was a very recent read, and I liked it a lot. It’s about a girl called Evangeline, who is the apprentice of her haunt huntress grandmother, and together they defeat malevolent spirits. During the book, they must leave their swamp home and go to New Orleans for an unusual case, and it was so interesting watching it unfold in the rather creepy manor they’re staying in, and I loved how all these little clues I hadn’t picked up on were linked together at the end to explain the mystery throughout. The worldbuilding was great too.
Which witchy books would you recommend to me? Are you a fan of any that I’ve mentioned? I’d love to to hear in the comments below!
Amy x
Hello everybody!
Today, I’m going to be talking about some characters I don’t like much at all from books I like quite a bit, which was inspired by a Top Ten Tuesday from a few months ago on the opposite theme. Onto the post!
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Cassie from the Upiside of Unrequited– Cassie was so selfish, and often very mean to Molly, and I just wasn’t a fan. I felt like the minute she was in a relationship she started behaving as though she was better than her sister and didn’t have time for her anymore, and therefore I didn’t have time for Cassie.
Nic from the Blood for Blood trilogy– I liked Nic in book one before the secrets of his family were revealed and Luca started playing a bigger role in book two, but my GOD did he start to annoy me as time went on in books two and three. I found him pretty whiny and petulant, and the way he treated
Mia from All About Mia– I think I only gave this 3.5 stars, but I did enjoy a lot about it and it was only Mia herself that brought down my rating. I couldn’t understand a lot of decisions she made, and I didn’t like the way she treated her family and friends. She did grow on me a little towards the end when she bonded with her sisters more though, in fairness.
Riley from Hope– Riley is the love interest in this book, and I couldn’t get behind him and Hope as a couple at all. He reminded me of people I don’t really like in real life, and as such I couldn’t warm to him at all, and I mainly just found him annoying. I loved the book so much otherwise though, so if you pick up any of these books, please make it this one. Compared to the Upside of Unrequited, which is my other favourite of these, it’s recieved barely any attention and it deserves way more readers than it’s had. And I’d love to know if you share my thoughts on Riley when you do read it!
Hagrid from Harry Potter– I’m aware this will be quite a controversial entry, but I’m not fussed on Hagrid. I don’t think he ever did anything maliciously, I do think his heart was always in the right place, but he made some bizarre decisions that affected a lot of people, and I quite often found him overly dramatic in the way he reacted to things. There are some exceptions, such as Buckbeak’s execution, but other than those it felt like he was making many mountains out of molehills. I also don’t think he should have been allowed to teach; Professor Grubbly-Plank didn’t really get developed as a character much but I did like that she actually taught her class practical things, with the difference being she bore safety in mind. That said, the hippogriff situation was Draco’s fault mainly, so I don’t hold that against him too much!
Which characters are you not keen on from books you enjoyed? Do we have any in common? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter @GoldenBooksGirl!
Amy x
Hello everybody!
Today, I’m going to be talking about my favourite names, which is the theme for today’s Top Ten Tuesday. I couldn’t find characters with a couple of my favourite names, but I did succeed in finding most! Onto the post!
Boys’ Names (I found this one so much harder, mainly because I couldn’t find two of my favourite boys’ names in books, which are Caleb and Jude)
Micah– this is my absolute favourite boys’ name, and so I had to track it down even though I’ve never read a character with this name. I do want to read MG circus story Circus Mirandus, whose main character is called this, at some point. I think Micah is a beautiful name and it’s just my favourite name in the world, and has been for years. It’s unusual (I’ve certainly never met anyone called Micah) and I love names that aren’t that popular!
James– I’m not a big fan of Jamie, but I think James is quite elegant and classic, and it fits James Kirkwood in the Pony Club Rivals series perfectly (even though he’s sort of evil).
Aidan– Aidan was Issie’s first love interest in the PonyClub Secrets series, which I love, and he was such a great character I’ve always loved the name!
Sam– the main Sam I can think of in a book is Kristy’s brother in the Babysitters’ Club and I think it’s a really nice name.
Girls’ Names
Francesca– the only book character I can think of with this name is Francesca the Football Fairy (Rainbow Magic), and I think it’s so pretty. My absolute favourite girl’s name. I also love Cesca as a nickname for it.
Aoife– this is an Irish name, and I think it’s beautiful. I have (to the best of my knowledge) not read a book with a character of this name yet, but like Micah, I do have a book I want to read which does feature one (the Changeling by Helen Falconer)
Hazel– The narrator of the Murder Most Unladylike series is called Hazel, and my adoration of her makes this an immediate favourite. I also like it because it’s quite unusal, and I think it’s just pretty in general
Poppy– I loved the Princess Poppy books when I was young, and I love the name Poppy, though I can’t quite explain why. I think it just rolls off the tongue really well!
Juliet– I adore the name Juliet, I think it’s gorgeous; so dreamy and romantic. I’ve not read Romeo and Juliet yet, though I do hope to at some point this year, and I think the name sounds like it suits Juliet as a character quite well.
Lottie– this is short for Charlotte most of the time, including the Lottie in the Spinster Club, but though I really like Charlotte as a name too, I think it stands well as a name on its own.
What are your favourite names that appear in books? Do you like any of my choices? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter @GoldenBooksGirl!
Amy xxx
Hello everybody!
Today, I thought it might be fun to introduce you to my bookmark collection, seeing how much I love having a nosy at what other people use!
Onto the bookmarks…
First of all, these are my booktails, which I have recently completed my collection of properly. I was given my 1st one, the slightly bedraggled looking (now) jaguar, by my aunt and uncle a few years ago for my birthday. With the exception of my jaguars who are named after my uncle (Walter) and then to alliterate with him, Wanda, all of ny booktails are named in alliteration with their animal: Bertie and Bella the bears, Poppy the pig (who Saffy takes great delight in chewing, far more so than all the others, for some reason. Saffy is my younger golden retriever, if you’re new around here), Daisy the dog, Clover the cow (not pictured) and Sasha the sheep.
Next, my Alex Clark magnetic collection. These were only a recent addition, but I’m obsessed with them already. Fun fact: one of these was intended as a Christmas gift for my gran, but I just couldn’t say goodbye when it arrived. I’ll be placing another order soon to replace it, and if a few other I have my eye on slip in, who am I to stop them…? (And maybe a mug too 😉)
I also have these gorgeous ones which I bought from the Grace Darling Museum. I barely ever use them as they get crushed and crinkled very easily in bags or moving about, but they’re very pretty to look at it, and I believe at least part of the money I paid for them goes to the RNLI, who do such amazing work.
Finally, my odds and ends; a few slogan bookmarks, one with my name on it and also this stunning one someone once drew for me based on a photo of Shimmer and Saffy . I tend to use these on the rare occasions when I’m reading more than one book to keep my place in the one I start second. The slogan ones do make me laugh! I used to have an amazing tiger one too, which had a super true statement about mornings on it: “I love mornings… I just wish they came later in the day ”
So those are just about all of my bookmarks! Do ypu have any favourites in my collection? Do you use bookmarks? What are your favourites? Tell me about them in the comments or even send a photo on Twitter @GoldenBooksGirl!
Amy xxx
