Happy Christmas Eve to all that celebrate it. I know for many Christmas Eve can be just as important as Christmas Day and I know that this year may be difficult for most not getting to see family or friends, traditions having to be modified to accommodate the new rules. But it can still be fun no matter what the circumstances. We can still watch all the silly movies, we can have that quiet Christmas we have been promising ourselves for years, where we do what we want, eat what we want, pamper ourselves, but that never truly happens. We can adapt traditions and create new ones.
A tradition that I will be adapting this year is my families tradition of reading the poem Twas the Night before Christmas. We will be meeting up over zoom this year to read it together. I would also like to share it with you guys as I found the ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas Book tag, originally created by Aoife from Fred Weasley died laughing, last year and again it just had to be my Christmas Eve post.
Questions
“Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse,”
A book that kept you up so late, everyone else was asleep.
Amari and the Night Brothers
B. B. Aeston
Amari and the Night Brothers #1
I have really been banging the drum on this one but it is such a fun book! It really should be on your pre-order list as I think it will really bring a ray of sunshine in January. I could have easily sped through this in one night it was one of those books that just keeps you turning the pages, needing to know what happened next.
You can read my full review here!
“And Mama in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap,”
A book that made you fall asleep.
Kingdom of the Wicked
Kerri Maniscalco
Kingdom of the Wicked #1
This book was just kind of dull and disappointing. Despite making me crave Italian food and get slightly annoyed at the insinuation that the main character invented Bruschetta, nothing much happened. The storyline doesn’t even resolve, we will have to read book 2 to get any kind of conclusion to any of the story. It just seemed a lot of long winded way of introducing us to several characters with nothing actually happening.
You can read my full review here
“When out on the roof there arose such a clatter,I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter,”
A book, or a book scene that made your heart race
Small Spaces
Katherine Arden
Small spaces #1
It might be a middle grade but this book had some real spine tingling and spooky scenes. I read this as part of the Middle Grade Marvels book club and I think we all agreed that it has its moments that got your heart racing in fear. It had a really good way of building up tension the characters were awesome and I am looking forward to reading the next in the series.
You can read my review here.
“when, what to my wondering eyes should appear,but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer,”
An object in a book that was utterly magical/ Or a magical book
The Bone Shard Daughter
Andrea Stewart
The Bone Shard Daugther
This its self is just amazing. It has the most magical and inventive world building with floating islands, having to wait until the float past to be able to cross between some of them. A mysterious and slightly creepy magic system, fantastic characters and an engaging story line it really was a perfect fantasy book and a great debut.
You can read my full review here!
“With a little old driver, so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick,”
A twinkle-eyed book character that made you happy.
Magnus Bane
Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices
Cassandra Clare
I read these as buddy reads with the Lovely Ellie at Read to Ramble and I sort of fell in love with Mangus Bane. In the Mortal Instruments series he is so sassy and fun but in the Infernal devices we really got to know more about him and I just fell for him. I adore him as a character and it makes me smile so much when he appears in onw of the books. Ellie has probably a million messages of me gushing about Magnus.
You can follow out Shadowhunter Saturday posts here!
“so up to the house-top the coursers they flew, with the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too,”
A book that made you fly to another land.
The Jumbies
Tracey Baptiste
The Jumbies #1
Another slightly spooky Middle Grade that really captured my imagination. This was set around Caribbean folklore that I had not experienced before and I am definitely interested in learning more about the culture and folklore. The island that this story was so richly described you could practically taste the oranges the main character growing. The folklore had that beautifully dark and creepy quality to it that the best fairy tales do. I will be reading book two next year
you can read my review here!
“And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof, the prancing and pawing of each little hoof,”
A book creature you love.
Mogget
The Old Kingdom
Garth Nix
I went back through my books read this list and there are no new bookish creatures that stand out to me so I had to go back to an old favourite instead. These re-releases with the gorgeous new covers of Garth Nix’s The Old Kingdom series came out this year and you can be sure that I picked them up and they look stunning all lined up on my selves. It is no secret I love Mogget the Deamon/Cat from this series so much so I names one of my cats after him. I am using this purely as an excuse to put up a cute festive pick of him.
“He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot, and his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot,”
A character that proves to more than his /her first impression
Fetch Philips
The Last Smile in Sunder City
Luke Arnold
The Fetch Philips Archives #1
I have really really enjoyed this series so far. The world building is awesome, They mysteries and storylines keep you turning the pages but its Fetch’s journey itself that is most interesting. In book one he grows a lot. The Noir feel to the writing really makes fetch the quintessential hard boiled PI but as we learn about him and dig into why he hates himself and other humans so much he really grows as a character.
You can find my review for book 1 here and book 2 here.
“He had a broad face and a little round belly, that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly,”
A book or book character that made you laugh
The Beast and the Bethany
Jack Meggitt-Phillips
The Beast and the Bethany #1
Another Middle grade but this book was fantastically funny and great fun to read. It has a real Dahl-esq quality to the writing that makes it weird and wonderful and made me grin from side to side. I have recommended it to many people and i hope we see a continuation of the beasts journey.
You can read my review here!
“A wink of his eye and a twist of his head, soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread,”
A book that makes you feel safe.
The Dark Archive
Genevieve Cogman
The Invisible Library
There is a safety in this series that you know you are going to get an entertaining read with a fun mystery to solve. Exploration of all the fun tropes that we all love. There is something so fun returning to the adventures of Irene and Kai as they do there work for the library. i was so lucky to get a finished copy for review of this years instalment and I cant wait to return next year as it seems we are in for some dark dealings in the next one.
You can read my review here!
“He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, and filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk,”
A book that put you to work (a book that you felt you really needed to concentrate on)
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars
Christopher Paolini
I have to admit I am still working on this one. It is a really choker with over 800 pages, and i am finding it is taking a lot of my concentration to make my way through the story. it is a really heavy tome and not a comfortable bedtime read due to the size so I am only reading it in small doses so it is taking me quite a while to finish it. i am hoping as I am holiday I will have some spare time to sit and finally finish it. Therefore i should have my review up in the new year
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
A book with a magnificent ending
The Cousins
Karen M. McManus
This was such a good YA Mystery with a whole bunch of twists I just didn’t see coming. I really enjoy McManus’ writing for this reason. She has a great way of building up the suspense leasing you down red herrings and springing unexpected twists on you. I was really privileged to get an ARC of this one and devoured it as it was just such a fun read.
You can read my review here!
I would love to chat all things bookish with you! You can comment down below or find me on Twitter or Goodreads!
Happy Reading!
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