Monthly Wrap Up: Look Who's Made A Comeback in October!

Nothing like waiting until there's 2 months left in the year to make a comeback. 

In the last 2-3 years, I definitely did think about this blog and how much I missed yapping digitally about all things books. However, I also didn't want to force myself into it and end up burning myself out again. I've come back with a renewed passion though, which I share about on one of my recent posts. 

Can't wait to dive back into the book blogging community and re-connect with you all!

On The Blog

I Discuss:

Four Books That Helped Me Escape My Reading Slump

After almost 3 years of having zero motivation to read, these four books absolutely dragged me out of the worst reading slump of my life!

Reviews:

The Astonishing Colour of After by X.R Pan

Reading Wrap Up

Check out my full wrap up of these reads on @PrintedWordsAnd and keep an eye out for full reviews of these reads up on the blog soon!

How Was Your October?

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Four Books That Helped Me Escape My Reading Slump

It has been an incredibly long time since I've felt like I've truly enjoyed reading again. Despite reading some books during the last few years, I would say that I was in a terrible reading slump as I could only get through 8-10 books a year. Those numbers aren’t bad, but I was more concerned about my lack of interest in reading and the significant time I spent doom scrolling. It was definitely a sad thing to realise and I did truly miss my passion for reading.

However, after almost 12-18 months of suffering through a massive reading slump, I was eventually rescued by the following books. They reignited my love for reading again and I could not be anymore grateful for it.

Black Sun (Between the Earth and Sky #1) by Rebecca Roanhorse

I cannot begin to explain how much I love this book. It had been sitting on my shelf for almost 2 years, so I decided to give it a go and was pleasantly surprised by how I was immediately invested and could not put the book down. Roanhorse brought to life a beautifully, tragic tale, driven by memorable characters and vivid and compelling storytelling. It had definitely been a long time since finding myself drawn to every character and attached to each journey. I thoroughly loved every single moment of this read.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Everyone in the book blog community would know of this book by now. I remember 11 years this was heavily spoken about and I am so glad I gave this a go. It was such a magical book to read, I fell in love with the world building and the characters really came to life for me. If you haven’t yet, this is a must read!

Stolen Focus: Why Can’t You Pay Attention by Johann Hari

Honestly, I don’t even know why I decided to or even when I purchased this but turns out I made the right decision. Johann Hari explains that this isn’t a self help book, however, I found it to be helpful in drawing attention to why we, as a generation, struggle to remain focused, are constantly being distracted and essentially being manipulated into behaving in this manner. I’ve always wanted to explore more non-fiction and enjoy Hari’s writing style, as it’s engaging and thought-provoking.

Conversations on Love by Natasha Lunn

This book is EVERYTHING. I strongly believe everyone would benefit in reading this at least once in their life. I know for sure I’ll be picking this up every once in awhile because it offers you so much perspective and understanding around love, relationships and identity at any stage in your life. Natasha Lunn put so much time and energy into this and I am so grateful she gave us the privilege to experience these interviews with her

Let me know what books have pulled you out of a bad reading slump?

Please keep an eye out for full reviews. I cannot wait to share my full thoughts with you all.

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The Astonishing Colour of After by Emily X.R Pan

Title: The Astonishing Colour of After

Author: Emily X.R Pan

Publication Date: March 20th, 2018

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Leigh Chen Sanders is absolutely certain about one thing: when her mother died by suicide, she turned into a bird.

Leigh, who is half Asian and half white, travels ot Taiwan to meet her maternal grandparents for the first time. There, she is determined to find her mother, the bird. In her search, she winds up chasing after ghosts, uncovering family secrets, and forging a new relationship with her grandparents. And as she grieves, she must try to reconcile the fact that ont he same day she kissed her best friend and longtime secret crush, Axel, her mother was taking her own life.

Review

The Astonishing Colour of After is a sad book. It's a bittersweet read about a young girl who tries to come to terms with the loss of her mother, questioning every moment that leads up to her death and everything that she will now have to face. I say bittersweet because underneath the grief, the guilt and the pain is a sense of hope, of renewal and of love.

 
The story itself progressed in a rather surprising way. I went into this expecting it to explore themes of loss, death and how to cope - a contemporary that would portray importance in relationships, what happens when you break and how to heal. TACA does this, it does. What I didn't expect though was the inclusion of magical realisim. Perhaps because I wasn't prepared for this aspect, as I kept reading, I found myself finding it harder to continue to connect with the story and the characters. My main issue lies in that I wasn't sure if I was meant to believe that what was happening to Leigh was real or rather a coping mechanism, something that was concocted from her imagination as a way to understand and process her emotions. I don't think there's anything wrong with imagining elaborate situations to cope with grief - everyone grieves differently - just in regards to the reading experience, I found that because I was questioning the plot constantly, it was jarring and I couldn't fully immerse myself into the book.

Despite how I felt reading this, it didn't take away from how beautifully written TACA was. X.R Pan's writing is vivid, easy to envision and I'm sure could draw on the feelings of many readers. She was able to depict the beauty of Taiwan, from the culture to the food and the small town that Leigh visits. I also loved how Leigh connected with not just her mother's family but her roots. I do think that the reading experience will be different for everyone, so whilst it may not have been amazing for me, it could be for you.

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A Song of Wraiths And Ruins Is One Of Its Kind

Title: A Song of Wraiths and Ruins

Series: A Song of Wraiths and Ruins #1

Author: Roseanne A. Brown 

Publication Date: June 2nd 2020

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For Malik, the Solstasia festival is a chance to escape his war-stricken home and start a new life with his sisters in the prosperous desert city of Ziran. But when a vengeful spirit abducts Malik’s younger sister, Nadia, as payment into the city, Malik strikes a fatal deal—kill Karina, Crown Princess of Ziran, for Nadia’s freedom.
But Karina has deadly aspirations of her own. Her mother, the Sultana, has been assassinated; her court threatens mutiny; and Solstasia looms like a knife over her neck. Grief-stricken, Karina decides to resurrect her mother through ancient magic . . . requiring the beating heart of a king. And she knows just how to obtain one: by offering her hand in marriage to the victor of the Solstasia competition.
When Malik rigs his way into the contest, they are set on a course to destroy each other. But as attraction flares between them and ancient evils stir, will they be able to see their tasks to the death?

Review

Note: I wrote this review sometime last year, but never published it (don't ask me why).

A Song of Wraiths and Ruins was one of my most anticipated reads of 2020. I was really excited to dive into a world that included something I had never heard of in books - African Mythology. That was perhaps the most persuasive factor in my excitement for ASOWR release. In fact, it was actually my favourite aspect of the book. Not only did it lend a hand in making the plot much more intriguing, I also felt like I had gained something by learning about the different gods and cultural traditions of each tribe. It truly was an eye opener and one that I was respectfully in awe of.

I will also be honest and say that if it wasn't for this rather fascinating element, I may not have continued past the first 150 or so pages. Bear in mind that I did have rather high expectations for ASOWR. However, as much as Brown's writing was rich - I really enjoyed the world building, being able to envision the scenery and the characters appearance - I felt like the plot was slow, which resulted in a lack of engagement. For most of the first half, I didn't feel compelled to be concerned about what the characters did or which direction the plot went.

It wasn't until the plot was building towards the conflict (midway) and Karina and Malik began to interact with each other that I started to become invested. In fact, the moments between the two characters were my favourite. In particular, the dialogue they shared made the events and the emotions between them feel more real. I don't think I've ever enjoyed dialogue in a book as much as in ASOWR.

Once we got down to the last 200 pages of ASOWR, I was totally hooked. It was hard not to root for our protagonists as a pair and individually. The action had kicked in and the pacing had picked up, creating that exciting and gripping atmosphere I was after. There was also a particular moment between the two main characters that essentially changed my mind about the entirety of the book.

I cannot wait to see what happens to the both of them and again, much like how I felt about A Song of Wraiths and Ruins, I am eagerly awaiting its sequel!

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REVIEW: The Island by C.L Taylor

Title: The Island
Author: C.L Taylor
Publication Date: 21st January 2021
Genre: YA Thriller

Welcome to The Island. Where your worst fears are about to come true…

It was supposed to be the perfect holiday: a week-long trip for six teenage friends on a remote tropical island. But when their guide dies of a stroke leaving them stranded, the trip of a lifetime quickly turns into a nightmare.

Because someone on the island knows each of the group’s worst fears. And one by one, they’re coming true. Seven days in paradise. A deadly secret.

Who will make it off the island alive?

Review

Disclaimer: I received a copy of *The Island* in exchange for an honest review.
I was really excited to dive into this once I got my hands on it. The mistake I made was reading right before bed because not only could I not put it down, I scared myself in the process as well.

The Island takes a hold of you and won't let go and there are three factors that contribute to this: 

1. The pacing of the story - it's quick to pick up and remains intense until the very last moment. I was captivated and didn't realise I had kept turning the page until 2 hours later, I had finished the entire book. 

2. The setting, which created a creepy and suspenseful atmosphere - a tropical island is usually known as paradise but Taylor is able to convey how quickly it can also turn into an isolated and threatening place. I was awestruck by the vibrant and lush setting, much like the characters, before starting to see the dangers around every corner, the longer the characters spent on the island. 

3. The characters' observations - this is another tick against Taylor's writing as she was able to manipulate my emotions through the lens of the narrators (there are two in this story). I'm still contemplating why she chose to include those two perspectives but it did make me stop and think as to who was the more reliable narrator. 

I was shocked by the ending and thoroughly enjoyed my reading experience at the time. I felt like beyond just being a thriller novel, Taylor was also able to address some really important themes such as trauma, grief and mental health, bringing awareness to these topics and how we should be generating conversation and showing more care to the people around us. I will say though that looking back now, as I finished this a few days ago, the plot wasn't as "hole-proof" as I thought. There are some moments where I can now say didn't read as well or were a little questionable. In fact, I can pinpoint a moment where the characters could have made a different call and things would have turned out for the better. It didn't really make sense to me why the characters never pointed it out. 

Overall, I think if you are a thriller fan, *The Island* will be right up your alley. It's got the suspense, mystery and engagement a thriller needs.

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