The Notorious Virtues - Blog Tour

Welcome to the my stop on the Write Reads’s UltimateTour for The Nortorious Virtues by Alwyn Hamilton! Before we go any further, let me give you the blurb (look at me trying to be professional) then we can chat (this blurb can be found on Goodreads, StoryGraph & [Affiliate Link Alert] Bookshop.org)

A glamorous media darling, a surprise heiress, and the magical competition of a lifetime.

At sixteen, Honora “Nora” Holtzfall is the daughter of the most powerful heiress in all of Walstad. Her family controls all the money–and all the magic–in the entire country. But despite being the center of attention, Nora has always felt like an outsider. When her mother is found dead in an alley, the family throne and fortune are suddenly up for grabs, and Nora will be pitted against her cousins in the Veritaz, the ultimate magical competition for power that determines the one family heir.

But there’s a surprise contestant this time: Lotte, the illegitimate daughter of Nora’s aunt. When Lotte’s absent mother retrieves her from the rural convent she’d abandoned her to, Lotte goes from being an orphan to surrounded by family. Unfortunately, most of them want her dead.

And soon, Nora discovers that her mother’s death wasn’t random–it was murder. And the only person she can trust to uncover the truth of what happened is a rakish young reporter who despises everything Nora and her family stand for.

With everyone against her, Lotte’s last hope is hunting for the identity of her father. But the dangerous competition–and her feelings for Theo, one of the Holtzfalls’ sworn protectors–turns her world upside down.

Incredible tests, impossible choices and deadly odds await both girls. But there can only be one winner.

Now, years ago, I read Alwyn’s debut, Rebel in the Sands, and adored it. So much so, I couldn’t make myself finish the series as *whisper* what if the rest of the books didn’t hit the heights of Rebel. So, when the lovely people at Write Reads did a call out for this, I jumped straight in. 

But as I was reading this, I realised that I didn’t want to write a review for it. I want you guys to go into this knowing as little as possible as, the more you know, it kinda ruins the mystery/fun. Plus, this is the first book in a series so the mystery lingers and carries over (though if you are a fan Libba Bray’s The Diviners series, you might want to check this out). 

So was thinking of slightly different post to give you vibes. A mood board, I first pondered, but most of my ideas were very 1920s (see above). So, I went to my natural go-to: Music. And I had such fun discovering songs that will give you a vibe of this book or hints of what you will find. 

In other words: 

So, here you go and remember, the devil is in the detail (and thank you again to Write Reads for allowing me to be involved in the tour).

NetGalley Review - Hungerstone

I bet you saw the word hunger and thought this was going to be a Hunger Games post, didn’t ya? 

Ok, backstory time. Book blogger pal Luna’s Little Library has been pestering me to read the vampire novella, Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu for YEARS! YEARS! And though I wanted to, I’ve always held off or put it further down my reading list for a mix of reasons: vampire burnout, it’s a classic and I never feel smart enough to read classics, you get the idea. I think they’ve given up on me ever reading it. 

Why is that important, I hear you ask? Well, this book is inspired by Carmilla. Look, Luna, I’m one step closer to actually reading/audiobooking it!

Title and Author: Hungerstone by Kat Dunn

Publisher: Manilla Press/Bonnier

Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eProof gifted by UK publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, though listen to audiobook via library’s audiobook app. 

Buy From (Affiliate): https://uk.bookshop.org/

Lenore has been married to steel magnate Henry for ten years, but the marriage was a marriage of convenience, not love and with no child. Henry decides to move to Sheffield and host a hunt to celebrate his steelworks and its future. But Lenore remembers what happened the last time Henry attended a hunt and is shocked that he would consider hosting one. 

On the way to their Sheffield estate, they discover carriage accident and bring the injured party to their estate to rest and recover. But Carmilla isn’t who anyone expects. She is weak during the day, but vibrant at night. She doesn’t eat meals with her hosts and is unsettled by churches. She unnerves Lenore, but stirs things up with Lenore. A hunger, a desire that Lenore has ignored for so long but now refuses to be ignored any more…

NetGalley Review - The Decagon House Murders

I’m not sure, at the time of writing this, if this is going to be a post for one eProof I got from publishers via NetGalley or two. So, excuse me while I ramble and I can figure out. 

Let’s start with this Japanese crime classic, shall we? 

Title and Author: The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji (Translated by Ho-Ling Wong)
Publisher: Pushkin Veritago

Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eProof gifted by UK publisher in exchange for honest review/reaction, though listened to audiobook via Audible Plus

Buy From (Affiliate): https://uk.bookshop.org

In this Japanese cult classic (a loving nod to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None), the island of Tsunojima is the setting for strange, unsolved murders. So when a group of students from K-University Mystery Club go there for their annual trip, they think it will be great inspiration for the crime fiction magazine.

But when one of their member is murdered, the others realise that they are trapped on the island with no way to escape or call for help. And the murderer has made it clear to them that all of them won’t survive by the end of the trap. 

At the same time, back on the main land, poison pen letters have been sent, accusing the receivers of the tragic death of a young woman who died of alcohol poisoning. But how is that connected to the terror that’s unfolding on the island?

Musings over Magician’s Guild & Eye of the World

I told you guys in my 2025 Reading Resolution post that I was going to try and read books/audiobooks that I find fulfilling by not rushing or forcing myself to read them to a timetable (funny that as I’ve started a book that I need to read and review by the beginning of April for a blog tour. Oh yes, I am a walking contradiction). 

Well, I have done that with my first two reads of 2025 and I decided to slam my thoughts and feelings over these two together in one post as they are quite similar and yet, very different. They are, as you know if you have read my previous posts on here (or on any of my socials - since deleting the hellscape known as Twitter/X, I am far more active on the others!), The Magician’s Guild by Trudi Canavan* & The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan*. 

FYI, the reason both the titles above have a * is because they are affiliate links to my Bookshop.org* page so you have been warned.

All The Young Queers

My first blog tour of 2025! And it’s an extract!

Following on from his novella following the lives of queer elders in One Last Song, Nathan Evans’s debut collection of short stories goes to the opposite end of the age spectrum with All The Young Queers: 16-24 Years. In the nine stories that span from the end of the 20th century to the end of the world and in different universes, the stories follow young people exploring their sexual identities and looking at issues such as class, climate change and chemsex to name a few.

I am thrilled to be sharing this extract with you, and I just want to say a huge thank you to Justin at Inkandescent to ask if I wanted to be involved in this tour. And if you are curious after reading the extract and want to learn more, you can check out the Inkandescent’s website or Bookshop.org website (affiliate link alert). 

Now, ONTO THE EXTRACT!

January 2025 Reading Wrap-Up

As I am blogging less (burnout? Laziness? The slow death of the blog?), I thought I would chat to you guys about my reading last month (maybe touch on my December 2024 reads as I am taking my time on reading lately, but seeing as I mentioned my reads that month in an earlier post, maybe not as there was a LOT of quitting reads that didn’t bring me joy!).

But as you can see the pic, I included the December reads of How to Catch A Boss by Ana Ashley and the Audible Drama of The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie (mainly because I only touched on them previous so wanted to show them one more time before I speak January reads).  

Now, I did finish this in January (and both Goodreads and StoryGraph class this as January Reads), but seeing as I audio the majority of this in December, I do class this as a December read, and that was Rescuing the Writer by Nora Phoenix. This is a short story in the Forestville Silver Foxes MM romance series and, yes, I know this is a short story so things have to move much quicker, but I felt so underwhelmed and, the more I think about it, the more icky I feel. Maybe if this was a novella or a full length novel, this could have been explored and lessen, but I just felt very underwhelmed and it’s put my off trying out this series. 

Now, the big mamas: The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan & The Magician’s Guild by Trudi Canavan. These are still my Currently Reading. I knew these would be my “Take Your Time” reads as these are longer than my normal reads, but I didn’t realise these would take me this long. At the time of writing, I am currently 59% into Eye of the World audiobook, read by Rosamund Pike (19 hours 18 minutes into a 32 hours 56 minutes, for those of you curious!) and 68% into my ebook of The Magician’s Guild. Now, both are longer fantasy than I normally go towards, and both are so much slower paced than my normal reads in general (you guys know me, I love my books to move at a nippy speed), but I am weirdly enjoying myself. 

Now, I can’t tell if I am enjoying self with these because I am allowing myself to sink into these worlds, or for another reason but I know I will need to talk to you guys about these when I am finished to keep eyes peeled on the blog as these will be long posts (and, hopefully, I will figure out if I will read the next book in both these series…)

Now, the book I am classing my January read is Designing Terry Prachett’s Discworld by Paul Kidby. Now, he took over as cover artist for Pratchett’s books when the original artist, Josh Kirby, died in 2001 and most of his artwork is cemented as fan folklore for Discworld. I loved reading Kidby ideas on how he designed the characters and Terry’s world and the poking fun over his parodies (there’s one I knew vaguely which was his parody of the Mona Lisa, The Mona Ogg because of that smile/teeth. It’s only when I read his write-up, I found myself cackling and going “I get it now”), as well as loving the little details (as Granny Weatherwax is in the background, disapprovingly glaring, in several Nanny Ogg’s parody, the loving nod towards Josh Kirby in the original cover design for Night Watch and the chess pieces in Check Mort where Pratchett was playing chess with Death [and winning] as this was released while Pratchett was battling Alzheimer’s.)

I’m going to put some of my favourite art below, but I am going to try and read more arty books and going to more museums (I am going to try and be a cultured b***h, even though I will be pretending most of the time!). Or maybe I am just going to read more things and not feel guilty about it! Either way, let’s continue the weird reading into February, shall we?

Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize 2025 Longlist

Sorry for being MIA over the past month. Like I said in one of my earlier post (my last of 2024?), I’m not going to use my blog as much as I kinda fell out of love with it due to possible burnout. Plus, I am reading/audiobooking LONG stories (as it stands, I am about 46% into Eye of the World by Robert Jordan audiobook [which is under 33 hours long!], 60% into The Magician’s Guild ebook by Trudi Canavan and dipping in and out of my hardback copy of Designing Terry Pratchett’s Discworld by Paul Kidby). So, no updating on the blog (though if you keep your eyes peeled on my Instagram, Goodreads or StoryGraph, you will be more up-to-date). 

But I’m here not to talk about me. I’m here to share a press release of the longlist for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize!

First Post of 2025

First blog post of 2025! Can you believe we’re in 2025!? I can’t and it’s boggles my brain a little. 

So, while I am binge-watching the newest series of the Traitors (my guilty pleasure as I am not a huge fan of reality TV), I thought I would share a few titles I am holding space for this year (something I rambled about in my last 2024 post). And yes, most of these are LONG (pray for me!)

Now, there are several titles I have my eye on, which I’m not going to share with you guys. Let me build the mystery on those (maybe I will make a shelf on my Goodreads & StoryGraph…). On some others that I have my beady little eyes on, shall we? (Oh, before I go further, I am going to put affiliate links for Bookshop.org but I will put a * next to it so you know where it is).