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Posted in Reading, Review, Tags

Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag 2020

Posted on by Tegan Anderson

We’re already halfway through the year and I’m slightly behind on my reading challenge, but my TBR pile has also doubled in size. I’ve discovered the joy of Maggie Stiefvater’s audiobooks on Spotify, and some incredible Kindle books for under £1. I’ve also been borrowing eBooks from my local library, and I’m looking forward to a time in the future when it’s safe for me to visit in person. Until then, my TBR will continue to grow and grow and grow.

Today, I’m doing the Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag, which is great because I’m currently looking at my reading challenge to remind myself what I’ve read, and I have no memory of reading any of them.

Let’s begin!

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Posted in Melinda Salisbury, Review

Hold Back the Tide by Melinda Salisbury [REVIEW]

Posted on by Tegan Anderson

I got this book because the eBook was 83p on Amazon and it has a pretty cover. I went into it blind, also because the blurb does not tell you anything about the story. It turned out to be my favourite book of the year so far, and in my top favourite books of all time. I read it in one day, and it’s been a week or two now, but I still can’t wrap my head around it, or even get it out of my head.

 

‘Hold Back the Tide’ is an incredibly intense novel. It’s my first Salisbury book so I have no previous knowledge of her work to compare it to, but if they’re all this high quality, I’m about to become her biggest supporter. She knows how to craft an atmosphere that grips you by the throat from the first sentence and doesn’t let go until the last word. The narrative itself is quite simple but quick and exciting, basically a perfect YA novel for you to sink your teeth into.

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Posted in Neil Gaiman, Review

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman [REVIEW]

Posted on by Tegan Anderson

I’m going to start of by saying that everything Neil Gaiman writes is madness and I love it. But with this book… I was so confused. But I loved it. But I wasn’t sure what was happening? I was scared at some points. This isn’t exactly a horror, but I wouldn’t say that it isn’t one either. It’s about magic and monsters and childhood and nightmares and it hurt my heart in an oddly nostalgic way. The first and final chapters show the narrator as an adult, and everything in between is him looking back on an event from his childhood, so it’s hard to decide whether this is a book for children or adults. I saw someone in another review recommend it for people who’ve started forgetting what it was like to be a kid, and I think that’s perfect.

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Posted in Hazel Hayes, Review

Out of Love by Hazel Hayes [REVIEW]

Posted on by Tegan Anderson

Hazel Hayes is someone I’ve followed online for years and is someone who I love and support with my entire heart. She’s an experienced and incredibly gifted storyteller. When she announced she was publishing a book, I thought I’d buy it so show some support, probably read a few pages, then move on. But I bought it, read a few pages, then suddenly it was many hours later and I was a chapter from the end with it clutched against my chest and a few tears on my cheeks.

 

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Posted in Rainbow Rowell, Review

Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell [REVIEW]

Posted on by Tegan Anderson

I’ve been anticipating this book since I first finished reading ‘Carry On’ years ago, and I’ve been so anxious about reading it since I got a copy that I’ve been trying to delay the inevitable. Then I gave in and read it. This is exactly what I wanted and more from a sequel about the aftermath of being the Chosen One.

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Posted in Review

Nineteen by Mackenzie Campbell [ARC REVIEW]

Posted on by Tegan Anderson

I was given an eARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

This book is a collection of prose and poetry, titled after the age at which Campbell wrote it, and it’s the first of her collections that I’ve read. Given her age, the writing is done well. However, for me, it lacked the emotion that I rely on when it comes to enjoying poetry. Most of the subject matter didn’t appeal to me: I’m not overly interested in poems centred around love and heartache, but I do like nostalgia and life lessons, and these are the ones that stood out to me in this book.

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Posted in Reading, Review

The Worst Books I Read In 2019

Posted on by Tegan Anderson

I’m so used to seeing lists of the best books people read in the previous year, but isla @ A Whisper Of Ink posted a blog about the worst books she read, and now I’m stealing that idea for myself.

I was originally going to do a longer list of books that I disliked, but I decided to keep it short and put the only books that I gave two-star ratings to this year.

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Posted in Writing

What I Learned From Writing Fanfiction

Posted on by Tegan Anderson

I feel like you should know that this blog has come into existence because I watched the film ‘After’ (you know, the movie based on a hugely popular Harry Styles fanfic-turned-book) and now I can’t stop thinking about the days when I wrote One Direction fanfiction on Quotev and Wattpad.

And I can’t stop thinking about how fanfiction is still treated like an inferior form of writing, so here’s a full blog post to argue otherwise.

 

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Posted in Personal, Reading, Writing

How to Help Authors

Posted on by Tegan Anderson

From personal experience, I’ve discovered that gaining recognition and creating an audience as a new author – especially as a self-published one – is borderline impossible.

So, in order to help out new authors, I’ve created a short guide on some important things you can do that they’ll definitely appreciate.

Let’s begin!

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Posted in Review, Sarah J. Maas

The Assassin and the Empire by Sarah J. Maas [REVIEW]

Posted on by Tegan Anderson

I knew it was coming from the first novella, but I was still completely unprepared for what happened. This novella was too much for me to take. It was so painful and heartbreaking and brutal and even if I knew that the ending was not that bad, I still shocked when I was on the last page.

Continue reading “The Assassin and the Empire by Sarah J. Maas [REVIEW]” →