Kimberley > Recent Status Updates

Needed a little romcom on holiday by the pool.

The Belfry of Bruges is such a fun read after visiting Bruges recently!

My brain is dead this weekend, after a very long working week and reading a lot of poetry. I need something familiar and an easy immersive writing style. This is perfect for that!

Picked up an antique version of this book from Books on The Hill in St Albans and am flying through it already. I was drawn in by The Occultation of Orion, and have discovered lots more of Longfellow’s poems now.

I had instincts that I needed to learn how to trust. And if I took a wrong turn, I was smart enough to look for a better way to go.

Papa used to say that whenever I felt lost, it was because I wasn’t telling myself the truth. He explained, in his soft, breathy voice suitable for libraries and churches, that people were often afraid to tell themselves the truth. They would rather lie, would rather deny, would rather ignore what was right in front of them.

This is a fun commentary on colonialism and immigration wrapped up in a fantasy heist with vampires, a tea shop, and magical pistols. However, the plot and pacing has been unsure of what genre this book should be so far, too even to be either a cosy fantasy (where plots can have clear inflexion points that resolve fast and satisfyingly) or a fantasy (whose pace picks up towards the end).

It made me angry, I realized – the gaping mouths and knowing looks between neighbours, not an ounce of sympathy among them. Morgan’s grief might be loud, it might be furious, or even ugly, all things we women had been taught to circumvent , but at least she was honest about how she felt. She wore her heart on her sleeve. I wished I could be a little bit more like her in that.

On the one hand, him describing Astrid as being ‘in his care’ makes her want to peep the skin from his bones, but on the other, swearing on his own life to protect her makes her want to peel the clothes from his skin. Not that he’s wearing any.

The moment he entered the library, the books fluttered with excitement. The novels, which tended to be anxious, shed a few pages—oftentimes prologues, for these were considered largely useless—hoping to gain his notice. Some of his books did not even wish to be read, but longed to be used as tables for mugs of tea that might only be sipped from once or twice before being sacrificed in the pursuit of daydreaming.

I was starting to feel as if my entire existence was a threat. Perhaps this is what womanhood was. The dangerous knowledge of who you are and what you could do with that power if pushed.

A woman they cannot control,
Whether Goddess or mortal,
Is a dangerous woman.

Is that all ageing is? Leaving things you knew and once loved behind to become something brand new?

Everyone assumed that to protect children they must be kept in the dark — no one understood those secrets haunted the same children they were so ardently trying to protect.

But grief was a cruel, selfish thing. It wounded the one who carried it so deeply, that when others saw them, they only saw the wound.

I was too young to understand this then.
But sometimes we tell ourselves
The most beautiful lies
Just to survive the terrible things
That we are living through.

Needed a quick easy read, and this has been on the top of my TBR for ages.

I needed an easy read this week, with so much going on, but I fear the naive decisions the 2 FMCs are making are pushing this book from YA to Middle-Grade. Let’s hope they turn things around, or I’ll have to debate dropping a star!

Needed a genre switch up after so much Romantasy, so let’s see if I like this cyberpunk! I’ve been excited to read this one, especially the Fairyloot edition.

It’s already giving Shadow & Bone x Buddy the Vampire Slayer x Zodiac Academy

“Books promise that your life can change in an instant. And bookstores? Bookstores offer refuge, a home away from home. No matter how far you travel, you can always find a little piece of home inside a bookstore.”

This is the funniest book ever, and I’m reading it aloud to Draco and Michael 😂

STOPPPP. This book is too good -I may be reading the Waterstones Exclusive edition but now I need the Fairyloot one too, and I’m not even done yet.

“All of these things you listed, a dog could do.” YES, go off Conor having one of those “he’s literally just a guy, hit him with your car” moments!

Loudons! It may be popular with tourists but I can concure it really is one of the best breakfasts in Edinburgh.

Not the mention of Booking.com 🫠

“Then Mordaunt grew serious, plucked the spear from the chief’s hand, and skewered him and the two men behind him into a grotesque bandit brochette.” 😂

Not sure how I felt about this one. The betrayals didn’t feel all that surprising -especially the last one, as Jude didn’t exactly make friends with anyone and was a complete novice. It was a bit of a disappointment as sequels can go. Still hoping things turn around for the next one though!

Not sure how I felt about this one. The betrayals didn’t feel all that surprising -especially the last one, as Jude didn’t exactly make friends with anyone and was a complete novice. It was a bit of a disappointment as sequels can go. Still hoping things turn around for the next one though!