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Showing posts from April, 2017

Weekly Round Up #30 : The One Where Everything is Outback Style

Here's my weekly roundup. I'm linking to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer and #IMWAYR hosted by Kathryn at the Book Date.



Please leave a link to your blog (if you have one) in your comment or make sure your Disqus profile has your address so that I can visit you back! 


This week was a busy week for us! On Tuesday we had our ANZAC day memorial to get ready for which involved setting up the town hall and doing a bit of audio work.

Our local show was also on yesterday which, as only the outback can do, was full of whips cracking, dogs jumping, horses doing their ultimate, a helicopter lolly drop and a bullorama to finish it all off!

Some of the entertainment for the kids (the crackup sisters and jumping castles!)
The lolly drop (aka kid stampede)
Bullorama

What I read last week:


Amy and I finished up our buddy reads of the Six of Crows duology with Crooked Kingdom and we both really enjoyed this series! I also finished The Kingmaker, an indie novel that i…
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The Blog Squad: A Blogger Collaboration Part X

We are a group of three book bloggers situated on different continents but brought together by our love for books and a penchant for talking about them. We’ve joined our forces to create a collaborative series of posts about book blogging and we hope you’ll enjoy the discussions.


A MAGICAL WORLD OF WORDS - AmyNikita  BOOKS.BAGS.BURGERS - Uma K  BOOK REVIEWS BY DI - Di Hewlett



What is your reading schedule like?


Right now my reading schedule is pretty much unpredictable as my semester exams are going on! I’m working through a couple of books this month but keeping it light. Hopefully I’ll have more free time next month and I can catch up on my Goodreads Challenge (I’m currently 15 books behind!!)
There are some series I’m really excited about starting finishing (hopefully) in the summer holidays! Namely, The Mortal Instruments (I’m FREAKING EXCITED about this one!), and Six of Crows (I’M EVEN MORE EXCITED ABOUT THIS ONE)





My reading schedule typically consists of review copies and reading th…
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Review: Crooked Kingdom - Leigh Bardugo

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
Series: Six of Crows #2

My rating: {★★★★☆}

YA Fantasy

Source: Purchased
Welcome to the world of the Grisha.

After pulling off a seemingly impossible heist in the notorious Ice Court, criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker feels unstoppable. But life is about to take a dangerous turn—and with friends who are among the deadliest outcasts in Ketterdam city, Kaz is going to need more than luck to survive in this unforgiving underworld.
“This city’s price is blood,” said Kaz, “and I’m happy to pay with yours.”
I buddy read Crooked Kingdom with the amazing Amy from A Magical World of Words! We jumped straight from buddy reading Six of Crows into the sequel and we had a fantastic time chatting incessantly about every detail!! Have a look at her review here.

I know, I know! This one only got four stars compared to Six of Crows being a five star read for me but let me tell you something - it was still masterful and a really incredible book.

There's something about Ba…
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Review: Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Series: Six of Crows #1
My rating: {★★★★★}

YA Fantasy

Source: Purchased
Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams. But to claim it, he'll have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist:

Break into the notorious Ice Court
(a military stronghold that has never been breached)

Retrieve a hostage
(who could unleash magical havoc on the world)

Survive long enough to collect his reward
(and spend it)

Kaz needs a crew desperate enough to take on this suicide mission and dangerous enough to get the job done - and he knows exactly who: six of the deadliest outcasts the city has to offer. Together, they just might be unstoppable - if they don't kill each other first. I buddy read Six of Crows with the amazing Amy from A Magical World of Words! For both of us it was our first foray into the Grisha universe AND our first Bardugo book ever. Have a look at her review here.

Six of Crows is a dark, gritty, tightly plo…
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Weekly Round Up #29 : The One Where I've Been Super Lazy

Here's my weekly roundup. I'm linking to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer and #IMWAYR hosted by Kathryn at the Book Date.



Please leave a link to your blog (if you have one) in your comment or make sure your Disqus profile has your address so that I can visit you back! 


Well, I'm not sure what happened to last week but I really didn't achieve very much! I think that the holiday has caught up with me and I'm just in super, super chill mode.

I've been to the physio a couple of times in an effort to try and loosen up my neck and shoulder muscles and every time I go I come back in agony. I just have to hope that it's helping in the long run and that the stretches he's getting me to do will start working soon!  What I read last week:


Amy and I started buddy reading Six of Crows together and I think we sped through it considering we're in vastly different timezones and can only catch up at certain times! We often have differing opi…
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Review: The Black Lotus & Blood Orchid - Claire Warner

The Black Lotus & Blood Orchid by Claire Warner
Series: Night Flower Books 1&2

My rating: {★★★☆☆}

YA Historical Fantasy PNR

Source: YA Bound Book Tours
It's 1752 and Melissa meets the man who will change her life forever. At her disastrous debut, Melissa meets the handsome Justin Lestrade and finds herself falling into his world. But Justin has secrets and many enemies. His dark past will not only ensnare her, but damage everything she knows and understands. Join Melissa as she sinks into a world of old feuds and ancient magic. Tied to Justin with bonds stronger than blood, Melissa De Vire heads into her new life with fear and anger. Anger at Emily, at Katherine and most of all, anger at Justin, fuels her resolve to find a cure for the curse. From the English court in 1752 to the fires of the French Revolution, Melissa struggles to survive her new existence and find forgiveness for Justin as clues to a cure begin to surface. I received books one and two of the Night Fl…
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The Blog Squad: A Blogger Collaboration Part IX

We are a group of three book bloggers situated on different continents but brought together by our love for books and a penchant for talking about them. We’ve joined our forces to create a collaborative series of posts about book blogging and we hope you’ll enjoy the discussions.


A MAGICAL WORLD OF WORDS - AmyNikita  BOOKS.BAGS.BURGERS - Uma K  BOOK REVIEWS BY DI - Di Hewlett



What do you think is important about blog layout? How did you decide on your particular one?


Of course there’s no fixed way as to how your layout should be or not. Go ahead, edit it and make it “you”. I think the blog design is a way of expression and it should be your very own. Of course you can be inspired by other blogs but don’t try to recreate others’ blog designs.

That being said, there are some things that are important to layout. Some things that readers like to see and some things that can put off your visitors. One big thing to remember while deciding your layout and design is -

Blog layout = easily navigabl…
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Weekly Round Up #28 : Happy Easter Everyone!!

Here's my weekly roundup. I'm linking to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer and #IMWAYR hosted by Kathryn at the Book Date.



Please leave a link to your blog (if you have one) in your comment or make sure your Disqus profile has your address so that I can visit you back! 


Happy Easter everyone! I hope you are all having a lovely weekend. We have consumed far too much chocolate already and hopefully will actually get around to having a proper meal for dinner. The Easter bunny was very generous this year and we're all in a sort of chocolate coma!  What I read last week:


Red Winter surprised me by being almost a 5 star read. I really enjoyed it and once I finished that one I simply devoured the other two books (both five stars for me) by opening them up in the evening and just reading through the night! It's been a LONG time since a series has consumed me so entirely and I really enjoyed being sucked into that Japanese based fantasy world. The only …
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