#anna bright

[theinquisitxor]

May 2024 Reading Wrap Up

I read 8 books in May and fully got through all the books I wanted to read this month, which makes me happy. My enjoyment was a big up and down throughout the month, but I'm overall happy with what I finished in May. I read mostly fantasy, with 3 nonfiction. I wrapped up 1 series and read a few new releases I have been excited about.

Let's get into it!

1.The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo 4/5 stars. This was an enjoyable new historical fantasy standalone, and I'm liking her adult works quite a bit. I enjoyed the early-modern Spain setting, including all the societal upheavals that Spain was going through during this time period. This novel feels like a Leigh Bardugo book, with characters, themes, and plots that appear in her other books. In general, if you consistently like Bardugo's works, then you'll probably like this one! Adult Historical Fantasy.

2.Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon by Melissa L. Sevigny. I read this on audio, and this was an enjoyable nonfiction about the first women to raft down the Colorado River in the late 1930s. Nonfiction.

3.The Winners (Beartown 3) by Fredrik Backman, 5/5 stars. This gave me such a satisfying but emotionally devastating conclusion 😭. I knew from page 1 that things were going to hurt, but I really couldn't have asked for a better series about a small hockey town. Fiction.

4.Song of the Huntress by Lucy Holland 2/5 stars. I read Sistersong when it was released a few years ago and loved it. I was disappointed with this however, I never really connected to the plot or characters at all. I felt like our main character never went through any sort of growth, and I was bored or frustrated throughout.Shoutout for having an ace main character, but other than that I would have dnf'd this book if it wasn't for how much I deeply enjoyed Sistersong. Adult Historical fantasy

5.The Language of Trees: A Rewilding of Literature and Landscape by Katie Holton. This was a lovely collection of short essays, musings, passages, and poetry about trees and forests.

6.The Hedgewitch of Foxhall by Anna Bright, 3/5 stars. I'd been interested in this novel since the title and fantastic cover caught my attention. Young Adult is generally not my favorite genre anymore, and this definitely had a YA feel to it, a bit more than I find I enjoy anymore. The ending felt cobbled together and rushed, but I thought this novel had some good reflections and critiques on nature and society that apply well today. Young Adult Historical Fantasy

7. Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness by Edward Abbey. I can see why this is a foundational piece of North American Nature Literature, and I did enjoy my time reading it. Edward Abbey was certainly a man with opinions, and a man of this time. I thought his prose, reflections on the landscape and nature were beautiful and apt. However sometimes he will randomly spout some nonsense. I did really enjoy reading this collection of essays and he makes me want to visit this region, and to really get to know, understand, and appreciate the land. Nature Literature

8.The Witch Collector by Charissa Weaks 3/5 stars. This was my Random TBR Pick for the month of May. I'm not the biggest Fantasy Romance person, but I was willing to give this a try. This was fine. It was entertaining and I kept wanting to turn the page and find out what happens next. I didn't connect with the characters as much as I wanted to, and I did not enjoy the Insta-love that happened. The worldbuildng felt weak, but the magic system interests me. This book definitely steered in a direction I wasn't fully expecting, and I don't think I have any interested in continuing the series. It's not necessarily bad, just not my cup of tea. Adult Fantasy Romance.

that's all the books I read in May!

My June TBR:

The Magician's Daughter by HG Parry

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh (TBR pick)

River Horse: A Voyage Across America by William Least Heat-Moon

1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed by Eric H Cline

[bookaddict24-7]

NEW YOUNG ADULT RELEASES! (MARCH 5TH, 2024)

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HAVE I MISSED ANY NEW YOUNG ADULT RELEASES? HAVE YOU ADDED ANY OF THESE BOOKS TO YOUR TBR? LET ME KNOW!

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NEW STANDALONES/FIRST IN A SERIES:

The Other Lola by Ripley Jones

Not Your Average Jo by Grace K. Shim

The Hedgewitch of Foxhall by Anna Bright

Book, Beast, & Crow by Elizabeth Byrne

Six Truths & A Lie by Ream Shukairy

These Bodies Between Us by Sarah Van Name

Ariel Crashes A Train by Olivia A. Cole

Strong Like You by T.L. Simpson

Meet Me In the Fourth Dimension by Rita Feinstein

Monster Crush by Erin Ellie Franey

Just Another Epic Love Poem by Parisa Akhbari

NEW SEQUELS:

Infinity Kings (Infinity Cycle #3) by Adam Silvera

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Happy reading!

[luxaofhesperides]

[exordium-graphx]

The Hedgewitch of Foxhall by Anna Bright

[redneck-phd]

Ada Hall: One of the First Female Deacons

Ada Hall: One of the First Female Deacons

The November 25, 1913, Free Methodist had a front-page tribute to the first women deacons. The 1911 Free Methodist General Conference took steps to finally allow women some form of ordination. Now, women could become ordained deacons at the annual conference level, but with the cavet that “this ordination of women shall not be considered a step towards ordination as an elder.”1 I’ll write about…

[between-the-pages657]

The Captain is going to be the love interest isn’t he?

[beautifulcoversofbooks]

The Hedge Witch of Foxhall by Anna Bright (Author)

In this gorgeous stand-alone fantasy romance perfect for fans of Margaret Rogerson and Allison Saft, a rebellious witch undertakes a last-ditch quest to restore magic to medieval Wales—as two princes vie for her heart.

Magic is fading from Wales—choked off by King Offa’s Dyke, the enemy earthworks that spans the entire border. Even the dragons have disappeared. And now an attack is imminent.

Prince Taliesin would love to watch magic die. Prince Dafydd fears it, and the throne. But when their father promises the crown to whichever son can destroy the dyke and restore magic to Wales, the brothers are forced into an uneasy rivalry.

Ffion works hedgewitch magic for poor folk, not princes. Unlike the power-hungry Foxhall coven, she uses only what nature can spare. But when the coven’s greed costs Ffion everything, she will need power beyond her wildest dreams to get back what she’s lost.

So when Prince Taliesin arrives, begrudgingly seeking a witch’s aid, Ffion agrees to help him—even if it means walking from one end of Wales to the other with the most use-less peacock she’s ever clapped eyes on. Even if it means striking a bargain with Dafydd behind Tal’s back. The fate of Wales depends on their quest . . . and so might the fate of Ffion’s heart.

[catedwrites]

The Hedgewitch of Foxhall

Atmospheric and lyrical, The Hedgewitch of Foxhall has big, thoughtful ideas about the world...that unfortunately don't have the payoff the rest of the book deserves. The author, Anna Bright, clearly has passion and knowledge of both Welsh history and mythology, and weaves them together with a fantastic heroine. Ffion is a great character to lead the book; she's stubborn and powerful, but also vulnerable and unsure--a teenager if I ever saw one. Unfortunately, Ffion isn't supported by the rest of the cast as well. Switching between three POVs ultimately weakened the book for me because we didn't have much time to spend with any of them; I frankly felt that the supporting princes were both "meh" characters. I didn't ever feel the link between all three strongly, which meant I ranged from indifferent to irritated by the romantic elements. And while the writing itself is lovely, it ultimately didn't come together thematically for me. I feel like each character had their own themes, none of which came through strongly (or at least cohesively) for any one character, but then those individual themes didn't coalesce into an overarching theme for the book. I think perhaps in addition to individual character themes (like belonging, sacrifice, etc), Bright may have been trying to say something about colonialism or politics, but in the end, I wasn't able to ferret out those ideas. This was a very difficult review to write, because the opening chapters did not hook me at all and I nearly thought I wouldn't be giving feedback on this one, but once it got going, there was a lot to enjoy. But I couldn't turn off my teacher/writer brain and couldn't enjoy it as much as I think this book deserves. I really hope that it finds an audience who loves it and roots for it. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

[judgingbooksbycovers]

The Hedgewitch of Foxhall

By Anna Bright.

[dogzcats]

inside the actors' studio with Colin Firth

[butchgambit]

"The name's Gambit, mon ami. Remember it."

[greengableslover]

‘If I wasn’t a human girl I think I’d like to be a bee and live among the flowers.’ L.M. Montgomery - Anne of Green Gables

SANDITON (2019 - 2023)

ANNA KARENINA (2012)

HOWARDS END (1992)

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES: THE SEQUEL (1987)

BRIGHT STAR (2009)

MARIE ANTOINETTE (2006)

ATONEMENT (2007)

BRIDGERTON (2020 - )

THE SECRET GARDEN (1993)

[publishedtoday]

The Song that Moves the Sun - Anna Bright 

Best friends Rora and Claudia have never felt more like their lives are spiraling out of control. And when they meet Major and Amir--two boys from one of the secret cities of the spheres, ruled by the magic of the astrological signs--they discover they're not alone. There is a disruption in the harmony between the spheres, and its chaos is spreading. To find the source of the disharmony, Rora and Claudia will embark on a whirlwind journey of secrets, romance, and powerful truths--about themselves, each other, and two long-ago explorers named Dante and Beatrice, who were among the first to chart this course toward the stars.

tw: anxiety, depression, disordered eating, infertility, mental illness, vomiting

[luxaofhesperides]

the hedgewitch of foxhall - anna bright

[youchoseeachother]

12x11

[lipid]

Happy 20th anniversary to Kamikaze Girls! 🎀