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“Does it really matter if your cage is solid gold when you aren't allowed to leave it? A cage is a cage, no matter how gilded.” In an inventive re-imagining of the King Midas Fairy Tale, Auren is gold-touched by Kind Midas himself and kept caged as his favoured possession in exchange for his protection. Auren longs for freedom but is trapped by her complicated feelings for Midas. This first instalment totally let me wanting more. There was mention of Fae people who severed themselves from the connecting countries and have not been seen since which I always love when done right. Auren’s past is also somewhat of a mystery which I’d love to see develop. She’s an intriguing main character and I enjoyed following her journey to find freedom and independence. You’ll like this if you enjoy: Re-imagined fairy tales, spice, strong female characters, morally grey love interests, fantasy worlds and magic. I have so many books backlogged to review so I’m hoping to get those out before the end of the year! For my bookstagrammers: do you try to get up reviews right away or do you have a backlog like me? 😅 (at Toronto, Ontario) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClmZNMlv_3T/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Mate, it ain't violence if it's religion.” Well. Something tragic has happened to me. All my annotations on my e-book disappeared for The Lost Metal. UGHHHH. One of my favourite things about reading a Brandon Sanderson book is highlighting and annotating. Ah well. The show must go on. The Lost Metal is the fourth and final book in Mistborn Era 2 - Wax and Wayne. Wax has settled into a quieter life with Steris, working for greater change in the Elendel senate, and Wayne has a new partnership in helping Marasi bring down criminals with local law enforcement. After years of chasing the Set, an operation run by Wax’s uncle and sister - with a connection to the mysterious god, Trell - they discover this recipe for a new explosive device and realize the Set must also have it. The clock is ticking for Wax, Wayne and Marasi to save their world from the Set, Trell and perhaps from a mysterious new organization called the Ghostbloods. It’s giving Ghostbloods. It’s giving worldhoppers. it’s giving Hoid. It’s giving allllll the Cosmere. I feel like that’s all I need to say really? I really love the growth of these characters and their relationships with each other. If you haven’t read any of the Mistborn books and love heavily world-built fantasy with intricate magic systems, found family, romance and mystery - please go check out this series and perhaps get sucked into the wider realm of the Cosmere. There’s always another mystery. (at Toronto, Ontario) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClZIbAbrlZ9/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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What is your ultimate guilty pleasure read? Mine is trashy historical romance. I love it soooo much. One of my friends growing up had a cottage I would visit and her grandparents had a wall in one of the bedrooms filled with old trashy romance novels and we’d just lie in the sun all day and read them. Probably not ideal content for 13 year olds but hey, we were reading, right? 😂 Drop me your favourite guilty pleasure read in the comments or go share anonymously in my story! ❤️‍🔥 (at Toronto, Ontario) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClSHH_ZLVyA/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Audiobook Review! 🎧 I love listening to audiobooks to help me fall asleep - they’re basically adult bedtime stories for me 😴 I recently borrowed Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman from library for something to listen to before bed. I’ve love Neil Gaiman’s works since I discovered his film “Mirror Mask” as a teenager. He is such a creative genius who subverts traditional storytelling. I love when an author puts a unique twist on a classic concept and British humour is just 😘🤌🏻. This story is short and intended for children with plenty of jokes inserted for the adult reader. In Fortunately, the Milk, a boy tells the story of how their mother has left him and his sister in the care of their father while she is away for the weekend and they realize they have no milk for their breakfast cereal. Their father goes out to buy milk from the corner store, and upon returning much later than he should he recounts a story where he is waylaid by a time travelling stegosaurus, pirates, blood thirsty wumpires and interior-decorating aliens. It’s silly, funny, entertaining, and appropriate for adults and children of all ages. Read by Neil Gaiman himself. If you’re looking for something to listen to on your next hour-long car ride with your kids, this is it! Have you read any of Neil Gaiman’s works or seen any film/tv adaptations of his work!? If so let me know your fav in the comments! (at Bookstagram) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cace1K-rA5r/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Friday plans… ☁️ 🍷 is @frescobaldivini 2016 Brunello di Montalcino 📖 is The Atlas Six by @olivieblake (at In The Clouds) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cas7HNTLVpX/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Got my preview chapters from the kickstarter! Excited is an understatement. #cosmere #kickstarter #sanderfan #brandonsanderson #secretproject (at Dragonsteel Books) https://www.instagram.com/p/CapoZm1LvmL/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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🐉 Mini-Review ⚔️ Vienna by E.L. Schoeman ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫 “Princess Vienna of Highest Guard doesn’t want to marry. She sets a task for her suitors that she’s sure no one will conquer. However, her perfect world comes undone when a mistreated warlock curses her, changing her life completely. Setting out to break the curse, Vienna is forced on a journey of magic, ghosts, dragons, and broken hearts.” I loved this for a quick weekend read. It reminds me of politically correct fairy tale stories where the author has mixed traditional fable with modern elements. It was a little confusing but fun to think initially I was reading an “old-tyme” fairy tale just to have the princess jaunt off in a car and have her suitor refer to his mom as a “broad”. Charming and entertaining! What’s your favourite classic fairy tale? (at Bookstagram) https://www.instagram.com/p/CalTnxMrbqj/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Dark Academia 👓 I started The Atlas Six today and it’s reminding me of how much I love Dark Academia themed books. It most likely is Harry Potter nostalgia and I definitely think it can be done poorly when trying to replicate other famous works. Here are a few books/series that I think do Dark Academia/Magic Academia really well: Ninth House - Leigh Bardugo The Magicians - Lev Grossman Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness A Great and Terrible Beauty - Libba Bray If you had to choose, which magical book school would you go to? (at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry) https://www.instagram.com/p/CagBlZ5rIiH/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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*Review* My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫 Elena recounts her childhood growing up in 1950’s Naples with her best friend Lina. Both girls come from poor and sometimes abusive families but are given the initial opportunity to go to school. Lina is a natural genius but comes from a much poorer family than Elena. Their school mistress also pushes for Elena’s family to allows her to continue her studies. As the girls grow older their paths divert from one another due to the opportunities given to Elena through her education and the opportunities Lina must seize due to her lack of one. I really enjoyed being transported to Italy for this book. It gave me a lot of insight to how many families were struggling to survive in the poorer towns and how there were not many opportunities for women or men in that time. If you did not have an education you either had to work for your family or get married. I also really liked the exploration of the girls friendship which I felt like was almost a frenemies situation. Elena is jealous of Lina’s tenacity, natural intelligent and beauty, while Lina is jealous of the opportunities in life Elena has been given. They often separate then come back together, their lives intertwining. The pacing was a bit slow but by the end I was hooked (especially since it ended on a bit of a cliffhanger) and I’m excited to read the next book in the series. I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that HBO has done a televised adaptation so I’m equally excited to check that out when I’m done reading the books. I recommend this if you enjoy historical fiction, socioeconomic commentary and coming of age stories. (at Napoli) https://www.instagram.com/p/CaVgwvOLCEA/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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*REVIEW* This month’s (and our first) Reading Between the Wines Book Club Selection: The Simple Wild - by K.A. Tucker ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫 26 year old Calla is living a privileged, carefree life in Toronto when a series of events forces her to choose a new path. She is made redundant at her cushy bank job and catches her boyfriend acting a fool at the club when she receives a phone call from her estranged father’s “neighbour” Agnes in Alaska. Calla’s pilot father has been diagnosed with lung cancer and Agnes had asked Calla to come to Alaska to reunite with him. Calla is in for a rude awakening when her father’s hot-but-mean second in command forces her to leave behind her heavy and expensive luggage and she must adapt to the strange, barren dry community and people who live there. I found the beginning of this book to be a little slow. It’s first person narrative and Calla tends to over-explain details about her life to the audience instead of the author showing the reader through conversations or plot. Things picked up halfway through when Calla and Jonah begin spending more time together. I really liked their bickering and witty exchanges. The last half of the book speeds rapidly to conclusion which I felt could have been fleshed out a little more, but it still made my cry 😢. This book is the first in a series but I felt the story was self contained enough that you could read it on its own and be satisfied with the ending. Mainly pacing was an issue and lack of character development but overall I enjoyed it! Would recommend if you love enemies to lovers romance, spoiled princesses forced to rethink their circumstances and adapt, and sad endings. @sassy_sommelier paired this book with @flatrockcellars 2020 Pinot Noir 🍷 so go check out her post for a full review on the wine! (at Alaska) https://www.instagram.com/p/CaGDEA1AIaT/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Day 2 of 11 days of just a book, no caption. https://www.instagram.com/p/CaD651PLW1J/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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11 books for 11 days challenged by @beeisforbooks No captions, just photos. https://www.instagram.com/p/CaBHd0UrLLh/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hive-social/id1480835284

come find me on the hive friends!

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@thepattern really gets me.

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Not a book post, just a love post ♥️ Happy Valentine’s Day! (at Lovers Lane) https://www.instagram.com/p/CZ9zhwyLjtX/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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I’m finally starting the book @sassy_sommelier and I selected for this months Reading Between the Wines book club! There’s nothing better than settling in on a weekend with a book and a glass of wine 🍷 I hope you all tune in to our live on instagram on Feb 16 ♥️ Have you picked up this book yet?! Tag someone who loves wine and books in the comments! #readreadwine (at Alaska) https://www.instagram.com/p/CZ5YP-qrMXp/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Do you prefer vintage books or new books? Or some mix of the two? I love old books, particularly the way they look on my shelves, but I currently only have family owned hand me downs. https://www.instagram.com/p/CZxQBycvQRD/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=