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The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker |Telling a tale long lost in time

Posted on August 23, 2018August 25, 2018 by Ashleigh

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker - greek myth retelling

The ancient stories are always male dominated, with women’s voices being pushed aside in favour of those “heroes” instead. Although let’s be real, my idea of what defines a hero definitely isn’t the type you find in many Greek myths. So imagine my excitement when finding out this book exists, giving another perspective – the women’s perspective – of the stories I’d read and loved before. Combining Homer’s The Iliad and The Trojan Women by Euripides, my anticipation for this book was REAL.

Probably more real than some of these guys’ “heroic” status.

~~Ohhh she said it.~~ Continue reading The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker |Telling a tale long lost in time

(A little bit later than) Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag

Posted on July 13, 2018July 12, 2018 by Ashleigh

This is what happens when you’re an indecisive human. You’re at first adamant you won’t be doing any mid year reading updates on your blog or booktube, but then suddenly, somehow, you end up doing two – one on each. I’ve been loving reading/watching everyone else’s updates, so I couldn’t resist really. I was tagged to do this one by Jess over at Read By Jess, and also the Mid Year Check In Tag by Jasmine over at Jasmine’s Reads, so I decided to spread them across the two platforms. Since the Freak Out tag is the longer one, it’s making its appearance on my blog! If you want to check out the other one too – some of the questions are similar but there are some different ones too! – you can click here. But, anyway, let’s have a lil mid year catch up!

Continue reading (A little bit later than) Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag

Stratford-Upon-Avon // Visiting Ol’ Shakespeare

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Ashleigh

Though not being the most prolific reader of Shakespeare, I couldn’t resist a trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon when offered. As always, my love for literature and history found themselves closely tied, and walking around what used to be a medieval market town fascinated me to no end.

The town itself is stunning, full of beamed buildings for even the most standard shops, something I was glad to see because lord, how I hate modern buildings in comparison. Quaint, cobblestoned streets bustling with people going about their day to day lives, we probably couldn’t help looking like the tourist types the locals are no doubt used to by now.

Continue reading Stratford-Upon-Avon // Visiting Ol’ Shakespeare

March // It’s the little things…

Posted on April 2, 2018 by Ashleigh

So, I came to write a March summary and thought…what do I write about? Because I didn’t do much that would typically be considered worth writing about. I had no events to speak of, no new plans to get excited about. It was just a month of uni work really.

But to me, March ended up being a month that meant the world to me, because it was full of all the little things.

Continue reading March // It’s the little things…

Strange The Dreamer by Laini Taylor | Dreams, gods, and a few (hundred) moths

Posted on March 13, 2018 by Ashleigh

• Goodreads | Amazon •

The paperback from Strange The Dreamer is finally coming to the UK! *throws confetti* It’s been a long time coming, and at long last here we are. To celebrate, I’ve joined the Strange The Dreamer blog tour today, sharing my review from when I read this delight of a read and reminding you all that you should give it a go. In fact, I’ve reminded myself that I should reread it sometimes this year, especially with the second book Muse of Nightmares coming out later this year.

Anyway, enough rambling – onto the (spoiler free) review!

Continue reading Strange The Dreamer by Laini Taylor | Dreams, gods, and a few (hundred) moths

February // Birthdays, early screenings & the dreaded reading slump

Posted on March 4, 2018 by Ashleigh

feb

Where January proved to be the longest month in existence, February flashed by quicker than a blink (as I’m sure everyone has determined by now).

Honestly, it’s kind of a struggle thinking back over what happened this month, since it went by so quickly I barely had time to think. Or rather, I only had time to think about essays, which is a pretty standard thing by now. Despite working on things nonstop anyway, upcoming deadlines are always my cue to go into a sort of frenzy, not allowing myself to have a moment’s respite – which I know, is bad. But it can’t be helped. Even now as I’m writing this, my brain is gnawing away at itself with thoughts of “how DARE you not be doing uni work!”, thoughts that won’t be satisfied until I inevitably pick up some of my work after publishing this post. Still, at least I enjoy what I learn.

The coming deadlines also brought on a reading slump through February, though.

It very, very rarely happens to me. So when it does, it’s almost like my world tilts because what on earth do I do with my time?? I don’t spend my spare time reading, and all of my other hobbies revolve around the books I read so…what?

Continue reading February // Birthdays, early screenings & the dreaded reading slump

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty | Can I just be Nahri?

Posted on February 28, 2018 by Ashleigh

City of Brass

• Goodreads | Book Depository •

Set on the streets of 18th century Cairo before plunging us into the world of Daevabad, this is a fantasy novel I’ve been eagerly anticipating for months. Following a conwoman called Nahri, we witness her healing tricks long before she admits to them being magical – that is, until she accidentally summons a (kind of) djinn warrior in the process. Which, to be fair, would convince me too.

Continue reading The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty | Can I just *be* Nahri?

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte |Ignore 10 year old Jane, and all is good

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Ashleigh

• Goodreads | Amazon UK | Book Depository •

Despite being one of the most popularly known pieces of canonized literature, I still struggle to explain what this book is about beyond “it follows the life of Jane Eyre”. Honestly, I don’t feel like all that much happens for the length of it. But that’s not to say it doesn’t deserve it’s high acclaim. It’s just that when you read a lot of fantasy, you come to expect a lot of events (and numerous opportunities to wield your magic slaying-powers, of course).

So we start off with Jane as a child – a state I can just about manage. It’s far from my favourite stage to read about. To me, the language just seems rigid and almost wrong for her age. I’m well aware that the story is being narrated through an older Jane Eyre’s perspective, recounting her story and being able to add intelligence and hindsight beyond her focused years. But when that language and voice doesn’t change at all in recounting the dialogue of a ten year old…it’s strangely jarring. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it, no matter if it was true to the time period or character. So we’ll just ignore ten-year-old-Jane, okayy? Okayy.

Saying that, Jane Eyre soon grows older – as nature requires – and from that point on I can barely find anything to fault in the book. Because ohhhh it gets intense.

But how can it get intense if not all that much happens?

Well.

Continue reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte |Ignore 10 year old Jane, and all is good

Book Haul Spotlight | Plucking out my priorities from one heck of a haul

Posted on January 28, 2018January 28, 2018 by Ashleigh

books

A few days ago I uploaded a huge collective book haul to my channel – and while it’s just so much easier to fawn over all the books in actual speech form over there, I also figured...hey, why not spotlight some of the ones I’m really looking forward to reading on my blog? There’s so many books listed in that video (it’s linked at the end if you’d like to see them all!), but some really stand out to me as top priorities for the upcoming months and I basically just want another reason to chat about them all the more.

This list is…a varied one. Honestly I should probably stop giving that warning before any form of book list I provide, because it’s starting to get repetitive 😆 BUT if you want to see everything from the myth retellings and freak cosmic events I’m eager to pluck from my shelves – well, here they are spotlighted

Continue reading Book Haul Spotlight | Plucking out my priorities from one heck of a haul

The Changeling’s Journey by Christine Spoors | A newly published book that feels like an old folklore tale

Posted on August 9, 2017August 9, 2017 by Ashleigh

The Changeling's Journey.png

Do you guys realise how thrilled I am to be finally writing this review? To finally have read a friend’s book, to have it in my hands and see the words she spent so long writing? GAHHHH.

spoiler free