Mini Reviews II & Trip to the Bookshop

Becky and I have discussed adding more posts based on the lifestyle style of the book-lover so today, as well as doing a second part to this post of mini reviews, I'll be adding a few photos of my trip to the bookshop today and my very mini haul. So here is some of the books I've read in the past few days and what I thought about them in a few sentences and some shots of my favourite place in Swansea.

Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee

Yes, it's a Christmas July miracle. I finally read this book after attempting twice. This is always recommended on book Twitter and seeing as the sequel is around the corner, I thought I'd make an effort and I.Loved.It. Jessica Tran is now one of my favourite characters, Abby is amazing, Bells is a badass. If you love anything superhero and more importantly, diverse, then definitely pick up this book. Our main character is Chinese/Vietnamese and Bells is trans (and the sequel is based on him!!) Go!

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu

This was one of those books that I just knew I was going to love as soon as I read the synopsis. A high school girl who makes it her mission to end sexism in her school by distributing Moxie zines anonymously and gradually, all the girls - from every clique and every belief - come together and fight back! I could have cried from anger and happiness throughout this entire book (which I read in one sitting!) It reminded me a lot of the Holly Bourne Spinster series, especially What's a Girl Gotta Do? and I think they both should be required reading in secondary schools. This book is dedicated to teenage girls, showing that their voices are just as important as anybody else. Overall, read this book. Spread the word. #moxiegirlsfightback

The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee

I loved this book! I loved Genie from pretty much the beginning when her reaction to Quentin screaming 'you're mine!' at her made her want to teach him that there are certain things you don't say to women. Despite this book being full of Chinese mythology and Genie being thrown into a world of demons, she still manages to maintain her worry over finishing school and getting into a good college. This is so important and realistic, especially in YA. Another thing that stood out to me was the humour. Genie came out with hilarious one-liners that made me laugh out loud. So if you're looking for a YA fantasy that's diverse, funny and realistic (other than the demons), then I'd definitely recommend this!

Thank you to Orenda Books for sending me a copy for review.

Exquisite by Sarah Stovell

Another case of a 'psychological thriller' that I found neither psychological or thrilling but I seem to be in the minority here. I did complete this book in one sitting. Despite my rating, I did find the story very addictive which I think is one of the key elements of a psychological thriller. I wanted desperately to know what happened next, how everything would end, etc. It's just when I closed the book, I felt disappointed. However, this book is based around a lesbian relationship (albeit a toxic one) but I think it could have been handled better. Overall, I wouldn't recommend.

My local bookshop (Waterstones for U.K. people) isn't the largest and sometimes finding a new release in there is like finding a needle in a haystack but it is my favourite place in Swansea. Despite recovering from agoraphobia and struggling to leave the house, I always feel safe in here amongst the books. 

However, today they had two amazing tables on display. One featuring Trump's Small Hand Soap (along with other piss-taking books) and two books that won the Women's Prize for Fiction - The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and The Power by Naomi Alderman. 

Overall, despite the fact that I'm supposed to be on a book-buying ban, I bought these two at buy one, get one half price! I got The Power because of the Women's Fiction Award it won. I've seen mixed reviews but the premise sounds very interesting and the cover was so striking as soon as I walked into the shop. The Crow Girl has been on my TBR for a while but this cover's edition looks so different from the original that I've been walking past it for ages! It's a psychological thriller and I am so excited for it! 

And that's it! I hope you guys liked this post as it is something a bit different. Becky is planning on a post where she matches clothes/outfits to books and their characters so stay tuned for that. We hope you're all well and have the best weekend.

Love Angharad @

Laini Taylor Event at Waterstones Liverpool

Hi everyone!

So we've gone a bit quiet again recently, partly due to the opening of our store, Two Candle Thieves, and also as Angharad's away at the moment and I'm just finishing up with my degree. Hopefully once the last of my assignments are submitted and Angharad's finished gallivanting about in the south of England, we'll be posting more frequently again!

Today's post is a bit different from anything we've done before (partly because we've never attended book signings before - unless you count the Jacqueline Wilson event I went to when I was 12...) but anyway - I thought I'd share a bit about the Laini Taylor event I went to in Liverpool a few days ago!

As soon as I saw that Laini was touring the UK, I knew I had to be at one of her events - I've absolutely loved her writing ever since I read Daughter of Smoke and Bone around five years ago, and I had been waiting to read Strange the Dreamer ever since I heard that she was writing a new novel. Unfortunately, Laini wasn't visiting Manchester on this tour, so after considering the three nearest event stops to me, I decided to attend the event at Waterstones in Liverpool - I've been to Liverpool many times for photography work, and as I was anxious enough about going to a bookish event for the first time (and on my own) I wanted to be in a city that I was fairly familiar with! 

Luckily, I ended up not having to go to the event alone, and met up with Amy (www.amyjanealice.com), Lauren (www.northernplunder.blogspot.co.uk), and Beth (www.iambookmad.com), three fellow Manchester-based book bloggers. I'm usually an awkward mess when meeting new people, but these three are so lovely and it was so great to meet some book lovers who live close to me! So after travelling to Liverpool and grabbing some food, we got to Waterstones, and I couldn't have been more excited. 

There was a little talk and Q&A - Laini spoke about how Strange the Dreamer was originally Sarai's story, called the Muse of Nightmares, but Lazlo just kept coming back to her, and so the first book in the series became his story. I'm so glad she chose to write the book this way, as I have to admit, Lazlo is definitely my current bookish crush. I feel as though I should have taken notes during the talk (as a few other people there were) so I could remember it all better, but I was just so awestruck that I didn't even think to do so!

One interesting link between Strange the Dreamer and Daughter of Smoke and Bone was the mention of being impaled on spikes - this is at the very beginning of Strange the Dreamer (so no spoilers here, don't worry!) and mentioned briefly in Daughter of Smoke and Bone (about Czech nationalists attempting a rebellion against the Nazis, and subsequently being impaled on a gate surrounding the building that had become Karou's art school). Laini hadn't actually noticed this link until it was brought up but assured us all that she doesn't have a phobia of being impaled on a gate.

After the talk, we queued up for the signing - the four of us were panicking a bit about getting the train back, but the lovely Waterstones staff moved us closer to the front of the queue (with the help of a very kind man who let us cut in front of him - if you're somehow reading this, big thanks to you!!). It got to my turn to speak to Laini, and I was honestly so nervous! I got up and handed her my books and mumbled some rubbish about how it was my first book signing, I was sorry that I'd brought so many books with me to be signed, and some other nonsense. Laini was such a lovely person though! I also gave her one of our Welcome to Weep candles and got a photo with her (below). We were all given two Strange the Dreamer moth temporary tattoos, which are so pretty that I can't bring myself to actually use them and have stuck them on my bookcase instead!

I do feel as though I was such a puddle of awkwardness, but hopefully next time I'll be less nervous now that I know what to expect from author signings and events a bit more. I'm really hoping to somehow be able to attend YALC this year, and if I do I'll get to meet Laini again which would be amazing!

love Becky @