July 2020 Monthly Wrap Up

This month has simultaneously been incredibly long and gone in the blink of an eye. I actually had a pretty good reading month and read some incredible books.

I also announced my next bookish box which is Muslim Shelf Space and you can find all the details on my instagram post over on @thetsundokuchroniclesetsy

Here are the books I read this month:

1 The Trouble With Hating You by Sajni Patel – I listened to the audiobook and it was so great. So relatable in so many ways and I was totally rooting for them

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Rating: 4 out of 5.

2 A Dead djinn in Cairo by P. Djeli Clark – I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was an interesting story.

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Rating: 3 out of 5.

3 Queen of Coin and Whispers by Helen Corcoran – I was so excited to read this unfortunately I was disappointed by this and I barely managed to finish it

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Rating: 1 out of 5.

4 Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron – This was another anticipated read that I was disappointed by it was a really interesting concept but the characters fell flat for me.

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Rating: 2 out of 5.

5 No Shame by Anne Cassidy – This is a book that deals with the trauma of trying to get justice for being sexually assaulted. It’s such an important book to read.

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Rating: 4 out of 5.

6 Amazing Muslims who Changed the World by Burhana Islam – This is an incredible book full of wonderful Muslims that are so important for everyone to read. You can read my review here

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

7 Seven Devils by Laura Lam & Elizabeth May – I enjoyed this book though I had issues with some of the pacing in the book but after that ending I am interested to know what will happen next.

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Rating: 3 out of 5.

8 The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang – This book was incredible, it tore my heart to pieces but I cannot wait to read the sequel. You can read my review here

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

9 Avatar The Last Airbender: The Promise, Part 1 by Gene Luen Yaang – It was interesting to see what happens after the end of the show though I would love another season. It’s safe to say I am obsessed.

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Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

10 Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey – I enjoyed the book as it dealt with a married couple trying to improve their marriage rather than a couple meeting for the first time.

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Rating: 3 out of 5.

11 Pride Prejudice and Other Flavours by Sonali Dev – I loved this retelling so much! It was so much fun and the second hand embarrassment killed me. I loved all the themes that were incorporated into the story too.

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

12 Agent Zaiba Investigates – The Missing Diamonds by Annabelle Sami – This was such a fun MG story of a young Pakistani girl who wants to be a detective

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Rating: 4 out of 5.

13 Descendant of the Crane by Joan He – This book was incredible, the ending with all the plot twists blew me away!

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

14 Diana and the Island of no Return by Aisha Saeed – I really loved this MG story about Wonder Woman before she became wonder woman. I also loved that her best friend is a Muslim Princess!

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Rating: 4 out of 5.

I also shared reviews for:

A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir

The Damned by Renee Ahdieh

10 Things I Hate About Pinky by Sandya Menon

I also shared some posts about some incredible women:

Khadijah – A phenomenal woman and my role model

Inspirational Women Throughout History – Lubna of Cordoba

And I also shared a list of recommendations for feel good books.

February 2020 Monthly Wrap Up

Wow this month has gone so fast! Especially compared to January which lasted forever! I have had a really busy month which has impacted how much I was able to read and I ended up slumping so I am in the middle of 7 books at the moment but I can’t seem to be able to finish any of them.

This month I managed to read 6 books which is a lot less than usual but I did enjoy them so I guess that’s better than reading lots of books I didn’t like.

So here is what I read this month:

1 Blood Heir by Amelie Wen Zhao – This book is dark and brutal and I really loved it!

Rating: 4/5

2 That Can Be Arranged by Huda Fahmy – This was a reread because I just love this book so much! I will definitely be reading it again! My review will be up soon!

Rating: 5/5

3 Dangerous Remedy by Kat Dunn – I loved this book and the characters so much! Plus that ending with that plot twist…I need to know what will happen next! My review will be up soon.

Rating: 4/5

4 The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant – Ruthless, brutal and dark. This book had me hooked from the beginning and omg I just need the next book already! My review will be up soon.

Rating: 4.5/5

5 What We’re Told Not to Talk About by Nimko Ali – Everyone needs to read this book! It is filled with so many stories from women all over the world and show how different we all are and discuss topics which are considered taboo.

Rating: 4.5/5

6 Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado-Perez – Everyone go read this amazing book but be warned…you will end up raging.

Rating: 5/5

7 Eliza Rose by Lucy Worsley – A fictionalised version of how Katherine Howard became Henry 8ths wife told from the PoV of her cousin. It was such an interesting read especially as we hear Katherine’s story rather than Henry’s.

Rating: 4/5

8 Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon – I ended up dnfing this about 30 chapters in which makes me so sad as I really wanted to love this book. I just couldn’t get into it and even 30 chapters in I didn’t feel attached to any character so I didn’t really care what was happening to them enough to continue. I may come back to it later in the year though as I have been told that it will be worth continuing.

So that’s what I have read this month!

I also posted reviews for these books:

A Heart so Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer
Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes
Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon
There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool

I also shared these blog posts this month:

My favourite post that I have written is about Why Alizayd from The City of Brass means so much to me. I have literally poured my heart and soul into this post. Do let me know what you think!

I also shared this fun post where I shared book covers with Pakistani outfits I matched with them and you can read it here. Do tell me which is your favourite!

So that’s everything for this month! What did you read this month? What was your favourite read?

July Monthly Wrap Up

This month has been really busy for me so I haven’t had as much time to read. Plus I’ve been in a weird slump where I want to read but also don’t want to read. Yes, I know, it’s weird.

I met Hannah Witton at the beginning of the month when she went on tour for her new book, The Hormone Diaries. I absolutely loved the event. It was fun and insightful and honestly you should all go read her book.

Then at the end of the month I attended YALC! I went with my sisters and I’ve written two blog posts about my experience. You can read them here: Part 1 and Part 2

So anyways back to the books I read this month! I’ve found some new favourites and some which were well and truly disappointing.

So this is what I read this month:

1 An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir – A reread because I want to read A Reaper at the Gates and I loved it just as much the second time around as I did when I read it a couple years ago.

Rating: 5/5

2 We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal – I would die for the zumra okay! I absolutely loved her writing and her world building and such amazing complex characters!

Rating: 4.5/5

3 Once and Future by AmyRose Capetta & Cori McCarthy – I cannot begin to explain what a mess of a book this is. The plot is all over the place and how has no-one picked up on the racism in this book?!

Rating: 1/5

4 Caraval by Stephanie Garber – Another reread and I forgot how much I loved this book! I loved Scarlet and Julian and how vivid the imagery is!

Rating: 5/5

5 Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates – Wow this book made me so mad. The stories were so awful and me and my husband were absolutely disgusted at how vile men can be. Yet it’s a discussion that needs to be had.

Rating: 4/5

6 Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan – I did not expect to love this book as much as I did! I could not put this book down and I am so looking forward to the next book! Though I would advise everyone to check the trigger warnings before reading.

Rating: 5/5

7 You’re Crushing It: Positivity for Living your Real Life by Lex Croucher – I really enjoyed reading this. It’s a book you can dip in and out of and although it deals with heavy topics, it does in a way that doesn’t seem too much.

Rating: 4/5

8 The Paper and Hearts Society by Lucy Powrie – I was really looking forward to reading this but I was really disappointed by it.
Rating: 2.5/5

9 Bright Ruin by Vic James – I put off reading this book for ages because I was terrified of what Vic would do to my favourite characters and I was right to. But I still absolutely loved this book!

Rating: 5/5

So these are the books I read this month!

I also wrote reviews for these books:

1 No Big Deal by Bethany Rutter
2 Light Upon Light by Nur Fadhilah Wahid
3 Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
4 Queen of Ruin by Tracy Banghart

And here a couple other things I wrote about on my blog this month:

Places I would love to travel to
Surah Kahf – People of the Cave

And that’s all for my wrap up this month!

What were your favourite reads this month? Were you disappointed by any books?

June Monthly Wrap Up

I feel like I say this every month but wow this month has gone by so quick! We’re already halfway through the year and honestly I feel like 2019 just started.

I haven’t done too much this month as my health hasn’t been great but the doctor started me on sertraline for my anxiety and wow has this helped me so much!

I’m also going to YALC this year for the first time I’m going for all three days and I am so excited but also nervous about whether I will manage with my chronic pain but I’m hoping for the best!

Anyways the books I read this month are pretty mixed. I read some amazing books and some that I was really disappointed with.

So here’s what I read this month:

1 Sanctuary by V.V. James – this book is amazing! Absolutely terrifying but it was SO GOOD. You can read my full review here

2 The Beckoning Shadow by Katharyn Blair – I was so disappointed with this book, it took me so long to read and I had to keep putting it down and leaving it for days. If it wasn’t a review book I probably would have dnf’d it

3 Truthwitch by Susan Denard – while I enjoyed this book and I loved the characters, there was a lot of info dumping that made the story drag a lot.

4 No Big Deal by Bethany Rutter – I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend everyone read it!

5 The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson – another book I have mixed feelings about. While I did enjoy the story and found the characters fascinating, the story dragged for most of the book so by the end I was bored so it didn’t have the impact it should have. You can read my full review here

6 We are Blood and Thunder by Kesia Lupo – another book I was really looking forward to but really disappointed with

7 Queen of Ruin by Tracy Banghart – like Grace and Fury I absolutely ADORED this book! I read it in one sitting. As in I was up until 6am reading because I could not put it down!

8 The Hormone Diaries by Hannah Witton – I really like her YouTube videos so I was intrigued by this book and I really loved it! So informative and can really help a lot people especially younger people who don’t know where to look to learn about periods

9 Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson – Yet another book where I have mixed feelings. I loved the setting and the libraries and concept of talking books but I felt the world building was a little contradictory and the story was way too predictable

10 The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad – This is a very character driven story and I absolutely loved it! All the women are badasses in their own way, they do what needs to be done, often better than the men who are actually in power. I just loved it!

11 Romanov by Nadine Brandes – I have been so looking forward to reading this and I really did love it. While it wasn’t what I was expecting I still enjoyed seeing things from Anastasia’s point of view and I loved her brother, Alexei

12 Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – I think this story is really great I just didn’t enjoy the writing style which made me not enjoy the book as much

13 Love From A to Z by S.K. Ali – This book is all sorts of adorableness! I had a stupid grin on my face, especially during the second half of the book and I was literally screaming at them to admit their feelings for each other! The story and the characters reminded me of me and my husband so much! If you want to read a halal love story then seriously pick it up!

So these are all the books I read this month!

I also reviewed these books and you care read the reviews here:

1 I Will Not Be Erased: Our Stories of About Growing Up as People of Colour by Gal-Dem

2 Fight Like a Girl by Clementine Ford

3 All the Things We Never Said by Yasmin Rahman

4 Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

5 Prayers of the Pious by Omar Suleiman

5 The Sharp Edge of a Snowflake by Sif Sigmarsdottir

So that’s everything for this month! What were your favourite books this month? Were you disappointed by any?

April 2019 Monthly Wrap Up

Hey booknerds! April has been a month, I have been so busy over the Easter holidays with my family coming over and then I went to my parents for the week so I actually didn’t read as much as I had planned. I’ve also been feeling a little slumpy although I’m not sure if that is because I ended up reading several books this month that I didn’t enjoy.

I had planned on taking part in #ARCApril and #MagicalReadathon and I actually managed to get through several arcs but I didn’t finish all the prompts for the magical readathon unfortunately. Hopefully will finish them this month!

Anyways here are the books I read this month:

1 Obsidio by Jay Kristoff – I have been putting off reading this book for so long but I finally read it and it did not disappoint!

2 The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty – why yes I did reread this book and yes it did in fact destroy me, again. You can read my review here

3 Emiliy Eternal by M.G. Wheaton – my first disappointing read this month. I really wanted to like it but unfortunately it just wasn’t for me

4 The Rise of Winter by Alex Lyttle – a middle grade book which I really enjoyed reading! You can read my review here

5 The Extinction Trials Rebel by S.M. Wilson – I absolutely adore this trilogy! The last book was so good and I really hope we get to see more in this world

6 The Kingdom by Jess Rothernberg – ahh I really wanted to love this book but I just didn’t. I’m so disappointed.

7 My So Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma – a Bollywood style romance and I am so here for it! I loved this book!

8 Nocturna by Maya Motayne – I really enjoyed this book and the whole magic system and I love Finn! Can’t wait to continue the series

9 The Gentlemen’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Lee Mackenzi – another book I was disappointed with. I had heard such amazing things and it just didn’t live up to expectations for me.

So these are the books I read this month. I haven’t had the greatest reading month but I’m hoping May will be much better! I didn’t quite manage to finish Nevernight or my reread of Six of Crows either.

I also reviewed these books on my blog in April:

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer – a favourite childhood book that I reread and I still completely love!

Ayesha Dean – The Seville Secret by Melati Lum – I love this series and it’s so amazing to see the main character be unapologetically Muslim!

I also wrote about attending an evening class by Yasmin Mogahed. You can read about it here

What books did you read in April? What do you plan on reading in May?