Travel Bucket List

If you are new to my blog let me introduce you to my love for travel! I love visiting new countries, experiencing new cultures and seeing all the wonderful sights on offer. I wanted to share with you my current travel bucket list with all the countries that I currently would love to travel too! Here is my list:

Singapore

While this one is on the bucket list a trip has been booked to Singapore linked with a trip to Thailand. I am so excited to see the amazing sites of this wonderful country. Part of our plans include visiting the Bay Gardens to see the Super Trees, the Cloud Forest with a one night stay at Marina Bay Sands with access to that famous infinity pool. 

Bangkok, Khao Sok and Phuket, Thailand

Linked with our Singapore trip we will be visiting the above locations in Thailand. Visiting this country has been a bucket list dream for years! Other than the destinations the only specific plan that we have booked is to visit the Elephant Hills in Khao Sok, here we get to meet and feed the elephants with a mixture of jungle trekking and canoeing. Other than that we are looking forward to lots of temple visits, good food and sandy island beaches with maybe a visit to the Phi Phi Islands from Phuket.

Marrakech, Morocco 

Marrakech is another destination that has been on the list for a while with a cancelled trip in 2021 due to Covid. We have rebooked this for 2023 over my 30th birthday and I am incredibly excited to wander the Souks, have a day trip to Essouria, visit the Atlas Mountains and the desert.

Copenhagen, Denmark / Malmo, Sweden

Copenhagen was a trip that is also going to be rearranged after being cancelled due to the pandemic, hopefully for 2023. I am going to be visiting here with one of my close friends and we are planning on having a day trip over to Malmo in Sweden.

Germany

One country that I have never been to is Germany which as it is such a short flight from the UK needs to be remedied. High on my list are Berlin, Stuttgart or Munich. I would be happy to visit any of the three and immerse myself in the culture and history that this country is rich with.

Switzerland

We hope to link a trip to Germany and Switzerland together due to the countries sharing a border. I would love to see the views of the alps and visit the major cities like Zurich or Geneva to get a real feel for the country.

Bruges, Belgium

Bruges is a picturesque city in Belgium perfect for a small weekend getaway. A great small city for wandering the cobbled streets, eating lots of good food and sampling all the Belgian chocolate that you can.

Ljublijana, Slovenia

The capital of Slovenia and one of the more recent up and coming European countries to visit. Known as a green capital with lots of green open spaces in the country that are stunning and a must visit including Tivoli Park and Lake Bled. I would love to explore this stunning country.

Riga, Latvia

A new addition to my bucket list is Riga in Latvia located in Northeastern Europe being one of the three Baltic States another city with lots of culture and good food that I would love to wander around.

Japan

Japan has been the top of my bucket list for years with cost being the only thing keeping me from going. I would love to do a tour of this country visiting Tokyo, Kyoto,  Nara and Hoikkado. There are just so many sights and experiences in this country that I want to partake in including visiting Mount Fuji, taking part in a traditional tea ceremony, experiencing the Japanese Onsens, visit all the insane shops and cafes in Tokyo. There are just so many sights that I want to see in this country and I am hoping for a 2024 visit fingers crossed.

Those are my current travel plans and wishes. Where is on your travel Bucket List? Comment below and let me know.

Thanks for Reading!

Book Review: Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder Books for the advanced reader copy of this book.

Foul Lady Fortune is a reimaging of As You Like It and follows on from the These Violent Delights Duology. Having not read These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends prior to this book I will say there are a fair few spoilers for the prior duology.

The book takes place in 1931 Shanghai following the main character Rosalind Lang who four years ago was brought back from the brink of death. However the experiment that saved her prevents her from sleeping and ageing and allows her to heal from all wounds. 

With these new abilities and desperate for redemption from her past she becomes an assassin for her country with the codename Fortune. 

As a series of murders starts to cause unrest in Shanghai with suspicion surrounding the Japanese Imperial Army Rosalind has a new mission. To infiltrate foreign society and identify the culprits behind the terror plot. To do this she must pose as the wife of another Nationalist spy Orion Hong. Both have clashing personalities and secrets of their own that they want to keep buried. 

I must admit I did struggle with the first half of this book and it was not the writing I believe it was because this isn't the usual type of genre that I read. However by the second half of the book I was caught up in the twists and turns of the plot. 

Regarding the characters I found it difficult to care for some of them as they seem very much sidelined. Maybe if I had read the prior books I would already have a bit more background on these characters and a vested interest. My main interest in this book was the interaction and banter between Rosalind and Orion's characters and I found these parts of the story the most enjoyable.

The book ended with many twists that seemed to appear out of nowhere ncad while I enjoyed these twists I feel they could have been built up more rather than just being dropped in at the end. Maybe the second book in this series will build up more of a background on these reveals.

While I enjoyed this book overall it would not be one I rush to read again anytime soon. However I would be willing to give the sequel a chance to see if strengthens the twists in the first book with more background.

Thanks For Reading! 

Book Review: Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes by Eric LaRocca

 Thank you Netgalley and Titan Books for an arc of this title to read and review honestly.

I finished this title in one evening the book comprised of three short horror stories each completely different yet thought provoking and disturbing in their own ways.

The first story follows an exchange between two women Zoe and Agnes which leads to a contract with one woman becoming a sponsor and the other woman a drudge who has to do everything the sponsor says in return for love and money.

The second story follows a couple who have moved to an isolated island during winter season while mourning the loss of their son. While on this island they meet a man who's become stranded and needs help.

The third and final story follows an old man who finds a bone in his yard with his neighbours initials on it. He reaches out to the neighbour and gets involved in a game of betting that gets more sordid per bet.

Overall each story was disturbing in its own way and kept me reading wanting to see how it ended. 

These short stories were really well crafted and perfectly encapsulated the horror genre each for different reasons. 

Some of themes left me feeling uncomfortable and disturbed which was exactly what the author was intending I believe. 

I would recommend this title for fellow horror fans who want a book of short stories they can get through quickly within a day.  

Book Review: Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

Thank you to Hodder Books and Netgalley for the advance e-Arc of Belladonna by Adalyn Grace to read in exchange for an honest review.

I must admit I did not know much about this story before diving into it other than the novel had gothic themes and was highly anticipated by many readers.

This book was a massive surprise and the writing had me hooked from the first chapter.

The story follows Signa Farrow who has been able to see death since a young age following the death of her parents. Set to inherit a vast fortune when she turns 20 Signa has moved from guardian to guardian with death always following. Following her aunts death Signa arrives at Thorn Grove where she discovers the Hawthorne family are also plagued by death.

Her cousin Blythe is ill with the same affliction that took her mother Lillian and with days to go Signa must uncover the mystery of Thorngrove and the curse that seems to be upon the family all while keeping death at bay.

This story was a complete surprise to me I was so hooked that I finished this within a day.

I loved the mystery meets gothic theme of the story and the almost enemies to lovers arc between herself and death. The book itself had many twists and turns that it took awhile to decipher. The mystery was well crafted and the revelation of the person who murdered Lillian and has been poisoning Blythe did keep you guessing throughout.

Main plot aside I also enjoyed the interactions between her and death when she is learning more about the powers she possesses and how to use them to solve the mystery.

I also enjoyed the relationship built between Signa and Blythe following their first rocky encounter as they rely on each other more and become almost like sisters. I hope this continues in the sequel.

The book ends on a cliffhanger with another mystery to solve and the announcement of the sequel Foxglove. This is a sequel I will definitely be reading and I recommend Belladonna to anyone who is a fan of mystery fiction and gothic themes.

Thanks for Reading! 

Book Review: Violet Made of Thorns by Gina Chen

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder Books for the advance arc of Violet Made of Thorns by Gina Chen.

This book had been on my radar for awhile and as it was suggested for fans of The Cruel Prince it was one of my highly anticipated releases of this year and I have to say it did not disappoint.

The story follows Violet a prophet to the king who earned her place by saving the prince's life when they were both children. Under the Kings command Violet has spun many lies based on her visions while growing up. However Prince Cyrus who she saved plans to have her stripped of her title once he is crowned King.

Following previous predictions of a curse only to be broken by the Prince finding his one true love, Violet is tasked to weave her greatest lie of all and as the line between love and hate blurs between Violet and Cyrus the curse and the right path forward become much more complicated.

This book was definitely one for the fairytale lovers out there it had everything magic, prophecy and a curse only to be broken by the prince finding his true love. It had many themes similar to the sleeping beauty tale but with an entertaining enemies to lovers trope added in.

The characters were all well crafted and I could feel myself getting lost in the story the more that I read. Based on the ending and the questions left unanswered I am hoping this book will become a series.

If you are thinking about picking up this book to read do not hesitate it was great escapism from the mundane day to day and I struggled to put it down once I started reading.

Thanks for Reading! 

The Dragon's Promise by Elizabeth Lim Book Review

Firstly I am going to start by saying thank you to both Hodder Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of The Dragon's Promise by Elizabeth Lim for an honest review.

This book was one of my most highly anticipated reads of 2022 after receiving Six Crimson Cranes for Christmas and falling head over heels for the story and its Characters. Please be aware this review will contain spoilers so if you have not read this book do not read ahead.

Following on from Six Crimson Cranes we start with Shiori entering the underwater dragon city to meet with the Dragon King to honour Raikama's last wish that the pearl be reunited with its rightful owner, I felt this would be a major plot arc in the story and that we would get more of Seryu's character in this book - maybe even a bit of a love triangle. However while I am glad the author steered away from the love triangle aspect the arc of the plot within this world seems to end rather quickly and Seryu's character is not heard of again until the end of the book. We are also introduced to a few new characters like Gen for example who seem like they are going to become included deeply within the plot only to be dropped a few chapters later. This portion of the story felt almost disconnected as if it wasn't developed enough alongside the main plot arc or the pacing wasn't quite right.

The book then jumps back to the plot with the demons trying to escape the mountain led by the main plot villain Bandur. This part of the story I thoroughly enjoyed, I have just recently finished reading Spin the Dawn and enjoyed that this duology almost is the backstory to how Bandur became trapped on Lapzur island. This part of the story all felt connected and I was hooked on the plot line to see how this would play out.

However again following on from this we then head back to Kiata after successfully trapping Bandur on Lapzur island where the book almost felt like it was at a natural end point but with what looked to be 100 pages left I could see we had more storyline to go but I couldn't see how with the main villain already defeated? Enter again the high priestesses who have been against Shiori since her return as she is the bloodsake predicted to free the demons from the mountain rift. This brings another curse upon Shiori either allow Kiata to burn to the ground  from demon fire or sacrifice herself to the flames. This again felt a bit disjointed from the plot we had just been following with Bandur and the demons and I understand it was linked to the ending however it just felt abit randomly thrown in and not quite as cohesive as the plot of Six Crimson Cranes.

This being said the ending battle following this curse with Shiori, her brothers and Takkan and the Priestesses army had me gripped and I felt incredibly emotionally invested in the characters endings. I will not spoil how the story ends but it was definitely bittersweet in the best kind of way not a completely happy ending but one that leaves Shiori becoming a legendary tale in her own right with a spark of joy left.

Despite some of the story feeling disjointed there were many elements of the book I enjoyed including revisiting the characters I loved so much from the first book Shiori and her brothers, Kiki and Takkan and it was wonderful to get more backstory on Raikama, her past and how she had come to be in Kiata with the Dragon's pearl.  The writing as always with Elizabeth Lim was endearing, magical and eloquent. The descriptions of the different world's and islands visited was compelling and left you feeling as if you were there with the characters while reading.

I just wish the plot with the demons and the plot with Seryu could have been a bit more interwoven with less of a sharp change in storyline. As well as this that we could have had more development of the characters like Gen or Seryu but I appreciate that maybe the length of the book and the story we had to cover could prevent much of this development.

Overall I am incredibly grateful for receiving this advance arc and the title and if you are a fan of the first book or any of Elizabeth Lim's writing this story is definitely worth adding to the TBR. Despite the few criticisms I have made of the story I still feel the plot points I enjoyed, the characters and the writing deserve this book 4 out of 5 stars. Not quite as good as Six Crimson Cranes but then sequels are never as good as the originals.

Will you be reading or purchasing The Dragon's Promise when it is released in August?

Comment below on your thoughts and whether you will be giving this book a go.

Thanks for Reading!