another year over a new one began so here are a few of my favourites things this year
Books
I was able to finish 30 books this year 15 of them being manga or graphic novels 8 audiobooks and 7 physical books. Here are some of my favourites
legends and lattes (audio book)
High fantasy, low stakes – with a double-shot of coffee.
After decades of adventuring, Viv the orc barbarian is finally hanging up her sword for good. Now she sets her sights on a new dream – for she plans to open the first coffee shop in the city of Thune. Even though no one there knows what coffee actually is.
If Viv wants to put the past behind her, she can’t go it alone. And help might arrive from unexpected quarters. Yet old rivals and new stand in the way of success. And Thune’s shady underbelly could make it all too easy for Viv to take up the blade once more.
But the true reward of the uncharted path is the travellers you meet along the way. Whether bound by ancient magic, delicious pastries or a freshly brewed cup, they may become something deeper than Viv ever could have imagined . . .
yes I’m going to be yet another person saying that legends and lattes was there favourites book this year, sorry but it was. It made for a nice change to have a slice of life fantasy outside of anime.
the future king (audiobook)
the second book in the Emry Merlin series
Fresh from an epic victory over sorceress Morgana Le Fay to keep the doorway between worlds safely closed, Emry Merlin should be flying high. She no longer has to hide that she’s a girl wizard in Camelot, and the battle has brought her closer than ever to Prince Arthur, with whom she has slowly fallen in love. Even her hapless but beloved twin brother Emmett has joined her at court.
But Emry is hiding a secret, and she’s not the only one. Her magic has become unpredictable and dangerous, casting spells that she doesn’t intend. Despite destiny acting like he’s worthy, Prince Arthur knows he doesn’t have what it takes to rule Camelot–until a terrible tragedy forces his hand. And though Guinevere is hooking up with the hottest guy in the palace, it’s not who she’s actually betrothed to…
i loved the first book and I loved the second, I like that this series is going out of the box on the Arthur story so that the twist and turns are original.
divine rivals
No god, no creature, no war can come between them.
When two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection, their fate depends on their facing the depths of hell… together.
After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again…
All eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow wants to do is hold her family together. With a brother on the frontline forced to fight on behalf of the Gods now missing from the frontline and a mother drowning her sorrows, Iris’s best bet is winning the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.
But when Iris’s letters to her brother fall into the wrong hands – that of the handsome but cold Roman Kitt, her rival at the paper – an unlikely magical connection forms.
Expelled into the middle of a mystical war, magical typewriters in tow, can their bond withstand the fight for the fate of mankind and, most importantly, love?
oh my gosh this book was fantastic from beginning to end (although that cliffhanger hurt). it’s been a while since I’ve read a book that I couldn’t put down and it was an amazing feeling. I loved the characters, the setting and the story line. I felt that the love story was really well done and never felt rushed, I liked the world building and the history of the world that you discovered through out the the book also that it had a little bit of magic that never felt forced or over powered. I also felt like it had similarities to you’ve got Mail whether this was done on purpose or if it’s were I’ve watched the film so much and it is also about two people writing letters to each other without them knowing who they are.
before your memory fades
On the hillside of Mount Hakodate in northern Japan, Cafe Donna Donna is fabled for its dazzling views of Hakodate port. But that’s not all. Like the charming Tokyo cafe Funiculi Funicula, Cafe Donna Donna offers its customers the extraordinary experience of travelling through time.
From the author of Before the Coffee Gets Cold and Tales from the Cafecomes another heartfelt story of lost souls hoping to take advantage of the cafe’s time-travelling offer. Among some familiar faces, readers will also be introduced to:
The daughter who begrudges her deceased parents for leaving her orphaned.
The comedian who aches for his beloved and their shared dreams.
The younger sister whose grief has become all-consuming.
The young man who realizes his love for his childhood friend too late.
this is the third book in I think my new favourite series before the coffee gets cold. This one did confuse me for the first few pages as it doesn’t take part in the Tokyo cafe like the first two but is in Mount Hakodate but once the confusion and I got to know the new characters, I really started to like this instalment to the series. I also like that we have jumped to the time that something happened in the first book so it sort of ties lots of things together.
films
barbie
I wasn’t sure what I was expecting going in to this film but it definitely wasn’t this film, it was funny, it was nostalgic, it was emotional. My favourite song was I’m just Ken
dungeons and dragons
A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people. Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves brings the rich world and playful spirit of the legendary roleplaying game to the big screen in a hilarious and action-packed adventure.
This was a very fantastical film with an amazing cast and an action packed story which in my opinion people will like whether they have played D&D or not. I have now watched it twice and the jokes are still just as funny as they were in the cinema (which is always good) I thought the characters were all well rounded, even the ones that didn’t get much screen time.
wish
In the Kingdom of Rosas, a 17-year-old girl named Asha makes a wish on the stars after she discovers that there may be more to the king than meets the eye. But Soon after a real star comes down to help her fulfil her wish.
I feel like the last few years has been filled with films that people have really disliked but that my husband and I have really liked and wish is one of them. I think it was probably helped by all of the references which I really enjoyed finding though out the film. I thought the characters were ok, I like that Asher was an ester egg in her self and I thought that it was nice having a different sort of main character I do think that there isn’t really much in character growth but I also feel that the story does takes place over a few days at most three so there probably wouldn’t really be room for much growth in that time. I also enjoyed the song’s listening to the soundtrack my favourite is you’re a star as it’s so upbeat and I really liked having a villain song again. I did like the art style even if Disney weren’t being innovators with it has lots of animations have looked like, it was just nice to see something different from Disney as the films have looked quite similar in the last 10 years or so helped by the background being more like there older films.
Tv show
Spy x family
A spy known only as Twilight needs a family as part of his undercover mission, so he quickly marries a city hall worker and adopts a child and dog. Unknown to him, his family has secrets of their own: his wife Yor is an undercover assassin, his daughter Anya is a runaway psychic who can read minds, and his dog was from a laboratory that gave him the power to tell the future. All these four subjects must bond together as a family to manage their own affairs and be together as best as they can.
I love this show it’s so sweet, action packed and as all my favourite anime are a little bit bonkers we are know on the scorned season and I’m loving it just as much as the first.
traitors
short version it’s among us or werewolf in real life
Long version 22 people in a Scottish castle trying to win a big cash prize, but first they must find the traitors before they kill them, you watch as by day this group of faithfuls and traitors live and work together to generate cash for the price pool, but by night, they must decide who is a traitor pick someone to be banished and wait till morning when one of them is murdered by the traitors
This is not my sort of show at all but from episode one I was hooked, it was very interesting watching this people try (and mostly fail) to find a traitor and seeing there reasoning for why the parson my be the traitor.
one piece (Netflix)
An alternate version of Earth, and one that is currently in the midst of the ‘Golden Age of Pirates’. Ruthless cut-throat pirates rule the seas, and only the strongest have the chance to lay claim to the mythical treasure known as ‘One Piece’ that was left behind by the greatest pirate of them all Gold Roger. Years after the death of Gold Roger, a young boy by the name of Monkey D. Luffy has dreams of raising his own crew, finding One Piece, and declaring himself as Pirate King. After eating a devil fruit that grants Luffy the power to make his body like rubber, it gives him enormous strength and agility. When Luffy finally comes of age, he sets sail from Foosha Village in East Blue and sets upon his grand adventure to become the next Pirate King.
I will note that I’ve not yet watched the anime but I really liked this live action version so I would like to give the anime a go when I have time. I really like the story and the characters I also thought the show had a similar energy to the other anime that I’ve watched.
a small light
Follows twenty something Miep Gies who, when her boss Otto Frank came to her and asked her to hide his family from the Nazis during World War II, didn’t hesitate. For the next two years, Miep, her husband Jan, and the other helpers watched over the eight souls (Otto Frank, his wife Edith and daughters Anne and Margot as well as four others) in hiding in the Secret Annex. And it was Miep who found Anne’s Diary and kept it safe so Otto, the only one of the eight who survived, could later share it with the world as one of the most powerful accounts of the Holocaust.
If you are yet to give this show a go I highly recommend that you do, I can’t filt it from the acting to the way they handled this story that we all know and told it in a brand new way. To the point where I was watching one of the episodes and thinking but if that is happening at the binging of the episode then what’s next I thought I had more episodes, and I did which I think is what makes this show so amazing because it’s more then just the diary it’s everything else that this people did during this dark time in are history and all of the help that they were able to provide.
games
hogwarts lagancy
I really liked going around hogwarts as a student and I really liked the story.
board games
this year I’ve discovered the world of board game with the help of TikTok (also following the creator of flame craft(which I haven’t got a hold of yet) and the release of Disneys new card game Lorcana.
disney dreamlight valley
this game did come out last year but I’m still loving it a year on, it’s been getting regular updates bringing new characters and adding new features to make it even better.
just things I’ve liked
There were lots of things to like this year so here are some that don’t fit in any category
V.E Schwab newsletter
if you are a fan of V.E Schwab then you will enjoy her monthly newsletter, it’s so nice to set down once a month with a cup of tea and read about her month.
my blog
even though I’ve not really post much this year, but I have enjoyed having somewhere to write down some of my thoughts I definitely would like to be more organised with posting here this year.
Looking ahead
there are a few things that I’m looking forward to this year a few goals that I would like to try and achieve in 2024.
first of I’ve put my reading goal to 40 this year as I managed 30 last year.
I’m also putting my self on a book buying ban as I really need to try and read some more of the books that I already own like so many of us readers. I am putting some experience to this ban.
I’m still getting fairyloot, also me and my husband share audible so any audio books, some of the books that I’ve read last year that have sequels this year (e.g truly divers, divin ravels), as im all up to date with her books I will get Ashley Poston new book, but I will only get V.E Schwab and Cassandra Clare’s new books if I’ve finish their books that are unread on my shelf (edit V.E Schwab hasn’tactuallygot a new book out this year so i can use it catch up on the darker shade of magic).
I really a would like to be more active on this blog so (other than this week) I will try to post every Sunday so hopefully for the people who hopefully actually read my blog you will actually get something new to read every week.
and that is the end of my favourite things all that’s left to do is wish you all a happy new year.