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@imaginative_reads

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‘The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.’
Fantasy | Romance | Crime 🇬🇧
📖Empire of the Dawn

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🏷️ Can I Tag You? 🏷️
I have to admit, I find it really awkward knowing who is happy to be tagged in challenges, stories, giveaways etc. It’s my inner socially awkward self coming out and worrying that I am bothering someone 🫣😂

So if you are happy to be tagged by me please comment below 👇

Thank you to all the lovely accounts who have followed and tagged me in things and have joined in with my tags 💜

I am always happy to be tagged. I don’t always manage to respond quickly enough to stories before they disappear but I do try and always appreciate being included 🥰

These are not my shelves, sadly, but are from an independent bookshop we found one day when exploring local towns 📚

#bookstagram #canitagyoubookstagram #bookshelf #bookblogging #bookfriends #bookfriendsarethebest #bookcommunity #readingcommunity #readingfriends #booklove #bookchallange #bookishcommunity by @imaginative_reads

Paperback TBR stack 🩷💜💙💛

In an attempt to hold myself accountable to my physical TBR I’m going to be posting some of the books I hope to read this year. I have so many, but in my defence, most were bought second hand. I can’t walk past a charity shop without looking at the books.

I’ve nearly finished Empire of the Dawn and will likely be needing a few of these romances to recover from the emotional damage.

Do you like to mix up genres?

#bookstagram #bookstack #paperbacks #pinkbooks #bookstagrammer by @imaginative_reads

Spell the month in books - January
Thank you to @littleleaf_books for the tag.

I have read none of these 🫣 I’m trying to make a dent in my physical TBR this year so hopefully by next January I’ll have read at least one of these 🤞

I won’t tag anyone as we’re halfway through January but if you see this and haven’t done one, consider yourself tagged 🏷️

Does January drag for everyone?

Soon we’ll be back to wondering where the year went.

#bookstagram #bookstacks #bookcommunity #bookish #readersgonnaread by @imaginative_reads

Book review ✍🏻💫
The Irresistible Urge to Fall for your Enemy by @brigitteknightley

“They named the kitten Acts of Warranted Brutality”-

Amazing 👏

Osric Mordaunt, member of the Fyren Order of assassins, is in dire need of healing. Naturally - such is the grim comedy of fate - the only healer who can help is Aurienne Fairhrim, preeminent scientist, bastion of moral good, and member of an enemy Order.

Aurienne is desperate for funding to heal the sick - so desperate that, when Osric bribes her to help him, she accepts, even if she detests him and everything he stands for.

A forced collaboration ensues: the brilliant Woman in STEM is coerced into working with the PhD in Murders, much to Aurienne’s disgust. As Osric and Aurienne work together to heal his illness and investigate the mysterious reoccurrence of a deadly pox, they find themselves ardently denying their attraction, which only fuels the heat between them.

I listened to the audiobook of this, and I was enjoying it so much, I kept looking for excuses to do housework just so I could listen to it. The narrators Heather Long and @thomasjudd were brilliant, they really brought the characters to life. I loved it so much I bought this Waterstones special edition to keep on my bookcase 💕

The banter on this is on par with India Holton, I laughed out loud so many times 🤭 The (very) slow burn, enemies to lovers is perfection and the banter is top notch 👌 I loved the Britishisms in this and the inclusion of local landmarks, the magic system is interesting and the dry humour and wit was great fun.

My only complaint is that I was expecting a bigger ending, I honestly wondered if the audiobook was missing a few chapters, it felt like it was building up and then stopped suddenly. Overall, I really enjoyed it and would recommend this to any romantasy lover, I can’t wait for book two later this year!

#bookstagram #bookreview #theirresistibleurgetofallforyourenemy #romantasybookstagram #reader by @imaginative_reads

✨Self care ✨
When I started my current job last year, I was really excited to have Monday’s off work. I thought I would have the day to myself, get to relax, work on my writing….In the 9 months I’ve had Monday’s off, I’ve had about 3 days at home doing nothing, and one of those I was ill. There’s always something more important that needs doing, I have to catch up on housework, run errands, go to appointments.

I’ve felt myself burning out the last few weeks. December was busy; I was working, juggling childcare, housework, and all the extra chaos that comes with Christmas and making it magical.

This is my first Monday at home by myself in a while; the bathroom needs cleaning, the floors need mopping and I’m sure there’s an endless list of other things I should be doing. But I am TIRED, and not just in a physical sense. So I am forcing myself to sit down for an hour and read.

What do you do for self care?

#bookstagram #reader #ukbookstagrammer #bookcontent #fantasybookstagram by @imaginative_reads

Book One of 2026 - Stone and Sky by @baaronovitch
Book Ten in The Rivers of London series.

I’ve been waiting for this book, and for a while wasn’t sure it was coming. I read the other books in the series a few years ago and really enjoyed them. There are a few novellas in the series, which I’ve not read, but I think I should have done before reading this as I was missing some details.

Peter Grant works for the Metropolitan Police but when he tries to take a witness statement from a man who is already dead, he is plunged into a world where gods and goddesses mingle with mortals and a long-dead evil is making a comeback on a rising tide of magic. Set in the UK, these books are urban fantasy entwined with murder mystery. I really like the magic system, it’s different to a lot of fantasy and the main character Peter is very realistic and funny. This book takes Peter and the gang up to is set in Scotland, where there have been reports of a big cat hunting sheep and people going missing in unusual circumstances.

I didn’t love this as much as the other books, it’s duel POV, which the other full length books weren’t, as far as I can remember, and while I like the characters, some parts of the portrayal of the younger, female character felt a bit odd at times. I like how Peter’s character has developed over the books, and the connections he has made. I would recommend this series, but definitely start with book one, Rivers of London 💧🫆

#bookstagram #riversoflondon #bookreview #bookrecs #crimebooks by @imaginative_reads

Happy New Year!
My goal this year is to read more of the books I currently own and finish some of the series I have already started. Looking at other posts, this seems a common goal this year. I’ve put off finishing a few series because I hate not remembering all the details from the previous books, and my brain likes to forget so much as soon as I close a book for the final time 🙈

I took a bit of a break from fantasy over December, I just needed some cosy crimes and festive reads to reset. I really enjoyed a few books by Agatha Christie, Jo Middleton and Sarah Morgan ❄️

I’m now ready to jump back into the fantasy world and I am starting the year off by finishing one of my favourite series with Empire of the Dawn 🦇

What’s everyone hoping to achieve this year? Anyone going for buying all the books possible and hiding away from the world and doing nothing but reading? I wish I was 😅

#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #ukbookstagram #specialeditionbooks #fantasybookstagram by @imaginative_reads

⭐️Book review⭐️
Snowed in for Christmas by @sarahmorganwrites

This was the first book I’ve read by Sarah Morgan, I’ve seen these recommended as great Christmasy books so picked one up to try and get myself into the Christmas spirit 🎄

This is a sweet book, a gentle romance, about finding love and acceptance. It’s a multi POV and everyone gets a happy ending, which you would expect in a Christmas romance.

I think I fell in love with The Lodge and the scenery more than the characters, part of me is seriously considering moving to Scotland. The found family theme in this book had me in tears at some points, I wish I had people in my life like Glenda and Nana Jean. For me, I felt it switched POV a lot, I personally would have preferred more time with Lucy and seeing her romance arc play out. Too many chapters were of Glenda feeling like a failure of a mother because her children weren’t all happy and settled down, which I found a bit annoying because she seemed like an amazing mum.

I did enjoy it, I looked forward to reading it and I like the writing style. It’s a feel good book and the romance is sweet. I’ll definitely be trying another one next year ❄️

#bookreview #bookreelsofinstagram #snowedinforchristmas #sarahmorgan #christmasbooks #christmasreads #ukbookstagram #ukbookstagrammer #bookrecs #bookrecommendations #instabook #reader by @imaginative_reads

💫Book Review 💫
Gallant by @veschwab 🖋️
‘When people see tears, they stop listening to your hands or your words or anything else you have to say. And it doesn’t matter if the tears are angry or sad, frightened or frustrated. All they see is a girl crying.’

Absolutely phenomenal 👏

This is a beautiful, eerie story full of ghouls and monsters, a mysterious family and a gothic house full of secrets, with a lone gate in the middle of a crumbling wall.

Such a good book, I’ve seen nothing but positive reviews for this book and I urge anyone who has this on their TBR to read it!

This is a YA book, it’s fairly short and was easy to read. I’m looking forward to trying one of Schwab’s adult books.

#bookstagram #ukbookstagram #bookreview #gallant #yabook #specialeditionbooks #veschwab #reader #fantasy #horrorbook #bookrecommendations by @imaginative_reads

Happy National Elf Day 🤍💚❤️
I love anything festive so this was fun to make. It’s also a fundraising day for the Alzheimer’s Society to raise money for people with Alzheimer’s and Dementia. I lost my mum to dementia last year, it’s a horrible disease. Sending love to any one affected by Alzheimer’s or Dementia 🎄

#bookstagram #ukbookstagram #elfday #nationalelfday #bookstacks #bookpics #bookworm #books #bookcommunity #reader #instabook #readingislife #readingcommunity #bookrecs #booksofinstagram #bookloversofinstagram #bookish #bookishfeatures by @imaginative_reads

Mini Bookhaul 📚
I went Christmas shopping yesterday so of course I had to go into @waterstones. I haven’t been in for a while and there were so many beautiful books, I took a lot of pictures 😍 I came out with these three special editions, I had £10 off through my points, which helped massively and it was double points for Black Friday 🖤

I bought:
⭐️Brigands and Breadknives by @travis_baldree
⭐️A Treachery of Swans by @abporanek
⭐️A Beautiful Evil by @chaosonolympus

I’ve read books by these authors before and loved them! I love that these can all be read as standalones, I am struggling with sequels currently because I hate not remembering the details of the previous books and when I finish a book half the details instantly run out my head 🙈

Annoyingly, when I took the books out the bag I’ve spotted that A Beautiful Evil is damaged 😭 It was a click and collect so I didn’t examin it like I usually do when I buy books and it was so busy I didn’t spot it. Now I have to find time to go back to the shop and hope they can exchange it 🤞

#newbooks #specialeditionbooks #waterstones #waterstonesspecialedition #hardbackbooks #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookhaul #fantasybookstagram #fantasybooks #reader #beautifulbooks #bookshopping #travisbaldree #beafitzgerald #abporanek #sprayededgesbooks by @imaginative_reads

Happy 1st December! I love Christmas, I love the lights and the decorations and all the yummy food 🎄🎅🏼☃️

Did you know that you can tell the age of an artificial Christmas tree by counting the of rings of tape on the box? 🎄

Once again, I can’t believe how fast this year has gone. I’ve been super busy and my reading has slowed down, I only finished two books in November…Despite this, I am joining in with the #12booksofchristmas challenge for St John Ambulance. I would massively appreciate any support and book recommendations for December please 🙏 Link is in my bio if anyone can donate. Better get reading 📖 ❤️

#bookstagram #books #reader #bookcommunity #fundraiser #fundraising #12booksofchristmas #stjohnambulance #ukbookstagram #ukbookstagrammer #bookloversofinstagram #instabook #instabookstagram #december #christmasreads by @imaginative_reads