Avondale College

64,721 pages read and 1,583 team points

Team members

Clemmie

13,828 pts

(8,906 pages read)

Blood in the Water

By Jack Flynn

0 stars
Fool the Demon

By Stacia Stark

3 stars

A novella by a New Zealand author I have just discovered. Very much in the mid-2000s style of urban fantasy. Not really a novella - more of a taster consisting of a few chapters to convince readers to get the actual series. It worked because I'm kind of interested and keen to see if it picks up depth in a longer form. Read 3/1
The Starless Sea

By Erin Morgenstern

5 stars

A stunning book about stories and fate and choices. This, I feel, is what the Absolute Book wanted to be and what I did not find there I found in this one. Beautifully written with fairytale whimsy and truth. I loved her first book, The Night Circus, and this was different yet similar and I loved it too. Read 2-4 Jan
Murder at Mykenai

By Catherine Mayo

3 stars

about half way through - so far a solid three star read. Unsure if i'm going to push on just yet. It's not a bad read, just not super engaging and I have more enticing ones on my list. Also struggling with the changes to the actual history - I know they should be fun, but the departure from actual events and relationships between people is kind of bugging me a bit. Plus I had thought it was going to be a murder mystery but it's more assassinations and battles of succession. Started 30/12 Finished on 1st Jan. Glad I finished it, but i did think the pacing and plot points could have been developed to give it a more satisfying energy and finish.
The Cosy Coffee Shop of Promises

By Kellie Hailes

4 stars

A very sweet cosy small town romance. I do prefer bigger stakes as cosy isn't usually my jam in reading, but I really liked both main characters and became invested in their happy ever after. Read 30 December
The Boys Own Annual

By The Boys Own Periodical

0 stars

This is a book from 1885 that my son was given for Christmas by my parents. It's a fascinating glimpse into the late nineteenth century. He's very protective of it (even with his historian mum!) but he did let me look through and read some things. I read an interesting article on why boys should learn to sew and how important and valued a skill it is. There are also stories set in Viking times, in native North American lands (as noble savage as you might expect, sadly), and a long series on mischievous adventuring lads solving mysteries. A genuine treasure trove.
The Belles

By Dhonielle Clayton

5 stars

Really enjoyed this unique fantasy based around a critique of beauty and what people will do to be and control the ideal of beauty. I don't usually read YA or books from a first present POV, but I really liked the writing style and the worldbuilding in this one. Read 29 December
Angels of Darkness

By Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, Meljean Brook, Shannon Shinn

4 stars

four short novellas in this anthology. and two of the authors rank in my favourites. Really loved the Nalini Singh short, set in her Guildhunter universe. The Ilona Andrews one was different from her usual, and the very complex worldbuilding struggled in such a short form. Really enjoyed the Shannon Shinn and will be looking out for more of her work. The Meljean Brook one was a good read, but again I think without knowing the full world it lost something. Overall a very enjoyable collection. Read 28 December
Bloodlust and Bonnets

By Emily McGovern

3 stars

A fun graphic novel about vampire hunters and Lord Byron and an eagle called Napoleon, by the creator of the comic strip 'My life as a background Slytherin'. Read 27 Dec
A Forbidden Alchemy

By Stacey McEwan

5 stars

A fast paced and original story meshing fantasy and a critique of the class structure and industrial control. Loved the characters. Sad it ended on a cliffhanger and I have to wait until June to find out what happens next! An Australian author I'll be reading more of. Read 27 Dec
Aue

By Becky Manawatu

5 stars

just wow. A beautifully written book that broke my heart on so many pages. So much emotion. So many extraordinary moments. A brilliant book. Hard to read at times when i could see some people I loved in the experiences that Taukiri, in particular, goes through. Loved it. Highly recommend. Read 26 Dec
Nuku: Stories of 100 Indigenous Women

By Qiane Matata-Sipu

0 stars

A very enjoyable coffee table read - each woman's story is a couple of pages and it's a great one to pick up and read about a few fascinating women at a time.
A Tempest of Tea

By Hafsah Faizal

4 stars

A very enjoyable heist novel, with a nice take on vampires. I particularly enjoyed the discussion of colonisation and the mirroring of our world in the 19th C. A little more YA than I usually read, but a good book very reminiscent of Six of Crows with its found family and youthful rogues. Read 19-26 December
Hogfather

By Terry Pratchett

5 stars

I read this every Christmas. I love Terry Pratchett and his humour and humanity. The combination of comic sillyness and insightful commentary on philosophy, society, and what it means to be human is a continual delight. Read 21 December
Quiet in Her Bones

By Nalini Singh

5 stars

loved this thriller set in West Auckland! It's so fun reading about a community with a dark secret just off Scenic Drive - a road I drive down regularly. I loved trying to figure out what was going on and who the killer was, and I'm a sucker for memory loss and ghost hallucinations. Read 18/12
Misfits and Mistletoe

By Brittany Kelley

5 stars

What a delight! A truly funny and heartwarming Christmas romp. Kelley has such a genuine warmth come through in her characters. They are intensely relateable and when they make you laugh you feel like you're laughing with friends. Read 18/12
Fangs for Nothing

By Steffanie Holmes

4 stars

Really enjoyed this. A light cozy paranormal with a lot of humour and a lot of heart. Steffanie Holmes has built a great series in her Nevermore bookshop series and this is a great side addition to that world. Read 17-18 December
Kiss of Snow

By Nalini Singh

5 stars

The underlying story of the series ramps up the tension in this book, and more secrets are revealed. Sienna and Hawke are one of my favourite duos. The dynamic between them, and how they navigate their different damage and hopes in the midst of escalating conflict and chaos is captivating. Read 16/12
Bonds of Justice

By Nalini SIngh

5 stars

Clearly I'm in a binge reading hyper-fixation oops. Fourth Psy-Changeling in as many days. I love the characters so much and the wider world that Nalini creates. The hints of mysteries that will be resolved further in the series, the ways some unexpected characters grow and change. It's a good world to lose yourself in. Read 15/12
Blaze of Memory

By Nalini Singh

5 stars

Nalini's crafting of conflict and tension is so skilled which meant that I genuinely didn't know how the Happy Ever After was going to happen - kept the danger ramping up right until the end. Read 15/12
Caressed by Ice

By Nalini Singh

5 stars

I love this book. The growth and shared journey of the main characters is so relateable even when set in this paranormal shifter and psy landscape. Superb. Read 14/12
Visions of Heat

By Nalini Singh

5 stars

Ended up super busy and dropped off the reading challenge so decided on a re-read of one of my faves to get me back in the zone. Nalini's worldbuilding is superb. The underlying threat coming from the world of the Psy is threaded in so well into the romantic conflict. Her themes of found family resonate strongly in this one. Read 13-14 Dec
The Absolute Book

By Elizabeth Knox

3 stars

An interesting and overall good book. I liked the synthesis of myths and fairy tales and modern day concerns. Not enough emotion and interiority for me. I liked the characters but it was hard to get that obsessive investment in them or the story as the writing style is very distant and telling, rather than from deep POV. Glad I read it, but unlikely to ever read it again. Started 7 December then stopped for a bit. Finally Read 19-21 December
The Shadow Weaver

By Ivy Cliffwater

4 stars

3.5 stars rounded to 4. A fun, easy read. The plot and characterisation picked up in the last third of the book and even at the more plodding parts I definitely wanted to keep reading. Will read the second book when it comes out. Read 7 December
The Burning Library

By Gilly Macmillan

0 stars

not super hooked by this so far. I'm curious to know what happens, but the characterisation and some plot devices are not engaging me. Leaving it to one side for now and might come back to it later. (started 6 Dec)
Hiwa: Contemporary Maori Short Stories

By edited by Paula Morris

4 stars

so far have very much enjoyed 'The Bargain and the Putorino' by Shelley Burne-Field, and loved Jack Remiel Cottrell's flash fictions. 23/12 read The Ether of 1939' by Anthony Lapwood. Enjoyed it but an abrubt end - I would have continued reading for some time.
I Am Made of Death

By Kelly Andrew

5 stars

Another stunning story from Kelly Andrew. The way she uses eldritch horrors to explore themes of isolation and rejection is superb. I won't look at mirrors the same way ever again. Read 6 December
Your Blood, My Bones

By Kelly Andrew

5 stars

Kelly Andrew is a master wordsmith. She crafts haunting worlds and gruesome horrors and then makes you pause at the beauty of her prose. One of my favourite authors. Read 1-6 Dec

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Avondale College

64,721 pages read and 1,583 team points

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