January 17th, 2022.

Hello friend,

I'm actually cheating a bit, because it's January 16th today, but I won't post this until tomorrow because of a review. I'm sure you can forgive me ;)

Current reads

Here's To Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera (I'm always so scared to read a book by Silvera, because he always finds a way to crush my heart into a billion little pieces, but I just HAD to read the sequel to What If It's Us. Becky is my only hope.).

Books I recently read and (HIGHLY) recommend: The Echoes of Ashlington by Rowan MacKemsley

BLURB (Goodreads): Ashlington Manor has a protector. Two hundred years after his death he needs help to find the man he loved.

2015 ‘There has been a Durand in Ashlington for hundreds of years,’ was something Lillian had heard all her life. A life now spent in London with the career, fiancé, and success she had always wanted. When forced to return to her ancestral Cotswold home, a chilling presence with a desperate message leads her to believe she is not the only Durand left walking the halls of Ashlington Manor.

1807 Henry escapes his father’s expectations by taking a commission in the British Army where he meets Robert Westbrook. Standing shoulder to shoulder through the Peninsula War, not only fighting the French but each other’s demons, their bond grows into something deeper. But it is going home to Ashlington that Henry dreads. Home where disaster waits.

Lillian enlists the help of childhood friend Nick Hawkins to unravel Henry’s story, discovering much of what they had been told of Lillian’s heroic ancestor was a lie. Can past and present find a way to work together so that they might all settle their grief, find love once lost, and learn what it truly means to be home, or will Ashlington be lost forever? REVIEW:

Outlander meets The Ghost Whisperer, but even better!

First of all, I want to thank Rowan Mackemsley and Pride Book Tours for a gifted eARC of this wonderful jewel!

I’ve been fangirling over this book for more a week now; I absolutely love it, and I’m pretty sure it will become one of my favourite reads this year (I think I even convinced one of my friends to read it, so mission accomplished).

From the very beginning, I was immediately invested in the story. This was mostly due to the characters, who were all very well written. I think both Lillian and Nick were very realistic, and their story felt very real (which is kind of funny, since it involves ghosts). However, I think Nick's daughter, Olivia, might be my favourite, but maybe that's because we’re so much alike.

And then there are Henry and West. I don’t think I could ever find the right words to describe how special they are to me, and how much I love their extraordinary bond. It’s a kind of love that transcends even death itself!

The author’s writing style is also very pleasant. When I read, I can easily visualise mental images, so I often struggle with extensive descriptions of characters, events and places, because to me it is unnecessary. For this reason, I usually prefer fast-paced, shorter chapters with lots of dialogue. The Echoes of Ashlington is in perfect balance when it comes to those two options, so not only did I enjoy it, but I think it will also be suitable for most readers.

There was a lot of action, plenty of heartfelt moments and many beautiful, beautiful quotes (“I would spend forever with that person” did wonderful things to my heart!). It’s difficult to say more without spoiling everything, but what I will say is that you should buy it as soon as possible, because I honestly cannot imagine you would ever regret it. If you choose to read it and you want to share your thoughts on it, please, send me a message, because that would be an absolute joy!

I do have one request: I need this book to be turned into a movie. Can someone please make that happen? I’ll beg if necessary. ;)

WIPs: Ailene (Ailene #1): second draft/editing process I am done with my second draft! I'm not sure what day it is or if I was even on planet earth this past week, but I've been writing and editing so much that I missed pretty much all of it. I certainly didn't miss out though, because this was one of the best weeks I've had in a very long time. Writing truly is my favourite thing to do.

Purpose (Ailene #0.5): first draft I wrote about 5000 words in 2 (?) days and I have zero regrets. (This is not something I usually do, okay. I think 500 a day is more like it.) I am slowly falling in love with my characters ('slowly' HAHA, it's more like tumbling down a hill at lightspeed), so it's always hard for me to get back out into the real world once I'm sucked into theirs.

Anyway, I guess I should do some other stuff this week as well. Do I want to? No. Do I have to? Well...do I? (:

Digital Art

There's actually one other thing I did this week and that's drawing a picture of Jax (he's the main character in Purpose). I think he turned out pretty well:

So, that's it for now. Have a great day and don’t forget to like this post (by clicking on the heart in the bottom right corner of this post), leave a comment below, and/or subscribe to my blog by entering your email address in the Subscribe Form at the bottom of the page.

Be kind & do good.

Love, Annabel