Pride and Premeditation | Book Tour Review

Hello and welcome to my stop. This stop includes a book review.

You can check out the Tour Schedule here.

BOOK INFO:

Title: Pride and Premeditation
Series: Jane Austen Murder Mystery #1
Author: Tirzah Price
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release Date: April 6 2021
Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction Mystery
Where can I get this?
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes & Noble | Indigo | IndieBound

Check out the synopsis below!

Perfect for fans of the Lady Janies and Stalking Jack the Ripper, the first book in the Jane Austen Murder Mysteries series is a clever retelling of Pride and Prejudice that reimagines the iconic settings, characters, and romances in a thrilling and high-stakes whodunit.

When a scandalous murder shocks London high society, seventeen-year-old aspiring lawyer Lizzie Bennet seizes the opportunity to prove herself, despite the interference of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, the stern young heir to the prestigious firm Pemberley Associates.

Convinced the authorities have imprisoned the wrong person, Lizzie vows to solve the murder on her own. But as the case—and her feelings for Darcy—become more complicated, Lizzie discovers that her dream job could make her happy, but it might also get her killed.

An Austen inspired murder mystery featuring Miss Elizabeth Bennett, daughter of Mr Bennett of Longbourne and Sons (yes, the law firm that employs no sons but rather an obnoxious person with the name Mr Collins) and her plight to secure a no, not a husband but a permanent position in her fathers law firm. And though the prime suspect Mr Bingley is open to Lizzie’s service there is another issue she must face—Mr Bingley’s detestable and delectable lawyer, Mr Darcy of Pemberley Associates.

Writing:
Immediately upon reading this book Pride nods to the original and unforgettable Pride and Prejudice opening line.

“𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧, 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐧.”

The opening line is a fun and witty start and it instantly drew me into the story. The writing style is easy to follow and the pacing I appreciate the author’s take and how they seamlessly incorporate their own style. Rather than think of this to be a strict P&P retelling I’d like to think of this as an Austen inspired murder mystery with the memorable P&P traits and moments.

Characters:
The characters in this novel don’t stray far from the original Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth is a headstrong heroine and a delight to follow. My only gripe is that the sisters and family don’t appear often and the sisters fell more to the background.

Romance:
Whilst there are romantic aspects later in the story I did appreciate how the story focuses more on the mystery.

Setting & World-Building:
I felt a little disorientated due to the language and action gives off the impression the story takes place in the Victorian Era however, certain instances or aspects would indicate that the story takes place in the Regency era.

Overall, Pride and Premeditation is a fun Austen inspired murder mystery. Despite being a murder mystery, Pride and Premeditation is a fun and light-hearted read. Perfect for fans of YA murder mystery and Jane Austen.

Recommend for: fans of YA historic fiction, YA murder mystery, fans of pride and prejudice

CW: death, murder, stabbing, drowning, kidnapping, sexism, racism, use of firearms

Some of my favourite quotes:

Please note: the quotes listed here are cited from an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) and may be subjected to change upon publication.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a brilliant idea, conceived and executed by a clever young woman, must be claimed by a man.”

I love how Price starts the opening line similar to the original Pride and Prejudice

“Come now. I love my daughters. That’s precisely why I do not want to inflict Mr Collins’s presence upon them.”

I laughed when I read this. I liked how Price depicts Mr Bennet

“Do you purposefully misunderstand everything I say, Miss Bennet?”

“Do you purposefully overlook all inconvenient truths, Mr Darcy?”

Love the banter between Miss Bennet and Mr Darcy. A great indication of what’s to come in the novel.

TIRZAH PRICE

Tirzah Price grew up on a farm in Michigan, where she read every book she could get her hands on and never outgrew her love for YA fiction. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and is a former bookseller and librarian. Now, she’s a contributing editor at Book Riot, where she can be found recommending books on the site, newsletters, podcasts, and social media accounts. When she’s not writing, reading, or thinking about YA books, she splits her time between experimenting in the kitchen and knitting enough socks to last the fierce Michigan winters.

Tirzah is pronounced TEER-zuh. Pronouns are she/her.

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Also, check out my Bookstagram post!

Again, please feel free to follow the next tour stops. The Tour Schedule can be found here.

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How to Declutter Books

Books often hold sentimental value to a person. Whilst everyone is different and holds different priorities and motivations, there is often an emotional connection between reader and book. Sometimes people feel anxious at the thought of decluttering their book collection and that is totally understandable and valid. Purging books is a personal choice and journey. Before purging it is important to identify your intentions.

Why am I decluttering my books?

Why do I need to keep my books?

If you are a book collector and possessing multiple copies and/or special editions brings you joy—then that is important aspect to acknowledge. For example, “I keep books because I read and collect them. I love reading and owning books give me joy I love seeing my shelves full.”

If you are not too concerned with owning special editions and drowning in the number of books perhaps consider why you need to keep all the books. 

Before you begin the process, consider yourself and your collection.

Decluttering books: The Process

Step 1: Give yourself a time frame

Remember, be realistic with yourself. Give yourself a reasonable time frame to do this process. Some people need to do declutter in one go, some need to achieve this over increments of time.

As much as I’d like to think I can achieve this in one hit, I know I won’t. 

Step 2: Look at your book collection and categorise your books to

Keep
Donate 
Sell

That’s it! These are the steps! Haha. But if you struggle with decluttering (like me) or unsure how to categorise your books, ask yourself the following questions:

Questions for categorising books

Is this a duplicate?

• • Unless you’re an avid book collector, most often you don’t need multiple copies of a book. Check for duplicates and decide which copy you want. For optimal results be ruthless with yourself.

Is this book still relevant to me?

• • How do you determine what’s relevant for you? You get to decide the parameters. However, an example of books that have lost relevance for me include magazines, textbooks, and travel materials that have lost its relevance due to being outdated, unneeded, or unnecessary. If the book does not serve a purpose, if it holds no value to you, perhaps you no longer need it.

Have I read this and/or will I read this again?

• • Books you haven’t read:

    • Set realistic expectations on yourself: will I truly read this?
      • If the answer is no, consider why you won’t read the book and decide whether there is a need or reason to keep the book. 

•  

• Books you have read—will you re-read it?

  • First and foremost: books are meant to be read. Consider why you want to keep the book. A book’s initial purpose is to be consumed. If you have read the book then the book has served its primary purpose. If you want to re-read/share/happily gaze at the book then perhaps you can and should keep the book.

• The “Just in case” books:

  • Consider if you were to lose this book—would this bother you? If not, then perhaps the book no longer serves a purpose for you.
  • Am I able to replace this book should I need it again? (For example, library copy, digital format, is this an out of print book?)

What do to with the books:

Donate or sell

• Donate to:
  • The public library
  • Schools
  • Thrift stores
  • People you know who would appreciate the book

If it is difficult to let go of books remember this:

• Do I have access to a library and if so, am I able to borrow this book?
• Can I consume this book via digital format? Audiobooks and/or e-readers?
• Why do I own this particular book?

If you do declutter books that gives potential shelf space for more books!

Additional tips:

define a specific a home to keep the books

get rid of books you don’t usually re-read

keep books you would want to re-buy again 

be deliberate and intentional with books you want to own

I write this blog mainly to myself as I don’t want to hold onto books that I don’t love nor hold any value to me. If you have any tips or pointers on decluttering I’d love it if you’d share them!

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FairyLoot October 2020 | Unboxing

FairyLoot October 2020: Wicked Hearts 

𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸: Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀: Crescent City inspired characters illustrated by @arz28

𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗝𝗶𝗴𝘀𝗮𝘄 𝗣𝘂𝘇𝘇𝗹𝗲: illustrated by @sallteas

𝗙𝗼𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 featuring characters from 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘄 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗨𝘀, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹, 𝗦𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗻𝘀, and 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀: illustrated by @arz28

𝗖𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗮 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀: designed by @jezhawk

𝗦𝗮𝗹𝘁 & 𝗣𝗲𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀: designed by @noverantale

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗹 𝗣𝗶𝗻: designed by @alchemyandink

𝗞𝘆𝗹𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀: illustrated by @_saintdri

My Thoughts:

This is such a gorgeous box and upon opening this I actually gasped. Everything here was so gorgeous! 🤩✨ I was completely blown away with how gorgeous and cohesive the items were in this box. I honestly can’t get over how beautifully curated this box is.

Cost & Value: I believe this box really was worth the cost just alone with the book. However, the items included are not only gorgeous but useful, too. I love every item but my favourite would be the playing cards and socks. I’ll definitely use all the items.

Design: I am in awe with every item in this box. Everything is so cohesive with the theme and overall aesthetic. Also, did I mention how gorgeous the book is? Because the book is so gorgeous.

My Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

𝐐𝐨𝐭𝐃: Have you read Kingdom of the Wicked? Otherwise, what’s your favourite romantic trope?

𝐀𝐨𝐭𝐃: I love enemies to lovers but I love it even more when they must work together begrudgingly 😁 my absolute favourite is rival to lovers 🥰💞

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2021 Reading Goals | Thoughts and Rambles

My 2021 Reading Goals

1. Be more intentional with reading

What does being intentional mean for me? It means to purposely take action that is important to me. Being intentional is a personal experience. For me, rather than focus on x number of books read per year, I want to consume more books that bring me joy, inform, and challenge me.

What does that mean? I want to be more conscious of the books I choose to read and spend time and money on.

Books that bring me joy: books that make me think and feel (both positive and negative)

Books that inform me: where I learn something new and/or build upon existing knowledge

Books that challenge me: books that confront me, or is from a perspective I’m not familiar with, or aspects I’m ignorant of.

• I want to read more backlist books (books that aren’t new releases)
• I want to finish series I liked
• I want to read more books I own

I don’t want to read or purchase books due to the hype if it doesn’t genuinely interest me.  Life is too short to fill my time and energy on books I’m not keen on. Which leads me to my next point.

2. Develop a regular reading routine

My next point stems from being intentional, but it still stands on its own. Everyone is busy. Reading time is limited. Reading often takes our leisure time. And with today’s society, time is our most precious currency. I’m too broke to spend my time on things that don’t serve a purpose or be wasteful with it. Therefore, developing a regular reading routine may be extremely beneficial.

• I aim to read at least 10 minutes a day. Ten minutes. In the greater scheme of things, it’s not something too big but it’s a realistic goal with my schedule. I can easily read in my break/time off/commuting. Plus, ten minutes doesn’t put a big pressure on me to achieve such things.

Shouting to the void that I want to have a regular reading routine is all fine and dandy but I need to have tools or an approach to ensure I achieve such goals. SooOooo…

3. Keep a consistent reading journal

Reading journals don’t need to be aesthetic. There, I said it! And I must continuously remind myself of this: READING GOALS DON’T NEED TO BE PERFECT AND PRETTY, DAMN IT. I’ve constantly struggled with keeping a reading journal due to me wanting to make it aesthetic rather than useful. And ugh I hate being a perfectionist, but I’m working on it.

What does a Reading Journal consist of? Anything you want. Reading journals are a testament of what you want in regards to reading and books.

What I will include in my reading journal:

• • Book Log (Information such as: Title, author, publisher, etc.)
  • Bookish thoughts
  • Book review or reading response
  • Reading Challenges
  • Book lists (bucket lists, books I love, TBR, etc.)

I want to incorporate a consistent reading journal because of the many benefits. Benefits of a reading journal include (but are not limited to):

• Greater focus on reading and being intentional with my time and reading goals
• More meaningful and better reflection on what I read and learned

4. Read owned books

Of the 115 books I own (not including duplicates), I have read 26 books. 26 out of 115. Meaning, if this was a test I would fail. My reading rate is 22% of the books I currently own. I have unread almost 80% of my owned books. I need to do better.

Last year, I fell down the rabbit hole of purchasing new releases and hyped books and bought the books before having a change to read them. Whilst I love supporting authors, it was unsustainable for both my shelf space and wallet.

I want to bring my reading rate of up to at least 50% of book I own. Meaning, whatever number of books I own I will aim to read at least half of that. I want to be intentional with what I purchase and own. A books true purpose is to be read and damn it, I will fulfil my books dream!

5. Declutter the books

I know there’s a saying “you can never have too many books”. And that’s true. However, for myself, I don’t like the idea of owning books I don’t plan to read. Therefore, I’d like to keep that shelf space free for a book I would like rather than owning a book just for the sake of owning it. I want to consciously curate my shelf space with books I love and am genuinely interested in.

It’s already past the middle of January and I’ve already purged 7 books I don’t plan to read or have already read and didn’t love. Yay! Progress, not perfection.

I know I can’t speak for everyone, and different people enjoy books differently. That’s okay. I just need to set realistic boundaries for myself and shelf space.

Do you have any reading goals? If so, what are they? Let me know!

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Bad Book Buying Habits Anonymous | Book Confession + Haul

Welcome to the Bad Book Buying Habits Anonymous. When was your last bookish purchase? I’ll start. Hi, I’m Joy and it’s been 0️⃣ days since I’ve last purchased a book.

Now, I may say buying second-hand books ‘don’t count’ but that doesn’t detract the fact I’m still running out of shelf space. 🙈 Anyway, rather than shame my book habits I wanted to display my latest book haul. We all know I’m always touting that I want to read more science fiction and thrillers. Well. I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole and loving it. 😁

What’s was the last book you bought/borrowed?

I’ve pre-ordered A Deadly Education and Kingdom of the Wicked and I’m planning to buy Raybearers later this week. I’m excited for both as they all sound so promising (plus I’ve so many positive reviews about Raybearers).

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Book International Giveaway

To celebrate my Bookstagram anniversary, I’m holding an International book giveaway where there will be two winners. One winner will win a book of their choice equivalent to $25 and another winner will be an Australian based person who will win a bookish swag pack (candles, book art, book prints, etc.). 

For more details, check out my Bookstagram.

For more details of my International Book Giveaway, check out my Bookstagram. Here is the post.

 

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Bookstaversary (Bookstagram Anniversary)

Like many people, I’ve always enjoyed reading and then stumbled a little corner of the internet filled with fellow book lovers. I discovered Bookstagram, Booktube, and later, Book twitter and loved the concept of it. After many hours (possibly hours) of perusing Bookstagram and binge-watching Booktube, I decided to join the Book community. One year later, and who knows how much dollars spent, I’ve joined a beautiful community and filled the spaces of both my bookshelf and heart with amazing friends and books. 

I’ve made many book friends in the book community and they spark so much joy in my life. Not only do they hold bookish chats, readathons, but also go above and beyond and somehow sent me bookish candles for my birthday. How sweet and thoughtful! 

The candles my beautiful bookish friends gifted me included two candles—’Cardan’ and ‘Jude’. The two candles are inspired by the characters in The Folk in the Air trilogy (The Cruel Prince). The Cardan candle has a fruity aroma and smells so delicious! On the other hand, the Jude candle smells of cinnamon. Also, not only do these candles smell amazing, they are also gorgeous to look at!

Anyway, the past year has been truly amazing and I am so glad to have joined the online book community.

Bookstagram made me do it. Cruel Prince was the first book Bookstagram influenced me to read. This book is Illumicrate’s edition of The Cruel Prince. Also, look at the gorgeous candles my Bookstagram fam gifted me—aren’t they so pretty?

 

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