Hello and a very Happy New Year! I hope you had a truly wonderful holiday if you were celebrating over the festive period and that you had a chance to rest, recharge and of course, read!

Last year I finished my year on 50 books, which was bang on my Goodreads target. However, I’ve decided not to participate in the Goodreads Reading challenge this year (I’ve posted a video on Instagram that explains what I’m doing and why – tap/click here to go to my IG @papyrusandpeppermint).

Instead I have gone through all of my unread physical books, written out their titles (colour coded to genre) and popped those into a TBR jar. So, with the exception of any proofs, advanced copies or publisher readalongs im invited to, I’ll be purely picking from the jar this year because honestly I have so many unread books that its rather shameful!

One book that I didn’t wait around to read last year is one that I received with my adult Fairyloot subscription. Now usually I’m really bad at actually reading these beautiful books. I’ve been opening them, admiring them, realising id never hit my reading goal if I read them, and shelved them! Which is a little horror story in itself. However when this book arrived, something made me delve straight in. So, on with the review shall we?

Faebound By Saara El-Arifi

Genre: Fantasy, Romance/Romantasy

UK Publication Date: 18/01/2024

So after my initial ‘holy heck this book is stunning’, I flipped inside to read the synopsis:

“DIVIDED BY BLOOD.

IMPRISONED BY FATE.

BOUND BY DESIRE.

WELCOME TO THE INTOXICATING WORLD OF THE FAE.

Yeeran is a warrior in the elven army and has known nothing but violence her whole life. Her sister, Lettle, is trying to make a living as a diviner, seeking prophecies of a better future.

When a fatal mistake leads to Yeeran’s exile from the Elven lands, they are both forced into the terrifying wilderness beyond their borders. There they encounter the impossible: the fae court.

The fae haven’t been seen for a millennium. But now Yeeran and Lettle are thrust into their seductive world – torn between their loyalty to each other, their elven homeland, and their hearts. . .”

This book sung to my little ACOTAR loving heart. Fae, sisterhood, war, divination, courts. So instead of shelving this one, I decided to sit down with a cup of coffee, light a candle, wrap myself in my blanket and turn to page one.

The story begins by explaining the three gods that created the world, according to Faebound. It then describes how each of those gods created a being; one created fae, the other elves, the other humans.

Then, each of those gods gave each of those beings a power. The Elves believe that they are the only beings to remain, that the fae and the humans are no more. The Elves are, regrettably, at war, and have been for generations. We start our journey with Yeeran, in a relationship with her Chieftain, and the youngest Colonel in her army. We walk with her on her first day. Lettle, her sister, uses her gift of prophecies to pass her on a day one good luck message of what she believes is good fortune.

That’s when the world as they know it, changes forever.

Can’t put it down rating: 5/5

Absolute fantasy perfection. It’s got beautiful world building, war, likeable characters, interwoven stories, twists, gods, tales, drum magic,(!) folklore, myth and legend.

It totally gripped me. I couldn’t put it down. I was then utterly thrilled to discover that a) I’d got this book early (woohoo!) and b) it’s book one of a new trilogy!!!

I hadn’t read any of the authors work prior to this read, but I’ve since purchased her debut novel The Final Strife and her second book The Battle Drum, because if that trilogy is anything like this one, then I need to read it!!

I cannot tell you much more about Faebound or my favourite parts of it without spoiling it for you, but I predict that once this book is published widely on 18th Jan, it’s going to be a HUGE hit for the fantasy genre in 2024, which is super exciting to say.

Get ready for a journey filled with romantasy, myth, magic, fae, divination, and gripping courtly drama that will keep you turning the pages well past your bed time. It’s a book worth staying up for.

Be prepared to be captivated by “Faebound.” ✨

Washed down with:

Well it’s officially Dry January and for those that dont know, I am more than a year sober! So my recommendations this month will be in the form of sober beverages for those partaking in Dry January, or for any sober or sober curious folk out there looking for some AF Alternatives!

So up first on this review is BREWDOG PUNK AF! I’m a huge fan of Brewdog, I loved their beers prior to sobriety and I’m happy to say that their AF taste no different! It’s still a full bodied taste and you can buy this beer in their bars and in the supermarkets here in the UK!

It’s a light beer, hoppy and fruity and comes with zero hangover regrets. Super!

*please note that in the UK, alcohol free is classified as 0.5% volume or below.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this book and beverage review and it’s helped lead you to new books and drinks you’ll love this year :).

What are your favourite alcohol free drinks, and what new books for 2024 are you most excited about? Write your answers in the comments!

Until the next Chapter,

Emma X0