All Antonia Bernardin Blog posts

Welcome to the place for endless scrolling

If you don’t care about the categories and just want to scroll through my posts newest to oldest, this is the place!

A River of Golden Bones

The 40th book I read this year was A River of Golden Bones by A.K. Mulford, a new series by an author I am unabashedly a huge fan of, you will have heard me talk about her other books: The Five Crowns of Okrith and The Prickle Island zoo romance series.
You are not supposed to have it altogether – a rant

This is mostly a book blog but sometimes I talk about things that have been on my mind. I have recently been trying to address years of being in a cycle of burnout but it’s so hard around full time work and I have concluded that we aren’t meant to have everything together.
The Hating Game

My 38th read of the year was The Hating game by Sally Thorne, another booktok favourite, which has been turned into a movie too.
A Tempest of Tea

The 37th book I read this year was A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal, a new booktok favourite by the author of We Hunt the Flame.
The Ex Talk

The 36th book I read this year was The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Soloman.
The Light That Blinds Us

The 34th book I read this year was The Light That Blinds Us by Anthony Theo Darcy. He is a booktokker turned author whose videos I have always really enjoyed.
Bride

The 34th book I read this year was Bride by Ali Hazelwood, whose most well known for her Steminist romance books but this is a fantasy romance book!
Happy Place

The 33rd book I read this year was Happy Place by Emily Henry. I read this during my absolute nightmare flight on my way to go on holiday, so it definitely helped remind me to think of my happy place whilst trapped on a plane for 5.5 hours.
Twice in a blue moon

My 32nd book of the year was Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren, the author of the well known ‘The Unhoneymooners’.
Ice planet barbarians

My 31st book of the year was Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon, first book in the Ice Planet Barbarians series. If you are in the booktok/bootube/bookstagram sphere… you know what this book is about, I am very late to the hype but I needed a short audio book and thought, why not?
Two Necromancers, a Dwarf Kingdom, and a Sky City

My 30th book of the year was Two Necromancers, a Dwarf Kingdom, and a Sky City by L.G Estrella, the 4th book in the Un-conventional heroes series.
Trial of the Sun Queen

My 29th read of the year was Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha J Tuli, the first book in the Artefacts of Ouranos series. This read was part of my podcast’s first buddy read. I was actually in a bit of a reading slump and this book kicked me out of it!
What Lies Beyond the Veil

My 28th read of the year was What Lies Beyond the Veil by Harper L Woods, the first book in the Of Flesh and Bone series. This book appears on a lot of book trope rec lists, so does it live up to the hype?
30 ‘Nightmare trope’ book rec list

Anybody else absolutely melt into a little puddle at any book with the ‘cuddled during a nightmare’ trope? Just me? I don’t care if it’s overplayed, I don’t care if it’s cheesy. I.NEED.IT.
All the Emily Henry books I have read – a review

Some of the other review compilations I’ve done seem to be getting a lot of visitors, which lead me to thinking they are quite helpful? So I thought I’d do another one for an author I’ve read a few of: Emily Henry.
5 things your bookworm wants you to not ask about

If there’s a book nerd in your life that you love, or live with, here are the questions they’d rather you didn’t ask. I’m doing my civic duty as a bookworm with a blog by telling you what they won’t.
Live and Let Lionel – Zodiac Academy 8.6

My 26th read of the year was Live and Let Lionel – Zodiac Academy by Susanne Valenti and Caroline Peckham, this book is a compilation of novellas set throughout the timeline of the series.
The new booktok ‘hot-take’ : booktok has turned publishing into ‘fast fashion’ – a rant

So, one of the topics that was doing the rounds on Tiktok recently was that because of booktok and reader’s appetites for huge tbr’s, large consumption and books written for tropes, publishing has become it’s own version of fast fashion: trope filled, poorly edited books churned out quickly. I thought, as a big reader who…
The Unhoneymooners

My 25th book of the year was The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren. This had a big moment on booktok for a while and I’m always dubious and big books on there but this ended up on too many rec lists for me not to try it.
She’s a Keeper

My 24th book of the year was She’s a Keeper by Ali.k.Mulford, the first book in the Prickle Island Zoo series.
First 3 months of the year reading and writing check in

I usually only ever do end of the year summaries, but I thought it’d be fun to try and write one each quarter to look back on at the end of the year.
A Soul to Heal

The 22nd book I read this year was A Soul to Heal by Opal Reyne, the second book in the Duskwalker’s Bride series.
The Wayward children series

Books number 4,5,6,10,11,12,13,20 and 21 of this year were The Wayward Children Series by Seanan Mcquire. There are nine books currently in this series, with more being released still.
Two Necromancers, a Dragon, and a Vampire

My 19th book of the year was Two Necromancers, a Dragon, and a Vampire by L.G.Estrella. The third book in the Unconventional Heroes series.
A review of all Ali Hazelwood books I’ve read

I’ve compiled all the reviews I’ve done of each Ali Hazelwood book I’ve read to date (written in Feb, 2024). At the bottom I’ve given a little overall review of which one I liked the most and where to start.
The ‘death of the author’ concept

Occasionally with this blog, I just cover topics that have been on mind and this is something we discuss on my podcast a lot, about how much you can separate an author from their books. So what does Death of the Author mean by the original definition?
25 Fake dating trope recs

I have a fragile relationship with this trope, sometimes I really hate it, but when it’s done well, I love it!
My current TBR

What are the books I’m planning to read soon? I review pretty much everything I read on here, so what can you expect too see?
You need hobbies! An argument for doing something just for fun

Bit of an unusual one, but occasionally with this blog I just do a post about something I’ve been thinking about. One thing I’ve noticed lately is how few adults do ANY hobbies in the evening or at weekends, they just go to work and exist.
Mead and Mishaps novellas: Mistlefoe and a Bump in BooHail

Mistlefoe and A Bump in Boohail by Kimberley Lemming, part of the Mead and Mishaps series, were numbers 15 and 18 of this year.
That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human

My 17th read of this year was ‘That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human’ by Kimberley Lemming, the third book in the Mead and Mishaps series.
That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf

My 16th book of the year was ‘That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf’ by Kimberley Lemming the second book in the Mead and Mishaps series.
A Soul to Keep

The 14th book I read this year was ‘A Soul to Keep’ by Opal Reyne, book 1 in The Duskwalker Brides Series.
A Strong Female Character

The 9th book I read this year was A Strong Female Character by Fern Brady.
30 Fated Mates book trope recs

Fated mates is a great, cheesy trope that I’ve decided I’m a fan of ever since I read ACOTAR a couple years ago. It’s like love at first sight but with you know… destiny and magic and stuff.
Act Your Age, Eve Brown

My 8th read of the year was ‘Act Your Age, Eve Brown’ by Talia Hibbert, the third book in the Brown Sisters trilogy.
20 Fourth Wing memes part 2- because I can

I was struck down with a bug recently and so was house bound and unable to focus on anything except pointlessly scrolling Pinterest, please enjoy the fruits of my labour… I present to you: Fourth Wing memes part 2!
30 Grumps vs Sunshine recs

This is another trope that I love, whether it’s platonic or romantic! You can find it across most genres, most age ranges and it always brings me a little bit of joy.
Take a Hint, Dani Brown

My 7th book of the year was T’ake a Hint, Dani Brown’ by Talia Hibert, the second book in the Brown sisters trilogy.
Dirty Laundry: why adults with ADHD are so ashamed and what we can do to help

My second book of the year was ‘Dirty Laundry: why adults with ADHD are so ashamed and what we can do to help’ by Richard Pink and Roxanne Emery. I found this book through their TikTok, where they make funny skit type videos on living with ADHD and having a partner with ADHD.
Six Scorched Roses by Carissa Broadbent

My first book of 2024 was Six Scorched Roses by Carissa Broadbent, a novella set in The Crowns of Nyaxia world (the series with The Serpent and the Wings of Night and The Ashes and the Star Cursed King).
All books in the Shadowhunter universe by Cassandra Clare – a review

Cassandra Clare is one of the author’s whose books have a massive world that I happen to have read the majority of, so I thought, why not group all my Shadow hunter book reviews together?
20 Memes for book lovers

Here are the fruits of my pointless scrolling labour, book nerds, enjoy.
Audio books pros and cons

There are some book snobs in the world who will shout that audio books ‘don’t count’ as reading. But that’s nonsense, so here’s an actual pro/con list not based in snobbery.
Crank Palace

My 76th and final read of the year was Crank Palace by James Dashner, a novella from the Maze Runner series.
Ruthless Villains

My 44th read of 2023 was Ruthless Villains by Marion Blackwood but I only just finished it towards the end of Christmas break.
10 Oddly specific micro tropes that amuse me

This post is exactly as described in the title, here are some oddly specific tropes and my feral thoughts about them. Enjoy.
The importance of peace/rest – a reflection/ rant

While this blog is mostly about books and writing, occasionally I talk about things that have been on my mind. Because it’s my blog and I’m in charge. Today I wanted to reflect on something I have been forced to learn over 2023: the importance of rest.
Writing a book is hard – part 4

For those who are new, I have had an idea for a book since forever, it’s all mapped out, I just need to bloody write it. This part of a series of reflective posts, where I talk about my challenges with the WIP
Get a Life Chloe Brown

The 74th book I read in 2023 was Get a Life Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert, the first book in the Brown Sisters series.