This month I’m taking part in the Medieval-A-Thon created by Holly Hearts Books – check out my TBR where I talked all about the readathon itself and its various challenges!

My aim is to read at least six books to reach the rank of Queen and build up my armour, but I’d love to get through seven or eight books so I can have a couple of weapons, too. Medieval England wasn’t a safe place to be – I could do with a sword!

I need to pick up on my reading, though, because so far I’ve only been able to get through two novels this month. Two novels is still great, but when I’m aiming for eight I should already be through around four by now.

So how am I doing?

• CROWN – Read a book where a character fights for the throne
• HELMET – Read a book with a dragon on the cover
• BREASTPLATE – Read a shiny book
• LEGGINGS – Read a thick paperback
• BOOTS – Read a book that has yellowed over time
• CLOAK – Read a book with red on the dust jacket/cover
• SWORD – Read a book with something pointy on the cover
• DAGGERS – Read a book with assassins
• BOW AND ARROW – Read a book with elves
• AXE – Read a book with mercenaries

Firstly I achieved my crown when I read (and loved) Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia after the publisher very kindly sent me a review copy. It’s out this month and I urge you to buy it and all of Moreno-Garcia’s other novels – she’s a seriously underrated SFF author! Look out for my review tomorrow.

After that I read another novel that the publisher very kindly sent to me after I requested a copy, and earned my cloak with Her Kind by Niamh Boyce. Fittingly for the Medieval-A-Thon it’s set in medieval Ireland and at least now I’m not naked! I mean a crown and a cloak – what more could I want?

I didn’t love Her Kind as much as I hoped I would, but it did introduce me to the Kilkenny Witch Trial which, I’m ashamed to admit, I’d somehow never heard of before. My review will be coming next week!

Next I’m hoping to finish up The City of Brass by S.A Chakraborty (maybe tonight?) to earn my breastplate. I started it last year and then got distracted by other things, but this world is so detailed I realised I’d probably have to start the whole book from the beginning and, to be honest, I’m glad I did.

I’ve actually been listening to the audiobook, narrated by Soneela Nankani, and now that I’m over half-way through it I’ve gone back to my kindle edition; I’d like to start the audiobook of Mark Lawrence’s Holy Sister, narrated by Helen Duff, tomorrow during my commute to work to finish up the Book of the Ancestor trilogy and earn me a pair of daggers.

I’m hoping to get back to Rachel Hartman’s Seraphina this week, too, which was neglected while I tried to catch up on Booktube SFF Award reading. As it has a dragon on the cover, it’ll earn me a helmet. The Priory of the Orange Tree was originally on my TBR for this challenge, and I am determined to cross that book off my TBR this year, but I don’t want to leave Seraphina unfinished for too long – especially when I’ve been enjoying it!

Are you taking part in the Medieval-A-Thon? How’s your reading going? Let me know down below!