My Five Star Predictions for 2021

I'm always hoping that the next book I read is going to be a five star/a new favourite because as readers we always want to enjoy every single book to the max. Saying that, I'm a fickle being and therefore I very rarely give out five stars because there's nearly always something holding me back. Out of the 78 books that I read in 2020, around 15 of them I gave 5 stars and I really want to read as many as I can in 2021. I've put together a list of ten books that I think could become new favourites and that I've been wanting to read for so long, I have no idea if I'll even get to them all this year but we'll give it a shot!

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab       

Because I lost my blogging mojo for a while and therefore this post is going up later then I wanted it to, I have actually already read two of the books on this list. Luckily, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was a five star read! 🥰 I actually started this one in late December and then finished it at the beginning of the month but my god, this book is so beautiful. V. E. Schwab's writing is stunning, there are so many quotable sentences in here that I must have bookmarked about 50 of them. I already want to reread it but I'm very happy it lived up to the hype and ended up as a new favourite.

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn 

This is my current read at the time of writing this and I'm about 180 pages in and really, really liking it so far. I got this in the October Owlcrate box without knowing too much about it but then everyone seemed to be reading it and completely loving it. I think it could be a five star because although fantasy isn't my go to genre I do find myself more and more intrigued by a lot of books that fall into that category. The fact that it's got elements of the King Arthur legend is also a massive pull as I just really like Arthurian legend and anything that is inspired by it. So far it's looking promising but obviously I won't know for sure until I'm done!

 

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig    

This is the other book on this list that I've already read but unfortunately this one didn't get the full five start treatment from me. I did really enjoy and it came out as a high five star read for me on my tracking spreadsheet but something was stopping me from adoring it. I think maybe it was the pacing that left me a little underwhelmed as this book follows a young women being able to enter multiple lives she could of lived and when reading it there were time where I wanted some sections to be more detailed or just more in depth. I did love the message though and the main character was really relatable too. 

 

City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty         

Like I said fantasy isn't what I usually read but I have a kind of gut feeling about this series. So much that I already own the first two books. A lot of people rave about this series and I really want to jump on the hype train! This book follows a young woman in 18th century Cairo who accidentally summons a djinn and is swept up in magic and politics. I'm excited about this one but I think it's a case of having to be in the right mood to pick it up. 

 

Emma by Jane Austen 

I've read two Jane Austen novels so far, Mansfield Park and Pride and Prejudice although I do own her entire works. Both of those were four stars for me and I know a lot of people like Emma so I'm crossing my fingers that this one could be the first to get five stars. I've seen a few adaptations of this novel and again, I just have that gut feeling that I'm going to end up enjoying reading the source material. I'm hoping I'll be able to squeeze this book into a future TBR. 

 

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow       

Magical realism, sprawling mansions and strange books with secret doors?? I still don't know why I haven't picked this one up yet. I do this a lot with books I'm highly anticipating, I delay reading them because I'm scared that my feelings are going to be disappointed. How many times can I say I have a good feeling in this post? This is recommended for those whole loved Addie LaRue, The Night Circus and The Midnight Library so I probably shouldn't be that worried. 

 

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

It's pretty much a crime at this point that I haven't read anything by this author, yep not even Evelyn Hugo which is like the book community's darling. I know that there is a mini series in the works though with Riley Keogh and Sam Claflin so I definitely want to get it read sooner rather than later. I feel like I'm going to like the format as well because apparently it's told through interviews and the like, which I always really enjoy. 

 

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff          

I'm sat here laughing because I still can't believe this is still sitting on my shelf unread. I mean I own the whole trilogy already because I think I'm going to adore these books but it's another case of putting it off so I can keep that anticipatory feeling a little longer. Everyone loves the books so I somone just tell me to pick them up already please!

 

The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin   

The premise of this one sounds so bizarre and yet so intriguing and wonderful at the same time. Cities with souls and protectors? I love New York City (I've never been but I just know, ok!), if I could choose any city in the world to visit right now, New York would be it. This book is described as a love letter to the city so that's all I really need to know plus there's fantastical, speculative stuff going on too so I'm already there.

Threadneedle by Cari Thomas 

The noise that came out of me when I found out that I got approved for an ARC of this on netgalley was not human 😂 but seriously I am so excited to get to this book, it unreal. I love anything, witchy and magical so I have seriously high hopes for this. Plus I can't put if off for much longer as the ARC needs to be read before May!  

So, those are the ten books I have slighly too high expectations for!  I'm going to do my absolute best to get to them all this year and I'm keeping everything crossed that I love them as much as I think i'm going to! Happy Reading!

Book Review | No Exit by Taylor Adams

Title: No Exit
Author: Taylor Adams
Publication Date: 17th June 2017 by Joffe Books
Format: Ebook via Kindle Unlimited
Target Audience: Adult
Genre: Thriller
Goodreads | Amazon.co.uk | Barnes & Noble (US)

Synopsis 

On her way to Utah to see her dying mother, college student Darby Thorne gets caught in a fierce blizzard in the mountains of Colorado. With the roads impassable, she’s forced to wait out the storm at a remote highway rest stop. Inside are some vending machines, a coffee maker, and four complete strangers.

Desperate to find a signal to call home, Darby goes back out into the storm . . . and makes a horrifying discovery. In the back of the van parked next to her car, a little girl is locked in an animal crate.

Who is the child? Why has she been taken? And how can Darby save her?

There is no cell phone reception, no telephone, and no way out. One of her fellow travelers is a kidnapper. But which one?

Trapped in an increasingly dangerous situation, with a child’s life and her own on the line, Darby must find a way to break the girl out of the van and escape.

But who can she trust?

Trigger and content warnings: Child abuse, graphic violence, torture, on page death, references to sex trafficking and pedophilia.

                  Rating

My Thoughts

 

"The difference between a hero and a victim? Timing."

Taylor Adams has created a really intense, action packed thriller. I'm actually quite picky when it comes to my thrillers, I nearly always find something that lessens my rating. And whilst this book wasn't perfect it's still one of my favourite thrillers that i've read in recent years because of how intrigued I was by how the plot played out.

This book follows Darby, a college student on her way home for christmas and racing back to see her dying mother. The story kicks off as she's stranded at a rest stop in the middle of a snowstorm with four complete strangers and whilst in the parking lot she discovers a kidnapped child in the back of a van. She has to survive for the next nine hours with no outside help, not only is she trying to help the child escape but she has to ensure she stays one step ahead of the kidnapper at all times. 

The synopsis of this book is what drew me in. I love books that take place in isolated settings and books that take place over the course of 24 hours or less and these two factors really helped to create that tense atmosphere and raise the stakes to a 100. The intensity builds and builds the further on you read and I could feel myself getting more and more anxious which is probably why I raced through the last third of this book. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep unless I knew how these events would culminate. The story unfolded perfectly for me, Adams gets the pacing just right. Every reveal is carefully planned out but the building suspense keeps you flicking the page until you've practically read the entire book.

The twists and turns are executed really well, some I was able to predict but then there were others that I didn't see coming at all. There were times where I had to stop reading just to pause and say Holy Shit! There was a reveal towards the end (I won't spoil!) that whilst it made sense in terms of plot and everything I couldn't help feel that it was too conveniant and I just wanted a little more explanation behind it. 

The characters are all really well written. I connected with Darby almost immediately, she's a reluctant leader of the ragtag group but she has so much fight and grit within her that I was rooting for her every step of the way. 'A kidnapped little girl locked in a stranger’s van. No help for miles. What would you do?'. Personally I have no idea how I would approach this situation but Darby doesn't even hesitate to do what she knows is right and fights to the bitter end to protect that child. The secondary characters are all well thought out and all play a significant role in this game of cat and mouse although some did become a little cliche occasionally.

"Don't fear the pros. The pros know what they're doing, and do it cleanly. Fear the amateurs."  

I think what bumped this down to a four stars is probably the logic behind some of the actions the characters take. Without revealing any major spoilers, there were times when Darby left important objects in places she definitely shoudn't have when in the middle of a kidnap plot. It's easy to say that she got distracted by everything going on but I just felt that she would have been on high alert and wouldn't have made such silly mistakes especially when a kid's life is on the line. There's also a small subplot involving the kidnapped girl that I just felt didn't make sense at all and was merely there to add extra drama to the whole thing and increase the stakes. They're only minor things but it did mean I took off a star from my rating as it did lessen my enjoyment ever so slightly.

Overall, this is an author I definitely want to read more from in the future. This was such a quick read and I did really enjoy my time reading it. It's a clever premise with great execution and plot twists that you won't see coming. I will say that if you're not a fan of really gory scenes then maybe take some caution going into this one as some parts did tend to get a bit gruesome!       

Top Ten Tuesday | Books I Wish I'd Read When I Was Younger

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature that highlights ten books that all relate to a certain topic and is  hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This Weeks Topic Is... 

Books I Wish I'd Read When I Was Younger and compiling this list made me realise how many 'popular' book series I actually missed out on reading. These are mostly books that I probably would have read when I was between 10-14 but for some reason they just weren't on my radar back then. I don't remember many of my friends being as big of readers as I was and there was no Goodreads to be able to see what everyone else was reading. There may have been some cultural differences as well, I know a lot of these books were popular with kids in the US but I'm not sure if the same could be said in the UK. If I could go back in time then I think these ten series would be the ones I'd actively be seeking out to read.

Book Tag | Dreamy Book Covers Tag 2020 Edition

I love doing book tags but I often feel like I'm limited on what books I can use for different prompts as I definitely haven't read as many books as some people and therefore I sometimes end up repeating books in different tags. But a quick google search found me a masterlist of different book tags and this one caught my eye as it's an opportunity to highlight some of my favourite book covers. I also decided to do this tag as a 2020 edition so all of the books I've featured are 2020 releases. So, this is the Dreamy Book Covers tag created by Tiana @ The Book Raven!

 "No Ideas But In Things"

a book cover that perfectly expresses the novel inside it 

 

Ok, so I haven't actually read Sisters of Sword and Song by Rebecca Ross yet but for me this book cover just screams YA fantasy. I love the mirrored images and the subtle differences between them which really reflects that this book is about sisters and from the illustrations, I think we can expect plenty of action and intrigue.

 After eight long years, Evadne will finally be reunited with her older sister, Halcyon, who has been proudly serving in the queen’s army. But when Halcyon appears earlier than expected, Eva knows something has gone terribly wrong. Halcyon is on the run, hunted by her commander and charged with murder.

Though Halcyon’s life is spared during her trial, the punishment is heavy. And when Eva volunteers to serve part of Halcyon’s sentence, she’s determined to find out exactly what happened. But as Eva begins her sentence, she quickly learns that there are fates much worse than death.

"Dark and Lovely"  

a book cover that is so creepily delicious

I can't tell you how excited I am for this book. Horrid by Katrina Leno is one of my most anticipated books of the year and the cover is just giving me all the spine chilling vibes. There's something quite disturbing about the image and I knew straight away just from looking at the cover that this was going straight on my October TBR. I'm actually looking into buying the September OwlCrate box which is going to feature this book so fingers crossed I can nab myself one.

Following her father's death, Jane North-Robinson and her mom move from sunny California to the dreary, dilapidated old house in Maine where her mother grew up. All they want is a fresh start, but behind North Manor's doors lurks a history that leaves them feeling more alone...and more tormented.

As the cold New England autumn arrives, and Jane settles in to her new home, she finds solace in old books and memories of her dad. She steadily begins making new friends, but also faces bullying from the resident "bad seed," struggling to tamp down her own worst nature in response. Jane's mom also seems to be spiraling with the return of her childhood home, but she won't reveal why. Then Jane discovers that the "storage room" her mom has kept locked isn't for storage at all--it's a little girl's bedroom, left untouched for years and not quite as empty of inhabitants as it appears....  

"Sugary Sweet"

 a cute cover that is so fluffy you want to give it a hug

The Falling In Love Montage by Ciara Smyth sounds like it would've been the perfect summery rom-com read but alas I might have to save it for next year instead. From the synopsis it sounds absolutely adorable and the front cover is giving me major summer romance vibes with the carnival background and the pink and orange hues.

Saoirse doesn’t believe in love at first sight or happy endings. If they were real, her mother would still be able to remember her name and not in a care home with early onset dementia. A condition that Saoirse may one day turn out to have inherited. So she’s not looking for a relationship. She doesn’t see the point in igniting any romantic sparks if she’s bound to burn out.

But after a chance encounter at an end-of-term house party, Saoirse is about to break her own rules. For a girl with one blue freckle, an irresistible sense of mischief, and a passion for rom-coms.

Unbothered by Saoirse’s no-relationships rulebook, Ruby proposes a loophole: They don’t need true love to have one summer of fun, complete with every cliché, rom-com montage-worthy date they can dream up—and a binding agreement to end their romance come fall. It would be the perfect plan, if they weren’t forgetting one thing about the Falling in Love Montage: when it’s over, the characters actually fall in love… for real.

"The Simple Aesthetic"

a book cover that stuns with the most minimalistic of design

 

Apparently minimilism is not a big trend when it comes to 2020 book covers cause I can tell ya, I struggled with finding a book cover that fit this prompt. In the end I settled on The Circus Rose by Betsy Cornwell although I'm still not 100% sure that this counts as minimilism but it's the closest we're gonna get! I hadn't heard of this book but apparently it's a retelling of Snow White and Rose Red and you know I can't resist a fairytale retelling. I'm especially intrigued by the circus and bear images on the front cover with the bonus points of it being queer as well!

Twins Rosie and Ivory have grown up at their ringmaster mother’s knee, and after years on the road, they’re returning to Port End, the closest place to home they know. Yet something has changed in the bustling city: fundamentalist flyers paper the walls and preachers fill the squares, warning of shadows falling over the land. The circus prepares a triumphant homecoming show, full of lights and spectacle that could chase away even the darkest shadow. But during Rosie’s tightrope act, disaster strikes.

In this lush, sensuous novel interwoven with themes of social justice and found family, it’s up to Ivory and her magician love—with the help of a dancing bear—to track down an evil priest and save their circus family before it’s too late. 

"Cover Envy"

a book cover that you wish you had on your shelves but don't yet

 

Apart from all the rave reviews this book has been getting, I've also been coveting it because of how much I love the cover. I adore the colour scheme and even though it's simplistic, it's still really eye-catching. I'm also completely obsessed with that dress. This is one i'll hopefully be adding to my shelves sooner rather than later.

After receiving a frantic letter from her newlywed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find - her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.

Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.

Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.

And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.    

"Traveling Abroad"

a beautiful book cover featuring a country outside of your own

 

This is another one that I can't wait to pick up and read. The plot sounds so unique and interesting in The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin, and it's something I've never discovered in a book before. The basic premise is that the city of New York is alive and the five boroughs are embodied in five different people. These five people must come together to defeat an evil entity before it's too late. Tell me that doesn't sound amazing? I'm also thrilled that this sounds like it'll be a series that focuses on a different city for each book as well.

Every city has a soul. Some are as ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York City? She's got five.

But every city also has a dark side. A roiling, ancient evil stirs beneath the earth, threatening to destroy the city and her five protectors unless they can come together and stop it once and for all.

"The Colour Wheel"

A cover that showcases one of your favourite colours

 

I couldn't decide what colour I wanted to highlight for this prompt so I decided to go with one of the most beautiful and brightest covers I could find. I love the design style for The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune, it's so fun and creative and quirky all at the same time. That perfectly describes the book as well by the sounds of it as there's everything from gnomes to the Antichrist in this one.

Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.

When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he's given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.

But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn.  

 

"Switching Gears"

a cover change that you hate

 

Originally this prompt was to highlight a book cover change that you love but I couldn't find any 2020 redesigns that I loved so instead I chose A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas as I really don't like what they've done with the new covers. They're not completely terrible but I just feel like they've regressed rather than improved on these covers. If I had to make the choice I'd much rather own the original editions than the newer ones.   

Feyre's survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price ...

Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre's presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever. 

"Oldie but Goodie"  

A favourite cover of a favourite classic

 

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll has always been one of my favourite classics and there have been so many wonderful covers over the years. I'm lucky enough to own the MinaLima cover but I'd also love to own this gorgeous version as well (we'll ignore the fact that it might possibly be a children's simplified version!).

On a drowsy afternoon by a riverbank, a young and distracted Alice follows a rabbit into a fantastical underground world that grows curiouser and curiouser. Dared, insulted, amused, and threatened by a succession of anthropomorphic creatures, the indomitable Alice falls deeper into a swirl of the imagination where logic has no place.

I love all of these covers but I think my favourite of the bunch has to be Horrid by Katrina Leno!

Are any of these covers in your favourites? Which covers have been your favourites of 2020? Let me know in the comments and happy reading!

Book Review | The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf

Title: The Weight of Our Sky  
Author: Hanna Alkaf
Publication Date: 5th February 2019 by Salaam Reads
Format: Ebook via Scribd
Target Audience: Young Adult
Genre: Historical
Goodreads | Amazon | Waterstones (Pre-Order)

Synopsis

Melati Ahmad looks like your typical moviegoing, Beatles-obsessed sixteen-year-old. Unlike most other sixteen-year-olds though, Mel also believes that she harbors a djinn inside her, one who threatens her with horrific images of her mother’s death unless she adheres to an elaborate ritual of counting and tapping to keep him satisfied.

But there are things that Melati can't protect her mother from. On the evening of May 13th, 1969, racial tensions in her home city of Kuala Lumpur boil over. The Chinese and Malays are at war, and Mel and her mother become separated by a city in flames.

With a 24-hour curfew in place and all lines of communication down, it will take the help of a Chinese boy named Vincent and all of the courage and grit in Melati’s arsenal to overcome the violence on the streets, her own prejudices, and her djinn’s surging power to make it back to the one person she can’t risk losing.

Trigger and content warnings: OCD, anxiety, graphic violence, on page death, and strong racism. 

Rating

WWW Wednesday | 02/09/2020

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words that highlights three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

What did you recently finish reading?

I finished Pet Semetary by Stephen King on Monday and wow, what a read! I didn't have a solid grasp on what this book was about other than what the title suggests and it's definitely better to go into this one blind. I really like how Stephen King builds up his stories, he includes a lot of backstory for the first half and then really builds up the tension for the last 100 or so pages. It was a really tense read and I'm looking forward to reading more of his books as this was only my third to date.

What are you currently reading?

I'm about 23% into No Exit by Taylor Adams and I think i'm already hooked. This is one that a lot of people really enjoyed and I was really in the mood for a thriller as we enter the autumn months. This is about a college student who gets stranded at a rest stop in the middle of a snowstorm and finds a kidnapped child in the back of a car in the parking lot. I'm expecting plenty of twists and growing tension with this one!

I've also just started listening to Tris's Book (Circle of Magic #2) on Scribd and so far I'm really enjoying this fantasy middle grade series. Tris was my favourite character in the first book so I'm excited to learn more about her and her backstory. I will say that it threw me off slightly that they've changed some of the voice actors but I'll probably get used to it after a while.

What do you think you'll read next?

I'm picking up Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini as my next physical read. I've had this book for 5+ years and although my reading tastes have changed slightly as I've moved into my twenties, I'm still willing to give this a go. This a YA romance with greek mythology mixed into it so I am intrigued.

Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is - no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood... and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.

As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together - and trying to tear them apart.

Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts? What are you currently reading and hoping to pick up next? Leave a comment or link your own WWW Wednesdays below for me to check out!

    

   

Top Ten Tuesday | Books That Make Me Hungry

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature that highlights ten books that all relate to a certain topic and is  hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This Weeks Topic Is... 

Books That Make Me Hungry. I actually had to do a bit of googling for this topic as I could only think of a few off the top of my head but I had a lot of fun and yes, I did get hungry whilst doing it but I also found a few more books to add to my TBR!

September 2020 TBR

So, I'd like to say that I'm back but who knows cause I said this last time and then disappeared for almost an entire year. I had a sudden spurge of inspiration to start posting again in early August but decided to wait until September so I could have a brand new month to start posting in. Life's been crazy over the past few months. Not only are we still in a worldwide pandemic but i'm just now coming out of one of the worst reading slumps I've ever been in. I don't know if it's because of the Covid situation but I've only read a small handful of books between March and July. I think I'm out of the worst of it now though so fingers crossed I don't have any problems for the rest of the year.

October 2019 Reading Wrap Up

Sorry for posting this wrap up so late but I've got a ton of uni work due in the next couple of weeks so most of my attention has been on that but it's here! I managed to read a total of 11 books in October which I'm pretty pleased with. Commuting really does help with the amount of books I can read as I have an hour train journey to uni and an hour train journey back so I spend most of my time reading and I'm able to get a good chunk of my book read. I had a bit of a mixed bag this month, with some amazing reads, a couple that were just average and one that really disappointed me.

WWW Wednesday | 06/11/2019

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words that highlights three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

What did you recently finish reading?

I finished Brighton Rock by Grahame Greene yesterday and I'm still trying to work my head around it. I'm not gonna lie, there were a few instances where I was really confused about the circumstances so I had to do some googling to kind of figure out what went down. Overall, it was good but not one that I'd ever revisit.

 

What are you currently reading?

I'm currently reading One Day by David Nicholls. I'm only about 35 pages in but I'm already enjoying it a lot although this may be because I've seen the movie adaptation and it's one of my favourite romance films so that might be why I'm liking it so much! I'm excited to continue it!

What do you think you'll read next?  

I'm planning on reading The Places I've Cried in Public by Holly Bourne next which will be a bit of a full circle for my blog as It Only Happens in the Movies was the first book I ever reviewed on here. This has got great reviews so I'm looking forward to some more romance after One Day.

Amelie loved Reese. And she thought he loved her. But she’s starting to realise love isn’t supposed to hurt like this. So now she’s retracing their story and untangling what happened by revisiting all the places he made her cry.

Because if she works out what went wrong, perhaps she can finally learn to get over him.

Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts? What are you currently reading and hoping to pick up next? Leave a comment or link your own WWW Wednesdays below for me to check out!

Book Tag | Pumpkin Spice Latte Tag

Oh look, I'm back. After three months of no desire to blog whatsoever I'm going to attempt to slowly bring myself back into it. I don't really have an explanation for why I disappeared, I think I was just getting stresses and I had no inspiration but I do miss writing posts and I'm also considering starting a booktube channel in January so I want to get some of semi-regular posting going on before I jump into making videos.

Today I'm going to be doing the Pumpkin Spice Latte Tag which I spotted over on The Book Dutchesses and was originally created by The Book Pusher over on booktube. I don't actually like coffee but I am in an autumnal mood so wanted to give this tag a go!

ARC Review | The Stranger's Guide To Talliston by John Tarrow

Title: The Stranger's Guide To Talliston
Author: John Tarrow
Publication Date: 11th July 2019 by Unbound
Format: ARC via Netgalley
Target Audience: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Science-Fiction
Goodreads | Amazon | Waterstones

Synopsis  

Abandoned and alone, thirteen-year-old Joe's world is shattered when he enters a deserted council house and becomes trapped within a labyrinth protecting the last magical places on earth. There, Joe discovers a book charting this immense no-man's land, without time or place, its thirteen doors each leading to a different realm. Hunted by sinister foes, the boy is forced ever deeper into both the maze and the mystery of his missing parents. What will he find at the labyrinth's centre, and can it reunite him with the family he so desperately needs? 

My Rating  

Book Review | The Life and Death Parade by Eliza Wass

Title: The Life and Death Parade
Author: Eliza Wass
Publication Date: 12th July 2018 by Quercus
Format: Paperback
Target Audience: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal
Goodreads | Amazon

Synopsis

One year ago, Kitty's boyfriend Nikki Bramley visited a psychic who told him he had no future. Now, he's dead.

With the Bramley family grieving in separate corners of their home, Kitty sets out to find the psychic who read Nikki his fate. Instead she finds Roan, an enigmatic boy posing as a medium who belongs to the Life and Death Parade--a group of supposed charlatans that explore, and exploit, the thin veil between this world and the next. A group whose members include the psychic... and Kitty's late mother.

Desperate to learn more about the group and their connection to Nikki, Kitty convinces Roan to return to the Bramley house with her and secures a position for him within the household. Roan quickly ingratiates himself with the Bramleys, and soon enough it seems like everyone is ready to move on. Kitty, however, increasingly suspects Roan knows more about Nikki than he's letting on. And when they finally locate the Life and Death Parade, and the psychic who made that fateful prophecy to Nikki, Kitty uncovers a secret about Roan that changes everything.

Rating 

Top Ten Tuesday | Favourite Childhood Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature that highlights ten books that all relate to a certain topic and is  hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This Weeks Topic Is... 

Favourite Childhood Books and this was such a trip down memory lane. I loved looking up all those books I loved when I was younger, so much nostalgia rediscovering books I loved but had forgotten about. I can't wait to read some of these to my neice when she's a bit older and hopefully they'll become some of her childhood favourites as well.

June 2019 Reading Wrap Up

I managed to read a total of 10 books in June which isn't bad, it's only a couple less then what I read in May, and yet for some reason I'm quite disappointed in myself. I think it's mostly down to the fact that I didn't manage to read all of the books on my June TBR post and therefore didn't reach my monthly goal. I've had a couple of slow weeks so I've only felt like reading a few chapters here and there rather then picking up a book and reading half of it in one sitting. I suppose it brings up the question of whether we should be setting ourselves reading goals and whether or not that applies too much pressure on us as bloggers. We should just be reading what we want when we want and reading simply for pleasure instead. Anyway, here's all the books I read in June and a little of what I thought about them...

July 2019 TBR + The Book Junkie Trials

How is it nearly July already?? We're now nearly 7 months into the year and I just don't know where the time is going, I feel like it was Christmas only a couple of weeks ago. Anyway, a new month means a new TBR. I didn't quite manage to read all of the books on my June TBR, you can find that post here, as I had a bit of a slow reading week near the beginning of the month so I didn't manage to read my classic or my non-fiction book of the month, as well as one of the books from my TBR box and an ebook. I've decided that whatever I don't manage to read from my TBR posts will just get put straight into the next months TBR and will be prioritised.

Series Review | The Cogheart Adventures by Peter Bunzl

 

Title: Cogheart Adventures series (Books 1,2 & 3) 

Author: Peter Bunzl

Publisher: Usborne

Format: Ebooks via Scribd

Target Audience: Middle Grade

Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy

Goodreads | Amazon 

Synopsis

Cogheart -

Lily's life is in mortal peril. Her father is missing and now silver-eyed men stalk her through the shadows. What could they want from her? With her friends - Robert, the clockmaker's son, and Malkin, her mechanical fox - Lily is plunged into a murky and menacing world. Too soon Lily realizes that those she holds dear may be the very ones to break her heart...

Moonlocket - 

Storm clouds gather over Lily and Robert's summer when criminal mastermind the Jack of Diamonds appears. For Jack is searching for the mysterious Moonlocket - but that's not the only thing he wants.

Skycircus - 

When a travelling skycircus arrives in Brackenbridge, Lily and Robert can't wait to step aboard... But there's something sinister about the hybrid children who appear as part of the act. And before Lily and Robert can do anything, they're captured by shadowy figures and whisked off in the mysterious flying circus to somewhere far, far away...

Overall Rating

WWW Wednesday | 26/06/2019

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words that highlights three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

What did you recently finish reading?

I finished The Fates Divide by Veronica Roth, the second book in the Carve The Mark Duology. I ended up giving this book 3 stars, the same rating as the first book, as I thought it was just ok but nothing that really wowed me. The writing style was probably what I enjoyed the most and I did like Cyra and Akos's characters for the most part. I was just really confused throughout most of this book. There are so many POV's and character names and places and the names all looked really similar and eventually my brain was hurting from trying to figure out who was who.

What are you currently reading?

I'm currently reading Genuine Fraud by E. Lockheart and whilst it's slightly confusing and I haven't quite worked out what's happening plot-wise, it's also incredibly gripping. I'm enjoying reading a novel written backwards and seeing all the events unfold that led up to the opening chapter.

I've also just started The Strangers Guide To Talliston by John Tarrow which is an eARC I received through Netgalley and have heard absolutely nothing about. It's actually only got one rating on Goodreads so far. The premise sounds interesting though as it follows a boy who enters a house with thirteen doors which each lead to a different realm and you have to work out a puzzle to unlock the next door. I'm only a couple of pages in but I'm very excited to read on.

What do you think you'll read next?

I have a feeling I won't be able to read all the books on my June TBR post so right now I'm focusing on my library books and trying to get them read before they're due back. I'm going to read The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury next which reading the synopsis actually sounds quite similar to Carve the Mark so we will see how my opinions differ between books once I've read it.

Sixteen-year-old Twylla lives in the castle. But although she's engaged to the prince, no one speaks to her. No one even looks at her. Because Twylla isn't a member of the court. She's the executioner. As the goddess-embodied, Twylla kills with a single touch. So each week, she's taken to the prison and forced to lay her hands on those accused of treason. No one will ever love her. Who could care for a girl with murder in her veins? Even the prince, whose royal blood supposedly makes him immune to her touch, avoids her.

But then a new guard arrives, a boy whose playful smile belies his deadly swordsmanship. And unlike the others, he's able to look past Twylla's executioner robes and see the girl, not the goddess. Yet a treasonous romance is the least of Twylla's problems. The queen has a plan to destroy her enemies-a plan that requires an unthinkable sacrifice. Will Twylla do what it takes to protect her kingdom? Or will she abandon her duty in favor of a doomed love?  

Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts? What are you currently reading and hoping to pick up next? Leave a comment or link your own WWW Wednesdays below for me to check out!