May Wrap Up/Book Haul

May has been a decent reading month. I've read nine books this month, and I deleted my Goodreads reading challenge which means that I don't feel the pressure of being so behind. I'm still reading quite sporadically at the moment, but once my exams are over (two weeks!!!) I'll have all the time in the world to cut down my daunting TBR pile.

Read

Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier

Date Read: 2nd May

Rating: **
Info: I rated this book 2.5 because whilst it was a lot of fun, it wasn't anything special or groundbreaking. I won't write much about it because I covered pretty much everything in my review.

Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

Date Read: 3rd May

Rating: *****
Info: I absolutely LOVED this book. Seriously, I read it in one siting and basically fangirled the whole time. It's imaginative and unique, and I loved all of the characters so, so much. I also added this to my Goodreads favourites shelf, no big deal.

The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller

Date Read: 13th May

Rating: **

Info: I actually rated this book 2.5 stars because whilst it was a bit generic/predictable, it was SO MUCH FUN. I enjoyed this book so much and I'd definitely recommend it if you're looking for something lighthearted. I also found out that the author is writing a companion novel for it, so I'll probably check it out when it's released! 

Daredevil: The Man Without Fear by Frank Miller

Date Read: 16th May

Rating: ***

Info: I binged watched the Daredevil TV show in less than twenty four hours. It's one of the best shows I've ever watched (it's on Netflix--go check it out) and as soon as it was over I had to do something to soften the wait until the next series. This is a bind-up of five comic books and I really enjoyed it. It didn't blow me away, but reminded me why I'm just a little in love with Matt Murdock.

Beauty by Robin McKinley

Date Read: 16th May

Rating: ***

Info: I gave this book 2.5/5 stars because whilst it was a wonderfully written story, it just didn't satisfy me as much as I thought it would. Still, it only fuelled my fairy tale addiction more.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Date Read: 18th May

Rating: **

Info: If you read my review of Red Queen, you'll know how thoroughly disappointed I was with this book. I kind of understand why it was getting so many five star reviews, but the only thing I liked about it was the one character that everyone was supposed to hate. Oh dear. 

Greek Mythology: The complete guide to Greek Mythology, Ancient Greece, Greek Gods, Zeus, Hercules, Titans, and more!

Date Read: 24th May

Rating: **

Info: The reason that I read this was because my current WIP is a retelling of the Hades/Persephone myth and I wanted to do some research on Greek mythology. I downloaded this free from the kindle store because I literally have about 11p in my bank account. I was really disappointed because it was so short and barely explained anything at all. 

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Date Read: 24th May

Rating: *****

Info: I wrote a review on this one, but words cannot express how much I adored this book. It was completely absorbing and just so darn wonderful. It felt like a creepy, sexy, and enthralling fairytale, and I was utterly hooked all the way through. I couldn't recommend this more.

Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge

Date Read: 30th May
Rating: *****

Info: I absolutely adored this book for so many reasons. I'm in utter awe of Hodge's writing, and I think the way that she creates characters is genius. You can see me fangirl more in my review, but I'm so happy that I bought this.

Book Haul

I bought a lot of books this month, so much so that I'm putting myself on a book buying ban. I'm not going to tell you all about most of the books I got on my kindle because they were all free, and ninety percent of them were for research for my WIP. I also bought the entire Throne of Glass series in the US hardcover editions even though I already owned them in paperback, but they're just so pretty. Anyway, these are the books I got in May:

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes 

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge | Review

Beauty by Robin McKinley | Review

The Assassins Blade by Sarah J Maas

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas 

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas

Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas

The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller | Review

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard | Review

Daredevil: Man Without Fear by Frank Miller 

Half a King by Joe Abercrombie

Uprooted by Naomi Novik | Review

The Gospel of Loki by Joanne M Harris

I hope I'll get a lot of reading done in June once my exams are over, and if I have any self restraint my book haul will be tiny. 

Let's be honest: I have a problem. 

April Wrap Up/Book Haul

April was not a good reading month for me. I'm now nine books behind on my Goodreads schedule which is just hopeless, considering I read twenty books in April 2014. I blame GCSE's (on a plus note, this time tomorrow I'll have finished my Art GCSE for good! Hurrah!)

I only read four books this much which isn't that many (for me, at least). Without further ado, here's my April wrap up!

Read

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

Date Read: 5th April

Rating: ****

Info: I remember reading this book back about four or five years ago and I loved the whole series. It was funny, relatable (even if I'm not a princess *sigh*) and heartwarming. I bought it on my Kindle at the beginning of the month and decided to give it a quick re-read to see if it was just as good a read at aged sixteen rather than eleven. You know what? I still love it. After my exams, I'll probably download the rest of the series and read them too.

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

Date Read: 8th April

Rating: **

Info: The real rating for this is 2.5 because to me it was just okay. I saw this book in Waterstones and I had to buy it because of the kickass summary (librarian spies collecting books from parallel worlds? Yes puhlease). I was so excited to read this but when I did, I just found it to be too much. There was everything and the kitchen sink in this book, and whatever enjoyable elements there were were crushed by an eye roll. Even if I did enjoy it, I was just so disappointed that it wasn't as good as I thought it would be.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

Date Read: 11th April

Rating: *****

Info: I reviewed this one so I won't go into too much detail, but this book was my second most anticipated of the year (behind Queen of Shadows) and it did not disappoint. I am so in love with this world and I cannot wait to read the next two instalments, even if I have to wait another year for them. Excuse me whilst I go hide in a corner until I can see my beloved Tamlin and Lucien again.

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

Date Read: 15th April 

Rating: *****

Info: I reviewed this as well, but in short I loved it. It was everything I expected and more. I got this book from my dad for my birthday and I may or may not have jumped up and down like a crazy person when I opened it. It was such a wonderful book and now I really want to read more by V.E. Schwab.

Book Haul

Now this is where I'd like to say that I didn't buy many books in April, but I'd be telling a big whopper. In my defence, all of the books I bought were either cheap in the Kindle store, pre-orders or bought from a charity shop so it isn't that bad. I'm trying to buy more books on my Kindle so I can read them on holiday this year.

Assassins Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

Assassins Quest by Robin Hobb

Ross Poldark by Winston Graham

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

The Wit and Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister by George R.R. Martin

The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

Dangerous Women by George R.R. Martin and Gardener Dozois

Rogues by George R.R. Martin and Gardener Dozois

Firstborn by Brandon Sanderson

The City & the City by China Miéville 

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

Yeah, that's a lot of books. Either way, I hope you had a good month and that May will be even better!

March Wrap Up/Book Haul

So I did one of these posts in January and it's only six days into March, so it isn't too late, right? Either way, here's my rundown of the month of March.

March is one of my favourite months because it's my birthday (hurrah!). I turned the grand old age of sixteen, but if I'n honest I feel no different to  before. My friends reminded me that now I'm legal, but that'll make no difference. The last time I kissed a boy, I was about six. I still don't know if it counts or not because I don't actually remember it, considering I was six... #badass

I only read one book in February so there was no point in reviewing that month, but in March I read ten *selffive*

• Geek Girl by Holly Smale was the first book I read (on my kindle) and I really loved it. It's just a light contemporary style book, but the main character was so compelling and relatable. I read this book in one sitting and couldn't put it down because it was just a lot of fun. I think I have it 4/5 stars on Goodreads. 
• Model Misfit by Holly Smale is the second book in the Geek Girl series. I downloaded it straight after finishing the first book and again, I couldn't stop reading. These books are just so addictive and even though they're just a bit of fun, they're actually well written (even if they are a little predictable). I gave it 5/5 stars because I loved it so much. 
• Picture Perfect by Holly Smale was the next book I read. What a surprise. I gave it 5/5 stars plainly because the main character, Harriet, is a total bamf as well as being really geeky. She seems to know trivia on just about everything and this was honestly more educational than a lot of books I 'read' for school. 
• All That Glitters by Holly Smale is the most recent Geek Girl book and although I did really like it, I only gave it three stars because it felt a little more cliche than the rest of the books. I did enjoy it, but it was just a little meh. 
• Geek Drama by Holly Smale is the only other Geek Girl book I read this month. Because there are no more. I read them all. This one is a World Book Day novella and whilst it isn't a full book, I had to read it just because. I did really like it, but I gave it 3/5 stars on Goodreads because I just didn't love it. 
• Malice by Chris Wooding was the next book I read. I remember reading this one when I was about ten or eleven and I loved it, so because no one should trust me with a debit card and an amazon account I ordered it and decided to read it again. I thought it was awesome as it essentially combines a novel with a graphic novel, and the story itself is so compelling and original. An easy 4/5 stars. 
• The Assassins Blade by Sarah J Maas is one of my favourite books ever. You know how I mention Throne of Glass in pretty much every post I write? Well I finally caved and decided to reread the entire series. It was just as good the second time around, if not even better. 5/5 stars. Easy. 
• Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas is a reread (again) and is the first proper book in the series. It's perfection and was just as good as a reread. 5/5 stars. Easy. I don't think I can say anything else. 
• Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas used to be my favourite in the series, but on second reading I still loved it but not as much as HoF. Still, I swooned with Chaolaena and cried with that certain death. I still gasped at that ending even though I saw it coming. This book is a masterpiece. 5/5 stars. 
• Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas is now my favourite book in the series. The first time I read it I liked it, but this time around it cemented it's place as my favourite book EVER. I'm serious. This is my all-time favourite series alongside HP and Heir of Fire is the kind of book I wish I could write one day. It's ambitious and grand and original. I could go on forever. 5/5 stars. 

I got... a lot of books this month. I'm just going to go ahead and tell you (and die of shame).

Books I bought:

• Geek Girl by Holly Smale
• Model Misfit by Holly Smale
• Picture Perfect by Holly Smale
• All That Glitters by Holly Smale
• Geek Drama by Holly Smale
• The Emperors Blades by Brian Staveley
• Look Whose Back by Timur Vermes
• The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
• All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
• Sora's Quest by T.J Shreffler (this was FREE on my kindle so yay)

Books I got for my birthday from my wonderful/badass parents/sister:

• Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
• Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
• Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
• The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson
• Vicious by V.E. Schwab
• Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta

So as far as writing goes, I started writing the book a couple of times. The current draft I'm on is currently 11K long, but it doesn't quite feel right so I'll probably start rewriting that for the thousandth time. 

I also came up with another novel idea which is currently called The Dying Word (title almost definitely going to change). I won't write it until Honour Among Thieves (that title needs to go ASAP) is done, but I'm in the planning stage and I just love the characters. It's about libraries, magic, books and friendship and I'm SO excited by it. 

In my January Review I said that I was participating in Katytastic's TBR challenge. Yeah... that didn't work. Still, I think I read a fair bit in March and even though I bought way too many books, I think it was a good month in all. 

Because without our language, we have lost ourselves. Who are we without our words? - Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

January In Review

The first month of 2015 has been and gone. Hurrah! It's no secret that I'm not a January fan in the slightest. The worst thing? I seem to live in the only part of the country that didn't get any snow.

Now we've stepped into February, I wanted to look back and what I did last month, more specifically in the world of reading and writing. I had a fairly good month, although I'm a tad behind on my Goodreads reading challenge which I was expecting. I think that most of the books that I read in 2015 will be in the summer after school is out.

In total, I read eight books this month although I had started two of them in 2014.

• In The Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken was the first book I read this year, although I started it in 2014. I really enjoyed this and I thought that it was a satisfying conclusion, giving it 5/5 stars on Goodreads. 
• The Titans Curse by Rick Riordan was a book I fairly enjoyed, though I don't think that it was as good as the other books in the series. Again, I started this last year but I put it down to read other books, though I did like it. It wasn't amazing so in the end I only gave it 3/5 stars, though I'll definitely be continuing with this series. 
• The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien was next. I know, I know, a fantasy writer who only just read Tolkien is shameful, but I'm determined to read Lord of the Rings this year so I thought that I would start with this one. I really liked it, but for some reason it didn't grab me like I thought it would so I gave it 3/5 stars.
• Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge was possibly my favourite book of the month. I adored this one despite its mixed reviews and I would recommend it in a heartbeat. It's a Beauty and the Beast retelling which is probably why I love it so much and in the end I gave it 5/5 stars. 
• Everybody Sees the Ants by AS King was a book which I really enjoyed. It was thought provoking and wonderfully written, falling short of the five star rating just because it didn't grab me like other books have so I gave it 4/5 stars. 
• Billy and Me by Giovanna Fletcher was the next book I read. It isn't the kind of thing I normally read, but I have had it on my shelf for a while and I've really been trying to cut down my TBR pile. I enjoyed it more than I expected to but I gave it 3/5 stars simply because it wasn't anything special.
• If I Stay by Gayle Foreman was another book that I had on my shelves for a while. I loved Just One Day by the same author, but if I'm honest this book didn't pull on my emotions like I expected it to, hence the 3/5 star rating. I feel like I'm being really hard with my ratings this month, but I felt as if this book dragged which is strange because it's only 288 pages long, whilst something like The Final Empire is a fast paced book that you could use as a murder weapon. 
• Amy and Rogers Epic Detour by Morgan Matson was the last book that I read in January. I bought it on my Kindle and I really enjoyed it. I've decided to only give books 5 star ratings if I fall in love with them, hence why this only got 4/5 stars, but I would definitely recommend it. 

I didn't buy as many books as I expected to this month which is an achievement as I really am trying to cut down the amount of unread books I have on my shelf (it's embarrassingly high). In total I bought four books and I've already read two of them. The books I bought were:

• The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
• Snow Like Ashes by Sarah Raasch
• Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
• Amy and Rogers Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

As for writing, I'm 30K into the second Honour Among Thieves book, although I'm going to stop writing that until I sort out Honour Among Thieves because those changes will have a big impact on book two. I think that this month will definitely be for planning and editing, so if I don't get any actual writing done it won't be the end of the world. 

Finally, I'm participating in Katytastic's TBR challenge for 2015 (if you want more info watch this video here) and the option that I pulled out of my jar this month was to read a classic! I'm probably going to read Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury for this one, though if anyone has any recommendations I'm all ears! 

"And then I am going to rattle the stars." - Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas