Wrap Up: February 2017

My February wrap up is coming a little bit late this month because I’ve been in a huge reading and blogging slump recently. Even though I’m still ahead on my Goodreads reading challenge, I’ve definitely read much fewer books in the past two months than I usually do. But I’m hoping to get back into the swing of things soon!

1. Good Boy – Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy  

I’ve been really enjoying Sarina Bowen’s books lately and Good Boy was another great new adult romance story. The main characters were side characters in the Him & Us duology and I really enjoyed learning more about them and seeing their relationship develop.

2. Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy – Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson & Robin Wasserman  

I love the Shadowhunter books. I could never get sick of this world and I highly enjoyed this short story collection. What I loved about it was that it was more than just a collection of short stories. They were all tied together by Simon Lewis’s experiences at the Academy and I liked this overarching storyline. I also really loved being about to read about some of the other beloved characters from this world. Highly recommend!

3. Love, Hate, and Other Lies We Told – Deirdre Riordan Hall  

It’s been a while since I’ve read any women’s lit and I thought Love, Hate and Other Lies We Told was a really great read for Valentine’s Day. It had a really cute and interesting premise and I thought the characters were really relatable.

4. How Not to Fall in Love – Deirdre Riordan Hall  

This is a companion novella to Love, Hate, and Other Lies We Told. It was short and sweet and I really loved the romance in this book. The main characters had great chemistry and I enjoyed reading about them separately as well as together as a couple. Plus, the male lead bakes chocolate chip cookies so what’s not to love?

5. Wires and Nerve – Marissa Meyer & Douglas Holgate  

I love love loved this graphic novel soooo much! It’s a brilliant continuation to The Lunar Chronicles quartet and I was just so happy to be reunited with all my favourite characters. The book is mostly about Iko but it featured a lot of Cress and Thorne, as well as Cinder. I’m super excited for the second volume to come out next year!

6. The One Memory of Flora Banks – Emily Barr  

This was a contemporary that I was really, really looking forward to but I was left feeling quite disappointed with it. While I appreciated the coming of age story, there weren’t very many elements that I actually enjoyed. I found the main character to be frustrating and the premise of the book, while interesting to me at the start, left me feeling cold.

7. Lady Helen and the Dark Days Pact – Alison Goodman  

This is the sequel to Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club and I enjoyed it just as much as the first book. While it was a bit slow-paced, I loved how the story developed and all the action that was in the book. There was also a lot of great character development and I’m excited to see how it all ends.

8. Love, Ghosts & Nose Hair – Steven Herrick  

This is an Aussie book that is written in verse and I found it to be charming and emotional. It’s a story about grief and follows sixteen-year-old Jack and his family. I loved the format of the book and how the story was so profound even though the book was quite short. And I also really loved the characters and how they all dealt with the loss in different ways.

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What was your favourite book that you read in February? I need recommendations to get me out of this reading slump!

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Wrap Up: January 2017

I didn’t really have a great start to the year in terms of reading. I was feeling a bit burnt out after reading 22 books in December to finish off my Goodreads reading challenge. I just needed a bit of a break and as a result didn’t really read as many books as I usually do. But I still managed to read 11 books and I’m happy with that for now.

My Goodreads reading goal for this year is currently set at 100. I’m anticipating that I’ll read more than that but we’ll see how I go for now.

1. Every Last Word – Tamara Ireland Stone  

This novel features a character with OCD and I had some issues with the OCD elements in this book. My full review is linked if you’re interested in my thoughts on that. However, I thought the rest of the book was beautifully written and really sweet and, ultimately, I enjoyed the reading experience.

2. Between the World and Me – Ta-Nehisi Coates  

I really, really liked this non-fiction book. It’s a collection of essays written in the form of a letter from Ta-Nehisi Coates to his son, detailing the struggles of growing up and living as a black person in America. It’s a great book about race and violence and I found it to be impactful and poignant.

3. An Improper Ever After – Nadia Lee  

This is the third part and conclusion to Elliot and Annabelle’s story that started with An Improper Bride and continued with An Improper Ever After. While I enjoyed this third installment and liked how their story ended, I’m still very disappointed with the author’s choice to split one story into three sections. I’ve said this about Nadia Lee’s recent books many times before, but it just feels like she’s trying to profit more from splitting what could be one book, into three. And this also ruins the reading experience for many readers because of the cliffhangers at the end of Books 1 and 2. Not sure that I’m going to continue to read her books if she continues to do this.

4. Wayfarer – Alexandra Bracken  

Wayfarer is the sequel to Passenger and I absolutely loved it. I loved being reunited with Nicholas and Etta, and learning about new characters as well. I did have a bit of confusion as I was reading the book but I loved how the duology wrapped up and thought it was a great novel.

5. Windwitch – Susan Dennard  

Windwitch is the sequel to Truthwitch and I liked them both equally. Windwitch is a little bit less action-packed and is more character-driven, which I didn’t really mind. At times, I wished there was a bit more plot but the character development that we saw in this sequel was absolutely brilliant.

6. Us – Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy  

Us is a sequel to Him, but could probably be read as a standalone. I really loved Him and didn’t think Us was as good, but I still really enjoyed my read of the novel and being reunited with the characters again.

7. Freeks – Amanda Hocking  

I am part of the blog tour for this novel and my post, along with a short Q&A will be up on the blog on Sunday. It’s a slightly creepy and eerie carnival story and I thought it was a fast-paced and thrilling read. There were some parts that I wasn’t a big fan of, especially the way that the book ended, but I still thought it was a great read.

8. Cruel Beauty – Rosamund Hodge  

This is a Beauty and the Beast-inspired story and I found it to be kind of disappointing. I found a lot of it to be very confusing and lacking in plot and I was not a fan of the main character. There was also a strange love triangle going on in the book that I found to be frustrating and, as a whole, I just wasn’t very impressed with Cruel Beauty.

9. Crimson Bound – Rosamund Hodge  

Crimson Bound is a standalone novel that is loosely inspired by Little Red Riding Hood, and I enjoyed it slightly more than Cruel Beauty. However, most of the problems that I had with Cruel Beauty, I also had with this book. The story felt very dragged out and I absolutely hated the love triangle in this book. I did like the main character but found her to be frustrating at times too.

10. The Billionaire’s Holiday Bride – Nadia Lee  

This is a novella that should be read after five books in The Pryce Family series. It allows readers to be reunited with the five couples from the books in the series, but also develops the backstory and romance of a different couple from the series at the same time. I really enjoyed it and it brought a smile to my face.

11. Lisette’s Paris Notebook – Catherine Bateson  

I was not very impressed with this contemporary novel at all. It sounded like a really cute and fluffy story but I found it to be extremely dull and it lacked substance and plot. The main character was frustrating to read about and I found the characters and the writing to be lacklustre.

Wrap Up: December 2016

I had a massive month of reading in December. At the start of December, I was 22 books away from finishing my Goodreads challenge… so I decided to challenge myself and read 22 books. And I’m happy to say that I managed to get across the finish line. Except now I’m really sick of reading and don’t think I could ever read another book again haha.

1. Breathing Under Water – Sophie Hardcastle  

This is an Aussie YA release that features that themes of grief and friendship. I wasn’t a big fan of the plot of the book but I appreciated what the author was trying to do with this novel.

2. Tapping the Billionaire – Max Monroe  

I’ve seen reviews of this adult romance series on various blogs and thought I’d give the book a go. To be honest, after reading 22 books this month, my impressions of this book and even what it was about has completely flown out of my mind.

3. Once Was a Time – Leila Sales  

This is a middle grade novel that involves time travel. I really loved the story of this book and how much it featured friendship. I thought it was a lovely story about a girl from 1940s London who time travels to modern day USA.

4. Children of Eden – Joey Graceffa & Laura L. Sullivan  

This dystopian novel had a very interesting premise and I thought it was a good debut attempt. The book had great worldbuilding but that was about it. The plot was a little bit predictable and not that original and I had problems with the main character.

5. To Have and To Hold – Lauren Layne  

This is the first book in a companion adult romance series. I thought it was a delightful book about a wedding planner who falls in love with the brother of one of her brides. It was a really cute story and I’m keen to read more from this series.

6. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Screenplay – J. K. Rowling  

The film was amazing and reading this screenplay took me back to all the wonderful moments in the movie. I loved it.

7. Frogkisser! – Garth Nix  

Frogkisser! is an upcoming release from Garth Nix. It’s a really fun and light-hearted adventure story about a princess who goes on a journey to save her kingdom. It was exciting and action-packed and I really enjoyed all the fairytale reimaginings.

8. Mistletoe and Mr Right – Lyla Payne  

This is a bindup of two Christmas novellas and I read them because I was feeling festive. I didn’t really enjoy the first novella, Mistletoe and Mr Right, but I really liked the second novella, Sleigh Bells and Second Chances.

9. This Adventure Ends – Emma Mills  

I loved this contemporary novel sooooo much! It was a lovely book about friendship and there wasn’t very much that I didn’t like about it. Emma Mills’ writing is getting better and better and I’m keen to see what she writes next.

10. The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily – Rachel Cohn & David Levithan  

This is the sequel to Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares and I enjoyed it just as much as the first one. It was again very festive and I loved revisiting Dash and Lily and seeing where they are now.

11. Showa: A History of Japan 1926-1939 – Shigeru Mizuki  

This is a graphic novel and I believe it’s the first volume out of three. It’s about the history of the Showa period in Japan and goes into lots and lots of detail, as well as including little vignettes from Shigeru Mizuki’s life. I particularly liked that I learnt a lot about Chinese history through here, as I do have a Chinese background.

12. Graffiti Moon – Cath Crowley  

This is another Aussie YA release and I’d heard countless amazing things about it. It definitely didn’t disappoint and I loved the romance in this book. It was a second chance story and was absolutely captivating.

13. Starflight – Melissa Landers  

Aila @ One Way or an Author has been recommending this book to me for a whole year and I finally picked it up this month. And I was definitely disappointed in myself for not picking it up earlier. It was action-packed and exciting and I loved the romance in the book as well.

14. The Nest – Kenneth Oppel  

This is a middle grade novel that was a little bit confusing and hard to understand. It’s a beautifully written story with a lovely message but it takes a little while to get into it and understand the complete picture. I ended up really enjoying it though.

15. We Come Apart – Sarah Crossan & Brian Conaghan  

This is an upcoming release that explores some important themes. It’s a novel written in free verse about racism, immigrants and bullying. I connected with the story immensely and found it to be really emotional. I will have a full review up in late February, closer to release date!

16. An Illustrated History of Notable Shadowhunters and Denizens of Downworld – Cassandra Clare  

This was probably my favourite read of the month because I’m a massive fan of the Shadowhunter Chronicles. It included lots of stunning illustrations of major and side characters in all of the Shadowhunter series. There was also interesting facts about each of the characters.

17. Summer Days and Summer Nights – Stephanie Perkins  

This is an anthology of short stories and I really enjoyed them. I gave the majority of the stories 4-5 stars but there were a few that I wasn’t really a fan of. Overall, I thought it was a summery and romantic collection of stories by some pretty well-known authors.

18. Open Road Summer – Emery Lord  

This is probably my favourite Emery Lord novel. It was summery and fun, and had a good balance of friendship, family and romance elements. If you’re looking for a quick contemporary read, I highly recommend this one.

19. A Quiet Kind of Thunder – Sara Barnard  

This is another upcoming release and features a girl with selective mutism and a boy who is deaf. I thought the book showcased these two conditions and the daily difficulties associated with them really well. I’m a part of the blog tour for A Quiet Kind of Thunder, so keep an eye out for that on January 8!

20. Confess – Colleen Hoover  

I’m probably not going to bother reading any more Colleen Hoover books. While I gave this one 3.5 stars, I wasn’t really that impressed with it. I liked the art elements of the book but I started to hate the plot more and more as I progressed. I’m not a fan of the tropes that she uses and I’m definitely quitting her books.

21. It Looks Like This – Rafi Mittlefehldt  

I’d heard some mixed things about this novel but I ended up really, really enjoying it and it made me ugly cry. I thought it was a beautiful LGBTQ+ book and a great debut novel. I will have a full review on Happy Indulgence later this week.

22. The One Hundred Nights of Hero – Isabel Greenberg  

I absolutely loved Isabel Greenberg’s The Encyclopedia of Early Earth and this one was just as, if not more, enjoyable. It’s a graphic novel and I really loved the art style. The novel focuses on strong females who won’t take any bullshit from people who look down on them!

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How did you do on your Goodreads challenge?

2016 End of Year Survey

Happy new year! 2016 is finally over and I decided to wrap up the year by doing the End of Year Survey that was created and hosted by Jamie @ Perpetual Page Turner. I did 2015 edition of the End of Year Survey last year and it was a lot of fun so here I am again, a year later! Check out Jamie’s post for links to other bloggers’ responses!

Wrap Up: November 2016

Hello! I am back from my semi-hiatus, which ended up being a two-week hiatus anyway. I spent the first half of November getting read for my conference trip and the last two weeks of the month travelling to North America for the conference and various lab visits. It’s been a very busy month and I posted a measly four posts in November. I was a little bit slumpy in November and didn’t read for a whole week while I was away but I did manage to get through 13 books (no idea how!). I’m currently 4 or 5 books behind schedule for my Goodreads goal of 200 books but I’m not going to give up hope yet. I can totally read 22 books in December… *lays out all my super thin books*.

In case anyone is interested, I went to LA, Boston and Toronto on my trip. I have a recap of my time in Toronto (feat. Jesse @ Books at Dawn and Joey @ Thoughts and Afterthoughts) up on Happy Indulgence where I am a co-blogger.

1. Moon Chosen – P.C. Cast 

Moon Chosen is the first book in a new fantasy series. It had a bit of a caveman sort of vibe, which is definitely not my usual kind of read but I still, ultimately, enjoyed it. My main criticism is that it was kind of wordy and could have been a 300 page book instead of 600 pages.

2. The Sun is Also a Star – Nicola Yoon 

I highly enjoyed Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon and I have to say that The Sun is Also a Star was even better for me. I loved the cultural diversity and I really enjoyed the romance too. While there was definitely insta-love in the book, I found that I was able to overlook it for the most part because the story was so charming.

3. The Pain, My Mother, Sir Tiffy, Cyber Boy & Me – Michael Gerard Bauer 

This is an Aussie YA novel that I didn’t really have any high expectations for, and it definitely surprised me. I enjoyed this book so much and found myself relating to the main character a lot. I liked the writing in the book and I enjoyed all of the characters and the relationships they had with each other. It was a very quick read and I would definitely recommend it.

4. The Universe of Us – Lang Leav 

I don’t read much poetry and I’m not very good at critiquing it, so The Universe of Us gets an above average 4/5 from me.

5. Gemina – Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff 

I wasn’t as big of a fan of Illuminae as most of the YA community is/was, and I feel the same way about Gemina. I liked Gemina a lot more than Illuminae but ultimately, I found it to be kind of predictable, especially having read Illuminae and being somewhat familiar with the twists that the authors use. I did like the romance between Hanna and Nik though.

6. Under Rose-Tainted Skies – Louise Gornall 

This is a book about agoraphobia that is written by an own voices author. I liked the agoraphobia aspect of it and found it to be extremely accurate, but I felt that the book lacked plot overall. It read to me as a book of symptoms and there wasn’t a whole lot that happened in the book.

7. When Michael Met Mina – Randa Abdel-Fattah 

When Michael Met Mina is an Aussie novel that tackles political issues that are very relevant to us today. It deals with refugees and racism and I thought it was a very important and thought-provoking read. I enjoyed both of the main characters and loved their relationship, but there were times when I wanted the plot and the writing to be a bit more sophisticated.

8. By Your Side – Kasie West 

I love all of Kasie West’s books and By Your Side is no exception. I loved the main character, Autumn, and I highly enjoyed the plot as well. This novel is probably one of my favourite Kasie West novels, along with The Distance Between Us.

9. Why We Broke Up – Daniel Handler 

I’d been wanting to read this book for over a year and I’m glad that I finally did because it was beautifully written and conceptualised. I found it to be so relatable and I connected with the main character and her story very deeply. I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending and the ultimate reason why they broke up but that didn’t detract from how much I loved the story.

10. Tell Me Three Things – Julie Buxbaum 

Tell Me Three Things is a cute contemporary read that contains a mystery aspect to it. Our main character has recently moved to a new school in California and receives an email from a mystery person who offers to be her anonymous guide to high school. The book revolves around this mystery of who this anonymous emailer is. I predicted who it was quite early on but I still really loved the story and how adorable it was.

11. Metaltown – Kristen Simmons 

I received this book in my October Fairyloot and was really looking forward to reading it because steampunk is a genre that I tend to enjoy. However, I found Metaltown to be quite boring. Nothing happened until about two-thirds into the book and I didn’t really enjoy the ending. I found the characters to be annoying and I couldn’t get on board with the romance.

12. Him – Elle Kennedy & Sarina Bowen 

Him is a new adult novel about ice hockey that has LGBTQ+ themes. I binge read Sarina Bowen’s The Ivy Years series last month and loved it, so I thought I’d check out some more of her ice hockey themed books. I highly enjoyed this one and loved the two main characters in the novel. There is a sequel that I’m sure I’ll be picking up really soon.

13. Tales of the Peculiar – Ransom Riggs 

This is a collection of short stories that is set in the Peculiar world. This book is referenced in the Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series but it isn’t linked to that series at all and can definitely be read as a standalone. If you enjoy short stories that are slightly weird and peculiar, you will love this collection. Also, the hardcover edition is beautiful!

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How was your reading month?

Wrap Up: October 2016

October was a bit of a rough month for me. I was in a bit of a reading slump for most of the month because I had a lot going on outside of blogging. I had a lot of assignments to mark and that sucked the life out of me. I also did a bit of travelling as well, which was quite draining. I went away for a weekend for a friend’s wedding, and I also went to Brisbane to visit my coblogger, Jeann @ Happy Indulgence. It was a lot of fun but it didn’t leave me a lot of time for reading.

I ended up reading a lot of new adult books this month to get me back into reading and to stay on track with my Goodreads reading challenge. I completed my goal of 150 books last month, and decided to increase it to 200 books. Ever since then I’ve been 1-3 books behind but hopefully I’ll be able to catch up soon. I’ll need to get ahead of schedule soon though since I’ll be travelling for two weeks in November and won’t have much time to read. Enough chatter.

Books are listed in the order that I read them and reviews are linked.

1. Swarm – Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan & Deborah Biancotti 

Swarm is the second book in the Zeroes trilogy and I inhaled it because it was so fast-paced and action-packed. It continues the story of our group of six Zeroes extremely well and ends on a cliffhanger that will leave you crying for more.

2. Nothing Tastes As Good – Claire Hennessey 

I love a good issue book and this novel explores body image and eating disorders. It has a very interested concept and I thought it was executed well. I did have some concerns about the first half of the book – there were some things that made me feel very uncomfortable- but all of these concerns were addressed by the end of the book. I do have to say though that it could be triggering for some people, so proceed with care.

3. Replica – Lauren Oliver 

This was a really interesting read and I have to admit that I was initially interested in this book because of the two books in one format. This is a sci-fi novel that can be read in 4 different ways. I switched perspectives after every chapter, which made for a unique reading experience. I’ve never had to read with two bookmarks before. But looking beyond this cool format, I really enjoyed the story too. I loved how the perspectives worked together and that the story was fast-paced and thrilling.

4. When the Moon was Ours – Anna-Marie McLemore 

I absolutely loved Anna-Marie McLemore’s debut novel, The Weight of Feathers, and this book was just as good. It has magical realism, racial diversity and sexual diversity. I fell in love with the story and the relationships in the book. Definitely one of my favourite reads of the month.

5. Odd and the Frost Giants – Neil Gaiman 

I picked up this book because of the beautiful cover and packaging of this book. It’s an interesting middle grade story that has Norse mythology elements. The edition that I read had illustrations by Chris Riddell and they were absolutely stunning. Each page also had some beautiful silver accents. I was in love!

6. An Improper Bride – Nadia Lee 

An Improper Bride is the sequel to An Improper Deal second part of Annabelle and Elliot’s story. I’ve had issues with Nadia Lee’s recent books because she’s been splitting up her books into multiple parts and releasing them separately. But since I’d already started the first part of this story, An Improper Deal, I decided to pick up An Improper Bride to finish it off… Only to find out that this isn’t the end of the story. There’s a part three! I think I’ll be quitting Nadia Lee after I read that last part when it’s released. I just can’t agree with authors releasing what is one story in multiple parts in order to rake in the cash.

7. Phantom Limbs – Paula Garner 

I love a good book about grief and Phantom Limbs explores the theme in a light-hearted but impactful manner. It has a great balance of grief, romance and friendship and I enjoyed the plot and the relationships immensely.If you’re looking for a serious read that won’t leave you feeling dark and heavy,  this is the one for you.

8. The Year We Fell Down – Sarina Bowen 

I saw a recommendations list on Deanna @ A Novel Glimpse‘s blog this month and this book was on it. I don’t read a lot of new adult books but Deanna said she really loved this series so I picked it up. I highly enjoyed The Year We Fell Down because it had two characters with physical disabilities and I’ve never read that in a new adult novel before. I also really liked the romance in the book and the side characters as well.

9. Blood for Blood – Ryan Graudin 

Blood for Blood was one of my most anticipated books this year. I loooooved Wolf by Wolf last year and I couldn’t wait to pick up this sequel. It was everything that I wanted and more. While it wasn’t as fast-paced as Wolf by Wolf or the prequel novella, Iron to Iron, I really liked the plot of it and all of the twists and turns that it took. My heart was completely broken by the end of the book but it was so completely worth it.

10. Everyone We’ve Been – Sarah Everett 

This book has a stunning cover and a plot that is pretty amazing too. It’s about first love and identity and I’d recommend it if you’ve watched and enjoyed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. At times, there were a few  too many similarities but I did enjoy what the characters brought to the story.

11. The Year We Hid Away – Sarina Bowen 

This is the second novel in The Ivy Years series. it can be read as a standalone though. I really enjoyed the plot and the romance in this book. I liked that the characters came from different walks of life and I appreciated that the author tried to incorporate different issues into this book.

12. Blonde Date – Sarina Bowen 

Blonde Date is #2.5 in The Ivy Years series. This is a novella about two side characters from The Year We Hid Away. I thought their romance was really adorable and it was a light and fun read.

13. The Understatement of the Year – Sarina Bowen 

This is book 3 of The Ivy Years and probably my favourite one of the series. It features a LGBT relationship and is a coming out story. I don’t really have the words to describe why I enjoyed it so much but I really connected with the two main characters and their personal stories.

14. Rat Queens, Vol 1: Sass & Sorcery – Kurtis J. Wiebe & Roc Upchurch 

I really enjoyed the humour and the action in Rat Queens. It was really sassy and funny and I loved the four main characters that make up the Rat Queens. The plot was enjoyable and the art style was beautiful. It wasn’t the best graphic novel that I’ve ever read but I enjoyed it enough to want to pick up the next volume.

15. The Shameless Hour – Sarina Bowen 

The Shameless Hour is the fourth book in The Ivy Years series. Again, this one can be read as a standalone. This novel explores slut-shaming and I appreciated what the author was trying to do. I liked the main  characters and enjoyed their romance a lot. It wasn’t my favourite of the series but the writing was very addictive.

16. The Fifteenth Minute – Sarina Bowen 

This is the last novel in The Ivy Years. I liked the characters in this book but wasn’t as big of a fan of the plot as I was of the other installments. I still enjoyed it immensely though and liked how relatable the characters were.

17. Rookie Move – Sarina Bowen 

This is the first book in a spin-off series to The Ivy Years. It features a second chance romance, which is one of my favourite romantic tropes! This novel follows a side character that has appeared in multiple books in The Ivy Years and I enjoyed finally being able to read his story.

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Thank you for reading. I’m on a semi-hiatus right now but I have a small giveaway running in this post.

Wrap Up: September 2016

Where did the time even go?  How is it even October already? This year has definitely flown by and so has the month of September. I had lots of reading plans in September. I got my wisdom teeth removed earlier this week and I thought I’d have a lot of reading time during my recovery. Turns out, it doesn’t really work that way and I spent most of my time just sleeping. But even though I haven’t made the most of my time off, I still managed to read quite a lot of books this month. Here’s my reading summary and full reviews are linked.

1. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – J.K. Rowling 

This was a really interesting guidebook to the different magical creatures in the Harry Potter world. It wasn’t the most entertaining book but it was super informative and made me feel like I was back in the world.

2. Empire of Storms – Sarah J. Maas 

I was super impressed by this fifth installment of the Throne of Glass series. It wasn’t as good as Heir of Fire and Queen of Shadows in my opinion but it was a nice continuation to the series. The plot is really starting to come together and I’m really excited about the finale!

3. The Realm of Possibility – David Levithan 

I’ve had this book for a while and had never picked it up. I went to a few David Levithan events in recent weeks and hearing him talk about his work made me want to pick up some more of his books that I still have yet to read. This book is written in verse and was a really nice easy read about love and everything that comes with it.

4. Trial by Fire – Josephine Angelini 

This is the first book in the Worldwalker trilogy and I was a bit underwhelmed by it. I didn’t connect with any of the characters and I thought the plot was a bit clumsy and confused. This book just wasn’t for me.

5. PS. I Like You – Kasie West 

I love Kasie West because all of her books are so cute and fluffy. PS. I Like You was no exception. It was so full of sugary cuteness that I sped through it in one sitting. The book is about a girl who exchanges letters with a boy who sits at the same desk as her at school, and I just absolutely adored it.

6. It Ends With Us – Colleen Hoover 

I’ve heard countless good things about this latest Colleen Hoover novel. Unfortunately I didn’t really connect with the story emotionally. I found it to be a bit dull and the characters also came across as a bit boring to me. I did like the issues that the book explored but I didn’t think the book was amazing by any means. (Trigger warning for domestic violence and abuse).

7. The Thousandth Floor – Katharine McGee 

I was completely unprepared for how much I loved this novel! It’s the first book in a new trilogy and I loved it so much that I couldn’t stop raving about it for days. It’s a futuristic Gossip Girl-like story set in a world where Manhattan is literally inside a 1000-storey tower. I loved the technology and the world of this book and also really liked the characters and their stories.

8. The Only Thing Worse Than Me is You – Lily Anderson 

This was another adorable contemporary story. It’s a retelling of Much Ado About Nothing and is set at a high school for geniuses. I loved the entire cast of characters in this book and I thought the main characters, Beatrice and Benedict, were absolutely fantastic and relatable. There are lots of nerdy references in the book and I highly enjoyed the plot.

9. Twenty Boy Summer – Sarah Ockler 

I love Sarah Ockler’s writing and stories and I also really enjoyed Twenty Boy Summer. However, I think you could really tell that this was her debut novel because it wasn’t as polished as her other novels. Despite that, I still really enjoyed it and I liked that it explored the theme of grief in an interesting and relatable way.

10. Between the Lives – Jessica Shirvington 

Jessica Shirvington hasn’t disappointed me yet. I loved her Disruption duology and this was just as good. The story follows our main character, Sabine, who lives two separate lives. Every 24 hours, she Shifts into her other life and lives that day over again. I loved the concept of this book and I loved Sabine as a character. I thought the plot of the story was spectacular and I can’t wait to read some more of Jessica Shirvington’s work.

11. Our Chemical Hearts – Krystal Sutherland 

This was a highly anticipated contemporary release for me and I was left extremely underwhelmed. Pretty much nothing happens for a good 80% of the book and I was just extremely bored. There are also some Manic Pixie Dream Girl elements and it took a lot of willpower for me to continue the novel. I considered DNFing at 100 pages and, in hindsight, I probably should have.

12. The Hating Game – Sally Thorne 

The Hating Game was a book that I didn’t know I needed. It’s one of the most adorable office romances that I’ve read and every single page of this book gave me intense contemporary romance feels. The main character, Lucy, is absolutely wonderful and I could read 100 more books about her.

13. Heartless – Marissa Meyer 

I’ve been highly anticipating this novel since Winter came out earlier this year. I loved The Lunar Chronicles and I really love Marissa Meyer’s writing. But I thought Heartless was just… okay. It took me a while to get through the book because I wasn’t really excited by the plot or the characters. I also thought that the romance lacked spark and I just wasn’t feeling it.

14. Crooked Kingdom – Leigh Bardugo 

Oh man… this is probably my favourite novel that I’ve read so far this year. There was literally nothing that I didn’t like about this sequel and it’s definitely on par with Six of Crows. The characters were perfect, the plot was perfect and the writing and pace were perfect. I’ve already read this book twice and I’m pretty sure I’m going to be rereading it again soon.

15. Milk and Honey – Rupi Kaur 

I very rarely read poetry but I really, really enjoyed this collection from Rupi Kaur. There were a lot of free verse poems and that made the experience a little bit easier for me. What I really loved about it was that it was feminist and empowering and I think it’s an important read for all women.

I only did two Top Ten Tuesday posts in September but I loved both of the topics!

• 13-09-2016: All-Time Favourite Book Covers
• 27-09-2016: Ten Books on my Spring TBR

Wrap Up: August 2016

I’m so, so happy with how my reading month went in August! I’m participating in the #ReadThemAllThon, hosted by Aentee @ Read at Midnight, and I got lots and lots of reading and reviewing done because of it. I’ve now read 133 books this year so I’m definitely on track to complete my Goodreads challenge of 150 books. Without further ado, let’s check out which books I read.

Wrap Up: July 2016

It’s the end of another month, which means that it’s time to revisit all the books that I read during the month. I had a little bit of a reading slump in mid-July but recovered pretty nicely towards the end of the month. Still, I feel like I’ve lost a little bit of enthusiasm for reading and was kinda forcing myself to read. Hopefully August will be a better month for me. I’ll be participating in the #ReadThemAllThon, created and hosted by Aentee @ Read at Midnight. With this readathon, I’m hoping to read a lot of books that I was excited to pick up but haven’t read yet.

Wrap Up: June 2016

I had the most wonderful reading month in June. I read 21 books this month and I’m ridiculously proud of myself for doing that. I’ve been feeling a bit slumpy for the past few months but I’m glad to have shaken it off now. I’m now 47 books ahead on my Goodreads challenge and can now almost touch my goal of 100 books. Only 4 books away!! I will probably increase it to 150 books once I do reach that goal. In addition to that, I also celebrated my 1 year blogoversary this month. Thank you to everyone to sent me beautiful messages and I hope you enjoyed my giveaways! Now on to my reading summary for the month.