2020 Wrapped!

 Hello!

2020 is finally nearly over so it's time to look back over my year of reading with the information taken from Goodreads.

I read 75 books this year with 23,364 pages read!

The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton was my longest book of the year at 576 pages and My Soul to Lose by Rachel Vincent was my shortest book at only 60 pages.

My Top 10 Books of 2020!

 Hello!

We are nearing the end of 2020 (FINALLY) so it is time for my favourite books of the year. Some are books that have been released this year and some have been on my TBR for ages! I read 75 books this year so I had a lot to choose from.

1. The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton

A murder on the high seas. A detective duo. A demon who may or may not exist.

This book has everything you are looking for in a crime/ mystery novel. I was intrigued from the very beginning and it had the essence of a Sherlock Holmes case which keeps your attention for the whole book as you need to find out what is really going on.

NetGalley November 2020 Wrap Up!

Hello!

Last month I took part in NetGalley November which was created by Emandherbooks and Girlnovelliving. We had a group chat full of people and were always talking about books, I don't know how we managed to read! There were 50 people who took part and together we all read 355 books throughout November! Here is how I did.

As shown in my last blog post these were my start stats:

NetGalley November 2020!

Hello!

Has your NetGalley shelf gotten out of hand? For the whole month of November, Emma at Emandherbooks and Lisa at girl_novel_living have created a plan for everyone who wants to get involved to tackle their NetGalley reads and up their ratio! Check out their pages for more information.

Here are my starting stats for the month:

Horror October!

 Hello!

Last year I dedicated the whole month of October to reading scary books and I am doing the same thing this month! We are already halfway through the month so here is what I have already read and what I thought of them:

1. The Malan Witch by Catherine Cavendish - 3*

This is a novella about a woman who needs some time away from home after her husband has died and so stays in her sister's holiday cottage in a nice little village. However it soon becomes obvious that there is something wrong with the cottage which traces back many years to when 2 witches lived on the same land. It was a good story but the ending seemed to be a bit abrupt and was a little bit confusing.

Most Anticipated Books on my TBR!

 Hello!

Do you ever buy a book that you have heard lots about and know it's going to be amazing so you just leave it on your shelf for a long time never being read?? Or you buy a book for the hype but then don't want to pick it up in case it disappoints you? This is me! For this post I am going to go through some of my most anticipated reads (new and old) that are on my bookshelf that will probably take me a very long time to pick up!

1. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Obviously The Hunger Games are a very big franchise that many people loved, me included, and once I heard about this prequel that focuses on Snow as a young mentor for someone in the games, I was concerned but also curious. I have no idea when I will eventually get around to this but I'm pretty sure it won't be for a while!

The Hollow Gods by A.J Vrana: Book Tour

Hello!

Today I am a part of the book tour for The Hollow Gods by A.J Vrana provided by Storytellers on Tour. This book was like nothing I have read before and if you love a dark tale mixed with ancient folklore you are sure to love this story! Please check out everyone else's posts for this incredible book.

The Mid-Year Freak Out Book Tag!

Hello!
How are we over halfway through the year already??
I first did this book tag last year only 6 months after I had first become a blogger and it was really fun re-reading my answers (2019 post here) and thinking about what my answers for this year could be!

So far I have already read 42 books out of 60 books for my Goodreads challenge and this time last year I had only read 20 so I have already doubled my reading!

1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2020

I loved The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar so much! Also look at how pretty the cover is!

The Rumour by Lesley Kara Book Review

Book Title: The Rumour

Author: Lesley Kara

My Rating: 4*

Publisher: Corgi

Publication Date: 25/07/19

Genre(s): Thriller, Mystery

Pages: 416

Format Read: Paperback

Goodreads: When single mum Joanna shares a rumour at the school gates – desperate to ingratiate herself with the clique of mothers at her son’s new school – there is no going back...

Rumour has it that a notorious child killer is living under a new identity, in their sleepy little town of Flinstead-on-Sea.

Sally McGowan was just ten when she stabbed little Robbie Harris to death over 47 years ago – no photos of her exist since her release as a young woman.

So who is the supposedly reformed killer who now lives amongst them? How dangerous can one rumour become? And how far will Jane go to protect her loved ones from harm, when she realizes what it is she’s unleashed?

Joanna is going to rue the day she ever said a word...

Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed Book Review

Book Title: Yes No Maybe So

Author: Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed

My Rating: 5*

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: 04/02/20

Genre(s): Young adult, Contemporary, Romance

Pages: 436

Format Read: Paperback

Goodreads: Jamie Goldberg is cool with volunteering for his local state candidate - as long as he’s behind the scenes. There’s no way he’d ever knock on doors to ask people for their votes…until he meets Maya.
Maya Rehman’s having the worst Ramadan ever. Her best friend is too busy to hang out, her summer trip is cancelled, her parents are separating and now her mother thinks the solution to her problems is political canvassing - with some awkward guy she hardly knows...
Going door to door isn’t exactly glamorous, but maybe it’s not the worst thing in the world. After all, the polls are getting closer - and so are Maya and Jamie. Mastering local activism is one thing. Navigating the cross-cultural crush of the century is another thing entirely.

The Vampire Diaries Readathon! *POSTPONED*

Hello!

Throughout the whole of June there is a The Vampire Diaries Readathon happening and I am so excited to be taking part in it! I love the show and thought this readathon would be really fun.

There are 3 teams to choose from; Team Vampire, Team Witch and Team Werewolf! I have chosen to be on the Vampire's team because I love anything vampiric! 

Brass Knuckles & Tattered Wings by Martin Svolgart Cover Reveal!

Hello! Today, thanks to Storytellers On Tour, I am taking part in the cover reveal for a collection of four novellas named Brass Knuckles & Tattered Wings with the first one Best Foot Forward expecting to be released in summer 2020 and each new episode will follow every month! 

This serial is written like a TV series—four novellas of 25,000 words, each with their own little story line yet all substantiating a bigger underlying story arc and character development.

Here are the covers!

Normal People by Sally Rooney Book Review

Book Title: Normal People

Author: Sally Rooney

My Rating: 2*

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Publication Date: 28/08/18

Genre(s): Contemporary/ Literary Fiction

Pages: 266

Format Read: Paperback

Trigger Warnings: Depression, slight mentions of suicide, physical and mental abuse

Goodreads: At school Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He’s popular and well-adjusted, star of the school soccer team while she is lonely, proud, and intensely private. But when Connell comes to pick his mother up from her housekeeping job at Marianne’s house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers—one they are determined to conceal.

A year later, they’re both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years in college, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. Then, as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.

#NetgalleyLibrary Readathon TBR

Hello! Here is my TBR for the #NetgalleyLibrary readathon hosted by Anniek and Hâf. This is the perfect timing for a Netgalley readathon as I am VERY behind on my ratio and this has given me the push I needed to get a few more books read and reivewed! There are 7 challenges that I have also taken into account although I have combined some to shorten the load.

Books/Series to Read in Isolation

Hello!

I know this is a really strange time for all of us staying home and trying to stay sane but reading has been a big help for me and I'm sure it is helping a lot of you too! Today's post is a selection of books and series that may be worth digging into to escape from reality for a little while whether they are a new read or a re-read for you.

1. Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling

Now is the perfect time to re-read or jump in as a first timer into the 7 book long series of the incredible story of Harry Potter! I first read these books years ago when I was a lot younger and I am really tempted to re-immerse myself in this brilliant story of magic. If you don't want to commit to 7 books you could always watch the films!

What Have I Been Reading Lately?

Hello!

It has been a while since I last posted and so I just wanted to provide a quick catch up! Even with all the craziness in the world right now I work from home so not that much has actually changed for me although I can't leave the house. Working from home means I stare at my laptop all day and it is making me lose motivation to update my blog which is why I haven't posted a lot recently :(. 

WWW Wednesday - 11th March 2020

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. All you have to do is answer the following three questions:

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

January 2020 Wrap Up!

Hello!

I know this post is super late but better late than never right? January was a good reading month for me, I managed to read 6 books which is a tenth of my reading goal completed already! I also had THREE 5* reads to start off my year. Here's what I read:

The Yellow Wallpaper Book Review

Book Title: The Yellow Wallpaper

Author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman

My Rating: 4*

Publisher: Dover Publications

Publication Date: first published 1892

Genre(s): Classic, Short Stories, Feminism

Pages: 288

Format Read: E-book

Goodreads: Written from a feminist perspective, often focusing on the inferior status accorded to women by society, the tales include "turned," an ironic story with a startling twist, in which a husband seduces and impregnates a naïve servant; "Cottagette," concerning the romance of a young artist and a man who's apparently too good to be true; "Mr. Peebles' Heart," a liberating tale of a fiftyish shopkeeper whose sister-in-law, a doctor, persuades him to take a solo trip to Europe, with revivifying results; "The Yellow Wallpaper"; and three other outstanding stories.
These charming tales are not only highly readable and full of humour and invention, but also offer ample food for thought about the social, economic, and personal relationship of men and women — and how they might be improved.

All the Rage by Cara Hunter Book Review

Book Title: All the Rage

Author: Cara Hunter

My Rating: 3.5*

Publisher: Penguin

Publication Date: 23/01/20

Genre(s): Mystery, Crime, Thriller

Pages: 416

Format Read: Ebook

Goodreads: A teenage girl is found wandering the outskirts of Oxford, dazed and distressed. The story she tells is terrifying. Grabbed off the street, a plastic bag pulled over her face, then driven to an isolated location where she was subjected to what sounds like an assault. Yet she refuses to press charges.

DI Fawley investigates, but there's little he can do without the girl's co-operation. Is she hiding something, and if so, what? And why does Fawley keep getting the feeling he's seen a case like this before?

And then another girl disappears, and Adam no longer has a choice: he has to face up to his past. Because unless he does, this victim may not be coming back...

WWW Wednesday - 22nd January 2020

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. All you have to do is answer the following three questions:

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


I am currently reading:

All the Rage by Cara Hunter (same as last week)

My 2020 Anticipated Book Releases! (January - June)

2020 is a great year for book releases so I have picked one book with a release date in each month for the first half of the year. All of these books have been on my radar for a while and I'm so excited for when I can finally read them!

January:

WWW Wednesday - 15th January 2020

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. All you have to do is answer the following three questions:

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

The Memory Wood by Sam Lloyd Review

Book Title: The Memory Wood

Author: Sam Lloyd

My Rating: 5*

Publisher: Random House UK, Transworld Publishers

Publication Date: 20/02/20

Genre(s): Thriller, Mystery

Pages: 384

Format Read: E-book

Goodreads: Elijah has lived in the Memory Wood for as long as he can remember. It’s the only home he’s ever known.
Elissa has only just arrived. And she’ll do everything she can to escape.
When Elijah stumbles across thirteen-year-old Elissa, in the woods where her abductor is hiding her, he refuses to alert the police. Because in his twelve years, Elijah has never had a proper friend. And he doesn’t want Elissa to leave.
Not only that, Elijah knows how this can end. After all, Elissa isn’t the first girl he’s found inside the Memory Wood.
As her abductor’s behaviour grows more erratic, Elissa realises that outwitting strange, lonely Elijah is her only hope of survival. Their cat-and-mouse game of deception and betrayal will determine both their fates, and whether either of them will ever leave the Memory Wood...

WWW Wednesday - 8th January 2020

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. This is my first time doing this but it will become a weekly occurrence from now on! All you have to do is answer the following three questions:

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

I am currently reading:

Blog and Reading Goals 2020!

2020 is here! A new year and a new decade. It's almost my one year blog anniversary and I can't believe I've made it this far! I didn't make any resolutions last year as I didn't want to put any pressure on this new experience of mine but now I've decided to make some goals for this new year ahead for me and my blog.