Friday Reads: Dating You/Hating You by Christina Lauren

Christina Lauren is quickly becoming one of my favourite contemporary adult romance authors (although it is a duo!). So when one from their back catalogue was offer for 99p on Kindle, I snapped it up and started it almost immediately.

Although it hasn’t been exactly what I thought in terms of the story set-up, it’s been really interesting reading so far. Set in an agents office in LA, there’s loads of fascinating boys-club/feminist talk about the dynamics of the industry, especially as the romantic leads are practically pitted against each other after their two companies merge. Plus I'm really enjoying the fact that the female lead is a successful thirty-something year old - not seen very often!

I’m almost certainly going to finish this tonight and enjoy the final drama and hot romance that I’ve come to expect from Christina Lauren’s books!

Reading plans for the rest of the weekend are the other ebook I picked up on offer: Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey. What are you planning on reading this weekend?

Top Ten Most Anticipated Reads of (the rest of) 2019

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and now lives at That Artsy Reader Girl.


Below is a list of the books I am most excited for but still have to wait months before I can hold them. I've done them in date order because there's enough complications narrowing it down to 10 without trying to put them in order of preference!


1 - Storm and Fury by Jennifer L Armentrout - 11 June - I know this is already out but I have just this second (yesterday to you lot) heard about it and now I am equally desperate to have it as the rest! Pity I have to buy for, you know, my house first.


2 - Queen of Ruin by Tracy Banghart - 11 July - book two following the amazing "Grace and Fury", I am very intrigued to how this story will unfold.


3 - The Kingdom by Jess Rothenburg - 11 July - I heard about this on booktube and it sounds incredible, all about post-humanity and what makes us human.


4 - A Pocketful of Stars by Aisha Bushby - 8 August - I'd seen this around but after speaking to Aisha at Lucy Powrie's book launch, I'm all the more excited to read her debut.


5 - Loki: Where Mischief Lies by Mackenzi Lee - 3 September - anyone who knows me will be aware that I am a huge Marvel fan, especially Loki, so a prequel exploring his teen years? I am all over that!


6 - Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff - 5 September - I might not have read book two yet but I am desperate to get my hands on the full trilogy and to see the finale of Mia's journey.


7 - Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell - 24 Sept - need I say anything more that: argh!!!!


8 - The Places I've Cried in Public by Holly Bourne - 3 October - again: argh! New Holly Bourne!


9 - The Toll by Neal Shusterman - 7 November - the finale to the Scythe trilogy, I am beyond excited and might have done a squeal when the cover was released.

10 - The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black - November - another again: argh! The full-on howls I sounded at the cliffhanger ending of "The Wicked King" annoyed everyone around me and I need to know what happens to Jude and Carden!

Top Ten Characters That Remind Me of Myself

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and now lives at The Artsy Reader Girl


It's been a while since I did one of these but this week's prompt is rather interesting. I do tend to see little traits of myself in lots of characters, but I struggled to come up with ten that I really identified with, as an introvert that adores books but won't stop talking and wishes to be braver than she acts sometimes. Anyway, here's my list of characters that remind me of myself, at various points in my life.


1 and 2 - Claire and Eve in Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine - off to a good (cheating) start with two very different girls on the surface but are not only great friends in the books but also remind me of myself; Claire for her smarts, although mine was literature and hers is Physics, and Eve for her Gothic wardrobe (which I have grown out of) and mindset (which I have not).


3 - Daisy in Giant Days by John Allison - although Esther's fashion sense is incredible, Daisy, with her randomness, her love for the environment, her shyness until she's drunk, is much more similar to me!


4 - Cress in Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer - not the super-long hair, it's the overactive imagination and terrible shyness that I relate to in Cress, especially in my teenage years.


5 - Posy in The Little Bookshop of Lonely Hearts by Annie Darling - definitely her hardcore love of books!


6 - Romy in The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James - for her fangirl habits, not her engineering smarts!


7 - Phoebe (and friends) in Freshers by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison - Phoebe and gang is quite similar to my group of friends at university. Although I didn't live in halls, we totally got up to a bit of mischief and bonded over our mutual weirdness.


8 - Cath in Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell - another similar experience to mine at university, it also took me a while to find my place. I also relate hard to Cath's fangirl tendencies.


9 - Kizzy in The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers - I am all about Kizzy's strange outbursts and constant hunt for snacks.


10 - Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen - again with the Gothic mindset, Catherine's habit of letting her imagination get away from her is also one of my more annoying traits.


So there you have it! Do we share any similar character traits? Or do you relate to completely different characters - I do tend to see myself in the heroines rather than villains. Let me know in the comments!

Friday Reads: Morganville Vampires

Happy Friday and happy March, everyone! Can’t quite believe that, February passed in no time at all, didn’t it? So, here’s my not-really-regular reading update for you!


I’ve been re-reading the Morganville series by Rachel Caine, one of my all-time favourite series of books. I haven’t read the first books in the series since university, so at least 7 years ago – jeez, that makes me feel old! – and I’d forgotten a lot of the details and the order of events. Right now, I’m on book five of fifteen and I am falling in love with them all over again.


Possible spoilers ahead


It is a long series, like I said fifteen books total, but so much is jammed in there and I just fly through them – they are un-put-down-able in a way that not many books are for me. Plus, I adore meeting these characters again, humans and vampires. The Glass House four are so freaking cute, and I had forgotten how tough Claire is from the beginning: she has a ridiculous learning curve! 


As for the vampires, it is fascinating that in a genre where vamps are usually the love interest, these are the bad guys but complicated and not really humanised because they are monsters in disguise. Especially with the main three, Amelie, Oliver and Myrnin – they are terrifying, no doubt, but also are used to playing the long game so when humans like Claire come along and make them feel things, they appear and act eerily human. Then there’s vamps like Sam and Michael and you forget that they are supposed to be the enemy, right up until they’re hungry and you’re a walking buffet. Every character is so rich and complex, and I love learning about them and seeing them blur the lines between good and bad. Can you tell I love these books?


Apart from that, no reading or book-related news to report. My professional life is plodding along nicely with the new job, and personal is getting interesting: my fiancé and I are looking to buy a house! It’s all very scary and confusing and adulting is hard! Wish us luck, we’ve got a while to go until we are ready to move out and I’m already exhausted.

Top Ten Authors I'm Thankful For

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and now lives at That Artsy Reader Girl. 

This week's prompt is based on Thanksgiving which, as a Brit, I do not celebrate but has inspired me to talk about the authors I'm thankful for and whom I always go to if I need a boost. As usual, this list is not in any particular order and feel free to tell me in the comments if any of these writers are on your list, or if not then who is.

1 - Sarra Manning - her books always perk me up, they are funny and heartfelt and swoony.

2 - Keris Stainton - I can rely on Keris to make me laugh and my heart burst with happiness.

3 - JK Rowling - the queen herself, obviously!

4 - Jeaniene Frost - her Night Huntress series is one of my all-time favourite series, featuring one of the best couples in fiction: Cat and Bones.

5 - Holly Bourne - clever, sometimes makes me cry, always makes me think

6 - Lucy Ivison and Tom Ellen - I still giggle to think about the condom incident in Freshers!

7 - Lauren James - who knew time travel could be so romantic?

8 - Sarah J Maas - despite the controversy, I still adore her books, and her characters are always just stunning

9 - Rachel Caine - her Morganville series got me through university. Plus vampires will always be my favourite.

10 - Meg Cabot - one of my teen-years favourites, I credit the Mediator series with my love of paranormal stories.

Books That Hold Memories

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and now lives at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme is "books with sensory memories", such as books you remember reading while on holiday or while eating, or whatever. I'm going with books that I distinctly remember reading at a pivotal time in my life, like a big holiday or during an interview - if that doesn't quite make sense, I'm going to explain the whole situation after each book. And, as usual, this list is not in any particular order. Ok, let's go!

1 - The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Stevens - I was reading this earlier in the year while on a study trip to Krakow and Berlin. I started it during the second half of the week and distinctly remember reading it to distract myself on the plane journey home. By the way, great book!

2 - It Only Happens In The Movies by Holly Bourne - I couldn't work on my essay for university before I finished this book, and even then, I was seriously distracted by how much I adored the ending!

3 - Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon - my first book for my MA course, I was surprised by how much I loved this, and I can remember reading this on my lunch breaks at work, to finish it before we discussed it in class.

4 - Freshers by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison - I laughed out loud while reading this on the sofa, scaring my mother who was trying to watch TV!

5 - We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - borrowed from the library, I read this the day I got it, on the train home from work. I can remember because it was surprisingly sunny for January and my seat on the train was bright and hot.

6 - We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson - again, borrowed from work, I remember reading this on my lunch break and having a great conversation with a colleague about Merricat.

7 - Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson - my first classic of 2016 and my second book of that year, I read this on my fiance's bed and read bits aloud to him, whether he liked it or not!

8 - The Duff by Kody Keplinger - I know I was reading this when I was interviewed for a job at Waterstones because my soon-to-be manager asked me about it!

9 - The Moment Collector by Jodi Lynn Anderon - can't remember the story but do remember I was reading this at the same time I had an interview to be a local school's librarian because I had it in my bag and read some while I was waiting for my lift home. Didn't get the job, by the way.

10 - Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins - read in the rented cottage while on holiday in the Dordogne. Beautiful weather, great family holiday, also (randomly) can remember watching the London Olympics while on holiday there too!

Top Books of the Year So Far!

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and now lives at That Artsy Reader Girl.

Reading speed has been bad for me this year because I've been prioritising my university reads, and so it turns out I don't have a full top ten list! I've read loads of great books so far this year, lots that have pushed me out of my comfort zone, but these are my top five, most memorable books:

1 - The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord
2 - World War Z by Max Brooks
3 - Obsidio by Aime Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
4 - The Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton
5 - The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Stevens

Let me know what's on your list, what books have really stood out for you this year!

Top Ten Series I Might Finish At Some Point (Maybe...)

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and now lives at That Artsy Reader Girl. As usual, this list is in no particular order.

1 - Talon by Julie Kagawa - read three books
2 - Blackcoat Rebellion by Aimee Carter - read two books of trilogy
3 - Dark Elements by Jennifer L Armentrout - read two books
4 - The Rain by Virginia Bergin - read book one
5 - The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski - read two books
6 - Lois Lane by Gwenda Bond - read two books
7 - The Great Library by Rachel Caine - read book one
8 - Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard - read three books 
9 - The Immortals by Alyson Noel - read two books
10 - Geek Girl by Holly Smale - read four books

Geez, this is terrible, I didn't realise there were so many! For pretty much all of these series, I haven't intentionally given up on them, it's just been so long since I read the previous book, I didn't want to read the next one confused and I don't have time to re-read. That makes it ok, right? 

Oh, apart from The Immortals, those books were just awful.

Let me know what series you've practically given up on, so I don't feel as bad!

Top Ten Books that Inspire Me to Travel

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and now lives at That Artsy Reader Girl.

I actually struggled with this topic and so only reached 7. Let me know if there are any books that inspire you to travel, whether that's realistically or not! As usual, this list is not any specific order.

1 - Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson - there's nothing like a road trip story to make me want to travel!

2 - One Italian Summer by Keris Stainton - the family goes to Italy, to their regular holiday town, the year after the father passed and while the memories can be painful, having a place that beautiful to remember him by must be special.

3 - Moonlight Dreamers by Siobhan Curham - four girls, four parts of London, tied together by their dreams for more, Siobhan does a great job in describing the city and making me wish for more time to explore every hidden corner.

4 - Passenger by Alexandra Bracken - exploring all corners of the Earth in multiple time periods, if that doesn't make you want to travel then I give up!

5 - Love Song by Sophie Bennett - the band reconnects by spending time in the English countryside, just breathing in nature and enjoying each other's company. What more could you ask for?

6 - Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon - when a girl risks her life to travel to Hawaii with her love, you can't not want to join her and her brave spirit!

7 - How to be Bad by E Lockhart, Lauren Myracle, Sarah Mlynowski - a road trip with three very different girls, crashing house parties and making friends with a stuffed alligator. 

Top Ten Books I Loved But Will Never Re-read

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish, and now lives at That Artsy Reader Girl. As usual, these are not in any particular order.


Edit: made a whoopsy and messed up the scheduling so have this post really late!

1 - Broken Harbour by Tana French - read for university, I think this is one of those 'it's not the same when you know what's going to happen' sort of stories.

2 - Like Other Girls by Claire Hennessy - a great book, a fantastic story but one of those subjects that, of course, deserves more attention but makes it difficult to read about

3 - The Island at the End of Everything by Karen Millwood Hargrave - maybe a little young for me but still a moving story and one I will happily recommend, just not re-read.

4 - I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith - a classic growing-up story but a little dated, obviously. Loved it, glad I read it, but don't need to read again.

5 - The Lost and the Found by Cat Clarke - as with most of Clarke's books, they hit you hard, right in the feels, and although amazing I'm not sure I can go through that again!

6 - Never Evers by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison - I adore their books, would quite happily re-read Freshers again and again, but this one was a little young for me.

7 - We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson - loved it but think this is another 'can only read it once' kind of books.

8 - Severed Heads, Broken Hearts by Robyn Scheider - although I love a good contemporary, they do tend to follow the same lines and I don't really feel the need to pick this up again.

9 - All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven - similar to Cat Clarke, this was a stunning story but with a gut-wrenching ending that I'm not sure I could handle again.

10 - The Perfectionists by Sara Shepard - this is becoming a thing with crime stories, apparently: it's not the same, reading them when you know what's going to happen but this duology was great fun.

Books I'd Slay A Lion to Get Early (But Not Really Because Animals are Precious)

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and now lives at That Artsy Reader Girl.


Kinda struggled with this one because my studying means I've lost touch a little with the book world and also literally cannot afford to get excited about new books!


1 - How Do You Like Me Now? by Holly Bourne - due 14th June - will happily devour anything and everything written by this woman.


2 - The Surface Breaks by Louise O'Neill - due 3rd May - ok, so I really don't have very much longer to wait for this one but chances are I'm not going to be able to read it for months anyway.


3 - When the Curtain Falls by Carrie Hope Fletcher - due 12th July - I adore Carrie's videos and her writing style, and this one, about ghosts in a theatre, is right up my alley!


4 - Floored by Sara Barnard, etc. - due 12th July - a collaborative novel with all of my favourite authors? Yes please!


5 - Listen to Your Heart by Kasie West - due 29th May - I love Kasie West, her books are the epitome of a good summer rom-com and her latest sounds great.


6 - I Was Born For This by Alice Oseman - due 3rd May - not long now!


And that's about it! Like I said, so out of touch with new and upcoming releases so if there's something I missed that you think I should have my eye on, please let me know!

Characters that Made the Book (Less Awful)

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and now lives at That Artsy Reader Girl. I think I probably need a little disclaimer here: none of these books were actually bad, they are just way down on my favourites list. And as per usual, this is not in any particular order.

1 - Ash from The Fandom by Anna Day - in the "original" Gallows Dance, Ash is the puppy-love character, the cute-ish boy in the background but not the main love interest. But when Violet and her friends highjack the story, Ash comes front and centre and really shines.

2 - Abel from Defy The Stars by Claudia Gray - technically a robot, Abel has more humanity in him than most of the humans do in this space war. 

3 - Cath from Heartless by Marissa Meyer - from what I can remember, Cath was a fairly two-dimensional character, but she did love to bake and that's the kind of person I can support!

4 - Asher from The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes - the comic relief with a sharp mind in this political drama for teenagers was just incredibly funny and a welcome change from all the seriousness. 

5 - Arin from The Winner's Cuse by Marie Rutkoski - even though I didn't ship his relationship with Kestral, he was still a really interesting character in a really interesting and well-set up world.

An extra, because I can:
Tric from Nevernight by Jay Kristoff - definitely a favourite book of mine, and of course Mia is equally incredible but Tric completely stole my heart!

Second disclaimer: I know it's supposed to be ten and I've technically done 6 - let's just go with it because I am tired and it's honestly been a really shitty week and I couldn't think beyond these 5/6. 

Top Books on my Spring TBR

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and now lives at That Artsy Reader Girl.




I've already talked about my March TBR, to be found here if you're interested, but as I am off for two weeks at Easter as well as going on a study trip to Poland and Germany, I'm going to get a lot of reading done - and not all of it set texts!


University
1 - The Third Man by Graham Greene
2 - Wormwood by Poppy Z Brite
3 - And the Ass Saw the Angel by Nick Cave


Pleasure
4 - Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
5 - Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
6 - Scythe by Neal Shusterman
7 - The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Steven
8 - Sam and Ilsa's Last Hurrah by Rachel Cohn and Daivd Levithan
9 - Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu
10 - Genuine Fraud by E Lockhart




Obviously if I can get ahead of my university reading then I will prioritise that but while I have time off, I'm going to catch up on my TBR. Plus I'm only taking my kindle on my trip so can finally catch up on the e-books I've been collecting for months!


Let me know what's on your Spring-time TBR or if there's any books you're waiting for!

Books I Could Re-read Forever and Ever

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish, and now lives at That Artsy Reader Girl.


In no particular order, here is a list of ten books or series that I could quite happily re-read and never get bored. In fact, most of them I have read a few times already!

1 - Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost - this is one I always reach for in times of turmoil or upset. It always makes me happy and laugh and I especially enjoy remembering how Cat and Bones' relationship started.

2 - Harry Potter by JK Rowling - this might be an easy one and maybe a cop-out but I've recently re-read the entire series, this time on audio-book with the amazing Stephen Fry, and not only did I forget a lot of little details, I fell completely in love with the series again.

3 - Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell - read twice since publication, I still hold the belief that it is a perfect story of growing up and leaving home.

4 - Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins - another one I've read twice since publication, this story just makes me gooey and happy.

5 - The Diamond of Drury Lane by Julia Golding - the Cat Royal series was my favourite thing ever when I was younger and Cat is just the best young heroine I could have hoped for when I was an unsure pre-teen.

6 - The Host by Stephanie Meyer - goodness, another one I've read twice since publication! At least! Whenever I pick it up, I skip the first few chapters and start from when Wanderer finds the caves; the slow burn of the growing relationship with Ian makes me happy and the surprisingly clever critique of what makes us human makes me think.

7 - The End of the World as We Know It by Iva-Marie Palmer - read all the way back in 2014, I can remember loving this for its originality and its humour, and would love to re-read it with my developed critical hat on.

8 - Unsticky by Sarra Manning - one of my favourite of Sarra's adult contemporaries, I re-read this for the romance and the sex scene, to be honest. Grace and Vaughn is one of my favourite couples to read because of the banter (same with Cat and Bones, come to think of it!).

9 - The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud - along with the rest of the series, I would love to read them back to back, as I read them too far apart as the later books were being published. Lockwood is my hero and I would quite happily just read about him and his crew of ghost-hunters forever.

10 - The Mediator series by Meg Cabot - another of my favourite series from pre-teen and teenage years, I have read the whole series through twice and could easily do it again and again because Suze is incredible and witty, and Jesse is another hero worthy of the page-time.

Books I've Had on my TBR for the Longest Time

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and The Bookish, and now lives at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This is a fairly easy topic for me - I weed my TBR every now and then, and I've worked really hard to get my TBR down to 18 physical books and 11 ebooks. So here are just my top five books that have been on my TBR for a ridiculous time!

1 - The Summer Book by Tove Jansson - added December 2016
This was a Christmas present, something that my grandparents thought I'd enjoy but honestly, I'm probably not gonna read it.

2 - Graceling by Kristin Cashore - added July 2016
Bough in the library sale, basically I haven't had a chance to pick this up - either because I've favoured other books ahead of this or because I went off fantasy for a while.

3 - A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab - added March 2016
Bought in kindle sale, really should read it but am honestly slightly daunted because its VE Schwab! What if I don't like it?

4 - The Novice by Taran Matharu - added March 2016
Again, haven't picked it up because I kind of went off reading fantasy so still it sits.

5 - The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman - added July 2015
Um... I don't think I have a reason for leaving this for so long! Awkward. I remember I bought it in the kindle sale because a colleague said it was good. But then I've seen mixed reviews and just haven't braved it.

What are some of yours? Are any of your TBR pile gathering dust or do you do better than that? Let me know!

Books I Can't Believe I Read!

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and now lives at That Artsy Reader Girl.


I've left off university course books because obviously they are not books I would normally pick up but I read them for a reason.

1 - One Night Stand by JS Cooper - books like this, I'm almost ashamed to admit to reading; not because they are about sex, which no-one should be ashamed to read about, but because they are basically just about sex! Barely a plot, badly edited, just something fun and doesn't require much thinking.


2 - What A Girl Wants by Lindsey Kelk - not that this was particularly bad, it wasn't. I just carried on with it even after nothing made sense and I realised it was book two in a series.



3 - We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - I think with this one, it's more a case of 'I can't believe it took me so long to read'. I really got into feminism and what it meant, both generally and personally, at university and I only read this last year.


4 - Legacy of Lies by Jillian David - I said it in my review: I thought it was going to be a great Western slash supernatural story and it wasn't! It was so disappointing, really, in terms of magical elements and the romance was rushed. I only finished it because it was a review book.


5 - Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier - when I read it, I was barely into classics and I was surprised at how much I adored it!



6 - Paper Butterflies by Lisa Heathfield - horrible. So good, but just a awful story, made me sick at times but so damn good!

7 - Undone by Cat Clarke - as much as I love her writing and her stories, they are all so awful and sad that I do have to force myself to read them! Chilling and clever, that's how I'd describe Clarke's books, they definitely stay with you.

8 - It's the End of the World As We Know It by Saci Lloyd - seriously strange, I struggled with this one and once again, only persevered because it was a review book.

9 - Anomaly by Krista McGee - I'm not sure why I expected a book picked up in a Christian gift shop wouldn't be about religion finding its place in a dystopian world but still... pretty weird, badly paced and just not for me.

10 - Darkness Falls by Jessica Sorenson - even though I read this nearly four years ago, I can distinctly remember wanting to DNF it on multiple occasions. I kinda wish I hadn't bothered, as now I can't even remember the basic premise!

Top Books I Know I Loved But Can't Remember Any More!

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish, and now lives at That Artsy Reader Girl.

1 - Blood Red Road by Moira Young
2 - Undead by Kirsty McKay
3 - This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E Smith
4 - Velveteen by Daniel Marks
5 - How To Love by Katie Cotugno
6 - Acid by Emma Pass
7 - Riot by Sarah Mussi
8 - Pawn by Aimee Carter
9 - Dangerous Boys by Abigal Haas
10 - The Oathbreaker's Shadow by Amy McCulloch

Not only can I barely remember anything about these books - which is a shame, because I do remember loving them - for some I couldn't even remember the author! What I do know is, I definitely enjoyed them all, and count a few of them as favourites, and really I could do with re-reading them! 

To be fair, most of these I read years ago, so no wonder I can't remember much details!

What are some of yours? Do you almost instantly forget once you pick up the next book, or can you hold on to details for months? And how annoying is it when the former happens but you need to wait a year for the sequel? 

Ten Books I Meant to Read in 2017 But Promise to Read This Year!

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish.

In no particular order, this is the list of shame - the list of books that I wanted so bad but haven't read yet.

1 - Now I Rise by Kiersten White
2 - Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls
3 - Whisper to Me by Nick Lake
4 - Artemis by Andy Weir
5 - Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu
6 - The House of Secrets by Sarra Manning
7 - The One We Fell in Love With by Paige Toon
8 - Genuine Fraud by E Lockhart
9 - The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
10 - History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

I mean, what can I say? My reading went all over the place in October when I went back to university (did I mention that? I think I mentioned that - hehe) so my TBR slowly grew without me having a chance to make a dent. This holiday has sort of helped, although so far I've only read a couple but am hoping to get further before my next reading list comes through. 

So this list I will try to get through in January, or at least some of it. Wish me luck - and let me know what books you neglected in 2017 but want to read this year!

Top Ten Books on my Autumn TBR

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish.

As I prepare to start my masters - by the way, have I mentioned I'm doing a masters? ;) - my TBR has basically gone out the window as I have to prioritise my university books. So this week's top ten will be split in two, for uni and for pleasure.

University:
1 - Zofloya by Charlotte Dacre
2 - Poppet by Mo Hayder
3 - Sherlock Holmes, the Collected Short Stories by Arthur Conan Doyle
4 - Collected Ghost Stories by MR James
5 - Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

I recently got the set text list so I'm shopping for all the books I need and these are just a few of them, some of which I've already got.

Pleasure:
1 - Now I Rise by Kiersten White
Sequel to And I Darken, and the only reason I haven't picked it up sooner is I'm a little intimated by the dense text!

2 - Juniper Lemon's Happiness Index by Julie Israel 
Picked up at Yalc and it sounds lovely, I'm imagining something like Jandy Nelson's books.

3 - Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls
Something to dip in and out of, might make me feel better when I'm tired from studying.

4 - Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu
After hearing all about this at Yalc, I'm really excited by this girl power story.

5 - Can I Speak To Someone In Charge? by Emily Clarkson
This was a spur of the moment find in the library this past weekend - I haven't heard of it before but it sounds clever and funny.

A Few Books That I Struggled To Read (To Start With)

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and The Bookish.

I rarely DNF books, not just because all the books I read are amazing but mostly because I'm quite picky over what I pick up in the first place. This week's theme is books you had a hard time with, so I'm going with a few books that I struggled with but ended up enjoying.

1 - The Woman In White by Wilkie Collins
I've only just finished this one, which is why it's top of the list. I technically should have read this at university but I didn't have enough time, and also I didn't write any essays on it so I didn't bother. Terrible, I know. But now that I'm about to start my masters (AHHH!!) I need to re-programme my brain into the Victorian-Gothic language. Anyway, the book itself is ridiculously long, over 600 pages, and in tiny font, so it did take me about two weeks to finish. But the story was really good, and I ended up really invested!

2 - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Please don't hate me! I really wanted to like this, and I did, but I forget every time now much of a chore some Austen language is to read, it's just so long! It helped that I already knew the story and I'm glad I've read the original, but it took me a while.

3 - The Island by Olivia Levez
This was a review book so I had no idea what it was about apart from it sounded interesting. And it was, the story was incredible and very moving, but it's written in this... almost stream of conscious narrative, flitting back and forth between present and past, which took me a while to find the rhythm but it suited the protagonist so well. 

4 - We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
I knew I would love this one, or at least it sounded right up my street, but I wasn't quite prepared for the slow story and the confusion over what had happened. Took a little while to get into it, especially to understand Merricat, but really liked it. 

5 - Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
Yet another classic that I couldn't quite get my head around! This time, it was more that I wasn't expecting the story to span so many years, it really did follow the three women's lives in the Big Apple.