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?

Friday Reads: The Flatshare and The One Who's Not The One

Hello and merry Friday, everyone! Apologises for my absence (did anyone even notice?) but work and life just got on top of me. Plus, I've only just finished my re-reads of the Morganville Vampires series so I didn't really have much to update you on! Speaking of: Morganville just as amazing as I remember!


This week I've been reading The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary - yes, the book that everyone's on about at the moment - and The One Who's Not The One by Keris Stainton. Both are contemporary romances, Keris is of course a favourite author of mine and The Flatshare is Beth's debut. I'm enjoying them both immensely, although barely started one and about a third of the way through the other.


Last week I read The Quiet at the End of the World by Lauren James and I cannot stop thinking about it! How I wish this book had been around a year ago, I could have written a (hopefully) amazing essay discussing the post-human condition in comparison to "Do Andriods Dream of Electric Sheep?" Yes, I am well aware how much of a nerd I sound.


I also read Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren, finished that in two days, and that was incredibly adorable. And, great plus side: I have their whole back catalogue to work through!


Plan for this bank holiday weekend: finish The Flatshare and I'm sure I'm going to have lots of thoughts when I finish it, so look forward to that (maybe)!


What are you reading this long weekend? Let me know!

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.

Friday Reads: Kingdom of Ash and Theatrical

In some ways, I can't believe it's already halfway through January. In others, that first week back to work after Christmas doesn't half drag, does it? Anyway, I'm here with a little reading update.

This morning I finally finished Kingdom of Ash, the finale to the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas. I started the mammoth of a book on the 1st of the month if you can believe it! I know it's nearly 1000 pages but that is a long time for me to be reading one book. Part of that was because I couldn't take it to work with me - no way was I carting that to and from work every day! So, finally finished it and I'm... conflicted. 

Now, despite all the gossip and drama with SJM's books, I do like them. But because it has been so long since I read the book before, and I just point-blanked refused to buy/read the Chaol spin-off book, I couldn't remember a lot. And I mean a lot! Names, places, shared histories - pfft, gone from my brain. So I don't think I got max enjoyment because of that. The other thing was, of course, the length of the book. I did enjoy the last 100 pages or so, that last big battle and the happy-ever-after wrap-up, but the toing and froing between all these groups of people, sometimes overlapping, sometimes not even really doing anything, that got boring quickly. All in all, glad I read it and completed the series but it wasn't the grand finale I expected, I think.

The other book I'm reading is Theatrical by Maggie Harcourt. I started this last week and I'm halfway through, just reading it on my kindle in my lunch breaks. Really loving it so far, I love the theatre and would so love to know more about the goings-on backstage, plus I've been looking forward to this book since the summer and I needed a contemporary story to break up Kingdom of Ash and my next read, which is going to be The Wicked King by Holly Black.

Let me know what you've been reading and enjoying so far this month and see you next time!

Friday Reads: The Last Beginning

Work has been taking over my life recently so my reading has slowed somewhat. So in lieu of some more reviews, have an update!

Right now, I’m reading The Last Beginning by Lauren James, which I am beyond excited about! It’s being published next week, on the 6th; I was lucky enough to get a copy from Walker which arrived Wednesday and I started it immediately! I was a little lost at the beginning; it's been a while since I read the first book, but I'm loving it so far.

Earlier in the week I read Haunt Me by Liz Kessler, another book coming out on the 6th, and I quite liked it. I had some minor issues with it but a lot of that might have been because I’d just finished the latest Lockwood and Co which has a whole different sort of ghost! Reviews of both of these titles will be up soon. 

This weekend I’m hoping to finish The Last Beginning and start Empire of Storms, which I can’t believe I haven’t read yet! But I need to get right on that, because me and a friend from work will be going to see Sarah J Maas at the Bath Children’s Literature Festival on the 9th! 

Tell me what you’re planning on reading this weekend and if you could meet an author at an event like the Kids Lit Fest, who would it be and why?

Friday Reads: And I Darken and Animal

I've decided to bring this feature back - I trialed it ages ago and I really liked doing it, I feel like it's a nice little break from constant reviews but I'll only continue if you guys feel the same way. So please let me know!

This week I've been powering through And I Darken by Kiersten White. I love the premise and the writing and even the setting, it's just really long! At nearly 500 pages, it probably wasn't the best idea to start it as I go back to work but the idea of a female Vlad the Impaler was just too good to pass up. And you guys should probably know by now, I am obsessed with Dracula and the mythology of Vlad the Impaler so that alone is making me stick with this.

I've also recently really gotten into feminist non-fiction. I read non-fiction very sporadically but after finished Holly Bourne's Spinster trilogy in the summer, I'm in the mood for feminist stuff. I've just started Animal by Sara Pascoe which blends psychology with feminist views and personal anecdotes. It's really interesting so far (as I'm on page 20-something!) and I'm intrigued to see what else is in store.

Let me know what you think of this being a semi-regular feature, and share what you're reading this weekend.

Friday Reads: Revolution and Dear Life

A new feature on the blog so you can see what I'm reading as I'm reading it and hear some random thoughts I have that can't wait for the full review. 

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly 
Another one that's been sat on my shelf for way too long, this is one for my Lucky 14 Challenge. Originally bought for my dissertation then not chosen, this tells of both modern life and old diary entries from the French Revolution. Andi is grieving the loss of her brother and finds comfort in the words of a century-old French girl. I am loving the blend of old and new, the past meeting the present and all that. The history of Paris is amazing and fascinating to read, at least to me! I'm not very far through because am reading it quite slowly but I am falling for Andi and all her troubles.

Dear Life by Alice Munro
A borrowed book from my grandmother, it's been sat on my shelf for months and I finally have my TBR under some semblance of control that I can read it. It's a collection of short stories, I think 14 in total, that show life as it truly is: messy and wonderful. They all involve a journey and show how everything leads to home, which for Munro is Toronto. I've only the first few so far, but I am enjoying them; they are realistic and have no happy ending waiting for them other than the normalcy of everyday life.

That's what I'm reading this weekend - tell me what you're hoping to read or are reading this Friday!

Friday Reads: God Save The Queen and White Hot Kiss

Apart from my short 'Currently Reading' part of my Weekly Highlights and of course my Goodreads, I don't really make you guys aware of what I'm reading and thinking as I'm reading it. And as part of a slight overhaul of my blog to make it more interesting and diverse, I thought I would occasionally write up some random thoughts I might have about the book I'm reading that can't wait for the review.

Anyway, that was a much longer introduction than I meant it to be, so let's get to it!

A couple of days ago I started God Save The Queen by Kate Locke. This is the first in a series set in a Steampunk alternate history London, following a young woman as she tries to find her sister and uncover the truth about the aristocracy. Because I've only had a chance to read on the train to and from work lately, I've been reading this quite slowly. I expected to fall completely in love with this and while I am enjoying it, it's not what I thought it would be.

I'm not at work today so apart from a few errands, I have plenty of time to read so hopefully will get through it faster than I have been! 

I am also reading White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L Armentrout. Her books are something of a guilty pleasure; I just cannot resist a good dark romance and this is no different! I read the first 40% on a sunny afternoon earlier in the week and hope to fly through the rest this weekend.

What is everyone reading/planning to read this weekend? Will it be in the sun or the rain? (I'm in the rain for a lot of this weekend)