February 2018 Wrap-Up

Hi everyone! Last month was a pretty good reading month for me, considering that I'm in university, but I had a fair amount to say about every book I read, so I figured that I would do a wrap-up for the month.
The books I read:

      1. The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan
This was the first book I read this month, and I enjoyed it! It was written in a very different way, with each page being a new word in the dictionary, and the story being told using each word as a different part of the story. It was weird, but in a good way.
I have a full review of The Lover's Dictionary here if you want to read more of my thoughts!

      2. How to Stop Time by Matt Haig

This one I've been looking forward to reading for awhile. I read Matt Haig's Reasons to Stay Alive over the summer, and even though that that book was non-fiction and How to Stop Time is fiction, I knew that it was going to be great because I love his writing style. He writes in a beautiful way, and you can tell that a lot of thought goes into his work.

I absolutely loved this book, I loved how it was told, how it had famous characters like Shakespeare and Fitzgerald in it, and I found that the entire book was wonderfully created and the build up to the ending was amazing. I highly recommend it!

      3. Unraveling Oliver by Liz Nugent

This is a psychological thriller that I personally found to be more of a psychological analysis, of sorts. It focuses solely on the character of Oliver, and even though I was expecting more of a thriller, the aspects of a thriller were there and I definitely enjoyed the book overall.

I have a full review of Unraveling Oliver here if you want to read more of my thoughts!

      4. The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn

This one is also a psychological thriller, and I quite enjoyed this one too. I found the plot to be a bit slow for the first 100 pages or so, but when it did pick up the pace, it REALLY picked up the pace. I enjoyed all the characters and the plot overall, and the ending really shocked me.

I have a full review of The Woman in the Window here if you want to read more of my thoughts!

      5. The Wicked + The Divine Vol 6 by Kieron Gillen

I've had mixed feelings about all of these graphic novels in this series, as can be seen by my review of the first five volumes here. I've loved some, and I've hated others, and this one sits more on the disliked side than the loved side.

I enjoyed the artwork in this one, as it was consistent and I could easily follow it through, but I found the story to be a bit lackluster in this volume. Some of the volumes in this series were fast-paced all the way through, but I found this one to be more of a filler between the fourth, and the seventh (which I will have to wait until it comes out to see how much of a filler this volume was).

Overall, it was alright, and I'll definitely read the next volume to see if it will pick up a bit.

      6. Suitors and Sabotage by Cindy Anstey

I was kindly sent an ARC of this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This was the last book that I read this month. After all of the psychological thrillers I was reading, I wanted a lighter, cute contemporary read to finish my month off with.

Overall, I quite enjoyed this book. It was a super sweet and lighthearted romance story that took place in the 1800s, with a bit of a mysterious twist to it, which was a nice change!

I have full review of this here

August 2016 Wrap Up

Since I start University this month, I got as much read as I could in the month of August, since I know I won't be able to read as much as I used to.
This past month I read:

• ★★★★☆.5     The Well of Ascension (Mistborn #2) by Brandon Sanderson
• ★★★★☆.5     Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin #1) by Robin LaFevers
• ★★★★☆.5     The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy #1) by Marie Rutkoski
• ★★★★☆.5     Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin #2) by Robin LaFevers
• ★★★★☆        The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma
• ★★★★☆        The Winner's Crime (The Winner's Trilogy #2) by Marie Rutkoski
• ★★★★☆.5     Mortal Heart (His Fair Assassin #3) by Robin LaFevers
• ★★★★★        The Winner's Kiss (The Winner's Trilogy #3) by Marie Rutkoski

The first book I read this month was The Well of Ascension. I really enjoyed this book, and I felt that there was great development between Vin and Elend, as well as a lot of development from other characters throughout the story. The only reason this book wasn't an automatic five star read for me was that I've found that ever since a certain someone died in the first book (avoiding names because of spoilers) the group dynamic between the characters has seemed a bit forced and very off. They don't seem to mesh together as a group as well as they once did, and they seem to be forcing themselves to work as they one were, where it had originally seemed so easy to them. Other than that though, I absolutely loved this book. The battle and fight scenes were amazing, and the ending to this book was extremely unexpected, but in a good way.

The next book I read was Grave Mercy. I've seemed to be in a massive fantasy kick this month, so I figured I would give it a go. And I absolutely LOVED IT. The characters were amazing, the storyline was brilliant, and every single aspect of the story was so well thought out, from the convent to the back stories of the characters to the relationship between every single character. I also really liked how the author didn't force any of the relationships between the characters, especially between Ismae and Duval. Their relationship, as well as those between almost every other character in this book, seemed to flourish on their own, with no force put on by the author to make it seem like they needed to be together. Lately, I've found that a lot of authors will make it extremely obvious from the very beginning of a book (or a series) who will end up together in the end, and they make their connection strong and their relationship perfect. Those always seem forced to me. In this book, however, it seemed like the actual characters made all of the decisions, and the author was there to just write it down.

I then read The Winner's Curse as I waited to buy the rest of the Grave Mercy trilogy. I really enjoyed this book too, and I found that it deserved all of the hype that is given to it. The characters were very well thought out, the relationships between them were very well created, and the story line between all of the characters, especially Kestrel and Arin, was written perfectly. I also really enjoyed how the actual novel was written; the words flowed and the story line ran beautifully. Every single thing about this book was absolutely gorgeous.

The next book I read this month was Dark Triumph, the second book after Grave Mercy. I found that this book had a very slow beginning, and as I started reading this book I had a small dislike of Sybella. As I read, however, she slowly started to grow on me, and I found I enjoyed reading about her more and more. This book is a lot shorter than Grave Mercy is, but I found that I enjoyed it more, as I understood the world and how the characters lived due to the first book. The story line was perfectly lined up with the first book, but it also showed a whole different side to the story you learn about and follow in the first book. I really enjoyed how quickly the pace sped up as you continue to read this book, as once you have quickly recovered the world and the people in the story, you begin to delve deeper and faster into the main story line. This one I enjoyed about as equally as I did Grave Mercy.


The next book I read was The Walls Around Us, which was very different from the other books I had been reading this month. I really enjoyed how suspenseful this book was, as well as how different the characters were from what I had been reading this month. The story line as well is so different from anything I have read, as it takes place in a detention center. I found that this book had a great ending, and I also feel like it was the perfect length, and written perfectly, for how the author had the story play out.

I then read The Winner's Crime. I was not as much of a fan of this book as I was the first one, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless. I felt that this book was more of a filler book for the other two in this trilogy, and although I felt that because not many things happened action wise, a lot happened relationship wise. I have a lot of mixed emotions about this book, because although I feel like it was a filler book, I also feel like the trilogy couldn't have worked without it. This particular book had a lot of problems for me, as a lot of parts dragged badly for me, but I was still kept interested because of how much I am invested in the characters. I found that there were too many problems within the book, and many of them were so small and unimportant that they could have easily been left out with no problems continuing on the trilogy as it already was, but other parts of this book were so important that I feel like they defined Kestrel and Arin's relationship, as well as the relationship of the countries they were in.

I then read Mortal Heart, the final book in the Grave Mercy trilogy. This book was fantastic in every possible way. Through reading this trilogy, I have always been fascinated by Mortain, who he was as a God and as a father, and we got to see him in a way that we never have before. I absolutely love his relationship with the girls (and one particular girl) of the convent, and how beautifully it was written and described. I loved how every single girls' story throughout this entire trilogy were perfectly wrapped up, and how every single lose end and problem was accounted for. The amount of problems that happened in this trilogy makes it seem unbelievable that it could have ended so perfectly and beautifully, but I couldn't imagine it ending any other way.

The next book I read was The Winner's Kiss, the third and final book in The Winner's Kiss trilogy. This book was everything the second one wasn't; it was intense, fast-paced, and action-filled. This story was the perfect way of ending the trilogy, and the ending between Kestrel and Arin couldn't have been any better. This book concluded the series, as being the last book, and also as being a way of ending the trilogy better than how the first one started it. There was so much growth and development in these books, not only from the characters, but from the countries and the setting itself.

July 2016 Wrap Up

I managed to get quite a few books read this month!

I read:

• ★★★☆☆.5   More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera
• ★★★★☆.5   The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton
• ★★★★☆      Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver
• ★★★★☆      This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab
• ★★★★☆      Animal Farm by George Orwell
• ★★★★★      Cracked by K.M. Walton
• ★★★★★      Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
• ★★★★☆.5   Mistborn (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson

The first book I read this month was More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera. I was really looking forward to it, as I had heard so many good things about it, and although I did really enjoy some parts of it, there were also some parts that I was not a massive fan of. I have a full review which you can find here if you would like to read more of my thoughts on it.

The next book I read was The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton. I found the greatest little new and used book store while I was on vacation so I had to pick it up when I found it for a quarter of the new price. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I loved every aspect of it except for the sad ending. I found a few parts to drag a little, but other than that I really, really enjoyed this book and I'm very glad I was seeing this around UK BookTube and that I decided to pick it up. I have a full review that can be found here if you are interested in more of my thoughts.

I then read Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver, and I really enjoyed it! I thought that the characters were all wonderfully developed and I found the novel to be full of suspense, action, and a lot of mystery. I really enjoyed how everything came together throughout and at the end of the book, and I loved how well the author described the characters, plot, and setting. I have not read a book by Lauren Oliver that I have not enjoyed, and I'm looking forward to more from her!

I also read This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I have yet to read a book by Victoria Schwab that I haven't loved (or at least really liked) and although I had a few problems with the book as a whole, I really liked it and can't wait for the next one. I have a full review here if you want to read more of my likes and dislikes with this book.


For my classic for the month, I read Animal Farm by George Orwell. I needed a quick read that I knew I could handle in one sitting, and this book was perfect for this because it is barely 100 pages. I enjoyed this book, but I didn't love it. I liked how each of the animals had their own personality and how different their personalities were. I also liked how well the characters of the pigs developed throughout the book, and how it was a steady growth, not an abrupt one. I know this book is meant to be short, but my only real problem with it is that I felt it was too short. I feel like a few more pages would have helped the story in its entirety.

I then read Cracked, which had been sitting on my shelf forever, because one of my best friends recommended it to me. I couldn't believe how good it was. I read the entire book in one sitting, cover to cover. It was so good that as soon as I finished it I wanted to start reading it all over again. The characters, and the character development, is absolutely amazing in this book. The whole plot, all the way throughout the book, flows so perfectly and wonderfully that it makes me frustrated that I can't write that well! Not only were the characters, development, and the plot amazing, but the book was told in two perspectives, which I normally am not a large fan of, but this book really changed that for me. This book made me really love both of the characters whose perspectives I was reading from, and it helped to show how much they had in common, as well as how different they were. I honestly feel that this book wouldn't have been anywhere near as good as it is if it hadn't been told in both characters' perspectives. The only thing about this book is that it deals heavily with depression, abuse, and suicide, in which case if you cannot read much about those topics, I don't recommend this book for you.

The next book I read was Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. I'd bought this book in the fall when it first came out, as soon as I had finished the Grisha trilogy, but I didn't read it right away because I really, really love Leigh Bardugo's writing and I didn't want to read it right away and then not have anything new of hers to read. I ended up picking it up this month because I know that the next book is supposed to come out this fall (and I REALLY hope that that doesn't change *fingers crossed*) and I figured now was the best time for me to really sit down and read it, and I was not disappointed one bit. The characters were a bit difficult to comprehend in the beginning just because I was mixing a few of them up, but very quickly you manage to figure out the quirks of each character and how they act, feel, and think. These characters are all absolutely amazing, and they all seem to be so realistic and relatable. As I was reading this book, I was able to connect with each and every single character in some way. This book also has an amazing plot, and all the twists and turns in this book were so surprising and keep you on your feet the whole time you read it. The book was written beautifully, as all of Leigh Bardugo's books are, and this book will forever be one of my all time favourites.

The final book I read this past month was Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. I've heard nothing but good things about anything written by Brandon Sanderson for awhile, from all of my favourite YouTubers. So, since I've had the book for about a year, I figured it was time to sit down and read it. It was absolutely amazing. I loved the characters, the plot, the setting, the storyline. I loved how well thought out the cities were, and how much every single character develops throughout the novel. The only reason that it wasn't a five star book for me was because something tragic happened to my favourite character...and that's all I can say about it! I really, really enjoyed this book, and I'm currently reading the second one of the trilogy, so you can tell how much I love the world!

June 2016 Wrap Up

This month was a sad reading month for me because of exams, so I'm really hoping to kick it up a notch for next month. I'm also leaving for vacation in a few hours so hopefully I'll be able to get a lot of reading done on the drive there.

This month I read:

• ★★★★☆      The Fray Theory #1: Resonance by Nelou Keramati
• ★★★★★      Signs Point to Yes by Sandy Hall

The first book I read this past month was Resonance by Nelou Keramati. The author contacted me last month asking me if I wanted to read and review her book in exchange for a free copy, so it was the first book I read this month. I really enjoyed it, and am looking forward to the next book(s) in the series. I have a full review here if you want to read more of my thoughts!

The next book I read was Signs Point to Yes by Sandy Hall, and I absolutely loved it. I read her first book, A Little Something Different, back in 2014, so when I saw this book on the shelf at the bookstore I was ecstatic! I picked it up and read it in one sitting, and I loved it. Her books are so cute and light, but they have the perfect amount of humour and the love stories are absolutely adorable. I was literally blushing from the cuteness and second hand embarrassment at points. I highly, highly recommend her books, and especially now because it's officially summer for me and they are such wonderful contemporaries.

May 2016 Wrap Up

As I said in my book haul for this month, it was VERY hectic. The first weekend of the month I was touring my future university (I'm SO excited for this fall!) and I ended up badly spraining my ankle. I could barely read or post on my instagram or blog, so it was rough. Just as I got off of crutches, I had my graduation dinner/dance, and then that week I left for New York City for five days. I've caught up on all my school work, I'm prepared for the fall, and my school work is starting to wind down as exams are approaching. So I'm back!


This month I read:

• ★★★★☆      Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
• ★★★★☆.5   The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer
• ★★★★☆.5   The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black
• ★★★★☆      The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• ★★★★★      The Raven King (The Raven Cycle #4) by Maggie Stiefvater

The first book I read this month was Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. I picked it up last month, and it really intrigued me, so I figured I would give it a go right away! I really enjoyed the story, although I found it to be very slow at times. The story line was very depressing, as it is about a woman who has been sentenced to death, but I also found it to be sweet and light-hearted at times. The novel was very well written, and the descriptions and the characters were wonderful to read about. I personally found the ending to be very abrupt as well, but I know that it was planned to be that way. I really enjoyed this novel, and I know that I'll be re-reading it eventually.

The second book I read was The Shock of the Fall. I have been wanting to read it for quite awhile, and I'm glad that I picked it up this month. This story was also very depressing at times, but I feel like this story could not have been written any other way. I loved how the main character described their life and how they wrote their story. The novel felt like it was being told by someone who was describing their life, not by an author who had created it from nothing. I really loved the writing style as well, and although it was sad and depressing, I feel like it teaches the reader a lot of valuable life lessons.

The next book I read was The Darkest Part of the Forest. I LOVED this book, but I don't feel as though it was worth a full 5 stars. There was a little something missing for me, which is why I gave it a solid 4.5. This book is amazing for so many reasons. The characters are perfectly written, the setting was wonderfully described so that it feels like you are right there, and it is not only a fantasy book, but it is a stand alone fantasy book, which never happens. I loved how the ending tied everything up just enough but also still leaves a lot of things to the imagination, and I love how everything in the story worked so well together. I have read two of Holly Black's books, and I have loved both of them to a very high level. I'm looking forward to reading more by her!

The classic I read this month was my next read, The Great Gatsby. I needed to read this for class, and I really enjoyed it! I loved how all the characters connected (even though some were in very bad ways) and how the ending was beautifully tragic. I loved reading this book, as the chapters were shorter so it was an easy, power-through read.


I can't really say much about my next read because it's the fourth and final book in the series, but I can say that it was AMAZING. The Raven King is probably one of my all time favourite books ever, and it made me feel all of the things. I have a full spoiler free review, with more of my (relatively) coherent thoughts which you can find here.

April 2016 Wrap-Up

This month was actually an awesome reading month for me, which I am pleasantly surprised with! School is really picking up, but I still managed to read a total of 7 books! I read every one on my TBR as well, expect for The Raven King, as I haven't gotten it yet.


I read:

• ★★★★☆ King Lear by William Shakespeare
• ★★★★★ We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates
• ★★★☆☆ Brave New World by Aldous Huxley7
• ★★★★★ The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater
• ★★★★★ The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle #2) by Maggie Stiefvater
• ★★★★★ Blue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven Cycle #3) by Maggie Stiefvater
• ★★★☆☆ The Ghosts of Heaven by Marcus Sedgwick

The first book that I completed this month was King Lear by William Shakespeare. It wasn't my favourite of his plays, but overall I enjoyed it and I thought that it was definitely one of his best. King Lear is a tragedy, but I still really enjoyed the extremes that some of the characters went to, as well as the humor in it. Shakespeare has a tendency to put a lot of dry, dark humor into his tragedies, and it always makes the play much more enjoyable for me.

The second book I completed was We Were the Mulvaneys, which I needed to read for my English class. I picked it on a whim, and I am so insanely glad that I did. Not only was the novel very detailed and the plot attention-grabbing and interesting, the novel also had many important messages and I think it is one of those books that everyone should read at some point in their lives. I have a full review here if anyone is interested in reading more of my thoughts on this book!


The third book I read, and the first book I fully read this month was Brave New World. I have many mixed feelings about this book, from the beginning all the way through. I found it to be very rushed and also lacking a lot plot wise, as well as making some of the characters just disappear at points and never bringing them back. The writing of the characters was great though, and the way that they spoke was just amazing to read. This book was enjoyable, but I'm glad it was only 220 pages. I feel kind of neutral about it, as I didn't particularly enjoy the whole book, but I also didn't not enjoy it. Some parts I loved, some scenes are some of my absolute favourites from a classic novel, but other parts I just couldn't stand, so therefore I gave it three stars.

I then powered through The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, which was a re-read for me. I read it back in 2013, and I still loved every page of it. Maggie's writing is always amazing and intoxicating, and I love how she manages to string words together and create worlds and characters that are so unique but are also so relatable. The Raven Boys is an amazing book and I have absolutely nothing but the highest praise for it. Her characters are different while still being relatable, her stories are fascinating and heart-grabbing, and her characters' relationships are so beautiful to read about. I loved every second of reading this book, the first time I read it as well as this re-read. I have a full, spoiler free review of The Raven Boys here if you want to read more!

I also powered through The Dream Thieves, which is the second book in The Raven Cycle. I didn't love this one as much as I loved The Raven Boys, mostly because we didn't get as much Gansey as in the first one, but I still completely loved it. Maggie Stiefvater's writing is so beautiful and wonderful and I love it so, so, SO much. Her characters developed so much in this book, and we learned so much about all of them in such a short time. I have a full, spoiler free review up here if you're interested in reading more of my thoughts!

I then read Blue Lily, Lily Blue, the third book in The Raven Cycle. This one was probably my least favourite out of the first three, but it was still easily a five star book. The characters and the plot become darker, we start losing characters, and everything becomes more intense. I cant say too much about this book without having any spoilers, so I'll leave it at that! I also have a spoiler free review here if you want to read more of my thoughts!

I had high hopes going into the next book I read this month, which was The Ghosts of Heaven. I didn't know going into it that it was split into four different parts, of which I enjoyed some but not others. The first quarter of the book I was not a fan of, as it was in more of a poetry style. The second part I enjoyed, and the third even more so. The fourth part I thoroughly enjoyed, and it was what saved the book for me in the end and pushed me through to the end of it. The book was good overall, and I did enjoy it, but I personally feel that I will never re-read it as I don't believe that I would be able to find anything in it to make it worthwhile for me to re-read it.

March 2016 Wrap Up

March wasn't the best month for reading wise or just life wise, because I was so insanely busy the whole month. I didn't get to read as much as I had hoped for, but I was still able to read three pretty good books.


I read:

• ★★★★★      Champion (Legend #3) by Marie Lu
• ★★★☆☆.5   The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
• ★★★★☆      The Dark Days Club by Allison Goodman

The first book I read this month was Champion by Marie Lu, the final book in the Legend trilogy. I absolutely loved Champion, and the entire trilogy. The characters were amazing, the plot was intriguing, and I loved every second of reading it. The ending was really painful though, and it was really saddening to read, but it also was wonderful because it leaves the story in a way that you, the reader, are able to interpret it and create the ending how you want it to be. I highly recommend this entire trilogy!

The next book I read was The Five People You Meet in Heaven. I found the beginning to be a little slow and difficult to get into, and the book was so short so there was a lot of information very early on in the story. Once I got into it though, I began to enjoy it. The stories and the people are all very touching, but they were all very saddening. I was hoping for more of a lighthearted story, but it was heavier than I had anticipated. I enjoyed the book, but I feel that if I had known going into it that it was more sad then lighthearted, I would have enjoyed it a lot more than I did. Overall, it was a good, very well written book.

The last book I read this month was The Dark Days Club by Allison Goodman. I loved her books Eon and Eona, and I was really hoping that I would love this one too, and I wasn't disappointed. I loved the setting and the life that she portrayed in this book. The era was amazing to read about, and I loved how she made it just relatable enough, but still kept it in the 1800s so well. Allison Goodman describes everything in her books so well and so beautifully, that you feel like you are right there in the story. Her characters were amazing, and I loved every second of reading it. I highly, highly recommend it!

February 2016 Wrap Up

I read four books this month, which isn't too bad for me! I didn't get the chance to read my classic for this month though, so that means I'll need to read two next month to make up for it.


I read:

• ★★★★☆     Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid
• ★★★★★     Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
• ★★★★★     Legend by Marie Lu (Legend #1)
• ★★★★.5☆  Champion by Marie Lu (Legend #2)

The first book I read this month was Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid. I read his first book, Let's Get Lost, back in August and I absolutely loved it, so I decided to pick this one up and give it a go! Although I enjoyed Let's Get Lost more than Never Always Sometimes, I still absolutely LOVED this book. It has so many great characters and although they can be extremely frustrating at times, I found that they all had really good reasons for being the people they ended up being throughout and at the end of the book.

I then read Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler, and I was so pleasantly surprised by this book. I was expecting more of an angry telling, or a book that was more depressing then anything else, but it was so much more than that. Yes, the book was depressing at times, which it should be (it's about a high school breakup, of course it's a sob story), but I also found it to be light-hearted, flirty, and funny. There was just enough goofing off, happiness, and friendship in this book that it almost (ALMOST) balanced out the amount of  times that I cried while reading this book. Being through a high school breakup myself, it's easy to see where every character is coming from, and how everyone thinks as each choice is made, and as each action is taken in the story. I loved it!

I then read Legend by Marie Lu, and I have nothing but high praise for this book. I picked it up on a whim one weekend, and I finished it in two sittings. I flew through it; it has just enough funny parts and shocking parts, that every single page you read makes you want another chapter. The whole thing was written so wonderfully, and everything that happened in it was important. Not only that, but every single detail, every single character, had a purpose to the story. There was no extra part that I feel could have been left out, and I don't feel like more could have been added. It was the perfect amount of detail, of characters, of action, for it to feel like a realistic dystopian (which are hard to come by these days). The story was also so different, and so refreshing, that it was wonderful to see how different a dystopian book could be compared to all of the other dystopian books that are currently out. I have fallen out of the dystopian genre over the last couple of years, but I am so glad to have finally found a book that has made me want to get back into it.

I then quickly read Prodigy by Marie Lu, (the second book in the Legend trilogy) and I loved it, but not quite as much as I loved Legend. I really wanted more Day and June, but I understand why we didn't get as much. I also found them to be a tiinnyyy bit annoying at times, and overreact about some things as well as underreact about others. I did enjoy the book though, and I feel like it was a necessary book to have in between the other two, and I am looking forward to reading Champion!

January 2016 Wrap Up

Hello all! This year I really want to read at least 60 books, so that means I need to read at least 5 books a month. I'm SO glad to say that I was able to read, well, 5 books in the month of January!

I read:

• ★★★★.5☆ My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories
• ★★★★☆    Blankets by Craig Thompson
• ★★★★☆    Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
• ★★★.5☆☆ Nothing by Janne Teller
• ★★★★☆    The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

I had started My True Love Gave to Me in 2015, and I finished it the first day of 2016, so it was technically my first read of the year. There were a few short stories in it that I didn't really enjoy, but I loved many more than I wasn't a fan of. The whole book was very winter-y and sweet, and I loved it. I have a full review here if you want to read my thoughts on each individual short story in the book.

I read a graphic novel, Blankets by Craig Thompson, as my second read of the month. The artwork in it was stunning, even though it was in black and white. It was the largest graphic novel that I have ever seen, being longer than 500 pages. I enjoyed the graphic novel, and I found that the characters were very memorable. I liked how the art was drawn, and how every square inch of paper was used, without any extra unneeded space taken or used. I gave the artwork, and the story, four stars each.

The third book I read this month was Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. I picked it up on a whim while on winter break, and I really enjoyed it. It was the first adult dystopian book I have ever read, and the difference between young adult dystopian and adult dystopian astounded me, but in a good way. I loved how the adult genre focusses more on the characters and what they go through then the world and how it got there. Seeing so many different characters' perspectives usually worried me and threw me off the book at the beginning of the story, but once I picked it up and really started reading it, I really enjoyed it. I have a full review here if you want to read more of my thoughts on this book.

The fourth book I read this month was Nothing by Janne Teller. I was really looking forward to this book, and sadly I found myself slightly disappointed by it. I was hoping for a relatively lighthearted book about a group of kids who try to help their friend find the meaning of life, and of everything in it, through things that are important to them. This book did have that, but instead of finding this book to be lighthearted and emotional, I found the children to be slightly disturbed and more concerned about getting back at each other for making them give up their worldly possessions then about their friend. In the synopsis of this book, it sounded like they were going to be very young children, and that their friend who couldn't find meaning in anything was very sad and depressed, but instead they were seventh and eighth graders, and their friend was making fun of them and laughing at them for believing that life has meaning. I honestly found this book to be very dark and heavy, which was nothing like what I was expecting, and I still don't really know if I am super happy or sad about that. I have a full review of Nothing that can be found here if you are interested in reading more of my thoughts on this book.

The fifth and final book I read this month was to start my challenge for myself for this year. I really want to read more classics, so I am trying to read at least one classic book a month, in order to diminish that TBR pile. This month, I ended up reading The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. I absolutely loved the movie adaptation of this book when I was little, so I had very high expectations for it reading it now, and I'm so happy to say that I loved it. I found the book to be very different from the movie, obviously, but I mean that in a good way. I really was able to see the characters in completely new perspectives, and see how they were originally imagined to be. I enjoyed the differences between the movie and the book, and it was a very short, enjoyable read to finish off the first month of the year.

December 2015 Wrap-Up

I read a total of 4 books in December, and am halfway through what will be my first read of 2016, which I'm perfectly okay with, because the holidays are a time for friends and family.


I read:

• ★★★★★ Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
• ★★★★★ Landline by Rainbow Rowell
• ★★★★★ Humans Of New York: Stories by Brandon Stanton
• ★★★★☆ A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

The first book I read this month was Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, and I loved every single page of it. Carry On is the seventh and final installment of the fictional series of Simon and Baz, a story that Rainbow Rowell created for Fangirl, also written by Rainbow. I loved each and every page of this amazing novel, and I just couldn't put it down. I've loved each book I have read by Rainbow Rowell, but I have to say, this one is by far my favourite. The characters were all amazing, and the storyline and setting were extremely well built, not to mention that it wrapped up every single loose end in the book. It was supposed to be a seventh book, but it didn't feel like it, which I am glad for. (Maybe there will be another? Maybe? Probably not...). If you want to hear more on my thoughts of this book, I have a full review up under the review section of my blog!

The second book I read this month, because of how much I loved Carry On, was Landline by Rainbow Rowell. I picked up Landline basically as soon as I had completed Carry On, because I was really in the mood for more Rainbow Rowell. It was probably my least favourite of her books, not that it was a bad book, it was amazing, but I cried so much while I was reading it, I don't know if I will read it again soon. It was such a sad, heart-wrenching book, that it was actually painful to read at times. The story line started off at a very sad spot, and it just kept getting sadder and sadder and harder for me to read as the story progressed, but I managed to finish it, and I absolutely loved it. Now that I know how it ends, I will be reading it again without a doubt, but just probably not anytime soon. I need a real pick me up after this book!

The third book I read this month was a photography book, so it wasn't much reading. I am in love with Brandon Stanton's "Humans of New York" Instagram account, and blog, and his first photography book, Humans of New York, so when I saw the second one on the shelf, I bought it without even thinking twice. It was the same idea as the first one, but with more stories of the people in the photographs, which I absolutely loved. It was an extremely easy to rate, five out of five star book.

On Christmas Day, since I was in the middle of a slight reading slump and since I had just gotten 5 new books for Christmas, I figured I should pick up something small, so I read Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It was a very short, very light read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn't get the chance to watch a version of the movie this Christmas, so reading it, for the first time as well, made it a very enjoyable read.

November 2015 Wrap Up

I read a total of 5 books this month, which isn't too bad in my opinion.


I read:

• ★★★★☆ Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
• ★★★.5☆☆ 100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith
• ★★☆☆☆ The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
• ★★★★.5☆ The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher
• ★★★★★ You Are Here by Chris Hadfield

The first book I read this month was Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Since Carry On came out, I told myself that I NEEDED to read Fangirl this month, and am I glad I did. It was cute, funny, flirty, and real. Being a grade 12 student this year, and since I am going to be going to post-secondary next year, I've found myself really wanting to read more college-based stories. I loved how Fangirl was just enough realism and fiction; how everything lined up perfectly, but not too perfectly. I absolutely loved it, and I highly recommend it! I have a full review under the review section of my blog if you wanted to hear more of my thoughts.

The second book I read this month was 100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith. I really enjoyed the quirkiness of the characters, and I loved how the story was so outlandish and seemingly random, but how in the end everything lined up perfectly and made sense with the things you read about earlier in the story. I wasn't a massive fan of some of the characters, because they seemed so unrealistic to me, but I loved others. Overall, not a bad book, and I will definitely be reading Winger to see how Andrew Smith writing style changes.

I made a goal for myself, that I would read (at least) one classic a month, in order to minimize my classic TBR pile. This month I chose The Catcher in the Rye, and I wasn't a huge fan of it. I found the main character to be a little overwhelming, and I found that a majority of the book was just him complaining. I am glad that I read it though, because a lot of people have read it, and I can finally say that I have had the chance to read it.

The fourth book I read this month was The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher. It was one of my most anticipated books to read this year, and I was not disappointed. I love how Lucy Christopher develops her characters, how she makes us believe one thing to be completely true about a character that we love (or hate) and then at the very end of the book pull a complete 180 on us and make us feel the exact opposite about that same character, only stronger. I loved the storyline, I loved the setting and the description, I loved everything. But the ending I am only about 98% in love with...I have a full review under the review section in my blog, if you would like to read more about my thoughts on this book!

I also read You Are Here by Chris Hadfield, which is a collection of some of his photography of the Earth from when he was on the International Space Station from December 2012 until May 2013. I love photography, and I adore anything to do with space or astronauts, so I figured this would be a good read for me. (Also meeting him on November 24th also helped to make me want to read it even more). I loved all of the photographs in this book, they were all beautifully stunning, and I loved how they were all so unique. He wanted to be able to have a human touch on them, with different parts of the photographs in focus and at a different angle, and I believe he did an amazing job with them. Every single photo in this book is just breath taking. Chris Hadfield also wrote a bit about each and every photograph in this book, explaining where it was taken, what is in the photo, and a little background information about each photograph, which I thoroughly enjoyed. If you like space, or photography, or just cool things in general, I highly recommend this book for you.

October 2015 Wrap-Up

Hey all! So this month, I read a total of...four books. This month was just INSANE for tests and assignments for me, coupled with a horrible, painful reading slump, so not much reading was done.


I read:

• ★★★.5☆☆ The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
• ★★★☆☆ Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• ★★★★☆ Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores by Jen Campbell
• ★★★★☆ Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

The first book I read was The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. It wasn't on my original TBR for the month, but I found it on my shelf and saw the illustrations in it, and I decided to give it a go. I throughoutly enjoyed the beginning of the book, but at one point I had to force myself to get through it since I found some parts were a little repetitive. After a little while though, I was back to really enjoying it and I managed to finish it in one last sitting. I enjoyed the story, but I really liked the characters, and the illustrations were absolutely amazing. I  wish there were more illustrations in the book!

The second book I read was Lord of the Flies by William Golding. I read it for my school book club, and I can see why a lot of people enjoy the book, but I honestly was not a massive fan of it. I personally found the characters to have no development throughout the book, and I found the story very slow, even though it is a very short book. I'm glad to be able to say that I've read it, but I will probably never be reading it again.

The third book I read was Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores. I'd heard of it before, and I found it in my local library to I decided to give it a go. I sat down and read the whole book in about twenty-five minutes, and I enjoyed it. I laughed out loud quite a few times, and I had the same reaction that the booksellers were having in the book. I enjoyed the short, quick read and I recommend it to anyone who works in retail or customer service, whether you like books or not.

I also read Through the Woods the same night I read Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores, and I really enjoyed it. I've never been a massive fan of graphic novels, but the few that I've read this year I really enjoyed. This book was creepy and dark, and a perfect Halloween read. The illustrations were amazing and they told the story perfectly. The book is composed of five short stories, and I really enjoyed all of them. They were easy reads, and the illustrations really helped to tell the stories.

September 2015 Wrap Up

Hey all, it's my favourite time of the month, the end! It's usually more stressful for school, but I absolutely love the feeling of a new start, and I love seeing all the books everyone got, and read, over the course of the month! This month, I read a total of 6 books, which I think is really good considering school started for me this month.

• Say You Will by Eric Walters ★★★.5☆☆
• Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider ★★★★.5☆
• Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo ★★★☆☆
• Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) by Leigh Bardugo ★★★★.5☆
• Siege and Storm (The Grisha #2) by Leigh Bardugo ★★★★☆
• Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo ★★★★★

Say You Will by Eric Walters was a bit of an impulse buy last month, being signed and being an Eric Walters book. I read a lot of his books when I was younger, and I wanted a nice quick contemporary read. Overall, it was a very cute, contemporary read. It is only 192 pages, with a larger font, so I was able to read it in one short sitting. It is known as a young adult book, but it seemed like it was for a younger age group then I had originally anticipated. I just had my prom this past school year, so I was able to connect with a few of the characters due to the stress from prom, but that's as far as I really was able to connect with the characters. It was a very cute read, and I will most likely read it again in the future when I need a pick-me up or if I just want a very short read to get me out of a slump.

I went into Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider with very high hopes, as I had read her other book, The Beginning of Everything, in 2013. And boy, were those high hopes reached. I was able to connect with so many of the characters, and I loved each and every one of them. It was beautifully written, and the plot was so compelling and grabbing, I read it in just two sittings. I have a full review under the review page of my blog, so check that out if you want more information!

I read Love and Other Perishable Items because it had been sitting on my shelf for over a year, and I needed a short book to get me ready for my Shadow and Bone trilogy buddy read with my lovely friend Yeldah (@beautiful.bibliophile on Instagram) It was an alright book, but I expected much more from it. I felt that a lot of the story was being dragged on and that even though it is a short book to begin with, it could have been even shorter in length. I laughed at a few points, and it does have a few good humour aspects to it, but I couldn't really connect with the characters.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo was definitely the best book I have read this month (thus far anyways). It was the first fantasy book I have read in a few weeks, and I have really been missing my fantasy reads.

Shadow and Bone takes place in a very different world, where some people are born with powers and are called Grisha. They are seen by some as saints, and others as witches. The story follows a young Alina, as she discovers that she is actually Grisha, and her massive change in her life and what must happen to her, and what she must do, with her newfound powers. This book was beautifully written, the characters were all witty and lovable, and the world was absolutely to die for. I have a full review up on the review page of my blog if you want more info!

Siege and Storm wasn't quite as good as Shadow and Bone was for me. There was a lot more world building in the first one (which is to be expected when it's the first book in a fantasy trilogy) and I felt like this book was supposed to be a lot more about character development, which I didn't see as much of as I would have liked. Other than that, I loved the twists and turns the characters were forced to deal with, and the writing style was just as beautiful as the first one. Definitely worth reading this series!

I also read the final book in The Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo, Ruin and Rising. And just, wow. This book had me sitting there with it in my hands for the longest time after I had finished reading it. It was the ending I had wanted, plus a lot more that I just loved. There was the right amount of closure, and everything worked out perfectly, in my opinion. I would really really love more about these characters, and I really hope that Leigh Bardugo will write more about them (*hint hint wink wink*) and soon. It was an amazing final book, and I will definitely be re-reading this trilogy many, many more times.

August 2015 Wrap Up

So, August wasn't the best reading month for me, sadly. I spent a lot of my month working, and I started up both my book blog and my bookstagram this month, resulting in a lot of time going towards setting them up and getting them out there instead of reading. I managed to read 4 books this month, and they were all very good!

• We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach ★★★★☆
• Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid ★★★★★
• Distant Waves by Suzanne Weyn ★★★★☆
• Dragonfly In Amber by Diana Gabaldon ★★★★★

I realize that only four books in a month, especially during the summer, isn't a whole lot, but in my defence I worked pretty much the whole month, and Dragonfly In Amber is 947 pages...

I read We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach very quickly at the beginning of the month, because I had taken it out from the library and I needed to finish it. I really liked the idea of it, and how the story was told from multiple point of views, but after awhile it started to become very confusing and I found that a lot of the characters' thoughts were written in a very similar way. I had to keep flipping back to the beginning of the chapter to see who the character was, and I did zone out every once in awhile while I was reading it. It was a very enjoyable read though, and I think that Tommy Wallach did a great job with it.

I quickly picked up Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid right after I finished We All Looked Up, because I was still in the mood for a light, quick contemporary book, and I was not disappointed! Each character was complex and had their own personality, past, and story. I could connect with each and every character from their uniqueness and complexity, whether it was through road tripping, stress from school and the future, loss, or love. The writing style was very cute and light (as it is a contemporary novel) but also very grabbing and full of suspense. It was an amazing story, and I loved every second of it.

Distant Waves by Suzanne Weyn sat on my shelf, untouched, for six years (kind of insane, when I think about it), and I kind of regret not reading it sooner. I read the entire book in about two days, which was pretty easy since it's summer and it's only 330 pages, with a large font. I was expecting more of a historical fiction type of book, with information about the Titanic and the time period, but it had more about magic and ghosts then about the Titanic. I was surprised, and slightly disappointed, but the book was still very good, if maybe for a bit of a younger audience then I expected. Overall though, a very interesting, quick read.

Dragonfly In Amber by Diana Gabaldon is the best book I read in August, and one of the best books I've read this whole year. It was beautifully written, and all of the characters that I had fallen in love with in Outlander made me fall even further in love with them. There is a full review to this book under the review page of my blog, if you want more information!