February Wrap Up!

 

February has been a pretty bad month for me, as far as reading and health goes. I have had tons of college work, so very little time to read and I also caught the flu, so I’ve been super ill and haven’t felt like reading! A nightmare of a month, hopefully, March will be better for me!

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 The first book I read in the month of February is The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton.
I received an e-arc of this from NetGalley, I was fully expecting to love this due to the surrounding hype. It kind of fell flat for me, it was by no means bad, it was enjoyable, it was just good. It’s a decent read but overhyped in my opinion.

Rating: 3/5 Stars

The second book I finished in February is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. First off, damn I loved. I don’t tend to get on with classics, I usually find them boring and tedious. However, I have finally found a classic I can honestly say I loved!
Review for this here.

Rating: 5/5 Stars

And the next book I finished was an audiobook, Shadowblack by Sebastien De Castell.
I listened to the first book Spellslinger in January, loved it and instantly reserved this audiobook at my library. I really enjoyed this, not quite as much as the first (which I gave 5/5 stars) but it was still really enjoyable, I really love the characters. As I said for the first one, the narrator is really good.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

The fourth (and last) book I read in February was The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu.
Review for this here

Rating: 4/5 Stars

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Review: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

‘I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being, with an independent will; which I now exert to leave you.’

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Synopsis:
As an orphan, Jane’s childhood is full of trouble, but her stubborn independence and sense of self-help her to steer through the miseries inflicted by cruel relatives and a brutal school. A position as governess at the Thornfield Hall promises a kind of freedom. But Thornfield is a house full of secrets, its master a passionate, tormented man, and before long Jane faces her greatest struggle in a choice between love and self-respect.

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Plot:
The book is pretty chunky, there are over 600 pages and it did take me a while to read, that being said, I enjoyed every moment of it. Despite it being slow, it wasn’t boring. I had already seen the film version (which I love) and already knew the plot, though there was much more in the book. (The book is better, of course!)
The story takes place throughout Jane’s life, you start off at her tragic childhood, then she’s sent off to boarding school, which isn’t much better. When she gains a position as governess at Thornfield, her life improves greatly. (For a time)
The romance is slow-burning, which I personally like, instant love is so unrealistic to me. I like that Jane takes time to fall in love and it’s actually quite a sad love story, Jane is just really unlucky and every time things look up something ruins it! I know some people don’t like the romance between Jane and Mr Rochester but I really loved it, I don’t see any problems with.

Characters:
Jane: I love Jane! Here are a few reasons why:

• For that period of time, she’s a strong, independent woman.
• She’s sassy!
• Jane is not a beautiful woman, her beauty from the inside definitely shines.
• She chooses pride and self-respect over being with a man.

I really feel for Jane, she’s just so unlucky and she deserves to be happy! I admire Jane for standing up for herself and making her own life choices. I think Jane is a great example of a strong female character. She’s definitely up there with my favourite protagonists.

Mr Rochester: I liked him! He’s snarky, sarcastic and the banter between him and Jane is just everything. Their interaction was by far the best part of the book!

Rating: 5/5 Stars

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Emoji Book Tag!

 

Happy Sunday!
Just a quick tag post today, haven’t done a tag since last year! Been ages, I need to start doing some more tags, they’re really fun to write! I also love to read them.
Let’s get on with the questions/prompts:

😍 Favorite YA Romance: Daughter of Smoke and Bone – Laini Taylor

🥈 Favorite Sequel: A Court of Mist and Fury – Sarah J Maas

😢 A book that made you cry: Me Before You – Jojo Moyes

😃 A book that made you laugh: Spellslinger – Sebastien De Castell

😱 A book that made you scared: I don’t really read horror or anything ‘scary’, so I can’t say I’ve ever been scared whilst reading a book.

😞 A book that made you disappointed: The Night Circus – Erin Morgenstern

🤔 A book that had a major plot twist: Every book in Mistborn! Brandon Sanderson is the King of plot twists!

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Let me know if you do this tag, I’d love to know your answers!

 

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Valentine’s Day: Top 5 Bookish Ships!

Hello! You may or may not have noticed, I missed a post last week. I am currently super ill, I’ve caught flu! I haven’t had any motivation to write since being ill. I also have a ton of college work that needs doing! Half-term is next week (I get a week off), meaning I’ll have a ton of work to catch up on, guess I won’t be having a relaxing week off!

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To celebrate Valentines Day, I thought I would share a few of my favourite ships from books. These are in no particular order, how could I choose between my faves!?

Bluesey
(Blue + Gansey from The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater)

The first ship from this series on this list, I freaking love TRC, it’s so so so good.
Blue and Gansey are just adorable. I love their friendship-turned-relationship.

Elorcan
  (Elide and Lorcan from Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas)

I don’t care about any other ship in this series, apart from this one. I was rooting for Elide and Lorcan from the moment they met. This better be endgame. They deserve happiness!

Karou  + Akiva
(DoSaB – Laini Taylor)

I am loving the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy by Laini Taylor.
I have yet to read the last book, but I’m rooting for Karou and Akiva!

Vin + Elend
(Mistborn – Brandon Sanderson)

How could I not include some Brandon Sanderson characters!
Vin and Elend are so cute together! I love their relationship, they’re great together and I’m still so sad about the ending.

( Feyre and Rhysand from ACOTAR)

Feyre is one lucky girl. Rhys is so swoon-worthy. These two are such a power couple, their relationship is so sweet. I love the banter between them (and the other characters). I cannot wait to see more of them in ACOFAS!

* Credit to each of the artists for all the pictures. None belong to me*

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5 Book Series I Want To Start In 2018

 

 

I am so behind on book series and trilogies, there are so many I need to pick up.
Here are just a few that I need to get to ASAP!
These are in no particular order, though Magnus Chase is a more high priority as I love Rick Riordan and I actually own it!

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The Broken Earth by N.K. Jemisin

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

 

Firebird by Claudia Gray

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

Magnus Chase and The Gods of Asgard by Rick Riordan

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Let me know if you have read any of these and what you think! Also, comment any series you want to read, I’d love to know!

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Collective Book Haul! (Charity Shop, Secondhand + Discounted)

Hello, fellow book nerds!
Thought I’d do a bit of a different post, I’ve never done a haul before but love seeing them! I don’t tend to buy books in bulk, I used buy them as I read them, but since joining the online book community (Instagram, Twitter and Goodreads) I have been buying books like no other! Recently I decided I was going to limit how many books I was buying, as I don’t want a huge TBR pile taking up room on my shelves.

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Hardbacks:
Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor – I got this second hand from MusicMagpie (Really good prices on secondhand books and free delivery!) – This was in decent condition, the dust jacket was good, inside there was some discolouration and splotches, but still readable.

The Force Awakens Novelisation – I also got this second hand from MusicMagpie – This was in really good condition, looks practically brand new!

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry – I found this in a local charity shop for £1! In really good condition and a great bargain, can’t go wrong!

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard The Sword of Summer –  This is the only new book I’ve bought for myself recently. This US hardback I found online at The Works super cheap! I prefer the US editions of the Magnus Chase serious, so I was seriously excited when I saw this. What I didn’t realise was that US hardbacks are apparently smaller than UK ones! Hopefully, I will be able to get the other books in the US hardback too so they can match!

Paperbacks:
The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson – Found this in a charity shop for 75p! I already own and have read this book, but I had previously bought it second-hand online and it was in large print, it didn’t match my other Sanderson books, it was too big! So now I have this regular sized edition and it fits next to all my other Sanderson books!

Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence – Got this online at World of Books, highly recommend this site for second-hand books! This book came and I don’t believe it had ever been read before, it was in perfect condition and the spine had no bends or cracks in it. They have good quality and cheap prices, delivery is free in the UK and I believe they ship internationally (although I don’t know if shipping is expensive).

I also post unboxing’s and mini book hauls on my Instagram story, so be sure to follow me on there!

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January Wrap-Up!

Happy February 1st!
How fast has this month gone! Can’t believe January is over already. Crazy!
I’ve had a pretty alright reading month, considering I’ve been pretty busy with college assignments. The upcoming months will probably be poor reading months, due to college being super busy. I finish in May/June and don’t start University until September, so I’ll get to fit a lot of reading in over the summer! (Hopefully)

I managed six books in January. Some good reads and some pretty bad reads:

 

 

Days of Blood and Starlight – Laini Taylor
Rating: 5/5 stars
I started off the year with an amazing book! I loved every moment of this book, I maybe even enjoyed it more than the first one!? I am enjoying this series so much, I cannot wait to pick the last book. I really hope it ends well!

 

The Foxhole Court – Nora Sakavic
Rating: 2/5
This is where things started to go downhill…
This book was a quick read for me, but it was so dull. I was bored through all of it, I didn’t like any of the characters and the writing was poor! I picked this up due to a lot of people comparing it with The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. All I can say is: HOW DARE THEY! The Raven Cycle is an absolute masterpiece. To compare Maggie Stiefvater’s beautiful writing with this trash is frankly insulting.
I won’t be continuing this series.

 

King’s Cage – Victoria Aveyard
Rating: 3/5
This is a 2-star read, but I gave an extra star because Maven.
I have a mini review/rant on my Goodreads if you’re interested, it’s here.

 

To Kill A Kingdom – Alexandra Christo
Rating: 3.75 Stars
I have a full review post on this, if you’re interested in my full in-depth thoughts you can read my post here.

 

Spellslinger – Sebastien De Castell
Rating: 5/5
My audiobook of the month!
I loved this audiobook, it was so so so good.
I have a full review on this, check it out here.
I cannot wait to continue this series!

Prince of Thorns – Mark Lawrence
Rating:2/5
Probably the most disappointing read this month. I really expected to like this, I love a good anti-hero. This book was completely dire. It took me 10 days to read it, as I had no desire to keep on reading, it was boring.
A full review will be up for this soon, I’ll link it once it’s up.

So that’s all the books I read in January. Not a great start to the year, to be honest.
I really enjoyed Days of Blood and Starlight, To Kill A Kingdom and Spellslinger. The rest were disappointing. Maybe I should stop reading hyped books, or lower my expectations!

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