Books Read in 2017

In 2017 I failed at many, many things and that includes both blogging and my reading challenge. Last year went so well that I decided to up to my target to 65 instead of the regular 50. Clearly that was a mistake as I only managed 53/65. I ain't mad tho'. 2017 has been horrendous for a multitude of reasons, some of which I have elaborated on in the previous post. However, i'm trying not to dwell on that and looking forward to whatever 2018 brings. Here's my mostly annual list of the books I read over the last year. 

1.  The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily - Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
2. Talking As Fast As I Can - Lauren Graham
3. All I Know Now - Carrie Hope Fletcher
4. The Queen of Zombie Hearts - Gena Showalter
5. The Adventures of Supergirl - Sterling Gates
6. Forever Geek - Holly Smale
7. Gwenpool - Christopher Hastings
8. Demon Hunters: Trinity - Olivia Chase
9. Happy Mum, Happy Baby - Giovanna Fletcher
10. Incomplete Shakespeare: Macbeth - John Crace
11. City of Heavenly Fire - Cassandra Clare
12. Alice In The Country of Hearts - QuinRose
13. See How They Lie - Sue Wallman
14. Mark of Athena - Rick Riordan
15. Pushing Perfect - Michelle Falkoff
16. Alex Approximately - Jenn Bennett
17. Girlhood - Cat Clarke
18. Cinder & Ella - Kelly Oram
19. On The Other Side - Carrie Hope Fletcher
20. Highly Illogical Behavior - John Corey Whaley
21. Reasons To Stay Alive - Matt Haig
22. Cinder & Ella: Happily Ever After - Kelly Oram
23. A Seven Letter Word - Kim Slater
24. Tyranny - Lesley Fairfield
25. Beginners Guide To Astronomy - Patrick Moore
26. Supergirl: Girl of Steel - Jeph Loeb
27. Glass Houses - Rachel Caine (re-read)
28.  The Dead Girls Dance - Rachel Caine (re-read)
29. Midnight Alley - Rachel Caine (re-read)
30. Noah Can't Even - Simon James Green
31.  Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher (re-read)
32. Feast of Fools - Rachel Caine (re-read)
33. Illuminae - Kaufman & Kristoff
34. Lord of Misrule - Rachel Caine (re-read)
35. One Of Us Is Lying - Karen M McManus
36. Preludes & Nocturnes (Sandman) - Neil Gaiman
37. The One Memory of Flora Banks - Emily Barr
38. Almost Adulting - Arden Rose
39. Faceless - Alyssa Shienmel
40. Carpe Corpus - Rachel Caine (re-read)
41. Girl, Missing - Sophie Mckenzie
42. Fade Out - Rachel Caine (re-read)
43. All The Bright Places - Jennifer Niven
44. Who Runs The World - Virginia Bergin
45. Turtles All The Way Down - John Green
46. The Silver Mask - Black & Clare
47. Ill Wind - Rachel Caine
48. Some Kind of Wonderful - Giovanna Fletcher
49. Scott Pilgrim Vol 1 - Bryan O'Malley (re-read)
50. Locke & Key Vol 1 - Joe Hill
51. Locke & Key Vol 2 - Joe Hill
52. It Only Happens In The Movies - Holly Bourne
53. We Should All Be Feminists - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Book Haul | January (plus Feb update)

Books I Got in......January!

Ok ok, it looks WAY worse than it actually is *hides behind a pillow*. Three of these were kindle deals and at 99p I kinda HAD to....right? The first Magnus Chase book was a literally NEED. I've been wanting these books forever but in hardback. A little note for you: Rick Riordan books are the *only* books I ever *need* in hardback. They're so beautiful. For a long ass time we could only find it in paperback but on this particular day, Amazon had 1 left in stock for £8 and so my boyfriend got it for me. Couldn't say no to the 2nd for only £5. That leaves Supergirl, and well, I don't need an excuse =p Supergirl is my life right now.

Magnus Chase and The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

Magnus Chase and The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan

Supergirl Vol. 1: The Last Daughter of Krypton

Twenty-Eight and A Half Wishes by Denise Grover Swank

The Underground Storyteller by Alex Day

This Savage Song by V.E.Schwab

Thought i'd use this chance to do a little bit of a Feb update whilst I have chance.
I'm slowly working my way through 3 books at the moment (Birdy Flynn, The Mark of Athena and City of Heavenly Fire) which is pretty good for me. Birdy Flynn is a proof that I need to get done soon, Athena is on my 2017 book guilt list and CoHF....I think i've left it long enough to just get that series finished. I'm feeling pretty good reading wise! However, there are a few things coming my way this month so we'll see what happens. I'm looking at you, Melinda Salisbury ;)

Review // The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily - Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Published - 6th October 2016
Publisher - Electric Monkey
Format - Paperback
Synopsis - Dash and Lily have been dating for nearly a year, but when Lily’s beloved grandfather falls ill, the repercussions take their toll on everyone. Even though they are still together, somehow the magic has gone out of their relationship and it’s clear that Lily has fallen out of love with life. Action must be taken! Dash teams up with Lily’s brother and a host of their friends, who have just twelve days to get Lily’s groove back in time for Christmas. 

I have been raving about Dash & Lily since I first read it in 2012. It seems incredible to me that it was 5 years ago already! My love for Cohn & Levithan began with Nick and Norah and I've been following throughout their entire co-writing career. This second instalment was off my radar for a long time, too long really and it was by chance that I saw it pop up on my Goodreads newsfeed. I'm also incredibly lucky that my wonderful bookish best friend Holly, picked me up a signed copy from her trip to London. She is so thoughtful and honestly, it was one of the most heartfelt Christmas presents I received. Is there anything better than your friends not only knowing, but really getting how much you love a book/character. So where do I begin? It's pretty hard.

As I said, it's been 5 years since I read Book of Dares and it's been a a fair few since i've had a re-read. I was a bit concerned that I wouldn't get the most out of it without re-reading the first book but I was too desperate to read it to wait.

I needn't have worried at all. Right from the first page, my love for the characters, their bond and the world Cohn & Levithan created for them came rushing back to me and my heart swelled. I hadn't realised just how much I had missed them. As it was a Christmas present, it was still pretty festive when I read it and the Christmassy vibes were gorgeous and definitely helped extend the festive period over new year. My heart was pulled a million ways as Lily lost her sense of self, and Christmas but that's what really makes these books for me, the way that they pull together and are strongest in their hardest times.

I LOVED seeing the families behind Dash & Lily and getting a lot of interaction. Lily's brother was everything you want in a brother, and was just an all around loveable character. Boomer, (oh Boomer...) lit up the page and my heart with his adorableness and tree-loving ways. I honestly just can't get enough of him. 

Aside from just how much I love the characters, it was so nice to see them growing up (both literally and mentally) and taking on adult responsibilities. I myself have grown a lot since I last met with Dash & Lily so it was only fair that they did too. Their isn't much of a time gap between Book of Dares and Twelve Days of Christmas, but it was enough to really understand that sense of change. This book definitely reminded me to slow down and to enjoy life, and especially appreciate and nurture the love in my life (and not just romantically!)

Reading Cohn & Levithan's books has always been a genuine pleasure and i'm forever grateful that just for a brief moment, Dash & Lily forced their way back to me, and I welcomed them with open arms. Not that i'm greedy or anything but if we could get an update on Nick and Norah... ;)

Books I Got For Christmas

My first official post of 2017! Let's just ignore the fact that it's the end of January already. It's absolutely flown by! I've got a fair few catch up posts to make and so I thought i'd start with this one because lists of books get me excited! There are 2 categories for this one, books I got as gifts and books I got with vouchers. I've got a steaming cuo of tea and Netflix in the background so let's get straight to it then!

Books I Got As Gifts

The Christmassaurus by Tom Fletcher
I don't think i've ever met anyone that didn't love Tom Fletcher and his brand new Christmassy dinosaur book was literally all i'd wanted for Christmas. I've already finished it and it was beautifully charming and I can 100% see myself reading it annually for a little Christmas treat. Though obviously aimed at children, there's just something magical about it that adults will also love. It's a gorgeous hardback and full of beautiful illustrations.

Billy & Me by Giovanna Fletcher
You might be sensing a bit of theme now.. I started watching Gi's videos when she joined in with the Dear Carrie/Dear Tom series and I just LOVE her. My boyfriend wont be impressed with me saying this, but we watch Tom, Gi and Carrie''s videos together and it's become a bit of a thing. This beautiful hardback edition of Billy & Me was a complete surprise. I haven't read any of her books yet but i'm truly looking forward to it.

On The Other Side by Carrie Hope Fletcher
....A complete Fletcher Christmas. Another gorgeous hardback from my boyfriend and the cover is to die for. From what I know about the story i'm going to fall in love and probably even shed a few tears in the process (i'm a crier!). Excited to get stuck into this one.

Scott Pilgrim Vol 3 & Scott Pilgrim Vol 4
I'm talking the regular graphic novels. I adore the Scott Pilgrim movie and immediately bought the first 2 books in the series all those years ago. Sadly I couldn't find the others in the local comic store and they got pushed to the back of my mind. I'm not sure how Alex remembered I wanted these books as it was long before we started dating but he did, and now my love is reignited and I want to finish the series at long last.

Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them - The Screenplay
I completely ADORED the movie. I don't know how it escaped my knowledge that they had released the screenplay as a book but mum came through! The book itself is stunning. A deep blue with gold lettering. I haven't had chance to look at it any closer but I forsee a wonderful day of re-living the film with hot chocolates and popcorn in the near future.

The Illustrated Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets by J.K.Rowling
There are no words to describe how magical it is to still receive Harry Potter books for Christmas. Though it's not necessarily a book that I would pick up and read (it's damn heavy!), the illustrations are perfect and I love flicking through and getting a real sense of everything.

The Complete Shakespeare Stories by Matthews & Ross
So, if you know me then you know I love Shakespeare and anything remotely Shakespeare-y. I own the complete collection multiple times so i'm thrilled to have another set! These ones are written for children and so are basic story lines and it's exciting to just HAVE them! They will definitely get used a lot as memory refreshers and in the future if there are ever any mini readers in my life.

Next bit...! This is just a quick list as a lot of them were just impulse-in-the-sales buys but i'm excited nonetheless.

Books I Got With Vouchers

Mind Games (Demon Trappers) by Jana Oliver
Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig
Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven
If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo
Disney's Fairest Of Them All
Disney's The Beast Within
Disney's Once Upon A Dream

So a pretty big haul! I'm really happy to start the year with a LOT of new reading material that is hopefully going to boost me to read a lot more in 2017....or at least with more regularity :) Happy new year guys! Let me know if you've read any of them and what you thought!