Read All The Books

I read so many books in 2018 so it was very hard to narrow down the best ones but I managed to pick my favourite 12. These books didn't all come out in 2018 but I did read them in 2018. They aren't all 5 star reads but they are ones that stuck with me. They also aren't in order. 1. Anne of Green Gables - Ann M Montgomery What an adorable book this. It follows Anne and her misadventure in Green Gables. You'll laugh, you'll cry. It truly is fantastic! 2. The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern 3. A Court of Mist and Fury - Sarah J Maas I have no words for this book and this series in general. I highly recommend it! 4. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafron This follows a young boy who finds a copy of a book in a library of forgotten books and his quest in tracking down the authors other novels only to find that his life and family are in danger. 5. The Hating Game - Sally Thorne I love this book with all my heart. It shows what a fine there is between ...

BookRoast on Youtube is back again with another magical readathon, a Christmas edition this time so naturally I had to participate in this one.  You can find the link to her video explaining the readathon rules here . It runs from the 17th of December until the 26th December and there are a bunch of challenges that you can choose from but ultimately you only really need to read 4 books and finish a book that you have already started. I will list the challenges I have decided to follow as well as the books I have chosen for them. 1. Finish your coursework. (finish your current read) I am currently reading Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare but I have only just started so hopefully I can get through it quickly as it is a really long book. Over 900 pages! 2. Have a snowball fight with the Weasley twins (a book that you think will be humourous) I decided on I believe in a thing called love by Maurene Goo as it is about a Korean American girl who uses K-Drama techn...

1. Name a book that you said thank you, next to. I don't remember a book that I have DNFd. There has definitely been one or two but I can't remember any titles. 2. Name a book that taught you love. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. We are all outsiders at some point. You should treat people nicely. 3. Name a book that taught you patience. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. The man sure knows how to add unnecessary words. The abridged version is better than the unabridged. 4. Name a book that taught you pain. Ulysses by James Joyce. Punctuation man! Punctuation!! The sentences run on and on and on and on and on..... 5. Name a book that you loved at the time of reading but in hindsight you don't anymore. The Famous Five by Enid Blyton series. Loved this as a child. Rereading as an adult is definitely not the same as reading it as a child. 6. Name a book that you're currently talking to. ie have the hots for. The book I currently have the hots fo...

29 Dates follows Jisu, a young South Korean girl as she navigates a new high school in a different country after her parents find her struggling to cope at her very competitive high school in Seoul and send her off to America.  Living with a host family, Jisu has a hard time juggling school and new friends as well as going on blind dates that her mother's match maker sends her on. I really enjoyed this book. I liked Jisu and how she always had an open mind when going on her blind dates even though she didn't want to be there. I liked that she stood up for herself and always spoke her mind when it was called for. I really felt for her when she felt the constant pressure from her parents to do well and how she felt that she really didn't know what she wanted to do or be after high school. I feel that is relevant to most young people and although this novel is aimed at someone younger than me, I still felt a connection to the character and the story. I found mysel...

1. Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish? There aren't any books that I need to finish by the end of the year except for the last book that I will be reading. 2. Do you have an autumnal book to transition into the end of the year? I'm going to follow last years thinking with this question and pick a summer book since spring is almost over here and pick I believe in a thing called love by Maurene Goo because the book cover gives me summer vibes. 3. Is there any new release that you are waiting for? Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare. Been waiting since last year. 4. What are 3 books you want to read before the end of the year? I want to read Runaways Vol 1 by Rainbow Rowell, Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare and Ladies Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzie Lee 5. Is there a book that could still shock you that could become your favourite of the year? I don't think anything will beat Legendary by Stephanie Garbe...

Strange the Dreamer follows Lazlo Strange, a librarian who has been obsessed with the lost land of Weep since he can remember.  He is a dreamer who is always lost in his own thoughts or in a book until one day a Godslayer comes to town with a league of warriors and he soon embarks on a journey of a lifetime. This book reads like a dream. No kidding. You will find yourself transported to the mythical town of Weep and in the dreams and nightmares of its people when you open this book. Lazlo is truly a wonderful character. A dreamer, a believer and a hero. His sense of wonder, intrigue and his beautiful dreams will have you believing that anything is possible. Sarai is an absolute angel. The way she sees the world and her hope for a united people will give you hope for humanity. 'And that's how you go on. You lay laughter over the dark parts. The more dark parts, the more you have to laugh. With defiance, with abandon, with hysteria, any way you can' The wri...

What an adorable novel this was! Darcy's twin brother Jamie hires their childhood friend Tom to renovate their grandmother's cottage so they can sell it for a profit. Darcy has had a crush on Tom since they they were 8 but Tom and Jamie have been best friends and Tom's loyalty is 99% Jamie's. Tom shows up one night, newly single and every bit as perfect as Darcy remembers him being. Sparks fly as the renovations begin and Darcy is determined to make Tom 99% hers. Sally Thorne is amazing! She has a way of writing characters that you can't help but like and really feel for.  Darcy is not someone I started off liking. She came across as annoying and bitchy but the more I read the more I loved her and realised she has a heart of gold. Any one who stays up all night sewing underwear for their friend is someone you want to have in your life. Tom reminded me of an overgrown golden retriever puppy. He was just so adorably good! The guy just doesn't have flaw...

A study in Charlotte follows Jamie Watson, descendent of Dr Watson from Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes series as he starts at Sherringford, a prep school in Connecticut where he meets the infamous Charlotte Holmes, great-great-great granddaughter of Sherlock Holmes. Jamie has been dreaming of meeting Charlotte since he was young as he grew up reading the stories but Charlotte wants nothing to do with him and it looks like the pair will be nothing but rivals until a student is murdered and the pair of them are the only suspects. Working together they must clear their names and find who the killer is before anyone else gets hurt. I admit I haven't read all the Sherlock Holmes books but I have read a few and must say that I definitely enjoyed this series a lot! They combine the mystery Arthur Conan Doyle's stories with a modern twist. The novel is told through the point of view of Jamie, much like the original series being told through Dr Watson. Jamie is...

This is the first novel in a series of 4 and I believe also Kerri Maniscalco's debut novel. It follows Audrey Rose Wadsworth in 1988 and her fascination with forensic medicine.  The novel opens with 17 year old Audrey helping her uncle do an autopsy, and boy does the author paint a gruesome picture. That is only the beginning of this creepy thriller but it will definitely have you hooked after the first few lines. While this is set in 1988 and society's standards for women are definitely not helping your uncle sew up a cadaver, I found this book to be a nice blend of historical fiction and modern day feminism. Audrey fights for what she believes in while also (mostly) being a proper lord's daughter. After a string of killings in London, Audrey and another of her uncle's students, Thomas Cresswell, (more on him later) are on the hunt for the infamous Jack the Ripper. With so many twists and turns and amazingly gruesome period photos, you will definitely be ...

Although I didn't manage to get through all the books in my Charms Extra Credit TBR, I did manage to get through 4 of them so I am very happy that I will now have 4 extra days for Charms during next year's O.W.L.S readathon. I managed to read, The Book Thief by Marcus Zuzak, Pants on Fire by Meg Cabot, Heist Society by Ally Carter and Nevernight by Jay Kristoff which completed the accio, incendio, rictusempra and lumos charms. I am very happy with how this readathon worked out. I did not do well in the Spookathon however, in fact I failed miserably. I only managed to get through 2 books. The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes and Killing Time by Linda Howard which only completed 2 of the challenges. Perhaps doing 2 readathons back to back was not the best idea. I will definitely be giving the Spookathon another go next year and hopefully I will do much better.

I have decided to give the Spookathon a go this year as I have been having a lot of fun doing readathons lately so here is my TBR and the Spookathon challenges: 1. Read a Thriller: The Naturals - Jennifer Lynne Barnes 2. Read a book with Purple on the cover: Foolish Hearts - Emma Mills 3. Read a book not set in current time period: Anne of Avonlea - L M Montgomery 4. Read a book with a spooky word in the title: Killing Time - Linda Howard 5. Read a book with pictures: Hollow City - Ransom Riggs This readathon is hosted by Bookandlala on Youtube and goes through October 15 til October 21st. 

So I have decided to compete in a couple of readathons for October and the first one is the Charms Extra Credit Magical Readathon. Next years O.W.L.S readathon isn't until April so there is another mini readathon in preparation for it hosted once again by the lovely Book Roast on YouTube. I will link her video announcing the readathon here . Basically the extra credit readathon is for Charms class and there are 5 areas that you can sit for. Alohomora, Accio, Incendio, Ricutusempra and Lumos. Each spell that you complete adds an extra day for the O.W.L.S 2019 readathon. If you complete 1 spell then next year during the O.W.L.S you start your Charms readathon a day earlier. If you complete all 5 then you start 5 days earlier. The readathon goes from the 8th until the 14th of October. One week in which to read 5 books.  I have decided to attempt all 5 and see how I go. Here is my TBR: Alohomora - Read a book that is first in a series: Stalking Jack the Ripper - Kerri Mani...

This novel is described as the Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars and that is exactly what you get! 5 students go into detention and only 4 come out alive. This book will have you guessing from the first chapter, right up until the mystery is solved. I'm usually fairly good at picking up on who the culprit is but I did not see this one coming. It is told through the perspective of the four suspects, so you get to see inside the minds of all of them and you also slowly get to learn all their secrets which messes with your mind.  Just when you have ruled out someone, a secret gets revealed and you start to second guess yourself which adds to the mystery and the fun of this story. The writing style is easy to read and the story had me saying just one more chapter as I continued to read into the night.   This was definitely a fun read with a twist I didn't see coming and I will definitely be picking up more books from this author in the future!

So this was my first time reading a novel by either Becky Albertalli or Adam Silvera, I know, I know what have I been doing with my life!! I am pleased to say that now I absolutely love them and this novel!! This novel is about Ben and Arthur and let me tell you, they are the epitome of cute! I loved their relationship. I loved their meet-cute and their many first dates. I loved them as a couple. I loved them as individuals. Honestly I just loved everything about them! I was rooting for them in the first few pages and was very anxious to see where the story would go. Although it wasn't the ending I was expecting, I was happy with the way things turned out. Arthur is the smolest (smol is a word ok) little bean that needs to be protected at all costs and half the time I just wanted to reach into the story and just give him a hug. Ben's struggle with his identity and financial status were extremely relateable and honestly just made his character that much more rea...

Love and War continues shortly after the first book Alex and Eliza .  Alex and Eliza newlyweds struggling to make ends meet. Eliza is dreaming of the day they can move out of her family home and start a family of their own and Alex is ready to go to end the war and make something of himself. While I enjoyed this book, it wasn't nearly as goof as the first and knowing that there will be a third and final book now, I believe that majority of this book could have been condensed and just added to the final book. I feel this series would have been better as a duology. That's just my feeling having read the second book, it might change once I have read the final book, but for now I feel like this book was mostly filler that could have been condensed. While the storyline dragged, I loved the characters as much as I did in book one. They still give me all the feels and although I am not married, I feel this book definitely portrayed a newlywed couple perfectly. Not...

Where do I even begin with this review. I loved this book! LOVED!! I didn't think I could love this book more than Caraval  but here we are. Legendary picks up right where Caraval ended only this time it follows, Tella, Scarlet's sister as she attempts to play Caraval in order to find the identity of Legend.  Tella has made a deal with a 'friend' to get her mother back in exchange for Ledend's real name so we are thrown back into the game of Caraval only this time it might be real and not just a game. Wow was this book a ride and a half! Stephanie Garber's writing is truly magical. I don't even know how to describe it, it's truly beautiful and unlike anything else I have read. I listened to the audiobook for this one as I absolutely loved Rebecca Soler's reading of Caraval so I decided to continue on with this series by listening to the audiobooks. Will I be picking up the book and physically reading it? You know it! I can't get ...

Wow what a month it has been! I have never participated in a readathon before so I wasn't sure what to expect but man was this readathon intense! Not sure if all readathons are like this or if it was just that my TBR for it was so BIG!!! 36 books in total! I definitely didn't get to all of them but I did manage to read 30 books!!! I managed to finish with 7 outstandings, 4 exceeds expectations and 1 acceptable. Now I'll break it down so you can see which books I finished for which class, my scores for each class and my star rating for the books: Ancient Runes - OUTSTANDING Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro **** All the little Pieces - Jilliane Hoffman **** Against Nature - Joris Karl Huysmans *** Arithmancy - OUTSTANDING   Top 10 - Katie Cotugno *** Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy - Ally Carter **** Fractured Jewell - Brenda Hiatt **** Astronomy - EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS Starbound - Brenda Hiatt **** The Sky is Everywhere - Jandy Nelson *** Car...

So I have decided to take part in the O.W.L.S and N.E.W.T.S magical readathon hosted by Book Roast on Youtube. The readathons were inspired by the Harry Potter exams. You can watch her videos explaining both readathons here: O.W.L.S.  N.E.W.T.S  as she does a much better job then I ever could.  I completed all my O.W.L.S in July so here is my wrap-up: Ancient Runes - The Pharoah Key - Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child (read a book with a symbol on the cover) Arithmancy - The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid (number of cover on the title) Astronomy - Starcrossed - Brenda Hiatt (read a sci-fi) Care of Magical Creatures - The Wishing Spell - Chris Colfer (book with a magical creature) Charms - My Plain Jane - Cynthia Hand, Jodie Meadows and Brodi Ashton (read a fantasy) Defence Against the Dark Arts - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs (read  a book with a secret society) Divination - A World without Princ...

Book 2 in the Lady Janies series is a Jane Eyre retelling and is truly wonderful! I thought I loved the first book in the series My Lady Jane  but I think I love this one even more! My Plain Jane follows the life of Jane Eyre and her friend Charlotte Bronte (I know right, it couldn't get any better!) Just like the first book, this book is funny and weird and all kinds of amazing! It also has a surprising modern feel for a book set in the Victorian era just like the last one. If you like Jane Eyre, you will love this book. Think Jane Eyre meets Ghostbusters with a tiny hint of Harry Potter (conveniently located on page 394), Lord of the Rings and the Princess Bride!  Run, don't walk to get you hands on this book!

How Do You Like Me Now? is the first adult fiction novel by Holly Bourne. I have previously read her Spinster Club series and I loved them so I couldn't wait to see what she came up with. This novel follows Tori Bailey, a 30 something year old best-selling author who wrote a self'-help novel when she was in her 20s. Her life seems perfect. A gorgeous boyfriend, a wonderful career, the perfect best friend and thousands of online followers. What more could you want out of life?! However, you shouldn't believe everything you see online. Her seemingly perfect boyfriend won't even discuss the topic of marriage or children, she hasn't written anything since her first novel and has no ideas for a second, her best friend has just fallen in love and is too busy to spend time with her and to top it all off her social media page is all lies! This novel shows the struggles of navigating your 30s. When all your friends are moving forward with their lives, getting ma...

This is the stunning conclusion in Eleanor Herman's epic tale of the balance of fate and free will. I loved this series and in particular I loved this book the most! Eleanor Herman does a fantastic job of blending fiction and facts with a sprinkling of fantasy. Not only does she make you feel for all he characters but you can actually see her version as being the true reality of how things might have been.  This last novel focuses on our gang of heroes' final battle against the spirit eaters. All questions are answered and you will honestly be turning the pages to see how things will end and more importantly where she will end the story of Alexander. I will truly miss this world and wish there was more to read. I will definitely be revisiting this world in the future and can see myself loving the books just a little more with each re-read. This is series was everything I could have wanted in an Alexander the Great retelling and more. I highly recommend it and w...

Reign of Serpents has quite possibly been my least favourite in the series so far. It was incredibly slow moving and definitely not enough of Hephaestion for my liking but not a bad book. We are introduced to a couple of new characters this book and I have to admit I really enjoy the character of Pythia and would love to see a set of novels following her as she seems like an interesting character. I really enjoyed seeing how the prophecy from book 2 would play out and I have to admit some things I saw coming and others were a fun twist I did not see coming. Nothing is really resolved in this novel but I did enjoy how this book ended as it wasn't as big a cliffhanger as the last one. Will the last and final book answer all the questions? Will Heph and Alex finally realise their love for one another? Will Kat and Jacob reunite? Will Cynane finally get the recognition she deserves? Will Zofia finally get her happy every after? Who knows? I can't wait to pick up the ...

Save the Date has been one of my most anticipated releases of 2018 so I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. It follows Charlie, the youngest member of the Grant family looking forward to one perfect weekend with her siblings before her family house is sold and things change forever. Her older sister is getting married and everyone is back at home to help with the preparations but things don't go as planned. Anything that could possibly go wrong does and then some. I'm sad to say that this is my least favourite of Morgan Matson's books. It's not bad, however I just feel that this would have been better as a movie. I didn't find it funny how so many things kept going wrong with the wedding, it felt kinda chaotic and honestly I was just annoyed by the end of it. However I feel that this would have worked on the big screen. This would have been really funny to watch, however it just didn't work in book form for me. What I did really love about this b...

You can read my review for book one here . Book two finds our group of heroes/Gods right where we left them. Pretty boy Hephastion has been cast aside by Alexander and sent off with Katerina on a dangerous mission to Egypt.  Alexander struggles with becoming the leader he wants to be and the leader his country needs.  Jacob trying to forget Katerina is hell bent on being the best Assyrian lord he can be trying to help his brothers get rid of the blood magics. Cynane being held captive and tortured by the Assyrian lords must find a way to stay alive and escape and poor Princess Zofia trying to find a way to escape Ochus to get to the spirit eaters so that she can change her fate. Will she ever get away. Will they discover the legendary Pegasus? Who knows. I do because I read the book and so should you! Eleanor Herman does a wonderful job of describing the landscape that you feel like you are right there on the Nile with Heph and Katarina.  Poor Heph const...

So when I saw that an Emery Lord book was on NetGalley I immediately requested it not thinking twice. I love her books! Plus the premise sounded like something similar I had read before and loved. A few chapters in and I realised, I had read this book before! No wonder it had sounded so familiar however, I had read this book 4 years ago when it was published. Not sure why it is getting published in Australia 4 years later and in the winter no less but who am I to judge on what publishers are doing. I am here just to share my opinions on the book and that is exactly what I will be doing. This is the story of Taylor Swift going on tour with her best friend. Just kidding! Honestly though it is how I imagine Taylor Swift's tours would be like.  Country singer Lilah Montgomery is about to go on tour for the summer. Her best friend Reagan has just broken up with her good for nothing boyfriend and decides the best way to get over a broken heart is to head off on tour with her b...

Happy Glass is a lover of all things French! She dreams of the day when she can go to Paris and experience the magic it has to offer.  Happy has no plans for her school break. She has no friends since moving to Brisbane. Her best friend Rosie lives in Sydney and isn't around for her like she used to be. Having just won a french essay writing competition she decides to use her earnings to get a french tattoo. That would hopefully get Rosie's attention but at the tattoo parlour she meets Alex, a sexy french tourism intern. Soon after she meets girl Alex, a gardener for Professor Tanaka and they both recruit her to help them find the cure for Paris Syndrome, a syndrome they both fear that she has.  Happy does not believe she has Paris Syndrome but offers to help as she uses looking for a cure to spend time with boy Alex. To save from confusing the Alex's she names them Alex One (boy) and Alex Two (girl).  After kissing boy and girl Alex she is soon confused abou...

I have always found Alexander the Great fascinating and was excited to read a book centering around his teenage years, right before he went off to conquer the world and that is exactly what this is! This novel is historical fiction with a bit of fantasy sprinkled in. While it doesn't follow true to history as it is obviously fiction, I really enjoyed where I think Eleanor Herman is going with the story plus all the little bits of truth that are in there. She is definitely a master storyteller and paints a realistic setting with characters that are interesting and lovable. She has a way of painting the characters that makes you want to keep turning the pages to find out what happens to them next. You definitely feel for and also what the characters are feeling. Alexander's frustrations at being treated like a child, Hephastion's anger and hurt, Jacob's love for Katerina and even Cynane's rage at being treated like a nobody. She has a way of pulling you...

  This novel opens in 1944, Molly Meade trying to cheer up her friends with ice cream while they wait for their boys to return from war, has just created the ultimate flavour and thus begins Meade Creamery. Fast forward to present day, Amelia has spent her summers working at the ice cream stand and is just about to start her summer as 'Head Girl.' Amelia can't wait to begin. She loves everything about working at the stand, the ice cream, the friendships she has made with the other 'Meade Girls', the responsibilities, heck she doesn't even mind the cleaning that much.  Unfortunately the day before she is set to begin, she finds Molly has passed away and Amelia is afraid that is the end of Meade Creamery and her summer job. Enter Grady, Molly's grandnephew who has inherited the place and is set to reopen the stand and asks if Amelia will help. While Amelia is unsure how the stand will go on without Molly and worse with a male in charge she loves the...

This novel is a loose retelling of Lady Jane Grey, the 9 days Queen and when I say loose, I mean loose. It was so unique and wonderful and hilarious  and just plain weird at times that you just can't help but fall in love with it. This is nothing like you would expect it to be and really hard to describe without giving away spoilers, but there are bits of history, bits of fantasy, bits of authorial intrusion and  a whole lot of humour. It will honestly have you laughing out loud! Set in the Elizabethan era, the characters have a surprising modern feel. I loved Jane and found her incredibly relateable which is strange considering we have nothing in common except a love for reading. The 3 authors do such a wonderful job not only making the characters likeable but also paint such a vivid picture of the landscape and story that I honestly felt like I had gone on a wonderful adventure in the country with some friends. I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars and can't ...

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Teen for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I didn't know much about this book going in, in fact I didn't even read the synopsis, I had just heard vaguely through booktube that it was about a proper young lady who goes to the city of sin to track down her missing mother with the help of a con man and it sounded like a lot of fun! I didn't even realise that this book was sci-fi and fantasy until I had picked it up! Honestly this book was hard to get into. I had to force myself to pick it up at times to read it and forcing yourself to read a book is never any fun. At first I thought I was having such a hard time to get into it mainly because like I said I had not expected this book to be sci-fi or fantasy and was finding it hard to wrap my mind around it but honestly the story wasn't really going anywhere until almost half-way through the novel. I understand the first book in a series is usu...

“The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.” So I was hooked on this book as soon as I read the opening lines, I mean how could you not. They draw you in!  I initially put this book on my TBR as I had been googling books similar to Harry Potter and I had come across an article that said The Night Circus was one for Harry Potter lovers. Then I read Caraval by Stephanie Garber  (my favourite read in 2017, review can be found here ) and I had heard that she had been inspired by The Night Circus so I was dying to read this!  The Night Circus follows two young magician's who have been trained for a competition, a competition against one another. A circus is created as their battleground, where they must use their magic to outdo one another. However, no one expected them to fall in love and no one told them that in order to win, one won't survive. This was truly a wonderfully magically...