Read All The Books

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...

So I know that we are almost half way through the middle of the month but I figured it was better late than never so here is my March TBR: Jude The Obscure - Thomas Hardy The Night Circus - Erin Morgernstern Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy Charlotte's Web - E. B. White The Lost City of the Monkey God - Douglas Preston The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom Bleak House - Charles Dickens Unearthed - Amie Kaufman & Megan Spooner A Court of Wings and Ruin - Sarah J. Maas My Lady Jane - Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton & Jodie Meadows Ace of Shades - Amanda Foody A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving Hopefully I can get to most of these book this month. Like I mentioned we are almost half-way through the month and I have only read 4 of these books. Let me know what you are planning on reading this month.

I love Gayle Forman's 'Just One Day' series (you can read my review of the first novel in the series here ) and when I saw that this novel takes place in one day I immediately needed to read it! I Have Lost My Way follows 3 main characters who literally fall into each others lives just when each is feeling lost and confused. This starts an unlikely friendship between the trio and they ultimately help one another overcome their situations.  While this book takes place in one day, there are flashbacks to the past so you get to see how each character got to the point of feeling lost at the beginning of the book and then you get to see how their lives intertwine and how they help each other overcome it. This was a very quick read as it has you turning the pages and wanting to know what happens next. My only fault with this book is that I didn't quite like how it ended. I felt like it needed another page or two. However, this is a powerful novel of friendshi...