January TBR

Here we go again

Another TBR, where has December gone so fast, and when did the New Year get here? (really, I'm honestly asking you).

So as you can gather with the start of a new month, it's a new TBR, Aaaaaannnnndddd Resolutions! (yes it is that much of a shock I need to use an exclamation).

I have set a goal of only buying 1-2 books a month this year (if you know me well, such as my husband, you know this is good in theory).

I am also wanting to read the majority of the books on my bookshelves (some booktubers have a TBR shelf, I have bookcases).

So enough of my rambling here we go.

• The Dark Day's Pact (#2) - Alison Goodman
• The Wide Window (#3) - Lemony Snicket
• Charmcaster (#3) - Sebastien de Castell
• Long Dark Dust (#2) - J. P. Smythe
• The ABC Murders - Agatha Christie
• One of Us is Lying - Karen McManus
• Asylum (#1) - Madeleine Roux
• Horrorstӧr - Grady Hendrix
• The Battlemage (#3) - Taran Matharu
• Ruby Red (#1) - Kerstin Gier
• Day Shift (#2) - Charlaine Harris
• The Pirates! In an Adventure with Moby Dick (#2) - Gideon Defoe
• Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham (#8) - M. C. Beaton
• The Paper Magician (#1) - Charlie N. Holmberg
• Mortal Engines (#1) - Philip Reeve
• Three Dark Crowns (#1) - Kendare Blake
• Hidden Huntress (#2) - Danielle L. Jensen
• The Invisible Library (#1) - Genevieve Cogman
• First Man In - Ant Middleton
• Alice (#1) - Christina Henry
• And I Darken (#1) - Kiersten White
• Divergent (#1) - Veronica Roth
• Dumplin' (#1) - Julie Murphy
• Renegades (#1) - Marissa Meyer

Overall, not a bad list of books to read in January

REVIEW: Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone (#1) - J. K. Rowling

Title: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (#1)
Author: J. K. Rowling
Series: Harry Potter
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Format: Hardback
Pages: 332 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

Harry Potter's life is miserable. His parents are dead and he's stuck with his heartless relatives, who force him to live in a tiny closet under the stairs. But his fortune changes when he receives a letter that tells him the truth about himself: he's a wizard. A mysterious visitor rescues him from his relatives and takes him to his new home, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

After a lifetime of bottling up his magical powers, Harry finally feels like a normal kid. But even within the Wizarding community, he is special. He is the boy who lived: the only person to have ever survived a killing curse inflicted by the evil Lord Voldemort, who launched a brutal takeover of the Wizarding world, only to vanish after failing to kill Harry.

Though Harry's first year at Hogwarts is the best of his life, not everything is perfect. There is a dangerous secret object hidden within the castle walls, and Harry believes it's his responsibility to prevent it from falling into evil hands. But doing so will bring him into contact with forces more terrifying than he ever could have imagined.

REVIEW: Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe - Melissa de la Cruz

Title: Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Format: E-Book
Pages: 240 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

Darcy Fitzwilliam simply doesn't have time to fall in love. But this Christmas, a kiss under the mistletoe will change everything...

As a partner at a major New York hedge fund, Darcy's only serious relationship is with her work cellphone. The truth is, she's too busy being successful and making money to have time for Christmas... let alone to allow romance into her life. 

But this year Darcy is coming home to Pemberley, Ohio, for the holidays. There, she runs into her old neighbour and high-school foe Luke Bennet - the oldest of five wayward brothers. When Darcy's enmity with Luke is re-opened, along with a hefty dollop of sexual chemistry... well, sparks are sure to fly. Can Darcy fall in love - or will her pride, and Luke's prejudice against big-city girls, stand in their way?

REVIEW: A Boy Called Christmas (#1) - Matt Haig

Title: A Boy Called Christmas (#1)
Author: Matt Haig
Series: A Boy Called Christmas
Publisher: Cannongate Books
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Stephen Fry
Time: 4Hrs 26Mins
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

A Boy Called Christmas is a tale of adventure, snow, kidnapping, elves, more snow, and an eleven-year-old boy called Nikolas, who isn't afraid to believe in magic. 

REVIEW: City of Fallen Angels (#4) - Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Fallen Angels (#4)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments
Publisher: Walker Books Ltd
Format: Paperback
Pages: 448 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She’s training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most importantly of all—she can finally call Jace her boyfriend.

But nothing comes without a price.

Someone is murdering Shadowhunters, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second, bloody war. Clary’s best friend, Simon, can’t help her—his mother just found out that he’s a vampire, and now he’s homeless. When Jace begins to pull away from her without explaining why Clary is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: she herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.

REVIEW: Shadowblack (#2) - Sebastian de Castell

Title: Shadowblack (#2)
Author: Sebastien de Castell
Series: Spellslinger
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 340 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

It's a few months since Kellen left his people behind. Now aged sixteen, Kellen is an outlaw, relying on his wits to keep him alive in the land of the Seven Sands. He misses home, he misses family and more than anything, he misses Nephenia, the girl he left behind. 

Then he meets Seneira, a blindfolded girl who isn't blind, and who carries a secret that's all too familiar to Kellen. Kellen and Ferius resolve to help - but the stakes are far higher than they realise. A Shadowblack plague is taking hold - and Kellen can't help but suspect his own people may even be behind it. 

REVIEW: Saga Vol. 5 - Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples

Title: Saga Vol. 5
Author: Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples
Series: Saga
Publisher: Image Comics
Format: Paperback
Pages: 152 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

While Gwendolyn and Lying Cat risk everything to find a cure for The Will, Marko makes an uneasy alliance with Prince Robot IV to find their missing children, who are trapped on a strange world with terrifying new enemies.

REVIEW: Redemption (#6) - Georgia Cates

Title: Redemption (#6)
Author: Georgia Cates
Series: The Sin Series
Publisher: Georgia Cates Books, LLC
Format: E-Book
Pages: 247 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

I was on my way to having everything that I wanted… until I opened that door. That’s when my entire world shattered. In a single second, my happy life was gone. 

She broke my heart. There, I admit it. But a Fellowship man doesn’t mourn the loss of a woman. He moves on to the next one. And the next. But what I quickly discover is that it doesn’t matter how many women I’m with. I’ll never find one who can replace Lorna Frazier. 

I’ve been an arse, doing everything within my power to hurt her. And I’ve been successful at it. But it doesn’t heal the pain of losing the woman that I love. She is my everything, and I’m nothing without her. 

Apart, we’re weak. Together, we’re strong. 
Apart, we’re in hell. Together, we’re in heaven. 
Apart, we’re broken. Together, we’re whole. 

I won’t give up on us. 

REVIEW: A Court of Frost and Starlight (#3.1) - Sarah J. Maas

Title: A Court of Frost and Starlight
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Format: Paperback
Pages: 272 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

The Winter Solstice. In a week. I was still new enough to being High Lady that I had no idea what my formal role was to be. If we'd have a High Priestess do some odious ceremony, as lanthe had done the year before A year. Gods, nearly a year since Rhys had called in his bargain, desperate to get me away from the poison of the Spring Court to save me from my despair. Had he been only a minute later, the Mother knew what would have happened. Where I'd now be. Snow swirled and eddied in the garden, catching in the brown fibers of the burlap covering the shrubs My mate who had worked so hard and so selflessly, all without hope that I would ever be with him We had both fought for that love, bled for it. Rhys had died for it. 

December 2018 TBR

Again, something different,

I'm doing a TBR list, I have that many books to be read I need to try and read more of them before I buy more to add to the list.

So to keep myself accountable, I am going to post a monthly TBR, every month.

• Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe - Melissa de la Cruz (E-Book)
• A Boy Called Christmas (#1) - Matt Haig (Audiobook)
• Distortion (#2) - Victor Dixen (Paperback)
• Frostblood (#1) - Elly Blake (Paperback)
• The Bear and the Nightingale (#1) - Katherine Arden (Paperback)
• Stealing Snow - Danielle Paige (Paperback)
• Wintersong (#1) - S. Jae-Jones (Paperback)
• The Inquisition (#2) - Taran Matharu (Paperback)
• Stolen Songbird (#1) - Danielle L. Jensen (Paperback)
• The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists (#1) - Gideon Defoe (Paperback)
• Inferno (#5) - Julie Kagawa (Paperback)
• Renegades (#1) - Marissa Meyer (Paperback)
• The Hazel Wood (#1) - Melissa Albert (Paperback)
• Hercule Poirot's Christmas - Agatha Christie (Paperback)
• The WItch's Tears (#2) - Katharine & Elizabeth Corr
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (#1) - Roald Dahl (Paperback)
• Twilight (#1) - Stephenie Meyer (Hardback)
• Shiver (#1) - Maggie Stiefvater (Paperback)
• The Sleeping Prince (#2) - Melinda Salisbury (Paperback)

I choose 19 books to read (see above), then I add 5 more from my previous TBR list, so if I am still reading the book, or I haven't started it but still want to, it gives me a second chance.

• Crazy Rich Asians (#1) - Kevin Kwan (Audiobook)
• Goodnight Mister Tom - Michelle Magorian (Paperback)
• Truthwitch (#1) - Susan Dennard (E-Book)
• The Infinite Sea (#2) - Rick Yancey (Paperback)
• A Shiver of Snow and Sky (#1) - Lisa Lueddecke (Paperback)

So overall that is 24 books, wish me luck.

REVIEW: A Discovery of Witches (#1) - Deborah Harkness

Title: A Discovery of Witches (#1)
Author: Deborah Harkness
Series: All Souls Trilogy
Publisher: Headline Publishing Group
Format: Paperback
Pages: 688 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

When historian Diana Bishop opens an alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, it's an unwelcome intrusion of magic into her carefully ordered life. Though Diana is a witch of impeccable lineage, the violent death of her parents while she was still a child convinced her that human fear is more potent than any witchcraft. Now Diana has unwittingly exposed herself to a world she's kept at bay for years; one of the powerful witches, creative, destructive daemons and long-lived vampires. Sensing the significance of Diana's discovery, the creatures gather in Oxford, among them the enigmatic Matthew Clairmont, a vampire geneticist. Diana is inexplicably drawn to Matthew and, in a shadowy world of half-truths and old enmities, ties herself to him without fully understanding the ancient line they are crossing. As they begin to unlock the secrets of the manuscript and their feelings for each other deepen, so the fragile balance of peace unravels...

November Wrap-Up

Hi everyone,

Something different for you today, I thought I would try doing a monthly wrap up, I will just write down the books, and their star rating. The books will all be reviewed fully at a later date.

• There's Someone Inside Your House - Stephanie Perkins (⭐⭐⭐)
• Ascension (#1) - Victor Dixen (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
• The Novice (#1) - Taran Matharu (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
• Trapped - Beverley Kendall (⭐⭐⭐⭐)
• A Discovery of Witches (#1) - Deborah Harkness (⭐⭐⭐)
• Shadowblack (#2) - Sebastien de Castell (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
• Hunting Prince Dracula (#2) - Kerri Maniscalco (⭐⭐⭐⭐)
• Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank (⭐⭐⭐⭐)
• Way Down Dark (#1) - J. P. Smythe (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
• All About You (#1) - Joanna Mazurkiewicz (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
• All About Me (#2) - Joanna Mazurkiewicz (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
• Mr & Mrs (#1) - Alexa Riley (⭐⭐⭐⭐)
• Blackmailing the Virgin (#2) - Alexa Riley (⭐⭐⭐)
• The Billionaire and His Castaway (#3) - Alexa Riley (⭐⭐⭐)
• The Final Promise (#4) - Alexa Riley (⭐⭐⭐)
• Coach - Alexa Riley (⭐⭐⭐)

I managed to read 8 Books off of my November TBR list, so that isn't too bad, and I read overall 16 books, which is fantastic.

REVIEW: The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas

Title: The Hate U Give
Author: Angie Thomas
Publisher: Walker Books Ltd
Format: Paperback
Pages: 464 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterwards, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord trying to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.