May-July Wrap Up

Hello everyone! It's been a while since I've had a post on this blog. So this seems to be the month that I've started to get out of my slump. I've got reviews written and scheduled for the whole of August and I'm getting there with September as well, so fingers crossed this is me on my way back!

So this is probably going to be a pretty big post. I haven't done a wrap up since the end of April, so there's a lot to catch up on.

May

In May I celebrated my 23rd Birthday, had two weeks off from work and headed off to London for the 3rd time. I completely adore London and of course, while I was there, I couldn't not revisit the Harry Potter Studio Tour due to the addition of the Hogwarts Express! I also went up to tour The Tower of London for the first time, visited the Natural History museum and did a couple of football stadium tours because that's what the fiance wanted to do. And then on the final day we happened across the BAFTA's and I met the lovely Katherine Ryan. I also got to see Busted live twice in Glasgow! Busted were my favourite band when I was younger, so I was super excited to see them back together. 

May was a good month for reading as well. In May I read 10 books.

1. Tangled by Emma Chase

2. Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy

3. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

4. The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

5. Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

6. The Dead List by Jennifer L. Armentrout

7. Wrong Number, Right Guy by Elle Casey

8. Do You Remember the First Time? by Jenny Colgan

9. Charged by Jay Crownover

10. Addicted After All by Becca and Krista Ritchie

A Court of Mist and Fury was by far my favourite book in May.

June

June was a bit of a quieter month. Back to work and all that. I saw some pretty good movies in June as well: Nice Guys - brilliant, hilarous, and Matt Bomber as a villain <3; Me Before You - I sobbed my heart out; The Boss - extremely funny! I managed to read 9 books in June which I was pretty happy with. 

1. Fuel the Fire by Becca and Krista Ritchie

2. Billy and Me by Giovanna Fletcher

3. Christmas with Billy and Me by Giovanna Fletcher

4. Always with Love by Giovanna Fletcher

5. Sunny Side Up by Holly Smale

6. The Summer After You and Me by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

7. On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves

8. Settling the Score by R. S. Grey

9. He Will Be My Ruin by K. A. Tucker

He Will Be My Ruin just had to be my faourite book. Nothing else I read in June came anywhere close to this one.

July

July was a quieter month again. Didn't really do much. Spent more of the time inside due to the awful weather here. I got completely addicted to Pokemon Go because I was determined to beat my fiance at it - which I did! Haha! I saw quite a few movies this month: Absolutely Fabulous - which was hilarious; Central Intelligence - another one that was hilarous; The Neon Demon - very strange and weird, I may be scarred for life after it; Now You See Me 2 - AMAZING; Ghostbusters - really enjoyed it, a lot better than I thought it would be and Jason Bourne - boring, too much action not enough story, fell asleep. In July I read 9 books (3 of which were re-reads). I also kicked off my full series re-read of Rachel Caine's Morganville Vampires which I can't wait to work my way through again!

1. Trust in Me by Sophie McKenzie

2. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick (re-read)

3. Truly, Madly, Deadly by Hannah Jayne

4. I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

5. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (re-read)

6. Did I Mention I Miss You? by Estelle Maskame

7. Glass Houses by Rachel Caine (re-read)

8. Torn by Jennifer L. Armentrout

9. Game by Barry Lyga

Game was by far my favorite book of the month. I Hunt Killers was really good, but Game took Jasper's story to the next level and it was fantastic! I need to get book 3 right now since this ended on a pretty big cliffhanger!

Let me know how you got on in July and what your favourite book of the month was!

April Wrap Up

Hello everyone! I know it's been quite a while since I've posted, but this year has just been a terrible year for me so far and I just lost all motivation to blog and read. But today marks the first day of my two week holiday from work and I'm planning to get quite a lot of reviews written and scheduled - because I have A LOT to catch up on.

Anyways, in April I met Cassandra Clare - which wasn't as great as I'd been expecting. I'm not going to get into it, but she lives up to her reputation. I also saw 3 movies in the cinema this month: The Boy - good, not scary, but did have a unexpected twist at the end; Eye in the Sky - amazing. Totally and utterly amazing; The Jungle Book - considering I never really liked The Jungle Book as a child, the live action version is really good. 

Book-wise, I managed to read 9 books in April. I'm pretty happy with that considering I got off to a very slow start and couldn't get into anything.

My favourite book of the month would have to be Undecided by Julianna Keyes. I was debating between this and TPWF, but ultimately, I liked the relationship more in Undecided, so it came out on top.

So, on Thursday I'm heading back to London for a couple of days, so hopefully I'll managed to get some posts written before I go. And I'll be spending the rest of my two weeks off relaxing. 

So, that's my April wrap up! Let me know in the comments what you're favourite book you read in April was!

The Fable of Us by Nicole Williams

The Fable of Us by Nicole Williams
Series: No
Publisher: Nicole Williams
Publication Date: February 2nd 2016
Source: Bought

Her heart can’t be destroyed by the same person twice. At least that’s what Clara Abbot finds herself hoping when she runs into Boone Cavanaugh less than an hour after returning to Charleston.

As kids, Clara and Boone had been each other’s firsts, and no one or nothing could stand in the way of their forever. But all kids have to grow up sometime. The troubled son of the town drunk winding up with the firstborn daughter of the local royalty was a happy ending even the most imaginative of fairy tales couldn’t make believable.

Their fable came to an end as most do: tragically. Boone might have done the leaving, but it was Clara who got away and made a new life for herself in California. But after seven years of dodging her hometown, she’s only back in Charleston for seven days to celebrate her sister’s wedding. She won’t let her overbearing family or her run-in with Boone rattle her—though rattling her is obviously Boone’s primary objective.

Boone is her past and her past is behind her, a mere speck in the rearview. So why does she feel it coming back every time she looks at him? Why does she see it every time he looks back?

Just when Clara’s life can’t possibly get more complicated, the ground shifts, and she discovers just how far her family was willing to go to keep the wrong boy out of her life. Was it really Boone who left her? Or was it Clara who left him?

The truth will be hard to face. Especially when she discovers most of her life has been built on lies.

The Fable of Us was a huge disappointment. I've read two of Nicole Williams series - Lost & Found and Crash - both of which I loved, so when I heard she had a new book coming out, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it! But unfortunately, this book turned out to be a major disappointment.

The Fable of Us follows Clara and Boone. Clara escaped from Charleston years ago and had no intention of returning. But as her sister is getting married, Clara has to step into her past once again and is dreading every second of it. And as soon as she turns up in Charleston, she runs into her old sweetheart Boone. Things with Boone were left on a bad note, and he clearly dislikes Clara. But Clara offers him a deal he can't resist - pretend to be her plus one for the wedding and she'll give him $10,000. 

I didn't like Clara or Boone, or any of the characters in the book really. Clara comes across all high and mighty, thinking she's better than her family because she's the only 'normal' one. Boone is just a complete ass. Both of them are terrible people and they both have awful families, Clara's is definitely the worst, and there's nothing redeeming about any of them.

Clara and Boone's relationship basically fell apart due to them being told things by other people, believing said things and never actually speaking to one another about anything. It was completely frustrating hearing about their past and what happened between them, and I honestly couldn't believe how stupid they both were for not even speaking to each other. It was ridiculous.

Overall, The Fable of Us was a major disappointment, and I'm actually pretty sad about writing this review because I was so convinced I was going to love this book. But unfortunately not.

Beyond the Red by Ava Jae

Beyond the Red by Ava Jae
Series: No
Publisher: 
Publication Date: March 1st 2016
Source: Publisher (Edelweiss)

Alien queen Kora has a problem as vast as the endless crimson deserts. She’s the first female ruler of her territory in generations, but her people are rioting and call for her violent younger twin brother to take the throne. Despite assassination attempts, a mounting uprising of nomadic human rebels, and pressure to find a mate to help her rule, she’s determined to protect her people from her brother’s would-be tyrannical rule.

Eros is a rebel soldier hated by aliens and human alike for being a half-blood. Yet that doesn’t stop him from defending his people, at least until Kora’s soldiers raze his camp and take him captive. He’s given an ultimatum: be an enslaved bodyguard to Kora, or be executed for his true identity—a secret kept even from him.

When Kora and Eros are framed for the attempted assassination of her betrothed, they flee. Their only chance of survival is to turn themselves in to the high court, where revealing Eros’s secret could mean a swift public execution. But when they uncover a violent plot to end the human insurgency, they must find a way to work together to prevent genocide.

Beyond the Red had so much potential and the storyline sounded like it was going to be amazing, but unfortunately, I didn't really enjoy it.

Beyond the Red follows Kora - the alien queen - and Eros - a half blood rebel soldier. Kora is the first female ruler of her territory, but her people are calling for her twin brother to be the one on the trhone. Kora is determined to prove to her people that she is the best person to rule. Eros is a solider who is hated by both aliens and humans due to being a half blood. When Eros is captured, Kora gives him two options: either become her bodyguard, or be executed. 

For a story full of betrayal, political unrest and attempted assassinations, I found it extremely boring and also very predictable. I really wanted to enjoy this because it sounded so good, but I just couldn't get into the story and I ended up skimming through most of it. Not only was it boring, I was getting completely sick of Kora and Eros. Every time they were together - and I mean every. single. time - their thoughts were just full of how they want to kiss, but oh no they shouldn't because they just can't and I really didn't care! It was tiring reading about how they just couldn't possibly kiss each other and it all got a bit repetitive. And that was most of their thoughts about each other for the whole damn book. Also, Eros's storyline was extremely predictable and I'd guessed what was going to happen with him pretty early on.

Overall, Beyond the Red just wasn't for me. I found it boring and repetitive, and I just didn't enjoy it, no matter how much I wanted to. There hasn't been anything mentioned about a sequel yet, but if there is one, I don't think I'll be continuing with the series.

February Wrap Up

Hello everyone! How was your February? Mines was pretty uneventful. It started to get a bit busier at work, and I also had a week off which was nice. I also went to the cinema quite a bit with my fiancé. We saw: Dirty Grandpa (which was funny. Also shirtless Zac Efron <3); Deadpool (which I LOVED! Ryan Reynolds is just amazing, and I ended up seeing it twice); Zoolander 2 (funny, but pretty bad); Grimsby (didn't like this one, I'm not a big Sasha Baron Cohen fan) and The Forest (it was jumpy, but not great. Natalie Dormer was good though). Bookwise, this month I managed to read 12 books and 5 of them were re-reads!

1. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes ★★★★★
12. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (re-read) ★★★★★
13. After by Anna Todd ★
14. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins (re-read) ★★★★★
15. The Fable of Us by Nicole Williams ★
16. Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor ★★★★
7. Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry (re-read) ★★★★★
8. Kingdom of Ashes by Rhiannon Thomas ★★★ 
9. Beyond the Red by Ava Jae ★★
10. Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry ★★★★
11. Faking It by Cora Carmack (re-read) ★★★★★
12. The Return by Jennifer L. Armentrout (re-read) ★★★★★

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes was definitely my favourite book of the month. It's one of the books Brittany recommended to me for our challenge and I'm kicking myself for not reading it sooner. I also hated Brittany slightly after I finished reading it because I just couldn't stop sobbing. It was so damn heartbreaking, but such an amazing story.

So, in March I'm hoping to read around 10 books. I'm in the middle of three books just now: Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor; The Power by Jennifer L. Armentrout and When We Collided by Emery Lord.

So that was my February wrap up! Let me know what you're favourite book of the month was and what you're most looking forward to reading in March!

November 9 by Colleen Hoover

November 9 by Colleen Hoover
Series: No
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Audio
Publication Date: November 10th 2015
Source: Bought (Audible)
Narrator: Zachary Webber & Angela Goethals

Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.

Can Ben’s relationship with Fallon—and simultaneously his novel—be considered a love story if it ends in heartbreak?

Colleen Hoover's books never fail to completely destroy me, and November 9 was no exception. It follows Fallon and Ben who meet the day before Fallon is due to move to New York. They  connect and spend Fallon's last day in L.A. together and before they part they decided to meet up on the same day every year and give each other tasks to push each other.

This book actually sounded like the most adorable book ever. A slow burn romance with the characters only having contact one day per year, giving they time to experience new things and grow as characters. 

I adored Fallon. She's feisty and determined, but lacks confidence due to a fire that she was trapped in when she was younger which left her covered in burns and ruined her acting career. She took a major hit to her confidence, and I adored seeing her becoming comfortable in her own skin and gaining the confidence to put herself out there again. 

Ben is a completely different story. He's basically an enigma for most of the book. We never really hear much about Ben's past, and he's pretty secretive about his personal life. But Ben is the sweetest guy ever. He's adorable and charming, and he really helps Fallon come out of her shell. He was just such an amazing character.

And then came the biggest plot twist Colleen Hoover has ever written that completely and utterly destroyed me. I had no idea how I was supposed to feel after the twist or what I was supposed to do. It's the most horrific and heartbreaking twist ever, and I had no idea what was going to happen between Ben and Fallon after the reveal.

November 9 is probably the most cruel book Colleen Hoover has ever written. But it's beautiful and heartbreaking, and I loved every minute of it.

Kingdom of Ashes by Rhiannon Thomas

Kingdom of Ashes by Rhiannon Thomas
Series: A Wicked Thing #2
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: February 23rd 2016
Source: Publisher (Edelweiss)

Asleep for a hundred years, awoken by a kiss, Aurora’s life was supposed to be a fairytale. But since discovering that loyalty to the crown and loyalty to her country are two very different things, Aurora knows she can only dream of happily ever after. Once the enchanted princess, savior of her people, she is now branded a traitor.

Aurora is determined to free her home from the king’s tyrannical rule, even if it means traveling across the sea to the kingdom of the handsome and devious Prince Finnegan—someone who seems to know far more about her magic than he should. However, Finnegan’s kingdom has perils of its own, and any help he gives Aurora will come at a price.

As Aurora and Finnegan work together to harness her power—something so fiery and dangerous that is as likely to destroy those close to Aurora as it is to save them—she begins to unravel the mysteries surrounding the curse that was placed on her over a century before…and uncover the truth about the destiny she was always meant to fulfill.

Kingdom of Ashes picks up with Aurora on the run. She's escaped from court and left a huge mess in her wake. After the events that led up to Aurora fleeing, she's even more determined to find a way to save her Kingdom from the evil King. Aurora meets up with Nettle again, and the two of them journey to Vanhelm to get the help of Prince Finnegan. 

I liked Aurora a bit more in this one. She's not stuck in a position where she has no power anymore, so she's more determined to do whatever she can to save her Kingdom. She comes across a lot stronger than she did in the first book. She's still naive and makes some foolish decisions, but I did like her.

Aurora's love interests get slashed from 3 to 1 in this book, which I liked - I hated Aurora's indecision in the first book. Aurora spends a lot more time with Finnegan, and I adored the two of them together. Their banter is still my favourite thing about them. Finnegan is charming and flirty, and likes to tease Aurora. They're perfect for each other, in my opinion.

I liked to see Aurora learning more about herself and her powers. Her link with the dragons that destroyed parts of Finnegan's kingdom was intriguing and I enjoyed learning more about it.

There were, however, parts of the story that I did find slightly boring and I did find myself skimming parts of the book. But most of the time, I did enjoy the story.

The last few chapters were full of action and Aurora fought for her Kingdom, but again, there's still so much left unresolved and Aurora still has a lot left to learn and uncover about herself. Overall, Kingdom of Ashes was a great follow up to A Wicked Thing and I'm looking forward to the next book - if there is one - to find out more about Aurora and hopefully see more of Aurora and Finnegan together.