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Showing posts from January, 2018

Blog Tour: The Eden Paradox by Barry Kirwan Book Review

* I have received this book for review from the publisher but this in no way affects my review * Title: The Eden Paradox Authors: Barry Kirwan Source: From Blog Tour Publisher:  Rating: 3/5 stars ( Goodreads | Amazon ) Book Summary: A murder... a new planet mankind desperately needs... a thousand-year old conspiracy... What really awaits us on Eden? In a world beset by political turmoil, environmental collapse, and a predatory new religion, a recently discovered planet, Eden, is our last hope. But two missions have failed to return. Blake Alexander and his crew lead the final attempt to bring back good news. Meanwhile back on Earth, Micah Sanderson evades assassins, and tries to work out who he can trust as he struggles in a race against time to unravel the Eden Paradox. Book Review: When I got the opportunity to review The Eden Paradox I was really excited because I really enjoy sci-fi but tend to read muc

Turning 21?

You see I have put this blog post for such a long time but tomorrow the inevitable will happen and I will turn 21. I don't know why I decided to add and to keep a question mark in the title because it's not like it is going to happen it will but maybe it's because I just don't feel like it. Queue all the age is nothing but a number talk but I  guess that this is not what this blog post is going to be about.  Being 21 has always been the number that I have aspired to, the one that has been in the back of my mind for the longest time. When I was 18, I knew that at 21 I would be in my final year of university, which I am, and that I would graduate this year and on to the future. But am I right? I feel like so much has changed it want this magic number must be, given the bears with keys in their hands as if a sign that this would be the time that we would get keys of our own and would gain so much independent. But this is it, it is just a dream.  That's not going

Wildest Dreams Book Box Unboxing January

So yesterday I received the Wildest Dreams Box which I purchased in December. The January Theme is Into The Jungle  which  is the first official box! Wildest Dreams is a UK based Subscription service that costly £18 including shipping and includes a new release book, a tea based on the book as well as a bath related product. To find out more click  here. So on to the unboxing! This obviously has spoilers... The tea: The tea is Toffee Apple this month which I was quite excited for and is from RosieLea Tea. The tea itself does smell gorgeous especially of cinnamon which I am a fun of. I did like the taste but I think I preferred the Chocolate Orange tea but I feel like it is something that if I drink more from I would like. The design of the tea is also very cool and is a test tube which is a more personal touch that works so well. The tea also lasts quite a while something that I learnt from the last box. It also comes with some tea bags which is really cool for those who don

The Revolving Bookshelf

I feel like I should explain what I mean so here goes. Basically, this is just a fancy phrase for I unhaul a lot. Queue screams of panic where people say how can you get rid of books.  Well I just can. So where it did start you might ask? Well almost two years ago I moved which meant goodbye books. I was only aloud one book shelf in my room that doesn't allow for double stacking so cue the unhaul. Still isn't to say I didn't get rid of books before of course I did. Ones that didn't like, ones that I was no longer interested in or childhood books that I would never read. Let's face it if I wasn't interested away they go. It has gone a bit far though. I do consistently go through my shelves to see which books I don't want anymore and which I don't. I promise you I am still interested in books and still have way many books, but it does help. I definitely have less books than I did which is good. I just read a book and see if I want to keep it or no

Blog Tour: Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings

* I have received this book for review from the publisher but this in no way affects my review * Title: Zenith Authors: Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings Source: From Publisher  Publisher: HQ  Rating: 3/5 stars ( Goodreads | Amazon) Book Review Summary from Goodreads: From #1   New York Times   bestselling author duo Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings comes the first book in The Androma Saga, full of action, fantastical intrigue and steamy star-crossed romance     Most know Androma Racella as the Bloody Baroness, a powerful mercenary whose reign of terror stretches across the Mirabel Galaxy. To those aboard her glass starship,  Marauder , however, she's just Andi, their friend and fearless leader.  But when a routine mission goes awry, the  Marauder 's all-girl crew is tested as they find themselves in a treacherous situation—and at the mercy of a sadistic bounty hunter from Andi's past.  Meanwhile, acros

Book Review: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

* I have received this book for review from the publisher but this in no way affects my review * Title: Before I Fall Authors: Lauren Oliver Source: From Publisher  Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton  Rating: 5/5 stars ( Goodreads | Amazon ) Book Review Summary from Goodreads: They say ‘live every day as if it’s your last’—but you never actually think it's going to be. At least I didn't. The thing is, you don’t get to know when it happens. You don’t remember to tell your family that you love them or—in my case—remember to say goodbye to them at all. But what if, like me, you could live your last day over and over again? Could you make it perfect? If your whole life flashed before your eyes, would you have no regrets? Or are there some things you’d want to change...?   Book Review: I knew that Before I Fall was turning into a film, however, I did not get a chance to read the book before I saw the film although after falling head over h

British Books Challenge 2018

So today I thought that I will tell you about a challenge that I am going to sign up to in 2017. This is the British Books Challenge which has been running for the last couple of years but in 2018 is being run by Chelley from  Tales of Yesterdays .  The British Books Challenge was created with the focus on reading and reviewing British authors throughout the year. The aim is to read 12 books by these authors which equal's one a month. These can be from any genre but has a focus on YA and MG fiction. If you would like to sign up, you can do so  here . I hope to read The Taste of Blue Light by Lydia Ruffles (which I am currently reading and enjoying) as well as A Pocketful of Crows by Joanne Harris which I have also read some of.  I will post which books I read and review on this page so hopefully, I will update this throughout the year. So let's get started... January:  February: March: April: May: June: July: August: September: October: November:

Book Review: Book of Forgotten Authors by Christopher Fowler

* I have received this book for review from the publisher but this in no way affects my review * Title: Book of Forgetten Authors Authors: Christopher Fowler  Source: From Publisher  Publisher: Riverrun Rating: 4/5 stars ( Goodreads | Amazon ) Book Review Summary from  Goodreads : Absence doesn't make the heart grow fonder. It makes people think you're dead.  So begins Christopher Fowler's foray into the back catalogues and backstories of 99 authors who, once hugely popular, have all but disappeared from shelves. We are fondly introduced to each potential rediscovery: from lost Victorian voices to the twentieth century writers who could well become the next John Williams, Hans Fallada or Lionel Davidson. Whether male or female, flash-in-the-pan or prolific, mega-seller or prize-winner - no author, it seems, can ever be fully immune from the fate of being forgotten. These 99 journeys are punctuated by 12 short essays about faded once-fav

Popsugar Reading Challenge 2018

I have been doing the Popsugar Reading Challenge for the last two years and this year is no different. I will be tracking my progress on here so it will be updated over the course of the year. Here are the challenges, let's get started... 1. A book made into a movie you’ve already seen 2. True crime 3. The next book in a series you started: No Mercy Volume 2 by Alex de Campi 4. A book involving a heist 5. Nordic noir 6. A novel based on a real person: The Best That We Can Do by Thi Bui 7. A book set in a country that fascinates you: Black Water by Cormac O'Keefe 8. A book with a time of day in the title 9. A book about a villain or antihero 10. A book about death or grief: Scythe by Neal Shusterman  11. A book with a female author who uses a male pseudonym 12. A book with an LGBTQ+ protagonist: Leah On The Offbeat by Becky Albertalli 13. A book that is also a stage play or musical 14. A book by an author of a different ethnicity than you: The Belles

New Year Resolutions 2018

So as I am writing this it is the 1st January which means that it is time for New Years Resolutions. Let's get started 1. Continue to Learn French/German This is something that I did in my first year of university and would love to continue to do. I would like to do this at least 3 or 4 times a week so... 2. Take better care of myself For this one I would like to just eat better, exercise more and drink more water but also give myself self-care when I need it.  3. Read as much as possible and read more diversely  This one is kind of self-explanatory but I would like to read as much as possible reading something at least once a day. I would like to read diverse books but also to read more classics and adult books.  4. Review books after I read them don't wait months to do so  Again quite explanatory but I would like to write reviews at least two days after I read them and not leave them for months or even a year to review them better. 5. Write more  I have a curre

Diversity Bingo Wrap Up 2017

To continue with my aim of reading diversely, at the beginning of the year that I was going to do the Diversity Bingo Challenge. The idea was to read 36 books and complete the bingo-like sheet of diverse books. Here are the books that I read to complete  the challenge. So let's get started... Romance with a trans MC: Non-binary MC (own voices): SFF w/disabled MC: Jewish MC:  The Upside of Unrequited  by Becky Albertalli Indian MC (own voices): Displaced MC:  The Jungle  by Pooja Puri MC with an under-represented body:  Panther  by David Owen  Neuro-diverse MC (own voices):  The State of Grace  by Rachael Lucas Re-telling with MC belonging to LGBTQIA+: Bisexual MC (own voices):  Our Own Private Universe  by Robin Talley (maybe not own voices) MC with an invisible disability: T he Unlikely Hero of 13B  by Teresa Toten  MC with an anaphylactic allergy: MC of color in SFF:  Welcome Back Volume 1  by Christopher Sebela  Latinx MC ( Own voices):  Aristotle and

Book Review: City of Saints and Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson

* I have received this book for review from the publisher but this in no way affects my review * Title: City of Saints And Thieves Authors: Natalie C. Anderson  Source: From Publisher  Publisher: Rock The Boat Rating: 4/5 stars ( Goodreads | Amazon ) Book Review Summary from  Goodreads : Street-thief Tina breaks in to the luxurious house where her mother was killed to steal from Mr. Greyhill and nail him for her mother’s murder. She is caught red-handed. Saved by Mr. Greyhill’s gorgeous son, Michael, the pair set in motion a cascade of dangerous events that lead them deeper into the mystery, and reveal dark and shocking secrets from Tina’s past. Tina and her mother fled the Congo years ago as refugees, trading the uncertain danger of their besieged village for a new, safer life in the bustling Kenyan metropolis. The corruption and politics of the Congo, and the gangster world of Sangui City, are behind Tina’s mother’s downfall. Is Tina tough enough

Favourite Books of 2017

Considering we are now in 2018 (which is weird because I am writing in 2017) it is time for my favourite books of 2017! The reason this is a little later than other people in because I am scared that I will read a favourite book at the end of 2017. It could happen so shall we get started... Honourable Mentions:  These are mainly books that come out in 2018 but I don't feel like I should include them on my main list as some people can't read these yet.  The Unpredictability of Being Human by Linni Ingemundsen Everless by Sara Holland Out Of The Blue by Sophie Cameron  Main List: (These are in no particular order) 1. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver I was not expecting to love this book but I adored the character development that took place and I found it very emotional. Overall, it was a really great read! 2. Panther by David Owen  Panther is a really moving story that features a really heartbreaki