The Spring Cleaning Book Tag

Hey friends!

So I have another tag this week and my awesome friend Dani tagged me, as she usually does lol. I thought this tag was appropriate since it’s Spring (or supposed to be)!

Lego!

The struggle of getting started: A book or series you struggle to begin because of its size.

The Mortal Instruments box set that I own TERRIFIES me! I got it in January for my birthday and still haven’t read one!

Cleaning out the closet: A book or series you want to unhaul.

I’ve mentioned this book a few times and I recently removed it and its sequel from my shelves! I’ll just never touch it again.

Opening windows and letting fresh air in: A book that was refreshing.

Am I talking about Renegades again, YES I AM!!! Renegades is like nothing I have ever read before and It’s AMAZING!

Washing out the sheets: A book with a scene you wish you could rewrite.

I was enjoying this book and was invested in the series until the ending. It’s just icky and I really hoped it hadn’t gone in that direction, I won’t be touching it now.

Throwing out unnecessary knick knacks: A book in a series you didn’t think was necessary.

I honestly don’t read many series’, but novella’s tend to not be needed.

Polishing doorknobs: A book that had a clean finish.

To Kill A Kingdom was just great from start to finish! The ending was tied up nicely.

Reaching to dust the fan: A book that tried too hard to relay a certain message.

This book really annoyed me. The scenes were so cheesy and cliche high school and I just thought it was pushing too hard.

The tiring, yet satisfying finish of spring cleaning: A book series that was tiring but satisfying to get through.

Ok, I ADORE this series. I read it so long ago and always go back to it. But it tired my poor heart and I needed the happy ending! Such an amazing contemporary series.

I tag:

Maggie

Nicola

Megs

Hope you enjoyed! Until next time ❣

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In Fallen Woods – R.N Merle – Review

Long ago in England, and far away to the west…

In the dark heart of Fallen Woods, Darklin, a sixteen year old witch and her mother Gressyl, live hidden among the tangled trees. They are bound to a secret coven practicing dark and cruel magic. Darklin is taught to be merciless and to despise humanity, to believe that beauty is treacherous, and that love and kindness do not truly exist.

But when Darklin has a fateful encounter with a beautiful and kind hearted young man, powerful feelings are unleashed. As urges of attraction and destruction war inside Darklin’s heart, which urge will she give way to, and where will it lead her?

A dark twisting tale about witches, love and discovering the truth behind the lies.

I’m a real lover of Fairytales and the darker the better. In Fallen Woods sounded like a dark and twisted tale about witches, what’s not to like? First off I want to comment on how beautiful the cover is! The author actually created it herself which is amazing, she’s not only a talented writer but a darn good designer!

The.writing.is.stunning.! I often get tired of flowery writing and drawn out stories, but this style of writing was superb. It reminded me a lot of Wintersong and Uprooted, which are both amazingly written books that I love. In Fallen Woods has definitely joined them. The descriptions were just beautiful and whimsical and I felt like I was within the fallen woods myself.

Darklin was an interesting character. I started the story really not liking her, just because of the horrid things she thought about people and how repulsed she was. But I quickly began to realise why she is this way and felt huge amounts of sympathy for her. She is scared and she doesn’t know anything about the world, other than what Gressyl has told her. Gressyl is the witch who raised Darklin to be this way and who taught her about ‘the bad folk and their ways’.

Darklin is hugely manipulated and fed poisonous lies, so she doesn’t know what really lies beyond the woods. Through out the story we see her discovering the world and realising the truth for herself. Her feelings begin to change when she meets John and his family and they show her kindness regardless of her wrong doings. It really emphasises how good life can be if you find the right people and love deeply and true.

The story really struck a chord with me and made me feel so many things that I didn’t expect. It’s stories like this that make you look at the world around you and look closely.

I enjoyed the few little tales that were told within the book and felt they added depth and emotion to certain scenes. Gressyl’s story really intrigues me and I’d love to know more about how she came to be, other than what I discovered near the end of the book.

If you’re a fan of witches, beautiful writing and want to fall deep into the woods, then give In Fallen Woods a read.

I’d like to thank R.N Merle for sending the book my way in return for an honest review.

The Liebster Award

Hey guys!

I was nominated for The Liebster Award by my lovely friend Megs! Thank you my love. Go ahead and check out Meggan’s blog, it’s just as beautiful as her!

Rules for Accepting the Award

• Write about it on your blog and thank the person who nominated you. Write a bit about their blog.
• Display the award on your blog.
• Nominate 5 or 10 blogs which you feel deserve it.
• Let the nominees know you nominated them.
• Don’t forget to create 10 new questions for the nominees to answer. Notify your nominees and provide a link to your post so that they will know what to do. Once you are done, come back here and post the link so I can check your answers!

Meg’s Questions

What was the first book you read this year?

I actually read this book on my birthday, which is January 2nd, and gave it 4 stars.

If you could only read books from one author, who would you choose?

Do you really expect me to answer this Meggan?!

What is your favourite thing about blogging?

Sharing great books with like minded people! And of course the community. I know it’s had some backlash recently, but I love the community and how supportive everyone is. I’ve made such great blogging friends ❤

Recommend 3 books you think everyone needs to read this year!

 

 

What is your favourite film of 2018 so far?

I haven’t watched many films released this year yet! So I’ll say Jumanji, I watched it earlier in the year but it was released late December.

What is your favourite song at the moment?

Make Your Own Kind Of Music by Paloma Faith!

A 2018 book release you’re anticipating the most?

There’s a few, but my number one is Arch Enemies, sequel to Renegades!

What is your favourite blog post from this year?

I always like writing book tags. I think my favourite is my most recent one, the Aesthetically Pleasing Book Tag, I really enjoyed looking through my books and admiring their beauty.

What was the last book you bought?

I most recently bought a trilogy that was on sale on my Kindle. Blood Flesh Bone by Juliet Vane.

How many books do you have on your TBR? (If you don’t know, have a guess!)

Well. My GR’s to be read list is at 101. Then I have around 30 on my shelves that aren’t read and I don’t think they’re all listed in my GR’s list. Then there’s kindle books that again probably aren’t listed. 150-160? It could be so much worse!

My Questions

1. What in life makes you happiest?
2. Where is your favourite place to blog?
3. What made you want to start blogging?
4. List your top 3 reads of 2018 so far!
5. What is your least favourite thing about blogging?
6. Your all time favourite book? (I’ll let you have a few!)
7. Are you a writer or a reader? Perhaps both?
8. Do you use libraries?
9. What’s the most you’ve ever spent on one book?
10. Do you see yourself  blogging forever?

I tag ten bloggers who I think deserve some recognition!

Dani
Dora
Ash
Maggie
Tiffany
Beth
Courtney
Lauren
Jess
Lori

Hope you enjoyed, until next time ❣

 

Aesthetically Pleasing Book Tag

Hey friends!

I have a really fun tag for you today. One of my best blogging friends Dora kindly tagged me (she knows I’m obsessed with tags!) thank you babe! Go ahead and check out Dora’s blog, it’s beautiful and she’s amazing!

This tag is all about beautiful covers and pretty pages of books. It was created by Book Syrup over on YouTube.

Lego!

1. Best colour combo on a book cover.

I agree with Dora here, I love shades of Blue’s and Black’s for book covers.

2. Best typography/font on a book cover.

I love the font for both Caraval and Legendary, both UK and US covers, they’re very similar.

 

3. Best simple cover.

One Of Us Is Lying is definitely a simple cover, but I love the red and white.

4. Best endpages.

Not many of my books have nice end pages, but the hard copies of the Hush Hush series have pretty feathers.

5. Best map.

Again I don’t have many maps in my books, but the one for Caraval is really cool.

6. Best naked hardback.

Without a doubt, The Language Of Thorns is gorgeous. This is the Fairyloot special edition which is red lettering instead of orange.

7. Best back cover.

I can’t choose between these two, so I’m not going to! They’re both so beautiful! A Shiver Of Snow & Sky and Ink.

8. Best chapter headers.

These are from A Place Called Perfect and each chapter header is different and very cute!

 

 

9. Best illustrations.

Has to be from The Language Of Thorns. These are just two of the pictures and they’re stunning!

 

8. Best spines.

The one on my shelves that I always look at is Forest Of A Thousand Lanterns, even my husband agrees.

11. Favourite cover on your shelves.

What kind of question is this? That’s so difficult, but my favourite colour is purple and I’ve been in love with Daughter Of The Burning City since I got it!

 

I’ve never spent so long looking through my books! But I enjoyed every minute of it!

I tag:

Cody

Libby

Lindsay

Maggie

Ash

Until next time ❣

 

 

In The Assassin’s Arms – Katherine Hastings – Cover Reveal

Hey guys!

It’s been a little while since my last book cover reveal. But I’m back this month with another stunning cover from the amazing people at Fiery Seas Publishing! You will know by now how much I love working with Fiery Seas and their incredibly talented authors, so I’m happy to be doing so again.

In The Assassin’s Arms by Katherine Hastings is for fans of Historical Romance. It’s the first book in the Dagger Of Desire series. Here’s the synopsis.

John Douglas may be a well-trained political assassin, but he has met his match in the woman he once called a friend. When his childhood playmate re-enters his life, she’s not looking to rekindle their friendship… she’s out for blood.

With a vendetta to settle, Charlotte Cornewalle isn’t stopping until she finds the man who killed her father. All signs point to Robert Douglas, the leader of the opposing faction of assassins… and John’s father. To get her revenge, no one will stand in her way… not even the boy she once adored.

Fate forces them together as they fight to prove their innocence and right the wrongs they have suffered. Sparks fly from more than just their swords, but will they be able to put the past behind them? Will they be able to find the truth before it destroys them both?

About The Author

 

Katherine Hastings loves love. It’s why she writes romance novels. Getting lost writing a romantic adventure is one of her favorite pastimes. When she’s not on an adventure in her mind with her characters, she can be found at her home in Wisconsin snuggling her husband, two Boston Terriers, and the world’s naughtiest cat. Two things make Katherine want to leave her happy home these days… going for rides on her dressage pony or floating at the beach in her big inflatable raft. Writing her novels while floating in the lake is one of her ultimate pleasures… that and Fried Wisconsin Cheese Curds, of course.

Find out more about the author here:

Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
Website

Cover Reveal

 

I think the cover is a really nice fit for the story. It’s captivating and I love the fading of the trees in the background, it’s very tastefully done.

The book is due to be released on July 10th 2018 by Fiery Seas Publishing.

Hope you enjoyed, until next time ❣

The ‘Nope’ Book Tag

Hello my bookish beauties!

So I was browsing book blogs, as you do, and I came across Tiffany’s most recent post. The Nope Book Tag looks like some serious fun and we all know I’m extremely partial to a book tag 😉

Lego!

NOPE. ending: a book ending that made you go NOPE either in denial, rage, or simply because the ending was crappy.

I was honestly enjoying Snow Like Ashes, until stupid shit went down that didn’t make sense and it ended like garbage! A series I will never continue.

NOPE. protagonist: a main character you dislike and drives you crazy.

While I enjoyed Shatter Me for the most part, I honestly found Juliette so annoying. Her actions just didn’t make sense to me, she was very naive and just not very likeable.

NOPE. pairing: a “ship” you don’t support.

I’ve only read the first in The Raven Boys series, but Blue seemed to be veering towards Adam and I don’t want that at all, Gansey all the way.

NOPE. plot twist: a twist you didn’t see coming and didn’t like.

The twist at the end of ACOMAF was just a whole load of nope! It honestly hurt and I haven’t picked up ACOWAR yet because I’m scared of how it’ll end!

NOPE. genre: a genre you will never read.

Apart from Non-Fiction, I have no interest in Chick-lit.

NOPE. book format: book formatting you hate and avoid buying until it comes out in a different edition.

I don’t hate any format, that’s such a harsh word. I don’t listen to Audiobooks, they’re just not for me, so that’s my answer.

NOPE. trope: a trope that makes you go NOPE.

The one I dread the most – TRIANGLES! Nope nope nope nope.

NOPE. recommendation: a book recommendation that is constantly pushed at you, that you simply refuse to read.

Throne Of Glass. Tried it, don’t like it, the end.

NOPE. cliche: a cliche or writing pet peeve that always makes you roll your eyes.

The only thing that comes to mind, is the silly ways in which authors describe things. For example – ‘his voice was as smooth as chocolate’ – me and my friends were discussing this just today and it’s just stupid!

NOPE. love interest: the love interest that’s not worthy of being one.

 

Jake from Sublime Karma. He was a straight up A-hole and his feelings for Brie just didn’t come across as genuine. He constantly eyed up every girl within a foot radius, seriously dude, just gross!

NOPE. book: a book that shouldn’t have existed.

Nah, just nah.

NOPE. villain: a villain you would hate to cross.

I love her,  but she’s insane!

NOPE. death: a character death that still haunts you.

This death is always the first I think of and will always having me saying WHY! Just why did you have to do this J.K!

NOPE. author: an author you had a bad experience reading for and have decided to quit.

Sara Raasch, author of Snow Like Ashes. From my experience with that book, I don’t think I’ll ever pick up one of her books again. I’m scarred.

This was a lot of fun and I’ve discovered gifs for my post’s, yay – On the other hand I’m definitely going to be spamming them now, mwahaha, ah you’ll get over it!!

I tag:

Linda

Olivia

Megs

Erin

Until next time ❣

 

 

Underrated Authors You Should Read!

 

Hey guys!

This week I wanted to highlight some awesome authors who just don’t get enough recognition. We all know who the ‘popular’ authors are and it’s easy for people to instantly hype their books and jump on the bandwagon. Let’s show some love to some smaller authors, who are just as talented and deserve their work to be praised.

Here are five authors who I honestly love and I hope you give them a chance.

D.H Nevins 

 

 

Danielle Nevins has become one of my all time favourite authors. Not only is her work incredible, but she’s one of the sweetest and most supportive people I have had the pleasure to interact with. I also love her so much for wishing me a happy birthday in the acknowledgements of Angel Of Shadow! That blew me away!

I fell in love with Wormwood and then again with its sequel Angel Of Shadow. I love Dystopian Fiction and Danielle executes it brilliantly. I reviewed both books and loved them both. Please give Danielle a chance and support her work, you won’t regret it!

Wormwood Review
Angel Of Shadow Review

You can find and support Danielle here:

Twitter
Website

R.J Furness

 

The first thing I want to say about R.J Furness, is how freaking kind and thoughtful he is! So much so that he sent my son both of the Orgo Runners books, just because, not for any arterial motive. He also put my son’s name and small review at the front of Orgo Runners Glider Attack. My son was so excited to see his name and thoughts on the book and that just made my day. R.J is so incredibly supportive of us bloggers too. He constantly retweets our posts and is a genuine delight to talk to!

You can find and support R.J here:

Twitter
Website

Allison Mullinax

 

Allison Mullinax was a huge surprise for me. I found her book Break The Line when I joined the cover reveal and blog tour with Fiery Seas Publishing. I honestly didn’t expect much from Break The Line, but it was shockingly good! It turned out to be so much more than I expected from a romance novel. Allison creates so much emotion and beauty in her work and it’s honestly so refreshing to see from a romance author. She’s so lovely to chat with too and always takes the time to like or retweet.

Her next book When It All Goes Still will be released on May 15th and I urge you to go check it out, along with Break The Line.

Break The Line Review

You can find and support Allison here:

Twitter
Website

Brittany Pate

Brittany Pate was another author who I found through Fiery Seas Publishing. Her romance novel is more on the adult side and she executes it well. I anticipated a lot of cliché and possibly inst-love, but I got an addictive page turner that I finished in 24 hours! I was captivated by her style of writing and the intensity of the story. Brittany definitely knows how to spin a tale and weave in the romance. If you’re a fan of fantasy romance then please do check out Fire’s Kiss! I also love Brittany and her sweet nature, she’s also very supportive on Twitter.

Fire’s Kiss Review

You can find and support Brittany here:

Twitter
Website

Anna Banks

 

Anna Banks is by far the most well-known of the five authors. But when I’ve ever mentioned her or her books, no one has a clue who she is and that’s a travesty. I discovered Anna’s first book Nemesis is my first Fairyloot box back in 2016. I instantly loved the cover and the story was incredible. With a strong female character who I immediately loved and set in an Egyptian world, it wasn’t similar to anything I’d ever read before. The character’s emotions felt so raw and real and the world was beautifully created. I honestly don’t understand how people haven’t heard of Anna. When I was searching for the sequel Ally online, Anna kindly helped me on Twitter and was so lovely and actually followed me. I urge you to give Nemesis a go if you love Fantasy with a very slow burn Romance.

You can find and support Anna here:

Twitter
Website

I love supporting authors who are a little bit different or that bit more supportive of us bloggers. Their talent and work should be recognised just as much as the bigger authors. This is my first five authors, but I plan to highlight plenty more amazing authors in the future!

Have you heard of these authors? Which authors do you think are underrated? Let me know!

I hope you enjoyed, until next time ❣

 

This Or That Book Tag

Hey guys, it’s tag time again! Dani kindly tagged me for this one and she found the post on Jenn’s blog Bound To Writing.

You know I love a good book tag, this looks like fun!

Lego!

Audiobook OR Text book?

Text, I’m not a fan of Audio books, just not for me.

Paperback OR Hardback?

From a collectors point of view Hardback, they stay nice for longer, but Paperbacks are easier to hold for me.

Fiction OR Non-fiction?

Fiction til the day I die. Non-Fiction is so boring for me.

Bookshop OR Online?

Um, this is a bit of both. I love going to bookshops and browsing, but I definitely buy more online.

Standalone OR Trilogy?

Standalone definitely. Whilst a trilogy can be fun, I also find them tedious. I hate waiting til the end of an entire series to fully know the end. I also find that I can get bored and stop mid series.

Heavy & Long OR Short & Sweet?

Short and sweet. It’s the same kind of thing as trilogies. books that are too long can get boring.

Reading somewhere Cosy OR in the Sun?

Always cosy. I never read in the sun, I prefer to be in pyjamas and snuggled up.

Hot Chocolate OR Coffee?

Gimme that hot choc any day!

I tag:

Jordan

Lori

Linda

Megs

Olivia

Erin

Cody

Hope you enjoyed! Until next time ❣

 

The Beast’s Heart – Leife Shallcross – Arc Review

I am neither monster nor man—yet I am both.

I am the Beast.

The day I was cursed to this wretched existence was the day I was saved—although it did not feel so at the time.

My redemption sprung from contemptible roots; I am not proud of what I did the day her father happened upon my crumbling, isolated chateau. But if loneliness breeds desperation then I was desperate indeed, and I did what I felt I must. My shameful behaviour was unjustly rewarded.

My Isabeau. She opened my eyes, my mind and my heart; she taught me how to be human again.

And now I might lose her forever.

 

Beautifully written, Charming retelling, Lays bare the beasts’s heart, Enjoyable read.

The Beauty & The Beast is one of my all time favourite fairytales. I adore retellings of stories and have read many for The B&B. When I saw a proof copy of The Beast’s Heart in the summer of last year, I was ecstatic! The cover was beautiful and I was so excited for the book after reading the synopsis. So naturally I requested it as soon as found it on Netgalley and couldn’t wait to read it!

Honestly I am disappointed. I wanted to love this so much and am so sad with how I feel about it. I suppose I just expected more and was anticipating something amazing and this just wasn’t it for me.

The writing is beautiful, it truly is, but I found a lot of it so unnecessary. There was an abundance of extravagant descriptions of things and the explanation was just too much and it wasn’t needed. I found the story dragging in some parts because of this and it sadly took away some of the magic of the story for me.

In the places were more information was needed, there was none. The details of how the magic worked was a bit lacking. Like I know it’s magical but I felt like I needed a bit of an explanation and didn’t really get one, so it was slightly confusing for me and didn’t end up blowing me away like I wanted it to and like it should have.

Aside from these negatives, I did enjoy the story. Some of this comes from my love of the fairytale itself though.

I really did love the Beast and I felt very sorry for him. I enjoyed the scenes with him alone the most, which is unusual for me, I usually lean towards the gushy scenes between the two characters, but I felt like they didn’t cut it. Isabeau was quite cold for a good part of the story and I never truly warmed to her. So this made what should have been the gushy lovey dovey scenes quite lukewarm and I felt really dissatisfied with them. There wasn’t enough emotion from her side and she was a tad annoying.

I was fond of the scenes through Isabeau’s family’s point of view. I enjoyed learning about those characters and seeing how their lives were faring without Isabeau. They ended up being more interesting to me than they probably should have.

Overall I did enjoy the story and was pleased with the ending, but I was frustrated with certain elements and feel a bit let down. I was so excited for the book and it just didn’t live up to my expectations. If  you are a fan of retellings then give it a go, you might like the aspects that I didn’t and the writing was really beautiful.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for sending the book my way in return for an honest review.

The Beast’s Heart is due to release May 3rd 2018.

Goodreads

 

Renegades – Justice or Anarchy?

Back in November last year I read an arc of Renegades by Marissa Meyer and if you’ve known me since then, you’ll be aware of how much I freaking loved it! I am in no way a superhero fan, it’s just not my thing, so the fact that Renegades was such an amazing read for me is extraordinary.

A couple of weeks ago I was extremely excited to have been contacted by Lucy from Macmillan. The publishers really liked my write up of Renegades and wanted me to take part in this awesome promo! The paperback edition of Renegades is releasing today April 5th and to celebrate, Macmillan is asking you to choose your side!

Renegades

In Gatlon City, the Renegades are everything any young prodigy should want to be: fighting for justice, defending the weak and protecting the city. In short – Heroes.

After the day of triumph over the rebel Anarchists, it was the Renegades who rebuilt the city on the smouldering remains of the old one, working tirelessly to heal the wounds that the villain gangs had left upon society. The Renegades provided shelter, created community gardens and agriculture when food in the city got scarce, they even set up schools to educate Gatlon’s children. As the Renegades grew stronger, so did the city.

 

Anarchists

For hundreds of years, prodigies spent their lives in hiding – hunted, feared and persecuted for their powers. Ace Anarchy changed all of that. He united the most powerful prodigies he could find and together they rebelled.

Prodigies banded together for the first time in history. Some full of resentment, others desperately trying to find an acceptance that never came. They demanded fair treatment and human rights and protection under the law, and in some countries, the panicking governments hastened to cater to them.. but in other countries, the rebellions turned violent. They called it the Age Of Anarchy.

What do I choose? Anarchy

My decision was quite easy. Nova is my girl and from the very beginning of the book, we learn that the Renegades didn’t keep their promise. They didn’t protect Nova’s family, but Ace Anarchy did. Nova wants vengeance and I want it for her. That might sound very bitter, but it is indeed just. The Renegades aren’t all they seem to be. They may have wanted to protect and be genuine heroes to begin with, but as time has gone on and more and more prodigies have joined the Renegades, it’s not quite the valiant team anymore.

In the story, the streets are still filled with poor people, who have crumpled houses and not a penny to their name, just trying to cling to some sort of life. The Renegades don’t quite have the same problem. The Renegades HQ building is a huge tower of glass and filled with all the luxuries you could ever want. The Renegades don’t want for anything and it’s overindulgence to say the least. They live the lives of stars, heroes upon a pedestal and the vanity is sickening. They control everything. Is this what the Renegades were meant to be?

While the Renegades are free, the Anarchists are left to rot in the sewers that they call home. Scrounging for food, sleeping on make shift beds and in tents. In this right? Not in my opinion. The ‘choice’ of newborn prodigies was to submit to becoming a Renegade and live by their rules, becoming a puppet of sorts. Or be an outcast, a supposed villain, forever hunted without a choice. We were all villains in the beginning, we weren’t given much of a choice. 

*Renegades Paperback*

Neither side is totally bad or totally good, which is why it might be so difficult to choose. In my eyes the Renegades were trying to help to begin with, to create a type of government and a new world without villainy. But that got lost somewhere along the way and there are many secrets being kept from the public and even from some of the Renegades themselves.

So I choose the Anarchists, sometimes it’s good to be a little bad, right 😉

I’m really looking forward to the sequel, Arch Enemies, which is due to be released later this year. I’m excited to see where Nova and Adrian’s stories take them and how they will interwine again. Is it too much to ask for a happy ending? Probably. 

I’d like to thank Lucy at Macmillan for inviting me to join and for sending out the Renegades proof and swag, you are awesome!

If you’d like to read my review of Renegades you can find it here.

Go get your hands on that gorgeous paperback! And let me know which side you choose?!

Until next time ❣