End of Year Book Haul!

It is officially the last day of December and the end of 2019, so it’s time for me to share the books I bought/received in the last 31 days!

It’s hard to believe that another year has come to an end, but I have some incredible books that I can’t wait to get to in 2019. Next year is going to be an amazing one for reading, I just know it because there are so many debuts that I am looking forward to and series that I want to complete (as well as books that have been sitting patiently on my shelves).

To kick off the end of the year and month, these are the books I received as Christmas gifts.

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa

The Dark Vault by V. E. Schwab

I can’t tell you how excited I am to read every single one of these books and the covers all look so amazing! I’ve heard some great things about all of these, especially Girls of Paper and Fire, which I will definitely be reading in January at some point.

I wasn’t planning on buying any books myself this month (apart from a preorder I had on my Kindle) but then I saw there was a Kindle sale and I just couldn’t help myself. All of the books you see below apart from the pre-order cost me just over £5 altogether, which is amazing! The book I pre-ordered was Evermore, which is the sequel to Everless that I read last year.

Circe by Madeline Miller (currently reading)

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang

Evermore by Sara Holland

The first four books are all ones that I have been dying to read but just never got the chance to. There was also the fact that some of them were quite expensive, so I’m glad that the sale happened and I can now see what all the hype is about.

Finally, these are the books that I requested on NetGalley!

Enchantee by Gita Trelease

Romanov by Nadine Brandes

Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

I didn’t actually request Wicked Saints, I was asked if I wanted to participate in the blog tour that will be happening and I obviously said yes! I follow Emily on Twitter and have seen so much about this book that I cannot wait to dive into it at the beginning of the year.

All in all, this was a great month for book buying and receiving, which should keep me going well into the first few months of the year. One of my 2019 goals is to spend less time on social media and more time reading. I keep imaging how many pages or chapters I could read in the 20 or 30 minutes I spend on Twitter.

Let me know what books you bought for the month of December and which ones you are looking forward to the most in 2019!

November Book Haul!

Considering I haven’t been blogging regularly for a few months, I’m a little behind on my book hauls as I bought quite a few books in that time. However, it’s too many to go through in a single blog post, so I thought I’d go back to the regular post format of only including the ones from the month before.

It was a relatively quiet month for book buying, mainly because I’m saving up for all the amazing ones coming out next year. I also gave a list to my dad that have the ones I might want for Christmas, so I can’t buy too many.

There were no physical books that I bought in the month of November, but I did buy A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir on my Kindle. I’m currently almost 60% of the way through and I am loving it! If I didn’t have to work, I would have probably already finished it. Plus, that new UK cover looks amazing, I love it!

I’m hoping I can finish this before the weekend because I have a little TBR I want to get through during the month of December. While that was the only book I bought (for an incredible £0.99!!) I did get approved to read two 2019 releases on NetGalley and I am so excited for them. They are…

The Girl King by Mimi Yu and Descendant of the Crane by Joan He. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I was going to be approved to read either of these because so many people have been talking about them, but I’m so glad I was. These are definitely on my TBR for this month, along with a couple other past ARCs that I never got a chance to read.

That is all for this book haul! I hope you had a great haul for the month of November and fingers crossed we all get brand new books for Christmas!

June Book Haul and Being Ill

This week has been so bad and I am just waiting for it to be over. I was off work Monday and Tuesday thanks to a nasty chest infection that my boyfriend passed on to me, and I spent today working from home because I can’t stop coughing. I’ll probably have to do the same tomorrow as it’s not improving, and I just want it to be the weekend so I can sleep.

It is also the reason that I haven’t been able to blog as much, but I tried to gather as much energy as I could to write this post because it’s a short one. The book buying ban is back until I finish some more of the books I already own. I ended up only buying one book on my Kindle in June and resisted the urge to buy the last book in a series (I might also be putting it off because I don’t want it to end).

The only book I bought is…

And it was so good! Again, still need to write a review but I’ve been too ill this week to even think back over this book (it is still playing on my mind though). Fingers crossed, if I feel better, I will get my thoughts on this book out into the world over the weekend, because it was so good!

I was also approved to read a book on NetGalley that I am going to get around to this month, which is…

This sounds quite interesting and that cover is gorgeous! I saw a few other people talking about it on Twitter and figured I would give it a go. The publication date is the end of the month, so I have plenty of time to read it.

I’m sorry for the short and sweet blog post, but I just feel pants. And to think this was the week I wanted to get my blogging back on track. Nope! Even my writing has suffered, but I will be playing catch up over the next week I think.

Did you buy many books last month?

May Book Haul – Some of My Favourites (Plus a Little Chat About My Writing)

I cannot tell you how happy I am that it is the weekend, not because work was bad (it was very good and the week flew by), but because I am so excited to get reading and writing. I was sat at my desk in work and was hit by a book idea out of nowhere and I am obsessed. I’ve been editing my other book for a little while now and was getting stuck with it, so I’m hoping that this burst of inspiration will help me in the future. I just need to get the creativity flowing again.

For now I am going to be taking a break to focus on this new story, which features dragons, and I am so excited! I already have the characters in my head and I can see where the story is going to go. For now I am getting the first couple thousand words written to get a feel for the world and then I will probably get to work on doing a vague outline. I did just want to share two aesthetics that I created for the idea (which I am quite proud of).

Everybody, meet Afira and the darkness that is threatening to destroy her world. I won’t say much else at the moment apart from the fact that there are dragons and elemental magic.

I should probably talk about the main thing here, which is my book haul for the month of May!

My Haul…

Rebel Spring by Morgan Rhodes

Gathering Darkness by Morgan Rhodes

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Frozen Tides by Morgan Rhodes

Crystal Storm by Morgan Rhodes

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

Out of these six, I have read the three in the first image, and I’m currently reading Frozen Tides (which I am loving). I feel like Morgan Rhodes took over my book haul a lot this time, but when the books are on offer you’ve gotta buy them.

Books From NetGalley…

Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

Only one book from NetGalley because I haven’t been requesting many. There just aren’t any that have caught my eye, although I did get accepted for one earlier on in the week that I’m excited about.

This is an average haul for me and I think it’ll be my last for a little while (until I have to buy the last book in the Falling Kingdoms series). I’m trying to make my way through all the books I haven’t read yet, which will probably take me all summer.

Wish me luck!

March Book Haul – Books Make Great Gifts

For February I was on a book buying ban, and while I was technically finished with it, I still only bought three books myself (mainly because I knew I would be getting some for my birthday). One was a pre-order that I had been waiting a very long time for, and the other two were so I could kick-start a series I had been wanting to read for a while now.

I wish I could have bought more but as I am moving house in less than two weeks all my money had to go to that (still fun though).

My Haul…

The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas

Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody

So far, I have read two of these and I am currently reading Nevernight (which I am loving btw).

Kindle Books…

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

I have been slowly making my way through the books I have on my Kindle, so I haven’t been buying many of them lately. I tend to buy physical copies when they have beautiful covers (I know, I shouldn’t, but I can’t turn down a gorgeous hardcover).

Books From NetGalley…

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian

I was lucky enough to be approved for this debut and I am so excited to read it once I finish my current read.

A relatively small haul, but still one that is full of books that have had amazing reviews. I’m trying to catch up with all the books that I already own and while it may take me a while to get through them all, I know I will one day.

How many books did you buy in March?

January Book Haul (I think I bought too many)

January seemed to be a month where there were some great deals and I just couldn’t resist buying some more books and completing a few series. There were a couple of new releases that I got my hands on as well and while I haven’t read all of them yet, I will be soon.

In total, I think I bought 10 books, which definitely seems like a lot to me, and I was also approved for 3 on NetGalley, one of which I have now read and reviewed. But after two months of receiving a lot of books I think that it is time I put a book buying ban into place for February (let’s take bets on how long that lasts).

My Haul…

A Court of Thorns and Roses

A Court of Mist and Fury

A Court of Wings and Ruin (all by Sarah, J Maas)

What do you do when every book in the series is under a fiver? You buy them all of course!

Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas

I think you can tell who my favourite author is…

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

So, these were all the physical books that I bought and after buying The Cruel Prince in hardback I was definitely reminded of why I love them so much. Now I’m buying all the new books in hardback.

Kindle Books…

The Young Queens by Kendare Blake

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

This Savage Song by V. E. Schwab

Books From NetGalley…

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

As you can see, there are some pretty amazing books in this haul and I cannot wait to read them all. If only I could skimp on the sleep and stay up all night reading. I would definitely choose that as my superpower.

What books did you get in the month of January?

December Book Haul (So Many Books)

So many new books came into my possession during the month of December, whether I bought them myself or I was gifted them. Let’s just say that my TBR pile got considerably bigger (not that I’m complaining, I love buying books – in fact, I just bought 3 more and pre-ordered 2…I think I have a problem).

I definitely think that this is the largest book haul I’ve had since I started this blog and I can’t tell you how excited I am to read them all. Thanks to my boyfriend buying me a Kindle Paperwhite for Christmas I have quite a few e-books as well (they’re cheap so it’s okay…right?).

My Haul…

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardguo (E-book)

Heartless by Marissa Meyer (E-book)

As you can see, there are quite a few books here and I have no idea when I’ll get the chance to read them all, but I can’t wait!

What books did you get during the month of December?

Merry Christmas + Bookish Gifts

Merry Christmas (or Happy Holidays if you don’t celebrate Christmas)! I hope you’ve all had a wonderful day and enjoyed spending time with your loved ones. For me, it’s been a blast and I couldn’t have wished for anything more. I have to say that my Christmas Eve lasted until at least two in the morning (very late and I was very drunk), but we had so much playing games, laughing until I had a coughing fit (still ill from my cold/flu) and eating some amazing food with my boyfriend, mum and sister.

As we were up late the following the night, we didn’t wake up until around ten and our morning consisted of eating croissants (a family tradition) and opening up our presents. I got a selection box, some money and of course…bookish gifts that you can see below.

I’m going to take a moment and talk about the Kindle Paperwhite that my amazing boyfriend got for me (along with a hot pink leather case and the charger adaptor). Rewind to about five or six years ago and I would be proudly telling people that I would never buy a Kindle and that I was a traditional book girl. Well, I certainly changed my tune as I had been on about one for a while and he got me it! Safe to say I am very happy and have two new books for the Kindle, which are:

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

As well as this I received three books from my dad that were from a list of about six (of course, he chose the three that I really, really wanted). What surprised me is that The Last Magician is actually the US version (I can tell from the flimsier pages) so it is much bigger, but I like that.

The rest of the day was filled with helping my mum prepare the Christmas dinner and boy, did it stress me out a bit. Luckily, nothing burned and everything was ready on time. And let me just tell you now, it was absolutely incredible (although the food defeated us in the end and we couldn’t finish it all). Here is a picture of the spread and me in my green crown.

Overall, it has been an incredible day and getting to spend it with the ones I love is more than I could ask for. Tomorrow, for Boxing Day, we are heading over to my boyfriend’s parents house for a second Christmas Dinner and once we are home, it will be Games Night round two!

I hope you all got what you wished for and had an enjoyable day. Merry Christmas everybody!

October Book Haul & November TBR

October was extremely quiet on the book-buying front with only one addition to my shelves. I am trying not to buy many books in the lead up to Christmas. One reason being that I have a lot that I want to read which I’ve already bought (don’t want to get ahead of myself). The second reason is that I know people will be wanting to buy me stuff and it’s easier to give them a list of books that I want and let them choose what one to get. Can you imagine how big the December book haul will be? I can’t wait!

So, getting onto the one lonely book that my boyfriend kindly bought for me. I got One Dark Throne knowing that I would be reading Three Dark Crowns relatively quickly last month. You can find my reviews for both here and here.

Like I said, there are a lot of books that I still want to read before I got out and buy anymore. The month of November will be filled with starting new series and they are all ones that I have been dying to read, but for some reason never got around to. They are the following…

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen #2)

Talon by Julie Kagawa

I already know that some of you will be asking why I haven’t read any of Sarah J. Maas’ books and honestly, I don’t have a good enough answer. This book has been sat on my shelf since 2012/13 and I don’t know why I haven’t picked it up yet. I’ve been hearing so many people raving about it, especially the newer ones, so you can be guaranteed that I will buy more from this series in November.

What books are you planning on reading this month?

September Book Haul

In the month of September I made it a goal of mine to start reading more and what better way to do that than to buy a whole load of new books? Towards the end of September I made my way to the Book Depository, an incredible site that sells millions of books, often at a cheaper price. As well as this you are able to find the US and UK versions of books (very helpful if you aren’t keen on a certain design, because let’s face it, the covers do matter sometimes). You can find the link to the site here.

The only problem with using this site is that they will sometimes send your order out in multiple packages. So, when I ordered 5 books recently, I got 5 packages delivered to my house throughout the week.

Now to talk about the actual books that I bought and I am very excited to get reading these throughout October. After reading Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (for the second time, as I never finished it the first) I knew I had to buy the next two, Glass Sword and King’s Cage. I have managed to avoid spoilers for this series and cannot wait to find out what is in store for our main character, Mare. Victoria Aveyard really knows how to create a world that feels real, with characters that you grow to love, and even despise. I must say that the twist at the end of the first book was unexpected and is what urged me to buy the others.

Next up, I decided to buy A Discovery Of Witches by Deborah Harkness, the first book in the All Souls Trilogy. I am a little late reading this one, considering it was first published in 2011. When I found out that this book was being made into a TV show with Teresa Palmer and Matthew Goode, I knew I had to read it and find out more. A book that has witches, vampires and daemons is bound to be an exciting tale!

It’s seems that every book reviewer I have seen is raving about this series, so how could I not buy it? Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake is said to be a gripping and dark tale that will hook you until the end. I guess I am quite lucky that the second instalment in the series, One Dark Throne, was just released last month. If this book is as amazing as everyone says, I am sure I will be heading down to my nearest Waterstones to buy it.

And finally, the last book I decided to buy is A Darker Shade Of Magic by V. E. Schwab. One of my favourite booktubers, PeruseProject, mentioned this in quite a few of her videos and it caught my attention instantly. I love a good fantasy book and with two more in the series to read after, A Gathering Of Shadows and A Conjuring Of Light, there will be plenty to keep me busy.

Let me know in the comments if you have read any of these books, or if you have any suggestions that I would like.