My Christmas Experience for 2018!

Merry Christmas to all my amazing followers, although Christmas is almost over for me as I write this. I hope you’ve all had an amazing day whether you’re religious or not. Personally, I’m an atheist even though my Irish family are Catholic, but Christmas has always been a time to spend it with family, eat delicious food and have a lot of fun!

Which is exactly what we did for Christmas 2018, kicking off the festivities at my mum’s house on Christmas Eve for a buffet and games night, which always gets way too competitive! We also looked through some old photo albums and you can see a very old picture of me below (note: I absolutely loved this outfit, especially the boots). It was so much fun to reminisce and look back on the presents we used to get as kids and laugh at our ridiculous fashion sense.

I feel so lucky to have so many people that love, care and know me so well because I got some great gifts that I can’t wait to use. My dad has been saying for years that my Christmas list needs to be something other than books, so I put down art supplies and that’s exactly what I got. I cannot wait to branch out into different mediums in 2019 instead of sticking with pencils and just look at all those colours!

Of course, I got some great new books, which I will post about in my wrap up for the month, and a controller for the Xbox as my old one broke a while ago, so now I can play with my boyfriend again. Honestly, this is all I could have wanted. It’s harder to buy for people as you get older because when we want or need something, we just buy it ourselves, but this pile of things I love made me so happy.

This year was a little different for Christmas day as it was the first time that my boyfriend and I would be having it on our own in our house. Over the years we have spent it with my mum, with his family and with my dad in Ireland, but we got to do it ourselves and it was so much fun. I’ve done big meals before, so I wasn’t too stressed and everything ended up being timed perfectly for dinner, which was three courses. Unfortunately, I ended up doing too much food for the main course, but it was so delicious I wish I could have it again!

Then we proceeded to watch Ant-man and the Wasp, before walking a few streets away to my aunty’s house where my mum, uncle and some cousins were drinking away. The best part of Christmas is always spending time with family and laughing, and while I wasn’t in Ireland to celebrate, I spoke to everyone on the phone/face timed them (which is a lot of people considering I have 8 auntys and uncles, and two sets of them have two kids each, as well as my granny and grandad).

Now, I am sitting on the couch, feeling so grateful that my year is going to end on a high note because I know the next 6 days will be amazing (even if I have to work for some of them but it’s fine cause I work from home).

I hope all of you ate some tasty food, got the gifts you were wishing for and enjoy everything that Christmas is! Although, I don’t think I’m quite ready to pack my tree up just yet because I love it too much!!

Award: Sunshine Blogger Award

It is crazy to think that me and my little blog are being nominated for The Sunshine Blogger Award by the lovely Rachael at Beach Bookworm. Thank you so much for this!

I still can’t believe that I have nearly 300 followers now and there are so many people who care about what I think. Believe me, it is the best feeling when someone says that my review or thoughts on a book have made them check it out. That’s all I ever want to do with this blog, to spread the book love.

Rules:
1. Thank the blogger who nominated you in a blog post and link back to their blog.
2. Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.
3. Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.
4. List the rules and display the sunshine blogger award logo in your post/or on your blog.

Rachael’s questions for me are…

1. What’s your favourite thing about blogging?

I think I kind of answered this question above, but I love how my views on a book can make someone give a book a try for the first time, and sometimes even for a second time. It is great talking with like-minded people and making friends through our love of books.

2. Have you met a fellow blogger face to face?

No, I haven’t but I would love to! It seems that most people live in the US, while I am over here living in the UK, in a place that isn’t London.

3. What is your favourite TV show?

Hmm, this is a tough one. Are we asking about my all time favourite, or my current favourite? My all time favourite TV show is The Vampire Diaries. That show was everything to me and I can’t tell you how much I cried at the finale (spoiler, it was a lot) and it will always hold a special place in my heart. My current favourite though is The 100, because that show is so damn good!

4. What is your biggest fear?

I have a weird fear of ladders/step ladders. I’m okay with heights now because I’ve been on roller coasters and up high buildings, but I refuse to go up ladders. I can’t do it.

5. Do you have any pets?

I personally don’t have any because my landlord won’t allow it, but my mum has a staffie called Willow, who is just the cutest. (There she is, in all her glory and her creepy, glossy eyes)

6. How many books have you read, so far, this year?

I just finished my 25th book last night, which I am pretty happy with. I set myself a goal of 50, so to be halfway when the fifth month of the year isn’t even over yet is pretty good. I was just talking to my dad about it and he was shocked at the amount. The crazy thing is, I know of people online who have read so much more!

7. Tea or coffee?

Coffee, all the way! I feel like I’m the only English person who hates tea. Nasty stuff *pulls a face*.

8. Where is your favourite reading spot?

My bed, just because it’s cosy and relaxing. Although sometimes I get too comfortable and fall asleep, which always ruins my reading time.

9. How happy are you today on a sale of 1 to 10?

I would say that I am a 9, mainly because I am working from home tomorrow and its a long weekend here in the UK thanks to a bank holiday on Monday. And I have my new sofa arriving on Saturday (so many good things).

10. Which era do you wish you could visit?

Ooh, this is hard! There are so many that would be interesting, but I think the 20s would have been a fun time, just to visit. Not so much if I were to live there. I think I would have to be rich in that case and get invited to all the parties.

11. Favourite quote?

I don’t think I have a favourite quote when I think about it. I’ve been sat thinking about it for a good few minutes and still can’t come up with one.

And those are my answers! I am going to nominate the following bloggers:

Beth @ Reading Every Night

Destiny @ Howling Libraries

Chelsea @ A Very Bookish Girl

Sophie @ Sophie’s Corner

Danielle @ Life of a Literary Nerd

Kyera @ Kyera’s Library

Shanah @ Bionic Book Worm

Katie @ Never Not Reading

Ashley @ Socially Awkward Bookworm

Larkin @ Wonderfilled Reads

Misty @ Mistysbookspace

My questions to you are…

1. What is your favourite hobby, besides reading?

2. If you could choose one book series to read for the rest of your life, what would it be?

3. Cats or dogs?

4. What is your biggest dream?

5. What book are you most anticipating in the second half of the year?

6. Are you a reader or a writer? Or both?

7. Have you ever not finished a book?

8. Describe your ideal holiday.

9. What genre do you like the least?

10. If you could live on any place on Earth, where would it be?

11. What is your biggest pet peeve when it comes to books?

You are all great bloggers and I think everyone should check them out! If you choose to take part, I hope you enjoy answering my questions.

WWW Wednesday – West-African Inspired Fantasy

WWW Wednesday was originally hosted by A Daily Rhythm, and was taken over by Taking on a World of Words.

The long Easter weekend is coming up and I am so ready for a few days away from work, catching up on sleep and going out shopping for bits for our new home. I’ve already bought a lot of stuff but I feel like I haven’t even made a dent in the list. Not to mention the fact that everything seems so expensive *crying emoji*.

I’m also going to be doing a lot of reading over the five days I have off and if I can read a couple of books I will be more than happy. And do some editing of my WIP, obviously.

What Are You Currently Reading?

I have less than 100 pages to read and I can tell you now, this is my favourite book of 2018 so far. There have been some amazing debuts already this year, but this story is special. I was hooked from the beginning by the world that is cruel and dangerous, yet mystical. The characters are incredible and I have so much love for Zelie and her journey. I can’t forget to mention that the writing is amazing, so fast paced and the descriptions are great. I cannot wait to finish it tonight (because I will stay up late if I have to).

What Did You Recently Finish Reading?

I finished Siege and Storm a few days ago, but have yet to write a review for it. Hopefully I can get around to it tomorrow, but I really enjoyed the second instalment and am looking forward to seeing how it all ends for the characters, especially after that ending.

What Do You Think You’ll Read Next?

As you can see, I’m a little undecided on what to read next. As much as I want to carry on with the Throne of Glass series, I really want to start ACOTAR because everyone says how good it is. I will be reading Norse Mythology on my Kindle so I just have to decide between the other two. I’m sure you’ll find out which one I chose whenever a review gets uploaded.

What have you been reading so far this week?

Wrapping Up The Week (19th March – 25th March)

This week has been incredible and I haven’t felt this happy in a long time. Not only did I get to celebrate my birthday yesterday, but my boyfriend and I got accepted to rent our first house together and we have started to buy things already. With less than a month until the moving date we have a lot to sort out (and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t stressed, because I am). At the same time as being exciting it is a little nerve wrecking as it’s my first time living without my mum or my boyfriend’s parents (we stayed with them for a bit). Still, I can’t wait to decorate my own place. You can probably expect some home-ware/moving blog posts closer to the date.

My birthday was relaxing and I definitely needed the three day weekend. Luckily we have another long weekend coming up thanks to Good Friday and Easter Monday (thank you bank holidays). Due to the celebrations I haven’t done a lot of reading, but I did get some new books that I can’t wait to read!

Books I read and reviewed…

While I haven’t gotten around to writing a review for this yet, I really enjoyed Siege and Storm, so much so that I was almost tempted to buy the last book (I didn’t because I have too many to read already). But once I read a few more I might treat myself, especially when it’s so cheap on the Kindle. The characters in this story have really captured me and I am excited to find out how it all ends for them.

I am currently reading…

I am currently 116 pages in and I am loving it! The writing style is one of my favourites to read, it flows nicely, there’s been some action, mythology, and I’ve been introduced to some great characters. This world is so unique and different from anything else I’ve read. I just know that I am going to love this book if it carries on this way. There’s been a lot of love for Children of Blood and Bone (I mean, it hit number 1 on the NYT Bestsellers list straight away) and I’m excited to see if it lives up to the hype.

Posts from the week…

Top Ten Tuesday: Books at the Top of My Spring TBR

WWW Wednesday – Fantastical Worlds

It’s My Birthday!

A fairly quiet week due to being so busy with life and such, but I hit my target of three so I’m happy with it.

My WIP…

I’m still on a hiatus from my editing. I know I need to start, and I had planned to, but with my birthday weekend it fell to the side. This week will be different as it will be a lot slower and more relaxed. Plus, with the extra long weekend I will have lots of time to plonk myself down in front of the laptop.

Other Fun Stuff…

Most of you have probably read about what happened for my birthday and how I had my hair dyed, so that’s the majority of my fun stuff. I got around to watching Logan (I cried) and Shadowhunters is FINALLY back on Netflix. The first episode was really good and I can’t wait to watch some more. Even Riverdale had a better episode this week (although Archie and Veronica still annoy the hell out of me).

To sum it all up, this week has been one of my favourites of the whole year so far. I feel happy and blessed to have so many people around me that support and love me. 2018 is gonna be my year, I can feel it.

I hope you all had a great week as well! Let me know what books you got around to reading in the comments below.

It’s My Birthday!

This week has been amazing so far. Not only have we found a place to live, I also got to celebrate my birthday with my favourite people. At work we get a gift day for our birthday that doesn’t come out of our annual leave, which meant I was off on Friday. But before I left on the Thursday everyone came over to my desk with gifts and chocolate cake to celebrate. I hadn’t been expecting it at all and I may have felt my cheeks get a little warm from embarrassment.

Yesterday I went out for an early birthday meal with my boyfriend for an Italian and it was amazing, as you can see from the pictures below. It helped that I got a £25 gift card from work that could be used at Zizzi’s. The food never disappoints and we were left feeling very full (I will admit, I had a food induced nap, it was amazing).

My actual birthday was spent getting my hair sorted at the hairdressers (and my hairdresser kindly gave me an extra treatment for free) and then I headed home to open my presents from my family. My mum went out and bought a ton of kitchenware for our new home and it’s made me so excited for moving in. There’s still a lot more to buy but at least I’m off to a great start. I also got some books from my dad and sister that I am super excited to read! As well as this I received some beautiful flowers from my boyfriend that are making the room smell lovely, and a brand new coat in a style that I have been searching forever for (I’ve had my current for 6 years, it was time to move on).

Overall it has been a great day and I feel very lucky to have so many people that care and love me. Now it’s time to go and have some of the delicious chocolate cake that is waiting for me downstairs!

November Book Haul & December TBR

I had intended on writing this post yesterday, but I had to go to the hospital with my boyfriend and I was stuck there for almost 5 hours straight (note to self: never get ill because it was awful waiting around). It was a very long day and by the time we got home I didn’t have the energy to write. But fear not, I am feeling much better today after nearly 10 hours sleep.

My book haul for November is slightly less than I would have liked. I did order some books, but unfortunately I missed the delivery and had to reschedule it and now they won’t arrive until Monday. I did think about including them anyway, but I suppose I can just add them onto December’s Haul (that will be a big one with Christmas on the way).

My Haul…

I received two e-books from Netgalley last month, both of which I am looking forward to reading this month, ready to post reviews before they are released in January.

The Sacrifice Box by Martin Stewart (comes out January 11th, 2018)

Sep, Arkle, Mack, Lamb and Hadley: five friends thrown together one hot, sultry summer. When they discover an ancient stone box hidden in the forest, they decide to each make a sacrifice: something special to them, committed to the box for ever. And they make a pact: they will never return to the box at night; they’ll never visit it alone; and they’ll never take back their offerings.

Four years later, the gang have drifted apart. Then a series of strange and terrifying events take place, and Sep and his friends understand that one of them has broken the pact.

As their sacrifices haunt them with increased violence and hunger, they realise that they are not the first children to have found the box in their town’s history. And ultimately, the box may want the greatest sacrifice of all: one of them.

This book definitely gives me IT vibes, so it will be interesting to find out more when I get around to reading it.

Keeper by Kim Chance (comes out January 30th, 2018)

When a 200-year-old witch attacks her, sixteen-year-old bookworm Lainey Styles is determined to find a logical explanation. Even with the impossible staring her in the face, Lainey refuses to believe it—until she finds a photograph linking the witch to her dead mother.

After consulting a psychic, Lainey discovers that she, like her mother, is a Keeper: a witch with the exclusive ability to unlock and wield the Grimoire, a dangerous but powerful spell book. But there’s a problem. The Grimoire has been stolen by a malevolent warlock who is desperate for a spell locked inside it—a spell that would allow him to siphon away the world’s magic.

With the help of her comic-book-loving best friend and an enigmatic but admittedly handsome street fighter, Lainey must leave her life of college prep and studying behind to prepare for the biggest test of all: stealing back the book. 

I’ve heard some really great things about this book and so far it has a 4.2 rating on Goodreads (anything above a 4 is normally something I end up loving).

On my TBR List this month…

Apart from these books and the two I am waiting to arrive (which I will include in this section) there are a couple more I want to get my hands on during the holidays.

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

Crown Of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

A Court Of Thorns And Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Talon by Julie Kagawa

I am probably being a bit ambitious here, but if I manage to read all of these, plus the two e-books, I will give myself a big pat on the back.

What books are you looking forward to reading this month?

Wrapping Up November & Getting Excited For Christmas!

We can officially get excited for Christmas now!

I have no idea where the last four weeks went, how is it the last month of 2017 already?! It seems that I filled my November with so many different activities that I didn’t notice it passing by at all. Not only was I searching for a new job (which I will be starting next month), my dad also came to visit and I decided to really knuckle down with my writing efforts.

While I didn’t take part of NaNoWriMo, I was writing throughout the whole month and the last week or so is when I really started churning out my novel at a rapid pace. I started the month with rewriting my first 15,000 words, as it was in first person POV and I wanted it to be third person (btw, so glad I made the change) and at this moment I am nearing 33,000 words. I am very happy with that and worked out that I am about a third of the way through writing (I have an ending in mind, it’s just filling in the gaps). So November has been a very successful month.

I also went ahead and deleted my old twitter account to set up a new one, which you can find here. It would be great if I could connect with more people, especially on different platforms. Also, I reached over 100 followers on my blog in less than two months which is great. While the numbers don’t matter too much, it is great to see that people enjoy what I am putting out there into the world.

Unfortunately, I haven’t done a lot of reading this month (but I am currently reading two books that should have reviews up next week if I’m lucky). So, here are the books I reviewed this November.

Books I Read…

Throne Of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

It was so easy to give this book 5 stars after I read it. I cannot believe it took me so long to pick up this series and now I am waiting on the second one to be delivered to me. You can check out my review here.

A Darker Shade Of Magic by V. E. Schwab

Again, another series I had heard so much about and finally picked up. Once again, I gave a book five stars because this was a perfect read and made me fall even more in love with the fantasy genre. If you want to read my thoughts, you can see my review here.

Like I said, I didn’t read a lot this month and if I hadn’t hit a reading slump I’m sure I could have managed more (or at least finished Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard). Sometimes life gets in the way and I’m learning to accept that it’s okay. I’m just glad that I haven’t had a writer’s block on my novel in a while (I hope I haven’t jinxed myself).

Now that the holidays are coming up (and I’m away at the end of December in Ireland) I should have some more time to get reading when work finishes for the year.

How has your month been? Let me know in the comments below!