Top Ten Tuesday | Top Ten Things That Will Make Me Instantly Pick Up A Book

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke And The Bookish. Lists galore, I can think of nothing better!

This week's theme is top ten things that will make you instantly pick up a book. Obviously there are many factors that influence whether or not I want to read a book, but there are a few things that instantly grab my attention.

1. A favourite author
If a book is by an author I have previously read and loved, I'm definitely going to add it to my TBR. A few of these auto-buy authors for me are Cecelia Ahern, Kasie West & Stephanie Perkins.

2. A beautiful cover
This isn't a factor that will guarantee I want to read a book but it definitely attracts my attention initially. I'm definitely a big cover buyer and many of the books on my shelves are there because of there covers. Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard and Strictly Between Us by Jane Fallon are prime examples of that.

3. Airport/airplane settings
I have a strange love of airports and flying so any book set in an airport or involving a plane journey will peak my interest straight away. I really need to find more books like this but my favourite at the moment is The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight by Jennifer E Smith.

4. Epistolaries
Books written in letters, emails, diary entries and similar things just seem to be something I really enjoy. One of my favourite books Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern is written entirely in letters, emails, IMs, newspaper articles and I loved that format.

5. Christmas
If a book is set around Christmas or involved Christmas in any way I am all over it. Christmas is my favourite time of year so the more Christmas stuff the better. I read What Light by Jay Asher last Christmas and it was exactly what I wanted.

6. Children/Younger Siblings
This might seem like a strange one but if a book, particularly in NA, revolves around a character having kids or younger siblings it makes me way more likely to read it. I just love reading about little kids and especially close older/younger sibling relationships, which could be something to do with me always wanting a sibling. Ignite by Lily Paradis and I Want It That Way by Ann Aguirre are both books with great kids and that aspect really added to these stories for me.

7. Summer
There is nothing I love more than a summery contemporary to enjoy during the summer months. If the synopsis hints at summer adventures, beach trips and a bit of romance thrown in you can pretty much guarantee I want to read it. Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson is one of my favourites of this kind but I can't wait to read more this summer.

8. Hate-To-Love
I know this is a really over-done romance trope but I just love it. This is one that's a bit hit or miss as it can quite often not be done so well, but when it's done well I adore it. I particularly loved this in The DUFF by Kody Keplinger and PS I Like You by Kasie West.

9. College Setting
As a university student, this is just a relatable situation for me. I had a terrible uni experience the first time around so I really like reading about great experiences to make me forget about my first experience. I really loved the college setting in A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall.

10. New York City
My favourite place in the world! I obviously love this city as a setting since I love it so much. It's also partly the setting of one of my favourite books, Isla And The Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins.

What makes you instantly pick up a book? I would love some recommendations based on the things I have mentioned so please let me know if you have any.

Sophie :)

What I've Been Watching | March 2017

I had a pretty rubbish reading month in March due to being so busy and it was a similar situation for TV and movies. I didn't watch any movies at all in March, which makes me so sad, but I did watch a little bit of TV when I had the chance.

Broadchurch - Like pretty much the entire rest of the UK, I am obsessed with Broadchurch. I got so excited when they announced a third series that I actually cried. I'm not usually a huge fan of police/detective type shows like this but I really enjoy the way the mystery unfolds in this show. There's only one episode left of the third and final series now and I can't wait for it!

What It's About: "The murder of a young boy in a small coastal town brings a media frenzy, which threatens to tear the community apart."

Are You The One? - This is such a guilty pleasure show for me. I'm not a huge reality TV fan but I absolutely love this show. I watched the majority of season 5 in a couple of days because once I start watching I can't stop.

What It's About: "Male and female contestants stay for 10 weeks in a holiday destination to win $1 million and hopefully find love."

The Vampire Diaries - I was obsessed with this show for the first 4/5 seasons and then just lost interest completely when season 6 started. I just started rewatching this from season 6 at the end of March and have only gotten a couple of episodes in so far but I definitely plan to finish the whole series soon.

What It's About: "A teenage girl from Mystic Falls is torn between two vampire brothers, who are quite the opposite."

That's all I managed to watch in the month of March. Please no TVD spoilers, I've managed to avoid them quite well so far. What have you been watching recently?

Sophie :)

Bullet Point Reviews | The Forgotten Few

Over the past few years I have been blogging, there have been several books that I just never got around to reviewing. I make notes for reviews immediately after finishing a book but I have never been very good at writing and posting reviews shortly after reading the book (although I am getting better at that this year). This means that there are several books from the past few years that I have review notes for but have never actually reviewed. I didn't want to just not review those books so I decided, rather than trying to remember details about books I read up to two years ago to write a full review, I would just share with you the notes I made. So here we have the first of my bullet point reviews.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
Published On: April 14, 2011
Published By: Plume
Genre: Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 323
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★★★
Amazon | Goodreads

- Adorable, funny story.
- I loved how it was written and the email format.
- I have previously been disappointed by popular authors' first books but this was great and hard to believe it was her first.
- It was so much more than I expected, particularly the family and friends aspect.
- I worried about connecting with Beth and Jennifer's characters if we were only getting to know them through their emails but I had no problems and ended up loving them. They are very witty, fun characters.
- I also loved Lincoln, he was quirky, adorable and unintentionally funny.



Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Series: Vampire Academy #1
Published On: January 2, 2007
Published By: Razorbill
Genre: Paranormal
Pages: 332
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★★
Amazon | Goodreads

- This was just an OK book for me.
- I don't really understand the hype around it but I do see potential and I have heard the series gets better as it goes on.
- I liked the different types of vampire, the magic and the history.
- I liked the friendship between Rose & Lissa, although it was a bit intense at times.
- I really liked the romance and the lack of instalove.
- There's nothing terribly wrong with this book, I just didn't find anything special about it.
- I will continue with this series at some point.


Where She Went by Gayle Forman
Series: If I Stay #2
Published On: April 5, 2011
Published By: Dutton
Genre: Contemporary
Pages: 264
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★★★★
Amazon | Goodreads

- Love, love, love.
- I loved Adam, even though I didn't in If I Stay.
- I loved the relationship, again even though I didn't previously.
- I really connected with the characters and was rooting for them throughout.
- I really felt for Adam, even though he was a bit of a jerk.
- I just loved everything about it.


Open Road Summer by Emery Lord
Published On: April 15, 2014
Published By: Walker Children's
Genre: Contemporary
Pages: 352
Format: Audiobook
Source: Audible
Narrated By: Rebecca Gibel
Rating: ★★★★
Amazon | Goodreads

- This is the perfect summer read.
- It's a great story of friendship.
- The whole book just reminded me of Taylor Swift. It did seem like Lilah's character was loosely based on her.
- I really loved all the characters, especially Reagan.
- I loved the relationships but the best part about them for me was that they were never more important than the friendships.


I know these reviews are not the most helpful but I wanted to share some of my thoughts on these books. If you want to know any more of my thoughts on a particular book, just let me know.

Sophie :)

Top Ten Tuesday | Top Ten Most Unique Books I've Read

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke And The Bookish. Lists galore, I can think of nothing better!

This week's theme is top ten most unique books you've read. I decided to split my list this week and do top five most unique books I've read as well as top five most unique sounding books on my TBR.

Top Five Most Unique Books I've Read:

1. A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall - Exactly as the title suggests, this book different to anything I have read before. It is a love story told from multiple different perspectives, including a squirrel and a bench but not the two main characters. I love it!

2. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon - This book I didn't love so much but I did love the format of the book. Almost every page is different and there are illustrations, it just added so much to the book. Unfortunately, I didn't love the story itself.

3. Where Rainbows End (Love, Rosie) by Cecelia Ahern - I love this book so much of course I had to mention it. This book is written entirely in letters, emails, texts, IM conversations, newspaper articles, and more things that I'm probably forgetting. It was such a unique way to tell Alex and Rosie's story.

4. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak - It's narrated by death. I don't think there's much more to say on the matter.

5. UnWind by Neal Shusterman - This is just such a unique idea. It's organ donation to the most extreme. The basic premise is that abortion is illegal but when a child is between the ages of 13-18 the parents can decide to have them unwound, meaning all of their organs are transplanted into others. It's unlike anything else I have read.

Top Five Most Unique Sounding Books On My TBR:

1. Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma - From what I hear this is an incest love story. That definitely sounds like a unique storyline to me.

2. Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy - The whole revenge bucket list plot isn't all that unique, but finding out your not actually dying after carrying it out definitely is. 

3. You by Caroline Kepnes - I believe this is written in second person from the perspective of a stalker, which is not something I have ever read before.

4. Cinder by Marissa Meyer - Fairytale retellings aren't all that unique but I haven't heard of any other fairytale retellings involving cyborgs.

5. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff - This is another book that is written in a really unique format. 

What unique books should I add to my TBR? I particularly love books written in a unique format.

Sophie :)

Top Five | Favourite TV Shows

Recently I have been trying to incorporate things like TV and movies into this blog as I wanted to talk about more than just books sometimes. I've been sharing what I'm currently watching but I thought it might be fun to share some of my favourite shows.

Finished Series

One Tree Hill is probably my favourite TV show of all time. I just love this show so much! I adore these characters and their friendships and relationships. 

Favourite Character: Brooke Davis

OTP: Nathan & Haley or Brooke & Julian

Favourite Friendship: Lucas & Haley

Favourite Season: 6

Gossip Girl is my ultimate guilty pleasure show. I binge watched the entire series in about a month, when I should have been studying, and I was completely obsessed.

Favourite Character: Blair Waldorf

OTP: Chuck & Blair

Favourite Friendship: Blair & Serena

Favourite Season: 6

Ongoing Series

Grey's Anatomy is another contender for my all time favourite show. I fell in love with this show from the first episode and will continue to love it even as all my favourite characters die. I also loved the spin-off show Private Practice.

Favourite Character: Lexie

OTP: Jackson & April

Favourite Friendship: Callie & Mark

Favourite Season: 6

Chicago Fire is a more recent favourite of mine. I was hooked from the first episode as firefighters and the firehouse culture fascinates me. I love PD and Med as well but Fire is definitely my favourite.

Favourite Character: Shay

OTP: Mills & Dawson

Favourite Friendship: Shay & Severide

Favourite Season: 2

Pretty Little Liars is another guilty pleasure show. I know everyone is getting fed up of this mystery being dragged out but there is part of me who doesn't want the series to end.

Favourite Character: Hanna

OTP: Caleb & Hanna

Favourite Friendship: Caleb & Toby

Favourite Season: 4

Those are my top 5 favourite TV shows, however there are plenty more shows I love. I would love recommendations based on the shows I have mentioned, I'm always looking for more shows to watch despite me ever growing list.

Sophie :)

Mini Review | Chasing Nikki by Lacey Weatherford

Chasing Nikki by Lacey Weatherford
Series: Chasing Nikki #1
Published On: February 29, 2012
Published By: Moonstruck Media
Genre: Contemporary
Pages: 322
Format: eBook
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★★

Amazon | Goodreads

Chase Walker used to be a good kid-charming, athletic, and with a bright future ahead, but that was before travesty struck his life, sinking him into deep despair. Caught up in a world of drugs and alcohol, he doesn't notice time slipping away until he's arrested for underage drinking one night. Fed up with watching her son destroy his life, Chase's mom relocates him to live in a small ranching community with his ex-military grandfather. Chase is far from happy about the situation until he meets, Nikki, the cute cheerleader who won't give football players like him the time of day. Chase enjoys a good challenge though and sets out to claim Nikki for his own. He soon discovers she's more than a pretty face-she's a balm to his troubled spirit also. But when tragedy strikes Nikki's life too, suddenly Chase finds himself put to the ultimate test. Can he trust Nikki, and all that she's taught him? Will it be enough?

This was not what I expected.
I went into this book expecting your typical bad boy gets moved to a new town and falls in love with a good girl and sorts his life out kind of story. That's exactly what I got for the first half of the book and I was enjoying that. Then suddenly it all changed and turned way deeper and more emotionally draining than I had prepared myself for. That wasn't a bad thing, it just wasn't what I was expecting.

Chase is your average bad boy.
He's been in trouble with the police and a reputation as a player and all round bad guy that followed him to his new town. He has the troubled past and controlling grandfather to rebel against, but there's something more to him. You can see even before he gets Nikki's good influence that there's a good guy underneath the bed boy exterior. His interactions with him mother and grandmother melted my heart and when his romantic side appeared it made me root for him even more.

The relationship was adorable.
Chase and Nikki just seem like the type of high school couple than you can see still together 20 years down the line with a family of their own and just as happy as they were at 17/18. I was rooting for them from the start and I loved the fact they never had a huge blow-out argument over something stupid like I'm used to reading about. I loved the way Nikki supported Chase through his struggles as well, even when he didn't really want help.

I loved the family aspect.
There was an emphasis on family in this book, specifically as both main characters had lost their fathers. I really enjoyed seeing the different family dynamics and how they evolved. Chase's developing relationship with his grandfather and how football brought them together was a nice addition to the story. I also liked seeing Nikki's family and her close relationship with her mother, which reminded me of my relationship with mine, and with her younger siblings. I've mentioned many times in reviews that I love kids in books, whether that be younger siblings or character's children, and the kids in this book were adorable.

This was emotionally impactful in ways I wasn't expecting.
Grief played a major role in this book and I found it interesting to see how each person dealt with the grief differently. In particular you have Chase who really doesn't cope well with grief and turns to drugs and alcohol, and at one point considers taking his own life as he can't handle his feelings. It definitely affected me and there were some tears shed towards the end of the book.

There was a downside to this book.
While I enjoyed the story and liked the characters, I didn't so much enjoy the way this book was written. I think the writing itself just let the book down a little. It didn't flow particularly well and felt a bit scattered a times. I didn't think the time jump worked very well, it just seemed as though a whole summer was cut out so that we could get to the interesting stuff quicker. I can understand why it was done but I think it could have been done better and in a way that made the story flow nicer. Also, a lot of the  dialogue felt quite cringey and awkward to read, and at times didn't feel like realistic teenage conversation. Some of the football talk went completely over my head as well, but that's more my fault than the book.

Overall, this books has its really great points but I feel the writing let it down. It was in no way a bad book, but it's flaws meant I found it to be a decent, average read. I would recommend it if you're looking for a not-so-light contemporary romance that suddenly gets very deep and emotional.

Wrap Up & Haul | March 2017

April already?! This year is going way too fast! As expected, March was a terrible reading month for me. I had so much going on with placement, uni work and life in general that reading took a major back seat. I only managed to read one book in March, which is a little disappointing for me as I usually like to read at least 3/4 books a month, I'm glad I managed to read something. I hope to make up for my lack of reading over the last few months in April, we'll see how that goes.

How I Lost You by Jenny Blackhurst -

This is the one and only book I read in the month of March. I started this one in February and didn't finish it until nearer the end of the month so it took me a good while to get through. That's not necessarily because it was a bad book, I thought it was OK, I just didn't have much time to read. This was a decent mystery/thriller about a woman convicted of killing her baby but she starts to question whether that is actually what happened. It has a great premise and I was really sucked into the story at the beginning but overall it fell a bit flat for me.

Rating: 3/5 | Review | ATY Challenge: #4 Title that doesn't contain the letter 'E'

Although I didn't do well with reading books in March, I didn't do too badly in terms of buying books. I managed to stick to my challenge of reading 5 books before buying any physical books and almost made it through the month without buying anything. However, a newsletter from the author Jenny B Jones appeared in my email inbox with only a couple of days to go and I ended up acquiring 2 books.

Engaged In Trouble by Jenny B Jones - This is her newest book and for the first few days it was available there was a 'secret offer' for newsletter subscribers making it only 99p. I don't know anything about it but really enjoyed her Katie Parker series so I wanted to give it a go.

A Mixtape: Short Stories by Jenny B Jones - This was an exclusive freebie for newsletter subscribers. It is a collection of short stories that she has written over the years for various reasons and has compiled into an ebook.

I hope you had a better reading month than me. What was the best thing you read in the month of March?

Sophie :)