Wednesday 25 March 2020

Five Series To Get You Through Isolation

The situation in the world right now is something causing a lot of stress and anxiety right now. For me, I find escaping into a book can help massively during times of uncertainty. I know not everyone can focus on books at the moment, but for those of us needing a bit of literary escape, I thought I would share some recommendations.  For those, like myself, considered key workers and putting themselves in danger to work on the front line during this pandemic, thank you for all you are doing! For those who are doing their vital part by staying at home, I've compiled a list of five series I think would make great reads to get you through being stuck inside during this time.



1. Anna, Lola & Isla by Stephanie Perkins - 
The Anna and the French Kiss series - Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door & Isla and the Happily Ever After - are some of my favourite books to reread when I just need to escape reality. I love these characters, the beautiful settings and the adorable relationships. They're such fun, easy reads.

2. The Selection series by Keira Cass - 
If you want reality TV in book form, this is definitely the series to pick up. Following a competition to marry the Prince, this dystopian series is the perfect escapist read. It has some great characters, a fun storyline, and they're all pretty much stuck inside the whole time as well! I would highly recommend if you're looking for something fun and easy to get through that will take your mind off everything going on.

3. Did I Mention I Love You? series by Estelle Maskame -
I take pretty much any excuse to recommend this series, it's one of my favourites. It is a step-sibling romance, which is a bit taboo, but I really enjoyed this series. Tyler and Eden are one of my favourite bookish couples and no matter how many times I read these books, I always love experiencing their story. I would recommend this any time, but it's definitely a good one to be reaching for just now.

4. Harry Potter series by JK Rowling -
I know I don't need to include this in this list, I think a lot of people will be reaching for this series to keep them company while they are staying at home. It is the ultimate series to escape into, as it will completely transport you to the world and most likely take over all of your thoughts.

5. Beautiful Broken Things series by Sara Barnard - 
Beautiful Broken Things and Fierce Fragile Hearts by Sara Barnard are two of the most beautiful, well-written books I have read in a while. They feature some of the best characters and one of the best friendship groups I have found in books. If staying at home has you missing your friends, get yourself introduced to these girls. I instantly felt part of their group reading these books. They also follow a great storyline, with a lot of different mental health representation.

A lot of these are 'oldie but goodie' type series and I think that is what I tend to gravitate towards in times of anxiety and uncertainty. If you don't feel like picking up any of these recommendations, I would highly recommend rereading an old favourite, that seems to be all I want to do right now.

Are you staying at home at the moment? What have you been reading?

Sophie :)

Wednesday 18 March 2020

Top Ten Books On My Spring TBR


It's a Top Ten Tuesday on a Wednesday kind of week! I had great plans to do this yesterday but, as with everyone else in the world, things are kind of crazy right now. Now that I finally have a day off work, it seems like the perfect time to forget about everything going on just now and focus on the books I am hoping to read in the coming months. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

1. Love, Life and the List by Kasie West - I haven't read a Kasie West book in far too long. She is one of my favourite authors but I haven't been keeping up with her new releases for the past couple of years. I would ideally like to read everything she has ever written this year, but I'll start with this one as it has been sitting on my shelf for a while now. This follows a girl who is rejected by an art show and creates a list for herself in order to try and improve her art.

2. Goodbye Perfect by Sara Barnard - I have read everything Sara Barnard has ever written except this one. I have loved all of the others, so I fully expect to love this one. I'm also really in the mood to read about some amazing characters, which is, I feel, what Sara Barnard does best. This is about a girl who's best friend suddenly runs away with a boy she knew nothing about.

3. Dare To Fall by Estelle Maskame - Similarly, I have read everything else Estelle Maskame has written so really want to read this one as well. I was a little disappointed by her most recent release, The Wrong Side Of Kai, but I'm hoping I will enjoy this one more. This is a YA romance, which I think has a more serious note as it involves the death of parents and an alcoholic mother.

4. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare - How many times can I put this on a TBR? I'm tired of explaining why I want to read this book, I just need to finally get around to it!

5. Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven - I read All The Bright Places last year and thought it was okay. I also own Holding Up The Universe and decided I would give it a go. I have the audiobook on hold from my library so when that comes in, hopefully in a few days, I will be picking this up. I don't know anything about this book, and I think I actually want to keep it that way.

6. A Good Girl's Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson - I have heard so many amazing things about this YA mystery/thriller so I'm very much hoping to get to it in the next few months. I haven't been reading a lot of thrillers recently, which is sad since I do really enjoy them. This one follows a girl who studies a murder that took place in her small town for a school project and begins to uncover secrets surrounding it.

7. Eve Of Man by Giovanna and Tom Fletcher - This is a reread but I have an ARC of the second book in this series and definitely need a refresher of the first book before I can read that. This is a dystopian series taking place in a world in which Eve is the first female born in 50 years and has been kept away from the reality of the world. I can't remember much at all from the first book, so I'm looking forward to reading it again.

8. Anything Colleen Hoover - I read Verity by Colleen Hoover at the end of 2019 and as I am now getting much more in to Adult Romance, I definitely want to read more books from her. I own 3 of her works, but I think a lot of her books are available on Scribd. Any recommendations of where to start would be great.

9. More Christina Lauren - I read my first Christina Lauren book last month, which I didn't love, but have since read a second that was much more enjoyable. I am now currently reading my third Christina Lauren and I am sure I will continue reading more of their work in the next few months.

10. Some non-fiction - Another very vague one, and another one I could use some recommendations for. I've been reading more non-fiction recently and been enjoying a lot of it. I have been reading predominantly medical memoirs but would really like to read some non-fiction not related to my job. 

There we have my Spring TBR. I will not be at all surprised when I don't read any of these books in the next few months. As I mentioned, I could really do with some non-fiction recommendations and advice on where to start with Colleen Hoover, so please feel free to give me some recommendations.

Sophie :)

Friday 13 March 2020

February 2020 Wrap Up

The beginning of 2020 has seen me make a bit of a comeback in terms of reading. I am out of the horrible slump I was in for the majority of the second half of 2019 and back to reading a decent amount of books each month. However, I am yet to find a good balance and have been neglecting blogging again. When I'm not working, which I feel like I am doing constantly at the moment, I'm relaxing by reading or watching TV, rather than taking some time to blog. I'm hoping I can manage to find a better balance soon. So, while I didn't blog much in February, I did manage to read 8 books, including my first 5 star of the year.



Giant Days Volume 4 by John Allison, Max Sarin, Liz Fleming, Whitney Cogar & Jim Campbell - 
I started this graphic novel series towards the start of last year and then kind of forgot about it. The series follows three friends throughout their experience at university. This is probably my favourite volume so far as I found the storylines to be very relatable and just fun to read about. I never find these graphic novels to be anything really special, but I do enjoy picking them up for a bit of a 'palate cleanser' between books.
Rating: 3/5

One Of Us Is Next by Karen M McManus - 
This is the sequel to her debut novel One Of Us Is Lying, which was one of the first ARCs I ever received and one I quite enjoyed. This book follows a group of teenagers still dealing with the aftermath of the events of the first book. However, they are now also having to deal with a game of Truth Or Dare, that has the potential to become dangerous if they don't find out who is controlling it. I wasn't sure what to expect from this book but I ended up really loving it. I enjoyed it even more than the first book and was completely hooked from the very beginning. I really enjoyed getting to know some characters from the first book a bit better, as well as being introduced to some new characters. I thought the story was very gripping, I kept needing to know what happened next, but I did see some of the twists coming. 
Rating: 4/5

Evidence Of The Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid -
This is a short story told in the form of letters. After a woman finds letters from the woman her husband is having an affair with, she decided to write to that woman's husband to inform him of what was going on. The two strike up a friendship through their letters and things develop from there. I really disliked this short story. I knew where it was going from the start and that was a direction I really didn't enjoy. I don't even think the writing was that great, so I basically spent the entire time wondering what the point of the story was.
Rating: 2/5

Giant Days Volume 5 by John Allison, Max Sarin, Liz Fleming, Whitney Cogar & Jim Campbell - 
I picked up a second volume of this series in February and, sadly, this one ended up being my least favourite so far. I felt that all of the stories were completely random, there was no flow to them and they didn't progress the overall storyline in any way. I still enjoyed it enough, I just enjoyed the others more.
Rating: 3/5

Roomies by Christina Lauren -
After hearing so many people rave about Christina Lauren, I decided to finally give their books a try. Roomies is a marriage of convenience romance following a woman who offers to marry the busker she has been obsessing over for months so that he will be able to work for her broadway composer Uncle. I ended up being pretty disappointed in this book. I found it to be a little bit boring, the plot just didn't keep my attention and I wasn't bothered about what happened next in the story. I also didn't enjoy the romance, there wasn't much of a connection between the characters at all that I could see, and things seemed to progress far too quickly. I will give more of their books a go, but this one wasn't for me.
Rating: 2/5

Critical: Science and Stories from the Brink of Human Life by Dr Matt Morgan -
I haven't been picking up non-fiction quite as often as I would like so far in 2020 so decided to finally get around to some more. This is a memoir from an intensive care doctor, focusing on the progress of intensive care over the years as well as featuring stories from his practice. While I did somewhat enjoy this book, I had some issues with it. I found the stories interesting and gained quite a bit of knowledge from them, and really enjoyed the way the book was structured. However, I had some issues with the writing. The author appeared to struggle with finding the right balance in his writing, which meant some terms and situations were over-simplified and explained in intense detail, while others were not explained at all. I think it was an interesting read as someone in the healthcare profession wanting to learn more about other areas, but for the reader who is just wanting an insight into the work of a doctor, it is not the most accessible or readable book of it's kind.
Rating: 3/5

The Day The World Came To Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede -
My second non-fiction read of the month was one I am so glad I picked up. I am a massive fan of the musical Come From Away, which tells the story of the planes diverted to Newfoundland after US airspace was closed on September 11, 2001. This book tells the true stories of the people and circumstances the musical was based on. I loved every second of reading this book. It really is a story that emphasises the good in humanity and reminds us of the people we should all strive to be. I loved learning more about these people and the true kindness they were shown during such a horrific time. It is also written so well that it is almost as if you are there watching these people going through their experiences and feeling their raw emotion. I get emotional just thinking about this book, and the stories it tells. I would definitely urge everyone to pick it up.
Rating: 5/5

Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer -
From one extreme to the other, this was another super disappointing read. I really enjoyed my first Brigid Kemmerer book, More Than We Can Tell, so had high hopes for this one. It follows two high school students who, through personal and family scandals, have become outsiders in their school and society, but are paired up for a project and have to get to know each other. The premise of this sounded really good to me, but the execution was entirely different than I expected. These characters were truly terrible. They were trying so hard to prove that despite their respective scandals they were not terrible people, but their actions within the book made them terrible. I couldn't stand Maegan comparing her situation to Rob, when his life had essentially fallen apart while she made one little mistake and had a pregnant sister. It infuriated me! I also didn't like the way the story went, a lot of the subplots seemed unnecessary and the big twists at the end were kind of predictable. The only thing I enjoyed about this book was Maegan's sister's story, I would much rather have read a book just about that.
Rating: 1/5

I guess February was a good month in terms of quantity, compared to the end of last year, but pretty awful in terms of quality. While I did read my first 5 star book of the year, everything else ended up being really disappointing. Hopefully I can read more books I enjoy in March.

What was the best book you read in February?

Sophie :)