Sunday 27 December 2020

Books On 2020 TBRs I Still Haven't Read

I have said this multiple times on this blog but I am terrible at sticking to TBRs. I used to post them monthly and then get to the end of the month before realising I hadn't read anything I had mentioned. I only post a TBR occasionally now but I do make lists for myself to try and keep track of what I want to read. There are some books that make repeat appearances on TBR lists before I finally get to them. I thought it might be fun to take a look at some of the books that have appeared on TBR lists, both on the blog and the lists I make for myself, that I still haven't picked up. I got this idea from Hailey In Bookland who did this for one of her Bookmas videos this year.




 
The Guest List by Lucy Foley - This one made three appearances on TBR lists and I still haven't picked it up. This was super hyped when it was first published earlier this year and, despite having heard some more negative things recently, I have high expectations. I haven't read many mystery/thriller books in 2020 as I was never really in the mood, which is probably why I never got around to this. I really hope to get to it in early 2021.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare - If I don't read this book in 2021, I honestly don't know what I will do with myself. It is ridiculous how long I have been saying I want to read this book for and yet here we are. This featured on two TBR lists this year, but was also the book I labelled as my highest priority for 2020. It's embarrassing really.

The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary - I almost picked this up at the very beginning of 2020 but ended up deciding to read something else first and never got around to this one. It was included in a lot of people's favourite books of 2019 lists so I really think I will enjoy it. This was included on two TBR lists but I just never gravitated towards it. I have it on my January TBR so maybe this time I will get to it.

A Good Girl's Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson - Another one that I heard such amazing things about but just never got around to. I was so excited for this after the promo for it at YALC in 2018 but even after being on two TBR lists this year I still haven't read it. I am still super excited for it, I just need to be in the mood for a mystery/thriller.

I Stop Somewhere by T.E. Carter - This is another one that only ended up on one TBR list but that was always on my mind to pick up. I haven't read nearly enough hard-hitting YA this year and this is one that I really want to get to soon. I'm not sure 2020 was the right time for me to be reading more dark topics though, which I think is why I never ended up reading this one.

The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory - I have owned this eBook for years and, despite putting it on one TBR list this year, I still haven't read it. The problem I have with this one is that I keep forgetting I own it. I have it on iBooks, which I rarely use, so I never see it as I'm browsing for my next read. I do really want to get to this one so I need to remember it's there.

Those are 6 books I put on TBRs in 2020 and still didn't read. I'm hoping I can look back on this list this time next year and have picked up every one, but I know myself better than that. I definitely hope to have ticked a few of these off the ever-growing TBR list by the end of next year though.

Which of these books should I pick up first in 2021?

Sophie :)

Thursday 17 December 2020

Reading Three 2020 Christmas Releases

I have been in the mood to read Christmas books since about October and after managing to hold off until November (mostly), I am now reading all of the Christmas books I can find. A few of the Christmas books I have picked up recently have been new releases, a couple of which I was lucky enough to receive eARCs of through Netgalley (marked with *). There seem to be so many Christmas books out there, and it seems like quite a lot being released this year, so I wanted to share my thoughts on three of the ones I have read. 




(Published on 12th Nov 2020 by Pan MacMillan)
The Twelve Dates Of Christmas follows Kate, a single 34 year old from a quiet little English town who's best friend signs her up for a dating event promising her twelve dates for twelve chances to find love before Christmas. 
As you can probably guess from the premise, this was a really fun Christmas read. We have a genuine and loveable main character in Kate, who is perfectly happy with her life, her great job, and her two best friends. It was nice to read about a single woman who is satisfied with her life as it is and sees a relationship as something that could be a nice addition rather than a main goal. I loved reading about her small town life and the relationships she has with the people in the town, in particular her relationship with her father. It was all just very wholesome and heart-warming. I enjoyed the friendships Kate has, although found the 'big secret' from the past and the conflicts that created to be a bit blown out of proportion, I expected what happened in the past to be something more for the outcome it had. 
The twelve dates aspect of the story was the most fun part for me. It was really enjoyable to read about some of the disastrous dates as well as the more successful ones. I did feel, though, that some of them were just kind of skimmed over and could have been more developed. 
I did really enjoy this book for the most part, even thought it was quite predictable at times. However, I struggled with some of the decisions Kate makes at points and felt that some things could have been handled differently. I would also have liked the relationship to have been more developed, it was a sweet romance and I enjoyed it but it could have been done better.
Rating: 3/5

(Published on 6th Oct 2020 by Gallery Books)
I discovered this author duo this year so was very excited to discover they were releasing a Christmas novel. This is a romance with a bit of a sci-fi twist, following a woman whose family are spending Christmas at their cabin for the last time, but after getting into a car accident on the way home she wakes up on the plane on the way there all over again. She then relives the days over Christmas until she can find what makes her happy. This also features a friends to lovers romance with her childhood crush. 
I really enjoyed this book! The Groundhog Day/time travel element was an interesting addition but it didn't overshadow the romance. It only happened a few times, which I appreciated as I think it would have taken me out of the story too much had it been done more. I really loved the snowy cabin setting and all of the traditions the families had over the Christmas period. I felt so festive reading about all of their fun activities. There were a lot of characters introduced in this book as three different families are staying at the cabin. This was a little confusing to start with but once I worked out who everyone was I began to really love the dynamic. Most of the characters were well-developed and had a unique personality by the half way point, although there were a couple I would have liked to have gotten to know a bit better.
The romance was, as is to be expected from a Christina Lauren book, the real highlight of the story. I love a friends to lovers romance, and this one was incredibly sweet. The relationship was adorable and developed really nicely throughout the story, though maybe a little too quickly, and I was constantly swooning. 
While I really enjoyed this, the conflict annoyed me a little as it felt like a bit of an overreaction and I could have done without the epilogue. I also didn't like the way Mae was perceived to have lead Theo on just by being friendly, as I feel like it really plays into the idea that people of the opposite sex can't just be friends.
Rating: 4/5

(Published on 29th Oct 2020 by Quercus)
This was my surprised standout of the Christmas books I have read so far this year. It follows Nick who becomes Santa at a local shopping mall after both losing his job and being dumped by his girlfriend. When a young boy tells him his Christmas wish for his mother to be happy again, Nick decides to arrange a date between the boys mother, Sarah, and his best friend. However, when things begin to get more serious between the couple, Nick realises he might have feelings for Sarah himself. 
I'm still not over how adorable this was! It's the love triangle trope handled incredibly well and a storyline with quite sad undertones made a lot of fun. Nick is a really great main character. He is going through a really tough time and coping with it through self-depreciating humour, which I both related to and found very entertaining. He is very loveable from the outset but grows so much throughout the book. He really is just a great guy who is willing to put his the happiness of his friend about his own. 
The friendships within this book were great. Nick's friendships with both Matt and Sarah were just lovely. Nick and Matt's friendship really highlighted the importance of talking about the serious stuff within male friendships and the fact that it is good to talk about your feelings, as it is mentioned that the two have helped each other through the toughest times of their lives. The friendship between Nick and Sarah was also really sweet, even before Nick realised there were any feelings there. It was just lovely to have very genuine friendships that weren't completely ruined by stupid conflicts. However, the importance and strength of these friendships are what makes the love triangle aspect of the story so difficult. I was worried about how the love triangle would be handled but it was written so well. 
There were so many things I really loved about this book, Sarah's son Alfie was a particular highlight, but the ending just didn't live up to my expectations. Things wrapped up a bit too conveniently for my liking and then the last few chapters felt like a bit of a whirlwind. Other than that, this was a really great read.
Rating: 4/5


Three quick reviews of three very enjoyable reads. I would definitely recommend giving any of these books a go if they sound interesting, I have fun reading all of them. I have so many more Christmas books I want to get to and not enough time to read them in, but hopefully I can fit in a few more in the next few days.

Sophie :)

Sunday 13 December 2020

The Best Things I've Watched In The Second Half Of 2020

Back in May I did I post talking about some of the best TV shows and movies I had watched from the beginning of 2020 until then. I had planned to do similar posts throughout the year but it just never happened. So I decided it was time to talk about some of the things I have been watching since then. I go through phases of watching a lot of TV and movies and then losing interest for a while but 2020 has been the year of having nothing to do but watch all of the things. I thought I would go by month and share some of my favourite things I have watched. Unfortunately, I didn't bother to make any kind of note of anything I watched in June and I definitely don't remember that far back, so we're starting with July.


July




Athlete A - This is a documentary all about the sexual assault of young female gymnasts. I love gymnastics and follow the sport, though mostly UK gymnastics, so when the news of this all came to light it was a lot for me to take in. This documentary is incredibly hard to watch but very well made. It highlights the issues of the culture within gymnastics as well as discussing the sexual assault cases and how it was able to go on for so long. I would highly recommend!

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga - Now for something completely different! Let me get this straight, this is not a good movie. It's one of those movies that is so bad it makes it enjoyable to watch. It follows an Icelandic duo who end up competing in the Eurovision Song Contest. It's just so much fun and I ended up watching it twice in like a week.

The Hate U Give - I read the book and watched the movie straight after, both of which I loved. I thought the movie was a really good adaptation of the book and the cast was pretty great. This follows a girl who witnesses her best friend shot and killed my a police officer and has to choose between keeping out of the spotlight or fighting for justice.


August


The Imagineering Story - As a massive Disney fan, this was everything I ever wanted. This series follows the development of the Disney parks across the world and the evolution of the different attractions. I just loved learning all about the creation of the parks and seeing all of the work that goes into the development of attractions.

Hamilton - I am also a huge musical theatre lover so of course watched Hamilton when it came to Disney+. I had never seen Hamilton and only knew some of the music but knew from all the rave reviews that it is widely loved. Thankfully, it didn't disappoint. I really enjoyed it, particularly because the cast were incredible. 


September


Becoming - This is a documentary following Michelle Obama on her book tour. I read the book last year and loved it, and also really loved this documentary. I just love Michelle Obama as a person and her personality really shone through in this. Her passion for everything she does is just so inspiring.

The Vampire Diaries Season 7&8 - I finally finished The Vampire Diaries! I have been watching this show for like ten years and I don't know why it took me so long. I have always loved it but just kept getting distracted by other things and forgetting to come back to it. I obviously can't say much about the final seasons but I was so completely hooked. I watched them within two weeks, while working full time, and every episode just destroyed me.

Into The Unknown: Making Frozen 2 - I was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. This is a documentary series that follows the complete making of Frozen 2. I found it so interesting to learn just how much goes into making a movie like this and how many people work on it. I learnt so much and spent the entire time wishing I was in any way creative so I can do what these people do.


October

UnReal Season 2, 3&4 - This is another of those so bad it's good kind of things. I watched the first season a while ago and enjoyed it but the rest of the seasons go gradually downhill. This is just such a strange show. It follows the crew of a Bachelor type dating show and it is full of drama. I did enjoy it, I had fun watching it, but it did get worse as the seasons went on.


November



Dash & Lily - This might be one of my favourite things I have watched all year. I absolutely adored this show. I wasn't a huge fun of the books, they were just average for me, but this adaptation was better than I could have imagined. It follows Lily who puts a notebook of dares on a shelf in The Strand and Dash who picks it up, and takes place in New York City over Christmas. I wanted to start it again as soon as I finished it.

Holidate - This is a Holiday rom-com following two strangers who agree to be each other's Holidate, a plus one on any holiday throughout the year. I'm not a fan of Emma Roberts so wasn't sure how I would feel about this movie, but Luke Bracey made up for it. This was actually really sweet and a lot of fun. It doesn't take much for me to enjoy a Christmas movie but I really enjoyed this one.

Noelle - I was so sad when I couldn't watch this last year because Disney+ had not launched in the UK yet but I finally got to watch it this year. This follows Santa's sister who has to travel to Arizona after he doesn't return from the short break she suggests he takes. I just love any Christmas movie that involves Santa, the North Pole or any of Santa's family members. I also love Anna Kenrick so this was perfect for me. It was a lot of fun and a really sweet story, definitely one that the whole family can enjoy.


Those are the best TV shows and movies I have been watching over the past 5 months. I have watched a lot more but a lot of it has been pretty average and not really worth talking about, which is a bit disappointing. I'm sure I will watch some more great things before the end of the year.

Do you have any good TV show or movie recommendations similar to the things I have mentioned?

Sophie :)

Wednesday 9 December 2020

Top Ten Christmas Books On My Radar

 


Am I even doing a Top Ten Tuesday if I'm not posting it on a Wednesday? I haven't done one of these for ages and I'm definitely wanting to make it a goal for 2021 to do it more often. The theme for this week is a Holiday/Seasonal freebie. Since I have been wanting to read all of the Christmas books recently, I thought I would share some of the Christmas books on my radar, some of which I will hopefully get to over the month.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

1. A Very Bossy Christmas by Kayley Loring - An employee-boss, fake dating romance.

2. Scrooged by Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward - A collection of three holiday romance short stories.

3. Mistletoe Montana series by Various Authors - A series of holiday themed novellas written by various romance authors.

4. Oh Snowy Night by Ella Goode - A Christmas romance novella with a grumpy lumberjack hero.

5. A Holiday Temptation by Tiffany Patterson - A second chance romance novella.

6. The Boss Who Stole Christmas by Jana Aston - Another employee-boss romance novella.

7. Twelve Dates Of Christmas by Rilzy Adams - A friends to lovers holiday novella.

8. Unwrapping Holly by Lisa Renee Jones - Workaholic meets small-town stranger while home for the holidays.

9. All They Want For Christmas by Andie J Christopher - A snowed in MMF romance novella.

10. All About Us by Tom Ellen - A one that got away romance with a bit of time travel.


I will definitely not get to all of these this month but they are all books that sound intriguing or I have heard great things about. A lot of them are romance novellas, so I can hopefully make my way through  few of them.

I am always looking for recommendations so what Christmas books do you love that I should check out?

Sophie :)

Saturday 5 December 2020

Down The TBR Hole: Version 2, Round 4

 



Down The TBR Hole was created by Lost In A Story to sort out your Goodreads Want To Read shelf. The idea is to sort your Want To Read Shelf by date added from oldest to newest, look at the books 5-10 at a time and decide if you are still interested in reading them. If you're not interested, off they go.

If you want to check out how I did in the last 3 rounds:


This is about two teens in 1996 who, while attempting to install a free AOL CD, find themselves signed into their Facebook pages 15 years in the future, and learn how their decisions can impact their future. I have read one book by Jay Asher that I love and one that I hated, and this premise sounds so interesting, so I'm willing to give him another chance.
Stay/Go

This is a Christmas romance between a nanny and the single dad of the children she is looking after. The premise sounds sweet and this could well be something I would really enjoy, but there are so many Christmas books on my radar that I really don't think I would get around to this any time soon.
Stay/Go

I'm pretty sure this was a cover add because this cover is beautiful. This is a YA sci-fi with what sounds like a bit of romance thrown in, following two teens, from completely different backgrounds, who's spaceship crashes and they are the only survivors. This sounds potentially good but I'm not really into sci-fi, or space in general.
Stay/Go

This is another Christmas book, this one following a wedding planner trying to plan two very different weddings over winter. I'm not going to lie, the premise doesn't interest me in the slightest.
Stay/Go

This is a YA novel that I believe deals with sexual assault, victim blaming and shaming victims of assault. I am definitely still interested in reading this one.
Stay/Go

This is a YA mystery about a boy who sets up a bit of a business selling cover stories but a friend ends up dead after needing a cover story and suspicions arise. This is probably something I would have really enjoyed back when I added it but I'm not that interested anymore.
Stay/Go

Probably another cover add. This is a YA romance about a couple who spend a night together saying yes to everything, only for him to move away soon after. He then shows up a year later wanting to relive that night and wanting a second chance. This seems sweet and like it could be a quick read.
Stay/Go

This follows a girl who's family moves away after a mistake causes her life to fall apart and ruins her friendship with the boy she was best friends with. However, just when she gets her life together in her new town, his family relocates to the same area. This doesn't sounds all the interesting to me and a lot of people I trust rated this pretty low.
Stay/Go

This is a YA dystopian in which the daughters of the losing side of a war are forced to marry the sons of the winning side. The main characters is set to marry the President's son, but instead plans to kill him. This sounds interesting and if I was in a dystopian mood I would probably enjoy it. However, I'm pretty sure I heard a dog gets killed in it and that is one thing I just can't read about.
Stay/Go

A YA contemporary following two teens who's dreams are slipping way from them, who come together through working at a quirky motel. I've heard some great things about this one so I'm still interested in picking it up.
Stay/Go

Four staying, Six going. Want To Read shelf down to 536.

I guess I was in the mood to clear out my TBR shelf this time around. I'm pretty happy with the progress I'm making and the fact I'm rediscovering books I had forgotten I was so interested in. I'm excited to keep going with this into the new year.

Did I make the right decisions this round?

Sophie :)

Wednesday 2 December 2020

November 2020 Wrap Up

I really can't wrap my head around the fact it is December and we are nearly at the end of this very strange year. It still feels like May to me! However, it is in fact already time to wrap up my November reading. I had a more successful month of reading in November with 7 books read. 




One Family Christmas by Bella Osborne* -

This was an eARC that I received from Netgalley and turned out to be quite disappointing. It follows a girl who decides to host one last family Christmas in the manor house she grew up in before it is sold, but of course chaos ensues. I really like the idea of this, but it was just too much for me. Something went wrong every ten seconds and every time it was very overdramatic, making it annoying rather than funny. Like seriously, how many things can go on fire over the course of a few days?! There was also a second chance romance storyline, which was nice but very much overshadowed by all of the drama. Toned down slightly, this could have been a really fun, heartwarming Christmas story about the importance of family and giving love a second chance. Instead, it was juvenile and too over the top with some really annoying characters. 

Rating: 2/5


Flow by Kennedy Ryan -

After falling in love with Kennedy Ryan's Hoops series, I decided to check out some of her other works so picked up the prequel novella in the Grip series. The Grip series follows an up and coming rap star and his romance with his best friend's little sister. Flow, the prequel, tells the story of their first meeting and how their relationship first started. I enjoyed this novella but it didn't blow me away. I enjoyed getting to know these great characters and seeing their relationship develop. However, it just fell a bit flat for me and I didn't love the way it ended. I am definitely interested in continuing with this series, though, and seeing how things progress.

Rating: 3/5


The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes by Suzanne Collins -

I finally got around to picking up one of my most anticipated releases of the year. I was putting it off a bit, as I had heard mixed reviews, but decided it was time to try it out for myself. I loved The Hunger Games series, so I was very excited to find out we would be getting another book in this world. However, like most people, President Snow was not the character I was interested in knowing more about. I surprisingly ended up enjoying it more than I thought I would. I really enjoyed everything to do with the Games, which was always my favourite aspects of the original books, and found it so interesting to see it from the other side. I did find Snow's back story more intriguing than I anticipated and, while I was never able to feel sorry for him or think of him as anything other than the evil he became, I could still appreciate his story and everything that led to the character we got to know in the original trilogy. I found the romance a bit strange and the ending very odd, but other than that it was an enjoyable read.

Rating: 4/5


The Shelf by Helly Acton -

I got this from my library on a total whim, purely because the premise was intriguing. It follows a woman who believes she is going on holiday and about to get her big proposal, but instead finds herself dumped live on TV and the new star of a reality TV show in which women compete to become 'The Keeper'. This was everything I could have hoped for from that premise. It was so much fun and completely hooked my interest the entire time. It had it's laugh-out-loud funny moments and it's heart-wrenching, hard to read moments. The real highlight for me, though, was just how impactful such a fun, seemingly light-hearted book can be. This book, through the setting of a reality TV show designed to turn these amazing women into complete doormats, has such an empowering message and really tackles the misogynistic ideals that many still hold. It is described in the Goodreads blurb as being 'funny, feminist and all-too-relatable' and I would say that sums it up perfectly. 

Rating: 4/5


Know My Name by Chanel Miller -

After several attempts to read this before my hold expired, I finally managed to finish this book! This is a memoir from a woman who may be more well known to you as Emily Doe. Chanel Miller was sexually assaulted on the Stanford campus and, after her the man who assaulted her was sentenced to just six months in jail, became known worldwide (as Emily Doe) when her victim impact statement went viral. This memoir is her reclaiming her identity, and is one of the most powerful books I have read. She shares the story of that night and all throughout the trial that followed, sharing how not only her life, but the lives of her family and those closest to her were impacted. This was hard to read but so worth reading. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Chanel Miller herself, and it just emphasised to me how incredibly brave she is. This was such a brave book, especially considering the abuse she has received over the years, much of which she mentioned in the book, and can still be seen within the reviews of the book on Goodreads. There are so many things about this book that will stay with me, I still can't really form coherent thoughts. I would highly recommend this book to everyone, although do keep in mind that there is a lot of in detail talk of sexual assault within it that may be very triggering to some.

Rating: 5/5


The Twelve Dates Of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss* -

All I am in the mood for at the moment is a bit of Christmas romance, and this gave me just that. This follows Kate, who's best friend signs her up for Twelve Date Of Christmas, and even run by the biggest dating app promising 12 fun dates in the run up to Christmas. This was a lot of fun. Kate is such a genuinely loveable character and her small town life with her two best friends was just so heart-warming. I just loved reading about her everyday life, never mind all of the fun and eventful dates. The dates, however, were a lot of fun to read about as well. As you would expect, they couldn't all go to plan, so they made for a very entertaining read. The romance was very predictable and I knew who she would end up with from the beginning, but it was a really sweet relationship. Overall, it was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed the characters, but it wasn't anything super special.

Rating: 3/5


Dear John by Nicholas Sparks -

This a book I have owned for years and just never got around to reading it. I loved the movie so always wanted to give the book a try. This follows a soldier who meets, and falls in love with, a girl while on leave over the summer but distance and life in general complicates things for them. I actually enjoyed this more than I was expecting to. I obviously knew the story already but still enjoyed experiencing it all over again. This is not a fun, light-hearted romance. It is sad and shows just how messy and complicated life can be. I really loved the relationship between John and Savannah and seeing it develop into something really beautiful, even if it was very much instalove. I also loved John's relationship with his father. His father is thought to have Aspergers and though the topic of Autism and Aspergers wasn't always handled brilliantly, some of the language used made me very uncomfortable at times, it was probably written as best as can be expected from a book published in 2006. For the most part, it wasn't handled too badly, and the father-son relationship dynamic and how that changed throughout the book was, for me, one of the most impactful aspects of the story. I was surprised by how much I ended up enjoying reading this and I'm glad I finally managed to pick it up.

Rating: 4/5


That is everything I read in November. I am really enjoying reading again and I can't wait to make my way through all of the Christmas books in December. At the moment, I am on track to read about 70 books this year, which is the most I have ever read in a year, but I'm really hoping to make December my best reading month this year. 

What was the best book you read in November?

Sophie :)


*provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.