I Solemnly Swear I’ll Complete These Series This Year

I mentioned back in my New Year’s resolutions post in January that I wasn’t planning on signing up to many challenges this year. I’m still planning on staying as challenge-free as possible… but there is something I’ve been trying to do for the past year or so that I want to focus on, and that’s to complete more of the book series I’ve already started reading. Most of the series I’m currently obsessing over haven’t been completed yet, but there are a quite few I feel I should be able to chip away at throughout the year.

Recently, I’ve been thinking about what my reading habits were like before I began blogging, and I remember being fairly consistent completing a series if I enjoyed it. Since beginning blogging, though, my focus has slowly shifted and I have one eye that’s constantly anticipating books that’ll be released months, if not years, from now. While it’s awesome to know about all these new shiny books so far in advance, I feel like I’ve started to brush aside books that I really wanted to read only a few short months ago. I still plan on reading new releases, but I want to balance it out with backlist titles as well – older books deserve to be remembered, too!

His Fair Assassin Trilogy by Robin LaFevers // Dead Beautiful Trilogy by Yvonne Woon

The last books in both trilogies, Mortal Heart and Love Reborn, were released in 2014, so… I have no idea why I haven’t read them yet!

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer // The Hex Hall Trilogy by Rachel Hawkins

I just bought Winter and Spell Bound, so at least these two series should be completed by the end of the year. I just have to hope they don’t end up sitting on my shelves for months unread… as the vast majority of the books I buy end up doing, (oops!).

The Winner’s Trilogy by Marie Rutkoski // The Remnant Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson

Okay, so it’s probably cheating to include the next three series in this list as the final book hasn’t been released yet … but they will be released by the end of the year, so we’ll go with it! The Winner’s Kiss and The Beauty of Darkness are two of my most anticipated released of 2016, and I definitely plan on reading both books by the end of the year!

Snow Like Ashes Trilogy by Sara Raasch

I’ve only read the first book in the Snow Like Ashes trilogy, but I hope to get my hands on Ice Like Fire in the next couple of months. As far as I know, the last book in the trilogy – Frost Like Night – is set to be released in September… so plenty of time to catch up (in theory, anyway!)

The Moral Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare

I couldn’t connect with the first two books in the series, but I’m really glad I stuck it out and read City of Glass – it’s definitely the best book in the series, so far, and I’m beginning to see why so many love the Shadowhunter world. I’d love to finish off the last three books, but, in order to do that I need to read…

The Infernal Devices Series by Cassandra Clare

I’ve heard a lot of talk about William Herondale, both in the blogosphere and on Booktube… and okay, I need to see what all the fuss is about ;) I own both Clockwork Angel and City of Fallen Angels, so I should be able to make at least a little progress in the next month or two, and hopefully by the end of the year I’ll get some of the others read as well.

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

I had the first book in the series sitting on my shelves unread for absolutely forever, and I only got around to reading it at the end of last year, and it was a million times better than I expected. I honestly don’t know why I hadn’t tried the series long before now. They didn’t seem like ‘me’ books, but if the first book is anything to go by, they definitely are ‘me’ books! Shame the covers are so... meh. It's probably part of the reason why I kept overlooking them!

Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Reading!

The Reading Habits Tag

The Reading Habits Tag has been around for quite a while, and I’ve been intending to join in for the longest time. A few months ago, Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian took part and openly tagged everyone, so I’m taking her up on the offer! Thanks Krystianna!

1. Do you have a certain place for reading at home?

I do most of my reading in bed, so I guess that’s my reading spot! I can pretty much read anywhere as long as I’m alone with minimal distractions and it’s nice and quiet. If there’s a comfy chair, couch or other place I can perch on, even better!

2. Bookmark or random piece of paper?

I love my bookmarks, but let’s be honest here, in a pinch anything nearby will do! I have a severe aversion to dog-eared pages, so old receipts, takeaway menu’s, junk mail, bills or anything else can substitute nicely. (But, after twenty minutes my perfectionist ways will kick in, and I’ll get antsy until I find a bookmark!)

3. Can you just stop reading or do you have to stop after a chapter or a certain number of pages?

There are times when you have to drop the book and run, but I will always try to stop at the end of a chapter, or at a page break or other natural pause in the story if I have the chance. If I do stop in the middle of a chapter, I’ll keep thinking about it until I give in and finish the remaining pages, or I’ll end up going back an rereading the entire section again. (Yeah, I’m a bit weird! ;))

4. Do you eat or drink when reading?

No, not usually. I mainly read in bed, so avoiding waking up with crumbs stuck in odd places is a nice incentive!

5. Do you watch TV or listen to music whilst reading?

Reading is the only thing I need as close to complete silence for. With everything else I normally have multiple things going on at once. When I’m blogging or writing reviews for example, I’m usually listening to Spotify and can concentrate perfectly. I can get distracted really easily though, (*cough* YouTube *cough*) and when I’m reading I don’t like being distracted, so eliminating temptation seems to work well for me.

6. One book at a time or several at once?

It depends! I guess my normal mode would be one book at a time, but if I do read more than one, they’ll be in different formats.

7. Reading at home or everywhere?

At home, but I can read anywhere as long as it’s nice and quiet ;)

8. Reading out loud or silently in your head?

Silently. Definitely. Unless it’s by request or mutual consent, I wouldn’t like someone randomly starting reading to me, so I wouldn’t do it to others. But… since I read late at night, I would LOVE to see the reaction if I start reading aloud when everyone in the house is fast asleep! HA! Oh, I think I shall try this… *cackles*

9. Do you ever read ahead or skip passages?

Sometimes I’m guilty of this! I don’t intentionally do it, though. When I reach the end of an intense chapter or after some big event, I’ll start thinking about what I’ve read and begin flicking the pages of the book completely subconsciously. Then, I’ll glance down at the pages… and I’ll notice a character name… then a few words… and I’ll get curious, stop flicking the pages and read a sentence… and then I’ll feel all sorts of guilty when I realise what I’ve done!

10. Breaking the spine or keeping it new?

NEW! My preference will always be new and pristine. To save money, I do buy second hand books and sometimes the spines are already broken. I can live with it in these situations, but I’ll never intentionally break the spine of a brand new paperback I’ve forked out over €10 on!

11. Do you write in your books?

Nope! Before I began blogging I did a lot of rereading, and if I made any highlights or notations, I’d become distracted by what I had written before rather than being immersed in the story again. It’s a purely personal thing, and I like to get as close to a ‘new book’ reread as I can.

I tag: YOU! If you’d like to answer these questions, consider yourself tagged!

If you decided to do the tag, let me know so I can read your answers! Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a fab weekend. Happy Reading!

Unpopular Opinions Tag

I’ve seen this tag around the blogosphere for a while now, and I’d love to take part. Unpopular opinions can open quite a few cans of worms… but hey, these just are my opinions. We’re all good friends and can speak openly and honestly here, right?? The pitch-forks can take a nice spa break for a while!

1. A Popular Book or Series You Didn’t Like

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Oh, this book. I was expecting an epically bloody battle between two extremely powerful and lethal magicians with awesomeness flying everywhere … but I ended up with an anticlimactic love story set in a circus between two painfully bland characters. Extremely disappointing doesn’t even begin to cover it!

2. A Book or Series That Everyone Seemed to Hate, But You Loved

Twilight is the cool thing to pick on these days, and I firmly blame the movies. I will admit that if I read them for the first time now, they probably wouldn’t have quite the same impact on me, but *shrugs*, I still love ‘em.

3. A Love Triangle Where the Person Ended Up With the Person You Did Not Want or an OTP You Didn’t Like

Humm, how to avoid spoilers… If I just casually mention The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa? I abandoned it after the second book because… well, me no likey what’s obviously gonna happen!

4. A Popular Book Genre You Hardly Reach For

Contemporary. I try! I really, really do, but I usually have the worst luck with contemporary reads. The first few chapters are always fun… but then it all becomes so drama filled and too much like real life.

5. A Popular Beloved Character That You Do Not Like

Ooohhh. This is going to be extremely unpopular. *Deep breaths* Ok, I’ll just say it… Four from the Divergent Trilogy. Oh gosh, you’re gonna hate me for this, I know it, but… he’s just fake. Fake, fake, fake, I’m so sorry don't kill me!

*Begins backing away from the pitch-forks*

Excuse me for a moment...

6. A Popular Author That You Can’t Get Into

Humm, right now, I have to say Cassandra Clare. I know how beloved the Mortal Instruments series is, but, urgh, I don’t know what it is, but her writing style just doesn’t do it for me. I really disliked it in City of Bones, and I didn’t enjoy The Iron Trial either. I have made a little commitment to read the first three books in the Mortal Instruments series as I’ve heard the third book is where things begin to get interesting… so we’ll see how my opinion changes when I read City of Glass!

7. A Popular Book Trope That You’re Tired of Seeing

Out of all bookish tropes, there’s only one that’ll make me hate a book, and that’s Insta-love. Somehow, I don’t think this is an unpopular opinion… but I’m honestly curious! Does anybody like insta-love?

8. A Popular Series You Have No Intention of Reading

50 Shades of Grey. It’s not going to happen!

9. What Movie or TV Show Do You Prefer More Than the Books

The Maze Runner. The book was good, but the movie was a zillion times better. The grievers were a let-down in the books – they just weren’t scary or threatening enough. But in the movie, they were soooo much better!

I Tag: YOU! If you haven’t taken part and would like to, consider yourself tagged!

Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Reading!

July 2015 Wrap-Up

Re-Cap

Things have been a lot better this month, thankfully! My aunt’s health is improving, and things are looking up. Normal routines are starting to appear again, and I never thought I’d appreciate them so much. Hopefully August will continue on this way and settle back to normal.

I’m linking up to both Stacking the Shelves and The Sunday Post memes this weekend.

What I Read in July

I’ve had a pretty good reading month: I read eight books and I’m currently half-way through my ninth.

Fairest, Untold and The Heart of Betrayal were easily my favourites, and the rest were all-round meh or terrible. I don’t know if I’m getting harder to please, but with the exception of the Lynburn Legacy trilogy by Sarah Rees Brennan, nothing has really wowed me since I read An Ember in the Ashes a while back. I’ve tried writing a review for that book several times and the glittering fangirling I’m feeling isn’t really transferring into text form that easily!

Books I Bought

I’m currently reading Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan, and it’s the final book in the Lynburn Legacy trilogy. I read Unspoken at the end of June, and I ordered the next book straight after I finished reading. Rinse and repeat with Untold, and now I’m just about to finish the trilogy around a month later. This doesn’t happen very often! Most of the series I’m currently obsessed with have more books still to be released, so it’s a real treat to find a new series that I love and can devour right away.

I can’t wait to read The Winner’s Crime! I think the third book is released early next year… so technically I should hold off reading it for a while and cut down on the wait time. Humm. We’ll see how well that works out! While I was on Amazon recently, I found a brand new hardback edition of The Falconer for £3. Needless to say, it’s now mine! I also got Shiver, Storm Glass and The Bronze Horseman on Amazon, and they’re all second hands. I’m not exactly happy with the cover of The Bronze Horseman… I ordered a different one! Thank goodness it was cheap, so I can’t complain too much I guess.

My New TBR Jar...erm, Box

I’ve seen so many bloggers and booktubers with TBR jars, and I’ve been intending to make one for myself for quite a while now. I was in Ikea the other week and I had a plain jar eyed out, but then I spotted this pretty box, and changed my mind!

Jar… Box… Same thing. Tomayto, tomahto. Anyway!

The vast majority of titles in this box are physical books, with maybe around a dozen or so ebooks. I NEED to chip away at the books that are sitting around the house, and this seems like it could work.

I’ll be using my lovely box:

1) Each month to choose a TBR pile book to read.

2) When I can’t decide what to read next. Having all my to-read book titles that I own in one place means I can pluck a book at random, thus avoiding having an internal debate over the merits of which book cover is prettiest, and therefore I should be reading it.

My August pick is The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas. I’ve been putting this book off for so long, as I have a pretty good idea it’ll kill me! I need to read it before Queen of Shadows arrives and I hope to get around to reading the novellas ASAP. I've pre-ordered Queen of Shadows, and let's be honest here, once I have that book in my hands everything else will not exist!

How was your July? What did you get up to, and what books did you read? Are you anxiously waiting Queen of Shadow’s release, like me?? I can’t believe it’s only a month away! Hope you have a fabulous weekend, and happy reading!

The Musical Tag

Val over @ The Innocent Smiley tagged me for the Musical Tag a month or so ago, and I’m only getting around to taking part now (oops…) Thanks so much for tagging me Val! The tag was originally created by Amber @ YA Indulgences, and you can get all the questions HERE, I did skip a couple. The rules of the tag are as follows:

Rules!

1. Tag at least five people. You probably want to tag them on
Twitter so they’ll know that way too. :)

2. Thank the person that tagged you. (Thanks Val!)

3. Give Amber credit for her awesome tag!

1. ~There’s A World~ (Next To Normal)

A book with a great world you want to be part of.

Erilea from Throne of Glass. And yes, I’m completely serious, provided I can escape back to THIS world whenever I like! It would be so awesome to experience, but I’d probably be scared sh*tless to walk outside the door without weapons drawn. Or...with Celaena, Chaol, Dorian or Aedion walking beside me – and preferably they'd have weapons drawn too!

If I’m there to stay permanently… then it’ll be The Wizarding World.

2. ~What You Own~ (RENT)

What author do you have to own all the books by?

Sarah J. Maas. (Surprise!) Just reading her books in not enough- oh no! I NEED to own them all, and so far I’ve accomplished this (YAY!) Every one of her books I’ve read I’ve loved, and with both the Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses series continuing over the next few years and THIS little book due in 2017… there’s LOTS of Sarah J. Maas books to look forward to.

3. ~No One Mourns The Wicked~ (Wicked)

The character you hate most from a book.

I think you can guess. Jeb. I hate every single fictional CELL in his fictional body. And yes, I've brushed aside every evil character I know and hate, as Jeb annoys me even MORE than all of them combined!

4. ~All I Ask Of You-~ (Phantom of The Opera)

Who is your favorite romantic pairing in a book?

Just ONE favourite?! This is not possible! *Stomps foot* Ok, ok, if I have to pick just ONE… it’ll be Lizzie Bennet and Mr Darcy. It’s the best spoiler free one I can come up with, OK!!

5. ~I Should Tell You~ (RENT)

A book you haven’t read that everyone else has.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. And… I probably will never read it. *Shrugs*

6. ~Think Of Me~ (Phantom of The Opera)

The last book you couldn’t get off your mind after reading it.

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan. I became ADDICTED to this series after just one book! I love Kami, Jared, Angela, Holly, Rusty and Ash (... ok, I DON'T love Ash. At all! He's a goody-goody, annoying weakling, but... details!) and I NEED to get my hands on the last book ASAP.

7. ~What Is This Feeling~ (Wicked)

A book that you weren’t sure you would like, but you LOVED it.

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma. The subject matter is icky, and I was certain I’d end up being revolted, but holy crap, I was an emotional WRECK after reading it. I loved how honest the book was, and how sweet, adorable and REAL the characters were.

8. ~Didn’t I See This Movie?~ (Next To Normal)

Your favorite movie adaptation/retelling of a book

The Hunger Games movies. I LOVE each one, and FINALLY a book series was adapted perfectly to the big screen.

9. ~He’s Not Here~ (Next To Normal)

A book where one of your favorite characters dies (don’t list the character)

*Sobs for a thousand years*

10. ~It’s Gonna Be Good~ (Next To Normal)

A book you’re so excited to read!

Queen of Shadows!

11. ~Don’t Do Sadness/Blue Wind~ (Spring Awakening)

A book that was NOT a tearjerker for you despite (possibly) being sad.

Crown of Midnight. Ok, ok, don’t freak out! I DID cry, but not as much as I had anticipated, but it wasn’t at THAT moment, (if you catch my drift.) It was over something else. Now that broke my little shipping heart!

12. ~How Could I Ever Forget~ (Next To Normal)

A book that you read years ago that you had forgotten about

Ooh… this is tricky. See, I read SO MANY library books when I was a kid, and I’ve forgotten the vast majority of them. The ones I remember reading are the ones I own a copy of now. ‘Out of sight, out of mind’ really is true unfortunately. :/ If I could go back and see which books I read, that would be awesome!

I Tag:

Tracy @ Cornerfolds // Zareena @ The Slanted Bookshelf // Emma @ Emma's Bookery
Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian // Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookworm
And YOU!! If you’re reading this, consider yourself tagged!

Thanks for stopping by, and happy reading!

Dystopia Reading Challenge 2015

Tracy over at Cornerfolds is the new host for the Dystopia Reading Challenge. I love dystopian reads, and this sound like the perfect challenge for me! I'm a little late signing up, but better late than never, right?!

The guidelines for the challenge are as follows:

- This challenge will run from January 1, 2015 - December 31, 2015, and you can join at anytime.
- Books must be read and reviewed in 2015.
- Audiobooks, re-reads, short stories, and crossovers are fine.
- If you're a blogger, grab the button below and create a post or page about this challenge and your goals with a link back to this post.
- You don't have to be a book blogger to participate! You can track your progress on Goodreads, Shelfari, Booklikes, Facebook, LibraryThing, etc.
- Sign up on the designated Mr. Linky below with your post, shelf, etc. and comment on this post.
- There will be giveaways at the halfway point and at the end of the challenge in December.
- You can link your reviews here!

For this challenge I’m going to be at least a Recruit, but hopefully a Rebel. Reading and reviewing between 7 and 12 books feels like a realistic expectation, and that’ll be my aim for the rest of the year.

Technically, I’ve read five dystopian books so far this year, but I’m counting four of them toward this challenge. I read Gone by Michael Grant quite a few months ago but never reviewed it, and honestly at this stage, I doubt I will. I do plan on reviewing both End of Days and Cress very soon, but I’m WAY behind on review writing in general, and somehow, some way, I need to conquer my procrastinating ways!

Progress:

• Gates of Thread and Stone by Lori M. Lee – Read and Reviewed
• The Infinite by Lori M. Lee – Read and Reviewed
• End of Days by Susan Ee – Read
• Cress by Marissa Meyer – Read

Thanks for reading, and best of luck to everyone taking part in the challenge!