August Wrap Up.

I had a couple of reading slumps in August but still managed to read eleven books which I don’t think was that bad. So I’m just going to jump into the list and my ratings.

The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye – ★★★★/5
The Student by Iain Ryan – ★★★/3
Darien: Empire of Salt by C.F. Iggulden – ★★★/5
I Have No Secrets by Penny Joelson – ★★★★/5
The Cause of Death by Dr. Cynric Temple-Camp – ★★★★/5
A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena – ★★★★/5
Tell It to the Moon by Siobhan Curham – ★★★★/5
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling – ★★★★★/5 (re-read)
Stars Above by Marissa Meyer – ★★★★/5
And Fire Came Down by Emma Viskic – ★★★★/5
Moonrise by Sarah Crossan – ★★★★/5

I did participate in ARC August for the first two weeks in August but I think that’s what put me into my first reading slump – trying to finish all the ARCs on my list. I always try to stick to a TBR but it doesn’t always work. With me trying to force myself to read the five books I had on my ARC August TBR it just made me not want to read.

The second reading slump happened when I finished Tell It to the Moon and I have no idea why. So I ended up re-reading Fantastic Beasts and then finally picking up Stars Above, which has been on my shelves since it was released.

Anyway, I don’t think I did that badly. Hopefully September will be better but I’m not going to hold my breath.

How many books did you read in August and what was your favourite?

– Aimee.

WWW Wednesday [August 23rd 2017] –

This meme is hosted by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. All you have to do is answer the following three questions in a post and then put a link to that post in the Comments over at Taking on a World of Words.

The questions are:
1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading – 
I started Stars Above yesterday. I’ve had this book since it came out but never picked it up to read until now. I’m pretty sure I’d already read Glitches as an e-novella before Stars Above came out.

I’ve been in another reading slump the last few days. I picked up the previous book hoping it would also get me out of my slump and it kind of did, but not really. So I took a break from review books and read two of my books hoping that would help.

Stars Above is full of novellas set in The Luna Chronicles universe. I think there was one story that didn’t involve the characters from The Luna Chronicles (much) but the rest have them in. I don’t know if I’ll be reviewing this or not yet.

Recently Finished – 
So this is the first book I picked up hoping it would get me out of my reading slump because I knew it was a fast read. And I did enjoy reading it again (this is the second time I’ve read it) but I still didn’t feel like reading after I’d finished it.

I know most people just take a break from reading if they’re in a slump but even though I don’t feel like reading I am so bored when I’m at home and not reading. Because the only TV shows I watch are Game of Thrones and Teen Wolf. Anyway, I love the screenplay of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I’ve already reviewed this so I won’t be posting about it again. 

I finally read Tell It to the Moon. This is the sequel to The Moonlight Dreamers, which I read last month and really enjoyed. I was actually surprised by how much I liked both books. But I’ll talk about Tell It to the Moon more in my review. I’ll be posting that very soon because of the giveaway I keep talking about. But I still need to write it first.

The giveaway is for people in New Zealand and Australia. I’ll have more details in my review of Tell It to the Moon though so if you’re interested then keep an eye out for it.

I also finished A Stranger in the House. I think I had like 50 pages when I did my WWW Wednesday post last week so I didn’t have to read much to finish the book. I really enjoyed this. And surprisingly I have already written the review. Now I just have to post it. I want to start writing my reviews when I finish the book instead of leaving it too long and then I have no idea what to write… Which is my problem with more than one review.

Okay, so moving on… Like I said I really enjoyed A Stranger in the House. I think it’s a psychological thriller but I haven’t really looked into it. So if you like those kinds of books then I’d definitely recommend finding a copy of this.

Reading Next –
I think if I’m out of my reading slump when I finish Stars Above that I’m going to read And Fire Came Down. This is the sequel to Resurrection Bay. I read that a couple of months ago and really enjoyed it. I think these are crime books? But again, I haven’t looked up their genre.

I can’t remember what the synopsis said about this book but I know it has some of the same characters from the first book in it. And I’m assuming someone dies. Or maybe more than one person? I guess I’ll find out when I read the book.

What have you been reading recently?

– Aimee.

June Book Haul.

I got a total of 17 books this month. Three I’ve read previously and just wanted my own copy. The rest I haven’t managed to get to yet.

So I’m just going to jump right into the haul because they always take so long to type up.

So the first book I got was Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare. I used to have all The

Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices books but when we moved I got rid of a lot of books and DVDs. But I’ve wanted to read The Dark Artifices for a while. I know the second book came out recently but I’m going to see if I like this before getting a copy of that.

I don’t really know much about this other than Emma wants to know what really happened to her parents.

I don’t think I’ll be reading this any time soon because my TBR is crazy and this is like 800 pages. But I hope to have read it by the end of the year. Maybe…

I wasn’t planning on getting both the hardcover and paperback editions of Philosopher’s Stone. I’d pre-ordered the hardback months ago from Book Depository. But then I saw the paperback in a bookstore over here for 20% off and free Hogwarts house postcards. So, I couldn’t say no.

I read the extras inside the paperback edition when I got it and I really enjoyed them. I also love all the new illustrations too. I didn’t have a very long look though. I just sort of skimmed everything. I’ll read them all again one day. There’s no rush.

What Hogwarts house are you in? Are you planning on getting all the house editions or just the house you’re in? 

I received an ARC of Empire of Salt from Penguin Random House New Zealand to review. This is the first book in a new fantasy trilogy (I think) and I’m pretty sure it’s YA… But I’m not 100% sure.

I’m also not really sure what’s it about other than 12 families fighting for one throne. Kind of sounds like A Game of Thrones but I don’t want to compare it to that before even reading it because I’ll just get disappointed. I love the Song of Ice and Fire series. I love fantasy books so I’m looking forward to reading this. I think it’s released in August so I’ll read it closer to the release date.

HarperCollins New Zealand sent me a copy of The Crown’s Fate to review. I haven’t read The Crown’s Game, even though I’ve had a copy of it since it was released last year.

But I think I’ll be putting The Crown’s Game on my July TBR, which I haven’t even really thought of yet. And if I have time I’ll try to squeeze The Crown’s Fate onto it as well. But knowing my reading at the moment I don’t think that’s going to happen.

I don’t really know much about these other than they’re set in Russia (I think) but I’ve heard really good things about both of them so I’m excited to read them. 

Hardie Grant Egmont sent me a copy of The Huntress: Sea to review. I think that’s how you do the title? I requested this a few months ago so I can’t remember what this is about anymore. It was sent to my old address so I didn’t receive it straight away and will admit I completely forgot about it.

I will be putting this on my July TBR since it kind of went missing for a while. I don’t know when it was released but I’m probably behind…

I finally bought a copy of Cinder. This was the last book that I needed to complete my collection of The Lunar Chronicles. I love this series and wanted them all in hardback because I won a copy of Winter last year I think and it was a hardback so I wanted the rest of the series to match and now they do. I don’t have a copy of Fairest though because I can’t stand Levana and I don’t want that on my shelves. She’s an evil, twisted cow.

I loved this series! I’ve read the first three books twice, I had to re-read them before I could read Winter. But I haven’t read Stars Above yet. I’ll get to it one day. Soon I hope. If you haven’t read The Lunar Chronicles then I recommend finding copies.

I received a copy of The Ones that Disappeared from Hachette New Zealand to review. I think this is set in Australia by an Australian author but I could be completely wrong.

I think this is about kids disappearing and a fictional version of what may have happened to them. I really can’t remember.

I don’t know if this will be going on my TBR for this month yet. I have another book from Hachette that will be in this post that I want to read more. If I can fit it in I definitely will though. I love this cover. It’s kind of velvety in person and so pretty.

HarperCollins New Zealand sent me a copy of Godblind to review. I think this is a debut novel and the first in a new fantasy series.

This sounded really interesting when I first heard about it and I am really hoping to get to it this month. I know it’s about some kind of red gods but that’s all I remember. And yes, I can see that on the cover in the photo…

Speaking of the cover, it is so eye-catching. I’m not sure but I think this is an adult fantasy book and not YA but again, not 100% sure. So I’m expecting a lot of death and gore… 

The next two books were sent to me from Penguin Random House New Zealand to review.

Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index follows Juniper after the death of her sister and how she’s trying to move on/put her life back together. And she writes these index cards of happy things. But one goes missing with a big (maybe?) secret on it. And I think the book is what follows. Or something along those lines. I have heard good things about this so I’m looking forward to reading it.

The second book I received from Penguin Random House New Zealand was Midnight Jewel. This is the sequel to The Glittering Court which I got in a giveaway but haven’t actually read yet. I’m reading it at the moment. Although I’m not really that far in but I have enjoyed what I’ve read so far.

I’ll be putting Midnight Jewel on my July TBR because I need to have it read this month. Hopefully I can get to it soon. But I don’t think I’ll be reading it straight after The Glittering Court. I have too many other books to read first. I think this is out on the 6th? 

Hachette New Zealand sent me a copy of When Dimple Met Rishi to review. I have heard so many good things about this books and I am so excited to read it. I’ve been getting into contemporary books a lot more in the last couple of months. They’re a nice break from all the fantasy books I read.

When Dimple Met Rishi will definitely be going on my July TBR. I think I might actually read it really soon. I’ve got my next read picked out but it might be the one after that. Anyway, I’m just rambling now…

I went shopping alone a couple of days ago, which is never a god idea, and I saw a ‘buy

one get one half price’ on YA books and I just couldn’t resist.

I’ve wanted to read Hunted for a while now. I’ve never actually need it in store till the day I bought it though.

I love Beauty and the Beast and I think this is a retelling. I saw the name Beast when I flicked through the book so I’m pretty sure it is. So I’m excited to read it. I haven’t read a lot of Beauty and the Beast retellings. I’m not sure when I’ll actually be reading it though, probably not any time soon because I have a crazy long TBR. 

The second book I got was York. It’s the first book in a trilogy/series. I’m not really sure which.

I will admit that the cover drew me in because it’s gorgeous and so much better in person. But the story sounded pretty good when I read the synopsis. And then fact I got it for $8.50 wasn’t bad either.

I don’t know when I’ll get around to reading this. I’m not in a huge rush at the moment. Maybe when the sequel comes out.

I received a 10% off code from Book Depository earlier this month and I used it to buy two books. The first book was Our Dark Duet, the sequel to This Savage Song. I read and loved This Savage Song not long after it was released.

I’m hoping Our Dark Duet picks up not long after the ending of This Savage Song. I might have to read the last couple of chapters again to see what happened but I do remember the last scene because that stuck in my head.

This is another book that I hope to read soon but I’m not really sure when I’ll actually get to. These are the first books I’ve read by V.E. Schwab. I have one of her other books, A Darker Shade of Magic, in my Book Depo wishlist. I just haven’t gotten around buying it yet. 

The other book I got with my code was A Court of Wings and Ruin. I haven’t actually read the first two books in this trilogy yet but now I have them all I don’t really have an excuse, other than my crazy TBR, not to read them.

I know this is like the first three books in the series but also the story in these books has an ending or something. The size of ACOWAR is kind of putting me off wanting to read it soon. I like fast reads at the moment. Much easier to get through and get off my TBR. I need to go on a book buying ban.

The last book I received in June was sent to me from Bloomsbury Australia to review. I love this cover and pirates so I cannot wait to read this.

I also can’t remember much about this because I read the synopsis so long ago but I did like the sound of what I read. And this cover is gorgeous!

So that’s my June book haul. I got some amazing books this month that I can’t wait to read.

What did you get in June??

– Aimee.

#RainbowBlogChallenge: Day 6 – Royalty.

Today is the sixth day of the Rainbow Blog Challenge and the prompt is Royalty.

Friday 25th November
“Royalty”
Favourite royal characters // How books and reading have empowered you.

I am going to talk about my favourite royal characters. Or maybe just list them (in no particular order). I’m not sure yet.

Daenerys Targaryen (A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin)
I’ve loved Dany from the first book and she’s pretty awesome in the TV show too. I can’t wait to see what she does in the next season.

Jon Snow (A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin)
After the Tower of Joy was finally revealed in the show, Jon is now a Targaryen. I figured it out while reading the books and have been waiting years for it to come out. Plus, he’s now the new King of the North so that makes him royalty too.

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer)
This is another one I figured out early. I actually clicked when Cinder and Peony were at the junk yard in the first book talking about Princess Selene. Cinder has been my favourite character since I read the first book.

Kelsea (The Queen of the Tearling trilogy by Erika Johansen)
So I’ve only read the first book in this trilogy but I loved Kelsea and I can’t wait to read the next two books.

Dorian Havilliard (Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas)
Another character I loved from the first book. I’ve always preferred Dorian over Chaol and not with Celaena/Aelin. I don’t really care who she ends up with but I love Dorian. I’ve only read the first three books in this series (not counting The Assassin’s Blade) so no spoilers please.

Lia (The Remnant Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson)
This is another series that I’ve only read the first book but I did like Lia and I’m looking forward to reading the next two books to see what happens next when I eventually get to them.

Shahrzad (The Wrath and the Dawn duology by Renee Ahdieh)
I read The Wrath and the Dawn last year and I loved Shahrzad. She was strong, smart and independent. I can’t wait to read The Rose and the Dagger to find out how her story ends.

Maxon Schreave (The Selection series by Kiera Cass)
Maxon was my choice for America from the beginning. I didn’t like Aspen for her at all. I’m so glad she came to her senses and made the right choice.

Aelin Ashryver Galathynius (Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas)
I liked Celaena from the first book. Like I said, I’ve only read up to Heir of Fire so I’m not sure if my opinion of her will change. It could. Who knows? Hopefully I’ll catch up with the series one day soon.

Winter (The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer)
Winter grew on me throughout the last book in the series. At first she annoyed me but as her strength came through and she stopped relying on Jacin all the time I found myself liking her more.

Khalid (The Wrath and the Dawn duology by Renee Ahdieh)
Khalid was another character that grew on me the more I read The Wrath and the Dawn and I can’t wait to read the next book to see what’s next for him.

Meira (Snow like Ashes trilogy by Sara Raasch)
Again, this is another trilogy where I’ve only read the first book but I loved Meira. I have to re-read Snow like Ashes before I can read the next two books. I have no idea when I’ll get to them though. I don’t even own Frost like Night yet so there’s no rush.

Kai (The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer)
And lastly there’s Kai. He’s not at the bottom because I like him any less than the others. It was just when he popped into my head. I loved Kai from the first book in The Lunar Chronicles and am glad he got a happy ending. I still have to read Stars Above though.

Who are some of your favourite royal characters? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Tomorrow is the last day of the Rainbow Blog Challenge. The prompt is “All the love” – Books celebrating LGBTQ+ // Why diversity is important to you?Be sure to come back and see which one I choose to talk about.

Also, Elle from Elle.Biblio is holding an international giveaway on her blog for this challenge. You can click the link here to see what you need to do to enter! Good luck if you do.

If you are taking part in the Rainbow Blog Challenge leave a link in the comments to your post so I can check it out.

– Aimee.

Review: Winter by Marissa Meyer.

Title – Winter
Series – The Lunar Chronicles #4
Author – Marissa Meyer
How I Got It – Won it in a giveaway
Pages – 832 pages
Publication Date – November 10th 2015 by Feiwel & Friends
ISBN – 9780312642983
My Rating – ★★★★/5

Princess Winter is admired by the people of Luna for her grace and kindness. Despite the scars on her face she’s said to be even more breathtaking than her stepmother, Queen Levana.

Winter hates her stepmother and knows she’d never approve of her feeling for her childhood friend and palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn’t as weak as Levana thinks she is. Winter has been undermining her stepmother for years. Together with Cinder and her allies, Winter may even have the power to help start a revolution and win a war that’s been going for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever after?

Winter is the final book in The Lunar Chronicles. Well, not counting Stars Above. I really enjoyed the first three books in this series and I was so excited to finally read the last book.

I did feel like Winter was a little too long, it was a little over 800 pages, but at the same time I enjoyed it. I knew Cinder wasn’t just going to Luna and get Levana off the throne straight away but I just felt like some things were dragged out, even though I really liked the book. I know, that makes not sense at all. How can I feel like the book was too long but still enjoy reading it?

I did think that having everyone paired off, like Scarlet with Wolf and Cinder with Kai, was kind of cheesy and predictable but I guess The Lunar Chronicles is a re-telling of fairy-tales and the Disney ones always had happy endings. I am a little embarrassed to say I’ve never read the original version of these stories. I really want to though.

I really liked seeing Winter come out of her shell and stand up for herself, especially to Jacin. I get that he wanted to protect her or whatever but it felt a little suffocating at times. I also thought she was a lot stronger than people gave her credit for. Because it has to take a lot of strength to not use her Lunar gift while knowing that not using it is the reason she was hallucinating. Instead of turning into a cruel person like a lot of the Lunar court, Winter chose to not takes others’ free will away from them and I really liked her for that.

I also thought Levana was a horrible hypocrite. I mean, obviously she’s a horrible person and really thinks a lot of herself but the fact that she wouldn’t let Winter and Jacin be together was annoying. I don’t know if it was just because she didn’t want Winter to be happy and Levana wanted to make an alliance or whatever by marrying Winter off. But I found it worse because Levana forced Winter’s father,who was a palace guard, to marry her. I was hoping Levana would at least be punished for the things she’d done. I wanted Cinder to have one of those devices made that stop Lunars using their gift and have one put in Levana. Not only would she have to live with her own face but she wouldn’t be able to make others’ do what she wanted. I think that would have been a worse ending than she had.

I wasn’t surprised at the decision Cinder made at the end of the book. I felt like she was doing what she needed to do to get Levana off the throne and save the people of Earth and Luna from her. But at the same time it was obvious that she wasn’t comfortable being Princess Selene because she was Cinder. I’m hoping there’s something in Stars Above about her and what Luna is like now.

I have loved The Lunar Chronicles and am looking forward to reading Stars Above whenever I get around to it. And I can’t wait to read Marissa’s new books, Heartless, when it comes out.

If you’ve read the Lunar Chronicles let me know what you thought of the books in the comments.

– Aimee.

September Wrap Up & October TBR.

Okay, so my reading has slowed down again. I only read eight books in August. I think that’s the worst reading month I’ve had all year.

Winter by Marissa Meyer – ★★★★/5
The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken – ★★★/5
Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas – ★★★★/5
The Last Star by Rick Yancey – ★★★★/5
Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas – ★★★★/5
Breathing Under Water by Sophie Hardcastle – ★★★★/5
The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer – ★★★★/5
United as One by Pittacus Lore – ★★★★/5

Even though I didn’t read much in August I still read some pretty good books. Two of them were re-reads though.

This month I’ve already read one book and I’m a little into the second, neither of them are on my TBR though.. I’ve read Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina and I’m currently reading Swarm by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti.

What’s on your October TBR?

Aimee.

WWW Wednesday [September 7th 2016] –

This meme is hosted by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. All you have to do is answer the following three questions in a post and then put a link to that post in the Comments over at Taking on a World of Words.

The questions are:
1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading –  
I started a poll on Twitter last week for people to decide my next read because I’m sick of my TBR jar at the moment. I did use it to pick the two books in the poll. Anyway, The Darkest Minds was the winner so I started reading that.

I’m a little past halfway right now. It’s going really slow for me and I’m not sure why because I’m liking it. Maybe that slump is still here..

The Darkest Minds is about children with abilities that adults are either trying to control or are scared of. I’m not really sure yet but I think it could be a bit of both. I’m hoping to finish this in the next couple of days.

Recently Finished – 
I have finally finished Winter. Obviously. It took me so long to read and I don’t know if it was this weird slump or because it was an 800+ page book.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this even though I felt liked it was a little long. I mean, obviously Cinder and the others couldn’t just bring Levana down in a few pages and they would have to come up against some obstacles but at the same time 800 pages in sooo long. I still loved the book though and am looking forward to reading Stars Above soon.

I still need to get a copy of Cinder to complete my collection but there’s no real rush.

Reading Next – 
I am finally continuing my re-read of the Throne of Glass series. My next read will be Crown of Midnight.

I’m so happy that I have the US hardbacks now and won’t ruin the covers of the UK editions anymore. Now I just have to unhaul my other editions because I could seriously use the shelf space.

I’m excited t get back into this world. I have read Heir of Fire before too but can’t really remember what happened and when I eventually get to Queen of Shadows it will be the first time I’ve read it.

What have you been reading lately?

– Aimee.

WWW Wednesday [August 31st 2016] –

This meme is hosted by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. All you have to do is answer the following three questions in a post and then put a link to that post in the Comments over at Taking on a World of Words.

The questions are:
1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading –   
I’ve finally picked up Winter and I’m a little past halfway now. I had to re-read the first three books in the series before I got to Winter and I think I read Cress a few months ago. But other books have gotten in the way. 

For those that don’t know, Winter is the last book in The Lunar Chronicles. After that there’s Stars Above which is just a bind up of novellas but I am looking forward to reading that. Whenever I get around to it.

I cannot wait to see what Cinder and the others have in store for Levana. I didn’t want them to kill her because I thought that would be too easy an end for what she’s done but there are some things that have happened that have me thinking she’ll die. Putting one of Garan’s devices on her spine would be the best punishment for her in my opinion. 

Recently Finished –
The author of The Raven Trilogy: The First Journey, Melka Stansah, sent me a copy of her book in June I think and I’ve finally gotten around to reading it.

This book is about 130 pages (I think) and I read it in one sitting. I think this is Melka’s debut novel but I’m not 100% sure.

I don’t really want to go into this too much because I’ll be doing a full review of this soon and I’m still not sure how I felt about it. There were things that I liked but some things that put me off at the same time. But I’ll get into those when I write my review. 

Aww The Memory Book… I read this as part of the Read-Them-All-Thon for the ‘book that might make me cry’ and I was right. This was definitely a very sad read but I still really liked it.

This follows Sam after she was diagnosed with Neimann-Pick which will slowly take her memories and then her health. Sam decides to write a daily diary letting herself know what happened to her that day so she has a way to remember things.

I really enjoyed The Memory Book and even though it did make me cry I’d recommend it. I’m not sure who to though.

Reading Next –
Right now it’s a toss up between The Last Star  by Rick Yancey and The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken. Anyone want to help me pick?

What are you reading right now?

– Aimee.

 

Top Ten Tuesday (August 23rd): Ten Books That Have Been On My Shelf Since I Started Blogging That I STILL Haven’t Read Yet.

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish. You can check out the themes (if that’s what they’re called…) here. I changed this week’s theme for me because 1. I was too tired to actually read what I was meant to be doing and by the time I realised I’d already finished the post and 2. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get to the books that were on my TBR before I started blogging. So I changed it to books that have been on my shelves since I started blogging that I haven’t gotten to. If I did what’s still on my TBR instead of unread books on my shelves it would be a very looong list. But, I don’t care if my Top Ten Tuesday is different from everyone else’s.

1. Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult

I’ve had this book sitting on my shelves since I bought it in January 2015. I love Jodi’s books so I have no excuse for not reading this.

2. Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray
I loved the first book, A Thousand Pieces of You and was really looking forward to reading the sequel. I just havent read it yet.

3. Ice like Fire by Sara Raasch
I think the reason I’ve been putting off reading this is because I need to re-read Snow like Ashes first. I read that so fast that I’ve forgotten a lot of what happened, which is why I need to read it again before I can read Ice like Fire.

4. The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Partick Ness
I won this in a giveaway and I’ve heard so many good things about Ness’s writing. I’ve read The Chaos Walking trilogy and When a Monster Calls. I also have More Than This sitting unread on my shelves…

5. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
I got this as a gift on my birthday this year. I want to read more classics but I just haven’t picked it up.

6. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
I got the first book in the Lord of the Rings trilogy free through a rewards system here in New Zealand. I read The Hobbit a few years ago but I wanted to have all the books in the trilogy before I read the first book. I do have the other two now so I want to read them soon.

7. Black Widow: Forever Red by Margaret Stohl
I received this as a gift for Christmas. I love Natasha in the movies, I don’t really read graphic novels, so I wanted to read this when I heard about it. Again, I just haven’t picked it up.

8. Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
I wanted to re-read the first books in the series before reading QoS. I have read Throne of Glass again but that’s where my re-read of the series ended. Now need to get to them soon because Empire of Shadows is going to be released soon.

9. Winter by Marissa Meyer
I won this in a giveaway last year and it took the person who held the giveaway so long to send it that I never thought I’d actually get it. I think I’ve had it a few months now. I’m reading it as part of the Read-Them-All-Thon so I’ll be reading it in the next few weeks.

10. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
I got Frankenstein in a book swap. Like I said earlier I want to read more classics and this is one I’ve wanted to read for a while. When I saw it in the pile of books someone wanted to swap I was happy to take it off their hands. Hopefully I’ll read it soon.

So those are the books that have been sitting on my shelves since I started blogging.

What are some books that have been sitting on your shelves for years?

Aimee.

#ReadThemAllThon TBR

I’m going to be taking part in my first read-a-thon. I’m not a Pokemon fan so I won’t be doing the second part of it but I thought this sounded like an awesome way to get some books off my TBR shelf.

If you want to know more about this you can got to Aentee’s page (from Read at Midnight) and sign up here. All images are hers and I am just borrowing them because they are amazing.

Okay, onto the books.

 I got The Darkest Minds trilogy by Alexandra Bracken last month and have never read it do I’m going to read The Darkest Minds for this. I’ve only read Passenger by her so I hope I like this trilogy more than that.

I’m only guessing that this book might make me cry because it takes a lot for a book to have me in tears (thanks Me Before You). I’m picking The Memory Book by Lara Avery for this because it sounds really emotional.

Well I was going to read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child for this but I just couldn’t wait six days to read it. So I’ll be reading The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye. I’ve been hearing really good things about this for months and I can’t wait to read it.

This is the one I have not found a book for yet. There are no books on my TBR shelf that fit this and the books that do I’ve already read this year. I don’t want to read them again so soon. Hopefully I’ll find one soon but any suggestions will be very helpful!

I don’t really do “epic romance” reads so I’m just going to read Winter by Marissa Meyer for this because I’m assuming some of the couples (if not all) will get a happy ending and I love Cinder and Kai.

I did have another book picked out for this but Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare needs to go back to the library soon so I think I’m going to read that. I’ve had this book for almost two months now and I really need to read it.

I decided to read The Regulars by Georgia Clark for this. I’m also reading it as part of ARC August so it can be part of both that and this read-a-thon.

I’ll be reading The Last Star by Rick Yancy for this one. I’ve loved the first two books in the trilogy so far and can’t wait to see how the story ends.

This read-a-thon will be three weeks, starting on the 14th August and finishing on 4th September. I can’t wait to get into these books!

Let me know if you’re going to take part in this read-a-thon too.

Aimee.