Find me at beyondabookshelf.co.uk

You may have noticed I’ve been missing for some time… I’m sorry! I actually started a new blog over at beyondabookshelf.co.uk with my good friend Ellie. Come find me!

Go to beyondabookshelf.co.uk

SEP WRAP UP | The Books & the Stats

What a month. I think I was so close to giving most of these books five stars. It has really been an exceptional month for me and I can’t quite believe it. It has also been one of my best reading months in terms of quantity as well as quality! I read 12 books, which is my joint highest month with January.

REVIEW | Ninth House (Alex Stern #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Name: Ninth House (Alex Stern #1)
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Genres: Adult, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Gollancz
Format: Uncorrected Proof
Source: Ellie @ Faerie on the Shelf
Rating: ★★★★★
GOODREADS | BUY

Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?

Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.

AUG WRAP UP | The Books & the Stats

We have reached the point in the year where my introduction to my wrap up is me telling you how good my intentions are and apologies. Basically, as I write this, it’s 18th August. I’m aiming to actually have this up in the first week of September this time around.

EDIT: I’m now finishing this post on 24th September, so we all know that my. good intentions mean nothing.

This month has been slow for me, but I’ve read a nice wide range of ARCs, 2019 releases and previous releases, plus covered a good few genres too! My most notable read of the month was Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan, out in November and the sequel to widely acclaimed Girls of Paper and Fire. I’m hoping to get a full review out soon, but read on for my initial thoughts!

TOP 5 | Summer Bank Holiday reads

Bank holiday weekend is here and I have some ideas of what you can do this weekend – read of course! And if you’re struggling to know what to read, I have some great recommendations. Whether you want something fun and summery, or laugh-your-arse-off hilarious, this list is the key to the best bank holiday ever.

These five books are all quick reads that will have you constantly turning the pages and not putting the books down until you get to the final page!

JUL WRAP UP | The Books & the Stats

This month, I’m writing this post on 31st July so if it doesn’t go live until mid-August, at least I started with good intentions. I’m getting better and hey, maybe this is the month that I post more than just my wrap up!

July has been busy, culminating in YALC last weekend. I don’t know yet whether I’m going to do a YALC post or not, but I will say that with that and my birthday, my July haul is off the charts. I’m never going to catch up on my TBR.

Big stat for the month though – this was my most consistently enjoyable reading month of 2019 so far with my star average being 4.63! My next closest was January with 4.42!

JUN WRAP UP | The Books & the Stats

Okay, I know I’m just making excuses now but the end of June / start of July was horrendously busy. I had friends staying, then I got a new job (YAY!) and then I had my birthday weekend, which if you follow me on social media, you’ll know that I was all over the country celebrating! And that is why I haven’t posted my June wrap up until today.

On the plus side, I think I’ve kicked my reading slump in the arse and I got loads of books for my birthday so now if I just get some free time, ya girl is gonna read.

UKYABA | Which UKYA character are you?

With YALC and the UKYA Blogging Awards just around the corner, I teamed up with fellow UKYA bloggers to create a buzzfeed-style quiz so that you can find out which UKYA character you are!

MID-YEAR CHECK IN | Books that made me laugh, cry, sigh and squeal!

This post is based on the questions for the ‘Mid-Year Freak Out Tag’, but I’ve edited it to suit my needs a bit better. I’m pretty sure most of these will be to no one’s surprise but let’s see! I’m still going to be doing a June Wrap up, which you will be able to find here, but for some more specific check ups, here’s how my 2019 is going!

MAY WRAP UP | The Books & the Stats

This is becoming a theme now, but welcome to the mess that is my life. I haven’t posted in over 20 days and that’s the longest I haven’t posted all year. I’ve said this at the start of all my wrap ups, but I’m still proud of myself that it’s only 20 days. Last year I was less consistent and my 2019 views for 5 months have already exceeded the entirety of 2018!

I’ve been having some issues with reading slumps and moods – I’ve been very much on a romance kick without having a lot of unread romance on my shelves. Also just life has been kicking me in the bum so Imi’s been absent – sorry, kids. Expect a comeback sometime soon.