January 2020 Wrap Up!

Hey guys! January, which always seems to be a struggle to get through, is finally over so that means I’m posting my wrap up. Last January I only managed two books which was super disappointing; however, I am very pleased to say that this year I managed to read seven books!

Ghosts of the Shadow Market by Cassandra Clare: I finally read this giant book and it was actually everything I was hoping for. Admittedly, some stories were confusing as they had a lot of characters and I was struggling to remember who was who and who was related to the characters I already knew. I don’t know how Cassie manages to keep up with this world! My favourite stories were the ones with Jem and Tessa and the brief moments they manage to have together. Then the stories at the end when they’re finally together, that was super emotional. I loved this and I can’t wait for Chain of Gold now!

REVIEW: Ghosts of the Shadow Market by Cassandra Clare

Title: Ghosts of the Shadow Market by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, Kelly Link and Robin Wasserman
Pages: 617
Published by: Walker Books
Publication date: 4th June 2019
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format: Hardback
Amazon UK – Waterstones

Synopsis:

The Shadow Market is a meeting point for faeries, werewolves, warlocks, and vampires. It’s no place for Shadowhunters, but through two centuries a Silent Brother has visited. Brother Zachariah was once a Shadowhunter called Jem Carstairs, and his love, then and always, is the warlock Tessa Gray. Now he is searching for a relic from his past.

Follow Jem and see, against the backdrop of the Market’s dark dealings, Anna Lightwood’s doomed romance, Matthew Fairchild’s great sin, and Tessa Gray as she is plunged into a world war. Valentine Morgenstern buys a soul and a young Jace Wayland’s finds safety.

In the Market is hidden a lost heir and a beloved ghost. But no one can save you once you have traded away your heart. Not even Brother Zachariah.

Most Anticipated 2020 Releases

Hey guys! Today I thought I’d talk about my most anticipated 2020 releases and writing this post has made me even more excited now just because they all sound so amazing. We truly have some incredibly talented authors and I cannot wait for their books to come out! Without further ado, let’s get into it!

Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare: I remember putting this on my list last year and then being gutted when it was pushed back. I love Cassie’s books so much and think she is an amazing writer, she really makes me care about her characters. I’m so excited to meet another generation of shadowhunters and I hope it’s just as good as The Infernal Devices.

Imagine Me by Tahereh Mafi: I really enjoyed Defy Me and then the cliffhanger at the end of Reveal Me was so intense! I had no idea what was happening and it completely threw me, but it made me so excited for Imagine Me. I was so gutted when I realised I had such a long wait for the last book. I can’t wait to see Ella use her powers and not hold back. Also I really want a happy ending for Ella and Warner.

Review of 2019!

Hey guys! I hope you’ve all had a wonderful start to 2020. I’m still on holiday until Monday thankfully but I honestly feel like Christmas went by so fast and I’m already dreading going back to work. Before I post my 2020 reading goals and my January TBR, I thought it’d be great to look back on my reading in 2019 as I think I absolutely smashed it. So let’s get into it!

So I originally set myself a goal of 40 books and I was worried I wouldn’t even read that because I ended up in a reading slump at the start of the year. Thankfully I managed to find the motivation to read again and once I hit my goal of 40, I then set myself a goal of 80 books but massively surpassed it and read 101! I finished 2018 on 71 books so even 2019 was a massive improvement. I can’t wait to see if I can pull this off again in 2020.

Favourite Books of 2019!

Hey guys! Today I am bringing you my favourite books of 2019 – these are all books I rated five stars and highly, highly enjoyed. Mid-July I posted my top five books of 2019 so far and since then I’ve only rated two more books five stars. So I don’t have as many five star reads as last year but that’s okay because I feel like I’ve discovered some pretty amazing books and authors. I won’t go into a lot of detail of the five I already covered in July because I feel like I’ve talked about them so much already. Let’s get into the list:

Caraval, Legendary & Finale by Stephanie Garber: Caraval has completely blown me away; I love this world and these characters so much. I rated all three books five stars because I was utterly entranced throughout the whole series. The characters felt so alive and honestly the story was so magical. I loved Scarlett and Tella so much and it was so nice reading a book about such a strong sibling bond and how they would do anything for each other. This trilogy was wrapped up so nicely but I’m really sad now that it’s ended. I’d definitely recommend this for fantasy lovers.

Favourite Series I’d Like to Revisit!

Hey guys! Today I thought I’d take a look at some of my favourite series that I’d like to reread. With my massive TBR pile I don’t know when I’ll get the chance to reread these but I hope to one day!

UK Cover

Shades of Magic by V.E. Schwab

I started this series in 2017 and finished it last year so it’s not too long ago that I read this and I already want to reread it! I absolutely adored these characters and this fantastic world V.E. Schwab created. It was fast paced and utterly unforgettable! One of my favourite fantasy series and Schwab is easily one of my favourite authors now.

Six Books I Want to Read Before the End of the Year

Hey guys! Since we are rapidly approaching the end of the year, I thought I’d share with you some of the books I’m looking to cross off my TBR before 2020. I’ve heard great things about these books and I have no idea why I haven’t read some of them yet! Here’s what I’d like to read before the end of the year:

Ghosts of the Shadow Market by Cassandra Clare: I remember being really excited for this book before it even came out because it follows one of my absolute favourite characters: Jem Carstairs. I loved him in The Infernal Devices and I was so happy when reappeared in other series like The Dark Artifices. The only thing I’m worried about though is that novellas are usually a hit or miss for me. Sometimes I love them but the majority of the time I’m bored because I don’t think a lot is happening. Fingers crossed that I end up loving this!