Today is the first day of October and all I can say is where has this year gone?! I know I am not the only one out there who thinks so far 2016 has just flown by; it’s going to be Christmas soon and I still feel like we should be in May/June.
I went through a little bit of a fantasy reading slump this month. After reading Empire of Storms, which was one of my most highly anticipated releases for this year, there was no other fantasy book that could compare. Instead I went through some of the YA contemporary books on my to-read list, and even found some new favourite authors.
My book buying ban is still going strong, compared to last month I brought very little this month. Only three more months to go and then in the new year I will be back to buying whatever I want.
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
With the film coming out I needed to get to this book sooner rather than later. While A Monster Calls isn’t my favourite Patrick Ness book it is definitely up there; a truly emotional story with beautiful illustrations. I’ve been steadily working my way through all of Patrick Ness’s books and next on my list is the Chaos Walking series.
Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas
Like everyone I was eagerly awaiting the release of this book and as soon as my copy arrived I dove right in. Granted there were some issues with this book, I know a lot of people picked up on the similarities between Empire of Storms and A Court of Mist and Fury, but overall I really enjoyed this instalment.
Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
Sarah Dessen is one of my all-time favourite YA contemporary authors, but for some reason I never picked up any of her new releases after Just Listen. I’m trying to change that so Lock and Key was the first on my to-read list. I really enjoyed this book, Ruby’s development throughout was wonderful to read, and it’s made me wonder why I waited so long to pick up the rest of Sarah Dessen’s books.
Kasie West
After reading and loving P.S. I Like You I immediately moved the rest of Kasie West’s books up my to-read list. She has quickly become another one of my favourite YA contemporary authors, and while none of the books I read this month could beat out P.S. I Like You as my favourite The Fill-In Boyfriend came very close.
The Distance Between Us by Kasie West
On the Fence by Kasie West
The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West
Anna-Marie McLemore
I was lucky enough to receive When the Moon Was Ours from NetGalley. While I am a massive fan of the magical realism genre I haven’t read too many books from it, something I am trying to change. Anna-Marie McLemore is an amazing author; as soon as I finished When the Moon Was Ours, which is easily a favourite book of the year for me, I immediately picked up The Weight of Feathers.
When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.
The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling
As soon as I heard a play was being released I rushed to get tickets, and then when I saw the screen play was being released as a book I rushed to pre-order the hardcover edition. While I enjoyed this book, and going back to the world of Hogwarts, it was a completely different experience reading the script to seeing the play live with my own eyes.
Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige
I love fairytale retellings so I had high hopes for this book, especially when I saw it was a Snow Queen retelling rather than Snow White one like I first assumed. Unfortunately this book failed to live up to my expectations; the plot had a lot of potential but the characters were not well developed, and considering this book was written in first person POV that was a major downside.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.
Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
When I received an ARC of this book at YALC I was beyond thrilled, and I started it straight away. Gemina was one of my most anticipated releases for this year and this book more than lived up to my expectations. Everything I loved about Illuminae was in Gemina alongside so much more. If this is a book you’re eagerly anticipating you won’t be disappointed.
I received a copy of this book from Rock the Boat.
I took part in four Top Ten Tuesday topics over the course of September.
Top Ten TV Shows I Can’t Wait for the Next Season of
Top Ten All Time Favourite Books in the … Genre
Top Five Favourite Artists and Top Ten Favourite Albums
Top Ten Books on my Fall TBR List
I featured four books as part of the Waiting on Wednesday tag.
By Your Side by Kasie West
Replica by Lauren Oliver
Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton
Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han
I started a new weekly tag and posted two Wordless Wednesday features.
Just a quick announcement; I am going to be going on hiatus next week. My friend and I are going to Algarve, flying out on Sunday morning (really early) and flying home late Thursday (really really late). I plan to use Friday to catch up on comments and people’s posts and I will post again next Saturday. However until then I will be away from WordPress and away from my blog.
When I’m back I have a lot of new fantasy books to get around to that I am really excited to start; Crooked Kingdom and Blood for Blood, which are currently sitting on my bookshelves waiting for me to get around to, Vassa in the Night and Uprooted, which I also own and can’t wait to get started on, and Replica, which hasn’t been released yet but that I have pre-ordered.
