December Wrap-Up.

December did not turn out to be the amazing reading month I had hoped for. I managed only 4 of the 7 planned reads that I had for this month but I'm not hugely disappointed as I normally would be. It's important, I think, not to pressure myself into reading too much and I promise to get better at time management so that I can do everything I want to do properly next year. For now though, here's how I did!

1. 'Stealing Phoenix'; Joss Stirling. This book actually turned out to be a bit of a disappointment for me, especially considering the fact that I loved 'Finding Sky' so much. The plot progression I liked a lot and Yves was an adorable Romantic lead! Phoenix, the main character I didn't like so much I'm afraid, some parts of the plot felt unnecessary. I wasn't entirely convinced by the villains of the story either though I felt they had a lot of potential. With a bit of padding it could have been a lot better. 2/5 Stars.
2. 'Red Glove'; Holly Black. The second in the series and I really liked it a lot. Holly Black's wonderful imagination bowled me over again, the twists and turns really kept me mesmerised by the stories and I think that the characters felt much more developed than in 'White Cat'. There were a couple of Black's infamous 'blink and you miss it' moments and I really found the ending disappointing. Still, there was too much goodness in this story to ignore. 4/5 Stars.
3. 'A Feast For Crows'; George R.R. Martin. I always find myself impressed by this series and this book was no exception. Martin might be a little slow when it comes to writing books, but I don't mind the wait so much if it means the quality of his writing is of this standard every time. He does such a cracking job! I liked hearing from some of the lesser characters in this one, it gave the entire plot a much wider perspective and gave a lot of insight into what was going on in other parts of Martin's world. 4.5/5 Stars.
4. 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest'; Ken Kesey. I finished this book just in the nick of time, and I'm so glad that I did! It proved to be a worthwhile read! I loved Kesey's characterisation and the book's hero and villain against each other. His imagery was superb also, though at times the Narrator became a bit unreliable due to frequent hallucinations and nightmares. I didn't like the misogynistic and racist undertones either and that lowered my overall rating in the end. 3/5 Stars.

This month I have read four physical books:

- Stealing Phoenix

- Red Glove

- A Feast For Crows

- One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

This month I have read zero Netgalley/Edelweiss reads:

I'm kind of disappointed, but I've been really good up until now so it's fine, right?

For the Prequel/Sequel challenge I gained another 6 points, bringing the year's total to 46 points. Maybe not as high as I had hoped but it shows great progress in my series reading and I aim to continue making progress like this!

- Stealing Phoenix (+2)

- Red Glove (+2)

- A Feast For Crows (+2)

I read two more entries for the Book To Movies Challenge and that makes a year's total of ten:

- A Feast For Crows

- One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

And now my first Bookish Bingo post for this card and my Story Sprites Wrap-Up!

Multi-POV: A Feast For Crows; George R.R. Martin.

Fantasy: Stealing Phoenix; Joss Stirling.

A Friend's Fave: Red Glove; Holly Black.

White Cover: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest; Ken Kesey.

Middle Grade Fantasy Lover: Stealing Phoenix; Joss Stirling.

A Character Death: More Than This; Patrick Ness.

Male MC: Horns; Joe Hill.

POC MC: A Thousand Nights; E.K. Johnston.

Witches Or Wizards: Bitter Greens; Kate Forsyth.

A Classic Novel: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest; Ken Kesey.

Photograph On The Cover: Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children; Ransom Riggs.

A Book With A Mountain: The Historian; Elizabeth Kostova.

A Halloween Read: Mary Hades; Sarah Dalton.

Set In The Southern USA: Vengeance Road; Erin Bowman.

Character Centred Novel: The Sin Eater's Daughter; Melinda Salisbury.

Set At A Boarding School: Red Glove; Holly Black.

Book With A Fictional Language: A Feast For Crows; George R.R. Martin.

Supernatural Race In Modern Times: The Other Lamb; Katie Young.

A Character Who Is a Musician: The Butterfly & The Violin; Kristy Cambron.

September Wrap-Up.

Honestly? I'm a bit disappointed in my reading month. In the end I did manage 5 out of 7 of my reads which doesn't sound so bad upon reflection (especially as one or two of them were quite long) but I still feel like I could have done better. Still, I've had some great reads that I've thoroughly enjoyed!

1. 'Spinning Starlight'; R.C. Lewis. My first read of the month and I was certainly excited about it because it was a Fairy Tale retelling (my favourite genre)! Despite knowing very little about Hans Christian Andersen's original, I was not disappointed in the slightest! The heroine was likeable, the world-building glorious and the plot extremely well thought out. It had quite a sizeable cast and it would have been nice to have connected a bit more with some of the lesser characters. Still, a great read and I hope to read 'Stitching Snow' at some point soon. 4/5 Stars.
2. 'Life After Life'; Kate Atkinson. Yet another great read that continued what looked to be a promising month. I'd had this book on my shelf for a long time and wanted to read it for quite a while. Finally I got round to it and it was fantastic! I adored the plot concept, it felt so different to things I had read before. Atkinson's writing style was beautiful and captivating and hooked me from start to finish. The only thing that really stopped me from giving it full marks was the vague ending that didn't answer all of my questions. 4.5/5 Stars.
3. 'Etta & Otto & Russell & James'; Emma Hooper. I liked this book but didn't love it. The plot concept was pretty good and it had a bizarre element that made it a really interesting read. I really liked the Magical Realism element in it too, and considering it's not my favourite genre, that's pretty impressive. Once again the ending disappointed me, even more so than 'Life After Life'. It was just far too ambiguous and confusing. 2.5/5 Stars.
4. 'Witch Hunter'; Virginia Boecker. After a couple of deep reads, I felt like relaxing with something slightly less strenuous. I had pretty mixed thoughts on this one, but liked it enough to want to keep going. I was disappointed in the main character for not being nearly as badass as the blurb painted her, though her kind-heartedness won me over a little. The world-building was good but not as detailed as I wanted. The plot was the best part of the book by far and so in the end I liked it more, though the start didn't grab me as much a I'd have liked. 2.5/5 Stars.
5. 'Station Eleven'; Emily Mandel. My latest read and quite possibly my favourite so far this year! Seriously, what a wonderful way to end the month! The plot was mesmerising, the characters fascinating to read about and the world-building absolutely divine. If you haven't already read this Adult Dystopian that I can see becoming a future classic, then I really recommend that you do! I'm so impressed by this book that I am totally desperate to read more of this lady's work. 5/5 Stars.

This month I have read two physical books:

- Life After Life

- Station Eleven

This month I have read three Netgalley/Edelweiss reads:

- Spinning Starlight

- Etta & Otto & Russell & James

- Witch Hunter

Yikes, is it three quarters of the way through the year already? Well here's a little update on the rest of my challenges!

I managed to gain another 8 points for the Prequel/Sequel Challenge, bringing my total to 40 points:

- 'The Winner's Crime' +2 (July)

- 'Valiant' +2 (July)

- 'Moon Over Soho' +2 (August)

- 'Insurgent' +2 (August)

I read two more entries for the Book To Movie Challenge, bringing my total to eight:

- The Hobbit

- Insurgent

And now it's time to start my brand new Bookish Bingo card, while finishing my Story Sprites challenge!

Science Fiction: Spinning Starlight; R.C. Lewis.

On Your Shelf For Over A Year: Life After Life; Kate Atkinson.

Set In Another Country: Etta & Otto & Russell & James; Emma Hooper.

Animal On The Cover: Station Eleven; Emily St. John Mandel.

Black Cover: Witch Hunter; Virginia Boecker.

Primary  Coloured Cover: Moon Over Soho; Ben Aaronovitch. REVIEW.

Fairies As A Theme: Valiant; Holly Black. REVIEW.

Forbidden Romance: The Winner's Crime; Marie Rutkoski. REVIEW.

Setting - An Alien Planet: Spinning Starlight; R.C. Lewis. REVIEW.

Female Fronted Fantasy: A Whole New World; Liz Braswell. REVIEW.

Love Triangle: Etta & Otto & Russell & James; Emma Hooper. REVIEW.

Cover With Silver Lettering: The Hobbit; J.R.R. Tolkien. REVIEW.

Novel By An Indie Author: Sunbolt; Intisar Khanani. REVIEW.

Book With Angels Or Demons: Angelfall; Susan Ee. REVIEW.

A Novel Over 400 Pages: Life After Life; Kate Atkinson. REVIEW.

Fairytale Retelling: Neverland; Shari Arnold. REVIEW.

Adult Sci-Fi Book: Flex; Ferrett Steinmetz. REVIEW.

Book with a Virus/Outbreak: Station Eleven; Emily St. John Mandel. REVIEW.

First Book In A Series: Hunter; Mercedes Lackey. REVIEW.

A Book Into A Current Movie (2015+): Insurgent; Veronica Roth. REVIEW.

June Wrap-Up.

I can't believe that we are already halfway through the year, it's gone so quickly! Luckily, to celebrate, I've had myself a fantastic reading month. I've read so many good books! These are always my favourite kinds of months, as they make me feel so productive! I'm quite pleased too, as right at the last minute I managed to pull off a few good reads in a short space of time. This meant I read 6 of my 7 planned reads this month!

1. 'Skin'; Ilka Tampke. I was actually invited to read this one by Hodder & Stoughton via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I was also invited to the Publishing Party for it, so I'm really glad that I enjoyed it! Historical Fiction is a genre I really love, and I didn't realise that Celtic Britain would prove to be an area of History that I would fall in love with. There was a huge amount of fantastic world-building in this one, as well as a likeable heroine and an intriguing plot. 4/5 Stars.
2. 'The Sleeper & The Spindle'; Neil Gaiman. I couldn't believe how quickly I got through this one, it was a mere 70 pages long and comprised of a fair few illustrations. Needless to say, the artwork was gorgeous and I can forgive it's short length because Fairy Tales are seldom long. The tale itself was slightly macabre and chilling at times, with huge doses of female empowerment to keep me happy! 4/5 Stars.
3. 'Mockingjay'; Suzanne Collins. Finally! I've waited far too many months to read the final instalment of this series, but I got to it at last. Despite a pretty slow start which involved a lot of reflection and bitterness on Katniss' part, the second half of the book was too good to ignore. It was action-packed, horrifying at times, and completely broke my heart. In the end, it was enough to push my rating up. 4/5 Stars.
4. 'A Natural History Of Dragons'; Marie Brennan. I finished this book on the Sunday just gone, and have to say that I knew it would get a high rating from the beginning. I adored the heroine, Isabella (she is in fact the strongest female lead I have read about this year) because of her passion, ferocity and wonderful sense of humour. Her relationship with Jacob was a joy to read, and learning all about Dragons somehow gave this book an extra edge above other fantasies. 5/5 Stars.
5. 'The Storied Life Of A.J. Fikry'; Gabrielle Zevin. This was definitely my favourite read this month, if not of the year so far. It felt very original, contained a colourful cast of wonderful characters and had a fascinating plot that contained many expletive-inducing twists, had me doubled over laughing, and made me cry too many tears to count. You have to read it to understand what I'm talking about! 5/5 Stars.
6. 'How To Fly With Broken Wings'; Jane Elson. This was a rather disappointing end to a very productive reading month, especially as the blurb had looked so promising and the cover so beautiful. In the end, there wasn't a whole lot of character development or plot pacing, and the writing style was a big turn-off. It did have a lovely message with a few heart-warming moments though. 1/5 Stars.

This month I have read two physical reads:

- 'Mockingjay'

- 'A Natural History Of Dragons'

This month I have read three Netgalley/Edelweiss reads:

- 'Skin'

- 'The Storied Life Of A.J. Fikry'
- 'How To Fly With Broken Wings'

I am now halfway through the year too, so I probably ought to update you on the rest of my challenges! Here goes!

I managed to gain another 14 points for the Prequel/Sequel challenge, bringing my total to 32 points:

- 'A Storm Of Swords: Blood & Gold' +2 (April)
- 'Mockingjay' +12 (June)






I read three more entries for the Book To Movie Challenge, bringing my total to six:

- 'A Storm Of Swords: Blood & Gold' (April)
- 'Child 44' (April)
- 'Mockingjay' (June)





And here is my updated Bookish Bingo card!

Murder Mystery: Child 44; Tom Rob Smith. REVIEW.

Forgotten Fridays Pick: Going Bovine; Libba Bray. REVIEW.

Aussie Author: The Rosie Project; Graeme Simsion. REVIEW.

Yellow Cover: The Storied Life Of A.J. Fikry; Gabrielle Zevin. REVIEW.

April, May, June Release: Fractured Dream; K.M. Randall. REVIEW.

Rain Or Storm In Title: A Storm Of Swords: Blood & Gold; George R.R. Martin. REVIEW.

Parental Relationships: The Winner's Curse; Marie Rutkoski. REVIEW.

Bullying: How To Fly With Broken Wings; Jane Elson. REVIEW.

Freebie: Midnight Crossroad; Charlaine Harris. REVIEW.

Thieves, Assassins, Pirates: Moonlands; Steven Savile. REVIEW.

Parallel Universes: Between The Lives; Jessica Shirvington. REVIEW.

#WeNeedDiverseBooks: Good Kings, Bad Kings; Susan Nussbaum. REVIEW.

Illustrated Cover: The Sleeper & The Spindle; Neil Gaiman. REVIEW.

Part Of A Trilogy: Mockingjay; Suzanne Collins. REVIEW.

Nonfiction Or Memoir: A Natural History Of Dragons; Marie Brennan. REVIEW.

Historical: Skin; Ilka Tampke. REVIEW.

March Wrap-Up.

So I'm a quarter of the way through the year now and I am really pleased with the way this month has gone! I actually managed to read every single one of my planned reads! I'm so pleased with myself right now and I honestly feel like the two Readathons and TBR Pile challenge really helped! I'll start by listing the seven books I got through this month! Just a quick note that every single one of these books will count towards the 'Control Your TBR Pile' Challenge that I took part in!

1. 'White Cat'; Holly Black. This was a pretty good start to the month's reading. The plot felt really original and I loved the constant twists and turns to keep me interested. The magic/power system was pretty cool and well put together too! I also felt that these were some of the best written characters from Holly Black I have seen so far. The beginning completely threw me off and I felt a bit lost to begin with, which wasn't helped by Black's fast-paced writing. I did enjoy this book though. 3/5 Stars.
2. 'The Walled City'; Ryan Graudin. This was a great story! I was expecting a Dystopian thriller and was actually completely taken aback because it's based on a real place! Graudin really knew his stuff too, the world-building was so good! The plot totally had me on the edge of my seat too and built a really good sense of impending doom. 4/5 Stars.
3. 'The Enchanted'; Rene Denfeld. I had been looking forward to reading this book for what seemed like forever, so I was happy to not be disappointed Denfeld's writing style was really nicely penned and totally captivated me. The magical realism in this book blended really well with the horrible truth of the situation. Being a book about violence, sexual abuse and mental illness I thought that Denfeld handled the more sensitive themes beautifully. 4/5 Stars.
4. 'Dracula'; Bram Stoker. I can't believe that I haven't read this book before now! It was so good, I really enjoyed it! The visual imagery in this book is stunning, Stoker is really good with atmosphere throughout the story. There's a lot of symbolism too which  I absolutely love. The plot was really good too. Stoker did have a way of taking ages to get to the point however which could get a little frustrating if you're not used to this style of writing. 4.5/5 Stars.
5. 'The Sunken'; S.C Green. This was my first ever experience of a Steampunk novel and I loved it! It was an alternative version of History, set in Victorian times with the inclusion of religious sects that worship Art, Engineering and Design and fantastical creatures that you definitely wouldn't normally find in the 1800s. I'm so excited for Book 2! 5/5 Stars.
6. 'Cress'; Marissa Meyer. It's no secret that I adore this series. 'Cinder' and 'Scarlet' are two of the best books I have read and this third installment did not disappoint. The plot, the characters, the world-building, everything was just fantastic. I don't need to ramble on about how much I'm excited for the last book in the series, 'Winter'!
7. 'The Iron Trial'; Holly Black & Cassandra Clare. This was my second 'dual author' story and it was a considerably better experience than the first. The writing flowed really well considering there were two authors writing it, I couldn't tell who wrote what at all. I liked the plot and some of the characters but I just felt there wasn't enough detail for me to be totally convinced. 2.5/5 Stars.

This month I have read four physical books:

- 'White Cat'

- 'The Enchanted'

- 'Dracula'

- 'Cress'

This month I have read three Netgalley/Edelweiss reads:

- 'The Walled City'

- 'The Sunken'

- 'The Iron Trial'

As this I am a quarter of the way through the year, I also really ought to update you all on my progress these last few months for my other challenges:

I have amassed 18 Points for the Prequel/Sequel Challenge:

- 'Dreams Of Gods & Monsters' +12 (Jan)

- 'Rogue Wave' +2 (Feb)

- 'A Storm Of Swords: Steel & Snow' +2 (Feb)

- 'Cress' +2 (March)

I have read three entries for the Book To Movie Challenge:

- Howl's Moving Castle (Jan)

- A Storm Of Swords: Steel & Snow (Feb)

- Dracula (March)

And here is how I did with my Bookish Bingo card!

Forgotten Fridays Pick: Howl's Moving Castle; Diana Wynne Jones. REVIEW.
Start A Series: The Sunken; S.C. Green. REVIEW.

2015 Debut: Rogue Wave; Jennifer Donnelly. REVIEW.
Magical Realism: The Enchanted; Rene Denfeld. REVIEW.
Fairy Tale Retelling: Cress; Marissa Meyer. REVIEW.
Middle Grade: The Iron Trial; Holly Black & Cassandra Clare. REVIEW.

White Cover: The Mistletoe Bride & Other Haunting Tales. REVIEW.

LGBTQIA: Will Grayson, Will Grayson; John Green & David Levithan. REVIEW.
Epistolary: Dracula; Bram Stoker. REVIEW.

Mystery Or Thriller: The Moment Collector; Jodi Lynn Anderson. REVIEW.

Freebie: All The Birds, Singing; Evie Wyld. REVIEW.

Over 400 Pages: A Storm Of Swords: Steel & Snow; George R.R. Martin. REVIEW.

Mental Illness: The Shock Of The Fall; Nathan Filer. REVIEW.

Romance: The Girl Who Chased The Moon; Sarah Addison Allen. REVIEW.

2014 Release You Missed: Dreams Of Gods & Monsters; Laini Taylor. REVIEW.

Based On Mythology: A Song For Ella Grey; David Almond. REVIEW.
Male POV: The Walled City; Ryan Graudin. REVIEW.
Super Powers: White Cat; Holly Black. REVIEW.

Book Review: Howl's Moving Castle; Diana Wynne Jones.

I love the Studio Ghibli adaption of this book. It stands to reason then that I needed to read the original story and I am so glad I did because I really enjoyed it! Being a book that has been adapted into a movie, 'Howl's Moving Castle' fits into not one but two challenge categories! The first is of course the Book To Movie challenge (for obvious reasons). The second is January's Monthly Motif, 'Book To Movie Or Audio'.

SOURCE: Bought
TYPE: E-Read

TITLE: Howl's Moving Castle
AUTHOR: Diana Wynne Jones
SERIES: Howl's Moving Castle (#1)
PUBLISHER: Hodder & Stoughton
PAGES: 329
GENRE: Fantasy, Adventure, Middle Grade, Romance

RATING: 3.5/5 Stars

Blurb:
In the land of Ingary, where seven league boots and cloaks of invisibility do exist, Sophie Hatter catches the unwelcome attention of the Witch of the Waste and is put under a spell.

Deciding she has nothing more to lose she makes her way to the moving castle that hovers on the hills above Market Chipping. But the castle belongs to the dreaded Wizard Howl whose appetite, they say, is satisfied only by the souls of young girls… There she meets Michael, Howl's apprentice, and Calcifer the Fire Demon, with whom she agrees a pact.


But Sophie isn't the only one under a curse – her entanglements with Calcifer, Howl, and Michael, and her quest to break her curse is both gripping – and 'howlingly' funny!

What I Liked:

• I'll start with the characters because they were my favourite aspect of this book. Jones injected so much personality into them that they were actually the most interesting characters I've had the pleasure of reading for a while. Sophie was a strong heroine, and I really enjoyed watching her grow from being resigned to a life of doing what other people want, to being strong-minded, willful, stubborn and even a bit bossy at times. Howl was also a fantastically flamboyant character who I didn't know whether to love or scream at but he was definitely fun to read. I liked the attention that Michael and Calcifer got too, and was glad that they weren't pushed into being unimportant side characters.
• Jones' writing is witty, fun and fantastical. There is so much magic to the plot and style of this book, and a heck of a lot of imagination went into the land of Ingary. Each setting made me smile: I loved Howl's castle, Market Chipping, Porthaven, the meadow, all of it! It was easy too to imagine what each place looked like because Jones wrote such vivid descriptions.

What I Disliked:

• The pacing, at times, felt a little off. There were a few moments when it felt like everything was happening too fast, and everyone was rushing around and I just couldn't keep up with who was talking to who and why they were doing something totally different at the same time. Some sentences had to be reread multiple times to completely understand what was going on.
• Though I liked the world-building, placing it in a time period was very difficult. This might have been intentional, but I felt like the Wales portion of the book was a little unnecessary to the plot-line and I couldn't understand what purpose it served at all. The few events that happened there could have taken place in other places. Not to mention that the characters met their were probably the dullest and served no real purpose either, other than to be kind of rude and disapproving. It completely threw me off time frame wise if anything!

Overall Conclusion:

This is a really great book that can be read by audiences both young and old! I loved the magical concept, the fairy tale-esque reference to the eldest,middle and youngest child, and their respective lot in life. There's some fantastic character work from Jones and it's what totally made this book. It could use a little work on some plot points and maybe others could be taken out, but the plot generally was pretty good and I liked the world building a lot!