# of books read: 5
Genres: 1 Middle-Grade Fantasy, 1 Adult historical novel, 1 YA Contemporary, 1 YA Thriller, 1 Picture Book.
Total # of pages read: 1431

December turned out to be a pretty good month for reading! My reading was a little slow in the beginning of the month because I was just super busy with preparing for all the festivities but after Christmas I just couldn't wait to get started on all my new books, so I read quite a bit in the last week! I think this was one of my most successful months in terms of enjoyment as I rated nearly all the books I read at five stars, so I'm pretty happy with my reading overall! So let's have a look at what I read in December...

The Land of Stories: Beyond the Kingdoms by Chris Colfer | ☆☆☆☆
This is the fourth book in The Land of Stories series so I can't say too much about it apart from it's a modern twist on fairytale re-tellings. I love this series so much, even though it's middle grade I would definitely recommend it for all ages, my mum has read these books too and really enjoyed them. It's just a really heartwarming yet exciting series and this book was a great sequel, I can't wait for the next one to be released!

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent | ☆☆☆☆☆
This was my TBR jar pick for December and I'm so so glad I read it last month! I honestly didn't know much about this book going in and didn't know what to expect at all and it was such an unexpected joy that I loved it so much. Set in rural Iceland in 1829, Burial Rites is the story of Agnes, who, having been charged with the brutal murder of her former master, is sent to an isolated farm to await execution. That synopsis sounds strange and depressing but even though it is dark in places, the writing is so beautiful that it just drew me in and completely captured my heart. Kent's writing is honestly some of the best I've seen in a long time, it's beautiful and lyrical and so intensely atmospheric that you feel completely submerged in the world of the novel. Agnes' story is dark and heartbreaking but also wonderful and grounding, and I just think that everyone needs to read this. It's the perfect winter read so pick it up now!

This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp | ☆☆☆☆☆
I was so so excited to receive this on Christmas day, as the official release date wasn't until January 5th, so unwrapping this was such an amazing surprise. This is Where it Ends is a character-driven YA contemporary about a school shooting, told from four different perspectives over the space of fifty-four harrowing minutes. I've already done a full review for this book, which you can read here.

A Sky Full of Kindness by Rob Ryan | ☆☆☆☆☆
I finished This is Where it Ends late at night and was basically sat in a pool of tears and didn't know what to do with myself so I decided to pick up another Christmas gift - A Sky Full of Kindness by Rob Ryan. This beautiful book tells the story of two birds who are about to become parents through a series of intricate paper cut outs. Rob Ryan is known for his paper-cut illustrations and he's one of my favourite artists so this sweet little story was just the pick me up I needed after the incredible trauma that was This is Where it Ends. 

Monsters by Emerald Fennell | ☆☆☆☆.5
I decided to carry on with the theme of dark and disturbing reads by picking up Monsters by Emerald Fennell. This is a YA thriller about two young people with an unsavoury interest in murder on a summer holiday that neither of them will forget. Told from the perspective of a twelve year old girl, Monsters is darkly comic and just generally pretty messed up, but in an unsettlingly enjoyable way? The writing, characterisation and world-building were all excellent and the only reason I gave it 4.5 stars instead of 5 is that I felt that the ending just wasn't exactly what I was hoping for, it just lacked a little something. But it was still an excellent read and I'd highly recommend it.

So those are all the books I read in December! I finished out the year having read a whopping 83 books so I'm really pleased with that! Coming up tomorrow is my 2015 book awards and statistics post so look out for that!

What did you read last month?

This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp.
Published by Sourcebooks on 5th January 2016.
Genre: YA Contemporary
Source: a gift from my grandparents for Christmas.
My rating: ☆☆☆☆☆


My review:
This book was one of my most anticipated releases of 2016, so imagine my joy when I unwrapped it on Christmas day! Somehow my grandparents had managed to get hold of an early release copy for me and of course it was the first book I picked up after the Christmas festivities had settled down. I read This is Where it Ends in two intense and emotional sittings and let's just say my mind and body really weren't ready for the rollercoaster that is this book.

Given the novels sensitive subject matter it doesn't feel quite right to say that I enjoyed it but the writing, plot, character development and pacing were all amazing and it was definitely one of my favourite reads of the year.

Taking place over the space of just fifty-four minutes, the plot is fast-paced without ever feeling rushed. Nijkamp takes the time to go into each of the characters' backstories in a way that doesn't feel forced and flows well with the present-day narrative. With multi-perspective narratives, I usually struggle to fully connect with each character but that definitely wasn't a problem with This is Where it Ends. Each of the four character perspectives had their own unique voice and I was desperate to find out what was happening to each one of them, to find out what they were thinking. In just a few short pages I found myself intensely invested in every single character, even the ones whose perspectives we don't read from - the other students and the teachers.

My heart was in my throat the entire time and I had to keep closing the book to take deep breaths and calm down. This is one of those books that just gets to you, that settles oddly in your stomach and lingers in your mind for a long time afterwards. Days after finishing the book, some of the most haunting passages are still with me and I can't stop thinking about certain moments.

This is Where it Ends is such an incredible and incredibly important book and a surprisingly wonderful debut for Marieke Nijkamp. I look forward to seeing what she has in store for us in the future.

Have you read This is Where it Ends? Are you planning to? Let me know in the comments!

It's January and that means a brand new year for reading! If you read my 2016 resolutions post then you'll know that I've set myself the challenge of reading 85 books this year, so I thought I'd get a jump on my reading and join in with a couple of January readathons.

Both TBR Takedown and Bout of Books take place this coming week; from January 4th through January 10th so I'll be doing both at the same time.

Bout of Books is a relaxed readathon with no TBR challenges and the goal is to just read as much as you can and have fun doing it. There's going to be all sorts of daily challenges and giveaways throughout the week so it's best to keep up with everything using #boutofbooks on Twitter.

TBR Takedown is hosted by Shannon from leaninglights (check out her readathon announcement video here) but various people will be hosting sprints, challenges and giveaways over on Twitter so make sure check out #TBRTakedown for updates. There are seven TBR challenges for this readathon but there's absolutely no pressure to stick to these, it's all about just having fun. I'm going to try and complete as many of the challenges as I can just so I can tick a few books off my TBR and I'm going to be incorporating a couple of challenges into some of the books because I think seven books in a week is way too ambitious for me!

So here are the seven challenges and the books I plan to read for them:
- Read a book from your most recent book haul.
I was lucky enough to get the beautiful In Search of Lost Dragons by Elian Black'Mor and Carine-M for Christmas and I'm beyond excited to read it. It's a fully illustrated story of an intrepid illustrator and reporter who travels across Europe and through the Middle East in search of dragons. It's kind of journal-style with snippets of newspapers, notes, local folklore and it's absolutely packed full of beautiful fully-painted illustrations. I'm going to be featuring this book a lot on my Instagram so head over there to see inside.

- Read a book that's been on your TBR Shelf over a year + read a FIRE color book (Fire colours such as shades of red, pink, purple - the lucky colours for 2016.)
I got A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr for my birthday in 2014 and haven't got around to picking it up yet so now's the time. I really don't know much about this at all except that it has a beautiful cover and was nominated for the Booker prize in 1980.  It's also relatively short which is great for readathon-ing!

- Read a book outside your comfort zone + read a non-novel item.
For these two challenges I'm going to be reading On the Beach at Night Alone by Walt Whitman. This is from Penguin Little Black Classics range and is a selection of verses from Whitman's Leaves of Grass. I've tried to read Leaves of Grass before and found it quite challenging and just didn't manage to get through it. I'm hoping this little selection will open me up to Whitman a little bit more.

- Read a first book in a series.
The series I'm hopefully going to be starting this week is the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer, beginning with Cinder. This series has had so much hype and the first book has been sitting on my shelf for months but for some reason I haven't started it yet. Hopefully I'll love it!

- Read a sequel in a series.
This is kind of cheating because it's the book I'm already reading but this week I'm going to be continuing on with The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas, which is the selection of Throne of Glass novellas. I've decided to read this series in the order of publication and this came out before Heir of Fire, so I'm treating it as a sequel.

So those are the books I'm planning to read for the #Boutofbooks and #TBRTakedown readathons. I'll be posting frequent updates on Twitter and Instagram, so make sure you're following me on there to keep up and let me know if you're readathon-ing too!

Will you be taking part in either of these readathons? Let me know!

Like most people, I've never been very good at making and sticking to new year's resolutions but I decided that today I'd share my thoughts on a few of the things I want to focus on this coming year. This is definitely not going to be a long list because I really want to put everything I've got into working on these few things; it feels good to have clear priorities. Whether I'll achieve these things is another story but it's nice to start the year with goals in mind.


- WORK ON MY HEALTH -
2015 was my worst year yet for physical health. I've been struggling with my health for years, particularly with fatigue. But after a pretty serious viral illness that started in February last year my physical health was at an all time low and I was finally diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalopathy (or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). 2015 was spent struggling and coming to terms with things and I really want 2016 to be the year where I start getting to a place where my illness isn't a huge roadblock to getting on with the rest of my life.

After being on a waitlist for many months I've finally been accepted to begin a course of treatment at my local hospital at the end of January. I'm not sure exactly what it involves but hopefully it will help me learn how to manage my illness and start taking steps to getting better.

I'm far from hating my body but I've definitely put on quite a bit of weight in the last year and I know that's partly down to my illness but it's also to do with my lifestyle and diet choices. I want to slowly start building more exercise back into my routine and eating better. Having ME means that strenuous exercise often has a negative effect on my health but I'm hoping that with pacing and time I'll be able to start doing more gentle exercise like yoga and pilates, along with the everyday walks I do already. Hopefully this will not only speed up my recovery but also help me lose some of the extra weight that I'm not too happy with.

- START EARNING AGAIN -
As I mentioned, 2015 was an extremely difficult year in terms of my physical health and that meant that I've been unable to earn full time since February last year. I want to get my health to a place where I can start working again at least part time. I'd really love to work in a bookshop. It's been my aim to work in the publishing industry for a long time, but since I don't want to move to London and couldn't physically start a publishing career yet, my goal right now is to be a bookseller. I just want to work with books and be surrounded by people who love books as much as I do.

Until I'm able to physically go out to work I want to find a way of earning from home, whether it be through my blog or doing some other freelance work. I really have no clue where to start here so if anyone has any knowledge or tips about working from home please let me know in the comments or email me.


- READ 85 BOOKS -
2015 was the first year that I particpated in the Goodreads reading challenge. I set myself a goal of reading 65 books and far exceeded that, finishing the year with 83 books read. This year I'd like to do even better than that and I've set myself the goal of reading 85 books.

- CREATE A CAPSULE WARDROBE -
Earlier this year I was fascinated by Anna of Vivianna Does Makeup's venture into creating a seasonal capsule wardrobe. I've since read Unfancy, the blog that started it all, from start to finish and really want to do this myself. Last year I got rid of an entire wardrobe's worth of clothes but I still feel like I've got so many clothes that I don't really like or wear. This year I really want to create a small seasonal wardrobe filled with things that I really love and want to wear every day. If this comes to fruition I'll probably do a post about my experience so let me know if you'd like to see that!

So those are the handful of ideas that I want to work on this year. I think it'll be really interesting to look back at the end of 2016 and see how far I've come.

I love reading goals/resolutions posts so if you've written one yourself please link it in the comments!

What are your new year's resolutions?

Welcome back to Top Five Wednesday! I haven't done one of these in such a long time but this week's topic of 'books to read by the fire' was just too good to miss. As always, Top Five Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Lainey over at GingerReadsLainey and you can check out the complete list of Wednesday-ers here.

For this topic I chose books that aren't necessarily Christmassy reads but would be perfect to snuggle up with on a cold winter's night and while away the evening in front of the fire. They all have a magical or mysterious aspect to them that makes them perfect for a dark Winter's night. So without further ado let's get into my recommendations for books to read by the fire:



01. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent.
I've just started reading this as it was my TBR jar pick for this month and I'm so glad I picked it up as it's the perfect winter read. Set in rural Iceland in the harsh winter of 1829, Burial Rites is the story of Agnes, who, having been charged with the brutal murder of her former master, is sent to an isolated farm to await execution. That synopsis sounds pretty depressing but although the story is quite dark in places, Kent's writing is beautifully lyrical and so atmospheric that it's the perfect book to curl up with by the fire.

02. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.
A magical realism novel set in Victorian times, The Night Circus centers around a mysterious travelling circus that only opens at night. But the novel is also about the secret competition between Marco and Celia, two strangers who have been trained since childhood by their mentors expressly for the purpose of this strange game. The competition isn't a battle, instead it is about intense magical one-upmanship, but unbeknownst to Marco and Celia, only one can be left standing at the end. The Night Circus is a very atmospheric, carefully constructed, character driven novel that weaves together so many perspectives and timelines. It really is so beautifully crafted and the magical atmopshere that's woven so intricately throughout the novel makes it a perfect Winter read.

03. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken.
I read this book back in May for the 2015 Classics Challenge but I really wish that I'd saved it for this time of year as it's such a wintery read. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase is a children's classic set 'long ago, in a period of history which never happened' where England is overrun by wolves. Cousins Bonnie and Sylvia are sent away from their home by their evil new governess Miss Slighcarp and the story unfolds from there. It's a fast-paced and heartwarming adventure story, with lovable well-developed characters. Again, the story is extremely atmospheric, Aiken's descriptions draw you right into the world and the writing is compelling and beautiful. This is a really quick read and perfect if you're looking for a heartwarming winter tale.

04. The Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer.
I've gone on about this series of unique fairytale retellings a lot but let me repeat that you really need to read this series if you haven't already! The Land of Stories is about twins Conner and Alex who accidentally find themselves in the fairytale world and run into all sorts of trouble and adventures as a result. I absolutely love this series, as it's middle-grade/early young adult the books are really easy reads and they're just so lovely and heartwarming. You really can't go wrong with fairytale retellings in winter and this is the perfect series to go for.

05. The Christmas Stories by Charles Dickens.
This is such an obvious one but I've actually never read Dickens' A Christmas Carol, so I'm planning to curl up by the fire with this book which contains the classic Christmas tale alongside some other of Dickens' festive writings. I'm reading this for the 2015 Classics challenge so look out for my review coming soon!

Have you read any of these books? What's your favourite winter read?

I'm back today with another tag! I haven't done one of these in a while and I thought it'd be a fun way to celebrate the holiday season and ease back into blogging after a little break. So let's get into the questions!

01. Favourite winter nail polish:
I love Barry M's 'Raspberry' all year round but my favourite festive nail look is a neutral like Barry M's 'Almond' with a gold glitter polish over the top. I don't think you can beat a glitter in winter!

02. Favourite winter lip product:
This has to be the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvets in 'Frambourjoise' 'Plum Plum Girl'. I know I've banged on about these a lot but I'm just obsessed with them. They're so easy to apply, they're not drying and they don't budge at all. I love wearing bold lips in the winter time, they just make me feel very festive and pulled together even if the rest of me is an exhausted mess.

03. Most worn winter clothing piece:
I would say my H&M coat which I wear whenever I go out but honestly as I spend most days at home, it's probably my fluffy dressing gown - does that count as clothing?

04. Most worn winter accessory:
My lovely memory foam primark slippers or my H&M snood, which is the perfect snuggly scarf.

05. Favourite winter candle:
I'm gonna be a stereotypical blogger and say the Yankee Candle in 'Christmas Treats' because it really is amazing!

06. Favourite winter beverage:
Hot chocolate! I love it all year round but it's extra amazing in winter, snuggled up in bed with a book. I also really like Costa's caramel fudge hot chocolate from their festive menu *drools*.

07. Favourite Christmas movie:
There are so many! When I was little I used to love the film 'The Greatest Store in the World' which we had taped off the tv, I wish I could watch it again but I think it was a tv special and I can't find it anywhere!
I also really love The Santa Clause and obviously Elf and Love Actually.

08. Favourite Christmas song:
This is another really tough one! Probably any version of 'Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)'. But I also love 'Step Into Christmas', 'Driving Home for Christmas' and the Boyz II Men version of 'Silent Night'. You know what, just go and check out my giant Christmas playlist on Spotify.

09. Favourite holiday food or treat:
Aldi do the nicest chocolate reindeer for 99p but I also can't say no to some quality street or a bit of Cadbury's yule log.

10. Favourite Christmas decoration:
My parents have this tiny glittery silver santa tree decoration, that was weirdly a wedding present even though they got married in springtime. I've loved it since I was little and it takes pride of place at the front of the tree each year.

11. What's at the top of your Christmas list?
Books! Obviously. I pretty much only asked for books this year, you can see my current wishlist here.

12. What are your plans for this holiday season?
I'm so excited for all my family to be together over Christmas. My sister is coming home from living in Malawi and I haven't seen her since January so I'm really excited for that! I love our Christmas, it's just perfect. You can read about how we celebrate in my 'Welcome December' post.

So that was the Winterlicious tag! If you're reading this then consider yourself officially tagged!

What are you most excited about this Christmas?

We're now almost a week into December, and if you're anything like me then the initial excitement over the arrival of the festive season has been replaced by a feeling of mild panic. There's still so much planning, decorating, present buying and wrapping to be done, and what the heck do I get for the sister who has everything or dad who's notoriously picky?! Well, calm down and grab a cup of tea, because I've got that sorted for you with some brilliant (if I do say so) gift ideas from Zazzle.

Now I've never really been the best at Christmas shopping, I struggle for ideas and get really exhausted and anxious wandering round the shops and the whole palaver usually ends with me coming home with a headache and no presents. So when Jess from Zazzle contacted me at the end of November asking if I wanted to review some of their Christmas gifts I jumped at the opportunity. A website where I can get all my Christmas presents and personalise basically anything in a few clicks? YES PLEASE.

You heard it right, Zazzle is an online superstore where you can customise and personalise pretty much any product you can imagine. I spent a good few hours just browsing their site because it's HUGE, but their navigation is super helpful and intuitive so you can browse by pre-designed products (which are usually customisable), blank customisable products or just search for keywords.

So without further ado, onto the gift ideas!



I personally believe that you can't Christmas shop without buying a little something for yourself, so after browsing their 'gifts for her' section I settled on this gorgeous print and these two personalised notebooks. They have such a great selection of pocket and larger spiral notebooks, all completely customisable right down to the font and spacing.

I also ordered myself an amazing print of the concept art for the Hogwarts Castle from their Harry Potter store (YES THEY HAVE A HARRY POTTER STORE, OMG, I KNOW!!). I had to remind myself that I was supposed to be getting Christmas gifts for other people, it was really hard to restrain myself from buying all the Ravenclaw merch! So if you know anyone who likes Harry Potter (that's basically everyone because duh) then anything from there would be a brilliant idea.



One of my favourite items is this notebook with a personalised cover design made from Instagram photos. I chose to customise this for my sister with photos from when I went to visit her in Malawi, it was super easy to connect to my Instagram and upload and arrange the photos. I think these notebooks would make a great gift for a sister or a friend, as everyone loves stationery and the personal touch really makes it special. I also went for a personalised luggage tag for my sister, these would be great for anyone who loves travel as they're really sturdy and instantly recognisable on your luggage.



As I mentioned earlier you can find items related to pretty much anything on Zazzle, and as my mum is a huge Pride and Prejudice fan I decided to customise a couple of items along that theme. Firstly I went for this 'I love Mr Darcy' tote bag, which I thought was hilarious. You can find so many designs for these tote bags and with the 5p carrier bag charge now in place, everyone needs one of these!



You can also upload an image onto pretty much any item so I decided to get a bit creative with a coaster. I chose a marble coaster and designed a quote from Pride and Prejudice using Picmonkey before uploading it onto the site, the whole process took about ten minutes and I think it looks awesome! I think coasters are a great present for parents and grandparents, especially if they're personalised, and I was so impressed with the quality of this - it looks really expensive!

Another great idea for the older generation is a personalised photo magnet, I don't know about yours but my mum and grandparents love anything with mine or my siblings faces on them (cringe), and these are super easy and affordable.


I'm not sure if it's just me, but I think dads can be really hard to buy for. They're probably sick of getting the same old socks and Twiglets for Christmas so I think it's worth putting in the extra effort to find something that fits their interests. This is where Zazzle's keyword search came in really handy; my dad is into fishing so a quick search of 'fly fishing' led me to this amazing design which can be printed on anything from a tie to a mousemat. I decided to go with a print which I'm going to have framed so he can hang it in his office. I love that with the prints there's such a huge variety of sizes you can go for and the ones I ordered were all amazing quality.

Everything I ordered came really quickly (within a week) which really impressed me, particularly as some things were shipped from the US. Overall I was really pleased with everything, from the usability of the website to the quality of the gifts. There really is such a huge variety of products on Zazzle that you could get all your presents in one go, plus they always seem to have some kind of discount or deal on the go so look out for that!

Have you done your Christmas shopping yet? What do you think of my choices?

* Disclaimer: the products linked in this review were sent to me for review purposes by Zazzle. However all opinions are entirely my own and I would never review something that I didn't honestly love!