I'm back again with the rest of my January reads! 

In my 2018 Reading Goals and Resolutions post I mentioned that I'm now using Sophie's wonderful spreadsheet to track all kinds of statistics about my reading this year. So I thought that at the end of each month I'd share a little breakdown of some of my reading statistics for that particular month so you can keep up with how I'm doing on some of my reading goals for 2018. So here we have the nationalities and race of authors I read, genres and number of books and pages:




















Warcross by Marie Lu | ☆☆☆☆
Warcross isn't just a game, it's a way of life. When teenage hacker Emika Chen accidentally glitches herself into the international Warcross Championships, her life changes overnight. She is summoned to Tokyo not only to compete, but to act as spy for the game's secretive creator Hideo Tanaka. Emika is soon in over her head, not only with fame and fortune but a sinister plot that could threaten the entire Warcross empire.

Before I say anything else: if you're not into gaming, you should still read this book! Marie Lu has written an exciting story with incredible world-building and wonderful characters. The world-building in Warcross is what truly blew me away. Games in fiction are hard to do well, as it can be hard to get the reader to feel passionate about a game they've never played without over-describing everything. But Marie Lu does it so brilliantly, the technology of this world is so advanced and seamless yet so believable. It definitely feels more speculative than sci-fi, as I can see advances in technology getting close to this in the not-so-distant future.

Emika Chen is such a great protagonist, she's whip-smart and savvy and like many of us just-grown-ups she fights a constant battle between emotions and practicality. She's extremely analytical, always steps ahead of everyone else but over-analysing every single moment, possibility and interaction, something I can definitely relate to. I was seriously impressed by the diversity in Warcross' cast of characters, there are PoC main and side characters and queer and disabled side characters, all included so naturally, and I can't tell you how happy that made me.

The only reason why I gave Warcross four stars instead of five is because the last quarter of the book did feel a little rushed. I understand that Lu had to move the plot forward towards a sequel but the twists and cliffhangers felt slightly contrived. However I will definitely be picking up the next one when it's out as I'm now fully invested in this world and these characters.



The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden | ☆☆☆☆☆
In a village at the edge of the wilderness of northern Russia, where the winds blow cold and the snow falls many months of the year, an elderly servant tells stories of sorcery, folklore and the Winter King to the children of the family, tales of old magic frowned upon by the church. 


But for the young, wild Vasya these are far more than just stories. She alone can see the house spirits that guard her home, and sense the growing forces of dark magic in the woods... 

This book has been marketed for fans of The Night Circus and Uprooted so it immediately caught my attention when it was announced because I love those slow-moving, fairytale-inspired, magical historical fiction vibes. But for some reason or another I didn't end up finishing it when I first got hold of it, then the sequel was due to come out and I thought that it was about time I picked it up again. The Bear and the Nightingale definitely lived up to all it's hype for me. I absolutely loved this tale of bravery, family, magic and horror set in the medieval Russian wilderness. It's been described as a 'literary fairytale' and I don't think that could be more accurate. The setting was so atmospheric and beautifully described, it gave me real Burial Rites vibes (which is one of my all-time favourites). I loved the emphasis on folklore and how it was a very real part of everyday life in this isolated rural community. There is a subtle magic woven through the book and I loved reading about fairytales and folklore from a culture that I was previously unfamiliar with. Vasya is an excellent protagonist, she is full of heart and courage and I really rooted for her throughout. The plot moved a little slowly at first, but the excellent writing made up for it and I was soon invested in the story. This is the first in the Winternight trilogy and a new favourite for me.

The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden | ☆☆☆☆☆
This is the second book in the Winternight trilogy and the sequel to The Bear and the Nightingale. Even before I'd finished The Bear and the Nightingale I had to request The Girl in the Tower from the lovely folks at Ebury as I couldn't wait to find out what happened next and I just wasn't ready to leave this setting and these characters. The Girl in the Tower follows immediately on from the events of the previous book and what The Bear and the Nightingale lacked slightly in consistent pacing, this second book made up for it in an exciting plot which moved along nicely. Katherine Arden has created complex and original characters and the plot kept me guessing throughout. I absolutely adore this series and can't believe I'm going to have to wait almost a year for the next one. If you like magical realism, historical fiction, fairytale and folklore and strong female characters - definitely pick up this series.

It's been a while since I've done a monthly reading wrap up, since October to be precise (yikes!) so I thought it was about time to change things up a little. A lot of bloggers I love do this 'recent reads' malarkey so I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon. Every time I finish three books, I'm going to be sharing my thoughts with you here. I'm averaging around six books a month at the moment so you should be seeing these bite-sized reviews every couple of weeks, how does that sound?

I've got a bit of catching up to do so today I'm sharing with you the first three books I read in 2018.


Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu | ☆☆☆
Before he was Batman, he was Bruce Wayne. A reckless boy willing to break the rules for a girl who may be his worst enemy.

This is the second book in Penguin's DC icons series (the first being Wonder Woman: Warbringer), which follows our favourite DC heroes as teenagers. I love this idea of alternative origin stories as we never really think about the fact that most of these characters must have been teenagers at one point or another. I also don't think you have to necessarily be a fan of Marvel, or even superheroes, to read this series. There's something about each of them that can appeal to everyone.

Seventeen year old Bruce Wayne is already a bit of a badass, his wealth leaving him feeling like he has something to prove and a keen interest in solving crime. Unfortunately, he takes this interest a little too far and ends up in trouble with the law. This book follows him as he undertakes community service at an infamous asylum - I think you know which one! He soon gets involved in a plot that leaves him in over his head. I didn't love Batman as much as I loved Wonder Woman, I think mainly because the plot felt a little contrived at times and I just couldn't truly connect to Bruce's character. However it was still a fun and exciting read, Marie Lu definitely knows how to write a pacey, thrilling adventure.

St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell | ☆☆☆☆
Ten short stories set in the ghostly and magical swamps of the Florida Everglades. Here, wolf-like girls are reformed by nuns; a family makes its living wrestling alligators in a theme park; and little girls sail away on crab shells.

I picked this as part of the TBR challenge I'm doing this year, this was the book with the longest title on my TBR and I'm glad I finally got around to reading it. I don't often read short stories but it was lovely to just read one or two per night. This collection is weird and wonderful, and although I liked some more than others they still all worked really well together. The stories were linked to one another in subtle ways through setting and character. Karen Russell has created a strange but beautiful world full of quirky characters and a hint of magical realism. I definitely want to pick up more by her.


The Land of Stories: Worlds Collide by Chris Colfer | ☆☆☆☆☆

My first five star read of the year was the sixth and final book in The Land of Stories series. Focused around twins who accidentally fall into the fairytale world through a portal in the pages of a book, this series is an epic, sweeping adventure with so much heart. It's such a lovely and unique take on faiytales and Colfer has built an incredible world. I absolutely adore this series and I'm so sad that it's come to an end. I feel like it's hugely underrated and although it has been marketed towards children, it's probably best for older children (10+) and definitely has appeal for teenagers and adults.

The complete set looks so gorgeous on my shelves and I know it's going to be one I reread in the future. If you love fairytale retellings, adventure or the cosy feeling of the Harry Potter series - then this is for you. Definitely check these books out.

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Read more books
Last year I read 36 books and that's absolutely fine. I've had a bit of a hard time trying to convince myself that reading *any* amount of books at all is brilliant, let alone 36, because my head sees all these booktubers and bloggers reading 100+ books and then I feel a bit sad about 36. But I just have to remind myself that some people would absolutely love to have read 36 books. How many times can I say the number 36?

ANYWAY, although 36 is a perfectly fine number, I'd like to read a few more books this year for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I want to get the number of unread books on my shelves down and I also just feel like there are so many books out there, so I want to read more of them! I'm aiming to read 50 books this year, so we'll see how that goes.

Read my own damn books
As I mentioned, I own way too many unread books. Some have been sitting on my shelves for as long as five years, which is just ridiculous. In 2018 I'll be tracking my reading using Sophie of Portal in the Pages' Reading Spreadsheet. This thing is incredible and not only keeps track of all kinds of amazing data about your reading but also has a section for your TBR. I spent a sick day last week filling it out and it turns out that even after unhauling a crap tonne of books over the past few months, at the start of 2018, I had 115 unread books on my shelves. That's just too many! So a big goal for me in 2018 is to read my own books, rather than buying or accepting too many new ones. I've created a little TBR jar for this that I'll be talking about in an upcoming post, so keep an eye out for that!

Read more diversely
Looking at last year's reading statistics, the majority of the authors I read were from the USA and UK, and not only that but the majority of them were white. My reading is really not very diverse and that's got to change. After recording my entire TBR I've also found out that 87% of the authors on my TBR shelf are white, with only 13% people of colour. That makes me feel a little bit sick. So I'm making reading books by people of colour a priority this year and I've also made a little TBR jar for this which I'll be sharing soon!

Read more classics
At the end of 2016 I said that in 2017 I wanted to read a classic every month. Guess how many classics I read in 2017? Zero. That's just really strange. So I'm going to try and remedy that at least a little by picking out one classic at least every other month to read. I only have 8 on my TBR shelf but I definitely want to get to them sooner rather than later.

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So those are some of the reading goals that I'm working towards in 2018. I think it'll be fun to look back next year and see how I did. I highly recommend you download Sophie's Reading Spreadsheet if you haven't already - I can already tell how much easier it's going to be to track my reading. If you have any suggestions for authors of colour that you really love, please leave them down below as that's my biggest priority in 2018!

What are some of your reading goals?

I've been using the bullet journal system for two years now and can't imagine my life without it. I love its flexibility and the fact that it's basically just a notebook I can put everything in, but it's still really organised and super easy to find everything.

For the past two years, I've posted my yearly reading statistics along with my thoughts on that years reading. I'm probably the only person who enjoys and all these numbers most likely mean nothing to you, but I find it interesting nonetheless! It helps me to reflect on how much I'm reading, how diversely I'm reading and how much I'm enjoying it. So here we go...


Number of books
The first thing you'll notice is that I read *a lot* less books last year. In 2016 I read 77 books, this year I read 36. I had to resist writing 'only' 36 then, it's hard not to judge myself harshly but I'm just reminding myself that some people could only dream of reading 36 books in a year, and 36 is better than none! Sometimes life gets in the way of reading, but luckily there were some awesome books sprinkled in there.

Gender of authors
Last year I read a staggering 80% female authors, compared to 2016's 68%, and this is something I'm thrilled about as I love supporting women writers. This year it might be interesting to read a few more male authors, but I'd still like to keep a majority female. This might be controversial but it's just the way I feel.

Age range
In 2016, my reading skewed more to YA so it's interesting to see that last year I read quite a lot more adult fiction. I don't know whether this is because I'm getting older or my tastes are changing, but I do still love YA and I'm looking forward to reading plenty of it in 2018, hopefully with a lot more children's fiction too.

Genres
I read a lot fewer genres in 2017 than any other year with contemporary/general fiction and non-fiction coming out on top. I read a lot less fantasy last year, around 11% of my total books read were fantasy, compared to around 20% in previous years. I guess my tastes are just changing! In last year's post I stated I was going to read one classic per month, this failed spectacularly as I didn't actually read *any* classics at all. That's got to change this year.

Star ratings
I rated a lot more books at three stars in 2017, which shows I'm becoming a harsher critic and the gap between a four and a five star is getting wider. I think I used to rate nearly all books four stars, but that's definitely changing. This one will be interesting to watch this year.

Author nationalities
Unfortunately the diversity in the nationalities of the authors I read is still very low, with most books being from US or UK authors. This really needs to change, and I'm going to be talking about this more in my 2018 reading resolutions post coming up soon.

Plans for 2018
This year instead of tracking my reading in my bullet journal, I'm going to be using Sophie's (of Portal in the Pages) wonderful 2018 Reading Statistics spreadsheet - so hopefully next year's round up will be much more in depth!

I'd love to know if and how you track your reading. Do you just use goodreads? Do you use a spreadsheet or your bullet journal? Let me know!

This post is a paid collaboration with Costa. All words, images and opinions are entirely my own

This winter I've been working with Costa Coffee to review the First Novel shortlist of the Costa Book Awards. I spent a lovely month reading all four books on the shortlist and today I'm giving you my mini reviews plus a sneaky little prediction of the winner. I've had a wonderful time reading these books so thank you to the lovely Costa PR team for this opportunity!

Stay tuned to the end for an exciting giveaway featuring these books!


The Haunting of Henry Twist by Rebecca F. John 
Firstly, we have The Haunting of Henry Twist which starts with a death and from there unfurls a quite slow-paced but interesting and intimate look at grief, need and longing against the beautiful backdrop of 1920s London. Henry Twist's wife Ruby is nine months pregnant when she is killed after being knocked down by a bus, leaving Henry a single father in a world that doesn't take too kindly to them. Henry then meets a mysterious man who claims he has no memories except for his name, Jack Turner, and the fact that he wants to befriend Henry Twist. Interwoven amongst this are Henry and Ruby's friends and the relationships between them all. I thought that the examination of the relationships between this group of people was done excellently. The narrative voice switched seamlessly between the different characters without ever being confusing and each of their psyches was laid bare on the page in the most beautiful way. Rebecca F. John's representation of loss felt very raw and real and not tragically glamorous like it's sometimes made out to be. Although I sometimes struggle with slower-paced plots, I actually really enjoyed the pacing in this one - I think because it made room for some beautiful writing. It was a real pleasure to read.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Next up, I picked up Eleanor Oliphant because I had a feeling that I'd whizz through it, and I was right. The combination of the short chapters and the writing made it compulsively readable and I found that I couldn't put it down. It's written from the perspective of Eleanor, who goes to work and comes home, eats a margherita pizza every Friday and drinks two bottles of vodka to get herself through the weekend. She is completely fine, apart from the fact that she is very alone. This novel follows her as an encounter with a work colleague and a good deed lead her into a variety of situations that she isn't used to encountering. Throughout the book there are hints of some childhood trauma and an unhappy past that Eleanor doesn't like to talk about and this is dealt with very gently and cleverly. Eleanor is a quirky character and at first I was a little worried in case the reader was supposed to just laugh at her, but she actually turned out to be very endearing and funny. Eleanor's perspective was so unique and her way of seeing the world was so different to my own in a way that made me feel like I was discovering the most common human experiences for the first time. Eleanor Oliphant is a heartwarming read with a light current of sadness and quite intense emotion running throughout.


Montpelier Parade by Karl Geary
Montpelier Parade is the story of Sonny, a 16-year-old living on the fringes of Dublin society. He works part-time in a butcher's shop, drinks alone in the woods when he can afford to and punches walls to let out the 'howl of feeling' inside him. When he meets Vera, an older woman, his life is turned upside down. Unfortunately, this wasn't my favourite of the list - but it featured some excellent writing nonetheless. Throughout Montpelier Parade, raw emotion bubbles just under the surface, only expressed in short bursts of violence and passion or surreptitious acts. Geary's eye for detail is extraordinary, and these lurid minutiae leave the reader feeling brilliantly uncomfortable. I think the reason why I couldn't truly enjoy this novel was because I wasn't ever quite sure what Geary's message was. For me it was mostly a cyclical refrain on loneliness but I think more could have been done with the themes the novel touched on; class, gender etc. There were certain characters whose motivations I didn't fully understand and on the whole it felt a little lacking.


The Clocks in This House All Tell Different Times by Xan Brooks
The final First Novel, The Clocks in This House All Tell Different Times seems to continue the theme of difference and 'otherness' that runs throughout the shortlist. Lucy Marsh, a young orphan, is whisked away every week to see the 'funny men' in the woods. All ex-servicemen, they are named after the characters in The Wizard of Oz, and each are nicknamed so based on the injuries they suffered in the first world war. Clocks is a dark and twisted fairytale where the horrors of the war are manifested in a ravaged, exhausted landscape full of strange characters with dark histories and an even darker present. It's quite difficult for me to talk about this book without giving too much away because as the novel goes on, the plots and various characters interweave in clever and interesting ways - but you'll just have to read it to find out! Brooks' writing prevents this dark book from becoming too dismal, there is whimsy and humour sprinkled amongst the anguish, and I found Brooks' descriptions of the strange worlds that Lucy moves between to be incredibly captivating. The Clocks in This House All Tell Different Times explores the effects of trauma, both on individuals and those around them and the blurred lines between good and evil, a kind of moral greyness that was left in the wake of the first world war.

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So there we have it! I've read and reviewed the Costa Book Awards First Novel shortlist and now it's time to pick my own personal winner. It's hard to say with book awards whether it should go to the most enjoyable or the most technically accomplished book, because they're not always the same. But the Costa Book Awards have always been about the books the general public will enjoy the most so for me it's got to be Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. it's the one I'm still thinking about the most, I think it appeals to the widest audience and I think it's in with a shot of not only winning the First Novel category but winning the whole thing. But we'll have to see!

The shortlist winners are announced on the 2nd of January and the overall winner will be announced at the awards on the 30th of January.



*This post is part of a series of posts that are sponsored by Costa. All words and images are entirely my own and 100% honest.

Christmas Day, everybody does it differently don't they? You might not give a spiced fig about my Christmas routine but I'm super nosy and always love hearing about other people's traditions and how their big day unfolds so I took inspiration from the awesome Helen Anderson and decided to share with you what my family does at Christmas!