Hi everyone! 

It's time for something a little new today as I take part in my first ever Book Blitz to promote Upside Down by N.R. Walker. 

So, for those of you who don't know, with a book blitz, I haven't actually read the book, I'm just helping to promote it. 

I'm not sure how many of this sort of post I'll be doing but since I've been lacking in the blog department lately I figured you might enjoy this. 

This book certainly sounds like a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to reading it when it's released!

Keep reading to find out more (and for your chance to win a $40 Amazon Gift Card (open internationally)!

Genre: LGBTQ+/Romance
Series/Standalone: Standalone

​Jordan O’Neill isn’t a fan of labels, considering he has a few. Gay, geek, a librarian, socially awkward, a nervous rambler, an introvert, an outsider. The last thing he needs is one more. But he when he realises adding the label ‘asexual’ might explain a lot, it turns his world upside down.

Hennessy Lang moved to Surry Hills after splitting with his boyfriend. His being asexual had seen the end of a lot of his romances, but he’s determined to stay true to himself. Leaving his North Shore support group behind, he starts his own in Surry Hills, where he meets first-time-attendee Jordan.

A little bewildered and scared, but completely adorable, Hennessy is struck by this guy who’s trying to find where he belongs. Maybe Hennessy can convince Jordan that his world hasn’t been turned upside down at all, but maybe it’s now—for the first time in his life—the right way up.

Sound good? Now, check out the excerpt below!

As always, you can add the book to your Goodreads TBR by clicking on the book cover above and feel free to let me know what you think in the comments below!

Now, enter here for your chance to win a $40 Amazon gift card. This competition is open internationally! 

Genre: LGBT/Paranormal/Romance/YA
Series/Standalone: Standalone
How I got this book: Read for free on Wattpad.com

​They were naturally disposed to hate each other. And for a while, they did.

Bite Me is a YA, m/m paranormal romance that's currently available for free on Wattpad.com (just click the image to read!) 

If you read my last blog post, you'll know that I've been spending a fair amount of my time discovering Wattpad. For those of you that don't know, Wattpad is a social storytelling community made up of readers and writers. Writers post stories for free on Wattpad for anyone to enjoy, vote and comment on - and it's completely free to join!

Bite Me is the first story that I've read via Wattpad and I truly enjoyed it! 

It's full of vampires, werewolves, teen angst, insta-hate and an enemies-to-lovers style slow-burn romance that's packed to the brim with drama and lust. 

​There were a few problematic things about the book in terms of editing (i.e spelling and grammar and a couple of sections that were a little confusing) and there was a fairly big issue with the way that one character described another (that a lot of readers picked up) so (as is the beauty of Wattpad's edit functionality), I'm hoping the author will change this in future. 

Other than that, I truly enjoyed my first Wattpad read. There were moments of humour, tension and plenty of chemistry between the two main characters. 

I enjoyed the author's new take on Vampires even though I felt that the concept of 'trading your immortality' could have benefited from a little more development and backstory. '

I particularly liked Kieran who, despite being a grade A jerk from the offset is likeable, relatable and witty. Mason is a sweet, puppy dog with the best intentions even if he comes across a little strong and makes so many bad, impulsive decisions. 

The book contains a nice mixture of contemporary/paranormal and, whilst I would have liked to see a little more paranormal 'stuff', the romance was sweet and kept the story moving. 

Have you read any stories on Wattpad? What would you recommend?

I'm sorry! 

I can't believe it's been a full month since I last blogged! To give you the short version, my family and I had a pretty rocky start to the year with family stuff and illnesses. 

On top of that my business is currently the busiest it's ever been, which is a really good thing and something I'm so happy and proud of, but it does often mean that I'm working longer hours and haven't been able to read/blog as much especially because I've been spending more quality time with my family on weekends. 

​This does mean that I've been neglecting My Endless Shelf and you wonderful readers. I am hoping to get back into a more regular blogging schedule now and also to catch up on the many unread emails in the My Endless Shelf inbox.

The other reason brings me to my first bit of 'news' - I'm writing again (YAY!) 

In other news, the NYALitFest is taking place in two weeks and I'm so excited!! After the incredible time I had at their Supernatural and Fantastical in YA event last year, I cannot wait to attend their main festival on March 16th!

I've booked tickets for pretty much every panel, and it's not too late if you want to come along. You can book your free tickets here! 

The theme this year is Mental Health & Inclusiveness in YA and the author line-up is just fantastic including; Melinda Salisbury, Alice Broadway, Samantha Shannon, Bali Rai and Alexandra Sheppard. 

There will be panels and workshops covering; Creative Writing, YA Thrillers, Inclusiveness in YA, Mental Health and Feminism in Fantasy. 

There will also be author signings throughout the day and stalls filled with bookish goodies and run by several fantastic publishing houses including Bloomsbury, Macmillan, Walker and, of course, the organisers of the event, UCLan Publishing (I have everything crossed that I can grab some beautiful books for review and/or to giveaway on the blog!)

There's loads more going on in the day too - click here for the full programme! 

I'll be updating Instagram and Twitter throughout the day if you want to follow along with what's happening and I will do a blog recap after the event.

​I can't wait to meet everyone and catch up with the fantastic people I met last year (although I will try not to turn up 4 hours early this time!!) 

In other news, thanks to the lovely folks at Penguin Random House, I'll be hosting a giveaway very shortly for a paperback copy of Jack of Hearts by L.C. Rosen. This unapologetically honest LGBT YA is a great read and you can find out exactly what I thought of it in my review.

​Stay tuned for the giveaway coming soon!

I think that's all for now - this turned out to be a much longer post than I'd intended!

So, over to you! What are you reading at the moment? I'd love to know your recommendations!

As always, happy reading! 

Genre: LGBT/YA
Series/Standalone: Standalone
How I got this book: NetGalley ARC

It's really difficult to try and summarise Proud because there's just so much packed into a relatively short collection and I have so much to say about all of it. 

First of all, the forward by Juno Dawson is incredibly powerful and moving to the point of tears. It completely sets the tone for what's to follow. 

The artwork that accompanies each story is beautiful and I'm certain it'll look even more stunning on paper than it does on my Kindle. 

This collection covers so many issues and gives voices to so many people within the LGBT community that it's almost overwhelming. I'm not sure that I've ever read anything that's quite so inclusive and that represents so many aspects of the lives of those of us who identify as LGBT+. 

It was the perfect book to start LGBT History Month and I guarantee that readers will be moved to both joy and sadness by these stories. 

My personal favourites include:

• Penguins by Simon James Green (Art by Alice Oseman) - This was such a sweet, cute and moving story that hasn't left me since I finished the book. Simon is a fantastic writer, I love his humour and Alice is an incredible artist. It's the perfect pairing. 
• The Phoenix's Fault by Cynthia So (Art by Priyanka Meenakshi) - was fantastic. I loved the fantasy of this and the friends-to-lovers theme. 
• The Other Team by Michael Lee Richardson (Art by David Roberts) - This story I felt represented so many different voices in the LGBT community and it was done in such a fantastic way showing that the true value of friendship and self-acceptance.
• The Instructor by Jess Vallance (Art by Kate Alizadeh) - Gah! This was so sweet and beautiful. I love both of these girls! 
• How to Come Out as Gay by Dean Atta (Art by Leo Greenfield) - An absolutely perfect way to end the collection, this poem was phenomenal, moving and beautiful. 

"Remember you have the right to be proud. 
Remember you have the right to be you."

Whether you're part of the LGBT community or not, I urge you to read this collection to truly know that: 

a. You are not alone. 
b. You have the right to be proud of who you are. 

The fact that this book exists is both humbling and powerful, and I hope that every young adult has the opportunity to discover this inspiring collection of written and visual art. 

"Be the glitter that shows up in unexpected places."

Last month I went on a bit of a 'requesting' spree on NetGalley and requested a bunch of books, with little hope of being approved, but it turns out that I was accepted for almost all of them, so I thought it might be fun to share with you the books that I'll be reading over the next month or so. 

They're mostly YA with one exception and all completely different!

As always, just click on the cover to add it to your TBR:

What do you think? Do any of these books take your fancy? 

Keep checking back for my reviews of these four books over the next month or two. I'm particularly excited for Proud and We Are Blood and Thunder!

Welcome to my very first book roundup of 2019! 

How is 2019 treating you so far?

I'm guessing it's not just me who feels as though January lasted forever! Honestly, it was not the best start for me and my family this year and so I just have to hope that the rest of the year will take it easier on us. 

Oddly, despite all of that, I somehow managed to finish 9 books in January. I can only guess that we somehow had what felt like a 3-month, month. In addition to that, I actually started 12 books last month, which gives you an idea of the kind of head space I've been in lately. 

Anyway, for those of you who haven't joined me for a monthly book roundup before, here's where I basically list all of the books I read over the last month and give much smaller 'micro' reviews. 

It's also probably one of the only times you'll hear me saying anything negative about a book as I also list any DNF's and books I rated less than 3 stars etc. 

​Here goes (you can click on the title to see the full review if there is one or to visit GoodReads): 

The Princess of Baker Street by Mia Kerrick - As my first book (and first ARC) of the year, this was a great way to start. This is a really powerful story about true friendship and being true to yourself, and it was definitely not an easy read. There was a lot of pain in this book, these two extremely young characters have so much to deal with that it's heartbreaking to witness. But, all the more important because of it. 

Tell Me It's Real by TJ Klune - My first audiobook of the year was so much fun! TJ Klune is now one of my absolute favourite romance writers and it's all because of his fantastic characters. This book is the perfect mix of light, sweet romance alongside real sadness and heartache. 

Match Me If You Can by Tiana Smith - Admittedly, I felt a little let down by this book. I was excited by the synopsis but didn't like or feel any connection with the main character. There were so many clichés and so much drama that I did become slightly irritated. However, the writing and pace were great and I loved Logan, who was my saving grace! 

Fake Out by Eden Finley - This is my first ever book by Eden Finley. I actually had really low expectations for this book but it was so much fun! Plenty of humour, great chemistry and a really sweet story. 

Let's Get Textual by Teagan Hunter - Ah, this book was so cheesy but in the best possible way. I absolutely loved this book. Get ready to grin, laugh out loud and swoon! 

​The Wicked King by Holly Black ​- This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2019 and it did not disappoint. If anything, it drove me pretty crazy with all of the plot twists. If you enjoyed The Cruel Prince, you'll devour The Wicked King!

Trick Play by Eden Finley - Since I enjoyed the first book in this series (Fake Out) so much, I guess it's no surprise that I decided to read the second. Picking up where the last book ended, this one focuses on a different couple and I loved their dynamic. Funny, cute and sexy - this book checked all the boxes. 

Kissing the Teacher by Nora Phoenix - So, it turns out that I'm really not into reading about BDSM. I guess I should have figured that much out when I tried (and spectacularly failed) to read Fifty Shades of Grey. Don't get me wrong, there were some really sweet moments in this book, Baxter is just precious but the trope/relationship just wasn't my thing. Baxter also came off waaay younger than he was supposed to be which made me feel a bit uncomfortable given the age difference. 

Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat - Yeah, so I think when this book was recommended to me as an "amazing m/m romance" I was intrigued. Sadly, this book left me feeling absolutely sick to my stomach. I won't sugar coat this for you. This book strongly features; slavery, abuse, torture, rape, sexual abuse and paedophilia. To me, it felt glamorised and, even if the main character Damen abhorred most of what he witnessed, he still condoned slavery. To put it lightly this book horrified me and I massively regret the £8 I spend on the eBook. 

The books that I started but haven't yet finished are:

Fairies, Robots and Unicorns - Oh My! by Sarina Dorie - I spotted this book (a collection of short stories) on NetGalley last month and was drawn to the humour. The first story was great but sadly, for me, it's gone a bit downhill from there. I blame the story that seemed to be only relevant to Star Trek fans (I am so not a Trekkie) which really threw me off. 

The Lost Witch by Melvin Burgess - I really don't know how to feel about this book right now. I'm around 1/3 of the way through and struggling with the narrative. I just don't feel any connection to the characters and it's written almost passively which is making it really hard to be invested in the story. I'm going to give it another try because I loved the opening scene which gave me huge Watership Down vibes. Fingers crossed I fall into it soon. 

Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff - This book I am 100% into and eager to keep reading. The only thing stopping me has been the ridiculous illness I've been trying to deal with over the past two weeks. The first couple of chapters already have me fully immersed in the story and more than a little hot under the collar. How anyone could mistake these books for YA is beyond me! 

Have you read any of these books? What did you think? 

In my next blog post, I'll be sharing the books that are currently on my ARC shelf. What 2019 release are you most looking forward to?

Genre: YA/Fantasy 
Series/Standalone: The Folk of the Air #2
How I got this book: Bought

If you haven't already read the first book in The Folk of the Air series, feel free to check out my review of The Cruel Prince and stop reading to avoid potential spoilers from book one. 

This book is complicated. 

I don't know if I've ever read a book before where I've absolutely hated 99% of all the characters but still loved just how vile and repulsive they are. 

They're so evil. ALL OF THEM ARE EVIL. Including the author because that ending was not fair! 

The two characters I hate the most are Taryn and Locke, which makes them pretty well suited to each other. I love how at the beginning of book one we were presented with this meek, gentle and docile image of Taryn but as the book progressed she turned out to be the worst sister in the world. 

Jude is fantastic. I love her ferocity even in the face of impossible odds and certain defeat. She's cunning, clever and complex and yet still manages to be blindsided by others (don't worry Jude, you're not alone!) 

Cardan is still a, well, there aren't really words for what/how he is and I still have some huge problems about their relationship dynamic but the chemistry and tension between the two are so palpable that it seeps from the pages. 

The plot twists in this book are EPIC! If you were shocked by The Cruel Prince trust me when I say that you won't even know what to make of The Wicked King. My jaw is still somewhere on the floor where it dropped whilst reading that ending...

The storytelling is compulsive. This book is filled with more politics than the first, which I thoroughly enjoyed and I was so excited to see new places and more backstory from several characters. 

If you love fantasy with a dark, foreboding edge, an unpredictable plot line and characters you love to hate, you'll love The Wicked King. 

Welcome to my stop of the Princess of Baker Street blog tour. 

​I'd been looking forward to reading this book for quite some time and I'm excited to finally share my review with you! 

Big thanks to Xpresso Book Tours for allowing me to participate. 

Rating: 4 STARS

Genre: LGBT/YA/Contemporary
Series/Standalone: Standalone
How I got this book: ARC from Xpresso Book Tours

“Always wear your imaginary crown” is Joey Kinkaid’s motto. For years, Joey, assigned male at birth, led the Baker Street kids in daring and imaginative fantasy adventures, but now that they’re teenagers, being a princess is no longer quite so cool. Especially for a child who is seen by the world as a boy.

Eric Sinclair has always been Joey’s best friend and admirer—Prince Eric to Joey’s Princess Ariel—but middle school puts major distance between them. As Eric’s own life takes a dangerous turn for the worse, he stands by and watches as Joey—who persists in dressing and acting too much like a Disney princess for anybody’s comfort—gets bullied. Eric doesn’t like turning his back on Joey, but he’s learned that the secret to teenage survival, especially with and absent mother, is to fly under the radar.

But when Joey finally accepts who she is and comes to school wearing lip gloss, leggings, and a silky pink scarf, the bullies make her life such a misery that she decides to end it all. Eric, in turn, must decide who he really is and what side he wants to stand on… though no matter what he chooses, the consequences with be profound for both teens, and they’ll face them for years to come.

Is there a chance the two teens can be friends again, and maybe even more?

Trigger warnings: Transphobia, suicide, parental abandonment. 

I'm going to start by saying that I can't comment on how well this book represents trans issues/the trans community and that I am still myself learning more about the different genders and sexuality.

From the synopsis, it's clear that this is in no way an easy, fluffy read, and it features some incredibly heavy and hard to deal with themes. 

It actually surprised me that the story was told from Eric's perspective, when, given the synopsis, I expected it to have been from Joey's. 

Eric is an extremely complex character. He's living alone following his mother's abandonment, he's trying his hardest stay under the radar so that no one finds out and in his attempts he loses a part of himself, the part that cares for his best friend.

Joey is a truly beautiful soul. She wants to live her own life by being true to who she is, and the view, through Eric's eyes, of her struggles and challenges is more than traumatic. 

"Are you the roadkill or the vulture?" I ask. "I'm the one who's getting ripped into pieces."

Personally, I struggled a little with the writing. I'm not sure if it was because of mistakes exactly, or the style itself, I just felt as though it jolted me out of the story a few times. But, saying that, the pace and character development was fantastic!

"Even through my coat, the weight of her hand feels good because I been so lonely in my cold house this week, but the panic in her expression rips the good away."

Whilst there is a lot of pain and torment in this novel, I do think that it's important for young people, especially those who are trans to know that they're not alone, and also for non-trans teens so that they can better understand the challenges faced by their peers and how just being a good friend can make all the difference. 

"I flop back on the bed and say the only important thing left. "Just tell Joey I'm sorry."

Through all of the pain and heartache, I feel that at the very heart of this story is a strong message about being true to yourself, standing up for what's right and important, and the real power of friendship. 

"But you're the princess of Baker Street."

Click the cover photo above to add the book to your Goodreads TBR and enter below for your chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card! The giveaway is open internationally so everyone can enter and it's hosted by Xpresso Book Tours. 

Don't forget to click the banner at the top to follow the rest of the tour and feel free to leave your comments below :) ​

Genre: LGBT/Romance/Comedy
Series/Standalone: Fake Boyfriend #1
How I got this book: Bought

Trigger warnings: Homophobia

I had fairly low expectations about this book before I started reading, but OH MY GOSH THIS WAS SO MUCH FUN!

Let me explain why I had low expectations: 

1. Fake Boyfriend - this is not my favourite trope (at all) and I thought that they were pretty over-done before reading this. 
2. Pretending to be gay to ditch an ex - as you can see from the synopsis that's a key part of this story (and one that I was put off by). 

But, the synopsis held something that sparked an interest in me and I just had to read it. 

In the beginning, I was super sceptical. Maddox and Damon are literal strangers when they take off for the weekend to Maddox's hometown - to me, it seemed like they should have known each other a bit first. 

But, once the story started and the humour came through, I couldn't get enough. 

"It was only a dream. I once dreamed I was the spider from Harry Potter. Doesn't mean I want to f*** a spider." 

First impressions of Maddox are that he's a complete ass. He lied to his ex about being gay because he didn't want to be tied down and he's a bit of a player. But, the author slowly reveals more layers to his personality, layers that make his actions more understandable. His funny side starts to come out more as the book progresses as well as revealing his fears and insecurities. 

I particularly love that he has to come to a big realisation about himself and his journey of accepting this new truth about who he is was beautiful to see. 

Damon on the other hand is a sweetheart from the very beginning. He's bitter about his past career and trying to work towards a future he never wanted. He's also dealing with the fallout from a past relationship that instantly puts him on his guard around Maddox.

I love the way that their relationship builds throughout the book. The chemistry is perfect, the tension builds and the result is some seriously H&H love scenes entwined with truly tender, heartfelt moments. 

"I found it - where I'm supposed to be. It's with you." 

There is some homophobia in this book, which both Maddox and Damon have to deal with, but it's addressed and fought against in an honest way, and I can't help but admire how selfless and understanding Damon is when dealing with some of the more difficult aspects of this. 

Overall, this was a fun, fast-paced, heart-warming m/m romance with plenty of lust filled scenes. I read this in one sitting of a few hours and couldn't put it down. 

Welcome to my stop on the Match Me If You Can Blog Tour! 

It's my first blog tour of the year and I'm so excited to be back since I haven't done one of these since Halloween.

As always, a huge thanks to Xpresso Book Tours for allowing me to take part!

Now, on to the book at hand...

Rating: 3 STARS

Genre: YA/Romance/Contemporary
Series/Standalone: Standalone
How I got this book: ARC from Xpresso Book Tours

Mia’s best friend Robyn is known for her matchmaking skills, which is perfect, because homecoming is just around the corner. But Robyn refuses to set Mia up with the guy of her dreams, which forces Mia to take matters into her own hands. She uses Robyn’s matchmaking service to make sure popular Vince Demetrius falls for her.

Vince asks her out, but Mia doesn’t count on Logan, the persistent school newspaper photographer who seems to like her out of the blue. Now she has to choose between Vince – the guy she knows is right for her – and Logan, who insists that she give him a chance. And she needs to make sure Robyn doesn’t find out that Mia’s been matchmaking behind her back.

Mia has two weeks before homecoming. Can she fix the mess she made or will she have to kiss her perfect match goodbye forever?

Romance and YA are two of my favourite things and I was really excited to start reading Match Me If You Can. 

First impressions of Mia made me think of a younger Bridget Jones. Mia is a bit clumsy and fumbling, so it made her a more real and relatable character, to begin with. 

I noticed on Goodreads that the book is a re-telling of A Midsummer Night's Dream which becomes more apparent towards the middle of the book when certain relationships begin to entwine and clash.

Whilst the plot is super predictable and full of rom-com style clichés, the writing did keep me engaged throughout the story. 

My favourite thing about this whole book is Logan, who I love. He's sweet, supportive, funny, flirty and heartfelt, and I can't get enough of his scenes. 

I did have a few problems with Mia's character. To me, she seemed quite shallow and a little vapid, she's constantly ignoring the very obvious truth, as well as her own feelings, and I felt as though I was several steps ahead of her throughout the entire book. 

The drama also irked me a little as it just seemed a tad over the top and unnecessary but it did fuel the plot and kept the pace moving quickly.

The romance was very sweet but I don't want to go into too much detail and ruin the particulars for you, so all I'll say is that this book is a very light, fun and fluffy read, perfect for fans of quick-paced teen rom-coms. 

Click the cover photo above to add the book to your Goodreads TBR and enter below for your chance to win a print copy of Match Me If You Can. The giveaway is open to US/CAN only and is hosted by Xpresso Book Tours. 

Don't forget to click the banner at the top to follow the rest of the tour and feel free to leave your comments below :) ​