 Well, this is it. The end of a pretty awful year is just a few hours away and I'm sure most of us are glad to see the back of it.
But 2020 hasn't been all bad. I'm grateful this year to have gotten back into blogging, launched the Turn The Page podcast and read some incredible books. So, to finish things off, here's a quick roundup of my nine, 5-star reads of 2020!
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 Hello lovelies!
Welcome back to another Sunday Book Tag (although I admit it's a bit late!) I'm having so much fun doing these. How are your holidays going? I hope you had some wonderful bookish gifts this year! If you're looking for a little festive bookish fun, don't forget to check out the latest episode of the Turn the Page podcast here and enter our international giveaway for your chance to win £20 of books. I spotted the Birthstone Book Tag on THE BIBLIOPHILE EMPRESS, and it was created by Jay G. Let's give it a go! 
Happy Holidays!!
This month, Sophie and I decided to throw a festive bookish party to celebrate all things bookish at this time of year! In this episode, we're talking about; our favourite festive books and films, bookish traditions, our favourite books of 2020, our most anticipated 2021 reads, our November book club selection (The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith) and as always, we review our recent reads. In this special festive episode, you'll also find really awful jokes, a blindfolded book cover game (inspired by a video by Mina Reads) and ridiculous lyrics to make all your favourite festive tunes a little more bookish! Also, don't forget to listen to the whole podcast to discover a bonus entry for the international giveaway below!  It's almost time for the Turn The Page Christmas Special!
With things being so different year and many of us still isolated away from friends and family, Sophie and I have decided to throw a very special Bookish Christmas party episode of the Turn The Page podcast! Running tomorrow, Tuesday 22nd December, this episode will be packed with:
As always, we'll also be reviewing our book club selection which was, The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith and we'll follow that up with a Twitter chat on Tuesday 29th December at 7pm (UK Time). We'll also be revealing our Winter Book Club Selection which is a historical, fairytale set in Russia! On top of all of that, we'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who's listened to the podcast so far! We're absolutely chuffed that the podcast has had over 100 listens already and so, to say thank you, we're going to be hosting a giveaway. Full details of how to enter will be given in the podcast and in our blog on episode release day (Tuesday 22nd December) so don't miss that for your chance to win a book(s) of your choice (worth up to £20!) The giveaway will be running internationally (to everywhere that Book Depository ships to)! So again, a huge thank you to everyone who's supported the podcast so far, we cannot wait to share our Christmas special with you tomorrow! You can find details on how to listen to the podcast here! 
It's the week before Christmas, so I've decided to go with, The Bookish Naughty List Tag!
This book tag was created by Jenniely and I decided to give it a go after seeing it on Dee's Rad Reads and Reviews!
Okay, let's see if I'm on the bookish naughty list!  Do you have any books you're trying to finish up this year? What about books you want to carry into the new year?
I'm really looking forward to the upcoming holidays, and the break from work which I'm hoping will help me cram as many books as possible into what's left of 2021! Some of the books I want to read are the ones on my ARC shelf right now, so I thought it'd be fun to share my ARC shelf with you! I'm not going to lie, some of these books have been on my ARC shelf for quite a while, so I've enlisted Sophie to help work through these as well! Just click on an image to add the book to your TBR:  I haven't had a book subscription box for a couple of years now and, since I'm still on the waitlist for FairyLoot, I decided to order a one-off Book Box Club box as an early Christmas gift to myself.
Before we get started, here's a quick reminder of this month's theme reveal: Our December theme will be MIRACLES AT MIDNIGHT and will be a celebration of whimsy and wonder after dark! 🌠❄️As a special treat...THIS BOX WILL CONTAIN TWO BOOKS!📖📖⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ❄️About the Featured Read: Our December read is set overlooking the rooftops of Paris and tells the tale of a group of travellers who discover unexpected magic in their new city-life. Banished from their troubled homeland, they find themselves adrift in Paris as beautiful flowers radiating moonlight transform the city into a new magical world after dark.🌃🌠⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ With illuminating characters, an enchanting setting and a narrative that champions human kindness and hope; this is the book that we all need in the Winter of 2020. Fans of Erin Morgenstern and Neil Gaiman will adore this gorgeous hardback.😍⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Our featured read will arrive beautifully gift-wrapped and will be accompanied by a bookplate signed by the author.👍⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ❄️About the BONUS BOOK: Book Box Club members will also receive a BONUS BOOK! We've teamed up with our publisher buddies to bring you a list of eight awesome books publishing in 2021. You'll find an advanced reading copy of one book from this list (selected at random) in your December box. Plus you'll receive a full list of our recommended reads for 2021 and access to a digital zine with sample chapters from every selected title! 😍⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ❄️There will be Goodies! As well as an exclusive invitation to our members only online bookgroup with the author of our featured read, our December box will be crammed with goodies inspired by some of fiction's most miraculous moonlit moments! Small businesses and talented artists have helped create lots of beautiful items especially for our December members. ⠀ I have no idea what the book is but, I love Erin Morgenstern, so I'm really excited! Who's ready to jump in? Obviously, there will be spoilers for this box beyond this point, so stop reading now if you don't want to know what's in this one.  Hey, bookworms!!
I had so much fun doing The End of the Year Book last week that I've decided to try and do a new tag every Sunday. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy doing them. This week, I've chosen the, 'How I Choose My Books, Tag'. I saw this tag on Bookishly Rebecca and gave it a go since I don't really get tagged in things anymore (note: if you see this and want to tag me, feel free!) Here goes: 
I recently saw a post on Twitter by one of my favourite UK YA authors, Simon James Green, about championing UK YA books.
So, inspired by this, I wanted to share a quick list of some of my favourite UK YA books and authors. I hope this list helps you add a few more books to your TBR!
Click the links to check out my review (if there is one) or to visit Goodreads. If I've missed any, let me know in the comments! Rating: 4 Stars  Genre: MM Romance/Christmas/Fantasy/Comedy Series/Standalone: A Snow Globe Christmas #1 (Can be read as a standalone) How I got this book: Bought on Audible  Despite growing up in a family of villains, I’d rather curl up and read than commit crimes. When I get coerced by my brother into helping him rob a bank, I run into August, my childhood crush—also known as Chrono, the city’s greatest superhero. He’s sexy, sweet, and suddenly he’s asking me to Thanksgiving with his parents. It’s probably because he doesn’t realize that I’m Leviathan, a villain with the power of telekinesis. And I can’t tell him because he’d never forgive me and would stop doing things like cooking for me—wait, maybe that would be a good thing, since he’s a terrible cook. It doesn’t help that my parents think they’re the ultimate villains and won’t stop getting in my way, although they can’t even steal toilet paper without getting caught. But when real supervillains (not the wannabe kind that I grew up with) start targeting August, I might be forced to show everyone who I truly am: a slightly warped and snarky man who’d really rather read a book than save anything… besides August. I’ll tear this world apart just to get another glimpse of him in those glasses and spandex suit. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep him safe, even though it means exposing my true identity. Luckily, August still cares about me, proving that even a villain and a hero can fall in love. Hopefully, we’ll be able to save the world in time for Christmas. Fans of TJ Klune will devour A Villain for Christmas.
I started this book on a whim because of an Audible recommendation. It's narrated by Michael Lesley, one of my favourite narrators; he's a sassy and comedic genius who effortlessly brings characters to life. About a minute in, I had to go back and check that the author wasn’t actually TJ Klune because, honestly; it sounds like him to the point where I wondered if it was intentional, especially when the protagonist begs the villain to stop monologuing (which is a recurring joke in Klune’s Tales from Verania series). The absurd characters and Lesley’s exaggerated narration drew me into the story immediately. He's a perfect Landon, with his fun, sassy wit. It’s the perfect combination of hilarious and completely heartfelt, and his delivery had me in stitches from the beginning. Landon is a super-villain with a secret - he hates being bad! He's also crazy powerful and has a huge crush on the city's biggest superhero. Landon is an absolute sweetheart. He's hilariously funny and sarcastic, but he wears his heart on his sleeve and delivers some truly emotional and heartbreaking scenes in the book. August is loads of fun. He's also extremely sweet, and so adorable when Landon brings out his 'bad' side. Together, they're hilarious and once you add in the random, diverse cast of superheroes, villains, and the hairless cat, A Villain for Christmas will have you laughing out loud from start to finish. I admit I didn't expect a lot from the plot, but it's actually really enjoyable. There are a couple of great twists and surprises that really drove the plot forward and kept me listening. However, I’m not really sure that you would call this a Christmas story, other than it taking place in December and featuring a small Thanksgiving and Christmas scene, it's very much a funny superhero story, but it works. Anyone who loves outrageous, OTT characters that make you laugh out loud will love A Villain for Christmas. In particular, if you've read TJ Klune's The Extraordinaries and would love a more 'adult' superhero/super-villain rom-com, this checks all the boxes. |
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About Kayleigh (She/Her)
Book addict, film mad, music lover, business owner, writer and mum (not necessarily in that order), living in the UK. 
About Sophie (She/Her)
Sophie loves books (obviously). She has a passion for photography and spotting wildlife, and is interested in anything made with passion and creativity. THIS BLOG IS SPOILER FREE!
Rating system: 5 Stars - AMAZING!! 4.5 Stars - Almost perfect! 4 Stars - I really loved it 3.5 Stars - I liked it alot 3 Stars - I liked it (I don't typically review books that I rate below 3 stars) Currently Reading:
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