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! 

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?

If you come here often, you'll know that I'm slowly, and I mean very slowly, working my way through the award/tags that I was nominated for last year. 

So, this month, I'm finally getting around to my Liebster Award post which I was nominated for in July 2018 (*facepalm*) by the very lovely Noly @ The Artsy Reader! Thanks Noly 😄

Let's get down to the rules (which I admittedly copied from Noly's post): 

• Thank the blogger who nominated you, provide a link to their blog and display the award. 
• Answer 11 questions they asked you. 
• Come up with your own 11 questions.
• Tag 11 bloggers and don’t forget to tell them.

Here are Noly's questions for me: 

1. What is your favorite time of year?

Those two weeks between autumn and winter where it's not too hot and not too cold. It's the perfect time for both reading outside and drinking hot chocolate. 

2. If you didn’t have to worry about calories and health, which one food would you eat for the rest of your life?

Ice cream ...or bacon. 

3. If you would write a book, which genre would it be?

I am writing a book lol but this is a tough question since I'm struggling to define the genre. The best way that I can describe it right now is a paranormal romance combined murder mystery, with some humour thrown in along the way.

4. What’s your favorite time of day to read?

I'd read all day if I could but it's usually in the evening after work. 

5. What super power would you love to have?

The power to stop time. Imagine how much more you could get done!?! 

6. What is the last book you finished but didn’t like?

Professor's Kiss - way too many issues for me in this one. 

7. What is the best book you’ve read so far in 2018?

This is a tricky one as there were sooo many amazing books I read last year but two that really stood out were Nevernight by Jay Kristoff and The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune. 

8. What is one book that surprised you (because you didn’t expect it to be so good)?

The Lightning Struck Heart by TJ Klune - I didn't expect it to be so hilarious! 

9. Which celebrity would you most like to meet and why?

I'm not much of a celebrity nut and my mind has gone completely blank on this one...not a clue! 

10. What place would you love to visit next?

I have my heart set on visiting Venice. Aside from a trip to Disney Land Paris when I was 11, I've never been out of the UK and I'd love to travel more. 

11. What’s your most embarrassing childhood memory (only tell if you’re comfortable with sharing it)?

I have so many. I've always been a complete klutz so my life was basically a series of small disasters. I was also EXTREMELY OBSESSIVE and looking back, a pretty big liar when I was a child and so, the most embarrassing was probably telling everyone at school that I was second in line to play Hermione Granger in Harry Potter (and that I owned an Owl) 😂

After that embarrassing recap, let's move onto my 11 questions:

1. If you had to choose just one book to read for the rest of your life, which would it be?
2. What book are you most looking forward to in 2019?
3. What's the first book you remember reading?
4. When you're feeling low, what book is guaranteed to pick you up?
5. Do you listen to music whilst reading?
6. What's your favourite reading snack?
7. Bookmarks or dog-ears?
8. What's your favourite book-to-film adaptation?
9. Which book character do you relate to the most?
10. If you could pick any author's brain, who would you choose?
11. What standalone book do you wish had a sequel?

Phew! Now, let's move onto my eleven nominations:

1. Asha @ A Cat, A Book, and A Cup of Tea
2. Manon @ Cafe Manon
3. Nelo @ ​Booked Unicorn
4. Kayla @ A Book A Day
5. Amy @ The Little Booknerds in the Corner
6. Kelsey @ There's Something About KM
7. Luana @ Book Storm
8. Sadie 
9. Julie @ That Bookish Princess 
10. Princess of Pages
11. Beth @ BooksNest

There we have it! 11 questions, 11 answers and 11 nominations. Feel free to take part if you want to, I'd love to read your answers!

Until next time x

Who's excited for some amazing new books this year? 

I certainly am! There are so many books I'm looking forward to reading this year, so to kick the year off to a great start, I wanted to share with you the books that are currently on my ARC shelf. 

I'll be taking part in blog tours with Xpresso Book Tours for both of these books so be sure to keep an eye out for those as there's almost always a giveaway involved!

Just click on an image to add the book to your TBR:

I can't wait to start reading these two books! Check back on the 11th and 23rd January for the two blog tours or subscribe to the blog (top right) to never miss a post! 

What are you reading right now?

Happy Reading! 

It's New Years Eve! 

I hope you've all had a fantastic year and I wish you the very best in 2019!

2018 has been CRAZY! 

This year, I started my blog, which has been so much fun! I've met some incredible new people; readers, bloggers and authors. I went to my first ever book festival which was fantastic, and I both started and stopped receiving monthly book boxes lol which were fantastic and so much fun!

I read 100 books this year! I've discovered some incredible new titles and authors and I've loved writing about them!

According to my Pinterest board, I have 49 favourite books of 2018, but since that's a few too many to list here, I'm going to list 5 of my favourites below and you're welcome to check out my Favourite Books of 2018 board here to see them all. 

I can't say that these 5 books are my top 5 books of the year but they are in the top 10. These 5 books stood out because each one was truly fantastic. 

They Both Die at the End was an emotional roller coaster of a book. It was heartbreaking, breathtaking and a beautiful and bittersweet read. 

Nevernight was incredible, a truly epic fantasy with one of the best heroines I've ever read! I'm hoping to read Godsgrave really soon. 

The Bones Beneath My Skin was a truly unique, and stunning LGBT Sci-Fi. This book blew me away. 

While I enjoyed Six of Crows, it's sequel, Crooked Kingdom made the duology so much better. I loved how it kept me on my toes until the very end. 

The Lightning Struck Heart was the first book I ever read by TJ Klune, who has quickly become one of my favourite authors. This might just be the funniest book I've ever had the pleasure of reading! 

You can check out my full review for any of these books by clicking on the covers. 

In my next post, I'll be sharing the books currently on my ARC shelf and the book tours I have coming up in January! 

Have a fantastic New Year! Thanks for reading :) ​

If you follow me on Twitter, you'll know that the past two weeks have been insane for me. My daughter has changed schools and work has been so busy that I've had almost no time at all to read and I even fell asleep several times trying to listen to an audio book. 

Thankfully, I have a little time today so I'm planning on reading as much as possible this evening but thought I'd try to sneak in this post which I've been meaning to do for months since I was first nominated back in July by Noly @ The Artsy Reader Girl and then again in October by Sam @ The Pen in My Pocket. Thank you both so much for the nomination and sorry it's taken me so long to do this! 

Anyway, here are the rules: 

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you by linking their blog
2. Answer the questions
3. Nominate 11 blogs with 11 questions
4. List the rules as well as display the Sunshine Award Logo on your post

Okay, so I've done 1 and 4 already and since I was tagged twice, I'm going to mix and match some of the questions from both bloggers.

Here goes: 

1. What’s the last book or film that made you cry?
The last book that made me cry was The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune. This book tore my heart out. Seriously, ALL THE FEELS! 

I have no idea what the last film that made me cry was....the last TV show that made me cry was Teen Wolf (although I'm ashamed to admit that lol) 

2. Where do you hope/dream to be 5 years from now (especially with your blog)?
I don't really have any specific goals for my blog. I started it because I love to read and I love to talk about the books that I read so it's entirely a labour of love and I'll just keep blogging if it works for me. Right now, I'm really happy with it and so glad that people seem to enjoy reading what I have to say. 

Personally, I'd really really love to finish some of the books I've started to write. I hit a bit of a block a few months back and I'm struggling with the editing process but I think I'll be really disappointed with myself if I don't finish at least one soon. 

3. Do you own any pets? Tell us a bit about them.
I have two cats and a dog. My dog is a 5 year old German Shepherd. Her name is Raven (after Mystique in X-Men) and we've had her since she was 8 weeks old. My oldest cat is 6 and his name is Jacob (I was in Twilight phase back then). He's a tuxedo cat. He's handsome and cuddly and the perfect reading companion. My youngest cat is around 16 weeks old. We got him 2 weeks ago from the adoption centre. No one wanted him or his three brothers because they're all black cats (stupid superstitions!!). We fell in love with him and named him Mr. Kindly (see Nevernight by Jay Kristoff) but we also call him Nero. Fun fact, Nero in Italian means black. If you spell Nero backwards, it's Oren which means Ash in Hebrew, so he's a cat of many names. He's the laziest little kitten I've ever known.

4. How did you come up with your blog’s name?
The day I decided to create my blog, I was trying to think of a name and was drawn to the word 'shelf', probably because I was staring at my bookcases. Then all of a sudden, the song, 'My Endless Love' came into my head and I decided that My Endless Shelf worked really well because my love for books and stories is endless (as is my TBR!). 

5. What helps you get out of a reading slump/any type of slump?
Romance novels - the shorter, the better. Re-reading also works particularly well for me so I generally re-read some of my favourites romances which could be anything by R.L. Mathewson, Tara Sivec, Anyta Sunday and Sophie Jordan.

6. Aside from reading and blogging, what do you do on your spare time?
Spare time? What's that? lol, I run a business full time, I have a 4 year old, and as mentioned above I have 2 cats and a dog. This leaves almost no time for anything else and so my main hobbies are reading and blogging/writing. Other than that, I'm currently binge-watching a few shows on Netflix including: Teen Wolf, Heartland and Jane the Virgin and I love watching movies when I get the chance. 

7. You’ve won the lottery! What’s the first thing you buy?
A holiday! I haven't been on holiday in over 10 years so I think I'm overdue. 

8. If you could travel back in time, which time period would you choose, and why?
This is a fun one. For me it would be either the 80's - awesome rock music and big hair or Jane Austen era for the tranquillity and lack of technology.
​
9. What character from a book/movie do you best relate to?
Iris from The Holiday. She reminds me so much of myself.

10. Who was your first celebrity crush?
I can't remember exactly. I think it might have been either Orlando Bloom, Leonardo DiCaprio or Christina Aguilera....some 90's celeb anyway lol

11. What’s your favourite blog post you wrote and why? Link it!
At the moment, this is probably my article about romance novels. I was so sick and tired of hearing and of being told that romance novels, 'aren't real books' that I wrote a big article about why they are! Feel free to check it out.

Phew! That was a lot of questions. I hope you enjoyed reading my answers. 

Here are my 11 questions:

1. Which author(s) do you automatically buy without thinking about it?
2. What's the first book you remember reading?
3. What's your favourite movie adaption?
4. What's your favourite book cover?
5. What was your Goodreads challenge this year? Do you think you'll do it?
6. If you went to Hogwarts, what animal would you take?
7. Where's your favourite place to read?
8. Hogwarts? Narnia? Middle Earth? Westeros? Caraval? Which would you choose?
9. Which book character do you relate to the most?
10. What book have you re-read the most?
11. What underrated author/book do you wish more people knew about?

Here are my nominations (sorry if you've already done this one): 

• Carmen @ Pumpkin Patch
• Nelo @ Booked Unicorn
• Tan @ Booknerdtan
• Luana @ Book Storm Girl
• Sadie @ Sadie B Writer
• Manon @ Cafe Manon
• Chatter Books Book Blog
• Princess of Pages
• Lia @ Bookish Quest
• Jamie @ Bubbly Books
• Heather @ The Frozen Book Blog

And that's it! I hope you've enjoyed this post! Fingers crossed I'll be back with a book review sometime soon!

Blogging sometimes makes me feel like a bit of a grandma. A lot of the bloggers that I talk to or know of are a lot younger than me i.e. they're mid-teens to early-twenties and when they start dropping abbreviations like OTP and TSTL into their posts, I feel like I should be over here putting rollers in my hair before bed and soaking my dentures on the nightstand. 

So, if like me, you sometimes find yourself confused by some of the book lingo used in the book community, fear not dearies because the Elder Millennial's Guide to Book Blogging Lingo is here to help you!

Terms used when reading/reviewing:

• TBR - To Be Read. This often refers to your 'to-read' shelf on Goodreads and to any book(s) you plan on reading (even if you never actually get around to it).
• Triggers/Trigger Warnings/TW: Some bloggers (myself included) try to warn readers wherever possible if a book contains sensitive or potentially distressing content. 
• DNF - A book you didn't finish for whatever reason.
• RTC/RTF - Review To Come or Review To Follow. 
• ARC - Advance Review Copy. Also includes eARC (a digital ARC). This is an early, uncorrected copy of a book provided for review purposes.
• PB - Paperback copy. 
• HB - Hardback copy. 
• Self-Pub - Self-Published. A book that the author has published themselves, without using a traditional publishing house. 
• MG - Middle Grade. A book typically intended for readers aged 8-12 or featuring characters of that age. 
• YA - Young Adult. A book typically intended for readers of high school age or featuring characters of high school age. 
• NA - New Adult. A book typically intended for readers who are at college (USA) or University (UK) or featuring characters of that age. 
• MC - Main Character.
• POC - Person of Colour.
• TSTL - Too Stupid To Live. You know the first person to die in a horror movie? This is a character who makes bad decisions and doesn't learn from their mistakes. 
• All The Feels - Lots of emotions! Overwhelming emotions. It's usually meant as a very high form of praise. I.E. How I felt at the end of They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera.
• Book Hangover - That feeling when you finish an amazing book and don't know how to move on. 
• Reading/Book Slump - Not feeling in the mood to read or reading a string of books that you don't particularly enjoy. 
• OTP - One True Pairing. The couple you're behind all the way. 
• Ship - An abbreviation of 'relationship' and basically referring to two characters you want to get together or your favourite couple. 
• HEA - Happily Ever After. A lot of romance novels advertise a guaranteed HEA to promise you a happy ending.
• Canon - Material that is part of the official story/fictional world of a story. You'll see this word a lot in relation to fan-fiction when writers deviate from the official storyline/canon to create other scenarios or possibilities. (i.e. the Dramione craze in Harry Potter fan-fiction that has Draco and Hermione together, or the more popular Drarry fan fiction that has Harry and Draco together).
• FanFic - Fan Fiction .
• Insta-love/lust - When two characters meet and are instantly in love (or lust) with little to no build-up. 
• Buddy Read - When you read a book at the same time as another person so that you can chat about it as you read. Like a smaller version of a book club. 
• Meme - Typically applies to a weekly blog link-up that takes the form of different challenges/themes i.e. Top Ten Tuesday or Friday56. 

​
That's it! That's all of the terms I can think of or that I've struggled with myself. 

If you come across any more terms or abbreviations that boggle your mind, drop me a comment below and I'll do my best to help, even if I do have to call on a young whippersnapper to help explain it to me first!!

Now it's time to soak my feet and catch up on my soaps. Goodnight dears...

Welcome back for another Romance Author Spotlight! Feel free to check out last month's spotlighted author and find out why I decided to start my monthly romance author spotlight posts. 

Tara Sivec is one of my absolute favourite authors. She's written a staggering 31 books and a short story as part of an anthology collection. 

Tara writes books in several different genres including; romantic comedy, rom-com/mystery, contemporary romance, romantic suspense, new adult drama, and YA thriller. 

She both self-publishes and publishes traditionally, she's a USA Today Bestseller, and I've read all but 2 of her books. 

I actually discovered Seduction and Snacks (book 1 of the Chocolate Lovers romantic comedy series) after I'd read Perfection by R.L. Mathewson, it was a 'readers who like this, also like...' recommendation on Amazon/Goodreads. 

It's funny, I remember the exact moment I started to read the book back in September 2016. I'd chosen to read it whilst using my exercise bike and I burst into laughter from the very first page. I honestly think I burned more calories from all the laughing than I did from the workout.

Suffice it to say, I couldn't put the book down, I've since then re-read it at least once and have gone on to read almost all of Tara's other books. 

It's hard to explain why I love Tara's books so much because it's everything really; her writing style, her stories, her characters, her outrageous humour - ALL OF IT! 

After Seduction and Snacks, my next favourite book by Tara Sivec is Jed Had To Die. It's a hilarious mystery rom-com featuring three strong women, a very handsome sheriff, a lot of wine and a very suspect pie. 

This book is my go-to for a laugh and I'm definitely in need of a re-read soon. 

Here are some more of her books that I just have to mention:

Bury Me - This is Tara's only YA novel. It's a thriller that completely messed with my head. I absolutely loved the book but I was honestly terrified and on edge throughout the whole thing. 

Below Deck - If you've seen the reality TV show with the same name, you'll love Below Deck. It's a contemporary romance with plenty of humour, set on a Mediterranean cruise, making it the perfect summer read. 

The Story of Us series - This is a heart-breaking romantic drama series with beautiful, compelling characters and truly heart-wrenching stories.

Fisher's Light - Another contemporary romance drama, like with The Story of Us, this story features a strong military PTSD story line which makes the story even more powerful. If you're looking for a book that's almost guaranteed to make you cry, this is the one. 

Playing With Fire series and Ignite series - These series are bad-ass! I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next and always fearing the worst. What I really love about these series and pretty much all of Tara's books, is that the heroines are strong, powerful women. These books are packed full of action, suspense and plenty of heat.

Naughty Princess Club series - Tara's latest series is a hilarious collection of fairytale re-tellings with a modern twist. Meet Cinderella, Belle and Ariel as you've never known them before. 

The Simple Life - Her latest release is a sweet contemporary romance that's perfect for autumn. Set on a pumpkin farm and with a guaranteed feelgood HEA this is the book for you. 

There are still a few books I haven't mentioned (only because there are so many) but you can find them all on Tara's Goodreads page. 

I honestly believe there is something for everyone in Tara's books. Books to make you laugh uncontrollably, books to make you cry, books to make you question everything and books that will have you on the edge of your seat with bated breath. 

Have you read any of Tara Sivec's books? I'd love to know your thoughts in the comments below. 

It's almost Halloween! Autumn is safely upon us, leaves are changing colour and falling to the ground, the weather's getting cooler and my hot chocolate addiction is in full force!

This is, I think, my worst month of reading so far this year. I started 9 books (3 of which I'm still reading) and I've read 5. There are a few reasons that this number is a little lower than usual:

1.) Two of these books took me a really, really long time to read.
2.) I've been spending my evenings binge-watching iZombie, Vikings and The Dragon Prince so I'm happy to blame Netflix and Amazon for my current reading lull.
3.) Work has been a bit crazy lately (which is a good thing) but I'm a bit short on time and when I finish work, instead of reading, I'm pretty much passing out. 
4.) I started one book that I read quite a bit of but sadly couldn't finish. 

Here's a closer look at the books I read in September (just click on a title to head over to the full review):

DJ Dangerfield by Anyta Sunday - This was a really quick read which helped to lift my mood. It's a fun, m/m new adult novella with cute, believable characters. 

The Monsters We Deserve by Marcus Sedgwick - This book was such an impulse buy, and not something that I'd normally gravitate towards. It had some tricky themes but overall, I loved the suspense and the mystery. 

Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce - Since writing my review for this book, another reader let me know that this series is a prequel to another series by the same author, which features the main character of this book, and so that could be why I had some trouble with this book, and it may have been better to read that series first. I did enjoy the story once I got into it, I just had some problems with pacing. 

The Novice by Taran Matharu - This book was my only audiobook this month and it took me FOREVER to get through. I enjoyed the story but had huge problems with the narrator which really spoiled the experience for me. 

The Simple Life by Tara Sivec - ​Easily my favourite book of the month, The Simple Life was a sweet and funny romantic read that was perfect for autumn. It's another classic Tara Sivec romance novel that's perfect for picking up your mood and sweeping you off your feet. 

I didn't buy any physical books this month, but I did get a few free eBooks via BookBub. I also bought the kindle version of Wolfsangel by M.D. Lachlan (I read this a few years back and remember loving it although I can't really remember the story and since I'm falling under the spell of Vikings, I thought it'd be fun to revisit this story). I also used my Audible credit this month to buy Mythos by Stephen Fry which I'm listening to before bed. I have nodded off a few times due to working late, but I am enjoying it so far, I love mythology and these stories are really easy to digest...even if the subject matter isn't!! #genitalarc 😱​🤢

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

I hope you've enjoyed my September 2018 Roundup! I have some really exciting books that I'm looking forward to reading in October and I'm excited to share my reviews with you :)