WWW Wednesday: 20th June 2018

How is it already Wednesday?! The weeks just go so quickly!

What are you currently reading? 

I’ve just finished my latest read so haven’t had a chance to start anything new, but I am fairly certain it will be The Kissing Booth…I have watched the film over 10 times now, and started listening to the audiobook haha!

What did you recently finish reading?

Flooooooored! I really enjoyed this book, as I knew I would, because the writing was just fantastic with a story that kept you hooked. I’d love to know who wrote which bits because it all fitted together so well!

What do you think you’ll read next?

I still have a load on NetGalley that I need to get on top of, which I am slowly doing! Up next I have a couple of blog tour books to read and The Kissing Booth.

FLOORED – Various

4/5

Floored brings together some of the queens of UKYA (Sara Barnard, Holly Bourne, Non Pratt, Melinda Salisbury, Lisa Williamson, Tanya Byrne and Eleanor Wood)

I am a sucker for a good UKYA contemporary, especially when you throw in names such as Sara Barnard, Holly Bourne and Lisa Williamson; I just know it’s a book I will love! So, imagine my delight when I discovered that Floored is a thing and so it was the first book that I sent a begging email for since starting blogging! Despite not getting a copy, I was super lucky to get one straight away through NetGalley (thank you Macmillan!) and bumped this straight to the top of my TBR!

Floored is told from the perspective of six characters, and a narrator. What adds to its charm is how you don’t know which author wrote which parts – this makes for a fun game of “guess the author”! I loved how seamlessly the story seemed to flow between narrators and how all of the different writing styles complimented each other perfectly.

A key thing that makes Floored such a success is how relatable it is; the book spans several years and we “check-in” with our characters once a year, and so we see how in the space of a year so much can change when you’re in your teens and going into early adulthood. It’s during this time that our characters really develop and our friendships are evolving and you are beginning to realise what’s truly important. Floored is all about the ups and downs that these years can bring and it captures this perfectly.

I think that the only thing I really didn’t like was the bringing in of political parties to the story. I think that an unfair light was cast upon one party over another, especially when you consider the character narrating at the time, and this is something that put me off giving this book a higher rating.

Nevertheless, overall this book is a solid 4 stars – it tackles such a range of topics with some very likeable characters. Everyone will find some way to relate to what these narrators go through, you’ll see your positives and your flaws. I’d definitely love to see more collaborations from this group in the future!

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Thank you to Macmillan via NetGalley for the eBook of this title!

WWW Wednesday: 13th June 2018

Good evening! I’m spending my night in bed watching The Kissing Booth for the umpteenth time on Netflix (it’s AWESOME. I can’t wait for the book to arrive!) and then I shall continue with my current read…

What are you currently reading? 

I GOT APPROVED FOR FLOORED! So of course I’ve ditched everything else I’d planned to read and have started this one! It’s a collaborative novel from some of the BEST authors in YA and I am so so happy to get approved so quickly on NetGalley!

What did you recently finish reading?

The last book I finished was the wonderful Differently Normal by Tammy Robinson. I was on the blog tour for this one on Monday, and I’m so glad that I got involved because it was such a good read! I’d definitely recommend it.

What do you think you’ll read next?

I have a load of contemporaries waiting for me on NetGalley so I shall most likely plod my way through those now that I’m free from uni work!

DIFFERENTLY NORMAL – Tammy Robinson

4/5

A heartwarming and heartbreaking story of first love, family and autism.

So, today is my stop on the Differently Normal Blog Tour which I’ve been very excited for, especially since finishing this book as I really did love it so want to shout out about it!

Differently Normal is a dual narrative YA book from the perspectives of Maddy and Albert (Al-bear), and it tells of their different home lives and how their worlds collide in a beautiful love story. However, as the suggestion that it’s for fans of John Green and Jennifer Niven suggests, this book will break your heart and throughout you’re just waiting for something to fall apart, but you don’t quite know how! I did not expect the ending at all, even when I was nearly finished with the book!

One key aspect, and one that makes me wonder whether Tammy is writing from experience, is that of Maddy’s sister Bee’s autism, epilepsy and learning difficulties. Bee is such a loveable little girl, although her condition makes her demanding to look after – she’s got such complex needs, and, if it wasn’t for the fact that I know people with these conditions, I wouldn’t have realised just how connected the conditions are. In addition, Maddy is such a selfless character that she’s highly admirable and one who you want to aspire to be like; her love for her sister shines through and that sisterly bond she shares with Bee is an important part of the story.

I loved the story of how Maddy and Albert meet and become closer – it’s really cute, not without its difficulties, and it isn’t a case of instalove which was very refreshing! The two of them are so different yet so similar which made their relationship very believable and the timeline of the story seemed to fly by.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book for people who love a good contemporary YA book that’ll drag you into the world of the characters and who really jump off the page. I found that I was wanting to get back to reading as often as possible just to be with Maddy and Albert and find out what happened next!

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Thank you to Little Brown UK via NetGalley for the eBook of this title, and to Sophia Walker for the opportunity to be a part of this blog tour!

If you didn’t like that book, you might like this book…

There have been a few videos floating around Booktube lately focusing on recommending books based on books you don’t like, which is a really interesting concept! I believe that this idea originates with Emmmabooks and it’s one that really intrigued me, so I thought I’d have a go at it on here!

If you didn’t like the Twilight Saga, or Fifty Shades of Grey for that matter, you might like the A Court of Thorns and Roses series.

Disclaimer: I used to love Twilight; I was fifteen. It was the in thing.

It’s a well known fact that Twilight, and its fan-fiction Fifty Shades of Grey, are both poorly written disasterous love stories that have very weird relationships at their heart. So, if you’re looking for a good series that’ll keep you hooked, has supernatural creatures and a bit of smut then look no further than the ACOTAR series from Sarah J Maas. I ADORE this series so much. Give it a chance, because by the time you’re a few chapters in you’ll be eagerly turning every page. Book two A Court of Mist and Fury…phwoar that book makes you get a little flustered. Sarah J Maas does write some good fae smut!

If you didn’t like Paper Butterflies, you might like Differently Normal.

Paper Butterflies, despite all the rave reviews, is one of my least favourite books of all time. It was a traumatic read all about race and child abuse and made for very uncomfortable reading, and not in a good way. Differently Normal, however, is a beautiful book that has some truly heartwarming moments in it whilst having characters put in difficult situations. It’s more than just a beautiful love story.

If you didn’t like books by Enid Blyton, you might like Murder Most Unladylike.

Enid Blyton is one of my favourite authors of all time, and it’s because of her books that I truly got into reading. However, I do appreciate that for some people these books are dated and not something that they enjoy to read. So, if you’re one of those people, you might like the Murder Most Unladylike series as, whilst it’s set in the same time period as Enid Blyton’s books, there’s a breath of fresh air to them that makes them feel very modern. Plus, they’re just fantastic mysteries!

 

Have you read any of these and would you agree with any of my suggestions? If you liked this post and would like to see more like it, please let me know in the comments!

 

Six for Sunday: 10th June 2018

Good evening! Sorry I’ve been a bit MIA on here – it feels like a while since I last did a tag post! I’m taking a break from revision for my French exam tomorrow to do this one; it’s an interesting topic!

You can find the prompts for S4S here. This week’s is:

Reasons you love books…

1. Escaping to another world, whether it’s set in our world or a fantasy one

2. Finding characters who have similar traits, both positive and negative, as you

3. To learn more about others and what they go through

4. I have an obsessive personality, so I became obsessed with books at a young age, and that’s unlikely to change

5. Finding relatable quotes

6. They take you on emotional rollercoasters and can help you to feel emotions

They’re the main reasons that I love books so much – what are yours?

Book Unhauling

So, a topic that I have found very difficult to decide how I feel about it…

BOOK UNHAUL – the opposite of a book haul, that is to say when you get rid of books from your shelves.

I am a hoarder.

Admittedly, I do have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and so it’s kind of a symptom of this condition, but, that aside, I’ve always felt that I just have a slightly more panic inducing reaction to something that many people find difficult anyway! Us book lovers have immense pride in our collections of books that have amassed over the years, and I am definitely no exception. I’d always wanted to have 1000 books by the time I was 18, and I don’t think I quite hit that, but at 24 I quite possibly have!

But then comes the dilemma.

Space.

Ugh.

I have no room for books! My shelves are all double stacked, on their sides, bagged up, all over my room! I also feel that when I move out, I’ve got to somehow transport all of these books which will be difficult. And so, taking inspiration from my bookseller bestie Charlie, I decided it was about time I unhauled some books.

Charlie unhauls regularly, which I have no idea how she does it, but it means that I gain a lot of books, as does the charity shop, and she gains a sense of liberation and achievement. And most importantly, space… (for more books.)

I felt that it was time that I followed suit this week, and so yesterday I did my first big unhaul…and I kinda get it! I feel quite free as I’ve cleared out two massive bags worth of books that I will never read and many I had no idea why I’d even got them in the first place! Admittedly, the majority of books I got rid of were either proofs or books I was sent but had no interest in. But still, I am so so proud of myself! I didn’t have a panic attack either which was a massive bonus.

I still find book unhauling difficult; I’m very emotionally attached to things and find it hard to get rid of that guilt, but, at the same time, it means that these books are going to a better place where someone will love them and enjoy them and so surely that’s a good thing.

What are your feelings about book unhauls?